The Bandit King | Page 6

• 378/500 HP
• 90/140 EN

Vivian had exhausted herself from the battle. As her eyes flickered to the battering ram of fists coming towards her, the ants that would have ended them all were felled by the thundering hooves of Zeus. With her body covered in Stone Skin, the woman shifted her gaze to the rowdy God of Thunder, everything seemed like a blur and the battle seemed to fade. She stretched a sharp smile as everyone seemed so enamored by the Thunder God; he truly was a magnificent specimen, even a woman as she felt a little beat of her heart swoon for the man. How could she not? Aalam had stated he had a new objective, to kill the Queen of Ants and fight alongside Zeus or at least until that was over. But Aalam had been playing the side of the Aristocrats, why would he help Zeus? Vivian turned and twisted her body, a hand reaching out to Lucia.

“My Love…What have I done? I made a mess of things for you, I am sorry for that. I don’t know what has come over me. I was just…I can’t explain myself. I felt more alive now than I have ever felt before. But I might sit this one out, I feel a little weak and light headed. I do not trust Aalam, as soon as the Ant Queen is dead, he may go straight for Zeus. For my sins this night, I ask you atone but one. I beg you; protect Zeus with everything you have. He might be necessary for us in the future. Go to them, help them. I’m just gonna rest for a moment.”

Aalam had spoken to her. She would only give a brief gesture of her hand to him, nodding that they would indeed settle this. The woman put a hand on the stone wall as she swept hair and dirt from her face. Vivian watched as the last of the forces left to see the awe-inspiring Zeus. She shifted her head and fell to her knees; the wound in her body from the well placed arrow caused her to collapse. She smiled sharply once more as she sat on her knees with her hands to the ground. Her eyes showing a flicker of violet overcoming the warm azure. She looked up as her witch hat fluttered off her head, her hands swashing over the dirt. She inhaled sharply and ripped the arrow free from her wound and grunted heavily from the pain coursing through her. She swallowed hard and her lips moistened by her split tongue. She sat and pulled her legs together, there was only one final thing to do.

Action Summary: Vivian is staying behind to...

Tracker / --​

 

• 364 HP
• 90 EN

Lucia was miffed when the bottle was taken from her, particularly by Emil who was on the fence. At least if it was someone trying to succeed in the mission, she could have attacked them or rooted them with a clean conscience but Emil was different, he was trying to play the game his own way, without the quest controlling his actions, it made her choice a little harder until she saw him smash the bottle and grind it into the dirt. A pleased expression on her face as she nodded back to @Emil Trevelyan . "They might come for us in the future, but even so, I'm playing this game my way. If I incur anyone's wrath-- I'll deal with it when the time comes. If you're worried about your ability to contend with their people in the future, I can give you some of my notes on Dark magic. There are a variety of fields I dabbled in but didn't explore fully to save on time." She explained with her typical gentle smile.

@Endilix Takagi's struggles however were largely in vain, Lucia didn't persist in binding the man once the vial was destroyed. With a soft gesture the Tendrils stopped struggling to keep hold of him, slowly dissolving into nothingness as they faded away as if dissolving into the air. "It was worthwhile stopping you guys. Who knows, maybe he'll be willing to teach you guys a thing or too as thanks for stopping the scheme." She playfully tempted with a mature chuckle into her palm. Letting the man go, she tried to give him a soft pat when Aalam was done talking, her smile bright and hopeful as she continued. "If you want to see for yourself, I'll encourage you. It takes adversity and struggle to grow, to cut through the fetters of other people's schemes and plans to become the master of your own fate." She offered some advice before making a few gestures in his direction. A ghastly image slowly took shape but the ethereal ghost light would only try to pass into Endilix, the energy it was composed of was used to heal wounds and erase some of the burns and injuries.

Her intention was clear though, she turned forward towards Alice giving the little girl a gentle gesture. "Alice, dear, support me. We're going to join Zeus in the tunnel. Perhaps when we get deeper within I'll call you some friends to join you." She spoke with a soft smile knowing that her subordinate was one of the most useful to have as a solo guardian, but numbers had always been Necromancy's advantage. "As for the rest of you-- Feel free to join, at this juncture, I feel I'll be better support then I will a slayer. If my side, I'll endeavor to keep you fighting fit." She spoke with a hum of thought as she began to follow behind Zeus with Alice in toe watching her silently from those glaring eyes at the end of her tentacle arms.

