Summary:What do a trio find when they go searching for Lady Amara? Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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Zeal had caught up with Batgirl and Samurai after the foray into the Dome. They had decided to head back in the next day and check out the South of the village they discovered. That's where the Lady Amara, a dark elf who 'rules' this area is said to reside.
"We don't know if what we'll find when we get there." Batgirl says, her bow slung over her shoulder as they walk. Her green eyes and pale complexion are visible under the domino mask she wears - something she's none to pleased with, but it's the best she can do to keep her identity secret. "If she really is a Drow, then I would expect caves at the least. But we've nothing to tell us but our eyes."
They're following a dirt road that winds through a forest at the moment. The trees here seem ancient and more than a little bit freaky.
"What were your impressions of our foray?" She asks her two companions.
Zeal dropped off handwritten after action reports for both Silver Samurai and Batgirl, and was well content to go on another mission with people she actually /knows/ and trusts. Once through the dome, Avery is once again a golem girl - flesh turned to bronze and wood, eyes of literal peridots, features somewhat mobile through clockworks and her voice altered with a metallic undertone.
She does take the menace a Dark Elf would represent rather seriously, marching with Maid Batgirl and More Samurai Silver Samurai twoards the area. "Well, adventuring oft entails mysterious destinations of uncertainty."
Zeal is thoughtful as they move through freaky forest. "Lady? I truly cannot make sense of this, the conversion seems - pointless. I have no idea what advantage be gained by turning people into game caricatures. That said, I was impressed with some of the other heroes I fought beside, especially the one known as Spider-Woman."
The Handwritten report had amused and bemused the Samurai who is not much in the business of actually doing paperwork for his heroics. Oh he used to be, but it was generally all on the computer. That being for the Japanese Government. Who likes technology.
He'd showed it to Batgirl with a little bit of 'wtf' in his eyes.
Crossing the barrier had put him back in silvery armor which just seems to be a thing that isn't ever going to go away. It makes moving unnoticed rather difficult. And it means his companions have to be careful about the angle they stand relative to him lest they get blinded.
"Was interesting. I am concerned that the humans here seem to have no protectors. Or none organized. I do not think these independent knights will last long unless we can tilt matters in their favor."
The handwritten report had received a smile from Batgirl - not that anyone could see it behind her mask. "You know you can dictate your reports to Oracle, Zeal, and they'll create a report in the system for you?" She says casually as they walk.
They've been walking for a good hour or so and for a while the end of the forest seemed endless. There's glimmers ahead though, of daylight - the forest must end soon, it seems.
"I believe you are correct, Samurai. From what the headman told us yesterday, the Lady Amara is ruthless and seems to care nothing for the humans at all." She sighs. Her voice isn't modulated, Zeal won't recognise it but Ken might. "As to why, Zeal? I think you might be forgetting that the only reason we can enter and remember who we are is because of powerful magical enchantments. If not, we would be stuck here - in the biomes that seem to suit … the inhabitants." They'd been told that areas were different, which … sort of make sense.
As they near the edge of the forest, there's a rustling in the trees to the right. A bird sings and another answers it. Which is a little strange - there's been no birdcall till now.
Avery didn't even think about the fact that Oracle would take dictation, that seems a frivolous use of a Seer's power! Yes, she knows that the VI isn't /actually/ an Oracle, but that's with head, not her heart. She really does think of the VI as a person, and one should be respected. In any regard, she is pleased to provide the written reports.
"There were some in the village we found, but they seemed…haphazard, yes." Zeal agrees with the Samurai. "The advantage seemed to be with the monsters, however."
She looks to her liege, and then nods. "Oh, aye, I remember the amulets, but what is the benefit for the transformation? I know the Orcs were powerful fighters, thinkest…do you think that they seeks some sort of magical relics that would not exist in the real world then?"
Peridot eyes turn towards the rustling and bird calls, and then Zeal drops her staves into her hands, ready in case of…"Ambuscade?" She hisses softly to her companions, of course, they're more seasoned than she, they probably are just as alert if not more so.
"Eurayle said that they wanted to create a world where they could exist openly." The Samurai says. "They have done that. Created a pocket of reality where they rule. I do not think it is a stretch to imagine that that they did so in times past and wish to do so once more. That they resent mankind's ascendency."
As the forest gets quiet around them the Samurai stills. One hand goes down to his side where there are two swords belted. His eyes narrow behind the mask that covers his face from the bridge of the nose down.
"Possibly…"
Batgirl doesn't get a chance to answer or elucidate on the conversation as she's tackled from the side. It's hard to see what takes her - they're tumbling through the trees as they wrestle.
Nor will the Samurai or Zeal get a chance as a battle cry fills the air and they're set upon. A masked figure, dressed in loose dark clothing, rushes the Samurai with a blade held in their hand. The lunge he makes at the silver armoured swordsman indicates some degree of training.
