PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Callie
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Post by Archaleos Durant on Aug 29, 2016 3:32:14 GMT
 blood on my name THERE'S A RECKONING A COMING, IT BURNS BEYOND THE GRAVE ❝It definitely has its advantages,❞ Referring to the eye, which was indicated by one robotic hand coming up to tap at Archaleos' right temple as that beatific smile regained purchase on his lips. The illumination would have trouble holding up against a real flashlight (especially not one meant for caving) but, again, they could hardly complain when there were no other alternatives. ❝If we're careful then the range should be enough to move us along.❞ Looking out for hazards on the ground ahead would be most important. The display that came next admittedly startled the Hunter some, his reflexes reacting to the gun being drawn, which showed in a quick flash across his expression before being tamed. Archaleos' focus tracked each of Daniel's movements attentively (becoming more intrigued than wary as that initial surprise passed) and he was very clearly wondering the purpose of it all. Nothing threatening, but what was the man doing? ❝Ah—❞ Well there was the answer. What a curious little ritual; he'd never seen anything like it before. ❝Luck is always appreciated,❞ Archaleos replied, saying nothing else when his companion moved to step past the mouth of cave. Going first. Now that would be a bit inconvenient for Archaleos— in the case of them coming across the child in a narrow corridor —but he decided to let it pass rather than risk asking suspicious. He was supposed to just be a concerned traveler, albeit one with a few useful enhancements. ❝You can see well enough?❞ He ended up asking once they'd gotten a few steps in, one of the Hunter's hands lifted to barely brush the wall as a sort of guide as they went. |
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Post by Daniel Caim on Aug 30, 2016 22:50:54 GMT
“Yeah, I’ve got more than enough light up here, thanks,” Daniel answer over his shoulder. A better way of saying it would’ve been “barely” enough light, but the issue of semantics started to get involved; he could see and that was the important part. He could see far enough into the cave to keep from tripping on an errant rock. That wouldn’t have been very fun, plus it might prompt the young cyborg following him to take the lead; that wasn’t part of the plan.
Moving further into the cave briefly overwhelmed his senses: gloom limiting his vision, ambient noise from within and from without, and the ever present smell that was his one true guide in this portal into the night. He heard the faintest scrape of metal on stone and figured that his companion was utilizing the wall as his guide. Good idea, and one that he would mimic. Notes of soft leather joined the steady song of metal as he walked along, following the wall as much as the scent; it was steadily growing stronger now. By degrees, he could better tell that he was getting close to his goal. Judging by his own instincts, he would be upon the magi in due ti—.
Something scuttled across the ground. The noise sent Daniel’s hands flying to his revolver and his thumb pulling at the hammer as it came clear.
He scanned left to right, up and down, in search of whatever was moving ahead of him. Then, he heard it again and managed to pinpoint the location: down by his feet. A cave lizard that was barely as big as his foot glared up at him for a moment before moving along as though it couldn’t be crushed with the slightest movement.
Daniel watched it go before he eased the hammer back into its resting position and stowed his weapon away. Funny that a little lizard could have a man like him jumping at shadows. He was too tense for his own liking.
“Sorry about that,” he apologized. “Let’s keep movin’.” Putting the lizard from his mind, the man pressed forward for a few more yards until the passage they were in began to widen slightly. He couldn’t tell from the light, no, but from the way the walls around him just didn’t seem to press as tightly. A few minutes of walking saw them into a wider space. The scent was stronger here than anywhere else; they were getting close.
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PLAYED BY Callie
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Post by Archaleos Durant on Sept 1, 2016 1:13:16 GMT
blood on my name THERE'S A RECKONING A COMING, IT BURNS BEYOND THE GRAVE
Archaleos was somewhat inclined to doubt that, but (again) he could hardly go on arguing about it without drawing suspicion. So he would just let it lie. The Hunter vastly preferred to have a plan going into things— to know what his plan of attack would be and that it was the best one possible —but he did know how to improvise, too. His line of work tended to demand that you be able to keep on rolling if all your careful plans fell apart.
Which, unfortunately, still didn't stop him from feeling antsy in this enclosed space. It was just so... unpredictable; there were too many unknowns working together to keep Archaleos from making any predictions. All he could do was follow along, wait, and watch.
