The Castle (IC) [M] {04}

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha had to jump slightly when Sal suddenly turned to snap at Jeremiah, and was on the verge of drawing her sword when her hand shot out and spun an intricate, fast netting of web towards him.  At least the frog was no longer hanging from his life on the column, but pinned tightly to it so that he wouldn't fall, bound at the mouth.

Her eyes narrowed.  A bit of a hasty solution, but at least effective.  Still when she listened to Gareeku give his assent onto the terms...perhaps reluctantly, as herself...she agreed with him.  "That goes for me, too," Aisha said, her voice and expression final.  The spider would be free to go down, but was confronted with that stern warning from the warriors.  And with Mel about to wake up, it was only a matter of finishing it.

Aisha made to put out her right hand, which she then remembered was nonexistent, glimpsing the gauze out of the corner of her eye.  She gritted her teeth...somewhere in her mind she still felt it there.  Instead, she put out her left, slowly and cautiously, to shake on it, and just nodded.  It was a deal.

[Stygian]

Eying Gareeku critically, and Mel with wariness, Sal stood her ground for a couple of seconds. Then, slowly and calmly, she stepped closer, and reached out with one of many hands to grasp Aisha's. The grip was quite firm and strong, although the panthress realized it should not have come as a surprise. 'Deal,' she said, returning Aisha's nod. She let go, and then strolled around her, keeping her distance from the others as she approached the column. She watched the twisting frog upside it, shook her head, and then placed her palms on it, calmly beginning to climb. By the time she was level with Jeremiah, he was already half free, the sticky strands falling from him in great tangles. Finally, Sal grasped and lowered him down from a thread, without taking off the webbing on his face. She only removed that once he was on the ground, stripping it off with a smarting rip.

[Boog]

"OW!" Jeremiah rubbed his jaw and grimaced, "Thanks," The artist finally conceded. He was just glad to be on the ground again, and the others probably wouldn't have minded leaving him up there too much.
Cab?
Yes sir?
You know that thing where you give me advice?
Yes?
Stop it.
"Right then, something about killing an old bat?" He yanked a few more scraps of web off his glasses and cleaned them on his shirt, muttering about smudges. "I don't suppose we're so fortunate that this guy's senile or blind or any of those traditional old-people things?" He'd found himself in this strange area a little past fear, where he assumed that being a smartass couldn't get him killed on the basis that then the fun was over for the things that kept picking on him. "What's he got?"

[Angel]

Ketefe nodded unsurely at Cog's decision, starting back up the stairs and keeping her blade at the ready in case any other creatures came. "If she comes back, or if that thing does, what should we do?" she asked no-one specific. She was trying to keep a tremble out of her voice, trying to focus on protecting the others, but in this place, it was hard not to let fear affect her.

[Stygian]

More and more of those screeching little things were gathering now. They heard the sound of the bat-like things' flaps and the high pitched cries they emitted, either clearly or ringing in their ears. As they started circling the adventurers, it was becoming more evident by the second that something was not right.

- -

Jeremiah's terribly characteristic, sarcastic interruption was met with a level stare from Sal's side, and a few seconds' intermission as the spider gathered her words. 'Only thousands of years of accumulated power, and the skill and might required to summon greater fiends and such,' she said. 'Not to forget loads of experience in dark magic and in controlling infernal fire. Oh, and a pair of swords,' she added, 'that can turn into lashes and waves of flame and cut through solid rock like butter.' She kept that same level face and stared at the frog throughout the whole explanation, the dull and bitter explanation meant to to make a point and hopefully shut the frog up.

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha blinked as she kept her stand next to Gareeku, watching the spider as she went back to the column and lowered the frog down as promised.  At least so far Sal was keeping true to her word, under threat of death if it wasn't fulfilled.  She listened though as Jeremiah asked about the old man, rather curious as to what exactly they were up against...all she knew was that he was some sort of relative to Stygian.  With power enough to have created the hellish atmosphere.

Her eyes widened however at the spider's reply, a rather good description of any old and powerful demon, though it was hard to tell if it was really a demon they were dealing with.  "Holy crap," she finally muttered, wondering what their friends underground may have been up to their necks in quite a bit of trouble.  But as long as Stygian was with them...

