Molly St Clair

After the scouting party got some healer attention, Malachi was quick to get them organized for another push forward. He explained his plan followed by splitting up everyone into parties. Their chosen leader believed it would be better to move in smaller groups. Molly agreed. One look at the terrain was enough to secure a headache for anyone trying to get their whole group through it safely. Better to go with Malach’s plan of parties keeping pace with each other. Only shifting forward if everyone was finished fighting.

The plan of their bearded leader focused on making sure no one could get isolated. Each group would work with a paired party for backup. One resting, while the other focused on a fight. The march through the cavern would be a series of leap-frogging maneuvers. To assure all of the rat things were eliminated. Molly was curious to see how the Sixty would perform in parties. The tactics would differ greatly.

Only Warner sent any friction Malachi’s way. Somehow pulling off charming as he obstinately declared a party of his own choosing. The shoulders had barely avoided Molly’s ire when he tried to pull her into the show of defiance. She had no desire to buck authority. The cool-eyed woman had indifferently replied that she had agreed to join his party. Best to maintain neutrality where she could. No matter how much my chest hurt at the wounded look Warner gave me, grimaced Molly in thought. Stupid cheek-burning grin!

Malachi had barely seemed to notice. He was busy dividing people into parties. When Warner made his claim, the bearded leader looked up briefly in thought. His eyes flickered to Molly with consideration. Then, almost absently, agreed it was a workable team. He gave a shrug that said, “maybe it could be better.” Warner twitched with a partial frown and Molly smirked at the whole thing.

After that everyone was quickly divided and sent marching. At the entrance to the open area, Reuben gave a quick update. Mostly the scout detailed where he had seen more of those starved Ratsins. Warner led their party to the starting position before a patch of the glowing moss. The grinning fool took point while Elena and Zachariah took either side of him. Molly took a position in the backline with Nicole and their healer Conor. When the groups were ready, Warner’s and Malachi’s parties took a step forward.

Warner’s foot crunched down into the moss. Glowing ooze broke free, sticking to their shoes. The smell of yeast and sweet fruit filled the air. The muscular Ratsin that had claimed this patch twitched into stillness. Sniffling violently, it turned towards them with a squeak. The beady black eyes focused first on the mushed moss and then to Warner. Its stance switched from gluttony to wrath. The rat thing charged with a guttural screech.

It leaped at the muscle line, clawed hands ready to grasp and tear. The front line didn’t slow their march. Shields bashed into the leading claws. Warner’s fist slammed the jaw shut. Forcing jagged teeth to crack and skewer their own flesh. The brawler followed up with a strike at the nose. Black blood spurted, the monster’s movement was arrested. The Ratsin got tangled up in its own limbs at the sudden stop. Spear and ax tore wounds during this instant of confusion. To keep the rhythm of the battle in their corner, Molly cast a spell.

“I Call The Shadows,

Instill Loss And Despair,

Bind With Darkness,

Void’s Impression.”

A dark sphere formed over the head of the rat thing. Its screeches dimmed and became echoey as if from a distance. The monster lashed out at random as the melee fighters pinned it in place. Quick slashes and dodges to distract. They all back away as one as Nicole’s spell roared into existence. The electrified wind wraps up the Ratsin. The screams of the monster reach them even over the whistling wind. The storm acolyte holds the spells with effort and then releases with a gasp. The Ratsin was revealed to be torn and bleeding freely.

Still blind, the rat thing twitches in pain. Surprising them, it ignored the renewed attack by the melee fighters. Instead, it rolls in the glowing moss. Blue phosphorus soaks into the skin, burning the rank hair away like acid. In a matter of seconds, the Ratsin’s wounds close. Hair is just starting to sprout again when it grabs outwards.

Elena had been in the middle of a spear thrust as the rat claw brushed past the shield and grasped her leg. The warrior woman is lifted into the air and shaken. Her ax falls, but Elena slams the shield’s edge into the wrist repeatedly. Bones crackle with each hit. The broken limb releases the woman to fall to the cave floor. Meanwhile, Zachariah had taken the time to get into position. His spear thrusts upwards into the vitals of the Ratsin. The spear tip thrashing about the insides. The giant man barely reacts to the gore splattering and dripping on him.

