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Post by Eldarion Kildare on Jun 12, 2007 12:57:50 GMT -5
Well, it was true that Eldarion could be a bit reckless when it came to fighting and his Apertaine companion was really no better. But as far as he figured, if he was going to be spotted anyway, he might as well go on ahead with a flourish. That and Yago liked to gallop. As all Zhoan know, one's horse often has a mind of its own.
That aside for now the paladin concentrated hard on the only spell he thought might help him, wondering just how many spells he could cast in a row at his level. He knew the answer. One. Two at most. He'd have to time it well and grit his teeth. Yago galloped somewhat slower than he was capable of--letting the beast think it could catch up to himself and the mounted rider.
A little further. Just a little further up the hill...
"Land beneath my feet has stilled..." Eldarion began under his breath. "...and Tetra's bargain's been fulfilled... ...stone defense will stay my hand...
The horse paused, turned, waited for the beast to lunge...
"...with Earthen Shield I make my stand."
The paladin swung his sword in a fast arc above Yago's head, and if all went according to plan a wall of stone would shoot up between himself and the crimsha--possibly causing a head-on collision. Wouldn't that be fun?
Whatever the result, Eldarion and Yago took off up the hill again at a somewhat faster clip.
"Or, foregoing that," Eldarion said with a slightly wry quirking of the lips. "...run like hell. Whichever comes first."
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Post by Duello on Jun 12, 2007 13:44:18 GMT -5
Duello watched the wall rise a little higher than the mounted elf's head and smiled as the crimsha slowed and skidded on loose ground cover. he fired and heard the crimsha screech as his arrow implanted itself in its back. firing again he caught it in a shoulder as it tried to climb the wall. the beast fell, working it's other legs while one hung uselessly from its socket. Duello knew that at this range, with as much as the beast was moving the shoulder shot was blind luck, but no one else needed to know that. he readied another shot and fired, catching the beast in the body, another solid hit which made it pause as it tried to scramble over the stone wall.
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Post by Eldarion Kildare on Jun 13, 2007 12:57:12 GMT -5
Another few long gallops and Eldarion looped to the right, effectively well out of the way now. He took the moment to glance over his shoulder, than up at Duello. Could the other man slay the beast with his arrows? Or should he spin about and sneak up from behind with his sword? For the moment he stuck to getting well out of the way. The wall wouldn't hold much longer, but the crimsha at least had been hindered by now, even if it attacked again it should be much easier to handle injured than not.
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Post by Duello on Jun 14, 2007 9:47:33 GMT -5
Duello continued to rain arrows at the monster. As another caught the beast in the back, he took a moment to glance at his quiver, twenty-three left, he thought. Grim odds, when he considered the effect each seamed to be having. He launched another. The crimsha stopped trying to go over the wall, and the arrow skipped off the stone barrier. Duello cursed, and watched as the giant spider crouched low, trying to avoid getting shot at. He could still see most of it and smiled, a still target was so much easier to hit. He readied and fired an arrow, taking somewhat more careful aim, this one skipped off its body and planted itself in the space between the two sections of its body, the creature twisted and collapsed to the ground, curling in on the wound. Duello noted the behavior and noted also that the spider’s underside was now separately being flashed in his direction. Taking the chance he fired another arrow at it, overjoyed when he saw it sink into the beast’s underside. He watched, deciding to observe the beast and see if it would die of these wounds or if it would require additional injury.
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Post by Eldarion Kildare on Jun 19, 2007 15:37:19 GMT -5
(so sorry! once again life went all...insane.)
Eldarion may be reckless, but he wasn't stupid. He stayed well out of the way as Duello shot his arrows and waited. But the arrows slowed when the beast was injured and the earthen shield crumbled. Spells could be tiring, but one wouldn't exhaust him--at least not against an injured enemy. He rushed back in and around from behind, slamming his sword into the section between the beasts head and torso, quickly yanking it back out and trotting backwards a few paces, hoping the beast didn't lunge and that was the end of it. If they were having this much trouble with a small crimsha, a larger one was going to be trouble.
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Post by Duello on Jun 19, 2007 16:44:36 GMT -5
(I'm just glad to have you back. i should warn you, that from friday morning through probably monday i wont be able to post, as i will be out of state)
Duello watched as Eldarion rode in and struck the crimsha. he nodded aprovingly as the spider colapsed and it's legs curled in on itself. Duello gathered his quiver and began down the hill, leading Attanis by the reins. as he got nearer to the spider he notted the positions of his arrows. they would be difficult to get out, but posible. the Crimsha had stopped moving. Duello looked over at his companion, "Well struck. Let us hope that your blade lands so true against it's mother." he approched the dead beast and pulled out the nearest arrow with a sickening sound. examening it he made a note to keep the tip away from his own body. "do you suppose they blood is poisionous?"
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Post by Arcady on Jun 20, 2007 10:08:00 GMT -5
"Let us pray that you manage to still it long enough for me to manage such a clean strike again," Eldarion answered, reaching behind him into Yago's haffon for a bit of cloth to clean his blade with.
"I've not heard anything of the like. I know some spiders spit a paralyzing venom to capture their pray, but the blood--no, I haven't heard anything about crimsha blood being poisonous. I should think they're dangerous enough as it is."