The huntress found herself snorting.  "Frankly I don't care if the bastard can contract dysentery, black plague, and head lice all with a snap of his fingers.  I think he will die, sure as he is responsible for everything.  Including, if my guess isn't mistaken, bringing my father's murderer."  Her head lowered.  "I have faith in those who fight."  With that, she cast a concerned look to the nearly-conscious Mel.

In her mind, she still had her doubts about the deal she made.  Maybe it was Sal who started it all, and brought them to the castle.  But things weren't going to get any better by casting blame where it wouldn't be necessary.

[lucas marcone]

Ian was heading for the nearist platform. He wouldn't fight anything till he knew he was on solid ground.

[Angel]

A second after Ketefe asked her question, more of the same creatures that had attacked Rynkura began circling the group. She hissed loudly at them, mostly out of spite and to overcome her own fear, before following Ian up the steps to the platform. If there was going to be a battle, it would be best not to have it on a decrepit flight of stairs.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

With a soft moan Mel pulled her elbows under herself and tried to push herself up on her hands and knees. The screeching sound of her claws digging deep into the stone of the floor told of her unsteadiness, as did the disjointed mutterings in her native tongue. She wasn't yet aware of the spider standing nearby.

[Sunblink]

Once she had safely drawn Rynkura's abandoned staff back up onto their platform and into the security of her arms, Keaton's hands clamped firmly around the wooden shaft of the staff's length with such force the blood circulating in her knuckles fled; skin draining of color. She stared at the staff for a minute, eyes locked onto the giant, opalescent sapphire-stone ornamenting its end almost mournfully, as though she had somehow come to the conclusion that she wasn't worthy to even gaze upon their missing comrade's weapon.

A ridiculous assessment, but with how far gone Keaton's emotional and ego-based stability had gone, such outrageously overblown statements were only natural. She felt even worse considering Rynkura had been praising her contributions to the party earlier, and that she hadn't even reacted when the aforementioned tigress had been abducted...

Cogidubnus mentioned having to leave somewhere in-between Keaton's sordid musings. Still possessing that dreary, resigned look about her, Keaton continued to cradle the staff a little tighter to her body, then followed her companions, managing to keep her pace relatively quick.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Cogidubnus]

 The sounds of hellish, winged things enclosing around him, Cog started moving up to the platform quickly, unconsciously leaning forward as to make himself a smaller target. The leathery sound of wings were all around them, as was the chirps and noises of the flying demons. They had been able to snatch Rynkura from her feet - there was no doubt that they could do the same to them.

The wolf had a grimace on his face as he made his way up the stairs, taking the steps two at a time. He kept his sword at a ready position, and as much as he could tried to keep himself completely balanced as he ascended. There wasn't much he could do to defend himself, and it would be difficult indeed to predict an attack while his ears were full of the sound of beating wings, but as much as he could the wolf kept himself wary.

Glowing sword at his side, the wolf practically ran forward, and didn't stop until he reached the platform above them.

[Aisha deCabre]

In the hell-chamber, it was hard for Rynkura to expect what had been coming.  No sooner was she finally able to strike the beast carrying her down and regain her flight, than the dying screech of the demon was answered by plenty more of its brethren...too far into the shadows, too close to the endless depths and harrowing darkness, even the Angel was stopped in her tracks before she could make it back to her comrades.  The will to get back was all that was leaping into her mind...before she was hit and her vision fading to black. 

The last thing she felt then was a putrid, retching sensation in her stomach upon feeling the creatures and the motion in the air, being carried away from the direction she was seeking.

It was only moments later that she started to stir again, showing the resilience and strength of mind she had against a hard blow.  Nothing came to her hearing when it returned...nothing familiar.  No voices belonging to the others.  Her hands were empty, and she remembered that her staff was lost.  She didn't even know whether or not her eyes were closed, it was so dark.

In fact, somehow, she felt that she dare not open them yet.  Instead, her voice came out into a whisper in the air...wherever she was.  "...What in Heaven's name...?"

[Gareeku]

Listening to Sal describe their enemy's power, Gareeku frowned.
"Great. As if descending into the depths of hell itself wasn't bad enough." The wolf replied in a mutter.. It was then, however, that he heard Aisha's reply, listening to her faith and confidence that the evil they faced would be destroyed.
"Get real." Gareeku replied, his voice a calm tone as he looked to Aisha with a grim expression on his face that showed signs of frustration and concern. "The threat we are facing is extremely powerful. I would be very surprised if everyone makes it out of there alive, if anyone at all."

