• 132 HP
  

  MAX 172 HP

• 098 EN
  

  MAX 118 EN

-05 HP from Quadruped Horde
-05 HP from Flying Horde
-30 HP from Area Damage
-20 EN from Reckless Attack

Savannah – no, Ezra – stood one a small raised ravine that overlooked a portion of the Horde that had spawned after Titanius’s defeat. She couldn’t help the sneer that lifted her lip, the fury that sparked in her silver eyes. These things were dangerous and their reputation for causing harm to some of the surrounding villages and towns had been all over World Chat.

When the Adventurer’s League had set up a bounty for these things, Ezra had torn off the split of paper and immediately went to find her Ladyship to explain the problem. Lucia had nodded and agreed that the problem should be taken care of. The Death Knight, however, hadn’t been expecting the Necromancer to come along to deal with said problem.

Not only was she here, but Luna had come along as well as that new woman, the one with the vines and the acid. A grumbling sigh passed her throat. She didn’t like this new woman and didn’t trust her either. The woman shifted under her armor, rolling her shoulders as memories of their first meeting flooded her skull. That probably hadn’t helped either…

“Ready?” came the cool determined voice behind her and to her right.

Ezra turned and looked over her shoulder, Sylvanas’s figure standing not too far away, her eyes looking down into the pit where they would soon throw themselves.

Ezra licked her lips, summoned her great axe to her hands, and nodded. The day was overcast and cool, perfect for killing spawns of an Eldritch horror whom didn’t deserve to be on this plane of existence. Though, if Ezra was being honest with herself, she was more likely to see Alice consume them in pieces and parts.

Shuddering, she steeled her mind, exhaled, and jumped into the fray.

Reckless Attack on Quadruped Horde
47 + 85 + 35 + 20 = 187
Target: 413 / 600

Attempted Six-Star Bounty . The Damage

@Lucia Mierz @Luna Avalbane @Madison Freebird

 

• 76 HP
  

  MAX 116 HP

• 139 EN
  

  MAX 149 EN

-10 EN for she attacc
-40 HP for total cycle damage (30 static, 5 for quad horde, 5 for flying horde)

Now was not the time for levity, but when did that ever stop someone as socially inept as Madison Freebird?

"So, I was thinking," she began as she shuffled up her deck. Today, the corruption contained in each of the fifty-two cards practically thrummed in her hands, almost making it difficult to work with.

The briar witch scanned the canyon, taking in the oncoming horde, An almost gleeful, suicidal grin split her face from ear to ear. "When all this is over, and when we become famous? We should have a squad name. Something catchy. Something that'll stay on the tips of everyone's tongues for years to come."

She really could've used the light conversation. Otherwise, her mind was going to wander back to the battle inside the giant eldritch monster Titanius. And that would not have been good for anyone present.

"First one that comes to my mind is Bitches Give Stitches. It rhymes, it intimidates... The editors of newspapers in Stokbon might not like the language, though. But they'll live."

Madison fanned the cards out in the air before her, as if she were getting ready to do a magic trick. In a way, she was. The deck hovered in front of her, spread in a perfect arc. Today, the deck art took the form of a mass of tangled tentacles writing around a giant spade. In the center, the glowing yellow and orange eye of Titanius.

The plagueslinger channeled as much energy as she could into the cards. With an upward swipe of her hand, each of the fifty-two cards flipped face up.

Dissonant beasts were quickly closing in from the front and overhead. While Madison knew that the four of them combined were more than a match for the misshapen hordes, for a moment she had to wonder.

The dead, dusty earth before her cracked and split. A wave of thick, thorny briars grew forth, twisting through the air and forming a wide arc. Clusters of orange and yellow pods began to form from the ends of the briars as the quadruped beasts galloped closer and closer.

She waited until the pods were the size of basketballs before she finished the rest of her spell. With a snap of her fingers they exploded, unleashing a wave of corrosive amber liquid upon the first group of monsters. As they clutched at their burning, oozing, melting faces, their brethren pushed them to the ground and leaped over them, continuing the charge.

"Shit--!" Madison scrambled to collect her cards and shuffle up for her next spell.

