After some hustle and bustle from gathering equipment and components for the supposed snare, the knights swiftly fell in line in two columns and began briskly moving towards the open fields of snow in a half march, half run. Kasrjin bounded to the front of the columns in several long strides--though the Elezen were of similar height and musculature, the knights were also carrying the components of the supposed snare, and the Xaela, as was his role, felt compelled to take the front of the line to clear the snowfall ahead. No words of gratitude were spoken for his gesture, but a few grunts and glances were passed his way. Their pace was fraught with anxiety and anticipation both, each breath committed to covering as much ground as they could. Kasrjin himself stepped in long, confident strides to clear the powder snow from the knights’ path.
The party’s gaze would occasionally glance heavensward as a roar split the sky above, causing the party to wince practically in unison. “Keep moving!†Tabourot would shout, and they would grimly face forward once again. Another furious bellow echoed from above, and a billowing of clouds fumed from the gray canopy as a massive frame came barrelling out towards them. The sleek form of the dragon emerged from the clouds, its body nearly completely perpendicular with the ground in a dive. It was close, far too close for comfort, close enough that Kasrjin could nearly see the flames broiling within the monster’s gullet. “Move!†Tabourot shouted as it dove towards them in a divebomb.
A black missile streaked from the sky with incredible speed such that he wouldn’t have seen it had he blinked, smashing into the dragon’s underside with incredible force, causing it to roar again and nearly rotate completely from the surprise impact. The man’s silhouette was incredibly small in comparison to the considerable bulk of the Dravanian, but Kasrjin could see the telltale outline of the winged lance. He paused in his movement, emerald eyes affixed to the conflict raging above them. The dragon began to fly away with furious beats of its wings, its errant passenger still piercing its flank. The beast swooped low, and the silhouette dropped from its perch before segueing another mighty leap that propelled Vaillancourt like an arrow before the dragon could increase its altitude.
The beast vanished into the canopy of clouds again.
Their combat was impressive indeed. Kasrjin found himself nodding his approval. Whether or not it was practical or efficient was another question, but there was no doubt that he found their clash captivating.
After many more minutes of forced marching, there was a shout. “Here. Here! Set it here!†Tabourot gestured at a wide oval-shaped clearing surrounded by rocky outcroppings. It was an ideal location; the rocks were large enough to provide cover from the flames of the dragon, and if the snare worked as described, its mobility would be greatly limited.
Kasrjin glanced at Roen. Now it was only a matter of luring the beast into it.
The knights began hastily assembling the various pieces into an intricate rhombus shape, affixing another hitherto unnoticed component into the design; heavy steel cables, twined together of multiple strands of metal. They were crisscrossed throughout the beams of lumber and pulled taut. The Xaela could only guess at the mechanism: all of the components of the snare weren’t made to be rigid, but flexible. The weight of something as large as the dragon would be needed to trigger the trap, wherein presumably the combination of wires and flexible lumber would snap together to ensnare the beast and limit its mobility further.
A scream caused Kasrjin’s gaze to snap in its direction. An aevis had leapt from above one of the outcroppings and ravaged the knight’s arm. It was quickly brought down with a combination of swords and arrows, but Tabourot’s expression became more grim. “Couillard! Marshall! Take three men each and secure our perimeter! The dragon may have more minions nearby! Buy us time, if you can.†He snapped a hand at Roen and Kasrjin both. “You sellswords, do the same, but be ready to return when Vaillancourt pulls the beast in!â€
A reptilian growl caused Kasrjin to whip around, sword in hand, handily sinking the tip of the greatsword into the throat of another aevis. His surprised expression belied his thoughts: was it merely the adrenaline and tension of their hunt? Somehow, he had not sensed something as large as a Dravanian stalking the outcroppings.
He glanced at Roen and merely made a gesture, as a group of six or seven knights rushed out of the clearing, weapons in hand.
Kasrjin, however, slipped the sword into his harness and knelt down. He gripped the dead aevis first by its wings, and then beneath the scales of its neck, attempting to pull the bulky cadaver out into the open. Before she could ask, his emerald eyes flashed at Roen. “The dragons’ minions could only have arrived here by watching this location. Therefore they are aware of areas that could be used to lay a dragon trap.†His chin tilted towards the corpse he was pulling. “If there are others watching, we will move the corpse and attempt to appear as a patrol. We may distract them from this location that way.â€
It was some effort to pull the aevis’ body from the outcropping, but by the time Kasrjin had managed to clear the rocks and emerge back into the open field, the knights were already engaged in combat with other Dravanians. Not just aevis, but wingless ones as well, and one particularly imposing monster that walked on two feet. It was hunched, but it fought by swiping its claws in an almost humanoid fashion.
The Xaela could not decide if he should grin or frown.
He finally had a role to play.
One who was called upon to defend.
The knights assembled into a semi-circle formation as best as they could, though the mixed weapons of the group rendered it somewhat ineffective. “Biasts!†one knight shouted. Streams of lightning spewed forth from one of the maws of the wingless Dravanians, breaking the loose formation quickly.
