Reaver

Centaurs @@Commander Tangent, The centaur dodged Lunar's attack, lashing out at Lunar vaguely in an attempt to swat at him. He hit the griffin squarely in midair, but didn't seem to be paying much attention to his movements; his eyes were fixed on the sword which he had dropped. After assessing the situation, he turned to Lunar, realizing the sword would be little to no good to him now. He raised his fists now, rather than his sword. @@Unicorncob, The centaur countered Tyra's attack easily, bringing his shield up and blocking her. He growled at her insult. "We don't need to be fast to crush you, little pony!" He said angrily, striking out at her with his flail. Instead of hitting the pony, he overestimated her distance from him and hit the ground, causing a great burst of dust to fly into his eyes. He muttered a furious curse in the direction of "stupid sexy pony princesses" as he attempted to rub his eyes with his arm, lifting his shield in the process. @, The centaur snarled at the sudden unexpected increase in his opponent's agility, stumbling and avoiding one of Caliber's first strikes, but taking a strong hit to one of his hooves on a second jab. He howled, attempting to lift his hoof to nurse it and at the same time attempting to lash out with his flail. The result was some odd limb entanglement that forced a retreat from the centaur as he missed Caliber spectacularly. Strider @@Little Red, "I'll distract his front. You get him in the back." Strider ordered Red quickly, and true to his word, leapt out in front of the beast. The centaur reacted immediately, jabbing his spear at the old stallion who expertly slid to the side. With the opening, Strider charged, leaping into the air and slashing at the centaur's front, giving him a solid hit below the centaur's throat. The centaur let out a low roar, and Strider quickly dodged away from what could become a wild rampage.

Centaurs @ The centaur growled, stumbling at the hit to his shoulder. He turned blindly and struck out with his flail--and, to his luck, managed to hit Caliber at the pony's legs. @@Unicorncob Tyra's centaur reared and attempted to hit Tyra with his hooves now. He missed, his hoof connecting with the ground several feet away from Tyra. Ironeye/ Archer Centaur notched an arrow and let it fly, directly at the mare in the back. It hit her leg, and Ironeye gasped. This wasn't good for her. She began preparing a more powerful spell, that would hit the archer from far away. Just a little more time...

@@Jellal Fernandes, @@Little Red, @@Ochre_Dust "I'm ready!" Glider said cheerfully, casting a sidelong smile at the stallion. She could see the light in his eyes, and wondered if he was also seeing the life of the little piece of land they were going to have. She leapt into the air, and led him to Peregrine and Blitz, who were where she had left them. She spiraled into her landing and stumbled a little, almost falling into Blitz. "Hi again, girls," she said cheerfully. "That didn't take as long as I thought it would. Peregrine, have you met Guy-Man?" she asked, gesturing.

@@Unicorncob, @@Chip Circuit, Tsunami growled softly, turned, and trotted away, considering. Even though she hadn't liked the idea of Amore fighting, Rift had been right. He had spared her. That was good, especially considering her abilities in the fighting. She and Izumo had certainly been right--the vampony would be useful. Perhaps she would stop by personally to the hotel, and offer the vampony an allegiance with her anyway. Maybe she could convince Amore that the others weren't worth seeing. Little did she know that away from her, four other bandit leaders who had just watched an exciting fight were considering the same thing. (Sorry Unic for godmod. I know you're RPing Malum right now... just setting that as a general direction. Amore's going to get offers from all five leaders to join them.) @@Little Red Strider "Red!" Strider called worriedly as the spear caught her hind leg. He shook himself and charged at the side of the centaur again, slashing twice, though in his worry for his friend he missed both blows spectacularly. Growling a little in frustration, he leapt out of range of the centaur for the moment, next to Red. "You okay?" he asked her.

In Caramel's opinion, Red's shout out to Caliber had been uncalled for. She said so. "Hey, relax! There's only ten of them. And with a sharp sword like that, he'd just cut them to ribbons," Caramel pointed out, loudly through the sounds of the chaos. She charged into the fray herself now, and, in a burst of the stupid courage ponies called 'bravery', she used the shield that had only just been taught her. Off the shield bounced an arrow from one of the Djinn. Yes! Yes! It worked! "Dear sweet Luna, it worked!" she cried, and was almost hit in the face by a sword. "Oh. Ow." She parried the sword with a knife, which strained at the pressure. It was just a throwing knife, not meant to be used in melee combat. She hit the Djinn with the flat of another throwing knife, and did so repeatedly until it was knocked out. "Yes! I got one! Guys, I got one!" she cried ecstatically, and almost got hit in the face again with an arrow. Eye twitching, she seriously considered leveling an arrow at that Djinn's head, but changed her mind, instead charging it with five knives in her magic ready to attack.

