darkSpyro

Mischief groaned but didn't argue. While she wasn't too beat up, the release of so much Mana had resulted in complete exhaustion, leaving her very weak. She welcomed Maverick's assistance. Choco followed Maverick to lend his emotional support and help if he could.

The creature had no reaction to Angora's assault - initially. As it worked to defend itself from other attacks, however, it sidestepped without facing her, though likely aware of her presence as per the mastermind. It would, however, stumble as it was being held down by Darkheart's efforts.
Latnok, meanwhile, prepared another arrow. He didn't know how long they would be able to keep the thing away from the ship at this rate - hunting the mastermind now might be a little more time-consuming than they could possibly afford. There was a potential alternate solution, however - one worth a try at least. "Raclaw, any chance you can... interfere with the communication somehow?" Latnok asked as he shot an arrow at a whistler, before receiving a volley of spines back - one of which tore through a vambrace. "Maybe confuse things long enough for us to get a solid hit in?"

"I can certainly try!," Raclaw explained as he focused in on the direct lines of communications going on between the mastermind and it's peers. "Damon-- I know you can interfere with me? Can you do the same on an outward-lying line?," he asked the collar entity. "You got it, although this may affect you as well. Are you ready?," Damon responded. "I'm ready. Latnok-- be prepared.," Raclaw responded as the collar-bound-entity began to 'transmite' a great deal of noise/'interference.' Raclaw's ears began to go back as the irritating noise began to fill his head. While most of their *shared* energy would be focuses on the overkill blockage, Raclaw's personal efforts would be focused on keeping the interference from reaching Latnok. "Latnok-- I won't be of much use to you while this is in effect, so do.. what.. you have to do.," he said looking at the Guardian and clearly in mental 'pain' of his own consent. The noise would be mostly background noise to the Guardian, although Raclaw's distress could still be felt to a familiar degree.

Angora stabbed the ground when the walker avoided her blow, but could release it without effort. As soon as she realized the walker was still up and without a scratch, she activated her shield almost in a panic. How can this thing had dodged her? She still didn't know there was a mastermind behind this, so all she could do was scream in frustration.

Maverick left Mischief's care at the three men he has come to trust so much. As he left the infirmary however, he was thinking about releasing Veris to help them. But that wasn't up to him. He had to avoid the temptation...

Latnok took the opportunity to grab the chime from his belt - focusing in order to ring the device in tune with his magic. With the full power of the chime from the original source, the monster's adopted adaptive armor was rendered ineffective - and with the mastermind currently disrupted, and Darkheart restraining the creature's movements somewhat, now was the best opportunity there would be to finish the creature off.

With Raclaw's powerful psychic disruption, the ishiuds temporarily fell into disarray, many of them stopping and moving erratically rather than coordinate. The mastermind struggled as it worked to win out over the interference to regain control of the army.

Angry to the point of being berserk, Angora removed her shield, and started to slice up and down, horizontally and diagonally at the walker.
"Just DIE already!" she yelled, knowing deep inside that fighting with anger was very wrong, but her friends were in danger. Shade was injured, the ship was being attacked, and it just frustrated her so much that the beast wasn't playing fair by healing immediately after sustaining damage. She thought that the more she sliced her with this sword that Orion himself has gifted her, he would injure it faster than it could heal.

In front of Veris' enclosure, Maverick was facing a hard decision.
"Mi Dahlia is no fighter, and she panics often, but Veris... he is trained for this..." he said, hesitating too much to open that door. This was Sere's valuable mount, and what's more, Angora's dear friend. If something happened to him, Maverick would never forgive himself...

Darkheart winced slightly at the psychic noise but only steeled herself to grip the beast tighter through her shadow mastery. "It's over, isn't it... Good... I'm tiring rapidly from this..."

Mischief weakly attempted to move, wanting to help, but surrendered to exhaustion. "Ugh..."
Digi noted gratefully "Thank Arceus... It's only exhaustion and minor injuries, according to my scanners... Pokemon are good at recovering from that even with rest alone. With care she'll recover all the faster."
Choco nervously watched his master.

Rocky continued the battle, a silent soldier of stone who didn't flinch.

With little ability to move freely, and no foresight to perfectly avoid the blows, the attacks on the walker found its mark. The creature struggled for a little while after receiving fatal blows, but soon began to disintegrate in a coat of fire, before no trace was left of it.

With the creature down, and the rest of the Ishulgites rattled from the psychic attack, the rest of the battle was little more than a mop-up operation. The chime rendered the soldiers over the entire battlefield vulnerable, simplifying the process of fighting them for the sailors and islanders. Soon, all that was left would be the fortress. Unlike before, however, the defenders didn't seem to be standing in the way...

Darkheart raised her head in a roar of triumph. "It doesn't matter what they send against us! We! Will! Triumph!" She remembered herself and blushed, before looking around a bit more calmly.

Mischief drowsed quietly, sleeping off her exhaustion. It wasn't like she could do anything else in her current condition.

