EXPLORATION POST

Gwyn and Rein seemed right as… well, rain, as they dispatched the wolves and left them as nothing more than slain piles of fur and flesh upon the cave floor. As soon as the fight was concluded he adjusted his spell once again into a dim but constant glow of purple light, curious at Rein’s violent reaction as the man doubled over amidst blood and guts to scream back in their direction. Was he truly so annoyed with the sounds of their voices that he had to shout at them to shut up? It was hardly the sort of thing you’d expect on a small quest like this where attention wasn’t required the entire time. Were they exploring something more dangerous then certainly he would remain focused on the task at hand! But this job had barely required him to do more than hold a light for others to see by, and if he wished to discuss things with Gwyn then that was entirely his own affair and not the concern of Rein.

Then again the man was a madman who had happily joined a guild made up of cultists and insane people, so it was likely that he took this whole role playing thing a little more seriously than was healthy. He wasn’t nearly so bad as Seto to be sure, but the man still had some issues he needed to work through if he wanted to be a stable aspect in the guild. How Merkaba intended to use him as anything more than an attack dog was frankly beyond Earley’s imaginations… But she was insane too, so that more or less made the whole thing a wash. Had he joined the wrong group? But the Dragons did nothing, and those Heroes would never want the likes of him in their ranks. They were too… goody two shoes for their own good.

“Perhaps you ought to calm down, and go kill more wolves?” the mage-thief suggested, shooing Rein with the wave of a hand as he and Gwyn moved further through the confines of the den.

 

Rein's outburst had been enough to pause her, but only for the moment. Once it passed she gave him an incredibly flat, "My apologies." It wasn't necessarily hostile, but she didn't lack any spine in it. The words expressed some semblance of her being sorry when it was obvious to all three of them that it wasn't what she meant. The translation was more along the lines of 'fuck you' in tone. The three as a whole didn't seem resistant to carrying on their quest, however, so they moved past it. No need to cry over spilled milk or spill blood over clashing personalities. If one wanted to put the problem mildly.

She came up with nothing as she searched the last bit of the cave before the mouth of the den proper yawned before them. The sounds of whimpering and the smell of a well lived in den were obvious. It smelled a lot stronger than anticipated. More like the cloying stink of a herd rather than the faint smell of dog. However, the whimpering spoke of their goal and she plucked the string of her longbow quietly before drawing an arrow. Time to finish th-

Her mercifully murderous plan was promptly shot dead in the water as four wolves and their alpha flooded the cave from the darkness. They stood before the three and the puppies, resolute in the purpose their instincts dictated to them. As helpless as animals in the real world, slaves to their genetics and limited minds. Not that understanding the balance of an ecosystem meant they'd have given up without a fight. No, this would have to be taken from them. Gwyn clenched her teeth and drew up the line of sight and released a single arrow. Until it wasn't single anymore. The Scatter Shot skill split her arrow, its aim arching over where she assumed Rein would go rushing in to maul them and over to rain down upon the wolves. The sound of many arrows flying was beautiful amidst the snarls and growls.

[ OOC: Gwyn uses a skill to create a volley of arrows to attack multiple targets. ]​

 

[Battle Post]

The ghosts seemed angry at Rein, for some reason. Maybe because he had ate them. It was annoying he couldn’t kill them again as they flashed angry stares in his direction. Oh well, what you can’t change, you can’t change. Shrugging Rein continued downward the path towards the end of the cave, wondering where all the wolves are. Normally there would be waaaay more than just two. Maybe they were out hunting? Even so the puppies should still be here, but there was some cave still left. Rein’s thoughts faded to the battle before

As the party continued forward he could hear something up ahead, something like a small animal whining. Running forward Rein saw their end prize, as small collection of puppies huddled tightly in the corner of the cave. Rein smiled, his face illuminated by the various cracks in the ceiling as he slowly stalked towards the creatures, manic laughter growing. As he did however he heard the soft rumble of growls that surrounded him.

Five beasts in total slowly began to encroach onto his position. They truly were marvelous creatures, with eyes gleaming full of deadly intent. It would be a fantastic fight. The archer to his right seemed to agree as she let loose a handful of arrows into the air. Rein grinned as he brandished his gauntlet, waiting for the arrows to fall. Once they did he rushed forward towards the group quickly looking for any injured monster. If he wasn’t able to find one quickly, he would move to the leader (or the closest if the leader isn’t close enough to him) and he would slash at the beast’s neck with his bladed gauntlet.


