"This is the worst plan ever." Anemone grumbles, using her shield to deflect the blade of a Cro'gal spear. The lizardman attempts to reset but stiffens as Anemone's aether-blade finds his throat. She pushes the dying warrior aside as she continues to traverse the upward sloping hallway, flanked by her comrades. A fresh group of Cro'gal spill out of the archway ahead of them.
"Dia!" Commands Percival, and Dia- his Valkyrie flies overhead and extends her aetheric hand. As her arm raises, her hand shifts into the barrel of a cannon. "Curse," She says, her feminine voice is accompanied by a metallic tinged vocoder. Dark light emits from the clockwork cannon and shines on the approaching Cro'gal. The one in the front suddenly trips, pitching forward; the warriors directly behind him fall over him, while the others jump to avoid the catastrophe.
Dia is semi-transparent and roughly human sized. Her form is that of a petite girl with four mechanical wings extended from her back. Her face is partially obscured by the hood of a long red cloak. She extends her right hand which also transforms into the barrel of a cannon. "Fireball." She says, and a jet of flame erupts from her hand and engulfs the approaching fighters.
As the Cro'gal brace and shield their faces from the flames, the Party slips to their outside, bypassing them completely. Aphrodite somersaults mid run to avoid the Cro'gal struggling to untangle themselves on the floor. Another Cro'gal approaches the archway and slams against Payne's invisible barrier. At the same time, Percival spins with both hexguns extended toward the ceiling above the downed Cro'gal.
His eyes activate with the sight, and he fires two shatter rounds into the ceiling. The blasts are accompanied by rumbling and a hail of metal and stone. The Cro'gal at the bottom of the hall, stop their pursuit and look up in alarm as the ceiling's structural integrity gives way. The party takes refuge in the archway to avoid the collapsing hallway. "That's two for two." Says Percival.
The captain turns to regard the enraged lizardman just on the other side of Payne's Barrier. So far the plan had gone mostly without a hitch. While they were still in the lab Percival had reached into his jacket for the copper timepiece necklace. He'd opened it and spoken the name "Dia." to summon his Valkyrie- the latest of V's pseudo-intelligent, aether-weapons. Once they had exited the lab and returned to the chamber, they'd been unsurprised to find a large group of Cro'gal waiting for them to emerge.
Using spells for crowd control and weapons to stun or dispatch enemies who got too close, the party had managed to make it to the other side of the chamber with minimal engagement. As soon as they reached the first archway Percival had blasted the ceiling of the chamber, causing a large piece of rubble to fall. The wreckage served to separate them from their pursuers.
The hallways had proved more complicated; as soon as the prior chamber had been sealed, the Captain had narrowly avoided being murdered by a javelin. The projectile had torn through the side of his jacket, drawing blood but doing no major damage. The attacking Cro'gal had readied another javelin but was promptly shot, as the party continued their escape.
Now at the top of the collapsed hallway, they can see the pyramid's exit, as well as the amassed hoard of enraged lizard-men who have taken up a defensive position on the other side of the barrier. "Okay... less than ideal." Says Percival. "Less than Ideal? there must be a score of them at least." Anemone retorts. "We're so close. We need one more push and we're home free.
"Payne, how's your battle magick?" Percival asks. Payne tsks, "Mr. Grimm I did not attain the rank of Magister by solving puzzles alone." Percival looks contemplative, "I mean, it's a little hard to tell since you've done jack shit since we left the lab." Payne gasps, "I say, Mr Grimm! I created this barrier." the Magister protests. "I CreATED tHiS baRRIeR! That's how you sound right now." Retorts Percival.
Payne grits his teeth but says instead, "You wish for battle Magick, Mr. Grimm? Very well. Once I drop the barrier I will conjure a flame tunnel." Percival nods approvingly, all business once again. He addresses Anemone "Once the tunnel is in place, you and Payne start running; stun or kill anyone who tries to stop you but mainly try to reach the exit. Aphrodite-" She smiles, "I already know." Her golden eyes highlight with arcane iridescence. "Dia and I," The captain finally says, "Are gonna blast the shit out of anyone who gets too close."
