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Never Ending Nightmare (Tiffanian)


Re: Never Ending Nightmare (Tiffanian)

Miranda: HP = 53/58, PP = 78, EP = 21/56, Status = Fine, +30 Speed buff on herself, Caleb and random soldier #4

Rolls
Casting: Success, no surprise there.
Miranda's buffs: 10 * 3 = +30 Speed.
Maggie's/Helena's Buffs = 10 * 2 = +20 Speed.

Casting (Miranda) : Success. (Empowered Explosion)
Damage: 6 + 11 = 17 * 9 = 153 damage.

Casting (Maggie) : Success. (Empowered Tornado)
Damage: 5 + 11 = 16 * 9 = 144 damage.
Resistance: Maggie wins.

Casting (Helena) : Success. (Empowered Drowning Doom)
Damage: 6 + 11 = 17 * 9 = 153 damage.

"Yes... That might actually work." Helena replied once she had heard Miranda's plan. Maggie and the sergeant were both scowling darkly, but it was the man who spoke his piece first between the two of them, "Now wait just a second here, what are we supposed to do? Just watch you blow up a bunch of aliens and run?"

Maggie turned toward the man and simply said; "Yes. That's exactly what you're supposed to do." She turned back to Miranda, "We need to target the fliers. They can use magic of their own, and are more dangerous alone than any number of the lesser creatures. They're currently engaged in a standoff with some of the mages on top of the stairs, the two sides countering anything the other tries to do, but the floating monsters have a great deal more staying power. They horde in the square would only be a minor nuisance if they could be dealt with properly, but thinning the swarm's numbers and killed the lords aren't mutually exclusive goals. They can't counter us if they don't know we're here, but we'd best do it swiftly."

The others around them looked astonished as the tiny girl spoke so surely and commandingly, but Helena nodded, "She speaks the truth. You can see the magics disrupting each other even from here." When she looked closely at the floating creatures, Miranda could see much the same, patterns of magic forming and falling apart with no real affect on both sides. It was quite a display really.

Huddling against the cold, Helena pressed a hand against the sergeant and then another of his men, her spell already increasing their speed so that they could flee when the time came, "We must stay together when it comes time to run. If we get separated, we might all be picked off anyway by the surviving enemies." After doing much the same to two other soldiers, one of whom was the sergeant, Maggie said; "We're as ready as we're going to get. Lets do this now, before something has a chance to spot us or stumble across us. I will aim for the two lords farthest away from us." The young girl moved out of the cover of the wagon. All of them had speed enhancements, and after a final shiver Helena did the same while Caleb sat scowling and the sergeant grumbled under his breath.

Their preparations ready, Miranda joined them in the center of the street and prepared her magic once more. The snowfall around her began to melt as she called upon her magic, heat forming around her as she stoked the ambient magic in the air. This close to Goldspike, there was a great deal of power to be grasped, and Miranda felt it swirling around both her mother, and around Maggie in different ones. A trickle of blood ran down her mother's face from her nose, her eyes closed in concentration, and Miranda felt her head begin to throb as she worked with more energy than was safe to handle all at once. A glance to her other side revealed that tears were streaming down Maggie's face, but her expression was set into a lock jawed grim one, and she stood facing the horde trying to break the defenses of the Tower just as surely as Miranda and Helena did.

They stood upon a hill overlooking the square, the elevation providing them with a perfect angle to attack from, and as one they all released their power onto the swarm below.

Helena struck first. She targeted the area of the square nearest to them, and an entire wave of the invaders simply... Melted, flesh dissolving and forming a pool of grey gore upon the ancient colored tiles, forever banishing the color from them. Two of the floating abominations were caught in the sudden strike, and their carcasses melted to grey gooey slag as they fell down to the earth.

Maggie's spell came second, as the air in a section of the plaza farthest from them began to spin rapidly, a tornado appearing in the span of a few seconds. Nothing, not the behemoths on the ground or the three nearest lords in the sky could resist the pull of that powerful wind. All were pulled into its embrace, and the sudden storm sent the monsters it caught smashing against one another as they were sucked up by a whirling column of air that was almost as high as the Tower Goldspike itself. A shower of grey gore rained down upon the monsters in the center, the blender that was the tornado tearing them limb from limb and spitting them all back out again as nothing more than a mass of grey puss.

Finally, it was Miranda's turn. An explosion of flame appeared in the center, catching two more of the Elder Lords in a single massive conflaguration. Her mother's strike had stained the stones of the plaza grey. Maggie's had crushed or torn up some of them. But Miranda literally melted a sizable chunk of them, a whole section of the square vanishing into the sewers below... And leaving no trace of the swarm of monsters that had been standing on it previously. The currents of magic that had been resisting one another before broke, the loss of more than half of the floating monsters weakening their side enough for the mages in the tower to strike.... Devastatingly. Lightning began to rain from the sky, Hellblasts and normal strikes both, and the rest of the elder lords quickly fell to that and a combination of other, more direct magics.

The remains of the swarm were quickly being cut apart as well, but Miranda and her companions had already turned to flee the wrath of their foes. A floating being appeared from above, its tentacles waving, but they were far too quick for it too effectively give chase while they were so empowered. It vanished from sight as they ran, until the Tower Goldspike was far behind, and they had reached the edge of the district inhabited by the nobles. A journey that had taken Miranda almost three hours at a walk had taken maybe ten minutes with her magically enhanced sprint, but she, Maggie and her mother were all left cold and panting for breath as they came to a halt. "Well.... That went better than I expected it to. Nice work. Now what?"
 
Re: Never Ending Nightmare (Tiffanian)

Miranda was reassured when her mother agreed with her plan, but it seemed that no one else was interested, by the looks on their faces. She was a little surprised by the sergeant’s objection, though. Did he really expect that attacking headlong would work out for them? Was he just eager to die? Maggie silenced him quickly with a rather flat statement, and then turned to Miranda to refine the plan a bit. The enemies flooding the square, she said, were barely a problem. The floating enemies, like the one Miranda had killed to save her mother, were what they should focus on killing, since they were also powerful mages. When she and Helena related that the floating enemies and the mages on the wall were having a standoff facilitated by counterspells, the young mage gave the scene a closer look. Sure enough, she could see the swirling magic between them, forming and then dissipating harmlessly. It was actually quite beautiful, an almost elegant display.

Miranda pulled herself away from the sight in order to prepare the spells that would give them the speed to flee whatever enemies remained after their attack. She could feel magical strength flowing into her legs, and she reached out to spread the spell to the two soldiers nearest to her. "Mmm" she replied to both her mother and Maggie, nodding, not able to get words past the heartbeat in her throat. As she walked away from the cover of the wagon and stared out into the massive, writhing horde of aliens crowding the square she had never been more nervous and afraid. Failure meant death. Not merely for her, but for all of them, and maybe even the people in Goldspike, her father included. And yet, despite the fear and the worry, she was ready. She knew she could cast this spell, it wasn’t even in question. She was fairly certain that if she poured everything she had into doing it she could make it devastating. She could do this. She had to.

