2019.06.12: Return to the Wyrm Gym Pt.3
| Return to the Wyrm Gym Pt.3 | |
|---|---|
| Legend's Guardians retreat from their assault/raid on the Wyrm Gym. | |
| Players | Dragomir, Lleutrim, Ryla, and Waziyata as ST. |
| Location | Wyrm Gym, Prospect |
| Spheres | Gaian Garou |
As Eye of the Storm gives the order to stay together and retreat, the continual howling in the basement and tunnels abates for just a moment, just long enough for the singer to take another breath and then continue. The howl shifts subtlety, becoming something even more gruesome than the twisted Anthem of War the enemy was singing. Now, it becomes the Symphony of the Abyss, a reverberating, piercing shriek of a howl praising the Wyrm and promising damnation to any who listen too closely. The magic of the Gift resumes its dizzying effects as the howl continues.
War Forms come snarling down the staircase, bat-eared and scarred in ritualistic patterns - glyphs praising the wyrm or deeds of Infamy, Power, and Cunning. A massive brute charges to the fore with a skinny, tiny Crinos carrying another serrated knife. The two lunge for Puddle Jumper and are torn asunder by the Adren Child of Gaia's silver claws.
Behind them strides a massive, pitch-black-furred werewolf of proud and noble bearing, a champion of the Wyrm, one of its pure bred monstrosities with countless green-glowing scars of renown and atrocity. He snarls low in his throat, leveling a heavy silver baneklaive toward the three members of the pack in the basement hallway. <<Submit. Beg the Father's mercy.>>
The mere presence and the weight of the command falls upon the pack in a horrible, crawling dread. This is a mighty foe, perhaps too mighty to defy.
Meanwhile, three of the shark-skinned banes materialize in the dormitory and begin snarling and hissing, even as Twilight's Glimmer charges into their midst to score a glancing blow.
In the midst of this, Eagle's voice comes to the pack as they speak of fleeing, and ask for his moonbridge's blessing. He is fierce, distant, haughty, commanding. ~ How many heads have you collected this night, my Children? ~
After Twilight's Glimmer goes down, Puddle Jumper relents in her assault of her packmate. Instead, she turns to face toward the staircase with a snarl at the sight of the warforms charging in. ~ Wyrm Howlers. I will hold them. Move quickly! ~
With that shared across the pack link, the Ahroun lunges forward to meet the oncoming enemies, her silver claws flashing. One is taken out instantly, the next tries to block, fails, and is thrown to the ground nearly in two pieces. A moment later, the Black Spiral Dancer is upon her again and Waziyata finishes him; tearing through him with silver.
She whines at the wave of terror from the oncoming foes, then snarls determinedly and steps past her slain enemy to lunge for the Pure Bred Wyrm, only to yelp and snarl in pain as his own silver flashes out to turn aside her claws, leaving a stinging wound in one paw. ~ This one is very strong. Wyrm Klaive. Leader. Elder, maybe. ~
Battle Singer drops to Ryla at once and heals her, reviving his packmate while he's aware of Puddle Jumper moving to block. Over the pack link he sends, ~ Eagle! We need a moon bridge out of here fast! ~ Lleu's never asked Eagle directly for anything since they gained the totem. Ryla stirs and is up! Lots of things distract Battle Singer as the huge hispo whips around, watching out for that moonbridge, seeing everything going on around him and then ... Eagle's reply! It could be the Galliard is stunned at the reply! Even before his eyes Dragomir's killing a Black Spiral! There's a head even now they can bring!
~ Three more banes in the barracks! Warrior banes and Spirals below you, Eye of the Storm'rhya. More muscle arriving above us. ~ Battle Singer reports to his pack through the link as if still seeing the battlefield developing around them, even if he isn't. Only something /else/ is going on. He twitches and goes perfectly still for a second even in the midst of the fight. ~ Something REALLY bad is about to happen. Right here. ~ The last is delivered with a cold certainty, not the tone of somebody losing his nerve. The Galliard doesn't mean the pure bred imposing baneklaive wilding Black Spiral either. It's looking very grim for Eagle's pack. ~ We can't bring you heads if we are dead, great Eagle. ~
Eye of the Storm continues to fight in the room, facing off and walking around the Warrior Bane that is left. Sensing his depletion of spiritual essence, he draws out a physical weapon instead to finish this. A quick and brutal swipe of the fang dagger is delivered. Nothing. The Warrior growls slightly, and then brings it back around to swipe again! Nothing. A tension ripples through him and he races forward to plant the fang dagger into the bane's chest, a serious wound. Followed by another! He slashes and cuts again. But it's still NOT DEAD! ~GET OUT!~ he snarls brutally over the pack-link, and turns now to double-back towards his pack.
Twilight's Glimmer blinks and wakes up. She realizes she has shifted back to homid and then gets up as she shifts to Crinos and begins to attack again. It is all about protecting everyone there so maybe they can get out of this place!
A howl rises up through the stairwell and swells all around and through the pack. The Galliard is doing his best to inspire and rally his packmates not to despair against so many foes! They /can/ do this and break out! Even as Battle Singer lifts up his voice the dire wolf grows even LARGER as he shifts into Crinos.
Snarling, the Fianna attempts to lay into the first foe he finds blocking their retreat back up the stairs. The Big Nasty silver klaive wielding Black Spiral Dancer proves to be too much for Battle Singer's attack. The Galliard's claws are parried aside, the silver of the Wyrm tainted weapon sears his clawed hands! The pain causes him to snarl even more viciously and anger to flair!
