Lemesech Village Common Area

	You are standing on a tightly-woven platform of branches,
	leaves and vines next to the Darvest tree. All around you are
	tall, lanky humans going about their business interspersed with
	snakes in all manner of colors and sizes, though few are
	shorter then 10 feet or longer than 30. Above you are several
	more layers of platforms, and though you can only catch
	glimpses as to what is on them, there are clearly more people
	up there. Snakes (and more rarely, people) are constantly
	climbing up the trunk of the Darvest tree and up other trees,
	some of which are even rooted on the platform you are standing
	on. You can see several platforms, including this one, which
	have obviously been purposefully reinforced with branches and
	vine ropes.

	In the warmth of day, there is a bustle to this place more than
	at other times: everyone seems to be moving quicker and to be
	happier. It is fall, and the Lemesech are beginning to miss the
	warmth of summer.

Fewer Lemesech are out than usual as the weather is (for them) somewhat
cool.



Mat offers Cara a hand the last step up.

Cara smiles at Mat.



Mat is five foot six with broad shoulders. His build is stocky, his
legs and upper body equally splitting his height. In spite of his lack
of height, he seems fit to do most anything, with all the whim and will
of a eighteen-ish year old street kid. His face is relatively tan, with
a white 'S' shaped scar beneath his left eye. His sandy blonde hair has
to be brushed out of his eyes much of the time, although most of it is
tied back in a pony tail with a silver ribbon. It's then that you
notice his eyes are just two clear spaces that glow a light blue-green.
He is dressed in black denim pants, a white button down shirt worn
beneath a dark, rigid leather vest with dark blue pentagrams on the
shoulders, and some sort of solid mid calf boots. Mat's wearing a set
of bladed cesti. The padded holders cover his entire fore arms, most
likely to provide enough bracing for the triple set of seven inch long
blades that extend past the ends of his hands. As you look closer, you
realize they are not blades, but natural, metallic claws. A sheathed katana 
with a dark cloth handle hangs from a shoulder.



Cara

	Her cobalt eyes are alert, and curious, and more than a little
	grim. Her hair is pure white, but she looks about twenty. She
	is rather small, but wiry and quick-moving. She wears jeans,
	moccasins, a dark-green cotton shirt, and a plain jacket of
	thick brown leather. There is a white gold band on the fourth
	finger of her left hand, set with a sapphire.

	A sword hangs from her belt in a plain, worn sheath. In her
	left hand she carries a longbow. Over each shoulder she has
	slung a quiver of arrows, and a third quiver hangs at her
	belt...but this third one, oddly enough, is empty.



Marissa nods to Turgul, and smiles. "Aye. Rumor reached me of an
assault upon my old friend, Mat..."



Marissa

     Lithe and sprightly, slim and small, this she is; her face thin
     and sharply elegant. Raven-dark hair cascades over her shoulders,
     flashing with violet highlights. Her eyes, too, are violet, wide
     and gleaming, sharp, like a pair of amethysts. Violet is quite
     definitely her theme, adding delicate color to highlight her eyes,
     and turn the corners up slightly. She moves with restless,
     abundant energy, never seeming to sit still for more than a few
     moments at a time.

     She dresses for comfort, and, it seems, the chance of combat.
     Black denim jeans hug her legs, thighs and calves covered by
     strapped-on armor plates. A bulky black vest (likely also
     protective) covers most of her white t-shirt, and is covered in
     turn by her usual battered safari jacket. Her usual soft leather
     boots have been replaced by heavy, steel-toed combat boots, and a
     pair of fingerless gloves protect her hands. Hanging from her belt
     are a saber and dagger pair, and a heavy submachine gun is slung
     from one shoulder.

     Upon her left ring finger, she bears a ring formed from two
     interwoven locks of human hair.



Turgul thinks for a minute, apparently concerned as to this new
development, then nods.



Turgul

	You see a tall, very long limbed man with sharp, angular
	features, and long face, and well-defined, although lithe,
	musculature. His eyes have vertically slitted pupils, amber
	irises and no eyelids. Like the rest of his body, his fingers
	are unusually long. He is about seven feet tall. On top of the
	body suit he is wearing a hard breastplate of something that
	appears to be leather, but it is hard to tell as it is
	completely covered in bead-work. The beadwork shows a bright
	red background with a blood-red diamond pattern. On close
	inspection you can see that the pattern matches his skin
	mottling. Around his neck, over his clothing, hangs a gold
	chain with a large red stone on the end.

	Turgul is carrying a very intricately worked wooden staff.



Edward smiles, and crosses his arms.



	Edward is a very tall man, at about 7'0", and slim. His matte
	black hair is long and very straight, and kept in a pony tail
	behind his back with twine, reaching just between his
	shoulderblades. His eyes are a strange shade of orange, but do
	not seem unfriendly, just not ordinary. A large silver ring,
	shiny and not engraved, rests on the middle finger of his right
	hand. In addition, on the ring finger of his left hand rests an
	exquisitely detailed golden ring, in the shape of a running
	tiger, its tail completing the circle. The tiger's head is
	carved out of an orange stone, which exactly matches his eyes.

	Ed wears a tough-looking black leather jacket, obviously
	designed to function as armor. The jacket itself is plain,
	without the bright metal one sometimes sees in jackets of this
	kind -- strictly utilitarian. Below it, he wears a green shirt.
	A non-leather black pair of pants, and a set of leather boots
	complete the outfit.

	He carries a large wooden bow, made of red wood and so polished
	it seems to shine. Carved into it are several animals, to be
	hunted by the massive bow, which stretches almost six feet
	high. Accompanying it is a quiver, which Ed wears on his back.



Mat frowns to himself. "It wasn't an assault. It was a kidnapping,
followed by two weeks of mostly unconsciousness, followed by an only
partially successful escape attempt that ended in me being fireballed
and reduced to a puddle for a month."

Marissa nods to Mat, too. "Something needs to die, then. Painfully."

Turgul laughs grimly. "So what does someone have to do to have
assaulted you?

Mat shrugs. "I'd prefer just quickly. Basically, as far as I'm
concerned, I got a free face lift out of the deal."

Cara smiles, without cheer. "I'll take finality over pain any day."

Mat says "Full artillery assault."

Marissa says "I brought a mac-10, but it doesn't seem to work here."

Turgul says "What's a mac-10?"

Mat says "It'll prolly rust before you leave. The local world laws like
things primitive. It's a nice change from home."

Marissa displays the gun. "In shadows where it works, it fires a stream
of lead bullets at very high speed." She shrugs as Mat chips in, and
answers, "I'll get another later, then."

Edward watches, and listens, intently, and starts to tap his foot.

Mat says "You any good with a bow?"

Marissa mms, "I can hit a target... most of the time."

Turgul peers at the device. "You tried to fire it?"

Turgul waves a few tribesmen to bring bows.

Marissa nods, "On the way in, yeah. Picked a nice hill for a backstop.
No joy."

Turgul laughs. "Well, good luck ever getting it to work again. Crinos
tends to be unkind to finely worked pieces of machinery."

Mat says "There's a spare bow down in the Altaica village. Long bow
style. Spare arrows with metal tips. All hand crafted."

Turgul glares at Mat. "Are you insulting my bowcrafters?"

Marissa reaches for one of the bows, taking it and trying the draw
weight.

Turgul says "Or my mages, that have given the bows a find spell?"

