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Post by Nerius on Dec 31, 2019 8:13:27 GMT -6
[16]
He gently slung the pack over his shoulders, and was heading to the exit when, even over the powerful thrum of the relic, felt a flare of magic. Spinning around, he just caught the fading flash of magic, where a creature now stood. It was horribly misshapen, with arms so long it was hard to tell if it would move on two legs or four, and a twisted muzzle that Nerius couldn't identify as any specific animal. It could have been some failed Labs construct, or it could have been what the thief was doing with summoning techniques.
Whatever it was, it made a horrible gurgling screech and lunged at him. Usually he was good at sensing a strike, but dazed as he was from the relic, it was all he could do to throw up an instinctive shield. The creature bounced off, fast as it was, it wasn't very strong. Not wanting to give it another chance to attack, Nerius drew on his node's power, and hurled a fireball at the creature.
(Nerius: 16/20)
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Post by Nerius on Dec 31, 2019 8:45:18 GMT -6
[17]
The thing made a gurgling howl as the flames hit, staggering backwards, but it didn't go down. It was injured, but it was also angry, and after a moment, it lunged at Nerius again, swiping at him with its claws. He tried to step out of the way, but its claws still clipped his arm, and dug a pair of deep gashes into his left arm. He let out an exclamation of pain as it hit, he hadn't really expected it to keep moving after being hit with a fireball.
Nerius didn't have enough magic for another, but he had another option, and drawing on the node again, and reached out with a pressurizing grip. The creature jerked as the spell hit, and tried to gasp for breath. It was unsuccessful of course, and it continued to jerk and flail as the pressure got worse, until finally it collapsed. It wasn't dead, and as the spell wore off, Nerius could see it breathing.
(Nerius: 17/20)
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Post by Nerius on Dec 31, 2019 8:53:02 GMT -6
[18]
That was a much nastier spell than Nerius had thought, he hadn't thought it would be pleasant, but hadn't expected it to be so drawn out. He'd practiced the spell of course, but this had been the first time he'd used it on a real enemy. Though, the thing had been trying to kill him, would have ripped open his throat if he hadn't moved out of the way, so he didn't feel particularly bad about it.
He really hoped that would be the only thing he'd have to fight on the way out, the fight had drained his magic, and he was injured now. It wasn't life threatening, but he was bleeding quite a bit. The rags had been left in his backpack, but he'd unfortunately removed the first aid kit. It would be fine for the trip back, assuming nothing else attacked him, but it would need proper attention once he got back home.
(Nerius: 18/20)
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Post by Nerius on Dec 31, 2019 9:03:08 GMT -6
[19]
But first he needed to turn in the relic, and to do that he needed to leave the hideout. This time, Nerius was able to leave the relic chamber without anything else triggering, and was able to leave without incident. He'd almost expected the camp room to have some sort of trap set up, but no magic flared, or mechanical traps triggered, as he entered or left the room.
The ward was still up as he reached the exit, but he hadn't really expected otherwise, and nothing had changed, though he could barely sense it over the disorienting thrum of the relic. He still had enough sense to test the ward a little, and nothing unusual happened as he ran his fingers across it. Nerius stepped through the ward without issue, but when the relic in his pack crossed the threshold, there was a loud 'crack', and the ward broke a flare of magic. Nerius was startled, not only by the sound, but by the fact that had happened at all. He doubted the relic was designed to break wards, and the fact that it had such an effect was concerning.
(Nerius: 19/20)
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Post by Nerius on Dec 31, 2019 9:19:05 GMT -6
[20]
While part of him did want to study it, Nerius would be happy to not have to deal with the relic. The loud thrum of power was headache inducing, and while the power alone was intense, something about it specifically was disorienting and dizzying. And he still had to trek back to the main road. His footprints, at least, were easy enough to follow, though navigating the rocky ground was much more challenging than it had been before. It was even slower going, and he stumbled, nearly falling, a few times.
It got a little easier, once he reached the trees, at least until he reached the massive tree. Going over it the first time had been easy enough, but the sudden change in angle as he tried to climb over it resulted in what could best be described as an ungraceful flop. It got him over the trunk at least, though he had to brush snow out of his cloths and hair.
He continued to follow his own footprints, still slow going until he hit the original tracks he'd been following. Whoever had made them had been more familiar with the terrain, and managed to avoid the worst of the obstacles. Still, Nerius was very happy to finally see the main road, even it also wasn't the easiest path to follow. But he was able to follow it, and after a long walk, made it back to the questing outpost.
[- End -]
(Nerius: 20/20 +Added)
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Post by Renathan on Dec 31, 2019 15:26:49 GMT -6
Excellent job! Your QP will be added to the bank, and your prize will be sent to you shortly!
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