|
Post by Noa on Oct 31, 2020 17:58:14 GMT -6
It wasnโt a miasma, as far as he could tell. And he wouldnโt be doing himself any favors by depriving his own body of oxygen, stale and rank as the air might be down here.
They had said it was a haunted house, and Aster had to admit, they had put some effort into what was probably a charade. After the stairs ended, there should have been a corridorโฆ That was what there was last time he had been here, and he still vaguely remembered the floor plan. But now it seemed more like a maze, judging from the narrow hallway that abruptly turned to the right.
Nothing to do but follow it, he supposed.
The space itself was dimly lit, and something like a fog obscured the floor below. The walls bore signs of scratch marks, and spatters of blood that might well have been real, alongside fake woolen cobwebs and ghoulish statues.
16
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Oct 31, 2020 18:02:44 GMT -6
What a scam of a holiday this was. What other atrocities could you carry out under the guise of some good Vai Min Mur fun? But then, Aster wasn't familiar with the gods here; maybe something like this would have appeased the patron of the holiday just as well. Plenty of gods liked violence and sacrifice, after all. He pushed on, keeping his eyes peeled, but he wasn't good at seeing in the dark. Avander would be disadvantaged too if he came down here. Of all his companions, the only one who could see in the dark was Nightshade, and Nightshade didn't have nearly the training Avander did.
There were no more roars, but after a few minutes of wandering around in the dark, Aster heard a snarl from somewhere to his left.
{Call me,} Avander said. He must have sensed Aster's sudden alertness, but Aster didn't do as he asked just yet.
17
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Oct 31, 2020 22:34:40 GMT -6
It might have been foolish to wait. Aster could definitely feel Avanderโs frustration with the situation. There was no mistaking the fact that Avander thought he was being an idiot about this. Maybe he was right and there was no sense in waiting to call in the big gunsโฆ And it occurred to him that the beast had already heard an answer to its roar when Avander arrived.
But Aster wanted to wait a little longer, to ascertain its location if nothing else. That might give them a little bit of a drop on it, even if there wasnโt much room for the element of surprise. The mazeโs walls werenโt very sturdy, nothing but thin and cheap wood, as if it had been hastily set upโฆ Though the walls that he remembered last time werenโt here at all, and those had been made of stone.
18
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Oct 31, 2020 22:34:52 GMT -6
He wondered just what sort of power you could wield, if you were a mage by trade. Considering what this one chose to do with his spare time though, Aster didnโt think it was for any kind of public good.
He crept forward in the direction of the growl as best he could. It was hard to navigate a maze to begin with, even a simple one, especially when you were in the dark. Fortunately, the beast was no longer content to be silent, and Aster got plenty of sound cues.
Some of it was more snarling. Some of it was footsteps. Whatever it was, it wasnโt small. The sound of its footfalls were heavy - not to the extent that a Thundergugโs were, but heavy enough that Aster felt uneasy. Avander would probably be a match for it, but it was impossible to know what he would find down hereโฆ
19
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Oct 31, 2020 22:35:24 GMT -6
Slowly, Aster advanced, straining for any sign of the beast and where it was. He was getting closer, he knew that much. Eventually he began to notice a sound that he identified as labored breathing, at which point he froze. In front of him? No. Then, behind himโฆ
{Avander!}
Aster wished he had invested in one of those summoning collars. He didnโt know why he hadnโt before now. If he got out of this alive, then... As it was, Avander came as fast as he could. The moment Aster gave the signal, he could hear a cry from above, and the sound of wood splintering apart. The door to the basement was fortunately large enough that the Wiurn ought to be able to get through, though it might be a bit of a squeeze.
The trouble was, as soon as the ruckus began, the creature sprang for Aster.
20
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Oct 31, 2020 22:35:49 GMT -6
Aster ducked out of the way just in the nick of time. It felt a little like deja vu; being down here, and with Avander backing him up, and dodging out of the way of an oncoming monsterโฆ Just like the last time he was here. He turned to see what had tried to strike him, and had to repress a shudder at the sight of it. It was a monster alright - some sort of sick amalgamation, worse even than the worst of the half breeds that Aster had seen in his own lifetime. Aster was glad for the dark, which made the details hard to make out. Judging by the smell of it, this thing might not have been alive anymore, in the strictest sense of the word.
It might have been dead, but that sure didnโt stop it from moving. Even now, it shambled towards him, snarling. Aster tensed, preparing a spell.
21
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Oct 31, 2020 22:36:20 GMT -6
If Avander didnโt get down here in time, maybe he could freeze it in place before it sprangโฆ
A crash in the distance. Not close enough after all. Aster cursed, then let loose with the spell. The creature bellowed as its feet were frozen to the ground, and Aster breathed a sigh of reliefโฆ Only to realize that he had underestimated the thing when it tore itself free. Too much strength? Or had it left its frozen feet behind? In the dark, he couldnโt quite make it out.
He kept up a litany of curses between incantations and drained yet more of his magic reserves, this time to call forth the wind to hold the beast in place. The fetid air moved sluggishly, and the creature was picking up speed. Aster wouldnโt have called it quick, but it had a significant size advantage over him, and in a cramped space like thisโฆ
22
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Oct 31, 2020 23:25:01 GMT -6
A crash sounded from somewhere to his left, followed by a roar. Avander was crashing through the flimsy wooden walls through brute force. He appeared in front of Aster in a shower of debris, hissing sharply at the beast, whose attention went to the new intruder.
{You should have called me sooner,} Avander said. His tail lashed with barely repressed annoyance. But they could talk about that later; in fact, it would have been foolish to try and hash it out now. The creature in front of them was still present and hostile, so for the moment there was no choice but to put it off.
