Fire's Ashes [Open] [M]

[Sheshia]

The sight of the two demonoids sent shivers down Sheshia`s spine. "For some reason I am never comfortable around my demon kin. Know I know why." She glares at Aohdei, "Your cruel, and not pleasant to look at at all like that. I prefer you other form better." She smiles, "Life is a pity at times huh?" She walks up a bit towards Aohdei and whispers, "Maybe we can have a deal?"

[Magyar]

"Life is a concept I do not understand." Aohdei maintained a distasteful air, but secretly he was panicking. They had no way out. They were stuck, and the Mordecai were coming, and his companion had lost control, and there was no way out. Even as flame trickled up his arms he felt the icy grip of fear, and grew desperate. The fire in his hands began to shower sparks as he became more agitated, waiting for the Mordecai to strike, but they seemed more preoccupied with Rylzyr. The bounty hunter from before was spearheading them, trying to confront the demonic beast.

How foolish, He thought to himself, and unconsciously grinned, adding an erie flash of yellow teeth to the deep red of the blood and pale gray of his face. Turning his attention back to the cat, he responded, "How am I supposed to trust you, catkin, when you seem so frail in your alliegances? How am I to believe you won't simply abandon me when another, more powerful or dangerous creature comes traipsing along? What would I even use you for, Catkin? What is your value to me?"

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"And how do you plan on fighting it exactly?" Gwynne shouted to his left, I the direction of the dead hunter. Glancing towards the large, scaled monster, he continued, "It seems rather impenetrable from that one side, and I presume that the bigger, more dangerous side is dominant. Enlighten me on your tactics, so that my men need not die today."

Hoisting his hammer, Gwynne began to loosen and tighten his grip on the haft periodically, as he always did before battle.

[You had to see it]

Mortum turned his head to the captain.

"Tell you men to surround the thing and attack its weaker side. I'll distract it for you."

He looked toward the demon and slowed his horse. He got off and approached the abomination, it's duality was quite unsettling but he didn't let it show.

"If your still in there mage I'd like you to carefully consider how many innocents will die in the name of saving your sorry hide, if you even care that is!"

Morum wasn't even sure if the mage was even alive anymore but it was worth trying.

[Fukurou]

Rylzyr let in a sharp gasped of air as a bit of sanity resurfaced in his ruby eye.

"No," Rylzyr barked, his voice shaky and dominating the deep undertones of the demon's. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth as his body trembled. "I will not allow that!" He scanned the crowd. Mordecai and soldiers surrounded him in a circle, slowly closing in on him as they brandished their weapons. "No innocents will die, but if you kill me this thing will take over." He snapped his attention back to the mercenary and hissed, "allow us to escape and we'll never come back. No one has to die today."

[You had to see it]

Mortum considered the mages offer. Whatever he had inside him clearly had the mage scared out of his wits. He could be bluffing in order to save himself but could Mortum really risk that? He paused before saying,

"I'd be more enthusiastic about your offer if you reverted from this form."

In reality he couldn't let him go. The mage was a danger to himself and everyone around him. Reminded him of his brother after the... Mortum dismissed the thought quickly.

[Fukurou]

"And leave myself vulnerable to be killed? No!" The demon's snarl grew louder as the abomination glowered at the man in front of him. Rylzyr felt an odd hunger rise from deep inside of him and consume his thoughts.

No. Must stay in control. The mage did his best to push the hunger down, a bead of blood spilling from his nose from the strain.

"And after they finish me, what becomes of you? What becomes of your friend?" The abomination flicked their tail in the direction of Sheshia while the beast stared Mortimer down with a new sense of determination. "You reek of necromancy and they certainly won't take kindly to you pairing up with a demonic werecat." He glanced around at the warriors and back to the mercenary. "As I said, no one has to die, but when you corner a dog and threaten to kill them on the basis of simply existing do you really blame them for biting back? Surely you understand how it feels to be hunted for who you are."

[Sheshia]

Sheshia looks at Rylzyr and lashed her tail. She lnew she wasn't much of a match fighting Aodei, but she did have the advantage in size, using the possibility of a deal with him as a chance to buy time for Mortum to talk to Rylzyr. "First of all you can't tell a cat what to do. Second of all I was only using him to get out of the city, the guards obviously don't take kindly to magic users. Third of all necromancers aren't natural like demons and cats, which make them have limitations and can be killed over and over again for the fun of it. Also having a small cat around would be good for scoping out areas for danger wouldn't you agree?"

[You had to see it]

Mortum glanced at the cat. He hadn't known she was of demonic ancestry. He looked back at the mage.

