Recudor: Feared Wolves Den

Richard takes in the beast's display of empowerment with a smirk. He had a feeling that the pair of beasts had a deeper connection and with this 'passing of the torch' his instinct was proven to have been on the mark.

As the Alpha seems to absorb, it's companion's fire, RD begins to shift his own energies into his blade arm and by extension his blade in preparation for much more lethal strikes.

As the beast complete's its apparent transformation, Richard takes a few steps back and quickly stabs the dirt next to him. He then viciously drags the sword towards the beast and brings the blade up before reaching it, kicking up much of the earth beside him in an attempt to blind the beast's view, even partially. As soon as the dirt starts to rise, RD unsheathes one of his knives and wields it with his opposing hand. He moves quickly to where he assumes the Alpha's blindside is and then tosses the knife overhead, towards it's eye, in an attempt to blind it as it attempts to spot Richard through the dust cloud.

Airgetlam turns a nob on her scope to magnify it, getting a better view of the wolves. It seems they are really going at it, and with RD's current state, she starts to doubt if a tranquilizer bolt would work, maybe she'd need two or three. She also questions whether she could legitimately get the drop on him to sock him in the face.

As she keeps watching the fight, she notes that even with the bolts he might be hard to hit, but she could probably hit him in the arm with one, she doesn't want to risk the neck at all. The chest would work well also, or the leg. Something with enough size to make the chances of a successful hit drastically better. For now, all she can do is wait, and see what transpires.

Doctor Atrium nods to himself when he is done healing his leg. He knows that it is far from perfect but is it enough for him to get back into the fight. He looks ahead to see that mow only one of the big wolfs are on fire. He then looks around for Airgetlam but he can't seem to find her.

She must be crouching low in the grass and using the shadows to cover herself, cleaver but I need to find her. he thinks to himself.

Doc then focuses on the shadow at his feet and he sinks into it, become one with it. This is another feeling that Doc has enjoyed. It it cool all around, there is no noises to be heard and there is nothing to see. Some people who travel through their shadow can lose their mind or freak out do to them not being able to hear and see. If here it takes a few seconds for the traveler to be able to see the world above the through other shadows. Because it is night, Doc can see the world above him with ease. He starts looking around and soon he finds Air landing on her stomach off in the distance. He quickly moves his shadow so it is right next to her. Because he is using a shadow to move, there is no noise that can be heard. He sees that she is taking aim, so he reaches out of the shadow and grabs the crossbow and points it down. He brings half of his body out of the shadow and looks at Air. His finger is on his lips, a sign to be quite. He gently lows the crossbow and let's it go.

Please don't fire yet. I do not wish to fight the wolfs AND RD at the same time. I know it is a pain to just sit here and watch, but it is what we have to do. When the wolf are both dead then you can shot him. He whispers to her.

Richard's distraction causes some brief chaos among the two wolves, straight up knocking the white, now powerless, wolf off its feet.


Caught somewhat by surprise the flaming beast spins in a circle and slams its paws into the ground, causing its fiery aura to disperse in a shock wave around it. RD can feel the singing heat from the wave as it moves past him, though it doesn't faze him past pushing him back a little from the force. The rocks from his cleave however speed towards RD with the power and momentum of the wave, causing some pains and bruises before Richard can manage to react.

RD Recovers quickly and just in time for the black wolf to lunge at him with claws of fire.

Richard staggers slightly from the impact of the stones, but recovers quickly enough to dodge the alpha's fury. This time he jumps and uses the Black beast as leverage for an even higher leap before bringing his sword down heavily on the stunned White wolf.

Ripping the Rock Cleaver out before punting the felled creature aside, he turns back on the Alpha with a satisfied grin before beginning his own lunge toward its magenta visage.

Airgetlam nearly jumps and pulls the trigger, luckily however she doesn't and instead breathes a sigh of relief.

"Holy shit, scared me, don't do that Doc. I see this shadow hand grab my crossbow and I'm about to wrench it away and pump a bolt into the hand. Good thing I didn't." She says, breathing heavily still. She looks on ahead at the fight.

"I wasn't going to anyway. I'm not entirely too confident I could do it right now. He's got the situation there under control... maybe when he's done fighting he'll calm back down? I'd hope that could be the case, that maybe just him fighting is him getting it out of his system." She whispers to Doc.

"Is this a one-time thing or is this periodic?"

Doctor Atrium sighs and shakes his head to Airgetlam's questions.

