~Continued~

-The party of three has made their way to the nearby village, keeping quick pace the journey only took roughly an hour or so on foot. Coming into a clearing of trees and broken stone steps leading down to the beach, the party stopped taking in the sight before them. The vilage had been decimated. Still smoldering buidling crolored the horizon in a sickly, orange glow as the stench and rot of death wafted through the air.-

Rheksas: He heard the clattering of bone on bone from somewhere within one of the outlying buildings, and went to investigate. A word passed over his lips with too many S's and too many K's, but from this word came a black-iron kite shield the size of a small child, materializing from blue flame onto his left arm, straps and all. If this was indeed a skinwalker's doing, he would need his axe, and with the axe, that diabolically bearded thing, he always carried his shield. Weapon drawn, he gingerly pushed the door open and peered inside, finding nothing more than the mangled remains of a corpes with what appeared to be a cluster of thin black spines protruding from it. Whatever produced the sound, however, was long gone. Shrugging off the experience, the now armed revenant returned to his path along the beach, where he soon found Lira and Ceranriel huddling over a sizeable pile of bodies. "Hoy," he called out waving his axe about like a madman.

Neochaotic: -The smell alone was almost enough to bring her lunch up for a encore but she simply tied the cloth covering her nose a bit tighter. The sun was starting to sink in the sky, the trip down there having taken about an hour. She looked over to Ceranriel with something akin to gratitude in her eyes, as much as she could show with such a tight binding on her emotions. The shovel like tool in her hand was plunged into the ground for a moment as she stopped shoveling gore, the sound of rotting flesh squishing beneath it made her stomach heave. As Rheksas approached she didn’t turn toward him but still spoke, tone quiet and cold- “Hello…”

DrowningInRemains: Ceranriel felt that place should be burned, nothing of this foul nature should remain. This villiage at this point would never recover from the genocide that took place here. The magic that lingered was foul, was it demons trying to manifest itself? She did not know the answer, for it did not feel like demons. The albino elf felt alert, the creature could return, most things always return to the scene of carnage. Lavender eyes glanced at the women shoveling flesh, with little reaction. “It is not too late to burn the village to the ground. It would be better at this rate. I only see death and abandonment here, not prosperity.” Her voice was void of emotion as she presented some reason in this madness to find remains.

Rheksas: "You both see now the depravity of our enemy," he related to them. "We'll start by burning the bodies and offering whatever funeral rites we can. I don't see any reason to burn the village itself unless..." A sudden cry. "Please, come help me!" they heard. It came from some ways into the village, keener to the elf's ears than to theirs. But they all heard it, the frantic pleas of what could only be a child. A little girl; a survivor. She must have seen Rheksas or the others earlier as they were exploring or trying to dispose of bodies. The thought of someone living through this carnage riled the revenant. "I'm going to find her. Who wants in?" he asked, turning from the bodies to return to the village at large. He didn't have to be told what he was to do next: a survivor took priority. In the heat of the moment, Rheksas failed to notice more slender black thorns sticking out from the corpses and their assorted parts.

Neochaotic: -Hearing the cry made her start, her nerves a bit tense due to the gore around them. Lira looked over her shoulder toward him as she spoke- “I trust you to see to it. I’ll gather firewood for the pyre. Ceranriel go if you like of help to gather wood, the choice is yours” -and without another word she went off in the direction of the woods, a few hundred feet away-

DrowningInRemains: The elven felt suspicion arise from the cries for help, no mere child could have hidden away from a skill predator that seemed to kill for sport. Justice wanted to slay the foul beast that did this horrific slaughter, while compassion wanted to seek the child out. Ceranriel felt that things were not adding up and left her in a difficult position. The albino women took a deep breath and sighed. “ I guess I will go and seek this child.” After the words left her lips she pinched the bridge of her nose and frowned. “ I do not like this one bit.” Ceranriel was indeed curious how a child survived this, but part of her also felt it was a ploy.