"Yeah I do understand. But I also understand that most dogs won't run the risk of massacring people. If I let you go like this you could lose control and kill. I can't risk that. So here are your options, either you revert back to yourself again or you leave here in pieces. Whats it going to be?"

His grip on his sword tightened. He wasn't sure how much longer the mage could keep control.

[Sheshia]

Sheshia feels Mortums gaze on her for a second. She had this feeling that something bad was coming later. She shakes her head to clear her mind and looks at Rzlyzr who still stands in her way. She wanted him to attack first so she could judge weather to fight back or run. Her back and shoulders were killong her from the impact of hitting the wall. To be honest her head started to hurt also. She also had to keep an eye on the demon fox infront of her. She hated fighting on two fronts since she was small in this form she was more fragile but at the same time more agile. The other form, which she didn't have time to shift to, was large but to as fragile and stronger but less agile. The cat hisses and digs her claws into the ground waiting for something to happen.

[Magyar]

Gwynne glanced nervously at the demon and then at the undead speaking with him.
"Hurry this up Bounty Hunter. We run low on time, and my first priority is the safety of these citizens, not your personal vendetta against a demonic band of travellers."
He signalled his men to tighten the circle, and raise their weapons. He stared at the beast before them, and didn't look away.

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Aohdei wasn't waiting. Dashing towards the cat, he leapt into the air, ignited his left hand, and blasted a stream of white hot fire with the right. Landing on the other side of his target, he flung the ball of flame in his left hand, and charged the werecat, sprinting at her small frame.

[Sheshia]

The werecat smiles and looks at the ball of flame and the demon charging her. The full force Aodhei charging her would definitely hurt her a lot. But the extremely hot fire would probably light her on fire if it even touched her a bit. She jumps up and onto her opponents head and aims a bite to the base of his neck where his skull meets his spine and lunges.

[Fukurou]

Rylzyr glanced around at the line of warriors. Fear and horror twisted in their faces as they inched closer to the abomination, their weapons trembling in their shaking hands. Regardless of whether their cause was right or wrong, they were still people--people with friends, families, loved ones...

The un-dead warrior had a point, but still...

"Damn it!" With a newfound glint of ferocity in their eyes, the abomination's gaze shot back to Mortum. The demonic duality in their voice was rising once again as they snarled at the merc before them. "None of this would have happened if you hadn't brazenly attacked first!" This was true; they had every intention to cross through Connlaoth as swiftly and as peacefully as possible, but this was cut short when their confrontation with the cat and the mercenary started.

Rylzyr balled his fists and slowly blinked, resolution masking his stone-cold face as he continued to stare the man down. "You want the mage--me--to transform back? Say he does... then what? Imprison him? Torture him? Kill him -- just to have me return?" The abomination scoffed as their leather wings twitched. "It seems that you do not understand dogs very well... But, that's besides the point..." A wicked smile cracked across the abomination's face as they crossed their arms. "We are a civilized creature, willing to discuss this situation and come to a compromise. You let us go freely and we will not harm a single innocent soul. If you doubt the truth to my words, then fear not, for I am bound to the will of the mage. I cannot harm those who remain innocent. That being said..." The smile on the abomination's face spread even wider as saliva dripped from their jowls. "Get in our way and your soul belongs to us. What do you say?"

[You had to see it]

Mortum felt a twinge of regret at the things words. He had caused this ludicrous chase in a rather haphazard manner. He should have observed a bit longer before jumping to conclusions. Perhaps he was losing his edge as he continued to... no not live, exist was a more fitting word. He had a choice now, either trust the demon and let him go or hope that the demon was far less powerful than they all feared, and attack. He liked none of those ideas.

"I'll agree under a few conditions. First that you are escorted out of the city. Once outside the walls you will transform before coming out of eyesight with the city. We will not follow you outside the walls unless you give us reason to. If you give us any suggestion of you lying or losing control I won't hesitate to cut you down."

Everything about this screamed of some sort of trick but what else could he do? He would have to deal with the Mage another time, track him down and kill him away from any populated areas. He had all the time in the world after all.

[Fukurou]

The abomination nodded and turned to Gwynne. "And what does the Mordecai have to say?"

[Magyar]

"I've no qualm with battling you, beastmage, but I'd rather you shift back into your other form, and politely come with us. If need be, I'll let ye go free, but as circumstances mandate, you've committed crimes against the Duchy of Connloath by practicing magics in the city walls. I cannot let you go easily." Watching the Mage, he'd forgotten the fire demon, but a fireball catapulted past his head snapped his attention to the flying fiery furball that was the werecat fighting the pyromancer.
"Aye! Stop at once!" He roared, and pointed at them, signalling two Mordecai to go break up the fight.