The Black Spiral Dancer with the klaive stands tall and proud, growling softly as big, brawny dudes trample down the staircase and over the fallen bodies of a Crinos and a bisected blonde man. He effortlessly parries Battle Singer's claw swipe with a backhanded wave of his silver blade, sneering at the attack. He begins to raise his free claw toward the Galliard then, only to pause at the sight of the blazing, silver Crinos charging up the tunnel from below. He hesitates a moment, then hisses a curse and turns about, shoving past the lesser wyrmlings and onto the stairs. A moment later, the strong men are fleeing up the stairs with him. They move out of sight upstairs, shouting amongst themselves, before the Black Spiral Dancer's voice is heard again, snarling in broken English: "Stop! Bombs!"
Behind Eye of the Storm, the bane charges after him, hissing and spitting as other monsters come charging up the lower tunnels, claws scrabbling across dirt and stone. Then the spirit shrieks at the sight of Gaia's Vengeance and throws itself across the gauntlet, dematerializing and turning to flee back the way it came.
Meanwhile, the other materialized banes in the room dematerialize and flee the basement, slipping out of sight into other rooms of the complex. All except one, which stands and fights desperately, throwing itself in a frenzy against Twilight's Glimmer, only to be torn down by the Pack.
Through it all, Eagle waits in their minds. His expectation clear.
Twilight's Glimmer has continued to fight the good fight - even if she cannot do more than hit and slap the bane, not doing damage. The effort is there, but this fight has been beyond her tonight. She will not give up, not until they have a way out for the called retreat. Seeing the other enemies fleeing though, she does have to wonder what the hell has happened as she focuses on her own task at hand. If there is a chance, she will start to collect heads as the others are able to knock some down.
Eye of the Storm keeps his eyes locked on the BSD Elder, even as the bane attacks him. He doesn't even look, instead he flicks his wrist back and plants the Fang Dagger into its body and kills it with ease. Disgust, flat rage. The fang dagger wrenches sideways, pulls free and the Warrior remains standing there. He snarls towards the Elder, and lifts his free half-gloved hand to point towards the creature. ~We are Legend's Guardians. We shall return.~ he reaches down, picking up the head of one of the fallen creatures, and hoists it high into the air. ~For EAGLE!~. as he starts stepping backwards, allowing his pack to withdraw now.
Puddle Jumper growls as the enemies turn to flee, even as she's stepping in to try to divert the Black Spiral Dancer Elder's attention away from Battle Singer. Her claws flex and the Ahroun shifts her weight, clearly tempted to give chase, predator instincts screaming inside her. Instead, she turns and charges over to the remaining Bane that threatens her sister, leaping onto the spirit and savaging it brutally with the others of her pack.
After it has been slain, she straightens up and moves back toward the staircase, grabbing the upper half of the homid she tore in two, before turning to the dying metis on the floor. She growls softly at the incapacitated foe, then leans in and drags her silver claws across his neck, severing the head. Then she scoops it up, too.
~ Eagle, I give two heads. Wyrm Howlers, killed in their lair. ~
As the pack recuperates and gathers heads and howls their threats and promises to the Wyrm, the howled Symphony of the Abyss continues in the background, ululating weirdly through the night as footsteps stomp across the floor above the pack's head. There is no answer to Dragomir's challenge or promise, no shout in reply, only muffled grunts and curses and low voices or animal growls. The Wyrm is maneuvering.
The banes melt through the Gauntlet, the Garou flee up the stairs and regroup out of sight. The last fierce bane that stays and tries to stand it's ground is beat down and dealt with. There may be a few seconds breather yet, "Bombs!" He need snarl no more than that. Battle Singer swings around and rips a head free of it's body, finding it to be the head of one of the gunmen. Disgusting, dismembering the dead and then he's got it by the hair, blood spilling out onto the already slick floor. ~ I bring you another head, Great Eagle! ~ Lleu can take no pleasure in having killed /none/ of these himself, this time.
Twilight's Glimmer quickly works, taking the head off the bane closest to her. Partly ripped already, she gets it off and looks for more. >> Great Eagle - this is for you. Protect us, as we honor you! << Her eyes darting around, on that high and still wondering how the hell they are getting out of here.
As the pack gathers heads, the presence of their totem grows. Distant, regal, haughty. ~ You will make amends, for losing three of my trophies. ~ There is a hesitation, as if to make the point clear, even as a man shouts above "Fucking nuke 'em!" and footsteps crash toward the staircase once more.
Then, the moonbridge shimmers into existence before Eye of the Storm.
Eye of the Storm snorts and offers, ~The Wyrm has suffered losses, and you have trophies for their loss. None of your children were lost today Eagle, for that we are even more fortunate. We shall return.~ and he moves forward and motions for the others to get through the portal, and he will step through last.
Twilight's Glimmer takes the head she has, summons her bat back to her, and makes a break for the moon bridge to get the hell out of this place. Growling a bit at leaving and this mess, but the word 'bomb' makes her move fast enough and not question this call /one bit/.
Battle Singer looks back, then up as they collect the last head and Eagle finally opens a moon bridge for them to escape, "Performing a Rite down there." No time to be lingering to find out what it is as that eerie howling continues, causing his hackles to rise. He sets foot on the bridge and rapidly departs this Wyrm infested hole.
Puddle Jumper backs slowly away toward the moonbridge as her packmates move to it, holding the rearguard position as they and Ain't Dead Yet each depart in turn. As Battle Singer steps on, the Ahroun growls and finally turns her back on the wyrm hole, throwing herself onto the moonbridge and out.
She is onto the bridge just in time, as moments later a grenade is hurled down the stairs to bounce across the floor. The Garou are long gone when it explodes. Eagle awaits them in an umbral glade, far from the Caern, but safe.
