A Drow's Dilemma Ep. 31: Rebels

"Wait, Selene polymorphed?" Caleldir asked in a panic. He looked towards the gargoyle with respect and worry.

"I guess? I don't know how that stuff works! I assume it's like a druid spell but for, like, monstrous humanoids or something." Ashyr responded. Selene was at least holding her own for the time being, but there was no way she could keep it up. Ashyr wasn't even sure how long the spell would last. It would be absolutely disastrous if she changed back or the shell crumbled around her or whatever would happen when the spell ran its course.

Most dragons - and half-dragons - were extremely poor fliers, but despite her draconic wings, Deardriu had the flight ability of a vampire. She darted around almost like a hummingbird. A hummingbird that probably weighed nearly four hundred pounds, that was. But despite her aerial dexterity, Selene still managed to grapple the giantess and plunge her to the ground, although she was not able to pry the weapon from her hand. Still, getting slammed into the ground with the ten-thousand pound gargoyle on top of her caused Deardriu's eyes nearly to pop out of her head. She spat out an unhealthy amount of blood. "Amazing." She gasped. Dropping her blade to get a better grip on Selene, she then pushed the gargoyle up, step by step, then attempted to lift her up and hurl her bodily across the rocky ground.

Face going pale, Caleldir morphed his blade into a dagger, and held it to his chest. He looked at Ashyr with a questioning expression. "So... should we pull out the big guns?"

The gargoyle struggled mightily against the giant woman, but in the end it was all density and durability. Not so much strength. Not to match whatever abomination this huge woman was. It screamed in dismay before being hurtled across the battlefield and into the rocks. Thankfully, mere rocks were not adamantine and did nothing more than chip away at the outside of her body. She struggled to stand and tried to lift herself back into the air, but her wings - even imbued with magic as they were - sustained too much damage to support her weight.

"Do it." Ashyr said as she began to sprint toward the brilliant gargoyle. It seemed to be having quite a bit of trouble getting itself back up and moving again.

Deardriu laughed maniacally, snapping a broken arm back into place, and picking back up her huge blade. The amount of damage that she had sustained was beyond incredible, as illustrated by the fact that her clothes were barely holding together tattered remnants of themselves, and the terrifying number of magic cuts, bruises, scratches oozing poison, and holy burns that covered her. All the injuries did not even seem to slow her down. "Two of you down. Three to go. The human does not count." Her eyes darted around for a bit, and she swung her sword out towards thin air, where it came to a sudden stop. The coachman appeared, nearly severed in two, and cursed in some hissing language, before vanishing again. "Three down." She said with amusement. "Sneaking up on me is not that easy." She turned towards Caleldir and narrowed her eyes. "You do not seem to be... what you seem to be." She observed. Her eyes went to the knife that Caleldir held at his heart. "An interesting technique. Show me what you have!"

Caleldir closed his eyes, then plunged the dagger into his heart. He fell to his knees as his body began to turn transparent. His face snapped up, eyes glowing an undead blue, and features morphed into that terrifying alien beauty that had so freaked out Selene not that long ago. His expression was cold and disdainful. -Foolish cast-off princess. Awakening me was the last thing that you will ever do!- Goelon Duvainor, as this new being seemed to be called, rose up into the air, robes flitting around him independent of the wind.

The giantess licked her lips. "Excellent..." she breathed. Hefting her sword, she flew towards Goelon Duvainor, a mad light in her eyes matching his own.

Meanwhile, Ashyr looked up at the battered inky skin of the gargoyle. Whatever it was made of seemed to be falling to pieces all over the ground. The ranger had to dodge one such piece before it brained her. Then the whole thing collapsed under its own weight. Ashyr made a small panicked noise at the back of her throat. But Selene was there in the center of the thing, on one knee and panting heavily. She had gashes and bruises all over her body from the gargoyle form crumbling all around her.

"You okay, dearest?" Ashyr asked. She laid a hand on Selene's shoulder to press the last of Ashyr's magical energy into her cousin's body to heal some of the worst injuries.

"Yeah... Thought I... had her." The younger drow panted. If there was any fairness in the world, the glare Selene gave the huge woman would have shot daggers into the thief's heart. She would have to settle for Caleldir's terrifying ghost form to do it for her. "That spell? I would... not recommend learning it even... if you get the chance." Then she fell over, and would have hit the ground if Ashyr hadn't been there to catch her.

The ranger carried Selene over behind a rock before poking her head around the same cover to watch what happened with the ghost and the vampire.

