Brom 2011/07/28(Thu)22:27 No. 333400 ID: 523c4c
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"Right," Wendat shoves his crossbow into the face of the closest chaos demon. "Next bloke who moves, won't be enough left of you to sweep up after. What's going on here?"

Brom 2011/07/28(Thu)22:27 No. 333401 ID: 523c4c
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"The gate to the next layer is off limits." The chaos demon stares unflinchingly down the crossbow. "There will be no traffic through it until further notice, by order of Adversarial Duke Getlx of the Irminsul. Especially not of mages, and especially not of Random Sterro."

>>333401
That seems like something of a suicidal mission.

Sounds like these guys are goners. I think you're in the clear, morally, to wipe them out.

I assume you're displaced, so make with the surprise attacking.

they can't stop you, there lives are being thrown away to act as either a diversion or warning. they have to know this. explain to them they don't have any chance of stoping you, or really of even slowing you down. but if the stand aside you won't kill them. though be aware they might have more forces on the other side of the gate. maybe dio could do some scouting? him and orpheo working together could probably keep the illusionare daemon there while dio slips though the portal.

"oh so you got the suicide mission? sucks to be you" and murder his face.

>>333401
"Fascinating. By order of the Arcanopolis, we will be proceeding through that gate and teaching Duke Getlx a lesson about where the limits of his authority lie. Immediately. Get out of the way, or we will see whose authority is truly greater here."

tell them you're here to off Getlx and give them a chance to pull back. demon or not, a refreshing lack of stupidity should be awarded. not that I'm not hoping they'll resist.

Brom 2011/08/09(Tue)17:49 No. 338386 ID: 523c4c
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"Fascinating stuff," Wendat says across the span of his crossbow. "But by order of the arcanopolis, we will be proceeding through that gate and demonstrating to Adversarial Duke Getlx of the Irminsul that he is not as powerful or scary as he seems to think he is. And by order of the 320 ft/lb torsion engine pointed at your face, the next words out of your mouth will be 'yes, sir', or I will vaporize your head. Think careful now, mate."

The demon stares down the bolt pointed between his eyes. Five seconds pass in silence. The demon says, "You

Brom 2011/08/09(Tue)17:49 No. 338387 ID: 523c4c
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"Wrong answer, mate," says Wendat, as he annihilates the demon from the neck up.

Several demons quickly return fire, but thanks to Diometricus, Wendat and his comrades are a good ten feet further away than they think.

Brom 2011/08/09(Tue)17:49 No. 338388 ID: 523c4c
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With a flick of his fingers he has practiced thousands of times, Wendat pulls the next bolt out of his holster with Mage Hand. Reload time decreased by .5 seconds. He snaps back the wire of the crossbow with a steady, automatic flourish. He used to have to use a crank, but he focused on upper body power training for two years until it was no longer necessary. Reload time decreased by .7 seconds. Total time taken: .56 seconds. Respectable for the start of the battle.
His friends spring into combat all around him, automatically fanning out to deal with the suddenly very angry demons. Diometriucs is nowhere to be seen. Wendat turns to see a howling demon with a broadsword charging toward him.

Nail him with a Power Bolt, 2 points to knock him on his ass. Redirect to the archer with a Power Bolt again, 1 point to delay him shooting you. Then the other guy standing over there with an Incendiary Bolt, 2 points. Also move left a bit, since that other guy will try to get closer to you.

>>338388
2 point Power Bolt to the charging guy
-> 2 point Power Bolt to the archer
-> 1 point Standard Bolt to the third guy

Brom 2011/08/09(Tue)19:27 No. 338442 ID: 523c4c
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Wendat allows himself .2 seconds to aim. 2-point powerburst, right upper torso on the big guy (Must be as big as Epraim). First rebound. 1-point powerburst to center mass on archer (He drops his arrow. Sloppy). Second rebound and 2-point pulse to incendiary, cloth tunic center mass on spearman.
Reload (holster. Bolt. Snap back wire. Position, hear the click. Primed). Relocate.

Brom 2011/08/09(Tue)19:27 No. 338443 ID: 523c4c
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Wendat relishes the metallic click of the bolt slatting into place, the hefty kick and twang of the release. He lives for this. They all do.

