Everyone takes to orbital reentry differently. Sam Monday slept, while his erstwhile companion obcessively cleaned her weapon. Not an ordinary weapon mind you, but a fairly well endowed blaster of the latest issue.

"Wake up you fool!" She decried, irritated by Monday's calm. The  timer on the wall stated that landing would still take thirty minutes more. They were still in the upper atmosphere, literally a fireball streaking across the sky. "I hate planetfall." She whined as the Manx never stirred from his heedless slumber.

 

Meanwhile...

 

Morning was coming upon them as Brand cooked a morning meal. Solice gave him a dirty look as he held strips of her dead horse over the fire with a stick. He felt bad about it. Had he known she couldn't resurrect the animal, as Monks of his land could, he would not...Brand thought...yes he would have taken the meat, as they did need it. So, rationalizing the act to himself once again, the Ranger continued cooking. He only hoped that she was past it by now. A few minutes later he called, "Meats hot!" 

Loki awoke several hours later, feeling healed and refreshed. He grinned, certain that his potion was the best ever. He saw Gerik on watch duty so he sat up and opened his pack. He pulled out a screwdriver and a small pack. He then picked up his pistol and went to work. He pulled out a rifle butt from the pouch and screwed it in to the handle. He found an extension for the pistol barrel and he screwed it into the barrel and locked it. He slotted a laser sight into a reccess underneath the barrel. Then, pointing the weapon toward the ground, he de-cocked it and let the near empty magazine drop to the ground. He then slotted a full ammo clip into the handle and racked the slide, loading a fresh round into the chamber. With his carbine finally assembled and ready for use, he tapped Gerik on the shoulder and signaled for him to get some rest. Loki then climbed into the top of a nearby tree and scanned the area around the camp. He grew tense, not liking the lack of sound in the area. But he would be ready. He had to be.

Loki awoke in the middle of the night, his entire body ached and he felt like he hadn't eaten in a week. He saw Desuno standing over him."Loki," he whispered. Loki nodded his head in aknowledgement. Desuno pointed at a cup of sludge. Loki nodded again, not believing that he was going to drink it. He stared at it and groaned, he hated this potion, even though it was his recepie that Desuno used to make it. He looked back up at Desuno but he had vanished into the dark night. Loki shook his head and drank the potion, grimacing as the potion slid slowly down his throat. "Desuno probably has other things to worry about." he thought as he set the cup down. He laid back down and closed his eyes falling instantly into a deep sleep.

Brand fended off the mad woman as best he could, then decided to put a stop to her hysterics. Grabbing her by the left cheek, Brand stepped in and tripped the woman, gently guiding her to the ground. There he dropped, pinning both arms beneath his shins. "LISTEN WOMAN! THE BEAST WAS DEAD AND WE NEEDED FOOOD!!! YOU ARE A HEALER! SEE!!!" The Ranger waved the arm which he had been missing mere hours ago, in her face. "SO! WHEN MORN BREAKS, WE GO BACK TO REZ YOUR PRECIOUS HORSE! YES!?"

 

Getting up off her, Brand returned to the fire making gestures alluding to the girls lack of sanity. Then, to Gerik, "Wake Loki up! Maybe he has some salt."

OoC: I thought the fight was outside the gates of the city, in the woods. I wrote it already as if she had woken up by the campfire in the forest.

OoC: Sven, try reading fully next time.

We've all gone into the forest as it's probably safer than the city.

It's probably best now to skip travelling there, and for Solice to wake up beside a campfire with the rest of us in the forest.

Amend your post and we can continue. 

OoC: I was under the impression that people wouldn't move the dead horse. To combat the fact that it would be impractical to transport I am going to say that they only took some of the meat filled limbs.

IC: Solice awoke with a gasp; bolt upright in an instant. Her eyes surveyed the scene of desolation all around her with pure horror, there were several blood stained people gathered around a campfire in what appeared to be the woods that she had just transversed.