@@Ochre_Dust, @@Little Red, @@Jellal Fernandes "Oh, I guess I can do that." Glider said, a little uncertainly. Guy-Man had been very tired after all, falling asleep like that. She would go gently wake him up, and ask him whether he wanted to come. It would be a nice plus, too, if it would apparently help Peregrine. She beamed at the two ponies, spread her wings, and soared off. She considered as she flew, vaguely looking for the specific tent in a sea of tents. So, Sylvia was in charge of things... Oh. Hey! That's where Guy-Man and I can get rights to that land he found. Glider realized. She beamed at the thought, and suddenly the surreal dream of the beautiful clearing Guy-Man had shown her seemed more real. She found the tent, landed gracefully, and trotted inside. Guy-Man was still sleeping. She lightly nudged him with her muzzle. "Hey, Guy-Man," she said softly. "I found Blitz and Peregrine. They're waiting to meet a pony called Sylvia. I think she can help us get that land you found, too. But we can see them later, if you're too tired now."

@@Shift, @@Guirdann "Luna's silver--" Caramel was cut off as a very large, very sharp ice stalactite nearly hit her. She dodged barely--she couldn't afford to get hit by one of those. Her HP was low enough already. "Celestia's bucking--" She dodged an ice beam. Quickly notching an arrow, she aimed at the hydra's heart again and shot. This had absolutely no effect as the rampaging hydra easily avoided the arrow. "HEY! GOLDILOCKS!" she howled at the pony, who was suffering worse than she was at the moment in terms of health. "GOT THE HEART! NOW WOULD BE A GREAT TIME TO DO WHATEVER THE HAY--" Ice beam. Dodge. Shoot the arrow. Dammit. Stay still, bucking monster! An idea struck her. She aimed an arrow high, above the hydra, at a stalactite perched dangerously above it's head, shaking with the room, just waiting to fall. She shot the arrow. It hit the stalactite sharply, and the great piece of ice fell directly onto the hydra's protected head. While this did little to no damage, even considering the hydra's low HP, it did stun the monster for a moment. "NOW! Somepony, finish it!" she cried to her teammates.

Caramel turned to the others, considering. Plants, huh? Sounded like something familiar. "Listen, guys," she said in a low voice. "I'm feeling pretty bad after all that Djinn crap. I don't want any other lives lost on my hooves, so I want to go help the ponies who are being pinned down right now. But, the other way would make a quicker path to the top, and end this mess faster..." she considered, then shook her head. "No, not worth it. What do you guys think?"

I'm noticing a few parallels to Guild Wars. Don't worry, just a few. *that was sarcasm* Looking forward to meeting her in person! 8D Well, in pony.

Tsunami Tsunami, who had been furiously watching the fight, caught up to Malum--or, more correctly, Rift. "Rift," she growled, her tail lashing out and hitting Malum in the process, "How dare you allow Love to order you to attack a pony that was under my guard's protection." She glowered behind her, in the direction that she had left Love behind in. She was clearly furious with Love, not Rift, and was simply venting her anger. She rounded on Malum. "What are you doing, you bearded fool?" she snapped, rather viciously unlike her usual casual self with Malum. Strider/Centaurs The centaurs with the sword and spear were almost upon the group. Strider beckoned to Red, beside him, and leapt out, drawing his sword in his mouth. He suddenly seemed much younger than his true age as he slashed out at the centaur with the sword in an overhead strike, which did nothing but annoy the centaur, and, undeterred, slashed again at it's side, causing a small gash to appear where the sword struck. Strider landed heavily, but with grace, as the sword centaur stepped back, uncertain at the sudden ambush of another pony. The other centaurs, too, seemed taken aback, and didn't move, giving the ponies a chance to attack--which Ironeye took, shooting a fireball at the unshielded centaur that had been attacking Caliber, hitting it square in the chest. It growled in frustration, beginning to shake out of it's reverie. At the noise, the other centaurs began to work through their surprise, as well. (They're surprised, and open, thus lack of attacking for the moment.)

@@Little Red, @@Ochre_Dust "Oh, that's so cool!" Glider cried, sounding much louder and excited than her usual self. She beamed at Peregrine. "Wow, good luck with that," Glider said respectfully, and turned back to them. "How long is that going to take?" she asked Blitz. She had rather wanted to bring Blitz back to the tent, to somehow prove to her that Guy-Man was there--or, in a way, prove to herself, as another's confirmation would cement the strange surreality of all the events.

"Okay, let's go!" Caramel cried ecstatically. At this point, a weak green shield was around her that managed to block about half the rain attempting to soak her. However, as there was quite a bit of it, she was soaked anyway, and just kept the shield up for the novelty of it. She charged inside ahead of the group, coming to a stop near Tybalt. "Hey, what's happening?" she asked the fearful pony.

