darkSpyro

Angora felt nauseous, and was very glad the thrashing stopped. She could hear some buzzing sounds, and while at first thought it was her own head, she turned around to see it was those fiends, coming to get her. She could feel the Omniphage on the move again, and when she looked at it's eyes, they weren't focused on her anymore. The beast was ignoring her. She knew she should be relieved about that, but it offended her greatly. With the giant bugs about to capture her and knowing her battle companions couldn't delay them for too long, she decided to go with the other plan.
"Well now, if that's how you want to play, then so be it. Come on Angora. You can do this... oh heck I'm going to hate this!" she groaned, wimpering about what she was about to do. Holding on to the skin, Angora tried to pull Veris' fang off the creature's snout... but it was stuck there good. There was no choice now. She had to use the dagger, but she would try to use it as less as possible to avoid using up the poison if there was still any left. Taking advantage of the beast ignoring her and her companions distracting the flying soldiers, Angora made her way towards the left nostril, going right inside. It was so big it was almost like entering a small cave. She was already nauseous enough, and this was naturally making things worse. She had to cover her mouth, beyond disgusted. She still couldn't believe what she was doing. As she continued going further inside trying to trigger the sneeze, she had to be ready for and IF the creature in fact did so. It was going to be a bumpy, and quite possible a deadly ride if she was shot out with the force...

Back at the ship, some of the sailors had observed how the beast moved it's head around, believing that Sere had thrown a spell, possibly a force bolt, to it's face and that's why it was behaving that way. They were momentarily relieved when the monster halted, but they saw to their disappointment it resumed it's assault.
"It's coming this way again. There is no other solution. We do have to evacuate." Random said quite upset, with Maverick asking the dragolets to help the wounded sailors climb their backs so they could take them to safety. They had to leave as soon as they could. If the experienced Sere and the powerful White Shadow weren't enough to stop this monster, who was? Orion perhaps? But the White Shadow was a deity too, and not even he could stop it. Plus some of them heard about the Darkmatter incident, which meant not even Orion was invulnerable. But there was no time to think about that. They were running out of time. If they didn't get out, they were going to die. But if the ship was destroyed, they would be stranded on the island. No matter in what angle the situation was seemed, it was as if they were destined to be doomed. Maverick tried to keep everyone's spirit up, but it all looked hopeless from their position...

Raclaw didn't hesitate to follow Sere's order-- placing himself and Latnok within ample range of the soldiers; his basic fire could fortunately function just fine without the aid of Guardian magic, thus allowing Latnok to still do his thing assuming he could so while still holding on. Raclaw fire covered their front, Raclaw/Damon's tail spikes covered the back, and his senses could pick up that Angora was almost in place. 'Just a little bit longer..,' the now mounted Fur Dragon thought. Meanwhile, Risar's forces soon closed in further helping to deal with the incoming enemy and also providing a new distraction for the beast. Risar, naturally, took the lead -- his two great axes bloody from previous battle.

Though seemingly ineffective at first, the creature eventually stopped rather abruptly, irritated by something... stopped dead in its tracks, it took several deep breaths, in what was the beginning of the telltale sneeze reflex.
"We might have our chance here!" Sere called out to the others. "Be ready to capitalize!"
Just as Angora had hoped, the creature briefly opened its mouth very widely - it was preparing to give out a rather hefty sneeze. It remained to be seen how effectively such an opportunity could be used.

Angora heard Shade, but only very faintly, to the point she couldn't understand his words. As she continued making her way into the giant's nostril, she started thinking that if she couldn't trigger the sneeze, it was possible that the beast would simply exhale from the nostril to get her out. She prepared the dagger to hold on just in case, though thankfully, that didn't seem to be the case. The scenario changed when the way wasn't straight anymore. Was it because the creature was about to sneeze? Or something else? Angora could feel a breeze, indication that her presence there was taking it's toll. So the troll, using the sharp dagger, plunged it below her and braced herself.
"A little troll, navigating through a giant monster's nostril to make it sneeze. Not even the best bard would want to tell such a bizzare tale." Angora said rather silly, knowing she didn't have Neo with her any,ore, but talking alone was making her feel a little better. Whatever came next though, it wasn't going to be nice. If she survived this, she didn't want any recognition from the Guardians or anyone else. She just wanted to be left alone to rest. This day had been too scary and disturbing for her taste...

After taking her precious cargo to the sanctuary where the islanders were heading. Dahlia observed the beast, slowly making her way to the ship where her dear Maverick was. Ilasi. Chester and Mischief were safe now, so why she should stay there and do nothing while her sweet, hybrid human was goi g to be killed by this abomination? The order was for her to stay with them, but how could she do that? How?

