Saving Werewolf Ulfang

Saving Werewolf Ulfang
Date of Scene:	25 May 2013
Location:	Tramdine Fens
Synopsis:	Avira, Skoll and Zia finally challenge the remaining Gaudium Lord flunkies; 'The Gaia Sisters' to free Skoll of the darkness-inducing collar.
Cast of Characters:	Skoll Ulfang, Zia, Avira
Tinyplot:	What Has Been Lost...

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Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Even after all this time, there's still rumor that something strange is going on in the Tramdine Fens. Thanks to some prior research, both Zia and Avira have found the source of this rumor. And the source of this rumor is... a gigantic forest of thorns that has formed a sorts of 'half sphere' throughout the fens, blocking off any and all ways in. It's not too unlike the time they'd found Skoll - tied down by those roots at Port Royal... only this time, there's simply no way in.

Skoll was reportedly on his way, but he hasn't shown up yet, leaving the Gargess and the scarred warrior to find a way around this dome.... and manage to find a little hut. A little wooden hut, smoke coming from a chimney at the top. It looks homely at best, a little fire going underneath a pot inside. The door is open too.

Were they to peek inside, or just enter - since that's a thing heroes do now-a-days - they'd find a rather old Viera in red cloth working within. The room filled with all kinds of potions, herbs and the like. Currently, it smells... kind of awful inside. She drops a dried newt into her mixture, followed by a purple POOF of smoke, before she pulls a wooden ladle out... which is now a handle and then quickly tapers inwards to 'ashes'. "Time for a new ladle." The 'crone' mutters, throwing the stick out behind her - through the door if nobody is standing in the way.

Avira has posed:
In light of a string of embarassments, Avira needed to get out of Traverse Town for a while. More importantly, the leads regarding these other Gaia Sisters that imperiled Skoll had been few and far between. Or maybe they had just been that way because Avira wasn't looking hard enough. Fortunately, Zia had came through for her, alerting Avira to some oddness in the Fens.

She knows better than to go alone and had waited for Zia before setting out. While she could have begged for a ride through the air like before, today she travels upon her most unusual mount: a steelclad beetle. The insect is as large as a volkswagon and twice as strong. Even in forested terrain it moves, albiet slower and careful to not get stuck between trees. Avira sits upon its back, a set of reins in her hand that she hardly seems to use.

Their search turns up few ways in and Avira considers testing whether or not Herbie can gnaw a hole through the half-sphere. That is until they see the nearby hut and Avira abandons the beetle's back to investigate. She peers through the door carefully, spotting the viera within, and makes a face.

Her last experience with viera had not been a good one.

Zia has posed:
There's so many different things that always seemed to get in the way of coming out here. In the aftermath of Manhattan's ressurection, things had been thrown into turmoil. Brewing behind everything else that seized upon her attention, the growing danger to Skoll had become more and more pressing. She had to find a way to steal him back from their control.

Luckily, snatching Avira away from her duties in Traverse Town had been easier than she'd thought it would be. The gargoyle hadn't been keeping up with the affairs going on there, so she hasn't a clue about the embarassing circumstances that lead the VALKYRI leader to seek some peace elsewhere. Then again, the giant beetle, she's pretty sure that's a new one. Zia keeps a decent distance, perhaps not quite so comfortable with very large insects.

Anyways, she comes down to land not far from the edge of the dome, "There isnae any opening up top." She reports, caping her wings over her shoulders. "Ah couldnae find any other openings, either, nae from above, anyways." That's about the time that the two of them spot the hut. Being that she's the creature that probably doesn't belong in these parts, the gargoyle decides to let Avira take the lead on this one.

Then again, when she spots the burnt off ladel, Zia leans forward a little, offering in a quiet tone, "Maybe we should ask her if we could borrow some'a tha. Ah bet it'd burn through anythin." It's partially a joke, but... if it ate through wood, it might just eat through thorny viny things?

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Bunny ears. In a ways, it is cute how they twitch upon the sound of the two 'trespassers'. In a voice that would be clearly recognized as 'Australian' to these two Manhattanites, the woman speaks without even turning towards the two. "So you two are seeking to get through that cage of vines, do you?" The voice is without any sign of warmth, and very 'to the point'. "I agree - this little brew would certainly make a good enough dent in one side of it to make it through." The woman then slowly turns, observing the two of them. Zia actually gets a second glance, in the fact that she doesn't look like anything this woman has ever seen before in her life.

She looks the two up and down then again, before adding; "Such a shame. You two could never pay for what I have to offer." She continues to rattle off a price that has an /impressive/ amount of zeroes at the end, before turning again and pulling the pot off of its handle and placing it down onto the stone floor of her little shambly hut. "Take this." She declares. "I am sick of my back yard being befouled. But I must warn you... if you go in and make it through that dome - I can not guarantee that you can come back if you decide to flee. Do you understand?"

Avira has posed:
Avira's kind of glad that Zia has no idea what humiliation had befallen the huntress recently. The less people that knew the better, actually, since damage to her reputation could threaten VALKYRI's business...which meant no money. They kind of needed that for food!

"Figures. A feature with you in mind, no doubt." Avira chuckles, glancing up at the towering dome. "I didn't see any at ground level either-I had Herbie doing a bit of digging too. Didn't help."