She noticed her dear, beloved Plothcare in several pieces accross her image of the camp and there were some barbaric people eating him! Cooked limbs were held in grubby hands.

She let out a cry of anger and ran towards the strange crowd.

Meanwhile...

 

360 Kilometers above the Earth, a Manx with solid white for eyes pressed the button on his microphone and spoke thickly. "Ye still go'um Blu? ov'r."

 

The radio hissed back John Warlock's reply.

//Yeah Blue. I went to heat after they entered the woods. Got'em 5 by 5 now. Over.//

 

"Describe woman please." A female voice asked with a decidedly Russian accent.

 

Sam Monday sighed as he turned to the fire haired woman in the doorway. "Nadia...ov'r Blu."

 

//Describe? She looked like two bb's on a razor blade to me...over.//

 

 Holding hard to a smirk, while preventing outright laughter, Sam shook his head. The woman Nadia was not nearly so amused. "Detailed description Blue...now."

Her tone was enough to pull Sam back to a somewhat commanding tone. "C'mon Blu. Ov'r."

 

//Sure Blue. She's a female...heh. Sixteen or so. Ranges out to 5'4". Weighs maybe a buck twenty-five. Pale and blond. Wearing long white robes. Old school. Druid stuff. Over.//

 

"This could be Tryggvason!" Nadia said with a sudden excitement.

 

"Isn'er. This be a healer, from wha' John seine."  Sam said very matter of factly.

 

"When is next shuttle down?" The Woman wanted to know.

 

"Sixt'en hours 'n'..." *tap*tap* Sam tapped on the digital timer as if it were an old compass which would change directions when struck. "...'n' tw'nty-s'vn minuts."

 

"Da." With that she turned and left the room with her usual sultry swagger. Sam watched until she was gone, for even he had to admit that no-one walked quite like Nadia.

"Methinks you right on all counts Gerik. With a maiming wound like that was, I would  need to die and be birthed  to a new body. Not a Monk trained as I know them to be. Not even sure she was doing the healing as much as just causing it."  Brand paused at this, wondering why the horse had not healed. After a moment of thought, "We need meat." He rationalize that to be the reason and continued with what he was doing. He looked around and back toward the city while at his work. "City too is not like any I know." The Ranger took a step in perfect silence on the Earthen soil beneath his feet. "Yeah, forest is best for me too." Wrapping as much meat as his pack will hold in hide, he packed it away and moved off from the animal. 'It can grow all of that back.' he thought, should the healer decide she needed her mount back. "Wish I had some salt."

 

Seeing that Loki was also down, Brand grabbed him up with a struggling grunt. "I GOT LOKI!" He yelled to Gerik and the winged man who had joined them. 

"Healer huh? She can't be any ordinary healer. How many healers have you met that can restore a whole arm?" Gerik spoke to Brand. His wound had been restored too.

Gerik approached the unconcious women and lifted her up over his shoulder before speaking again. "Right then. We need to find some shelter, and quickly, before any more enemies show up. The city probably isn't safe right now, so the forest is our best bet,"

As Gerik turned to leave for the forest, he thought to himself, 'What the hell is happening in this city?' 

Brand awoke to the smell of raw cheval, blood and fading magic. Looking down, he found his arm to be whole again. Just like his chest wound, it was totally healed. Flexing his hand to make sure it worked properly, Brand then looked around to find the dead horse. "That takes care of eating. Now what of you?" Kneeling down beside the unconscious healer, Brand lifted the blond locks from her face. Her features were more soft than those of the Ranger's beloved Eloa. Her skin seemed to shimmer. "Healer." Brand noted with certainty. Feeling the woman's stomach and hip, the Ranger decided that she was fine. Doubtlessly her power had been drained during the fight. Mana always returned to the user, so she was in no danger. Brand knew this well from past experience.  "Bet the mount is her's." Brand noted, pulling a caping blade from the underside of his axes carrier.

