... Even as a mere puppet of a seemingly mad human, William could still feel the self-willed part of his heart tremble with sickening cold at the thought of being made into a witless tool for destruction. But the thought of dark elves ... of monsters such as the foul antitypes of noble elfkind that were called dark elves, coming at him with intent to end his life in probably an even more violent manner than even any of the five mercenaries they had faced the nigh before could have conjured up in their minds, drove William to a sudden and unusual need for self-preservation - for survival, at nearly any cost. ... And yes, even to the point of consenting to wield Ende's willfully blood-stained spear if necessary.

At the beginning of the last few seconds before the dark elves would be on the little swordsman, the last traces of William's self-will faded away from mind and heart, vanished away beneath the cover of the gloomy fog of utter submissiveness that Ende's unspeakable magic had wrought upon the once clear and starry night of the forest elf's gentle soul ... and he was now the true puppet that the spell had intended to make of him. The heart no longer beat that William wished it so, the mind no longer pulsated with reflective, controlled, and romantic thoughts of a forest elf, and the hauntingly green eyes that suddenly glazed over and froze a solid, glacial blue within their delicately formed sockets were no longer William's eyes.

Before Ende's spell struck, the elf would have had no success in wielding both a spear in one hand for defense and a longblade sword for quick retaliation in the other, for forest elves are not normally trained in the use of many weapons at once. Often, as such was William's case, if they are fated to become warriors - a fate that the gentle-natured and romantic-minded elven people are not usually very happy to accept - an elf chooses but one weapon to be held precious to him or her for the rest of their lives together - be it longblade or bow and arrow, lance or sai - or perhaps one weapon might seemingly choose the owner, much like how the virtuous spirit of the Northern Longblade had found itself willingly placed into the innocent hands of William. But this time, without knowing it, the elf experienced heightened senses that enabled him to wield weapons with the uncanny skill and precision of a true warrior who lived every second of his life by the sword, and only the sword. In a flurry of graceful movement seen almost only in elf swordsmen, William attempted to parry both dark elves' weapons at once with Ende's one spear as they came bearing upon him, seemingly from almost opposite directions. His second hand, unconscious of what the first hand that wielded the unfamiliar spear was doing, held ready the Northern Longblade at its owner's side, poised to strike in silent but deadly retaliation.

Just as you free yourself you see Kayn dismount the rider of the spider with a great kick. Unfortunately, that kick has sent the rider flying straight at you...

"Huh?" Lausen, launches a full powered thrust at the rider.

@ William and Ende

Both dark elves lunge forward, swords slashing out. William wildly spins the spear, easily parrying one of the dark elves blows. Unfortunately, the other dark elf ducks the spear and slices into William's sparcely protected side.

Will: HP 6/9

The Dark Elf whos blow was parried turns to Ende, apparently thinking a defensless victim is a better target that a dual wielding elf.

Dark Elf 1: HP 14/18
Dark Elf 2: HP 14/18


@ Kayn

As the webs shoot forward Kayn tries to dodge them to no avail. One web wraps around his legs, while the other circles his arms, preventing him from using his weapon. Quickly, the spider shoots another web to Kayn's legs, this one staying attached to its abdomen. It then begins to run deeper into the cave, dragging Kayn with it.

Kayn HP: 9/10


@ Lausen

Lausen thrusts forward powerfully, and the strength of the blow combined with the dark elf's momentum cause the blade to plunge through the dark elf.

Critical Hit!

Dark Elf Rider: HP 4/18


Unfortunately the Dark Elf continues flying forward, sliding down the Lausen's blade to the hilt, and impacting Lausen hard enough to knock him back onto the ground.

Lausen: HP 6/10

Dark Elf Rider is knocked unconscious.

"sh*t! not this..." As Kayn was being dragged deeper into the cave, Kayn's claustrophobia started to settle in. Already Lausen and the unconcious Dark Elf he faced were fading out of sight. Kayn's body was being jolted around like a rag-doll as the spider was hauling his soon-to-be dinner into the darkness of the cave were no light would ever be able to reach.