Looking to everyone else, Gareeku then turned away, starting to take steps towards the entrance where the rest of the group had disappeared into before.
"Which is why I will not let them die alone."

[Stygian]

Sal's eyebrows shot. Well, the two large ones that were clear to make out did. No one in the group above could be so sure about the others. Or if she even had any others. 'You're going to what? I thought the idea was that you stay here,' she said, not angered but sounding somewhat incredulous.

- -

And then the little creatures befell the group. One second they were moving freely ahead, the other they were in a storming, thick cloud of beating wings and sharp, jagged teeth and claws. They found it hard to even so much as move their limbs around.

- -

It was not the end though. Because as soon as she had gotten a glimpse of sense back, the tigress was immediately knocked around and tumbled over edge as she hit a rocky surface, hard. She hadn't even felt as if she were moving! No wind, no direction, nothing to see... Except that there seemed to be something to see now. Some dark, fiery light. If only she could stop tumbling so she could open her eyes safely...
   Finally sliding down onto a flat surface, beaten and bruised, Rynkura was welcomed by a hot, acrid atmosphere and the putrescent stench of ash and dust.

[Boog]

"Ah. Right then," Jeremiah replied weakly to Sal's description. "Charming. Well better you than me, Legs." He'd never caught her name, after all. The frog frowned as Gareeku voiced his desire to follow, grasping frantically for reasons not to.
Things other than the spider. Demons. Other big scary people.
Thanks Nex, I can handle it on my own.
"Gareeku, we're still needed here. Just because we sort-of have her on our side doesn't mean others aren't on their way," He strode over to the dragoness, partially to help her up and partially to keep Gareeku from noticing that the calm rational voice wasn't on speaking terms with the facial expression, "Better that they survive alone than die with company because we weren't doing our part."

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha nearly expected a rebuttal from the spider woman on her comments about the old bat that everyone was suddenly up against.  For a moment she glanced toward Mel, who was now attempting to get back up, with a bit of effort.  The panthress, after a pause, decided that it was safe enough to step away from the others and help the dragon.

Before she could take the step, however, she heard Gareeku's comment, which also made her turn her head.  Unlike Sal's look, her gaze wasn't incredulous, but just...surprised.  Perhaps troubled.  It was hard to tell...though she expected the wolf to have wanted to go help, the combination of worry in his own countenance and his comment to her on facing the facts...the reality of the situation sort of hit her.  Especially thinking of everything he has done to keep her alive.

She released a sigh, and looked between him, the spider, the bracer on her arm that was feeding strength into her body, and back again.  "I feel I can be so sure because Rynkura is with them.  You don't know her as well as I do, and you can't underestimate her strength.  The stories she could tell you about what she's done in her life, even I find hard to believe.  And do you think we should underestimate Stygian, too?"  She glanced back at Sal, who seemed to know the bats better than any of them.  "I doubt it."

That was when Jeremiah interjected with his own reasons...there was a sense of optimism, but even then, doubt still flooded her mind.  Aisha's eyes met Gareeku's, and her gaze turned soft.  "But I also doubt you can be stopped."  She hung her head and stepped forward, placing her hand on his arm.  "I just hope that you aren't about to go to your death."

*     *     *

Rynkura snarled as soon as the motion stopped, and her side hit stone.  She was thrown with too much speed, too much shock to have tried to stop until she was sliding on the ground.  Her wings were pinned against her body so they wouldn't stand a chance of being broken just by an impact.  However it still left them bloody and absent a few feathers.  The rest of her body was marred similarly.

"Oh..." the tigress groaned, finally able to open her eyes and glimpse the atmosphere.  Dark, bar for just a reddish light coming from one direction.  The demons had dropped her there on purpose, she guessed.  Shaking her head, the Healer used a free hand to activate the enchantment to make her wings vanish...the other hand she used to get herself up again.  Her nostrils flared at the distinct smell that the place had.  "Where am I?" she wondered out loud.  Her claws dug into the solid earth, and there was a faint light glow from it, an action of being prepared for whatever might answer.