Rheksas: "You don't have to like it. We learn whether or not it's a trap," he answered, padding off into the streets in search of the voice. A dark shape flitted past his periphery. Though only for a split-second, Rheksas could tell it was too large to be a child. He was sure if he saw it, then Ceranriel did, too. Elves were sensitive like that. He didn't even bother asking her if she did. "Please, come help me!" cried the child's voice, and from nearby, at that. Rheksas froze. The phrase sounded exactly the same as before. Exactly. There was absolutely no change in tone, cadence, or inflection. He hesitated, waiting in place for the call to come again. Sure enough, it did. "Please, come help me!" Rheksas raised his axe a bit, putting his shield at the ready. A wave of stench hit them then, like a long-dead animal rotting in a mud puddle on a hot day, ghastly in every sense of the word.

Neochaotic: -Gathering the dried wood and fell saplings trees was not a difficult task and so Lira returned very quickly with arms full of kindling and began to build up the pyre, it’d be quick and more like a bonfire but it would be flawlessly done. This wasn’t the first time she’d had to burn bodies to perform such rites and she doubted it would be the last. Wiping a bit of sweat from her brow with the only bit of her sleeve not covered in blood she sighed and went back in the woods to grab just a bit more wood so the fire could begin and the poor souls could be put to rest-
DrowningInRemains: “ It seems… it was a ploy…” She stated seriously. She summoned her magic to form an ethereal bow with an arrow ready, the aura was a soft lavender and white light. Ceranriel’s eyes narrowed at the figure moving in the shadows. The call was the same as before, no difference in emotion or even an indication that the one calling for help actually needed it. “How do you want to go about this? There nothing more annoying than friendly fire.” Her steps were quiet, maybe she would have left the castle in her elvhen armor.

Rheksas: There was no indication that the voice originated from a human source. No, it was clearly something only trying to mimic a human. The attack came suddenly, beginning with the building directly off to Rheksas' left. The door came flying off its hinges in a storm of splinters, prompting the revenant to raise his shield in defense. It was all he could do just to stave off the incursion into the conversation, as a dark form flitted outside his line of sight. He then realized his mistake, turning on his heel in an instinctive move to position himself in such a way to protect the smaller elf. He was far too late, however. The skinwalker had made its appearance, moving with such a speed as to indicate only a frayed, fleshy blur speeding past from behind Ceranriel, right to left, a sharpened bone-like sickle of a limb careening horizontally to take her by the waistline. It was almost too quick for Rheksas to see. Certainly, nothing of detail passed before his eyes.

Neochaotic: -She came back from her second trip and looked down at herself for a moment.Bits of flesh, dried blood, and dirt clung to her body. She’d need to bathe for a week to remove the grime. But the cold bite of death, the aching biting chill that she felt down to her bones. That never went away. She used the smallest bit of energy, willing the spirits wailing wordlessly in agony to still, washing peace over them as she got the flint from her pouch. She dumped the wood onto the pile and worked them into the proper way before speaking the words, simple and sure- “Rest easy, lay down the burden of life and suffering. Know your journey had only just begun. Go now to the everafter” -the last words came out a gentle whisper and she struck the stone and lit the fire, dried branches taking instantly to the flame-

DrowningInRemains: Ceranriel barely had time to react to the creature’s speed, lavender eyes wide in surprise. The elvhen women lacked the time to attempt to phase through the being, unfortunately the spirits reacted for her, defending their host. A magical barrier was erected protecting her from the attack, she used this window to get out of the way and fired her ethereal arrow. The albino frowned. This speed was going to be an annoying problem. She let go of her ethereal bow and summoned to ethereal daggers. “ Rheksas, anything I should know about this abomination of a creature… “
-
-The thorny clusters clattered maddeningly from the sudden introduction of flame, sounding off like thousands of tiny bones smashing together in ceaseless melody. When the fires began to spread, about half of all the body parts Lira was burning started crawling away of their own volition, splitting off in every direction. It was a horrible, gut-wrenching sight; an absolute refusal of the rest she so badly wanted to give them. Not only did they flee, but there came an eventual convergence of their parts, the thorns extending and snapping pieces and bodies together to form a gruesome motley in the vaguest of human shapes. And it only got bigger, soon growing tall enough to all but tower over the woman. There was no rhyme or reason to the thing, just a rotting, blood-soaked nightmare assembling right before her eyes. Ceranriel, in the meantime, was not as safe as her spirits might like. The scything limb of the skinwalker actually put such a strain on her barrier that it cut a ragged tear into it, enough so she could feel the air whoosh by from inside her magical protection. She was not hurt but the strength of the thing had been put on full display. No sooner had the blow connected with her barrier did it disappear into one of the mess of wooden structures, the clatter of bone ringing in their ears- 