The very much *open* opportunity didn't escape Raclaw's notice-- the mounted fur dragon making haste (within reason) to place both himself and his rider within range. "That it-- that's our cue! Latnok, prepare your force magic!," Raclaw 'ordered' as he began to draw upon his collar's energy store and prepared what would hopefully be a fireball with a boom. The target was wide enough, but both he and Latnok would have to be fully in sync.. and that wasn't including the added difficulty of doing so while in the air. And during what was essentially Raclaw's first and only mounted flight -- tuning in very carefully to their shared senses, he released the energy and let the flame out.

Meanwhile, Risar's force kept any most of the normal variety enemies at bay. "I hope they're okay...," Chester whined in a worried tone both to Dalia and Illasi. The little dog could also sense the dirt buffalo's frustration.

Utilizing his foresight, Latnok prepared the shot for just the right moment - shooting off the bolt in time with Raclaw's own fire. The result was a rapid, streamlined fire projectile which made its way down the Omniphage's throat, exploding into a bright blaze before going out.
The creature gagged and staggered before collapsing, evidently not taking the attack too well - after a few moments recovering, however, it got back up, this time its gaze sharply focused on the attackers. If everyone was looking to grab its attention, they sure had it now.

Raclaw was impressed by the results-- although they hadn't been fortunate enough to fully take it down in one shot. And worse, *they* had just become the beast's next target. Raclaw immediately prepared to have to dodge, while also thinking about just how they would get their next shot. With any luck.. Angora could hopefully just repeat what she had previously done. Unless the beast began to anticipate her actions.

Risar's forces continued to take the smaller minions, the minotaur knowing full well that even his weapons had little effect on the outside skin. He had also been somewhat surprised at seeing what appeared to be Latnok riding Raclaw, although he knew that two had to mount up eventually. Such was the way with humanoid and mount-like companions. Although few had a bond as strong as Latnok and Raclaw...

Angora could hear what sounded like an exhale. Then suddenly, she felt herself falling along with the beast. Was that it? Did the sensation had been the beast falling and the group succeeding? Couldn't be cause she felt movement again. She had to brace herself, although she didn't have the time to do it with the dagger, so she mostly slipped around the snotty walls of the nostril.
"What is going on here!?" she exclaimed, feeling frustrated and nervous. All signs indicated that the monster didn't even know she was in there. She wasn't expelled from there either, which made her believe the sneezing plan didn't work either. What now? How else could she get it to open it's mouth?

Angora was starting to get desperate. She had run out of ideas, and she was in an uncomfortable and dangerous position. If being there wasn't enough to trigger a sneeze, what would? Did she needed to go further inside? She had no idea what was happening with her teammates, but she was almost certain they were in danger. The beast was moving it's head, and while Angora tried to get out, she couldn't. The fiend was making it impossibl to allow her escape. It kept moving and she kept slipping. She didn't know too much about anatomy except the basics, but while she wanted to try keep triggering a sneeze, she wondered what would happen if she continued moving forward. Would she hit some sort of wall? Or will the end be connected to it's throat or maw? As disgusting as it was in there, she rather be there than in the latter places. But she didn't want to. She wanted to escape, but she was stuck there. The only way was for either the creature to stop moving or her being sneezed out...

"Well, we might be able to make the most of this. Maybe we can try to pull it away from the gates!" Latnok suggested to Raclaw. He didn't know how much more time they would have before ishiuds were fully committed to assisting the creature, but they could at least try to buy as much time as possible before then.
Though hurting, the Omniphage continued moving, its gaze set - at least temporarily - on the flying duo. It would seem the plan was working somewhat - it just had to be executed to completion. The creature once again stopped abruptly, being irritated by Angora's intrusion, when it began the telltale signs of a sneeze once again.

Raclaw commited fully to the plan-- even going as far as enabling his collar 'light' and turning his tail artifact into a shiny reflective mirror so as to further distract and redirect the beast. "That's it-- that our cue again! Get ready Latnok!," the fur dragon said to his human counterpart as he prepared to repeat his previous course of action and began to draw once again upon the collar..