As she watches the viera lose her ladle, she can't help but laugh a little at Zia's suggestion. "That's a pretty good idea, actually. Since fire is right out.."

The Viera looks their way and Avira stiffens a little, growing a shade colder. -then even more so when the woman rattles off the price tag of, "...what exactly do you have to offer?" she asks with no small amount of curiosity. That it was so expensive only made her even more curious.

Avira lets out a long breath. "Oh, we have no intention of fleeing until we take care of what we came to do...which we're both pretty darn sure is waiting for us in the center of that dome."

Zia has posed:
"Aye. Seems our 'friends' are expectin us." With the amount of destruction that they had seen in the forests around Port Royal, Zia isn't looking forward to seeing what lies beyond the mess of vines and thorns. These are the sort of strange things that go against the flow of nature, and it had a tendency to make her skin crawl. Rubbing above one damaged forearm, she shakes her head.

It should be no surprise that her whispered comment gets picked up by the Viera. Bunny ears weren't just good for the whole 'cute' factor. Still, Zia winces slightly, ears tucking with some small sign of embarassment. It's an expression that lingers as she gets looked up and down almost as if she were some sort of alien lifeform. Her tail curls in around her ankles. Once, she wouldn't have thought of going on such 'adventures', but now, well... she's a different person.

The huntress takes the first words she has right out of her mouth, so instead, Zia just reaches into one of the pouches at her side. Though the old Viera hasn't asked them for anything in exchange for the noxious brew she'd been cooking, it's seems better to at least offer something to promote some good will. "Ah dinnae have much in the way of coin, but this might be somethin te help ye wi' some future potions." At the very least, Zia is hoping that this is some sort of witch who made the acidic stuff on purpose.

Either way, she offers out a small pouch that contains various magical ingredients that Zia has collected from monsters here and there. Nothing truly expensive, but they're from a wide enough variety of areas to certainly be a nice token of appreciation.

Then, with a nod, she chimes in, "The lass is right. Wha's in there isnae just harmin yer forest. It's harmin someone we care aboot. Tha's reason enough nae te face it."

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"The lass is right with what?" That's the more-than-recognizable voice of Skoll's, peeking out behind them. Where the /heck/ did he come from? Knowing him, it was probably one of those bedamned portals. The werewolf rather amiacably pats a hand on both of their shoulders, and looks into the hut, and notices the Viera within, who is just accepting Zia's little pouch. She looks inside, then looks up at Zia for a moment. "Nowhere near the cost of this brew I made." Cold, once more. But that's just within her nature - nothing Zia can do about it. "But your willingness to give up something that takes a long time to gather is appreciated." The woman takes the pouch, and gently lays it on the table.

"Better than some others that come in here for Zombie potions." She continues to mutter, before glancing towards Avira with those cold eyes of her. This Viera sends Skoll's heckles on end. "This brew. Take it. Just get this mess out of my back garden. You - the male. Carry it for the women, and then get out of my house." She turns back around, and grabs a giant cauldron from beside the hearth and starts working on a new brew.

Skoll stares for a while, confused with the situation. "Well!?" The Viera calls back - followed by Skoll quickly running forwards, and then almost pulling his back trying to lift the giant cauldron filled with water. Still, he manages somehow, lifting it up to his belly and then slowly wobbling out the door like a penguin.

"You... ladies point... the way." He heaves.

Avira has posed:
Skoll is also sneaky! Avira knows this because he taught her all about moving quietly through a forest and following people! "Hello Skoll."

She sighs a little and rubs her head, "Consider us getting rid of that mess in your backyard the rest of the payment." Avira says, sounding pretty confident about this. There was no reason not to be confident, in spite of getting kicked around so much lately. Besides, if they failed, odds are they wouldn't be around to repay this woman anyway. Skoll would be taken, Zia and her would be...dead, Avira assumes. She didn't want to imagine the Gaudium Lords having a use for them.

Sighing, she motions for Skoll to do just that and leaves the hut, all too happy to be out of the viera's presence. "Alright, alright, follow me-" she says, but once they're out of view of the witch, she puts her hands on the cauldron's rim to help Skoll a little.

Zia has posed:
The sudden emergence of Skoll out of nowhere might not surprise Avira, but it does make Zia jump... just a little. She tries to disguise it with a quick turn of her head in his direction, offering a ghost of a smile. "Ye know, Ah'd ask if yer mum ever taught ye tha it's impolite to sneak up on someone, but then again, yer a wolf." The hint of humor is meant to disguise that queasy feeling in her stomach. It's hard to tell if it's the feel of the forest, the stare of the Viera, or the smell of the potion that's causing it.

It's not as if the white gargoyle had meant to make friends with the old crone anyways, but maybe the token payment would keep them from being turned into toads, or newts, or something worse. She is quick to step back. Her own experience with zombies has not been pleasant, and if this old woman is going to brew some up out of her cauldron, well... let's just say she'll leave that to badly done adaptations of beloved children's novels.

