321/Snow Tracks Pt. 2

Snow Tracks Pt. 2
Date of Scene:	31 July 2014
Location:	Ivalice
Synopsis:	A brief bit of investigative legwork has turned up that the Dragon-chasing fellow whom the mission concerns has likely gone into the Gollund Mines after the object of his pursuit. Getting in still poses a problem, but it's a problem the mercenary party is keen to resolve - one way or another.
Cast of Characters:	Maya, 129, 236, 307, Riva Banari, 513
Tinyplot:	Of Stones and Sins

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Ultima (129) has posed:
Felmarian White Plains, Mines -

The wind is chill, whispering westerly, as it rolls across the snow-covered white plains on the outskirts of Gollund. Pale slivers of early morning light, obscured by clouds, can be seen against the pale orange of the horizon. ... It's quiet, not even the tavern seems to be open at this hour - and the lantern light that usually spills out from the windows of the citizenry's home is missing. The streets, too, are bare - save fore a few woodland creatures and dogs running loose in the snow.

Down at the mines, there appears to be not much activity at the forefront - and the usual entrance guard seems to have gone. The occasional miner comes to and fro, but it is occasional at best.

The rear side, is even less guarded... but it really doesn't have to be. It is, after all, boarded up and sealed nice and tight. Its tunnel entrance, which leads to a ladder well that descends into a mineshaft hasn't seen light in months probably...

...or, it hadn't. There is apparently a rather sizeable hole knocked in the wooden panels used to board it up... and the boards themselves are blackened as if they had been burned. In fact, the inside of the tunnel entrance itself looks as though it had been suject to a torching recently...

Finna (513) has posed:
    Someone's a bit cooky, gone missing maybe in the mines, despite all kinds of danger? Not a heck of a lot ELSE to do? Then by gully, ERIK BLACKBURN's gonna tromp on all the way over there, BARECHESTED through the blizzard... and so, that's what he's done. Probably tromping along with the others who showed some interest, mind ya, but that's still taken him to the same hole in the wall... err, entrance.

    Cue some beardstroking. "'No chance any'un'd g'down there, they say... yeah, this? Speaks fer itself." What the hell kind of accent is that supposed to be anyways?

    ANd why is this man NOT suffering an epic case of hypothermia by now?

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn wanders along towards the back entrance of the mine with the others. He stops and sniffs at the burnt areas of the entrance and then sneezes! yep, it smells burnt alright. He peers into the entrance and sniffs around it a little to see if it smells like anything other than just ash and stuff. "The miners go down there all the time don't they? So why wouldn't anyone else? and we're planning on going down there too. I think anyway."

Riva Banari has posed:
Riva is here and prepared to go spelunking.

Or rather as prepared as she gets. She's wearing a miner's helmet with a light. She also has a backup flashlight.

She peers ar Erik, but doesn't mention his lack of clothing for the weather. She shivers herself in her padded Templar outfit.

Given the situation, Riva is much in favor of using the back entrance ot the mines, since the alternative involves murder or assault. She doesn't like murder (warranted or no), and assault is dicey.

"All right, is everyone ready?" She asks, bouncing on her feet a bit. It's not entirely anticipation of breaching a mine that is super-forbidden to outsiders (which usually means something juicy is going on), but also to /keep warm/.

Auron (236) has posed:
    Auron did say he was going to be looking for other ways in at night. Hence why he's now dressed like a monk with a gray scarf. The robe is a dark brick-red color, though. And he's got his sword and bow strapped to his back. That could be kind of telling that he's not just a monk. Then again, someone has to actually /see/ him, and he's been pretty good about not being seen that night.

    The burnt entrance to the mines would soon attract his attention, and he would find his way over to the others beginning to gather there. He doesn't seem too surprised over Erik's lack of protective clothing against the cold. Jecht went up Gagazet barefoot and shirtless, after all. In response to the other man's words, "Exactly." Allyn's question gets a response as well, "Generally if one's allowed to pass a door, one doesn't break it down." Pause, a look to the entrance. "Or in this case, burn it down." He looks to Riva, nods in response to her question, and looks at the others.

Ultima (129) has posed:
For the most part, the ladder well and its connecting mine shaft seems almost deathly silent. There's a low hum, generated from somewhere below (probably mining equipment farther away) and the occasional sound of a mechanical *TONG* that rings in the distance... but up close there does not seem to be anything going on below. There is a steel ladder rung or two strangely missing below, however. What can be seen of it, anyway. The well itself descends so far down that it almost literally seems to dip into darkness. There are no lights lit below, giving credence to the fact that this entrance has not been used in a long time. The ladder well itself is... rather huge. The diameter of its opening is easily big enough for five men.