With the creatures down and the remaining Ishulgites quickly dispatched by their allies-- Damon creased the psychic disruption (and Raclaw's pain). The Fur Dragon remained briefly still; his ears still ringing as he witnessed the last of the current enemy fall one by one. "I'm sorry-- it's over. We did it and now only the fortress remains, but where are the defenders? They didn't seem the type to so quickly give up...," the collar entity commented audible to both Latnok and Raclaw. The latter didn't offer an immediate response, but did get up and began to approach the former's side once again. Sometimes Damon was both a curse *and* a blessing.

Elsewhere, Risar and the others aboard the Enduring Legacy offered brief celebration as the beast fell; the minotaur offered a big hearty grin at the sight of it. Chester remained safe and sound within inner hallways, although the little Beagle could only guess if they had succeeded or failed in whatever battle was currently going on. Until than, he simply lied his head down and waited in sight of the main door to the decks.

After Angora's sword began to glow, she stabbed the creature along with Shade in a double attack, watching almost in disbelief as the beast disintegrated right before her very eyes. They did it! They have finally succeeded, but then again, she even started to wonder why she had any doubts in the first place. They have already faced trials like this, if not even worse. She fell on her knees in relief, breathing hard. They weren't out of the woods yet though. There was still much to be done, so she didn't want to lower her guard.
"Come on Shady! Time to take the fortress." she said, wanting to help...

Maverick was back on the main deck after much hesitation, giving a brief lo siento to Veris from behind the door when he decided it was not worth risking his life. The life of Sere's beloved mount and no doubt one of Angora's dearest friends. He returned to the main deck just in time to witness the walker's destruction, shedding a few tears of happiness. He knew it wasn't over yet, but at least they overcame this particular ordeal. He didn't know what other surprises the Ishulgites might have for them given they probably knew by now not to underestimate them, so he wanted to take these few seconds of relief and enjoy the victory...

Meanwhile, with the initial battle concluded, Sere had to meet up with the islanders again to come up with a plan. He approached the defensive line, and the islanders could be seen waiting for his arrival as they gathered up their injured and fallen.
Sere was given a nod by one of the men as he came. "It seems we are victorious for now. Where is Martus?" he asked.
"Martus fell in battle," one of the soldiers answered. "One of those spiny things got him in the throat. Nothing short of a tourniquet would have stopped the bleeding."
Sere looked down and shook his head. "I see..."
The soldier continued speaking. "He was a brave man who led by example. A model for the rest of us to follow. We will do what we can, when we can. For now, though, we have to continue. Corvion will be the acting leader until we can get back home. We've taken this battle to keep our home alive - we cannot let our sacrifices be in vain."
By then, another man, covered in light blue wyvernskin armor, came forward. "Greetings. Godfather Sere, I believe they call you? As you may already know, I am Corvion. I will be coordinating efforts with you until we are done here."
Sere nodded. "The fortress. We still need to get through it..."
Corvion gave a somewhat displeased look. "Our men understandably have fewer compunctions about just attacking the fort and slaughtering everyone along the way, after this battle. I have half a mind to oblige."
Sere completely understood where Corvion was coming from. "Still... they don't seem to be standing at their posts at the moment. I wonder what the deal is."
Suddenly, a small form began to manifest out of thin air near them. Men readied crossbows, but put them down when they realized the situation. Laszur stood before them.
"Pardon me for the sudden interruption," he said, "but I've been doing some reconnaissance. Morale at the garrison seems to be dropping. It may be possible to convince them to abandon their defense."
There were many things Sere wondered about the situation - but the exact reason for the decline in morale wasn't the most important factor. The important thing right now would be taking advantage of it. "Thank you for the information. Perhaps I can find someone who'd be able to talk them out of this whole matter."

Angora waited a while, telling Shade to stay put and not interrupting Sere or the islanders as they spoke. She perked up her ears, trying to catch as much of the conversation as she could. Eavesdropping was not something she did as often as before, but since she didn't want the islanders to be distracted by her appearance, she and Shade stayed at a considerable distance. It felt nice being with him again. Despite still being angry at him for practically being responsible for their part as crew of the Enduring Legacy, she still enjoyed his company, and hoped he wasn't punished for this moment since all he did was help.

Maverick got up and hugged Ilasi, very relieved of their victory. He didn't say anything. He just wanted to hug...

'Shade...,' Raclaw thought feeling the exhaustion of the dragolet-- causing him to briefly lose balance, but only briefly. Neither him or Shade could ever entirely ignore the connection they had, much like his own connection with Latnok. The Fur Dragon remained quiet out of respect and wished he could've done more for Martus. His (or rather Damon's) actions had helped immensely, but had meant that the others had to take the enemy down in his place.

Corvion struggled to make eye contact, as the recent events weighed heavily on him and the other men. "It's unlikely that we'll ever be able to repatriate him... but we would be grateful to have him honored," he answered. He looked around at the rest of the men - those who weren't tending to casualties were resting, talking amongst each other. Their tones varied between somber and indignant - a tone that would slowly shift towards the latter over time.

