2564/FATE: Dschubba Snacks

FATE: Dschubba Snacks
Date of Scene:	01 July 2015
Location:	Hydaelyn Reborn <ARR>
Synopsis:	A call for aid to protect a Chocobo stables is answered, but a mysterious black-robed man makes the outing more interesting than it should have been.
Cast of Characters:	607, 626, 666, Lyria Mason, 789, 815, N'raha Tia, 826

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Alwyn Highwind (815) has posed:
Notice from the Adventurers' Guild of Eorzea (posted on numerous bounty and adventurer boards, including the Syndicate Network)!

FATE: Dschubba Snacks
Location: Treespeak, North Shroud
Type: Notorious Target
Urgency: Medium
Difficulty: Medium

Enclosed Message: Every once in a while, the Diremites of the Black Shroud give birth to a Miteling much larger than its kin, and adventurers are tasked to destroy this "Dschubba" before it can grow. Unfortunately, the last group of adventurers sent to deal with this latest one has not returned -- worse, the massive creature has matured into its Diremite form, and is leading a large swarm of Diremites and Mitelings towards the Treespeak Stables, just outside Old Gridania! Adventurers are asked to help protect one of Gridania's Chocobo stables!

Alwyn Highwind (815) has posed:
    As usual, welcome to the Twelveswood, AKA The Black Shroud. A large forest covering a good chunk of the continent of Eorzea, the place is filled with great magic, as though one could extend his hand out and grasp at it if they desired. Though the elements seem troubled in places, overall the forest seems protected, but by what one could not say. To the far south, a great force seems asleep; further east, still within the forest's boundaries, another stirs, every thundercrack that echoes through the trees making that last one pulse slightly.

    GRIDANIA is a rather small (for a 'capital city') city built into the northern side of the forest; though some houses are build of wood, others have been carved directly into massive trees. Magical lights keep the area lit even at night, and the massive blue Aetheryte Crystal's glow bathes the city even in its darkest moments.

    It is currently raining, and occasional lightning bolts streak through the skies. Adventurers who answer the Adventurers' Guild's call will be quickly directed from the Aetheryte Crystal to the western exit of the town, and told to head just a bit south. The Treespeak Stables aren't far, and they wager the local guards should have held out until now. There is also a Warp Gate by the crystal, so the arrival point is mostly the same for everyone.

    People can gather up at Gridania's western gate, or head directly to the stables if they want. For once, there's no trace of Alwyn, but if asked he'd answer he's already there.

Bertram Silent (826) has posed:
As he approaches, on foot, Bertram sighs. Why did it have to be the stables? Why? He's already drawn his staff, and just stands at a distance from both the stables and the mites, waiting for others to arrive, so he can do his job. "I'm here." He tells both Alwyn and Mother Miounne over his linkshells, and then he just leans against a tree and starts eating a nice homemade creme brulee.

Sarah Parsle (789) has posed:
Sarah probably shouldn't be here, but hey, the listing said 'Medium'. That's gotta rank lower than a Great Malboro, right?

The Gloomtrain rolls on, th current weather in the Shroud appearing to match her presence as she appears, holding an umbrella to keep the rain off. She doesn't bother waiting, shuffling down the road towards the stables (and as before, occasionally getting distracted to ACQUIRE WILD HERBS. Gridania is pretty legit, fo shore.

She'll get to Treespeak soon enough.

Serenity (607) has posed:
    Unlike everyone who has decided to lurk about, Serenity has shown up in the manner she usually does: direct and to the point. In a lightweight mail armor, carrying her shockblade, the maedra doesn't even try to be stealthy about the fact that she's here to take care of this problem.

    "Mn... this seems pleasant enough," she murmurs mildly. Well, it is for now, aside from the /rain/ pouring down. She'll head for the stables, as directed, since this is her first time in this world and she'd rather learn the layout before charging in.

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    Perhaps much to Sarah's dismay, Kyra signed up for this mission too. Obviously she's not going to be fighting diremites personally unless things get really bad but those that are could certainly use the support, right?

    When she arrives, she's immediately identifiable by her white-colored hooded poncho. She wears and manipulates things with the bulky item of clothing easily, not that hindered by the rain. Water rolls off the large form of the CURE-ALL, strapped to her back over the poncho. She's quick to follow but definitely NOT leading out in front, careful to stick behind the studier-looking folks such as Serenity.

N'raha Tia has posed:
    Where's N'raha? Well, one might have to follow their nose on this one. Out of all the people out there with the guards fighting the oncoming mites, he is the one smelling of wet cat and chocobo poo. There's a rake propped up against a tree nearby to where the miqo'te is currently punching a Giant Bug hard enough to crack its shell, his body blurring faintly as he shifts in and out of combat stances.

    Just how did he get caught out here doing something like this anyways? Isn't he... you know, busier than needing to muck out stables?

Lyria Mason has posed:
Lyria Mason is here in the Black Shroud and she's well not too on edge she seems to be in a decent of enough mood as she falls in with the rest of the group. She had an idea aboutthe issuye they were fighting. Thankfully there was no one in the group she hoped that would pick fights with the locals and the spirits. She fall in with Kyra aiming to hang back and perhaps give Kyra some protection when it's needed.