Angora was getting very sick and tired of this predicament, and she was afraid that if she continued going further, she could somehow enter it's mouth or throat, and that would really be bad news for her and likely her companions, who were depending on her to make this thing open it's large maw.
"That's it! I'm tired of you beast! And this snotty dungeon! I really didn't want to do this, but you're forcing me to!" Angora said angrily, having no other idea how to get out of this one... except using the only weapon she had. She was trapped there. She couldn't keep going, and she couldn't get outside, which that in itself could be dangerous too. The beast came into a momentary stand still, and that's when Angora took her chance. She took the dagger and plunged it below her, his nostrils being slightly more softer than it's hide. If the dagger had any poison left, it could hopefully take effect the same way it did with the White Shadow. If not, then perhaps the stabbing could further increase the chances of a sneeze. This thing had to be stopped no matter what. Losing was not an option. Angora didn't know how her companions were doing outside, but she knew she had to hurry. Without most of her powers, the grappling hook being of no use here, and Veris' fang being stuck in it's snout, this dagger was the only thing left...

The beast let out a shriek of annoyance and discomfort as Angora continued her internal assault on the creature. Unfortunately for her, it was too big and too well-adapted to foreign substances in its bloodstream to feel any significant effects from the poison; nevertheless, the attack served to elicit a response from it.
With the new opportunity presenting itself, Latnok and Raclaw once again resumed their assault on the creature in the same manner as before. Hopefully, the others would be joining in as well.

With everyone outside attacking the beast's mighty jaws, Angora was struggling not to slip away, needing to keep the dagger plunged just like it had been with Veris' fang to hold her grip. If she fell from it's nostril to the outside world, it would be a long and likely fatal fall. And if she slipped the other way, it would possibly be as equally bad, that is assuming all was connected to it's mouth and throat. As she resisted and tried not to think about the disgusting situation she was in, she was wondering what she should do if the others failed to subdue the creature. She had to get out of there somehow and at some point, but the beast already knew of her presence due to the earlier taunt. If it put two and two together, if it was smart enough, it could associate her presence with it's current, unpleasant discomfort, and chances were it was going to squash her like a bug in revenge. She wished Orion was there to help them, but he had to know that, no matter what happens, he couldn't show himself. He had to stay far away from this battle. If the society was advanced enough to create a beast that was capable of tolerating an assault from a deity like the White Shadow itself, they could almost certainly somehow get some of Orion's power. Being the mighty creator, his powers would certainly bring the crazy Ishulgites one step closer to their sadistic goal. He couldn't help them. They were alone in this. It had to be that way.

As Angora kept struggling, she couldn't help sobbing at how hopeless this battle seemed. She didn't know if the beast was opening it's mouth, but she could hear what sounded like explosions, likely Sere and the others attacking the fiend. Whatever was happening, the movements she was feeling meant the creature was still alive and kicking, and that whatever her companions were doing, they were being unsuccessful. She could only see in sadness the faint dim of light that was coming from outside...

The beast reeled from the coordinated efforts to take it down, slowing down considerably. After the last round of attacks, it remained stationary as it tried to recover.
"Excellent work, team," Sere commended. The creature growled impotently as it attempted to muster the strength to continue.

Angora's position changed. She was now in the wall of the nostril. If she was there, that had to mean the beast was lying down. Was it finally defeated? She imagined Sere had done many battles similar to this one, but she had her doubts at the beginning about his success. Believing the creature was dead, or at the very least unconscious, Angora took this pause to try and get out of there once and for all. But if she got out and there was a chance of the creature seeing her exit it's nostril, well, she didn't even want to begin to imagine what would happen. She almost reached the edge. She could see the sky from there.
"The beast... dead?" Angora asked telepathically, trying to contact Sere. She didn't know where he was exactly, and with her limited magic, there was a high chance it didn't reach him. She wanted nothing more than to leave, but no way she would do it with the beast still alive and kicking. From what little she could see the outside world, she spotted the White Shadow... but what was it doing?

At the ship, Maverick continued helping the wounded along with the three funny named men and the dragolets. He couldn't see much of the battle from there, but he listened to the cheers. Some sailors were busy with the giant bugs, but others could catch glimpses of the battle, and the impression was that their beloved captain and his brave companions were winning. It gave them the motivation to keep fighting for their lives, and demonstrate to this insane society they weren't going to budge...

Sere faintly received Angora's telepathic message, as he was assessing the situation. "Not dead yet - but on its last legs," he answered. "We can probably finish it with another round of attacks."
Still, the Omniphage resisted all efforts to attack it from the outside, not giving as the White Shadow charged it once more. Instead, it quickly snapped its jaws forward in an effort to take a bite out of the larger assailant.