[Gareeku]

Listening to the others talk, Gareeku stopped in his tracks, turning to look at the others. Thinking their words over, the wolf sighed.
"...fine." he said, stepping slowly back to where the others were. "But I hope for their sake that you are right."

[lucas marcone]

There were a few shouts of frustration from Ian, but soon after he opened fire UV rounds cutting through the dark till they could no longer be seen.

[Cogidubnus]

          The darkness, black as ink, surrounded them and blinded them, and to all but the sparse little that the holy-glowing sword illumined, shadow concealed and hid. The very creatures, demons, pressed close to them with leather wings and jagged claws could not be seen, and making their way up the rest of the stairs was proving impossible. They would be rent to pieces, stopped from moving forward by the sheer mass of flapping wings around them. The wolf heard shots ring out, small lights burning through the darkness like sparks before fading into darkness some interminable distance away.

Cogidubnus, battered, bruised, his clothing and his fur in tatters, had received enough. The depths of hell had plucked the angel come to save him right out from under him, the healer carried away almost without a sound in a single breathless heartbeat. Preying upon their compassion – now preying upon their helplessness. Slowly, the leather-winged, darkness-hidden demons were descending upon them, like a child delighted to find that a thrown rock made small animals bleed.
But they were not so helpless. Three charms dangled from the wolf's wrist, two from his neck, and one glowing sword in hand – and thanks to Mel, despite his ragged appearance, the wolf felt better than he had before descending into the pit. The wolf was strong.

Cog clenched his teeth, and bared a fang as a claw came dangerously close to an eye, leaving a cut on the wolf's cheek. The constant, paralyzing mass of demons flying around them made the wolf's skin crawl, and he instinctively wanted to pause and gather his strength for a moment, and blow the demons away with a bubble of force. But ahead of him, Ketefe, Keaton, and Ian – they would be knocked to their doom. The wolf's eye darkened – and in a brief instant, a piece of his mind gifted, cursed, with an almost perfect knowledge of all things elementally thunderous and arcane, clicked.

The wolf did not give into anger, but instead dropped to a knee, laying his sword to the side and making a quick series of arcane gestures – there was no sky to respond to his ministrations, but he needed no storm for this spell. This sort of lightning could occur in a clear sky, as well as a darkened one. Mystic words flowed from his lips, entreating the elements to respond to his command – and in the distance, one could almost hear the crashing sound of thunder. The wolf's hands began to fizzle, not with a blue glow, but with a lurid red.
And, in a flashing moment, it happened – a orb appeared in front of the wolf, red and flaming without fire, and in a instant began to move, circling up and around the wolf in a corkscrew. His hands still fizzled red, and with a jerk with one hand an a gesture with the other, he began to control the little ball, his hands in turn controlling the height and direction of the little orb. With a short syllable, the spell was complete, and the little thing began to truly -move-, with an almost predictable lightning quickness.

It was the work of a moment to bring the orb down, and with a snarl the wolf smote a path through the flying demons above him – and with yet further ministrations he brought the little orb back, the ball lightning carving yet another furrow in the demons.
"Ah, broken is the golden bowl," Cog said, the words almost speaking themselves. "The spirit flown forever! Let the bell toll – A saintly soul," the wolf made a few quick series of motions with his hands, drawing circles in the air, the little ball began to circle the stairs, almost like a tube around the pathway.
"Glides down the Stygian river! Let the burial song be sung – a dirge for the most lovely dead-" The little ball was destruction itself – anything that touched it simply seemed to disintegrate into ash.

"That ever died so young." the wolf said, moving the ball of lightning through the air with deft movements. He bared his fangs again. "If we have to find the devil himself, I swear we'll get her back, you bastards..."

[Sunblink]

During their trek, Keaton remained unsettlingly quiet, routinely isolated from the rest of the group and, in-between mournfully and remorsefully staring at the staff protectively clutched in her exsanguinous hands, studiously gazing about the shadows in search of any advancing adversaries. Keeping her concentration was somewhat difficult under the weight of her emotions, but, significantly, Keaton wasn't hysterical, and that was a positive change from her previous breakdowns. Particularly the ones where she had nearly assaulted and killed Sal.