The snow around Miranda began to melt as she prepared her spell. All magic was born of the ambient energy in a place, and normally it was at least somewhat difficult to gather the proper amount to oneself in order to pull off such a powerful spell. There and then, however, the air was so thick with magic that a child without training might be able to cast low-level spells. There was even a taste to the air, so intense was the battle in front of them. It was far too much, in fact, for any human being to work with safely, and from a few of the lessons that had stuck in Miranda’s mind over the years she knew that this was about to hurt. Looking to her side, she could see a trickle of blood running out of her mother’s nose as she concentrated on her spell, and that tears were running down Maggie’s face as she no doubt suffered in her own way to prepare her part of the attack. Judging by the past, Miranda could guess how casting beyond her limits would affect her, and soon she was proven right. This day had been partly defined by a series of horrific headaches, each worse than the last as the young mage tested the limits of her body, mind, and soul.

Now she felt one of the worst feelings she had ever felt, her head pounding and throbbing as she felt the pressure of the magic all around her weighing down on it, the pressure of channeling it into a useful force welling up from inside. She could feel her own nose bleeding in reaction to the intense pressure, but she didn’t let it disrupt her focus, she couldn’t let it disrupt her focus, not now. She gripped her rapier tightly enough that her fist shook, her teeth grinding and clenching. Her mother was the first ready to launch her attack, and a large number of the monsters nearest to them simply melted away into a gray, goopy paste. Two of their floating targets oozed to the ground. Maggie was next, and furthest away from them in the courtyard a massive tornado formed, picking up the aliens on the ground and sucking in three of the floating mage enemies into its winds, slamming them all against one another. It was all such a grisly scene, limbs and blood and entrails flying about onto the remaining aliens. Miranda felt the urge to vomit, to turn her eyes away from the horrid sight, but she couldn’t, not yet. She felt that she was ready, all of the magical power and ability she had concentrated there and now, and she lifted her rapier above her head and swung it at the remaining horde.

Where she pointed her rapier flames more intense than any she had ever seen immediately sprang to life, evaporating most of the aliens instantly. The heat was so intense that the tile of the courtyard and the ground beneath it simply melted away, leaving a deep hole that went all the way to the sewers that ran beneath the street. Now that a solid majority of the floating mage enemies had disappeared in the space of a few moments, the mages at the tower struck decisively, their spells easily tearing through the enemy counters and obliterating the last of them.

The small group didn’t stick around very long to see the tides of battle turn in favor of the defenders, however. As soon as Miranda’s spell was cast the group turned and ran as fast as their enhanced legs could carry them, back the way they came. The world around them passed by in a blur as they ran faster than any human could, the three women having to hold onto their cloaks to keep them from flying away in the breeze. When they reached the noble district they stopped, panting and gasping for breath. At the speed they had been running the wind had been devilishly cold against Miranda’s bare skin, and she had never been in the best shape for running. She bent over, shivered with the cold, gasping for breath, the pain in her head only now subsiding, and felt as if she might vomit, partly from the exertion, partly because of the scene of death that was still playing out in her head. "Hah… we need to… find one of these houses… hah… to hide and rest in…" she said quietly, huddling as much of herself inside the cloak as she could, still fully bent over. "I feel as if… I’m freezing… and I’m tired from so much magic…"
 
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Re: Never Ending Nightmare (Tiffanian)

Miranda: HP = 53/58, PP = 78, EP = 21/56, Status = Fine, +30 Speed buff on herself, Caleb and random soldier #4

(Gain 10 experience!)

Caleb puts his arms around Miranda immediately upon seeing her current state, and his warmth and weight at least keep her from collapsing. Other soldiers quickly do the same for Helena and Maggie, the latter accepting a bit more grudgingly while her mother looked like she accepted it with a great deal of reservation. "Cripes, they're all about to collapse.... Alright, we'll do as the girl says. Pick an intact house gents, we'll be staying a while. Possibly the night, though I'd like to get back to the tower sooner than tomorrow morning." The sergeant said, and Miranda and the other mages were helped along over to a house. It wasn't really much warmer inside, but there was no wind blowing against her and no snow beneath her feet. "Find a hearth. Lets get a fire going. And keep alert, there might be some of those monsters in here. And close the damn door!"

Another few slightly warmer minutes later, that fact due in no small part to Caleb's constant closeness, Miranda, Maggie and Helena were huddled around a fire, the soldiers that had half carried them into the house guarding them while the other three searched and secured the small cottage they had entered. It was a servants house rather than a full mansion, the safest option considering that they were still in the noble's district. "You feeling alright?" Caleb says after a while, making the question general but looking at Miranda. Maggie grunted, and Helena simply nodded while staring into the fire.
 
Re: Never Ending Nightmare (Tiffanian)

As Miranda bent over, trying to recover herself after the intense expenditure of magical energy and the swift run, she found herself feeling progressively worse, the cold and the exertion really getting to her. Her legs were becoming weak, and she felt as if she might collapse. While she might be able to give herself the ability to run faster than the fastest of animals, that didn’t mean her body had to like it. Just before her knees buckled she felt Caleb’s arms around her holding her up, and even through his clothes and the cloak draped over her she could feel the warmth of his body as cold as she was. Seeing this, and that the other two women were in equally poor shape, the sergeant went along with what Miranda had said, ordering the others to find a suitable building.

The group made their way slowly towards a structure that held promise. In back of one of the damaged and burned out houses was the home the servants of that particular noble family lived in. It seemed relatively untouched, which made sense if you considered that the servants would have been in the main house attending to their duties in the morning when the invasion began. They entered the home with little trouble, the place seemingly empty besides them, and they continued to make their way through the cottage, trying to find the fireplace. It wasn’t a difficult find, and soon the three female mages and the soldiers who had helped them around huddled around it, one of the men trying to start a fire. It couldn’t exactly be called warm inside the house, but it was better than outside, as the walls at least kept the biting wind away, and there was no snow beneath their bare feet.

"I don’t remember it being nearly this cold when I left this morning…" Miranda said idly, still shivering with the cold, and as she sat down she put her head between her knees, taking a deep breath and then letting it out slowly as she pulled the cloak over as much of her body as she could. She continued to breathe deeply, calming and centering herself as the men finished up with the preparations and started the fire, small at first. All the while Caleb was there, his arm wrapped around Miranda, his warm body pressed against her side as he gently rubbed her back, transferring some of that vital warmth. With any of the other soldiers the young mage might have been suspicious, considering the way they attempted to act towards her when they thought she was helpless, but Caleb was different. Coming from him it seemed a genuine act of helpfulness and concern, and she was grateful for the gesture.