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Aohdei felt a sharp sensation on the back of his neck, then large amounts of pain wracking his body, and instinctively grabbed at the base of his skull. He brushed against the nose of the werecat, and seizing his opportunity, he grabbed the cat by her snout, and flung her onto the ground. Unsheathing his dagger, he charged again, pinning his much smaller combatant to the ground, and pressing tip of the knife to the bottom of her ribs.
"Move and I swear to all gods above and below that I'll gut you like the fish you eat, do you hear me?" he whispered, his voice raspy and desperate, his eyes locked on the approaching Mordecai.
"If you get us captured, I will put you through hell, and when you get back, I'll kill you. Do we have an understanding?"

[Sheshia]

Sheshia smiles feeling the coldness of the blade. "You attacked first in front of the guards and the citizens. Imagine how that looks to them. I was merely defending myself. Ether way your done for practicing magic in the city and proving it in front of them. I've never been to Hell or been dead so go ahead. I've always wondered what it was like in for my father. That'll lead you to even more trouble if you do kill me also." Her paws twitch as she looks ahead of her staying quiet and listening for any movement of the guards and what's going on woth Mortum. Keeping herself ready incase she does get gutted. Her muzzle had started to hurt slightly since Aohdei grabbed her and flung hurt off of his head.

[You had to see it]

Mortum looked to the captain. He had almost forgotten that he had little authority to make decisions. He glanced towards the fight about to happen when the spasms kicked in. His leg gave way from under him and he forwards. At the same time his sword arm violently thrusted towards the abomination and he could only watch in horror as his sword flew towards the things chest. Time slowed down as Mortum thought about how ludicrous it was for there to be this many strange beings together in one place and seemed destined to try and kill one another. Perhaps it was fate or just bad luck. Or perhaps, as he had thought many a time, perhaps God just has a twisted sense of humor.

[Fukurou]

Without even looking, the abomination swung their left arm up and caught the blade in their massive claws. "How interesting..." the abomination purred as he turned their head to meet undead warrior. "The corps can hardly hold himself together, yet he still has the gall to attack us." The sound of crushing metal rang out from the sword as the beast tightened their grip on the blade. With the same crazed smile that hung on their face before, the abomination turned back to Mordecai and released his grip, letting the mangled sward drop to the ground with a pitiful clank. "If it's a battle you with, it is a battle you shall get." Their eyes swept over the line of men surrounding them. "To those of you who wish to return to your pitiful lives in one piece, flee now and I will not harm you. But be warned: I will tear through all that stand in my way."

[Magyar]

Gwynne's brow creased, and his lips grew thin and tight, as he stared at the abomination.
Mumbling ever so quietly, he spoke, "Death it is then." Raising his hammer, and bellowing a wordless cry, he charged the beast, his fellow Mordecai behind him sandwiching the Undead between themselves and the former Mage. A wall of steel, horse, and man assailed the monster, pushing it back towards the civilians, and Gwynne lost sight of the bounty hunter under the stampeding horses. "Do not falter! Push onward!"

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All hell broke loose in the split second that the Mordecai rushed Rylzyr. The two Mordecai sent to dispatch Aohdei turned in surprise, and Aohdei picked up Sheisha, seizing the opportunity, and ran. He made all of two steps before he felt hooves ram into his back. He landed harshly, rolling and cutting himself on the stones as he did so, keeping a firm grip on the cat shifter now in his arms. Looking up and seeing the chaos, he prepared a spell, and shouted in Rylzyr's general direction, "Matron's Hallow!" And in an explosive blast of ash and smoke, was gone. The Werecat had also vanished, leaving only some cat hair and ash in her wake.

(OOC: You've all been tagged on the partner thread, but just in case, http://www.spiritsoftheearth.net/smf/index.php?topic=20969.new#new)

[Fukurou]

Warriors and Mordecai rushed at the abomination from all directions, sending bolts and arrows streaming through the air, glinting off of the monster's steel-like hide. The wall of iron and steel closed in on them at an alarming speed, brandishing their weapons as their cries cut through the air. A crack resounded in Rylzyr's rib cage as a warrior thrashed a war hammer against the fleshy right side of his body, causing the abomination to falter. With an angry growl, the abomination grabbed the man by the neck, trusted him towards the ground and placed their clawed hand over the warriors face. The runinc carvings that hid below the layer of scales glowed crimson as the abomination ripped the man's soul from his body, leaving behind an empty husk of a warrior. They held the white orbed soul aloft in his claws and chuckled darkly as they crushed it, sending a blast of hot fire flying in a radius around them as the soul's essence seeped through their arm and into their wings. In one swift motion, the abomination spread their great leathery wings and took to the air, hovering above the chaos of men in search for the undead bounty hunter.