Kusoyaroukaju fights Andrew

[00:55] As night falls over the bog a thick and humid air stirs from the murky depths carrying with it a heavy scent of decay. Rotting detritus fuels the life which struggles to eke out a living in these unforgiving lands where the Crelli prowl in search of foolhardy peasants that stray too near in search of the herbs that grow within the bounty among the rot.

That air begins to thicken and coalesces into a near tangible fog which obscures vision and renders the layout of the land unreadable even to seasoned explorers. It bears with it a metallic taste that coats the tongues of those who inhale it.

Snik-a-snak. Snik-a-snak. Snik-a-snak.

The rattling clicks like a twisted form of laughter echo from somewhere deep within the rolling haze. Through it a figure resolves staking upon one of the proud trees with draping vines hanging down.

A young man, no older than his teenage years, stands upon one of the branches. His cold and lifeless eyes flick toward Andrew and he shakes his head as if to refute his approach. His arms rise signaling for him to keep his distance, but it is too late.

That man has wandered too deep already into the territory of The Wretched Man-Beast.

Snik-a-snak. Snik-a-snak. Snik-a-snak.
(Kusoyaroukaju)
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[01:04] Not the most regular patrol of all, but Andrew had been trying to do it. Every day, he went a bit further, and then went back - But sometimes the trip to the swamp was just worth too much to be ignored, and donning his armor, this was the path to be made by the new Knight.

The scaled platemail lighted up with the occasional sparkle of cosmic magic, perhaps an unconscious protective measure against the oddness of this location. It did not have that rattling, or the fog that hindered his sight.

Yet, he was a knight. One that proved his valor, and... This time he needed to do it again. To not give up, even when fear knocked on his door like it did at this very moment. The image of a young man does provoke some reaction, causing Andrew to draw his sword and yell out.

"HEY YOU! IT AIN'T SAFE HERE!" Soon after the question comes, however, he hears the terrifying sounds yet again, fists closing in against the grip of the sword. Brows furrow together, and a mutter comes out. "Good one, Andrew. Something's found you."

Perhaps the worst first situation he could get into as a knight. A cosmic flicker was emitted from his blade, sent into the skies as he beckoned for the help of the sun - It was just rising. Enough for him to get some help, even if not all he wanted.

"Show yourself!" He beckoned, sword still in one hand while the other gestured for the young man to come closer.
(Andrew Lancaster)
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[01:12] Snik-snik-snik-snik-snik-sniiiik.

The clacking and clicking noise comes more rapid as a gleeful chuckle escapes the beast's maw, still in hiding, as it seasoned the prey insuring plenty of fear entered it.

His bravery had just the right mixture of foolishness added to make for a most delectable treat. Just as hard-shelled creatures often hid away the sweetest meat so too did the brave when the mental armor was shorn to allow access to the insecurities within.

"No.." The choked reply comes as the young man's fingers dig at his neck where a thick green vine coiled around him. The nails of his fingers were bloodied for the attempt, pallid lips turning ever more blue. Purple bruising was visible against that pale flesh as he struggled in vain.

"It's.. Too late." He rasps eyes floating up toward the back of his head, grey irises disappearing for a moment..

..Then a smile split his face, large and so taut it must have been painful, as his knees bent in preparation. "Only.. Death.. Frees.. Us.." He offers at last to Andrew before leaping from the branch.

Snik-a-snak. Snik-a-snak. Snik-a-snak. Snik-a-snak. Snik-a-snak.

That hidden beast practically howled with its awful laughter. The sound echoed loudly through the forest mingling with the groaning branch that support that swinging young man's weight, his neck bent at an unnatural angle.

Then his arms rose up and his feet began to kick in rhythm to an unheard melody as he danced a merry jig from where he swung dead yet still with motion in his bones.

"It takes us all our lives to die, might as well make it a show!" He declares loudly in a gurgling voice, the notes shrill as they manage to make it through his strangled throat.
(Kusoyaroukaju)
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[01:20] Andrew could barely maintain concentration under such high pressure. His hand trembled slightly, and his breathing went erratic, forcing himself to ease out, breathing in and breathing out; It was a practiced technique, not something natural. This much was obvious.

Cosmic energy still fluttered away from his body occasionally, running through his mana circuitry and onto the blade, seemingly desiring to take a piece of the ground around him. Perhaps it'd help, with as little energy as he could.

At the youngster's apparent suicide, Andrew nearly releases his sword for a moment, but instead dashes in with desperation. "NO, NO, NO, NO!" His cries echo out as he runs in, sword in hand and a coat of pristine yellow energy.