On the back wall, in torn parchment, a sign writ in Ivalician script reads: "Condemned. DO NOT ENTER."

...But, is there really any choice...?

If the choice is made to descend, in spite of this warning, the group would find it is more than just the ladder that is in a state of disrepair. If one can even see here, it would be readily apparent that much of the old wooden support structures miners once used, including a chain and pulley system used to lower heavy things into the well... have collapsed. The pulley system itself broke off long ago, falling straight to the well bottom and dragging off mining platforms with it.

Once in the shaft proper, they would find themselves in a long unlit shaft... that leads upwards...

Riva Banari has posed:
"This is, in my opinion, evidence that he /did/ come this way. Who else would have a reason to break in like this? Surely none of the locals." Riva comments. "Only one way to go! Let's do this."

Riva turns and begins climbing downwards, turning on her mining helmet so she has light within the mines. There's a few instances as she descends that she freezes, or gives a yelp as she finds out that places aren't... where she expects them to be, but she eventually makes it down there, scraped but intact.

If a ladder could beat them, they would have no hope for what is possible to come later.

"Hmmmmmmm..." Riva says, looking around and letting the light point things out for her. "This is going to be moderately unpleasant." She observes.

Auron (236) has posed:
    Welp. Auron's heading down. Before he goes, though, he pulls a small LED light from his robe and clips it to the front of his robe. Then down the ladder he goes! Missing rungs don't seem to bother him. Fact, given that the ladder's in such shape, he prefers to put his weight on the wall itself where he can. That way he won't wreck the ladder. He's not an overly heavy guy, but he doesn't want to take any chances.

    Once he gets to the bottom, he straightens, looks around. He remembers that the boards had been burnt. So if someone burnt their way in, they probably still have whatever they burned their way in with. So he turns to his sense of smell, lifting his head to try to catch a whiff of fire, flame, or something burning.

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn ponders as he looks at the ladder, well, wolves can't very well climb ladders, at least not easily, so what should he do? He could shift to his human form, but he doesn't really like that idea at all, but it will probably be the safest. He shifts and changes forms from wolf to his human one and mutters a little once he is able to climb down after the others. "TYou know, they should make ladders friendly towards four legged things." he chuckles and shakes his head. "Ok, maybe they shouldn't."

Finna (513) has posed:
    The darkness does not stop ERIK BLACKBURN's tromping. It merely delays him for a few moments as he beardstrokes at it... and then just keeps on plodding ahead, hopping down the shaft with uncanny agility and a swinging, ambling grace unfitting of his mammothian frame. "Nothing doing with things like this! What a mess... no respect for their own gear, just leavin' it to the elements..."

Ultima (129) has posed:
The shaft proper is in ruins, and it has likely been this way for quite some time. The blakened scorch marks that mar the walls, and floor, however... are decidedly new. In fact, one can even still smell the barest hints of smoke mixed with wet earth and mold here in this tunnel. Once past the ruins of the mining equipment, the party would find themselves walking into an almost bland earthen tunnel... not even so much as a sign or any indication this particular shaft had any importance... until they reached the belly of the mines proper.

Here, the dim light of torches against various walls make another parchment sign nearby readable: "Shaft 4B2, Exit Only. ... NO LOITERING IN EXIT TUNNELS!"

In what may well be the fourth level of the mines, there is an all pervading silence. The coldness of the external environment has given way to a slightly more tolerable temperature... but it's still quite cold. ... After a few long moments of silence, there comes a rumbling noise in the distance... and what may be the dulled sound of explosion. There are four tunnels here, in varying directions... but the long, dimly lit, tunnel directly ahead of them is the one from which this rumbling comes... could there be something happening there...?

...The answer, it seems... is yes. But probably NOT what they were expecting...

There, in a very large cavern, there appear to be many monsters all around the immediate area. Primarily Bombs, but also Goblins as well. They all seem to be focusing their attention on something happening higher up though. Way up high on some wooden scaffolding... two very alien beasts seem to be facing off against one another. One is a leather-skinned, black and grey, muscular fiend with demonic-looking bat wings. It appears to be clutching some manner of... ruby?

The other... is a GARGANTUAN, scaly, wingless beast of dark violet coloration that for all intents and purposes looks -exactly- like...

...a Dragon.

The minor monsters here ACTUALLY seemed to be attempting to make their way up the scaffolding to attack it. But gouts of firey exhalations seem to be keeping them at bay pretty well so far...