Alwyn Highwind (815) has posed:
    To arrive at the stables is to find it quiet. Besides the rain and thunder. ALWYN is with N'raha and Bertram, soaked wet, spear in one hand as he leans against it. "I'd have rather just met the things halfway. This isn't so bad, though. Gotta earn our pay, right?" A couple of the creatures had made it past the locals so far, but not the invasion force they were warned about.

    As people gather up, arriving from Gridania, they can see further ahead two Gridanian guards in yellow uniforms, retreating towards the stables. Their armor is torn up and they're pretty beaten themselves.

    "THEY'RE COMING! ARM UP!" they shout.

    Stable workers withdraw to the inside, along with the two dozen Chocobo they have on-hand. That's roughly when the ground starts shaking, and the clatter of a thousand legs on and under ground starts being heard. MASSIVE quantities of Mitelings are swarming towards the stables, around the trees, through the trees, and some even emerge from holes in the ground. Thirteen glowing red and orange eyes, eight legs like a spider, but tipped like a scorpion; armored, bulky, and fast. Amidst them are a few larger Diremites, basically a few feet bigger and with scorpion stingers on top of it all.

    Where's the BIG one, though?

    "Alright, let's do this quick and simple! Try to kill as many as fast as you can, it'll deter them!" Alwyn says, and then just sort of leaps into the fray.

Bertram Silent (826) has posed:
"Sure, gotta earn our pay." As soon as things start to unfold, the man in the white robes starts casting. Soon enough, protective magical barriers form around those Bertram has mentally designated as allies. Alwyn, N'raha, and anyone else who looks like they're here to fight. The barriers are barely visible unless something impacts them, at which point they glow blue briefly at point of impact. The barriers won't stop attacks, but they'll slow them down.

N'raha Tia has posed:
    Oh hey. Protect, and also friends showing up. That's nice! N'raha's cheery exterior is back on display after the rather... emotive display of teenage mad from the other night. Also there's something slightly less distressing about punching vilekin than stabbing people.

    The miq's body flashes again as he completes a rapid series of strikes on a bug, cracking the miteling open and moving on to the next. And there are so many 'nexts' At least the rain is keeping the wost of the ichor off of him.

    At the sight of new people though, he can't help but toss out a cheery wave hello at the crowd, earning himself a sting in the side by one of the diremites. Ow ow ow ow ow.

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    "Alwyn! N'raha! Hey guys!" Kyra doesn't yet recognize Bertram on sight.

    This particular mission is of DOUBLE EXCITEMENT to Kyra. This world contained live chocobos, which were a rarity on her own and always a treat to see. Of course, not long after they arrive are the two-dozen chocobos rounded up and herded into the stables. Kyra doesn't get the chance to even look sad about this as the oncoming swarm of Mitelings makes its presence known via the oncoming noise.

    Kyra turns to the group, lifting a hand, starting to murmur when-"What-aww." Bertram beats Kyra to casting protect on everyone. Which might be for the best for now, forcing the white mage to immediately switch tactics. If Bertram got support, then Kyra will have to get more aggressive. Pushing the poncho aside, Kyra starts tearing flasks free from her belt, hurling them into the oncoming swarm, "EXPLOSIONS HOOOOO!" she warns her teammates, taking care to not toss the explosive napalm flasks where Alwyn or anyone else may be engaging in melee.

Sarah Parsle (789) has posed:
Sarah isn't someone to complain to Kyra. Despite the situation she knows Malboros don't NORMALLY erupt from people's heads. Right?

Either way, she has to prepare for battle, which means her UMBRELLA goes back into the Enigma Modus. She needs both hands to Strife. She pulls herself up onto one of the fences around the stable, and sits down on it to one side of the main battlefield, producing her JENGA STACK and prepares.

"Okay everyone. Either focus on taking out single targets or bunch them up and blast them with area of effect attacks. Yes, Kyra, like that."

Sarah, meanwhile, withdraws a JENGA PIECE from her stack and flicks it at a whatever thing looks damaged. She doesn't want to get the attention of a fresh one, she's not a sturdy meatshield like Alwyn, N'raha, or most of the others.

Instead she provides her own assistance how she can.

pok

Lyria Mason has posed:
Lyria Mason ius not happy with the local life, she's really not happy about size of thsoe things stingers. Sure there are monsters back home, but ones like this? Not qhere she's from so far as she knows. The scorpion like ones get her attention now as she moves to go after the creatures. Her pistols come out she sets the shots to fire and starts opening up on the big one!

Serenity (607) has posed:
    These things look dangerous, but they're still(relative) small fry. Serenity thusly doesn't call any of her imbuements, not yet. Instead she listens to the plans and nods quickly, drawing her shockblade. The blade sings faintly as it comes out of the sheath - metaphorically, not literally - as she considers the odd beasts. The incoming swarm of creatures has her assessing it, but really... Sarah's advice is good, so she has no reason to say anything herself. Instead she merely echoes the thoughts of others, "Wasn't there supposed to be a big one?"

    In the meantime, she darts forward, using her enhanced speed to dash toward several of the beasts. She's being careful, since these are unknown creatures, and her blade is focused on defense as she flicks out with a few slices, testing their armor and toughness. IT's good practice for the big guy.

Mirielle Edelweiss (666) has posed:
    Mirielle wasn't here in the matter that she usually is.