Rheksas: "It's fast," Rheksas barked out, unable to think of anything else to say. Though in saying this, the thing came for him next, extending one inhumanly long arm through the second story window of another building several meters off. Thankfully, he turned it aside with his shield and cut through with his axe, severing the limb in a burst of blue flame. Still, it was almost too quick to see. Whatever was left had already retracted back through the window, leaving them with a writhing hunk of flesh upon the ground. "We may have to wait this thing out."

Neochaotic: -With a gasp Lira stumbled back from the quickly growing faire, watching in horror as the limbs and parts began scampering and scuttling away from her. Her arm went to her back but alas all she’d worn were clothes to move muck, she’d left her weapons at the ruins. With a slight curse under her breath she backed away, keeping her eyes on the gore and readying the energy within her. She used the still, quiet rage and fury buried deep and fueled the energy now crackling and swirling around her. The ancient deep magic she did not fully understand but felt with every fiber of her being. Whatever had caused this monstrosity would pay-

DrowningInRemains: “ It is fast but waiting it out is not an option, we need to at least counter strike it.” The elvhen women was ready to strike it, this time ready for it. It has been a while since an enemy proved to be an annoyance. Lavender eyes had a glow before asking another question. “Would possessing it work?” It could prove to be hold still enough for a blow to strike and it would be over much more quickly than traditional combat, not to mention this foul thing was stirring things up and waiting it out could lead to complications. Lavender eyes had an darken glow, she was planning to fight this thing head on, even if it meant using frowned upon magic. There was a heaviness in the air around her, Ceranriel grabbed her head and grunted in pain. “ No…Justice….” She mumbled to herself.

-The newly formed golem, if it could be called that, seemed to ignore Lira entirely. Not that one could tell exactly where it's attentions were; it looked without any eyes to see, anxiously clattering its thorny protrusions together and receiving some kind of signal from out in the distance. If she had a mind to listen, Lira would hear the same sound carrying from within the village-

Rheksas:  It was communicating... with itself? "If you don't get a grip you're dead already," he chided Ceranriel. She wasn't presenting a strong case for herself here. Rheksas immediately regretted having her here with him, unsure if he could deal with both threats at once should the need arise. At any rate, he started to move the moment he heard the din of bones, figuring the skinwalker was gearing up for another attack.

Neochaotic: -Lira watched the gruesome mass of hulking creature ignore her completely, the definite sounds of clattering clicks echoing out into the fouls air around them. She watched in fascination and horror, what was it calling to? In any case it did not matter, she had no idea what this things was or how it came to be but she knew it was dead, at least made up of dead. That she could handle, letting the power she’d been building up fill her like a cool flame she let go a small charge of it, aimed at te creature as she had many of the lesser dead. She didn’t know what the spell was called or it’s exact purpose. It was a binding spell, meant to hold the creature before it could leave or cause any damage- “Still… peace…. halt” -she mumbled the chant over and over, the magic slowly pouring from her in bursting waves of energy. She hoped with all her strength she could lay the creature to rest, her rath put into her magic to help the creature though in her heart she cursed the being that caused allof this. If it worked the magic would slowly take hold of every inch of corpsy flesh that made up the foul creature-

DrowningInRemains: “ That thing…” Ceranriel frowned at Rheksas as he assumed a possession was going to occur. It was Justice being like an annoying dog at someone heels. He wanted justice that is all, but Justice can quickly be twisted to vengeances. Her ears heard the rattling of bone and knew she had to push Justice to the back of her mind. Valor, Duty and Command were the best option if she had to surrender control over her body. “ I am fine.” She gave a nod. “What is the plan strike at the same time or, one defends and the other attacks. I hate to accidently decapitate your corpse.” Lavender eyes glowed darkly as she tried to predict the next line of attack. It had speed and strength, but lack intellect. If she would have to out maneuver then let it be so.

