MISSION 005 PT 2 & ARRIVALS

[etrayamods]

WHO: Everyone!
WHEN: September 27th-???
WHERE: Throughout Etraya
WHAT: New Arrivals! With a side of mission 005.
NOTES\WARNINGS: Horror elements, including fear-inducing landscapes, distorted environments, unseen predators, mental/emotional distress, potential body horror, corruption, possession, brainwashing, and compulsion.

⏵ disrupted arrival ⏴ Your arrival does not go as anticipated. Aurora, the AI that keeps Etraya in order, had been overtaken by the Im'mari earlier in the month, her systems corrupted by its influence. While efforts have been made to save her from succumbing to it, much of the city is still in disrepair. New arrivals will not awaken in pristine hospital rooms, but will instead awaken within the Dhaliwal-to-wall Bookstore. Cots are laid on the ground surrounded by books. Kneeling beside them is a woman - or rather, Aurora, with her new body that is vaguely similar to the makeup of those from Connor's world. Her features are strangely serene, with light hair framing her face. Those capable may recognize that she is machine, rather than flesh and blood. Beside her, a vital monitor thrums as it monitors the newcomers, checking them over for any abnormalities that may require her attention. Those who may have arrived injured will find their wounds well-tended to. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience." Her voice is steady, tinged with something almost apologetic. She offers a slight smile, looking over her charges. "We are in the midst of a mission that has... gotten out of hand. My name is Aurora. You have been chosen to protect your home world, and I am here to assist you in achieving that goal. The multiverse has begun to fall apart, and Echo will only be able to protect some of them. You are here to show them the importance of protecting your world." She will remain to answer questions for those who respond to her politely in turn. For those who opt to be unkind, Aurora will simply shake her head in disappointment and pull herself up to her feet, moving to check on her next charge, if any remain. Otherwise, she has other matters to attend to. Each newcomer is given an earpiece to connect them to the others residing on Etraya before they exit the bookstore. Welcome to your new home. ⏵ into the fractured city ⏴ Once the initial shock of arrival wears off, they're left with the daunting reality that is Etraya: a collection of islands teetering on the edge of collapse, still reeling under the influence of the Im'mari. The streets outside are eerily quiet, but signs of life and activity are scattered throughout the city. Aurora provides a moment to gather their bearings, but the weight of her words hangs in the air: there is no time for complacency here. Etraya may be fractured, but it is still home. For now. Whispers of Im'mari's influence linger in the city, and numerous individuals who have been drafted have become infected by it. Faint shadows seem to move just beyond sight, strange echoes sound in the empty alleys of Nova City, the hospital appears to be temporarily taken over by something otherworldly, and while many within the city are beginning to figure out their next steps in taking care of what's happening, others are left reeling, consumed by the fears that haunt them. It may be wise to scout out a few safe zones among the untouched areas of Etraya. Ramsey Farm seems to remain... mostly peaceful, outside of the havoc caused by Mena the goat. The catacombs under the city proper also seem to have escaped Im'mari's notice - for now. And while it may be covered in snow and cold, the Wolf Cove also seems to be relatively peaceful. Outside of safe zones, others who have been present in the city for long may provide useful information, if one were to seek them out. There are strange objects imbued with dark magic hidden throughout Etraya by Gorgug and placed strategically to affect those who come into contact with them. Those who are perceptive enough may be able to find and neutralize these objects before they spread further terror. With enough effort, perhaps things will return to normal. ⏵ whispered influence ⏴ The air in Etraya is charged with tension, thick with the weight of something ancient and malevolent. Whatever it is has already begun warping the landscape, but what lurks behind the shifting reality is far worse. Im'mari, a fragment of the cosmic horror that ravaged Moorecroft through the night, managed to follow those who returned to Etraya on their journey back home. Its insidious presence creeps through the city like a shadow that refuses to lift. This isn't just a fight against