    Which is to say, she does not crest the hill with a cadre of Garleans, malboros, coerls, whatever. She is, in fact, not training to zone on poor catman N'raha. As is her 'custom'.

    Instead, she tumbles out of a stall, born upon the back of a chittering diremite, astride the burrowing beast as it scuttles with its friends. She tumbles to the ground, scraping knees ane elbows as she flees back to the party. "I have come to the conclusion!" the Calculator cries, as she scrabbles and runs away from the horde of mites (and the fusillade of fire Kyra lays down) "That hiding amongst the small places of this place is a foolish activity! As is breaking from the group! This now has at least three data points!" She complains.

Alwyn Highwind (815) has posed:
    Considering the quantity of enemies present, it won't be difficult to rack up a killcount. These things aren't that powerful or even threatening; they're numerous, but one could tell these are enemies you send squires and would-be adventurers to train against, not full-fledged heroes and powerhouses like have gathered.

    The protective spell from Bertram doesn't go without a thank you from Alwyn, who gives a thumb up between skewering two Mitelings way over there. Don't mind him, that'll be the extent of his contribution!

    N'raha's blows claim a few more of the critters!

    "Hey, Kyra!" Alwyn will welcome the other White Mage present, as her explosives suddenly tear a number of the smaller creatures, and one of the larger Diremites, into shreds. Thanks to the rain, there's no fear of fire spreading, at least.

    Sarah tosses pieces of her Jenga tower at whatever seems injured; a number of the bugs already have injuries from their fights with the guards on their way over, so she scores a few kills herself!

    Lyria focuses most of her fire on the larger Diremites, scorching and burning them; one burrows to escape, while two more fall.

    The Mitelings that approach Serenity to claw and bite get a taste of her blade, especially as she dives directly in. Bug parts fly left and right; but on cue with her question, a larger tremor shakes the stables.

    'Dschubba', the large one, bursts out of the ground; this Diremite is massive compared to the others, easily ten feet tall (a couple more with the tail). As it emerges, right next to the stables, its head smashes into it, through the wood, and takes a bite out of a Chocobo inside.

    Alwyn would welcome Mirielle too, if he weren't surrounded and kind of busy. "The stables! This was a diversion!"

    It's odd that the gigantic Diremite is glowing a very faint purple and black. Its connection to the Aether seems weaker; but that's something only Serenity and Mirielle are likely to be able to sense.

Bertram Silent (826) has posed:
Bertram stomps on the miteling that managed to get close enough to bite him, but he still got bit, and it hurts. Then, there's the big one, the scary one. And since everyone seems to have already been somewhat hurt, including Bertam himself, it's time for more magic. Raising his staff, he summons forth a wave of healing energy with a simple invocation, "Medica!" It should soothe wounds and prolong fighting endurance for those who are in this fight with him.

N'raha Tia has posed:
    EXPLOSIONS! SWORDS! MAGIC! N'raha cackles as the fight really gets going, beating the crap out of bugs with much joy...

    And the the Dschubba emerges behind them, and he snarls. "HELLS DAMN IT." He turns in place, taking a few bites from mitelings that smack into that protect as he does a spin kick to try and knock a bunch of them back... And then he fairly digs into the dirt to charge across the grove towards the barns. "I /just/ cleaned those, also GET AWAY FROM THE BIRDS."
    Medica and more start to pour out of the healers, which is good because the miqo'te isn't tanking today. No, he's a punchcat today, and he calls out to the... gladiator lady. That'd be you, Serenity. "HEY! GET ITS ATTENTION AND I'LL CRACK THAT TAIL!"

Sarah Parsle (789) has posed:
Sarah actually manages to kill a few. This feels odd to her, as often as she's been forced to ineffectually pok against Super Powerful Doom Houses of Ultra High-Speed Murderface Hellblaster Bloodgods IV: Son Of The Revengeance Of Infinite Sword Tentacle Guy: The Reckoning. It feels almost... good.

This is an odd and strange concept to the fatalistic and depressive ecto-youth, who glances over at the mention of the distraction. "Oh look, a giant chicken got eaten by a house-sized hell scorpion. What do you know."

She hops off of the fence. "Catguy, Need you at the stables, punch your face into the giant evil murder scorpion. Kyra, You with the guns, clear down around it and focus fire. Someone help the crazy girl who likes hiding in bushes. Catman, get on that too." to her benefit, she helps too, increasing her JENGA COMBOS gradually as she continues to pok at the things chasing Mirielle. She'll switch to the giant one when the time is right.

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    "Yeah you keep attracting monsters when you do that, Mirielle!" Kyra shouts to her fellow Light Warrior. "But you're in luck, I don't think you can attract any more monsters here!" The white mage is stepping back quickly, shying away from the advancing wave of front lines, diving for cover in one of the stalls. The cover does not last for very long as Dschubba itself smashes through the stall adjacent to her, wrecking some of the structural integrity of the stall and driving the white mage back out of the building.

    "What the hell!" Kyra reaches under her poncho and pulls out not one, but two guns, one in each hand. One of them is the Luna's Resolve, which is a fancy-looking pistol while the other is a regular Galiandan handgun. Since it's from Galianda, though, it has a bit more unnecessary embelishment on it than a handgun from Earth. "Sarah are you giving me orders? Are you really giving me /orders/?"

