The Fe'gan Mountains are the highest, coldest mountains Lambastia has to offer, with the highest peak recorded at 8589 m (28,179 ft). Only the toughest creatures survive here, and the trek to get to the Basantha Shrine lays through these harsh conditions. (+3 Endurance)

Moderator: Retired Staff

Return to Fe'gan Mountains

[27] [29] [29]

Postby Jaykobell » 08/19/2017 2:06 PM

"Velius! What happened?" Caraway asked as both him and Braith caught up to him.

Braith's nose was already unbearable, but now her eyes were starting to water. "Ugh," she hissed, "this entire room is filled to the brim." Her hope that the smell would go away was now but a fleeting dream that had been mercilessly dashed.

"Filled with what?" Caraway asked, and seeing the discomfort on both of their faces, he was worried about the fact he wasn't feeling any different. "What's in here?"

Aggravated, Braith snapped, "Shit, Caraway!" He jumped from the force of her answer. "The room is filled with Batti shit!" But it was no wonder that he couldn't smell it, thanks to that plague mask of his.

"Not for long," Velius said. "Stand back."
User avatar
Jaykobell
Retired Staff
Retired Staff
Pets | Items
Keystones: 4511
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 12:33 AM
Status: avatar by sleepysparrow!

[28] [30] [29]

Postby Jaykobell » 08/19/2017 2:12 PM

"Wait," Caraway said. "What are you doing?"

Right as he asked, he saw lightning crackling from Velius's fingertips. "Clearing it away," he answered dryly, but before he had a chance to move, he felt Caraway grab his shoulder.

"You can't!" For such a meek alchemist, when he really put his mind to it, Caraway could stand his ground. In this case, his grip stayed firm against Velius's shoulders. "If you try to send electricity through all this," he said, "odds are the majority, if not all of it, will catch on fire. It might clear it away, but then you'll have to deal with the smell of burnt guano and a smell of poop that's even worse than this."

Velius had intended to listen but to go on with his plan regardless. Hearing Caraway's explanation, though, he had to forfeit. "You're kidding," he whispered in reply, and their only solution here becoming clear.

"I'm not," he said, letting go of Velius now that he had no intention to go through with his idea. "We have no choice but to just walk through it." He couldn't smell it, but he could definitely imagine stepping in poop; and that wasn't all that pleasant, either.
User avatar
Jaykobell
Retired Staff
Retired Staff
Pets | Items
Keystones: 4511
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 12:33 AM
Status: avatar by sleepysparrow!

[29] [30] [30]

Postby Jaykobell » 08/20/2017 2:09 AM

The desire to disintegrate all this guano crossed Velius's mind the whole time they walked through that section of the cave. There seemed to be another path a little ways away, right ahead. Hopefully there was something more interesting in the next section, and more than anything, Velius hoped it linked to another section so they wouldn't need to walk through this again.

Through it all, Braith made her discontent loud and clear. "If there's more bat shit in the next room," she growled, "I'm biting your head off, Velius."

Under normal circumstances where he wasn't walking on dried Batti feces in an underground cave, he would've stopped to question that threat. Instead, he opted to argue while they walked. "Why is this my fault?"

"You said this was going to be dangerous," she reminded him, "not that we'd be walking on shit!"
User avatar
Jaykobell
Retired Staff
Retired Staff
Pets | Items
Keystones: 4511
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 12:33 AM
Status: avatar by sleepysparrow!

[30] [31] [31]

Postby Jaykobell » 08/20/2017 2:27 AM

"Let me assure you," Velius replied as he glanced over his shoulder, "that I'd rather be doing anything else right now." Hopefully the crunchy sounds under his shoes made that point go across. The only one who didn't seem to mind it so much was Caraway, and that was only because he didn't have to deal with the smell.

"We're almost there," Caraway interrupted, pointing towards the opening mouth of a new tunnel. "Just a little more."

"That's easy for you to say!" Braith hissed, and her threat just made him walk faster.

"Now's not the time," Velius said to her. "More walking, less talking, and we'll be out of here soon."
User avatar
Jaykobell
Retired Staff
Retired Staff
Pets | Items
Keystones: 4511
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 12:33 AM
Status: avatar by sleepysparrow!

[31] [32] [32]

Postby Jaykobell » 08/20/2017 2:42 AM

It proved to be a good strategy. Before long, they were walking on clean rocky ground again. The smell continued, but at least it would soon be in the past.