Caramel stared at Ticktock's description of the spell. "Well, I now understand why you are an adventurer, not a teacher," she said at last, attempting to do as he instructed her. To her great surprise, she actually managed it. Actually, maybe it came out too strong. She thought as she watched her green magic fade away into the distance. It had certainly taken some energy away from her, too. Oops. "Er, right. Ready to go." she said to Tyra. "Ready as I'll ever be." She absently attempted to cast the shield again. It came out too weak this time, and flickered briefly before dying. She growled quietly in frustration, and sighed, huddling under Ticktock's rain shield for the moment. (Off to bed for me. Good night, guys.)

Centaurs @@Chip Circuit, The centaurs did not heed Radiant's wishes. Sensing him--or, rather, the Element--the two beasts turned, as once, charging straight at Radiant. @Rest of group: Alex, Caliber, Red, Strider, Tyra, Lunar: As the group got into positions--Tyra, Caliber, and Ironeye baiting at the front, the rest hiding on the sidelines--the group could see a similar charge from the centaurs. Each was monstrous, standing at least three or four times the height of the pony, each twice as bulky as a minotaur. Behind the group of seven charged one centaur, larger than the rest, almost a fourth the size of Tirek himself, if Strider could guess correctly. The centaurs stopped in surprise upon seeing the three ponies waiting for them innocently. The Chief among them spoke in a rough tone to his troops, and proceeded forward cautiously, looking only at Ironeye, not sparing Caliber or Tyra a glance. "Sungazer," he growled. "How long we have been searching for you. But now, is your end! Do not struggle, and I won't hurt your little pony friends." Ironeye Sungazer: As I feel uncomfortable attempting to match the caliber of HigurSan's posts, I will keep her reply short. Ironeye considered briefly. It was very brief, to give the centaurs the appearance of not disdaining them quite as much as she actually did. It was also to give her companions--"friends", as the centaur had called them, though really, Radiant was the only one remotely close to achieving that title--time to prepare. "No." She said shortly. (Alright, note to everyone: as much as I hate to say it, considering how much we've postponed, we have to start combat tomorrow. I'm too tired over here, and I'm keeping my family up with the comp. Finishing up a couple quick posts, then bed. I will likely be gone for up to 12 hours, perhaps even more depending on the plan which changes really quickly, so if anyone feels like discussing a way with Chip to begin fighting, feel free. Chip, you can RP the centaurs. All of them, if it doesn't overwhelm you.) @@Chip Circuit Izumo "Right!" Izumo said in two octaves higher his normal tone. He coughed loudly. "Right." he said, in an octave lower than necessary. He sighed, picking up Amore, and dragging her away. No rolling beds for the loser. Being alive, after all, was considered a mercy. What a disappointment. He sighed to himself. He took her to the clinic, and handed her off to some nurses. Nurses took Amore into a hospital room. They began treating her immediately. The wound Rift had placed on her was severe, if not fatal or crippling, and the rare and renowned Doctor himself came in to look her over. He checked her over--her blood pressure, heart rate, and frowned as he watched her, taking several other tests as the nurses finished cleaning the wounds and left. Clearly, not a normal pony. Maybe even something beyond the rare vampony, which he'd heard one of the nurses mention. Perhaps, even, perhaps... a Changeling? He considered this. No, that was wild. And a Changeling's illusion would have ended. Clearly not. Anyway, Monsieur Malum Fuhror would have already gotten to her if she was. She was fine for now. Shrugging, he turned off the lights, and left Amore in the bed, shutting the door behind him.

Caramel whistled quietly. It had been a hard skill to learn, considering the muzzle, but it was useful. Doing her best to ignore the jab at Twilight, she added thoughtfully to his comment, "Yeah, I know. That's why I always respected that family so much from afar. I thought they must have had an insane amount of magic. So, how do I make a shield of my own?" she asked conversationally, no longer afraid of the rain.

@, "Well, I've always been lost at everything other than levitation. I can clean things pretty well, too. Bad family habit," she laughed, then paused, seriously considering his question. "Well, defensive magic I definitely need work on. It always looked like it took a lot of energy, though. Where..." She paused, watching the storm as it rolled in, surprisingly quickly. "Well, maybe not now, then," she said quietly. "Unless you have a defensive spell against rain?"