After a few minutes of sitting that way she brought herself up to a sitting position, and Caleb asked if she was feeling alright. "A lot better" she replied, the fire and his own body heat driving the cold from her body, and her strength returning to her somewhat after having been drained so thoroughly a few moments ago. "I think we did some good, too" she said, more to herself than anything else, but it was true enough. Barring major reinforcements, they had devastated the alien attack on the Tower Goldspike in the span of a few seconds. Assuming things turned out well in the end, Miranda couldn’t think of any way she could top the significance of her part in it. It was sort of an odd thought, really, that everything else might pale in comparison to something she did before her twentieth birthday. Even so, she couldn’t help but be proud of what she had accomplished. So much had been packed into the last six or so hours, she hadn’t had time to think about it all. Even now she didn’t have the time or the will to sit down and digest it all.

Miranda laid her head softly on Caleb’s shoulder and closed her eyes to pray again in thankfulness. Thankfulness for having the will to defeat Nero and save her mother, for having awakened before the soldiers raped and killed her, for the strength to have managed the spell that helped rip the alien horde to pieces in the courtyard, but most of all for her own safety, and the safety of her mother and probably father. As she opened her eyes again her stomach rumbled, and she realized that she hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast, which had to have been more than eight hours ago. The three other soldiers were still searching the little home, securing it, so maybe they would come back with food… and clothes.

Dismiss the buffs, by the way.
 
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Re: Never Ending Nightmare (Tiffanian)

Miranda: HP = 58, PP = 78, EP = 56, Status = Fine

"Good." Caleb murmured in reply, squeezing her slightly as she closed her eyes and laid her head on his shoulder. The other soldiers took a while to return, the only sounds the crackling of the fire and an occasional cough from one of the assembled group. When she opened her eyes again, Miranda found that Maggie had fallen asleep against the man who had been providing warmth for her, and he was glancing around awkwardly despite the fact that he was still holding the tiny girl. Her mother, meanwhile, was staring at her and Caleb together with a strange look on her face.

Her stomach rumbled before she could ask anything about that, however, and one of the soldiers said; "Caleb, get out the rations. Might as well try and warm something up to eat while we're here."

"Right." He momentarily pulled away from Miranda, pulling off his pack and rummaging through it for a moment before handing a few things to the man who'd spoken, Helena having pushed him away rather than stay close to him for warmth. The man knelt next to the fireplace and set up a pot, Helena magically providing some water as he poured an assortment of things from Caleb's supplies in. "Not great, but it's the best we can do out of the rations we've got, and it'll be something warm." He muttered, and not much more than a minute later the sergeant returned. "This place is as secure as it'll get, by my estimation." He said, and then eyed the stew. "You're making that out of our rations, aren't you?"

"Aye sir. It's all we've got." He offered in explanation, and the sergeant scowled and replied; "There some reason you couldn't raid the pantry?" The soldier looked a bit embarrassed at that, and then glanced at the food stores for the small house that were actually within sight of them. "I suppose not, sir."

The other two came back shortly thereafter, and one had a heap of clothing in his arms. "I found these upstairs. Servant's clothes, but they should fit the ladies well enough, and they'll keep out the cold a lot better than those cloaks."
 
Re: Never Ending Nightmare (Tiffanian)

For a while Miranda rested like that, warmth swiftly returning to her body as she rested her head on Caleb’s shoulder, his arm gently squeezing her. She felt as if she could go to sleep like this despite her hunger, though at the same time she felt refreshed, as she listened to the crackling of the fire. When she finally opened her eyes, Maggie had gone to sleep leaning against the man warming her, which seemed to make him uncomfortable. It was a cute scene, really. Her mother, on the other hand, was huddled alone, not taking advantage of the soldier’s offer of warmth. She was also staring Caleb and her with a strange look on her face, one that she couldn’t really decipher immediately.

The soldier that had helped Helena into the house quickly told Caleb to get their rations in response to Miranda’s rumbling stomach, and the young soldier hopped up, rooting through his pack to find the aforementioned rations and then handed them to the other man, who put a pot on the fireplace and poured whatever it was in these strange rations into the pot. Helena magically provided water, and soon it was boiling. It was then that the sergeant came back, and he rebuked the men for using their food instead of just getting some out of the pantry. One of them in the room should have thought of that…

Shortly afterwards the other two came back, one of them carrying clothes. "Ahh, thank you" Miranda said, taking an outfit when it was handed to her. There was a plain pair of underwear that oddly enough seemed to fit her relatively well as she slipped on the panties and clasped the bra. It was good luck that they had happened to pick a home with a servant about her size. The dress was exceedingly plain, something she would have never considered wearing before, but it was clothing, and it was warm, and she was thankful for it as she pulled it over her head. Her stomach growled again as she looked at the boiling pot. She then looked over at her mother. She had a couple of things she wanted to ask the woman, and she probably wouldn’t find a better time than now, since Maggie was asleep. "Mother, who is this Camrona Maggie studies under?" she asked, shuffling closer to the woman, getting within whisper range for the more personal question. "And you’ve been looking at me so strangely lately. Is there something wrong?"
 
Re: Never Ending Nightmare (Tiffanian)

Miranda: HP = 58, PP = 78, EP = 56, Status = Fine

Miranda got stares from everyone in the room as she simply began dressing in plain view of all of them, a recently awakened Maggie and her mother both looking at her incredulously while the soldiers -except for Caleb- threw undisguised looks of appreciation her way as the cloak was tossed aside, leaving Miranda's body bare as she dressed in the servant's clothing. Caleb, at least, only ogled at her for a moment, so close to Miranda that he could have easily stretched out a hand to before turning his gaze away as an embarrassed blush formed on his face. The man who'd delivered clapped him on the shoulder and laughed, and then went back to cooking their meal. Helena and Maggie went off to a different room to get dressed, and came back a few seconds later wearing clothing not much different from what Miranda was now garbed in.

When they got back, Maggie promptly went back to sleep in the corner, lying down on a bench since she no longer needed the warmth of a soldier to keep her going. Caleb moved away, still blushing slightly every time he glanced at Miranda, and Helena took his seat so that they could speak quietly. The soldiers busied about, gathering what they could to add some taste to their meal and then sitting around, taking it in turns to poke at the food with a wooden spoon and alternatively sit around doing nothing of any noticeable worth. That gave Miranda plenty of time to speak to her mother in a degree of privacy, however, and Helena sighed at both of Miranda's questions.

"Camrona... Is a former noble of this city, and also a former instructor at the Academy. He left both after he began to force his personal opinions about how magic ought to be used onto his pupils, and attempted to spread them among his peers. He was an entropomancer and had allies among both the demons and they fey, as far as I know at least, but none of those are frowned upon too harshly even when combined. It was when he suggested that Therion and the Academy ought to join forces and use our combined might to subjugate the rest of Crolia that he was given the choice between being exiled and being charged with sedition. He chose the former, and has largely remained out of the eye of his former comrades.

"It wasn't just his political views that were... Unorthodox, however. He often and vehemently petitioned for more dangerous testing for students during his time as a teacher, saying that every wizard from the Academy should be trained to use their skills in battle. He tried to institute his own teaching program there as well, saying that his methods would make better mages inside of a year than an entire seven years at the Academy as it was then." Helena paused, and glanced over at the sleeping Maggie with a speculative look for a moment. "Perhaps he was right? Maggie has shown a level of power on par with either of us... If not the wisdom to use them properly."