The next tunnel was larger than the last, which allowed Braith to move in freely. Caraway mapped the previous area while they traveled through this tunnel now that he didn't have to pay attention to his steps. Not only that, but dropping the map or the pen in guano would've been simply awful. Velius kept to the front, leading the two down the path.

When they reached the end of the tunnel, they arrived upon a large room whose walls were filled with holes. They didn't look like tunnels to the rest of the cave; rather, they looked like nests.
User avatar
Jaykobell
Retired Staff
Retired Staff
Pets | Items
Keystones: 4511
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 12:33 AM
Status: avatar by sleepysparrow!

[32] [33] [33] [1]

Postby Jaykobell » 08/20/2017 2:49 AM

"What is this place?" Caraway asked as they stepped inside a little more, and besides the guano smell still lasting even over here, the air had gotten noticeably colder.

"Are those holes in the walls..." Braith narrowed her eyes and looked around the room, "... nests?" There were so many; the pattern didn't match the rest of the cave.

"That's my guess," Velius said in agreement. "If that's the case, then that means there are creatures living in here." Small white puffs of smoke appeared when they spoke now. The air wasn't cold enough to incapacitate them, but it was strange for it to have dropped so significantly.

It was then, in this room, that a voice called out to them. "Hey!" came an exclamation, followed by, "What are you doing in here?!"
User avatar
Jaykobell
Retired Staff
Retired Staff
Pets | Items
Keystones: 4511
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 12:33 AM
Status: avatar by sleepysparrow!

[33] [34] [34] [2]

Postby Jaykobell » 08/20/2017 2:53 AM

All three of them tensed upon hearing a fourth voice. Caraway clutched the map in his hands and brought it to his chest; Braith's fur stood on end, and she snarled as she tried to find the source; Velius didn't draw any weapons for the time being, and instead focused on looking for the source of the noise.

The walls were riddled with the same colorful crystals as earlier, but nothing else besides that that they could see. "Rude to ask a question," he called out as he turned and looked around, "without even showing yourself first." Whatever had spoken was sentient; maybe another explorer who had gotten caught up in this expedition. That was the best case scenario.

"Ugh, are you blind?" the voice replied. "Up here!"
User avatar
Jaykobell
Retired Staff
Retired Staff
Pets | Items
Keystones: 4511
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 12:33 AM
Status: avatar by sleepysparrow!

[34] [35] [35] [3]

Postby Jaykobell » 08/20/2017 2:59 AM

Try as they might, they still struggled to find the source of the voice. "Are all humans this stupid?" the voice asked, and if they could tell they were dealing with humans, then they couldn't be that far.

"Where is it coming from?" Caraway asked, turning to the other two. The plague mask obscured his vision somewhat, so he was definitely no help here.

"I don't see anything besides crystals in here," Velius groaned for a reply, squinting to try and pick up on movement.

Braith did much of the same, relying on her senses to find the source. Her ears and nose were sharper, so she was confident she would eventually find whoever was speaking. Her eyes got caught up on a bright flaming cluster of crystals, and at first she didn't pay much attention to it. "Wait." She did a double take, but she gasped. "There!" she exclaimed, craning her neck towards the ceiling. "That bright orange cluster!"
User avatar
Jaykobell
Retired Staff
Retired Staff
Pets | Items
Keystones: 4511
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 12:33 AM
Status: avatar by sleepysparrow!

[35] [35] [36] [4]

Postby Jaykobell » 08/20/2017 3:05 AM

Image
Once she'd pointed it out, they could see it clearly: it wasn't a cluster of crystals, but rather a living stone creature that had spoken to them. The Stargoyle stood up on all fours when they finally found it through all the crystals in the room. "Lucky you had the fox girl to help you," they said, and despite their features being made entirely of stone, their facial expressions were frighteningly humanistic as they raised an eyebrow.

Braith hissed. "Fox girl?!"

"Do you live here?" Velius asked, cutting that Stargoyle's attitude short. "What do you want?"

"Of course I live here," the Stargoyle answered, tilting their head. "And—" But they stopped midway. "But that's not important right now!"
User avatar
Jaykobell
Retired Staff
Retired Staff
Pets | Items
Keystones: 4511
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 12:33 AM
Status: avatar by sleepysparrow!

[36] [35] [37] [5]

Postby Jaykobell » 08/20/2017 3:12 AM

"You have to get out of here!" the Stargoyle insisted from their perch. "It's dangerous here!"

"Or so we've been told," Velius said, paying no real mind to the Stargoyle's warning. "So far, the worst part has been walking through those Battis' guano back there," he pointed out.

