A Hero's Resolve (Phoenix City Chronicles)

Meanwhile, the pub itself was fairly busy. It had been declared a holiday in light of the curse of Marrowbrook Castle being lifted - henceforth to be known as Sunrise Day - and all the workers were taking a well-deserved day off.

Sleeping in one corner of the room was a little white cat that nobody paid much attention to, and in another a big minotaur nobody would have dared wake up. Besides, they were heroes, and heroes tend to get special treatment once they're recognized.

Upstairs, another hero wasn't sleeping as soundly. She was fitfully fighting against waking from a time she wanted desperately to remember...

Kaylea sat bolt upright in her bed, curseing the sun for draging her away from her memorys. Then realizing the time of day, she streches and begins hastily dressing.

'More time, I need more time!' she thaught furiously straping on her boots and doning her swordbelt. "But I guess my past will have to wait."

Stiffening as she reaches for the door "Theres something foul in the air..." she mutters and slips out of her room.

About that time, Burk, Cellus, and Brother Light came back in.



"Cerys, Azan, Kaylea!," Brother Light called out, "There is an urgent matter that cannot wait."

'What now? I thaught today was suposed to a day to relax....' she thaught hearing the priests urgent call before decideing that it would be brudent to heed it.

Dashing into the common-room "What is it Light, where are the others?" she says glanceing around the room noting the sleeping cat in the corner.

"Cerys, on your feet man!," Burk bounced the sleeping cat off his foot to rouse him, "Your old friend Jacen just paid us a visit."



"Already gone into battle I'm afraid," Brother Light answered Kaylea with a grim stare, "Mr. Burk felt that Jacen may be the least of our problems, but I'm inclined to disagree that the threat he presents is negligible, having faced him before myself."

"Whoa, back up. Who's Jacen? What happened?" she fired off the rapid string of questions as she scooped up the feline and started for the door of the pub glaring at Burk.

"A horrible, horrible man," Cellus said softly, fear apparent in her voice, "Tal and Mason went after him..." she said, whimpering and clinging to Burk.

"I'm afraid it's much worse than that, Sister Cellus," Brother Light explained as they continued out the door toward the direction Tal and Knuckles had flown off in, "Jacen Koriander is a fiend in the truest sense of the word. An incubus spawned from the pits of hell, and it is his talent, if you can call such a horrible power a talent, to cloud the minds of those he meets. However, the Jacen that Cerys, Tal, Mason, and I engaged in Phoenix City was not... this resourceful."



"Resourceful...?," Burk inquired.

"He was able to control others, yes, but what he is doing now is very different," Brother Light turned the options over in his mind as he tried to solve this mystery, "What inhabited his victims this time around was not an enchantment in the truest sense of the word, but a seed of pure evil... a taint more comparable to the curse of the vampire. Somehow, Jacen has become even more horrible in death tha- That's it! He's become a wraith! The unholy bastard!"

"Great, just when I thught we were done with the undead!" she exclams as she heads out the door into the sunlight.

"Which way did the go?" she says scaning the skyline for their compatriots

"Took off like bats outta hell in that direction...," Burk said bluntly, pointing up and to the southeast of the town.



"Indeed," Brother Light sighed with a note of impatience, "It would have been handy if Miss Nevara was still about, but I suppose we'll just have follow their trail as best we can on our own, being non-fliers ourselves."

Cellus looked off in the direction Burk pointed, letting out a shuddery shigh and patting Burk on the arm, "You can put me down Burk, I think I can handle myself," she said quietly before turning to Brother Light. Pointing at his arm she asked, "You have on of those communicator bracelets, can you check up on Tal and Mason, see what's going on?"

"Ah, yes!," Brother Light exclaimed, "Why that didn't occur sooner is beyond me; it was how Tal was able to give me his location earlier..."

Closing his eyes, the cleric's expression became more serene as he focused his thoughts for a long moment.

Finally, his eyes snapped open, "Mason has convinced Tal to take him along, but our young friend is determined that this evil must be stopped, and immediately. His mind is clouded by thoughts of vengeance. As such, I was able to discern little else of any value."

"Flying will be faster." She mutters

"Cellus would you be willing come with me?" she says as she turns to the shaken young woman.

At Brother Light's words, Cellus thought back to the scene she had witnessed back in Phoenix City at Miss Caroline's house, 'I have to get there, before he does something thoughtless, something that gets him hurt or-' she silenced her thoughts quickly and spun to face Kaylea, nodding vehemently, "The sooner the better."