Speaking of Sal, what was that bitch up to? She had been fortunate enough to escape, but where was she lurking now? Of course, that was an irrelevant train of thought. Right now, finding Rynkura was priority. As long as things didn't go horribly wrong, locating their missing comrade would be--

Wingbeats. Hundreds of them, like thundering battledrums.

Fuck.

In the next moment, they were besieged by the incoming upswell of winged monstrosities and creepy-crawly creatures, all swarming and diving upon those in the group. Ravenous jaws and claws tore into skin and bone, their resonating screeches rending the air--

--amidst the screaming throng, Keaton's sight and sound was obscured by the beating wings and monotonous wailing. She lost all sight of her companions; their forms disappearing between the blurred bodies of the sweeping figures, leaving her to attempt to scream over the racket created by the monsters. Crouching slightly, Keaton attempted to protect herself from the pandemonium by trying to exchange Rynkura's staff for Catastrophe, which was still strapped to her back, but the concourse of sweeping claws interfered every time. Nails like serrated razors raked through Keaton's skin, cleaving thin lines of jagged scarlet across the already blood-tarnished, mottled surface of her saffron-sable fur. Snarling ferociously, Keaton crouched, taking advantage of a sudden lapse in the pack by finally snatching Catastrophe and sweeping it out from its holster with one hand, keeping Rynkura's staff secured in the other one--

--when among the cacophony of swelling shrieks, she heard the sizzling and popping of ozone, the tumescent bloating of electrified air, and the sirenous shriek of expanding energy as an orb of lightning flourished in Cogidubnus's hands and flared, spreading spades of crackling light in a cleaving streak through the demons, driving them back. Shielding her eyes from the pulsating concentration of light, Keaton quickly slipped Rynkura's staff in Catastrophe's holster and, using both hands, swung the aforementioned mace in a wide arc. The spiked globe delivered a swift uppercut to one of the demons who had the misfortune of moving too slowly out of the way, its body becoming impaled on one of Catastrophe's spikes. Another swing discarded the carcass, then another swiped through another division of the throng, and another swing crushed a pair of demons under its head...

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Stygian]

Rolling her eyes, Sal began walking forward toward Gar and the downward passageway. 'Well, if you're feeling particularly restless, don't let me hinder you,' she said, having 'restless' replace the 'suicidal' she had thought of saying first. 'Going down there to save your friends is the noble thing to do. I just want to make sure that the bats die. Anything past that is... an improvement, actually.' She certainly was not going to complain if they decided to go down there and kill everything in sight. Partly because they would have a greater chance at succeeding, and partly since that would leave no one to owe a favor to later if they failed. Rounding the stairs and the split altar up on the podium, she glanced toward the dark, steep stairway, easily keeping hesitation back through virtue of sheer determination and the knowledge that things could not become worse than they were.
   Thunder cracked once in the dark night outside, after a flash that made the painted glass windows flash amber light onto them, and Sal finally stepped forward toward the stairway. 'Either way, I'm going. I can't ask you to cover my back, since I've been ordered to fight you. But if you "chase" me down there, and just happen to find the others, I won't complain...' she said, then put her foot on the first step and started descending.

- -

Sizzling sounds echoed everywhere around them, through the crackling and frying hiss of the thunderous orb that Cog had called forth. It was not hard for Keaton to hit anything either, rather, it was hard just to keep on swinging, defying the clawing pain and the resistance of the bodies being crushed by her mace.
   The swarming creatures did not respond immediately to the retaliation, yet when their screeches finally rose to a climactic hiss they turned tail and were gone as quickly as they had attacked, rippling in synchronized flight out into the dark, the sound of their cries and wings dying after only a few short seconds. Left were the adventurers only, shaggy and scratched raw, clothes finally torn into the rags they should already have been and their hides covered with scratches and flesh wounds that bled profusely into sticky fur.

