The Dark (Deborah/Tiffania)

[Guan Yu]

Re: The Dark (Deborah/Tiffania)

As Debbie approached the undead a little bit to get herself an unobstructed view, the woman helping her began to get her strange weapons into readiness, the sway turning into more pronounced swings and eventually into complete circles as she brought the rhythm into a figure-eight pattern with both blades swishing around in front of her. Once she reached a certain distance, the swirling weapons made approaching her a dangerous prospect, though it did not do much to prevent the undead men from advancing towards the pair. The strange lady held back on attacking for a bit, allowing the wizardess to fling her bolt first, which she managed to chuck perfectly into the first undead soldier's face. The woman capitalized on the situation, both of her blades flying out to bury themselves into the same soldier's chest, which appeared to be completely bloodless since none of it came out. With a quick tug, she tripped the guy forward, simultaneously getting her weapons free as the undead fell on it's face. The other two trampled their companion, not having much care about him clearly. The woman walked backwards slowly as she sought to keep her distance at the perfect level, where she would be safe from most attacks and still able to throw out her own. The group was starting to move towards Deborah, but the enemies had already lost one of their number, so the situation was still very much in her favor.

 

[Tiffanian]

Re: The Dark (Deborah/Tiffania)

The strange nun-like woman continued to ready herself for battle as the undead approached, swinging her unique weapon around until she had enough momentum to get them going in a full circle in front of her. It was quite a sight to behold, and certainly not something Deborah would want to walk up to, but the undead they were facing were either too stupid to see the danger or didn't care. Probably the latter, considering what they were... Putting all of that out of her mind the mage concentrated and chanted, building up her energy until it was time, and unleashed a bolt of electricity at the leading enemy. Her aim was true, and it slammed into his face square on the nose, causing her helper to lash out as well, swinging her blades at the creature until they sunk into his chest. It didn't bleed at all... how strange to see such a creature, almost human but not quite. It was truly creepy. The undead they had attacked fell forward, perhaps destroyed, though the others just walked overtop its body. There was still work to be done, but at this rate it didn't seem like it would be a problem, actually... The mage took a few steps back, not wanting to let them get too close to her, preparing to fling another bolt of lightning at one of them, whichever she had the easier shot on.

 

[Guan Yu]

Re: The Dark (Deborah/Tiffania)

Again, Deborah fired away to throw her magical weight into the battle, not quite managing it this time as the undead lurched to the side a little just as she did so. The woman did no better, aiming a swing at the same undead's face and missing just like the mage had. Thankfully, there was little luck on both sides as clumsy, shambling approach of the remaining soldiers got them no results either, the other earning a slash across the face from the woman's bizarre weapon as she swung it back in a return slash, though it still kept on coming. The situation had changed little, but the distance was closing between Deborah and the undead.

 

[Tiffanian]

Re: The Dark (Deborah/Tiffania)

Unfortunately Deborah's next attempt had significantly less effect than the first, and certainly less than she had hoped for... Though it didn't really look like an attempt to dodge the undead she had targeted stumbled and lurched about almost randomly, ducking away to the side just in time for her bolt of electricity to whizz past its head. The nun-ish woman did a little bit better herself, her first swing of her strange blades missing the former men, but a second finding its mark right in the creature's face, cutting it open. What a bizarre and terrifying thing to behold, that such a wound didn't bleed... Both of the undead were closer now, though still moving fairly slowly, and the mage felt confident enough to launch one more spell at them before retreating a distance, deciding to focus on the one that had already been damaged by her companion's strike, though she put less care into aiming this one. She just summoned up her magical strength and flung a lightning bolt at the thing's chest, hoping for the best.

 

[Guan Yu]

Re: The Dark (Deborah/Tiffania)

Despite her earlier miss, Deborah got herself back into the game with another successful spell, the somewhat haphazard attack hitting like she hoped for. The lightning bolt opened up another attack window for her supposed partner, who ended up swinging her blades at the same creature as she did, separating the undead menace and his head from each other in a brutal display. The last one came forth in a sudden burst of speed, zipping past his companion as their body was still falling and nailing the nun woman on the face with his club. This sent her reeling for a bit, but the overall effect mostly succeeded in making her angry as the woman quickly came back with a lunging forward kick that toppled the final undead soldier. Before they could recover, the nun was standing over him, clenching her blades with her fists like some manner of gauntlet or punch dagger. Five ruthless blows rained down on the soldier, pretty much demolishing his head before the woman slashed his neck with the sixth one and proceeded to quite literally tear his head off. As the decapitated head flew off to the side, Debbie could realize that the battle was over.