Kayn's weapon was awkwardly latched to his wrist... not able to be able to get it at a possition to strike the webbing that bound his feet. By this time, most all light was now gone, and Kayn was left with a sense of hopelessness. Wtih his only free hand he tried to grab something... anything.

Out of sheer luck his hand grazed upon a rocky stalagmite and he grasped it as hard and despirately as he could. But even with the feat of great strength, the spider's power was not to be taken lightly. The stalagmite broke off at the base right in his hand... and he was dragged yet deeper into the cave.

Kayn managed to twist his body in a manner that gave access to his feet. He jammed wildly at the webbing hoping to free himself. With each jab, sparks momentarily lit the cave walls... which all seemed to be covered in webbing. He couldn't be too far from his destination, where ever that might be.

"Damnit! What are you doing, you idiot? Fansy techniques aren't doing to save you. You need a solid defense."

Just as I get the message acrossed, one of the damned elves came towards me. This I had not calculated. Would have made more sense to weaken the imminent threat. Besides, there is no way they would know that... Argh... how could I have been so foolish? Even speaking in riddles I made my plan as clear as day by speaking it out loud. They know I'm the one behind the elflings new powers... maybe not, my gift isn't exactly common. Don't have time for anymore thinking. That filthy beast is almost upon me. For the time being, my movements are almost normal. I'll just show him a little melee. I'm rusty, but with only one good hand, I wouldn't be able to even wield my spear. Now to wait for him to get closer. I'll attempt to side step him then one strong uppercut to the gut should give me a few seconds to strategize.

... It was well that such powerful magic had turned William into an animated puppet, for the puppet William had felt no pain from the terrible sword wound. In truth, had the forest elf still felt his own heart beating at that moment, he probably would have raised such a pain-filled cry at being cut so deeply into his delicate body that perhaps even the ones who had attacked him would have been shaken to the core at the sound.

Eyes still dull and listless-looking as the dead, actions still as sharp and reflexive as even the greatest among the feline family, William made no sound, at best only reacting with a slight grimace, a small contraction of the muscles draped across the cheekbone, and dutifully - immediately - he swirled around to face his attacker, perhaps not even a half-second after the dark elf had flown past him with a blade intended to raze the young elf's vital areas. The dark elf looked back once he had stopped dead in his run past the hero swordsman, smiling wickedly at what he thought he would see - a young do-gooding forest elf fallen to his knees and vainly trying to keep vital organs from spilling out of his very body as he would die an ignonimous and unavoidable death, bleeding precious life's blood even worse than a stuck pig would.

Perhaps, instead, when the dark elf would find that his vison was not deceiving him and indeed he was looking upon a forest elf that felt no physical pain and was immediately coming back after him with longblade poised to thrust into the monster's black heart like a lance, the dark elf would not find himself smiling in sadistic triumph, after all.

Wargolth arrives and tries to figure out what the hell is going on..

“Damn, I didn’t see that coming.â€

@ Kayn - Kayn pounds away at the webs, attempting to sever them. Sparks fly with every blow. A blow glances on the rocks underneath his feet, braking a portion of his stalagmite off, but causing a sharper edge to form. His next blow manages to sever the web around his feet and sends sparks flying against the web covered walls. Before they smolder out, a dark robed figure with long black hair can be seen leading carelessly on a scythe.

The spider feels the weight disappear as her prey escapes. She scuttles into an antechamber with the intention of turning around to see what happened to here prey.

------

@ Wargolth - Wargolth arrives near the cave entrance to the echoing of shouting and fighting. Upon reaching the mouth of the cave he sees----


@ Lausen - Lausen's slice is quick and clean, severing the dark elf's head from his body. With a quick flick of his wrist he clears the blood from his blade. He notices Wargolth entering the cave's mouth. Lausen can see the trails marks where Kayn was drug away leading down a corridor to the right. He also hears sounds of fighting coming from a tunnel to the left.

