Before Michael could respond, Janice was already long gone, leaving a trail of glowing footprints in her wake. He could've waited a bit longer, catch his breath completely, but he wasn't going to leave peter hanging like that. He didn't know how he'd live with himself if he did. Getting to his feet, he followed the trail the Inheritor of the Enveloper had left behind. He ran at a moderate pace, careful not to exhaust himself by running at full tilt. Hopefully they wouldn't be too late.
"You have more than enough potential. So tell me what is the one wish that would make your soul gem shine." -Mitt Romney, probablyLuckily for Yumiko, her reflexes were faster than her thoughts. While her brain was still trying to figure out what the spider was doing, her eyes recognized the incoming silk and told her feet to get her out of the way. She rolled to the side, dropping into a crouch.
This venomous creature must be one of the Spider Woman's servants. Dispatch of it, but take care not to let its attacks meet your skin.
From her crouched pose, Yumiko sprung forwards and brought her sword down towards the vile spider.
Join us in our quest to play all RPG video games! Moving on to disc 2 of Grandia!Jack stared at the yak. At first he didn't know what was so interesting about him, until he followed its gaze. Making a self guess, it was going to attack him to assert dominance or whatever. Silly as this was to him, he didn't think a yak ready to ram him was going be a funny sight afterwards.
Normally, he should've ran, although something within him made him stand his ground, firmly planting his feet on it. His heart raced as he drew his arms up, prepared to grab the yak's horns.
The spider leapt backwards in an attempt to dodge Yumiko's blow, but it was not quite fast enough; her blade bit deep into the arachnid's face, its progress slowed only fractionally as it sliced through its chitinous exoskeleton, and as the katana came free of the enormous arthropod the monster let out a brief hiss of what might have been pain. It flailed at Yumiko with its hairy legs for a brief moment, its movements rapidly becoming sluggish and telegraphed, and then promptly collapsed onto the forest floor; almost immediately its limbs began to curl up, and as they did so the slain spider rolled onto its back and lay still. Ichor flowed from the lethal wound in its head, pooling on the ground beneath it, and it seemed clear that the arachnid was dead.
Yet Yumiko was not out of danger just yet; no sooner had she slain her hideous foe than a rustling came from the branches above and the foliage to either side. Something landed behind her with a soft thump, and were she to look she would find that another spider, identical to the first but slightly larger, now stood behind the Inheritor of Hachiman with its four front legs raised in a clear threat display. At the same time, two more spiders—these ones slightly smaller than their predecessor—emerged from the undergrowth to the left and right of her, forming a loose triangle around the Japanese girl.
Above and all around, the branches and leaves continued to rustle, indicating that there were still more yet to come...
The musician tilted her head to one side, an expression of sadness flitting across her face. "He does not? Young master, I am afraid that your friend wounds me; we have scarcely met, and yet he condemns me."
Twin lines of tears ran down her elegant face, but otherwise her sorrow seemed to vanish almost as quickly as it had come. "But what of yourself, young master?" she asked, again leaning forward...so much so that she was forced to throw her hands out to keep from falling over and was now effectively on all fours. "I have heard the opinion of your friend, young...Peter...but what do you think of me? Am I not beautiful?"
As if to punctuate this question, she moved slightly closer to Peter, stalking forward on all-fours like some graceful cat. As she did so, however, the wind blew through the clearing once more, setting the flames of her torches aflutter; in their dancing light, her shadow again seemed to take on a monstrous aspect, becoming swollen, bloated and altogether inhuman. Limbs, spindly and far more numerous than they had any right to be, seemed to radiate from a body that was divided into two segments, and the shade of her rear appeared as a grotesque protuberance wider and larger than the rest of her form.
As before, however, this apparition lasted for but an instant; the wind swiftly died down, and the woman's shadow had quickly become that of a human once more. That said, it would likely have been slightly harder to miss this time...
Further back, Janice had heard the ominous rustling from up ahead and quickened her pace; the young woman panted heavily as she began sprinting through the forest, keeping her eyes on the flickering light of the distant fire. In short order, she could see the silhouette of what looked like Yumiko...as well as a number of shapes that seemed like very large and very ugly spiders.