The muscular Ratsin gives out a mournful cry and collapses on its side. With a serious look on his face, Warner steps up to the shuttering creature. The brawler staring down into the dark sphere that Molly sweats to maintain. He raises a fist, there is a sparkle of something along the knuckles before it comes down. There is a horrible crunching sound. A pool of dark blood forms. The spell of darkness releases from her concentration as she realizes there is no longer a target to hold onto.

Warner grins over at all of them with a thumbs up. Molly, ignoring the warmth in her cheeks, gestures for Conor to do some healing. The pale man rushes over to Elena first. The warrior woman only nods stoically before golden light passes over her. Their party leader’s grin has faded some. Following his line of sight, Molly sees that Malachi’s group is done too.

The corpse of another muscular-looking Ratsin is already powdering at the feet of the Sixty’s leader. The sword acolyte nods to Warner and signals the next groups. Soon, more of the large Ratsins are engaged. They watch, waiting to jump in or take their turn.

Phelain Starr

Side by side, Phelain charged in with Hector. They worked in sync to deflect attacks so the other could get a strike in. His companion took a step in while bashing the Ratsin’s face. The other’s sword pierced the throat with a gush of dark blood. The monster rears up to put the wound at a distance from them. Monstrous claws cracked stone as they lashed out. With the rat thing distracted, Phelain takes the opportunity to strike at the hind leg. The swing wasn’t enough to sever, but the tendons snap. The aspiring warrior hummed. He was thrilled to feel useful and fight in tandem with others. His training with Vincent and Warner had paid off quite well. More than Phelain had expected.

The Ratsin collapsed and tried to burrow into the glowing moss. From behind came a roar from Allen. “Blaze of Radiance!” The signal is given, the two shield users backed off. A comet of fire passes over them. It shrieks through the air and impacts upon the rat thing. An eruption of fire poured out in a dome shape. The smell of cooked flesh and burnt vegetation taint the air. The moss is cleared in a five-foot radius around the half-cooked Ratsin. The side upon the ground endures by the healing of the moss, but the other was a charred mess. Blood oozed where craggy flesh cracked open.

Turning the one good eye towards them, the monster screeches at them. Gore splattered across the Sixty like spittle from the cry. Charging, the Ratsin broke their guard by spinning at the last second. The hairless tail slammed into Phelain and Hector. The weight forcing them off their feet. It leaps at the aspiring warrior as he lays on his back. In time, his shield comes up to protect his throat and face. This left his limbs open to be shredded by the claws. Cuts are scoured across the arms as the Ratsin tries to pry the shield away. The hind legs raked down leaving bleeding wounds behind. Phelain cries out in pain through clenched teeth. Someone else howls with battle lust.

He watches Kai tackle the Ratsin in a burst of white light. The monster was tossed and rolled across the stone. A sharp grin cuts across the Asian man’s face as they land feet first. The beastly man prowls forward while swinging a spiked mace. The white light begins to well up again. Swirling around the man as he chants.

“Brilliant Shine,

Burst of Might,

A Blessed Smite,

Prideful Impact!”

The name of the spell echoes out as Kai takes a single step that blurs into a beam of light. There was another explosion of white when the mace acolyte slams the Ratsin into the ground. Vivian used the commotion to help Phelain to his feet. Golden energy flowed from her to him as the healer recited the spell “Healer’s Touch.” The wounds close up to leave just blood-stained skin.

Phelain thanked her while he checked to see if the torn clothes would get in his way. A few adjustments were enough. The cloth would stitch itself together if left alone. The aspiring warrior charged back into the fight. Kai began reciting another spell when Phelain leaped in to support Hector. Phelain shields his companion while they reduce a clawed hand into a stump. The spell boomed over the howls of the monster.

“By The Will Of Us,

Sharpen Our Teeth,

Bless The Hunt,

Strength Of The Pride.”

White light rained down on all three that stood over the Ratsin. The energy soaking in. It collected along the edges of their weapons and erased the soreness of his muscles. Soon he was bustling with energy. Together, they attacked with enhanced precision. Kai’s mace dented the rat thing’s chest. Blood dripped as the monster coughed and took Hector’s shield across the jaw. It snapped in retaliation and got a slash across the nose in reply. It howled and didn’t see Phelain. The aspiring warrior’s sword hacked halfway through the exposed neck. The stumped arm knocks him away.