Mat says "How many steel arrowheads you got? And a long bow tends to
have more pull than a short bow."

Mat says "Oh, you cheated with magic. Ignore the concussion spells."

Cara looks at the Lemesech bows with interest. "Find spell? What does
it do?"

Turgul glares some more, and makes some grumbling noises deep in his
throat, followed by a few tongue-pops. A taller-than-usual human-form
Lemesech walks up with a long bow, and proceeds to drill a wooden arrow
half-deep into the tree.

Turgul says "You forget Mat, this is a land of magic, and my people
moreso than most. We have no need for steel."

Turgul turns to Cara. "Exactly what you'd expect: it finds the target."

Mat shrugs.

Cara leans her bow against the tree-trunk, and tries one of the
Lemesech bows.

Turgul looks around. "Is anyone expecting anyone else?"

Cara says "I think Boelak is out in the jungle, looking for signs of
the Serpen."

Mat shakes his head.

Turgul nods. "Anyone else?"

Marissa says "None here."

Mat says "Any battle plan?"

Cara says "Cadence said she'd Trump me if she could get away."

Edward smiles, "Kill it."

Turgul nods, and turns to Mat. "Find the bitch and kick her ass? The
first part is going to be hard enough I hadn't thought much about the
second bit."

Mat looks at Edward. "OK, how? We've got a tribe of Marswt minimum and
a Serpen like thing. I want to know if I can go off by myself and smash
Marswt away from other locals."

Turgul says "You mean clan, Mat. If we had the whole tribe we'd have
some issues."

Mat says "They've had how long to gather forces? And you can call me
pessimistic later."

Turgul says "Close to two months, minimum, but Marswt we can track.
There is no concentration of them outside their homeland big enough to
be really noticeable."

Marissa nods. "What form do the Marswt take?"

Mat says "Thought the tr- clan I got nabbed by was still in their
territory?"

Turgul says "Marswt are nasty were-bats."

Turgul shakes his head at Mat. "You were still in more-or-less jungle,
yes?"

Edward watches now, looking impatiently around the room.

Marissa says "not /again/... I just got done with that in Jasner."

Mat says "Edge of, sort of. Want a look?"

Turgul nods. "That'd be good."

Mat looks to Turgul and just sort of stands there.

Turgul grimaces in concentration. "Ah, good. That's still outside their
main territory, but much further north than I had thought. We've got a
bit of a walk ahead of us."

Snow comes from around the Darvest tree into the beautiful green light
of the Lemesech Village.

Snow has arrived.

Turgul nods to the newcomer. "And you are?"

Mat says "times like these I wish I'd found a way to make an all shadow
hoverbike."

Marissa nods to Mat, "Would be useful."

Mat says "So would a million other things that are just as unlikely."

Mat says "By the way, Mar, you into Shadow Earth vigilante films?"

Marissa says "Seen a few, yeah. You remember 'Die Hard'?"

Cara chuckles darkly. "Who knows, maybe inventing the hoverbike was
what got the Serpens in trouble with the gods of Crinos."

Snow enters with a dozen Venator warriors, all human-formed. The others
behind her stop as she strides forward, to nod to Turgul. "The
Venator," she says, "have come to aid the tribes. I am Snow, and this
is my pack."



Snow

A young warrior with white hair, she's plain in appearance but for the
scars: One slashing across her neck, and a jagged one along her left
arm. She has a perpetual tight-lipped smile, and hard-edged eyes;
speaking, it seems, only when she must. She wears a sleeveless jerkin,
matching black-dyed pants, and walks barefoot. Her trademark white hair
is tied back, out of the way of any action she might get into -- and
from the looks of her, it happens often. A serrated knife is buckled at
her waist, and she carries two spears. Her face is painted in red and
black diagonal stripes, seemingly to match her neck-scar.



Mat shakes his head. "I've seen Star Wars, Illinois Jones, The Crow,
and bought a few computer games. I've got the soundtrack from the Crow
recorded magically and ready for playback during the fight."

Marissa ahs, "Could be fun."

Mat says "Ever hear of the Illness?"

Turgul pointedly ignores Mat.

Marissa says "No...but I do remember a phrase from one of those films.
'You're the disease - I'm the cure.""

Mat says "Um. It's a band. They've got the opening song on the track."

Turgul nods to Snow. "Your pack is welcome, Snow of the Venator." He
waves over the tall guy with the bow. "This is Doordangan, the
war-leader that will be accompanying us with ten of his best men. You
will wish to speak with him, I expect."

Marissa gives a sudden smile as she watches the Venator come in, her
attention focusing on Snow.

Snow nods sharply to Turgul, openly staring at Mat, Marissa, and Cara
in turn. "Are we truly in such straits that we need these...outlanders
to aid us? It is only one Serpen, after all."

Cara snorts.

Mat says "And Marswt. I'm Stormsong of the Altaica."

Turgul laughs. "One Serpen that can completely hide her presence, that
the land is not blighted. I'm afraid, are the Venator grown so boastful
that they claim not?"

Snow waves away the objections, the corners of her mouth twitching,
hinting at amusement. "Not all Venator," she replies to Turgul, "just
me."

Marissa says "I come because I wish this creature dead as much as you
do, warrior."

Cara says flatly, "I am Cara, and Nuada was my friend."

Mat mutters to Cara and Edward, "... good thing... all of... Venator
are... snobs,... have gotten... ."

Snow peers at Mat. "You look not like Altaica," she says finally. "But
if the Sha'Cri speaks for you, it is well."

Edward's eyes narrow, as he peers at Snow.

Mat shrugs to Snow.

Cara reaches out her right hand, and pulls Cadence out of the air.

Cadence has arrived.

Turgul stands, and looks around. "All right, I think we're ready."

Cadence nods and looks about.



Cadence

A young woman who has emerged from her teenage years. Her grey eyes
carry hints of old sorrow, now put aside. She is tall and wiry,
carrying herself as one used to much exercise. Across her right cheek
are four sharp, even scars.

	She is wearing a tightly woven, heavy, shirt of grey cotton,
	over which she wears a heavy wool sweater, also grey. Her pants
	are woolen as well, a deep burgundy of color, her gloves are of
	grey leather, lined in fur, as are her boots. Across her back
	is strapped a large two-handed sword and she carries a spear in
	one hand, using it more like a walking staff. She also wears a
	heavy wool cloak, clasped at the throat by a brooch in the
	shape of a dragon's head. In addition to her sword belt, she
	wears a normal belt around her hips, of leather, from which
	hangs a largish pouch. She has a black ring on her left hand
	and a ring of purple amethyst, carved into the semblance of an
	anemone, upon her right. At her hip she wears a matched sword
	and dagger.

	She has a slight limp when she walks, but seems in good
	spirits.



Edward raises an eyebrow, and smiles, "Cadence" nodding to her.

Snow blinks suddenly, and darts a look to Turgul, apparently the target
of some unspoken communication. "Guess I'm talking like a pup fresh out
of the sha'hun's lap, again. I won't question you again." She says this
last looking at Mat, but seems to speak generally.

Cara turns to Turgul. "Turgul, this is Cadence. May we have another of
those bows, please? And some arrows?"

Turgul nod to the new arrival, and waves over a few strange-robed
Lemesech. "They will guide us, by divination."

Turgul nods to Cara, and it is done.

Cadence nods to those present, each in turn.

Mat says "When we get within ten minutes of any guards, can you have
them let me know?"