Regular Attack on Quadruped Horde (Roll)
93 + 25 Nature Mastery +25 Rare Magical Tool = 143
Quadruped Horde: 270/600 HP

 

• 102 HP
  

  MAX 142 HP

• 123 EN
  

  MAX 148 EN

-25 EN for Reckless with Damage supplement
-40 HP from Creatures

If she was being honest, Luna felt forced to be going on this quest. It wasn't like she'd have said no if she were asked, but it honestly felt like Lucia had pretty much demanded her presence to deal with these dissonance things. Wasn't the necromancer strong enough to just wipe away damn near anything and everything that existed under the sun? Well, besides Titanius itself, but she couldn't see a way for anybody to have been able to take on that monster alone.

Well either way, here she was, in the middle of a battle with strange four legged monsters that charged them, ducking around blows and firing off bolts of Arcane energy whenever she could, wiping out a creature with every shot that she fired as she continued to dodge, Natiri biting and clawing at creatures by her side. Oktai still wasn't ready for this kind of thing, nearly though.

She glared, yes glared, at the creatures as she gathered an unstable orb in the palm of her hand, before she swept that hand, releasing a wave of energy that engulfed the creatures one after another, wiping out a large section. Gods, she really didn't like these dissonance things.

She also decided to ignore the chatter from the others for now, focusing on killing the enemies, like the fighter that Lucia had trained her to be. If they wanted her, they'd say her name, probably.

Reckless Attacking Quadrapedels (Roll)
89 + 36 + 50 + 21 = 196
Target Quadrapedels: 74/600 HP

 

• 194 HP
  

  MAX 142 HP

• 94 EN
  

  MAX 148 EN

-15 EN for Attack with Damage supplement
-40 HP from Creatures

Lucia had thought it best to get rid of the creatures before they cause further damage to the area and the locals. Lucia couldn't allow them to become a threat to her people, or even the other players and NPCs. She wasn't exactly a good samaritan but at the same time, those creatures threatened the natural order and the peace Lucia had wanted to preserve. "Savannah, I'm counting on you to be the Vanguard." She spoke with a gentle smile, glad that the woman charged out. Her untrusting character wasn't unexpected, she didn't trust Vivian as well, but Madison was different, for a moment it made Lucia muse on whether or not the reason might be dark magic in general.

Though the thought of a team name was something intriguing. If Lucia had to think of exactly what they would be they were certainly Lucia's round table and group she counted on for advice and support. They were her most precious supporters, so thinking of their name being 'Bitches give Stitches' made her sputter a soft 'pfffft' before swallowing her amusement to maintain her dignity. "N-No we can't call ourselves something like that. It should have a measure of class to it right? It sounds like a legion of butch mercenaries." She couldn't help laughing at the imagination of a bunch of husky bear like women with armor and axes charging into battle with crew cuts and overly swoll bodies. "Try again, something with finesse would be more to my liking at least." She offered.

Though Luna, well, Luna didn't seem to be in a good mood. Lucia couldn't quite place the reason, but she sighed and hoped that she was at least in a good enough frame to have fun with them. If it turned out like their last adventure she'd have to put some more thought in exactly what to ask for Luna's help in. "Just relax Luna-- Try not to stress yourself out, we're in for the long haul with this one. It's best if we don't exhaust ourselves from the start." She tried to give some advice hoping the girl would calm down and become a bit more relaxed. Seriousness was okay, as was playfulness, but the woman just seemed too stressed out.

With everyone else leading the charge though, Lucia nodded back, glancing towards Sylvanas, a small smile on her face as she beckoned for the undead to go on. "Sylvanas, please follow up with them. It would be nice if we could tackle this quickly. I'll give you authority over the Tal'darim for this, so cleave into them as deeply as you can." She urged Sylvanas to begin, the elf knight glanced to the empty space behind Lucia nodding briefly at the command, acknowledging it as she usually did. "I'll return quickly then Miss, Leave the ones on the ground to me." She spoke, darting into combat swiftly after acknowledging her task. The moment she took off, she was joined as the Tal'darim knights began flooding the battlefield from the soil. Each death knight with a weapon in hand charging into battle with a blade and shield. With Sylvanas as the spear, they began taking the brunt of the Quadrupeds. "Leave the left overs for the undead to clean up-- Let's focus on thinning the other groups." She spoke over the chaos trying to direct the battle. Their next target would be disrupting and slaying the creatures in the sky, but since not everyone was capable of it, she wouldn't ask the others to just be idle since ther ewas another horde of humanoid shaped monsters on the horizon as well.