Riva Banari has posed:
Riva follows her light and Auron's nose. She's not above getting help to deal with things. "This area has been abandoned for some time. I wonder what happened down here that caused them to aban-..."

She pauses, flicking off the helmet and crouching, instead one hand going to her flashlight... But she doesn't need to turn it on. She just keeps it at the ready as she creeps forward, peering around the corner to see what's going on.

she blinks and looks quite confused. "Purple dragon?" She whispers, and then looks back at the others.



-<RADIO: 2>- Riva Banari says, "Okay, this is odd."
-<RADIO: 2>- Riva Banari says, "What should we do with this? The monsters appear to be attacking the dragon, and then there's the strange demon..."

Finna (513) has posed:
    With a quiet rumble in his throat... the giant of a man pauses. "Hold up." He's entered the cavern and immediately ducked to the side behind some scaffolding bases to have a look. Thanks to all the fire it's NOT hard to see what's going on up there... "... of all the... am I seein' things? That's no man!"

Auron (236) has posed:
    Well, that rumbling is definitely something to follow. And what should they find at the end of it? The dragon that the townspeople said wasn't here. And it looked like it was being attacked. Or maybe it was raiding their nest or something? Whatever it was, Auron pauses, hiding so that he's not in sight just yet, to watch the fight. What's really going on?

    After a few moments, he makes a decision. He's never seen another dragon here. It must be a reasonably unique creature. And, truth be told, he's had more trouble with the fiends in this world than with any dragon. So, well...

    He pulls the bow off his back, then steps out of his hiding spot and fires an arrow, shooting far enough away from the dragon so as not to hurt it. Looks like he's throwing his lot in with the dragon.



-<RADIO: 2>- Auron says, "...Didn't they say that man was asking after dragons?"
-<RADIO: 2>- Riva Banari says, "They did. Do you believe he was looking for that dragon?"
-<RADIO: 2>- Auron says, "I don't see any others."
-<RADIO: 2>- Riva Banari says, "Then if we want to find him, we'd best protect the dragon."

Riva Banari has posed:
A conversation over the radio causes Riva to move. As Auron gets into position, Riva moves in as well, drawing a pair of pistols. Gleaming circuits run down the sides, pulsing with energy as she instinctively begins feeding Anima into the weapons. "HALT, EVILDOERS!" She pauses, and comments over her shoulder, "I've always wanted to say that." She says, and then looks back to the monsters and demon. "UNHAND THAT DRAGON UPON PAIN OF A HUGE THRASHING!"

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn glances in the room for a few moments and then ducks his head back and frowns some, "That doesn't look good. I am not sure if we can take all those things out can we?" he raises an eyebrow and frowns a little." he shrugs a little and looks at the others and then when Auron draws a weapon he decides its best to just shift again, back to his wolf form. "I guess this is the best way, but I kind of wish Bahamut was here, but he flew off, would be ncie to have a dragon of our own right now."

Ultima (129) has posed:
"RRRRAAAAAGH!"

A scream rings throughout the cavern, preceded by a beastial roar, as an errant Goblin is knocked from scaffolding up high by FLAME BREATH! Part of the scaffolding has lit on fire by now, but the steel interspersed with wooden planks is slowing its progress considerably. It has -yet- to consume the whole platform. But it will.

The phantasmal, burning, figures of the Bombs that float around the scaffoldings base seem to be attempting to speed up the burning process... spitting bursts of flame from their malevolently grinning maws at the scaffolding structure. Because of their erratic, almost childish, approach however... most of it seems to miss. In fact, one in particular lights a nearby Goblin on fire - causing the thing to run screeching across the cavern toward a pool at the other end!

It doesn't take long, however, until the Bombs notice the newly arrived party and begin to menace them as well... floating across the rocky floor with all the speed of a racing tortoise.

A few of the Goblins who -were- attempting to scale the scaffolding again also turn their attention upon the group, their fiendishly hideous, warty, faces taking on a look of gleeful of malevolence. The weapons they carry seem to be mostly stones, or pieces of broken wood. But one in particular seems to have taken a liking to a rusted pickaxe...

...meanwhile, as the onslaught of monsters against the Dragon becomes less it seems content to turn its razinng breath upon the ruby-wielding demon directy across from it... who takes to the air in turn.

Auron (236) has posed:
    First things first. That platform. It's burning. And if it's not put out, the place will probably collapse on them all. So he pulls another arrow, nocks it, and lets it fly at the burning platform. He'll aim for the steel, so as not to weaken the wood any more than it already is. When the arrows of the Ice Crest hit something, they produce an explosion of ice. Hopefully this explosion will put out the fire. And if it hits that goblin scaling the scaffolding, so much better.