She's quick to follow Skoll out of the house, trying to avoid the sway of his wobbling tail. "Viera never are very nice te males, are they?" Since the two of them seem to have the pot whatever-the-heck handled, Zia decides to lead the way. "Maybe we could try te make a small hole 'n sneak in? Then again, ye two are the masters of stealth. Ah'm likely te just go tramplin around like a great bloody elephant with these feet." She lifts a talon and wiggles her toes, scanning the wall of vines for a likely spot.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Skoll's tail goes a-wagging as it usually does when amongst his best friends. These two - Zia and Avira - have seen him through thick and thin; as has he for the two of them in a ways. Or at least through some thick spots. "Nah, my mom always told me that sneaking up to someone shows that you're a good 'match' - whatever that meant." Skoll answers Zia, showing this toothy grin for a moment while following the Gargoyle towards the vine wall. "Still, " His expression falters just slightly. "That old crone could be nicer." Mutter mutter.

Avira's assistance with the cauldron is certainly appreciated, though Avira might be surprised with the amount of strength that Skoll is putting forth with his body. After all, that's one heck of a cauldron, and she can feel the weight as she tries to help carry it. But then, that's all part of the mystery that is Skoll, now isn't it?

"Thanks for the help you two." Skoll wuffles, until finally they get to whatever place Zia just chose, and Skoll puts the cauldron down carefully; spilling that stuff might be dangerous. "I think if I try, I can make a decently sized hole." He admits. "But also, if we're going in there... I think we'll be noticed. I don't think stealth will be possible." He looks up at the gigantic vine-wall.

"This place gives me the heebie-jeebies." Who even /says that/ anymore? There's that 'lack of sound' coming from the inside that the three of them are well familiar with. "Well... better move out of the way." Skoll then announces, grabbing the cauldron and looking left and right - making sure the two are stepping out of the way. He breathes in firmly, 'cracking his knuckles' for a moment, before grabbing the cauldron, lifting it partially, and then suddenly swinging it forwards like a bucket, splashing the contents onto the vines.

What follows is an inhuman screetch along with the foul scent of the potion and the hissing of the vines - destroying the vines and turning them to disgusting ashes, until it even /pulps/ that which it doesn't touch... until finally there's a big enough hole for the three to go in. The vines creak, but there does seem to be some light inside. In fact, the entire inside is... strange. Water lays on the floor, blue glowing pure water, with some beautiful plants here and there.

HUGE plants. Like, as if they were ants amonst nature.

Avira has posed:
"It's a Veira thing, I think. They're kind of xenophobic. See, I took this job for them a few weeks ago...in fact that's where I met Herbie-we were supposed to divert beetles and they just up and insulted us the whooooole time."

Holy cow this thing was heavy. She starts to wonder if she can actually carry any of the weight off of him and it serves a reminder of how weak she really was.

"Well, depends on when we start being stealthy, right? I do know a thing or two about hiding in a forest." She sidesteps so Skoll can fling the cauldron onto the vines.

Avira's the first to enter, drawing the Spine as she does, and finds herself immediately stuck by how beautiful it looks inside here. It was an abberation, but still...beautiful somehow. She looks down at the water and starts to move through it, managing to do so relatively silently.

Zia has posed:
While Skoll might offer thanks for their help, Zia just offers a half smile, "Least we could do. Nae like ye haven't stuck yer neck out fer both of us before." In fact, it's entirely likely that him sticking his neck out for them is exactly what got that neck collared by the Gaudium Lords. It's something that she tries not to think about. The way the world is now, you could easily blame yourself for a lot of the bad things that happen, but that wouldn't help to fix anything.

She shrugs on the discussion about stealth. Where these two are practiced hunters, she's clearly the mage of the party. Luckily, she's not the squishy sort. Listening to the story about the Viera, the gargoyle frowns slightly, her tail swishing as she shakes her head, "Well, our people arenae much be'ta. Ah've heard some talk tha there's folks tryin te band tegether to keep Manhattan pure. Load of bollux if ye ask me."

The moment that the hole is made, Zia pauses a moment, offering a word of warning, "We'd best be on our guard. If this is the one who made the collar, she's likely te try to get ahold of Skoll. Ye need te be ready te fight the collar, 'n we need te be prepared for him bein taken out of the fight." That said, she steps through, eyes going wide at the sights around them. For all the nature that she's seen from various places in a myriad of worlds, this is something amazing. Frightening, but amazing.

"Let's try nae te touch anythin. Ah'd bet a good chunk of it's poison." She offers in a quiet tone. Where Avira might be able to move quietly, there's just no helping having oversized clodhopper feet and a set of extra appendages that keep disrupting the water. Zia apparently took no points in stealth, she min-maxed into magic.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Amongst the very center of the large dome, one thing stands out in particular. A gigantic sunflower; in more than just the literal sense. It is pulsing with light and is part of what gives this inside its ambient light. Sitting atop of it is a... rather remarkable woman. Flowing blue and glowing dark-blue hair, a green skinned woman with leaves over most of her body looks down towards the opened hole.

"Who dares intrude upon my domain?" The woman calls out in a strange voice, as if someone was speaking while under water. It's one of those movie-like effects. When she stands up, her water 'falls'... like... her hair is a 'waterfall' that comes from her head. It truly looks mesmerizing and beautiful in a ways. Skoll is attempting some stealth, much like Avira is, but then indeed- there's Zia, splashing up the water.

