As Kayn flips through the air the Jotun lifts his tree in an attempt to swat the dark elf from the sky! Fortunately the brute is slow to act and the large trunk passes safely above Kayn's head.

Luckily the giant's attempt at hitting Kayn has left his side completely open, giving William the perfect chance to slash through while riding by!

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

SK critical hit! 6 damage!

Jotun: HP- 44/50
DF- 4

His defense just ate your crit!

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

The Jotun grunts as William's Longblade bites into his side.... And almost immediately the wound begins to close. The wound on his shoulder is rapidly closing as well. This doesn't look good guys. The giant is regenerating rapidly.

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

Jotun: HP- 47/50
DF- 4
Special- Regenerates 3 HP per turn.

("Damnit. Both of our attacks and we've barely put a dent in it. So few options...")

Kayn approches the giant, well within stiking distance of the large trunk of a tree he carries. Kayn took in a deep breath and closed his eyes.


...


A young Kayn approches an elder elf amist the fog in a dimly lit forest. "Kayndar, what brings you out so far into the forest at this hour?" A look of shock spread over the young Kayn's face. "How'd you know it was me, Elder Raul?" Raul sighs slightly and turns to show is usually expression which consist of closed eyes and a wide grin across his face.

"Kayndar, ever since we dark elves left the main body of the normal forest elves, we've always worked on preserving what was of the old elves as possible. In fact, the label of 'dark' wasn't of our own vise... but tagged on us by the other elves." Raul stood up, walked over to Kayn, and placed his large hand on Kayn's head.

"Be that as it may, we've always had one thing in common. Every life has a certain amount of energy. And we elves can see it. Though, Kayndar... you can see them much more clearly than anyone else, just like your father. You are his prodigy and because of that, I'm sure that by the time you are older, the world itself may look up to you. Just remember to trust yourself and never forget your father... little Kayndar."

In jotun life to be blind is to be dead. Seeing Kayn's closed eyes the giant wishes only to oblige. He swings the tree in a high arc intending to slam it down on Kayn, squashing him instantly.

Wargolth leaps at and tries to stab Joutun in the back while his guard was done.

Recalling his past, he reached out... sensing all that was around. It seemed as if it was the black of night. All was silent... but for a shaft of bright blue light. The light blazed over Kayn's head. Kayn exhales and within a blink of the eye, jerks out of veiw from all... only to be seen a few feet back.

A loud crash shook the ground as the tree trunk burried its self into the earth... it was then, that Kayn raised his head and opened his eyes.

Wargolth lands a solid blow on the jotun's unprotected back, plunging his sword into it's thick skin. The giant bellows in fury and reaches around to grab Wargolth with the hand not wielding the tree trunk. The giant then hurls Wargolth into Ende and the two go tumbling to the ground.

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

Jotun HP: 45/50

Special- Regen.

Jotun HP: 48/50

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

Wargolth HP: 6/7

Jamos HP : 5/7

Seeing his opportunity, Kyan dashed forward.

("Thank you... Raul...")

Kayn planted a solid foot on the tree trunk and ran up the length of it. He gripped his weapon tightly as he approached the giants arm. As the tree ended, and the jotun's arm began, Kayn pushed off with all his might and swung his blade at the jotun's head.

... Seeing the giant momentarily stunned by the dark elf's last attack, William dared to look away for just a moment or two to see if Lifth was still okay. .... He could not see her anywhere in sight, actually. The forest elf hoped it was only because she had been wise enough to realize she had bitten off a bit more than she could chew by directly challenging the monster like that, thus she had considered herself lucky to have narrowly missed being hit by a fatal blow once already and ran into hiding somewhere, leaving the rest to her guardians.

Speaking of which, William gloomily thought, glancing back at everyone else still fighting the giant several yards away, The rest of us are not much better off than Lifth when it comes to foolish courage, seeing as how we are actually trying to fight that thing, ourselves.

The elf blinked, and quickly shook his head a few times, wondering if fatigue was causing him to imagine things. He had noticed the wound he had just moments ago inflicted in the monster's side appear to partly close back up, causing the once deep gash to now appear as though William had done nothing more than barely scratch the monster with a toy sword. No way .... He thought. Surely he isn't ....