Riva Banari has posed:
Riva doesn't hesitate. It's clear that the dragon and the demon have some kind of business going on, but the monsters are causing a major issue. Her current plan involves 'kill all of the monsters and then the demon.' This is common sense, right? The pistols bark, unleashing not bullets but greenish bursts of energy as she dives into the middle of the enemies. She seems to move instinctually, trying to focus her fire upon those closest to the dragon to allow her to focus and not get backstabbed.

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn growls and leaps at one of the nearest goblins, he's not sure what those bomb things are, but well, he hasn't had much luck with bomb type things lately, especially if they have smiling faces on them. Though these don't really look too smiley to him. He tries to maul the goblin when he pounces at it, well if they are going to try to save a dragon, might as well just jump into the fray and see if things get sorted out somehow.

Finna (513) has posed:
    "Chargin' in, with nothing to gain fer it? .. I like it. Still makes you morons." The great big man raises some eyebrows at the incoming Goblins...

    And promptly, sprouts an amazingly wide, toothy grin at the horde. Might not be an easy expression for others to see, given where attentions likely are, but the Goblins are bouund to see it.

    That's not smile. That's staring into the maw of an apex predator. The way that Erik puts one foot forward and goes to draw the massive sword strapped to his back? Just a great beast readying for the pounce against harmless prey.

    While those Goblins might be a serious threat to Finna in a head-on, she doesn't have to fight if she can just scare them all off!

    And so, the bloodthirsty, axe-murdering, beastly grin!

Ultima (129) has posed:
The arrow strikes the steel siding of the scaffolding true, frigid mist exploding forth from the center of impact and smothering out the flames. Unfortunately, for a certain Goblin, it also inflicts frost bite on the mischievous monkey attempting to climb it as well as making the side so slick that he immediately plummets...

...Riva's bursts of energy strike two of the encroaching bombs (http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Bomb_%28Tactics%29), forces the things to back off temporarily and turning those malevolent grins of theirs into very definite frowns. Yet though the burning fiends back off, and change their angle of approach, momentarily... this does not stop them from launching a spray of burning energy in the party's direction either!

...The goblin which Allyn targets narrowly avoids getting bitten, and instead has the tattered purple cloth of his filthy overcoat torn. This does not seem to please him, his warty mug warping into a glare before he screeches incomprehensibly and throws a held stone for Allyn's head!

...But then, the big guy lumbers in. The goblin turns a squinty-eyed grin in his direction... and then looks -up.

Suddenly his knees are knocking, and his buddy nearby wielding a plank hides his face behind his weapon... joining in the tremor fest shortly after. ... Within the span of about four seconds, both Goblins take off running in opposite directions... and then run back the way they came as they nearly run into Auron and Riva respectively.

...What results is a collision, with both Goblins knocking themselves flat of the floor... a few teeth clattering loose as they do so!

The Dragon and the Demon are still going at it high above, entirely by their lonesomes. Gouts of great flames roar through the air one minute, thunder booms the next as a spell ionizes the air and annihilates a portion of the scaffolding... sending debris falling from above!

Riva Banari has posed:
Riva twists and lets the Goblins run past, and she squints as they knock each other's heads. "Wow. Are they... always like that?" She asks, moments before FLAME DESCENDS FROM ON HIGH. "THIS IS NOT HOW I WANTED TO WARM UP!" Riva yells, getting scorched by the flame. She tumbles, trying to put it out, then stands and stares. "You guys are going to get it!" She declares, leveling one of the pistols at the Bomb Squad. There is a flare of green light, and then a blast of Anima that fires like a short beam, striking at the Bomb... And then ricocheting off of it towards the others nearby. The crashing causes her to look up, and she leaps to one side, barely avoiding getting hit by timbers and rock. "We're running out of time..." She says. "If we don't clear these guys out they're going to break anything we can use to climb up!"

Auron (236) has posed:
    Auron manages to dodge the fleeing Goblin, his sudden move also helping him mostly-evade a gout of fire from above. It scorches his scarf, and he pauses a moment to put it out. The bombs are still an issue, as is one of the Goblins (since it looks like two of them ran away at the mere sight of ERIK BLACKBURN. Allyn hopefully has the other Goblin dealt with. For now, the bombs are the bigger problem. The dragon and the other fiend can wait. They're above, and it would be better if these small ones were dealt with first.

    He nods to Riva's words. "Good idea," he agrees as he snaps a canister of liquid into the 'mouth' of the Ice Crest. This done, he aims again at the Bombs, seeking to strike a place at the ground underneath them. The resultant blast -- this one stronger than the first one had been, thanks to the chemical in the canister -- will hopefully be big enough to hit them.