The white-haired Inheritor's eyes widened at the sight of them, grimacing as a feeling of nausea swept over her. Janice had never been particularly fond of spiders; she had always found they moved to be unsettling on some level, and even the harmless ones had had a way of making her skin crawl. That she had become a god-in-training had done absolutely nothing to remove this distaste for the creatures, and the fact that these particular arachnids were positively enormous certainly did not help—the mere sight of them made her hairs stand on end, and it was all she could do to keep from retching.
Okay, calm down, Janice, she told herself. They may be disgusting, but Yumiko could probably use your help; three of those might be too much for her to handle. And let's not forget Peter; who knows where he is...
Curling her hands into fists, Janice began to approach Yumiko to lend a hand...but no sooner had she taken three steps than something heavy and covered with thick, bristly hairs dropped onto her shoulders from above; the impact drove the breath from her lungs and dropped her to the ground, causing her to let out a pained grunt as her chin struck the cool forest floor. Her assailant had no time to celebrate, however; the smell of burnt hair and cooking flesh quickly filled the young woman's nostrils, and above her the spider immediately began to squeal in pain as it learned just why it wasn't a good idea to touch her.
Well, at least that power is good for something, Janice mused, only to let out a grunt as the thrashing spider stomped on the back of her head with enough force to drive her face into the ground; nothing was broken, as far as she could tell, but damn if that wasn't painful as all hell—she could taste the coppery tang of blood in her mouth, her ears were ringing slightly, and vivid spots flickered across her vision for a moment. Her dazed state quickly gave way to anger, and the draconic Inheritor's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Okay, that's enough," she growled, spitting out a wad of bloody phlegm. "Get off me!"
And with these words the red-scaled young woman threw herself violently backwards; this sudden motion dislodged the spider and sent it flying into a nearby tree. Her assailant struck the hard trunk of this oak with a sickening crunch, and it slid down the bark to slump at its roots, a trail of glistening ichor left in its wake.
Janice rose to her feet once more and dusted herself off...only to discover that several more spiders had emerged from the darkness in the interrim and now stood before her, blocking the path.
"Oh, great..."
Evidently having interpreted Jack's refusal to move as a challenge to its dominance, the yak promptly lowered its horns, pawed the ground once more, and began barreling towards him; it was slow at first, due to its bulk and the uneven ground, but in short order the charging steer had quickly picked up speed.
The rest of the herd paid no heed to this spectactle, continuing to graze in idle contentment. Moments later, however, a few of them stopped and turned to look off away from the town, their ears twitching nervously as though they were listening to something that only they could hear...
The Danse Macabre Codex"Okay, I'm going to try and send up a sort of flare." Hugh said. "We—one time, I was out camping with Dad, an—" Hugh took a deep breath, swallowing sobs and blinking back some tears. Dammit boy, don't shut down on me every time you bring him up! "Car broke down. Middle of the woods, phones broken... Fired a flare gun straight up. Lit things up, got a ranger out to save us. Jumper cables. Anyway..." Hugh looked up, trying to find an opening in the canopy; as soon as he did, he would fire a fireball straight up, trying to concentrate on the concept of light when he conjured it as opposed to heat. "That cool with you guys?"
"Yes, I guess so," said Vasiliki. Once Hugh finished his business (Oh, my. There goes the normalness...) Vasiliki proceeded, slower than before, to follow the footprints. Her head was constantly turning, short, jerky movements that let her watch most of the area around her. Her heart was thumping, and her talons dug into the flesh of her palms, drawing blood, but she didn't notice; she was worried, and scared.
On empty crossroads, seek the eclipse -- for when Sol and Lua align, the lost shall find their way home."Okay, here goes." Hugh said, a fireball glowing in his hand. It was small, about the size of a clementine, but glowed brightly. Recalling the flare, trying to concentrate on how fire illuminates, that it destroys secondarily, he wound up and whipped it into the sky, casting a dim glow over the forest—provided the canopy was thin enough, which creayted areas of dim light and intense shadow. "The fireball should burn out before it reaches the trees. Hopefully. Stop doubting me boy!" Hugh ignored him, grabbed the hammer, and followed after Eric and Vasiliki.
