The Winds of Canador (M)

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And that's when Pao lit up again, the light flaring brilliantly for but a moment before fading. And then her eyes opened, just in time for the place to rumble as the massive beast turned their way.

[Lion]

It looked like a statue, but living, breathing, walking with great vines and hair draping down from it like a shaggy beast.  And in it's hand carried a massive club.  Those colored crystals that Enzo had seen protruding all through the cave jutted out from its body, like spikes protruding from scales, and stuck out along its shoulders and back and even parts of its legs and belly.

It had one eye, a fiery angry thing that looked upon Pao and started making its way toward them.

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It was at this visual connection that Pao felt herself become frozen. It's gaze captivated her by an unseen power, and through it, they could speak.

"Forces of the Earth grow dark!" the beast growled inside the Saranthian's head. "You have come to late, the corruption eats my soul!" And before she knew it, the ground was rumbling as the beast continued its charge.

[Lion]

Enzo dropped Psi as the beast made its charge and Enzo pulled the katana from its sheath.  He cried out, trying to maneuver around the stone feet of the colossus.  He skirted around the right one and severed a crystal at its ankle.

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Pao grasped, her heart drumming inside her ears as she realized what just occurred. And while Enzo rushed off to cut at the beast, she clawed desperately at the walls in attempts to stand. Once she found her voice, she called out, "Enzo!" But it might have been lost as the creature turned around, and tried to angrily stomp out the man with the blade.

[Lion]

And stomp it did. Enzo did not directly get hit as he turned around go look at Pao. But the force of the stomp knocked him off his feet.  "What!?" he called out, trying to avoid falling debris.

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Pao'orha managed to keep her balance, but shouting over the thundering foot falls of this beast proved difficult.

"The beast and I-"

BOOM!

"This one.. it's different-"

Another thunderous footfall shook between them.

"It.. it has spoken to me, Enzo!" And she muttered more in her native tongue. "It knows what we are and feels its own corruption!"

[Lion]

"THEN!  WHAT!  DO YOU PROPOSE! GAH!"  Enzo nearly was crushed beneath another massive foot, and rolled out of the way just in time.  But he didn't know how long he could keep that up before the colossus eventually crushed him.

"WE. DO ABOUT. IT!?"

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Pao grit her teeth as she watched Enzo struggle.
"Perhaps we can communicate with it!?" she shouted, leaning against a nearby wall as the beast stepped dangerously near to where she was. "See if we can help... or what it wants!"

[Lion]

"And say what!?"  Enzo was backed into the corner and was breathing hard, unsure of how much more he could dodge.  All ready his limbs were aching.  What could it hurt to try it?  But he didn't even know what to say to the giant colossal thing bearing down on him.

"STOP!" was all he could cry, before being covered in stone rubble.

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Enzo's cries went on deaf ears as the beast continued, nearly trampling the man beneath it's mighty hooves. Pao braced herself, but released a short breath when Enzo was still alive. She rushed ahead, trying to get closer as her skirts and hair whipped about wildly in the winds.

"We were here to conquer the evil!" she shouted, her own shouts seemingly ignored as it tried once again, to smash Enzo.  "We know about your taint!" But it seemed communicating wasn't working, but then after a moment, she tried again.

This time in Saranthian.
And this time as the creature lifted one massive paw to try to stomp Enzo out of existence, the beast froze in place.

[Lion]

Enzo was too exhausted to move, and likely would've more than welcomed being crushed beneath it's foot.  The colossus just stared at them both though, before turning to Pao and bearing down on her. 

"What?"  Enzo called hoarsely to her.  "What do we do now?"

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"I don't know!" she tried to shout over the earth shaking foot falls of the giant. "But the beast- it understands Saranthian!"

And just as she got the words out, the creature stopped its charge just before her, and seemed to glare down at her, while it's breath sounded ragged and pained. It was being this close to the beast while it was not moving that she noticed the way darkness seeped out from it's fur in small rivers, like blood from wounds, and the more she looked, the more she began to see the faint ghostly hues of something wicked lapping out from him.

"Are you infected with madness?" she asked the beast in her native tongue. But she knew the answer. The beast simply lowered it's head and answered "Yes."

She felt her heart bumping, beating fast.
"And do you want your suffering to end?" she asked again, this time softer, her eyes upon the beast's face.


After a long moment of silence, the beast answered, "Yes."

[Lion]

"Ask it how we end it's suffering."  Enzo was fully prepared to find a way to sink his blade into the creature.  He was not accustomed to this kind of negotiations.  He'd been a guard after all, a fighter, and knew better than to allow an opponent time to gain an upper hand.

In this case it would be several upper hands consider how large the colossal beast was.  Whatever it was.  Who made such creatures?  And why were they of importance of enough to be placed in such remote locations?  Surely whatever it was they were protecting must be worth a great deal.  But as with the first colossus that they fought, Enzo knew it was not what they protected, but what they were that was of the greatest importance.

Matakopas had stolen the first colossus' life force, or energy, in a way that Enzo had never seen.  He wanted the life of these beings, or wanted Enzo to destroy them.  But why?

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Pao's heart was thumping so loudly inside her ears it was near deafening, but after a time,s he finally managed to shout out, "Your purpose, what is that?" she asked in her native tongue.

"To be a guardian. To protect."

Pao blinked, and tried to figure out what that meant, but instead asked, "And why are you suffering from this?"

"Because of the dark corruption. It power over whelms." the beast went on through a large growl in it's throat, and once it had its eyes upon Enzo, it was determined to crunch him between its teeth.

[Lion]

Enzo held out the sword, as he was too worn to move, and the beast's foot was stabbed as it stepped right on it.  The creature screamed and stepped back, and the katana was coated in blackened blood.

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The Saranthian cringed. Things were not boding well for Enzo. She marked herself hastily and muttered a prayer to the spirits.
"Guardian, how do we cure what ails you?" she asked.
And there was a pause after the beast reared back from Enzo's attack, and its eyes were wild and savage, blackness seeming to ink over it's vision as it's pupils glowed red.

"What ails me is you!" it cried out, and made a move towards Pao, aiming to bite off her head.

[Lion]

Enzo crawled to his feet, stumbling about and gripping the wall for support.  He knew what was coming and pushed all his energy into jumping up into the air and plunging the sword through its back, gashing through its stony hide.

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Gashed or not, the beast was not deterred and continued onward, opening its jaw wide. Pao paled and quickly marked herself, before scrambling out of the way on time. And once the beast's jaws snapped, and it realized it missed it's mark, it began to make its slow turn about, its eyes easily finding her as Pao continued to dash away.

[Lion]

Enzo remembered the curses that Pao seemed content to sling at him on a regular basis.  He called outward to the beast, one of the Saranthian curses, not knowing what they meant, but saying them anyway.  Anything to divert the beast's attention toward him.