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn yelps as he's hit on the head with the stone by the goblin. He shakes his head and bares his fangs at the goblin as he tries to clear his head for a moment. He glares at it and then lunges forward, trying to bite at it again. It's the best he can do after all, so he chomps down on the goblin's hand.

Finna (513) has posed:
    ROCKS FALL! ... but thankfully nobody's dead yet. Except maybe some Goblins. ERik Blackburn takes a few hits to his back, one that knocks the man over and will probably leave a bruise, but with a fiercely determined and resilient yowl he's back up on his feet.

    The guy IS as tough as he looks, that's for sure. Or close to it, anyhow.

    "Grrrgh... worse 'n that. They'll bring the whole shaft down on our heads! Break up that fight or get out now!"

Maya has posed:
Maya has been known as little miss bundle of trouble. She does not mean to do so, she really does not mean to do so. However she's been up to something in another part of the mine and coming from a shaft above is a light of some sort and then a cry as she decends but she's riding on something, a bomb which looks like it's about to cook off she leaps away from it as it impacts into the ground and detonates, maybe she'll get lucky with this mad stunt?!

Ultima (129) has posed:
Somewhere, up in the tunnels behind the Dragon... shadows shift. The Dragon stops attacking momentarily, to look behind, and that's pretty much all the opening the Demon needed to crash down upon it with its own great girth! The Demon sends the Dragon tumbling to the ground, whereupon it is seized by the neck. The Demon raises a clawe appendage to the sky, the one clutching that blood-colored stone... and it crackles with electric energy...

The Bombs Riva fires upon are struck, one after another, by her trick shot maneuver... and it works but -too- well. They all begin to vanish, one after another, in bursts of smoke accompanied by sorrowful sounding death wails. Only one escapes, attempting to flee from the onslaught of energy leveled at it but...

...it doesn't get far. The explosion of frigid chemicals that results from that fired arrow turns it into yet another wailing victim of the group's collective fury.

The Goblin Allyn bites in retaliation screeches, flailing, attempting to tear its hand free from Allyn's maw. It's a struggle, and probably not a particularly TASTY one for Allyn considering how abominably nasty Goblins tend to be, but he does manage to get loose again. ... Not without spilling significant blood across the stone however.

He turns to run, not content to be the last to die in this place...

...and then... Maya happens.

It can't feel too good riding what is essentially a LIVING BALL OF FLAME into battle, but it sure does make for an epic entrance! The Bomb screams, literally, as it smashes into the ground nearest the Goblin with finality. The resulting EXPLOSION of RED HOT flame can both be seen and heard from all around... and if the REST of you don't get down...!

Auron (236) has posed:
    Auron catches sight of Maya riding in on a Bomb -- he winces a little at the thought; Fayth that must hurt somethin' fierce.But it's good he does see her, since he can duck down to avoid the worst of the blast. He still winces as the heat whips past him, coughing a bit as the air seems temporarily sucked out of the space by the heat.

    Once he can breathe again, he looks up... only to notice the dragon seems to be being pinned! Well, the beast is on the ground now, so it's attackable in melee range. Which he does. He puts the bow away and draws the sword, and darts at the beast holding the dragon down. Nothing fancy here, he's trying to bat the thing away with the flat of his sword. He doesn't know how long a dragon can be choked out before it dies, after all.

Riva Banari has posed:
Everything is chaos in the mines. She can feel time running out as the horde surges around them. The bombs vanish, but there's still Goblins. Riva looks over to check on the Dragon, and her eyes widen, a hand reaching out as she begins to yell.

Whatever she might be yelling is lost in the detonation as Maya arrives... Riva is thrown to the ground, only minor scrapes and singed clothing to worry about... But it's not herself she's concenred for.

It's the dragon. "DEMON!" Riva yells, challenging even when on the ground. "COME AND FACE ME!" Rolling onto her back, she points both guns at the demon and aims not for the demon, but for the hand holding the gem. It's clear he needs it for some foul purpose.

Finna (513) has posed:
    And then someone came in riding a bomb. "What." even the barechested goliath of a man is stumped by this. AND momentarily too stunned to react. KABOOM! Though he throws his mighty arms up, ERIK BLACKBURN now somewhat resembles his name. Mighty scorches mar his bestially ferocious frame... "Top merit for entrance, miss.... less fire in the face next time." The man grumbles, wincing slightly as he rubs at the burns and extinguishes his smoldering beard with a few squeezes from one hand.

