09-13-2013, 08:48 AM
The mage watched in horror as the Chieftain enchanted his minions, hardening their skin and increasing their resistance to her attacks. This was not an optimal situation. Having her attackers shrug off her bolts as easily as water off a duck's back was deeply terrifying for her. She regretted not spending more time studying self defence; she had always assumed her magic would protect her. It was clear that that was no longer the case.
They advanced with increasing speed, their crude blades hacking into the bark of the tree and carving footholds to aid in their ascent. The rhythmic thud of steel on wood caused her to shudder as she edged away from the trunk of the tree, careful to try and maintain her balance while still widening the gap between herself and her assailants. "Whirda!" she cried, the goblins groping at her feet and ankles, trying to seize her and limit her escape. She thrashed wildly, shuffling along the branch and away from them as much as she could.
She risked a glance below, and saw a familiar white-haired blur laying waste to the goblins below, as before. Then, she caught sight of something she wasn't expecting - the stranger they had K.O.'d regaining consciousness. "Whirda!" she screamed, this time with more urgency. Nyx wanted to point at the man in the green garb. but she feared what might happen if she relinquished her vice-like grip on the hilt of her blade - or took her eyes off of her assailants for more than a few seconds.
Nyx was right to fear this lapse in judgement. The hungry snarl of one of the abominations sent a chill down her spine as they began to hack at her ankles. To her credit, she thrashed and squirmed, somehow managing to evade their heavy blows. The mutated goblins snarled in frustration as their blades met only wood.
However, the mage was quickly running out of branch, and the repeated blows from the goblins were causing the wood to strain under her weight. The only way was up. She scrambled desperately up the tree and just out of reach of the goblins. One of them followed her, still clawing at her ankles. Nyx yelped, thrashing on the branch and aiming several kicks at his face. He lost his grip on the tree and fell, landing on his elbow with a sickening crack. His ally seemed undeterred by his ally's failure, and continued to climb.
The mage scooted along the branch, trying to evade the goblin's grip without breaking the branch. It was a difficult balance, and the goblin seemed to be gaining more ground with each passing moment. They now shared the tree, and his fingers firmly grasped her ankle. She was powerless. He raised his sword arm, licking his lips excitedly as he prepared to chop her foot off. Nyx screamed, forcing her eyes closed and turning her head away, bracing herself for the searing pain that would follow.
Nothing.
She felt nothing.
The goblin howled in pain, joining Nyx's voice in a kind of tortured symphony, then hit the ground with a loud thud.
Nyx opened her eyes in disbelief, releasing her grip on the branch to probe at her legs and ankles, checking they were still there. She rolled from the top branch, stumbled on the branch below, and fell. It all happened so quickly she barely had time to appreciate just how peaceful it was. Again, she braced for the inevitable impact.
... Nothing.
Again, she felt noth-- Wait. She was being held in a tight embrace, firm enough to hold her, but gentle enough to prevent her fight or flight instinct from kicking in. Or so they thought. Nyx thrashed wildly, confused as to how and why she'd evaded death twice now.
Of all the faces she expected to see, the mysterious man from earlier was not one of them.
"Why would you...?" she began, standing uneasily on her feet. Her legs threatened to buckle from the strain of holding herself upright.
The man ignored her, glancing between her and Whirda. He wanted to know who they were. The fact he had implied they would ever be allied with goblins was a notion Nyx found utterly disgusting, but she bit her tongue. She owed this man her life.
"I owe you my life," she stated solemnly, echoing the words in her head. "I suppose the least I can do is introduce myself." She smiled sheepishly, sheathing her dagger. "I'm Nyx."
The mage tactfully fell quiet, her gaze meeting Whirda's. The blonde was still in shock - understandably so. The Tangled Green wasn't exactly a forgiving place, from what they had seen so far. Nyx dreaded to think what she had been through in the events leading to her following her. Whirda ignored the question, shooting Nyx a glance which seemed to say 'Why would you surrender your name so easily?'
"More importantly, who are you?" she replied.
The man shrugged nonchalantly. "All you need to know about me is that I belong to the Mokugakure."
"What is that, some kind of cult?" Nyx enquired. "Is that why you're wearing that funny outfit?"
War drums reverberated around the forest, signalling the approach of the warband.
"You go," the man in green stated, ignoring Nyx's question. "Your friend is in no state to fight." In a flash, he was behind Whirda. "But next time, I would like a proper introduction."
With that, he was gone, leaving Nyx in a daze. She was shaken from her reverie by Whirda, dragging her elbow. "Come on," she urged, guiding Nyx further into the trees, away from the sounds of the approaching warband. As they walked, Nyx held her relatively unscathed hand out, and summoned a few more bandages using Omnilium. The process took a few minutes, but she knew it would be worth the wait. She didn't want anyone to be able to track them because of her bloody hand.
Feverishly, she wrapped her palm with the bandage, tying it tight. The blood quickly began to seep through the material, so she wrapped another layer of bandage around the wound. There was still a fair amount left over. Nudging Whirda's side, she offered her the bandages. "Want some of these?" she asked, her red eyes quickly surveying her friend for any visible wounds.
