Let No Soul Hunger For Justice: Suddenly... Demons!

[justice_is_blond]

WHO: Anders, Adelaide, Bethany, Hermione, Ingrid, Jamie, Kaisa, Kirk, Nathaniel, Solas
WHAT: Binding a spirit has to go better than anything else has.
WHEN: TJustinian 5th
WHERE: Location
NOTES: Plotting post is here, warning for violence, there will be no tag order.

The atmosphere as they head out this time is a little more tense, but they're headed for the same place because the chance that it's some sort of cursed location would be far too convenient excuse and therefore it's been entirely dismissed.

At least the day isn't too chilly. Relatively speaking. For the mountains in the south.

Comments

[ingrid_kief]

"Caution, everyone!"

Ingrid is on her feet, drawing her sword and her templar abilities as she moves to challenge the demon. Teeth bared, she means to smite the beast with the full power of the Maker.

[fleurdesel]

Once again, it should have worked. Once again, it turns back upon them.

Adelaide has a moment to be thankful that she took the requisite preparations in recommending they have warriors and a templar present. At the first skittering shapes she snaps the point of her staff down, littering the clearing with shards of ice.

[sunshinethroughgrey]

Bethany was starting to think that Justice was fighting them - in fact, she was certain of it. Her eyes narrowed on the blue form of Anders, before she twisted her wrist and snapped up a barrier around the warriors, using what Adelaide taught her to infuse it with spiritual energy.

Then she lifted her staff, following up the shards of ice with flames, hoping to shatter the creatures within.

She'd gotten a little more practice with demons lately than she had wanted -- but it seemed to come in handy here.

[justice_is_blond]

The rage demon is definitely the most aggressive and it meets Ingrid's attack with no fear, despite how her blade cuts in. Its fire is as useless as its fury against the hastily tossed up barrier; she's left unscathed. Meanwhile ice spreads sporadically around the field, slipping up a few of the smaller creatures but not managing to freeze them. Instead they close the distance relentlessly... except for three of the wraiths, who have burst into flames and are now distracted, shrieking, unable to continue the attack just yet.

Anders and Justice are held, caught in the banishing that's tugging at the spirit, but not enough to actually do anything. All Anders can do is watch and, for the first time in years, pray.

[universal_charm]

Of course something would go wrong. It was the way of the world, wasn't it? It made him glad he had brought his staff as well as his small assortment of knives he had managed to save up for when he had gone out to the Western Approach. Whatever was happening to Anders did not seem like the thing that should be happening. Even knowing nothing of magic, it looked bad, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end and the shard in his palm aching sharply.

And then there are demons. DAMN IT.

"I've had enough of these things!" he snarled, whirling his staff, cracking it against one of the smaller demon's jaws before trying to dance away from icy patches, to focused on their attackers to bother being surprised or amazed with Bethany's assault. Last thing he needed was to end up on his back. "Come on, bastards!"

[wontforgetyou]

Of course it's demons. Why wouldn't it be? It really is just like it used to be back home, with monsters everywhere, although at least this time it seems there's more of a reason to it than just them tumbling out of some random rift.
There's a small part of him that wonders what that'll mean for Anders's chances of getting free of Justice, but the rest of him knows full well there's not any time to worry about that - at least not right now.

Right now, there's demons to deal with, and Jamie shifts his grip on his sword, bringing it up to a fighting stance even as he lunges towards the nearest one with his usual battle cry.

"Creag an tuire!"

[singularwill]

He was mid-cast when the demons appeared, and he isn't willing to give it up quite yet - power still streaming with a bright blue light towards Anders. But his concentration cannot be held - the fire crackles up between them, and with a curse under his breath he is forced to break the spell.

With complete economy of movement, he turns his staff around sharply, sending a concentrated bolt of ice right toward the rage demon.

[bookish_lioness]

Hermione has already been trained to hate the color green, and the moment she sees it beginning to interfere with the ritual and feels the all-too familiar ache in her hand, she has her wand out and her guard up. She still isn't secure enough in her magic to be able to do anything quite so impressive as the other mages are doing, but she doesn't need to impress anyone. She just needs to help keep everyone else alive.

Right now, that seems to mean taking care of the rage demon, given that it's by far the largest thing on the field. She spares the wraiths a quick, wary glance, careful to make sure they don't cause more damage in their flailing than they otherwise might, before forcing herself to give the rage demon and her magic her full attention.

"Petrificus totalus!"

It doesn't work the way it should, never works the way it should, but she's fine with that. Even if it doesn't leave the demon fully paralyzed the way she'd intended, she's hoping that it will keep it still or at least slow it down long enough to make the other attacks on it that much more devastating. The faster they get rid of that thing, the faster they can pick off the smaller demons that are currently easier to deal with with hand-to-hand combat.

[fleurdesel]

Adelaide adjusts her tack, light blooming at the tip of her staff and flaring into life around everyone in the field, a barrier wrapping protectively around them. The few projectiles the wraiths manage glance and fail before they are able to penetrate.