The archer: he is staggering, reaching for the arrow on the ground. The swordsman is nauseous. The spearman runs at Wendat, the fire crackling at his back.

>>338443
Power bolt 2 on the spearman
->Standard 3 on the archer
->Power 1 on the swordsman

>>338443
Fragment Bolt, 3 points against the spearman. Power Bolt 2 points against the swordsman, then back to the spearman with a Standard Bolt 1 point.

Brom 2011/08/09(Tue)20:34 No. 338469 ID: 523c4c
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For a while, Wendat doubted himself. Was he a killer? What separated him from, say, Random and his severe bloodlust? He knows the difference between them now, as he grinds a heel into the dirt and drops into a crouch, lining up his next shot. Random fights because he loves the feeling of killing. Wendat fights because he loves the feeling of proficiency. Of constantly rehearsed skill, perfectly executed.

Regain footing. Drop to one knee. Aim .15 seconds. 2-point power bolt on spearman. He loses control of his feet and his charge becomes a stumble. 3-point standard bolt on the archer. Tears hole in stomach. Highly effective. 1-point power bolt on swordsman, who stumbles to his knees and gives up the contents of his stomach. Wendat's bloody well glad he moved away from that.

>>338469
4 point incendiary on the swordsman
->2 point standard on the spearman
->1 point standard on the archer

Hopefully that will leave them all disabled or dead and enable us to continue. We don't need to kill them, after all- in fact, it benefits our purpose if there are a few demons left after we're done, to tell others of how badly the mages of the Arcanopolis kicked their shit in.

-1 point standard on the swordsman
-2 point incendiary on the archer
-4 point fragment on the spearmen.

the archer's weapon is flammable and the fragment should catch both the spear-men and the swordsmen. and at 4 pts it should be fatal.

Oh derp, fragment bolt can only be used at the end of a combo...

4 point incendiary at the swordsman, 1 point Power on the archer, 2 point Fragment on the spearman.

Also move up towards the archer. We'll hit him with a Power bolt next round to knock him over so we can get past and make some distance.

Brom 2011/08/11(Thu)22:40 No. 339202 ID: 523c4c
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Wendat learned this particular style from a man named Kelso Belt, third-in-command of the Ark Fraternity. He remembers the day he met Kelso. It was his second day in the Arcanopolis. Still lost and confused. Three great, lean, shadowy men with red eyes and crossbows and chins held high strode past him and against his better judgement, he followed.
He still remembers what Kelso told him when he gave the lost boy his own crossbow, the same one that kicks in his arms now as it fires again: "You need a mission, boy. Otherwise, you ain't doing nothing but watching the world turn." It was at that moment he knew his course. His mother had always been fond of his ears, but she was dead, after all.

Relocate, fire 1-point standard into spearman. Deflect to 2-point incendiary onto bowman: bow combusts. Deflect to 4-point fragmentation. Two confirmed kills. Bloody excellent.
Wendat trots toward the bowman, who folds over suddenly with a thin, cruel dagger sticking out of its back. Wendat has found Diometricus.
"The portal," he calls. "We gotta hit the portal."
"What's through the portal?" Wendat calls, reloading. Twing. Click. Slide. Click.
"It's a," says Dio, clearly out of breath and summoning more daggers. "There's a," he gesticulates. "Shit's fucked. Epraim and me can handle out here. Someone's gotta hit the portal."

>>339202
Well, Dio has been reliable thus far, so while that was disappointingly incoherent let's take him at his word. The portal it is.

Don't go through alone if possible, though. Get at least one other person with you- not Dio or Epraim since apparently Dio wants them on defense, but anyone else will do. Walking blind into hostile territory with no one watching your back is foolish arrogance.

Random would be a good choice to take with us. between him raising hell and you sniping strong points we could probably keep them scatted.

Bring Eulinda, too. She'll be useful if anyone bum-rushes you once you get to the other side.

Brom 2011/08/12(Fri)00:56 No. 339228 ID: 523c4c
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Wendat pulls Random and Eulinda from the rest of the demons and rushes the portal with them. Random loudly complains he doesn't remember anyone electing WENDAT as leader.