The fight was hard to watch. Or rather, straight-up dangerous to even watch. The ghost blocked the attack with a magic field, but the force from the blow sent out shock-waves that raised dust and shredded vegetation for dozens of yards around it. That shock-wave was followed by a half-dozen more, as the flying giantess pounded against the ghost's shield. Goelon was forced back by the power of the repeated blows, but in the middle of one of her swings he dropped the shield and reached out with a huge telekinetic hand to squeeze her, then whip her around, flinging her to the ground with enough force to shatter a nearby hillside. Deardriu leapt from the crater even more bruised and tattered than before, but was stopped mid-jump by a terrifying barrage of magic missiles and icy lances. The woman vanished in a cloud of dust, until a maelstrom of fire erupted from the hill, and the half-dragon burst from the inferno, looking every second more like the undead creature she was. She had clothed herself in some sort of red scales covering the important bits, which was a good thing, as her clothes had been completely burnt off. Sword aflame, Deardriu hit Goelon again, this time shattering his shield and severing him in half. The ghost reconnected himself, but his form shivered like an image in a pool disturbed by ripples. He reached out with vast black tendrils and sucked the life from the plants around him, turning the area into a blasted wasteland. And he stuck again.

Ashyr wasn't stupid. As much as she wanted to watch what was going on, she quickly realized the the scale of the battle taking place was far too dangerous to be as close as they were. Her back against the rock Selene also leaned against, Ashyr moved around to stand beside her cousin. She held out a hand to the younger drow. "We need to get outta here." She informed Selene.

Around that time, Bard came around the opposite corner. He was wide-eyed and and low to the ground with terror. Apparently the poor wolf got a good look at everything that was going on and decided he didn't like it one bit. Smart animal.

The arcanist nodded as she took her cousin's hand. Then, using one of her few scrolls, she buffed herself with speed and strength to carry the both of them and Bard out of the way. Several seconds later, they were perched on a high spot where they were much further from the action, but with the help of a minor light-bending spell could keep an eye on what was going on.

And so the fight wore on, raging all over the nearby country with unbelievable amounts of destruction and incredible amounts of damage sustained by both parties. First one, then the other was launched nearly to the clouds, sent shooting to earth, or vaulted across the country into a hillside.

Eventually, though, it was obvious that both parties were tiring, despite that not being possible for the undead. After the two of them crashed to the ground like a meteor, for the unknownth time, the figures that uneasily stood up were clearly no longer at their best. They traded a few solid blows, before Deardriu finally fell to her knees, her blade and pistol falling from her hands. "I never... thought... it would end... this fast..." she wheezed out. The ghost smiled, and began to reach out with a draining hand, only to ripple once more. With a violent crack, Caleldir returned to normal. He looked stricken, and then keeled over, unconscious. Deardriu stood up again. "So... I suppose we can count this as your victory." She said ruefully. She made no move to attack Caleldir's prone body.

"Take me to him." Ashyr ordered with a voice tight with stress. He'd told her time and again that he couldn't die, but he was still prone there in front of that horrible woman. It was too much for her to tolerate.

"She'll kill us." Selene stated. But she knew when her cousin wouldn't be dissuaded from an idea. Again she took up her older cousin with the remnant effects of the scroll she'd used.

Selene, however, refused to go out in to open when they got closer. It was just Ashyr who stepped out with extreme caution and calculated control of hostility. "There. Fight had, and an excellent fight it was. I'd say the entertainment of it was payment enough? Or perhaps the people we lost covers it?" Ashyr wasn't sure about the condition Althaia and the snake guy were in. Both seemed to have taken mortal wounds. The ranger didn't seem too distressed about either potential loss other than it being a waste of resources. "Give me back my mate and we can part."

"Give him back?" Deardriu said in confusion. "I never had him. Although, I would not mind having him. He seems really useful to have around. But no, you have earned the right to pass unmolested. As for your companions, I still smell their life, so you have not yet lost them. The nymph is in sad straights, though. Take your wounded and leave my territory." Shuddering, she stumbled over to the boulders blocking the road, and hurled them away. She turned back towards Ashyr. "One day we will meet again." There was a crackle in her closed hand, and when she opened it, she held a scroll. "I sense that you have dangerous dreams. If those dreams should pay well, well, my loyal clan and I may be willing to assist you, for a price. In the meantime, should you run into one of my loyalists' raiding parties, show them this document to get through, and use it to find me again should you wish to. Farewell!" With that, she spread her wings and jetted out of sight.