[IC] Breath of Fire: Dragon Wars

[Shadon]

Synestia, Last Stronghold of the Brood
Harsh western winds blow in from the desert, whipping sand and rock up against the stone buildings. None are very high, most one story with an open roof, but each stands long and squat, sturdier than the craft of man. Metal doors swing on hinges, lovingly oiled, but worn by the conditions of the environment. In the early sunlight, each is awash with pale gold and dotted with amber.

Torches line the streets, the main vendor area awash in the firelight even when unattended. Stalls have yet to be opened, boards covering some, but most simply unattended. A fountain in the middle of the square is dry, but the puddles of moisture leave evidence that it ran not long ago, and will likely run again.

High above the sleeping town, on the Overlook of Mt. Levett, a lone figure hold vigil. Pressed low to the rock, his brown-and-maize hide blends with the stone beneath him. His wings are tucked, and the only evidence of his waking is in the bright blue eyes that watch over his home.

All is well.

mcgrowly725
Late morning light filters in through the open doorway of the small, two-roomed house, illuminating the sand-covered interior where V’qar finds himself with unexpected company. He’d been awakened to a knock on the doorframe, his mother having apparently left the door open as sign that they were awake when she had left to hunt. And discounting the fact that her son was not, actually, awake. Having made his way from bed into their more open living space, he was greeted by a somewhat familiar, if surprising, guest.

At first, V’qar didn’t recognize the tanned, bulky lad who stood before him with dark purple hair and almost pure black eyes, but that was only because he hadn’t seen the drake in this form before. It clicked quickly that this was Rfal, the owner of Synestia’s lone armory. He looked up at V’qar’s arrival, mouth contorted into some strange sort of grimace.

“V’qar,” he greeted, the name sounding strange on his tongue. His mouth moved with effort. “A lounge of lizards have gotten into the market to hide from the storm. As they are our ‘cousins’,” he emphasizes the word carefully, “I would like them removed humanely. Will you come?”

Demented Dragon
Vidar’s first hint of trouble was when he felt his hairs on his arms and on the back of his neck stand straight up, followed quickly by a large flow of air towards the lower floor of their house and a loud crack! When he made it downstairs to the bakery, there was shattered porcelain from some of the plates dotting the floor, and Izzy was standing on all fours, the spines along her scaled neck raised in aggravation. Her head turned to eye him slowly, slit pupils narrowing and then flaring as she calmed down. She opened her mouth, baring a set of fangs, and indicated behind the counter.

“Lizard. It startled me.” He can understand of her speech, though it’s harder when he’s in this form.

The front door of their bakery opens and Vidar looks up to see Andromeda rush inside, eyes narrowed and hand held out as if to cast a spell. She relaxes when there’s no apparent danger, breathing out and reaching up to rub a hand through her pulled-back light hair. “I thought your oven blew up again,” she laughs. “What is it?”

Behind the counter, there’s a creature about three feet tall with purple hide and a yellowish belly, a wide eye, and a large, rocky horn on its head. It lunges out if they look at it, but seems more scared than aggressive.

LadyMarinette
Late morning in the market is one of the busiest times of a weekday, and one of their most profitable times. Of course, Nassir had decided to disappear off to who-knows-where because of this. The square is filled with other Brood, either milling about or working or running errands. Children play in and around the fountain, splashing each other and getting a bit of water on Petrinee in the process. Turning to look towards the splashers, she manages to catch a glimpse of her little brother…nicking something from a market stall.

Slipping whatever it was into his pocket, he then darts back into the crowd. A few moments later, he reappears by her side, all grins. “Did you find a good place to set up yet?” He asks immediately, obviously trying to talk enough that she can’t get a word in. “I think I see a clearing over there, let’s go and check it out! Maybe we can make enough to get some meat pies.”

He immediately begins to head to a corner of the square that has some room, pulling out his flute as he does so.

Cyber
Hot sands shift beneath his feet, the heat rising through Brand’s worn leather shoes. Synestia, with its buildings that are beginning to erode and crumble and its busy, but quiet life, stand before him. How long has it been since he’s entered the city?

Eventually, the whipping sands push him to walk further, entering the main street. The buildings are familiar, but they always have a foreign feel to them. Who that he knew would be gone now? Who would still be there? It’s impossible to know. Following the grainy road, he eventually finds himself in the main market square.