As for Zeal, she finds her facing an enormous hammer, aimed directly at her head.
Ambuscade it is.
Avery was very much intrigued by the news about Euryale, but then of course they get attacked.
Wow, that is a BIG hammer! Her fingers still not healed yet, she doesn't really want to see what impairment would follow getting her head bent, folded, spindled, or mutilated - even as a golem it can't possibly be good, and when she returns to the real world the conversion…
Yeah, not fun.
So, she flicker-dodges, trying her damnedest to time it so the hammer goes through her before she resolidifies, and hops up onto the head of it to balance, and then swinging her batons one and then the other towards the foe wielding the thing if any…and if they're out of reach, well, that's okay, she'll run up the haft to get closer if need be.
The Samurai utters a loud kiai as his blade sweeps from the scabbard. He meets the incoming rush, turns the momentum aside and drives the pommel of his weapon straight into his attacker's center of mass before twisting again to flick the blade into a crescent sweep upward all in less time than it takes to tell.
His opponent may be trained. Possibly even well trained. But the Silver Samurai is a master of bladework and he moves with the confidence of a man who knows he is unlikely to see someone best him.
"Zeal! Where is Batgirl?" She went tumbling into the underbrush and he has no idea now.
It is indeed a big hammer, wielded by an even bigger foe - a giant perhaps? Zeal flicker dodges as the hammer descends - so closely she feels the rush of air as she does. When she solidifies, her batons hit the hammer - the impact should make her arms ring. "Pretty eyes …" the giant grunts, swinging the baton again and Zeal can feel something, like an energy, thrum the copper parts of her golem body.
Ken finds himself matched to his equal, it seems. His pommel doesn't quite hit as his opponent steps to the side. The crescent sweep certainly gets a hit, accompanied by a grunt, as the opposing blade comes round around to catch the Samurai's and slide down the blade to the guard. He's caught in a bind for the moment.
They can hear the crashing of the wrestling from the forest. There's glimpses of sherwood green as Batgirl has regained her feet and similar dark coloured clothing to the one that Ken is fighting. But that's all they have time for - as both are pressed by their opponents.
"I did not see, Samurai-San, I apologize." And Zeal is more than a little busy as the giant she's fighting comments upon her eyes. "And you have…strong features." She offers, in a desperate bid to distract. That thrumming has her concerned, however, and not wanting to be there to find out what it means, she does indeed run up the haft of the giant's hammer, and then attempts a drop kick to his face as a spring board to get to the underbrush where Batgirl and her mysterious assailant are fighting. She doesn't expect even a drop kick to the face will have lasting effect on the giant, but it will hopefully buy her a few moments to aid her liege lady.
Ken pushes hard on the blade to force separation and swats away an attempt to slice his wrist. Then he comes back, finding himself near equally matched. The fight is actually quite mobile but the Samurai seems constantly on the attack. That makes sense as his style of swordsmanship revolves around the attack.
Blades flash in the forest. The Samurai attempts to force his opponents blade down and away from his body with a series of very powerful downward blows designed to break his opponent's guard by forcing him to absorb force that he would normally deflect or redirect.
And then he lets the aura flicker around his blade and slices down and hopefully through.
Zeal manages to kick the giant in the face however, as she springboards that hammer comes up and clips her legs. It should send her tumbling off balance unable to make the brush as she was hoping - the hammer coming down, barely missing her and causing a small crater in the ground.
With the thrumming in her body, Zeal might be able to feel the wooden parts of her body getting warm. "Pretty eyes… add them to my collection." The giant grunts again - it does seem rather fixated. "Slow you down." Pulling a tinder and flint from the ragged pockets of its jerkin, it sends a spark of fire right near Zeals body.
The Samurai manages to force the separation, barely missing getting his wrist sliced as he does. The next manoeuvre has his dark clothed opponents blade going wide - the Samurai can see the next move as it comes to bear. This swordsman is extremely well trained. The aura lets the Samurai's blade break right through.
His opponent laughs and tosses the remnants of his blade away. "I see you have studied with the Masters." he says. "What you don't know is that I am right handed!" Energy flickers at his hip, another blade appears and he draws it. Without missing a blink, the swordsman goes on the attack again - slashing viciously at the Samurai, trying to push him back.
Sent spinning ass over teakettle, Avery twists and tumbles to mostly blunt the impact with the ground, her roll /just/ avoiding her getting smooshed. "You collect eyes?" She asks the giant, but then there's fire. And her body is largely wooden. Golem-Zeal wants NO part of that, and this guy is both strong, big, and surprisingly fast - which is not good at all. "Batgirl, are you well?" She can see that the Samurai's Foe is quite skilled, skilled enough to hold the Samurai in place, requiring his full focus.