Cadence accepts bow and arrows, studying them for a moment.

Turgul grins at Snow. "Find me a Venator warrior that acts otherwise,
and I'll find you a master of disguise."

Turgul nods to Mat. "It shouldn't be a problem. They also have some
skill at war magic."

Cara mutters to Cadence, "... thought you... coming, so... Turgul...
finding magic."

Mat says "Oh, this is just so I can do the last minute prep for my
surprises."

Snow catches a wineskin thrown to her by one of her warriors, and takes
a long drink from it before offering it to the nearest person, who
happens to be Cara. "To make us both brave," she says, and winks. She
turns to Turgul, then, and laughs. "I'm just a simple bitch, Sha'Cri.
Don't mind me. Just show me where the Marswt lie, and we can get to
killing them."

Cadence frowns at something Cara says and eyes the bow in her hand.

Turgul laughs. "It is time." He begins to walk around the tree.

Cara grins. "I'll drink to that!" And she does, then throws the skin
back to Snow.

Marissa chuckles softly.

Mat heads after Turgul, keeping his cesti slung still.

Snow pauses to look over Cadence, her gaze lingering on the sword. She
nods approvingly, catching the skin without looking, with long
practice. The dozen Venator warriors share skins out to those who
accept them, then turn to follow Turgul.



The hunters make their way to the base of the Darvest tree.

Turgul waits for his tribesmates to take the lead.

The group of Lemesech sorcerers peers around, their eyes seeming
unfocused. Eventually they point to the west. "The easiest path is that
way", one says.

Mat stretches as the diviners get their bearings.

Turgul peers. "Are you sure? She's got to be rather northward."

Snow's Venator warriors are attired similarly as her, and each carries
one or two spears in addition to a knife, club, or hatchet.

Turgul gets glared at by several affronted mages. "Yes, Sha'Cri, we're
sure."

Turgul nods, and follows.

Cadence frowns slightly to herself, following along with the group and
studying the area as she goes, wary of new territory, but seeming
comfortable.

Turgul has left.



The path stretches for many miles, through twisting, winding passages
in the jungle's heat.

Mat mutters to Turgul.

Turgul mutters to Mat, "... I..."

Mat shrugs. He mutters to Turgul.

It soon turns north, and eventually reaches the edge of the jungle,
where the mages stop.

One of the Venator warriors, a younger man, laughs once at something a
companion says, and the sound rings out a little too loudly in the
jungle. Snow turns and casually backhands him, which causes him to
quiet himself. He glares at her for just a moment before lowering his
head, then following more quietly.

Mat slides a hand through his now damp hair. "Ten minute warning?" he
whispers.

Turgul goes to join the mages. "Are we near?" He receives only a nod,
and a wave to the north.

Turgul nods to Mat.

Cadence mutters to Cara, "... hunting..."

Turgul turns to Snow, and speaks quietly. "How many seasons have you
known?"

Mat steps aside from the path to cast a spell upon himself.

Edward looks over at Cadence and Cara, and smiles, "Here we go." He
starts to incant, softly, to himself.

Cara mutters to Cadence, "... bad... as the legends... to indicate."

Cara sings a brief melody, causing magic to gather about her.

Snow grins at Turgul, while she twirls a spear slowly. "Enough to know
my way around a fight," she says, her voice lowered. "Enough to have my
own pack."

Turgul draws his hairless brows together. "Is that an answer?"

Marissa looks around at all the magic people, and shrugs, whispering a
few throat-twisting magic words of her own.

Edward shimmers slightly, glowing a faint blue. The color disappears
quickly, though the spell does not.

One, just one, of the Venator, an older-looking male, mutters some
incantations to himself as well, though no visible effect ensues. Snow
shrugs at Turgul, "Not as many as you, Sha'Cri, or your warleader."

Mat smiles slightly to himself and unslings the rather large cesti.

Cadence sees all the spells, and shrugs to herself. She raises the hand
that bears the black ring upon it, and the sound of moaning can be
heard. The small figures on it seem to writhe.

Edward stretches out his bow, and taps his foot nervously.

Turgul nods. "Alright then. You may lead your pack as you wish, but
there is something you should know: Lemesech in Dimoh-khu are
impossible to reason with. All warrior packs have a mage with them just
to control them. Do not try to affect those in any way, it will. . .be
bad."

Snow nods gravely. "We will not interfere," she says. "But do not stand
in our path, either, once we have tasted blood."

Snow's eyes narrow. "The Serpen have caused enough Venator blood to be
spilled," she hisses. "It is time we repaid it in kind."

Mat comments to Snow, "I'd keep out of their way. I've wrestled with
them, and they really go out of control. Makes for a fun fight."

Turgul nods to Snow, and turns to Mat. "You had some things you wished
to prepare."

Marissa smiles to Snow. "Never fear, milady. We shall triumph."

Mat nods to Turgul. "All done." There is a definite magic on Mat.

Snow eyes Mat a moment, then looks at Marissa. "Course we will," she
says to her, grinning. "Luna's with us."

Cara nods once, definitely, at Snow's comment.

Marissa offers her hand, nodding. "The Mother's blessing."

Turgul looks at the two warleaders. "If you wouldn't mind distracting
the Marswt, I think now would be a good time..."

Mat looks to Turgul, "Times like these I wish I'd kept in better
correspondence with Moonclaw. Then again, I don't have many of these
times." He scratches an    ear with a tip of the claws on his gloves.

Snow shifts both spears into one hand so she can grasp Marissa's own.
"Luna make your claws sharp, and your fangs to rend," she states. She
turns to Turgul, then, and nods. "Who will fight the Marswt with us?"

Snow looks at Mat, startled. "You speak with the spirits?"

Mat says "I knew him when he lived. Turgul, mind if I go mash the
Marswt or you need me?"

Cadence leans on her staff, then, seeming idle but her manner is wary.

Turgul says "Mat will go. Those whose taste tends to spear rather than
mind should go. The rest stay."

Marissa smiles, and nods. "Luna keep your sight keen, and your strength
whole. I will join you."

Snow states, "A friend of that great Sha'Cri's will be welcome to fight
with us." She steps forward, her Venator following, to join the
Lemesech fighters.

Edward looks at Cara. He mutters to Cara, "You... go,... think...."

Cara nods, and hugs Edward briefly. "Luck, beloved."

Mat nods once to Snow. He pads over to her and the Lemesech war leader.
"OK, just so you all know, when I get in the thick of things I may
start making what can best be described as a bunch of outlandish noise.
I'll try to move off far enough that it won't distract."

Edward hugs Cara, "Thank you. Good luck."

Cara grins tensely. "Using yourself for bait again, Mat?"

Snow smirks at Mat. "We have heard outlander noise before. Though if
you start making noises like the beast with two backs, I think
Crackknee here will get distracted." she nudges a younger Venator
warrior, who blushes.

Mat looks back to Cara. "Art of War. Psychological combat. Attack your
foes with the unknown. Even if it's only rock and roll."

Turgul looks at Snow. "Beast with two backs?"

Several of the Venator start snickering.

Snow looks at Turgul, and tries to keep a straight face. "Very
dangerous foe," she says seriously. "Very distracting."

Marissa nods, "A very entertaining ally, though," she adds in an aside
to Snow.

Mat mutters, "If I weren't married . . ." He flashes a smile to the
Lemesech war leader and starts walking.

Cara mutters to Cadence, "When... I'll be... this empty... my belt
with... light. Feel free... weapons..."