Angora received the message perfectly, and was relieved that she had enough magic to get her message across, even if it was faintly. Although briefly glad for the magic she still had, soon the feeling turned into fear and disappointment when she found out the beast was still alive. She afterwards found out the hard way when the monster suddenly moved it's head to attack the White Shadow, making her slip further into it's nostril yet again. She couldn't take another minute more inside that smelly, viscous place.
"Ugh! You still won't die!? Why are you doing this beast? What's in it for you? Just LEAVE... US... ALONE!" Angora yelled, angry and crying, grabbing the dagger once more and stabbing the insides over and over again as she went further inside. She was trapped there, so there was no choice but to keep going. Even if the dagger didn't have any poison left, it was still good to stab, and even if it wasn't doing any harm, Angora's objective right now was to make the beast enter a sneezing fit...

As Maverick continued helping, Maverick suddenly wondered how his girls were doing. Angora was somewhere out there, with that beast on the loose. And Ilasi, while safe, was probably worried sick about him. The evacuation halted for a while on account of the beast stopping in it s tracks, but it was still in everyone's plans in case it was on the move again...

OOC: Sorry for being absent so long. I haven't had internet since my last post.

Darkheart gritted her teeth, glowering at the beast. She was on the verge of diving in and trying to claw it apart with her bare talons. Hissing in frustration, she snarled at the Omniphage "Why won't you die?! Just die so we can move on and deal with the Ishulgites!"

Mischief had a different concern, and was starting to shake, running her claws through that enormous fluffy mane. "They can't win... The Ishulgites cannot be allowed a victory... We can't let them get away with what they intend." Why do they come so close to victory? They're in the wrong... We should slaughter them. All of them... Feed their tainted blood to the Earth, let her drink and purify... ... What? You sounded religious their... Do not speak of religion with me. There are enough cults claiming they're right. If they are, their god will stop me in my bloody trail. You might be crazier than the Ishulgites.Whether I'm a psycho or not... You need my help. Let's discuss philosophy after this issue is dealt with. ... Fair enough, I suppose... She glances in the Omniphage's direction again and shudders

Raclaw could see and sense Darkheart's frustration, making a mental note to keep his mate from getting too close to the beast lest they want a 'white shadow 2.0' problem. Risar's forces continued to keep the smaller foes at bay, allowing the dragons to do the work that needed to be done. "White Shadow-- you can't let the beast get near you! If you get too close, it'll only absorb your energy and become even more powerful! Back up; back up now!," Raclaw urged boasting his telepathy via the collar for maximum effect and keeping an close eye on *both* would-be attackers.

As Angora and Maverick were doing battles with comrades at their sides, Dahlia was worried sick about the latter. She had thought long and hard about going after Maverick, but that would mean leaving Ilasi, Chester and Mischief alone near a bunch of strangers. The tension was horrible there. The islanders were losing everything. The Omniphage had no mercy. The dirt buffalo was too worried about her dear half human, but what would he say? What would he think if she goes back to him and leave such important individuals alone among these strangers? She was depressed, despaired about the fact that she had to stay there, for his sake, and for the trio's...

The creature stood its ground against the assault from the White Shadow - it attempted to initiate another bite, but the incessant poking around in its nostrils would only cause its sneeze reflex to trigger once again.
"Now. Finish it," Sere ordered. Latnok was ready to oblige, in tune with Raclaw to deliver a decisive strike.
Meanwhile, deep in the creature's nostrils, what appeared to be a weighted rope would descend into Angora's reach.

Ilasi could not see the battle from where she and the other evacuees were now being taken, but word was coming from the front - the creature was slowing down, and the defenders seemed to have found a vulnerability of some kind. Though there was still tension, she felt a great sense of relief - for the islanders, for everyone aboard the ship, but especially for Maverick.
Ilasi mentally scolded herself for being concerned mostly about Maverick. Was that incredibly selfish of her? Everyone had lives of value here. Ilasi began absent-mindedly petting Dahlia in her uncertainty.

Darkheart circled briefly, then hovered, watching the Omniphage with narrowed eyes. "Finally, Omniphage, lie down and die. It's over."

Mischief shifted, frightened for Angora's sake. "So we're winning... But what will those nuts send our way next? A literal god? This is getting ridiculous." Shifting again, magical energy briefly swirled around her, harmlessly rushing past Ilasi and Dahlia. Choco squawked in confusion as Mischief forced her Mana back down. "Stress is getting to me..." She stood at her full height, slightly more upright than most Zoroark. "We need to stop the Ishulgites... By any means necessary..."

Dahlia looked at Ilasi, sensing that the petting was more to distract herself than giving her affection. She didn't mind though. She mooed gently, but with much concern, amost as if she was looking for advice on what to do now...

