by Odhran Aegisbane 25th December 2019, 12:59 am
Odhran's new mentor had made her way to the town earlier than Odhran and his fellow mentee. At some point, Odhran had lost his other mentee, too busy in conversation with his Celestial Spirits to pay it any mind.
"Are you sure it's wise to just leave Gades back there?"
Odhran shrugged. "It'll be fine, I'm certain. Gades is a member of Elysium, after all. If they can't manage to fend for themselves by their lonesome, than what good are they in creating a new world?"
Arnaluuk gave a dumbfounded stare at her Keybearer, hoping in vain that he recognized the irony of his statement. What was also something that Arnaluuk was dying to mention was the fact that they, too, were lost. The mentor had said that they would be in Morgate Town, but Odhran was far too unfamiliar with the surrounding landscape for that to mean anything to him at all. Instead, he just continued to wander on, too stubborn to listen to any advice from the Frozen Sea Spirit.
While he certainly did not need to, Odhran thought it would be best to make a good first impression on all who would view him in such a state. He had his four greatest Spirits out, Arnaluuk and a male Scorpio walking on either side of him while Lupa and Noel flanked behind him, each taking a side. They had encountered a number of beasts, primarily wolves and one particularly aggressive deer, but they had not encountered any combat, as the wildlife fled away from him at the sight of the five powerful creatures marching towards them. Odhran smiled at this. His intimidation plan worked on beasts, so it must work on humans, he thought. He could already picture the look of pride on his fellow guildmates' faces as he continued on what he thought was his way towards Morgate.
Suddenly, the air began to chill around him. "Ah, I see you are setting the mood nicely, Noel."
Noel gave his low, quiet laugh. "If only this were of my own power."
Odhran laughed alongside his Spirit before realizing the implications set from the words. He turned towards the Winter Reaper with a confused look on his face before his unspoken question was answered. Barreling through the woods came a giant creature made of snow. The quintet scattered to avoid the charging beast as it knocked aside each of the trees nearby. All of the quintet but Noel, that is, who stepped into the path of the brute mid-charge. Noel set his bag on the ground before extending his arms, locking in a grapple with the brute. It roared in Noel's face, which remained as expressionless as a skull should be. Noel laughed as it shoved the brute back.
"I suppose we must fight this off. Perhaps our mentor is watching, so let us show the extent of my - nay - our abilities! Arnaluuk, Scorpio, Noel! Strike it from the ground! Me and Lupa shall fight it in the air!"
The quintet agreed to their plans, Odhran sprouting his wings as he darted into the sky, twisting and weaving in the air with his wolf. Noel stepped forwards, delivering a punch to the beast that was slightly taller than the Lich. Arnaluuk had already realized that she would not be of much use against an ice creature, so she had resigned herself to assisting Scorpio's attacks, who was much too happy about the pair-up. Scorpio dashed ahead, wielding his spear tightly in his hand as Arnaluuk froze the air around the Zodiac, giving Scorpio a means to strike wherever on the brute as possible, a ramp of ice encircling the snowy creature. Scorpio peppered it with stabs, the brute unable to resist due to the pressure from Noel's own fisticuffs. Arnaluuk motioned for the ramp to burst skywards before she slammed her staff on the ground. She began a chant to summon forth magic as Scorpio began to prepare his own Sand Buster. Noel grabbed his bag, smashing the brute in the face with it before opening it up. The combination of hail, sand, and coal struck the brute at the same time, who staggered back in pain. It roared, showing that it was not done with the fight as it tackled Noel to the ground.
"Noel! Final move!"
Noel laughed, as he wrestled the brute off of him with assistance from the pestering of Arnaluuk and Scorpio. Slowly getting up, he wrapped his bony hands around the ends of his bag, opening it to a flurry of soot, coal, and ice. It struck the creature with a high amount of force. It now was time for Odhran and Lupa to commence their attacks. From high in the sky, Odhran called forth his holy right arm, the Spear of Gaebolg, as it extended, piercing the top of the beast's head. Lupa, meanwhile, pawed at the ice-made creature with her paws of fire, causing it to slowly melt.
The brute was not finished, however, as it grabbed Odhran's arm and dragged him down from the sky. Before he could collide, however, Scorpio had decided to make his own move. Scorpio dashed at the brute, swinging his spear in the air, delivering a flurry of sand-boosted strikes against the beast. It roared, releasing its grip from the Keybearer. Scorpio landed before striking his spear into the ground and calling forth a stream of sand to further demolish the creature. It dropped to a knee before Odhran unceremoniously crashed through its head, getting covered by the freezing snow as the creature finally fell.
Odhran wiped some of the snow off himself, the slightly fire-imbued tongue of Lupa certainly being of assistance. He finally got up, simultaneously hoping that someone saw the power he possessed while hoping no one saw the embarrassing fall that finished the creature off. That shame lasted little more than a second as he realized that, regardless of the means, he had managed to defeat the beast, delivering the final blow to kill it. He got up, confidently strutting towards Morgate Town, which he could only see due to the hole in the trees caused by the brute.
"You know, I find this forest irritating. Noel, if you would?"
"You're going to destroy the entire forest because it's irritating?"
"Listen up, baby, the boss can do what he wants to. He's the boss, after all."
Arnaluuk was disappointed both in the Zodiac and her Keybearer, but Noel happily obliged, a blizzard emanating from his being, tearing apart the forest around him. Only then did Odhran notice that the town he thought was Morgate was, in fact, just a single cabin that was now covered in snow and ice. He had already passed Morgate, it seemed, but now that the trees were dead, he could see the town and he made his way there, content with a job fairly well done.
WC: 1153
Defeated Strong Enemy