fear. It's a slow devouring, a feeding on the darkness that lingers in every corner of your mind. Im'mari is not a distant beast; its very essence has embedded itself into the heart of Etraya, infecting wolves, plants, and even a few of those who currently call Etraya home. Its influence spreads like a whisper in the night, quiet at first, almost imperceptible. But with each passing moment, with each shudder that goes through one's spine as they face their fears, it grows stronger. The more one struggles, the more it feeds. Can you feel it? The weight of it pressing in? ⏵ through the veil ⏴ The whispers grow louder. Perhaps you see it in your friends. A little shift in their tone, the way they hesitate before speaking. Or perhaps it's something deeper--subtle changes, things you'd never normally question. Maybe they seem more irritable or doubt themselves in a way that feels foreign. You wonder: is this just the strain of the mission? Or is it something darker? "It's easier if you just give in." And the more you listen, the more your world bends. You swear you hear something--a voice, someone calling out to you. Or was it just the wind? The scent of blood hangs in the air, though when you search, you can't find its source. Suddenly you see it on the walls--a message, a memory from your past--something that grips you with a cold fear. It settles deep in your gut, but it's too late. The image lingers at the edges of your vision. Your mind is playing tricks on you, isn't it? Or is it something else? The longer you linger in the halls of the apartment complex, marketplace, or the hospital, the more the world twists around you. Objects shift in your peripheral vision - did that lamp just move? Did that thing lingering just at the edge of your peripheral vision just speak your name? Im'mari is everywhere now, its influence seeping into the very walls. While Aurora has been freed from its web and continues to work to regain control of her city, Im'mari tightens its grip, refusing to give in. The stairs creep beneath your feet, the scent of rot clings to the food in the diner, and the hospital's medical rooms are empty... or are they? Was that a scalpel, or something else? Paranoia begins to creep in, the lines between reality and illusion blurring the longer Im'mari maintains control. And grows bolder. Words, sounds, and images warp the world around you. Faces appear in the shadows. Scents that shouldn't exist hang in the air, triggering memories you'd long since buried. Blood, ocean waves, familiar voices fading in and out. The longer you stay in these places, the more paranoia seeps in, eroding your defenses and wearing you down. Many objects may seem harmless, but Gorgug's magic has imbued them with dark energy. As you pass them, the whispers begin. A stair creaks underfoot and suddenly you're back within a memory. A stone shifts, and you catch a glimpse of something that shouldn't be there. These objects are traps, set to trigger the worst within you. Each time a memory comes to life, it seems to warp the world around you - the hallways stretch, the lights flicker out, and you're certain someone is following you. The paranoia builds, a creeping dread that won't leave. You have to find the source. Break the spell, or endure it continuing to spread. ⏵ cottage in the woods ⏴ As you travel deeper into the twisted forest, the air grows heavier, more oppressive. The scorpions that guard the way to the cottage scuttle through the trees, their pincers sharp as they block your path. Vanessa lingers there, her appearance changed, eyes glowing a fiery red. Black veins pulse beneath her skin with the same dark energy that courses through the Im'mari. Along with her are her guardians, ready to fight to defend her. The closer you get to her, the more distorted the forest becomes. Light blinks in and out, disorienting you. You're not sure which way is forward, and the scorpions hiss from the shadows, attempting to lead you away. But you must keep going. Vanessa stands at the heart of it all - broken, feral, lashing out at anyone who dares to approach. If you get too close, you'll hear the whispers. "They see evil in you. You're no different." If confronted, she may call upon her magic, using Verbis Diablo. But if you act fast, you can attempt to stop her before the words take hold. ⏵ NOTES ⏴ There is a header for new arrivals if they wish to talk with Aurora! For all questions relating to this mission, please refer to the plotting post. Please keep an eye out for new comments, as we have many new characters and players arriving! All other questions can be directed to the FAQ. ⏵FULL NAVIGATION⏴

