Stalemate

OOC: JP between Lucian, Jaxx, Omni, Bandorchu and Strangetides

After the Red Cap appeared from behind the group, Hunter turned and had an arrow pointed at the red cap as he waited to see what it would do. He wanted to kill it but it was avoiding attacking them for some reason. So he kept alert so see what the others saw and said.

The sudden appearance of yet another imp just another nail in the coffin of this mission. Not only that, but Cagliostro was now treating it like an old beggar man.
Instinct brought his machete halfway out of its sheath, but caution kept it there. Perhaps the man’s gesture could help see them off of the beach.
He moved slowly to place a nearby tree at his back, not trusting the open beach.

Hunter heard Tarmen as he noticed the new threat of the red cap. Hunter knew they were in a tight spot again as he whispered from behind his mask, "Tarmen keep an eye out for the boat. We won't have much time to escape, but I can suppress them with my arrows if it gets bad."

"It is a creature of magik, something we know little about. A packet of pipe weed seems cheaply bought to some possible goodwill, or at very least buy us some time," Nicolaus articulated quietly.

The dust devil creature grinned at the tobacco offer. He hopped around slightly on one leg but manly ignored the offering. He kept his eyes on Hunter first and the arrow notched on the bow aimed at him. He gripped the leather strips of his blade that served as a pommel. Smoke rose from his pipe as he turned his gaze to Tarmen. He gripped the strange lantern as he started to whistle while hopping in your direction.

Hunter remain calm and patient as he kept his arrow ready to fire the moment they were attacked. Hunter had no fear in his eyes as he stared down the redcap.
He questioned why the redcap had not attacked them yet and why the natives were nowhere around. He was not sure if it was a coincidence that they were separated or if there was a connection. However he knew the moment he killed this magical redcap there was a strong possibility others would come for revenge.

As Alexis saw the smoke rise, she felt relief. So someone did survive.
As she closed in on the beach she thought she heard whistling and slowed down to a more careful approach.

The creature whistling grew louder and it felt almost like the sharp sound would pierce your ears. His eyes focused on Hunter. Bows were long range weapons and not very effective at close quarters. The being seemed to disappear in the blink of an eye turning into a dust devil again, only to reappear next to the wounded assassin as his crude blade cut an arc through the bow and arrow. He swung the lantern in an arch striking the man in the face sending him to the ground. Spinning before anyone else could move he sliced his blade across Nicolaus chest, before moving to face Tarmen.
"MINE...." he screamed....

Blade fully drawn, Tarmen wasn’t sure what to do. Attack was just as risky as fleeing. The creature’s shriek gave him another chance however.
“What is? If it’s them you want, I would prefer if they stayed with me.”

Hunter realized to late that he underestimated his enemy as he was attacked so quickly. It was as if he could see the attack but his body would not move in time. The impact was painful as he fell to the ground. The echo from the hit rang in his head again as he hit the ground. Normally one would think Hunter was down for the count, but his training was hard wired into his mind and body even when injured badly. So after hitting the ground his body bounced up from the recoil and during that small moment Hunter instinctively grabbed three small poisoned throwing knives and threw them into the back of the skull of the redcap who was looking at Tarmen now.

The poisoned blades missed their target. A face full of blood and tears and possibly a broken nose had that effect on the strongest of warriors.

"EYES," Nicolaus called out, and threw a small object in front of the creature. He covered his eyes with his arm and rose and moved quickly towards the creature.

Hearing the unmistakable sound of battle Alexis picked up speed and began to run towards the commotion.

A large flash of light filled the area. The creature howled and turned back into a dust devil moving away from the group. But you all could hear the sound of its whirlwind nearby.

Hunter was down now and he ached all over. As his head pounded from the concussion he had no idea which way we was facing now. Was he still standing? Was he in the water? Was he dead? So many confusing thoughts rang in his mind as he felt like his head was inside a large bell as it was rung loudly in a pattern. He could feel his head inflate and deflate like it was trying to breath but was being strangled. At this point he had no idea his leg was injured as he coughed up some blood. To many thoughts and voices filled his head causing him pain. It looked bad for the assassin as he was in primal mode and reduced to his instincts like a wounded animal. He had no clue what was going on around him at this point.

Then a voice in his head got his attention despite being temporarily blinded by the pain and blood in his eyes. It was his dead beloved calling for him. She looked like a beautiful spirit reaching out to him and calling out to him with her beautiful smile. Even though he was now a base creature and wounded badly he longed to be with her again instinctively. Then he slowly began to crawl on his belly while reaching out to her. To anyone else he looked like a man about to die desperate to escape to freedom as he was moving inch by inch. He needed to reach her. He needed to hold her he needed to know it was all just a bad dream. During this time he managed to crawl six inches toward the water.

The smoke, the ringing from the jungle ahead, then other sounds she couldn’t make out. Voah sped up as she saw a flash of light, thankfully the foliage gave her some cover but left spots in her uncovered eye where the light had hit.

The creature was gone after the intense blaze of light faded and Nicolaus opened his eyes, His hand went to his chest and he pulled his canvas shirt apart to inspect a long slash across his upper torso, shallow and clean it was still bloody. It would be fine for now, he rushed to the Hunter crawling feebly towards the water. He could still hear the dust devil...

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