He should also be scared. Very, very scared.
That's what Jack thought of when the only thing he could hear was his heart beating as the yak charged. The beat sounded slow and loud, and he could only focus on the yak. He waited until it was at arms length, and thrusted, intending to grab its horns.
This was also really, really stupid. He wasn't sure if it was more or less than what he was doing previously.
When the gargantuan arachnid tackled Janice, Kelly had no clue what to do. She nearly sighed aloud in relief when the draconic Inheritor managed to throw the thing off.
There was hardly time for relaxation, though; more spiders emerged from the forest, bloated carapaces seeming to taunt the women.
Kelly growled out an expletive and called fire to her hands. She knew she would have to be careful; forests don't tend to react well to being ignited, after all.
Bringing her hands together in a pseudo-triangular configuration, she willed the fire forth, sending a stream of flame towards the nearest arachnid.
Hopefully this will scare them off.
Mura: -flips the bird to veterinary science with one hand and Euclidean geometry with the other-It didn't take long for Michael to catch up to Janice, but he soon found himself wishing that he'd taken his time. Several spiders, larger than any he'd seen before, were assaulting the Inheritor of Vritra, along with several of their compatriots. No, these were far from the largest. Anansi had been much, much larger, towering over him like some great chitinous monument. He almost shuddered at the thought, but the feeling soon passed. He had no need to fear the dreams anymore, as at this point the line between reality and mere fabrication had been significantly blurred.
Were these things servants of the spider woman? Likely. Children, perhaps. While he didn't have much time to ponder the nature of these beasts, it was still a good idea to narrow down his options. What sort of spider woman would go about, terrorizing a village? Quite a few of them, he would imagine. Arachne was the first thing that came to mind, though he doubted that whatever unfortunate soul had inherited the Greek legend's essence would bear much ill will towards innocent townsfolk. But maybe this wasn't an Inheritor they were dealing with. A simple monster, more likely, but what kind? He'd find out soon enough.
He didn't have much time to act, but he used it to the best of his ability. Holding a hand close to his chest, those same lights and patterns began to dance along the length of his arm before quickly fading into an indistinct blur. The rest of him soon followed and in but a moment Michael was little more than a black smear to the eyes of all observers, a dark blot that faded into the already shadowed background of the forest. While he was more than willing to aid his comrades, somebody had to help peter right now and he would prefer it if they dealt with the spider woman peacefully, something which he didn't think some of the others would support.
He circled around the group and made a mad dash for the firelight, ducking and weaving through the trees, careful to brush any intrusive webs out of the way. With any luck, he'd be able to reach Peter in time.
"You have more than enough potential. So tell me what is the one wish that would make your soul gem shine." -Mitt Romney, probablyYumiko looked around her nervously. There were so many of them! If she struck one, the others would assault her from her blind spots. And in truth, she did not want to fight these creatures...the sight of the one she had struck had been been so disgusting, she did not want to replicate it.
This is a bad situation. We need a more level field of battle; these beasts thrive in the forest.
"Yes, lord Hachiman. Where shall I go?"
To the fire. Go into the clearing.
"B-but, that would mean-"
It is not without risk. But only the brave may attain victory. Go forth, Yumiko Minamoto! And challenge the Spider Woman!
Yumiko drew herself up, steeling herself. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. Then she dashed forward, swift as the wind. Her blade flashed as she cut through the strands of webbing that separated her from the clearing, then she was in the presence of Peter and the Spider Woman.
"Peter! Get away from that woman, she is dangerous!"
Join us in our quest to play all RPG video games! Moving on to disc 2 of Grandia!The woman's beautiful face twisted into a mask of anger as Yumiko stormed into the clearing, and no sooner was Peter's attention turned towards the Japanese Inheritor than she suddenly lunged into motion, moving so quickly that she could only be seen as a yellow, green and black blur for a moment. She leapt onto the hulking giant's back, clinging to him with surprising strength and tenacity; her head was visible in the crook between his neck and left shoulder, and with a hiss she glanced toward Yumiko and opened her eyes.
They were iridescent, multifaceted things that seemed equal parts human and arachnid, and each one seemed to have a cluster of three small pupils rather than large, singular ones.