Of course, what he'd do once he was there, it'd depend - One hand rose, aiming at the vine that surrounded his neck, and the sun's energy coalesced in his hand, a quick beam shot through the woods and towards the vine - And hopefully, towards the skies.
(Andrew Lancaster)
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[01:26] Snik-a-snak. Snik-a-snak. Snik-a-snak.

Kusoyaroukaju had fun toying with this one. It tried to save the boy like the others had, but this meal was long dead and festering within his belly though.. Some bit of him did remain to prop up the illusion.

That charged beam from the blade struck true searing the vine and continuing on its blazing path straight through the fog. A hole was cut in the sky allowing the sun to peek through, but it began to reform as though a living thing healing itself.

The brown-haired lad had plummeted to the ground where he lie still in a puddle of viscous mud which caked his features. His neck was tilted so that the spin pressed at and upraised the flesh beneath. Broken.

Then he stirred, arms pressing himself upward until he sat upright upon his knees. His hands moved at unnatural angles the grab at the top and bottom of his head.

Crack.

The crunch was audible and not too dissimilar from Kusoyaroukaju's amused laughter that occasionally rolled through the desolate arena.

"..Thanks mister.." The boy says, dull and glazed eyes settling upon Andrew. "I was startin' to choke on my performance." He jests with that same too-wide grin.

Then the pallid flesh begins to melt away dripping in putrid clumps which fell to the floor and hissed producing plumes of noxious black smoke as they dissolved beneath the sunlight revealing a the decayed bones of a corpse long dead.

An illusion.

Snik-a-snak. Snik-a-snak. Snik-a-snak. Snik-a-snak.
(Kusoyaroukaju)
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[01:33] That brief glimpse of the sun meant wonders to him. Andrew had not lost himself yet, and that was the first thing that he focused, that brief moment of respite taken before he accompanied the body falling down, the cracking neck causing him to jump away.

The sword's grip was tightened, another hand reaching around his waist to grab a spare hunting knife. Something he used to skin the dead animals he found occasionally, a grimace forming on his expression as reality dawns on the naïve knight.

The revealing of bones caused his muscles to clench, teeth gritting. Fingers readjusted themselves around the hunting knife, and Andrew's eyes remained attentive. The brief sunray he was able to see was enough to still keep him going, even now, a circular glow at his heart spreading through all of his body.

He was readying himself for whatever came, paranoia settling in. Hazel eyes jumped from one side to the other as he started to take some distance, the knife kept close to his chest while the sword was kept on the other hand.

"I'll say it again." His voice trembled, but he powered through nevertheless. "Show. Yourself."
(Andrew Lancaster)
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[01:39] That rattling laughter rolled through the fog-filled land one more, but this time it had a direction. A stretch of trees tight and clustered bore a flicker of movement that at first seemed a trick of the newly cast sunlight until it resolved itself into a loping being.

The beast walked upon all fours, but the gait was wrong. Staggering. Unnatural. The pelt about it fit too loosely like a hand-me-down coat two winters too big. Beneath at the head golde fae-lights dance shifting into thin crescent shapes to show his pleasure.

"In such a rush.. To die. How.. Courteous?" He asked and another bout of that laughter rang through unbearably loud.

Snik-a-snak. Snik-a-snak. Snik-a-snak. Snik-a-snak.

Then the beast began to rise, upward, upward, until it stood upon two legs. It twirled briefly in a faint pirouette forelegs coming together than outward in a performer's flourish.

"Wellll, heeere I am." It crooned in that rasping voice, a paw reaching upward to grab at its head. Then pelt was draw back further away revealing the rotting skull that hung beneath the loose garment.

A long row of jagged and cracked teeth, yellowed with age and decay, splayed out in dangerous fashion. Maggots wriggled within its snout from the partial organic matter that yet light within as a bloated tongue, discolored grey and green, flopped out of the side of its mouth like a playful dog's.

"My pelt feels looooose… Might I.. Borrow yours?"
(Kusoyaroukaju)
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[01:47] A demon. Or something of the like. Andrew was no expert in any subject regarding these, but he knew that this was not a good sign at all - Perhaps some undead force that came through the lands. The sight does little to put him at ease, even if it does give him a foe to blame for all that he had seen.

Attributing it to something could only make it so much worse, as well. It was no longer an overwhelming, omnipresent being that inhabited the swamp, but instead a demon. His mind raced to check for strategies, as he would always do, heart pumping with a surge of cosmic magic running through his body at each heartbeat.

The sword was risen up, and the dagger moved to hide his face. "I could humor you." Truthfully, he was indeed chosen as a diplomat for a reason. A penchant for talking with others, but there were certain boundaries that he would not go out of.