It's likely that they'd been noticed one way or the other, but on his occassion, it seems that Avira at least goes unnoticed. "Ah, so the /mutt/ brought a /monster/ to help him. How quaint." The woman states. The water within the dome suddenly rises near her, until it touches the tip of the plant. The woman steps onto this 'wave', and then lets it slowly take her down towards the mirror-clean water. The hole in the vines close up right behind them. "Look who decided to come in, SISTER." The waterwoman declares...

And that's when Avira suddenly bumps into a rather busty woman with violent eyes. Purple lightning practically /streams/ off of her body, electrifying the water beneath her as she steps. It's like she came out of nowhere. Her shoulder is covered in a strange shoulderguard that glows an eerie blue light, and she carries what looks to be a massive blade at her hip. "Indeed.... look who decided to come in." She sneers. She's nowhere as beautiful as her watery sister. Her hair is a mess and her leaves look scraggley. Like the female monsterous version of a mad professor.

Avira has posed:
This is clearly the 'water' woman of the sisters. While Avira would be enticed to stay and gape, she suddenly slips behind one of the larger plants in the domain, taking refuge in its shadow. Even then, she doesn't remain entirely still. Her Spine returns to its sheath and she quietly begins to scale the plant. Getting OUT of the water suddenly seemed like a tremendously good idea.

Then she bumps into something from behind and she looks over her shoulder. A cold feeling gathers in the pit of her stomach. She smells the ozone in the air around her and a swear escapes the huntress.

Without question, she scrambles up the side of the plant in record time. It's kind of like one of those old cartoons, watching her, where a cat is startled from behind and suddenly jumps to cling to the ceiling. Only with a human. And a plant.

Zia has posed:
As much as Zia totally ruins the stealth effect, you can't really blame her. She doesn't have the actual combat or stealth training of the others. That might be something to put on the 'to-do list' if they make it out of here alive. Of course, figuring that water is one of the elements she works best with, she feels perfectly well at home wading into it. A match between water witches? Bring it on.

Of course, that's not really what's going through her mind in the moment that she lays her eyes on the water sister. "Who are ye callin a monster, lass?" Zia replies in turn. There wasn't much point in being quiet now that they've been spotted. Of course, finding out that there's two of them takes a bit of wind out of her sails.

Turning, the gargoyle mutters an oath under her breath. She steps forward, her tail brushing briefly against Skoll's leg in a movement meant to offer some reassurance, and then she's launching skyward. She can't exactly fly well here, not without fiddling with the winds more than she'd like and risking skewering herself on the vines. Nevertheless, gargoyles are creatures of the air, and she tends to work better from above than below.

That said, there is also a creeping line of ice which seems to radiate from the spot where she'd been standing. It seems to almost be 'alive', in the fact that it is working it's way towards the water sister as we speak.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"Oho, quick one aren't 'cha? No hiding now..." The woman then makes a little flurry with her hand, revealing two nasty looking collars. "I got these made especially for you two. Heeeee." Her laugh is scary - like something from a person you expect to be shouting about EVIL SCIENCE or something. "Come here now... little one. Come to mommy Lynn." She places a foot against the mushroom, and then... starts to walk up it. At an angle. Like one of those freaky spiders that can climb anything. She does store the collars at her side for a moment, just in order to reveal that massive golden blade. She even goes so far as to let that purple lightning crawl through. A very similar kind of 'dark lightning' that Avira might recognize from Skoll's collar. With her other hand, she grabs a little pipe and then - with a zap of lightning - sets the end on fire and starts to casually smoke it while approaching Avira. She's not even taking Avira seriously!?

"Avira, you okay over there!?" Skoll calls out towards Avira, who clearly had been startled by something as she reaches the top of that gigantic plant. From where he is, he can't see the 'other one'. But he'd heard the voice. He recognized it of course. But right now, he has to deal with the problem before him. The far more magical force; "Auga..." Skoll mutters.

"Oh hello there, mister Mutt. Decided to bite the hand that feeds you after all huh? Such a shame. You would have made such a cute little puppy." There's an air of arrogance that radiates from this woman. Then there's a glare towards Zia. "I will have you know, I am the fairest of all the Gaia sisters. You have nothing on me... those disgusting claws... ugh, and that ratty cloth at you waist."

Which immediately gets her a 'hey'. "HEY!" Skoll, who normally would be expected to yell at her for calling him a mutt; "At least she doesn't have water flowing from her head. And besides, Zia is beautiful." Followed by Skoll suddenly jumping straight out of the water, just as Zia's ice reaches the woman. The woman tries to get out of the way, but that's when she finds her feet /frozen/ in the water. She's just about to say something when Skoll calls out; "So SHUT UP!" One of his fists connects, and purple lightning carves across her body, causing her to scream out - followed by a second punch for the other side of her face, and then Skoll digging his feet into her chest and pushing her back - jumping into the air and delivering a kick to the back of the Lightning Lady's neck - sending a similar 'startle' of lightning through her - causing a similar shriek.

