It took Ash a moment to recover from the hard impact. Naixi walked over to her, headbutting her knees as if to ask if she was all right. Ash smiled and gave Naixi some pats on her forehead to reassure her. "I'm fine, it's-" She cut herself off when the air changed, grew heavier. The faint torchlight from the camp was drowned out by a sudden red glow that filled the area. Ash whirled around in a panic, forgetting that the Will-o-the-wisp might have still been there, and pushing through the sudden surge of dizziness and pain that streaked through her temple. It was the Will-o-the-wisp... but what was once a warm glow reminiscent of a fireplace was now a malevolent blood red. Ash watched in confusion and fear as it sunk into the ground. Simultaneously, her head began to fill with fury, with agonized betrayal, the fiery wish to burn everyone else in the world to cinders- Stelluna's voice cut through the swirl of emotions that Ash could only just begin to separate from her own. "Y-yeah," Ash said, looking back to the other woman. "I'm with you." Naixi stood tense at her side, confused by the rush of emotions that Ash was transmitting through their empathy link. But before they had a chance to do anything else, something stirred in the bushes in front of them. First it was one form, then two, then five, then at least a dozen humanoid figures shambling out of the forest, still bathed in that horrible red light. All were horribly emaciated, as if their bodies had been drained of all moisture. And all but one were wearing cloaks just like the one that Stelluna had found. "I- I think we found the caravan members," Ash said as they closed in.
Stelluna drew her spear once more, this time to hurt things that weren't friendly. It was a strange twist of fate, she accepted a job to protect a caravan and now she was killing what was left of it. With that idle musing out of the way, Stelluna charged forward, there were things to kill and she wasn't going to miss out on any of it. She aimed for one of the more isolated undead, giving it a quick stab in the chest before drawing back. The creature continued shambling forward, not paying any attention to the wound before leaping at Stelluna. Still recovering from her first strike, she didn't have a chance to dodge before being sent to the ground. The undead proceeded to try and bite Stelluna before a vine pulled the creature. Scrambling for her spear, she rolled away from her attacker before giving it a quick kick to the head.Getting onto her feet, she quickly let out a thrust with her spear. This time, the blade sunk deep into the creature's stomach. It froze for a moment before letting out a blood chilling cry and struggling even more, claws slashing wildly. A few of the swings managed to graze her leg but she didn't pay them any mind before stomping on the creature's head. While it was dazed, she planted her feet onto its chest, drew back her spear and slammed down with her spear butt. The undead's skull finally gave way and it struggled no more. Oddly enough, there was no sign of blood on her spear. Just a few chunks of dried, sticky flesh. Stelluna turned around to see Ash sending sending out waves of plant acid, thorns and vines towards the main horde. Naixi was clawing and tearing her way through, pouncing upon the more disabled undead. The beasts were tough but normally quite slow until they got close enough to leap. She would just have to be more careful with her strikes, Ash saved her last time but she might not be so fortunate the next. While not really equipped to deal with such foes, Stelluna always enjoyed a challenge. Gripping her spear tightly, she wandered into the fray once more. This time a little more cautious.
As the horde approached, Ash did what she knew how to do best: keep them occupied. She probably would have to learn some more offensive spells since she couldn't keep relying on other people forever. Naixi was faithful as always and ready to jump into battle the moment her vines started restraining the... zombies? Were they zombies? She'd call them zombies. Well, regardless, Stelluna also got to work. She didn't shy away from getting her hands dirty, that was for sure. Ash watched her fight in awe. She was a bit jealous of how easily Stelluna was able to dispatch of one of the zombies. Okay, so that was one down. Naixi was finishing off another. And now most of the zombies were thrashing about in the vines, unable to move. But for some reason it seemed like her vines were withering away faster than normal, and she constantly had to pump energy into the vines to keep them healthy. She still wasn't able to get all of them, and the vines she wasn't able to save curled up as they dried out, only husks of their usual selves... Just like the zombies. It was the Will-o-the-wisp. The red light must have been draining things of energy. And now coming to that realization, Ash took sudden notice of just how sluggish she was feeling, as if everything took more effort than it needed to. Naixi looked more tired than she should have been, after only this brief of a scuffle. And there were still more undead coming...
As Ash kept most of the undead occupied, Stelluna realized how tired she was. Just after slaying one of those things? She watched as the undead started to try and chew their way through the vines that Ash created. But they way the fought off the vines, a quick slash of their claws would have freed them easier. A sudden realization struck her, they were hungry for life. Something had drained them and Stelluna had a feeling that whatever had done so was connected to the wisp. Their lack of focus on actually attacking allowed Stelluna and Naixi to easily pick off the trapped undead. Blows to the head seemed to put them down the fastest and the lion seemed to have figured that out as well. There were more coming but those were still far off. The first wave of undead eventually fell and Stelluna felt like she was about to collapse. She wasn't a big expert in animals either but the lion looked similarly drained. Ash seemed to be in better shape than either of them but not the freshest either. A few more trailing undead shambled forward and Stelluna had to steady herself on her spear. She was about to charge forward before a wave of malevolent energy passed over her. Breathing was difficult, she was blind and her legs gave way to the ground. Then it passed, she looked at the undead only to see them falling apart and the wisp gone. She knew Ash had some magical skill but this was particularly impressive given how it just wiped out 3 undead at the same time. Picking herself up, she was about to congratulate Ash when a sudden a familiar but faint glow filled the field. She turned towards the source of the light and found a single, skeletal hand gripping a glowing, tarnished blade protruding from the earth in the middle of where the last undead fell.
