The Island of Many Fates

"Ngh." Artemis stepped in front of Axelle, drawing his sword. I'm not going to be of much use here...damn.

The serpent arched its head high out of the water.

Gaaaiiieeeeeeughhhh!

Its scream shook the underground cavern violently, shaking several jagged stalactites loose. They fell into the lake with deadly force, missing the serpent and the pathway entirely. The serpent propelled itself upwards out of the water, then curved its long body and came crashing down towards the group on the walkway.

OOC: This is the bit where you hit it very very hard.

Richard drew his blade. He glanced side-long at David, then locked his eyes on the monster. He charged it, screaming and yelling. David looked around, and pulled a large, peeling leather tome from his cloak. He opened it, perusing the contents. He looked around the room again, looking for anything he could use his magic on. It didn't look like it'd be much help, so he put the book away. He too charged the monster, planning to stab it with the pointier end of the staff.

Alistar quickly surveyed the creature, making sure no part of its skin looked spiky enough to hurt him. With a sigh, he braced himself, preparing to ram the creature with his shoulder as it approached. Indigo likewise readied himself, uncoiling his whip, so that he could lash at any available part of the creature as it descended.

Artemis grinned. That was more like it. He ran at it, leaping into the air and attempting to stab it's left eye.

((After such a long haitus in this side of the story...The submarine has just reached the island.))

The queen expertly steered the foreign vessel into an underwater cave, explaining, "The rains are poisonous, so we'll have to go in through this underwater cave." Worell was curious as to how she even knew about the cave, but asked no questions. Boyd and Geneva had packed up the seafaring gear and stashed it in a closet, from which they also produced their weapons. Geneva smirked at Worell, noticing his anxiety, saying, "Who know's? We may have to kill a few things." She giggled a little.

The submarine came to rest in a shallow pool of water that looked more pure than spring water. They climbed out of the top, finding themselves in a cavern full of genuine and beautiful crystals. "Keep close. This island is not always as it seems." Geneva rolled her eyes, as though she'd had this lecture before. Boyd was too tired to answer competently, but mumbled something that resembled an "O.K." Worell was somewhat worried about the prospects of danger, but he realized that he was in strangely good hands. "Now, you two know why we're here; therefore, you know what to do. Off with you!" The two ran off down another tunnel that led to a place that Worell couldn't see.

"Come with me, and I'll explain our predicament." Worell followed the queen down another passage, which quickly changed into a strangely Greco-Roman temple-like chamber. It took Worell several moments to realize that there was a person in the room. It was a man dressed in colors that well camoflagued him into his surroundings. He looked up with golden eyes. "It's been a while," he said, and it was obvious that the queen knew him well. "This is Edvard, an agent of mine who has decided to live here on the island." And this only confused Worell more.

Geneva and Boyd were in a seperate chamber now, peering out through a small crack in the wall. At what, no one was sure. "Interesting," was all Geneva could mutter.

Richard, David, Alistair, Indigo, Artemis, Kasam and Kryoni vs. Subterranean Sea Dragon

Richard attacks: (17+2)-(10+4)=5 damage
Dragon: 55 HP left

David attacks: (8+6)-(10+3)=1 damage
Dragon: 54 HP left

Alistair attacks: (8+5)-(10+2)=1 damage
Dragon: 53 HP left

Indigo attacks: (11+3)-(10+1)=3 damage
Dragon: 50 HP left

Artemis attacks: (17+5)-(10+2)=10 damage
Dragon: 40 HP left

Kasam attacks: (15+4)-(10+3)=6 damage
Dragon: 36 HP left

Kryoni attacks: (17+4)-(10+4)=7 damage
Dragon: 29 HP left

Dragon attacks: (14+5)-(11+1)=7 damage
Richard: 53 HP left

The dragon came down at Kryoni, but she was already moving. Its snout crashed down on the walkway, leaving Kryoni unharmed. Kasam's sword lashed out, scoring the beast deeply along the side of its head. Still dazed from the impact of its own blow, the dragon was helpless to avoid the flurry of attacks from its intended victims. Its armored head was knocked about violently by their weapons until Artemis's attack landed. His sword cut deep into the dragon's eye, unleashing a spray of blood that arched far out into the air over the lake. The dragon reared its head back and screamed. The sound was an agonized shriek, a promise of horrible revenge on the one who had wounded it. It leveled its head at them, seeking its wrongdoer, and the enormous eye focused on Richard. The dragon charged, snapping at him. The brunt of its attack missed him, but its fang still cut a painful, bloody gouge across his shoulder.

On the boat, Cora shifted in her meditative position. Tason looked up at her from his seat on top of the desk.

"Cora. What is wrong?"

"There are...new minds on the island. More people have arrived...people Kasam was not expecting."

Out of the corner of his eye, Artemis saw Richard being wounded by the dragon. He backflipped and landed lightly on his feet. "Crap. Oh well, that's too bad. And while it's distracted..." Artemis rushed the dragon, slashing at it's neck, hoping to find a soft spot.