Attacking Quadrapedels (Roll)
65 + 35 + 25 = 125
Target Quadrapedels: 0/600 HP

 

• 41 HP
  

  MAX 116 HP

• 125 EN
  

  MAX 149 EN

-15 EN for disruptive attack
-35 HP from mobs (-5 for flying horde)

- - BEGINNING OF CYCLE 2 - -​

Madison shot Lucia a hurt look. Maaaan, it sucked so much to have the one good idea she had all day shot down like that. Not elegant enough for the foursome? This wasn't a pageant, this was a battlefield!

"That's unfortunate," she shouted over the din of the massacre. "The only other name I could come up with was The Yaasss Queens Yaaaaassss, and that's horrendous."

Bitches Give Stitches was her baby. Madison had been trying to get that name to stick somewhere, anywhere, for years now. It'd be a cold day in hell before she gave up.

A Dissonance-infected harpy-like creature monster thing came screaming through the sky at the witch. Madison cursed loudly as she instinctively raised her arms to protect herself. The flying fucker tore through her sleeves and flesh like paper, causing her to scream even louder.

Gritting her teeth through the electric pain, she ripped a card from the top of her deck, not caring what spell it would cast so long as it did something to save her.

A circle of mushrooms began to grow from the dead earth surrounding her. As the harpy doubled back to go in for the kill, the caps of the fungi tore themselves apart, releasing a hazy cloud of spores into the air above her. As the monster passed through it, it screeched in confusion and pulled back up into the air.

It wasn't long before the spores took effect, scrambling the beast's senses, clouding its mind, and sending it crashing into one of its brethren who couldn't get out of the way fast enough.

Madison quickly spawned a few leafy bandages to staunch the bleeding in her forearms. "A little help with these assholes, please!"

Disruptive Attack on Flying Horde (Roll)
13 + 25 + 25 = 63
Target: 237/300 CP

 

• 062 HP
  

  MAX 172 HP

• 088 EN
  

  MAX 118 EN

- 70 HP (-05 from Flying Horde, -30 from Area Dmg, x2 b/c reckless)
-10 EN from Attack

She couldn’t recall being injured.

Ezra couldn’t remember teeth or claws ripping into her side and pulling forth skin, muscle and sinew but she found herself on her knees, axe in one hand, blood pouring from a wound in her side. She looked…surprised. Her mouth hung slightly open, her silver eyes were wide in shock, the cold wind that blew through the canyon making her black hair whip around her. She swallowed, tasting the metallic tang of blood on her tongue. Her free hand was covered in her own life’s liquid.

“On your feet Death Knight!” Sylvanas’s voice rang through the din of battle, the azure woman’s attention immediately ricocheting off shields, weapons, and dead bodies before landing on her. She was a maelstrom of force to be reckoned with, a beautiful death machine that cleaved through Titanius’s forces without care nor worry. She blazed brighter than any star Ezra had seen before and she was coated in the fury of battle.

Ezra gave a tight nod of her head. She would not die. Lucia would not allow it. To allay her fears, she looked over to the Necromancer and drew strength from the sight of her safely away from most of the carnage. Luna stood near her, grim determination set on her face…along with something else, something Sav—Ezra couldn’t place. They hadn’t spent a lot of time together recently. Maybe after this battle, she would remedy that.

The Knight staggered to her feet with a furious yell of battle, the same which a few of the Tal’Darim echoed around her as their blades met with their enemies.

Attack on Biped Horde
53 + 35 + 20 = 108
Target: 092 / 200

Attempted Six-Star Bounty . The Damage

 

• 32 HP
  

  MAX 142 HP

• 108 EN
  

  MAX 148 EN

-15 EN for Disruptive Attack
-70 HP from Creatures

Claws, fangs and paws befell Luna as the fight continued, she was being battered and torn apart, her skin covered in lacerations and her hair matted in blood and grime. She was knocked to the floor repeatedly, the roars of creatures and the sounds of battle blocking any attempt she might have made to listen to whatever Lucia had said to her. How was she supposed to hear the woman over the sounds of battle when they were so far apart, after all? She wasn't any real kind of superhuman, her hearing was still the hearing of a human being. She stood no chance, in that regard.

"AH!" She stumbled to the side, clutching her left shoulder with her right arm as a fresh strip of flesh was stripped away by a passing flier, eyes wide with panic as she was continually mauled. She was doing the worst out of all of them again. Why was she such a damn disappointment? Why couldn't she just be useful for once in her miserable, waste of a life?

