Deirik, Eirik, Ygvard, and Boldulf, alongside their friends Kiro and Sergei, steel themselves for the fight to come. With sunrise not too far off, the Fell are going to make their move. With reckless abandon, arms and legs flailing, the Fell race towards the long-hall in which the Men have decided to make their stand!
The men wait in the dark, as they have for the past few hours, hearing the rain growing louder as time has gone on. The Fell build up in a huge mass surrounding the long-hall, clamoring against the walls trying to climb up and once again creating ramps of themselves. While they may only have three flasks of oil left, the opportunity won't get much better to affect as many Fell as possible as this one. With that shared thought, Kiro removes a flask from his pack and Deirik goes to light a torch. In the faint light provided by the sparks of flint, Ygvard focuses his eyes and notices something. The amount of dust in the air from all the activity on the roof, but more than dust, there's a mold that's come floating down, has created a dangerous situation.
Ygvard races towards Deirik and starts to say, "NO, WAIT!", but he's too late! The longhall EXPLODES as the dust and mold spores ignite from the flame! The Men are flung in all different directions and inhale unsafe amounts of burned, toxic mold.
==== Deirik ====
Deirik wakes in the rubble, and finds himself out in the open with undead moving about. Feeling a bit woozy, and not knowing exactly where he is or where his kin are, he pushes himself to his feet and starts stumbling down the nearest street. The Fell are nearby, but for some reason not attacking. It's almost as if they're leaving a path clear for him. Occasionally he'll stumble a bit too close to one and they'll take a swipe at him though. It isn't long before he spots a strange figure in the shadows of a nearby alley. He shakes his head, the fumes from the burnt mold still fresh in his nostrils, and squints until he recognizes the figure. It's Lyra, his Nephilim mentor and lover, but she is missing some skin to the point that bones are showing and she's glaring at him with malevolence. She moves to stay in his peripheral vision, but does not approach, as if she's waiting for something...
==== Eirik ====
Eirik comes to amidst the rubble, shakes the cobwebs from his brain, and looks around to see a huge crowd of villagers surrounding him. They're all ecstatic to see him and start chanting his assumed name, "STIGR! STIGR! STIGR! YAAAAAY!" His face crumples in confusion, but soon they all start moving towards him and trying to touch him or get a piece of his clothing. He can't see any of the other Men anywhere nearby, so he begins making his way towards the nearest street out of the area. He tries his best to push his way through these newfound fans without hurting them, but they're not giving him the same courtesy and scratch his skin or cut his leg as they do all they can to be near him...
==== Boldulf ====
Boldulf wakes, brushes the rubble off, and looks around, trying to spot his kin in the huge cloud of dust. As that dust settles, he sees a number of Fell that are nearby and have noticed him. As those Fell approach, he also notices something else: a werewolf in hybrid (wolf-man) form. It stands amongst the Fell with its teeth bared in what's almost a grin. Boldulf then hears in his head, "I can help you. I can prevent your death here. All I ask in return is you give up your ability to control me." Boldulf begins to weigh the pros and cons of this deal, oblivious to the Fell as they slowly advance upon him. Before he is attacked, he sternly states, "I refuse your deal," and prepares himself for the fight. The werewolf disappears in the crowd, and Boldulf turns and scampers into the rubble to begin searching for the others and the Fell follow. On the unstable and rough terrain, Boldulf faces few Fell at a time, but the stream of incoming attackers seems never ending...
==== Ygvard ====
Ygvard awakes in the rubble to find the undead nearby and advancing towards him. As he pushes himself to his feet, he notices something in the dirt: a mask. It's a metallic mask in the design of Izrador's holy symbol. Being a newly minted Legate of Izrador, he is certain that this was placed here for him. Ygvard picks it up and attaches it to his plate helm and flips into place. As he looks through the mask, he notices something familiar: there is a green glow similar to that he saw in his vision at The Shrouded Tree coursing through the hearts of every Fell here. He stares down the Fell that surround him and whichever he looks at immediately recoils in terror. The Fell are opportunistic though, if he's not looking at them, they race forward to claw at him. Some of whom are even finding openings in his armor and slicing his skin...
