Putting On A Show

[Kender Bard]

Terza grinned widely as they came upon a large farming settlement. Three farmhouses with lots and lots of crops spread out below them. "Well, let's go spread a little bit of mayhem. Try not to kill everyone." These were her instructions to the demons under her control; her second, of course, but also a number of smaller and more mindless creatures. All rushed forward to wreak havoc on the crops. Terza waited in the distance until her creatures had drawn the farmers and their families out to defend their land. Satisfied when a number of them had come out into the open, she skipped on down the hill and approached with a high, ululating cry. This was all to the fun; Terza would never be so brazen and open in true combat of course. She was having a good time pretending to be a musclebound idiot.

She didn't go completely unprepared of course. The farmers here were Clear, and so she was safe from elemental attack, but they did go after her and her creatures with their weapons. She had only to make a gesture and thick sheets of ice spread from her hand to the ground to creature adequate shielding. Some of her demons got a bit carried away in defending themselves, exhaling deadly sheer cold breaths or sending spikes of ice flying in all directions. Some were just merely ice of body and they attacked like normal creatures would. One such creature seemed to be a catlike demon that looked to be made of delicate ice. It reached out with a paw and sliced deep, bloody gashes into the man it faced.

Terza for the most part was only defending herself, save to lash out with a pole of ice and smack humans with it. Nothing fatal, though the farmers were certainly terrified.

[Darastrix]

Die grinned as he watched the scene play out, concealed from sight at the edge of a a small copse of trees. This was far more entertaining than tagging along with a demonic military campaign, especially considering he didn't really care who came out on top in that one.

He rubbed at his chin, enjoying the novelty of the gesture actually touching skin. He wondered what he looked like now. Oh, he could guess, but he'd hardly bothered with mirrors since he'd started wearing his mask. He was aware of his deep-set, ice blue eyes and arching brows, but he'd not seen his own fine cheekbones, or wide, square jaw, or curving mouth and generous lower lip in so long, he imagined his reflection might as well look like a stranger's. So he hadn't bothered looking.

"Who to go after first...," he mused. He didn't want the fun to end too soon, after all. "Well, let's start with some flash and go from there."

Die touched his Fire sign and chanted to build up energy, though not as much as he'd use in a real fight. Stepping from his hiding place, he loosed a bright gout of flame. "Heeeeere, demon, demon, demon...."

[Kender Bard]

Terza glanced towards Die and grinned. She decided to cause a bit of mayhem herself, forming a sheet of ice beneath her feet and riding it around. Two long stakes of ice appeared in her hands, thin and razor sharp, and she zipped by people, stabbing or slashing them with her weapons, trying to avoid killing blows but having delight in causing pain for anyone foolish enough to remain in her way.

Her pets were getting a bit zealous, though. One of the demons nearest to Die, a small lizard-like creature that breathed blue 'fire' that froze instead of burned turned towards the priest and breathed in deeply to blast him with its breath.

[Darastrix]

Die raised his brows at the lizard demon before letting his mouth curve into a smirk. "Oh, you don't want to do that." He turned his palm to the creature and sent his own flame at it. "Or maybe you do. No difference to me if you have a death wish." Being a Contrastan-born Ice as well as Fire, he wasn't terribly concerned about encountering 'friendly' fire, but he wasn't just going to let these lesser demons have a go at him. Besides, he was rather curious what would happen if their flames met.

[Kender Bard]

Steam billowed immediately, spreading outward. Though it was unpleasantly hot, the creatures of Terza didn't seem to mind it.

Now that she had a large audience of mortals gathered, Terza turned her ice-ride towards Die. It was time for the fun part. "Who dares to turn wicked flame upon my beautiful creatures?!"

[Darastrix]

“One who would rid the world of your evil!” Die declared, wreathing his hands in flame. Oh, he would have to fall down laughing later to make up for saying that with a straight face. Well, a straight-ish face. He compensated for the grin by furrowing his brows so that he didn’t look amused. He thought he might look a bit mad, but anyone who actually tried something like what they were playing at was probably not a sterling example of sanity in any case.

[Kender Bard]

"One mortal against a demon Lady is hardly fair odds," Terza scoffed and then laughed mockingly. "Here." She spread her arms. "One free shot at me. Better make it a good one."

