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< The Fourth Student | Red Ice Logs | In the Village >

Carmine Rain Hunter wakes to the insistent mental prodding of a tiny Water Elemental. The small fish flutters its fins lazily in the giant floating raindrop that serves as its mode of transpiration. "You are summoned to Febrisa's Office, Carmine Rain Hunter. You have a new assignment. You will need to bring all your materials and outer-scales."

• Carmine Rain Hunter blinks sluggishly, taking a moment to realize what "outer-scales" are. With a grunt and a nod, he rolls off of his hammock, dresses, gathers his three bamboo spears and plain leather shield, and reports to Febrisa's office, looking as haggard as ever.

Once Carmine has begun donning his scales, the water Elemental floats along on its round of messages to deliver, leaving him in peace. When Carmine finally reports to Febrisa's office, the Elemental Dragon is snorting crimson smoke and embers in irritation. A few patches of her ceiling bear fresh soot-stains.

• Carmine Rain Hunter glances up at the ceiling rather nervously, then to his superior officer. "I, er, apologize for my tardiness."
• Febrisa waves a claw in dismissal. "Think nothing of it. I'll just dock your vacation time by two years. You need to return to the Gelidi Lands. Xansha Niestro has reported rumors of demonic activity, but she also sent notice she was leaving the area for an extended visit with her great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grand-cousin. Thrice removed. So, she'll be gone for the next five years, waiting for the baby to grow up and be old enough to foster into a Dynastic family."

<Febrisa> "So, she'll be gone for the next five years, waiting for the baby to grow up and be old enough to foster into a Dynastic family."

• Carmine Rain Hunter nods, leaning his spears against his shoulder. "Alright ... what sort of activity are we talking about? Will this be the usual search-and-destroy?"

<Febrisa> "Minimum search involved, Primata Niestro's report narrows the field down a great deal." the great lizard's tongue flicks out, tasting the air. Her entire body shudders, a massive ripple of muscle. "You didn't shower did you?"

• Carmine Rain Hunter shrugs. "Didn't have time, thought you needed me here right away."

<Febrisa> "It's a good thing you don't have a girlfriend or do any thing involving other people. You'd drive them away inside a fortnight with your stench."

• Carmine Rain Hunter looks offended. "It's only been a day since I last washed, I can't possibly smell all that bad."
• Carmine Rain Hunter takes a step back just to be safe. "Anyway, what shall I expect? Third-Circle raising an army?"

<Febrisa> "Regardless of your poor hygiene, I believe the demon in question is powerful, but not unduly so. First or Second Circle, the rumors were not clear enough for Xansha to determine with certainty." The Dragon's tail flicks in irritation, waving a gash through the smoke cloud that permeates the room. "However, once you find it, you are to determine its origin. That remains in question. Then you can kill it."

Carmine Rain Hunter: "Is Nine-Roads coming?"

<Febrisa> "No, she is on another assignment. This should not be beyond your capabilities."

• Carmine Rain Hunter nods a little, smiling. "Consider it done."

<Febrisa> "I'll put you down for a mental acuity bonus if you succeed."

• Carmine Rain Hunter chuckles dryly, sliding the three bundled lances onto his shoulder. "Sounds fair. Shall I go now?"

<Febrisa> "Please do. And bathe before coming back. Clean all your hairy bits. You mammals are disgusting enough when clean.."

• Carmine Rain Hunter laughs, turning and proceeding to the appropriate gate.
• Febrisa sniffs loudly in disdain, then makes a face as if regretting her choice of derogatory expression

In the frozen wastes of the North it takes little effort for someone of Carmine Rain Hunter's skill to track down the demon. It seems uninterested in remaining hidden, it leaves tracks even a child could follow through the snow and a smell of rotting iron follows it as it moves through the wastes

• Carmine Rain Hunter seems almost cheerful, though in a subdued manner, as he follows the trail, two spears clenched in his shield-grip, the other at the ready in his right hand.

The trail eventually leads to a village, small and isolated. Only a few animal-hide huts are scattered in a slight clearing among rocky outcroppings. This was probably once home to a group of nomadic Twisted but anything once living here now dwells in the swollen belly of the beast that emerges from a hut, bloody-jawed and clawed to face the Sidereal

• Carmine Rain Hunter sets his shield before him, announcing himself. "I am Carmine Rain Hunter. You know why I am here."