==== Deirik ====
Deirik, still a little light-headed with the smell of that burned mold lingering, can't understand how Lyra died, why should would be hunting him, nor what she'd be waiting for. He presses forward towards the outskirts of town though, knowing that the Fell and Lyra are both ready to pounce. Then he notices another figure coming out from an alley up ahead. It's Torvald the Betrayer! He strides out into the middle of the road in his full black armor and readies himself for Deirik. Deirik, knowing full well that Torvald is more powerful than he can handle, summons his courage and charges. Deirik utilizes his supernatural speed to draw his sword, close the gap, and attack Torvald with all his might! Torvald dodges or parries each swing while landing his own on Deirik! Blow after blow lands and Deirik feels himself growing faint, knowing unconsciousness is close and death is sure to follow. One last strike of Torvald's sword, and Deirik's vision fades to black...
==== Eirik ====
Pushing his way through his adoring fans is apparently dangerous business as they continue to cut and scratch Eirik and shout out his assumed name. Beyond the crowd, Eirik thinks he spots Deirik walking off into an alley and starts trying to push his way through the crowd, screaming out "DEIRIK!" at the top of his lungs. Not making any headway, Eirik draws his sword but spins it flat and starts swinging it around to chase off or, at worst, knock out the folks around him. By the time he clears the crowd though, there is no sign of his brother, so Eirik darts into a nearby house and locks the door behind him. The air inside this house is a bit clearer than the dusty, moldy air outside, and allows Eirik's head to clear enough to realize the crowd of fans he sees is actually dozens of Fell clamoring to devour him. He races around, closing every window and door and then goes to the chimney and climbs up onto the roof for a better view. He's about halfway to the exterior wall of the town, so he decides to try to jump from rooftop to rooftop to avoid the ravenous Fell below. He carefully steps to the edge of the roof and jumps, but his foot sinks into the roof and gets caught! He falls to the alley below into the waiting teeth and arms of the Fell...
==== Boldulf ====
Boldulf frustratedly throws yet another hunk of rubble aside as he continues to fend off the Fell that make their way to him. After so much searching, he must assume they made it out too and decides to make a break for it. He makes his way out of the rubble pile as quickly as possible, taking a few hits and scratches along the way from Fell who manage to get close enough. Once off the rubble pile, Boldulf races forward. With as little as he carries, Boldulf is capable of reaching speeds that the Fell can't match. There's still plenty of them between him and the outskirts though...
==== Ygvard ====
Ygvard spins round and round, trying to keep all the Fell at bay as he continues his trek towards the exterior wall of the town. Yet, for all his effort, the Fell still find the weakness in his defenses. That, and the stench of that burning mold still pervades the air leaving his head feeling a bit foggy. He finally decides he's had enough and pulls out his own holy symbol of Izrador and brandishes it forward. As soon as he does so, Ygvard becomes cloaked from head to toe in swirling shadow. He is still able to see through the mask he picked up earlier, but the rest of him is barely visible beneath the power emanating from his holy symbol. As he focuses this power, it blasts out from his arms and disintigrates the Fell. It's not long before the Fell are keeping their distance from this unholy destroyer, and Ygvard is able to stride confidently forward.
==== Deirik ====
With his blood draining away, a voice breaks through the din. Deirik hears, "You're not getting off that easy," as healing magic flows through his body and brings him back to consciousness. Healed only enough to no longer be dying, Deirik stares up at Torvald with pure hatred. Torvald steps back to allow Deirik to stand, and Deirik takes the opportunity not only to stand, but to run! Deirik once again engages his supernatural speed to dodge in and out of alleys and roads. He knows that Torvald, undead Lyra, and hundreds of Fell are right on his tail which only fuels him to run harder. The exterior wall of town in sight, Deirik runs at it and turns toward what he believes to be the direction of the town gate...