The flower started to wilt and it's colour: once a deep green, turned into grey (OoC: note spelling of both colour and grey. IC:). As soon as the bud opened it turned to dust and Solice was sprung back into the dimension. The exact pose that she was displaying at the time of capture was immated, though turned through ninety degrees due to the tipping of the bud. One of her arms was outstretched towards were the dog was, will the other attempted to guard her neck from the late attacker. This only lasted for an instant as she fell to the ground.

She was unconscious and pale; hinting that almost all energy was gone.

Plothcare had been savaged, huge chunks from the neck and forelegs were missing and the horse was dead.

Desuno crouched before his fallen friend. "He's lost a lot of blood, but he'll live." He sheathed the sword back onto the clips on his back. "I'll scout around and check for others... after I see whatever this is about."  He motioned to the strange green cacoon that looked as if it might have once been a flower of sorts. He put his hand close to it, sensing the power and a strange energy thst could only come from another dimension. "Interesting..." he muttered to himself, barely a whisper.

Brand screamed as his severed arm burned, spewing forth a chimney of white smoke. He grabbed in agony at the regrowing limb and was immediately sick. He understood what this was from his years with the Necromancer Eloa. The redirection of power into his system. Brand released his arm and the pain began anew, but it was necessary. He would have to bear it.

 

The beasts seemed vanquished as Brand saw the animagus, Loki, revert and fall in exhaustion. Brand had started moving to him just when a new host of dogs emerged from the brush. None were ready for them and Brand knew it. Grabbing the stump of his arm, the Ranger stepped straight into the path of the demonic beasts.

 

These were being more cautious than their predecessors. Brand smiled a grimacing smile, as that caution worked to his advantage. He could feel the power building in his gut, sickeningly so. His face went pale, then began to tinge green. As the first of the dogs decided to attack...it stopped, sensing the power. Brand kept coming, stepping straight into the mob. Several of the beasts backpedalled as the Rangers eyes went glowy green. Brand then released the power in an uncommon fashion. He upheaved a vomitous spew of green and gold which ate through everything it touched as might acid. The new batch of dogs were gone in an instant, reduced to a froth seeping into the ground. 

 

As the last bit dripped from Brand's lip, his eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed not far from the prone form of Loki and the strange Human sized bud, which lay on it's side by them. 

From on high, a figure watched through his rifles scope. John Warlock touched his throat mic and reported in. "The dogs are done Blue, over. Yeah, they used magic. The Ranger pulled a GrimJack on 'em! It was very cool...over Blue. Yeah, big power. I can feel it from here." Turning swiftly to movement in the city, he continued. "Pawns in city. I see four Blue, over. Color Blue? They are white, over. No, just pawns, over Blue. No, I see no black yet. What do you want to do Blue? Over."

After what felt like hours of combat, Loki killed what seemed to be the last dog. Huge red gashes scarred his white and black fur, he panted, struggling for breath, his chest heaving. He lost himself, colapsing to the rubble strewn ground, and shifted back to human form.

Desuno swung his sword swiftly, striking the beasts with the flat side of his sword, sending the hellhounds tumbling back as if they weighed no more than starved puppies. The hounds cowered before him as he dominated them. One dog lept from behind, but Desuno heard its snarl. He turned and smacked it with the back of his hand, breaking its spine, killing it. He glanced to Loki, who appeared as a giant blood-streaked panda and was now nearly 7 feet tall, close to his own hight. He had his pistol/blade in one paw, a dog in the other which he used like a flail. Desuno proccessed all this within a second; he then turned back to his own fight. His strange, mighty sword remained dark as night in the brilliant light, singing its song of death to it's foes.

Brand could see little of what was going on around him...but something was going on around him. This he knew because of the beast from which he was clinging. His vantage point, hanging from the undercarriage of a demon dog, was poor...save for the mutt's reactions. These all flowed down to Brand. The dog was suddenly scared, but of what.