"What." His voice was still shaky, and his sentence came out word by word, perhaps hoping to avoid the nervousness from being noticed. "Are. You." Yet, the sword still pointed at Kusoyaroukaju, the very tip threatening to shoot yet another bolt of cosmic energy.

His eyes did settle on something else, though. Searching for whatever sunlight there was available, perhaps in a desperate move to see if he could 'charge up' enough to empower himself.

At any time, he expected the beast to attack. Whatever time he could gain was a profit.
(Andrew Lancaster)
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[01:54] Most had assumed the beast was a demon and all the better for it, but so far from the truth yet.. Poetically true in a sense. "Ohhhh, little creature. Yooou humor me so already. You humor me so." It returned in that same crooning voice that sounded almost fond were it not so unnatural.

Unconcerned, outwardly, for the cosmic blade which pointed at him Kusoyaroukaju settled back upon all fours tilting his head to and fro as though in consideration of the question. A rustling noise emanated from several locations around them.

Dead animals began to emerge from the fauna. Foxes, wolves, rabbits, squirrels, and more than the people of Esshar had forgotten after hunting them to the final death. Extinction. Erasure from the records of time save for those like him who yet remembered.

Like Kusoyaroukaju those beasts all bore pelts that fit poorly around their partially dead features. Where the skull peeked out faelights danced for eyes, where 'organic matter' rested the gaze that stared back was dull with the sheen of death.

"I am the mirror which shows humans their sins." He settled upon the answer finally hoping that that further illusions of the rotten beasts had distracted him. "You thought that this was your land. That it would not fight back.."

Slowly those beasts moved forward in their staggering injured gaits toward the young man, "I am their King and I uphold the will of the people." A single paw rose as though he was a glorious leader giving the command, "To war!"

Then the apparitions sprinted with a sudden burst of vigor that betrayed their mangled states as they closed in on the young man.
(Kusoyaroukaju)
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[02:01] He expected it. That was the worst part. After it all began, Andrew expected it to only get worse, to every terror possible prey on him due to the creature's efforts. Andrew wanted to be a hunter, a legend - And this was one he hoped to be his first prey.

It turned out to be not exactly so one-sided. He was Kusoyaroukaju's prey, and yet, he had the need to remain calm. Turning his back on any of these illusions could soon prove fatal, or close to it. "I purge myself of my sins." His voice echoed in response to the wolf as he kept relocating himself.

Off and away from the wolflike creature. A king from a land that the humans had taken from him - This was some sort of aspect of nature, a vindictive one that wanted to take back what thought was theirs. The man continued to thrum with cosmic energy, and...

Soon enough, the order to go to war echoed. Andrew made a run for it - He needed to fend off the illusions, and find a place where he could properly harvest the energy that the sun and the stars provided.
(Andrew Lancaster)
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[02:09] The wretched-man beast had disappeared as the army of undead animal illusions swarmed in around Andrew and his laughter rang out through the forest impossibly loud.

Beneath the young knight's feet the land began to shift and twist as a hateful aura seeped up from it. The creature's yellow fae-lights turned a brilliant crimson tinged with purple-orange flames.

The power of the Occult practically drenched the land in their anguish and hatred. Each ghostly tooth and nail brought with it wracking visions of their own fear, such an intense horror, they had felt as they had been the ones who were hunted.

Their homes toppled one by one, creatures died out without shelter nor food, and eventually a grand and magnificent woodland had dwindled to the sparse patches of trees that stood here now.

Snik-a-snak. Snik-a-snak. Snik-a-snak. Snik-a-snak.

The beast's echoing laughter rang as he occasionally darted in to get a sampling taste of the young man's flesh, jagged teeth snapping and snarling as he came in to test his meal.

Soon and it would be seasoned just right unlike the foul meat of the brave he had fought before.
(Kusoyaroukaju)
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[02:13] Andrew knew he had to get away now. He was at a disadvantage, even if not a gigantic one, it was still enough to demotivate him from fighting against a foe he could simply not defeat so brashly. Occultism and cosmic magic mixed in the ground, banished away by Andrew's efforts even if only enough for him to step on the ground.

He powered through the illusions, sword cutting through and the dagger used not for offensiveness, but for maneuver, occasionally pushed inside a tree or the ground so he could rotate faster, throwing himself around the woods and leaving small carvings on his trail.

Once again finding the sunlight, Andrew took respite. This is where he'd make his stand - If there was any chance to win this fight, this was the spot. This is where he could push it back to the woods, at the very least. "King of the woods." His voice echoed out, the sword still held pointed towards the surrounding trees.

Wherever an animal appeared. "A king who hides behind its people is no true king. Face me yourself. Show me your judgement." Cosmic magic brimmed from him, echoing around his body and spreading to secure the surrounding terrain, brief expulsions knocking down the nearby animals.