Comments

[maximumlegend]

[ It's clear that Gorgug is even further gone than Fabian had seen him before. Though even through his earlier encounters with him it had been pretty clear to Fabian already that Gorgug was only getting worse and worse with time. Maybe it was inevitable that eventually there would be no more talk at all - just this.

Considering how many people who have showed up here seem to be ranged fighters of some kind though, Fabian knows what he has to do. Even if he can't kid to himself and claim he's the best person to engage Gorgug here, at least he is used to the other's way of fighting and great at drawing attention to himself. If he can just get Gorgug to focus on him for a while, then everyone else can help get rid of their main problem here without having a raging half-orc in their way.

He just needs to not get hit.

Not as simple a task as that makes it sound, but Fabian is repeating it to himself in his head. Just don't get hit. His feet move quickly, as light as dance moves, making sure to stay one step out of the exact range of the axe as he watches the blade spring around. Him knowing the range on that thing in the first place sure helps with that - it means he can stay just close enough to give Gorgug the idea he could hit him if only he got just a little bit closer, keeping him focused on him. ]

Stay back! [ Fabian calls out. Not to Gorgug, but to-- well, whoever else is there, he can't exactly turn his head to thoroughly examine who might be watching right now. Riz, certainly, but maybe others too.

The last thing he wants is for someone more squishy to involve themselves in a fight that involves a huge axe in the hands of someone with Gorgug's level of strength. ]

I got this!

[ Even if 'this', right now, is mostly just dodging Gorgug's spin. He's waiting for the moment the other might run out of spinning steam, so Fabian can slash Fandrangor with a goading attack so Gorgug will focus only on him even more. ]

[stresstokens]

[ Riz likes to think of himself as a useful person. A valuable party member. A good combatant in his own right. He's a solid detective, handy with a set of lockpicks, lethal with a gun.

Here and now, even without having his self-esteem sufficiently pummeled over and over again by the machinations of this place, he feels incredibly helpless. If it were anyone other than Gorgug, he'd be urging Fabian to join him and just fucking run, knowing their chances are slim against a combatant like Gorgug, as brutal in his sheer force of strength as he is gentle as a friend, a friend that he'd somehow managed to ignore and neglect until his infection ran so rampant in his blood that he no longer even looks like himself, eyes wild as he sprints towards Fabian with deceptive ease.

Fabian doesn't fucking got this. Riz watches from his hiding place with trembling hands as Gorgug's greataxe, so heavy that only he himself could even pick it up, cleaves through the air, only a display of agility keeping him from having his head forcibly removed from his neck. He's never felt more cowardly hiding than he does now, and every atom of his being is urging him to sprint out there, to help Fabian, to somehow manage to convince his friend to snap out of this possession.

But Riz is a logical person. And he knows, logically, that he's of more help to Fabian from his hiding spot than he'd ever be getting himself killed out there. He forces his hands to still as he raises his arquebus and squeezes the trigger, sending loose one of several tranquilizer darts he'd stocked up on for this very purpose. He's not using them just because the idea of shooting Gorgug with actual bullets is horrifying; it's because he's so goddamn strong that tranquilizers will do a hell of a lot more to him than any number of bullets could.

Knowing that Gorgug will be able to see exactly where the bullet came from (and hoping that distracts him long enough for Fabian to do whatever the hell it is he can), Riz darts from one hiding spot to another, a brief flash of green amongst the foliage, no more noticeable than a squirrel darting from tree to tree. ]

[tinflower]

[ The hurricane ends with the blade of Gorgug's axe slammed into the ground--and it has to slam, even though it's more of a slice, with it thudding in deep with which the speed of the axe had obtained with each spin. It gives an opening for an attack with Gorgug's arms slung to one side while he still holds the handle of his weapon. He doesn't intend to stop though, the half-buried state of one of the blades not a concern.

And not apparently the tranquilliser dart either, when Gorgug doesn't even flinch, his attention not turning for anything so small when, well--there's someone right in front of him. Someone who does still have an upper hand in speed against Gorgug, and the slice of his blade across Gorgug's arms is good enough to tear into the fabric of his hoodie, reach down to the skin to slice. He hisses at him, but in retaliation, in perhaps the same instance that Fabian knows he should try bouncing back on his feet and away from Gorgug, Gorgug's already jerking out his axe to swing out and slam at him; potentially thwacking him more with the flat side of the blades than the ends themselves, but the molten core still thrums and burns within that centre, and even being hit by adamantium like a sledgehammer than its sharper edges is still not kind.