Quote: A Guy

The creature stood its ground against the assault from the White Shadow - it attempted to initiate another bite, but the incessant poking around in its nostrils would only cause its sneeze reflex to trigger once again.
"Now. Finish it," Sere ordered. Latnok was ready to oblige, in tune with Raclaw to deliver a decisive strike.
Meanwhile, deep in the creature's nostrils, what appeared to be a weighted rope would descend into Angora's reach.

Angora had been stabbing the beast's inner snout almost to exhaustion, when she finally paid enough attention to notice the rope. Was this Sere's doing? Or Latnok? She didn't care. That was her ticket to freedom. She couldn't stand another minute of that viscous prison. She didn't know how much success she had with the sneeze, but she was certain she was going mad being inside there. She put the dagger away and grabbed the rope, but she had to clean her hands first or she'd slip. She grasped the rope, crossing her legs around it for a better grip, and gently gave it a pull to indicate she was holding it...

Raclaw (and Latnok) hovered alongside Darkheart, the Fur Dragon rather pleased with the results. "I.. I think it's dead. For good.," Raclaw said relieved as he sensed its brainwaves slowly fading away into nothingness. Just as the rider was getting used to his mount-- the mount was slowly getting used to his rider, weight issues aside. Risar and his men soon finished off any remaining soldiers with little issue, while Chester remained safe and sound aboard Dahlia.

Darkheart began to smile a bit. She let out a victorious roar, announcing the success in her own way. Afterwards she gleefully told Raclaw "We should celebrate our victory somehow! Such a hard fight warrants it!"

Mischief shivered again, something worrying her. She couldn't quite figure out what, but something seemed horribly wrong and she couldn't determine what. She looked nervously at Ilasi. "It seems like it's over, finally... I'll talk with Angora when she's back..." She fidgeted nervously.

With the last few attacks to the Omniphage's throat, the creature gave a weak, brief grunt, struggling to pick up its own weight to continue the fight before shuddering and collapsing. The beast was no longer moving.
"I think we did the job," Latnok telepathed hesitantly to the rest of the group. From the view above, he could see the soldiers and weavers on the other end retreating - their losses apparently being too great to continue the fight.
Meanwhile, on Angora's end, the rope was being pulled up in order to retrieve her. Upon reaching the outside, she would find Laszur operating it.

Ilasi's heart calmed when she heard the news, though Mischief herself seemed rather uncomfortable. "...is it, then? We've managed to win?" She was reluctant to believe it at first, but reports from the outside would soon spread among the evacuees, confirming the beast's fate. Ilasi gave Dahlia a big hug in her relief, feeling comfort in her fur even if it wasn't perfectly smooth.

Dahlia wasn't entirely convinced on the creature's defeat, not believing it could be defeated by something as trivial as making it swallow... whatever the humans on the dragons fed it. How come q creature be defeated just like that? She wanted the mission to be a complete success, but she was still wary...

Quote: A Guy

With the last few attacks to the Omniphage's throat, the creature gave a weak, brief grunt, struggling to pick up its own weight to continue the fight before shuddering and collapsing. The beast was no longer moving.
"I think we did the job," Latnok telepathed hesitantly to the rest of the group. From the view above, he could see the soldiers and weavers on the other end retreating - their losses apparently being too great to continue the fight.
Meanwhile, on Angora's end, the rope was being pulled up in order to retrieve her. Upon reaching the outside, she would find Laszur operating it.

Angora opened her eyes wide upon seeing who her rescuer was. But her expression soon changed into a more relaxed one. She had no idea how Laszur arrived here, but she didn't care. He was quite the mysterious soldier after all.
"Th... thank you." she said meekly, actually quite glad to see him. She wasn't very fond of him before due to her strongest memory of him was being grasped tightly by his tail to put her under arrest. But right now, she was genuinely glad to see him.

After finally breathing in the fresh air of the outside world, she looked behind her to see the beast, lying down and immobile. Was it... dead? Was the nightmare finally over?

"Figured you could probably use some help," Laszur said, as he coiled up the rope."You can scale the skin. It'll probably be easier now that the creature is dead." With his part done, he began heading down the creature himself, descending its rough skin like a rocky cliff.

Leoquin was thoroughly exhausted after all of the fighting - but it seemed to be over for now. They won - but there would be more to come, and they had to be prepared. He was now wondering if it wouldn't be better if he was completely wrong about the lead he had on his brother - how could Audax get caught up with such people? They were insane...

