Horizon Walkers (Game Thread) Dead

[Lunar Templar]

Lucia silently 'shushed' Raj and waited, sword in hand and hidden in shadow if they went unnoticed, no problem, they'd simply wait a bit and sneak out. If they got spotted, Lucia had a plan in mind for that as well, and a back up in case that one started going pear shaped.

Though truthfully, regardless of how this ended up going, she was actually having a lot more fun then she'd likely admit.

 

[Anti-American Eagle]

After a few moments the man he was fighting, Kyras slashed at his legs parried the mans blade and drew blood. The wound disoriented the man and made him an easy target. Another slash to his chest had him on the ground.

He saw the others fighting in the plaza around them, but they looked like they were handling themselves. But he heard a horn. He wasn't sure why but amongst all the little things around him he focused on that. It wasn't particularly loud it was just there.

He took a moment to check himself and started walking towards it weapon in hand.

 

[Josh123914]

After a few moments, there was a low hum of a horn, and the guard then spun around as he was shouted at by the other soldiers, and they trotted away towards the Plaza.
"All clear?" Raj asked Lucia, as he got up to half walk, half jog towards the exiting pillars.

Gi looked to Alex for a reaction, but he seemed unwilling to jump.
Under them past a half dozen or so spearmen guards. She slammed her foot against the ground, creating a gradient of debris for them to walk down onto. "I'm going, enjoy the view if you feel like it."
She then walked down and passed the entrance to the Tower, spotting Raj and Lucia. "C'mon." she said, motioning her left hand and equipping her bow in her right. At that a few from the group guards spotted them from a few metres away, and she drew an arrow. Raj drew his staff as well, and looked to Lucia.


"If you don't mind... please take care of those two yourself."
Nettil thanked Des, but didn't smile, and flinched while she took out her knife and stabbed the two soldiers. Then she heard banging and shouts from behind the barricade. Over it sprung Beads and a squad of warriors as the barricade caught fire. Beads glared at Nettil and then nodded towards the Towers.
"They ambushed our position, we need to get to those Towers!" she cried to Des.

Dalrel ran in front of Kyras and found the hornblower atop a large sculpture of marble warriors, the fountain turned to ice.
He shot more fire at her, unsheathing his sword. She deflected two of them and drew her sword, and the two sparred. The noise of the horn hung in the air, as a low rattle seemed to shake the ground. At the other end of the plaza came more fighters riding large goat-like beasts with heavy hooves heading straight towards Zuria and Kes. The hornblower took the opportunity to attack Dalrel, but he dodged it, kicking her off their marble podium in response.

 

[DarkRawen]

"They ambushed our position, we need to get to those Towers!"

Des started running. He wasn't exactly aware of why he was running, but he knew what he was running towards. The towers. What would he do once he was at the towers? He wasn't completely sure. Kes and Zuria was a little bit away still, but then someone else caught his eye.

Is that... Alex?

He could see the familiar man in black over at the towers. Alex was a bit up from the ground, and Des waved.

"Hi, Alex! How have you been?! Where's Lucia?" Making his way over there, he was stopped by bad guys, people who tried to hurt him.

"Get away," he muttered, and paralysed some more guards, taking care to stab their arms and feet so that they couldn't attack anyone. He could feel that he would need a refill on vitae soon, if not he had only a couple of weeks left worth of it.

 

[hiei82]

Kes made to dodge some arrows but they never came; courtesy of Zuria's gauntlet. Kes would have yelled her thanks but more enemies - these ones mounted on goat-things - came barreling around a corner and made to overrun the pair.

Kes would have none of this. While they charged at her, Kes charged right back; running at full speed into the rampaging beasts. However, once they were nearly upon her, she crouched down slightly and jumped above the beasts. As before, she came down hard on one of the many riders foot first. She quickly sought to steal his melee weapon - whatever it was - and put it in the way of the the goat-monster's legs to trip it up.

Before it fell, she jumped to the next of the riders in line, repeating the process with enough variation to prevent obvious counter attacks.

 

[IFS]

Great, out of one mess into another. This whole thing is giving me a headache. He supposed he should jump down now, there wasn't any other direction to proceed that he could see. This is why I hunt monsters, so much simpler than civil unrest and politics. Checking that his crossbow was loaded he jumped down to join the others.

"Hi, Alex! How have you been?! Where's Lucia?"

Oh Des is still alive, that's good.

"Can't complain I suppose," he said, firing a bolt at one of their attackers "we really should be going though, I feel we've overstayed our welcome on this horizon. Lucia's fighting up ahead, we should go lend a hand."

With that he started moving after the dragon-woman, he doubted she needed much support given how well she'd fought thus far but nevertheless he was in a position to lend a hand so he would.