The teen was careful to keep stock of all the information he could— footsteps, breathing, what portion of the cave ahead that his eye lit up. At least the ground seemed relatively free of debris and other bumps or pitfalls, so they proceeded without incident until there was the sudden sound of movement and Daniel stopped in his tracks. This prompted Archaleos to suck in a sharp breath, guiding hand flying to his sword, and there was the sound of sharp steel sliding partially out of its sheathe until that too ground to a halt. Archaleos craned his neck to peer around the man's shoulder and caught the moment before the lizard skittered past them both into darkness. False alarm. ❝It's alright.❞ A brief and dismissive response. The little hold up was quickly forgotten, anyway, as they made to continue on and Archaleos noticed that the cave wall was beginning to curve away from his fingers, eventually enough to be out of reach of his extended arm. ❝A cavern? I half expected this to just be a long, winding tunnel.❞ Still pitch black (the shaft of light from his eye swept all about as he looked around) but an improvement from before. |
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Post by Daniel Caim on Sept 1, 2016 23:23:31 GMT
Daniel couldn’t help but smile when he heard Archaleos’s relief. Truthfully, he shared it as he wasn’t one that enjoyed tight, dark spaces. Darkness was okay but joined with cramped spaces? That was just a little bit too much like what he imagined the grave was like, and that was a rather uncomfortable thought to have. He had to suppress a shutter that threatened to rack his body. Fear could paralyze a man if he let it, but Daniel had no intention of letting fear have its way with him. Instead, he pushed the feeling to the back of his mind and continued forward resolutely and calmly. He had a mission to complete today; every intention was to see it through to whatever end.
Which in this instance happened to lead him face first into a wall. He’d been so focused on getting to where he was going that he lost focus on what was in front of him. His face met with stone, eliciting a vulgar curse from his lips as he backed away rubbing his nose. Luckily he’d not been going very fast and the only injury was a sore nose. “Well… I feel kinda stupid now. Better watch were I’m goin’, huh kid?” With that little embracement behind him, Daniel continued along the wall towards the right using his hand to guide him. He walked for a short stretch of time before he finally felt his hand slide off the stone. Carefully, he caressed the spot where his hand fell away until he was sure that whatever opening he’d found was large enough for the both of them to move through; sadly, it was. Fortunately, though, he could finally make out what the smell he’d been tracking was: wood smoke.
“So, ready for another long tunnel?” he asked.
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PLAYED BY Callie
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Post by Archaleos Durant on Sept 5, 2016 19:14:36 GMT
blood on my name THERE'S A RECKONING A COMING, IT BURNS BEYOND THE GRAVE
Small spaces tended to bother Archaleos more than he would ever let on— it was the the sense of being boxed in, of having little room to breathe and the knowledge of many tons of earth piled over their heads —so, yes, he was quite relieved to be out of the tunnel. At least for a short while. Down here the air felt heavy and clogged with dust which meant that the Hunter could take no comfort from a breath of fresh air, only hoping that they would be out of here soon so that he could actually see his surroundings again. It was amazing what simple senses one took for granted until they were taken. Similarly to Daniel, the teen shook off any creeping feelings of anxiety in favor of following along across the cavern. It was a big enough space that the light of Archaleos' eye could discern no ceiling nor opposite wall until they were close. ...close enough for Daniel to walk face first into one Ah, he'd just been about to warn the man about that little detail. ❝I would say so. Try not to hurt yourself,❞ The Hunter replied, following a burst of faint yet genuinely amused laughter. Wandering through dark, unexplored tunnels and here the only real danger they'd encountered so far was bumping into things in the dark. How funny. Archaleos was more careful to keep the luminescence of his eye on the wall after that and (with a little more creeping along) the two managed to find an opening into— oh good, another tunnel. ❝As I'll ever be,❞ He could only answer since, frankly, Archaleos was not too thrilled about the idea. However there were no protests offered so he just resettled his hand as a guide on one wall and gestured with the other for Daniel to carry on. |
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Post by Daniel Caim on Sept 5, 2016 22:29:09 GMT
Placing his hand back against the wall, Daniel led the way through the tunnel, rubbing his nose (and nursing his bruised pride) as he walked. He made a decision to start carrying a flashlight, or any sort of light source for that matter, with on every mission from here on out. Not being able to see more than a few steps ahead was a hindrance that he wasn’t willing to accept, especially considering that he was forced to put his faith in a kid that he was all but certain was the hunter that he’d been warned about. He should’ve put the kid down as soon as he showed himself. Had he known of him in the first place, he could have and it would’ve saved him for trouble than he felt like dealing with.