((OOC: Rein attacks any wolf injured by arrow attack, or leader if possible. Otherwise he attacks randomly))

 

BATTLE POST

The path took them to its inevitable end amidst the true den of the wolves, from whence several of the creatures appeared and surrounded them. It was obvious from the number of snarls that things were about to get very and truly ugly for everybody, but that was fine. They were each uniquely skilled for situations precisely like this one, were they not? No, no they were not, damn it all. As the Alpha sprang into view in between dim shafts of sunlight that penetrated the stone canopy above, a feeling of mild dread settled in Earley’s stomach. Despite their individual strengths, they had not come to function as a cohesive whole as adventurers; where the wolves differed, and were highly in tune with one another as a pack. If they had any hope of defeating the things they would have to work quickly and fight ugly.

Which is precisely what Rein and Gwyn began to do, filling the den with a sudden volley of arrows that settled in the hides of two wolves. Rein immediately threw himself into the fray, his lust for death apparently never faltering even in the midst of imposing odds. Thoughts raced through Earley’s mind as he considered his best course of action, calculating, considering, and concluding in one fleeting moment as his mind reeled faster than conscious thought allowed.

He could perhaps fire a volley of bolts similar to what Gwyn had done and damage several of the things, but that would do little actual harm. He could fire a single stronger bolt of power, which would do more harm… but not enough to fell one of the creatures immediately, and they needed to reduce enemy numbers. Smiling, he decided on a spell and dropped the light he had been maintaining, moving his hands in fluid motion and directing a magical force at the Alpha Wolf. With his Astramancy, the mage would attempt to levitate the wolf off of the ground a few feet so that it was unable to move anywhere, attack them, or lead its pack. Hopefully with it out of the way, Gwyn and Rein could dispatch the weaker wolves more rapidly and they could all focus on the obvious boss, together, without issue.

• OOC: levitating alpha wolf with magic, so it can't move or attack, basically "stunning" or "imprisoning" it briefly

 

Thrown die:

90

 

BATTLE POST

There was an audible grunt of frustration as his spell sizzled and the wolves prepared to counter assault the group of adventurers who had, at the very least, not completely cocked it up so far. The other two appeared to be handling the DPS well enough that the caster thief had felt it appropriate to try something more utility focused and hamper the wolves in some way. Unfortunately he lacked some blasted thing or another to mix with his magic and make the intended spell function properly! Cursing under his breath, he changed tactics immediately to the offensive, watching as the wolves came charging in to tear them to pieces. He ignored all intent to cast and focused on the snarling maw coming for him, using his body combat to grab the creature’s snout and lower jaw and lamp its damned mouth shut. And people had told him that taking a combat style, a magic style, and the rogue ability was a poorly optimized build! It appeared to be working just perfectly for him.

He considered the possibility of teleporting somewhere to snipe the wolves from but there was no such alcove that he could spot that would benefit him. The shafts that the light came from could work if he placed himself in there and held his position, but he didn’t know if he could cast while doing so, and even if he could the wolves merely had to move from his line of sight and he’d be unable to shoot any of them. Eventually he would fall and be eaten, once they finished off the others… Then it occurred to him that he was trying to think too much and that his next action should be plain as day. There was a wolf that he had managed to keep from biting him and it was more or less very momentarily clamped by its muzzle in his hands. Smiling, he let go of its mouth and raised both hands to face his palms towards its face, unleashing a ray of magical energy as he cast an offensive spell upon the beast using the power of arcanamancy.

• OOC: shooting a wolf in the face point-blank with a magical burst attack

 

As her Scatter Shot spread out to meet their marks, two succeeded. One of the pack's members took an arrow into the side of its back, blood matting the fur, as Rein moved in. He seemed to throw all of himself and more into fighting and a savage slash gouged deep into the beast's neck. Their combined hits left it looking less than healthy or hardy. One of the three lunged to attack Rein while another targeted her. As it moved forward with opened jaws it clamped down, but she managed to pry her arm away from its bite. Still hurt like a bitch.

Without to much thought she swung one leg back to lean away from it and full draw the bow. When she released, her aim was dead in the damn things face. She hadn't hit the eye of the wolf in the previous fight, but she'd sink an arrow straight through it's skull if she very well could.