Braith hissed under her breath. "Why did you have to remind me?" she asked indignantly, and the remnants of the smell hit her nose again.

"What?" the Stargoyle said, confused at their nonchalance. "Hey, stupid human; I'm serious!" they said, craning their neck a little bit over the edge to look at Velius specifically. "Get out of here!" But as they repeated themselves, they could feel it in their hide. The little tremors.

"And if we don't?" Velius challenged. "What's going to happen?"

As he spoke, the tremors got worse; to the point where even they could feel them on the ground. The Stargoyle dug their claws in the stone. "That!"
User avatar
Jaykobell
Retired Staff
Retired Staff
Pets | Items
Keystones: 4511
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 12:33 AM
Status: avatar by sleepysparrow!

[37] [36] [38] [6]

Postby Jaykobell » 08/20/2017 3:19 AM

As they questioned the Stargoyle, the ground started to shake more violently. Small rocks started tumbling from the walls, including crystals, and it became a bit harder to maintain their balance. Velius tensed, Caraway put away the map, and Braith was ready to jump at whatever was coming their way.

After a bit of a wait, the trembling got worse; and soon enough, they realized that it wasn't just a natural earthquake. Something was charging towards them. "Get out!" the Stargoyle yelled again. "Get out of here!"

Their warning fell on deaf ears, and the group was soon ambushed by a massive rhino-like creature charging towards them at full force. That wasn't what they had expected; in the nick of time, Velius avoided that beast ramming into him at full force. "What are these things?!" he asked as he drew up his blades to retaliate.

"They're Wooly Torkens!" the Stargoyle shouted from above. "You're in their territory! Run before they kill you!" Were these humans daft? In what language did they have to explain this for them to understand?
User avatar
Jaykobell
Retired Staff
Retired Staff
Pets | Items
Keystones: 4511
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 12:33 AM
Status: avatar by sleepysparrow!

[38] [36] [39] [6]

Postby Jaykobell » 08/20/2017 3:27 AM

Velius was steeling himself to fight that beast when the Stargoyle's words truly registered. "Did you say they?" he asked, glancing above towards the rocky creature. "Are you saying—"

Before he could finish his sentence, the ground shook again, this time even more powerfully than before. The one Torken had also started making noise and that, together with the Stargoyle's words, suddenly all made sense: it was calling for help.

"It's a herd!" Velius called out to the other two. "It's calling for its herd!"

"No it won't!" With a mighty leap and a threatening growl, Braith tensed and lunged for the one Torken in the room, hoping to attack it from behind.

It had been a viable plan until the beast moved and whipped its fiery tail right at her. At her speed, she wasn't able to stop; she turned to try and change directions, but the flame hit her square in the shoulder and part of her side. She let out a pain-filled cry, and the burning sensation on her fur quickly turned from a burn to an icy frostbite.
User avatar
Jaykobell
Retired Staff
Retired Staff
Pets | Items
Keystones: 4511
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 12:33 AM
Status: avatar by sleepysparrow!

[39] [37] [40] [7]

Postby Jaykobell » 08/20/2017 3:46 AM

"They're usually fire creatures," the Stargoyle explained, "but this breed has ice as well! Run!"

"If we run now," Velius said, "they'll just chase us down the cave. We have to fight them." It wasn't an idea the group was keen on, but it was one they could agree with. Before long, a handful of Torkens appeared in the small room, circling the group of three.

Despite there being three of them, the beasts kept on focusing their attention towards Velius specifically. He was stuck having to deflect their attacks the majority of the time using light footwork, electricity, and small, quick blows to wear them out. Braith and Caraway did their best to get their attention, but they remained determined to attack Velius alone, and with their numbers, it was only a matter of time before he became outnumbered and overwhelmed.

At some point, the Torkens put more emphasis on trying to dispatch Braith and Caraway. This distracted them from helping Velius deal with the onslaught; although they kept an eye on him, their attention was taken up by the beasts.

Eventually, Velius managed to clear the ones that had been after him. He was left panting and regaining his strength after the fact, but overall, he had managed to keep them at bay, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Braith kicked one in the sides after avoiding a charge, and in that moment, she turned to check on Velius; and her heart stopped. "Velius!" she screamed, and in that split second, she realized her mistake.

He turned to look at her; and that was all the distraction the one Torken had needed to ram into him horn-first.
User avatar
Jaykobell
Retired Staff
Retired Staff
Pets | Items
Keystones: 4511
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 12:33 AM
Status: avatar by sleepysparrow!