This gave Hector an opening to almost finish the job. The spinal cord was visible, but the Ratsin reared up unsteadily on its hind legs. Screaming, lashing out with the remaining claws. The beastly man blasts the monster’s knee apart. Collapsed to the ground, Hector finishes the fight by detaching the head. The monster finally stopped moving.

Phelain cheered. In return, the party grinned back or rolled their eyes good-naturedly. A heavy sigh of relief brought their attention around to the fifth member of their group. Soren walked back to them from his own kills. A few fresh Ratsin from one of those other tunnels had interrupted the fight. The gunman assured them that he could take care of it.

“Damn glad we didn’t have to ask the two front parties for help,” smirked Soren. “Red would have never let me hear the end of it.”

“I wouldn’t have hesitated a moment if it looked any of us couldn’t hold,” stated Vivan with a concerned frown. “Now, let me take a look at you. That was a risk and I will make sure you come out of this in good health.”

The gunman made no attempts at protest though it was obvious he was unjuried. Phelain understood. One look at her eyes and you know Vivian won’t relent till she takes her look, thought the aspiring warrior.

While the healer did her due diligence, Kai came over from watching their kill turning into powder. “Gunman, you were quite impressive. I thought to help you out, but… well it became clear you didn’t need it.”

“Ah shucks, guys, they were just the small fries,” pressed Soren as he shivered from the golden light passing through him. “It ain’t like I was fighting a biggun’ on my own.”

Phelain felt a little jealous at the attention, but turned from that darker emotion. He did his part. There was no shame for someone else to be a star, stated the aspiring warrior to himself.

Hector knocked his shoulders to pull at his attention. The other man said, “Come on guy, why so gloomy? We’ve got one too. I wonder if it will have a color?”

“It looked like the same type as those Malachi’s and Warner’s parties fought,” considered Phelain. “Those cores had blue in them, so maybe the same?”

“I like blue,” said Hector seriously. “That’s my lucky color.”

Phelain looked at him curiously. “O’ yeah?”

“Yup, a clear sky is always lucky,” answered Hector. “That’s basically my family's motto. Always have had good memories of those days too. So yeah, it’s a lucky color.”

“Heh, alright,” grinned Phelain. “I’m not gonna argue with that. I’ll take luck wherever it comes from.”

Leon Machi

Leon watched the battle very carefully to see where he could best aid. He was a patient man and didn’t feel any need to rush his involvement. Better not to interfere with tactics at hand. Vincent held the Ratsin in position with a furious storm of blood. The swordsman was laying a thousand cuts upon the monster. Nothing fatal, but too many to ignore. Claws and fangs were used, but never in time. Like a leaf on the wind, Vincent had simply moved elsewhere.

The rat thing was effectively held at a standstill. The Sisters had a field day with that. Blades lashed out in quick sudden strikes at several angles. Always deep wounds that poured dark blood. The Ratsin would turn at the assault, but Vincent would then start to dig in deeper. Thus forcing the monster to abandon the already retreating Sisters.

It was a decent strategy. It was without the decisive blow that other teams had revealed, but steady progress to victory nonetheless. It was an odd team that Malachi had asked him to look after. The Sisters had been unwilling to part from each other for the sake of team composition. With Vincent’s promise to take care of the women, the team had been lopsided with melee types. Leon saw himself as an attempt to balance the scale. Healing when needed, but mostly his active use of barriers could keep the battle favorable.

Even when things are going well, mistakes can be made, thought Leon. The barrier acolyte had spoken the words of his spell in preparation for the needed moment. The cost of holding a spell wasn’t anything like holding an active barrier, but there was still a cost. There was a draining sensation in the back of the mind. The moment came when the Ratsin got clever with his tail. It whipped underneath to swipe at the women charging in from the side.

Leon released the spell by its name, “Tactical Shield!” A discus of translucent energy appeared in the way of the tail. The angle of the plane redirected the tail to hit the ground. When the monster turned to pursue the weight of it shattered the barrier immediately. The Ratsin slammed against the ground several times in an attempt to catch the fleeing attackers. Before it got close, Vincent dove in to cut deeply across the flank to bring back the attention. The Sisters finished their attack run safely.