Cheering from the sailors, followed by the bug's restreats prompted Maverick to investigate what was all the exitement about, and he soon found out. The beast was lying down, and by the looks of it, dead. Was that really it? Have they won at last? He couldn't help but shed a single tear of relief and happiness. How could he doubt Sere and his team? The old Guardian has probably been through worse, so he was ashamed he doubted in his victory. They weren't out of the woods yet though. The psychotic society was still out there, but what was probably their biggest weapon was just defeated, so Maverick had faith in their defeat too.

Quote: A Guy

"Figured you could probably use some help," Laszur said, as he coiled up the rope."You can scale the skin. It'll probably be easier now that the creature is dead." With his part done, he began heading down the creature himself, descending its rough skin like a rocky cliff.

Angora looked at the beast again, and she couldn't feel a breeze from it's nostrils. That had to mean it was dead, wasn't it? She didn't take a closer look since she didn't want to be trapped in that disgusting place again, so following Laszur, she scaled the hard skin as if it was a small mountain, but being covered in mucus made her slippery, so after a very little while, she fell face first to the soil below.

Thankfully, she didn't get seriously hurt, but it was still painful, so she threw a small tantrum for the humiliation. It lasted only a couple of seconds though, and after getting on her feet, she watched the creature, unable to see it's eyes with such a big snout.
"Sheesh, look at the size of those teeth! I think you can build a house or two with those!" she said, trying to make some casual conversation with Laszur. She remembered a time where she was obsessed with anything pointy, especially fangs. She has grown out of it, mostly at least. She thought one of those fangs could make a very awesome decoration, but it was probably going to take a long time to break even one of them off, and wanting to get out of there as fast as she could to get out of there to remove all that horrible snot from her, she thought it was better to resist the temptation and leave it at that. She wanted to give a small kick to the beast's snout, but she wanted to avoid slipping again, so she only did a mocked farewell to the monster. It was a long, hard, and in her case, humiliating battle, but just like before, they have come through. She only hoped this victory was enough to convince the society they weren't going to allow them go through with their sadistic plans.

Darkheart roared again, perhaps a little too enthused by the victory. She circled above the beast excitedly. The rush of beating such a powerful creature was overwhelming, however little her part in doing so was.

Mischief nodded with a sigh. She stepped back on deck to try and see how much damage was done. She averted her eyes from all. "We nearly lost... The Ishulgites even having the means to create such a deadly creature is... A sobering thought... We need to become stronger, and strike them down before they become unstoppable... Perhaps..." She brought out her notebook and flipped through it until she got to the notes on golem creation. "Yes, perhaps if we can build one of these... Let's see... Clay... Magical herbs... Components for these spells... It will take a powerful mage. Even I'm not able to create one on my own. I need to speak to Angora before anything else though..." Putting her notebook away, she stared at the beast, as if too stunned to act, which could very easily have been the case. Are you shell shocked, child? No... Just worried... I couldn't do anything here... I'm so tired, so low on Mana... And I failed to help in the most important part of the fight... The vixen sighed. Why was this so hard? She expected fights, but nigh indestructible monstrosities? Who would expect such things? She shivered again, a chill going down her spine. Another sensation brought itself to her attention as her stomach growled. "And of course I'm hungry again..." With another sigh she went down to the kitchen for a snack.

Laszur descended more easily, without losing his grip - a combination of his species' natural agility and penchant for rocky environments and his training in covert ops were great assets in that regard, and it helped that he wasn't covered in mucus.

On landing, he took a look at the fallen creature before them. "A house? With the teeth? Possibly - or possibly a shelter of some sort inside the beast after the taxidermists are done with it. Gods know the corpse won't be going anywhere anytime soon - the people might as well find some use for it." That wouldn't be his problem at the moment, though - he would be with the Enduring Legacy. Though the situation made him wonder - if the Ishulgites invoked the mandate with the Scepter of Storms, would he be obligated to follow them? Legally, yes...

Leoquin, who was back on the ship when Mischief returned, couldn't help but overhear Mischief mention something about creating a... golem, if he heard correctly. "Wait, you know how to make golems? Because I'm sure the captain would be interested in something like that - at least I think he would be,.anyway." Leoquin knew he was interested in it, at the very least.

Ilasi and Dahlia would follow soon after, being cleared to return to the ship with the battle over. As the men were all sorting out the wounded, she just wanted to find Maverick and make sure he was okay before proceeding...

Mischief paused at Leoquin's statement, surprised. "Yes, I do, it's in my notebook. I've written down every spell and magickal ritual I've ever come across, and golem creation is one. However, among other things it takes a lot of clay, special magickal seasonings for it, and some high level magick. Even I couldn't make one on my own. But it would be an incredible asset to any fight. With an impressive resistance to most magick and immense physical power, they're amazing guards and warriors. I saw a few at the Academy, actually." She tilted her head, her soft blue eyes gazing directly into Leoquin's own eyes.

