4175/Stone Devils (1)

Stone Devils (1)
Date of Scene:	01 June 2016
Location:	Lumiere
Synopsis:	Count Kord and Ebon Ribbon are called upon to help keep Lumiere broken by their new allies.
Cast of Characters:	903, Count Kord, 974

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Carna (974) has posed:
    The Stone Devils have said certain things about their goals, their patron, and so on. And they divulged this information relatively readily, considering all the effort they've taken to secure a base of operations in the Urban Decay, and to apparently not be troubled too much by other Lanterns. Either they are far too trusting of outsiders, which seems unlikely in a place as nasty as this, or there's deeper secrets they have yet to reveal. Considering that people Count Kord and Ebon Ribbon have their own objectives in coming to this place, it's highly likely that a group like this has their own objectives in seemingly accepting the outsiders into their fold.

    To find out the true depths of the plans of these followers of Los, Kord and Ebon might need to prove their 'trustworthiness'... Or at least their usefulness. So what a wonderful opportunity it is that a sort of mental summons has come to the both of them, thanks to their agreement to join the Stone Devils. It seems the two Confederates have been invited to join in on a 'hunting party' and see what exactly the Stone Devils really DO in Lumiere... And to participate if they can handle it.

    They can easily ignore the message. It's more like a 'ping' for their attention than anything. But that wouldn't benefit them very much now would it?

    The site that they are to come to is in an area of the City Limits with many buildings, much like the rest of the Urban Decay. Except that these are primarily older in appearance... More like ancient structures in fairly good repair than crumbling remnants of civilization. They would fit in well in ancient Greece, though some pieces seem to be from the Roman Empire in terms of sophistication and aesthetic.

    Luc, the Gargoyle Knight, is standing atop a roof, hunkered down and watching the narrow streets below. There seem to be some figures sneaking around down there. And the awareness they have of their environment implies Lanterns, rather than Unlit.

    From what was conveyed in the magical message, there are people trying to gain access to the Marble Guardian that the Stone Devils guard. The crafted monster that is meant to keep Lanterns from ascending to higher levels of Lumiere where they would have a chance at making progress in 'fixing' this world. So the purpose of this mission... Is to ambush and kill other Lanterns for the 'crime' of trespassing in the domain of a monster that is hostile to all Lanterns.

Ebon Ribbon (903) has posed:
     Ebon Ribbon really doesn't care what the motivations of the Stone Devils is, or who they might be about to harm. To her, it is just another chance to practice her hunting skills, and these Lanterns will make excellent prey.

     Assuming that there is a way to Luc's position without encountering the targets, Ebon Ribbon slides sinuously from the shadows and arrives beside the Knight. "So, these interlopers wish to undo your work?" she asks quietly, seeming quite used to staying out of sight and undetected by others. And her dark colors lend her quite well to this world, except of course for the neon pink in her mane.

Count Kord has posed:
    Kord's approach to Luc's perching spot was surprisingly silent. He was, after all, very much a creature of the dark. He momentarily thought about pushing Luc off the top of the structure as he approached, his eyes fixed on the stone armored figure. He discarded the thought, though, figuring it was because of his recent trouble with the golem-like monsters of his own world.

    He finds his own vantage to silently peer down at the Lanterns down there. His eyes lid and his mouth droops into a frown behind the mask. He is as still as a statue, not yet acting, perhaps waiting for a prompt either from Luc or... another source. He may have no real love for this world, but the thought of striking down those that may intend to improve its current state left him at odds with part of himself. It took a gentle nudge from a familiar voice in his head, a whisper of Death wafting through the air around him.

    Destroy them.

    That's right. Now is not the time for doubt. He remembers what he wants from this place. Though part of his mortal soul balks at the choice, he must make it.

    So he seeks out the ideal spot to drop down, his eyes taking in choke points and places where he could force a close quarters conflict. He doesn't do well with a long range fight, but if he can get into a melee, he can mold the battlefield to his liking.

    "Ready," is all he says, as he retrieves his arcane weapon from behind his back and unfolds the battle scythe into its proper shape. All he needs now is to see what the Stone Devils intend to do with him in this fight. He is, after all, on the bottom of the totem pole right now, it wouldn't be wise to jump in without taking that into account first.

Carna (974) has posed:
    Luc can seem rather personable, in a calculating way. He can also be rather intense, in his stone armor, and gargoyle-faced helm, like a dragon in miniature, bearing horns and rows of teeth like railroad spikes. But right now, as sourceless shadows in the perpetural twilight flicker strangely across that helm, he is solely a predator on the hunt. All concerns of appearances are cast aside.

    He does not so much as flinch when Ebon Ribbon and Count Kord reveal their presences. When the former speaks, Luc answers, "Aye. Or we seek to undo theirs. Whichever way suits you."

    When Kord announces he is ready, Luc rises to a standing position, raises his huge stone sword, and then just leaps off the roof. The stone wings folded upon his back unfold during the descent, and a small group of Lanterns, four in total, are under attack. Three of them manage to react to the sound of a large mass of some kind plummeting towards them and jump back or dodge-roll out of the way. But in these enclosed spaces, one is unable to react in time.