Dark Elf Rider: HP 0/18

-------

@ Ende - The Dark Elf obviously thought Ende was unable to act. Ende's sudden dodge and the following punch catch the elf completely by surprise. The punch manages to knock the wind out of him and he staggers to the left, his eyes on Ende, and his blade slightly raised.

Dark Elf: Hp 11/18


@ William - William spins to his attacker, thrusting his sword out. The dark elf, catching the move out of the corner of his eye, attempts to parry the blow, but can't bring his blade up in time. The Northern Longblade bites deep into the Dark Elf's side. The elf spins away, tearing the blade out, and blood splashes upon the cavern floor. The dark elf is obviously not pleased, and begins chanting words softly, all the while keeping his blade up and pointed at William.

Dark Elf: HP 9/18

As Kayn pounded away on the webbing, he felt the tip of the stalagtite he held break off. With a final jab he was able to free himself. His body tumbled a few good feet before comming to a complete stop. The burning web of the walls stayed lit just long enough for his eyes to adjust and noticed the figure in the dark mantle.

It was only for just that moment though as everything fell into complete darkness. Kayn's chest twinged with fear as his claustrophibia started to remind him that now he has no idea where exactly the spider is, when it will return, or who exactly is with him in the cave.

Kayn tried as best he could to fight back the panic that was attempting to take control of his body. He knew that this was a fight that he just couldn't manage on his own. His only chance for survival was in numbers.... numbers of which were closer towards the cave's entrance.

Not being able to see, Kayn tried to calm himself as much as possible to be able to use his sixth sense. With this, he tried to lock on to Lausen and the others... as well as keep an eye on his own back. With that, he used the stalagmite to cut free his feet and began to run back towards the entrance. He also used this time to free his weapon from it's awkward possition, latched with webbing.

Yes! Now to finish this quickly. I won't last too long in a knife fight without a weapon. My best bet is to find a away to disarm him. I got it, before he can recover I'll go for a sweeping kick and while he is on his back I'll pin his throat with my boot. I'll "negotiate" with him from there. Surely, he wouldn't be stupid enough to try something hasty when I have him in such a position.

"WHERE ARE YOU RUNNING YOU WUSSY!" Graft screams as the elvish figure previously trapped in web turns tail and flees. Webs encase Grafts body, holding him to the cavern wall. His legs are numb, maybe they're asleep, or maybe the spider venom is starting to affect his body. Whichever it is Graft just knows the feeling sucks, especially when there's a man eating spider just down the tunnel. Graft looks down the tunnel towards the fleeing figure, "GET BACK HERE AND CUT ME DOWN!"

Kayn actually made it far enough down to where he might have actually seen a glimpse of light just as the call for aid was heard. His heart still raced as claustrophobia clinched at his chest. Kayn slid to a stop.

Usually, Kayn never hesitated in his actions. But for once, his mind and body were at war. By this time he managed to release all the webbing from his own body and was able to use all limbs freely again... but what about that figure he saw?

The cave fell into perfect silence. All Kayn could hear was his own heavy breathing. The seconds seemed as though they were flying by at light speed. But in this moment, Kayn tried to push his fear and uncertainty aside as he turned on his heels and headed back... leaving his freedom behind.

"What the hell am I doing? I'm a Dark Elf... I owe my life to no man."

Kayn's heart rate began to pick back up... but if it were from running, or from the enveloping darkness, he had no idea. Once again he closed his eyes and tried as best he could to focus on the task at hand. Using his sixth sense, he was able to pick up on exactly where the unknown man was. As he came upon him, Kayn readied his weapon. Relying on his senses more than sight, he sliced at the webbing between the wall and the man.

With him free... all Kayn could do was stare deeper into the cave, wondering if their company would soon be visited by another less friendly beast.

With the death of the Dark Elf the tension Lausen feels is gone. With the immediate danger surrounding him gone he begins to fully think clearly again. “I guess it’s time.â€

WARGOLTH IS STILL CONFUSED

NEW CHARACTER INTRO


The figure in black that Kayn just rescued is Graft, a new addition to our esteemed rp. Just making sure everyone was up to date.