"This fine catch is mine, shogun," she rasped, extending her left arm towards Yumiko with her fingers outstretched and parallel to the ground. "Away."
No sooner had that last word left her painted lips than a long, silken tendril shot out from within the voluminous sleeve of her kimono; easily long enough to reach Yumiko from Peter's current position, this silken appendage coiled and flexed for a brief moment before lashing towards the Japanese Inheritor like a bullwhip.
At the same time, the Spider Woman opened let out a soft hiss of anticipation and opened her mouth wide, revealing a pair of wickedly-curved canines whose tips glistened faintly with tiny droplets of something, and which actually seemed to be growing longer and thicker by the second. She brought her mouth to Peter's shoulder and bit down hard, the fangs punching through his thick skin with some difficulty; and no sooner had they pierced his flesh than a dull, cold numbness began to seep into his body from the point of injury...
Michael, for his part, had managed to reach the clearing without incident; the Spider Woman did not seem to be aware of his presence.
Much as Kelly had hoped, the spiders seemed to fear fire; they recoiled from the jet of flames, scurrying backward with alarmed hisses. The one she had targeted was not quite fast enough to escape being burned, and its hairy legs quickly caught fire; it ran about in a panic and began flipping and rolling all over the place, as though trying to put itself out, and the other arachnids gave their blazing companion a wide berth.
"Thanks," Janice called over her shoulder, grateful for the timely save.
Her joy proved to be short-lived, however; two spiders, evidently a little braver than their companions, sprang through the flames and charged towards the Inheritors; one was bearing down on Kelly, while the other had instead targeted the sari-clad young woman. The other arachnids kept their distance, lurking just beyond the reach of Brigid's flames.
As Hugh's flare went up, its light illuminated the canopy in his vicinity for a brief instant—and in that moment, he, Vasiliki and Eric would be able to see that they were not alone. At least a dozen spiders lurked in the branches, ranging in size from housecats to prepubescent children, and as the fireball rose past them and out of the forest they all flinched, as though frightened by the light.
Then the flare was clear of the canopy, and darkness descended once more. No sooner was it gone than three of the beasts immediately dropped to the forest floor, forming a loose triangle around the three Inheritors. They were clearly preparing to attack, but then the fireball detonated and bright light shone down through that part of the canopy; as the light washed over them, the spiders recoiled and brought their pedipalps up to shield their eyes.
Against all odds, Jack was able to grab hold of the yak's horns—and to the steer's great surprise, this stopped its charge cold. Lowing faintly in confusion and irritation, the hirsute beast of burden dug its hooves into the frosty ground and began to push against Jack, trying to force the horned Inheritor backwards.
The other yaks, meanwhile, were growing increasingly agitated; all of them had perked up now, their eyes wide and their ears swivelling this way and that as though they were listening for predators. Several of them began to snort, and others pawed the ground nervously as they stared off across the darkened landscape...
Then in the distance there came a distant cry, like the neighing of a horse, and immediately the entire herd tensed up.
edited 5th Apr '12 7:46:44 AM by SullenFrog
The Danse Macabre Codex"Ohcrapcrapcrapcarap! Eeek!" screeched Vasiliki when the spiders landed around her and her friends. "Eep!"
Calm down, Vasiliki. Your friends need you; neither of them knows the art of combat well... Khonsu told her.
She took a deep, shuddering breath. Looking with revulsion at the arachnids, she caused moonlight to coalesce around her arms —the lunar disk appeared again above her head, shedding a faint light on the surroundings— and, holding them before her, palms down, fingers spread wide and thumbs touching, fired a beam of moonlight toward the nearest spider.
As the light revealed the spiders, Hugh realized he fucked up. Revealed their position! But thenthe spiders flinched, and again when the flare detonated. It reminded him of a film he saw once, similar themes of reliance on others and darkness. "Stick close to me!" Hugh said, conjuring another fireball in his arms. He once again focused on light over heat, and dropped his hammer. As he did so, it sank into the ground, reunited with the Forge. "Okayokayokay—" Hugh took a deep breath. His friends needed his fire. He kept his breathing level. "Ifwekeepmovingand—and if—if w—just keep going and we'll—let's just keep following Yumiko and Janice. Anyone s—anyone see a trail in the light? I don't think a girl in platemail could pass without a trace..." Hugh did that uncomfortable laugh, once again trying to make a joke when under duress.