Darkheart roared one final time and then went into a dive towards the ship, landing near it and boarding far more calmly than she initially seemed able to.

Seeing Ilasi and the three companions made Naverick even more happy. Before letting her some time to react, Maverick embraced his girlfriend in a rather tight hug.
"They won! They beat it! Can you believe it?" he said exitedly, extremely happy that the beast was deceased. He had been so scared, and really thought they were doomed, but the horrible moment was finally over. Of course, there was still the matter of the Ishulgites, but for now, he wanted to enjoy this breather to the max.

Dahlia gave the two some space, gently placing Chester on the floor. She was still nervous and jumpy, but all roads were pointing at the beast being genuinely dead, and if that was the case, it was truly a time to celebrate.

Quote: A Guy

On landing, he took a look at the fallen creature before them. "A house? With the teeth? Possibly - or possibly a shelter of some sort inside the beast after the taxidermists are done with it. Gods know the corpse won't be going anywhere anytime soon - the people might as well find some use for it." That wouldn't be his problem at the moment, though - he would be with the Enduring Legacy. Though the situation made him wonder - if the Ishulgites invoked the mandate with the Scepter of Storms, would he be obligated to follow them? Legally, yes...

"Shelter inside?" Angora repeated, not very keen on the idea, although Laszur was right. That corpse was going to stay there whether they liked it or not. No way there was equipment to move something that was as big, or probably bigger than a behemoth, maybe not even magic.
"Well, whatever they do, they should do it fast. I don't think that thing is going to smell like a field of roses after a while." she then stated, knowing that while it was practically an artificial creation, the beast probably had the anatomy of any living thing, and the stench of something dead was nothing to look forward to, especially with this size.

As Angora walked towards the ship close to Laszur, she suddenly remembered that Veris' fang was still stuck in the creature's snout. But she couldn't get it out the first time, and being as slippery as she was, that fang wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. If the ship stayed for a while, she would retrieve it later after cleaning herself. If not, well she was certain Veris would give her another one... although thinking about the wyvern suddenly reminded her of her other predicament. She looked above her to see the mount. He looked fine, perhaps with a slightly limited move from the attack earlier, but he looked fine nonetheless. She would have to talk to Sere later about what Veris wanted...

Ilasi warmly receivd Maverick's hug, reciprocating as best she could in her excitement to see him again.
"We're still here... we're still here," she managed to say before they released each other. "I didn't believe we could do it... but I should've known we could manage." A brief look around showed Ilasi that, though there were casualties on the ship, they were not as numerous as before. What she didn't know was the biggest reason why - the number of foes taken down in the caves crippled potential reinforcements.

Latnok and Raclaw were soon back on the deck themselves. With the battle over, Latnok was soon hit with the full effects of his exhaustion from how hard he pushed his body in the caves, with no reprieve afterwards; he barely managed to stumble off of his friend before kneeling to collect himself. He would bring himself back to his room - as soon as he felt he could manage without fainting. The battle was won - but there would be much to consider afterwards.

Sere, Shade, and Veris were soon back on the deck as well. Veris held his wings in a somewhat awkward position on account of some of the injuries he took in the battle; some rest would do him well. Upon dismounting Shade, Sere began to take a look at his wyvern's wounds; he would have the mixture to treat them, but some recovery time would still be need.

Soon, Angora and Laszur returned themselves, the former almost collapsing in deep, helpless exhaustion. She just ran around some tunnels, battled a few of those evil bugs, only to immediately afterwards face that giant monster. And with all the adrenaline rush over, she could feel her injured leg again.

When they finally got on the ship, she didn't know who the White Shadow was looking at, but hoped it wasn't her. She didn't want to risk the deity remembering she was the one who stabbed him with the poisonous knife back then. She also in part avoided Veris' gaze, not only for losing the fang he so kindly gifted her, but also because she didn't want to remind herself of the business pending with him and to avoid any potential affection from his part in those conditions. She was tired, dirty and hungry. She also avoided the distracted Maverick and the three former pirates. All she wanted now was to clean herself and eat, and afterwards take a long rest if possible. If Neo wanted to return to her with along with all the powers she let Latnok borrow, he could do it later. For now, she just wanted to get away from everything and take all of that disgusting snot from her body.

Quote: A Guy

Ilasi warmly receivd Maverick's hug, reciprocating as best she could in her excitement to see him again.
"We're still here... we're still here," she managed to say before they released each other. "I didn't believe we could do it... but I should've known we could manage." A brief look around showed Ilasi that, though there were casualties on the ship, they were not as numerous as before. What she didn't know was the biggest reason why - the number of foes taken down in the caves crippled potential reinforcements.