One of the wraiths set ablaze disintegrates entirely, leaving nothing but green glittering ash in its wake. The others recover as the flames die down, orbs of green flame thrown wildly in all directions. One glances off the side of a shade slinking up on Hermione- but the sharp call of Kirk's voice and sudden crackling bellow of Jaime's taunt has all heads whipping about in that moment, and all paths diverge to concentrate on these two fleshy humans that are so painfully loud.

Stunned by Kirk's blow, the lesser shade staggers back, momentarily dazed as its fellows converge upon Kirk, claws extended, hissing. Shrieking. Snarling as one sends a bolt of horrific energy, a wave of screaming skulls meant to terrify Jaime. Across the field the Rage demon bellowed, slamming its massive fists into the ground with force enough to send those close off balance- it has no time to turn and target the taunting warriors- Solas' ice pierces its burning hide, flames sputtering as it raises a hand, slowed by the cold, to attack Solas in truth. Hermione's spell crackles and warps weirdly around a creature of this world's Fade- twists about the chill already trapped inside, and leaves the Rage demon paralyzed mid swing.

[universal_charm]

There is the briefest flicker of thought that said he had made a mistake. Why would he want to call these things to him? But it was easily dismissed because of course he did - pull them away from the people who better know how to help Anders, close the Rift or whatever they wanted to call it. The pain from his shard was acute now, but adrenaline pushed it to the back of his mind.

He grinned fiercely when his blow connected properly, disappointed he hadn't quite knocked it out, but it was a good start. Of course, nothing good lasts forever. Far though he was, the sudden tremor was enough to make him lose his balance for a precious second - a precious second where claws raked across his ribs. He cried out in pain, but ignored the blood seeping down his side in favor of swinging his taking one of his knives and slashing at the creatures.

"That the best you got?!" he barked at them, tossing in a rough laugh for good measure. Keep them focused, keep them away from Anders and the mages working the ritual spell.

[wontforgetyou]

As the wave of energy washes over Jamie, his whole expression shifts, the determination shifting and melting into a wide-eyed sort of fright. For a moment he wants nothing more than to run, find the nearest person and cling onto them until the feeling passes - but with a sword already in motion what he gets instead is the feeling as he instinctively tries to twist away and the blade slices through air rather than the flesh of the demon. The momentum carries him past his demon, and he has to try and scramble to recover his footing, but he catches himself and tries to turn and put himself back into the fight.

Fear still has him in its grip, though, and rather than rush back in with the sword he stays where he is, one hand held up in a warding off gesture. As the demon heads towards him, the shard in his hand responds instead, an unconscious response that sends beams of energy toward his opponent. The reaction is unfocused, lacking any real finesse, and what it hits remains to be seen.

[pinprick]

An arrow loosed from a powerful longbow flies at the shade attacking Kirk. Two seconds later, another is loosed toward the shade antagonizing Jamie. He has to focus on keeping the field as clear as possible, fear sharpening his senses, buying time for the mages to fix this.

[sunshinethroughgrey]

"Back!"

Bethany commands, calling for a brief retreat, but only so she can swing her arm in a wide sweep, sending a cascade of ice across the demons. Twirling her staff back in place, she calls over her shoulder to Adelaide, and to Solas.

"That will hold them, but not for long! What should we try next?"

[justice_is_blond]

These are not the brightest of demons, which means even the wounded are pressing close... and it's one of the previously-on-fire wraiths that gets in the way of Kirk's hasty swing of the sword and collapses into glittering dust. The next-closest, a lesser shade, barely has time to shriek and rear up before Nate's first arrow takes it out, and Kirk is no longer so closely pressed.

He, and others, and the demons, might be shocked for a moment as Jamie does something that illuminates the whole of the clearing, absolutely obliterating two demons, one behind the other. Nothing remains of them, and there's a pause of hesitation despite their bloodthirst - pause enough for another arrow to fly and fell a shade, and ice to spray and slow the remaining few.

The demons' numbers have been drastically cut, and even their strongest is still held by paralysis. Rage tries to break free and still cannot manage, and the last three wraiths aren't moving quickly to truly be a threat. Yet.

[ingrid_kief]

"Allow me."

Mustering all her faith, calling on the Maker from the depths of her heart and soul, Ingrid calls forth a pillar of holy light from the heavens to smite the demons.

[fleurdesel]

The flickering glare of whatever it is Jamie does- however it is it works startles Adelaide from her focused renewal of everyone's barriers- the flaring glow of Ingrid's smite wrings out a reflexive flinch but does call her to action. Frost gathers at her fingers and forms in a long, needle like shaft. "We kill them and try to free Anders."

Easy enough. A thought, a gesture and that spear is snapped through the air at the Rage demon- precise and certain in its path.

[pinprick]

One more arrow flies toward the rage demon, to where the ice spells have chilled it most. It strikes with shattering precision and bites deep.

[justice_is_blond]

The wraiths don't stand a chance. Weak to start with, hit by ice from Bethany, they crumble in the light from Ingrid's pillar, leaving merely the Rage demon standing as it strains to creep forward. It has yet to give up, though. Rage never abates -- but it can become brittle from an ice spear that strikes true, and between smite and yet another arrow it howls and falls to the ground, crumbling.

For a brief moment, the field is clear.