Shaking such thoughts away, Helena continued; "His program was allowed a trial run of twenty prospective students. Twelve of them were crippled permanently inside of a month, and it was finally stopped when one of them died. Another three showed mental scarring that we never could figure out how to repair.... But the other five did extremely well when they were re-integrated into the rest of the student body. I think one of them replaced him when he was finally kicked out of his position."

Helena heaved a heavy sigh, and then shook her head again. "It's not that something's wrong, Miranda.... Well, not something besides the attack and all of the things that have come along with it, at least. It's just...." She paused to sigh again, and then looked Miranda squarely in the eyes, "You've grown up so much, even since you left home this morning. It's like you're a different person, almost. I suppose that it's a little bit selfish, but.... I guess I'm just concerned that you won't be my little girl anymore." She smiled wryly, "Funny, considering how often I used to grumble about you never growing up, eh? I guess its to expected in a crisis like this. And don't ever think that I'm not immensely proud of you, Miranda! You've done better today than I ever would have at your age, and that's a fact."

"Food's ready." The sergeant, who's turn it had been to poke at the stew with the spoon, muttered quietly, and the other soldiers all started crowding around. The noise woke Maggie, and the girl was promptly handed a full bowl and a spoon by one man, while Caleb came bearing similar for Miranda and her mother before returning to feed himself. Maggie glanced at them, her eyes wide as she sat frozen in place, evidently desiring to join them but too shy or frightened to do so on her own initiative. Helena noted the glance, but didn't respond to it, instead glancing sideways at Miranda, allowing her to respond to Maggie for both of them.
 
Re: Never Ending Nightmare (Tiffanian)

Miranda only realized that it was odd to be dressing in front of everyone when she noticed the looks she got as she stood and discarded the cloak, baring herself in front of the soldiers. She hadn’t thought it would be a big deal, really, since all of them had obviously seen her naked before, when they had first met her lying on the floor unconscious after being raped by the slime. The cloak hadn’t exactly been the most modest garment, either, and any of them could have gotten an eyeful of her if they had tried even a little. Still, it was somehow different now as she began to slip on the underwear she had been given, and she couldn’t help but blush with a bit of embarrassment.

That’s not to say that she didn’t enjoy it on some level, of course. From the looks on the men’s faces they liked what they saw, which was oddly comforting for Miranda. She had always thought that she was too skinny, especially when the majority of women here in Therion were bigger than her, curvier, and it felt good to see that the men were enjoying the sight of her. When she had finished pulling on her dress she sat down and watched her mother and Maggie walk to another room to get dressed, again making her a little embarrassed at having just up and stripped herself in front of everyone. The two came back soon, dressed in clothing similar to Miranda, and Maggie quickly went to a bench in the corner to lie down and go to sleep again. As Miranda sidled over to her mother, Caleb walked away towards the rest of the soldiers, tending to their stew. He blushed every time he glanced at the young mage, which amused her slightly, and she flashed him a little smile before she began to converse with her mother.

The story Helena told about Camrona was a particularly sad one. A powerful man with too much ambition for his own good, who wanted to unify Crolia through war. Probably related, he wanted to teach young mages at the academy more stringently in the ways of war, even in dangerous ways that killed or crippled the majority of the students it had been tried on. She could see why Caleb might have thought that this Camrona character might have been responsible for this dreadful attack. "Well… I think I can see his point, in a way" Miranda replied quietly, looking at Maggie too. "I can feel that I’ve become… so much better than I was even just this morning. Even some of the things I was taught didn’t click until I had to use them in the moment… I don’t think I would have ever been able to reach this point if I hadn’t been thrust into such a dangerous situation." It was very true, if for no other reason than that she would never have found the motivation to improve if it hadn’t come as a byproduct of scratching and fighting desperately to survive. "But… there has to be more. You can’t just turn children into weapons of war…" She thought of the way Maggie had attacked them without hesitation, nearly killing them for no discernible reason.

Her mother’s reply to her other question was a little more heartening. Miranda couldn’t help but smile and swell with pride as the older woman complimented her. Her mother’s approval was something she had always wanted, and yet something she had never worked hard to attain, out of laziness, out of fear, out of any number of things. Now she leaned that little bit to hug Helena, and whisper "I’ll always be your little girl." The attack and all of the madness and pain had been worth it for Miranda in some way, and not even in the amount she had learned about magic, or had grown in power. It was moments like these, just simple moments where she could hug and touch her mother, that she had always taken for granted in the past. In that silly, childish way she had thought that time stretched on forever, that everything could go on just the same for years and years. But time ends for millions of people every day. She had never realized just how fragile it all was, just how precious these moments were… she hoped she never forgot.

The moment ended as the sergeant indicated the food was ready, and Miranda quietly pulled off her mother and accepted a bowl of the stew and a spoon from Caleb, saying a quick "thank you." Looking to the side, she saw that Maggie was glancing at the sideways, wide-eyed. It was fairly obvious that she didn’t want to sit alone over on the bench, but it didn’t seem she was willing to do anything about it. Miranda gave the young girl a warm smile and patted the floor next to her, saying "come sit with us, Maggie. There’s no sense eating over there all alone."
 
Re: Never Ending Nightmare (Tiffanian)

Miranda: HP = 58, PP = 78, EP = 56, Status = Fine

Helena nodded at Miranda's opinion of Camrona, "I'm not saying his ideas were invalid.... Just that his methods were unacceptable. There's no doubt that experience is the best teacher available, but putting children into dangerous situations in order to strengthen them..." Her mother shook her head and sighed, glancing at Maggie as she continued; "It's just not right. We need to be better than that, or what's the point of knowing magic at all?" A moment later, however, Miranda's words finally dispelled the gloomy cloud that had overtaken her mother since the discussion of Camrona began, and the older mage smiled warmly at her daughter. Helena hugged her back tightly, and heaved out a heavy sigh. When they pulled apart, Helena looked like a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

Caleb had nodded and smiled at her thanks before moving off to get his own meal, leaving her and Helena to their food. Maggie seemed to have been waiting for just such an invitation, and practically jumped up and moved over to join them as they ate. Taking a seat next to them, the young girl seemed hesitant for a moment, chewing her lip after finishing a bite of a loaf of bread one of the soldiers had liberated from the pantry, and then quietly said; "I'm.... Sorry." Helena remained quiet as the apology had been directed at Miranda, and Caleb hadn't started back with his food yet. Maggie seemed to be waiting, almost challenging her for a response as she stared directly into Miranda's eyes.
 
Re: Never Ending Nightmare (Tiffanian)

Miranda grinned a little wider when Maggie jumped up at the chance to eat with her and her mother, glad at the girl's enthusiasm. Even if she had seemingly been raised as a weapon, and was obviously somewhat... lacking socially and in judgment, she at least wanted to engage with them. Maybe it would be good for her. After all, Miranda couldn't even begin to imagine what a childhood like Maggie's must have been like, the demands it would have made on her.