'No. When RD starts turning bezerk, he doesn't just 'tire himself out'. He is going to keep looking for things to kill until he has until either everything in his area is dead, or until he is out cold." Doc takes a few moments to answer her other question. No, this is not a one time thing. Now really isn't the time to go into details about his condition, just promise me that you will not tell the others about this. To be honest, this is why I wanted to do this mission. I knew that he need to let loose and knew this would be the safest place for him to do so. I didn't expect you to tag along."

With out as much as an attempt of resisting, the white wolf falls prey to Richards raw speed and power. The deceased remains of it fly off towards a nearby tree and drop lifelessly on the ground.



RD turns to the remaining black wolf, the last of its pack, and lunges at it. To his surprise the creature manages to conjure some great speed and blast itself towards him, leaving a trail of smoke and fire behind it as it crashes into RD and pins him on the ground.

RD finds himself under the heavy obsidian beast, the flames of which slowly grow all around the two. Richard's reflexes saved him from a pretty nasty wound as he managed to barely bring up his sword and block the attack, with his opponent pressing down the sword as best as it can and trying to occasionally take bites at his face to no avail.

Richard, pinned under the black beast, shifts its weight on him by lowering one side of the Rock Cleaver, causing the Alpha to loosen its grip as it slides down the weapon's edge. Using this moment of weakness, RD switches positions with the beast, now baring his blade down on the beast as it struggles beneath him lying prone on its back. It snaps and claws at Richard, struggling viciously with him before he ends it by applying all the pressure he could muster on the wolf's throat; choking it for a moment before the cleaver's edge bites into the Alpha's vitals.The Alpha lies dying, twitching somewhat as its violet flames slowly smolder along with its own life force.

RD exhilarated with his victory, grins viciously as he mutilates its corpse, stabbing, slashing and kicking at it, over and over again. With no other enemies in sight, this continues until he's satisfied, the Alpha's deceased form barely recognizable.

With his bloodlust now sated, Richard begins to feel the exhaustion the consecutive fights had caused, and stumbles back a few steps from the mess before him. Breathing heavily, he collapses to his knees for a few moments before adjusting to a sitting position.

RD looks toward the pile in front of him, "Ugh... Gatt Dammit..." He curses before glancing to his left and right, trying to get a good grasp of the carnage caused while he was 'out'. "Shit..." He falls backward onto the grass, allowing his mind time to collect itself, staring at the stars for a moment before finally remembering where he is and of course, the fact that he arrived with allies in toe.

"Aw Hell!" He remarks before turning over to his belly and pushing himself off the ground, struggling and forcing himself to do so, his body over strained and barely responding to his demands. "Hey! Doc?!... Air!?" He cries out, frantic in his search for them, stumbling and cursing to himself; hoping in desperation that he didn't do something he'd regret.

Airgetlam watches as the fight finishes up and RD gruesomely eviscerates the remains of the large wolf. She looks up at Doc.

"I think he's about safe to touch now, he seems to have calmed down. You first though, ladies first doesn't apply here." She says, getting up and patting him on the back.

She takes a few steps, watching in case he really isn't safe to deal with and calls out.

"You about done Rich? You look like you could use some sleep! Even a wood floor would work!"

Doctor Atrium slowly and carefully walks over to where RD is laying on the ground. He looks over the man and gently kicks his leg.

"You're done?" Doc sounds very confused and unsure. "This is the first time I have seen you just change back without me having to pin you down." He gives a quick laugh and bends down and starts feeling his muscles on his arms and legs as well as looking at the burns her got. "You're going to be sore in the morning, like always. I can make it easier for you to walk but your body needs to do the rest."

He looks at Airgetlam. "You want to look around and see if the wolfs have the amulet we are looking for?"

Richard hears Air call out from behind him and spins quickly to face her, too quickly in fact. He stumbles and falls again, his body unable to provide the strength for him to lift himself to his feet again due to the over exhaustion of his muscles. He instead watches on all fours as they approach from the bushes a good distance away slowly and cautiously, as they should, if he had guessed correctly and lost himself during the previous fight(s).

RD smiles weakly at the pair before turning onto his back and laying on the cool grass again. "Heh! Honestly at this point i wouldn't mind catchin' a few Zs right ere'!" he says as he stares at his right arm watching his grip finally fully relax despite having released his blade earlier, the muscles in his arm loosening as his adrenaline cools.