She turned at the sound of a shriek, arm lashing out instinctively with her eyes clenched shut, before opening them revealed that some two legged winged creature had flown at her, and she'd trapped it within a set of bramble vines. It looked different, like the dissonance merely clung to the beast's skin and scales. She stepped forward cautiously, slowly, meticulously working her brambles underneath the dissonance that clung to the creature, before they ripped outwards, tearing the dissonance from its host and revealing the Wyvern.

It had white scales and sunken ice blue eyes, with ice blue markings dotting its body. Luna blinked, seemingly forgetting the rest of the battle as she opened her UI and instead focused on the task of actually taming the beast.

Disruptive Attacking Flying horde (Roll)
9 = 9
Flying Horde: 228/300 CP

 

• 159 HP
  

  MAX 234 HP

• 74 EN
  

  MAX 109 EN

-20 EN for Attack with Damage supplement
-35 HP from Creatures

Everyone seemed to be doing well, but she was worried about Luna and Savannah who seemed particularly roughed up. Madison as well was clearly not as used to or built for combat just yet. Lucia couldn't help a concerned breath, these poor girls were struggling so hard, she began to worry. Biting her lip, Alice kept Lucia well protected as always. That writhing flesh armor that she wore swatted monsters from her body, thrusting them back. The carapace and chitin armor was thick enough to have enough room to spare from injuring her actual body. Even so though she couldn't help frowning heavily seeing just how much she was receiving. They'd eaten through almost half of Alice's reserves-- She had to try and finish things a bit faster.

It was Madison's cry that caused Lucia to turn her head, seeing the creatures Luna was tackling along with her with nature magic attacks, Lucia gestured with a hand trying to make use of the Magisters. "Lina, those ones in the air I'll leave to you, hurry." She cursed as she practically shoved the voluptuous Lich forward. "Hmhm-- Miss you're so rough~" The Lich teased before glancing back at her own subordinates, the decrepit and fragile subordinates, hunch backed spell casters and wizen elderly priests and nuns gathered with slow patient steps beside her. With a sweeping gesture Lina cast a large flame even as others in the area began chanting dark rituals to blind, poison, mini and heavy those targets in the sky.

Disrupting Flying horde (Roll)
28 + 35 + 25 + 21 = 109
Target Flying Horde: 119/300 HP

 

• 6 HP
  

  MAX 116 HP

• 110 EN
  

  MAX 149 EN

-15 EN for disruptive attack
-35 HP from mobs (-5 for flying horde)

- - BEGINNING OF CYCLE 3 - -​

Oh god.

Madison was bleeding everywhere.

Oh god oh god oh god.

Her tunic shreded, her gloves crusted with blood. Hair matted with the gore of Dissonance-corrupted harpies and quadrupeds. Arms and legs littered with bite marks. Breath running ragged. Guts spilling out of her midsection--probably, anyway; she was too scared to actually check.

Oh fuck this hurts so bad oh god--

The battle was not over yet. She could still hear the screeching of several winged motherfuckers overhead, chattering among themselves over who was going to get to snack on her eyeballs.

--fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck--

She couldn't call for help. Who would answer it? Ezra and Luna were on their last legs, desperately trying to stay alive. Lucia's armor was beginning to crack under the strain of battle.

This was the worst idea the women had all week.

Madison couldn't let them down. Not after all this. The new one in the group--she had to show them her worth. She absolutely had to show them why Lucia thought so highly of her.

Pushing herself up to her knees (or one, anyway; the kneecap of the other might be hanging in the breeze), the witch clutched at her deck of cards. With every bit of energy she had left, she gathered her withering courage and ebbing desperation and channeled it into the cards. They began to glow bright emerald green between her fingers.

The woman pulled a hand of five off the top of her deck, and simply tossed them onto the dirt in front of her. As Madison's luck would have it, they neatly arranged themselves into a Full House before she collapsed onto the dirt.

The ground she laid upon shook and cracked. A storm of thick, twisted briars rose into the sky, each individual thread aiming for a different harpy. Some managed to get clear; others were pierced through their throats, their chests, their legs, their heads.