The young mage took a bit from the loaf of bread the soldiers had found, dipping it in her stew before taking a bite, keeping her eyes mostly on Maggie as she did so. The girl looked nervous still, gnawing at her lips for a short while after taking a bit of her own portion of the bread. Eventually, though, she quietly uttered an apology, staring into Miranda's eyes. She took a sip from her stew, perhaps slower than was necessary, as she stared back at Maggie. She was trying to gauge how sincere the apology was, a somewhat difficult task considering her lack of experience at it, but something told her that the young girl was genuinely sorry for having attacked them.

"It's okay, I forgive you" she replied after a slight pause, "and nothing particularly bad came of it in the end. Just..." Miranda paused again, not knowing quite how to say the rest of what she had to say. "Just don't do things like that again. Life is too precious to go about destroying it without very good reason." She was trying not to sound preachy, but a little of that was likely inevitable. She began to eat her stew a little more rapidly now, partly because she didn't know what to say, and partly because her belly was still rumbling.
 
Re: Never Ending Nightmare (Tiffanian)

Miranda: HP = 58, PP = 78, EP = 56, Status = Fine

Maggie gave a slight tick as Miranda accepted her apology, a move that might have been a nod but could just as easily have been nothing but a twitch. Still, the girl managed to smile back at Miranda, and she sounded far more sincere when she said; "You're right.... I guess. I won't attack anyone anymore, not unless they attack me first." The girl set to eating her meal, and Helena had already finished more than half of her stew. Caleb finally extricated himself from his fellows near the pot and came to sit silently next to Miranda, giving her, Helena and even Maggie a warm smile before setting about eating his food.

The meal was completed relatively quickly, the soldiers eating largely by themselves except for Caleb, and it wasn't long before the sergeant turned toward her and her mother and came to stand over them, not bothering to try and help them stand up or kneeling down himself. "So. I'll bet that those monsters have been cleared out by now. Whats say we get back to the Tower Goldspike, and then you three can stay there while we return to our duties? There's a lot of work yet to be done in securing the city, and I'm sure you'd all like to stay in safety while we're out risking our lives." He said the last words with more than a little bit of accusation in his tone, and both Maggie and Caleb scowled and opened there mouths to speak.

Helena beat both of them to it, however, delivering her words in the clipped but patient voice of someone talking to an unruly servant; "Remember who you're talking to, sergeant. We three individually killed more of those monsters in five seconds than you and your soldiers have all day long. And don't even pretend to think that you've lost more today than we have." She paused, meeting the large, harsh featured man's gaze with a firm scowl, but when she continued her voice was quiet and low, "All of Therion has felt this attack. Possibly all of Crolia, and maybe even beyond. We cannot be at each others throats now, or we stand no chance of surviving this."

He stared back at her with a flat expression, but after a moment grunted wordlessly and then replied; "My apologies ma'am." He paused to glance around, "This place isn't safe. We don't know how many more of those monsters might be around, and we'd be better off risking the journey back to the tower than trying to tough it out here." He turned back to glance at them, and Maggie nodded and said; "I agree with him. As much as I might like the idea of hiding out rather than going back out there, the city is too dangerous right now, and if the resistance at the tower wiped out what you left behind then it's probably the safest place for us right now."

Caleb interjected; "Aye, but there could be more of those sneaky creatures out there, the lizards that can meld into their surroundings. In here, we'd probably hear them coming before they got to any of us, but out in the streets we'd never see them coming." Helena gave a thoughtful hrm and then turned to Miranda with an eyebrow raised, clearly wondering what she thought on the subject of whether they should stay or go.
 
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Re: Never Ending Nightmare (Tiffanian)

As Miranda accepted Maggie’s apology the girl nodded, or perhaps simply had a nervous twitch. There was no way of knowing which, really, though the smile the thin mage wore when she replied seemed to point in one direction. Her reply was also heartening, if seemingly a little bit hesitant. With that done the group began to eat in earnest, devouring their stew. It wasn’t exactly special in the way it tasted, but Miranda was starving, so it didn’t matter in the slightest how it tasted. Caleb eventually pulled himself away from the other soldiers to sit next to Miranda, smiling at her. She grinned back at him, enjoying his company even if the time was spent mostly in silence.

It wasn’t long before all of them had finished their meal, and the sergeant got up and walked over to the little group apart from the soldiers, standing over them and suggesting that they head towards the tower. Of course, he also implied that the three of them would be happy to hide away from danger while he and the others continued to fight. Miranda really didn’t like this guy, and she was starting to show it with the way she frowned at him. He really was such a petty little man, seemingly always trying to play up his significance and to downplay or ridicule others wherever possible. She was about to say something, but her mother got to it first, putting the man in his place again with a calm, patient tone. She was speaking to him in a way that she had sometimes spoken to Miranda when she had been a little child, or her servants when they weren’t behaving acceptably, and it made the young mage grin a little.

After a brief pause the sergeant asserted again that they ought to leave, saying that there were too many potential monsters around to assume that this little house was safe. Maggie quickly agreed, pointing out that the tower defense had probably dealt with what had been left of the alien attack by now, and so was probably as safe as anywhere could be right about now. Caleb, however, put forward a dissenting voice, reminding them about the lizards that were able to blend into their surroundings, saying that they would be able to guard against them here, but outside these walls they could be ambushed without warning. Her mother said nothing, instead looking to her, wanting an opinion. "Well… I think we should probably go. If we can get to the tower, we should be relatively safe. I don’t think the lizards should be too much of a problem. Mother can always use the spell she used to make Maggie visible, after all, and they’ll be easy to spot then. If we can see them, those are the least of our worries" she said after a brief moment of thought.
 
Re: Never Ending Nightmare (Tiffanian)

Miranda: HP = 58, PP = 78, EP = 56, Status = Fine

Helena nodded and said; "Exactly what I was thinking. That spell is simple enough, and should keep anything from sneaking up on us. So long as we don't run into any more of the floating creatures, we should be alright." Turning back toward the sergeant, she continued; "Sergeant, prepare your men to depart immediately. We've waited long enough, once we're at the tower we can all have a proper rest, but for now we need to get up and go one last time."

The man sighed and nodded, turning immediately to bark orders. Caleb looked slightly troubled, but nodded to Miranda and turned, rising to his feet and offering her a hand up. Maggie and Helena rose on their own, and in about three minutes they were all back outside again, heading down the lane that say beside a mansion and led up to the small cottage they had taken for shelter. Returning to the streets of Therion, Helena immediately cast her spell, conjuring a magical lantern in one hand that cast a wan light over their surroundings. To their surprise, Maggie did the same, and when asked by one of the soldiers the girl shrugged and said; "I'm a quick study."

They started back toward the Tower Goldspike as the sun sank lower, the dark clouds in the sky over the city turning a dark, blood red, and the tower ahead of them truly did look like a spike rising into the sky formed of solid gold as the sun set behind it. It would have been more striking if not for the ruined buildings and the occasional corpse, invaders and former citizens of Therion both lying dead in her streets. They had covered half of the distance between their hiding place and the tower when one of the soldiers in the rear suddenly shouted; "Ambush!"