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

@ Kayn and Graft - As soon as Kayn cuts Graft free the giant spider bursts through the side of the cavern about 20 feet up the tunnel. The spiders bloated body blocks all escape routes to the outside and cuts off the dim light. Things are looking grim. The tunnel still goes deeper behind you, but the way is covered in webs and seems to be the spiders natural territory.

The spider lets out a deafening roar and begins lumbering towards you both.


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

@ Lausen - The giant spider bursts through the cavern wall just as you catch sight of Kayn and a new fellow. The beast is turned away from you, seemingly intent on its prey.

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

@ Ende - You duck and sweep quickly catching the wheezing guard below the knees, sending him clattering down to the ground. His head connects with the cavern floor hard. He seems dazed and barely fights you as you press you foot against his throat.

Dark Elf: Hp 7/18

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

@ William - The Dark Elf speaks more rapidly as he finishes the spell, his offhand darting through the air creating designs. A dark mist suddenly swirls around him and then through him. Suddenly the mist turns, striking deep into his chest and he howls in a rage. He drops his blade and throws his arms back, bones cracking as a dirty red light replaces his eyes and emanates from his mouth.

Lifth whispers from behind William. "A demon summoning! This must not be! My warriors are not ready for this kind of monster."

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

@ Wargolth - You here the clattering of fighting and then a thunderous roar emanating from the tunnel that Lausen did not go down. Look like the other might be in trouble down there.

"Well, it seems that the tables have turned. You now have two choices: surrender or die. Believe me, I'm really leaning towards that second choice"

I put more pressure on the dark elf's throat to get the message acrossed. Soon after, there is a sudden change in the air. Looking through that elflings eyes, I witnessed a rather unpleasant sight... I saw this once before. It can only be described as an incomplete demon summoning or a willing possession. Such a desperate manuever which the user isn't likely to survive from. Normally, I wouldn't be the least bit concerned, however in my current state I stand little chance against that kind of beast. Mathematically my odds are not good. I am stuck at 1% of my full power, I am greatly injured bringing me down to .30% at best, and now I have to fight a dark elf enhanced by a demon. This would take anywhere from 15-50% of my full strength, depending on the demon. I'm nowhere close to this level!

Very unsettled, I speak to that wench, Lifth. "Woman, you better have a plan or I'm leaving you to be devoured by this thing." Right after saying this I divert my attention to another dark elf.

"Looks like your friend made the choice for you. Don't feel too bad, I was going to kill the both of you regardless of your choice. Ha." I press my foot with all of my body weight to the throat of my captive. He's getting what is coming to him.

As Kayn stood beside the nameless captive, all that could be heard was their own breath in the tunnel. Kayn was despirately searching with his mind for were the spider may be, because the little speck of light here was of no help.

"!"

"Behind!"

Not even two seconds later the spider came crashing through the cave wall decimating what shred of light was left. Kayn readied his weapon and closed his eyes (not that it changed anything as it was already pitch black) in an attempt to sense the spiders next attack. But the chance of claustrophobia stealing from him his ability to sense was a scenario most likely to happen. Looks like Kayn will have to rely a good deal on his new little friend...

The puppet that was once a forest elf could scarcely even feel fear in the face of the dark elf's hideous transformation (even though William certainly could still sense that he was now so outmatched that probably not even ten of him could hope to stand up to a monster such as this), nor could he comprehend Lifth's words of warning fom beside him. Being underneath the control of someone with such a malevolent spirit like Ende would have left a sickening sensation twisting around his entire being too had William still enough of his own mind left to fathom it. Later, the elf would look back and finally decide that it was well his heart had been completely subdued by another whose personality and ideals seemed almost entirely opposite of his, else the fear, shock, and sickness that the forest elf would have surely felt at this moment would have proved far too great for him to be able to control. ... What to do? Except to flee at Ende's command or strike before the transformed dark elf could take control of himself and attack?

Wargolth arrives!

"Who requires my stength!?"