==== Eirik ====
Crushing several Fell beneath him as he falls, they continue to scratch at him. Eirik gets a strong whiff of the burned mold and dust, blinks his eyes, and once again sees townspeople surrounding him and beneath him as they clamor for him as they would a world-famous bard. He no longer trusts his eyes though, and uses the blade of his sword to cut his way out of the alley into which he tripped. He then races toward the exterior wall of the town, taking several cuts and scrapes along the way. When he finally reaches the wall, he turns towards what he hopes is the direction of the town gate...
==== Boldulf ====
Boldulf is tempted to tap into the power that his inner beast offers, but after declining its previous deal, he decides he does not want to tempt fate. In his human form, Boldulf remains more vulnerable to attack. Fell are all around him, and while they can't keep pace, each one takes its chance to swipe at him and tear him down. It gets to the point that Boldulf feels a slight pang of regret about declining the deal when he finally sees the exterior wall of the town up ahead. He runs toward it, knowing that there's only so much more damage he can take, and turns towards his best guess on the direction of the town gate...
==== Ygvard ====
With the Fell kept at bay by his shadow-armor and bursts of power, Ygvard focuses on finding the town gate. The entire town still smells of that burned mold, but that's something that will disappate in time. Finally, after a short search, he finds the town gate. Luckily, it's already partially open from the Fell having entered the town several hours ago, so it doesn't take much effort to open it the rest of the way. As he does so, the sunrise pours light into the town. Screeches and growls are heard as the Fell behind him scatter for cover from the burning radiance. He looks to his left and right and sees his family members and allies, each battered and beaten, making their way to him with the Fell that were giving each one chase now scrambling into the nearby buildings as well.
====
Deirik, Eirik, Ygvard, Boldulf, Kiro, and Sergei are relieved to find each other alive and well at the town gates, and let the warmth of the sun wash over them. As they walk out of town, Ygvard thinks aloud, "You know, I bet that mold I saw back in the long-hall was orange mold. I'm told it's capable of creating hallucinations." He walks forward oblivious as the others stop and stare at him for a moment, shake their heads, and then resume walking. As the day goes on and the sun rises higher on the Men's trek back to Alucard to report their findings, Eirik notices that Deirik looks a bit more pale than usual and his canine teeth seem slightly extended. He shrugs it off, thinking, "I'm sure it's nothing."
The men wait in the dark, as they have for the past few hours, hearing the rain growing louder as time has gone on. The Fell build up in a huge mass surrounding the long-hall, clamoring against the walls trying to climb up and once again creating ramps of themselves. While they may only have three flasks of oil left, the opportunity won't get much better to affect as many Fell as possible as this one. With that shared thought, Kiro removes a flask from his pack and Deirik goes to light a torch. In the faint light provided by the sparks of flint, Ygvard focuses his eyes and notices something. The amount of dust in the air from all the activity on the roof, but more than dust, there's a mold that's come floating down, has created a dangerous situation.
Ygvard races towards Deirik and starts to say, "NO, WAIT!", but he's too late! The longhall EXPLODES as the dust and mold spores ignite from the flame! The Men are flung in all different directions and inhale unsafe amounts of burned, toxic mold.
==== Deirik ====
Deirik wakes in the rubble, and finds himself out in the open with undead moving about. Feeling a bit woozy, and not knowing exactly where he is or where his kin are, he pushes himself to his feet and starts stumbling down the nearest street. The Fell are nearby, but for some reason not attacking. It's almost as if they're leaving a path clear for him. Occasionally he'll stumble a bit too close to one and they'll take a swipe at him though. It isn't long before he spots a strange figure in the shadows of a nearby alley. He shakes his head, the fumes from the burnt mold still fresh in his nostrils, and squints until he recognizes the figure. It's Lyra, his Nephilim mentor and lover, but she is missing some skin to the point that bones are showing and she's glaring at him with malevolence. She moves to stay in his peripheral vision, but does not approach, as if she's waiting for something...