They continued to walk. Neither of the girls really seemed to know what it was they were looking for, and they walked in silence until they reached a slight clearing. Nyx stopped abruptly, nervously fiddling with her bandaged hand. "I'm sorry for holding you back," she said. "I'm.. not as strong as I was."
They advanced with increasing speed, their crude blades hacking into the bark of the tree and carving footholds to aid in their ascent. The rhythmic thud of steel on wood caused her to shudder as she edged away from the trunk of the tree, careful to try and maintain her balance while still widening the gap between herself and her assailants. "Whirda!" she cried, the goblins groping at her feet and ankles, trying to seize her and limit her escape. She thrashed wildly, shuffling along the branch and away from them as much as she could.
She risked a glance below, and saw a familiar white-haired blur laying waste to the goblins below, as before. Then, she caught sight of something she wasn't expecting - the stranger they had K.O.'d regaining consciousness. "Whirda!" she screamed, this time with more urgency. Nyx wanted to point at the man in the green garb. but she feared what might happen if she relinquished her vice-like grip on the hilt of her blade - or took her eyes off of her assailants for more than a few seconds.
Nyx was right to fear this lapse in judgement. The hungry snarl of one of the abominations sent a chill down her spine as they began to hack at her ankles. To her credit, she thrashed and squirmed, somehow managing to evade their heavy blows. The mutated goblins snarled in frustration as their blades met only wood.
However, the mage was quickly running out of branch, and the repeated blows from the goblins were causing the wood to strain under her weight. The only way was up. She scrambled desperately up the tree and just out of reach of the goblins. One of them followed her, still clawing at her ankles. Nyx yelped, thrashing on the branch and aiming several kicks at his face. He lost his grip on the tree and fell, landing on his elbow with a sickening crack. His ally seemed undeterred by his ally's failure, and continued to climb.
The mage scooted along the branch, trying to evade the goblin's grip without breaking the branch. It was a difficult balance, and the goblin seemed to be gaining more ground with each passing moment. They now shared the tree, and his fingers firmly grasped her ankle. She was powerless. He raised his sword arm, licking his lips excitedly as he prepared to chop her foot off. Nyx screamed, forcing her eyes closed and turning her head away, bracing herself for the searing pain that would follow.
Nothing.
She felt nothing.
The goblin howled in pain, joining Nyx's voice in a kind of tortured symphony, then hit the ground with a loud thud.
Nyx opened her eyes in disbelief, releasing her grip on the branch to probe at her legs and ankles, checking they were still there. She rolled from the top branch, stumbled on the branch below, and fell. It all happened so quickly she barely had time to appreciate just how peaceful it was. Again, she braced for the inevitable impact.
... Nothing.
Again, she felt noth-- Wait. She was being held in a tight embrace, firm enough to hold her, but gentle enough to prevent her fight or flight instinct from kicking in. Or so they thought. Nyx thrashed wildly, confused as to how and why she'd evaded death twice now.
Of all the faces she expected to see, the mysterious man from earlier was not one of them.
"Why would you...?" she began, standing uneasily on her feet. Her legs threatened to buckle from the strain of holding herself upright.
The man ignored her, glancing between her and Whirda. He wanted to know who they were. The fact he had implied they would ever be allied with goblins was a notion Nyx found utterly disgusting, but she bit her tongue. She owed this man her life.
"I owe you my life," she stated solemnly, echoing the words in her head. "I suppose the least I can do is introduce myself." She smiled sheepishly, sheathing her dagger. "I'm Nyx."
The mage tactfully fell quiet, her gaze meeting Whirda's. The blonde was still in shock - understandably so. The Tangled Green wasn't exactly a forgiving place, from what they had seen so far. Nyx dreaded to think what she had been through in the events leading to her following her. Whirda ignored the question, shooting Nyx a glance which seemed to say 'Why would you surrender your name so easily?'
"More importantly, who are you?" she replied.
The man shrugged nonchalantly. "All you need to know about me is that I belong to the Mokugakure."
"What is that, some kind of cult?" Nyx enquired. "Is that why you're wearing that funny outfit?"
War drums reverberated around the forest, signalling the approach of the warband.
"You go," the man in green stated, ignoring Nyx's question. "Your friend is in no state to fight." In a flash, he was behind Whirda. "But next time, I would like a proper introduction."
With that, he was gone, leaving Nyx in a daze. She was shaken from her reverie by Whirda, dragging her elbow. "Come on," she urged, guiding Nyx further into the trees, away from the sounds of the approaching warband. As they walked, Nyx held her relatively unscathed hand out, and summoned a few more bandages using Omnilium. The process took a few minutes, but she knew it would be worth the wait. She didn't want anyone to be able to track them because of her bloody hand.
Feverishly, she wrapped her palm with the bandage, tying it tight. The blood quickly began to seep through the material, so she wrapped another layer of bandage around the wound. There was still a fair amount left over. Nudging Whirda's side, she offered her the bandages. "Want some of these?" she asked, her red eyes quickly surveying her friend for any visible wounds.
They continued to walk. Neither of the girls really seemed to know what it was they were looking for, and they walked in silence until they reached a slight clearing. Nyx stopped abruptly, nervously fiddling with her bandaged hand. "I'm sorry for holding you back," she said. "I'm.. not as strong as I was."