Indeed, the belly of the sleek, shiny beast is distended with the human meat that it has so recently feasted upon. Carmine Rain Hunter can make out the faint outline of a face, pressed against the muscular walls of the creature's gut. It lumbers forward, its silver-mottled black hide glimmering greenly in the sunlight. Its voice is a hissing rumble.

<Sevsimtali> "You seek my death, little Exalt. For what, making dinner of these disgusting furred things?"

• Carmine Rain Hunter leaps up and to the left, augmenting his movement with Charms to land on the hopefully-stable roof of one of the huts.
• Sevsimtali follows you with the eye-cluster on the end of his tail as his head yawns, displaying a gaping maw of gums and a few blunt teeth. The mist that emerges from its lungs in the cold is red-tinged, so blood-gorged is the demon. "Or do you seek my death for coming to my ancient home? Do I not have a right to be here, as my parents have a right to own this world and crush your soul to dust and devour your mind?"
• Carmine Rain Hunter invokes the Vermillion Sentinel Form, narrowing his eyes. "You have no right. Your forebears were cast out and imprisoned, the only place for you is with them."
• Sevsimtali laughs, the sound of velvet rotting and slime sliding across silk. "You are mistaken! Very well, how shall we resolve this?" The eye-cluster moves closer to you as the tail elongates, becoming thinner and sinuous instead of stubby and muscular. "Shall I devour you now, or slowly eat you alive?"

<Sevsimtali> "I am feeling quite sated at the moment and this child is pressing most insistently against my bile-bladder with her spine. So I am loathe to add a muscular male to my dinner...but I could make room, I suppose. If you insist on being eaten now."

• Carmine Rain Hunter anima swirls around him as he leaps wordlessly, coming down on the demon with one brutal spear thrust meant to drive through the demon's limb and embed the spearhead in the ground.
• Sevsimtali turns in a greasy smooth motion, sliding across the snow and flowing up towards Carmine like a massive explosion of black-silver puss. Razor-sharp claws slice into the Red's stomach and chest, dragging him down toward the bloody hole that would swallow him whole
• Carmine Rain Hunter grunts in pain, aborting his spear thrust to turn the weapon sideways just before it meets the demon's mouth, a last-ditch effort at halting his descent into the demon's belly. The Sidereal whispers, more to himself than anything. "Survival is control."
• Carmine Rain Hunter takes advantage of his position near the monster's gaping maw, and growls as he drives cold bronze down the beast's gullet.
• Sevsimtali pulls one claw out of the Sidereal's body and interposes it between himself and the spear. For his trouble the demon is impaled through the hand, howling in rage as the spear slides through his limb. Jaws snap just under Carmine’s feet as the demon glares at him with all 17 eyes
• Sevsimtali wraps his mangled hand around the spear and yanks hard. Reflexively, Carmine grasps the haft of the spear tighter to keep from being disarmed. As Carmine’s perch on the roof is disrupted by his tug of war, the Sevsimtali lunges upward, its good paw trying to drag the Sidereal down lower
• Sevsimtali scrabbles uselessly against the demon-hide armor that protects the Red's legs
• Carmine Rain Hunter can't help but smirk as the demon's claws rattle across his armor ineffectually. Dropping down, Carmine Rain Hunter slams his shield into the demon's face as he delivers a savage kick at the monster's throat.

<Sevsimtali> "You think you will defeat me!" spits out a mouthful of silver-black blood. "I will feast on your bones yet! My rage burns away the supper within and there is space for food as pleasurable as you will be!"

• Carmine Rain Hunter releases the captured spear and rolls off the demon's shoulder to land behind him, viciously ramming one of the backup spears into the monster's back.
• Sevsimtali does not so much turn around as simply suddenly suck his head into his chest and then have it explode from between his shoulder blades, from which position it, and the arms that suddenly appear from his lower back, grab hold of the Red and pull him face-first into the hungry demon's craw

<Sevsimtali> "ARGH! Your tricks will fail soon!"

• Sevsimtali waddles toward Carmine Rain Hunter, leaving behind a pile of ichor and bones that sloughed from his form when his body reversed itself. Moving in the odd backwards gate, the demon is thinner now, less the weight of one previous meal. Clearly, this has improved its speed as it claws ravenously at the Red
• Carmine Rain Hunter steps back, setting his shield in front of him, the bright bronze spearhead flickering as it swats at the slashing claws.
• Carmine Rain Hunter grits his teeth, wincing as blood pours over his lacquered armor. Lunging desperately, his spear lashes across the demon's belly ..err...back, then drives upwards into the cluster of eyes!

