trans_9 | The Accursed Island [Closed]

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The Accursed Island [Closed]

Planet Designation: Forcellia Status: Terrestrial, H-class. Non-sentient life: Extensive flora and fauna. Semi-Sentient Life: Yes. Sentient Life: Homo Sapiens. Water: 69.5% of the planet's surface. Climate: Earth-like Landscape: Varied. Air: Normoxic concentration. Air Pressure: 101.3 kPa (kilopascals) = 14.7 psi (pounds per square inch) Sky: Blue, with variable cloud cover. Sun: A class G2V, yellow star. Warnings: Wildlife and plant-life can be hazardous. Humans can be hazardous. Mission: Negotiate for or otherwise obtain the artifact known as the Scepter of Domination.

Forcellia, or at least the part of it that contained the clearing in which the group now found themselves, wasn't exactly welcoming. The ground was little more than rocky soil, the sky violet-grey and overcast. Here, it was evidently late afternoon, edging into evening. It was slightly humid, as if from a recent rain; faint clouds of steamy mist seemed to curl off the ground, partially obscuring their view of their surroundings. Scraggly trees rose up out of this mist here and there, as if grasping towards fresher air.

The villagers in the area had supposedly been contacted ahead of time, and this had been the place they’d agreed to meet the crew. Whether or not they knew anything about this supposed Scepter of Domination, however, was not yet clear. What the Scepter even did or how it might contribute to their struggle was even less clear.

In the distance, they might hear the occasional whinny of a horse, or the lowing of a cow carrying up to them from the distance, though it was difficult, if not impossible, to tell from which direction the sound was coming from.

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"Enough!" cried Soren, when he'd judged the angle to be correct. It was difficult to aim with a moving target, but at least now he should be able to fine-tune his aim using the ballista's swivel.

He darted around behind the contraption, using his gloved hands to grasp the still red-hot triggering mechanism and aim the giant steel bolt. Soren gritted his teeth, biting back a scream as his fingers touched the metal, even through the thick leather. He purposefully did not think about what it might be doing to his hands... and what that rather unpleasant, familiar smell that rose up from the trigger was.

He released the mechanism, and hoped his aim was true.

Oh, don't you worry, giant dragon thing. Wakka still remembers that you were trying to burn him with fire that, through chance and happenstance (or actually the efforts of the other nine people he was with), was mostly all diverted away from where he was standing.

Wakka bet that this thing slept sometimes.

"I think it's time you had a nap, ya," he said as he clutched his very impressive sporting equipment in his arm, and it became enshrouded with a pinkish-purple haze. Sleep Buster. Assured to put anything to sleep that could be put to sleep. For one single round.

Unless it was immune. Oh well, at least it'd do physical damage even if that didn't work.

Until he fell over from all of the shaking that was going on. Still clutching that glowing purple ball to his chest.

This really wasn't his day.

The Warp Spider planted her sword in the ground to steady herself. She originally had planned to shove it into the dragon but with the ground like this, she was just as likely to lop off her own arm if she tried that. But...

...if that ballista could puncture the dragon's armor (Soren you aren't even an archer what are you even doing), her Death Spinner could actually do some damage so her hopes lied on that.

Civilians! Or, at least, people who aren't superheroes or part of the crew, which must mean they're totally helpless and in need of some immediate salvation!

Which, eh, someone else can take care of, because Punchy's trying to be awesome and take down a dragon right now. Besides, at least two of them have horses.

Rather than trying to rush the dragon again, Punchy follows Ronnae towards the tip of its tail, then splits away from her into a grove of trees. Waiting until the dragon's tail is back on the ground, he punches through a solid amount of the trees and throws his shoulder into it, toppling them over. Hopefully that'll take the dragon's barbed tail-tip temporarily out of commission, or at least draw the dragon's attention to its hindquarters.

Holding on to the rampaging dragon, Ronnae deftly made her way over it's back and onto the area that held it's wings, slowly nudging herself and bracing onto its thick scales. They would provide the support she needed for the task at hand...

Which was to bury, hack, and slash at his wing join with both Shadowmourne and Lightshope. She put into each attack all her strength, even increasing her already massive attack by letting a bit of the bloodlust take over. The reddish aura that began to surround her increasing in intensity.