-Guided by an alien intelligence, the corpsely goliath split itself into two wholes to partially avoid the binding spell, sacrificing a smaller part of its torso and quickly reconfiguring itself before sprinting off towards the village. It made sure to grant the fire and the one who started it a wide berth. Lira was left with its abandoned lump of chittering pieces, useless under the durress of her sorcery-

Rheksas; "The plan is to not die," he said to her. The skinwalker leapt from a nearby building, its form only momentarily visible. Even from a glance, one could see its skinny arms, of which he appeared to have three, ending in long, curving blades not unlike certain exotic swords. The rest of it was draped in ragged, bleeding flesh. An opening near the top of it let loose a spray of black spines at them before it landed, prompting Rheksas to move and block, deflecting what he could and dodging what he couldn't. Ceranriel was left to her own devices as it managed to disappear behind the crest of one roof. "It'll wear us down if we don't go after it," he said.

Neochaotic: -She eyed the twitching, then still chest cavity, or rather the lumps or fleshy corpse that made up the chest of the hulking thing, her breath coming a bit more labored from the force of the spell she’d used. In all honesty she’d surprised herself with it’s force, and even that the binding had worked at all. Her lip thinning in a determined line she gathered up her will once more and went off after the creature. The anger and cold fury once more filling her with a slow burn as she moved, precise and purposeful as the hunter she was. Once she caught up with the blasted thing she’d finish it off. She was sure because she had to be. The wisps of her ashen hair flying behind her as she ran. The spirits would find rest if her life had to be forfeit-

DrowningInRemains: Lavender eyes narrowed at the direction the flesh golem fled to, and she nodded with agreement. “ Alright Rheksas… Will make this quick then. I rather this thing disposed of.” She considered using a lesser rage demon for this, but with how Rheksas responded to her at times, it was best off to avoid such things. “ Should we burn the village to the ground at this rate… It would certainly box in such a thing.” It was a suggestion, one that she could fulfill easily. “ What do you need done to ensure this thing goes down quickly.”

-It was still a far off objective - the supposed golem was little more than a blip on the horizon; it would take several minutes at best for it to get to where they were now. That gave them time enough, hopefully, to see the skinwalker dealt with-

Rheksas: Rheksas had to make a difficult decision on the fly, something he had long grown used to doing. "It's more agile than us," he stated, an apparent fact with how it seemed to enjoy a greater range due to its prodigious leaps and numerous hiding places. "We have to draw it out into the open. We'll never last if it can keep this up. Use your magic to destroy its hidey-holes. There's no more of worth in this village: take the buildings down and flush it out."

Neochaotic: -Losing sight of the massive creature only for a few moment Lira felt for it, the thing easily found as the stench of rot and decay would pull any to it’s direction but also the steely, barbed wire harshness in the air it left in its wake. It was wrongness, devoid of any light or good. Having the bulky beast in her view once more Lira would raise a hand as she sprinted and call forth the wave of power she’d been holding back and sent it flying in the thing’s directly. A pouring of invisible force seeking out the vile thing to bind it and ground the magic keeping it’s sick form moving-

DrowningInRemains: Ceranriel she nodded her head in agreement, now it seems she would have to burn everything to the ground in the area to prevent it from hiding and ambushing them to exhaustion. The use of spirits would be localized and possibly not the best for dealing with this thing, but shapeshifting into a creature of primal magic and power would do no good either. The albino lifted her hand above her head and closed her eyes. Her aura became like a flames as she channeled the element of fire. This also put her at risk as she focused burning buildings and nearby trees to prevent fire. Though the demons took pleasure in chaos, while the spirits understood the need for it in this situation.

