xinoehp512

The red holed let out a bark of humourless laughter. "You see these?" he said, pointing to the black rings in his eyes. "They're called 'thrall-rings'. Evidence of someone being under the control of a holed." The red holed exhaled. "Well, that's... that's good. Thank you."

The red holed sighed. "Fair. But," he glared again at Baalhan. "Her wings? Poison? She's being mind controlled, for threads' sake!"

"Who did this?" asked the red holed, picking up an arrow covered in blood off the ground and frowning. He flicked his gaze to Baalhan's bow and arrows and narrowed his eyes.

The red holed turns to see what all the commotion is about. His eyes widen as they fall on Elaine. "Elaine!" he cries, rushing over to her side. "Are you alright?" Elaine stirs gently at his voice, but does not awaken.

@RadiantDramaQueen

Santonio grunts as the sword takes him through the chest. The pressure on Fadran's mind slackens. "Ow," he says, before vanishing in a flash of black light. The fire washes over the red holed. His skin and flesh melts and chars in the intense heat- but even as it does so, it begins to grow back and reform. He gasps, dropping his sword, and his eyes fade from black to red (although a band of black remains). "One moment," he gasps. "We don't need to fight!" @Channelknight Fadran

Santonio grunts, a blade materializing in his hand to block the onslaught. He clenches the other into a fist. A bright flash of white light washes through the cavern. Behind Fadran, another holed slowly gets to his feet, his scales as red as blood.

[I would advise against that,] said Tazeroth, her voice suddenly clear and urgent. [You face a holed- a species that captivates and controls minds on a regular basis. It doesn't need a key to your mind- it's a wrecking ball. Your connection to your god is confusing him, and that's why he hasn't enthralled you yet. Kill him immediately, before he figures it out.] Elaine screams as the painful heat blisters her, and she falls to the ground on her hands and knees. She gives a cry of pain as each arrow takes her wing, her breaths becoming labored. She tries to push herself up but fails, her strength bleeding out of her. Santonio chuckles through the grip. "Mistake..." he rasps.

"Too late," called Santonio. "You harm us simply by being here." His eyes flash white, and an enormous pressure hurtles into Fadran's mind, commanding to be let in. Elaine flicks open her wings and takes to the sky, attacking Fadran from above. @Channelknight Fadran

A thick coat appears around Santonio in a flash of white. "You trespass on our territory," he says smoothly. "That makes it our business." @Nathrangking "Searching?" said Santonio, raising an eyebrow. "Well, we are guarding, of course. Guarding the Gate to our kingdom. Guarding it from people like you." In a flash of white, a knife appeared in his hand. Another pair materialized in Elaine's hands. "Aridith!" cried Santonio. "Eliminate!" The black bands in Elaine's irises contracted. With a hiss, she charged the group, knives flashing dangerously. @Channelknight Fadran

Santonio raised an eyebrow. "Indeed you have not. Not yet. But you have not answered my question... why are you here?" @Channelknight Fadran

Turquoise and indigo? Please, don't make me laugh. What about maroon and burgundy?

"Better"? "Better"? We are not talking about value here, we are talking about attractiveness.

Santonio folded his arms. "Really?" he murmured. "Well, I'll let the king be the judge of that." He turned to Fadran. "You- you look like a leader. What are you doing here?" @Channelknight Fadran

Blue is a far prettier color than red. Case closed.

The new voice turned the corner- a humanoid covered from head to toe in blinding white reptilian scales. "Elaine? The King said that you were facing... difficulties. Care to..." his eyes fell upon the group, "...elaborate?" "Too late," whispered Elaine. To the newcomer, she turned with a smile plastered on her face. "No, Santonio; I assure you, I have this under control."

Narrator X wisely explained the nature of breadmunks. They're chipmunks made of bread. Highly energetic from being literally made of carbohydrates.

Borzen heard the screams even before he landed. He jumped off his carpet and into a run as soon as he landed, shooting a quick glance back with his magnifying glass to turn his carpet back into a sword. Thus armed, he marched into the village to confront whatever was threatening it. The threat in question turned out to be an ogre. An albino ogre, of all things, clad in dark blue leather. Oddly enough, he didn't seem to be doing anything particularly ogre-y; that is, he wasn't bashing in people's heads, or knocking down houses, or... well, anything really. He was just standing there, oversized club in hand. Talking. His tirade cut off when Borzen walked in, and he turned to face him. "Ah!" he boomed. "Greetings, newcomer. My name is Alveolus Penrodius Greene Smith V, son of Gedric Felvon Auterius Smith IV, son of..." Borzen felt an odd sleepiness overtake him as the ogre began to list his lineage. His eyes began to slide shut before he snapped to and shook his head to keep himself alert. He was already asleep. He didn't need to be put to sleep again. "Fascinating, I'm sure," he said, interrupting the ogre. "But perhaps you could explain why the villagers seem so, er..." he gestured around. "...terrified?" "Ah, that!" boomed Alveolus. "Funny story, that! You see, I was crossing through Kitchen City looking for a cup of sugar. I was baking a cake for my grandma, who lives in the Garden Wilds, but I'd used up the last of my sugar on a plate of cookies for my next-door neighbor, who's youngest daughter had a birthday party that I'd been invited to-" "Interesting, I'm sure," cut in Borzen sharply, who eyes had begun to feel heavy again. "But can you just answer the question?" "Of course!" said Alveolus. "As I was saying, I was going to get a cup of sugar, but nobody seemed to have any. Not my brother's friend Stevious, not my second cousin Dergish, not either of their next door neighbors. In fact, all of their houses were burned to the ground, on account of a dragon coming through the day before and spraying fire everywhere. The city wizard was apparently no help at all, and got burned to a crisp trying to fight him off. Anyways-" "I'm sorry, what?" said Borzen, frowning. "A dragon?" "Yes," said Alveolus with a slight tinge of irritation. "But as I was saying-" "Forget that," said Borzen hurriedly. "Where is the dragon now?" Alveolus frowned. "Still around that area, likely. I didn't stick around to find out. I had to come here to find a cup of-" "Thanksnothankssorrygoodbye," said Borzen in a breathless rush, spinning his magnifying glass to turn his sword back into a carpet. "Kitchen City!" he called to the compass on the stern. "And make it snappy- we have a dragon to catch!" --- Oh dear, I'm being sacrificed. What is this list that I'm on that everyone seems to be condemning me for?

"King Aridith," whispered Elaine. "I don't know. He might." Another set of footsteps echoed in the passageway beyond. "Elaine?" a new voice called. "Is everything going smoothly?"

"You can't know," whispered Elaine. "Otherwise... he will kill you."

Elaine swallowed. "I was commanded to be here. To... guard something."

"Yes," said Elaine. "Named after Hyxlia, our first and greatest, blessed be her name." Anguish flashed in her eyes for the briefest of seconds as she spoke.

"Oh. I, my kind... we are called the Hyxali."