 

Brand caught a flash of wings and thought, 'What is it? A Tengu? A StormTalon!?' 

 

He knew not what, but merely that the dog was no longer thinking of him. Dropping free and rolling into the near brush, Brand vanished...reappearing momentarily near the bud which held the young lady whom he only knew to have a sweet voice.

 

"AHHH!" Brand's chest suddenly began to burn as the blood from his chest wound turned to white smoke. He knew this was a healing spell of some kind, but nothing he had been witness to before. 

No sooner had the wound healed than another of the monstrous dogs lept to attack the Ranger. Brand was swift in avoiding the teeth aiming for his throat, but not so swift as to escape the beast's unnaturally long claws. "AHHHH!!!!"

 

Looking down, he saw his right arm...it was gone just below the elbow. 

As dogs kept attacking, Loki kept slaughtering. But for every dog he killed two took its place. This whole situation seemed to be getting out of hand. Still he kept on killing, but he began to tire. All of the sudden the dogs hesitated. Loki spun and saw a great black shadow alight onto the ground; it's great raven black wings folding gracefully behind it. "I couldn't help but notice, but it looks like you could use a little help." said Desuno, his tattered black trenchcoat swirling in the wind. "Hell yeah!" replied Loki. Desuno drew his massive sword and lunged, attacking the enemy like a dark hellstorm.

Gerik's words broke Solice's daze and as she looked up her eyes shone bright green; laking pupil. Sudden awareness was the cause and uncontrollable magic was the sympton: when it was like this there was no way to be sure of the results.

Grass and the flowers around her suddenly grew by a factor of 1.5, feeding on the natural energy being emmitted from her. The magic knew of danger and it was being leaked in random pockets as a defence mechanism.

One dog pounched, its hide contained a bullet from a shot from one of the men who were fighting there own battles in the corner of her eye. Jaws opened wide, with claws of unnatural lengh, it aimed for the throat: a potential killing blow. A bud apeared from the ground and engulfed Solice almost instantaniosly, causing the hound to crash into it. The bud did not break but it did roll of its end.

It is a freakish situation were one object is frozen in time as it cannot be damaged because there is no time for it to be damage, but it can be moved around the space in which it is contained. An impenitrable fortress that holds the victim in status. 

It was quickly apparent to Brand that the others were not opening the gate. The sounds of battle rose over the wall and the Ranger was quickly climbing. From atop the wall, he could see..."By the Gods! They are demon dogs!" He hated it when his quips became prophetic...that was never good for him.

 

Putting shaft to bow, Brand placed an exploding arrow into the midst of the largest group of dogs. While a bit of exploding flint did little harm, it did draw a large part of the pack to clamor at the wall below the Ranger's feet. He just prayed that these beasts could not climb.Drawing the string back on two steel-head arrows, Brand loosed them straight down into the mob of yowling curs. One scraped down the side of what sounded like stone skin. The other snapped as it caromed off the head of another demon dog. "Bad that." The Ranger mused over both results. Striking the sulphur tips of two kindling arrows, Brand loosed another volley into the mob below. These became fireballs on impact and lit fire to a number of the mutts. Howling in pain and scattering, only one or two were smart enough to drop and roll. These were the ones Brand was laughing over as he lept from the wall, axe in hand.

 

Hitting the ground only an instant behind his axe as it tore cleanly through stone-like skin, bone and heart, Brand recovered to dispatch the other just as quickly. In this other's ribs the axe stayed as yet another of the dogs horde-like numbers attacked the Ranger from behind. He was opened up badly even before hitting the ground. Brand could feel his hot blood flowing out through leather and cloth tatters as he gripped the beast's nape and pulled himself too close for claws nor maw to finish him. With one steel-head arrow in hand, Brand raked at the dogs ribs while wrapping his legs around it's middle. The Ranger held firm, knowing that once his grip was lost...that would be his end.