    She sounds downright huffy about this as she takes partial cover in a stall two stalls down from where she originally was so she can shoot at Dschubba with both weapons.

Serenity (607) has posed:
    Right. How simple. Back toward the stables. Serenity whips her head around, assessing the situation back at the stables as she hears that cry, parrying a claw. She has a few shallow cuts that made it through her defense... nothing serious, but the medical aid is pleasant nonetheless. "Thanks. Hmm..."

    'Pact Imbuement: Raptor of the East.'

    The intonation comes with a flare of power surrounding Serenity, but it does nothing for her armor. Her blade is sheathed, throwing knives appearing in her hands as she takes to the air... and becomes a blaze of light. The Raptor is one of her weakest pacts, but it is by far the fastest, so she's using it to zip up toward the Dschubba and dart back and forth, trying to lure it with taunting flickers of motion in and out of its reach. If she gets the chance, she's going to throw a few knives, the blades manifesting as fast as she can hurl them, but the attacks are relatively weak without her spending time to focus on them.

Mirielle Edelweiss (666) has posed:
    "I have notice that, yes!" Mirielle calls breathlessly to Kyra, before glancing wordlessly with some mild-to-extreme interest at Serenity's transformation. Pact magic? Did she hear right? Surely...

    Her attention is cut into directly by the rising tide of chitin and eyes, and as N'raha calls, she moves to jump behind him, casting as she gets clear.

    Protect, obviously, is her first choice, but that's been covered. Instead, she throws her hands out to summon up Walls to guide the mites and force them into a chokepoint of steel and death.

    "I'd suggest for you to start swinging and not stop! And my name is /Edel-weiss!/ With an /E/!"

Alwyn Highwind (815) has posed:
    Everyone gets a burst of healing magic!
    Remember to commend your White Mage(s) after this!

    N'raha manages to blow the swarm around him back, and makes a charge for Dschubba. The massive creature would notice him, but Serenity's about to take care of that.

    Sarah continues building JENGA COMBOS by sniping at injured Mitelings and the smaller Diremites. This could pay off, though it also means she has the swarm's attention still, and they continue trying to overrun her. Chomping and biting, mostly. These don't really have stingers yet.!

    From cover, Kyra opens fire on the massive insect. Its armor seems sturdy, but it's its purple-ish aura that does most of the tanking; shots penetrate, scorch and pierce the armored creature, but they seem to lose speed before impacting.

    Serenity kicks things up a notch, and the sudden flare of power attracts the beast's attention. It atempts to keep up, failing; she's too fast. Frustrated, angry, especially as knives plant themselves in its armor and draw blood, Dschubba jumps off its feet, and lands down with a SLAM, kicking up a dust cloud and sending jagged shards of earth at SERENITY, BERTRAM and N'RAHA.

    Mirielle's spell creates chokepoints; Alwyn sets himself up at one, his spear swirling as he attempts to keep up with the swarm, while others tackle the boss. "I suggest you hit it with something big and call it a day, the small ones aren't going to leave as long as the big one's there!"

Lyria Mason has posed:
Lyria Mason is shooting the larger ones she'll let the ones that run go. The creatures might learn and teach other htier kind that this is a bad place to go, right? As she leaves that fleeing one to deal with the incomming creatures. There's more to deal with right? She looks about but she's under attack she is just able to avoid getting the point of the creatures issues with her. She does however get bet up but that doesn't last too long thanks to the white mages on sight. There will totally be Commending of these mages later.

Bertram Silent (826) has posed:
No, bad healer. Don't try to get a spell off as DOOM approaches. Bertrasm realizes just in time, and gets out of the attack by the skin of his teeth. Now, he finds himself surrounded by some mitelings and still dangerously close to Dschubba. In response, he brings forth a small glowing orb of white magic, which shrinks above his head before exploding into a brilliant light, washing over all that's nearby in all its magical majesty.

N'raha Tia has posed:
    AHA! IS THIS OUR CHANCE?
    It damn well better be as people corrall the big jerk in, moving the Dschubba away from the Chocobos. N'raha can very much appreciate Serenity's efforts in distracting the big voidkin. But the jumping attack stumbles the Miqo'te, and he falls on his tail in frustration, bleeding from the sudden Earth based shards.

    But he's not about to be outdone by some big damn bug. Alwyn is calling for something big, and.. N'raha digs deep, drawing all of his energy, all of that Aether that's surrounding him, grabbing every onze he can muster.

    There's a sudden flare of energy in the bronze knuckles he's wearing and... He spins through one of his stances, a slick speed manifesting itself as he spins in place, and lands a shattering, heavy, aether-powered straight punch into and through the side of the Dschubba. "HHHAAAAATAAAAHHHHHH!"

Sarah Parsle (789) has posed:
"Yes. Is that a problem for you? Seriously, Kyra, are you going to do this? People just need to go organized. Seriously. You're doing this. It's a thing with you, isn't it." Sarah sighs in an almost frustrated resignation. "If I didn't do it most people would just mill around!"

She mutters... But there's no time to wait, as the mites assault her. "AAAAH!" She yells, the attacks smashing into her... And hitting a hexagonal gleaming set of energy panels which blunt their strikes.