Turgul just looks confused. "Warriors ready?"

Cara says "Ready."

Snow grins at Marissa, letting her mirth show for a moment before it
fades back into the seriousness of the task at hand. "Ready," she and
several Venator growl.

Marissa draws her sword, nodding. "Ready."

Several of the Venator have shifted to Dimoh-khu and clutch their
rudimentary weapons. Snow, notably, has not.

Mat is already heading into the undergrowth. He doesn't answer nor is
he easily seen.

Turgul's eyes widen. "Indeed, you are brave. Luna guide." He waves in
the direction the mages waved in before.

Cara follows Mat.

Snow leads her warriors off.

Marissa follows Snow, grinning wolfishly. (How appropriate, neh?)

Cadence moves forward, hefting her spear, ready and waiting.

Turgul waits a few minutes for the noises to start.

Boelak_Gargoyle has arrived.

Turgul nods to Boelak, and motions for quiet. He appears to be
listening for something.

Boelak_Gargoyle falls into step behind the group of warriors, closest
to Cara.

Suddenly, screaming is heard, combined with war cries and twittering
sounds.

Turgul nods, and stands up a bit straighter. "I'll give them a few
minutes to soften things up. Anyone got a watch?"

Mat heads into a tree top as the first alarm goes off, although prolly
only Cara and anyone else following him could tell.

Edward's head snaps around, to the source of the noise. He clenches his
fists.

Distinctive Venator war-cries are heard as the sounds of fighting
begin.

Turgul looks to his mages, and puts his hand on Edward's shoulder.
"Wait for it."

Cara sings softly, and pale light flows down her arms, to fill the
empty quiver that hangs at her belt.

Boelak_Gargoyle tenses at the noise, and his lip raises in a silent
snarl.

A deafening roar is heard from the north. Turgul's mages lock eyes with
him and nod. "Now," Turgul says, and begins to stride forward.

Marissa marches along with Snow, bow at the ready...

Edward looks at Turgul, and swallows, nodding.



Katachan's Lair

Large, majestic trees overhang this huge, beautiful clearing. A soft
carpet of grass underfoot, and a blue sky peeking through above. The
nearby jungle is festooned with creepers and bright flowers of all
kinds, and the noise of insects fills the air.



Cadence glances to Cara, frowning.

A flute is heard from Mat's tree mixed with sounds of crows. And then
the drumming starts as Mat drops in on the Marswt he's missed so much.
There are soft crunches.

The path peters out momentarily into a large clearing on the edge of
grasslands, where confusion reigns.

Marswt are diving from place to place, fighting the Venator and
Lemesech. In the center of the clearing is a huge (200ft) dragon-like
thing, with a Lemesech in its jaws.

Edward looks to Turgul, watching for his lead.

Cara stops at the treeline, dips an arrow into the light-filled quiver,
and fires it. It flies up and impales a Marswt, who drops screaming to
the ground and dies.

Snow is already minus one of her two spears, it lying buried in a
Marswt's gut. She and her Venator warriors fight fiercely, savagely,
the Marswt falling before them. The Lemesech warriors fight no less
effectively, though there's a clear division between the two ranks.

Marissa has abandoned her bow, and is slowly hacking her way through
the Marswt alongside Snow.

Mat cuts his own path up the middle of the Marswt. They don't need
sonar to find him as he fights with his own, LOUD, theme music.

Turgul smiles broadly as he notices many of the Marswt flying. He
raises his staff, and cries, "For Nuada!" A hurricane force wind,
raised without warning of any kind, slams about half a dozen Marswt
into a tree nearby.

Cadence abandons quiver and bow, and dispatches a Marswt with the spear
in her hand, then draws her greatsword in a practiced move. She begins
to hack at them with fervor, seemingly having a lot of frustration to
work through.

Marissa slashes a Marswt off of Snow's back as it swoops down just
ahead of Turgul's wind, grinning, then turns to deal with another...

Cara's arrows continue to fly, picking off Marswt before they can dive
on the warriors in melee.

Katachan notices Mat, and reaches her jaws towards him.

The Venator warrior to Snow's left falls to three shrieking Marswt, and
Snow curses loudly and creatively as she bashes one of the attacking
Marswt to the ground. The other two turn to face her, but one is taken
by a thrown Venator spear. The last, typically Marswt, turns to flee
and Snow leaps forward, impaling it. She yanks out her spear just in
time to parry a Marswt's claws.

Boelak_Gargoyle stands next to Cara and quickly shifts to his human
form. He looks down at her quiver and asks quietly, "May I?"

Cara turns her head to Boelak. Suddenly, she is grinning. "Please."

Turgul suddenly finds a Marswt in front of him, and points the staff at
its head, which proceeds to soundlessly explode, apparently
overpressurized from within.

Mat offers Katachan's maw a snack with a slightly redirected diving
Marswt.

Marissa ducks and rolls under a pair of the creatures, and over. "Hey,
Mat! You ever see 'Steel Falcon'? I gotta get you an FB-52 one of these
days..."

Most of the Lemesech have devolved to Dimoh-khu by now, and are
fighting with all the grace and creativity of berserk wolverines on
steroids. But when you have multiple arms with big nasty spikes on
them, who needs grace?

Snow smoothly turns and swings her staff just over Marissa's ducking
body, the movement of the two looking as if it were choreographed. The
staff collides with a leaping Marswt, and it tumbles to the ground,
stunned, before Snow stabs it.

Cadence seems rather methodical in her approach: hack and slack, moving
forward into the fray, seemingly unheeding of her own safety.

Katachan looms over Mat, and breathes at him. "You liiivveee?" She then
tries to take his head off.

Marissa grins, following the dance, her sword flicking between Snow's
legs to catch a creeping foe who's been trying to sneak up on them,
then withdrawing before it can trip up the Venator warrior.

Boelak reaches into the quiver and grabs small handfuls of the magic
therein, rocking his arm back to start hurling it at any unclaimed
Marswt. While not every throw makes contact with its intended target,
there are enough that it hits /something./

Snow manages a quick grin to Marissa, then her eyes widen slightly and
she says, "Duck." Raising the spear, she prepares to throw...

Cara casts more of the pale light into the empty quiver, as Boelak
threatens to deplete the supply.

Cadence makes her way beeline towards Katachan, seeming to plan to just
hack at yet another enemy.

Edward raises his bow, firing an arrow into the distracted Serpen. His
motion is fluid, practiced. The arrows shine with magic, to those that
can sense it.

Turgul laughs as he forces two Marswt to collide with each other. Then,
too late, he notices what Katachan is doing. "Mat!"

Mat takes a swipe with the claws he's wielding at the incoming mouth
while doing his best to keep from getting munched on.

Cara fires an arrow at Katachan.

Marissa fails to duck, replying, "Goose," instead bending impossibly
backwards before turning it into a somersault and pushing off to add a
kick to the next target in line.

An overeager Venator in Dimoh-khu charges the Serpen, slashing at its
leg with several sets of claws. The draconic beast kicks mightily, and
the unfortunate warrior is sent flying to smash heavily against a
tree.

Cadence takes a hack at Katachan with her greatsword, and wheels,
hoping to dodge any reaction.

Suicidally it seems, a lone Marswt swoops down in front of Cadence,
perhaps protecting the Serpen. Then, two others are suddenly swooping
down out of the air, at Cadence's back while the one in front
distracts.