Wendat dislikes Dio, and he doesn't know exactly why. His mind is an ordered place, which means his irrational distaste angers him, and that just makes him dislike Dio more. He should have been glad to see the illusionist helping him. Instead he thought, that was my kill.

Brom 2011/08/12(Fri)00:56 No. 339229 ID: 523c4c
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Wendat's got a headache now, thinking about the archer he could have killed. Ignore it. It's nothing. He pushes through to the other side first, and comes face to face, face, and several more faces with an entire host of demons on the opposite end.
They stand upon a high spit of rock, with a heavy iron gate at the end. Similar gates stand upon the other rocks, and far off looms Getlx's keep.
"Somebody's gonna have to distract those demons while somebody starts portalhopping," says Random. "Your call, Boss Man, but I work best alone, capiche?"

I bet he'd love to do nothing but kill demons again and again mindlessly. sure, let him at 'em, it's the Random kind of job.

a good stratagy would be to let random rampage while you go portal hoping, but keep an eye on him and provide fire support if it looks like he needs it. bring Eulinda along with you and make sure she goes though the portals first, she's more durable than you, and if they are crowding a portal she can give you room to work.

also I think the reason you dislike dio might have to do with him having a few nasty run ins with the fringe elements of the ark. could be some subconscious thing your picking up on.

Yes, it's probably because Dio has the most reason to be suspicious of you.

Random would be the best at attracting attention, I think. Plus, he can fly.

Perhaps you're finding yourself disliking Dio because some demonic force is trying to turn you against each other. Do you remember feeling that way towards him when you first met him?

It could also be something deeply rooted and psychological that we won't be able to figure out any time soon.

>>339229
Random can fight the army. Wendat and Eulinda go for the keep.

I have to wonder, what is over here that made Dio think that we had to send people through immediately? There were only a double handful of demons on the near side of the first portal; cleaning them up would have been a matter of what, fifteen seconds more at most? I don't see any pressing and immediate threats here that couldn't wait fifteen seconds for the whole group to move together.

And now we're separating, like careless fools. Five mages together are practically unstoppable; one mage alone is merely very formidable. Argh.

Brom 2011/08/12(Fri)21:28 No. 339474 ID: 523c4c
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"Eulinda, with me," says Wendat. "Random, do what you do."
"With excessive pleasure," hisses Random, as the flames start to flicker up from the ground.

Eulinda shoulderchecks a demon out of the way and the two enchanters burst through the portal on the other side

into a kitchen, with one considerably large large demon in residence. "I-" he looks up. "DEAR sweet merciful fuck. You it the I I I'm just the cook."

>>339474
"Point us to Getlx. Now."

We can probably leave 'or you die' unspoken. It'll get across. We've got places to be; presumably Getlx will be trying something or other now that he knows he's under attack, so we likely don't have a ton of time.

>>339474
Move out of the way so he can get to the door
"Then leave the area in a calm and orderly way."

>>339484
Why the fuck would a cook know?

Tell him to get on the floor. ...why's that other portal so small? Ask him where it goes.

>>339474
Tell him to get on the ground and tell us if he knows which way Getlx is. He probably won't know, but it's worth a try.

Isn't Getlx some kind of chaos demon? I wouldn't trust appearances here. Stay on your guard.

Brom 2011/08/12(Fri)22:32 No. 339519 ID: 523c4c
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"On the floor," barks Wendat, vaulting on top of the counter and shoving his crossbow in the chef's face.
"Flooring," says the chef, curling up on the tile floor. "O, but I hate my job."
"Where is Getlx?" asks Wendat. He keeps his voice as level as he can, considering the adrenaline still coursing through his veins.
"Brother, with the way the portals are set up I'm lucky if I know where the bathrooms are," says the chef. "tho that's less of a problem now that I believe I may have soiled myself."
"Why is the portal so small?" demands Wendat, as Eulinda sticks an experimental hand through.
"Because it's in the fireplace," moans the chef. "Don't ask why Getlx put it there. I did, and he said he'd rape me to death. The portals are all over, and Getlx randomizes where they go every random number of minutes and my legs are cramping, sir."