Daniel pinched himself. Should’ve, could’ve, would’ve had no place in the current situation. Right now, he need to focus on the mission-
A light sigh broke the relative silence of the cave. The mission; was that all he thought of this as? Every time that he thought about what he was doing it always came back to how this was a mission. It was getting tiresome. He supposed that there was always some small part of him that would think of anything of import that he did as a mission.
Once a hunter, always a hunter.
Light began cutting through the oppressive darkness in the tunnel, bringing Daniel back to the here and now. It was dim at first, little more than a soft radiance that peeled the shadows away. Then it slowly began to grow in intensity the closer Daniel’s pace drew him. Eventually, he and Arch would emerge into another cavern much like the one they’d found themselves in, though this one was different in that it was lit by a small fire that just happened to have a boy with cat-like eyes sitting next to it.
“Found you,” Daniel whispered.
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Callie
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Post by Archaleos Durant on Sept 7, 2016 3:27:13 GMT
blood on my name THERE'S A RECKONING A COMING, IT BURNS BEYOND THE GRAVE
Archaleos had to admit that his patience was thinning some, the process only hastened along by having to crawl along through these dark, claustrophobic tunnels. The Hunter was a very patient person by nature— always waiting for the best opportunity, always planning out each action that he could —but everyone had their limits. It didn't exactly help that Archaleos had been already trekking around the mountains for some time to search for this magi before encountering Daniel. He wanted to find this brat and be done with it. Or at least get some fresh air before a layer of dust started to collect in his lungs. He kept all of these rancorous thoughts hidden, however, and only soldiered on after Daniel as the two progressed down this second tunnel. It was no different from the first (narrow, relatively straight, not much debris or uneven ground) which eventually lent the process a very repetitive nature. Nothing interesting to distract Archaleos' thoughts from grumpily turning in on themselves. ...thankfully it was not to last, as he was quick to notice the flicker of firelight up ahead. Here we are. Daniel's words just about perfectly echoed the Hunter's own thoughts and he felt a mix of relief and malicious joy bloom in his chest, before he paused. Unfortunately, this situation posed a bit of a problem. Archaleos could try for the element of surprise and just go for the kill right now, before anyone could make a move to try and stop him, but where would that leave him if the first blow didn't end it? Could he effectively handle a fight with Daniel in this small space if the man chose to interfere? Archaleos still wasn't sure how his "partner" would react to learning of his true intentions... and there was also the matter of possibly losing the magi if it dodged and ran off into the darkness. Now that would be a pickle. Tsk. Here he was with the target nary a few feet in front of him and he didn't know how to act. Archaleos bit back on a sound between a huff and a growl and, deciding to keep up his "concerned passerby" act, pasted a smile on his face as he stepped out from behind Daniel to see the magi more clearly. The curve of his lips was tense, not a single glint of genuine happiness reaching his eyes. ❝Yes, finally we have. What a stroke of good fortune this turned out to be.❞ The teen would bide his time for now. If all went well Archaleos could spring into action and run the magi through as soon as they saw the sun again. ❝You really did a good job hiding out up here,❞ He said to the child, all sweet pleasantries and so fake. |
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Post by Daniel Caim on Sept 13, 2016 0:29:07 GMT
The child perked up at the sound of Daniel’s voice and was instantly afraid. He backed away from the two heavily armed and dangerous looking men with fear blooming in his eyes. The boy looked just about ready to run like mad for any place that wasn’t this one. Not that there was much in the way of escape routes. The only way that didn’t possibly lead further into the caves was the one behind them.
“Hey kid, don’t worry,” Daniel said, stepping towards the child. “We’re here to get you back to you folks, so jus—.” He paused midsentence, rubbing his eyes as though the light were playing tricks that he was forcing them to drop their antics. Then, he looked at the boy more clearly before turning back to Arch with a look of outrage on his face.