 

[Tiffanian]

Re: The Dark (Deborah/Tiffania)

Deborah's attack found its mark, staggering the undead and giving the nun-like woman a chance to swing her blades at the slow creature, lopping its head off in a single chop. The mage was too stunned at the sight of the former man's head flying through the air to react as the other made a sudden rush at her partner in battle, smashing her face with the club it carried. She was more resilient than she looked, however, because she quickly recovered and kicked the thing to the ground, swinging her blades in close so that she could grab them in her hands and use them as daggers of a sort. What came next was truly a display of brutality, undead enemy or no... She slammed the blades into its face rapidly, tearing large bloodless holes in it, and then slice open its neck enough that she could rip its head from its body with her bare hands. The display made Deborah take a step back, looking on in shock and a fair bit of disgust. The battle was over, but her heart was still racing in her chest, and she was none too sure about this woman she had mistaken for a nun... She seemed to have a significant amount of practiced skill, especially given how bizarre and exotic her weapon was, and she also didn't seem to have any qualms about using them either. The mage would stand in silence, trying to get her breathing and heart rate under control again.

 

[Guan Yu]

Re: The Dark (Deborah/Tiffania)

For all the brutality she had demonstrated on the poor undead souls, the woman calmed down quickly enough. Wrapping her chains back into the confines of her sleeves, she came back over to Deborah, who was still trying to make herself ease up after the brief and mostly harmless but still intense fight. Seeing how the mage was, the supposed nun placed her hands on Debbie's shoulders and cast her gaze firmly into the mage's eyes. "It's over. They won't come after you anymore. Calm down." she was told by this deceiving warrior, who waited as long as it took to get visible confirmation that Deborah had indeed calmed down. "...Was it that bad? Surely went better than expected." the nun asked, still remaining quite neutral and emotionless, even when she was trying to calm someone down from battle shock.

 

[Tiffanian]

Re: The Dark (Deborah/Tiffania)

Deborah looked back into the woman's unnatural-seeming pink eyes, putting a hand on one of the ones she had placed on her shoulder. "I... don't understand how you can be so calm" she replied, "but I'll try... Before today I'd never really fought anyone before, much less monsters like those. Never seen anyone killed... I suppose we did well enough, though. Are you alright? It looked like one of them gave you a good smack." Her breathing was under control now, and though she still had a bit of a sick, foreboding feeling in the pit of her stomach. "And then, what do we do now? I have no idea."

 

[Guan Yu]

Re: The Dark (Deborah/Tiffania)

"I can't let something like this distract me. The loss of life here is regrettable, but I have a mission to carry out." the woman told Deborah as she let her shoulders go, having found her level of calmness to be good enough. "I am fine. Have taken worse during my time." she added a bit more, rubbing at her cheek a bit. Regardless, if something was made up, it was this woman's mind and their possible destination. "We'll head towards the castle, that's where I'll find what I'm looking for. There's some distance to cover, but it is entirely manageable."

 

[Tiffanian]

Re: The Dark (Deborah/Tiffania)

"Just... regrettable?" Deborah asked quietly. What an understatement that was. Still, there was nothing to be done. It seemed madness to go to the castle, to go deeper into this mad city, but she didn't think she would get very far alone either. The mage would follow along behind this strange pink-haired woman. "What's your name? I'm Deborah" she finally asked. It was strange that she hadn't already asked, but these were strange times, and she had been pretty heavily distracted until now.

 

[Guan Yu]

Re: The Dark (Deborah/Tiffania)

"Yes, regrettable. While I respect any other human, I am not from here and do not have any familial or friendship ties to any people in this city. I cannot say that it would be more than regrettable, unfortunately." the woman explained her use of the words that she had used, coming off more than a little uncaring when it came to one's fellow man. The pair made way forward, leaving the scene of their fight and the backyard grave site behind as they appeared to have no reason to dwell there any longer.