>>339519
Oh great, so we have no telling where we'll go and no telling when the destinations will change again. Also if the others don't hurry the fuck up they may not be able to follow us, exactly. Nothing to be done about it, aside from make sure everyone sticks together and decide right now if you two are enough to kill the guy or if you need a third for the inside job... Decide now, before the portal randomizes and you can't go out to call someone else in.

This is a pretty clever form of defense. Though I wonder if that's on purpose.

That... Could be very problematic. Time for trial and error, I guess. Is there any way to know where a portal might go?

wow, Talk about bad working conditions, I feel sorry for that guy. welp lets get moving.

my two cents: don't split up.

>>339519
Ask him if his job payed well enough or if it had decent benefits to justify all this shit. If not, call him out on his poor judgement of career choices because I dunno let's all have a laugh at his expense

Brom 2011/08/15(Mon)16:04 No. 340401 ID: 523c4c
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"What's Getlx paying you?" asks Wendat.
"Plenty," says the chef.
"Try for more next time," says Wendat, hopping off the counter and gesturing to the portal. Eulinda goes through first and Wendat follows

and walks onto one of the floating spits of earth surrounding Getlx's fortress. Four demons are here waiting for him, including a colossal one guarding the portal entrance, but no Eulinda. Wendat feels his throat squeeze up and his skin prickling in frustration. This isn't right at all. This is sloppy, and Wendat hates sloppy.

"The Magi are here, if you were not previously aware, O my children," Getlx's fortress vibrates as his amplified voice echoes out around his blasted lands. "You will hunt them down, brutalize them, and rip out their innards, so they dangle wormingly. The one in the red suit you will leave on the edge of life, and bring to me. Do this for me, and I will reward you with the moon! It will happen!"

>>340401
4 point standard bolt through the guy to the south and into the guy behind him
->1 point incendiary bolt into the guy immediately to the east
->3 point power bolt knocking the final guy back into the portal

>>340410
This is fantastic. Also, move left a bit.

Brom 2011/08/15(Mon)17:26 No. 340445 ID: 523c4c
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"I see you, red suit man. I am going to snap your spine and drink the marrow from your broken body, and I shall use your fancy hat as a goldfish bowl, and furthermore I will not take proper care of the fish that I place inside it! This is a doubly wicked act to prove I am most wicked! Also I think I will kill all of your friends and make you watch."
Wendat doesn't know why Dio had them all truck into the portal early and get themselves separated, and this combined with the thick taunting of Getlx has him understandably cheesed off. Wendat Huron is the kind of man who values control. Speaking of: Reload, aim .26 seconds, release.
The first arrow flies straight and cruelly true. Two confirmed hits. The incendiary does moderate damage to the spearman, hitting him on the torso and superheating his chestpiece and spear. The power bolt hits the big one, knocking a heavy dent in its armor and knocking the air out of its lungs, but it is too large to fit through the portal behind it and manages to steel itself before it goes through. The swordsman and crossbowman are bleeding, but the crossbowman is still aiming. The spearman is charging.

>>340445
4 point standard bolt through the charging spearman and into the big one
->3 point power bolt into the crossbowman, hopefully both screwing up his shot and knocking him off the edge
->2 point standard bolt into the last guy's back

Regular bolt through the first two again, but hit the charging spearman with a power bolt and the collosal guy with an incendiary bolt. We want to break the guy's charge.

>>340410
if you can't use the shoot thought the demon trick to add an extra target try this

2pt normal into the north most target
3pt power into the south most target (the guy by the edge)
3pt incendiary on the demon closest to you.

>>340449
Four points for the regular, three for the power and two for the incendiary.

Hmm. 2 point Power on the spear guy, 3 point Power on the crossbow guy, and 4 point Fragment on the sword guy. Also move left a bit more.

Brom 2011/08/15(Mon)18:42 No. 340482 ID: 523c4c
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>>340465
Reload. Aim. Fire. Total time .66 seconds. Not good. Wendat reevaluates. He's stressful. Regulate. Breathe deeply: release.
The first power shot sweeps the spearman's legs out from beneath him. Before he falls, however, he flings his spear like a javelin, and it speeds directly toward Wendat's face. The second power shot knocks the crossbowman off the side as easily as a breeze moves a leaf. It falls screaming to its death. The fragmentation bolt annihilates the swordsman. The big one coughs dark ichor onto the ground, but moves with surprising speed toward Wendat, taking long, crushing strides.