The sound of steel sliding against steel as every one of the soldiers instantly drew their swords sounded, and a glance behind them revealed a half dozen of the very creatures that Caleb had feared they would run into standing behind them. The reptilian monsters almost looked surprised at their discovery, but they readied their claws all the same, having come within twenty feet of the rear of the group before being spotted. They weren't the only threat, however. In front of them, six slimes, four grey and two dark violet rose up from the street at the intersection they'd been about to cross, the grey ones moving forward already while the purple ones stayed back. At the same time, five of the grey, slimy, tentacle toting monsters came ambling out of the house on their left, moving swiftly on their four spindly legs and almost coming within range to reach the soldiers on the outside of their perimeter. The house on the opposite side suddenly collapsed, a loud screaming roar sounded and was immediately followed by another as two of the juggernauts suddenly tore their way out of the rubble on the group's right, the two creatures already preparing to charge at them and swiftly followed by another four of the grey tentacle monsters.

"We're surrounded! Form up!" The sergeant barked, and Miranda, Maggie and Helena were quickly surrounded by the soldiers, two men moving to screen each of them from the attacks of their enemies. Miranda, who was on the left, had both Caleb and the sergeant blocking for her, the former standing in the way of the grabbers while the sergeant was turned more toward the oncoming slimes.

The basic situation: Miranda, Maggie and Helena are in the middle of the group of soldiers, the six of whom are forming a perimeter around the mages. Caleb and the sergeant are the ones in front of Miranda. There are four grey slimes 20 feet ahead of them and two dark slimes 30 feet ahead. There are six hunters standing in a loose cluster approximately 20 feet behind the group. There are five grabbers on their left, about 15 feet away. There are two juggernauts and four grabbers on the right, also about 15 feet away.
 
Re: Never Ending Nightmare (Tiffanian)

Miranda nodded back at her mother as the older woman agreed with her assessment of their options. She had been doing that a fair amount recently, which was another confidence booster for the young mage. It felt good to have her sense of judgment affirmed, especially by someone she had always trusted to make the right decisions all throughout her life. Of course, she also enjoyed her mother ordering the sergeant around again, and the way he didn’t bother to put up a fight against it this time, simply accepting the order with a sigh and beginning to gather up his unit. Caleb looked a little worried as he got up and offered her a hand, so she tried her best to smile reassuringly at him as she took the offered help up. What a weird day this had been, that Miranda was trying to reassure someone else.

It took the group about three minutes to gather up their things and get ready to go, heading back outside of the little cottage and past the burnt out mansion in front of it, in a somewhat tighter formation than the one they had marched out of this area in last time. As they got to the street proper, Helena once again cast the spell that had likely saved them in their fight against Maggie, bathing the area around them in a soft blue light. Just afterwards Maggie cast the exact same spell, drawing something of an odd look from Miranda. Did she already know the spell before? It didn’t seem like it… is it even possible for her to have learned it just from having seen it cast twice? If so she’s a prodigy like I’ve never seen before… she thought, gawking a bit at the little mage. She would have little time to think productively on it, though, as they started towards the tower again. At any other time the sunset might have been beautiful, the deep, blood red color that tinted the entire city making the Tower Goldspike stand out at its most magnificent, seemingly shining, burning gold piercing up into the sky. Tonight, though, it just made everything seem ominous. Miranda’s eyes darted back and forth, on the lookout for any number of alien threats, both real and imagined. Many a time on the long walk the young mage thought she saw something lurking in the shadows, just enough out of sight as to be almost indistinguishable from the surrounding darkness… she didn’t speak up about it. None of the others seemed to see these things, and she knew well that she was nervous and scared enough to play tricks on herself, to see all manner of horrors that weren’t really there. It was funny how much of a difference nighttime made. This trip had seemed so much less sinister earlier…

At least Miranda’s nervous lookout kept her a little bit distracted from what was on the ground around them. As she peered into and around the various ruined buildings at the side of the road, and into the distance, she could avoid looking down at the twisted corpses lying on the ground every so often, some of them invaders, many of them citizens of Therion. The walk seemed to drag on, though they had made it halfway to the tower before one of the soldiers behind them yelled out that there was an ambush. Miranda turned to see what he was talking about, and saw six of the stealthy lizards behind them, revealed by the strange blue light that radiated out from Maggie and Helena. They seemed surprised that they had been spotted, but they kept coming all the same, their claws at the ready. Miranda wasn’t worried about it as she drew her rapier; she had already defeated a group of these that was only slightly smaller than this one all on her own, after all. Unfortunately, she was soon made aware that there was a similar number of slimes in front of them, four of them the tiny gray slimes that were of little consequence, two of them a dark purple, which hung back as the others oozed forward, signifying that they were probably mages.

This was still fine, the three mages were plenty powerful enough to handle both groups, but the aliens weren’t done appearing. Five of the larger tentacle monsters ran out from the house on their left on their little spindly legs, making a beeline for the soldiers. To make the ambush complete, a bloodcurdling roar sounded from their right, and the house on that side collapsed to the ground. Out of the rubble came two of the enormous juggernauts, followed by more of the tentacle monsters, charging at their group. As the sergeant barked out his order and the soldiers formed up into a protective formation around the mages Miranda shook, her eyes wide with fear. Oh Gods help us, there’s so many of them she prayed, her rapier shaking in her hand. Being surrounded made things different, it made it much more difficult to deal with all of them at once. In fact it would be impossible, and all of the groups of monsters could be on top of them in mere moments.

Of course, freaking out wouldn’t help. "I’ve got the right!" Miranda shouted suddenly, preparing a spell. "Mom, get the slimes, Maggie, the tentacle monsters to the left! We have to get rid of them all in one shot!" It was true enough, leaving any of them would be… problematic. Leaving one or both of the juggernauts was probably a death sentence for at least some of their little group. With that in the back of her mind Miranda prepared her most powerful spell again. Perhaps a weaker spell would serve just fine, but there wasn’t room for even the slightest bit of doubt. She would have to hope that the soldiers would be able to survive and hold off the lizards until the rest of them were freed up to turn on them. Once the spell was ready, she targeted it as far away as she could while still keeping the aliens safely within its destructive radius, to avoid any collateral damage.

Cast Explosion with Empower Spell: (Level 5 Fire spell) (1d6 + 11) * 9 damage (21 EP, 5 HP)
 
Re: Never Ending Nightmare (Tiffanian)

Miranda: HP = 53/58, PP = 78, EP = 35/56, Status = Fine, Blessed X = 10

Rolls
Casting (Miranda) : Success
Attack: Hit.
Damage: 2 + 9 + 2 = 13 * 9 = 117 damage.
The tentacle monsters are properly baked, but the juggernauts keep on coming.

Casting (Maggie) : Success
Attack: Hit.
Damage: 1 + 3 + 9 + 2 = 15 * 4 = 60 damage.
Also fried tentacle monsters.