 

[Lunar Templar]

Lucia sighed 'of course ... well, fuck it' she thought as she pushed Gi a side as she opened her maw and fired a massive bolt of lightning into the group of guards, the electricity arcing off one to another, attracted but the metals they where wrapped in and carried. A second or so after Lucia's lightning faded the sound of thunder followed, and echoed through the building.

"Lets go" she said calmly as she walked past the charred, twitching remains of the guards, and headed up to, hopefully, met with the others.

 

[Josh123914]

"Get away,"
Gi and Raj viewed the man's heroic feat, and spoke up. "Hello, I'm Raj and this is Gi. We're, u- we're" "A black warrior and a ginger archeress" she interrupted cynically, awaiting orders.
"Lets go" Lucia stated to the cohort. They nodded as the woman Beads approached with a small group of fighters. "We're going up there"
At that Gi gave her a look and responded "And who are you to give any of us orders? I'm not going back up there, that place is doomed". At that there was a loud groan from the Tower pillars, while the building tilted slightly in adjustment.
Most of Beads' crew was already inside as debris fell from above, blocking further entry into the Tower.
Gi tutted and pulled out the obsidian shard. "I'm getting out of here, anyone that wants to do the same should follow me." She stated, pointing as she moved towards the Blackened archway in the middle of the Plaza.

------------

The blond General and his troupe reached the narrow corridor and was greeted to the sight of the last of what must be two dozen enemy soldiers hauling themselves through a shattered window.
The General yelled as he charged at the invaders, but the Snow Lady ran at him, clenching her teeth and releasing a flurry of icicles at the guards. Those that didn't get stabbed were forced into a defensive huddle, and their blond leader was in no position to prevent her from flying past him and up the stone steps.
Without warning the Tower then lurched violently onto a slant. Some of the fighters managed to cling to something for support, but those already off-balance were thrown around like ragdolls, launching an unlucky few from both sides out the window again.

------------

Above them, debris and soldiers were speeding towards the ground adjacent them. A few managed to self-right themselves via wind or ice magic, and glided downwards to safety. Others weren't so lucky. "Those will be enemies." Raj said, firing a loud but sharp blast of light from his staff, downing one of the soldiers, and then hopping down the steps towards the archway.

One of the gliders managed to swoop down towards Dalrel and kicked him off his vantage point. He landed with a painful thud, and could sense the mage above him and the Hornblower approaching him from the side, weapon drawn.
I'm fucked he thought to himself, wondering where Kyras had went.
"Agh!" he shouted in dismay.

Meanwhile, Nettil could only watch the acrobatics Kes was displaying, and ran over to Zuria. "Well?" she asked, exasperated at the cavalry they had to contend with now. Two of the goat-riders split off to deal with the two of them. Nettil cast a tall wall of cobblestone between them and the riders, but the monsters just lowered their heads and shunted through the weak defense.
The riders were just metres away, so Nettil panicked and mouthed an I'm sorry to Zuria, quickly raising the ground beneath them and springing them metres into the air while the monsters rode directly below them.

 

[Lunar Templar]

Lucia shrugged and continued on her way to find Alex at the very least and then see about getting out of here. She was pretty much done with this place and was really kinda ready to move on. If the kingdom collapsed that was their problem.

 

[DarkRawen]

"Can't complain I suppose. We really should be going though, I feel we've overstayed our welcome on this horizon. Lucia's fighting up ahead, we should go lend a hand."

"Okay, but I don't know if I want to fight much more," Des muttered, demotivated, as he followed Alex over to Lucia and some strangers. Everything was tense The fight going on was likely the reason, and he felt anxious to get going, but of course, not without the others.

Where are they? Did they get lost?

Did he get lost? Des dreaded the thought. The strangers spoke, though with a certain sense of impatience and hurry.

"Hello, I'm Raj and this is Gi. We're, u- we're"

"A black warrior and a ginger archeress"

"Hello, I'm---" Des said, though it was clear that none of them wanted to chat much. "I guess it doesn't really matter..." he looked at his feet and shut his mouth, not wanting to think about the mortals he had killed. He didn't like this, he wanted to get back to his own horizon, his homelands. Or at least, what he regarded as his homelands, with safe places for him to hide, and beautiful humans, and no monsters, only slightly bigger versions of cuddly animals.

"I'm getting out of here, anyone that wants to do the same should follow me."

"But--" Des followed them for a bit, as he spoke. "What about Kes and Zuria... and the others?" he asked, and his eyes went back and forth, looking for them. "We can't leave without them. Alex, we can't leave without Kes, you know we can't," he said, clearly distraught at the thought of doing so.

 

[Josh123914]

Raj could only assume the superhuman dispatching the cavalry, the two women in mid-air and the fire mages in the distance were allies, but decided it best to quickly leave before that group's enemies overran their position, so he blasted a few more soldiers from the sky like flies, and directed his attention to the enviously looking newcomer.