Action Summary: Heal Endilix with Spirit Magic. Alice taking a reactive stance; If people attack her, she defends by receiving the blow.

Tracker / Roll​

 

• 337/500 HP
• 65/100 EN

It was a dead end. Whatever had happened had left this tunnel in ruins. There was no way for Endilix to get to the top and do as Aalam had asked. So now what?

Faintly, Endilix heard more shouting. Must have been Zeus. He would have to head back to help his group.

He turned and threw himself down the tunnel, pumping his legs as hard as they would go, catching up just in time to see Zeus don his, admittedly, very badass armor. But he had been injured. Endilix wondered how long this could go on. How long he could survive and endure a fight like this.

There was only one thing for Endilix to do. He had to do all he could to protect the man.

Without any further thought, Endilix ran out in front after the lightning impact. He kept his shield at the ready in front of the armored hero, not looking back as he said, “Zeus! Your people need you! You will not die this day! My life is nothing compared to what these people see in you. Your power, your presence. It’s a hope I can even meet a fraction of your power someday. Until then, continue to lead the Lions. They need you! Stay alive and survive!”

Endilix was an idiot. A giant, wishy-washy idiot. But here he was, flimsy shield raised high against a monstrosity that would no doubt kill him, to protect a man he was supposed to kill.

Provided he managed to survive the attack, he powered up his Heroic Might. He’d rip off the ant’s offending appendage, or die trying. Provided he didn’t die in the first place.

Action Summary: Endilix sets up to defend Zeus, taking the next attack instead of him. If he survives, he’ll try to use Heroic Might to rip the attacking appendage off the beast.

Tracker​

 

• 450 HP
• 95 EN

Her footfalls cracked like thunder as she ran through the cavern, towards the castle and safety. She could still hear Zeus's almost comical dialogue ringing down the halls, mixed with confused screaming as all hell broke loose somewhere behind her.

Madison stopped for a moment, nearly doubling over with exhaustion. She braced herself against the cool earth with one hand as she sucked in breath after breath, trying to regain enough energy to continue on towards freedom.

The battle raged on without her. Not that anyone would notice--hell, how inexperienced had she been when she picked up the mission from the Aristocracy? The witch had no business being there. And yet, she thought she could learn a thing or two, hanging around with veteran players.

Veteran players who probably saw her bail on them. Weak noodle Maddy Freebird, running away from the first sign of danger.

Hell of a first impression.

Cursing to herself, Madison stood up. A small part of her considered going back. Going back to what? Probably death. More than likely death, actually. But this nagging thought formed in her mind... What lied ahead, in the castle?

These Lion dudes or whatever they were called were looking to rush the Bandit King's fortress. They were already here, probably laying waste to the scant few mercenaries the king had kept around. When she made it back to the castle proper, would she find herself alone? Would they automatically assume that she was one of the enemy? The black ensemble she wore and funky hairstyle she picked out in character creation screamed "I'm totally one of the bad guys, kids".

They'd kill her in a heartbeat, if they were still around.

If they were still around.

Considering how her luck had been lately, they probably were.

At least back in the tunnels, she could hide behind some of the others. The others who may have seen her bail on them. The others who, if they survived this, would inform the Aristocracy of her cowardice, potentially locking her out of a myriad of lucrative job offers and grabs at power.

Madison, torn over which course of action would be the one that would damn her more, dropped a few choice F-bombs before turning back towards the chaos in the caverns. At least her Aristocracy teammates (to put it loosely) had backup in the form of the giant fucking guy with the heroic dialogue generator they were sent to kill in the first fucking place.

It didn't take her long to get back to the intersection. Even as she drew closer, she could make out the endless shadowy, twitching figures of monstrous ants swarming around... oh maaaan, this was a huge mistake.