Gwyn's fingers released the fletching of the arrow and the hum of the string sung out next to her ear. To the side of her the light had died previously and left them lit by what light made it into the deep portion of the wolves' denning site, but that was quick to change. It appeared that Earley had finally deigned to join in on dishing out damage if the bright glow of his attack meant anything. Hopefully they could put down a few of the lessers in the pack and have their final show down with the alpha before they could finish their job and go home. She was struck by an incredible sorrow that gaped in her chest, nestled deep between her ribs. The wolves were going to die for their pups. The alpha was magnificent and any other time perhaps she would have sought to tame it for her own, a fitting companion for her side, but she couldn't bear to slain the pack and try something so insulting.

She didn't deserve this one. She hoped perhaps its spirit would forgive her, should something like that exist in this world... or her own.

[ OOC: Gwyn will fire point blank into the face of the wolf that attacked her, again aiming to blind or maim. ]​

 

[Battle Post]

Rein tore forward in the cave, his anger erupting on one of the wolves hit by Gwyn's arrow, tearing into its hide with unrestricted ferocity. After the attack, Rein tried to get back, however, the wolves ran in tandem, and all Rein could see is a flash of white teeth and gray fur as he felt his body become torn and bruised under the assault. Blood dripped to the floor as Rein let out a howl of pain and excitement, deep down he knew however that this could not last. A cackle of mad laughter escaped his lips as he slowly realized there was a good chance he would die here. It was time to start trying.

Rein eyed the beasts in a quick glance trying to accurately assess the situation. With this many, channeling a large area of attack spell would be a waste of time since he would likely be knocked out of concentration before he could finish it. That only left quick movements, such as a direct attack. What he wanted to do was attack the wolf he had previously attacked, but it had run to the other side of the room, and Rein feared moving over there would waste more time, and provoke more attacks. He has a couple of different options

((OOC: So, I'm not sure where the wolves are standing so I have two different scenarios. If there is at least three in a somewhat tight cluster (within moving distance of Rein) he's going to do option A.If there isn't he's going to do option B))

Option A.

Rein would grunt as he began channeling his energy quickly around him much in the same fashion as before. Moving swiftly he would head over to the near by small cluster of wolves chanting silently under his breath before extending his hands outwards letting out a small wave of electricity in the immediate area. Lightning would arc in all directions around him, automatically finding its nearby targets and slamming into them. It was the same spell as before, but instead of channeling it over time, he would release all of his built up energy in one strike.

Option B.

Rein would decide the alpha was the biggest issue and raise his hand channeling an arc of electricity at it. The line of energy would connect the two, as Rein tried to continually shock the beast.

 

Thrown die:

72

 

Thrown die:

37

 

[Battle Post]

Rein let out a cackle as his bolt of electricity connected with the alpha wolf, seemingly stunning it momentarily as it struggled against Rein's might. "TAKE THAT YOU DIRT ASS DOG!" He howled in anger as he pumped more energy into the beast. However, as he did so he heard a growl from one of the smaller wolves charging at him. Quickly he dropped his spell flicking his armed gauntlet at one, catching it's teeth with his blade. He was unable to stop the second attack as it latched onto his shoulder bearing down tightly.

A small stream of blood flew from Rein's new wound as his health began to seriously deplete, his allies likely noticing he was about to fall. It was a hilarious situation. Rein was going to die here surrounded by the ghost of his fallen party members. Sure he could try and empower himself to run away, it might actually work too, but what's the point in that? He'd probably bleed out on the way out of here anyway. If he was going to go down, he was going to send one of the dogs with him.

Rein over channeled the mana in his body, as he began to glow brightly he started reluctantly beginning a very quick chant, almost tumbling over the words. "Mungu wa upepo waitikie wito wangu na wapige wapinzani wangu!" As he did so a magical circle began to grow underneath his feet extending to a small radius encompassing him and his two attackers. "MGOMO!" Rein shouted partly in pain as ALL of his usable mana suddenly rushed out of his body cascading upwards where it formed a small static filled cloud that then erupted into two giant lightning bolts that streaked down to the two wolves with a blinding bright light.

Regardless of the effect Rein would consequently collapse to the cave floor as his eyes rolled into the back of his head, mouth frothing.

((OOC: Rein uses all of his mana for one last AOE attack on the two wolves attacking him, passes out regardless))