-The flesh-thing began losing traction as it encountered Lira's pursuing sorcery. Its legs were suddenly cut out from under it, severing it by what was technically its knees. A split-second, instinctual response prompted it to form new legs by moving its parts to accomodate, leaving the unthinking beast shorter than before and slowing it to a crawl for a few precious moments. Rheksas, in the meantime, took careful note of what Cernariel was doing. The skinwalker appeared to do the same, as it struck out with another impossibly long, scything limb, this time from a completely different building on the elf's back-right side-

Rhekasa: With no time to lose, the revenant shifted in position, quick-stepping to her aid. He turned his shield just so, deflecting the bladed extremity and throwing it off-balance. Again, his axe came into play, cutting into the fleshy part of the limb with an accompaniment of blue, flashing flames. The skinwalker reeled back into its hiding place, forced to re-evaluate its strategy.

Neochaotic: -Watching the creature be knocked down a few pegs caused a slight swell of righteous pride singing through her blood as energies and stray pulls of magic radiated from her form. She did not slow in her pursuit. She took the moment, the barest seconds that the creature seemed to slow and let loose another burst of magic directly at the creature. It wasn’t as large, she didn’t have time to gather as much of her will but where the spell lacked in strength it would make up for it in accuracy. If the spell went as intended it would go straight for the being’s head, in hopes of stopping the creature once and for all, and ending it’s despicable existence-

DrowningInRemains: Ceranriel frowned and turned slightly seeing the creature had almost gotten her, this was too risky being like this. “ Rheksas, I could bring rage demons, they are after all fire based and would lead me less open… or there another option.” She kept burning down things, oddly the fire had the same colour as her aura until it took hold and began to burn. “ If I get injured by that thing, I doubt it will be something a little poultice could fix.” Lavender eyes had a dangerous glow to them as she made a fire ring around herself trying to create a buffer zone against the creature.

- The bulbous, misshapen head of the golem erupted in an explosion of gore and spellstuff. Slender black thorns lodged throughout its form chittered with dismay, but still maintained some twisted communication with the skinwalker in the distance. Lira only slowed the beast, however; the so-called 'head' was not the thinking, driving force behind it. The whole body, spikes included, animated the thing with hideous life. Like before, the golem exchanged parts for different parts, replacing whatever Lira had made it lost. If she couldn't deal with the entire thing at once, she'd have to settle for dealing with it in pieces-

Rheksas: Rhek in the meantime, whirled on Ceranriel in a rage. The buffer of flame was not what he had asked for. She seemed to doubt his ability to protect her, on top of that. "Are you daft?" he barked, spittle flying from his thrice-split lips. "Summon flame, you knife-eared witch! No demons, just flame! All the time you waste doing this is time we lose fighting it!" As if on cue, a flurry of spikes whooshed past his had, scoring deep, bloodless gashes into his the shaved part of his hairline.
Rheksas: (*past his head)

Neochaotic: -Bright blue eyes would widen with shock and anger as the creature once more reformed, those sick twisting bits moving and replacing themselves. Time seemed to stop for a single horrifying moment as the thing made to continue its journey to maker knew where. In that moment the dread of never being able to let the souls find rest snapped whatever mental barrier she’d placed on her emotion and her eyes, usually a bright and steely blue burned white, the floodgates of her emotion driving her power to swell and form around her. In a great an terrible force the raw, untamed, but carefully aimed stream of magic pouring from both her hands and washing over the entire form of the creature. It meant to cover every inch of flesh, every spec of gore and not only bind if, but grind the magics holding it into oblivion. She grit her teeth as silent raging tears streamed down her cheeks as they spell fired from her with the force or a charging ogre. Desperation, outrage, and silent fury pushed into her magic and fueling it as she prayed through the anger that it was enough-
Neochaotic: *it]

DrowningInRemains: Ceranriel glared at him darkly. “You said yourself it is more agile than us. I am trying to be tactic about this! I am one person.” She was having difficulty keeping her frustration and annoyance under check. She dispelled the fire circle and had decided if demons were a no go, then there was one more option, he would disprove of. “You want destructive primal magic. I will give it to you.” There was a wave of magic, fire balls appearing almost from thin air fell upon the buildings and trees, it covered a wider range then simple, flame spell. Although it was a spell that had no real target either. “Happy now corpse?” She emotionlessly stated, not really caring for an answer.