“The hell are you trying to pull here, kid?” He kept his voice in a low, menacing hiss. “That’s a fuckin’ Magi right there! Do you know what they did?! Why the hell are we here helping a Magi of all things?!” His arms were trembling from fury as he moved closer to the child, withdrawing Black Hammer from its holster. The massive revolver gleamed darkly in firelight that cast his shadow in ominous shapes. He moved with malicious purpose and it was all but clear what he intended. The child continued to back away from the advancing man. He moved away from the fire and the only source of light in the cavern, the only safety.
“The only thing that you do with a piece of Magi filth,” Daniel continued, “is kill it!” His hand came up and directed the muzzle of the weapon directly at the child…
…and suddenly shifted his aim towards the fire and pulled the trigger. The round struck and exploded and the firewood disintegrated. The brief flash of light extinguished itself quickly. Afterwards, the light in the chamber faded and Daniel rushed forward to grab the Magi’s hand in his own. Seconds later, he was retreating towards another of the passageways he’d noted.
He didn’t care whether or not Archaleos was the Hunter he’d be warned about. His target was in hand and that was all that mattered. Now, it was just a trouble of tracing the scent of the gunpowder he poured on the ground outside through a tunnel that wasn’t the one he’d used already.
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Callie
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Post by Archaleos Durant on Sept 15, 2016 19:12:13 GMT
blood on my name THERE'S A RECKONING A COMING, IT BURNS BEYOND THE GRAVE
It wasn't at all surprising that the child would be afraid— terrified even —at the sudden appearance of two strangers, both armed and visibly formidable in their own, unique ways. Archaleos was just taking care to track the magi's movements for any sign that it was about to try and flee down one of the tunnels which left his gaze sharp and intensely focused on his target. If the child attempted such a thing now he'd feel inclined to kill it right then and there. Just to avoid any further headaches. The Hunter's attention was fated to be drawn elsewhere, however, as Daniel's demeanor suddenly... changed its tune. The opinion of your average human on magi tended to be a toss up (especially when Archaleos had no reference point to draw from, such as other information on the man's background) so he'd gone into this prepared for the worst sort of interference from Daniel. Had he been wrong in his assumption all this time? Maybe the other male would've been happy to help if Archaleos had come out with his true intentions from the beginning. The notion really gave him something to true on, and provided enough distraction through what came next. Archaleos' eyebrows had just about arched up to his hairline as he watched his companion advance on the cowering magi— startled into silence and not about to stand in the way of Daniel's apparent intentions —but it would be this lapse in judgement, in caution, that would cost him. BANG! went the (rather impressive) revolver and Archaleos' reflexes were only quick enough to draw his arms up towards his face, a barrier against the sparks that scattered before dying out, which left precious seconds of reaction time to be lost. ...oh damn it all he'd been tricked.
This realization came fast and fierce, leaving the Hunter to grapple with a burst of indignant frustration— akin to what one might feel after being swindled out of a few coins or made the butt of a joke —before springing into action and following the ringing of footsteps. Archaleos at least had an advantage now. There would be no more (sparing) light to guide Daniel as they all rushed through the unfamiliar tunnel and the other man had the child to deal with— really if Archaleos could just get at the magi that was all he cared about.
❝Trying to leave me for dead under the mountain? I thought we were working together!❞ The Hunter's voice carried, bouncing down the tunnel in an endless echo as the yellowish glow of his eye shone ahead. Frankly, Archaleos' tone, devoid of fear, was not one of an innocent bystander who'd been needlessly betrayed, but was there any point in playing pretend anymore? He'd all but given away some sinister intentions by giving chase like this.
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Post by Daniel Caim on Sept 24, 2016 14:14:25 GMT
The words echoing through the corridors alongside the sound of pounding footfalls basically confirmed what Daniel was suspicious of from the start; his friend was the opposition to his goal of getting this magi child out alive. That was one mystery solved at least.
“If I wanted you dead, I would’ve been shooting at you, kid!” Daniel shouted into the darkness. “Now let’s see who’s better at their job!” He continued down the stretch of tunnel at a sprint with the child dragging behind him as fast as his legs could carry his weight. His strides were much shorter than Daniel’s and it was slowing their progress more than the grizzled ex-hunter’s liking. Luckily, the child still looked like he was in shock from suddenly having an explosion scant inches from causing him harm then having the very same man that fired the round grab his hand and drag him through the darkness with scarcely a moment to process what was happening. Daniel felt for the kid but at least it made him quiet and obedient; it gave him the relative peace he needed to think.