Ilasi returned the embrace, almost crying at having survived such a battle yet again. "We're still here, dear..." she said, almost in disbelief. How much more of this carnage and bloodshed would be needed before this was all over? They seemed to be getting closer, at least according to what she heard... but she knew by now that these people always had some trick or another up their sleeve.
It would only be a matter of time before they played their trump card.

Angora got just a tad bit closer to see there has been indeed more casualties than she expected, though it shouldn't have been a surprise. As she processed what was going on, she started to cry, to the point of sniffling.
"Oh what the heck man!? I don't even know these people!" she started to say, hating to get sentimental over the death of humans she never even knew. Maverick's nature has rubbed off too much on her.

Quote: A Guy

Ilasi returned the embrace, almost crying at having survived such a battle yet again. "We're still here, dear..." she said, almost in disbelief. How much more of this carnage and bloodshed would be needed before this was all over? They seemed to be getting closer, at least according to what she heard... but she knew by now that these people always had some trick or another up their sleeve.
It would only be a matter of time before they played their trump card.

"It doesn't matter if it takes a thousand miracles mi Ilasi. We will keep prevailing,mand somehow, we will stop this loco society. We have too many plans ahead. A whole life." Maverick assured, knowing they would literally need a miracle to stop the Ishulgites. How much long before they are finally stopped? And how many more monsters will they keep throwing at them? It was no mystery they wanted them dead.

Corvion observed the preparations for the rites, as the other men tended to their own wounded. "I'll round up those who can attend," he said in agreement, and left to find them. Sone of the men seemed to have stepped out for a while; Corvion sought the more high-ranking men, as well as the injured but stable who wouldn't be able to assist in any other way.

Though focused more on the matter at hand, Latnok barely caught a few words of Angora's comment. He nodded solemnly as he looked at the proceedings. In the Ardent Guardians, they didn't lose men anywhere near as frequently as was common on most battlefields. "I believe that's what we know as empathy..." he answered Angora off-handedly. "Don't worry. It's something I'm still trying to get used to myself."

A whole life... Ilasi hugged Maverick even tighter for a few moments, before letting go. "We won't fall here. We can't... not after all that's happened," she declared. For once, she could see the light at the end of the tunnel - everything that was waiting for them when this was all done. That was more than she ever had before - and she would keep chasing it. They would succeed. They had to.

"I don't know how. I don't know when. But somehow, we will succeed. We will stop these... Ishulgites and finally bring peace for us, and for those threatened by them." Maverick assured Ilasi, not finding better words for the occassion. He knew she was also too worried about what the Ishulgites will do, both to them and the place she called home for so long. They kept attacking them at every corner, but now that they have succeeded, Maverick hoped it was the last attack in a while. But he started to wonder, just for how much longer would they have to keep fighting? Just when will the Ishulgites arsenal against them depletes?

Quote: A Guy

Though focused more on the matter at hand, Latnok barely caught a few words of Angora's comment. He nodded solemnly as he looked at the proceedings. In the Ardent Guardians, they didn't lose men anywhere near as frequently as was common on most battlefields. "I believe that's what we know as empathy..." he answered Angora off-handedly. "Don't worry. It's something I'm still trying to get used to myself."

Angora rolled her eyes, groaning in frustration.
"Well... it's not right. How can you feel this way for people you never even knew? Not sure how you human emotions work, but trolls aren't suppose to feel anything, especially for strangers. Things are bad enough for us as it is." she complained, kinda annoyed that Latnok of all people saw her being this pathetic. She rubbed her eyes dry, not wanting to show any more weakness. What have humans ever done for her? Maverick was the only man she ever considered a true friend, though he kinda didn't count since he wasn't entirely human. There was also Julien, whom she was indebted to, but she didn't know him that well yet to be considered a friend, not to mention that he probably isn't human anymore.

The men assembled as Zera and Shatterstar completed preparations.

Latnok tried to figure the best analogy - considering feelings weren't something he ever thought he would be explaining. "Well, you know how, during a battle, you're trying to figure out what the situation is, and what your enemy might do from there? Do that enough... and you might start doing that for allies, too. Something like that, at least... You're familiar enough with people to know what things like this mean to them. Raclaw could probably explain it better than I could." As the ceremony began, Latnok left to take his place.

Angora now understood less with Latnok's explanation. He clearly wasn't very good with emotions either, so perhaps Raclaw was the best one for it indeed. She remained put, waiting for everyone else to make their next step.

Matter a tender moment with his girlfriend, Maverick looked around. The place was a mess. Some sailors were injured, though hopefully not too severely. He wondered how Mischief was doing. With the weaver's corpses lying around, he had a pretty good idea by now what could be done about it.
"I know how we can clean up this mess. Ya vuelvo Ilasi. We can help Sand Dune, Opium and Random later." he suggested, sealing the conversation with a quick kiss on the lips, disappearing below stairs.