"Please take this with you," Brother Light threw Cellus the bracelet on his wrist, "So long as Cerys is with our group, we will be able to stay in touch with you, so I look forward to hearing a positive report."

"Very well then." she says and hands the their friend over to the priest again glareing at Burk

"Well then, shall we be off." with that she helps situate the young grasslander into a mutuially comfortable position as she lifts from the ground makeing great haste in the the direction indicated by that brute of a plainsman known as Burk.

With that, the girls were off on an uncertain chase after their boys...

~~~~~~~~

For their part, Knuckles and Tal had no idea what was in store for them; only that they were headed right for it.



"This is the place?!," Knuckles called from behind as Tal's momentum began to slow.



"Hai," Tal threw back curtly as they sailed over a mountaintop and down toward three figures waiting on the ground below.



"I didn't expect you to get here this fast," Jacen admitted with a nonchalant gesture as Tal's feet touched the ground.

Tal shot back an enraged glare, "Prepare yourself, if do such things a demon does before dying."

"Me die?," Jacen smirked, "That's a bit of a moot point, but I do like your attitude. Lord Feusang, by your leave, I would like to dispatch this one myself."



"Hn. I don't really care who does it," the armored man to Jacen's left, center of the trio, huffed with a cool indifference, "Just so long as they are dead before we leave this place. No loose ends."

"Don't count us out just yet!," Knuckles grinned with his signature cockiness and took a fighting stance, "This time, I'm on guard. You won't get the chance to pull your little trick again."

The woman to the other side of Feusang grinned a malicious smile at Knuckles, "Oh, but it was so easy last time, all that slut Cellus had to do was mention that pretty little red-head you've been eyeing..." with that her features seemed to morph until...

...Kaylea stood in her place! "And you were easy picking," she said with a sinister laugh.

"B-bastaaaaaard!," Knuckles growled, but stopped short as Tal placed a hand on his shoulder and moved past.



"If so confident in your strength you are," the grasslander glowered to Jacen, completely ignoring the witch in Kaylea's form, "Then your own hand, sufficient it should be, to destroy one such as I."



"This won't take long Cecielia," Jacen flashed a charmingly roguish grin to the woman whose heart he so dominated, "When I've finished breaking the monk, you can torment the other to your heart's content."

Their challenges made, the two warriors readied their weapons and moved into a fighting stance.

~~~~~~~
Jacen rolls Swiftness check; result = 4
~ 4 + Swiftness 12 + Speed Demon 4 = 20 total

Tal rolls Swiftness check; result = 16
~ 16 + Swiftness 2 = 18 total
~~~~~~~

The member 'Narrator' has done the following action : Roll Dice:

'd20' : 4, 16

Taking to the sky, Jacen smiled down at Tal like a vulture about to dive in for the kill, "Let us see which is stronger; your faith, or my will!"

With a wanton laugh, he swooped in to strike with his deadly blade.

~~~~~~~
Jacen Activates Flight! ( Turns Left: 28/28 )

Jacen attacks Tal with Rapier (Combines with Enhance Weapons and Dervish Dance)
~ Rolling Attack check; result = 11
~ ~ 11 + Attack 10 + Rapier 4 + Enhance Weapons 4 + Dervish Dance 4 + Fighter 4 = 37 total
~~~~~~~

The member 'Narrator' has done the following action : Roll Dice:

'd20' : 11

At the moment the blade pierced into his ribs, narrowly deflected from his heart, Tal grappled the demon with his bare hands and channeled his holy energy into him, going for the kill, "Die!"

~~~~~~~
Tal defends against Rapier
~ Rolling Defense check: result = 14
~ ~ 14 + Defense 4 + Sixth Sense 9 = 27 total (-10 hp)

Tal executes Light Attack against Jacen
~ Rolling Magic check; result = 9
~ ~ 9 + Magic 10 = 19 total (must match/beat or be slain instantly)
~~~~~~~

The member 'Narrator' has done the following action : Roll Dice:

'd20' : 14, 9

"You... insignificant pion!," Jacen laughed maniacally as the light consumed him, "When you see Lord Feusang's master plan, you will realize, to your horror, how invincible I really am! Ahahahaha!!!"



Charging his full energy into the blast with a mighty yell, Tal glowered coolly through the ensuing explosion of holy fire and demon blood.

As it subsided, he turned to face Feusang and Cecielia, Knuckles by his side.

~~~~~~~
Jacen resists Light Attack
~ Rolling Resistance check; result = 5
~ ~ 5 + Resistance 5 = 10 total (Dead)
~~~~~~~