[Quest] The Black City - Part III

Yes! The attacks and spells were working! They moved into the room rather than just in front of the door then, wading right through the area that was making everyone feel sick. Them, included. The feeling situated right in their throat, a heat that made them want to hack up their insides. They didn't though, and instead prepared their magic once again.

They weren't going to use the same trick twice - but... The kraken needed the water to breathe right? Maybe...

The impact, when it came, was like a fully-loaded double-sized truck crashing into a regular-sized truck. Whale was slammed backward, taking the full brunt of the blow as ribs cracked and a flipper was crushed against her side. She was finding out quickly that blubber could only do so much to defend against a fifty-foot kraken.

Even as the kraken was sucked into the void, Whale simply floated, stunned and listing. It hurt to breathe in again after all of it had been knocked out of her and her ribs were bruised if not fractured. It hurt to move, or do anything really. It was Attikias' words that finally galvanized her into action. Artio. She must not forget Artio, for whom they'd come here in the first place. Artio. We will save Artio and reunite her with Farina. Restore some modicum of justice, after they'd been separated and suffered for so unbearably long.

She accepted Kaimana's offered orb with mental thanks along the link, hoping it might ease the pain somewhat. The rest only served to encourage her. Flares of magic: icy spears jutting out of the rock walls, illuminated by a phosphorescent wisp; crackling purple-black lightning arcing along the Kraken's hide. It is dazed, she thought, echoing Haven's call to action. She didn't know how much she had left in her, but if there was anything-- then now was the time to strike. Madhukar's offer of medical attention went noticed, but unheeded for now. Whale did not want to waste time.

Bellowing a wordless battle cry, Whale surged at the Kraken, pushing past the pain and the distinct feeling of sickness that had settled in. Even if this was the last thing she ever did, she would make it COUNT. For Artio!

Hopefully that tip would be of use. It seemed as though some were focusing their aim on the pustules, which was pleasing and intriguing to Kaimana. She wanted to know what would happen -- if the pain would only rile the Kraken up further, making it a more dangerous enemy, or if it was too weakened to suitably retaliate. (Kaimana was of the adamantine opinion that she would be exhausted if she were being mobbed by this many creatures at once, but then again she was not a fifty foot long Kraken.)

Words of encouragement would be given, and Kaimana, too, would feel inspired by them. A figure would catch her attention, one quite large and seemingly suited to the water. They looked terribly injured, and yet they looked to be ready to charge right in again. Acquainted with the recklessness of others, Kaimana could only hope to help as best she could: by trying to get their attention before they went off (swimming over, flashing her light, and wiggling around), and tossing them her regenerative pouch. Well, 'tossing' -- as close to 'tossing' as one could get down here.
"It's a regenerative pouch. Eat some of the gel in there before rushing back in. Good luck!"

Text. "Speech." Thoughts.

As it turned out, they did not die. Yet. The whale, who called herself Whale, had blocked the full force of the Kraken's attack, giving them a precious moment to get farther away. Still, the flailing tentacle lashed into them, knocking them backward and stunning them for a moment.

Encouraged by the others' successes and their adamantine will: the lightning, the slashing of Khavur's claws, Whale's determination, and particularly their mother's ice magic; they darted forward, taking advantage of their sinuous shape to dart between the icy spears Carja had created.

Their eyes focused on a festering sore. Almost instantly, they decided that biting it wouldn't be a good idea--they were already feeling rather sick as-was. Instead, they lashed out with their talons, aiming to tear with claws rather than teeth. Then, they would aim to get away as quickly as possible in order to hide in the relative safety of the ice spears, already in the process of turning around even as their claws swept at the kraken.

The sharp rake of claws over Kraken flesh, the plumes of blood as he darted past—a thrill ran through him at his proximity to the enemy, the riskiness of the close quarters shooting tingles up dorsal spines. Sped by the target, a flick of his rudderlike tail spun Fahl around. Drifting backwards in the dark, acute pain spiked through subsiding adrenaline; though swift, he'd not escaped unscathed. There were bruises and new ones growing on top of those.

In the Kraken's absence, hooked claws rolled out another gel ball from his clenched paw and pinched it tightly in place. Head lowered, his legs prepared to propel him forward once more as soon as the creature reappeared. A pervasive wrongness bloated his stomach too. He couldn't ascertain why, but his intestines felt like they were moments from lurching out into the water, and his vision swam from the discomfort. But despite this, another go at that monstrosity seemed the right thing to do.

There it was, large and looming, the breaker of bones with tentacles that could crush him in their grip. Intimidated but determined, Fahl charged, the intended course a tight one along his opponent's length and into the safety of the newly formed ice spikes below, provided he was fast enough to reach them.

'Sores, huh?' With how many there were, it'd be hard to miss one.