Madison had laid eyes on the queen ant. The damn thing practically filled the tunnel, dwarfing even Zeus as the leader of the Lion Guys (and Gals) charged it, blood pouring from wounds in his abdomen.

Heroes never do know when to quit, do they, she bitterly mused to herself as she tried to figure out what she was going to do next.

...Magic. A spell of some sort. She was not powerful, barely could even be called an apprentice at this point; hobbyist was more fitting. But she did have a handful of Black Magic spells in her arsenal, from weeks of studying the art on her own.

The witch flicked open her palm menu, and selected Magic as quick as she could. Flicking into Assist Mode, she frantically scrolled down her list until she found something she liked.

Madison wasn't sure if it would work, but considering the cramped quarters of the tunnel, the queen ant wouldn't have much room to maneuver around if everything went according to plan. A little spell to induce blindness of the goddamn thing; something that would at least prevent her from properly aiming those dangerous-looking legs and pincers of hers. The queen would have to resort to flailing around, something that would prove impossible considering its size. From there, perhaps it would be easier to handle.

She flicked the menu away and cracked her knuckles. Here goes nothing.

Madison pictured the queen ant in her mind's eye, focusing solely on the monster. She chanted the first word of the incantation, and felt the game wrest control from her to handle the rest.


Action Summary: Madison casts a spell to blind the queen ant.

78+10=88
Tracker / Roll​

 

• 450 HP
• 95 EN

Meeting the legendary Zeus a second time in the span of about twenty minutes would have been overpowering for the young Wizard. His personality, his charm, the amount of space that he filled up by merely standing close to Emil; all these thoughts rushed through his head coupled with his original mission. The Bandit King wanted him dead and the Aristocracy had given them the job to do it. Them, newbie players with a few vets, take down the legendary leader of the Lion’s Pride.

It had been a suicide mission. All of Anthony’s reading, movie watching, and novice attempts at novel echoed the idea. And it amazed him, to a certain extent, that the AI in this game would be so intelligent as to devise this as a plan.

Emil’s one golden eye glanced at the two newcomers who threw themselves into the battle. He couldn’t help but wince when his attention flicked back to their adversary. That queen ant could squish them like a grape between her pincers. If they stayed here, they were dead, for sure, but it wasn’t like Emil to merely leave, merely give up because the odds were against him. He could wield fire magic and hell, that’s what he was going to do.

Exhaling, he flipped open his grimoire and felt a surge of heat envelop him. His words whispered through the air, a tiny plume of smoke curling from the corner of his mouth. Beneath the ant’s legs, the ground began to bubble and steam before a fountain of flames erupted below it, hopefully trapping the main parts of its torso within the column of fire.

Action Summary: Casting Pillar of Flame under the main part of the Ant's Torso

74 + 20 + 10 = 104
Tracker / Roll

adept pyromancy = 20 . common weapon = 10
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• 400 HP
• 75 EN

"Whoa!" Iván did not have time to marvel at the Queen Ant. As soon as he started to take notes of it in his head, it tried to attack them, all of them, but again, Zeus came to their rescue. Iván almost felt apologetic at every bad thing he had associated with the Pride, with Zeus, even at joining the Aristocracy and the mission that involved doing away with him.

Although Iván was the first to bolt after Zeus, he hesitated at the sight of the tunnel, allowing Endilix to jump in before him. It was starting to seem to Iván that Endilix had a habit of jumping in before anyone else, narrowing his eyes at his display of heroics. Endilix might've joined the wrong team. Regardless of his personal bias, however, Iván knew it would be a waist if he didn't try and experiment. He wondered if his magic would measure up against such a magnificent and massive creature.

Swiping his hand to the right, Iván opened his spells panel and quickly chose something he thought would work wonders, aiming squarely at the Queen Ant's face. If he succeeded, the Queen Ant would be deceived into seeing her own soldiers attacking her instead of them. Maybe it would inspire a momentary empathy and confuse her into inaction even for just a few moments. That was probably included in its programming, right? It would be quite interesting to see what was going to happen.

Action Summary: Iván uses his illusion magic to make it appear to the Queen Ant that she was being attacked by her own soldiers.