Katachan is momentarily distracted by a sword in her leg, and tries to
stomp on Cadence, but misses, crushing the lone Marswt instead.

Cara picks one of the Marswt behind Cadence out of the air with an
arrow, causing it to fall onto its partner, so they both fall to the
ground.

Snow blinks at Marissa's words, then shrugs, and prepares to cast her
spear at another target when she's suddenly bowled over by a Marswt
dive-bombing her. She rolls, dropping the spear, and pummels the Marswt
as they thrash around on the ground. They roll together, she ends up on
top, and she takes hold of the Marswt's head and twists sharply. An
audible crack is heard, and she rises from the lifeless body. Drawing
her knife, she leaps back into the fray, going to the aid of another
beleaguered Venator warrior.

Mat ducks and rolls forward, losing one of the cesti by the time he
gets to his feet.

Mat's music seems to be on the second track now after a momentary
pause.

Cadence seems bewildered for a moment, not having seen the two Marswt
behind her but noticing the motion of their fall only slightly as the
movement of the Serpen's leg and subsequent squashing of the Marswt
distract her more. Taking another step back, hopefully away from the
Serpen, she trips on the two bodies behind her, and rolls into the
fall.

Turgul is still staring at Mat when a Marswt grabs him. A sudden
gale-force wind (which, oddly enough, doesn't seem to affect Turgul at
all) rips the Marswt's wings off, distracting him just a tad.

More Marswt come diving out of the sky, another swarm perhaps summoned
to defend the Serpen. They descend upon the attackers ferociously, some
casting small but potent magics at the ground-dwellers.

Cadence struggles to regain her feet, hampered a bit by the length of
her weapon, as she faces the uninjured of the pair of fallen Marswt.

Mat mutters something in line with the swearing in his music for anyone
proficient in lip reading English. There's some blood running down his
right arm, as he guts the Marswt Turgul's dis-winged with the claws
still on his left hand. His hand leaves the claws where they are for
the nonce.

Cara drops her bow and draws her sword, as several Marswt swoop toward
her and Boelak.

Turgul nods to Mat, and proceeds to send a wind to buffet the
newly-arrived Marswt.

The Marswt Cadence is facing claws her leg just as she manages to
skewer it. She kicks at it for good measure, then makes her way forward
once more, hacking at the new arrivals.

Marissa snarls something as obscene as Mat's comments, this particular
foe turning out to be quite a fighter. She backs off, slowly, parrying
several slashes, but not all of them. Blood marks her cheek and thigh,
now.

The non-berserker Lemesech have been spending much of their time
tossing pretty little colored lights, which shimmer and shine like
little twinkling fairy stars...and then rip the Marswt's skin off, when
they hit.

The newly-arrived Marswt quickly drop to the ground, as if prepared for
Turgul's wind, warned by their fellows. They come prepared, bearing
wicked long knives, poison-edged, that they use in slashing attacks.

Katachan hisses at the helping Marswt. "Get them, get them quickly!"

Turgul stops for a second, and peers up at the Serpen, apparently
confused. He mutters something to himself.

Mat takes advantage of his free hands to cast a spell. He gathers
energy to himself which coalesces in his right hand, into three small
translucent balls for those with the power to see.

Edward mutters something, and fires an arrow into the crowd of Marswt,
where it goes cleanly through three of them, and embeds itself in the
fourth.

Snow rolls toward her fallen spear, and snatches it up quickly. Rising
into a crouch, she heaves the spear at Marissa's opponent, catching it
squarely in the chest. She's unable to recover from the throw to block
the next Marswt that's upon her, however, and it bears her to the
ground, managing to draw blood with its claws.

Cadence hacks at the new arrivals, wary of their blades, trying to make
her way again to the Serpen. She uses her long and heavy blade to hack
back and forth.

Boelak watches the Marswt swooping in, taking a defensive stance in his
human form, not having enough time to shift before they're upon him. "I
don't suppose you have a knife handy," he asks Cara quickly.

Turgul nods to Mat, and sends a small whirlwind to help keep the
Serpen's head in place. The Serpen obligingly roars in defiance.

The Marswt, spurred on by the Serpen's hissed commands, fly at the
attackers in a frenzy. They seem unafraid to part with their poisoned
blades, often hurling them at opponents if it seems appropriate.

Cara throws the last handful of this lot of pale fire into the face of
a charging Marswt, and he falls to the ground, screaming and clawing at
his face before lying very still. Cara plows into two more Marswt,
using her saber, and there is a quick, violent exchange of blows.

Edward yells, to Boelak, "Here!" and tosses, underhanded, a large
dagger, to him.

Marissa launches herself at Snow's foe, slashing an arm off it before
turning to engage another who's chosen this moment to charge. A quick
spell deflects its poisoned blade, and she impales it with a renewed
smile.

Cadence continues to try to win her way towards the great Serpen, one
slow step at a time, eager to try her skill at so large a foe.

Mat lobs the spell globs at Kah's head and then responds to the knife
throwers with some bad foot work followed by a short tumble and roll.

Four Marswt stay away from the thickest part of the fighting, muttering
and cackling to themselves as they rub charms and fetishes. They're
rewarded by a manifestation of power: A thick, inky arm of blackness
stretches out from them towards the nearest Lemesech mage. When it
touches the Lemesech, it starts to wrap around him. The mage howls as
the smell of roasting flesh becomes evident.

Cara finishes off the two Marswt, pulls a small dagger from her left
sleeve, and throws it to Boelak (hilt-first, of course).

Boelak catches the dagger by the handle and drives it into the chest of
one of the attacking Marswt as it descends upon him, pulling it out
quickly to attack the next one.

As Mat's sorcery lobs towards the great Serpen, something bizarre
happens. The balls of energy pass through its head, with no pause, and
the beast's form suddenly collapses to that of a woman. The feel of
sorcery in the clearing also lessens dramatically.



Katachan

An imposing woman, with feral features, long hair, and a dark glint to
her eyes.



Turgul laughs. "Well, this changes everything!" He growls a few words
to his Lemesech mages, who proceed, oddly enough, to tend the wounded
of both sides!

Boelak catches Cara's offered dagger with his other hand and sticks
another Marswt with the pair.

Snow rises a little slowly, bright red blood upon her neck and dripping
down the front of her now-ripped jerkin. She snarls, shakes her head as
if to clear it, then lunges forward, slashing at a Marswt that's
engaging one of her warriors.

Katachan growls at Mat. "You again! You will die for this! Marswt,
attack!" She begins to run towards Mat, but then she notices none of
the Marswt have moved.

Mat notes the woman maybe, but his attention is on the tentacle and the
four Marswt. His eyes flash as he draws his katana.

All around the clearing, many of the Marswt are retreating from the
fight, and staring at the Serpen-woman in bewilderment.

The black fiery tentacle shudders once and then melts away as the four
Marswt mages retreat in confusion.

Other Marswt, however, fight on, happy to be drawing blood.

Cara drives her saber up through the belly of another Marswt, then
kicks his body free of the blade. Having disposed of the immediate
attackers, she dives for her bow again.

Turgul laughs again, and approaches the woman.

Turgul says "You will cease now, or you will die very, very slowly."

Turgul cocks his head, and laughs once more. "Your name, so my mages
tell me, is Katachan, and you will die this day."