As Payne raises both arms, orange balls of flame begin to dance at his fingertips. A pair of Cro'gal join their comrade in front of the barrier just as it terminates. "Cindus" whispers Payne, and a monstrous torrent of flame erupts, spiraling outward. The three Cro'gal are scorched and those further back scatter to either side to avoid the flames as Anemone and Payne begin running along the infernal path. Aphrodite kneels with her feet flat on the ground, looking every bit like a runner in a sports event.
A Cro'gal emerges from the flames to Anemone's right and she ducks to avoid a horizontal swing of his war axe. She braces and slams her ether-shield into his chest which sends him into the flames. The lizard-man hastily rolls out of the fire and rights himself but Anemone and Payne are already farther ahead. Back by the archway, Aphrodite's form begins to blur. A Cro'gal jumps through the fire but falls after taking two shatter rounds to the chest from the Captain's hexguns.
More Cro'gal break through the flaming tunnel and give chase to Anemone and Payne. Aphrodite launches herself forward faster than the eye can see, her dash is accompanied by a huge shockwave. The Cro'gal unfortunate enough to be in her path are knocked to the ground. Airborne, she sails easily between Anemone and Payne as they near the exit. Percival dashes across the chamber in pursuit of his party; his long legs making good distance.
Percival is about half way through the chamber when he pitches forward, landing hard on the stone floor just as the others manage to exit the chamber. He looks up in alarm as the Cro'gal nearest the exit begin to follow them. It takes absolutely no thought whatsoever when the Captain fires a shatter round at the ceiling above the entrance. The blast results in an avalanche of rock, which seals the exit trapping them all inside.
A massive grieved boot falls like a hammer onto Percival's left hand, shattering it and pinning the weapon to the ground. A rough hand grabs the top of the Captain's Jacket and hoists him into the air, tearing the garment in the process. He aims with his other weapon, but his right hand is batted away with such force that the pistol is sent flying. The Cro'gal glares into Percival's eyes with a seething hatred with his saurian mouth is opened in a wordless snarl.
Gritting his teeth, Percival uses his broken left hand to reach inside his jacket. He extracts a concealed derringer, sticks the barrel in his attacker's mouth and pulls the trigger. A bolt of lightning escapes from the back of the Cro'gal's head accompanied by a fountain of gore, as the hulking warrior falls dead. The hand holding Percival's jacket goes limp, and he is able to catch himself with his off hand and return to his feet.
'How annoying..." He thinks, with shaking hands he ejects the blue lighting crystal from the hexgun- a single shot model that was used mostly for emergencies. What it lacks in ammo capacity, it more than makes up for with force. Everything had been going so well... Percival takes the blue crystal in his right hand and begins to squeeze it. When he had fallen... it had been because someone or something had grabbed his ankle. a hand...
The Cro'gal in the chamber have all turned their attention to their only remaining enemy. One of them moves in snarling, but stops in his tracks to avoid a burst of energy from Dia's hex cannon. At least thirty hostile, sets of eyes leer as Percival- his eyes once again lined with the geometric sigils, removes his tattered jacket revealing his well muscled form beneath. That jacket was brand new, and gods damned expensive... Regretfully, he shrugs out of the the garment letting it fall to the floor.
Taking a deep, slow, breath Percival's grip on the crystal tightens and the color of the gem rapidly changes from blue to black. Simultaneously the bones and tissue of his left hand begin rapidly knitting themselves back together. The Captain replaces the black crystal into the hexgun, and loads a single spellshot round in the chamber. Dia floats above him, waiting for her next order. One of the Cro'gal, a familiar looking behemoth with patchwork armor speaks. "Do you truly think you can defeat all of us? Even with your tricks?" His Baritone echoes throughout the sealed chamber.
Percival is shaken from his thoughts, seeming to only just notice the room full of angry Cro'gal once again. "Defeat you?" Percival blinks, "Do you think I’m stupid? I'm not fighting you. Besides..." he adds with a wry smirk. "I don't need to, you're all trapped in here, Laax." The Cro'gal chieftain grunts. "Not Laax. Grog!" He insists.
"My apologies," Says Percival as his form begins to shift, becoming transparent. "But you look exactly the same." with that the Captain phases into the ground leaving a room full of confused and angry Cro'gal in his wake.
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