"Why you!" Lynn calls out and swings her massive blade in a wide arc towards both Skoll and Avira, while at the bottom of the plant, Auga pulls her arms back, drawing up water, and then sends a massive wave at a curve towards Zia, trying to press her into a nearby poison mushroom!

Avira has posed:
Avira swings up onto one of the stems of the plant and lands, crouched upon it. One hand steadies herself against the plant while the other pulls out the spine again. She looks down from her perch at the woman and spies what she has in her hand. Avira's eyes go wide.

Here she thought they'd just up and kill her. Zia, sure, Avira could see them taking her outright since they seemed to like 'monsters'. "The other one is here too! She's got more of those collars!" she calls out, warning Skoll and Zia.

She continues her ascent until she reaches the top of the plant, eliminating the possibility of standing in water and getting electrocuted. Or drowned.

She sees the sword swinging and responds in kind, sending a cutting gust of air down as she's knocked backwards, nearly falling off the plant from the force of the blow.

She swings herself back into a stable position and stabs the Spine downwards, clasping her hands tightly around the inverted blade. Ice crawls across the mythril spines and disappears.

Beneath Lynn, ice emerges from the water and curls around her to trap her into a cage of spikes. While she is immobilized, she pulls the Spine up again and lashes downwards at her, sending an icy blast of air that forms itself up into a smiling beast that smashes down into the cage with meteoric force.

Zia has posed:
With the lightning witch out of sight, Zia has no way of knowing what these two have in store for them, at least not at first. It isn't until she's fully airborne that the gargoyle catches sight of Avira and her own target. Her heart sinks slightly. Two of them. They'd been prepared to face down one, but two? And worse, there's a moment of confusion when she can't figure out which one might be the keeper of the collars.

That is, until one starts waggling them at Avira. Question answered. Zia's eyes flash to red, barely containing a hiss of gargoyle fury. After all the trials they'd gone through, this witch wants to capture the two of them, too? No. Not again. She'd die first before she let anyone chain her like a monster a third time.

Of course, Zia is nearly startled out of her rage at Skoll's voice. It's strange enough to go from friends to... maybe something, but to have him shout out such a compliment in the middle of battle? It makes her falter in mid-air, backwinging to stare for a moment. Probably not a good thing, since the water-witch uses that as an opportunity to target her.

Swearing under her breath, Zia is forced to sweep her arms down, sending a burst of wind beneath her and sending her rocketing towards the thorns above. A quick spin has her rebounding, barely avoiding the spikes as she launches into a more steady glide.

With her priorities shifted, Zia decides to use fire againts fire, or in this case... lightning against lightning? It might not be the best of ideas, but these two witches both utilize the same elements that she has always called her own. "Nae one is collarin' anyone today." Swooping down, Zia tries to latch on to Lynn with one hand and pull her skyward, swooping away and leaving behind a trail of powerful electricity. Not the dark kind that this woman seems to use, but the kind that comes from nature.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"I'll take care of her." Skoll tells Avira when the girl is hit by the lightning strike. Avira might note that he's not as worried about that hit she took - personally stepping aside and avoiding the attack rather gracefully. There's only one thing to take from that, as Skoll comes to stand on that massive plant and blocks the Lightning-lady's path. He trusts her, and he trusts in her ability in combat.

Behind Skoll, Avira makes for her assault. The Lightning-lady is about to follow her, but Skoll spreads his arms to truly stand in her way, and then points at her. "Your fight is with me - you created that collar. I won't let you collar /them/ you filthy PLANT." Which gets him a most disgusted look.

Beneath Lynn, ice once again emerges and traps her within a cage of spikes - Auga looks up for just a moment, then suddenly pushes her hands outwards, and then makes for a flurry of martial artsy moves before water swirls around Lynn and literally /cuts/ the ice prison to tiny ribons, before the whole torrent lifts her lightning-using sister up into the air and towards Zia. This battle is not going to be easy.

That's when Zia makes contact, just as Skoll is about to attack the lightning-lady, and is forced to halt due to the torrent of water that had come out of nowhere. Zia ends up picking the woman right out of the air and flays her with lightning. The woman... just grins at Zia, letting her purer lightning course through her body. "Ahhh, refreshing..." This one isn't 'normal'. It's clearly doing damage... but she seems to be enjoying it.

Her hand reaches for her side and she grabs a collar, and then throws her hand up, trying to collar Zia. That's just when the sound of chains fills the air. It tangles around the foot of the lightning-plant and then TUGS on her leg before filling her with a violent force of darkness. "Let go, Zia!" Skoll calls out. "Leave her to me, I don't want to see either of you to go through what I went through!" However, using so much darkness of course has that negative effect on him, causing a dark force... VISUALLY start seeping out of the collar over Skoll's body, darkening his skin and veins, and discoloring his clothing. The werewolf bites through the pain.

"Let my sister go, you disgusting mutt!" The woman of water calls out, sending a massive wall of cutting water for Skoll, while Lynn attempts to cuff Zia with that collar before Skoll manages to pull her off of her and down towards the high-up plant. He however fails to drag her all the way to the ground. That's when Agau's wall of water suddenly explodes, and falls all over the entire group, while Lynn's lightning is sent through it, electrifying the entirety of it all.