On their way towards more traveled streets, Deborah thought to ask her mysterious partner for a name, the two not having shared that info yet. "I am Ran, from Carim." she gave her name without much hesitation. The information caused some mental alarms to go off in the wizardess' mind as the land of Carim was well known as a somewhat sinister and dark land with the ruthless earl Arstor being their regional ruler. The earl had many dubious rumors about himself and the items he had been credited for creating floating around, and the knighthood he had established was no less sinister a force as their leader. If the rest of the land she had come from was any indication, there would likely be good reason for Deborah to be careful with her partner.

 

[Tiffanian]

Re: The Dark (Deborah/Tiffania)

In truth it almost seemed that the woman Deborah had mistaken for a nun respected the dead more than the living... She was certainly strange, and probably even cold given the way she was acting. Apparently her name was Ran, though that wasn't really the interesting part of what she said. She was from Carim... that sort of explained some things. Carim was a strange place, and from what the mage had heard her dress wouldn't be all that far out of place. It was also rumored to be a place of very dubious morality, a place that certainly had a ruler who was considered at best questionable. It made it all the more scary. What would a woman from such a place want to study in a situation like this? The possibilities were endless, and most of them were not good. Still, Deborah couldn't think of anything else she ought to do but follow. Maybe they would find sensible companions in the castle?

 

[Guan Yu]

Re: The Dark (Deborah/Tiffania)

"Hmm, is there something wrong?" Ran asked as she appeared to notice that Deborah was having a ponder after her words. "Actually, never mind.

The pair moved on, shortly arriving back to one of the main streets of the city, where they could make way towards the castle in a more direct way. The once-busy street was alarmingly empty, only devastation and some lucky souls who had not been resurrected from their deaths as the living dead being the things they could find with a quick lookaround. Thankfully, the demons and undead were not to be found right then as Deborah still likely had a good amount of unease to deal with. A little ways forward, they could hear some fighting going on from the vicinity, the sounds suggesting a nearby side street.

 

[Tiffanian]

Re: The Dark (Deborah/Tiffania)

Deborah continued to follow along just behind her new companion, her eyes darting watchfully all around them as they made their way back to one of the main streets of the city. It was eerily empty, save for the rubble all about and the odd corpse lying in the street where it had fallen. She couldn't help but watch them closely as she and Ran passed by, as she didn't know what foul sort of magic or curse could be animating the others... would they spring to life and attack as the two women walked past? Luckily it never happened, at least not yet, and nothing hostile came out at them for a time. After a relatively brief walk, though, there was fighting to be heard off to one side, probably in a side street from the sounds of it. Who or what was fighting couldn't be ascertained from there... "Do we help?" the mage asked tentatively, not sure herself whether she wanted to. Ideally she wanted to avoid combat if at all possible, and yet... shouldn't she help anyone she could that was fighting these demonic undead? It was a difficult question for her to answer, so she took the easy way out, allowing her pink-haired compatriot to decide for her.

 

[Guan Yu]

Re: The Dark (Deborah/Tiffania)

Ran did not react to the sounds of fighting immediately, but once Deborah mentioned it, she switched direction towards them. "...We will take a look, at least." she expressed her plan to the situation as she went onwards without any haste or hesitation, remaining in the calm mindset even then.

The side street revealed the site of the battle, a small opening in front of a stable for a few horses. A group of five undead soldiers were surrounding a man in full armor, the suit having a somewhat unusual design and a dull gold color to it. The chestplate of his armor was stylized to look like it had a pair of arms embracing him, and the helmet had a distinctive square faceplate with holes in addition to having six metal extensions at specified parts on the top of it that made it look vaguely like a tower top or something like that. The fellow had no shield, apparently trusting in his skill with the weapons that he used, which looked like sickles. They were far more longer and steeply curved that the average sickle though, which suggested that they were specialized swords of some kind. One undead was lying at the man's feet, guts spilling out from the gash in it's abdomen, so he was holding out at the moment. Yet it was not certain how strong he was, so that might change without the ladies stepping in.