==== Eirik ====
Eirik comes to amidst the rubble, shakes the cobwebs from his brain, and looks around to see a huge crowd of villagers surrounding him. They're all ecstatic to see him and start chanting his assumed name, "STIGR! STIGR! STIGR! YAAAAAY!" His face crumples in confusion, but soon they all start moving towards him and trying to touch him or get a piece of his clothing. He can't see any of the other Men anywhere nearby, so he begins making his way towards the nearest street out of the area. He tries his best to push his way through these newfound fans without hurting them, but they're not giving him the same courtesy and scratch his skin or cut his leg as they do all they can to be near him...
==== Boldulf ====
Boldulf wakes, brushes the rubble off, and looks around, trying to spot his kin in the huge cloud of dust. As that dust settles, he sees a number of Fell that are nearby and have noticed him. As those Fell approach, he also notices something else: a werewolf in hybrid (wolf-man) form. It stands amongst the Fell with its teeth bared in what's almost a grin. Boldulf then hears in his head, "I can help you. I can prevent your death here. All I ask in return is you give up your ability to control me." Boldulf begins to weigh the pros and cons of this deal, oblivious to the Fell as they slowly advance upon him. Before he is attacked, he sternly states, "I refuse your deal," and prepares himself for the fight. The werewolf disappears in the crowd, and Boldulf turns and scampers into the rubble to begin searching for the others and the Fell follow. On the unstable and rough terrain, Boldulf faces few Fell at a time, but the stream of incoming attackers seems never ending...
==== Ygvard ====
Ygvard awakes in the rubble to find the undead nearby and advancing towards him. As he pushes himself to his feet, he notices something in the dirt: a mask. It's a metallic mask in the design of Izrador's holy symbol. Being a newly minted Legate of Izrador, he is certain that this was placed here for him. Ygvard picks it up and attaches it to his plate helm and flips into place. As he looks through the mask, he notices something familiar: there is a green glow similar to that he saw in his vision at The Shrouded Tree coursing through the hearts of every Fell here. He stares down the Fell that surround him and whichever he looks at immediately recoils in terror. The Fell are opportunistic though, if he's not looking at them, they race forward to claw at him. Some of whom are even finding openings in his armor and slicing his skin...
==== Deirik ====
Deirik, still a little light-headed with the smell of that burned mold lingering, can't understand how Lyra died, why should would be hunting him, nor what she'd be waiting for. He presses forward towards the outskirts of town though, knowing that the Fell and Lyra are both ready to pounce. Then he notices another figure coming out from an alley up ahead. It's Torvald the Betrayer! He strides out into the middle of the road in his full black armor and readies himself for Deirik. Deirik, knowing full well that Torvald is more powerful than he can handle, summons his courage and charges. Deirik utilizes his supernatural speed to draw his sword, close the gap, and attack Torvald with all his might! Torvald dodges or parries each swing while landing his own on Deirik! Blow after blow lands and Deirik feels himself growing faint, knowing unconsciousness is close and death is sure to follow. One last strike of Torvald's sword, and Deirik's vision fades to black...
==== Eirik ====
Pushing his way through his adoring fans is apparently dangerous business as they continue to cut and scratch Eirik and shout out his assumed name. Beyond the crowd, Eirik thinks he spots Deirik walking off into an alley and starts trying to push his way through the crowd, screaming out "DEIRIK!" at the top of his lungs. Not making any headway, Eirik draws his sword but spins it flat and starts swinging it around to chase off or, at worst, knock out the folks around him. By the time he clears the crowd though, there is no sign of his brother, so Eirik darts into a nearby house and locks the door behind him. The air inside this house is a bit clearer than the dusty, moldy air outside, and allows Eirik's head to clear enough to realize the crowd of fans he sees is actually dozens of Fell clamoring to devour him. He races around, closing every window and door and then goes to the chimney and climbs up onto the roof for a better view. He's about halfway to the exterior wall of the town, so he decides to try to jump from rooftop to rooftop to avoid the ravenous Fell below. He carefully steps to the edge of the roof and jumps, but his foot sinks into the roof and gets caught! He falls to the alley below into the waiting teeth and arms of the Fell...