    Several hundred pounds of stone comes crashing down in a plunging attack that rattles the surrounding buildings and sends echoes of the impact up and down the street and bouncing off the faces of structures. The two-handed stone blade lies across the already-dissolving form of a Lantern who scarcely had time to let out a death cry beforehand.

    An surviving Lantern tries to pelt the Gargoyle Knight with arrows while backing up, but the blade comes up to serve a secondary purpose as shield while Luc gradually advances. It looks like the narrow street the three remaining targets came up isn't well-suited to such a massive weapon or large combatant as Luc, and yet the very fact there is little room to maneuver is providing him an advantage against the smaller enemies who rely upon greater mobility.

    Their lack of heavy armor and increased speed does them little good when they can not maneuver, and leaves them vulnerable to high-impact attacks.

    Another of them stops to try to throw a fire bomb, but that delay in retreat allows Luc to drop his blade from a guarding position to pointing it straight forward and just LUNGING with it, slamming the bomber Lantern backwards like they'd just been hit by a truck. Luc takes the fire bomb to the face, oil combusting upon his armor, but it does little to impede him otherwise.

    They charge-slammed Lantern is already practically dead by the time they stop rolling, their torso looking utterly wrecked as they struggle to imbibe a healing elixir.

    Cutting off the retreat should be simple. The nearest exit from the street is a dozen or two dozen feet back from the Lantern in the rear ranks. There are walk ways and ladders down from here, as well as simply the option of dropping down on the enemies as Luc did.

    And ranged attacks are also viable of course. Why should those pesky Lanterns down there get to keep chucking bombs and firing arrows willy-nilly? There are many options for ambush in this area. It's no wonder the Stone Devils have been so successful.

Ebon Ribbon (903) has posed:
     Ebon Ribbon blinks in surprise as the Gargoyle Knight just leaps from the building like one of the stone creatures of his title. The impact and subsequent violence leaves Ebon laughing. "That poor foal never knew what hit him." she says as she starts along the rooftops, her speed and agility quite useful on these roofs as opposed to the street below.

     She quickly moves to that exit, and likely just as the first of the Lanterns reach it, it is suddenly covered by a web of neon purple energy ribbons that glow with a non-light. And that unlucky Lantern, should he/she stumble into the web, would find that his energy is steadily drawn away. Of course, this is more of a net than a web, so the Lanterns can easily escape it. But, it does trap them between a stone gargoyle knight and hard place. Ebon meanwhile stays as out of sight as she can, just peeking over the rooftop so she can see where she is placing those ribbons.

Count Kord has posed:
    Kord watches Luc drop. His own figure is muted, like the silhouette was smothered by a similar shadow. It doesn't writhe and dance the way it does on Luc, and instead simply acts as a perpetual aura around him. This aura becomes much more obvious when he prepares to leap, having found his window to act in the chaos happening below.

    Kord leaps down to block off their escape. He doesn't make a noise, which is especially dangerous when a being like Luc is currently being very loud and very distracting to all of these people. His own wings - spiritual manifestations, resembling Yveltal's own clawed appendages, that fade out as they near his shoulders like a pair of large extra arms more than real wings - give one good flap to slow his descent to a near-quiet stop.

    And then he moves into the fray, calmly approaching Lanterns that are distracted by Luc and using his Scythe to try to slice them up with quick and merciless swings, along with strikes with the weapon's haft in order to unbalance his prey. He does act like a predatory creature, mindful of where the Lanterns are looking and picking up speed when they are distracted to take advantage of their vulnerabilities.

Carna (974) has posed:
    It turns out the one in back trying to flee out into the labyrinth of streets and alleyways was some sort of mage. Thus far, the working of 'magic' is something that has gone unobserved aside references to 'Murmurs', which might be local terminology for spells or something. But this one is in the middle of raising a hand at pointing it towards Luc as what seems to be 'souls' or something flow around the appendage, when he backs right up into a net of energy-draining ribbons that apparently interrupt the spell, causing a cry of shock and pain as Dead Lights are siphoned away into the ribbons.

    By the time the mage has recovered, Kord has scythed down the archer from behind, and then disposed of the Lantern trying to chug Estus or rather Drops of Styx. The heavy damage inflicted in close quarters, from behind, leaves nowhere to dodge-roll to.

    The mage is in such a panic that all they can do is stand away from the net that Ebon created, not even trying to communicate or beg for his life or anything. A key difference between a living human in such a situation and a Lantern: They don't even consider the possibility of negotiation or mercy. It's life or death. And in this case, the caster begins to weave a spell that gathers swirling spiritual energy around both of his hands. But it seems casting spells takes time, and after the previous one was aborted and the drain on energy from the net, getting this Murmur off before someone takes him down is unlikely. And it's even less likely to take out the priest of Yveltal and the Gargoyle Knight even if it was finished.

    And Ebon Ribbon's location isn't even known yet, so she would still be a threat even if the Lantern DID take out the two melee-ranged threats.

    It's a desperation move, but all the mage could reasonably do at this point.