93
Tracker / Roll​

 

• 364 HP
• 80 EN

Lucia frowned deeply seeing Zeus take off again. She was worried the hero would bite off more then he could chew. Even if he was a legendary figure, he was still getting on in years. Without hesitation, Lucia darted after the rest, with Alice at her side, the little girl sprinted with inhuman movements of moving with the help of the tentacles and blade arm like a skittering beast as her limbs contorted at odd angles to increase her speed. The first one to leap down being Alice, Lucia followed with a loud and hate filled shout. "ALICE CHANGE!" She cried as the creature beneath her suddenly rippled. Flesh bursting from the whole in her chest, as if the creature were discarding it's 'skin suit'.

By the time it landed, what was once a little girl had changed into an abomination. It's stature and musculature similar to the Werewolves that had attacked Astorea not long ago, but rather then fur, it's body was covered with shiny armor plates that had come from the ants it had devoured on the way in. It's facial structure was largely human, with insectoid mandibles and jagged canine teeth but it's cheeks had been ripped open allowing it's bite to be deeper and more vicious. Rather then a tail, a large centepede like creature writhed at the small of it's back making chittering sounds that would make a person crawl as it's little pointed legs squirmed flailing it's body about. With claws outstretched and it's armored frame stepping forward, it let out an otherworldly squeal in an attempt to intimidate and frighten. All the while, Lucia fell down close behind, landing at the creature's back, with a hand out to catch it's plated armor at the base of it's neck as a handhold to mount her summoned creature knowing that if Alice failed, it was unlikely she'd survive the backlash.

@Raid Master Looking to Zeus, Lucia couldn't help flashing a bitter smile. "I've always lived a life of being unneeded and unnecessary. My life would be worth little even if I should escape this place, for you however, Zeus, even if you only have a few more years left in you, you could use that time to help true heroes grow and develop. If one of us must waste away in this place, it will be ME." She tried to assert as the monstrous creature stepped forward to intercept the next queen's attack, intending to do so with Endilix supporting. Meanwhile, Lucia gestured towards Zeus, making a series of hand signals in his direction, the hand seals rapidly moved at a blinding speed before releasing a dull lavender glow. The ethereal energy of spirit magic tried to mend what wounds she could, hoping to make a difference, to give the heroic figure more strength as she supported him knowing that even if they tried protecting him, there was a good chance that the man would take the brunt of the blow for them regardless.



Action Summary: Alice joins Endilix in his defense of Zeus to share damage and minimize the damage she takes as well. Lucia heals Zeus for 15/40 + spirit magic modifier

Tracker / Roll​

 

• 617 HP
• 67 EN

As they made their way deeper into the cave, he heard a voice carried on the wind. It was nice a melodic tone that was bearing words that spoke of his damnation and death. It seemed that Vivian had taken that arrow he had impaled her with personally. Well, that was a shame he would have like to settle thing right here and now preferable with one of them dying in the damp and dark. However, it seemed that this would be solved at a later date. He was getting tired of her getting involved in his matters, and he was sure it was vice versa. There was very little hope in his mind that they would be able to reach an agreement in a non-violent manner. If only she were Abe to turn the poetry and curses onto things that he was not involved with, her love life for example. He was sure there was a sex slave tied up some were in her room, the woman was messed up in the head. There was a limit to what was still consider kinky and not just freaky.

However, those thoughts would have to put on hold as he saw Zeus move the man was power, of that there was no doubt. If he were able to take an attack from a creature of that size their original plan would have been doomed to failure. Zeus would have killed them in seconds; Aalam did wonder how the handler would react. They needed to act as much as it freaked him out to be working alongside whatever Alice was he had a job to do. Many tasks to do if Endilix as able to get that map to the duke it would help to turn the flow of battle up there to the players favor. And well that queen was not a pretty sight there were few things in this world that needed to be killed outright, and that was one of them. Pulling a black-shafted arrow from his quiver as he looked at the beast, his mind forming a plan as he drew back the arrow.