He feels a nudge in his leg and turns his head slightly to face the Doc, "I couldn't count on ya all the time ta hold me back. After we split i got ah better feel for it. I know when ta make people back off, I can hold back a bit as it rises 'nd force it ta recognize what is 'nd isn't a target sometimes... I still dun 'ave much control over the peak though... It does what it wants once it gets there, but i can fuel it, feed it with enough rage that it burns itself out... If left alone long enough I can take control back, with no target ain't nothin' ta feast offa', still, better sooner than later. I'd rather 'ave someone engage it, stop it 'fore it has a chance ta harm anyone that dun deserve it. "

Richard acknowledges the Doc's prognosis with a nod and glances from him to Air, checking for wounds/bruising other than the scratches and/or bites one would expect from wolves. "Seems as ya'll did alright... I'm just glad we're ok..." He sighs before forcing himself to sit up with a groan. "I'm guessin' the wolves kept the thing somewhere in the cave." He gives a slight shug as he glances at its entrance, "Then again these are animals we're talkin' bout ere', might be better ta see if ya can spot the remains of the bloke who once owned the trinket. Might be nearby, assumin' it wasn't edible..." He finishes with a hint of mirth in his tone.

"Well at least you got the job done. Was afraid maybe I would have to put you out with a dart, or worse risk it and sock you in the jaw." She says, holding up her left hand in a fist.

She nods at the notion that their objective was still technically the amulet, and she jogs off into the cave. She looks around, some moonlight being her illumination, but most of the is quite dark. She can't exactly tell how large or deep the cave is, so she takes a torch from her pack and lights it, and continues to search for a body. She slips her short sword out just in case there are still unwelcome wolves.

Doctor Atrium watches as Airgetlam walks towards the cave. "Be careful, I am going to help RD out!" And with ease, he puts RD on the ground. "You aren't going any where. You may have some better control but you still over-clock your muscles. Let me see what I can do to help them."

Doc then gently nudges RD to lay flat on his back. He hands start glowing white and he puts them on his chest. "This isn't going to be anything fancy. Just a basic muscle heal, but it is still going to take a bit." He waits until Air is in the cave before he starts talking again. "You think she is going to tell the other what she saw?"

RD can see Doc's left eye change silver as Jericho speaks to Doc him in his head. "She would be a fool not to. The rest of them have a right to know what is going on."

"So by that logic, I should just tell the others about what I...we are? Tell them about what your end goal is?"

"No, there is an exception to every rule. In this case, the others don't need to know. Our secret wont try and kill us like RD's."

"You and I both know that when it comes to the truth, its all or nothing. anything else is just a waste of time. If you want people to tell the true, you need to as well. Now go away, I need to focus."

Doc then turns back to RD, his eye returning to normal. "Sorry about that, I hope you didn't say anything while I was thinking."

Airgetlam enters the the dark cave with her lit torch illuminating only a few steps infront of her as her eyes try to adjust to the darkness as best they can. Unable to shake a growing sense of unease she searches the entrance of the cave for any signs of the amulet or the body it could possibly go with. Without any signs of either she decides to press on further, being cautious as she takes each careful step further into the cave.

Her torch light slowly shifts out of sight of RD and Doc as Airgetlam ventures into the cave. The cool air inside mingling with the slowly building tangy stench of rot and spoiled meat, sending shivers down her spine. She checks around the creepy dark cave but so far finds only small bits of torn flesh and a couple bones here and there. None of these look particularly fresh so she takes a moment to weigh her options. She looks up at the entrance of the cave. Only now realizing how far the slope has taken her. She can barely see some moonlight shine through from where she came from. She then turns and holds her torch further into the cave where she can see a bend in the rock and hear the faint dripping of water echoing back to her.

"Heh- ugh dammit..." Richard lets out a pained chuckle at Air's gesture immediately regretting doing so. He watches her jog towards the cave, unsheathing her weapon as she enters. Every part of him wishes to follow her inside, watch her back, but the pulsing ache in his own body forces him to stay and recover.

RD feels the Doc nudge his shoulder, requesting that he lay down to receive treatment, to which Richard begrudgingly complies, he never really liked being fussed over, even if it was for his own good. In order to recover faster though, he allows the doc to 'work his magic', flopping his forearms over his eyes in a futile attempt to hide his shame over his current predicament. "Dammit..." RD utters in a barely audible whisper during the slight pause in the Doc's speech.