Well, buddy, he said to his inner self, we’re in this mess, now how do we get out of it? No answer was forthcoming. Nothing to do but keep track of the scent and stay out of his rival’s reach. He stowed Black Hammer back in its holster, withdrew one of his more mundane weapons, and fired a trio of shots into the air as he felt the walls opening up around him. Wasting ammo was an anathema to him, but he needed the light. The flare from the muzzle lit the chamber briefly with each discharge, picking out details in a violent glare and allowing him to take note of several entrances other passageways. He chose the one farthest to the left because the air wafting out of it was far less stale than the others.
Fresh, open air would be a good thing in this situation.
(OOC Notes: Sorry about the long wait. I was having some trouble thinking of what the kid would do for all this without just saying he basically wasn't there. (-__-) But I have an inkling of a thought, so post should come smoother again.)
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Post by Archaleos Durant on Oct 3, 2016 20:12:53 GMT
blood on my name THERE'S A RECKONING A COMING, IT BURNS BEYOND THE GRAVE Hah— now that sounded like a challenge.
Having just been thoroughly tricked and sent on a wild chase through the dark soured Archaleos' mood a bit, but he had to admit that the jeer— the call to act and test his abilities as a Hunter —was enough to spark a sort of sharp, malicious glee into life; like a hound raring to be set off the leash. The most satisfying successes did involve a good chase, after all. He just had to be sure to rise to that challenge and keep on the trail since, regrettably, there was the very real possibility of Archaleos losing his targets among the maze of tunnels that snaked under these mountains. And that was something he could not stand. ❝True enough.❞ He muttered, entirely to himself, at the comment about not having pointed the gun right between Archaleos' own eyes given the chance. Because that chance had been there, at least to attempt. He wasn't about to go dwelling on those past blunders, though, and instead the Hunter plowed on as quick as could be managed with the short reach of his eye's light. That begged the question of how Daniel was managing to navigate, though. It was simple enough to hug one rocky wall and follow the tunnel's curves and bends, but was he just running blind? Hoping to pick a correct path out of sheer luck? No— that didn't seem believable (especially given the fact that the man had been clever enough to deceive him) so there had to be some method to it. Did he know the tunnels? Or maybe it was heightened senses? Hearing sharp enough to detect the differences in an echo, or smell to guide him to fresh air. That was usually something reserved for magi traits or a gift from Kalidas... how strange. Archaleos' ruminations on the subject ground to a quick halt as he found himself faced with a fork in the path and he stopped, frozen for a moment, before straining his ears to listen. Ah there go the footsteps; so it was the left tunnel. The hesitation had likely given Daniel and the child a few more feet of a lead but Archaleos didn't fret over that. The footfalls had been joined by intermittent gunshots that made him sure he was following close behind and, ultimately, it wasn't so terrible if his prey made it outdoors before he caught up. The Hunter would vastly prefer to fight without close quarters to restrict him. Speaking of which, there was a sharp shing of steel when Archaleos elected to draw his sword and hold it, by his side and ready to swing, as he ran. |
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Post by Daniel Caim on Oct 12, 2016 1:37:22 GMT
Daniel sniffed the air again. Damn, but this kid was relentless. Taken completely by surprise, left with little time to adapt, and he was still hot on the trail. He was impressed. Not that Daniel was making it hard for Arch to follow him, pounding at the ground with combat boots and firing into the air for the sake of having a little light, but it was still impressive. The kid might have made an honorable hunter if it weren’t for the fact that he wasn’t squeamish about gutting a little kid for the crime of being a magi. Something need to happen quickly if he wanted to throw the kid off the scent for a time. Daniel holstered his revolver and drew a more modern handgun from a holster at his side. As he did so, the child running next to him decide now was the (im)perfect time to act out. He dug his heels into the stone—nearing tripping Daniel due to the sudden loss of momentum—and cried, “Le’me go, le’me go!” He struggled ferociously against the ex-hunter with admirable determination. “Come on, kid, I’m tryin’ to help,” Daniel said, pulling hard on the defiant child’s arm. “Yeah, right, like some old hunter would wanna help me!” Daniel growled as the child continued to resist him. There wasn’t any time for this. “Fuck it.” Daniel reared back and struck the child in the forehead as violently as he could manage; the magi went limp, unconscious but not dead. Daniel pulled him onto his shoulder just before taking aim at where he guessed the ceiling to be and emptying a full magazine of explosive rounds into the stone. Then, he ran like hell was on his heels. For all he knew, the whole tunnel was about to come crashing down around his ears. Archaleos Durant |