They would need to cripple the beast take out its weight-bearing legs or its eyes; there were rules to creatures after all. If they were able to take those tow limb in the front, it would force the beast to stager and its blinding it would give Zeus a better chance. So he picked his target aiming to take out one of the creature's eyes and hopefully blind it on one side. As he let is arrow lose he spoke and order to King, he knew that the bird would hear him. "Take the other eye."

Action: Firing an arrow into the queen's eye and order king to take the other.

Tracker/roll​

 

• 400 HP
• 75 EN

Portia understood none of the political affairs announced out loud, followed by threats and great displays of power threatening to tear a group apart as if the difference of interests already hadn't. The name of the nation founded by players sounded foreign in her ears as she had never bothered to investigate any further than how to disable the pain and combat settings, besides installing the game, of course.

It wasn't the meaningless fighting what spurred her into action, but rather the sudden manifestation of the person who they'd been tasked with killing. His visage was like none other, immediately pulling the white-haired girl's attention to his frame as he showcased the unnatural abilities which made him the legend all the bandits came to fear. The legend that was a father figure to all of the Lions, the legend they'd meant to kill with a single vial of poison with its remains now scattered across the floor. In his kindness, he bore a promise of his return on his lips, completely ignoring the dire situation of the aristocrats in front of him.

Zeus left just as quick as he had initially appeared, leaving the band of mercenaries with few choices on the table for them to choose from. They could remain immobile and risk dying to the Ant Queen's wrath, or they could put their personal agendas aside and deal with the new threat. When time came to choose one alternative over the other, for Portia, at least, the answer became clear.

''It would seem now we all agree on something. Staying alive is such a powerful motive...'' With a swift motion of her hand did she materialize the game's UI on her palm as she ran with the others, making quick swipes and taps to regain her normal appearance with equipment that would better suit the current situation. Because of the pressing matters, however, the girl had no time to tie her hair into the braid usually found on her avatar, and so she allowed this small detail to go unattended, tucking the messy strands of hair behind her ears, out of her vision. That would be a problem later on considering her fighting style.

Portia didn't dare neglect the opportunity presented amidst the chaos. If her companions were to incapacitate the beast, then so would she. Her shoulders tensed and her breath caught temporarily as she beheld the size of what they were to defeat: the Queen Ant, a truly horrifying sight. Despite her heart's wild pounding, she burst into a run once she exhaled, careful not to make herself a target of the group's spells as she chose the best position available for her next actions.

All her focus went to one of the Queen's rear legs, bringing her dash to a halt only when the impending dangers of standing closer than she already did finally drifted to her mind. It was time to act. To knock this thing off-balance would be the best thing the group could currently aim for. In so doing, she would pivot her body around in a circle, bringing her leg up for a strike aimed towards the ant's leg. If the hit connected, she would soon follow up the kick with a flurry of punches, going for the same spot she'd hit before.

Action Summary: Portia moves to attack one of the Queen's rear legs.

79 + 15 = 94
Tracker / Roll
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• 78/500 HP
• 35/100 EN

Endilix coughed up a mixture of blood and vomit from the onslaught the queen gave him. He was suddenly very glad that he had switched his pain settings back to simulated. What should have been a catastrophic failure of his entire body wasn’t more than the pain one might feel when stubbing their toe. Which, granted, that still hurt. But not nearly as bad as feeling every organ shut down as venom sears your skin.

That didn’t stop his body from reacting badly though. He remembered having just enough strength in him to rip the leg from the Queen, but that was before he was drenched in the vile poison.

Slowly, Endilix found his feet, only just noticing the metal vial on the ground. Had Zeus given him that? He looked up to see the mountainous man in free fall, directing them. Leading them. His presence was amazing. Endilix almost believed that the man couldn’f even die if he tried to. But as he watched the poison sear away at his armor, he realized that it was still just an almost.

Endilix gripped his shield. He gripped his hammer. He wanted to raise his shield, to stand in front of the man and defend him with his life. But Zeus was right. No sense in sacrificing himself for nothing.

But that didn’t mean he couldn’t still be a hero. Drenched in vile goo, horribly near death, and coughing up everything in his body, whether he liked it or not, Endilix charged for the creature’s left flank.