<Sevsimtali> "Even if you defeat me..." the demon spits a bloody child's skull in your direction, the bone having been dislodged from its belly by your spear. "..my master..will still prevail...my brothers..will eat you"

• Carmine Rain Hunter shouts "Survival is fury!" as he leaps upon the demon, crimson Essence trailing in his wake as bright bronze plows infernal flesh like a ship borne across the ocean.
• Sevsimtali pulls the spear forward, trying to aim it *down* into his belly and pull the Sidereal along with it. Confident the inferno in his gut can handle the spear, the silver-black demon claws viciously, trying to consume spear and spearman in one gulp!
• Carmine Rain Hunter wrenches the spear up and back, the crosspiece of the bronze blade catching the ribcage of some poor soul as the lance is extracted from the belly of the beast and the sharp edge is raked along the innards of the demon.
• Sevsimtali twists along the spear in a most literal sense. The demon inverts itself, suddenly the eyes on its tail are in Carmine Rain Hunter's face, malevolently green-black with rage as it removes the butt of the spear from its mouth. In another impossible shift of form, the head and arms of the demon emerge just above the tail and lunge for Carmine’s soft, juicy throat
• Sevsimtali fails to adjust its body enough and the massive head is not quite far enough removed from the body to effectively tear out the Sidereal's throat
• Carmine Rain Hunter lets go of his second spear, kicking the beast with both feet in a combination of weak attack and maneuver meant to launch him away from the demon.

<Sevsimtali> "You have insulted and hurt me, Sidereal! I would make room in my belly for you if I had eaten a hundred virgins and you were a yeddim!" So saying, the demon lunges, gnawing viciously on the Red's skull

• Carmine Rain Hunter casts aside his shield, uplifting one hand to slow the assault of the demon's jaws, crimson fire rolling off of his lean, bloodied form. He whispers. "Survival is acceptance."
• Carmine Rain Hunter 's gloved hand takes hold of the inside of the beast's throat, squeezing relentlessly as he kneels over the monster, hissing in what he presumes to be its ear. "Wherefore art thou here?"
• Sevsimtali hacks and coughs, sending bits of finger bone at your face, along with a mixture of crimson and silver-black ichor. "I am here...to serve my master.."
• Carmine Rain Hunter scowls, removing his hand from the monster's throat. He stands and plants his spear in one of the demon's gaping wounds, pinning it to the ground, and draws out a small strip of paper from a joint in his armor.
• Sevsimtali writhes in pain, spreading across the blood-soaked ground like a puddle
• Carmine Rain Hunter 's red eyes, still trailing thin wisps of scarlet Essence, remain locked on the demon. He rubs one fingertip delicately over the blood oozing over his cuirass, and begins to inscribe the prayer strip with an old ward against demons, whispering a prayer to Mars as he does.
• Carmine Rain Hunter displays the completed prayer strip to the demon in the manner of a craftsman displaying a technique to an apprentice, then kneels, very delicately, almost surgically laying the paper over the demon's wound. Carmine Rain Hunter: "Now ... who is your master ... and why did he call you?"
• Sevsimtali shrieks! Velvet tearing, slime exploding, flesh melting! Blood sprays into the air as it screams the answer to your question. "THE DEATHLORD! TO SEE IF I COULD COME!"
• Carmine Rain Hunter lifts the prayer strip from the demon and dangles it before his eyes. "Which Deathlord?"

<Sevsimtali> "The Wailing...Daughter of Light..and Silence.."

• Carmine Rain Hunter smiles a decidedly unpleasant smile and gives a nod, then returns the prayer strip to the demon's wound and steps back.
• Sevsimtali seems to be melting or in some way deforming. Even the dead bodies prisoned within its belly, now outlined by the deflated flesh of the demon, seem to write in pain as the demon dies
• Sevsimtali lets out a final scream, all the soft things in the world exploding, all the unclean grease and slime bursting into flame. And then...melts. The silver-black-green of the demon's body simply splashes into the snow leaving behind the bones of a massacred village and a foul stench that empties Carmine Rain Hunter's stomach

< The Fourth Student | Red Ice Logs | In the Village >