Ash watched with her mouth agape as Stelluna collapsed, three zombies looming over her and ready to tear her to shreds. She tried desperately to reach out to Stelluna, not quite knowing what she was going to do. All she knew was that she had to try and save the other woman. Naixi roared, sensing her desperation, but the lion was busy fending off a pair of zombies on her own. And then the shockwave hit her. Between the strange energy drain from the wisp and the blast, Ash stumbled backwards and tripped over a root, sending her sprawling to the ground. She managed to bash the exact same spot on her head against the ground, causing her vision to black out for a moment. When the shockwave passed, Ash scrambled back to her feet, ignoring the headache that had gone from 'barely there at all' to 'someone really impatient knocking angrily on the door of my skull'. Stelluna was on the ground but she appeared unharmed; the three zombies that were menacing her had also been thrown back. Naixi had assumed a low stance like she was bracing herself against the earth--she had dispatched one zombie and the other was sprawled across the earth just like the three around Stelluna- -and then she saw the skeletal hand emerge from the dirt. Before her eyes another hand joined it, then an arm, then an entire withered body hauled itself out of the ground. Ash's eyes widened as she stared into a dark grimy skull, rotten flesh sluicing off bone. "What is that?" she asked, voice climbing in pitch as she moved closer to Stelluna to help her up. Before there was any answer to that question, the figure raised a hand and clenched its fist in the air. The zombie bodies that were beginning to get up twitched, spasmed, and then withered away to dust. Curls of something smoky drifted off their bodies, pulled in towards the skull like it was inhaling them. It was absorbing something from those bodies, Ash thought, seeing its movements become less jerky, more natural. The red, sickly light from its eye sockets reflected off its chipped blade as it took one step towards them, then another, then lunged.
Stelluna rolled to the side after seeing the skeleton jump. The blade struck the ground next to her and she winced as the grass started to decay. When the skeleton swung again she just barely managed to bring her spear to parry the blade. The beast was still relentless and was about to let loose another strike before 130kg of lion came smashing into it. Naixi quickly backed off to avoid retaliatory swings before looking for another opportunity to strike. The glowing blade was sent across the field and the skeleton rushed after it, its movements starting to degenerate. Stelluna made to follow but when the skeleton retrieved its sword, a blast of energy was emitted from the blade and she lost her footing. The skeleton was upon her once again and she didn't manage to avoid the next strike. Searing hot pain sliced through her leg as the blade sunk effortlessly to the bone; from the wound a burst of black smoke poured out and was absorbed into the skull. Frenzied, the skeleton made for another strike before a vine restrained its weapon hand. That made it the second time Ash saved her, a bit embarrassing but she was alive at the moment; it wasn't a big deal in the grand scheme of things. Brute force wasn't the answer and she was already drained from the battle before. She managed to crawl away and get a bit of time to recover before she saw the skeleton manage to claw and slice its way out of the vines. Her leg was painful but functional, more than she could ask after seeing the grass rot just by touching the blade. Something that resembled a plan started to form in her mind. If she could get her hands on that sword, she might be able to turn the tables. A sword wasn't exactly her type of weapon but she wouldn't need skill to hit a restrained target. She called out to Ashiore, "Try to grab that thing's arm, I'll be going for its sword. Might be able to turn things around and give it a taste of its own medicine if I get a good hit in."
Ooh, not great, not great! Ash jerked backwards when the skeleton stabbed at her and Stelluna. She was most definitely not meant for any close-ranged encounters, unlike Stelluna who managed to deflect the blow with her spear. The blade impacted the grass nearby, and Ash's eyes widened as she saw the grass wither within seconds. ...Seconds that she really shouldn't have spent watching the grass! As the skeleton drew back to strike again, Naixi covered for her lapse in attention by tackling the undead, her large claws raking through the brittle bones. The sword tumbled through the air but the skeleton was recovering quickly, pushing Naixi off and rushing to draw its weapon again. Okay, okay, um, all right, this wasn't her first fight, she could- Fast as lightning, some kind of energy shot out from the skeleton and staggered Stelluna, who was moving to charge after the monster. In the half-second of imbalance that the blast provided, the skeleton had already crossed the distance and stabbed the other woman in the leg. 'Damn it!' Ash thought. In a panic, she threw her hand out and chanted another vine spell, managing to snag the skeleton's arm before it could land another, more fatal blow on Stelluna. It bought enough time for Stelluna to hobble away, but it looked as if even mere contact with the monster was enough to cause them to shrivel. Not good. She was already running low on energy, any more bursts and she'd risk a Mind Down. Which was definitely something to avoid when fighting a large life-draining skeleton. Stelluna's voice caught her attention then, and she listened to the other woman's plan. It was a good idea. Best chance they had. "You got it!" Ash said. Now that the skeleton was hacking away and moving towards them, it'd be more difficult than if she was trying to grasp onto a stationary target. But it was do or die now. Naixi lurked in the background, ready to pounce the second Ash let her magic loose. Ash focused, chanting lightly and forcing the energy through as a little tendril sprouted from the ground. Instantly the energy tried to consume it, but she poured more and more energy to the vine right as the skeleton broke free of her earlier one. "Now!" she shouted, and lassoed the vine around the skeleton's sword-wielding hand.