The Ratsin roared in rage and climbed to its hind legs. It screeched into a higher tone causing all of them to flinch. Operating on an impulse, Leon recited a spell quickly.

“Hear My Wish,

Cage This Threat,

Bind Before Disaster,

Barrier of Containment!”

A translucent sphere formed around the Ratsin. One half descending from the air and the other rising from the ground. Like a puzzle box, the half pieces rotated into each other before sealing together. Inside, the monster raged as a blue light started to pour out of the wounds and eyes. Muscles bulged and it began to bash at the containment. Fissures began to form at impact points. Leon felt the blows increasingly as their strength grew. Blood started to drip from his nose as he held the spell in place. The four warriors backed up as they looked in alarm at the berserking rat thing. Leon felt the breaking of the barrier like a physical sensation. For a moment it was like something was tearing him apart by pulling from every angle. Including inwards.

The next thing the barrier acolyte knew, he was on the ground. Blood was dripping down his face like tears. Looking up was painful, but concern for his team drove him. The Ratsin had swelled in size somehow and was now a luminous blue. It roared at the Sisters with a wave of blue energy that tumbled them away. It launched into the air to come down on top of them. The rat thing seemed to be grinning.

Leon struggled to chant with blood pooling in his mouth. Coughing and spurting he got “Scalped Wall” out. A barrier dome formed over the prone women and cracked loudly when the Ratsin landed. The monster looked between its feet with a sneer. When it looked up, Leon felt that stare heavily on his heaving shoulders. Ignoring those under the dome, it loped towards him.

Vincent strode between the monster and him. Seeming so tiny before the giant rat with only a thin blade to contest. The Ratsin must have thought the same things as it didn’t react to the new obstacle. The swordsman stood ready and noticeably took a breath. Leon couldn’t take his eyes off his teammate even as he tried to call for help through the blood.

A light collected on the edge of the blade as Vincent took a slow step. As his foot came down, three slashes of the sword appeared in the air as gleaming marks of red light. Crossed like a six pointed star, the attack launched forward towards the rushing monster. The Ratsin tried to bat the slashes out of the air, but lost the arm. The flesh of the limb separating like an object forced through along a bladed edge. Or a cheese grater, thought Leon as the limb dropped to the floor in six longwise slices.

The sacrifice of the arm allowed the Ratsin to survive with two cuts across the torso and one through the skull. Vincent was preparing to race forward when three angry yells came from behind the Ratsin. The rat thing looked behind and took a spear covered in dark purple flames in the face. It scorched hatefully around the impact. It’s remaining hand reached up to swat at the piercing spear. It didn’t see the dark green blade coming. The sword wielding Sister leaped on the back and thrusted the sword into the spine. Green fire sprouted and withered the flesh wherever it touched.

The Ratsin twitched with a scream and then lurched onto its side. Mewing weakly as it looked fearfully at the blood red flames coming off the daggers of the last Sister. From where he was, Leon could see the scowl on Evelyn’s face as she slammed both daggers into the chest of the Ratsin. All three sisters watched the Ratsin’s flesh boil before the red flame. A beating heart was revealed beyond the naked ribs. Together, the three of them ended it.

Spitting some blood to the side, Leon felt himself calm down. His small smile was even coming back. Vincent leaped to his side with a frenzy of concern. The barrier acolyte waved most of it away, “No, No, my friend. Just bad backlash from holding the barrier against that monster. A little healing and I’ll be right as rain. Speaking of the Ratsin… that was new.”

“Yeah, it's a good reminder not to get cocky,” said Vincent with a spark of thrill in his eyes. “Even monsters can have some surprises up their sleeves.”

“The Sisters certainly surprised me,” added Leon.

Sighing, Vincent replied, “Ahh, yeah. I was hoping to take it on myself after it showed off like that. I suppose it is a pleasure to see your students do well though.” With a grin for Leon, the swordsmen added, “They're terrifying with those flames right?”

“I almost felt bad for the abomination,” admitted Leon.

“Almost,” agreed Vincent.