After a while, Maverick found himself in front of Veris' enclosure again. It was a good thing he wasn't needed, and that he made the decision of not releasing him. But now the danger was over, and he knew well he was the perfect candidate to get rid of the corpses upstairs. Opening the door casually, he wondered what it would be like to sort of experiment what Angora went through every day.
"Hola Veris. We're fine. We won! Your master is alright. There is a surprise for you on the main deck." Maverick commented to the wyvern, who looked rather neutral at best, but then again, he didn't know how his emotions worked. He was hoping the mount would follow him, but he didn't like the idea of turning his back to him. Even though he has already petted him one time and Angora has taken care of him all this time without getting hurt, he still didn't trust the wyvern too much, and probably Veris didn't too.

Latnok's analogy was (understandably) underwhelming and it was clear that the Guardian still didn't have a firm grip on what exactly it meant to have/show emotion or at least intentional emotion. Raclaw looked to Angora as he took his place alongside Latnok; the Fur Dragon wondered if the troll would be willing to accept an explanation from him. A few others, such as Risar, would soon attend as well having been informed of Martus' unfortunate demise in combat. Part of Raclaw's mind thought back to Redwater, where he had witnessed the live execution of a traitor. Even though that man had been deserving of a painful death-- he couldn't have helped but to feel some empathy, in spite of everything they had done. But then again.. he *couldn't* ignore the pain of others, whereas others such as Angora didn't have to experience it. His much acquired experience in battle helped somewhat, but that fact would never change.

Chester, meanwhile, wouldn't immediately be allowed to attend but would be allowed fresh air again-- having been let out of the stuffy hallway, but advised to stay out of Veris' way as the Wyvern no doubt feasted on the dead. He would watch what he could from onboard the Enduring Legacy, keeping his paws off still potentially hostile environment. Risar would offer a brief headpat, before then offering to allow the little Beagle to attend alongside himself and his friends/allies. Attending a funeral wouldn't be the most ideal outdoor activity for the little dog, but he knew that Chester would want to be next to those he cared about. And even if he couldn't say any words, he could still very much *feel* as any dog can. Risar and Chester would soon take their places next to Latnok/co.

Veris, blood already pumping from all of the action he could hear but not participate in, gleefully followed outside to indulge in corpse disposal. As expected by now, he was more than effective at the job - though he did wonder where his human was. Probably busy - the others would probably be talking about him if something happened to him. He continued to voraciously rend the corpses as he devoured the pieces, with much energy he couldn't immediately exhaust.

Angora remained quiet for the whole time, glancing at Shade and sometimes Raclaw before returning her gaze to the fallen islander. She didn't understand how burning a corpse honored them, but then again, it was still better than eating them like trolls did... or at least she thought so. Some humans simply buried their dead, which was still better? Now she believed she still had much to learn...

Quote: A Guy

Veris, blood already pumping from all of the action he could hear but not participate in, gleefully followed outside to indulge in corpse disposal. As expected by now, he was more than effective at the job - though he did wonder where his human was. Probably busy - the others would probably be talking about him if something happened to him. He continued to voraciously rend the corpses as he devoured the pieces, with much energy he couldn't immediately exhaust.

Maverick was glad to be back on the main deck. Veris completely ignored him while having his feast. He was thankfully careful when he bit down and avoided the other sailors as he ate. At least Angora wouldn't have to feed him for a while with such banquet. As Maverick watched over the wyvern, he looked towards the island from time to time, with many gathering around. That could only mean one thing; there were casualties and were honoring the fallen. Couldn't be Sere or the others would've been talking about it nonstop. It was no mystery that with a battle like that one there re bound to be deaths. Didn't matter how few, it was always bad news. Maverick lowered his head in sorrow, wondering when this reign of attacks and casualties will end.

The attendees of the procession gave their prayers and respects as the cremation commenced. There was a calm silence as everyone reflected on the happenings of the day, and about Martus and what he meant to each of them.
The silence was interrupted by a booming explosion.
The sound came from the direction of the fortress, and soon there were thick clouds of smoke swallowing up the sun as a fire raged.
Screams could faintly be heard. The fortress occupants didn't initially seem to be doing anything, but eventually a few started running out through the entrance.
Those at the gates would soon fall to another explosion.
The explosion collapsed the entrance; the fortress was completely closed off now. Sere and Corvion looked in great suspicion as the second explosion took place; clearly black powder explosives. Meaning one or more of the islanders planned this.
There was soon a third explosion somewhere within the fortress; the conflagration within intensified. For the moment, the leaders were at a loss for what to do.

Veris briefly looked up at every explosion; after seeing that they were far away, however, he would return to his feast on the corpses. It wasn't unlikely that he would eat until he was too lazy to move around anymore.