Avira has posed:
"H-hey, come on, Skoll!" Her grip tightens upon her blade, "I've got this, I know I do!" Or she would, if that other woman wasn't dicking around with her magic. A frustrated growl escapes her, thoughts of previous fights coming up again-if only her light was still there, maybe she'd be stronger.

"Skoll! Be careful!" though he tries to hide it, she can see he's still in a good deal of pain.

The wall of water explodes and Avira nimbly swings down into the plant, using it to shield her from the torrent of water as she holds onto it by jamming the Spine through the stem. This keeps her safe from the follow-up lightning as well. Tearing the Spine free, she drops back down to the ground and splashes her way through the water, running directly at Agau. The air seems to blur slightly in her wake.

"RAAAAAAAAAAARGGGGGGGH!" she screams, hurling herself at the woman, driving the Spine deeply into her as she charges. With all the strength she can muster, she rips the Spine back out (no easy feat due to its serrated edges) and plunges it back in again.

Zia has posed:
No no no! Everything seems to go pear shaped at the same moment. Her spell does nothing, and in that split second, it seems as if her idea of a cunning plan turns into a major disaster. Seeing the collar coming towards her, Zia does the only thing an untrained person can do. She all-out flails, pushing herself away from the lightning witch and sending herself into an uncontrolled flight that brings her far, far too close to the wall of thorns.

It's there that she gets caught, the wall of water lashing into her and sending her straight into the thorns. She only has time to pull her wings forward, trying to minimize the damage. It doesn't help much, as pain lances through her. One long thorn sticks out of her shoulder, and there are others which leave visible gashes along her white skin.

At first, her eyes roll back, threatening to succumb to what is probably a lot more physical pain than she's used to. Zia is no trained warrior. Somehow, though, she does pull herself from the brink, shaking her head to clear it, then pulls herself free from the thorns. She drops onto a nearby tree, which is thankfully free of poisonous flowers, gripping her shoulder with one talon as she tries to focus on the fight.

If attacking the lightning witch wasn't working, then she'd just have to go after the sister. It takes some effort to launch herself upward again, but this time, Zia uses that moment to send a lash of electricity lashing towards Agau.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"I know you do." Skoll calls back at Avira. "I believe in the both of you. In your strength." Skoll answers Avira as he falls back, pulling his chain loose... and then looks up as the electrified water comes. "Shii~..." He mutters, before the hard wall splashes against his body. He feels his left leg buckle underneath the stress, followed by him slipping over the massive vine he was standing on and being sent plummeting to the ground. What follows is a torrent of pain, as lightning tears over his body, ruining bits of his clothing, latches onto his chains to creature a further surge, and the water finally flattens him against the ground.

That uncomfortable feeling of not being able to /breathe/ overcomes him, leaving him strangled by the water and struggling for air, his arms flailing around in pain; the electricity making it almost impossible to move his body like he wants to! Darkness 'spreads' from where he lies through the water quite visibly, and it almost looks like a cloud of 'blood' washing out from where he lies. Agau lands besides Lynn on a lower leaf, and grins - both of them staring down at the werewolf in pain.

This is the power of the Gaudium Lords. It had taken all three of them to take down one of the sisters. Now it was them against two of them - and these two were /working together/. Avira, Zia, and Skoll... they aren't working as a team however. Will that be their downfall!?

Avira storms at Agau - the only one who'd managed to avoid the massive lightning-and-water splash and burrows the Spine right into Agau... deep into her. But... it almost felt like she barely got any resistance. If she looks down, she'll notice upon her second try that there where she is hitting, the woman is literally /parting/... water showing there. Agau grins, and suddenly grabs for Avira's throat in an attempt to stiffle her attempts to further harm her, and dangle her over the edge of the plant.

"Do you really think you can stand up against us? You are but a pitiful human... a mortal. What are you doing, fighting for that /mutt/? He'll just outlive you. And you'll feel nothing but jealousy, just like all you humans. All of you disgusting humans are the same, and I am sure that monster there is no different from you." She hisses at Avira...

That's when Zia's lightning suddenly hits Agau, violently coarsing through her body and causing her to stumble back for a moment. "YOU BITCH!" She calls out, and then thrusts her hand along an arc - sending a gigantic wave of water Zia's way. This is just as Skoll jumps out of the water - rocketing out, sending two chains out in an attempt to 'collar' the two plant-women. It connects around both of their necks. But Lynn is quick to grab the chain and sends a violent spark of lightning through it, further punishing Skoll for this attempt! Then all around them, the plants suddenly spray purple spores, falling down towards the ground; towards the group of heroes.

"I'... ll be fine!" Skoll calls out, literally biting down - showing his teeth. "I'm holding them down! Get them! Now!"

Avira has posed:
Avira wiggles and squirms in Agau's grasp. Her weapon swings up, stabbing and slashing at the woman's hands as she mocks her. "Shut up! Who cares if I'm just a human?! I'm not afraid of monsters like you! I'm not afraid of anything! I will fight you or any damn thing that comes to face me!" Each passing second, she gets madder and madder until she finally is freed once Zia attacks the lightning woman.

She lands on the ground, then wheezes violently as the spores fill the air. Right away, Avira vomits into the water from it, trying to clear the sickness out, but not really succeeding.

