<div class="floatright">(https://i.imgur.com/Pz0PdJb.png)</div><strong>Name:</strong>Alsiel Dalim (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=347305.msg16352863#msg16352863) | Frederick (NPC)<br/><strong>Location:</strong>Expedition Camp - Outskirts (Combat Phase)<br/><strong>Warnings:</strong><br/><br/><strong>Open/Closed:</strong>Open<br/><strong>Direct Interaction Tags:</strong>Nerissa, Mathis<br/><strong>Mentioned Tags:</strong>None<br/><strong>Actions Taken:</strong>Moving to Combat<br/><br/><hr/><br/>"If you think I'd have anything less than a real fight with someone, then you've got a special way of thinking, Nerissa." Alsiel certainly wasn't going to entertain her thoughts on what kind of trouble he probably got into before, but they most certainly did not feature a woman of any kind. Of course, what else could he expect from some happy-go-lucky sultry priestess from some order that practiced magic he wasn't familiar with? "Oh, but feel free to keep flirting with him, it looks fun." Fun in how awkward it probably made the other guy to be complimented so openly, anyway.<br/><br/>"So we're looking for some little egg thing. That doesn't sound difficult at all." He hoped the sarcasm was evident in his voice, and he was sure Mathis could sense it, but the Beastblooded girl... Well, the jury was out on that one. At the least she seemed to catch on he was not as nice as he looked. "Finally understand now, eh? Good for you, Nerissa." He grinned like it was a mark of pride for her to understand he was a problem. "Unfortunately for him<em>and</em>you, I'm not really looking for help in that field right now. I don't need to know how to woo girls to hunt down people and monsters." With a tone bordering on dismissive, he brushed aside her concern that he needed help in being charming. He could easily leave being charming to Mathis and he doubted anyone would care.<br/><br/>More than anything, Alsiel wished for anything that could have potentially taken him out of the duty of helping to look for such an insignificant trinket that she could have lost, because if it truly mattered to Nerissa, she would have kept it closer to her being. However... The sudden downpour of rain from the clouds that seemed to move entirely too fast for normal clouds wasn't quite what he wished for. If he thought those clouds seemed queer before, then the sudden crashing bolt in the middle of the camp that caused him to duck and reflexively draw his sidearm was downright unusual. Lightning never struck with the kind of precision that allowed it to fall relatively dead-center in a settlement like this unless there were means of drawing electricity.<br/><br/>No, something more was at work here. "Well, if someone did get hurt... Then business is about to start booming for me." the man remarked offhand to Mathis and Nerissa, as he heard the shouts from the camp. Well, the bolt was certainly enough to wake even the most drunk soul, but likely many were going to struggle to regain their faculties while they made sense of everything. The greater worry, however, was what was causing this storm... A worry that made itself apparent before long as Alsiel surveyed the area... A strange race, one he couldn't immediately identify, made themselves apparent, quite tall when standing at full height and multi-limbed... But their manner of speech sounded almost reptilian in nature, so potentially that would help narrow it down a bit once they got through this.<br/><br/>"Aaaand what fresh hell have we got here? ... Tch, Mathis! Keep Nerissa safe, I don't have time to babysit noncombatants!" the surly blue-haired man grunted as he raised his sidearm, Specter, and took aim at one of the rushing creatures. Time to test the waters...<br/><br/>"Awaken, Specter." He commanded, synchronizing his magical intent with the focus in his hand. "Standard Invocation, Soul Shot, set." And with that, his first squeeze of the trigger sent off a bolting purple blast of energy at the rushing beast, striking it's shoulder and delaying its advance momentarily. However, there was nothing else remarkable about what was essentially his most basic spell, save that he could shoot again and again to try and bring the monster down... Alas, it would not go down easily, closing the distance and taking a mighty swing at Alsiel with its barbed cudgel, forcing the man to roll to the side to evade and take aim its face with another Soul Shot.<br/><br/>"Not gonna make this easy, are you? Slow suffering it is, then..."<br/><br/><hr/><br/><div class="floatright">(https://i.imgur.com/yYJPakC.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong>Frederick (NPC)<br/><strong>Location:</strong>Expedition Camp - Inner Perimeter (Combat Phase)<br/><strong>Warnings:</strong><br/><br/><strong>Open/Closed:</strong>Open<br/><strong>Direct Interaction Tags:</strong>None<br/><strong>Mentioned Tags:</strong>None<br/><strong>Actions Taken:</strong>Moving to Combat, controlling NPC Frederick.<br/><br/><hr/><br/>The camp was in chaos following the thunderbolt, and the Bog-Hoggle that Frederick cradled in his arm was quite visibly frightened by it. ^"Hey, now, don't worry, Fred's got you! It's just a little lightning, alright? There there..."^ He pat the creature affectionately. So preoccupied he was caring for the monster, he didn't seem to realize the invading creatures with the falling rain making it somewhat hard to hear their advance. Only a warning squeal from the Bog-Hoggle alerted the Knight at the last second  before he hopped forward to avoid a gruesome end via a barbed blade of some sort.<br/><br/>^"... Ah, so Al's thoughts this storm seemed off were rather on-point... Sadly. Good thing I didn't bet gold on it. I'm sorry, little guy, but could you bear with me? This is going to be-"^ He started trying to soothe the creature, but the opposing foe raced in for a second attack... Only for Frederick to hold out his hand and manifest his weapon with a snap of his fingers, falling from the heavens through a gathering of mist and landing just in time to catch the swinging blade. ^"-Rather... Tricky."^<br/><br/>With one arm around the Bog-Hoggle, his other grasped the spear before he kicked its shaft forward, pushing the blade back and carving upward at the enemy's chest, forcing it back. Contrary to his usual friendly demeanor, Frederick narrowed his eyes and stamped the spear's bottom at his side. ^"Foul creature, you face a proud Knight of the House of the Cavalier! You may try to take my life as you please, but if you believe I will let this creature or these lives come to harm by your hands... You will not live long to ponder such thoughts."^ His tone was colder than the rain that fell around him, his eyes looking about to account for how many invaders there were. A second closed in on him, ready to turn a one-on-one into a two-on-one... Until Frederick hurled his spear at the onrushing beast, landing infront of it.<br/><br/>The action seemed like a mild deterrent at best, and so the monster prepared to rush past it and attack the unarmed male... Until he snapped his fingers. ^"Knight's Order: Chilling Detonation!"^ And with that call, once the creature was beside the weapon, the spear promptly exploded in what looked like a shower of mist and ice, casting the creature back painfully, while a new spear formed itself in his hand. Immediately, his eyes went back to the first invader.<br/><br/>^"Dare you try your luck as your ally did? Rest assured I come prepared for all occasions."^