Things can't work with the present pairings, so…she skitters back from the fire, and then draws in a wholly useless to her present body breath, vanishing to appear on the exhale behind the man that the Samurai faces. She KNOWS that the Samurai is a much more skilled fighter than she is, she's assuming this other fellow must be too, but she's not there to fight him one on one, she's there to trip him up, to distract, to give the Samurai an opening to exploit.
If she's REALLY lucky, the giant will charge over and try to smite her, at which point she'll flicker dodge again.
HOPEFULLY having hammer meet villainous Swordsman up close and personal.
Samurai's blade flickers with energy again. He shears the blade off at the hilt as it comes around and then twists his blade to bring the flat down hard the man's right hand. Finger and hand bones are… so delicate.
"Now you are left handed. Never go in against a Samurai when death is on the line."
The sudden intervention of Zeal has the Samurai hopping back a couple of quick steps and reaching to his side to pull out an egg which he throws at a tree breach near his opponent's face. The egg is filled with metal shavings which create a nasty and irritating cloud.
As for the giant, when the thing gets close he's going to just hack it off at the knee and call it good.
There's no answer from Batgirl seemingly and that's bad.
"Pretty eyes. Gems…" the Giant grunts again, trying to light the golem alight. As the woman skips back towards the sword wielding pair, it follows - footsteps making the ground shake. The hammer comes down again and again, throwing up debris as it impacts - Zeal will feel the air as rushes past her.
As the Samurai's blades cuts through his opponents blade and wrist like they were butter, there's a look of shock of the mans face. "I should know better than to trust a Samurai!" He grimaces, just as the giants hammer hits him. He crumples - no way he's getting up from that.
That leaves one hammer wielding giant and two heroes to deal with him.
There's no response from Batgirl - it's gone quiet. Well … almost … an arrow comes out of the forest, piercing right through the giants wrist.
Yeah, that giant is really hung up on Zeal-Golem's eyes! She'll have to see if they're even close to that enchanting in the real world! Or not. Romance has not ever even occurred to her as a thing to seek. Thanks PG-13 Dad-world with NC-17 violence!
Fortunately, Avery's rather spry, she continues to roll and dodge and more or less be annoying enough to —- eew, splat, she got some of the sword-guys blood in her mouth! Thankfully, no sense of taste in this form, she'll have to remember to rinse her mouth out THOROUGHLY before they transition back.
The arrow…is hopeful, after all Maid Marion was an archer, is Batgirl?
Zeal rolls to her feet and will circle widdershins about the giant, batons striking at fingers, at uninjured wrist, mostly she's trying to position him for Samurai to backstab.
Samurai will take the backstab if it works but he doesn't wait. He simply advances and lays into the giant with a glowing katana, carving steaks off of him. He would prefer if the damn thing simply went away as it is going to be something of a pain in the ass to kill from all the way down here but if needs must he will put him to the kind of rest that comes of being hacked into a hundred quivering pieces.
This is the true power and horror of the Samurai's mutation. A man who can chop through near enough anything with even so much as a stick in his hand.
"It likes your eyes, Zeal. I suggest you like his." A blind giant is after all easier to just… shuffle off and ignore.
There's bits of giant left strewn across the pathway - as well blood, lots of it. Zeal continuing to distract the beast as Samurai goes to work. And yes, he does turn, presenting his back for the Samurai nicely. It won't be long before it topples to the ground … dead.
Out of the boughs of the nearest tree, Batgirl drops to the ground. Her braid has come mostly free, her hair tangled with leaves and detritus, clothing mussed. "Well, that was invigorating. I'm just glad he wasn't an acrobat." She says, slinging her bow over her shoulder again. "Are you both … alright?" The redhead gives them both a once over from a distance. "If you are, I suggest we don't linger."
"Art thou well, Lady?" Yes, Avery's a bit worried, she doesn't even try to speak normally. She does find the dicing of the giant a bit disturbing, but she has to admit that the Samurai's skill and powers are absolutely terrifying, and yes, exhilarating to see in action. Looking between Bat-Marion and Silver Samurai, she frowns a bit. "There was talk of the people here being transformed from the people who were here before, the Giant and the swordsman, and whomever you were fighting - thinkest thou that they might have been?" That's a bit unsettling, especially with the prohibition Batgirl placed on killing. Regardless, the teleporter and expert annoyance shakes her head, and then does indeed rinse her mouth clean, she does NOT want a mouthful of blood when they return. Regardless, this menace must be addressed.
Samurai eyes the mess they've made. "We should move. It will not be long I think before someone gets curious about what just happened." And with that, he is off and moving again. For all the subtle good it does in his bright silver armor.
"It's impossible to tell, Zeal." Batgirl says. She doesn't say what she did with her attacker. Given she's keen to move, it probably means she left them alive. That's likely a conversation she and the Samurai will have later.
"Come on then, let's keep moving." She starts after the Samurai, hopefully no one will notice that she's moving stiffly - she managed to rack her back with her acrobatics.
They've still got some distance to cover.