But Gorgug isn't here to be kind. He's here to take his opponents down. ]

[maximumlegend]

[ Fabian can feel something whir by in the air. He knows it's Riz - knows what they planned, what they talked about as to what the two of them could even do in a situation like this. A situation that feels far too overwhelming for only a third of their party to tackle, but that they had to get involved in all the same, unable to abandon their friend to the thing that had taken over him.

It doesn't slow him down. Mostly because Fabian trusts Riz with his entire life, and he knows Riz's aim is good enough that there's no way in hell the other is accidentally going to hit Fabian with one of the darts rather than Gorgug, even if Fabian is moving around a lot. He trusts his best friend enough to know Riz will be able to adapt. He just has to trust him.

(Besides, it's not like he could look at Riz right now. He has Gorgug's focus clearly on him, and though that's an overwhelming force, Fabian would rather have it this way than have it shift to Riz off in the distance. If Fabian pretends their friend isn't here, then maybe Gorgug won't notice either.)

And though being able to even land a hit on Gorgug at all while the other is in this state feels like a slight victory, the knowledge that they at least aren't toally outpowered and lost here, it also brings Fabian in close enough proximity that he can't dodge Gorgug's next hit.

Which - thankfully - is not with the sharp side of the blade, so Fabian is not split in two, but the force of the blunt side is enough for Fabian to be thrown back, hearing some sickening crack that he only realizes the true extent of when he lands on the ground a slight distance away. The half-elf can feel it because he's quickly trying to get back onto his feet, knowing that he has to keep distracting Gorgug before the other's attention is lost to something else. It makes him realize his legs are thankfully fine, just a little shaky from impact, but there's a sharp pain shooting through one of his arms as he stands back up. He doesn't know what's wrong with it, if it's just pain from taking most of the impact or if it's actually broken, but it does feel like moving it is absolutely not an option right now.

It's fine though. He can wield Fandrangor one-handed. He can bear the pain, even though it hurts like hell. What else is he supposed to do, lie down and give up? Let Gorgug kill him, and then maybe Riz too? Leave Gorgug to the influence of this madness?

That was never an option.

So after he's gotten up, either because Gorgug has already breached the distance between them or Fabian has moved back a little bit in the other's direction, he swings his sword arm - the other arm now uselessly hanging at his side - to cast Pyrotechnics, aiming at Gorgug's eyes just like he had last time.

It sure didn't do anything for Gorgug's rage back then, but it's fine, Fabian doubts the other can get more into a rage than he already is now. He's just aiming to temporarily blind Gorgug so it'll be harder to hit him a second time.

He just-- He just has to bide time. Maybe if Riz hits Gorgug enough, it'll finally slow him down. Maybe the others will have done something about this situation. ]

[stresstokens]

[ From somewhere deep in the bushes, Riz gives away his cover, a strangled gasp escaping him as soon as Gorgug's axe hits true. In his mind's eye, a different outcome plays out: the axe cleaving through flesh and bone as cleanly as Riz has seen it do a hundred times before, the stark white of Fabian's collarbone, the geyser of blood. But it doesn't. Fabian's on the ground, arm clearly broken, but still in one piece.

That hit would have felled Riz instantly. He knows it, knows it with the same keenness that he can remember his wrist splintering in Gorgug's grasp, the weight of his thumb against the back of his skull. But knowing what it feels like to be at the mercy of that strength makes it feel even worse to have to hang back at shoot from afar, without even being able to muster any inspiration or boons or anything that's more useful to them both than firing, firing, firing, hoping for the best.

But what else can he do? He loads and fires and fires, scampering from hiding spot to hiding spot as he does so in hopes that being pelted at all sides will be enough to help at least disorient him. There's gotta be a better way than this, to just hide and shoot while Fabian gets fucking mauled. There's gotta be. He just needs to think. ]

[tinflower]

[ There's a drug somewhere inside Gorgug's body, pushing up against the adrenaline and heart rate to take effect. Working, but not enough for Gorgug take notice, his eyes and focus only attached onto his opponent where he's been pushed back. For Fabian's luck, it's far enough that Gorgug has to approach them: close enough to make him walk, but still giving Fabian time to stand back up and to recognise the damage done to his arm from the impact. To plan, and to put in action a tactic that worked well the last time he used it against Gorgug.