- -

As Rynkura stood, she caught the hissing, rolling background sound, coming from the very same direction as the light. From the opposite, it was as if some deep, engulfing darkness was welling out, but intermingling mid-way with streams of fire. Only when she turned her head to get as clear a look as she could, did she realize. She had reached the very bottom of it all, it seemed.
   To the tigress' immediate left a veritable lake of fire and molten rock spread out, throughout the bottom of some immeasurable shaft, the few hints of which one could see if one turned their head upwards. She could not guess how far the top was, but she had a sort of hunch that it was not a distance that could be measured by any traditional means. Platforms, outcroppings, caverns and crevices were carved in the jagged walls within her sight, cliffs and small islands of ashy rock jutted out of the molten lake, and everywhere there were... shapes, wisps of fire floating up from the lava or slipping out of the cracks, dissipating or hiding away as they flew around, nearly all of them rising upward. And yet it was nothing compared to the gateway that spewed darkness and both blood-chilling, dark emptiness and searing, soul-scorching heat. A dark corridor, its interior impossibly distant and ever so close, its exit shaped like a fanged, skeletal maw, was set into a cavern at the very bottom of it all, spewing forth horrid, fiery shapes and seething, twisting shadows from its sides while staying impossibly black at its heart like some inverse black hole. Rynkura weakened just seeing it; merely being so deep in that blackness made her think she would not be able to stand.
   'Where you should not be, little angel...' a voice rose behind the tigress, growling and deep and so terribly heavy with the darkness that she felt as if she were being pressed into the ground. A heavy step and dry ash underfoot sounded from behind her. 'You are... where you will die.'

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha stepped back from Gareeku, observing as he had actually decided to stay.  In particular she also observed Sal's reaction to the whole thing, subtly hinting that it wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing if those who were charged with guarding the entrance would follow into the death trap.  Not a chance, the panther thought, watching the spider as she started to descend into the darkness.  There was still a spot of sickness in the pit of her stomach, watching as the one least likely expected to be let through disappeared through the shadows.  She wouldn't wish her the luck that was wished for their friends.  But she did hope that the deal wouldn't be broken.

When she was gone, Aisha placed her palm over her forehead, growling.  "Gods...I sincerely hope that we haven't condemned anyone.  I swear that spider will be dead without words if that's what happens," she spat.  The huntress obviously never did like letting quarry go, even if she had to.

She glanced briefly between Gareeku and Jeremiah, a troubled countenance shared between all of them.  Was it really too much to ask to have woken up when things were peaceful again?  When there was a chance that one day wouldn't go by without one fight?

Sighing, Aisha then turned around and stepped up to Mel, offering to help her up.  "You okay, amiga?"

*     *     *

Rynkura almost thought that the sight of molten rock and fire on her level was impossible...so far deep into the earth that it could have been the base of a volcano.  Where no creature could live just because of the poisons alone...but she remembered what they had been fighting, and where they were.  The lowest piece of the conjured, almost-realistic version of Hell.  The darkness made that completely evident...the fires, the rolling shadows, and the light which harbored sounds of foreboding.

The tigress tried to keep her stand.  She had fought among impossible levels of darkness during her days as a paladin, and this was hardly different...except for a feeling that belonged to no conventional demon, which kept reminding her of its presence with a chill up her spine and a very heavy feeling.

Briefly, she used just bits of her magic to heal the scratches that accumulated in places on her body...bruises would heal with a bit more effort, but less time.  And then her head swiveled on the voice...the almost immediate answer to her question started with the sound of a heavy step.  The Healer's eyes narrowed.  Oh, I've heard that threat before.

Her hands, stretched and laying at her sides, were glowing as she stared at the void.  "Where I will die...a haughty prediction.  That has certainly worked so far.  And here I thought I could pass for someone of no importance."  She put an incredulous, almost mocking tone to her voice in the last statement, before turning serious again.  "I suspect that I am speaking to Asmodai."

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel let the frog and the pantheress to help her to her feet. She leaned against one of the pillars, rubbing the knot on the back of her head. "What happened? How long was I out?" She managed to clear her vision just in time to notice a flash of red disappearing into the gate. Only one person they had encountered thus far had red hair. "The spider?! Someone stop her."

[Cogidubnus]

 With a whisper, the wolf dismissed the ball of thunder orbiting around the stairway. It disappeared almost as fast as it came, simply blinking out of existence without even a crackle or spark. The wolf's hands stopped fizzling that eerie, eldritch red, and without preamble the wolf grabbed his sword laying at his side. The moment his hand touched the hilt, it again began to glow with a holy light.

"Let's move." he said, standing up slowly. His chin felt wet, and he brushed his hand across it - it came away bloody, and Cog scowled. "Before they get back. This isn't the best place to fight."