Snow loses her knife, leaving it lodged in the spine of the latest foe
she's dispatched. She looks around her, crouching, hands splayed as if
she bears claws, then blinks as no other Marswt attack. She
straightens, and turns toward the strange woman and Turgul, and makes
her way to Turgul's side.

Cadence frowns at the loss of the greater foe and turns her attention
to the lesser, charging any Marswt who seem to be eager to continue the
fight.

Marissa follows Snow, watching the Marswt warily, ready to deal with
any that might recover from whatever has affected them.

Mat stalks after the fleeing Marswt mages. He idly cuts down an
interfering Marswt and leaves the blade in him.

Katachan growls, louder this time. "You think you're safe, because the
Masters have left. Well, before they left they kept half their promise.
I was to be Serpen, but I still have enough power to finish you!"

Cara casts more pale fire into her quiver.

Fewer and fewer Marswt now charge to do battle, either having retreated
in confusion or fallen to the superior strength of the enemy.

Boelak keeps his eyes on the location of the Marswt, keeping half an
eye on Turgul and the Serpen woman.

For all that can see this sort of thing, Tandrai power is being raised.
Given that the Tandrai attacking Crinos was ejected, it's fairly
pathetic, but there none-the-less.

Marissa sighs, exasperated suddenly. "A /wannabe/?"

Snow says, disgusted, "A cub."

Turgul nods to Marissa. "You have the right of it. Mat, if you would
come here, I believe you should have dispensation."

Mat mutters to himself gesturing and three more globs of magic appear
in his hand as he walks slowly. The nearest Marswt mage is prolly
pretty far out on the end of the throwing range.

Turgul turns back to Katachan. "Do you know of the Dea?" He seems
completely unconcerned at the moaning spirits filling the space between
Katachan's outstretched hands.

Cara launches an arrow, blazing with pale fire, straight at Katachan's
chest.

Mat doesn't respond to Turgul. He's distracted at the moment.

The remaining Marswt mages turn to flee, giving up on the fight
entirely to save their own skins.

Katachan laughs throatily. "The Dea is a pale imitation of the Master's
might." She watches as a spirit redirects the arrow. Her eyes widen in
surprise as it doesn't quite work and the arrow embeds in her
shoulder.

Snow watches the Serpen warily. Though she bears no weapons, she stays
tense at Turgul's side, ready to defend him if need be.

Marissa bothers not with swords, or bows, or knives. She cuts at the
Serpen-wannabe with a cold, mocking, slashing crystalline /laugh/.

Mat lobs the three magic globs at the nearest Marswt mage. The globs
hit and the bloody mangle of former Marswt mage falls to the ground.

Boelak grins fangily as he watches the arrow sink into Katachan's
shoulder. He nods in satisfaction and mutters to Cara. "Good shot."

Cara sends another pale-flaming arrow, this time at the center of
Katachan's body to minimize the effects of deflection.

Katachan, seething with rage, looses the spirits at Turgul, who
casually brushes them aside. "You'll have to do better than that."
Turgul sends a few moaning spirits of his own back, and at the same
time peers deep into Katachan's eyes. "I control not only the Tandrai
spirits, but the Dea as well. Sol will claim you, and your body will be
left to rot."

Turgul turns and walks from the clearing. "Do with her as you all will.
I find I am too disgusted to continue with this charade."

Snow shudders as one of the deflected spirits brushes against her on
its way away from Turgul, but she stands fast, glaring at the woman.
She looks back at Turgul in surprise as he walks off.

Mat slowly turns back to the clearing as the Marswt can outdistance him
now. He actually looks angry now.

Katachan grunts as the second arrow lands in her stomach, eyes widening
as she follows Turgul. "No! You cannot! I will not allow it!" She
screams, and the ground begins to tremble.

Cara, with simple methodical bloodlust, launches a third fire-tipped
arrow at Katachan's belly.

Cadence, seeing that the Marswt have lost the stomach for fighting,
makes her way towards Katachan, with the obvious intent of lopping off
her head.

Snow laughs suddenly, scornfully, and turns away from Katachan, pausing
to help an injured Venator rise to his feet before she too makes her
way out of the clearing, her warriors following.

Katachan falls to her knees, moaning in pain, but her eyes have the
light of a fanatic. "He comes, he comes..."

Boelak growls as the ground rumbles. He looks to Cara and states the
painfully obvious, "Something isn't right."

Marissa catches Snow's wrist... "Kill it. Quick."

Mat recovers his katana from where he left it since he went out in a
straight line and is merely following it back.

The rumbling increases, and a bit of a hill seems to be forming under
Katachan's knees.

Snow looks to Marissa. "Out of my hands," she grunts. "It's He who'll
claim her, now."

Cara advances into the clearing, firing a fourth arrow. She has begun
praying aloud to Lady Luna. She takes no apparent note of Bo's
comment.

Turgul has finally noticed the rumbling and returned. "No! Snow, it's
not who you think it is! Kill her, _NOW_!"

Cadence runs the final few paces, swinging her sword down in an arc at
Katachan.

There are no Marswt that aren't injured around. About half of the
Venator and Lemesech are out for one reason or another, as are two of
the mages.

Snow blinks, and turns to face Katachan again. She starts to sprint
towards the woman, but she's too far to get to her before the others
do.

Marissa, with Snow, is probably also too far...

Just as Katachan is about to lose a head of height, the ground rips
open at her feet...

Boelak looks up into the empty sky and takes a step back, shifting back
down to his gargoyle form. He flares his wings out, stretching them in
preparation for something. He looks up to Cara and growls, "Cara...."

Cara fires the fifth arrow from close range, exhausting the fire in her
quiver. Rather than pause for magic, she drops her bow and rushes at
Katachan with her sword.

Mat gets to the former hill, the music gone. "I'll get her if no one
wants to go down there."

A real Serpen rears out of the soil, screaming in defiance. It is
small, perhaps 75ft or so, and every plant it touches dies, its ichor
streaming across the ground. Katachan, laughing now, rides atop it.

The other warriors, Venator and Lemesech both, also turn towards the
woman and the rumbling ground before her. They converge on the form of
the Serpen and the woman, two spears cast towards the beast already.

Cadence curses as the ground opens and strives to keep her footing.
Undaunted, she strikes hard and fast at this new apparition.

Turgul says the Lemesech equivalent of "Fuck me with a rusty chainsaw."

Boelak_Gargoyle snarls and lunges at Cara, grabbing her ankle and
tripping her up. "WAIT!"

Marissa says, calmly, "This is where you fall down." Then she starts
hacking at the thing with her sword. Good Amber steel, that sword.

The Serpen screams, but seems undaunted, until Marissa opens a nice
4-foot gash. It proceeds to attempt to swallow her.

Cara leaps forward, obviously trying to get at Katachan even if it
means leaping onto the Serpen's back. But Bo grabs her, and she falls
to the ground.

Mat shrugs. He starts to cast the concussion spell one more time, now
that he's got a large enough target for it.

Katachan is still laughing, but it became hysteria some time ago. She's
losing a lot of blood.

Snow, weaponless and claw-less at the moment, nonetheless doesn't sit
idly by. She grabs Marissa and throws her, bodily, out of the Serpen's
path.

Boelak_Gargoyle flares his wings out and nods his head back. "Hop on."

Turgul raises his staff, and a gleam enters his eye. "Sol guide me!" A
bizarre thing reaches out from him, sort of what light would look like
if it moved like wind, and rams into the Serpen, which roars in pain.
Several of the Lemesech mages follow up with globes of light.