-Life, in all its gruesome forms, tends to find a way. The golem, embedded with a sliver of the skinwalker's shrieking consciousness, was driven in that moment by one singular directive: to live. Working in its favor was the fact that it was made from a conglomeration of many clattering black spines, all connecting it to a larger whole. Lira's outrage may have been great, her will finally overflowing into righteous fury, but the call to life was greater still. Acting independently from one another, the spikes separated into several smaller golems, sacrificing roughly half of its original self to her magical binding. As it stood, four toddler-sized monstrosities fled from her in different directions, swelling with intellect the closer they came to the skinwalker itself-

Rheksas: Finally, Rheksas was seeing some progress from Ceranriel. Relief washed over him as he saw glorious flame crash down into the village en masse, for surely even one so depraved and cunning as their foe would not dare to linger in the smoking, collapsing husks her spell would soon create. He watched and waited, anticipating when they would meet. He didn't have to wait long, for soon the skinwalker came at them full-on, again aiming its ire at Ceranriel. Rheksas would not stand for this, intercepting the monster. They clashed for what seemed several seconds, exchanging blows with axe and blade respectively. The skinwalker was faster and afforded with better reach, but Rheksas caught on just as quickly, using its reach to his advantage. He let it strike him upon his breastplate, then stepped into its reach, chopping what he seemed the weakest part of the limb and deftly severing it. "Blast it!" he called out over his shoulder, ducking that she might fling a spell over his head at the reeling skinwalker.

Neochaotic: -There was nothing left in her reserves of righteous fury, no more justified rage and anger. The loss of it caused her to falter for a moment as she watched with terrified fascination as the now separated being sped off in 4 very different directions and somewhere within the deep of her mind she screamed in anguish and despair. But her face had gone deathly still,the stoic mask of emptiness covering her features as she recovered her footing and took off in the direction of the village, plumes of smoke and licks of flames danced above the treeline and she made off in the direction of them. The power there felt familiar to the one that pushed ever onward the horror that she’d failed to bind. She would feel her shame and inferiority later, for now the walls went back in place leaving only the mission. Do whatever necessary to lay the souls to rest. With her mantra mumbled beneath her breath she continued her run, fueled by mostly adrenaline and her sense of purpose as she broke the treeline and made it to the center of it all where Rhek and Ceran battled against the creature she assumed to be the skinwalker. The firelight casting a sickly orange glow on everything around them. Tapping into her power once more she readier herself and kept her gaze on the vile thing- “Rheksas!” -she yelled to him, calling for direction as she kept her spell locked and aimed to fire once he told her what to do-

DrowningInRemains: Ceranriel kept her duty and continued to her hellfire attacks, being relentless as the element of fire was. Her arms and hands moved quickly, to keep the constant barrage on the area, though she was tempted to create a fire tornado. The area around her became highly dangerous as the ambient magic was taking properties of heat, any moisture could melt skin if they got to close to her, the hot air also having deadly effects on its own, becoming unstable like a dwarf attempting to create Gaatlok. Lavender eyes narrowed at the foul profane creature and basted three waves of fire at the enemy in annoyance, narrowly missing the corpse warrior. The elvhen women could be vindictive toward those that called her an knife-ear, she was different than the city elves and Dalish.

-The skinwalker, damaged and missing limbs, kept the presence of mind to be wary enough of the magic-flinging elf. Only the first wave of flame caught it head on, its cloak of flayed skin catching fire as it danced a desperate jig to only be winged by the remaining two. That much seemed enough to send it into a whirling frenzy of agony, a peal of inhuman shrieks thundering from whatever misshapen hole constituted its mouth-

Rheksas: Feeling the heat against his back, Rheksas raised his shield and called out to the elf. "Enough!" he said over the roar of her flames. She was getting too worked up for his tastes and it needed to stop. Once Lira came onto the scene, the four toddleresque corpse-things came out from the smithers of surrounding buildings, having all taken a different path to their goal. They raced past the group and piled onto the ailing skinwalker, smothering the flames with their bodies as the beast itself began absorbing them into its own flesh. "It recovers!" yelled Rheksas. "Lira!" he turned to her, his eyes expectant. He didn't know what all had happened since leaving her to burn the bodies, but something told her she was somehow the cause of this. It was up to her to take responsibility.