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Post by Duello on Jun 20, 2007 17:54:57 GMT -5
Duello shruged and moved around the body, pulling out and picking up the remainder of the arrows. "a pity, it would have been interesting to have Crimsha poision tiped arrows." he said idly as he gathered, them, rinsed them off with his waterskin, and put them back in his quiver. "not all i had, but as many as can be recovered quickly." he notted then turned to Eldarion. "is your companion all right?" he asked, showing typical concern for the animal. he was concerned for Eldarion as well, but reason was that if the elf was injured he'd have said something, the horses were less predictable.
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Post by Eldarion Kildare on Jun 21, 2007 16:53:15 GMT -5
(augh! i posted wit the wrong account last time....ah well)
"That's a morbid sense of humor," Eldarion said, lips quirking slightly. Ah well. "As for Yago, yes he's wholly in tact. You'd definitely notice if he wasn't. He's a complainer. Antisocial too." The horse forced some air out of his nostrils as if telling Eldarion 'you shut up.'
Yes, horses were different. It was something perhaps only a Zhoan ever fully understood. Maybe a centaur to some degree but the bonding between a Zhoan and his mount as far as Eldarion was concerned was nothing short of miraculous. "Well, we might as well continue on," the elf said. "No time like the present, as they say."
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Post by Duello on Jun 21, 2007 20:31:46 GMT -5
"Really," he said, surprised. He looked at Yago and pat Attanis on the neck. "Attanis is a proud one, quiet about his troubles till i call a stop. He's also somewhat particuler about who he'll socialize with."
Duello looked around. "Our next landmark was a stand of birch trees fussed at the base. It'll be close to the nest, so keep your eyes open. Will you be able to cast another spell like that when we find the larger one?" he asked hopefully and scanned the trees with his eyes. it wouldnt do to have another one sneek up on them while they planned thier assault.
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Post by Eldarion Kildare on Jun 22, 2007 15:18:39 GMT -5
"I've yet to meet another person or horse that Yago likes. I keep telling him he's far too young to be such a bitter old man, but he doesn't listen to me." He pet Yago's mane a bit as he said this, obviously teasing the horse. Yago tossed his head a bit, irritated with the jesting on his behalf.
"Once more I can probably manage, but don't rely on me for more than that. My limit is three and after the third I'll be wholly useless for anything but a very long nap. I'd depend on my sword more than my magic--I'm still a novice."
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Post by Duello on Jun 25, 2007 11:09:29 GMT -5
Duello frowned and nodded. "I'm hopping we wont need another spell, but I stand no marksman with this bow. Should I miss-shoot, I may need you to slow the big one down for me. The flesh of its body section is too thick to do much damage to, at least with my bow, but if either of us can get a good shot at the hing here" he gestured at the small fleshy opening between the sections. "we should be able to fell the beast fairly quickly."
He studied the shape of the body sections, trying to determine how close he was likely to get. The prospect was a bit grim, but he shouldered his bow and mounted Attanis, then readied his bow again, his eyes scanning the trees as he moved forward through the trees.
"keep close, we're drawing near to our foe."
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Post by Eldarion Kildare on Jun 25, 2007 13:22:41 GMT -5
Eldarion gave a short nod, inspecting the felled beast again. "It's even more troublesome to know that crimsha are not stupid like a mere beast. Let's pray we manage to outsmart this one." Because really, it didn't look good. Still, they'd come this far, no sense chickening out now.
He nodded in reply to keeping close, shifting his gaze from one side to the other, looking for any sign of movement. They wouldn't hear the crimsha if it attacked, so he'd have to rely on his eyes. Having an entire sense dampened like that was NOT promising.
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Post by Duello on Jun 25, 2007 15:01:57 GMT -5
Duello lead his horse primarily using his knees. He rarely touched the reins, unless he was on foot leading his companion. Reaching down he gently rubbed the horses neck. Attanis was restless, he could feel Duello's agitation and was echoing it in his own behavior. Duello ran his fingertips over the feathers on the back of his arrow, smoothing them and taking comfort in the feel of them. His eyes ranged the forest floor and the treetops, always alert for danger. Sometimes he would look back at Eldarion and Yago to check on them. Crimsha were silent hunters, so it didn't hurt to keep an eye on one's companions, lest they vanish without warning.
After a time Duello began to wonder if they'd gone the wrong direction, until he spotted a leather glove at the base of a tree. He held up a hand for a halt and gestured at the glove. His eyes scanned the trees near them then he turned toward Eldarion, his eyes seeking the paladins and trying to gage the other's thoughts.
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Post by Eldarion Kildare on Jun 29, 2007 11:15:00 GMT -5
Eldarion was quiet, but not entirely silent--at least not as silent as a Crimsha. He kept his claymore drawn and held it firm in his grip, but occassionally shifted said grip as it became uncomfortable over time, the pommel resting predominantly against the soft skin of his inner arm just below the joint of the elbow. Zhoan paladins like Eldarion often weilded these two-handed swords with one hand--they had a preference for that method because great swords had a longer reach for those who often fought on horseback--but that didn't mean it was comfortable to hold it in such a position for extended periods of time.
Both rider and mount were eager for the fight--not because they really wanted to face the crimsha but because fighting beat anticipation any day. Yago seemed a little more obvious--snorting irritably from time to time, while Eldarion would pat his mane to calm the nervous energy coursing through both of them.
His eyes narrowed on the glove only breifly before eyes scanned above and the near area for any other signs of remains or other tracks. He glanced over his shoulder as if half expecting the great beast to appear behind him before turning his gaze ahead again with a faint nod.
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