    "Well, if none of you 're gonna stop that fight -" Oh, someone is. ERIK BLACKBURN blinks once at Riva, grins to himself... kicks one of the Goblins that've fallen in the gut for good measure, and then... FWOOOOOSH.

    Like great pistons his legs send him up, up and UP. Not directly up, but at a slant. Despite his great weight, he seems to have no trouble whatsoever...

    .... running straight up the scaffolding. The smoldering, rickety scaffolding? He's running straight up, as if this 90 degree angle were utterly meaningless. "GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"

    But just as HE's going up, the Demon and his dragon opponent are on the way down.

    So the man swerves, skids, and then SPRINGS off the scaffolding to bear down on the demon. Halfway through the epic plunge he reaches a meaty hand up behind his head, YANKS out his ridonkulously huge blade and.... "KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGHHH!"

    Swings straight down.

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn growls as he gets burnt by the explosion, he howls as his fur gets scorched and looks around for something else to attack/ He glares at the demon thing, well, he can't really attack something in the air from the ground in this form, so he shifts, becoming a large each and screeches as he takes off and tries to rake the demon with his talons.

Maya has posed:
Maya did not mean to do this, this is just how it it tuend out. She's alive and only a little bit shinged she has thie sheepish look on her face. Which vansihe at the shouting of Riva about a Demon she sees it, the look on her face goes cold dor a moment, a bit inhumanly so as she moves for her rifle.

"You will meet the end your kin did upon my world."

Maya's rifle roars to life as she times her shot to not catch her allies in a close up melee. She seems to have experiance with this as she times her shots.

Ultima (129) has posed:
For the Demon's part, he doesn't even seem to pay much attention to the crumbling scaffolding, the falling, or the... TERRIBLY HUGE BEHEMOTH charging up what's left of the scaffolding to attack from behind! That clawed appendage just squeezes a little bit tighter every few seconds. When Erik finally forces him to take notice, however, the Demon's only response is to turn... stare emptily at him with soulless black eye sockets... and then...

...bring that gem bearing hand up to block. That 'sword' collides with the beasts thick hide and it...

-SNAP!-

...it snaps like a twig...? The Demon doe not seem terribly amused, staring for all of two seconds as the remnants of that sword fly past, and ultimately turns away again as the pair hit the ground!

Unfortunately, Riva's bullets seem to be far more effective in knocking that gem loose! Unfortunately for the Demon, anyway. The blood red gem goes rolling, plopping into the pool of underground water nearby, and provoking a furious ROAR at the insult! That black, toasted, hand clenches... sparking again... before the Demon turns to glare at Riva dangerously.

...And becomes the lucky recepient of claws raking across its back, and a Zweihander to the FACE, at almost the same time! As if those things couldn't get any uglier!

The Demon, weakened from fighting the Dragon, flies into the air almost helplessly on the tail end of that attack... flying through the air before getting riddled by bullets and then EXPLODING in a burst of vile energies!

...And now, all is quiet... until the Dragon stirs. The enormous, scaly, behemoth snorts and slowly but surely seems to clamber to its feet again. It then turns its great heft toward the gathered lot, business end of its great muzzle yawning open as sparks of flame emerge from within.

...From above, a voice calls, "...It would seem the hour is too late."

The voice, which draws the Dragon's gaze, comes from a decidedly well-dressed noble man standing before one of the higher tunnel entrances. A sharp-looking man with sandy blonde hair swept neatly back, wearing a ruffled orange scarf over an evergreen coat and silver breast plate with pants of white silk. A sword is sheathd at his left hip, but he doesn't seem keen to draw it...

"...If you would... please leave that Dragon in my care..."

Riva Banari has posed:
Riva stands, shaking at that momentary gaze of the Demon. "I've... never seen anything like that before..." She holsters her guns, seeing that the opposition has been defeated. The Dragon, however, takes exception to their presence. Riva waves her hands frantically. "WAIT! We're not here to hurt..." She grimaces, bracing to get broiled.... When the man calls out.

She winces, looking up at the man, and bows to him. "You would be the man we were looking for, I presume. Cadmus, I believe? Do not worry, neither you nor the dragon have anything to fear." From her, anyway.

She does think for a moment, however, and turns to look over at the water that the gem fell into. She flicks her flashlight, running it over the pool to see if she can get a look at the gem and perhaps recover it. "The demon dropped something... Perhaps it might shed some kind of light on the subject of why it was here and apparently attempting to devour the soul of the Dragon or some other such unholy activity."

She might not be an old school templar, but Demons are Demons, man. That's just the kind of thing that comes to mind.