He raised his hammer, and brought it down on the creature, but found that he really had no strength left. It connected, barely, before the man fell flat on his face, breathing heavily, and cursing his existence. Gods he was tired.

Action Summary: Endilix attacks the left flank as instructed for 6 Damage. No bonuses.

Tracker / Roll​

 

• 378 HP
• 90 EN

The Dark Witch lifted herself up from off the ground, gathered her things and stored the bloody arrow in her inventory. Having the blood of Dark Witch was not good for anyone besides herself, such a priceless item would only do harm to her from others of the same craft. With the flickering of purple from her eyes, the woman placed a hand on the wall while the other lifted to her mouth. Streams of dark purple ooze came out of her as she wretched up a glob of dark energy that was pulsating within her from the curse. She had no idea if her calls to the Goddess Ahra had been answered, but she was not going to let things wait to be settled with Aalam. There was just too much of her pride at stake.

With the air of the rocks around her, Vivian found herself united with the group. Fire and haze swabbed the atmosphere as Zeus pummeled the massive giant Ant Queen with his fists. The others pitching in where they can and the heroic speech that seemed to ignite their souls with passion to spur them on. And just thinking about it, they all wanted to kill this Legendary and now they were only inspired by his feats. These dogs should be thankful for her, leading them to all this.

With her dusting off her witch hat, she moved with her seductive gait towards the one eyed man (@Emil Trevelyan ) . A trailing finger moved across his shoulder only to find that he was sticky with some kind of goo. Oh that’s right; he was bombed with that ant juice earlier. The woman’s lips contorted into a weak smile as she flicked her hand of the disgusting bug juice. The woman concentrated on what was happening and taking in the scene as much as she could to get caught up.

“Sorry I am late, had to powder my nose…Looks like Zeus is going all out with the Heroics. I suppose I can lend a hand here. Hey, Love. How far can your Pyromancy go? I got an idea if you are up for a little tag team effort? Let’s concentrate on the left flank as the Hero Lord asked. If you can summon a powerful flame to ignite those rocks above the Ant Queen, I can pull them down for a rain of fire or a Meteor Storm directed at that weakened shell from that boy’s hammer blow. It should make for a nice attack, don’t you think?”

Vivian smiled, although it was weak. She was drained of much energy from her curse that she was unsure if she could pull the rock from the walls. Yet she stood there and concentrated, bringing out her skull focus item as she waved a hand over it to help with the execution of her spell. The tunnel was made of earth and rock; this should be easy enough. A spell circle formed below her feet, calling up the energy from her voice speaking in a tone that was heavy as the earth. She lifted her hands above her head, sweeping them through the air as her body swayed. The magic coming to life as she held up the skull at the apex of her power as spikey and jagged rocks came undone from the ceiling. Attempting to mold them was difficult and she strained pouring more and more magical energy into the crumbling off the weak points of the massive rock. The fire storm should decimate this overgrown insect and allow the others to hopefully chain a bigger strike and kill this thing with a decisive strike.

Action Summary: Reckless Spell Cast with Comboing into Emil's post. Rain of Fire/Meteor Storm.

Tracker / Roll​

 

• 44 HP
• 45 EN

With a bitter smile, hearing Zeus's words about people not fighting to die, there was a flash of melancholy in her gaze. People don't fight to die, it was something that would be common sense if you ask 100 out of 100 people they would all agree probably, feel motivated or uplifted from a hopeless situation. Lucia though, couldn't help a dry chuckle, she knew what she lived for, how fragile and delicate that hope was, what she needed was to cling to that hope, whether alive or dead, as long as she could be special, be unique, she wouldn't need more. That feeling bubbled up from the depths of her heart; Desolation, despair from that mundane-ness she was forced to live with, from that mediocrity that cursed her existence.

If she couldn't be special then it was all meaningless...
If the things she tried couldn't change it it was hopeless...
If all of her magic, all of her knowledge couldn't change anything it was powerless...