Sarah blinks and opens her eyes. "Huh. That didn't hurt as much as I expected. "You. Healy guy, good work." She yells to Bertram as she leaps forward at the mite. "YAAAAAAH!" She yells, slamming he JENGA STACK down on the mites, the tower exploding with significant (for her) force, in an area, as she got a chance to build up some stacks.

Of course, now her STACK is all over the ground in a pile, so.....

Serenity (607) has posed:
    The good news is that Serenity's attempt to distract the Dschubba worked!

    The bad news is that Serenity's attempt to distract the Dschubba worked!

    Flinging earthen shards at her has the maedra darting back and forth, but she's also trying to draw a bead on what is different with this creature. She's starting to get an idea. "Something is missing from this, something the others ha-" Well, she's dodging the shards pretty well, but this Pact is also one of her most lightly-armored ones. All it takes is one to slam into her shoulder, sending her spinning off away from the battle to smash into the roof of the stables, bounce off, and thud to the ground. She's /still/ pretty durable, so that's far from fatal, but it really, really hurt and briefly dazes her, not to mention seems to have gashed open something in her side. Between her natural toughness and the mystical protection, though, she's doing much better than expected.

    "Ow..." Concerns about her health aside, Serenity shakes off her pain and tries to focus... which is hard, given the Raptor's Contagion. Hit it and call it a day? She does have a few options there. Her hand gestures toward the Dschubba, seeing the others are pulling out all the stops. Setting up her biggest attack would take far too long to be effective, but she has something pretty big up her sleeve that's a lot faster.

    'Pact Summon: Arhkak the Demon Bear.'

    This time when the light flares, it coalesces into a massive bear the size of an elephant, still glowing with a purplish light as it roars and bears down(no pun intended) on the Dschubba. It's not very elegant, not even using claws, just trying to smash into it with sheer bulk. A lot of bulk.

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    "Yes, this is a thing! We're doing this!" Kyra says, not looking back to Sarah. "I don't just let anybody boss me around, you know." Kyra empties the entire chamber, somehwat futilely, into the Dschubba. She'd continue arguing about whether or not the gifted ecto-youth knows enough to boss Kyra around but something else is a bit more pressing: this thing isn't dead yet.

    "Bullet's aren't doing /shit/ to this thing!" Kyra reports before she slips both her guns away and out of her hands. Easily edging out of the stall, she keeps an eye on the largest insect, keeping well out of the range of Dschubba. Chanting follows as Kyra prepares to bomb the everloving hell out of the thing with a Holy.

    But something clearly goes wrong. Holy does not happen. Nothing happens, at least for a few seconds, before a flaming meteor falls from the sky to strike the ground. Then another. Then /another/ as Kyra watches in horror at what her magic accidentally wrought-until one of the flaming rocks grazes her and sends her sprawling to the ground.

Mirielle Edelweiss (666) has posed:
    There is a moment where Mirielle expects all to go as planned. The Odd Summoner - Serenity - seemed filled with a curious power (that Mirielle is already mentally documenting for later transcription). Alwyn, N'raha, and Bertram all seem to hold their own with a singular skill, each in their roles. Though Alwyn seems more a 'tank', and N'raha seems more an attacker...

    No, with all the others taken into consderation, it is a Light Warrior of the Galiandan variety that causes Mirielle consternation.

    You see, as horrible and Endarkened as Dschubba is, it wouldn't cast bloody METEOR.

    As it begins to fall, Mirielle takes one long glance at Kyra, but cursing and vocalizing calculations wouldn't help now. Assisting herself first, then Bartram, then Kyra, then people in a reverse order or tankyness, Mirielle begins to pulse out a wave of BarFire.

    You know. So we don't all DIE TO METEOR!

Alwyn Highwind (815) has posed:
    More shots from Lyria will help controlling the incoming swarm, if she decides to take them; keeping the mountain of insects off the people dealing with the boss is probably a wise decision overall, and it's what Alwyn is trying to do himself.

    Bertram's spell surges out, blasting any insect in proximity to the stables. It also seems highly effective against the larger creature, burning its skin-- if Bertram has any experience dealing with them at all, he'd recognize the effects holy spells have on Voidsent creatures.

    N'raha's blows impact precisely, shattering the bug's armor and exposing... well, blood, goop, stuff that's normally inside a bug. Not much surprise here.

    As Sarah and Kyra bicker, the exploding JENGA STACK blasts a large amount of Mitelings away, significantly thinning the swarm. As good news come, that's probably welcome.

    A GIANT BEAR then proceeds to maul Dchubba. With its weakened armor, the fact the Holy spell slammed into it, the huge insect has several of its limbs torn off, including its stinger, which slams to the ground next to Sarah.

    ... and then a meteor crashes down.

    The swarm, and what's left of Dschubba, are scorched out of existence by the falling, flaming rocks. The stables sustain quite the damage too, but we'll spare Kyra being a Chocobo-murderer, because at least she wasn't AIMING for the stables. That came close, though. Feel bad.

    The few insects left withdraw into the earth.

    Far to the side and out of sight (unless someone has especially strong senses), black robes flutter in the wind as a man raises a metallic-clawed glove, a smile the only feature visible under the red mask and hood.

    "Interesting. A test, then."

    A purple-black ball of energy appears above the stables, and crashes into the ground like yet another meteor. Void covers the impact site, and a large, stone gargoyle with two bone swords emerges from it, tall and thin. The void, and the creature, have no connection to the world whatsoever.