There’s a crowd gathered around the central fountain, like always, and what seems like more of a commotion than normal. People are rushing about, darting in and out of stores, and there’s a general ruckus. Up ahead, he can see the Boule and Burn – the bakery his friends run. And he catches a glimpse of a young whelp darting inside, looking alarmed.

Nantafiria
Vatruonsai had been browsing the armory when the lizards had appeared, their skin crackling with lightning and their eyes wild with fear. Rfal had told him that there was a new selection of tools that he could use with his forge, but he’d barely gotten the chance to look before the drake had ushered him out of the store, promising to be back soon with someone to remove their little…cousins.

Standing out in the square now, Vatruonsai finds himself roughly pushed to the side as a smaller whelp rushes by, glancing back over his shoulder. “Sorry!” he shouts, and Vatruonsai recognizes him as Nassir, a more recent resident of Synestia. The boy goes running off into the crowd towards the fountain, disappearing from sight. A woman rushes after him, her murky green hair tied up in a loose bun at her neck as she stops next to him, panting.

“That whelp just nicked one of my knives,” she shakes her head, frowning. “I wish his sister would keep a better eye on him.” Vatruonsai recognizes her as Teria, the dragon who runs an artifact booth. “Keep an eye out for him, will you? I have a stall to watch.” With a shake of the head, she turns around to head back to her shop.

It’s not hard to see that nearby, there’s plenty of areas Nassir and his sister might set up to perform.

[Nantafiria]

Vatruonsai isn't quite pleased. Lizards and petty thieves alike weren't actual threats to Synestia, but they do distract him from doing more important work. "To see a child go bad.. Ah. His sister?" The young man inquires, tilting his head. He sighs, and gives his head a shake. "No matter. I will talk to the both of them." Accepting the saleswoman's gratitude, he watches her return to her stall and sets out to look for the whelp and his older sibling. He walks up to the fountain and hesitates not in raising a knee and leaping up, holding on to the fountain's uppermost story and using the added elevation to look out over the various stalls and spots inbetween them, paying the water running down his shoulder and over his chest no heed.

[Demented Dragon]

Vidar sighs as he grabs a broom, taking a moment to look over at Andromeda, "Izzy got scared by a lizard, that's all." He walks forward with the broom extended, trying to shoo the lizard out of the shop. "You've already caused more damage than the lizard did, Izzy. It's maybe just a little less scared than you are." Vidar didn't exactly get all that many opportunities to tease Izzy, but he was definitely going to capitalize on this one. "Shoo!" He waves the broom at the lizard, trying to herd it out before it causes any damage or scares anyone else into causing more damage.

[LadyMarinette]

Petrinne
As Petrinee makes her way through the market, her clothes jingling softly with every swaying step she takes, she glances around in an attempt to find her little brother who disappeared yet again. “Ena help me…” She says quietly with a sigh as she rounds another corner to no avail. “If I don’t find him soon, we’re going to miss a good crowd today.”

Setting off once more, she doesn’t make it very far until she’s splashed by some water from the children playing in the fountain nearby. Turning to smile at them, she just so happens to catch a glimpse of Nassir stealing, again, and dipping back out of sight. Her smile stops and is instantly replaced by a frown. “Oh Nassir! All the time with him.” Determined to catch him, she hurriedly makes her way towards where she last spotted him, lightly pushing those who might be in her way. Before she gets very far, Nassir suddenly appears next to her, says some hurried words, and disappears again in a flash. “Na-Nassir stop this!” She ends up saying to air. Groaning, she follows after him quickly.

Once she catches up to him, she places both her hands on his shoulders, pulls him in close and says tensely. “Nassir, I saw you steal something from a stall earlier and I would like to remind you that taking what is not yours is a sin. That being said, fessing up now will be better than trying to lie.” Petrinee pauses for a couple of seconds, obviously struggling to control her sudden anger. “So how about I hold onto what you stole and after we perform we can walk by that stall again and you can return it and apologize. How’s that sound?”

[Shadon]

LadyMarinette
The children look at Petrinee shyly as she smiles to them, but that image disappears quickly as her leads her along. When she catches him, he halts and looks over to her in surprise, guilt written across his face - even if he would pretend that it was innocence. "I didn't-" he starts to protest, but he seems to recognize her anger. Slowly, he hangs his head in a show of shame, though if it's true she can't be sure. If history is any indication, it's not. "But Petri," he pleads in his best younger-sibling-voice, "it was just one little thing."

