[Ruins of Nial] Treasures lost (Jaeden)

[Dusk]

The man's nostrils flared at Jaeden's insults, and his milky eyes followed the other man's movement, careful to keep the woman between them at all times. "You know little about this world, Mizaharian, and nothing of mine. Don't presume to speak of things which you couldn't possibly comprehend," he hissed. "If women are so easy to find here, then you should not begrudge me this one," he said, shaking Djoli by the neck until she cried out in pain. "She meddled in things she did not understand, and her master bound her here by her own blood, and I don't give a pretcha whether or not you witnessed the agreement. And if you wish to meddle, your lesson will be just as harsh," he warned, dark brows drawing down as he held out his free hand, palm-out towards Jaeden, and his fingers began to faintly glow.

[Jaeden Kincade]

“Well, my golly, gosh, geepers, gee wiz.” Jaeden said with a smirk to the man’s reaction, still stepping forward. “Could it be that I struck a nerve? Hit a little to close to home?”

“Fact of the matter is, I don’t give a petch what you say.” Jaeden said as he paused in his steps for a short moment. “I will begrudge you this girl over the simple means in which you are trying to get her. I have a bit of a dislike when it comes to slavery or forcing women to give up their bodies against their will. I don’t give a petch that she meddled in things she unwittingly didn’t understand. If that’s the matter, spank her ass for her reaching into the cookie jar and be on your way, leaving her behind, rather than trying to enslave her.”

Jaeden then moved forward again. “Oh, and just so you know, my mentor’s moved in behind you.” Jaeden said looking past the man to his left for a moment to add more to his bluff.

Either way, the moment Jaeden was in range, his quickly swiped his sword upward, attempting to drag the tip of his blade across the man’s open palm and cut deeply into it. Jaeden may have not been the most skilled shot with a bow yet, but his years of training and sparring with Olevar since he was ten made him better than adept with a sword. The only thing he wasn’t certain of, is if the attack was successful, whether the pain from it would cause him to lose concentration on whatever he was doing with his hand, as well as the possibility of his grip loosing along Djoli’s neck long enough for her to take advantage and sleep free.

[Dusk]

The comment about a mentor got not even the slightest break in concentration - in fact, the mage smirked as if he knew it to be a lie. And so he stood his ground when Jaeden attacked, neither flinching nor lowering his hand. As Jaeden's weapon reached the point where it should have sliced through the man's palm, it instead bounced off with a strange, unrecognizable sound. The mage's hand remained unharmed, though something shimmered against his skin like ripples on water before disappearing again. "Foolish boy," he laughed cruelly. "You warriors are greater fools than any other. Always you think that steel will serve you better than your own soul. Enough of these games," he murmured. With that, he flattened his hand out, palm-down, and a thick black liquid began dripping out of it as if someone had turned on a faucet. Within a second, a half-dozen balls of the stuff had dripped from his hand only to hover a few inches below it like oily balls. With a casual, almost dismissive flick of his wrist, he made a motion as if shooing the things away from him. They shot out towards Jaeden, as fast as thought, and before they could impact, they shattered mid-air into hundreds of sharp bits of shale, shrapnel made to impale itself into Jaeden's soft and squishy bits. At the same time, the mage shifted his grip to the girl's hair and began dragging her bodily towards the portal, uncaring of her shrieks of protest.

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden’s brow knotted into a frown as his eyes narrowed in study. First when his sword scrapped against some sort of force that prevented from the swords tip from cutting through flesh. “Not really a warrior, but the steel has served me well so far.” Jaeden said, the look of study once again crossing his features as the dark substance began forming over his hands. “If it’s a game, you’re move then magic man.”

Jaeden almost didn’t have time to react. His eyes widened as the black spheres suddenly burst, small pieces flying forward. Jaeden’s left arm raised as he moved to shield his eyes. Pieces tore into flesh, imbedding themselves into his arms, left hand, part of his right cheek and chest. Jaeden stumbled back a few paces from the impact along, almost being knocked to the ground. His sword plunged into the ground supporting himself from falling to he knees as his legs gave way for a moment.

“Nice move.” Jaeden said weakly as blood began to pour out of the wounds, as several streams of red liquid began to streak down in several areas. Jaeden’s body trembled for a moment as the compounding injuries and wounds began to start taking their toll. Still, his feet anchored, his legs pushing forward once again as he approached the mage as he began to walk away, once again moving towards the portal.

Jaeden’s sword was then suddenly thrust forward, the tip heading strait for left side of the Mage’s back as Jaeden attempted to run his sword through the Mage’s heart. Jaeden was hitting his limit, but at the same time, he wouldn’t stop until he was dead, the mage was dead, or he had escaped with the woman. In the end, his years under Olevar’s training taught him to instinctively push himself until he was physically incapable of doing so anymore.

[Dusk]

The mage heard him coming, but didn't pause or even bother turning around. When Jaeden thrusted his sword forward hard enough to stab for the mage's heart, it once again hit the invisible barrier surrounding his body. The force of the blow knocked the man forward a step or two, and he threw an annoyed glance over his shoulder. The effect on Jaeden was worse - the rebound snapped one of the small bones in his swordhand as well as his wrist with a sharp crack of pain. The weapon itself spun back and down, and the weight of it on his now damaged wrist made the tip crash to the ground. "Fool," the mage grunted, tightening his grip on Djoli's hair as he took the last step towards the portal. The girl was dragged behind him, eyes wide and dilated from trauma and shock, blood dripping down her pale face from the head-wound she'd taken. She tried to get her feet under her, tried to use what little strength she had left to fight off the man who was even now stepping into that black void, but she couldn't manage it, and just shrieked again as his fingers twisted cruelly in her hair. "You useless, brainless, petching piece of--" she mewled... ...and then she was gone, sucked into the blackness of that yawning pit, and with a loud pop! the void closed itself as if it'd never been. Jaeden suddenly found himself alone in the forest clearing, amidst the ruined remnants of the welded summoning circle and the blood and ashes. A fitful breeze blew across the glade, tugging at the cut ropes still tied to the top of the sacrificial pole, and a few moments later the usual sounds of birdsong returned to the forest as it eased back into its normal routine. OOCLet me know when you've got some time free in Spring and where you're at, and we'll continue this with the "Years later this comes back to bite me" consequences...