Pyrotechnics. It bursts out, shooting fireworks in his face when Gorgug arrives in front of Fabian with his heavy-metal axe in both hands. Gorgug twists his head away, removing a hand off from the handle to swat at the dancing lights, at least temporarily. It leaves some dots in his vision, but unlike the time before when there was nothing between him and the cantrip, Gorgug's goggles are down over his eyes to block out the worse of the effect--it doesn't reach his retinas. The fire still burns into his clothing, singeing against the exposed skin at the side of his hand, but Gorgug ignores the itching of the flame to reach for one of the grenades from his tool vest, popping the pin off with the flick of his index finger and dropping it on the ground between them.

Because if someone's going to blind him, then he can do the same back--and be ready for it this round, ignoring the flashes of light to send a kick forward through the circus of light, to aim to send Fabian right back down from where he came from.

Only this time, Gorgug's closer when he's down on his back: the air expelled from his lungs, his arm once more finding reason to complain.

Gorgug's big, but he's not slow--even with the blade in his hands, lifting it up.

And it's always faster once it starts moving: especially downwards.

Either Fabian needs to move quick, or something else needs to act fast. ]

[stresstokens]

[ Some people call Riz fearless.

He can see why. He throws himself into every dangerous situation with reckless abandon, too fueled by the desire to dig, to search, to help, to learn to ever second-guess choosing a safer option. But Riz is far from fearless. He's scared all the time, of so, so many things, and even so he can scarcely think of anything scarier than what's happening now, nausea churning in the bottom of his stomach, hands slick with sweat, some ancient Goblin instinct insisting: run, run, run, run, run!

(It's the natural order of things, some bioessentialists would argue. Orcs and Goblins have a history of coexistence, provided that Goblins listened to every order the Orc issued. What was the Goblin gonna do about it? Fight back? They'd never win in a fight.)

But he doesn't have time to listen to that fear. As much as he's afraid of Gorgug right now - and that's a horrifying thought, to feel such guttural, bone-deep fear of his friend - he can't think about any of that, not when a much greater fear takes over: the fear that Fabian could truly die here. Without any other recourse, he touches on the hilt of the Sword of Shadows not to Misty Step just forward, but also up, knowing that he can fly faster than he can walk. The shimmering, blindingly bright spectre of Celestial wings unfurl from his back as he hurls himself towards Gorgug at top speed, not entirely cognizant of the fact that he's screaming the whole time, though in panic or anger is anyone's guess.

He doesn't have the presence of mind to unsheath his sword or to try to shoot at Gorgug point blank, allowing pure instinct to take over as he flings himself directly into Gorgug, eyes wide and wild enough for one to perhaps mistakenly think that Riz too has been taken over by some foreign entity. He's a scramble of teeth and nails, shouting hoarsely in Goblin, frantically digging his claws into the meat of Gorgug's shoulder, his fangs biting down into the soft sinews of his hands with enough force to break through dragonhide, ignoring the copper tang of blood filling his mouth.

To think that this will be enough to stop Gorgug is a fantasy. It won't take much for this to go down the same way as their last encounter did - Gorgug could snap his neck with very little effort - but if it can buy them some time, if it can stop Gorgug from doing the unspeakable, from Fabian having to face death at his friend's hands, for Gorgug to face the fact that he killed his closest friend, it would be enough. ]

[tinflower]

[ With his weapon raised in both hands, there's no means for him to do anything when his sight shifts from a target for his blade, to nothingness; there's a shape before him, sounds slapped in his face with a meaning his ears can't decipher, and then a pain digging into sinew, into muscle. Sharp, unapologetic; and Gorgug digs his fingers into the handle of his weapon in response, only tightening it, only more determined to--

Freeze.

The pain does it, for a few seconds; the figure in his vision, giving seconds to this determining moment, deciding on what's to come next. But Gorgug could test it, find that this doesn't stop his swing downward if he were to take it, perhaps even taking with it the creature that's attached itself to his hands--his shoulders too, but which grip is stronger, the jaw or the claws? They would find out, and it would be an easy motion to slam down the weapon.