Neochaotic: -The shout of her name was all the instruction she needed. No class or book had taught her to use these powers and never before had she wielded them on this scale but she did nevertheless. As she searched within herself for the means to power her will, to direct and enact the magic a clear crystalline thought flowed from her heart and to her mind. This wasn’t about revenge or anger, it was about letting the dead have peace and move to the beyond. It was her obligation to guide those tortured souls and in that moment he surety of her duty came thundering through her like a hurricane and shot out forth from her outstretched hands. The binding spell lashed out toward the creature, the crackling black energy laced with wisps of pure blue streamed directly toward the creature and with it the power that if successful would bind the creature of death wearing the skin of corpses, and dispel the magic it held and hopefully destroy the hellish being once and forall-

DrowningInRemains: She backed down and her flaming aura disappeared, and the fire storm stopped as quickly as it had appeared. Ceranriel frowned and held her fire only to see a disgusting creature of limbs running toward the skinwalker, this was the worst case scenario. How could Lira let that thing get close to the skinwalker, though she was not surprise by this, Rheksas had been pinning on having it destroyed before the golem bared it’s ugly form. She was starting to wonder if the rage demons would have been useful as they were fire base, but slow. The voices of spirits urged her to allow them into the combat situation, while demons offered nothing but empty promises for control. Ceranriel’s hand were back on fire, while the other summoned an ethereal dagger prepared, though the ambient magic in the air was like a bomb waiting to go off, though she wondered if it could be of use. Lavender eyes at the creature, ready for combat if needed. The albino was no fool, this was not her first dance with a monster, first one to prove to be annoying.

Rheksas: There was no escape now. The skinwalker, too weak to fight against her binding, crumpled under the force of the spell. It was then they could see it for what it was: a spindly creature of exposed gristle and musculature, poorly covered by stretches of flayed skin it had stolen from the corpses of its victims. Its head sunk into a hunched, knobby back with one open, watery, yellow eye glaring at them from under its slowly disintegrating hood. An obscene sound came gurgling out from fanged teeth. "Please.....come...help...me," it choked out, a frail mimicry of the calls it used to lure them into the village earlier. The thing could not understand with any certainty that it was dying. It clung to the ground in a sort of deranged confusion, flopping uselessly against the powers that held it. They could see its life being forcibly ripped from its limbs, its body slowly bleached of color as they stood around and stared. "This is your end," Rheksas said as he approached it, and in that moment a glimmer of recognition flashed behind its gaze. The skinwalker was dead before he could get close.

Neochaotic: -Lira sunk down to one knee but held past to her resolve, not letting go of the spell for a moment now that the binding had taken hold. Her jaw clenched in concentration she watched the true form of the evil being revealed and it was enough to make one's stomach turn. But she was used to these things, in the horrors of death no pretty picture were ever painted from gore and decay. Sweat formed on her brow as the spell worked it's way in and she grunted as she felt the life drain slowly from the terrible thing. The spell dispersed and the magic she used slowly sank into the earth and dissipated. Head hung low Lira recited the final rites for passing and remained kneeling on the ground-

DrowningInRemains: Ceranriel weapon disappeared and began to move away from the pair. She was not one of them, nor was this her fight. Lavender eyes held more suspicion towards the pair. A Paladin and a strange mage, with little training in her abilities and yet… This was not a situation that had been resolved, and any person with a functioning brain could say the same thing. In cases like these, there were only pawns. The villagers were a sad waste yes, but they also put themselves at risk being close to the temple and the faction hiding in it. Then again, could be said could be the same for those challenging a force of power and leading the civilians to their demise. “ It seems it has been slayed…though I doubt it would be the last…. This is a declaration of war is it not?”