Angora jumped a t the interrupted silence, furious that somebody broke it.
"What now!?" she exclaimed, looking at the source of the explosion. It was the fortress Sere wanted to reach. But wait, that was a good thing, wasn't it? That was the source, if not one of the many sources of power the Ishulgites have, so the fact that it was being destroyed could mean their work was being done for them, wasn't it? But nevertheless, even if that was the case, something didn't seem right about this scenario...

Maverick put his hands around his head when he looked at the explosions.
"No otra vez!" he expressed, though when he saw it as at the fortress they were about to breach, he wondered if it was planned. So much for a peaceful approach, but maybe Sere changed his mind after this attack? It wasn't strange to think about it, though it seemed rather... rude to begin so quickly after they were just done honoring the fallen. His priority now besides Ilasi was Veris, who thankfully was more interested in keep stuffing himself than to rush into battle. His stomach came first it seems,mthough he wondered if he should start putting in some limits. He didn't seem interested in stopping anytime soon...

OOC: I wrote this on waking up and still can't find any logic issues but I'm still sorta sleepy so if I made a dumb error lemme know ok? Not that I don't expect corrections, but considering my current sleepiness I'm sure I made some silly mistake so I'd like to make sure you guys know to tell me.

Mischief woke up with a squeak at the noise. "What happened?!" Rushing outside and disregarding any advice to rest, she paused to rest a moment at the edge of the ship and beheld smoke from the fortress. "What happened?! I've been out cold... Ugh..." Her legs shook with exhaustion, she hadn't fully recovered. But she stubbornly climbed down to investigate. Choco at first tried to stop her before finally just helping her so she didn't hurt herself. "That noise... It was an explosion..." Sniffing the air, she added "Not a magical or random one either. I smell black powder. Somebody blew the fortress up... But why? Ugh, what did I miss, anyway?"
Darkheart glanced towards the young vixen. "You missed Martus' funeral. That explosion interrupted it. How disrespectful. How can you smell it from here, though?"
Mischief sighed. "I've always had keen senses, and they've only become more so... Wait, Martus died? In our latest battle I assume? Unfortunate... I never properly met him but he seemed like a good man..." Placing a paw on her heart, she murmured a brief prayer. "May he find peace in the afterlife. Now, I'm going to go investigate that explosion."
Darkheart's growled a little. "You're not getting anywhere like that. Look at yourself, you're barely upright."

"Well-- so much for peace.," Raclaw said with great concern as he eyed the clearly man-made explosion. "Some of the islanders must've decided to take revenge. Except, that fortress had nothing but children in it and we still need the artifact contained within its walls.," the Fur Dragon than drew an conclusion and seemingly displayed some of Latnok's hard-to-explain empathy. "Risar agrees.," the Minotaur said eyeing the site of the explosion for himself. Chester, meanwhile, offered an concern whine. "Children?," the little Beagle asked in his own tongue. "Brainwashed children, but children that perhaps had potencial. And Children nonetheless.," Raclaw responded in the same Canine tongue offering an concerned and empathic tone.

Mischief growled a bit. "Can nothing go right? We just won a hard battle, and now this. Whoever set up those explosions just murdered a group of children. And for what? It was easy enough for me to make them sleep. Killing wasn't necessary. So why? And was it indeed someone on this side of the conflict? One of our enemies could've done it in an effort to pin the blame on us for slaughtering little ones."
Darkheart shivered at the thought. "I doubt even Rigel could be so cold. Yes, he made a gambit with the children... But to just blow them up is nigh on meaningless."
Mischief sighed, before shuddering as Eclipse made another attempt to take control. "Ugh... Whoever it was, they'll pay the price. But we've got to stop the Ishulgites as soon as possible." Guilty. Who? The Ishulgites? The guy who planted black powder and set it off? ... Yes. Okay, figured I'd check. Now stop and let me do my job.

"Men! I need every able-bodied man, and every casualty who can stand up, to be in formation. Now!" Corvion ordered in the immediate aftermath of the explosions. The men dutifully obeyed, quickly falling into a pre-planned formation of several platoons for accountability.

The individual squad leaders noted down who was standing in their squads. It took a few minutes, but Corvion received the report - all men were accounted for, being in the formation, too wounded to be in the formation, or dead.
Sere and Laszur saw where he was going with this. "So that means that the explosion maker isn't in the ranks?" Sere asked Corvion, trying to find his line of thinking.
"No, it means that whoever did this was smart enough to use a fuse," Corvion said, seething but subduing his anger for the most part.
He turned back to address his formation "...as you were, men. Regardless of what happened, we had learned that there was an opportunity to have our enemies surrender peacefully - but one or more of you have rashly resorted to this atrocity. This is not what Martus would have approved of. He would not want mass murder of children like this done in his name. Whoever you are, I pray that what you have just done haunts you for the rest of your life," he blasted. "Get back to what you were doing. We'll figure out what to do from here."