She still had enough sense to keep track of where her teammates where positioned, that after all was part of having been at the head of her team back in her world.

Sakura did her best to hold steady as the elephant stampede that was the dragon trying to chacha shook the ground. Keeping mental track of who was where, and how these new folks figured in (hey, they didn't look daunted, maybe they hunted things like this for brinner or something), she grimaced and waited to see results.

Ellyn was busy, which was probably a good thing. Otherwise, the mission's diplomatic component would've gone straight to hell, between her usual penchant for saying exactly what was on her mind, and the impressive stream of swear words she was spouting as the pyromancer wrangled with the dragonfire.

She'd heard her father tell tales of the Firesoul, a pure fire elemental, and existing in its innards for a while--but Ellyn wanted to wager that this had to be close. Worse, it twisted and turned as if it were alive, unruly, and didn't want to obey.

On the outside, it didn't look like much was happening--save the pyromancer was sweating, and her skin was reddening as if she were gaining a sunburn within the span of a few breaths.

With a roar of triumph, Ellyn gestured, making a ripping motion with both hands. The ring of fire surrounding her dissipated into a few wisps that flashed into nonexistance.

"I'm th' daughter of two Monarchs an' the best pyromancer in th' land! Ya gotta do better'n that!" she bellowed.

Well, she must still be feeling okay, as the bravado was still in full effect...

Considering their options and to keep the dragon occupied, Sofia opts to attack from the front, knowing full well how dangerous this gamble might be. However, the armour she wears protects against magical attacks (although not stopping them completely) and the shield she carries allows her to cast the bounce spell, which reflects back most magical spells at the caster. She has a feeling the dragon might be immune to its own flames, but at the very least, she know she won't be burned going near its jaws headfirst.

Aiming for the snout was the best idea. Cause the nose to bleed and they'd have more trouble breathing. She sent out a boom spell at it, which wasn't fire, but rather an explosion of red-hot air ~~Lash would be so jealous~~.

Even as Ronnae began her attack, the dragon lunged for a nearby cliff face, smashing its massive back against the stone to crush her. Unfortunately, the sudden, violent motion carried it well past the Blast Ray, which it barely noticed sail past its flank. Every once in a while, a human would try the same stunt, apparently not satisfied at hacking at its tail or snout. It made the dragon angrier every time.

The trees came as a brief surprise, as humans generally weren't strong enough to punch down trees (saw, yes. Punch, no); some of the old wooden trunks, brittle as they were, actually impaled themselves onto the creature's barbed tail, transforming it into an even larger implement of doom. It swept barbs and tree trunks both at Sofia, whose figure, sword in hand, it recognized as kin to the countless knights and warriors that have sought to slay it for thousands of years.

Out of sheer dumb luck, though neither explosion nor heat seemed to give it much pause, the explosion from Sofia's spell brought Soren and Sakura's bolt not into range of its heavily armored sides and throat, but almost directly at its eye (an eye that, by the way, was bigger than the harpoon itself). It closed its eye just in time, and the missile struck the membrane of its upper eyelid, sending a brief spurt of red blood up from its face.

The dragon hissed in fury, drawing his head back and shaking his head from side to side; even that singular motion sent the ground trembling once again.

“Insects,” the creature rumbled, his voice a booming, thundering noise that itself seemed almost like an earthquake, “You think to strike at me?”

P.S. Not kidding about how giant this guy is

The contour of the creatures back, along with her extensive training fighting its kin back in her world made for her quick reflexes, flatenning herself against the creature and minimizing the impact zone to a minimal damage spot, that, with the added support of her enchanted armor made swift work of any damage she might have gotten.

Quickly standing up to her same position, Ronnae grinned. "Yer gonna have to do better than that you overgrown lizard! Even Sindragossa was a tougher challenge and she was already dead!" Taunting had always been one of her favorites when training to be a protector, she had been bred, trained and enhanced to take massive damage and still laugh it off. This was her job!

She quickly regained her resolve and started hacking away at the sinew of it's wing joints again, she'd ground this bastard soon unless she somehow had to go down to help in another area.