A part of her was curious on if he would take advantage of the situation. She warned him not to, of course. Not in specific details. Just a warning that if he did do her any harm, he'd sorely regret it. She liked to let people draw their own conclusions. It made things more interesting.

[Darastrix]

Fortunately for Die (if perhaps unfortunately for Terza's entertainment), he had no intention of harming the Lady. She was good company. Besides, if he did somehow manage to kill her, he'd have his hands full with the rest of her demons. And Karau, if word got back to him about it. He figured having most of Naruta wanting him dead for his part in the summoning was enough in term of enemies for now.

He touched his sign and made a show of chanting, eyes narrowed at his 'target.' The fire he created to engulf Terza was brilliantly bright, but not particularly hot (as far as fire went, anyway). He didn't even touch her with it; he just made sure it surrounded her and flared high enough to block her from the sight. From the ground, it would be impossible to tell whether a column of flame that size was a true column or just a ring.

[Kender Bard]

Terza responded beautifully, screaming as if in agony. "No!! What is this power?!" Behind the flames, she had to bite down on a knuckle gingerly to keep from bursting into laughter. Oh this was so much fun! She willed her ice to touch against the flames, sending up steam to billow upwards and provide more cover. She worked on trying to will the steam upwards, though it wasn't as much in her domain and harder to work with. But it sufficed. She rose up on slush and ice with it, higher and higher so that it looked as though she were melting into a plume of the stuff.

Satisfied with her current altitude, she created a disc of ice and stepped onto it off the mountain of slush (which collapsed promptly) and made a slow descent to a distant hill. Die would have to give her the details later. She put out a mental call and abruptly all her creatures beat a hasty retreat. A few collapsed and died on her command, for effect.

The farmfolk stared, stunned and amazed.

[Darastrix]

Die sustained his fire for a few moments more and looked toward it with obvious interest as he brought it down. He figured their audience would just take it as him being cautious--which he was, just for other reasons--so it wouldn't hurt anything. For his part, he wasn't completely sure that Terza wouldn't pull a fast one on him. He had to admit, though, if she jumped out after he though their game was through, his expression was sure to be priceless. And visible! Life was so novel these days.

Ah, but no, not this time. He grinned at the remains of the slush, and then at the dupes who had watched it all unfold. "Well!" he said, lacing his fingers together to crack them. "That was a bit exciting, wasn't it?"

He was a mortal who killed powerful demons with naught but his element. He could afford to be cheerful afterward.

[Kender Bard]

As if his words broke some kind of spell, the amassed people began to cheer mildly. It was short lived, however; there was much to do. The injured were gathered up, the dead pulled aside and someone ordered to go on a fast horse to Raynham to fetch a priest and to alert Sir Trevor on what had happened here this day.

Some people, though, were quick to approach their savior and offer up a number of gratitudes. He was immediately offered dinner at three houses, someone suggested that they hold a celebration in his honor. One woman, so overcome with gratitude, fell to her knees in front of him when she'd tried to speak the words of thanks.

[Darastrix]

Ah, his public. One could never get this kind of honest reaction in Morilanta. “Oh, I’m just glad I came along in time.” An idea occurred to him and he had to bit his lip to keep from grinning before assuming an appropriately pious expression. “And that the sacrifices that were made so some us could have the strength to fight the demons weren't made in vain.”

[Kender Bard]

One of the villagers, a younger boy, likely not yet a man grown, perked up suddenly. "Does that mean you've fought demons before?"

[Darastrix]

Die turned to the boy, smiling thinly. "Oh, yes. A small surviving group of Naurites found a way to help boost elemental power against the demons during a skirmish. Fights are bloody, you know, and one of them accidentally swallowed a demon's blood. That man killed them all with only his element. He and his friends brought the news to Athrug, and some of us volunteered to try it. Not all survived, sadly, but those of us who did have found that our abilities do much more damage to the demons than before."

Oh, he hoped this story would spread!

[Kender Bard]

This got the people to talking animatedly. One of those gathered, a strong and brawny young man who had been amongst those who had actually tried to fight against the demons (and survived), stepped forward. "Would you be willing to let a few of us do this... thing? It would mean our families would be safe from another attack, right?"