Feeling a heavy sense of urgency rush over him for perhaps the fifth time since this whole mess started, William shouted for the animal who was carrying him to begin charging back for the giant as fast as her legs could carry them both. As they came near, the elf attempted to do one of the bravest things he had probably ever dared to think of doing in his entire life, ... and with steady, nimble feet he rose to a standing position on the horse's back, holding his sword upright in the direction the wind was coming from in order to block its flow somewhat so that he wouldn't as likely be thrown off by the wind's force. All right ...... Now! As the horse swept beside the monster once more, William leaped as high into the air as he could - remembering to call for the animal to run to safety entirely, now - and down onto the back of the giant's grotesquely misshapen head with sword poised ready for a fatal strike.

As Kayn's blade grazes the giants face the creature bellows massively and jerks backwards causing Kayn's blade to only cut through one eye before landing a short distance ahead of the beast.

William, hurtling through the air, connects just as the giant lumbers backwards, causing his blade to drive deep into the giants unwounded shoulder instead of his head.

Angered by the assault the Jotun lurches forward kicking Kayn a short distance before spinning in an attempt to shake William loose. He reaches to his shoulder with his free hand and grabs William tossing him straight into the air quite a distance. He also raises his tree trunk. Looks like the giant intends to play a little baseball.

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

Both Kayn and William have scored critical hits!

Jotun HP: 38/50

Special: regen

Jotun HP: 41/50

Kayn HP: 7/8

Bael grips the handle of his halberd fiercely, enjoying all the adrenaline rush of being back in the battlefield.

With one burst of muscle explosion, Bael swings his halberd from a distance, aiming for an unbalancing strike to the giant's knee.

Thankfully, William could not at that precise moment he found himself back in the air allow himself to think about the danger the others might be in at the moment, else certainly he would not have been able to see the giant rearing the tree trunk he was holding back with one massive hand with intentions to violently retaliate.

... But as he felt his small body coming to a slowing halt nearly fifteen feet up into the air, the elf fervently glanced back down at his nemesis in the one split moment that passed before gravity would begin forcing him back down into the hands of an angry monster, ... and somehow thought of an idea.

William clutched for dear life onto the hilt of the Northern Longblade with both hands, and, clenching his teeth in a curious mix of both determination and panic, he lowered the upper half of his body forward as he came careening back down in the giant's direction, hoping to force his entire body into a somersaulting dive that would allow him to bring the sword from behind his back and over his head into the oncoming tree trunk. He definitely wasn't sure that with his relative prowess he would be able to cut completely through the trunk as the giant would swing it with full force at him, but perhaps even such a crazy stunt would work, ... or maybe one of the others was already in the process of trying to save him from the blow, somehow. At any rate, William hoped that after the next few seconds he would not be ending his life by having been smashed to bits.

Kayn skid to a stop. He clinched his side which took the brunt of the blow from the giant... he looked up just in time to see a young elf plummet to the earth towards their enemy.

"!!!"

With little time, kayn jumped to his feet and bolted for the now cycloptic giant.

"If I can just interrupt his attack, maybe William will come out unscathed... hurry!"

Kayn bared down and ran full force attempting to catch the jotun in the leg opposite to the one Bael's attacking.

As William hurtles down to earth Bael's strike connects with the giants right knee, slicing through the thick skin an penetrating deep into tendon. William attempting to cut through the trunk whirls in the air a slit second after Kayn connects hard with the giants left leg. Trunk and blade connect as the giant's legs sweep out from under him sending him crashing down to earth. The tree trunk, loosened from the jotun's grasp continues forward out of momentum and slams in William mid air, sending flying forward. The Northern Longblade gouges deep through the dried wood, splintering and shattering much of the trunk, before William is knocked away.

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

Jotun HP: 31/50

Special Regen: 3

Jotun HP: 34/50

William HP: 4/8

Jotun is disarmed.

Jotun and William are stunned.

Bael and Kayn gain attacks of opportunity.

Bael tightens his muscles to full strength to pull the halberd's blade back from the giant's thick skin.

His honed battle senses always alerted, Bael feels a chance to strike: he sidesteps and turns around 360º, bringing the halberd in a graceful arc at the giant's unprotected neck with increased momentum.