==== Boldulf ====
Boldulf frustratedly throws yet another hunk of rubble aside as he continues to fend off the Fell that make their way to him. After so much searching, he must assume they made it out too and decides to make a break for it. He makes his way out of the rubble pile as quickly as possible, taking a few hits and scratches along the way from Fell who manage to get close enough. Once off the rubble pile, Boldulf races forward. With as little as he carries, Boldulf is capable of reaching speeds that the Fell can't match. There's still plenty of them between him and the outskirts though...
==== Ygvard ====
Ygvard spins round and round, trying to keep all the Fell at bay as he continues his trek towards the exterior wall of the town. Yet, for all his effort, the Fell still find the weakness in his defenses. That, and the stench of that burning mold still pervades the air leaving his head feeling a bit foggy. He finally decides he's had enough and pulls out his own holy symbol of Izrador and brandishes it forward. As soon as he does so, Ygvard becomes cloaked from head to toe in swirling shadow. He is still able to see through the mask he picked up earlier, but the rest of him is barely visible beneath the power emanating from his holy symbol. As he focuses this power, it blasts out from his arms and disintigrates the Fell. It's not long before the Fell are keeping their distance from this unholy destroyer, and Ygvard is able to stride confidently forward.
==== Deirik ====
With his blood draining away, a voice breaks through the din. Deirik hears, "You're not getting off that easy," as healing magic flows through his body and brings him back to consciousness. Healed only enough to no longer be dying, Deirik stares up at Torvald with pure hatred. Torvald steps back to allow Deirik to stand, and Deirik takes the opportunity not only to stand, but to run! Deirik once again engages his supernatural speed to dodge in and out of alleys and roads. He knows that Torvald, undead Lyra, and hundreds of Fell are right on his tail which only fuels him to run harder. The exterior wall of town in sight, Deirik runs at it and turns toward what he believes to be the direction of the town gate...
==== Eirik ====
Crushing several Fell beneath him as he falls, they continue to scratch at him. Eirik gets a strong whiff of the burned mold and dust, blinks his eyes, and once again sees townspeople surrounding him and beneath him as they clamor for him as they would a world-famous bard. He no longer trusts his eyes though, and uses the blade of his sword to cut his way out of the alley into which he tripped. He then races toward the exterior wall of the town, taking several cuts and scrapes along the way. When he finally reaches the wall, he turns towards what he hopes is the direction of the town gate...
==== Boldulf ====
Boldulf is tempted to tap into the power that his inner beast offers, but after declining its previous deal, he decides he does not want to tempt fate. In his human form, Boldulf remains more vulnerable to attack. Fell are all around him, and while they can't keep pace, each one takes its chance to swipe at him and tear him down. It gets to the point that Boldulf feels a slight pang of regret about declining the deal when he finally sees the exterior wall of the town up ahead. He runs toward it, knowing that there's only so much more damage he can take, and turns towards his best guess on the direction of the town gate...
==== Ygvard ====
With the Fell kept at bay by his shadow-armor and bursts of power, Ygvard focuses on finding the town gate. The entire town still smells of that burned mold, but that's something that will disappate in time. Finally, after a short search, he finds the town gate. Luckily, it's already partially open from the Fell having entered the town several hours ago, so it doesn't take much effort to open it the rest of the way. As he does so, the sunrise pours light into the town. Screeches and growls are heard as the Fell behind him scatter for cover from the burning radiance. He looks to his left and right and sees his family members and allies, each battered and beaten, making their way to him with the Fell that were giving each one chase now scrambling into the nearby buildings as well.
====
Deirik, Eirik, Ygvard, Boldulf, Kiro, and Sergei are relieved to find each other alive and well at the town gates, and let the warmth of the sun wash over them. As they walk out of town, Ygvard thinks aloud, "You know, I bet that mold I saw back in the long-hall was orange mold. I'm told it's capable of creating hallucinations." He walks forward oblivious as the others stop and stare at him for a moment, shake their heads, and then resume walking. As the day goes on and the sun rises higher on the Men's trek back to Alucard to report their findings, Eirik notices that Deirik looks a bit more pale than usual and his canine teeth seem slightly extended. He shrugs it off, thinking, "I'm sure it's nothing."
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