It's not the pain that stops him: he's been through enough pain to keep pushing forward. It's the anomaly, those bioessentialists would say. They would have nothing better for it, except that this case is an outlier, or that half-orcs have an intellect even within their rages that their more pureblooded counterparts do not in the midst of emotion so overwhelming. Many still can't determine how barbarians don't murder their own allies when their brainwaves can't be followed under the most sophiscated of modern technology. Some say that the most strongest of barbarian orcs rarely did have allies, as their power dictated their lives.

Gorgug doesn't understand the words that he hears, but he does the voice that speaks them: and so it is, a half-orc listening to a goblin. He's stopped even before the razor-shaped teeth pierce through skin and down below, and perhaps there's sounds there even beyond the muffled desperation to harm and stop; but Gorgug focuses on the voice that was just heard, some part of his brain attempting to untangle meaning in this. This part of him that's been closed up, silenced, only brought out to harm and ridicule. Something else he used to know when he went into rages; some other kind of person he used to be before the madness. ]

Rrrriz... [ He keeps his hands in place, his body as well, gripping tight on the blade that could easily fall one way or another; distracted from what he had been in the middle of doing as his brain continues to try, try to keep clinging onto this feeling. This memory.

(...Team...) ]

[maximumlegend]

[ Even though Fabian was the first to try and use blinding techniques here, he would still like for it to be noted that it's rude to try and use that in return on someone who only has one eye to see with in the first place, okay. It makes the entire experience even more disorienting, and before Fabian can think about reacting, to try and get out of dodge or do anything else, he's already been knocked over onto the ground once more. Even more painful this time, given the state of his arm. At least the previous time he had still been uninjured enough to be able to deal with the fall a little better, but this time the pain is even worse.

At least his other senses are still working. He can hear that scream, and even in the middle of all the other chaos going on here, Fabian can tell it's Riz. He knows it's Riz. He doesn't even have to see anything to know that it's his friend, and the screaming is getting closer, and-- oh god, is Riz involving himself in this? Fabian gets that it's an awful situation, and he gets that the axe is dangerously close to landing on him without any real ability to dodge to a spot where Gorgug can't get to him, especially with so little reaction time, but there's something about the idea of Riz getting close to Gorgug that makes something inside of Fabian want to scream too. Especially when he thinks back on that photo he received of Riz, when he rushed over to the other, when Riz had looked so utterly broken and - for once, considering his usually overly present personality makes up for it - looking so small.

Fabian knows Gorgug won't hesitate now. He'll snap Riz in two like a twig. Fabian doesn't know what he can do about it when he may just be split into two himself, but rather than there being any thoughts of worry about himself, he can only think of his best friend even in this potential moment right before death.

But death doesn't come.

Because unlike what Fabian thought, Gorgug does hesitate. When Fabian blinks hard enough for the flashes to finally clear from his sight, even if there are still black blotches left in his line of vision, he can tell that Gorgug isn't moving.

Before a next thought has a chance to form, Fabian quickly scoots backwards, just out of axe range. His body aches even more now, but with some help of Fandrangor he manages to get back onto his feet even without the use of his other arm, just to be able to see Gorgug and Riz a little better. He makes sure he doesn't move too far away from the other, one hand still tightly gripping the sword to make sure that he can intervene right away if Gorgug does move to try and do something about Riz.

(At least hitting Riz with the axe would be near-impossible in their current position-- as little of a relief that thought is when compared to everything else Gorgug could still do.)

He opens his mouth to speak up, but something about the idea of doing that makes his courage falter. Not his courage when it comes to fight - even though he's hurting, Fabian could absolutely fight until he'd drop - but his courage about trying to solve this any other way. How could he? Every single time he ran into Gorgug, he never really did get through to the other, and Riz is somehow managing to do so now. Wouldn't it be better if he didn't say anything? If he didn't fuck it up for his friends once more?