Auron (236) has posed:
    With the demon seemingly taken care of, Auron turns his attention to the dragon. He sheathes his sword, to show the dragon he has no intent to harm the creature. However, when the dragon gets up, its mouth begins to open, sparking with flames. Auron raises his hands, to show that they're empty. "Wait. We are not here to harm you."

    Thankfully because he needs to roll out of the way of a gout of flames, a voice is heard. And the dragon stops. Auron pauses, lowering his hands as he looks at the man who appears. And he remembers something they heard at the tavern. Riva asks the question, and he listens. Pauses again. Thinks. "...Dragons aren't native to this area, are they? How did you know this one was here?" It's not a suspicious tone, just curious. Mainly because he's wearing a hooded robe and a scarf that hides his identity; if any of them looks suspicious it's him.

Finna (513) has posed:
    "WHAT IN-- ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! That smith--" The sword has BROKEN. The big, overly huge sword that must'e been about six feet long has snapped like a twig!

    The broken end goes rolling over to rest against the scaffolding with a dull, unmetallic thud.

    Wait a moment, swords don't roll...

    "Yer paying for that one--" And he does, and doesn't,. the Demon takes a nasty beating and... kaboom. Explodes. Erik backpdals several steps at the violent assault that plays out before him. "Ehmf... over with, finally... This is the dragon then? The one NOBODY thought existed...? And the guy who went straight into an abandoned mineshaft after 'im."

    Oddly enough, the guy doesn't seem too worried about the sword. Although, if anyone's looking carefully enough, they might notice now that he isn't actually holding onto the broken hilt of a greatsword. More like a crudely half-carved in the shape of a hilt chunk of thick wood. There are claw marks all over it.

Maya has posed:
Maya lowers her weapon now as the weapon cools down ashe lowers it and isn't sure what to think about htis new arrivcal. She looks up for a moment.

"We have no plans to harm the dragon or your self if your not picking a fight. SO do not worry."

She moves to shoulder her weapon again, Maya's not a Templar but? She's certainly has issuesm, her entire family line does really.

"Is everyone all right? If healing is required you need but ask."

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn lands back on the ground and shifts back into a wolf. He looks at the dragon and then blinks as the man calls down towards them and looks up. Well, it seems that they might not get roasted? He looks to the dragon and talks to it, "We're not here to hurt you dragon, so we would appreciate it if you did not roast us alive, besides I don't think any of us would taste very good."

Ultima (129) has posed:
"...Cadmus would be family name, yes." The sharply-dressed knight stares down at the mess made of the scaffolding, perhaps to ponder how to get down now. "...How is it that you know of me, yet I have never met you?" He strokes his jawline, momentarily... before calmly asking another question entirely, "...You would not happen to be sellsword of the Church then...?"

The Dragon snorts, quietly, as it seems to internally ponder... something. Allyn's approach earns him an all-together too close look at the thing's gargantuan snout as it swings its heft round to stare at him...

...before yawning smoke at him and wandering away. The Dragon's way of saying 'I won't eat you yet' perhaps...?

It seems to wander over by the wall, all nearly ten feet of scaly beast turning its eyes up to gaze... almost longingly... at yonder knight.

To Auron, the knight offers, "...If I told you that I have been trailing her for weeks... would you believe my words?" Yes, he did say 'her'. "...This Dragon is very important to me..." He glances down at the beast, and then... leaps...

...falling from on high, eventually to land squarely on the great beast's back side - to which it emits a mild grunt and naught more.

...Boots hit the ground shortly afterward, and the well-dressed Knight approaches the gathered lot, glancing in Erik's direction. His eyebrow lifts momentarily, and then he glances toward Auron again, "...I did not come for a fight. I came... for my beloved. I do not know what the fiend wanted with her, but I care not so long as she is unharmed. I am Beowulf Cadmus. If you have come at the Church's behest, kindly... tell them their business is mine no more."

Auron (236) has posed:
    Auron shakes his head. "No. Someone put up a sum to find you, and we heard the name 'Cadmus' at the tavern in the town," Auron replies. "Are you well?" A pause then, as the other man explains why he's here. 'Beloved'?

    ...Well, there are stranger things in the Multiverse.

    Still, Auron nods. "As long as you are both well, then." Another pause. "Why would the Church be seeking you?"

Riva Banari has posed:
Riva nods. "It is as Auron said. We're here to find you. Apparently, finding..." She pauses. "Your beloved?"

She looks over at the purple dragon, and then Cadmus. And then the dragon.

She shrugs. "If the Church asks, sure. We'll let them know. The man we spoke with didn't seem like a Church type..."