[lucas marcone]

Ian looked about as annoied as a teenager appointed to keep their littler sibling entertained for an entire 500 mile trip. He set foot on the platform. "These were my faverite clothes! and now they're all torn and UGH! The blood stains wont come out for MONTHS!" It soon became appearnt Ian was a bleeder, he was bleeding about twice as much as a normal person. He took off his Jacket wich was mostly intact to rid himself of his ruined band shirt wich he promtly tossed into the pit. He then put his jacket back on. "This is the last time i follow anyone into a cold dark pit in the intrest of saveing the world. Wish I still had some Flashies." He muttered comeing in range of Keaton.

[Boog]

"We worked out a deal with her and are hoping it doesn't screw us over. Relax," Jeremiah smiled worriedly, "I'm certain things will be..." Now this was tricky. There was an upward limit to how much he was going to lie to someone that was for the most part on the same side as him. "Not catastrophic in a way that directly effects us." He finished lamely as he finished helping the dragon upright.

[Angel]

For a while, all Ketefe could focus on was running to the platform and killing the creatures. The dark, the absence of Stygian, the condition of the others - none of it mattered to her now. All that mattered was survival.

But in the next second, the swarm surrounded the group, and all Ketefe could see and hear were leathery wings and jagged claws. Her sword had already been drawn when she'd started back up the stairs, but now it hardly made a difference. The creatures surrounded her so thickly she could barely swing her weapon, and she couldn't keep the creatures away from her - she felt several places get scratched and bitten, but all she could do was keep swinging and hope that at least some of the creatures died before she did.

Then a realization struck her. THE BRACELET! But how the hell was she going to get it to work?! Mel hadn't told her the instructions, but if she could just look away from the creatures long enough to figure it out...

Thankfully, before she tried anything that insane, she felt her fur prickle with electricity, and watched in awe as Cogidubnus cast a lightning spell that injured and scared the creatures enough to force them into retreat. She gazed at her friends - all tattered and bleeding, their clothing shredded, but all still alive. She noted to herself that Keaton had saved Rynkura's staff, and looked at Ian in amazement when he disregarded how much he was bleeding in favor of how ruined his clothes were.

The azure feline stood up straight - and immediately winced in pain. She looked down at herself in frustration. Her attire had been skimpy enough not to receive any significant rips or tears, but as a result, she was much more scratched up than she should've been.

"Fuck," she muttered, wiping blood from around a particularly painful wound just under her ribcage. She moved to follow Cog, the scratches on her legs protesting with every step. "We need to find Rynkura before we all die of blood loss," she said to the room at large. "Think those things have a nest, or should we not risk it?"

[Sunblink]

As the final of those winged beasts dispersed, its flapping form vanishing within the darkness amidst its retreat, Keaton finally released every bit of tension and strength which was keeping her body upright, every muscle in her form snapping like severed rubber bands as she buckled and slumped over. The end of Catastrophe's handle slammed into the ground, perforating the stone effortlessly, and driving deeper as Keaton leaned against the mace, using it as her solitary support. Achieving some form of grip on Catastrophe's shaft was difficult, since her hands were slick with blood, and by the time Keaton was stabilized, she was nearly on her knees.

New blood had joined the coagulating fluid smearing and smudging Keaton's fur, nearly making the color which was tarnished indistinguishable. Very little of her body was untouched by the red substance, and her outfit, which was relatively new after it replaced her older one, was now tattered and unsalvageable, and equally stained with blood. Other wounds and injuries crisscrossed over Keaton's form, several having the misfortune of landing in rather dangerous parts of her body--one had bisected her right eyebrow; nearly diagonally slashing over her forehead; a triad of slashes deeply marked her cheek, and another cleaved over her collarbone, dodging her neck. The bodies of decimated creatures littered the ground around Keaton's feet, some having been skewered on Catastrophe's spikes. Movements agonized, Keaton reached up, and began to pry off the beasts, but only after she had regained some control over her haphazard breathing.