However, even while he's pleading the young whelp has already reached into his pocket, withdrawing what he took. "Okay," he sighs, offering it up to her. "I'm sorry." He doesn't look it.

The item he offers her appears to be an old, but well cared for, ornamental dagger. There's sand stuck in the ridges of the sheath, and the hilt is in the shape of a serpant. It looks like there may be a rock of Chrysm as the creature's eye, but it could just be a gem.

"Let's get to the show!" Flute in hand, he tugs her the rest of the way to an opening, a raised portion of the square that is often used for lounging but is currently empty.

Nantafiria
Teria nods at him and gives her gratitude before disappearing. Holding himself up on the fountain, it takes him only a few moments to spot the offending youth. He sees him speaking briefly to another whelp he recognizes vaguely as Petrinee, a street-performing Thunder gene. After a quick exchange, the two head towards a resting spot and begin to get their things to hold a show.

Around them, some of the crowd is already stopping to watch in anticipation of the show to come. In times like these, they'll take whatever merriment they can find, and a dance show isn't one of the worst forms of entertainment.

Demented Dragon
Andromeda lowers her hand quickly as Vidar tells her what happened, not bothering to stifle a laugh at Izzy's expense. "I want to see the lizard," she steps forward, peering over the counter, but not far enough to startle it. With the broom, Vidar is able to shoo the little creature out from behind the counter. Izzy backs up when it goes past her, her eyes narrowed still at their little cousin.

Grabbing the door and pulling it open, Andromeda holds it for Vidar as he waves the broom at the creature. It makes a slightly alarmed sort of croak, and he's not sure if there's more static in the room than normal, but it lets itself be herded out, then turning and scuttling off to who-knows-where. From the doorway, Vidar can see a figure entering the town...a somewhat familiar figure.

[Nantafiria]

Vatruonsai does not seem pleased, being rather fond of Petrinee. Still, he had a task to do. Coming down from the fountain with a pair of jumps, steam rises up from his body as the water starts to evaporate, the young man making his way through the crowds with a purpose, noting the amount of people getting slightly higher before arriving at the part of the square where Nassir and his sister are putting up a performance.

A glance over his shoulder, once twice. There's quite a few people watching, and apprehending a small-time thief is as much about tact as it is about justice. Knowing that moving in to seize him right now and have a dozen or so disgruntled folk at his hands really wouldn't serve him well, Vatruonsai instead folds his arms and stays at the front of the crowd. Might as well enjoy the show and then get to ensuring he'd not slip off. There's no rush, after all.

[mcgrowly725]

V'qar nodded slowly, not quite meeting Rfal's gaze. He quickly gathered some bits of food from their cupboard, wrapped them in a cloth and packed them in a small burlap sack. He looked around the room once more to see if there was anything useful that he had missed and his eyes fell upon his knife. He approached it slowly, almost sadly, and picked it up, holding it cautiously, as if it might suddenly jump and bite him. He tucked it into his belt and turned back to Rfal, speaking in the barest of a whisper,"You wouldn't happen to have any cages that could hold them do you? I'm afraid they might panic if someone less friendly gets to them." V'qar waits for Rfal to lead the way, looking slightly eager and a little bit nervous to begin their task.

[Cyber]

Sand… sand… What a gruesome curse for sentient beings… As a wise bard once said, “It isn’t the mountain ahead that wears you out – it is the grain of sand in your shoe.” And at your teeth, what that bard forgot to mention. Bastard.

Thoughts like this flowed in head of Brand while he made his way, pursued by dry warm air and by echo of his own steps, through aged streets of Synestia. Something… changed - changed elusively - during the years he was absent… and even ‘sharpened hunter intuition’ and ‘blind knowledge of sage’ could not gave him a plausible answer to question: “What?”.


Disturbing.

Something reminded him the day when he leaved the town… The day when Brand just took all his belongings and fled the town without saying farewell… to anyone at all. “Worthy as that wise bard aren’t you?”, he anxiously chuckled to himself.
Main market square, huh. At last. Overnoisily and overcrowded. Not nice. Brand never liked big crowds… solitary life in the library and long travels with that man caused him to dislike high concentration of people… at least more than 2 person per 10 yd… But today after a long lonely journey he suddenly understood what he li… no, loves that turmo... Nah, just imagination… still hates it.

Imagination or not, he was ready to reach his current goal in few moments. “Boule and Burn”. And from current spot to which feet brought him, front door of bakery was clearly seen… and whelp who darted in. Vidar?