Fortunately for the two of them, Avanderโs distraction had given them just enough time for Aster to ensnare the beast with wind.
โFrost him,โ Aster said. Avander opened his jaws and blasted the beast with ice. It let up a horrific shriek; fortunately ice seemed to be working.
23
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Oct 31, 2020 23:25:12 GMT -6
But it didnโt go down with one blast, and he felt the sense of dread rising in his chest.
โOne more,โ he said, but they didnโt get the chance. The creature broke free and lunged for Avander. With no room to dodge, Avander had to take the hit, quick reflexes or no. The thingโs claws raked deep into his shoulder. Avander gave a sharp hiss of pain as drops of blood ran down his hide and onto the stones.
But the creature was at point blank range now, and Avander was still standing. Avander blasted it one more time, and this time the creatureโs frozen flesh stayed still.
For a moment, none of them moved - or at least not much, beyond panting for breath. Only when the beast toppled over did Aster finally relax. โWell,โ he said. โThat was definitely how I wanted to spend my evening.โ
24
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Oct 31, 2020 23:25:27 GMT -6
{If this is your idea of fun, invite someone else next time,} Avander said. For once, there wasnโt any hint of a joke in his voice. Aster sighed; he must still have been upset.
โMy bad,โ Aster said. โI thought we might be able to get the jump on it somehow.โ
Avander had nothing to say to that, so Aster began making his way back towards the stairs. It was easier now, since Avander had smashed all the walls separating him from them. The debris was tricky to navigate, especially in low light, but that was preferable to stumbling around with no idea of where he was. And if he had splinters, well, that was what first aid was for.
Avander followed, though the Wiurnโs pace was slow. Aster glanced back at him to see if Avander was walking with a limp, but it didnโt seem like it. โHowโs the wound?โ Aster said.
25
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Oct 31, 2020 23:25:51 GMT -6
{Iโll live,} Avander replied tersely. Aster frowned, probing their link. He could sense pain, but not so much of it that it wasnโt bearable. Maybe the creature wasnโt as strong as Aster had thought, based on its size.
Aster was sure that the two guards would have locked them down here if they could, but Avander had already smashed through the door too. Aster didnโt see any sign of either of them when he reached the ground floor. Maybe they were still around, and just didnโt want to be within blasting range of an obviously angry Wiurn, which was a smart decision. Maybe they didnโt want to be here when their employer found out what happened.
Or maybe they thought Avander would lose, and didnโt want to become food for the beast.
Dwelling on it was just going to make him angry, Aster knew.
26
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Oct 31, 2020 23:29:45 GMT -6
Still, it was hard not to be disgusted with them for being party to... whatever was supposed to have gone down tonight. A haunted house... What a joke. Aster ran his hands through his hair and sighed hard.
"Can you fly?" he said to Avander. "If not, I'll see if Rabbit can send Rhys to us." Rhys didn't have a ribbon since he was telepathic himself, but that telepathy didn't stretch across distances like this one.
{I can fly.} Avander was still giving curt responses. If it weren't for the fact that he was obviously unhappy with Aster, Aster might have thought this was preferable to the snide responses Avander usually gave.
"You can yell at me once Rhys has had a look at you," Aster said. He climbed onto Avander's back as quickly as he could, and Avander took off as soon as Aster had settled himself, which Aster took as his acquiesce.
27
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Nov 2, 2020 22:27:48 GMT -6
After they got home, Aster called Rhys to take a look at Avander's wounds, then went inside to sink onto the couch. Normally he wasn't the type to crash as soon as he got home, but tonight had been pretty tiring... even if, thinking back on it, he hadn't contributed much to the actual fight.
But then, that was the way it was supposed to be, right? The whole point of training creatures to fight on your behalf was so you didn't risk your thin hide on the front lines. That was what Avander had been chastising him over, at least. Even now, if Aster probed for it, he could feel Avander's ire at the edge of his mind, and now it was joined by Rhys's concern. He didn't think it would take long before Summer joined them.
He sighed. Avander had the right of it, in the end; he had screwed up.
28
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Nov 2, 2020 22:30:11 GMT -6
There just wasn't anything he could do now but wait. Rhys knew what he was doing better than Aster did by now, and he would have just been in the way if he went out to join them. So he thought he would stay out from underfoot until they got all that sorted out, and then...
Before he knew it, Aster had drifted off. By the time he woke up, it was already the next morning. Rabbit was bustling about, prepping for her morning chores, but when she went out for her feeding rounds, Aster took some of the meat off her hands, so to speak. "I'll take this to Avander," he said. She let him. After all, who would she be to gainsay him? And as far as Avander went, at least, he did this sort of thing fairly often.
Avander was awake and waiting for him when Aster showed up.
29
|
|
|
Post by Noa on Nov 2, 2020 22:34:00 GMT -6
Aster half expected to be greeted with some sort of quip, but Avander merely looked at him evenly and said nothing. Great. He was being given the silent treatment til he owned up to it, was that it?
... But that was what he had come to do anyway, so... Aster sighed. "You were right," he said. "Sorry."
The Wiurn snorted. {Was that so hard?}
Aster gave him a withering look. "Least you could do is take the apology without gloating, you smug bastard."
{No, the least I could do is not to ask 'sorry for what?' You're getting off easy.} Avander bent his head to his meal before Aster had even put it in the feeding trough. Just like that, things were smoothed over, more or less, and Avander was back to his usual obnoxious self.
"I'll be more careful next time," he said.
{Hmm,} Avander said. {Let's hope you're right.}
30
|
|