Richard hit the ground, wincing. He grabbed at his shoulder, shuddering as he made contact, and realizing his error, drew his hand away. He slid is knees forward, and rose up shakily off the ground. David looked at his friend, frowned, but acknowledged that he still could stand. He returned his attention to the dragon. He...didn't hurt it, much. Richard charged him, blurring past David's Field of Vision. David searched the cave for anything that might provide an advantage, but there was...nothing. Richard brought his blade down on the creature, hoping to end it's life by severing it's spine.

Kryoni, Kasam, Artemis and Richard vs. Subterranean Sea Dragon

Kryoni attacks: (17+3)-(10+4)=6 damage
Dragon: 23 HP left

Kasam attacks: (15+6)-(10+3)=8 damage
Dragon: 15 HP left

Artemis attacks: (17+4)-(10+5)=6 damage
Dragon: 9 HP left

Richard attacks: (17+6)-(10+1)=12 damage
Dragon: No HP left

Subterranean Sea Dragon has been defeated!

+40 exp to all
+20 gold to all

Kasam and Kryoni slammed into the dragon almost simultaneously, knocking its head against the narrow rock walkway. Artemis's old sword hit it so hard that its head was physically lifted off of the ground. When Richard's blade struck, it was completely decapitated. The head hit the ground once, bounced into the lake, and sank out of sight into the depths. Its headless corpse slumped across the walkway briefly, then slid silently back down into the darkness.

Richard sighed. He wiped sweat from his brow, blood from his blade, then walked over to David. He smiled. "Got 'im," he gloated. "Yeah, easy there killer," said David. "You got yourself hurt there," he picked. "Bah, 'tis but a scratch," Richard retorted. "Come, let's go."

Artemis sheathed his sword, after wiping the blood from it. He shook his head. "A pity." Ha walked over to Axelle and shrugged, then turned toward Kasam, expectantly.

Axelle stared. Before she could do anything, the beast was dead. When Artemis walked back over and shrugged, she smiled and gave him a thumbs up and looked at Kasam. Vivienne was about ready to pounce, but she figured she'd see the strength of this group.

"Mmm." She mused, and turned to Richard. "You're sure you're alright?"

Richard shrugged, and shuddered at the pain it caused him. Nevertheless, he said, "I'm fine, don't you worry about me. I've had worse."

"And you're going to have even worse than the worse ones if we don't get out of here post-haste," Kasam muttered to himself. "You and me both."

He gestured at the tunnel behind them. "Kryoni, check outside." Kryoni vanished out of sight back the way they had come, while the rest of the group continued across the rest of the walkway without further interruption. When her footsteps sounded on the other side of the lake, Kasam walked out to the middle of the walkway and raised his glowing hand. She strode across the rock to him quickly, and together they joined the group at the far side of the lake. She shook her head.

"It's raining harder than before if anything, and the sun is going down. We don't have a lot of time, Kasam."

His lips tightened. He set off down the tunnel, which led further downwards into the darkness. Kryoni stared after him, then started walking. Suddenly, she turned her head to look at Vivienne.

"Vivienne, how did you last out the nights here?"

Vivienne smiled at Richard. "Good to hear. Well, not that you've had worse. But whatever." She continued smiling and walking until Kryoni addressed her. Her lips formed a frown as she crossed her arms and replied, "Luck, I'd assume."

Kryoni pursed her lips in irritation.

"No, what did you do at night?"

Up ahead, Kasam gave a snort of laughter and quickly disguised it by coughing. Kryoni's ears turned pink.

Vivienne smiled. "Aha, well. I fought. Defended myself. Tried not to get killed. Got a few hours of sleep, of course." She said, flicking a stray strand of hair away from her face.

Kryoni sighed.

"Kasam, I really hope you're wrong about the things on this island."

"So do I," came the reply.

Vivienne cocked an eyebrow. "What?"

Kasam turned around, frowning.

"Vivienne, what exactly did you have to fight off? And where did you sleep? It could be you found a safe spot from--well, a safe spot."

"Lots of things, I guess." Vivienne shrugged. "Creepy things. Like that thing. And, I can't really remember. I kind of blacked out..."

Kryoni rubbed her face into her palm. Kasam sighed, and continued downwards. Suddenly, they found themselves at a fork in the tunnel. Straight ahead, the tunnel continued into the darkness. To the side, however, there was a door in the wall. Kasam looked back at the rest of the group, exchanged a meaningful glance with Kryoni, and pushed the door open.

The room inside was bare of anything that could really be called furniture. Scattered around the rock floor were heaps of rough cloth, about the right size for sleeping on. On the far wall, a curious rock formation poked through the stone: it was a small crystal, about the size of Kasam's thumb, and it glowed with light as though someone was shining a torch to the other side of it. The door was very sturdy indeed, and as Kasam stepped through he noted that there was a heavy deadbolt lock that shot straight into the rock. He turned around and look at the others.

"As far as I can tell, this place is safe. Do we stop here and wait out the night?"

Artemis shrugged. "Whatever."

"Unless someone wants to go back and check whether the rain has stopped or not, I don't think we have much choice," Alistar mused, rubbing his chin. He would have preferred being back on the ship by nightfall, but failing that, the situation they were in would have to do.