Roaring to gain a higher boost of strength, her rage aura was now at it's max, making her own attacks be highly damaging. She was a warrior of the Horde, leader of the Bloodhowl Heavy Assault team. She'd make sure he let the beast know she wasn't to be played with.

Swiftly, the sword which had been hers for only half a year, but the training which she had gotten nearly since birth made her cut the large tree trunks like butter, as they violently crashed around before harming her. Right then. Time for something else entirely.

Bedragon was a spell that one of her close friends had taught her - an art that was limited to very few casters in her home world. Having just a tiny bit of dragon blood in her veins had aided her in learning it naturally. As the situation got more and more dangerous and the giant monster seemed nearly undaunted from everything they had thrown at it, she realized it was perhaps, at the very least a good way to protect everyone.

As she did the proper movements, Sofia jumped into the air, just as the spell was completed and suddenly she was four times her normal size and very reptilian. Definitely not as large as the dragon before her, but still impressive. Her new form, standing on two legs much like a T-rex was green as the hair she had on her head, carried the dragon helm as fin-like scales around her mouth. The blue gemstone in turn was reflected as one on her head and the slime earrings had grown to comically fit on her 'ears'. She gave out a deafening roar, warning the other beast that should it chose to continue its attack, the defensive position she was currently in would most certainly be turned into an offensive one.

It was hard to keep her mind completely in control during his spell. She'd been warned numerous times and remembered how her own friend would simply go berserk until the spell subsided, but her heritage gave her an advantage over the typical caster. Still, there were very simple commands that she kept repeating, unwilling to let the beast take completely over. Protect friends came above everything else.

Maybe Punchy should have thought that tree thing through a bit more. Scratch that, he definitely should have thought it through more clearly. But he thought trees were heavier!

He yells a warning to Sophia as the tail comes whipping towards her, but it gets lost in the sound of battle and oh well, she's turning into a fricking dragon now anyway. It occurs to Punchy that maybe they should have spent their time before landing on this planet discussing battle strategies and actually learning each others' strengths and weaknesses.

Or, wait, maybe they had and he was just too busy using his omnicomm to play Battletoads.

As much as it pains him to admit it, the talking rampaging dragon has a point. Compared to him, they are insects. Punchy especially can't even get close enough to do damage, and so far most of what he's done has been making the battle go worse for his side. There isn't much he can do here.

"Maybe we should try...talking to it?" he yells, although he's not sure anyone can hear him or if that's even a good idea.

Wait, this thing can TALK?

Well. That's odd. Granted, the monsters he was used to fighting talked, but they started as humans...

Getting to his feet, albeit rather wobbly as he did so, Shoutarou stumbled back toward where Ellyn was. He had an idea. These magic guys seemed to have a tendency toward being able to do stuff to boost their allies' abilities, so it wouldn't hurt to ask.

"Hey, Ellyn - I think I'll take you up on that offer to burn stuff, if you're still up for it!"

After firing that projectile, Soren had been trying very hard not to faint. Strangely enough, it was the sound of Punchy's voice (and the feeling of what was now almost reflexive irritation upon hearing it) that helped to focus his concentration.

"It was you who began the attack... creature."

Almost as bad as the big dragon is that APPARENTLY THE CREW HAS BEEN HIDING MORE DRAGONS IN THEIR MIDST. God it's like he's not even safe anywhere and is Sofia a laguz

"And I do not recall... anyone issuing you an invitation."

Wakka managed to get back up onto his feet. His ball was still glowing. Praise be to Yevon. If Yevon weren't all a terrible lie. Anyway.

Crouching down, which somehow helped him have better aim, he pulled his right arm back, and let the Sleep Buster blitzball fly at the stupid dragon. "Take THIS, scaleface."

Bonk. The Sleep Buster hit the dragon in one scaly flank. No numbers flew up, though, so it was hard to tell how much damage it did. However, it did not seem to be particularly sleepy, although maybe it was sleepy and some DoT was keeping it awake or something, good going, Alendian. And what eva what eva, Soren can fire a ballista if he wants!

The dragon drew back, fixing one immense amber eye on Sofia, the swordfighter who had suddenly taken on all the outward appearance of a creature something like himself. He paused, gaze passing to Soren briefly before returning to her. "Abomination," he said in a booming snarl, "Your stench offends me."