Casting (Helena) : Success
Attack: Hit.
Damage: 2 + 9 + 2 = 13 * 6 = 78 damage.
The slimes have been all dried up. Yay Drowning Doom!

The five soldiers all go full defense!
+30 Dodge!

Caleb uses Blessing X = 10!

Attacks (Juggernauts) : Both miss.

Attacks (Hunters) : All six miss.

The two other mages nodded, both immediately setting into casting at the same time as Miranda as their foes closed in. The three each completed their respective spells at the same time, but of them Miranda's was definitely the most impressive, a brilliant flash and a thunderous explosion laying waste to the house that the two massive aliens had come from and everything around it. A smaller explosion came from the left, where Maggie had sent a much smaller ball of flame to destroy the approaching tentacle monsters, and even though she had pushed less power into her spell it was just as effective in performing its task. Perhaps more so, given that, when the blinding flash faded, the two massive creatures rose from the rubble, their charred grey flesh sloshing off as they let out muted roars and continued toward them. Miranda had only a moment to spare to glance toward the slimes only to find them completely gone, a faint mist and a few piles of appropriately colored dust the only signs that the creatures had ever existed. That left all three of them able to concentrate on the two massive creatures and the lizards.

"Stand fast! Don't let 'em through lads!" The sergeant barked, moving to stand in front of Caleb and block the lizards from getting to him and Miranda as the young knight rose his blade into the air and closed his eyes. The weapon and the man both began to glow, before a white flash caused a wave of energy to wash over the assembled group. "Foul creatures! You will not leave this place alive!" Caleb shouted, readying his blade as their foes closed in around them, though now it was only from two sides. Confidence and strength rose suddenly within Miranda's chest, surety that they would be victorious banishing her fear even as the hunters and juggernauts charged as one.

The two men on the right side stood fast with their shields held high against the charging juggernauts, but even with the magically inspired confidence Miranda doubted that their defense would hold against the titanic creatures. She turned out to be quite wrong, as the two warriors deflected the juggernauts opening punches with their shields, using the beast's own momentum and strength against them and forcing them to collide against one another. The three men in the rear, who now included the sergeant, proved just as adept as they held off the hunters, taking two apiece seemingly without any trouble.

Though they hadn't done any actual damage, the men had bought the mages behind them time to turn, and Maggie and Helena were already preparing spells of their own to send against the juggernauts. Miranda could do the same, or begin her work upon the less dangerous creatures, or perhaps do something else to aid in the battle. Regardless of her choice, things seemed to be well in their favor at the moment.

2 Juggernauts, each has taken 105 damage, in melee range of the group.
6 hunters, all uninjured, in melee range of the group.
 
Re: Never Ending Nightmare (Tiffanian)

Miranda channeled the energy necessary to cast her spell as quickly as she could with the aliens charging at them. It was harder than earlier, considering how much less energy was in the air in this area compared to around the tower, but even so it wasn’t terribly difficult for her. She really had come a long way, and she was improving faster than she could have imagined. The headache came, but it wasn’t as severe as many of the others she had suffered today, and though blood began to trickle out of her nose she didn’t feel as if she might be ripped apart at the seams. Perhaps this was because there wasn’t as much energy around her, preventing her from trying to use more than she could handle. When she was ready she swung her rapier at the collapsed house, and it instantly lit up in a nearly blinding flash, turning the ruined home into no more than a pile of smoking, charred rubble. Another explosion off to the left signified the end of the tentacle monsters, Maggie’s attack proving quite effective. A quick glance told Miranda that her mother had disintegrated the slimes as well.

The young mage was about to turn to face the lizards when she heard a low, rumbling roar, and she looked on in horror as the juggernauts emerged from the rubble, their flesh scorched, but seemingly unphased. Oh Gods that didn’t kill them? she thought, her eyes wide with shock and terror. She had thrown pretty much everything she had at them, and they were still standing, and didn’t seem to be in particularly bad shape. Miranda tried to summon up her energy again but couldn’t, not so soon after unleashing such a powerful spell. She wiped the blood from her upper lip as the soldiers realigned themselves to face the two remaining threats, and as they did Caleb raised his sword. He and his weapon began to glow, and there was a flash of white light as unnatural strength and confidence welled up inside of the young mage. In that moment she knew that they would defeat these creatures, and her bout of fear melted away even as the juggernauts continued to charge at them from one side and the hunters from the other.

Even so imbued with confidence, Miranda didn’t think the men would be able to hold back the juggernauts, and she braced herself for the attack that was surely coming. She had survived a swipe from a similar beast earlier, so surely she would be able to take a blow now… Her worry proved unfounded, as the two soldiers facing down the charging monsters parried their fists with their shields and used their momentum to slam the giant beasts against one another. She guessed from the fact that there were no cries of pain from behind her that the hunters had been stopped as well. Seeing that her mother and Maggie were aiming for the juggernauts, Miranda turned and pointed her rapier at one of the lizards, and once she had a clear shot and her body had recovered enough from her earlier casting she let fly a ball of flame at it.

Flaming Sphere: (2d4 + 12) * 4 damage (4 EP) at one of the hunters.
 
Re: Never Ending Nightmare (Tiffanian)

Miranda: HP = 53/58, PP = 78, EP = 31/56, Status = Fine, Blessed X = 10

Rolls
Casting (Miranda) : Success
Attack: Hit.
Damage: 1 + 4 + 10 + 2 = 17 * 4 = 68 - 8 = 60 damage.
Miranda sets a hunter on fire!

Casting (Maggie) : Success
Attack: Hit.
Damage: 1 + 2 + 10 + 2 = 15 * 4 = 60 damage.
Not dead, but hurt pretty badly.

Casting (Helena) : Success
Attack: Hit.
Damage: 2 + 2 + 10 + 2 = 16 * 4 = 64 damage.
Same deal really.

The five soldiers all use 20 point defensive fighting and attack!
Attack: All hit.
Damage: 1 + 5 + 23 = 29 damage.
Shield Bash: All also hit.
Damage: 5 + 2 + 2 + 10 = 19 damage.
3 Hunters take a total of 32 damage each, and both juggernauts take 24 damage each.

Attack (Caleb) : Hit.
Damage: 2 + 1 + 36 - 8 = 31 damage.
Shield Bash: Hit.
Damage: 2 + 5 + 5 + 28 - 8 = 32 damage.
One hunter damage.

Attacks (Juggernauts) : One hits!
Damage: 3 + 10 + 37 - 12 = 38 damage on one of the soldiers.

Attacks (Hunters) : All four miss.

An orb of flame lanced forth from Miranda's outstretched rapier, striking one of the hunters squarely in the chest and burning a fist sized hole right through the alien creature. Maggie and Helena, meanwhile, sent bolts of multicolored light out from their fingers at the two juggernauts. The strange rays do much to the massive abominations exactly the same thing that Miranda's bolt of flame had done to the hunter, punching holes right through them in other words, but the despite this the grey monstrosities simply roar and hurtle back into the melee once they've untangled from one another.