And that how Brand’s cunning plan to buy a gift or two for his friends-owners was overthrown. “Trouble ahead”, decided Arklaam – young dragon who ran in-appeared to be alarmed… of some kind of physical danger. Brand don’t even considered something else – after a time in wilderness he got used (Maybe too strong) to a simple rule – anything what looking disturbing going to net some problems to the curious one. First it gonna look at you than it gonna to try to reap your throat...

“Art thou afeard To be the same in thine own act and valour as thou art in desire?”, Brand silently encouraged himself before he decided to continue his rapid ‘spurt’ to front door of “Boule and Burn”. Oh Ladon, he crossed market square very swiftly - huh, why that brood... jumped...into... fountain?!! - and prior to moment when he approached familiar man with the broom who stood in his way in and said, “Hello there! I suppose this is the bit where I say “Nice to see you again” Isn’t it? Nice to see you again. Good.”, Brand shifted his rifle to position from where silverscaled whelp can easily reach and get it ready... just in case.

[LadyMarinette]

“You can’t ‘but Petri’ me Nassir!” She says exasperated at the boy. “And stealing is stealing, no matter if it was only one thing! I thought you would have learned your lesson by now…”

Looking down as he pulls the item from his pocket, she frowns. ‘A knife? And such an interesting one at that. Why would he want that? Ah, no matter. At least it will be returned to it’s rightful owner.’ Petrinee slips the knife into her small bag she carries and flicks Nassir on the ear. “We’ll talk about this later. But for now, let’s give this crowd a show.” She says, her anger disappearing just as fast as it appeared.

The siblings make their way to the raised stage. Nassir, the ever pleasant, bounds up the stage with flute in hand to welcome the crown and introduce themselves and their show, even though just about everybody there knows who the two of them are at this point. Meanwhile, Petrinee places her bag strategically at the front of the stage for tips then walks to the side and begins stretching. She is joined by her brother once more as he plays a few practice notes on the flute. After a minute or so of warming up, the two of them are raring to go.

As they take the stage, the crowd goes silent in anticipation. Petrinee stands in her starting position as Nassir readies his flute and on the fourth tap of his foot, the two begin their crowd-awing performance.

[Demented Dragon]

Vidar watches as Brand approaches, waving when he finally recognizes him. "It's been a while, Brand."" Noticing the rifle, trying not to laugh, he explains the situation, "No need for rifles, Izzy just got scared by a little pest. Turns out a broom was enough to scare away the mighty lizard." Vidar walks out of the doorway back towards the kitchen. "Hungry maybe? If you want maybe you can eat a bite and tell us how things have been since you've last been here?"

[Shadon]

Nantafiria, LadyMarinette
Nassir rubs at his ear as they make their way to the stage, but the small injury is forgotten as he greets the crowd. Bright-eyed and full of excitement, his gaze sweeps over those that have gathered, lighting upon each in turn, locking eyes briefly with Vatruonsai before moving on to the next. "Ladies and gentlemen!" He greets, all smiles and charm. "As you go about your day, I invite you to welcome excitement into your life! The otherwise mundane tasks of shopping and working shall be lightened by none other than Petrinee and Nassir!" He gives a sweeping bow and then readies his flute, locking eyes with Petrinee for a brief moment before giving her the starting taps of his foot.

The girl bursts into motion, her dance not unfamiliar to the locals of the town but captivating all the same. As she moves, it's as if thunder and lightning themselves came to life within her movements, each sweep of the arms and twist of the body punctuated by the accompanying flute music.

The crowd eagerly begins to drop tips into the bag once they have started, though after several minutes the once-still throng of people begins to shift as they realize they're late for appointments or have elsewhere to be. Still, they retain a good following, with Vatruonsai front and center.

As they move into the closing number of their performance, a creature about waist-high, purple and horned, darts across the stage. It nearly knocks Petrinee over, but she's able to keep her footing. The little creature runs into a nearby ally between buildings and hides in the shadows, eyes reflecting light as it peers out at them.

As they finish, the audience bursts into applause before moving on their way. Some wait, to see if there's an encore, but a certain fire whelp has business to conduct with Nassir and Petrinee.

mcgrowly725
Rfal waits patiently as V'qar goes about collecting his things and then leads the whelp from his house towards the town, responding as they go. "No, though we have crates if those could work. They used to be used for shipments, but well," he shrugs. It's been a long time since Synestia has receieved any kind of large shipments of supplies, especially on a regular basis. Most of the town works to supply their own food now, either through hunting or farming up on the mountain.