Cara curses at the distraction from her purpose, but quickly jumps onto
Bo's back.

Mat tosses a glob, aiming for the Serpen's back and rider with it. The
other two dissipate in his hand.

Boelak_Gargoyle runs parallel to the Serpen, a look of concentration on
his face as his wings flap and he leaps into the air. His powerful
wings carry him higher. "What's the plan from up here?" he pants out to
Cara.

Cadence moves to avoid directly touching the Serpen and slashes at it
again, fiercely.

Katachan loses a foot to Mat's globe, which also impacts the Serpen's
ear. In response it attempts to deafen everyone with its scream.

The Venator and Lemesech warriors charge at the beast, harrying it with
claws and knives. One brave Venator latches onto the Serpen's tail,
claws digging in for purchase of the lashing member. Having no other
way to accomplish his purpose, he sinks his teeth into the Serpen's
tail.

A wide, gaping gash opens up in response to Cadence's blow.

Marissa offers Snow her knife, and nods. "Shall we dance?"

Cara has time to refill the quiver with light. She slashes it from her
belt with her sword, and holds it up in her free hand. "Get right over
the bitch, and I'll drop the whole thing on her!"

Cadence hacks at the gash, striving to open it further and deeper. Her
teeth show as she grits them.

Snow offers Marissa a wild-eyed grin in exchange for the knife, which
she gladly takes. "Let's eat the slut's heart," she suggests, and turns
to join the others engaging the Serpen.

The remaining Venator watch helplessly as the bravest of them takes out
a chunk of the Serpen, but in so doing ingests some of the ichor. His
death is most painful, until one of his friends ends it.

Marissa pulls her close to steal a kiss, and nods, grinning as she
lifts her own blade and the two advance hand in hand.

Mat crouches down, watching the Serpen and rider. His skin tones starts
to darken.

Boelak_Gargoyle nods and banks toward the Serpen, swooping down a
little. He beats his wings to slow his flight and hover quite a few
feet above the Serpen's head, hopefully out of its reach. Sweat pours
down his brow as he exerts himself. "Make it quick."

Turgul backs off from the fight, and begins to chant. Those who can
speak the Verdimm language of magic might recognize it as a call for
judgement.

Cara dumps an entire quiver of pale fire directly onto Katachan!

Cadence continues to hack at the wound, with a single minded purpose.

Mat's torso and jaw line both stretch. He pulls his boots off, leaving
his katana on the ground.

The Serpen thrashes, its struggles becoming slower. Katachan is still
cackling, though one wonders how she lives at all. Cadence's work is
beginning to show intestine.

Turgul continues to chant, and soft light can be noticed by the
observant in each of the four directions from the clearing.

Boelak_Gargoyle swoops away from the Serpen as soon as the quiver is
released. He swoops toward the ground and beats his wings as he
approaches the ground to slow their descent. He lands with a heavy thud
and breathes heavily.

Cadence's efforts double as she sees some progress in her work. She
continues on, seeking to widen and deepen the wound.

Snow adds her own needle to the colorful tapestry of killing that is
the Serpen, slashing at hide and scales and dancing away. She's
separated from Marissa by a stomping foot of the beast, then her knife
is left in the Serpen's leg.

Mat's clothes give way as his body changes form with a twin pitched
howl from him.



Farlend

	This 6' 8" red demonic figure glares at you with two blue-green
	points of light from its eye sockets and grins a long toothy
	grin that is hard to take as friendly. Its skin is a mottled
	purple-mauve like scale that makes one think of burns. Spines
	extend along the middle of its back and along the tops of its
	arms, adding something damaging to it on top of its jaw and
	talons. It is then that the structures of the arms becomes
	notable: they're also wings. The fact that the skin is taut
	across the bones leaving almost no room for much else does not
	help the appearance.

	Farlend is wearing some sort of black mesh pants on its legs.



Cara yells to Boelak, "Thanks!" as she leaps from his back. She begins
to sing, a song like a rising scream of wind, and magic powers her as
she launches into flight.

The lights grow significantly stronger, yellow from the east, red from
the south, green from the west, and blue from the north.

Boelak_Gargoyle watches Cara fly on her own accord. "So, what did you
need me for?" he mutters to himself. He looks back to the mass of
Verdimm and others attacking the Serpen.

Farlend snaps out its arms scattering the bits of shirt wherever they
may fall.

In an attempt to get away from Cadence's wound-causing, the Serpen
rolls over. This has two unexpected effects: he ends up back-down on
Snow, and Cara lands on his throat.

Marissa backs off from the creature, getting a running start, then a
quickly-hurled spell propels her off the ground in a leap that carries
her towards Katachan, for a quick sword engagement before she returns
to the surface.

Cara screams, "Damn you, bitch, don't think you can hide from me!" And
she attempts to cut right through the Serpen's throat to get to
Katachan.

Katachan is still on the Serpen's head, which puts her verry near the
ground right now.

Farlend goes airborne as its target goes groundside with a Serpen over
top her.

Snow screams as the Serpen's crushing weight rolls on top of her,
pinning her legs with an audible crunch. She beats at the Serpen's back
ineffectively with her fists.

The Serpen suddenly stiffens, and with a wailing moan, made more
difficult by the throat slash, attempts to roll away from Snow, except
it's having trouble with its lower body.

Marissa, landing, screams a curse in a fluid tongue with too many
consonants, then begins trying to pull Snow out from under the
monster.

Cadence hacks at the part of the Serpen that pins Snow, trying to
literally hack away enough so that Snow can be pulled out.

Boelak_Gargoyle winces as he hears the Serpen fall onto someone and
runs around the Serpen and towards Snow and Marissa to try to help.

The Serpen rolls over completely, passing over Snow in the process.
This is when it becomes obvious that Snow somehow, in a last show of
strength, has dug her claws into the thing and pulled out some of its
spinal cord.

The Serpen twitches violently as blood runs from its throat. Katachan
is _still_ laughing.

Cara blinks as the Serpen rolls out from under her, leaving her in
midair. Then she dives at Katachan and attempts to hack her in two.

Farlend tries to get in by Katachan, itself, dropping to the ground and
adjusting its wings to use its arms.

The lights have grown even stronger now, and shapes can be seen in
them. A loud, impossibly loud, voice (voices?) rings through the
clearing, "HOLD!"

Turgul grins in smug satisfaction.

Cadence moves forward towards the rolling beast again, seeking to hack
at existing wounds.

Marissa continues hauling Snow away, and then, when possible, kneels to
tend to her wounds.

The air in the clearing becomes very thick, like gelatin. Cara's sword
swing succeeds merely in running a cut down Katachan's body. Four
figures step into the clearing: A tall, blond human from the east, a
being of fire from the south, a stag-headed man from the west, and a
green-skinned, huge man bearing a trident from the north.

Boelak_Gargoyle winces at the voice(s), retreating with Marissa as she
tends to Snow.

Snow's battered form is pulled away by Marissa from the twitching
beast, her broken and bloodied form crushed beyond repair. She breathes
in tortured gasps, bloody froth at the corner of her mouth. Yet, she
smiles through broken teeth, bloodied hands still clutching her prize.

The four figures speak in unison, "You have all done well, but they are
ours now. Their pain will know no bounds." And indeed, Katachan and the
Serpen begin screaming, and you are quite convinced their pain already
knows no bounds.

The most human of the figures looks at Mat. "You have been most hurt by
this... woman... If you wish, you may strike the death blow, although
infinite torture would be more fitting."