As the men left the formation, Laszur accosted Corvion in his concern. "Giving up so soon? I can help you investigate this matter," he offered. "Investigations are among my specialties back at Aelinon."
Corvion gave a defeated shrug. "What's the point?
Laszur gave a confused glance. "Is enforcing law and order not enough of a reason to seek to punish this sort of action?"
Corvion grunted. "The morale of our men is already shot. Likely most approve of this sort of thing. I won't lie, I was wondering if I shouldn't just order an attack on the fortress... but I held the thought at bay. To see it done in such a way... it's shocking, but an investigation will just drop the morale even lower. Likely that many men will cover for their comrades. Getting the truth would require too much prying into matters - and if everyone is unhappy, there will be no cooperation. Destroying unit cohesion at this point isn't worth finding out the truth."
Laszur shook his head, but he didn't have much else to say. "Very well. Your people, your call..."

Angora climbed to Shade's head soon after the explosion to try and getting a better view of the fortress, but they were too far away to get a clear view. She had to settle for just overhearing the later report. Children, now those stupid Ishulgites really crossed the line. She wasn't too fond of children, even though they seem awfully fond of her, but she was against hurting them. Barely beginning life. She didn't know who was worse; the Ishulgites for submitting them to such labor and manipulation or whoever made the explosion when they were already one step close to victory.

Maverick took out his telescope, trying to find out what was going "Ugh! It's too far! I saw some soldiers heading to the fortress, but they have just returned. What's the deal?" he asked confused, barely paying attention to Veris anymore. A couple of sailors opted to do it for him...

Quote: darknessdawn

Mischief growled a bit. "Can nothing go right? We just won a hard battle, and now this. Whoever set up those explosions just murdered a group of children. And for what? It was easy enough for me to make them sleep. Killing wasn't necessary. So why? And was it indeed someone on this side of the conflict? One of our enemies could've done it in an effort to pin the blame on us for slaughtering little ones."
Darkheart shivered at the thought. "I doubt even Rigel could be so cold. Yes, he made a gambit with the children... But to just blow them up is nigh on meaningless."
Mischief sighed, before shuddering as Eclipse made another attempt to take control. "Ugh... Whoever it was, they'll pay the price. But we've got to stop the Ishulgites as soon as possible." Guilty. Who? The Ishulgites? The guy who planted black powder and set it off? ... Yes. Okay, figured I'd check. Now stop and let me do my job.

Random was bringing some water to Mischief, when he rushed in to make her stop.
"Hey hey, where are you going missy? You still need to recover. Random is not happy with you." Sand Dune said after noticing what was going on.
"Can't see much, but apparently the fortress was brown down." Opium reported, trying to get the best view he could.

Mischief shook her head. "There's work to be done... I need to help..."
Darkheart gently nudged Mischief back. "You won't be any help if you don't get some rest. Go back and lie down, it's okay. You're still tired. Rest up and then you can help."
Mischief lacked the energy to argue with two people, especially with Eclipse clawing for control in the back of her mind. She sighed and shook her head before allowing Sand Dune to escort her back. "I guess you're right. Good luck..."

As she was helping attend some of the wounded on deck, Ilasi witnessed the smoke snuff out the sun above the fortress. Weren't there children there? Who was responsible for this? She hoped that they would manage - but knew that they wouldn't. Those were very big explosions, and the conflagration was evidently massive.

Meanwhile, Sere called Latnok over, and Latnok obliged. "Well, now," Sere said, "it appears that the fortress - for better or for worse - won't be putting up further resistance. There was something about a trapdoor... when this fire dies down, we should be able to explore what's left and find it. Likely the device itself was unharmed in the blasts, as the storm still persists." The storm clouds on the horizon - faint as they were from the distance on the island - could still be seen well enough.
The whole situation made Latnok very uneasy - pragmatic as he was, such an attack seemed nothing more than a very cruel massacre. Regardless, there was still a job to be done - and they couldn't forget their enemy. "These monsters... they put the children in the position to be attacked like this. We have to do something about this. I'm ready whenever the situation allows it."

Angora was determined to help, whether the Guardians wanted her around or not. She then remembered Veris had to be taken care of, but he would have to wait. She felt like she was more needed here. It was lunchtime for him, but even if he got angry, he would have to wait. She slided down Shade's neck, ready to follow the soldiers and lend a hand...

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As she was helping attend some of the wounded on deck, Ilasi witnessed the smoke snuff out the sun above the fortress. Weren't there children there? Who was responsible for this? She hoped that they would manage - but knew that they wouldn't. Those were very big explosions, and the conflagration was evidently massive.

While Sand Dune, Random and Opium took care of Mischief and the wounded sailors being brought to them, Maverick decided to help Ilasi with the wounded, until his attention was caught by one of the sailors, the one he lender his sword.
"Excuse me mister. Thanks for letting me use this, but I think there is someone you need to take care of... like, right now." he said, pointing at Veris, who was still gleefully chomping of the fallen fiends. Even with a noticeable bigger belly, he didn't seem to stop, and Maverick knew that if he kept that up, he will likely not fly for a while. He couldn't understand how he could eat so much. He let the sailor keep the sword for a while longer while he took care of the matter.