Riva turns back to looking around at the water. "So what's your story, Sir Knight? It must be a very complicated one to be in this kind of position." Flash liiiiight~

Maya has posed:
Maya looks at Ginna for a moment there's something about Erik she looks at the shadows they cast something isn't right she doesn't like it and somethinf clearly is off she's now looking right at Erika like something very much is wrong for a moment longer. She then turns back to the knight she'll figure it out but something is very much off here. She's also taken note of the hilt there's something up. She however isn't sure now is the time to confront them.

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn sneezes as he gets smoke in the face and he pads around a bit. He watches the dragon and the knight for a few moments and ponders and tilts his head. He seems to shrug a bit and sits down to see what will happen. "Maybe the dragon came here to lay eggs or something? Some animals are pretty aggresive when they are about to do something like that."

Finna (513) has posed:
    ERIK BLACKBURN tosses the stump of a stick he's holding off to the wayside with a disgusted mutter about incompetent metalworkers... "A dragon rider, are ye... that explains a lot. Eh... to be honest, I got carried along by curiosity. Good to see the dragon made it but what in hell was that demon thing?"

Ultima (129) has posed:
Beowulf's eyes turn askance at Auron's last question, "...Freitburg." He doesn't say much more than that for a few moments. "...Let us just say, there is a man whom I owe a great debt to." His left hand comes to rest against the hilt of his sword, gently, but he doesn't brandish it. "...I was once a member of the Templarate, but am no longer."

He offers a shrug. "It is a story I am not wont to tell, if you'll excuse my rudeness."

He nods at Riva, as though it were the most logical thing in the world, "...Yes, my beloved. We were to be married... but alas, it was not to be." It is at this point the Dragon lumbers over, emitting a breathy rumbling from its chest. The mention from Allyn at laying eggs gets at glance from Dragon and Beowulf both, it's a silent one.

The Dragon snorts noisily again.

Beowulf glances at the tossed stick, again, his brow quirking... before he provides Erik with an answer, "...A Lucavi Demon."

He says this almost too nonchalantly.

"...I've seen illustrations of them in Mullonde's libraries. Almost everyone among the faithful know the story of the Zodiac Braves, St. Ajora, and the Demons of Limberry. Anyone educated anywise. ... That is what I believe it to have been. They are ancient and powerful. ... I had heard the Confessor might be searching out the Stones... if the Lucavi have risen again..."

He stops ranting, almost to himself, and then motions for the Dragon to follow. "...The hour is late, if you'll excuse us. Should you like to talk again, perhaps in the coming days, I'll be in town. For a while anyway."

Riva Banari has posed:
"Well, we've verified you're alive, so our job is done. I'd be definately interested in hearing the story of you and your beloved, however." She thinks. "Wouldn't it be a good idea to find another place to hide? These demons know where she is now, so..."

She takes a moment to jot something down, mouthing 'Lucavi Demons' as she does so. "And this Lucavi thing appears to be a problem. Maybe a problem I can help with. That demon looked like really bad news, and if there's more, or people are trying to bring them back..." She shakes her head. "That's going to be unpleasant." Riva stows the flashlight, sighing. Looks like that mystery is going unsolved for the moment.

Finna (513) has posed:
    And soon Erik is peering rather hard at the dragon. "... you're not a mere beast. You understand us. Can ye speak the same... were you always a dragon, or cursed, maybe...?"

Auron (236) has posed:
    Auron listens to all this, and does not interrupt with his questions. Interrupting with questions breaks the flow of conversation and could cause the man to fail to disclose something to them. And sure enough, he does -- 'Lucavi' and 'stones'. Could that have been what fell into the water? the thing that the fiend was holding?

    He can't help but smirk at the look Allyn gets from both the man and the dragon. But again, he doesn't comment, since others are speaking. When Beowulf makes to depart, he steps forward again. "Take care, sir. My name is Auron. If you need help again, seek me on the Multiversal Broadband." Of Beowulf knows what that is, he shouldn't have any problems finding him.

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn sees the look from the man and the dragon and huffs! what? he was just stating what he thought could be the reason. He flops down on the ground and lays his head on his paws, trying to look innocent.. maybe he hit the mark? ah well.



-<RADIO: 2>- Allyn says, "Oh Auron, Bahamut said he'd like to meet you sometime. He said that he is from a world called Spira."
-<RADIO: 2>- Auron says, "Oh? Thank you, I'll speak to him when I return."

Ultima (129) has posed:
The Dragon, following closely behind Beowulf, turns to glance sillently at Erik again as they pass through the mouth of a tunnel. It's a wordless, fleeting, acknowledgement. Then... they're gone.