    KYRA, MIRIELLE and BERTRAM seem to have its immediate attention, as its long arms sweep with the swords, sending dark shockwaves out after them!

N'raha Tia has posed:
    BARFIRE! This is... unknown magic to the miqo'te, but he's happy to have it as the Dschubba is crushed and he's not entirely lit on fire though he's trying use the summoned bear for cover. SORRY TIBBERS.

    But it's the sudden appearance of the Voidsent that staggers the Adventurer, and he sputters as he tries to start gathering his strength again. And he's got to do it quick because it's charging the healers.

    Once again, N'raha does something stupid.

    "HEY THERE YOU'RE NOT WELCOME. COME FIGHT SOMEONE ELSE!" And there's a magical, aetheric shunt at the voidsent as he tries desperately to lure it away. You know, while not being a tank.

Bertram Silent (826) has posed:
Bertam notices the effect Holy has on the creature, and other following effects verify that suspicion. Voidsent. He doesn't have much time to consider what this means, between the--fortunately decreased-impact of fiery death from the sky and the arrival of the voidsent gargoyle. The voidsent energy that flies towards him fizzles in a flash of foreign energy, bright and natural, and Bertram mutters. "Thank you, Hydaelyn."

Then, because things just got worse, Bertram proceeds to send a massive wave of healing energy to re-invigorate the gathered allies. More powerful than his earlier healing wave, it should help reinvigorate the entire group.

Mirielle Edelweiss (666) has posed:
    Being the Galiandan variety of Light-Warrior (Which is to say, member of a club, and that club not being the Happy Fun Times Club of Giant Crystal Mom), Mirielle has no protection against the wave of darkness bowling her over. She's quite worse for wear - and in fact, though the darkness did little to her, it was the shockwaves from the swords that caused her to fall to one knee, bloody and panting.

    "This creature... Of Chaos, or worse! The... chaos analogue to this world! Yes. What we should do is return it! Pray to your gods and return it to whence it came! And if prayer is not enough..." She draws herself woozily to her feet, gashes of wounds and worse causing her some difficulty.

    "Swords and strength of arm should be vigorously applied."

Lyria Mason has posed:
Lyria Mason is going to keep the swarm off her comrades even as the others focus on the big bad? She's got an idea it's time to do something that will make Souji /cry/. She takes her new and improved sonic grenades they start giving off powerful sonic pulses of one of Kyra's own Mogstep songs. As this happens Lyria slams a foot into the ground as she starts to command the elements and attempts to turn the earth into jagged spikes under the monster's feet.

Serenity (607) has posed:
    METEORS! That's... not a good thing! Serenity is fast and nimble, diving between the meteors... but she still gets not just scorched, but her back catches on fire, forcing her to tumble over the ground. So she's left... mostly okay. At least, by appearances. In reality she has a major concern, and that's the fact that her summoned bear gets a meteor RIGHT IN THE SIDE. He's a /big/ guy, and stumbles before thudding to the ground, making excellent cover for Tia. Unfortunately, the bear is growling in pain and obviously injured when it rises to all fours.

    Briefly, Serenity glances to the bear before shaking her head. She risks shock by not dismissing it, but she needs it there. "I'm dropping to the back, give me some cover." It's a curt suggestion to the others, but she isn't leaving them alone. The Demon Bear stampedes forward as well, providing itself as bulky cover for the healers... even if it has to tank waves of darkness. Fortunately, being a /demon/ bear, it isn't particularly vulnerable to them.

    As for Serenity? She flies up into the air again, concentrating and murmuring.

    'Pact Imbuement: Angel of Sunset.'

    Her body shimmers, and the armor she was wearing, barely more than cloth, becomes a mingling of chain and leather. In her hands, where knives were before, is a shining bow. She lifts the bow, drawing the string to summon an arrow... but this is taking time, and she's briefly vulnerable before she can let fly with the powerful holy streak of light.

Sarah Parsle (789) has posed:
Sarah replies acidly, "I guess I'm just anybody, then. Seriously, if you can't even listen to basic tactics you're going to just get yourself killed. You don't make me physically ill enough for that. Except for the time the /horrorterror jumped out of your head/ but I assume that's not a common occasion-What the hell is that?"

In the middle of her haranguing Kyra, Sarah looks up into the sky.

And she sees the meteors. "Oh hell." She whispers... And then forgets to move out of the template attack. The Barfire prevents her from getting incinerated, at least, but that's still a huge hunk of falling rock. the impact knocks Sarah to one side, slamming her into the stable. She seems to be unconscious for the moment. It's probably for the best because she might have had a reflexive desire to harm Mirielle for her tortured assertions.

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    "I understand basic tactics enough that I don't need to be /ordered/ to do basic things like 'ranged attacks' or 'support'!" Kyra bites back angrily, "What the hell got into you Sarah-" Oh. It must be the Malboro thing. Maybe that's why she thinks Kyra needs to be commanded about a fight? Great.

    Sometimes, in spite of wild magic, there are small mercies. Kyra would have felt pretty terrible if she accidentally killed a chocobo-it's bad enough that she's damaging the stables and nearly teamkilling her allies. Frustrated, she swears unhappily.