Disruptive Attack on Flying Horde (Roll)
30 + 25 + 25 = 80
Target: 39/300 CP

 

• 027 HP
  

  MAX 172 HP

• 068 EN
  

  MAX 118 EN

-30 HP from Area Damage
-05 HP from Flying Horde
-20 EN from Reckless Attack

The discordant call of the Dissonant creatures overhead was grating to hear. Ezra could only spare a single glance upwards at the creatures before she had to turn her attention back to the battle before. She could offer nothing to thin their ranks. The thought had once come to her that she should learn some manner of ranged weaponry, but she never followed through on that train of thought. She put her life into Lucia, Luna, and Vivian’s hands at magical casters…and she, their protector.

Another glance toward the lip where the women oversaw the battle. Barely, she could make out a crack in the earth and thorny brambles reaching toward the sky, spearing the creatures through their heads, eyes, throats, and wings. They rained down on the vanguard like dead birds, their bodies making an impact on the ground before being trampled underfoot. Ezra made sure to stomp her heavy war boot into the face of a few of them, breaking bones and causing brain matter to spray.

Her nose was filled with the scents of decay, blood, and death.

Another glance towards the lip overseeing the battle and Ezra’s eyes could just alight on Luna’s form. She had captured something within a net. From this distance, the Death Knight couldn’t make it out, but the woman seemed as if she were okay…if a little battled. Crimson lines ran the length of her body, same as Ezra. Exhaustion tinged the edges of her mind, but she pushed onwards, glad that at least Luna and Lucia were doing okay. She couldn’t care less about Madison…

The Knight charged forward with the Tal’Darim, parrying attacks that came at her or her fellow soldiers, her face set in a grim smile of determination.

“Push forward!” Sylvanas screamed from somewhere to Ezra’s right, the clang of her spear meeting another a rallying force that gave the Death Knight the will to keep fighting.

Reckless Attack on Biped Horde
100 + 85 + 35 + 20 = 240
Target: -148 / 200

Attempted Six-Star Bounty . The Damage

 

• 124 HP
  

  MAX 234 HP

• 59 EN
  

  MAX 109 EN

-15 EN for Attack with Damage supplement
-35 HP from Creatures

Everyone seemed to be deep into trouble, it was something Lucia felt bitterness over. She wasn't special, wasn't particularly gifted, but she ended up being the last one standing? Perhaps it's because she didn't try as hard, didn't press forward quite as intensely as the others. For a moment she felt a little guilty, if she'd shared in their burden a bit more, things might not have become so dice-y. It was something she'd have to make up for later perhaps. With a gentle smile she gestured with a hand towards the remaining flying creatures. "Take a rest Luna, Madison, I'll take it from here." She spoke, making a few gestures with her hands.

"I am Envy, and Envy is me. In the words of the eternal grand dao; The goal of All Things is Death." She spoke firmly suddenly clenching a fist causing smoke to rise from the remaining monsters. The smoke quickly flew towards Lucia like dark shadows, being swallowed by her armor and her clenched palm just as it tightened and closed. Falling from the sky, the creatures plummeted as the battlefield grew quiet. The silence was something that made her smile, closing her eyes briefly, silence appealed to her Martial Dao. She couldn't bask in it too long though, using the darkness to repair her armor, she glanced to Sylvanas and Lina. "Sylvanas, section off the area-- Lina, support Luna, Savannah and Madison for me. Alice will clean up the battlefield." Lucia spoke as her armor ripped itself from her body revealing her cloth clothing as Alice slowly formed from the plates of Lucia's armor.

In the chaos of Alice devouring corpses and remains, the priests, monks and mages of old fanned out to support the girls who came with Lucia. A pair of wizards struggling to try and heal Savannah and repair her armor before the damage became too great. The fragile skeletons finding it hard to hold the woman up if she needed the support to keep on her feet. The priests tried to lift Madison up, the woman was a bit lighter then the death knight making it a bit easier on their fragile bones. Two bickered about how best to reattach her leg that was still at a peculiar angle but in the end decided on the simplest method. Lina herself gestured towards Luna, that fiery and bombastic figure approaching her with a smile. Those plush pillows of her's swaying with every step before she held a hand out offering to support Luna as the other undead supported the others for healing. The mission had ended, but there was still a bit of clean up for Lucia to oversee, she wouldn't risk the dissonance bleeding into the environment from the remains.

Disrupting Flying horde (Roll)
61 + 35 + 25 + 21 = 142
Target Flying Horde: -23/300 HP