With a twitch in her gaze, the bloodpact on her finger came to life. Her energy drained, her body wracked with pain and injury as blood seeped from her lips that grew more and more pale. The pain that told her she was alive, the blood that kept her lonely existence warm, even that was fleeting-- Time would pass, and she would become a corpse, not feeling pain, not knowing warmth. The bloodpact released a dark and deep red radiance that bled into her feeble frame. The skin by her eyes began to crack and splinter, beneath the deep and dark seething blacks and purples throbbed as her facade shattered allowing her to exert more strength.

With a desolate laugh, she began her payer, clenching her fingers tightly until it matched the pain she felt in her chest and core. "Despite my power though, my growth, I can't help but feel I'm still the same boring-- the same mundane and mediocre mage you hugged back then. Despite my best efforts, I cannot compare to these legendary and mythical figures. I still cannot compete with them, so I've come to ask you for your help once more." She asserted, her eyes clenching tightly as she shuddered. "I still have little to offer you, as I did back then. What little blood I have left, what bit of energy there is left to scrape together, if my time is enough to please you, I'd enjoy nothing more then to join you as I did back then. I... I need you to save Zeus-- Slay this monster and safeguard him until he can join his allies. If you are still watching me Synra, I need you now, as I did back then, please help Zeus return safely to his faction."

Meanwhile, Alice joined the others in striking the left side. It's large body standing over the others not needing to be careful of it's long sweeping clawed hands as it tried to dig in and rip open the Ant queen because of it's height and size. It desperately tried to carve open a vulnerability for others to strike, even if it was caught in the crossfire.

Action Summary: Lucia Prays for the Goddess Synra's support in smiting the ant queen or safeguarding Zeus before it's too late. Alice strikes the Ant Queen from the left joining the others.

Tracker / Roll​

 

• 370 HP
• 75 EN

-80 HP due to Ant Attack
-20 EN due to Aoe Pillar of Flame

It wasn’t dead. The damn thing wasn’t dead and it didn’t even look close to dying.

Emil had a hard time swallowing. His mouth was dry, his robes were sticky from crusting ant-explosion juice, and he felt tired. A glance toward his status meter spelled out a dire warning when it came to his energy, but what could he do about it? Run? Hide? He was Emil Trevelyan, for crying out loud! He would come to be known as the greatest Pyromancer to ever grace the land of TerraSphere and if he died while seeking out such a title, then so be it!

He ground his molars together, his good eye glancing over to @Aalam Abungu . Zeus was the only thing keeping this ant from killing all of them where they stood, but the letter detailing the need for Zeus’s assassination still played on a loop inside Emil’s skull. The original plan could still be achieved, the Legend could still be taken out and Emil could still get paid by the Aristocracy. He had a way for them all to walk out of this with heftier pockets, but he was having second thoughts. No, fuck that; he was having ten million thoughts about why it probably wouldn’t work or how much he’d be hated if it did work and the knot in his stomach curled tighter and tighter and tighter.

If only he could get a second alone with Aalam!

His body jerked, his legs stiff, his dominant hand trembling from the exertion of casting that AoE spell. He was fully intending on make a bee-line for the ranger when he felt that seductive finger scamper across his shoulders, his attention swaying to the svelte figure that was @Vivian Cruz . Emil’s tongue lashed out, licked his dry lips, and his good eye winked at her, ever trying to play up the charming role even as Vivian’s words set him on edge.

...Hero Lord.

It would be an honor to combine my magic with yours, Lady Vivian.

Even under the mental gymnastics and the strain of his body harnessing magic and calling forth fire from the ether into this realm, he was ever the gentleman. He waited until Vivian started casting before locking his eye on the piece of earth she was manipulating. He brought his hand forward once more, his other hand holding his tome, the arcane sigils glowing red hot. Smoke billowed from around him, the heat that escaped his body making sweat weep down his temples and mist his hair.

His voice rolled forth like an inferno, the slick heat of his words matching the deep baritone of the arcane language from which he cast in. Flame sprouted like vines along Vivian’s rocks, sizzling and cracking as they touched and ignited, allowing fire to rain from the sky.

Action Summary: Reckless Attack, lighting Vivian's rocks on fire and targeting the left side.

87 + 48 + 20 + 10 = 165
Tracker / Roll 1 & Roll 2

adept pyromancy = 20 . common weapon = 10
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