In terms of pain, that was probably the worst blow the young elf had ever taken from any fight he had ever been in his entire life. William could scarcely even hear the sort of strangled, sudden cry that was forced out him as he was once again knocked backwards and high up into the air from the giant's strike, but he remembered being too much in pain already to utter another sound once he landed flat on his back onto the ground. ... It was probably dangerous to even move so quickly after being wounded in his condition, but the elf immediately raised his head a little from the ground and glanced with hazy eyes towards the enormously gargantuan monster. Luckily, from what he could tell, two or three of the others had managed to take advantage of the giant's diverted attention when he had attacked William and struck a few major blows on him, and now even the monster was beginning to look as though he were wearing down. The elf's eyes widened a little when he thought he had caught sight of someone he hadn't seen in the last few days - the person whom he had heard call himself Bael back during that fight in King Sigurd's throne room. What on Earth ....? I could swear he was one of the three that the king had not summoned away to accompany Miss Lifth. When did he appear here? He thought in wonder, afterwards realizing that if Bael was here to help everyone fight the monster, then it really didn't matter how great the mystery surrounding his unexpected appearance. They were non match for this monster on their own.

Even if the monster's wounds were indeed spontaneously healing as it had appeared, perhaps they were still managing somehow to cause greater damage to it than could be nullified, and with perserverance William and the others would eventually bring it down. But .... William thought, reaching up with one hand the stem the flow of blood that ran from the severe cut on his forehead and down into his right eye. At this rate we'll all go down long before it does. I should just consider myself quite lucky that this sword had kept me from taking the full force of the blow, otherwise I doubt I would even still be in one piece. So ... such thoughts are must be what would likely go through one's mind when in the middle of fighting ....

William heard a groan from nearby. He struggled for a moment to raise himself all the way up to a sitting position, then looked behind him to see Warlgoth and Ende both lying on the ground, apparently only half-conscious. He suddenly remembered seeing them both attacked by the giant only moments before, but in his own panic had just as soon forgotten. ... At least, they were still alive. I only have enough control of my magical power to be able to do this once for a very long period of time, William thought, looking somewhat regrettably over at the two people who seemed to be even more heavily wounded than himself, at the same time chanting the words of a healing spell silently in his mind. But ... I have to help everyone, now. I am not the only one suffering physically at this moment.

(Activate SK's signature healing spell, Elfen Tune!)

Kayn felt the end of his blade sink into the jotun's leg as he dashed past the beast. Behind him he heard the monster yell in displeasure. A glance over his shoulder give him a view of William plummeting to the ground quite hard, amazingly still alive.

And of course, so was the giant. But it appears that the jotun was quite disoriented. This is it! In jotun life to be blind is to be dead...

Kayn wasted not a second and dashed back towards the lumbering giant. As quick as his feet could carry him, he ran straight at the giants back and slid under his legs. As soon as Bael landed his attack. Kayn made an attempt to jam his weapon into the jotun's only other good eye.

As Bael's chomp pierces the Jotun's neck Kayn thrust bury deep into his remaining eye. The Giant bellows and lunges up, causing both attacks to peirce him further.

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

No Defense Dual Criticals deal 34 damage!

Jotun HP: 0/50


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

The beast slumps back down to the earth and stops breathing just as a light tunes washes over the heroes healing their wounds.

A light clapping is heard, and heroes turn to face Lifth, still astride Alsvider. "It seems you slime might have a use yet." She grins slightly and puts forth her hand, from which a stream of light washes over the heroes.

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

Level up!!!! All heroes have level. Upon leveling you earn 5 bonus stat points which can be placed in any of your 4 regular stats (str, sta, agi, int)

Please pm me with your stat increases.

Upon leveling to 2 each hero has learned a new skill. These skills will be pm'd to you after I receive your stat increases, along with an updated stat sheet.

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"Times a wasting boys. Get back on your horses and let's ride." Lifth kicks her heels into Alsvider without a second glance and heads southeast. Looks like she's not even going to go back to the village. And it looks like she really intends to be the death of you.

... William's heart nearly leapt into his throat from fear when he had heard the giant's angered scream, piercing both his sensitive elven ears and his intense concentration on completing the healing spell. His eyes flew open, expecting to see Kayn and Bael lying dead in the distance and the monster's giant hand swooping mercilessly down upon the elf to finish the task of breaking every bone in his body, since the earlier blow from the tree trunk had failed to do so.