 

[Tiffanian]

Re: The Dark (Deborah/Tiffania)

The two walked on to the sounds of battle, Deborah moving along cautiously, nervously, her partner seemingly unperturbed. They came across it relatively quickly, the site right in front of a small stable. There were five undeads, apparently former soldiers, facing off against one living man in very strange full plate armor, its color a pale gold. The design was unlike anything she had ever seen before, especially the headpiece. His weapons were even stranger, some sort of long sickles that were built something like glaives. He had already dispatched one of the undead on his own, but there were still so many... The mage looked over at Ran nervously, not sure if they should help him or not, not least because she had no idea what sort of order the knight might belong to based on that order. He might not even need their help in the first place. Deborah wasn't going to launch into that fight on her own without support in any case.

 

[Guan Yu]

Re: The Dark (Deborah/Tiffania)

Ran appeared to sense the hesitation that Deborah was having towards the situation, and she too made no initial move to join in and help the knight fellow in his predicament. But she did appear to possess some desire to not see life lost needlessly, the chain-blades dropping out from her sleeves again as she started to wade into the combat.

The knight had to put some effort into avoiding all the undead and their attacks, a rapid weapon switch making it somewhat easier as he set aside his left hand sword and took out a dagger with an enlarged crossguard onto his off-hand. The group of hostiles only managed to dent his armor a little bit, one attack getting deflected with the dagger in a show of good combat skill as the man parried an incoming axe blow. For all of his efforts, the knight had no real spot to attack, the group of undead constantly harassing him and keeping him focused on defense for the most part.

 

[Tiffanian]

Re: The Dark (Deborah/Tiffania)

Ran didn't seem particularly enthused about joining in on this fight, but even so she still took steps to do so, walking forward very slowly while her strange bladed weapons dropped out of the sleeves of her dress. That was enough to tell Deborah that they were going to end up in combat, and she started to prepare a spell. In the meantime the knight continued to hold his own, and though he had no real room to go on the offensive he didn't seem to have taken so much as a scratch against enemies far superior in number. That gave the mage hope that this would go well and be brief... If the two of them gave him some breathing room he would surely be able to smash the undead before long. Of the two women she would fire the first blow, picking out one of the undead and firing off a bolt of lightning at it, confident that even if she missed she would hit one of the abominations.

 

[Guan Yu]

Re: The Dark (Deborah/Tiffania)

With the two ladies moving to the attack, Ran approached with a little more swiftness than she had before, the twirling of blades staying quite minimal this time around as she simple swept the blades from side to side with a wide sweep before stepping back to give Deborah the room she needed. The wizardess' aimed lightning was true despite her inexperience in the field of offensive spells, felling the undead that had just gotten slashed severely by her companion. It was a strong start for the two.

The knight was getting off a little easier now as well, the sudden introduction of the new combatants distracting the undead and giving him some space to work without fear of getting immediately hit from some direction. Taking the opportunity, he maneuvered to the side somewhat, the sickle-sword in his right hand flying out in a blur to catch one undead soldier right in the shoulder, the tip sinking a good couple of inches in before he pulled back on it, getting the unfortunate enemy closer for a devastating dagger stab with his off-hand, the blade of it going all the way into the zombie soldier's body. Giving the knife a good twist, the knight followed up by kicking the now motionless opponent to the side before making a quick weapon switch to retrieve his second sickle back up. It appeared that the distraction had been good, and the man was now able to go back into the offensive.

 

[Tiffanian]

Re: The Dark (Deborah/Tiffania)

The two newcomers to the fight struck almost as one, with Ran lashing out first. Her bladed weapons cut deeply into one of the undead, seemingly hurting it pretty badly, and so that was the one that Deborah focused her attention on. Her attack managed a hit, the bolt of lightning striking the wounded abomination in the small of its back and knocking it to the ground, its strength shattered. The rest of the creatures started to turn their attention to the two, which gave the knight the opening he needed to go on the offensive and slice another of them to pieces on his own. In just a few moments they had evened the odds, and for once Deborah was pretty well assured of victory. She launched another electric attack at the nearest of the undead soldiers, hoping to give Ran an opening to kill it, thinking that if things would go their way for just a few more seconds they could have this dangerous encounter over with.