What about Kes and Zuria... and the others? We can't leave without them. Alex, we can't leave without Kes, you know we can't,"
Raj didn't know who either of those people were, but decided to console the distraught traveller. "Well, where are these people? Surely they'll see the portal when it opens?"
Meanwhile, Gi was scouring the surface of the archway for a nook, a cranney, anywhere that the stone could be slotted into, and mumbling while doing so. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon." She then looked up, "Shit!" She had barely enough time to duck and roll from a lone cavalry. Various items fell from her pockets and the roll snapped the bow on her back, but she clung to the stone tightly. She looked to Raj and with a short blast from his staff the monster had a new hole in its neck.

 

[Josh123914]

Gi continued to scan the archway, jamming the stone in wherever it seemed may fit. "No, no, no." She let out a sigh and then wedged it into a side, and suddenly there was a great blast of light towards the sky, and a portal began to materialize.
"Alright everyone, let's go!"

------------

The Snow Elf burst through the doors, staring at the Empress with an ice shard in hand. Both glanced at the bright spectacle outside, and back to each other.
"I'd love to stay, but it appears my lift is here." the old crone said, cracking the magic seed with her heel. The seed exploded, and the Snow Elf screamed.

------------

While Gi and Raj admired their handiwork, Nettil stared out at the plaza, trying to discern who wasn't with them.
"Agh!"
She heard in the distance. A figure slumped behind a statue, with two soldiers adjacent. The man shot fire at one of them and forced their cloak alight, but then a heavy axe from the second came slicing down through the air, and Nettil turned away to avoid seeing the result. "Fuck, that wasn't, that couldn't b-"
Nettil then spun around at the sound of a loud bang. A second portal opened a few metres from her.
A quick glimpse revealed that it was a fancy gallery full of frightened courtiers. An old woman's body then fell back-first through the portal, an ice shard in her neck.
Nettil only had time to look up before another icicle shot past her. Gi was stabbed in the back, which forced Raj to drop his staff and grab his wounded companion, and then escape from the new foe through the portal.

"INTO THE HORIZON!" Nettil shouted, picking up the staff and directing it at the portal. Out sprang a Snow Elf in a tattered dress and a crazed look in her eyes. She glared at Nettil for a moment, shooting shards at her, which were quickly deflected.
Nettil backed away slowly with her back to the new Horizon, as the Snow Elf directed her attention to Lucia, charging at her with a blade.

 

[Lunar Templar]

Lucia just put her shield up got it under the snow elf and drove her hard into the wall, before calmly heading through the Horizon with the others.

Cold. Snow. Ice. For a moment Lucia thought, with some disgust, she was 'home' again. Fortunately that did not seem to be the case, as she'd followed one of the other walkers to solid ground and just let them speak for the moment while she looked around and got her barings

 

[DarkRawen]

Des didn't move until he saw Kes and Zuria, and when he was sure they were there... well, first then he stepped through. The battle mattered little to him, getting hit by an arrow, or stabbed by a spear, it was far less dangerous for him than it was for most mortals. First before they had moved through, did Des follow, immediately regretting having stepped into the cold. Shivering, he watched as Zuria spoke to someone, though he didn't pay attention to the conversation at hand.

Instead, he made sure everyone was there, counting the ones who had originally been hired together... someone was missing, someone who had arrived the last horizon, but he was just happy the people who had been in the group the entire time were still there. Or... wait, where was Dalrel? He'd come soon, right? smiling to Kes as he kept shivering. If he hadn't known about her aversion to sudden actions, he'd go over and hug her this very instant. And it wasn't entirely because he was cold.

Because this place was cold. It reminded him of... somewhere, yet again.

Hell. It reminds me of that place, doesn't it?

Even though he had no actual memories from the place.

"Zuria, where are we?" he eventually asked, tired of waiting for her to talk to someone.

 

[IFS]

The horizon, finally they could be off of this world and out of its civil unrest. There was still the matter of the snow elf that had attacked them for whatever reason. She was obviously crazed, a danger to herself and others, and seemed halfway likely to try and pursue them through the horizon. Best deal with that problem now then.

Lucia had already shoved the elf up against a wall before heading through the horizon, leaving the elf stunned and an easy target. One shot from his crossbow finished the job, driving the bolt through the elf's neck leaving her choking on her own blood briefly before expiring. Alex shrugged and turned to head through the horizon.

The first thing that struck him was the cold, his breath fogging in the air before his eyes. It was refreshing really, he was dressed suitably for cold after all.

"Ah," he said cheerily "how nice, we appear to be floating on a chunk of ice."

He chuckled to himself at the unintended rhyme "So what next?"