The drake leads V'qar into the town square, slowing down as he does so. Off to one side, he sees Petrinee and Nassir giving their performance, a good number of his neighbors in the crowd. A few nod and wave to him.

Near the crescendo of the music, a lizard darts across the stage and into a nearby alley. "There's one," Rfal points out. His eyes then sweep across the square and he shakes his head. "They're all over the place!" Indeed, looking around like this, there's many lizards hiding in nooks and crannies, being shood out from stored, and generally being a nuisance. They seem quite panicked, more so than V'qar has seen in his life.

Cyber, Demented Dragon
Now that the lizard is gone, Vidar and Brand both can hear commotion inside of the bakery as Izzy sets to work on preparing more food for the day. She'd changed back into her humanoid form, looking no more ruffled than normal and for all the world like she hadn't been freaked out only moments before. "Vidar, is that a cust-" she cuts off when she sees him leading in who it is. Her head tilted to the side, and then her eyes widen.

"Brand?" She almost shouts, clearly surprised. Andromeda, sitting at one of their tables and munching on a meatpie, looks up as well.

"Who?" She asks, looking between them. Faint recognition shows after a minute, but she just shrugs and continues eating.

"It's been, what, years?" Izzy asks, wiping her hands on her pants and coming around from behind the counter to offer him a hug. "Where have you been? You just...disappeared. We thought," she glances at Vidar and then Andromeda, "that you got lost," she finishes lamely. She gives him a once-over after that, not seeming to approve much of what she sees. "How long are you staying in town? You need to get some new supplies..."

[mcgrowly725]

A deep look of worry overtakes V'qar's face. He carefully watches the lizards before moving towards the one in the alley. Thoughts begin to run through his head, the panic shown by the lizards was making him nervous. He turned to look at Rfal, wondering if perhaps he could sense what the lizards sensed. He shook his head, no, probably not, he was one of the few who paid attention to the behaviors of the animals and most everyone else would be sure to write this off as only a random event. V'qar, on the other hand was almost sure that something bad was coming, although he wasn't sure what it could be. Perhaps a sandstorm? Maybe something worse even...he had to say something to Rfal, maybe he would know what to do next. He walked back to Rfal, his demeanor betraying the fear he was picking up from the lizards. He took a deep breath, looked straight into Rfal's eyes and mustered up a few quiet words, "They are scared of something. It isn't normal. I can take care of our cousins but I think...a storm is coming. Perhaps you should warn everyone else?"

V'qar shuddered and turned to scan for the many lizards in their hiding spots. It would take him the rest of the morning and probably half the afternoon to wrangle all of these lizards. He would have to be careful though, with so many people around he would be unable to fall back on his voice to freeze a lizard if any of them got violent. His hand brushed against the hilt of his knife, but he shook his head, that would only be a very last resort. The thought of bringing pain to one of these poor creatures, who were already so frightened, made V'qar crunch his face up in disgust. He needed to get to work, but he wanted an answer from Rfal first, so he turned back to him and watched him quietly, waiting for his response.

[Nantafiria]

For the duration of the performance does Vatruonsai behave well, staying quiet and evidently appreciating the display, hands folded behind his back. He joins the crowd in applause as the performance concludes, though his pleased expression contorts briefly at the sight of the lizard shooting across the stage. Some of the people present leave after the performance ends, a few others staying around and hoping for more. It is only Vatruonsai who steps forward, in his hand a coin making up a rather generous donation.

"That was marvelous. Here. For spirits lifted and hearts invigorated." He passes the coin Petronee's way, lowering his voice and quieting down slightly. "You have excellent form. I look forward to seeing you again," he says, briefly closing his eyes before turning to her brother. He is very quick to seize Nassir's shoulder, holding it steady for convenience rather than out of cruelty. "Who adds beauty to the world is blessed, kid," he says, voice stern as he looks down at him, free hand held up at his own waist. "Do not squander such a gift." He briefly looks back at Petronee again.

[Shadon]

mcgrowly725
The lizard in the alley doesn't seem to notice that V'qar is moving towards it, its back turned to him as it crouches down near a pile of trash and begins to sift through it. Rfal waited back where V'qar had left him and looks up as he speaks quietly, listening intently. He looks uncertain at the warning. "A storm? Do-" the uncertaintly melts away, replaced with some amount of alarm. "Okay. I'll warn the others.