“We need to buy time! For Ishgard!†They let out a ragged battlecry and made a direct charge into the mob of Dravanians.
Kasrjin found himself separated from the group, the blued steel of his sword dancing to deflect fang and claw, and to slice hide and scale. The adrenaline was rushing through him.
This was familiar. He did not like fighting, but this was familiar.
The party’s gaze would occasionally glance heavensward as a roar split the sky above, causing the party to wince practically in unison. “Keep moving!†Tabourot would shout, and they would grimly face forward once again. Another furious bellow echoed from above, and a billowing of clouds fumed from the gray canopy as a massive frame came barrelling out towards them. The sleek form of the dragon emerged from the clouds, its body nearly completely perpendicular with the ground in a dive. It was close, far too close for comfort, close enough that Kasrjin could nearly see the flames broiling within the monster’s gullet. “Move!†Tabourot shouted as it dove towards them in a divebomb.
A black missile streaked from the sky with incredible speed such that he wouldn’t have seen it had he blinked, smashing into the dragon’s underside with incredible force, causing it to roar again and nearly rotate completely from the surprise impact. The man’s silhouette was incredibly small in comparison to the considerable bulk of the Dravanian, but Kasrjin could see the telltale outline of the winged lance. He paused in his movement, emerald eyes affixed to the conflict raging above them. The dragon began to fly away with furious beats of its wings, its errant passenger still piercing its flank. The beast swooped low, and the silhouette dropped from its perch before segueing another mighty leap that propelled Vaillancourt like an arrow before the dragon could increase its altitude.
The beast vanished into the canopy of clouds again.
Their combat was impressive indeed. Kasrjin found himself nodding his approval. Whether or not it was practical or efficient was another question, but there was no doubt that he found their clash captivating.
After many more minutes of forced marching, there was a shout. “Here. Here! Set it here!†Tabourot gestured at a wide oval-shaped clearing surrounded by rocky outcroppings. It was an ideal location; the rocks were large enough to provide cover from the flames of the dragon, and if the snare worked as described, its mobility would be greatly limited.
Kasrjin glanced at Roen. Now it was only a matter of luring the beast into it.
The knights began hastily assembling the various pieces into an intricate rhombus shape, affixing another hitherto unnoticed component into the design; heavy steel cables, twined together of multiple strands of metal. They were crisscrossed throughout the beams of lumber and pulled taut. The Xaela could only guess at the mechanism: all of the components of the snare weren’t made to be rigid, but flexible. The weight of something as large as the dragon would be needed to trigger the trap, wherein presumably the combination of wires and flexible lumber would snap together to ensnare the beast and limit its mobility further.
A scream caused Kasrjin’s gaze to snap in its direction. An aevis had leapt from above one of the outcroppings and ravaged the knight’s arm. It was quickly brought down with a combination of swords and arrows, but Tabourot’s expression became more grim. “Couillard! Marshall! Take three men each and secure our perimeter! The dragon may have more minions nearby! Buy us time, if you can.†He snapped a hand at Roen and Kasrjin both. “You sellswords, do the same, but be ready to return when Vaillancourt pulls the beast in!â€
A reptilian growl caused Kasrjin to whip around, sword in hand, handily sinking the tip of the greatsword into the throat of another aevis. His surprised expression belied his thoughts: was it merely the adrenaline and tension of their hunt? Somehow, he had not sensed something as large as a Dravanian stalking the outcroppings.
He glanced at Roen and merely made a gesture, as a group of six or seven knights rushed out of the clearing, weapons in hand.
Kasrjin, however, slipped the sword into his harness and knelt down. He gripped the dead aevis first by its wings, and then beneath the scales of its neck, attempting to pull the bulky cadaver out into the open. Before she could ask, his emerald eyes flashed at Roen. “The dragons’ minions could only have arrived here by watching this location. Therefore they are aware of areas that could be used to lay a dragon trap.†His chin tilted towards the corpse he was pulling. “If there are others watching, we will move the corpse and attempt to appear as a patrol. We may distract them from this location that way.â€
It was some effort to pull the aevis’ body from the outcropping, but by the time Kasrjin had managed to clear the rocks and emerge back into the open field, the knights were already engaged in combat with other Dravanians. Not just aevis, but wingless ones as well, and one particularly imposing monster that walked on two feet. It was hunched, but it fought by swiping its claws in an almost humanoid fashion.
The Xaela could not decide if he should grin or frown.
He finally had a role to play.
One who was called upon to defend.
The knights assembled into a semi-circle formation as best as they could, though the mixed weapons of the group rendered it somewhat ineffective. “Biasts!†one knight shouted. Streams of lightning spewed forth from one of the maws of the wingless Dravanians, breaking the loose formation quickly.
“We need to buy time! For Ishgard!†They let out a ragged battlecry and made a direct charge into the mob of Dravanians.
Kasrjin found himself separated from the group, the blued steel of his sword dancing to deflect fang and claw, and to slice hide and scale. The adrenaline was rushing through him.
This was familiar. He did not like fighting, but this was familiar.