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PLAYED BY Callie
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Post by Archaleos Durant on Oct 16, 2016 20:45:09 GMT
blood on my name THERE'S A RECKONING A COMING, IT BURNS BEYOND THE GRAVE
His hearing was nothing impressive (on par with a normal human rather than a blessed Hunter or sophisticated android), but Archaleos took care to strain his ears to their limit so that he could keep track of the his fleeing targets. The tunnels were well suited to funneling the sound right to him and amplifying it with each reverberating bounce so Archaleos was comfortable to have this as his guide as he went. It would have been nice to be close enough to see them but, well, wishing for better circumstances would get him nowhere. This line of work tended to acclimate you to thinking on your toes; to making due with what you had. The Hunter's attention was piqued when he noticed the voice of the child crying out up ahead. It sounded... rebellious, unhappy with the idea of being ushered through the tunnels by some stranger, maybe? One could hope. Tension between Daniel and the magi— a refusal to cooperate —would only make Archaleos' job easier and he was fleetingly amused by the idea of the man having to drag along a child who was mid-tantrum. It would definitely help if they were still a ways from any exit, which Archaleos had no means of judging from his point of view. They had charged off on a completely different path than they'd entered, running blind through the twisting tunnels, so the Hunter could only wager a wild guess as to how long it would be before sunlight and fresh air would be found. There wasn't even a guarantee that this particular tunnel ran to the outside. That was a concept Archaleos didn't much like to think about. Honestly, even if a long chase would benefit him in the end he'd be much happier to get out of this place ASAP. A rapid burst of gunfire rang out ahead. The sound contrasted sharply to the steady, intermittent bursts that Daniel had been setting off until now and, for a moment, Archaleos dubiously wondered about the purpose of emptying so many at once. Well, he wondered that until dust and pebbles began to rain down on his head. Oh no— ohhhh no. The sensation of being vaguely startled morphed, quickly, into a cold feeling of dread as Archaleos spied the spider webbing cracks in the ceiling ahead and chunks of rock began to tumble down in a symphony of rumbling crashes. Fighting back a yelp, the young Hunter lifted his left arm over his head and the metal plating shifted and expanded out into a protective shield. This provided him enough cover from the falling debris (each piece clinked and clanked loudly off his shield) to press on ahead in a dead sprint. He was moving quickly before, yes, but that had been with the care to keep track of the terrain illuminated by his eye. Now? He could soundly say fuck all that and charge away from the literal fear of death that was on his heels. The sounds of collapse swelled to a peak as more earth began to cave in and Archaleos had maybe a foot or two of clearance from the pile of rubble when it crashed down. Far, far closer than his liking. He stumbled, then, and drew to a brief stop to throw an incredulous look back at what was left of the tunnel before sucking in a deep breath, shaking himself, and reverting his arm back to normal. Intentionally try to have the roof collapse in on him— very clever. Any admiration he felt for Daniel's tactic was overshadowed by a simmering anger, though, and Archaleos was back to running quite quickly. He still had a job to do. ❝You are going to regret that one! I promise you that!❞ |
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Post by Daniel Caim on Oct 20, 2016 2:31:07 GMT
The sound of splintering rock drove Daniel to run faster, even more so when the first sounds of falling stone reached him. Shitshitshitshitshit! For longer than he cared to keep track, the only thing the ex-hunter could bring himself to focus on was the frantic pounding of his boots hitting stone. Even after the rumbling and clattering and shaking stop, his legs were still pumping. He finally stopped sprinting after a few seconds and doubled over, winded from the mad dash for safety. It took him a moment to catch his breath enough for him to stand up. A second later, he heard Archaleos screaming something about a promise that he was going to regret dropping the ceiling on him, which meant that the kid was still kicking. Not bad, Daniel thought. Indeed, it was impressive that the kid survived without getting stuck under a pile of rubble or trapped on the other side of said pile. Even so, (much like Archaleos) the swell of admiration was swallowed by frustration. This kid just didn’t give up! “Almost thought I lost ya, kiddo! Nice job not gettin' crushed!” He started running again, a bit slower than before to conserve his strength; he had the sinking suspicion that he’d need it soon enough. If the scent he was getting was an indication, there