It makes his throat feel so thick, like there's something stuck in there he can't dislodge. Something that keeps him from speaking up, even though he's watching the other two like a hawk, Fandrangor ready to strike - just in case. ]

[stresstokens]

Yes! [ Riz cries out, voice cracking with emotion once he hears Gorgug rumble out his name, once he realizes that Fabian has evaded certain death -- for now, at least for now. There's no room for fear here. Not when he thinks he has even the slightest chance of getting through to Gorgug. It's a stupid impulse; he knows that Gorgug is corrupted even when he does recognize Riz, that all of those horrible, hurtful things he'd said to him were drawn from the well of his own memory, that to do the same thing over and over again and to expect different results is the very definition of insanity.

But he doesn't have it in him not to try anyway. Riz is as violent as the best of them - arguably more violent, he knows - but all of this, to strike and hurt and claw and tear at a friend is so foreign to him, so terribly awful, and he trembles with the desire to be able to fix this through words, not force. It won't happen. It won't help. But maybe... maybe even if it doesn't work, it will buy Fabian enough time to strike once it becomes clear they still have to take him down the hard way. Maybe he can convince him to at least take a breath. Maybe Gorgug can be distracted long enough for Riz to simply tear the rot out of him himself, with his teeth if he has to. ]

It's me, it's Riz! We're friends! [ He reaches up, grasping at Gorgug's face with both hands, sparing only a slight glance behind him to ensure that Fabian is up again and at the ready, Fandrangor safe in his grasp. Good. If this goes bad, Fabian will have his back. This isn't like before -- he won't die here, and he won't accept death here, not when Fabian's here to watch his back. He's not alone here.

And neither is Gorgug. ]

We -- we have sleepovers, and movie nights, and you get me to go in and twist the screws in spaces that are too small for you, and we've saved the fucking world together! If you can fight a dragon, you can fight this too! Let us help you, okay?

[ Gorgug must be exhausted. He's been controlled by this thing for god knows how long, probably spiraling into a rage for longer than any Barbarian should without having ample training and experience; he's gotta be running on fumes by now. He pauses, letting his eyes rove over Gorgug for the source of the rot -- is it there, in the rip of his hoodie? Can Riz get to it from here? ]

If you let us, you can finally rest. We just need you to work with us here.

[ This should be Fig's job. Or Kristen's. Or Fabian's, if he wasn't busy trying to recover after facing down the non-stop onslaught. He's never inspired anyone to do anything in his life, has never convinced them through charm or pleas of emotion. But Gorgug recognized him. Even with the sharp, iron tang of Gorgug's blood still lingering on his palate, that's gotta mean something. ]

[tinflower]

[ His limbs are shaking. In the time that Riz places his small hands on his face, the words meant to captivate and lull him into submission, Gorgug continues to hold his greataxe up in position for a strike that no longer has a target. His lips are curled in a snarled, twitching, grunting; a pained hiss that forces its way up his throat with every exhale as Riz tries working to convince him, to get through the infection and to the actual Gorgug inside.

And Gorgug hears the sounds of his friend, but in his ears ring danger, trouble, pulled between a fear and anger that work to defean him. He doesn't hear the words, his body refusing to translate; and what if it isn't real? What if this is a trap? Riz wants to kill him, after he tried to kill him. He should kill him first. No, it's not even Riz, it's not Riz--

(But what if it is?)

He doesn't speak. He only yells as he lets one hand go from his greataxe, allowing his other to grab at Riz so he can tear him away, even if Riz might in turn tear at him with his claws. Howling still, short bursts as his hand dangles the goblin up in the air in a manner that isn't unlike their last encounter; if higher from the ground, but the intent--the intent is so similar that Gorgug fights to stop it. What if it is Riz? He never wanted to hurt him, never wanted to trap and toy with him like a bloodrush game--and Gorgug struggles against every reasoning to slam the figure in his grip into the ground, that singular possibility fighting not to be extinguished.

But there's another present, right there, who Gorgug hasn't had the conscious ability to pay attention to. With a clear aim at Gorgug, both his arms out at his sides and hands occupied, the axe head against the ground.

Because there's a compromise forming in seconds: to throw him far away from danger/hard enough to hurt. His movements and ability to decide slurred between the fight inside him, and the drug in his system starting to creep further along.

But only by seconds.

And his arm connected to the hand holding Riz starts to swing back. ]