There are lizards scattered throughout the square, hiding in any dark little area they can find. More than he can count, more than he's probably seen in his life. As he's scanning the area, Rfal claps a hand on his shoulder. "I'll check back in after I've told everyone else about the danger, okay?" And then he turns to go.

Nantafiria
Nassir smiles up at Vatruonsai as he hands the coin to Petrinee, bowing at the waist. "Thank you," he quips, though he straightens up and freezes as the squeeze on his shoulder. The young whelp stares, unsure, shifting on his feet. "I'm not sure I understand..." He starts, but is cut off by a loud bugling noise.

Synestia
Movement in the square ceases as a bugle sounds out, a call of alarm from the guard on the watch. The noise echoes through the streets and into each building, calling forth the residents as they look up in alarm. The large, golden-scaled dragon calls out in alarm. "Murder in the alley! Murder in the-" before he can continue, he chokes, a spear protruding from his neck, and keels over. A blindingly bright light shines as he reverts back into a human form, revealing what stands behind him.

It looks draconic, though has no wings. Four legs and a long, serpentine body, as well as a scaled head, but two arms that protrude from a more humanoid torso. It shines purple in the sunlight, matching the lizards, and pulls out the spear it wields. It puts one foot on to the bleeding body of the guard, pushing him off of the overlook to tumble down the side of the mountain and into the city. He rolls through the dust and dirt, falling into a broken heap near the armory.

Looking around, more of the draconic creatures have begun appearing, with no obvious source. One stands in the entrance to town, three more advance towards the square. People are beginning to change into their natural forms, though room is limited, not allowing the older Brood to do so.

mcgrowly725
At the bugle, the lizard turns quickly around and he can see it wasn't trash it was digging through. Blood hangs from its mouth, and he can make out the corpse of one of his neighbors that had been posted on guard duty. Shrinking low to the ground, the creature darts past him into the fray. Farther down the alley, he can make out the same kind of creature as on the overlook, for all the world appearing to have stepped out of the shadows. It levels its spear at him, and the ground beneath its feet begins to glow, and then his feet begin to feel as if they are burning.

Agility DC 6 to dodge the cast of Flare spell or Magic DC 6 to resist. If fail, Health DC 10 to resist second-degree burns.

Demented Dragon, Cyber
The guard's bugle nearly shakes the foundation of the bakery, and Andromeda shares a look with Vidar before leaning over the table to glance out the window. They can hear all that's said, including a muffled scream from somewhere near the outside of their bakery.

Looking out the front, they can see Arthur with a slash across his chest, one of the draconian creatures standing in front of him with blood on its spear. Holding at the slash, the air around him lights briefly as he tries to change to his natural form, but the creature strikes again, piercing through his shoulder.

Nantafiria, LadyMarinette
Nassir takes a step back, grabbing for Petrinee's hand as the guard is taken out. The ground beneath all of their feet begins to shake violently, as if in an earthquake - but it's only in a small area around them. (DC 6 agility to maintain composure) The crowd is beginning to panic, especially those caught in the quake or unable to regain their dragon forms.

Nearly directly ahead of the small stage, one of the creatures impales someone, pulls out the spear, and then turns on another. Blood is beginning to spill, and screams fill the air as much as battle cries.

(OOC Note: Don't forget that you're trying to roll lower than the DC, not higher.)

[mcgrowly725]

V'qar yelped out in surprise and tried to jump out of the way of the spell, his feet smarting from the fire.
[roll0]

Barely managing to dodge the fire spell, V'qar tried to find room where he could return to his natural form, but there were too many others around. He drew his knife, knowing it would do little good against these creatures, but felt slightly comforted by the weight in his hand. It took V'qar only a second to realize that if they hoped to survive they would have to work together to take down these creatures. Hoping that one of the others around might help him he turned and faced the draconic creature that had just attempted to burn him and opened his mouth, singing out in a wordless melody, focusing his magic to try and freeze his attacker.

[Demented Dragon]

Vidar drops the plates he had gathered for breakfast as he sees Arthur under attack. "We have to s- to run! Izzy, everyone, out the back!" Fleeing to the back door he only pauses once he reaches it, checking to see if the others had followed. He peeks out the door to the alley in back, hoping it's safer than out front.

[Cyber]

It happened too fast – shouts, sounds of slaughter outside, oddly familiar wounded Brood… When Brand averted his gaze from what happened he was already confused and fear started to hang his soul… than foreign words of old, which that man always liked to repeat, emerged from depths of Arklaam's memory.