Cogidubnus ordered for them to move on. One glance confirmed the worst: everyone else was as damaged as she was, their clothes and skin in tatters. Ian was walking somewhere near her, but Keaton didn't really give a damn at that moment. She was too preoccupied with extricating the final corpse impaled on Catastrophe's last spike. Trying to ignore her exhaustion, Keaton trailed behind the group, her organic eye visibly glazed.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Stygian]

Rynkura received no immediate reply. Instead, two more of those heavy steps stopped a bit closer to her, close enough that she knew she could simply turn around and reach out and touch their source. But she wanted rather the opposite, to get away from them as fast as simply possible. Nevertheless, her eyes were drawn around, so she could get a glimpse of her foe. And she almost wished they hadn't been.
   To believe that this creature and the one who had entered the castle were one and the same really took a great deal of knowledge about Demons and their nature. Looming over the tigress now, the bat's features had hardened and turned monstrous in a most terrifying way, two large horns splitting his brow and curving around his ears to sharpened tips. In his dark eyes, his burning eyes were the one truly visible feature, set among black, vaguely patterned fur and over the hint of a jaggedly fanged mouth. His dark clothes like shadows wrapped around his muscular form, opening at the back to let a ridge of spikes down his slightly craned neck and spine out. And of course, to let out the massive, fiendish wings that sprouted from his back and shadowed his form. Glowing, tattooed symbols, like heated iron embedded in his skin, hinted on his forearms, and an aura of darkness and fumes made the very air writhe immediately around him. He was holding a pitch-black staff in his hand.
   'I seem to recall...' the split voice growled, unhurriedly and maliciously. Rynkura could just see his mouth moving, teeth that could no doubt snap her neck in half like a twig parting slowly. 'I think I remember you as well. Not that it matters.' His fiery glare flared once. His voice was grave as death itself. 'My grandson will be here, soon enough. But not before your poor friends have been taken care of. Even now, they are struggling to make their way here. Rest assured that I will not let them die before they reach us.' Only at the last words did the tigress think she hinted a slight smirk on his darkened face. 'After all, what good are they, save as hostage? Not that I expect him to care, but perhaps.'

[Aisha deCabre]

"Whoa, easy," Aisha said as soon as Mel managed to get herself up, with the help of Jeremiah as well.  The frog quickly explained what Sal was doing there in a nutshell.  When Aisha met the dragon's gaze, she solemnly nodded.  "It's true.  The spider wanted to go down after the bats, and kinda had us cold, so we made an agreement.  She helps kill the older one and gets our friends back up here, and we kill Sebastian if she's not set free afterward.  She's something of a slave to their family, ask her next time."

When she saw that Mel was more or less fine, Aisha turned without saying anything more.  Though everyone who was awake agreed to the bargain, she still felt more responsible for it, as she was the one who shook the creature's hand.  By the end of the fiasco, someone was going to get stabbed in the back...she was almost sure of it.

She passed Gareeku with a quick smile, rather grateful that he had decided to stay...among much more.  Finally the panther sat back onto the chapel bench, forehead resting in her hand in a pensive stance.  "How do we get through this..." she muttered.

*     *     *

As soon as Rynkura turned to finally lay eyes on the one speaking, she almost wished that she hadn't.  The demonic creature looming before her couldn't be described as anything more than an absolute embodiment of malice and darkness.  Asmodai walked with sinuous intent, eyes that burned among void-black fur.  He looked nothing like a bat, more like a hellbent mammalian reptile.

The Angel still held her stance, however her face was bunched in a spiteful snarl.  She took a step back as he took a step forward and spoke, his voice feeling enough like death that she nearly expected the reaper to be in the chamber as well.

"I doubt I recall you, demon.  I haven't been here in hundreds of years," Rynkura pointed out, her voice low.  "In fact, I thought all of you were dead."  Bits of electricity powered by the magic of holy light slowly surged through one sleek, strong arm, crackling through outstretched claws...readying.

"Why are you doing this?  Your only business should be with Stygian.  Not with me, for I have little affiliation with this place now.  Not with any of the others, they are innocent.  Adventurers, warriors, not worthy of such trouble."  Her fangs bared.  "And especially not with Aisha, who was rather too young to face the dog you let loose on her.  Too young for you to fear anything.  So why all of this?"

She couldn't take her eyes from the beast, nor would she.  Her muscles were tensed, senses honed completely, ready to spring away or attack at the next provocation.  But first and foremost, Rynkura wanted answers.