-The village was still burning. People were still dead. Only they remained among the flames, staring down the newest corpse of their own making-

Rheksas: This was a victory, was it not? Rheksas wasn't so sure. His brow furrowed with consternation as he tried to make sense of it all. "This was a disaster, whatever it was," came his answer.

Neochaotic: -The rites spoken and the vile magics dispelled Lirael stood and regared both of her companions for a moment before looking to the village now in flames- "The sould here at the very least are not trapped" -all around them burning fires and the bits of gore anf corpse still lying about- "We can find out why this happened later... for now we should finish this and return" -her tone was weary and soft-

DrowningInRemains: Ceranriel would not comment on her suspicions of something larger was going on,.First she heard them speak of gods, and next a village leveled by a creature and one she assumes is not found normally in the forest of plains, but something of a darker nature. It radiated pure madness, somewhat even the lesser demons, wanted a retreat called. “ I understand why most Andrastian burn their dead.” She commented calmly, thought it seems talk will have to wait.
Rheksas: "Perform your rites as you must. I must see to this... thing," he said, holstering his axe and uttering the word of command that dispelled his shield. Now bare-handed, he knelt and began sifting through the smoking remains of the skinwalker. Rheksas noticed right away that how the creature was slowly disintegrating beneath his touch. The flames were no longer in play, and he could not attribute the process to Lira's binding spell; were that the case, it would have turned to ash almost on the spot. "This creature does not necessarily belong to this plane," he stated. "Someone must have brought it here to do this."

Neochaotic: "Astarte...." -she said with a slight inge of venom to her voice. "Or one of her ilk. None would dare bring such a vile creature for the sole purpose of muder and chaos... if we don't burn thes bodies and perform the rites she could used them" -She began her work then, walking to each pile pf fell flesh and speaking the simple words to guide their spirit from this plane to the next-

DrowningInRemains: “ So I was right to suspect this was an act of war.” She crossed her arms, lavender eyes stared as the creature became no more than dust and even then there was none.” It seems you both have agitated someone enough to send you this nice gift.” Ceranriel sighed and held her head, feeling light headed from being exposed too much ambient magic. “ This Astrate , reminds me of Andruil…” Their methods both crude, to inspire fear and take control was infuriating.
Rheksas: "She can remind you whoever you want," said Rheksas. "Doesn't change what happened here. Nor does it change what we must do. This thing's an omen of what will come."
Rheksas: (*of whoever)

Neochaotic: -She let the fires burn, burn away the stench of death and decay until nothing was left but smoldering ashes and dying embers. The rites recited and her body aching in every possible way she regarded her companions carefully- "More.. more will come. Perhaps of a different type but there will be more. Such is the way of this wretched world. We should return..." -she then, waiting for neither began to make her way back up to the castle-

DrowningInRemains: “ Don’t discount my opinions corpse.” His words were true in the fact, that more things will come. “
Such as civil wars, disease, people being called names, important figures assassinated, treaties being broken and people being seduced…then a full out war. Its how these things usually play out… does not matter the era or realm… it follows similar trends” Lavender eyes looked towards the temple and nodded slowly beginning to walk back to the temple as things have been settled.

Rheksas: "I'll stop discounting your opinions when you stop talking out your ass," he said, resigning himself to follow behind them. Ceranriel may have seen things as being settled here in the village, but Rheksas wasn't about to leave it at that. He would deal with guilt over these events for years to come; his unbeating heart ran that deep. These lives must be avenged, he thought. The Arbiter demanded it of him.

-Bruised, exhausted, and feeling no more confident than they had prior to the fight, th small band make their way back, grudginly to the ruins. Each in silent contemplation of the events that has just transpired. Ceranriel was in her own thoughts per the usual, speaking with herself in quiet, hurried tones as she moved. The hulking revenant that was Rheksas strode forward in silence, his own thoughts teeming with the evils to come. Lira for her part was in turmoil as her quick, but faltering strides betrayed the storm of thoughts raging in her. 'By the fuck, what was that?' She thought to herself as the castle gates came into view once more and the band made their way back inside-