He drew his great, tattered wings up and beat them once against the air, sending up a sudden gale that had nearby trees rattling and shrubs torn up by the roots to tumble like weeds across the landing.

"For each scale of mine you have harmed, I shall cast the bones of a hundred humans to ash. I shall use your village for kindling!"

With those words, the dragon brought his enormous jaws forward, opening them wide. An gigantic gout of flame flowered into existence before him, casting out across the open air in a pillar of fire easily half a mile long. In the sudden presence of heat and light, the mist seemed to burn away, and the crew could see their surroundings for the first time. A village was indeed in the distance, at the bottom of a slow, rocky drop from their landing area. And closer to them were the dark husks of what had once been the trees in an immense forest, now dry and withered.

The dragon’s blaze seared a swath of the old forest, reducing the old trees to ash in an instant. But with the air and brush dry from days or weeks without rain, those that weren’t immediately obliterated easily caught fire; it spread rapidly with nothing to stop it. With a cry that was half-rasp, half shriek, the dragon launched itself up into the air with all speed, soaring high and disappearing back into the clouds.

(P.S. He probably had a low opinion of Fried, too)

"Get back here, you great lizard!" The woman from before had reached the clearing at last, swinging easily off her mount and charging toward the drop-off. In vain, of course; her companion brought his own horse to a stop nearby, regarding the growing flames with mild concern.

"Are you the travelers that made arrangements with the head of the village?" he asked.

"Sonnuva..." Welp... time to ride this dragon for all it's worth... Considering she was still attached to the giant lizard...

At the speed it was going, it wouldn't be long till it was way above the safe zone for her current equipment, so Ronnae had to let of of him fast...

Detaching her weapons from the last blow she had given his joints Ronnae braced herself on one of it's spines and leaped off him with all her strength to easily avoid getting impaled by it's rising tail.

All that was left was to freefall now, and hope that her parachute didn't malfunction this time... Ah the glory and woes of being an engineer.

The sword in Alendian's hand deactivated and she shoved it back into its holster. Her face would have visibly expressed her disappointment at the weakness of the creature, proven by its retreat from battle, but she was wearing a helmet, of course. Not being the reasonable member of the group, she didn't reply to the question, instead turning and looking at the asker.

Soren fell over.

Aw man he didn't get to punch a dragon OH HELL NO NOW THERE IS FIRE.

Why is it that the only thing he can remember about dealing with fires is 'stop, drop and roll' ~~and the chorus of a Sean Kingston song~~? Maybe that would have been another good thing to focus on during those Battletoads sessions.

Punchy sprints over to where Soren fell over and, remembering Soren isn't so big on being tugged around, leans down to see if his roommate's alive and conscious.

"Yo, Skinny, really shit time for a dirt nap, okay? Catch some Z's later, we need you to use your magical wind voodoo to direct that fire away from the village, okay?"

She took off after him, but the other creature's size and speed were much faster than her own. However, her plans were immediately changed once she saw Ronnae free falling. Parachute or not, she didn't know what the other girl could do and for all Sofia's currently simply draconic mind knew, she was going to be killed from falling flat on the ground.

The leathery wings moved into the air, and before long she had placed herself right where the girl was falling, so she could fall down on her and they could descend together.

Dumb Punchy, stop making sense.

Soren was conscious! He was just sort of... not doing so great. He attempted to stagger halfway up anyway, propping himself up against a portion of the rock.

He gritted his teeth as he fumbled for the green tome he kept concealed in his robes. And purposefully did not think about his hands.

Ronnae found herself hitting the back of Sofia with a small oomph, letting out a sigh of relief when she noticed it was Sofia.

"T-thanks, relying on my parachute has left me with many unpleasant experiences." She held on after rearranging herself, looking back towards the area where the larger dragon had escaped to before turning to Sofia.

"How're the others?"

It ran away? None of his attacks had any effect? ~~Besides 9999 damage.~~ It was allowed to do this? ~~This was clearly a boss fight.~~

He stood there, holding his ball, and looking at the burning forest. He didn't really have any way of dealing with that. A water-based attack reel attack but he only had one of those in him...

"Anybody need me to do anythin'?"

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