Hearing Ash's signal, Stelluna dashed forward. When she reached the trapped skeleton, she made a grab for the sword handle. The skeleton had a literal death grip on the handle, clutching it so tight that grooves were worn in. Struggling against the empowered beast's strength, Stelluna decided to cut things short and knee arm holding the sword. While the blow didn't manage to break the arm, the skeleton was staggered enough such that Stelluna could force the blade into its other arm. The blade scraped against bone and black smoke started to cover the duo. Its grip started to faltered and she took full advantage of it. She managed to get ahold of the blade and swung for its skull. Even with minimal sword experience, the bone was parted without much issue. Stelluna felt a surge of strength and struck again. More power, more chunks of bone flew through the air and the smoke just kept on getting thicker and thicker. Uncharacteristically for her, she felt pure rage pulsing through her body. She wanted revenge, this thing ripped away a job opportunity, killed a dozen or so people and almost killed her. So there she was, hacking away at the remains; the black smoke was so thick that she couldn't even tell that what she was hitting anymore. In her frenzy, she didn't notice a crack along the blade grow wider and wider with each strike into the ground. Eventually, the blade couldn't take any more abuse and shattered. Steluna's borrowed strength left her and she was left utterly drained. Dead tired, clutching a broken sword hilt, she fell over and passed out in the middle of the dirt, dead grass and bits of bone.
Uh. Well, that was... impressive. Ash watched--'And didn't she seem to be doing that a lot lately?' she thought, slightly bitter at herself. 'Standing back and watching as other people took care of things.'--as a surge of strength seemed to find Stelluna as she practically tore the skeleton to pieces. Naixi had been ready to leap into battle alongside Stelluna, but even she hesitated now. The ferocity with which the elven woman attacked the skeleton was almost... unnatural... Ash let out a small gasp as she noticed the black mist swirling around Stelluna. It thickened quickly, until she could barely see the grappling duo. Her concentration faded and the vine spell was dispelled, but it didn't matter with how much of a beating Stelluna was giving the skeleton. Calling the woman's name didn't seem to have any effect. Naixi had padded over to Ash's side and Ash gratefully accepted what comfort she could get by petting Naixi. She didn't know what to do. What the smoke was, whether Stelluna was all right, what the hell she could actually do in this situation. She was worthless! The sound of shattering metal caught her attention. Her head snapped up in time to see little shards of brittle metal fly all around. The general air of darkness and malevolence seemed to fade, just as the smoke was now doing. There was only one figure standing: Stelluna. Scattered all around her were bits of crumbled bone and broken sword, the only sign that the skeleton had even existed. As Ash was about to rush over, Stelluna took one, tiny step. Then her whole body sagged and she collapsed to the ground, clearly unconscious. "Stelluna!" If she was worried before, this kicked it up a notch. Or ten. Or a thousand. Naixi was by her side as she rolled Stelluna onto her back, quickly looking for any injuries. Nothing too major that she could see, barring the one wound to her leg. Ash had maybe enough energy to cast a quick healing spell but any more than that was pushing it for herself as well. "Naixi, help me with this," she said, maneuvering Stelluna's body around. There was no way that Ash was going to be able to carry Stelluna all the way back to the village. Naixi was going to have to haul Stelluna on her back. Thankfully it wasn't too difficult to get Stelluna secure and ready to move. And they weren't too far from the village. Things went quick as they returned. Their appearance had caused a general sense of alarm and there were more than enough people willing to go investigate out in the woods to make sure that there weren't any more malevolent undead lurking about. An innkeeper offered to house Stelluna until she recovered, and the local apothecary volunteered her services as well. Well, it wasn't like there was anything Ash could do for her now, so she let the pair take Stelluna from Naixi. Asking around let her find the merchant who had sent the order in the first place. Explaining the situation took a lot more of Ash's energy than she thought. But the grisly fate of the caravan seemed to snuff any urge for recompense or outrage the merchant might have felt. Good, that wasn't something that Ash felt she could deal with right now. Everything done, Ash sighed in exhaustion. It was getting late in the real world too, judging by the time of day. With one last worried glance over to where Stelluna was being treated, Ash logged out. She hoped that Stelluna would be okay, and that they'd meet each other again.