They had an opening! If only for a few minutes. "Zia! I'll get the lightning bitch!" she calls out, knowing that the other one's command over water will make her magic not all that effective. Spinning, she sends her ice magic through her weapon once more.

With a roar of fury, a silver sheen overcomes the woman as she swings, sending another one of those wolf-shaped bursts of ice up at Lynn. She doesn't leave it to just that blast to itself and leaps in after her beast smashes into her, following up with a strike with her ice-encrusted blade.

Zia has posed:
For a panic-driven moment, Zia can't find Skoll beneath the water, and that cloud of darkness looks enough like blood to have her breath catch. "Skoll!" She's about to dive to his rescue when she spots Avira far too close to the others. In that moment, she has to trust what the wolf had said bout him being indestructable. It goes against her nature, not to protect, but right now, it's more important to figure out a way of fighting back.

It doesn't help that she's hampered by the spores, which seem to burn into her lungs and make her breathing that much more labored. Coughing, the gargoyle falters in the air, wretching and feeling in that moment as if something were trying to bore it's way out of her stomach. It takes all her effort not to vomit in mid-air, but she swollows it down, forcing her blurred mind to focus.

Electricity flows in her fingers, as if the element were alive within her, calling out to show just how much strength her own magic... true magic holds over these elements. In such a small place, calling upon the storms would take incredible control, especially if she didn't want to harm her friends in the process. It's not something that Zia has ever done before, and yet it might be the sort of thing that these two aren't expecting.

Closing a taloned hand over the flickers of lightning at her fingers, she closes her eyes, trying to force all of her focus into pulling from the air and the water. The two witches might even feel as if some of their own power gets leeched as she channels it through her own control. The wolf's call only registers at the last moment, the relief adding to her steeled will.

"Ye two will nae be collaring anyone ever again." She snarls, eyes lighted red. "Avira! Skoll! Get down." She trusts her two companions to follow her orders on instinct, whereas the witches might just not know what si about to be unleashed on them.

The absolute fury of a storm seems to come with the gargoyle at it's center. Water lashes, lightning crashes, ice is thrown, hail beats down. Somehow, little more than rain comes close to either the huntress or the wolf, but the two witches are (hopefully) not so lucky.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
They had an opening, and sure as heck they were using it. Ice magic covers Avira's blade and comes down hard upon the woman of lightning. Lynn brings her blade up to block the strike, causing the two to rip the leaf they were on apart and shoot down towards the water-covered ground. Mid-air, Avira manages to send that wolf-shaped burst of ice at Lynn, slamming it into her chest and shattering part of the leaf-armor she is wearing and releasing green blood! The woman screams in pain, and this only grows louder when Avira attempts to finish the job by smashing her ice-encrysted blade down upon her and stabbing it /through/ her chest.

And... a sneer appears. "You will never... free him..." She whispers, setting off a device on Skoll's collar and suddenly causing a violent blast of purple lightning to blast out, and start flaying his body; destroying clothing, causing chains to glow red-hot through the heat, and sending the werewolf howling in pain. That's when Agau jumps straight for Avira, trying to wretch Avira off of her sister... and also when Zia's spell comes to fruition. The storm of elements carves its path over Agau and lights her up, and begins to /literally/ evaporate her! There's a painful hissing, as her head starts hissing and draws back, showing a far more ugly face beneath the 'beautiful' visage that had been shown earlier. Truly a water-/WITCH/ that one.

Skoll sinks to his knees, just as the last bit of magic avails itself to the woman of lightning as well, who drops a destroyed little black box. Skoll's collar is melting along with the woman's body - but that electrical discharge is continueing. 'Smoke' is starting to come off of his body due to the sheer power of dark lightning that is flowing off of his body, only made worse by the water around him...

Unless someone manages to conduct that lightning off of his body at least until that collar is gone - Unlimited or not... he just might not survive. And then there's the lightning-lady - clinging to the last bits of her life...

Avira has posed:
Avira's eyes narrow as she stands there, pinning the Gaia Sister, growling she twists the Spine, trying to inflict more pain on the woman. "Stop! STOP HURTING HIM RIGHT NOW!" she screams in her face, digging her weapon in further. "STOP THAT!" her other hand grabs onto the woman's hair, pulling.

But it doesn't stop. Leaving the Spine inside Lynn, Avira drops her entire weight down upon the woman's gut and squeezes her thighs onto her to get a good grip.

Her hands clench into fists and she commences pounding the woman's face until her own knuckles start to bleed.

Zia has posed:
When the flow of energy finally leaves the gargoyle, Zia ends up wobbling in mid air, catching herself with her wings at the last moment before splashing down into the water. While she certainly has the potential for great magic, control like this isn't something she's had a great chance to practice, and it does take a lot out of her. She re-emerges with a gasp, the cold water jolting her back to consciousness.

It takes a moment to register the change in their surroundings. She looks between Avira and Skoll, but the choice for her is clear. The VALKYRI leader could certainly take care of the injured lightning witch, but with her affinity towards electricity, she /needed/ to help Skoll. She swims, then sloshes, then races across what ground she can find, trying to close the distance between herself and the werewolf, stumbling a few times along the way.