“Fais ce que dois advienne que pourra”*


… silverscaled whelp almost roared, “To the back door! NOW!” before he leaned against the door frame and raised his old trusty weapon while ignoring noise from falling plates followed by Vidar's shout… A moment later, Brand started to aim at monster’s speararm – to cripple, not to kill - young Brood doubted what he can slay that thing in one shot, even in head…

Suddenly spark of recognition flashed through his dusty mind. No… It can’t be true – creatures what fits that description extinct for… Does that matter? No. And Brand knew what need to be done… But another doubt started it mindcrawl: if he will shoot now than bakery and whitehaired youth himself going to have a unlike attention from this… creatures. He can allow second but first one will endanger his f… Again – that doesn’t matter – he always can make a loud run to div…

And finger at trigger suddenly stopped – all of this reminded him a hunt – a specific kind of hunt… Izzy, Vidar! If they already leaved through backdoor they definitely going to be ambushed by dra… this creatures!

And with heavy heart, with curse what started to mix with plea to forgive at his lips, Brand turns away from clansman-in-need and starts to quickly move in direction of backdoor.

*(French proverb. “Do as you ought to, and then comes what may.” or "Do your duty, come what may.")

[Shadon]

mcgrowly725
V'qar's wordless melody solidifies into a freezing bolt, striking the creature square in the chest! It recoils and tries to catch itself, but its feet stop moving. However, its upper limbs still are! With a vicious roar, it hoists back its arm and throws the spear - which goes wide, soaring over his shoulder. He hears a shriek behind him and turns to look, seeing Eiroin, a Radiant drake he's fairly familiar with, now with the spear embedded in her shoulder. She's in her natural form and attempting to fight off two more of the creatures, but is faring badly.

Opening her mouth in a roar, the air crackles as they're hit by pure energy and knocked back, but with no damage that's not superficial. She notices him to the side, eyes wide and pleading. 'Help me! They're killing us!'

Demented Dragon, Cyber
Andromeda's mouth drops open in a wordless yell of either fear or anger as she sees Arthur being attacked, but Vidar's words pull her out of the trance. She and Izzy turn and scramble after him, with Brand not far behind. The silver whelp's thoughts turn out to be right.

As soon as they dart out the back, they find themselves faced with two of the creatures, one holding a spear and the other a shield as well. Cruel, hissing laughter drops from their mouths as they advance, leaving no room to change into a draconic form. Izzy draws a knife and Andromeda holds up her hands to cast a spell, but the beasts are quicker. Lightning strikes around them, hitting them all. Izzy is unharmed, not bothered by it at all, but the others are in questionable condition.

DC 6 Health to avoid injuries via lightning spell.

[Cyber]

Brand rushed out just in time to get hit by lightning. Jolt from spell was pretty powerful to endure for any human being and unfortunately for dragons in human forms too (At least whitehaired youth considered that for yourself) but silver whelp managed not to fall and even seems to be even remained standing firm on his own two feet… and even like unhurt… Unlikeable. He didn’t felt a burn at his right part of forehead (Or other burns as well) yet however the aroma of burned garb reached his fine tuned nose almost immediately. Well that was a real luck what he was so much further... Oh Izzy, Vidar, Andro... if he was so far how… “Ladon, please save them…”, silently prattled Arklaam.

Still dazed, half-blinded from magic flash what followed a lightning, fueled by anger and by stray thoughts full of fear what his friends can be hurt, Brand raises his rifle, grimaces in pain when shoulder stock scratches his freshly burnt (painfully but not dangerous at all) left shoulder, and without thinking (or aiming) shoots in the first thing he identified as dangerous and what felt under first rule – spear-wielding ‘long-extinct beast’.

[Marksmanship roll: [roll0] ]

[Demented Dragon]

Vidar has only a second to try to warn the others back before he's struck by lighting, "Izzy wa-" And as it turns out, Vidar had much more to worry about himself than his sister did. The sudden and unexpected pain causes a strangled yell to escape the whelp, his breath knocked out of him as he falls over. He tries to attack the shieldless one, though he can't even see the results of as his efforts from his position on the ground.


Doing these first since they can't be edited in

Health = [roll0]

If that's good enough then poison spell. Edit: I suppose maybe if he's still even conscious this would be good...

Spell: Poison = [roll1]