Farlend turns its muzzle at the four speakers looking from one to the
other.

Farlend says in a mixture of two voices, "We think that she is bound by
the Way. So those who manifest it are best suited to determine her
punishment. She is yours."

The green-skinned one nods. "She will be kept alive as long as it is
within my power."

The fiery one glares. "And that's saying quite a bit."

The stag-headed figure approaches Snow.

Cara protests, "Let me kill her, because she killed my friend! "I claim
her life!"

Boelak_Gargoyle backs away from Snow as the stag-headed figure
approaches. He lowers his head respectfully.

Kernnunos says to Snow, "My child, you have given all of yourself. Do
you wish to come with us, or to continue as a warrior of your tribe?"

Snow attempts to turn her head to view the ethereal figures in the
clearing, but her broken neck does not respond. With Marissa turning
her head for her, she's able to see the stag-headed figure approach
her. She smiles, though her breath grows even shallower, her eyesight
dimming.

Lleu shakes his head at Cara, and motions for silence.

Farlend turns its gaze to Cara. "Cara, they intend to punish her for
all time with their power and her knowledge of her failure. We think
that a worse fate than death."

Snow manages to speak. "Go... with..." she gasps, her body twitching
from pain.

Cara shakes her head at Farlend. "Exactly. Death was her crime, and
death is enough. Death for death. You want too much. Where's your
compassion for the enemy now?"

Farlend murmurs, "We will explain later."

Marissa holds Snow's hand, warmly. "You will be remembered, fair one,"
she murmurs, a glimmering in her eyes. "Stay..."

Kernnunos nods, and Snow dies. All see her light-body walk away with
the stag-headed figure. The fiery figure and the green-skinned figure
also leave. Lleu turns to Cara.

Cara struggles to move her blade toward Katachan. But the air congealed
around her will not permit it.

Lleu says "By what right do you claim more than Mat Farlend?"

Cara says "I claim...justice...not torture. She killed Nuada. She
should die. Justice!"

Cara grits the words out through her teeth, still struggling against
the air.

Farlend sighs in a soft musical sound.

Cadence wipes her blade clean as best she can and she sheathes it,
panting.

Lleu says, "She committed more crimes than that. She wished to be of
the Serpen. You are not of us, you do not know her ways. I judge her to
owe her soul to those of this land." He fades from sight, and Katachan
and the Serpen go with him.

Farlend comments in its dual voice, "Nicely put . . ."

Turgul sighs in contentment, watching Lleu go with a gleam in his eye.

Boelak_Gargoyle pads back next to Marissa and the still body of Snow.
He bows his head in solemn respect for the deceased.

Cadence makes her way to Cara after looking sadly at Snow.

Marissa lifts Snow's body in her arms, and sighs...a single Word, and
the corpse blazes up in cold fires, that touch no other.

Cara sinks to the ground, releasing her flight magic. Her face is
twisted with frustration and grief.

The Venator warriors, having stayed at a respectful distance from the
ethereal figures, now move forward to gather up their fallen from the
field of battle. None are unwounded, but they either suffer in silence
or bear their wounds proudly. They seem affected by the presence of the
figures, and move with dignity and purpose now, at odds with their
former appearance.

Farlend stands by Cara. "Cara, we know this may not help now, but there
is a saying about when in Rome. That applies now. When in Crinos, do as
the gods of Crinos wish."

Cadence limps her way through the dead and puts her hand on Cara's
shoulder, bending down to say something quietly.

Cadence mutters to Cara, "... friend's... not..."

Cara looks at Farlend, her face still hard. "Was one of those gods
Luna?"

Farlend looks over and points to Turgul. "We suggest you ask him. We
know not, as we are but an outsider."

Turgul shakes his head. "No. They were the four elemental lords.
Subservient to Sol, and nothing to do with Luna at all. If you feel you
have been wronged, you may call to Her if you wish."

Farlend starts making its way over to its discarded things.

Cara nods. "I prayed to her for a chance to kill Nuada's slayer. I will
pray to her for an end to that...woman's, or Tandrai's, or
whatever-the-hell-she-was...for her death.

Turgul peers confusedly at Cara. "It is that important to you that she
not suffer?"

Cara scowls. "Enemies should be dead. Just dead. That's all. That's
enough."

Farlend picks up Mat's boots and katana, pausing to resheath it.

Turgul shrugs, and says to everyone. "I'm very, very tired. Summoning
the Four is not something mortals are supposed to attempt. I'm going
home."

The Venator warriors exchange a few quiet words with the Lemesech
warriors who yet remain, then they all begin to depart, moving back
along the trail towards the Lemesech village.

Cadence mutters to Cara, "... you... your friends?"

Marissa sighs softly, and heads off down the trail, following the
Venator, only ashes in her arms now gathered into a small leather
pouch.

Farlend looks around and considers for a moment.

Cara mutters to Cadence, "... great... be... these people, *or*...
pray...and... think... leaving."

Cadence mutters to Cara, "... I'll... calls me. Thank you..."

Farlend wanders back over to Cara and Cadence. "We must return to the
village of the Altaica. Are you intending to go that way?"

Cara mutters to Cadence, "... go... there... be... you..."

Cadence mutters to Cara, "... could... Reaversport,... I was..."

Farlend arches an eye ridge, not that it moves.

Cara shakes her head, in response to something Cadence says to her.

Boelak_Gargoyle pads back over to the treeline and picks up a couple
bloody daggers in his teeth by their hilts. He pads over to Cara and
drops hers at her feet, nodding in thanks. He returns the other one to
Edward and pads off the way the Venator went.

Cara mutters to Cadence, "Not... to... one... this..."

Cara calls after Boelak, "Goodbye, Bo! Hunt well."

Boelak_Gargoyle turns back around to Cara, a smile on his muzzle. He
nods in thanks and heads back on his way.

Cadence nods to Cara, squeezes her shoulder briefly, then slips a card
from her pocket, moving a bit stiffly. She regards the card.

Cadence stares at a card in her hand.

Cadence moves forward and vanishes, leaving behind a rapidly fading
afterimage.

Cadence has left.

Cara cleans her dagger on the grass (if she can find any clean grass)
and replaces it in her wrist sheath.

Farlend says "Are you at any sort of acceptance that the woman's crimes
were greater than just Nuada's killing?"

Cara merely shakes her head.

Farlend says "We could endeavor to explain it over tea if you so wished
it. We may not understand the details of the Way, but we understand at
least that she violated it. We do not suppose you come from a religious
background that advocates the concept of an afterlife of just deserts?"

Farlend's arm glistens in several spots as do a couple of other places
about his body. He also smells vaguely of cinnamon.

Cara answers simply (though perhaps not without ambiguity), "I worship
all gods whom I find worthy."

Farlend shrugs. "And how does one judge that we have never understood .
. ." It sighs and starts walking in the direction of the path back
towards the Altaica village.

Cara looks for some more clean grass, to clean her sword.

Edward has left.

Farlend stops to get a belt from one of the dead and hangs its katana
and boots from it. It uses the rough belt to form a loop.

Farlend spreads its wings, grabs the belt with a foot talon and flies
off.

Farlend has left.

Marissa has left.

Boelak_Gargoyle has left.

Cara looks around at the dead and dying. She finds a couple of Marswt
still living, too injured to run or fly away, and she kills them. Then
she leaves the clearing.