The poor gargoyle nearly face-plants when she finally gets over to him, but manages somehow to just drop to her knees, reaching out and grabbing onto one of the wolf's twitching arms. "Hold on, Skoll!"

Words are one thing, but the moment the energy begins to be channeled away, it's clear that it's overwhelming, even for someone used to the element. It crackles around the gargoyle's form, makes her hair hover in mid-air. Lightning surges away from her fingertips, diverted into the ground, but not without making her tremble slightly from the way it courses through her.

But worst of all, at the last moment when the final surge of dying energy comes through from the collar, it seems to overload what Zia can handle, and instead, it reacts with something. The crystal that the gargoyle always wears flares in that moment, holding back what might have been a powerful blast. Yet, instead of exploding, the crystal just briefly hovers between the gargoyle and wolf... and then... cracks.

The power dissipates. and the crystal falls back onto Zia's chest at the same time the last reminants of the collar vanish. The gargoyle stares down then at the cracked crystal, her hand still on Skoll's arm, looking more than a little confused.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
It's strange, to Skoll, how so much pain can dull his senses so fast. Never has he felt this... this feeling of all this pain... and then just...

White.

Dull, white... nothingness. His sight disappears, his feeling of pain disappears. His smell disappears. His taste disappears. All he notices is somewhere, in the far... far background... someone is screaming. Someone is screaming... for his sake. His mouth is open, but no more sound comes out except for a dry throaty groan. Further white fog rises from him, as his body is torn through by the incredibly damaging collar. A scar starting to form around his neck.

White. Nothingness...

For a moment, within all of that, he feels he sees a shape. A shape of a a golden wolf that slowly paddles towards him, one step at a time, and then just lays its head against his. But he can't feel it. It's there, but he can't move. He can't take it. He can't grasp onto that golden wolf. He is just left there, chained by his own body's wounds - even on a mental level. Even on this 'plane' where he sees it. He can't move.

Tears seep down his eyes, and then 'hiss' violently, leaving further white smoke to rise to the air.

Lynn in the meantime, is getting destroyed. Her body is clamped onto by Avira, and she just grins. She grins as she clutches to her last bits of life. She refuses to die. With each punch of Avira's, little 'sparks' of lightning come off of her, hurting Avira just that little bit. It's not much, but as Avira starts to just punch away, pulling on her, digging that weapon in further - all those bits cause a little damage. A black-green cloudy substance forms in the water around her, and when Avira begins to punch her, Lynn still dares to speak;

"Never... yours... always... suffer... for eternity..." She whispers, grinning, until even that grin starts to be ruined. Her face ruined. Her body ruined. The sparks let down, but Avira's rage continues. Soon enough, she's beating on something that isn't even moving anymore. And not long there-after, the plants around them begin to wilt and melt. And then, finally, things generally start to die all-together around them.

Skoll, whose collar literally vaporizes along with the death of Lynn, held by one arm by Zia lets out a little groan when the lightning finally disappates... and then... falls forwards, quiet... his chest barely rising and falling. But none-the-less... he's breathing. Had it not been for Zia's crystal, the punishment of that lightning might have been far more than what it was.

To Skoll... the white becomes darkness, and the golden wolf disappears from sight. Then... nothingness as he entirely falls from consciousness.

Avira has posed:
Avira keeps going, even though it hurts her with each blow. Hearing this woman talk only made her even more infuriated and she wouldn't stop punching until the woman stopped talking. "Shut up! Shut up and stop hurting him! Shut up and stop hurting him!" she repeats, even as what is probably the plant woman's blood spreads in the water around them.

Only when the plants start to wilt does she realize that woman is finally dead. She falls still, staring down into the water.

She was right, though. She was just a human. A mortal human that would die one day...

She looks up at the sounds of electricity and heavy breathing over to Zia and Skoll. Her eyes widen, "...is he okay? Is he alive?" she asks quickly, gripping the Spine and rushing over to join them.

Zia has posed:
Everything seems to happen in slow motion. Skoll falls forward, and she's only barely able to help him him down to lay against the ground. He's breathing. He's alive. She can hear Avira's footfalls behind her.

Yet, in that moment, she has the very same realization as the huntress. Mortality. She knew that within the crystal at her neck held some power of longevity. Her parents had lived longer than a normal gargoyle lifespan. The moment it had cracked, she felt the power of it leaving. The day's light presses heavily on her, telling her that she only has a short time before stone sleep would seize her again.

There would be time to come to grips with that later. "He's alive. We've got te get out of here, though. Ah dinnae trust this whole mess nae te come down on our heads." She looks up at the vines, having that sinking feeling that the sisters might just have been a 'dungeon supporting boss'.

Shifting, Zia holds her injured arm and shoulder gingerly, but uses the other to try to wedge herself under Skoll's arm. "Can ye get his other side, lass?" What a strange trio they'll look like, stumbling out of the woods... two beat up women and an unconscious werewolf. Then again, at least this chapter of the story is over.

Right? No really... it is over, right?

Avira has posed:
Avira sheathes the Spine and immediately rushes to put herself beneath Skoll's other arm. Injured she may be, she tirelessly helps Zia lug the unconscious werewolf through the crumbling dome of vines and thorns.