The soldiers continue to hold their own against the monsters despite the superior numbers and size pressing against them, but now they begin to strike back as well. Slashing with swords and slapping with their shields, the guardsmen wound several of the green reptilian creatures and cause further harm to the two juggernauts. But, as one of the men was backing away after slamming his shield into one of the stumbled monster's faceless heads, the creature suddenly recovered and reversed, smashing its fist into the man and sending him tumbling to the side. He seemed to be still alive despite the powerful blow, which he had taken the brunt of on his shield, but he was momentarily stunned from the strike and, perhaps more importantly, had left a path open for the creatures. A path that led right toward the three mages in the center of the group, in fact.

It was as Miranda was watching this that Caleb suddenly called from right beside her; "Watch out Miranda!" The man suddenly darted forward, intercepting one of the hunters just as it had been reaching its inch and a half long claws for Miranda from behind. The man first smashed his shield into the reptile's chest, sending it tumbling backwards, and as it was unbalanced he did a full spin, swinging his sword in an arc that ended with the hunter cleanly decapitated. He spared a glance at Miranda to make sure that she was alright, and seeing her unharmed quickly moved to interpose himself between the mages and the two juggernauts, taking the place of the wounded man while he recovered.

5 soldiers, one of whom has taken 38 damage.
Caleb, who has Blessing X = 10 active.
Maggie
Helena

2 Juggernauts, one has taken 193 damage and the other has taken 189 damage, in melee range of the group.
4 hunters, 3 of them have taken 32 damage, in melee range of the group.
 
Re: Never Ending Nightmare (Tiffanian)

The small orb of flame quickly launched out from the tip of Miranda’s rapier and slammed into the lizard she had aimed it at. It met little resistance, easily burning a hole through the hunter’s chest and continuing on its path a short ways. The alien let out a pained hiss that didn’t last long as it crumpled to the ground, dying quite quickly. The young mage tried not to take note of it, twirling around to watch her mother and Maggie attack the juggernauts. Colorful beams of light shot from their fingers, piercing holes in the juggernauts just as Miranda’s flame had pierced the hunter, though before she could even feel relief the things roared and charged again.

This time the soldiers didn’t passively receive the attack, though, lashing out with their swords and bashing at the beasts with their shields. Miranda could tell by the sounds of battle that the same thing was going on behind her as well, the soldiers and the hunters clashing with yells and hisses. The young mage was worried about the juggernauts, but for once the worry was under control, whether because of Caleb’s blessing or because of her confidence that this time surely Maggie and Helena would be able to defeat them with just a little more time. Of course, time was running short, which became painfully clear when one of the juggernauts landed a powerful blow on one of the soldiers. He let out a yelp as he crashed into the ground, rolling some distance to the side. It seemed like he was still breathing, but he wasn’t moving much, and he’d probably need some time to recover. In the meantime, there was a direct path from the juggernauts to the three unarmored mages…

Of course, that wasn’t the side Miranda ought to have been watching, and she almost found it out the hard way. A sudden yell to watch out from Caleb made her jump, and she spun around as the soldier bashed a hunter that had come incredibly close to ripping her throat out from behind with his shield, and then beheaded it with a clean blow. She grimaced as the lizard’s head rolled down the street, its body twitching as blood poured from its neck and seeped into the cracks between the cobblestones. The young mage didn’t have time to register just how lucky she had been as Caleb got between her and the juggernauts, instead preparing another spell wordlessly. The others would take care of those two monstrous beasts, she was sure of it. Judging from the state the lizards were in one of them had managed to avoid the soldiers earlier, and she targeted it with another flaming orb, leaving the soldiers to deal with the other three. If all went well they should be able to end the battle quickly and without casualties. If all went well…

Flaming Sphere: (2d4 + 12) * 4 damage (4 EP) at one of the hunters again.
 
Re: Never Ending Nightmare (Tiffanian)

Miranda: HP = 53/58, PP = 78, EP = 31/56, Status = Fine

Rolls
Casting (Miranda) : Success
Attack: Hit.
Damage: 1 + 2 + 10 + 2 = 15 * 4 = 60 - 8 = 52 damage.
Miranda just barely kills a hunter.

Casting (Maggie) : Success
Attack: Hit.
Damage: 1 + 2 + 10 + 2 = 15 * 4 = 60 damage.
Killed!

Casting (Helena) : Success
Attack: Hit.
Damage: 1 + 2 + 10 + 2 = 16 * 4 = 60 damage.
Two for two!

The five soldiers and Caleb all team up and chop the hunters up. Miranda gains 4 experience!

Another bolt of flame produced another fallen hunter with a fist sized hole burned through its chest, and Miranda turned to see the two juggernauts each taking another multicolored bolt of light, this time through the head. Both crumbled to the ground with loud thuds, one after the other, and that left only the reptilian creatures, who were now outnumbered two to one by the soldiers and Caleb. That fight lasted about as long as could be expected, as the monsters were chopped apart.

The soldiers immediately tensed as the last of their enemies fell, searching with eyes and ears for further threats. There were none to be had, the street silent save for the dripping of blood from the weapons of the men, and the heavy breathing of all of them. "Recover!" The sergeant called, though his voice was a low grumble rather than a shout, and two of them went to help the injured man to his feet. Maggie moved to the stunned, bloodied soldier and laid a hand on his head, healing magic spreading out from her fingers. She cast the same spell again as Helena swept her magical lantern about, searching for more of the hunters and finding none.
 
Re: Never Ending Nightmare (Tiffanian)

Another orb of flame burst forth from Miranda's rapier, burning another neat hole in the chest of a hissing hunter, and soon it joined its comrade in death. Not waiting to take in the full effect of her attack, the young mage spun around just in time to see the other two mages all but disintegrate the heads of the juggernauts. Behind her she heard the sounds of sword on scaly flesh and the dying cries of their last three enemies. She shuddered and looked away, not used to these sorts of scenes still. She hoped she never would be. The soldiers were all on the lookout for more enemies, but there were none to be found, and an eerie silence descended on the street then, the sounds of the men trying to catch their breath and the slight drip of blood onto the cobblestones the only noise.

At the sergeant's order a few of the soldiers helped up the one who was injured, and it looked like, externally at least, he was in somewhat worse shape than Miranda had expected. After all, she had been swiped by one of those things earlier, and hadn't ended up much the worse for it. Perhaps it had gone easy on her because she was female? Either way, he was relatively badly bloodied and still stunned from the blow. Without any prompting Maggie walked over to him and touched his head, healing magic beginning to flow from her fingers and bind up his wounds. It took another casting to clear up his injuries as Helena checked for more invisible hunters with her arcane lantern, finding none. Miranda took a deep breath and gave a brief prayer of thanks at their victory, turning to look at the tower Goldspike again. They were still only halfway to their destination, and the night was fast approaching. There was still much that could go wrong. "We probably shouldn’t stay here long" she said nervously, eager to get on with it once everyone had recovered sufficiently.
 
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