>>340482
Drop to a knee while reloading so that the spear misses.

Incendiary 4 on the big one
->Incendiary 2 on the now-disarmed spearman
->Power 4 on the big one.

Hopefully this will leave both of them on the ground and burnt, possibly to death.

>>340482
Update your kills tally.
Incendiary 4 on the spearman, Power 4 on the big guy, and Standard 2 on the spearman.

normal 2 to the in flight spear.
power 4 to the big guy
incendiary 4 to downed spear man.

Brom 2011/08/16(Tue)19:21 No. 340774 ID: 523c4c
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Wendat knocks the spear off course with a standard bolt that sends it clattering to the ground next to him. The bolt ricochets off the spear in midair and plows into the heavy demon as a 4 point power bolt. It raises its shield to deflect and loses the shield as a result. It also loses the hand that was holding it. The bolt deflects one more time into the prone spearman, who bursts into flame as he desperately drags himself toward Wendat and his spear. Wendat ignores his pitiful screaming and the popping of his flesh in the fire. He's heard it before.

>>340774
4 point Power Bolt into the big one
->3 point Incendiary Bolt into the burning one to finish him off
->4 point Fragment Bolt into the big one

Hopefully that will finish them and allow us to proceed onward past this annoyance.

I would want to try to contact the others after finishing off these demons, but I guess we can't do that with the spells we have.

>>340776
Might be too close to him to use Fragment.

I say just go with Incendiary on the first one, and Power on the other two. Same numbers.

Brom 2011/08/17(Wed)00:21 No. 340833 ID: 523c4c
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"How goes the battle, General Red? Is it the flawless tactical insertion you pictured? Is it all you wanted? I hope I am a good host to you. I have sugar cookies for you in the kitchen. Did you leave already? Then I will have to eat them all myself! They taste of dreams fallen short, and cinnamon!"

Reload. Re-aim. That spearman's screaming is growing annoying. Yet another headache for Wendat Huron.
>>340782
Wendat fires a 4-point incendiary bolt into the big one, causing him to burst screaming into flames. He keeps coming.
He hits the spearman with a 3-point power bolt to the head, snapping his neck and killing him instantly. Probably for the best.
He bounces the power bolt into a 4-pointer on the swordsman, who is bowled over sideways with a shoulderpad smashed in. But he recovers, and keeps coming. He winds up for a swing, holding his huge blade in both hands.

Hit him with another 4-point Power Bolt. Aim for the shoulder, to completely fuck up his swing. Goddamn, what a tough fucker.

Also, dodge.

Shoot one of the big guy's leg off with a power bolt, bounce off into the flaming corpse with whatever, then smash his face with a regular shot.

>>340833
Take a couple steps back (but not all the way to the edge!) to buy a bit of additional time to reload. Try to take out at least one of his legs so that charging will cease to be a problem. Hell, I'd go so far as to advise Power Shot against one leg->power shot into the other leg->standard shot through the rest of the body, if you can be that precise.

I am tempted to use a finisher, but that seems such a waste against an opponent we've already done so much damage to.

No this is what it's for. Use a finisher to blow that guy out of the water. No need to take risks.

Finishers aren't as good as spewing 12 point combos IMO. (Also we probably don't want to explode him right next to us.)

If you can do precise enough maneuvering, I say you
hit him in the upper leg with a power(4)
bounce it into a normal(4) through the lower part of his other leg
then bounce it off the ground into another normal(4) through his head.

>>340833
Straight up take his head off.

Brom 2011/08/21(Sun)16:52 No. 342154 ID: 523c4c
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Wendat pulls back and pumps a powershot directly into the demon's leg, starting a combo. He broke it at the knee, he hears it snap, and the demon staggers backward, teeters, but now it [i]keeps moving[i], a combination of lurching, charging, and falling, the last few steps up to the mage, and shoulder-checks him hard enough to knock all the air out of his lungs. The bolt flies wide and the combo is lost.

Wendat lands at the edge of the cliff, all momentum lost and vision swimming. The demon is falling toward him, sword out and ready to bisect him even as it bites the dirt.