[40] [38] [41] [8]

Postby Jaykobell » 08/20/2017 4:02 AM

Velius felt the wind get knocked out of him as the Torken rammed into him. That ram alone would have been enough to knock him out for a matter of minutes; but the Torken wasn't stopping there. The beast increased its speed and dragged Velius along the floor until they hit the nearest cave wall, crushing him against the rocks. The hit caused him indescribable pain, and he yelled from feeling the tiny razor-sharp rocks stabbing him all over the back of his body, and from the pressure the Torken was applying to his body from the front.

Both Braith and Caraway screamed out his name, but they couldn't help him; the other Torkens stepped in-between them and Velius, forcing them to fight them first. "Velius!" Braith screamed between blows. "Get up!" she begged him. "Run!"

"Now you understand what it means?!" the Stargoyle screeched from their perch, and had they not been so high up, Braith would've gotten them involved in this stupid brawl.

The Torken stepped back after pressing Velius against the wall for a moment, and Velius fell to the ground, losing his balance. The pain left him paralyzed, but he forced his body to push through it so he could try to make a run for it; but the Torken wasn't done with him. The beast came in for a finishing blow; it lowered its head, and just at the right moment, it lifted its head up; and impaled its horn right through Velius's body.

The blood gushed out; everything was screaming in agony; his flesh was being torn apart; he could feel the skin pulling and tugging; the pain was so significant that he couldn't bring himself to scream. Instead, he coughed blood all over the Torken's head and face, and the rest of his pierced body bled out. Had it been anyone else, they would've already been dead; or they would be dying in a moment.

But Velius wasn't just anybody.

He used whatever strength he had left to put his hands onto the Torken's head. He was bleeding through gritted teeth, and his body was tense; but then he narrowed his eyes, and he smiled. "H-hey, buddy," he said to the beast, "let me tell you a little something..." He tightened his grip on the Torken's face.

"You can't kill someone if they're already dead."
User avatar
Jaykobell
Retired Staff
Retired Staff
Pets | Items
Keystones: 4511
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 12:33 AM
Status: avatar by sleepysparrow!

[41] [39] [42] [8]

Postby Jaykobell » 08/20/2017 4:21 AM

The animal didn't have time to react. Right as Velius was done talking, he concentrated as much electricity as he could right into that Torken's body. The beast started to scream, letting out bloodcurdling cries; and in a heartbeat, its body inflated and burst like a balloon with a bone-chilling pop. Blood, flesh, and organs went flying everywhere, covering the floor, the walls, and anything else that had been standing nearby, including some of the other Torkens. Braith and Caraway were victims of the splash, getting some blood speckled all over them.

The gruesome act had been enough to terrify the rest of the herd. With horrified cries, the beasts ran away with their tails between their legs and back into the tunnels they'd come from, leaving behind them three disheveled explorers and one of their comrades in literal pieces.

Velius slumped down on the ground. Aside from the pain, his hands were now slightly burned from the amount of electricity he'd put out; that amount of power had given him backlash, but it was just a tiny little sting compared to everything else that was happening to his body. He gripped whatever he had for a stomach, and he felt the pain swell up in his throat; and he bent over to throw up.

"Velius!" Braith and Caraway both screamed, panicked, and they ran over to his side as quickly as they could.

"I—Hold on," Caraway said as they reached their nearly-dead teammate, shuffling inside his bag with bloodied gloves. "I—I must have something to help, I—"

"Stop," Velius said in a raspy voice, and if he could, he would've raised a hand to motion to Caraway to stop. "I don't... need anything."

"What?" Caraway squeaked in disbelief.

"Are you insane?!" Braith roared into his face, the force knocking back his hair and hood just a little. "Have you looked at yourself?!" How this man was still alive was nothing short of a miracle.

"I don't... I can't... The shard..." He coughed up some blood. "I'll... regenerate this." There wasn't much time to explain the fine details. "I'm already..."

He stopped, and he leaned against the cave wall a little. "I don't... feel... so good," he mumbled awkwardly, and his eye rolled over before he slumped down on the ground with a loud thud. Both Braith and Caraway had stepped in to catch him, but as Velius fell, a glow enveloped his body; and in place of the severely injured human lay an equally damaged Zipala, unconscious.
User avatar
Jaykobell
Retired Staff
Retired Staff
Pets | Items
Keystones: 4511
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 12:33 AM
Status: avatar by sleepysparrow!

PreviousNext

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


cron