NPF Avatars IV, Chapter III: The Sphinx on the Doorstep

[mauve]

(Hope you don't mind how much I took over your character, Garud.)

Another chunk of ice hit the dryad in the side, throwing her off balance ever-so-slightly and distracting her from another leap at the demon slayer.

"Don't be silly, Garud," Mauve said curtly. "It was no big deal. The whole point of the arena match was to try and beat the living daylights out of each other, and neither of us really even managed that." She turned her attention back to the dryad.

"Now, here's what we do..."


By now the dryad was more than a little annoyed at the constant interruptions. She had been enjoying herself up until the point where her prey had taken on this annoying sidekick. It wasn't like the little mage could actually harm her, but the dryad preferred to have her prey alone and defenseless. It was far more amusing that way.

Of course, there was a very simple way to fix this problem. The dryad bent her hand into a rake-like claw and leaped at the problem in question. The mage stumbled backwards in surprise and extended a hand, but the dryad wasn't worried about any spells she could cast.

The dryad was actually airborne and just feet away from the mage when she felt something wrap around her ankle. With a shriek, the dryad stopped mid-flight and jerked backwards before impacting heavily with the ground. She looked back-- Garud was tugging on one end of his sword-chucks with all his might while the other was wrapped around her foot. A series of cracks ran up the dryad's front and across her arms as a result of the impact.

"Watera!" commanded the mage, and the dryad was instantly drenched. Water seeped into the cracks. "Now!!"

Garud's magic swirled around the dryad, and her face instantly contorted in shock as the water expanded with the cold, breaking the cracks open even further. Something that could be likened to horror spread over the dryad's features as the lower half of her right arm split with a sickening crack.

The creature tried to stand, but the ice slowed her movements. Some of the water even acted as an adhesive, freezing the dryad to the porous ground like cement. She was trapped, and was slowy falling apart. A bone-chilling scream left her mouth and was slowly stifled as ice formed all the way down her throat. Then, there was silence.


"Dunno if she's dead," panted the mage, leaning heavily against a tree trunk. "But that'll at least... hold her for a while..."

Her eyes went from the dryadcicle to Garud, who was slowly becoming a living statue.

"Dammit," she cursed. "Still gotta find... a way to stop this. Ideas?"