>>342154
Well, we're not going to be reloading our crossbow from this position. Move fast instead. Roll right a few feet so that it misses us, then scramble to get some distance. There's no way in hell that it can pursue in that condition... I hope.

Displace.

Brom 2011/08/21(Sun)18:05 No. 342164 ID: 523c4c
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Wendat rolls to his left and feels the wind of the greatsword and its impact shake the ground. He scrambles to his feet and hustles away from the prone giant. He is not having a good time, anymore. His head is buzzing with frustration. The demon is crawling now on its broken leg, desperately attempting to reach him, howling as the fire starts to engulf it and its skin bubbles. At the moment Wendat feels nothing but contempt. How dare any of these scrap-metal mongers dare to lay a finger on a cyclopean mage?

>>342164
Tch. It's not moving at anything resembling a threatening speed. Take a moment to reload, breathe, and recover focus.

Then shoot it in the head.

Get some distance, then nail him with a standard bolt.

Put that slug out of its misery.

Brom 2011/08/22(Mon)18:22 No. 342352 ID: 523c4c
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Wendat slaps a bolt into his crossbow and shoots the thing in the head. He doesn't even bother using any magic.

He is alone now, and it's quiet save for the crackle and pop of the dead demons. It smells like overdone beef.

Wendat doesn't know anymore. Does he go for one of the portals, and risk getting even more lost? Should he stay here and wait for someone, and take himself out of the action?

>>342352
Go through the nearest portal. Keep moving and you'll have a better chance of running into a friendly.

>>342352
This platform is floating somewhere with a view, right, not just in infinite empty space? Take a moment to look around. When uncertain, gather intel.

Also, does Wendat have any magical skills aside from his crossbow tricks which might be immediately usable?

Recenter yourself, take in your surroundings, and go through either of the portals. Keep fighting. Even if we have to kill every enemy in this stronghold, we'll get them all eventually.

Shouldn't you be able to see Random's battle from here?

Brom 2011/08/22(Mon)19:35 No. 342383 ID: 523c4c
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Wendat looks around. He can see some other floating islands, and a thick cloud of black smoke rising from one of them confirms Random's prescence. He steels himself, and rushes through another portal

where an oversized dead demon slams into the wall directly to his left and slides down it in a crumpled heap. Its blood has been frozen into icicles and punches through its skin, and half its body appears to have been set on fire. Another lies under a heavy pillar of stone, crushed into a red paste on the floor. Two more are pinned behind a wall, their limbs still twitching. Everywhere the stone is slick with gore.
Wendat has walked into a killing field. He gapes. Around a dozen demons, four or five of them the big bruisers, lie in the blood-saturated corridor. In the middle stands Epraim, having just killed the last one.


"Howdy," says Epraim.

Note to self. NEVER PISS HIM OFF.

>>342383
"It appears I missed the party."

>>342383
...God damn.

>>342383
Teamwork time!

First of all, do you have a quick way to confirm that he isn't a disguise/illusion?

The next time you enter a portal, try physically holding onto each other in order to avoid being split up.

>>342393
i doubt the demons have access to illusions, though if you have a fast and safe way to check using it is a good habit to get into. holding onto each other is a good idea, your fighting style works best when you have someone else fighting at your side.

>>342383
"You sure know how to make a guy feel humbled."

Brom 2011/08/22(Mon)22:42 No. 342427 ID: 523c4c
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"Am I... late to the party, then?" asks Wendat, when he is sure his voice won't quiver.
"Reckon," says Epraim. "Ambush hallway. Must be a few of them circling round the portals somewhere."
"You, ah, certainly know how to make a man feel humbled, mate."
Suddenly Epraim is directly in front of him. He tries not to jump. "Huron." His voice is infected with an urgency Wendat has never heard before. "Don't tell nobody you saw this mess. Please?"
"Ooookay," says Wendat. "Okay. Shall we, uh," he gestures to the portal. "sally forth? Keeping physical contact to stay together?"

Epraim has re-joined the party. Choose your point-of-view character.

>>342427
Epraim because we are not really that good at being Wendat apparently.

Epraim. I still don't like Wendat after being in his head.