Aaaaahhh!!!
-Peter screams in pain and surprise, and from that point his body is no longer his own. Enkidu swats his functioning arm across his chest, grabbing the spider's face while leaping into the air. At the peak of his jump, he kicks upwards, plummeting back to earth back (and parasite) first.-
Despite his frantic pace, it appeared that Michael was already too late. The spider woman had revealed herself, and Peter had reacted accordingly, though somewhat more professionally than someone of his level of maturity would. The Inheritor of Hachiman had reached the clearing before him, having taken a more direct route. Things were quickly spiraling out of his control, not that he had much control over anything in the first place. He dropped the illusion, his waspishly thin shape slowly reappearing in the foreground. He took a step forward, reaching out to the spider woman and peter even as they brawled.
"Stop!" He cried as loud as he could. "We can settle this without a fight!" As he did this, he began to wrack his mind for some identification, some frame of reference for what he was dealing with. The kimono was something of a giveaway. Japanese, perhaps. A yokai, seducing young men before pulling them into her trap. Something clicked in his head, and somewhere else he could feel someone smiling at him, though it was a thin smile, one that a fox might give before snatching up a particularly gullible chicken. Jorogumo. Then perhaps she wouldn't be entirely unreasonable, though the Inheritor of the Wild Man's actions had already riled her up some. he could only hope that his words would reach them.
"You have more than enough potential. So tell me what is the one wish that would make your soul gem shine." -Mitt Romney, probablyThe moment the flare had gone up, Eric had spotted the spiders and then really wished he hadn't. They were bloated, ugly things with beady, black eyes and fangs that would be more than happy to slice him open. Needless to say, Eric was terrified. Daedalus not so much.
It does seem slightly humourous that we should possibly meet our end by spiders. Mother did create them after all.
"Wh-what! What the hell are you going on about? We're being attacked by giant spiders! Help!" The dagger in Eric's hands was shaking badly, as if he was about to drop it.
Fine child. Aim for the spiders legs, they're built to be light and slender. They would be its weak point.
Eric dry swallowed before speaking up. "Daedalus said to, uh, aim for the legs. They should be the weakest point."
Time seemed to stop as the oversized creature rushed towards Kelly.
Options. I need options. What can I do here?
Could try to incinerate it before it reaches. Could create as much smoke as possible. Could dodge and engage in close quarters.
That second one. Why smoke?
Anaerobic breathers such as arachnids die from smoke exposure. Enough smoke would eliminate them all.
Is Janice smoke-proof?
Unknown.
Let's hope.
Kelly stepped aside as if she were dodging an oncoming rapier thrust. She adjusted her hands mid-step, angling her palms towards the ground. Gouts of scarlet and orange flame leapt from her hands, setting the leaves covering the forest floor ablaze and creating a very large amount of smoke within a moment. Kelly knew she would be fine, but her fear that Janice would be harmed increased every nanosecond, even as the flames continued eating up more of the foliage.
Please let this work.
Who are you praying to?
Myself, I guess.
edited 8th Apr '12 10:07:37 AM by Exelixi
Mura: -flips the bird to veterinary science with one hand and Euclidean geometry with the other-Right!
Yumiko jumped to the side to avoid the lash, and with a perfect roll, she righted herself, sword at the ready again. What had just happened?
Do not worry, Yumiko Minamoto. You have the reflexes and abilities of the perfect warrior buried within you. In time of need, they will come to your aid. Now...keep your eyes on your opponent and look for an opening.
The Inheritor of Hachiman watched closely as Peter tried to shake the Spider Woman off. Yumiko gripped her blade hard, her knuckles whitening. Once the opponent was on the ground, Yumiko would rush in and engage.
Join us in our quest to play all RPG video games! Moving on to disc 2 of Grandia!

"Yes, I do." Hugh replied, catching up to Vasiliki. He stared at the prints for a second, then followed them with his eyes, further into the forest. "Okay, you guys want me to get some fire lit, guide the way? Burn webs too."