was an exit somewhere up ahead. The hunch turned out to be true, but also presented…, well, a bit of a problem. Daniel exited the tunnel into an expansive cavern much like the ones from before. There was a vast difference associated with this one in the form of an opening to the outside providing illumination. The only problem was the fact that it was about twenty feet up an incredibly steep incline; he’d have to climb what was a nearly vertical cliff, which he would be hard pressed to accomplish with a child taking up an entire limb’s attention. The situation left him with few options. He could try to climb his way out, but he had no guaranty that he could outpace his pursuer burdened as he was. Not to mention that the kid was a cyborg with prosthetic arms and could probably climb a hell of a lot faster than a normal human. It left him with only one viable choice. Daniel walked his unconscious package in a more secluded area of the cave where the light didn’t quite reach and placed him gently against the wall. Then, he reloaded his handgun with a fresh clip (this one filled with short-circuit rounds) as well has drawing and reloading Black Hammer with six new rounds (mudane ammunition). Finally, he stood in a location that where he could easily be seen. At least there’d be enough light for him to fight effectively here. Archaleos Durant |
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Post by Archaleos Durant on Nov 1, 2016 3:52:15 GMT
blood on my name THERE'S A RECKONING A COMING, IT BURNS BEYOND THE GRAVE
Daniel's answering call sounded fainter than their earlier exchanges (though still infuriatingly smug, bastard) which prompted Archaleos to worry just a bit about how much distance he'd lost in that little... hiccup. The desire to not be crushed by falling rocks had increased his pace for a few seconds, but then again the Hunter had taken a pause and now found the exertion of all this running starting to grate on him. It was as if his muscles were finally taking note of the fact that they'd been charging ahead for a while now— helped along by the self-awareness that a healthy dose of danger induced —and his lungs struck up a burning complaint with every few steps. Not that that would be allowed to slow him down. After all of this Archaleos was very much against the idea of just getting left behind before he could even get a chance to fight for his prize. Luckily, it seemed he would be seeing that chance, after all. The drum of footsteps ahead suddenly faded out, leaving the Hunter to (momentarily) think that Daniel had widened his lead, until the true cause soon became apparent when Archaleos reached the next cave. Rocky walls yawned off in either direction to form the large, open space and the glow of sunlight caught his eye from up on high. It would be a climb to reach it— but there was an exit to the outside. Did that mean that Archaleos had been blessed with the good fortune to literally have his targets backed against a wall? ...oh it seemed so. How nice. Archaleos was not smiling when he stepped out of the tunnel into the somewhat better lit cavern, though. No— his expression was etched with the lines of distaste and simmering frustration; all slitted eyes and rigid posture. The Hunter visibly halted to catch his breath, easing the heaviness on his lungs some, and in the light one could see that his dark hair was coated in a layer of rocky dust. There was a shallow, oozing scrape over his right brow, too, (likely a product of being grazed by some falling debris) which Archaleos wiped at haphazardly. A cursory glance around the space turned up no sign of the magi and— since there was no way Daniel could have gotten it up the cliff before he arrived —he simply reasoned that the man had hidden their shared target somewhere in the shadows. It made sense, given that Daniel seemed to intend on facing him here. Fine. If he wanted to fight Archaleos over it, so be it. The Hunter's full attention shifted onto the cavern's other (conscious) occupant and he cocked his head on an angle, surveying the man with the demeanor of a vaguely interested wildcat, but said nothing. Archaleos wasn't about to ask him why he was interfering or stoop to the level of trying to reason with him so, really, there wasn't much to talk about. They both had their goals and they each stood in each other's way. Haha... this should be interesting, though. This very thought twitched the younger's lips into a secretive smile and he tightened his grip on his sword, leaping into action a moment later. He went for a very direct approach, to be honest— pouring on a burst of speed to try and close the distance between him and Daniel as quickly as possible. Archaleos had gathered that his opponent liked to fight with firearms so, to get a bit of an edge, the teen's plan was to get in too close for the other to have room for precise shots. It would be troublesome to be stuck deflecting bullets from a distance. The Hunter's free arm had shifted into its shield form again to stave off shots taken at him as he moved and, were he able to get in close enough, he swung his sword in for an upwards slash at Daniel's right side. |
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