    Kyra moves to pull the CURE-ALL off her back so she can provide some more healing assist in case she needed to heal one of the good guys here from her latest magical misfire. It was some solace that the diremites decided to burrow on out of their instead of deal with the group, giving her some time to do this. Silently, Kyra sets the alchemized weapon's output to medium, allowing the CURE-ALL to draw MP from her to produce a functionally equivalent area CURA spell. This blast is centered on the bear in particular which took a bad hit from the meteors.

    She continues with the healing until the purple-black meteor that she SWEARS she did not summon appears and produces a new monster, which Kyra also swears she did not summon. It didn't come out of her head, after all.

    "...what the hell is that thi-" she starts before the dark shockwave hits her, knocking her over. Some of the blow is at least cushioned by the previously cast PROTECT spell from Bertram and whatever follow ups are blocked by the demon bear. It at least gives time to recover and go over to tend to Sarah.

Alwyn Highwind (815) has posed:
    Out in the shadows, the robed man stares. Whatever shielded Bertram has gotten his full attention (at least right up until Serenity starts powering up, that'll be incredibly distracting too).

    Meanwhile, the gargoyle recovers from its swings, glare turning towards N'raha as it is provoked. It pursues, swinging one of those bone swords and firing the same sort of void-y darkness-y shockwave as it does so, extending its range dramatically above 'just melee'. It's also unnaturally fast, given its size and the fact it's made of stone.

    Bertram and Kyra both give everyone a nice dose of DELICIOUS HEALING, but since N'raha taunted, they won't be getting aggro this time around.

    Mirielle states the obvious; well, Alwyn can't disagree. From his position, he leaps, crashing atop the gargoyle to plunge his spear in its back. This doesn't work very well, and he just kind of falls off and on his ass. He may have chinked the stone though. Better than nothing? Those wings got in the way.

    The combination of grenade and geomancy slows the gargoyle down, at least; it won't be REACHING N'raha, though its shockwaves are still an issue.

    As Serenity's form starts glowing with holy light, just the brightness and aura about her seems to start injuring the Voidsent. And while the bear may not be vulnerable to darkness, a strong sword swing never failed anyone. The gargoyle's blades turn upon Serenity's summon as a result of the damage, a blindingly fast flurry of slices, enhanced by darkness and void.

    Sarah is unconscious! This is unfortunate but at least she's safe?

N'raha Tia has posed:
    YEP THIS IS OUR CHANCE! The Voidsent may not be able to reach him, but it sure as hell is focusing on the bear right now. That's good!
    Unfortunately it's also lashing out with Dark un-magic. This... this really is N'raha's first taste of voidsent powers and the wave that passes over him visibly tears a measure of his Aether away, a body-long bruise starting to form under that cloth armor.

    He spots Alwyn leaping, and stabbing and that's actually a pretty good idea. And as the Lancer falls back after plinking the gargoyle, N'raha plants a foot on the Demon Bear's hip, and runs up and over the creature to do a leaping kick right at the voidsent's face. "AAAAAAAAAAATAAAAAAHHH!"

Serenity (607) has posed:
    Serenity winces as she sees the bear cut to ribbons. There's not a ton of blood, at least... but the bear vanishes into a spray of sparkly mystical energy, and Serenity hisses sharply at the backlash. It doesn't physically hurt, exactly, but it does have side effects.

    Hopefully the sacrifice is worth it. Serenity can fly now, sparkling wings upon her back, and the maedra darts back and forth as if trying to look for a good opening. There are several, but either she doesn't see them, or she's waiting for something specific. Eventually she does let loose with some more arrows, powerful blasts of holy energy to whittle down the beast... and give it few options. If it goes after her, the others will kill it. If it ignores her, the arrows aren't going to just /stop/ are they?

Bertram Silent (826) has posed:
Bertram is starting to run out of juice. This went a fair bit beyond what he expected this FATE to be, but he's still trying. N'raha is taking to the front, so the best thing Bertram can do before starting to pull back a little is to call upon the elements, well an element, to protect the front-line adventurer who would like to be important. A shield of hardened earth forms to take a blow.

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    At least Sarah is safe, right? ...maybe. Kyra's going to check on her anyway and actually hold off on dropping Life on Sarah. After their little argument, Kyra feels even more like a giant jerk having been inadvertantly responsible for more of Sarah's suffering. "Ugh, Haruko was right, I really am wrecking all my friend's lives." she angsts, turning her attention to the Voidsent.

    Holy was allegedly effective according to Bertram and Serenity. This time, Kyra's able to successfully contribute her own magic to the pile in the form of even more straight, raw holy magic. Hers drops from the sky, piercing through the clouds like an orbital laser. There is even a spellcircle targeting reticle that appears beneath the Voidsent briefly before it strikes.

Mirielle Edelweiss (666) has posed:
    Mirielle, battered and bleeding a little profusely, woozily wobbles to Kyra's side, placing a steadying hand on the White Mage's shoulder. "Wrecking? Well, beyond the physical trauma you've putting me through this last month, I've gotten stronger for it. And I've never been more flush with physical education and adventuring credits. Why, I may even graduate early!" She chortles, before coughing and leaning on Kyra yet more.

    "Doesn't matter if you drop a meteor on people. You're a healer. You can make it better. Everyone's better for having you around, even if you berated us constantly. The force-multiplication and loss-prevention inherent to you is valuable. That you care is a bonus." Mirielle councils.