After a moment the Doc gives voice to a question Richard was beating himself up about at the time. "I'd assume so." RD answers without hesitation. "She has every right ta. The only thing i can do is apologize fer allowin' her ta see me in such a sorry state. What she decides ta say ta them, 'nd what they decide ta do in response is completely up to them. If they decide they feel threatened by my presence 'nd ask me ta 'shove off' then that's exactly what i'll do..."

Richard peeks from beneath his arms at the Doc, noting the somewhat glazed look in his eyes as he continues his treatment. He stares at the man for a while, narrowing his vision as a frown appears on his face. A moment later the Doc seems to snap back, seemingly realizing he was caught in a daze for a moment. "Dun worry 'bout it." RD remarks as the ache in his muscles finally start to relax. "We done 'ere? I'd like ta catch up wit' Air as soon as possible." He speaks with an bit of tension in his voice, obviously reaching the edge of his comfort as he realizes the man caring for him at the moment, may not be the man he trusted.

Airgetlam gags a little at the stench coming from deeper in the cave. The den must be further in, and the smell will only get stronger. She looks back at the mouth of the cave, then back at the bend. She can't help but squirm at the prospect that more wolves could be ready to pounce at her, or worse something else, given the two wolves they saw that were alight. She decides she'd rather be safe than sorry and she begins her ascent back to the mouth of the cave, keeping her blade out and checking behind her often to make sure there's nothing following her.

Doctor Atrium frowns when he sees how uncomfortable RD is.

"Relax, it's still me. I am not sure why you are so uneasy about me switching. Its far more tame from when you change. Like you, I have learned to fight him off a bit. He will not be taking over until I go to sleep. Though he is becoming increasingly more active as the night goes on."

He sighs, his hands stop glowing and he lets them fall to his sides.

"Its sad you can't fully trust me like you once did...He had to go and screw everything up."

"Screw everything up? I just allowed us to live. If not for my actions, we would be dead on the side of the road."

Doc just ignores Jericho and gets on his feet, holding a hand out for RD.

"If you are in a hurry, then what I have done is good enough. You are still going to be sore, so take your time getting up."

Richard stares at the man standing before him for a few moments staring him straight in the eyes before speaking. This time he speaks clearly and concisely, a serious tone edged with subtle rage and sprinkled lightly with... fear? "...Interesting... how you call it 'more tame'. You didn't watch a good friend of yours who is known to value the lives of others before his own, suddenly devour the life of someone he was trying to protect only moments before, without even batting an eye. I wasn't watching a friend i knew and trusted trying desperately to survive, i was watching a cold tyrant dooming an innocent being to hell for the sake of his objective. I'm not exactly sure what 'he' wants but at that very moment i caught a glimpse of 'his' dedication to 'his' cause. Those were the eyes of a man that has everything to lose, a man who won't accept no for an answer, a man who is running out of time, and no longer cares for the destruction he may cause in pursuit of his goal. Those eyes contained the ferocity of a lion... that man... is dangerous."

RD looks away for a moment towards the cave, thinking he could hear the sounds of footsteps approaching the pair. He shifts his gaze back to the Doc's hand, "I'm sure i'm quite a contender when i lose control, but i feel a raging beast is much easier to handle than a skilled, sane man who sees people only as resources to achieve his goals. I don't like him. I don't trust him, and i have a feeling that the path to his goal will be strewn with the corpses of many." Richard grasps the outstretched palm, pulling himself off the ground with the Doc's help, much of the aching gone, but a dull pain remaining as a reminder of much needed time to rest.

"I never stopped trusting you. If it seems like i don't, well that may well be because i don't want to see you getting yerself killed, but trusting him? I think you're asking for a bit much. Unlike you, i'm pretty sure he'd try to get rid of me if i lost control in front of him, i get the feeling he's just waiting for the right moment to take me out and write it off as 'An Unfortunate Circumstance'. Right now, i'm in no state to go toe-to-toe with him, so i'm a bit weary, its got me on edge..." He says as he takes a few steps back and begins to stretch, attempting to loosen up muscles which had tightened from laying still too long after the intensive workout he partook in with the pack of wolves.

Now fully recognizing Air's approach from within the cave Richard decides to close up their discussion, "When you're ready to tell me everything you know about him we can have a nice long chat, but for now i don't want to associate with him, and we should focus on the here and now."

Airgetlam comes to the mouth of the cave and looks out, seeing RD and Doc finishing up a chat. She waves and approaches.

"So I figured I'd wait on you two, since I'd rather be safe than sorry. I'm guessing you didn't find the amulet in any of these wolves' stomachs?" She says, looking around, but seeing that none of the wolves have even been cut open.