"Alright Veris, I think that's enough for a while. Come on. Let's get you back to your pen... por favor?" Maverick pleaded, clearly not having the same trust and confidence Angora had.

Veris was almost dragging himself by the time Maverick asked him to stop. He picked himself up, obeying the human as he shuffled back to his pen. At the very least, it was a good thing that he was able to get his jaws on so much meat before it disappeared.
As he slowly lumbered on, he gave a big yawn. Maybe a little bit of a nap wouldn't be a bad idea right now...

Maverick waved a nervous goodbye to the wyvern, relieved and quite surprised that the mount obeyed so much, even him, whom he barely saw. Looks like Sere has really trained him well. Not only did he obeyed other people even if he didn't know them well, but also others like Angora, who wasn't even human, but of course, her case was special. He suddenly had new respect and admiration for the troll. Satisfying that wyvern's appetite was no easy task.

Back on the main deck, Maverick proceeded to help Ilasi with the wounded, and thankfully not so many were too severe. The sailors were getting better at defending themselves with each attack, though clearly, they weren't invulnerable to the numbers. The bulkiest ones helped carrying the most wounded to the infirmary, Sand Dune, Random and Opium's curing having become quite the talk among some.

Time passed as the survivors took care of their own and cleaned up the battlefield, with the sun visible but hard to see past the smoke in the fortress. The place burned for hours; the fire was, however, contained within the walls of the facility, and would eventually run out of fuel and die out.
Once the smoke started to dissipate, Sere called for Latnok, who soon appeared before him. Sere knew by now that Raclaw wouldn't be very far behind him. "Well, Latnok, time for us to do an investigation into the matter of this Void Locator," he said, as he considered what they might find - or how they might find it. "I would like to keep the personnel I'm taking with me to a minimum - I don't know how well many will react to seeing the horrors that undoubtedly took part today, up close and personal."
Latnok's weapons were ready, and he was prepared to come along. "Well, doubt there will be any meaningful defense after the stun that these monsters pulled." He was still shaking slightly from the earlier surge of power he received from Orion, as his muscles started to recover.
"Reports from Leoquin are that the rudder will need some serious work to be operational again," Sere noted. "Likely we will be stuck here until tomorrow, regardless of what happens. We can only hope we get back soon enough."

Back at the mainland, humans worked hard to recover from the various effects the last blizzard had on their lives above ground. Discontent and resentment were reaching a peak; there were fewer attempts to hide it. Somehow, there was always someone available to stoke the fires of hate, though they never seemed easy to pin down...
Many men were gathered at one of many taverns in the capital city of Tal Rogas. A fistfight was taking place in the pit, as per usual, and gossip was spreading.
"Did you hear?" one of the men said. "They say the king isn't even the real king! That his family just happened to seize the throne after the infighting!"
"Makes sense," said another. "No wonder he tosses us out to stay in power. He assumes he'll always have the support of humans. More concerned about the other races."
"I heard that he's been courting a mermaid recently!" a third loudly declared as he took yet another swig of beer from a cup he could barely keep straight. "And who can blame him? Have you seen some of them? No wonder be does what he does, if it lets him grab so-"
"That seems just a little on the ridiculous side," the first man said again. "But then again, so do a lot of things as of late. I'm tired of being forgotten! Left to die by the thousands while some merfolk and galuds reap the profit from our sacrifices. Something has to change!"

Angora helped the wounded fighters, with most of the islanders either ignoring her or just being indifferent to her presence. Some did thanked her for the help though. She used her healing magic on some, but even with Orion's recent addition, it wasn't working as well as other times due to how much she used earlier trying to defeat that walker. As time passed though, she remembered she still had to take care of Veris, but when Maverick saw her, he explained to her how he already took care of him, in a way.
"Well, good thinking. He ate and at the same time cleaned the ship." she congratulated, speculating Veris wouldn't need feeding for a while, though wondered if Maverick kept him under control.
"He is scary, but surprisingly very well behaved. He sure has a terrifying appetite though." he had commented, showing admiration for Angora and her evidently hard job.

After seeing that the ship had enough help, Angora returned to the island to help more, and to try to take a peek of the fortress, but the area was quite restricted. She then remembered she didn't visit Veris, but it would have to wait for another time. As she helped around, a dark corner of her mind was hoping the Ishulgites would succeed in destroying at least Aelinon. Just that place. No more Aelinon meant the people wouldn't be able to imprison Shade for his crime or use him as a war creature. But no. How could she think that? There were innocent people out there. Including children, like the ones that were just murdered. She just didn't know who was worse; the Ishulgites and their insane ideals or whoever was the cause of that explosion, concluding in the loss of those children before they even had the chance to redeem themselves. It had to be a human. It had to be. Throughout the years, if there was something worse than a standard troll, it was humans. Not all were bad of course, but some were truly despicably evil.