 

[Josh123914]

Nettil watched the others dispatch their enemy, and backed away into the Horizon. She slipped and fell back-first into the new world onto some damp, freezing ice.
"Wh-Where are we?" she gasped, scrambling up to her feet, and off their icy platform. The water reflected back her image perfectly. Nettil's dirt-coloured hair was damp with frigid snow now, and it took all of her strength to rip open her bag and pile layer after layer of clothing on.

"So what next?" she heard Alex ask.
"Hopefully find some shelter." She stated, lamenting that she brought no trouser bottoms. "We won't be long getting frostbit out here...."

Spoiler: Nettil

Name: Nettil

Age & Gender: 22 and Female

Height & Weight: 5 foot 8 inches, and quite slender.

Species: Human.

Appearance: Dark brown hair that hangs down to the waist, with green eyes and lightly tanned skin. No freckles on her face, but a few dot her arms and legs. Usually wears a long thinly-layered dress with loose underclothes underneath.

History: Nettil grew up the vast metropolis of Holem. As the daughter of wealthy diplomats, she was able to be educated and be given opportunities that wouldn't be squandered. At a young age, she took an interest in Biology, and soon developed a talent for growing and cultivating different species of plants in exotic ways. This skill got the attention of several bourgoise, who were keen to display certain oddities. Soon after, Nettil was able to make this a full-time business, as well as doing the occasional contract for a friend in power.
That all changed when Nettil came into contact with a group of Horizon Walkers. Events unfolded that meant she needed to leave the city, and so in the chaos Nettil decided it safest to stay with a group of people that the previous morning she was told to be responsible for.

Personality: Growing up in the city made her used to rushing around to get things done, and instilled her with the diligence to complete tasks efficiently (assuming, she knew what she was doing).
Nettil has spent quite a long time being a leader. Ordering others around or leading a job. However, many of these jobs would not involve fighting, and so has the confidence to try and get others to do things for her. Nettil can be friendly, but not necessarily to strangers, and shows a degree of arrogance due to past experiences.
One major factor however, is that Nettil was comfortable in her previous surroundings, and her character will be put to the test when being plunged into unknown environments and will have to immediately assess the changing situations.


Powers: The ability to make plantlife move, grow or shrink at her command, and can do the same with composites like gravel, soil or stones.

Equipment: Nettil is carrying with her a bag full of gold, clothes and other valuables that she thought might be useful. She also carries a dagger that is usually strapped to her waist, and a spear-staff from a previous world that wasn't necessarily hers to take.

Reason to be here: Nettil needed to leave her world immediately, and saw the Horizon as the most viable exit choice. While she feels uncomfortable leaving the city she had spent her whole life wandering, Nettil also believes it could be a great opportunity to see other cultures and people, as well as a chance to maybe grow as a person.

 

[hiei82]

Kes was surprised by the sudden burst of light that illuminated the darkening sky. Quickly snapping the neck of the last of the goat riders, she dropped to the ground in a defensive stance to figure out what was going on. Following the light back to it's source with her eyes, she noted it to be about where the rest of the group had been. She couldn't be completely sure given how far afield she'd gone between the rage and the goat riders, but it was worrying.

The world clearly had mages of significant power; it was certainly possible that some had unleashed some kind of magic weapon. Regardless, something was happening which required her attention. That meant finishing up here. The good news was that, with the last rider gone the only thing left were a pair of the goat mounts which weren't much of a threat on their own. In fact, they offered some advantage.

Tying them together with a long rope, she gathered all the fallen rider's weapons she could and lashed them to the first goat. From there, took one of them for herself and jumped onto the remaining goat. From there, she made her way toward the source of the light as quickly as she could; driving along both goats with the use of the spear.

When she rounded the last corner back to the party, she was all but expecting to need to run a line of enemies with the weapon-laden goat to break through and start ripping enemies apart with her bare hands. Fortunately, she was very wrong. Instead, she saw a functioning Horizon. Des seemed to still be on this side; apparently waiting for her. Kes smiled.

Without the expected barriers in her path, she just drove the goat mounts through the portal figuring they might come in handy. Not knowing what was on the other side however, she did slow down their pace as much as she could in the limited space. It was a good thing she did for the other side was nothing like what she expected.

The goat mounts were understandably surprised to suddenly find themselves on what amounted to an iceberg. They were also not thrilled with the whole "ring of fire". For her part, Kes was fine with both of these though not so much with the floating part of the iceberg. She hated the sea. If she hadn't slowed their pace, Kes was almost certain the pair of goats would have - between the ice and the unsure footing, would have slipped and fallen into the sea with her still riding. Fortunately, the goats were well trained enough to keep their calm and make the jump over to the island in stride.

For her part, Kes looked around in mild confusion for a few moments before finally speaking up. "Why is it that wherever we go the place is on fire?"

Spoiler: Captcha

"fire + brim stone"; very appropriate I think.