Maverick reinforced the hug for a while, stopping soon when he wondered if he was overdoing it. He stopped the hug when he saw Dahlia a little jealous, but soon had to comfort her when the humongous presence of the White Shadow towered over them.
"Easy Dahlia. Calma. He won't hurt us. He helped us, recuerda?" Maverick reminded, sad that Dahlia's phobia for dragons still wasn't over. In a nearby corner, Sere was too busy attending Veris, but the mighty dragon seemed to be looking straight at him. Naverick wonder what was going through the former foe's head...

Upon their arrival-- Raclaw could feel the weight of his decisions; the Fur Dragon understandably tired from what had officially been his and Latnok's first ride together. He didn't regret any of it, although they would ideally have to do something about the weight at some point down the road. 'Something to worry about later.,' the fur dragon thought. "I.. I think I'll join you.," he then said following Latnok and planning to take a good nap himself. Chester soon followed after exchanging a friendly bark with Dalia.

"Go ahead," Sere said to Shade, as he prepared to reunite with Julian and the island leadership - there would be much to discuss. He himself didn't have the liberty of recovering after the battle. Veris soon settled down on the deck in his exhaustion, as he began biting off a piece of a soldier corpse.

Though the battle was won, there was much devastation to the island - and there would be much rebuilding. The islanders weren't content to just sit around, however.
"So now what do we do?" Martus pressed the others in his anxiousness. "We can't just sit here and wait to die. We have to bring the fight to them - and we know just the way to do it."
"Like I said," the currently masked Julian interjected, "I've been trying to find a safe path to the Void Locator. Should we manage -"
"We already know where they're hiding it," Martus interrupted. "In that stronghold a few islands away. We just need to break in and destroy it or something similar."
"Pardon me..." Levia said. "But the big man does have a point. We're just waiting to die if we don't take some kind of action. The Ishulgites won't be able to replenish those forces before we strike - we can do some real damage."
"A stronghold? How do you plan to break in?" Sere asked.
"Those gates are made of hard stone, opened by magic, and magical attacks will be completely ineffective," Julian said. "We have to take a more measured approach."
"Says who? We'll use a battering ram," Martus proposed.
"...a battering ram?" The proposal seemed rather simplistic, to say the least.
"You're not the only one who's been fighting for a long time. We have the tools we need. Give us enough time with those gates, and they will go down. The fight will be in the wide-open space outside, so we'll likely be able to count on our dragon friends to cover us while we do so, and the Ishulgites might actually have to send some real people for once. There's not a stronghold that has stopped us before, and this won't be the first."
Sere and Julian, though not comfortable with the proposal, could see that there weren't many better options. "Okay," Julian said after a long pause. "Well, I better share what information I know about the area - see what we can do to make sure things go well..."

With Dahlia rather uncomfortable, Ilasi joined Maverick, petting Dahlia and softly scratching her behind the ears. "Easy, girl," she said. "We're safe now. It's over..." Ilasi was reassuring herself with those words just as much as she was reassuring Dahlia.
There was still plenty of time in the day. Ilasi would probably spend most of it asisting who she could, though with the helping hands she had, it wouldn't take too long. That left the rest of the day...

Leoquin only had a basic knowledge of spellcasting, so he could't really ask the right questions - but he was curious nonetheless. "So we just need to get a bunch of stones and some mage like the captain or so, and we're good to go? That sounds awfully easy." Of course, this is where the catch always came into play, so he tempered his expectations - but if thre was something that could come out of this, the fox would be a legend.

Maverick, but especially Dahlia, were relieved that the White Shadow left, but the former was simply glad he was there to help when they needed it the most. The dirt buffalo gave a brief farewell to her doggie friend, and awaited Maverick to send her to her enclosure again. Just as Angora disappeared below the stairs, Maverick looked around to find her. He got quite scared when he didn't spot her. Sand Dune took notice, and having see Angora leave, put his mind at ease by telling him.
"She was all wet... I think, and limping. I'll check on her later. Didn't look like anything serious though, so don't worry." he assured, having seen the wound from afar, but didn't look like anything dangerous. He would check soon though in case there was a risk of infection.

Maverick was still worried thought, so he asked for a favor.
"Ilasi, can you take Dahlia back? Her enclosure... or maybe your room. Any will be fine. If Angorita is injured, I want to see her." he pleaded, wanting to see Angora with his own two eyes to have some real peace of mind.