@@Shift, @@Guirdann, "LET'S GO!" Caramel screamed, aware of the freezing effect beginning to die--just in time, too, as it seemed to have been a mistake to shout quite that loudly. One of the hydra's heads turned towards her. An ice beam began charging. She shot the arrow, and it sailed towards the hydra's chest--spot on, as always. Well, not always, just most of the time--buck, dodge, dodge, "DODGE!!" she howled aloud, pushing Equinox nearby away from the ice beam in her attempts to avoid the ice beam herself. Well, that worked. She turned to look at what had happened to the hydra. (AND THAT'S IT. LAME CLIFFHANGER, FOLKS. STAY TUNED FOR MORE AFTER SHIFT'S NEXT POST. )

@@Little Red, @@Ochre_Dust "Oh." Glider shuffled her wings. "I've been... well, to be truthful, I've been half-looking for Guy-Man these past couple weeks. But he's alright. He came out of the forest this morning, and he's alright. He showed me the most beautiful place..! Well, never mind." Guy-Man seemed to have shared it with her in confidence, as a sort of privacy to seal their relationship, and she didn't want to upset that--not even with Blitz. "I'm sorry if I've had you worried," she added, nuzzling Blitz again. She glanced at Peregrine. "So, what have you girls been up to?" she asked, in a rather hesitantly friendly tone.

(Oops, sorry. That was me attempting weakly to give you a chance to decide whatever the heck you wanted to do. Welp, still the most beautiful completely-lost-for-ideas post I've ever seen. XD) Glider blinked several times at this turn of events. She chuckled, carefully picking up Guy-Man onto her back (years of training as a weather pony had made her much stronger than she looked), and went back to the tent. She carefully set him down into one of the sleeping bags, and thought for a moment what to do. Poor Guy-Man. After two weeks in the forest, he must've been exhausted. She scrawled a note to him--telling him she was going to find Blitz, see you later--smiley face, yes, that was good--a heart? was that appropriate? eh, put it anyway--then stretched her wings, nuzzled him briefly (he just looked so peaceful and adorable when he was sleeping!) and trotted out of the tent. @@Little Red She found Blitz shortly, outside one of the main buildings, who she believed to belong to a pony called Sylvia. Peregrine was with her. Glider trotted up to them, easily with the happiest expression the two had seen on her face in weeks. "Hi, Peregrine, Blitz." She gave her sister a hug, and beamed at them as she separated. "Guy-Man's back from the woods!" she said excitedly, then turned to Blitz. "Where have you been? I was looking for you earlier." she said.

@@Jellal Fernandes Glider scribbled a quick note to Blitz at their tent, telling her she was alright and Guy-Man had come back and that she wanted to eat dinner with her sister. Also, a quick apology. Oh, and a smiley face, she didn't want to offend Blitz. No, wait, that smiley face looked lop-sided. Cross that out, try again--wait, would that offend her? Frustrated, Glider crumpled up the note and redid it. After that, she turned to Guy-Man, shrugging. "So, what now?" she asked mildly. "I don't know where Blitz is. I hope she's okay. It's not really like her to leave without saying anything to me... then again, I haven't been myself lately either." She shrugged uncomfortably.

Strider @, "I believe you, Tyra, and Ironeye were going to stay here." Strider said to Caliber, relieved that the pony was looking forward to the fight rather than back to the argument. "The rest of us were going to wait on the sidelines. We should all get into position. Hopefully, they will sense Ironeye and head in her direction. I just hope they won't head towards Radiant." He mused on this, and again turned to Lunar. @@Commander Tangent, "Lunar, I hate to ask this of you again," Strider said, "but can you fly up and see where the centaurs are headed?" Centaurs Commanding Chief Centaur Cassio smelled the air, with the aura of an expert at his job that wasn't actually all that sure about what he was doing at the moment. He held up one huge arm, in a wordless signal to stop the charge, and the eight centaurs following him did so. After a long moment, he said in a huge rumbling voice, "I sense two sources of magic. One is the Sungazer. Another is a strange source I have never sensed before. You two!" he barked abruptly, pointing. "Go to the southwest. Use your own sensing abilities to find the strange magic source. Keep it alive and bring it back to me. The rest of us," he grimaced, "will head after the Sungazer mare." He barked in a strange, rough language, and the centaurs began their charge again, two separating from the group and heading in the direction of Radiant.

Caramel trotted up to Ticktock, feeling rather lonely. She was rather sore about the turn of events, but an odd affection for the group was welling up inside her, and she couldn't find herself wanting to leave. She just... she wasn't certain about the way everypony had lied to this 'Tybalt' fellow. Really, sounded like a cat's name, not a pony's. And then he had called them heroes. She had never been called a hero before, and she certainly hadn't expected something like this to be the first time. Oh well, hopefully it wasn't an omen of what was to come. "Hey, clock pony," Caramel said, gesturing with her leg that had her own watch on it. "Wanna help me with that magic? You were pulling off some pretty impressive levitation with that water back there."

At the quiet of the group, there was a sudden, faint sound in the distance. A rumble, resembling almost an earthquake. Strider perked at the sound, and glanced at the others--namely, Caliber, who he knew could sense auras. "Did you hear that?" Strider asked, worried. The rumbling grew a little louder. It reminded him of a stampede. Maybe Lunar had been right with his point about the centaurs stampeding.