    Luc makes no further move to help Kord or Ebon with the remaining Lantern. He instead just hangs back and observes... Though with Kord between him and the mage, unless he was willing to barge past somehow he wouldn't even have a shot at the enemy.

Ebon Ribbon (903) has posed:
     Ebon grins from the darkness as the mage hits her ribbons and cries out. She shivers lightly at the strange energy she gets from him, and as he tries to weave another spell he discovers that...those ribbons are not stationary. They suddenly lash out, seeking to wrap and bind the mage's arms and legs to his body while again draining his energy.

     Quite confident that this creature is not going to exist for more than a few moments, Ebon Ribbon stands tall atop the roof near the captured Lantern. "I do not know what you hoped to accomplish, but you must have known that this endeavor had a very low chance of success. I do hope you find a more fulfilling life in whatever creature consumes you." she says, then just holds him. Kord or Luc would likely have an easy time now. And if both stand back, eventually that drain of life energy would snuff out the Lantern anyway.

Count Kord has posed:
    Kord calmly approaches the mage, in no real rush to attack. It makes him seem more comfortable slaughtering the Lanterns, like it was as simple to do as going out to pick up the groceries or something along those lines. The mage doesn't scare him, not if these other Lanterns were any indication of how powerful they would be. Part of his attitude is that he does want to see the Lantern win.

    Though he slows further when Ebon moves to restrain him. Kord is a predator, but this was just a mercy killing, not a battle. In a war, he could understand this, but...

    He leans in and says something softly to the mage once he gets close enough. It's very quiet, and calm, like a mortician speaking to a grieving loved one. And then he calmly holds his left hand like a dagger, and tries to plunge his darkness-sharpened hand into the man's middle for a simple but deadly attack, the blade of darkness extending forward from the claw-tipped gauntlet. Then he'd lift it up past the man's shoulder, intending to bisect his deathly heart along the way. Brutal and efficient.

Carna (974) has posed:
    As the Lantern is restrained, his spell work being ruined once again, and then Kord approaches him... If there's any sign of feeling beyond hostility and then pain in the eyes of the hooded man, it's well-hidden. The hand spearing through him tears him apart, the feeling of cold flesh wrapped around Kord's arm soon vanishing just like the body itself, as it dissolves into ethereal spirit matter. He is soon goon, just as the echoing cries of pain will eventually vanish from these dark streets and alleys... His Dead Lights distributed between Kord and Ebon equally.

    Luc then looms up behind Kord, though not entirely stealthily. Not that he's trying to be stealthy. The heavy steps of a tall figure encased in stone are not exactly hard to miss in the quiet and stillness that follows.

    He has his sword over his shoulder again as he says, "For an improvised ambush, it seems we worked well together." Luc leans forwards a bit, the guttural tones of his voice dropping a bit deeper as he says, "Hopefully, this is a trend that will continue in future duties." Luc looks over his shoulder after a few seconds, turning in the enclosed space, his sword's tip carving into a building face before he manages to begin heading back the way he came, to the spot he initially attacked.

    And there he inspects a grate or gate of some kind down a blind alley, with narrow steps leading down from street level. From somewhere beyond the grate, the sound of metal on metal can be heard. Like chains running together and over each other.

    Letting out a grunt, Luc says, "I will station some others to make sure there is not a repeat attempt. But if they keep coming, all the better. It just means we get to keep killing them and killing them until they are no better than Unlit. And Unlit do not seek out Marble Guardians."

    Luc looks up towards Ebon Ribbon and offers her a two-fingered salute. "Excellent work in ensuring that none got away."

Ebon Ribbon (903) has posed:
     Ebon Ribbon actually winces at the brutal but effective way Kord disposes of the Lantern. She doesn't usually kill, and never in such a way. "I figured you would just take off his head." she comments to Kord after hopping down onto the street. Her ribbons disappear in a shower of sparkles and she shivers again as that dead energy flows into her. "That is so weird." she says, then giggles a bit.

     When Luc looks toward her and salutes, she raises a forehoof in a similar gesture. "Excellent work on inspiring fear in our prey. It made my trap all the more effective." she says. She then looks to Kord. "Are you alright? You didn't seem quite like your usual self. Not that I could say exactly how."

Count Kord has posed:
    Kord feels the energy flow to him, though he gets the feeling he has less control over what that will get used for than he may like. His patron deity is very pushy about his actions in this realm. He breathes a little sigh at Ebon's remark toward him, and he tells her, "His head would have been faster," by way of agreement. He shrugs at her, and turns to regard Luc. The tall, dark-clothed man doesn't seem intimidated by the statuesque figure of the Stone Devil, but that just comes with being a predatory creature of the dark, himself.

    "I enjoy a more even fight, or a fight with more meaning than this. There is little excitement or value in cutting down helpless cubs," he explains to Ebon, her concern drawing out some of the reason for his taciturn and odd behavior. "Though I do understand its importance here." His actions speak louder than his words. He did it anyways, even if he has some misgivings about how soundly they crushed these Lanterns.

    "Luc," he speaks up, remembering something he needed to say, "Have you heard of the Book of Los?"