"Or, quite likely the piece of jewelry is in the cave, and once again I'm not about to go in alone. Shall we?"

Doctor Atrium lets out a sighs. Everything RD said is true. He is about to respond to him when Airgetlam.

"Sorry, I have been healing RD, not really been able to check the wolfs, but I honestly don't think any of them at the amulet. Though before we go, I would like to get some blood of those two wolfs. They were far from normal wolfs."

Doc walks over to the each of the wolfs and fills a vile with blood from each beast. He then turns to RD.

"RD, would it be too much to ask if you could help be bring them back home? I would like to look at their fur as well. If there was any wolf I would like you to take the fur off of. It would be these two. Their fur seems to be fire proof and that alot needs to be looked at, let alone used to help us. In the mean time..."

Doc stops and looks around the area. "You think we can hang them on a tree? I don't want to being them with us when we go in the cave but I also don't want some animal so walk up and get a free late night dinner."

RD chuckles at Air's weariness of the cave, he couldn't blame her, in fact her merely scoping it out was exactly what he hoped she'd do. The Doc's question about bringing one of the deceased wolves home makes Richard stare at the man once again, but this time its a mildly exasperated look. He knows damn well the man has a point, even a traveler like him couldn't remember running into too many creatures as unique as the beasts he had recently fought, but damn it, he really didn't feel like handling their carcasses at the moment. He groans as he covers his eyes with a hand which he then drags down his face before complying, seeking and picking up the body of the white wolf (the black alpha's corpse being irredeemable due to mutilation) before carrying it to a tree with a sturdy branch to hang it off of.

Finishing the process he walks back to the pair and gestures toward the cave by pointing at it as he walks past them to its mouth. "Shall we?"

Airgetlam nods at Rich, and she hands him her torch. When he takes it, she shoulders her own crossbow and checks the cylinder, and she removes the syringe bolts she had prepared to use on RD. She replaces them with normal bolts and she pumps the weapon.

She sweeps the weapon across her field of vision, searching for any vectors, but nothing seems to have followed her.

Without any signs of any further opposition and no votes against moving on the three begin making their way back to the cave. The doctor hesitates a moment, lost in thought, but then follows after the others.

They are greeted to the same situation that Air had been in previously. The cave is pretty dark and rather deep and there are bones and rotting meat scattered all over the grounds. The group goes as far down as Air had dared to go and stops for a brief moment as she takes verbal note of the spot.

By now, the faint dripping of water has come back into earshot, greeting the group from around the bend. RD takes the lead and takes a quick peek around the corner. There is another slope leading to what seems to be a bigger cavity. Due to the lighting he can't see any further so he asks for Airgetlam's torch and continues further on.

The natural room is decently sized. From the top of the cave, some faint natural moonlight shines through various holes that have formed in the mountain. There are small water droplets that fall from the holes, into a pool of water below. The shallow pool rests undisturbed in the center of the round room, becoming deeper towards the middle, but remaining shallow enough that it would only go up to the knees at most. Scattered around the room are a couple of bodies, human and animals alike, none of them identifieable.

Richard looks around the moonlit room, using the torch to supplement his vision. He tries to listen for the presence of any living creature other than themselves but the echo of droplets into the small pool before them don't allow him such a convenience. He instead unsheathes and grasps his trench knife with his free hand and begins to track the area around the room. First he seeks a way out of that particular room as well as any other entrances and exits, then he decides he should poke through the remains.

None of the corpses surrounding the pool are identifiable as related to royalty or such, but he searches the bodies anyway, moving clothing and such away with his knife. The pool at the center of the room intrigues him, and he considers sifting through it as well... "One thing at a time..." he whispers more to himself than the others in the room. He then hands the torch back to air, deciding that he had recovered enough energy to attempt a bit of magic. First he takes the tattered remains of his cape and wraps it around his face, the smell of the damp remains had been bothering him for awhile and while the air wasn't fresh, he could filter it a bit this way; He then hold out his hand, free from gripping the torch and concentrates for a few moments, feeling the energy slowly but surely gather in his arm. Suddenly the flame bursts from his palm as if lighting a stove top, causing RD himself to jump a bit, cursing under his breath, before his focus increases and he's able to shift the flame into something smaller and more manageable. He turns back to the group, bowing somewhat in apology and stifling a chuckle at how iffy his magic is before going back to searching the bodies.