It was obvious he was exhausting himself, but it was a last effort - And one he hoped would be worth it.

(Andrew Lancaster)
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[02:15] {Lost Dangerous RPB against Kusoyaroukaju}
[02:15] ** Kusoyaroukaju has inflicted an injury upon Andrew Lancaster. ("Temporary Injury", "Temporary Injury", "Temporary", "Duration: Medium (4 days)") **
[02:25] That challenge was one that could not go unanswered for he was truly the king of these lands, or was once upon a time, and it rankled at the beast's pride and what remnants of the noble beast yet lie within.

Suddenly the animals halted as the Occult and Cosmic energies tinging the ground began to mingle in a battle of their own though Kuso's own hatred was a thing which had boiled within him for hundreds of years.

"Foolish boy.." He says as the illusions watch their lord stride forward, "You want my judgement then you shall have it as you rot in my belly." The strange gait to his walk was gone, but now it showed the true strength and might he had been hiding.

The beast was quick dancing around to elude blows though the young man was just as swift when imbued with that cosmic energy. In his hubris the stinging blade had come down upon him a few times smacking heavily against the bones the lie within the shifting pelt.

Yet thiscreature did not feel pain from such things, not like the sting of Holy Magic, though they did diminish his strength. The blade fell piercing a piece of his pelt, but an opening had been made from the motion.

Kusoyaroukaju clicked in pleasure before his snapping maw struck home tearing out a chunk of flesh from Andrew's right shoulder, the one which bore the blade, as the dagger plunged deep through his coat betwixt the bones below.

As the flesh entered his mouth the proud and noble demeanor shifted back to the aura of madness. He smacked loudly on the meat as the sanguine liquid brought color back to his pallid tongue..

Then he flopped over upon his back and began to chew noisily as his feet kicked in the air with delight, "THE FEAR, IT HAD THE FEAR. SUCH A DELECTIBLE TASTE. EXQUISITE. SUBLIME. SUCH A MEAL HE WILL MAKE, MY DEARS. SUCH A MEAL HE WILL MAKE."
(Kusoyaroukaju)
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[02:41] His taunt was successful. He had managed to get the creature to fight on his own, the explosive forces of Andrew's own energy fighting back as much as it could against Kuso's occult. The animalistic hatred of that beast pitted against the hope of a good outcome from Andrew himself.

Every time that the creature came closer, he danced around with help from the dagger at his left hand, carving wounds that might soon enough heal on the spirit's pelt, using his own body as a pendulum for the knight to jump around and strike against its skin, each time the cosmic wounds carving in closer and closer. The objective was clear, to defeat it here and now, to put an end to the creature, or...

To weaken it enough to escape. The bite came as a surprise amidst one of his lunges, and a loud scream came from the boy, echoing through the woods. One desperate act was to push the dagger into the beast's chest, but it seemed to yield no particularly handy result.

When the grappling bite was finally undone, Andrew's mind fought his body to move - He was hurt, and he needed to go back home fast, but his knees refused to cede and walk at all. And finally, with his own life on the line, a final effort came through.

The sunlit coat exploded around him, residual dust from his energy remaining around the place. It was a life-or-death situation, leaving the knight handicapped and quite debilitated, but the blast was powerful enough to keep Kusoyaroukaju at bay.

At least, until he was at a safe distance.
(Andrew Lancaster)
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[02:47] That momentum based fighting style had been difficult to read, but riled as he was the two had clashed in a mutual gambit and Kusoyaroukaju had ended up the victor earning a taste of delicious magi flesh seasoned to perfection with horror.

He was such a great chef, but unfortunately had lost himself momentarily to his gluttony. That hubris was the downfall of many a meal that would have sated him for months. When he stood back upon his legs to take another mouthful..

A blinding flash of light obliterated his vision for a moment provoking a forlorn howl from the creature for the delicacy it had lost. The fog lightened in his surprise, the illusions undone by the severed connection to his cognition.

"No, it cheats. We had won, you are ours!" His voice rang through his domain as he hunted following the young man with his maddened clicking which came as a curse rather than laughter now with the wound of his spoiled victory.

SNIK-A-SNAK! SNIK-A-SNAK! SNIK-A-SNAK! SNIK-A-SNAK!

Snik-a-snak! Snik-a-snak! Snik-a-snak! Snik-a-snak!

Snik-a-snak! Snik-a-snak! Snik-a-snak!>

It rang and clicked after him until the desolated woodlands broke to plains and eventually the cobbled stone pathways of man. He had wrenched victory from defeat this day, but just narrowly.

By skill or by pluck of the adventurer.. He lived to tell the tale, but surely it would be one he would never forget.
(Kusoyaroukaju)
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