.... Instead, he saw the monster howling in a mix of frustration and agony as it swept frantically about with one hand, probably hoping to take someone down with it somehow as it was falling, while clutching the side of its face with the other. After a moment, it shook perhaps the surrounding two miles or so of earth around them all when it hit the ground in a massive heap, and then everything was still.

William blinked once in confusion and awe, not just at this sudden and most fortunate change in the tide of the events, but also at the strangely warm light, colored quite a bit differently from the kind of light that could be seen whenever the elf had practiced his healing spell, that was now flowing around him and, seemingly, all of the other heroes as well. Instantly the flow of blood from the severe cut in the elf's right temple had seemed to stop, and, along with the wound itself, vanished from sight, something William was especially thankful for since he was beginning to feel a very painful irritation in his right eye on account of the salt-rich blood having continuously flowed into it. He quickly shook the blood in his eye away, brushed the dust off of his cloak, and glanced curiously backward to see the human girl Lifth standing over him, with Warlgoth and Ende appearing to just now recover from consciousness farther behind her, one hand stretched outward. She obviously knew a bit of magic, herself.

The elf felt grateful at first, and felt compelled to thank both her and whatever angel in Heaven had in fact been listening to his earlier prayer for safety, but almost just as fast felt exasperation and just a tiny bit of anger flare up in his eyes upon her first words, "It's seems you slime might prove useful, after all. ... Come, now. Time is wasting."

Without another word, the arrogant girl turned away, not even bothering to so much as give a concerned glance at any of her would-be guardians, and walked back to Alsvider. The elf couldn't say anything for a moment, as her sarcastically cold and uncaring words left him speechless, but he eventually noticed that all this while he had been clenching his right fist in outrage so hard that the warmth of blood was beginning to stain his palm.
That ... BRAT! He thought, staring hard after her. And to think that I used to be called such a thing myself by my elders in school back home when I had studied swordsmanship! At least I had shown concern when others were hurt trying to defend me! We all could easily have suffered a very brutal death at that monster's hands on account of her!

Kayn ripped his bladed staff from they jotun's eye-socket and stepped out of the way as his limp body came crashing down. Kayn stared a few moments at the corps and then looked up to Bael.

"Cutting it a bit close, are we? Where have you-"

Before Kayn could finish his sentance, Lifth cut in. Her casual demenor and calusnous towards what just happened showed Kayn just how much of a curse this woman truely is. Seeing her ride off, Kayn wistled for the horses (pack horses included) and leaped onto the horse's bare back. He made it a poit to catch up to Lifth.

"Listen you wench. I don't care how damn special Sigurd thinks you are... personally, I'd have seen that jotun crush your pompus skull in. From now on, you act more rational and cautious else I'll be doing the crushing."

With that, Kayn let her be. He would have taken the lead if he even know where the hell they were going. All he could see on the horizon was the outline of moutain tops. Kany would, instead, rely on his abilities to make sure nothing took them by suprize. Looking behind, he saw that William wasn't too far behind. William seems alot more quiet since the fight. But it didn't seem as though it was due to the battle being fierce as it was to Lifth's arrogant stance afterwards. Kayn has never been really good with people... so he just gave him a nod with something that was an attempt as a half-smile.

It seemed it was going to be a long evening...

As Bael removed the halberd from the dead giant's neck, he felt the adrenaline flow away and the senses return to normal. He noticed his surroundings once again, just in time to hear Kayn's voice drift by...
"Cutting it a bit close, are we? Where have you –"
But just then he felt a foreign pressure on his body, something he wasn't familiar with, something unnatural...

Magic.

Bael let out an outraged cry as he felt his body return to good shape. He wasn't wounded, but a light fatigue from the rushed ride through the forest to where the giant was was beginning to settle in. It vanished as if it had never been there.

Bael turned to the girl, unaware of her words, and said sternly, "Don't do that to me again."

He went to where he'd left his own horse, a white mare, and mounted it. In reality, he'd come for the fight. Now that it was gone, Bael was at a loss for what to do next. The group and the little girl was everything left.
Holding his halberd readily with his right hand, the left hand guiding the horse, Bael followed behind William.

"Where are we going?" he asked the boy.