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Time passed as the survivors took care of their own and cleaned up the battlefield, with the sun visible but hard to see past the smoke in the fortress. The place burned for hours; the fire was, however, contained within the walls of the facility, and would eventually run out of fuel and die out.
Once the smoke started to dissipate, Sere called for Latnok, who soon appeared before him. Sere knew by now that Raclaw wouldn't be very far behind him. "Well, Latnok, time for us to do an investigation into the matter of this Void Locator," he said, as he considered what they might find - or how they might find it. "I would like to keep the personnel I'm taking with me to a minimum - I don't know how well many will react to seeing the horrors that undoubtedly took part today, up close and personal."
Latnok's weapons were ready, and he was prepared to come along. "Well, doubt there will be any meaningful defense after the stun that these monsters pulled." He was still shaking slightly from the earlier surge of power he received from Orion, as his muscles started to recover.
"Reports from Leoquin are that the rudder will need some serious work to be operational again," Sere noted. "Likely we will be stuck here until tomorrow, regardless of what happens. We can only hope we get back soon enough."

Sere's suspicions wouldn't be wrong as Raclaw soon spoke up. "I can also scan for any signs of life via any active brain activity, though I doubt we'll find any.," the Fur Dragon said lowering his ears in disappointment at that last statement. Brainwashed or not-- someone still burned down CHILDREN and that person would have to live with that fact for the rest of their lives. He knew that perhaps someone like Risar or Laszur might be ideal for such a mission, due to either the former's raw strength or the latter's skills in finding secrets. Or perhaps someone small like Angora would also be ideal if any such trap doors were designed for children of all things. He also knew that Chester would stay behind, but that was to be expected. Small dog, big risks.

Laszur didn't need much prompting. Seeing the group's imminent departure, he was soon with them.
"I believe you are headed to the fortress now?" he asked, as he pulled out a spear. "I should be able to make myself useful on the mission."
Though unprompted, Sere wasn't going to turn down Laszur's offer. "Of course. It's likely to be a horror show over there - but we still have that task ahead of us. I would prefer to involve as few as possible in this - no need to force them to reflect on this atrocity."
Latnok stretched his arms as he waited for the mission to begin. "Let's get this over with, so we can start getting away from this place." He was ready to move out as soon as the order was given.

Angora was relatively nearby, and managed to overhear the conversation. Not hesitating to approach the Guardians like she would other times, she stepped ahead.
"Sir? I would like to go too. I want to help stop this madness." Angora stated, having thought about long and hard about it, and she couldn't help thinking she would've been just like these poor, lifeless tykes had she succumbed further into the Ishulgites' manipulation and gone to them.

"These children... they were like what I could've become." she then said to Sere telepathically. She didn't remember if Sere or anyone else told Latnok yet how she communicated with the Ishulgites through the orb and almost betrayed them, but if he didn't know, it was better to leave it at that. Latnok hated her enough as it was, or so she believed.

Sere had his doubts about taking anyone else - and he knew how heedless Angora could be if something didn't fit her own belief of what was right or wrong. Despite that, she did have a good reason this time around...
"Very well... you may come with us," he said reluctantly. "Let's go now. The sooner we get this mission done, the better." Sere wasn't sure what he would do once everyone had reached the shore; technically, their contract would end then. That was something to think about another time, however.

The fighters on the ship seemed to have been far better off than the islanders. Ilasi was grateful for this as she attended to their wounds. She still remembered Leoquin and his own plight; there was little she could do about such a thing, however. They used to get along well, but nowadays he didn't even want to talk to her, and avoided doing so unless he had to.

Angora was quite surprised that Sere would accept her request. Was it because of what she said to him last? Or was it maybe because he believed she could eventually be useful? She wanted to think it was because he was finally warming up to her, but she greatly doubted it. As she got ready to leave with the small, chosen group, she turned around to look at Shade, signaling him to go back to the ship, giving him a glare just in case he wanted to go all mighty protector on her again. As she proceeded, she avoided eye contact with Latnok. He was probably disappointed with Sere's decision, so she didn't want to increase the tension even further by looking at him.

Maverick continued helping with the wounded, having completely forgotten about Leoquin and the favor Ilasi has asked for him. Glancing at Ilasi from time to time, he knew with her face something was wrong.
"Ilasi? What is it mi amor? You look deep in thought..." he asked. It could be because she was worried about the Ishulgites, but her face looked slightly different now. Maybe it was something else?

Thinking of the mission, Sere realized he didn't know just how far away the Void Locator would be. This would necessitate one more person on the trip...
A brief scan allowed him to locate Shade on the deck. "Shade, get here," he ordered telepathically. "You're coming with us."

Ilasi briefly jumped before she realized it was just Maverick - she had been completely absorbed in her thoughts. "Oh... I was just thinking about what happened with Leoquin..." she admitted. "His burdens seem to have been wearing on him for a while... but I don't know how to help him." Leoquin shunned her where he could - if anyone could speak to him, it certainly wouldn't be her.