    With that, Mirielle woozlily begins casting a few enhancements, making sure Sarah and Kyra are protected from further harms. She doesn't decide to engage, seeing the others having things well in hand.

    Also that is a /lot/ of her blood all around, she's feeling a bit light-headed!

Lyria Mason has posed:
Lyria Mason has just got started with the Geomancy as there's another element she can feel the pull of. This time the Gargyole would fin the veyr air turning against it trying to drive it down violently into the ground. Those paying attention to Lyria might notice she's doing certain movments as she maniplates the very wind against the beast, it's almost a bit like a dance as she moves.

"This ends here, monster back to the enemy with you!"

Alwyn Highwind (815) has posed:
    When in doubt, kick it in the face.
    N'raha's tactic pays off, causing the gargoyle to go off-balance, especially due to being more or less blinded by Serenity at this point. Though it found success in hacking the bear apart, when the holy arrows rain, they crack and shatter parts of its body, the stone quickly worn and damaged until the beast is kneeling to remain standing.

    The orbital holy beam from Kyra adds in to the damage, plowing into the Voidspawn and causing it to fissure and crack that much more.

    A blast of wind from Lyria causes the creature to be knocked off its feet and onto its side. Surprisingly it's still in one piece, but pretty bad off.

    Away from the action, the black-robed man smiles wider, lowering his hand. "That's quite enough. So She's finally chosen at least one champion. And it seems other worlds have creatures that can be summoned. Well, that was a learning experience."

    A purple portal into the void opens under the gargoyle and it sinks into it, disappearing. Moments later there's only faint residue of the dark magic left at all. Elsewhere, the mysterious mage disappears in a flash of black and purple as well, leaving the area.

    Alwyn manages to find his footing again, using his spear to stay upright. "Well, that... wasn't on the menu at all! I hope that makes up for the damage to the stables."

    The caretakers of the stables will be coming out of hiding as well. If people want to poke at the remaining Chocobo, they're all there! There's lots of colors, though a majority are standard yellow.

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    "I'm pretty sure you've accused me of trying to kill you." Kyra mutters, not exactly reassured by Mirielle's words of reassurance. At least not the first few suggesting that Mirielle now has all the PE credits she needs to graduate. The rest, though...

    "...hm." she says very quietly, turning to look at the Calculator. After a few mometns, she squints and reaches over with a hand to tap against Mirielle's shoulder, channeling the positive energy of a cure spell into her. "...where'd all that blood come from?"

    Kyra watches the gargoyle monster disappear through a portal, vaguel annoyed at their group being denied the opportunity of killing it. On the other hand, she didn't like the way that thing felt but she keeps that to herself. Slowly, she stands, off to check on the chocobo for other injuries. ...also to get close to real chocobo. Because REAL CHOCOBO!!!

N'raha Tia has posed:
    There's a soft grumble from the Miqo'te as the damage all pours in on the voidsent, and it just... simply sinks back into the ether. Bluh. He flops over on the ground, looking up at the rain. He is now covered in chocobo poo and bug guts and he's bruised all over and this all is pretty crappy.

    But. But but but. He sniffs a bit, and then... looks over at the bit of the woods where the robed man just was, blinking a few times. "He can't put his finger on it, but something gets the- ...wel no, his ears are damp so the hairs aren't prickling. But they totally would.

    He does hop back up to his feet though, and wobbles over towards Kyra and the Chocobos and... oh. oh hey, he could probably haggle something out of this. Screw just getting gil for sweeping out the stables.

Sarah Parsle (789) has posed:
It's about at this time that Sarah stirs, looking out at the scorched area from her landing point. There is a grunt, before Sarah emits an eloquent "Bluuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh." Looks like she's alive, at least.

Serenity (607) has posed:
    Resting a hand on a nearby chocobo, lightly soothing with a pet, Serenity tries not to show her own injuries. The aura dissolves from around her as she dismisses the Pact, and she looks over toward Kyra... but says nothing for now. Instead, she just asks, "Is everyone all right?"

Mirielle Edelweiss (666) has posed:
    Mirielle takes a moment. "Oh? I think it was the..." She looks at her rather profuse bleeding. "Ah. That. I think I took a rather poor crack or cut somewhere from that twin-sworded creature's shockwave. I'm really not made for the front line." She admits, as if it were a new reelation to anyone.

    To Serenity, she nods. "Acceptably so. Thanks to my friend here." She notes, as healing Cure washes over her. "And good job, N'raha. Your shield is, as ever, the bulwark of our parties." She notes, with her dark, gloomy sort of voice. But she's trying to sound chipper! And not delerious!

    "And I did indeed accuse you of trying to kill me. Then again, I never told you to stop, nor did I stop following you around. Why are you listening to someone who says you hurt your friends? Just speak to them. Speak to Landon, and Dominic, and Soan."

Lyria Mason has posed:
Lyria Mason is moving in to finish the beast off when someone calls for the fight to start. A second later the monster falls into a portal. She does lower her pistols at this point. She holsters them an really wonders now just what's going on now. She sighs a bit and then looks to the rest of the part.

"So is everyone ... err oh dear."

She heads over to help Sarah and give her potion until the white Mages can get to her.