Brom 2011/08/22(Mon)23:57 No. 342431 ID: 523c4c
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"You coming, mate?" asks Wendat. "Thank the spirits you showed up, by the by, because everything's been going a bit pear-shaped and it's good to see a friendly face around here for a change."

Epraim ain't been truthful to you, or his friends, and he is regretful about it, but he don't want to spread the truth around at all.

The truth is twofold:

One: Getlx is a much, much larger fish to fry than any of the other mages, bar Orpheo, thinks, and the small scale of this outing is just a smokescreen intended to keep the abyss from declaring out-and-out war on the Arcanopolis. Embedded in this group of low-level combat magi is a lethal vector and one of the only mages who can safely tackle Getlx on his own.

Two: Epraim is that mage, and he is, by varying estimations, the sixth most powerful mortal being who has ever walked on Eivr. He plain hates to admit it, and he plain don't like killing, but he is currently reckoned to be the single deadliest living evoker, one-on-one, in the Arcanopolis, and the third deadliest mage overall against groups. He no longer arena battles due to the attention it gives him, but when he did his record was a flawless 34-0. He is a walking personification of the fury of nature. He is the Archmagi's secret weapon, ace, trump card, straight flush, disguised as a student attending the battlemage's college. The other magi may fear they are weapons of mass destruction. Epraim knows it with a certainty that would make some other fellas out there slit their wrists. He knows it, Orpheo knows it, and the Council of Archmagi know it, but no one else knows it, and he'd prefer to keep it that way.

Which is why he needs to find a way to lose Wendat before he finds and personally kills Getlx, and he don't got much time. If any of the other mages find their way to the big fella, they could be in serious danger.

>>342431
Well. Sounds like the best choice is simply being direct here. Pin Wendat to the wall with something that he'll be able to break free of within in a minute or two and leaves his hands free. Man just a stone coffin for the feet or something. Then give Wendat an array of defenses that both trap him in this room, make him almost unassailable, and a free range of fire. Maybe a series of shells with murder holes? Give him a few hours to break out of that. Then go on alone and finish the mission.

>>342431
Whoa. Who are the two above you against groups?

Erm. I'm thinking you could get rid of him by making him stumble right before he goes into the portal. But... thinking about it... you have absolutely no guarantee that he'll go somewhere that doesn't involve Getlx. You and him have the same chance of getting to him by stepping through a portal. Your best bet is to go with him and then make him leave somehow if the portal sends you to Getlx.

Or peek through each one first. If it's Getlx then just shove him away or make him trip via earth manipulation so that you go in without him.

you could suggest that wendat stay on one of the floating islands and support random. tell Wendat his style isn't so good in closed quarters like this, and last you saw random needed someone to watch his back. if he says you need help just point out that an earth speclized elementalist in a stone room does not need much help.

>>342431
Ditching Wendat is pointless unless you somehow prevent him from moving forward and perhaps into Getlx on his own, and I don't see that happening without somehow tipping your hand- it'll be obvious if at some point you prevent him from moving forward towards the stated objective of this mission.

Better to move forward together with him and worry about keeping secrets later. I mean, listen to what he's already said- everything was going pear-shaped for him already. On his own, Wendat is going to be in a lot of trouble regardless.

Keep him with you, go through portals first, and if you run into Getlx shove Wendat back through the portal. The random portals should keep Wendat out of the way long enough for you to take Getlx out. You might be able to figure out a way to make the shove look accidental, too.

Also, can you sense any other passages or guards nearby through the earth? I don't see any reason to play Getlx's game with the portals if you can just walk through the walls to get him.

>safely tackle Getlx on his own
Does that mean that Getlx has powers that makes him more dangerous against groups than against individuals? Is he an illusionist or something? If not, I think you guys would generally be safer as a group than not.

>>342439
This. Forget all the oh-so-subtle random shove through a portal business, Wendat likes to have a mission, so give him one. Tell him one of the other students needs help, or that you saw something important that Orpheo needs to know about right away. Wendat's not likely to insist that you need help though, the evidence against that is splattered all over the walls.

So you're really going to tackle Getlx all on your own? That seems a bit risky... if that's the case, though, why not go on the assassination alone, rather than bringing all these students that can get in the way?