Flower petals fell from the sky in swirl of fragrant pink and white. The wind, busy pushing the sweet foliage around, carelessly tossed Momo’s hair off her neck and sent a chill down her spine. The body of the warrior lay in front of her, the life already drained from her eyes. Her corpse lay almost too graciously beneath a cherry blossom tree, her hands resting in her lap and her eyes closed as if she was only napping.
“She’s… dead?”
The voice spoke quietly with a slight whistle as a sob escaped Arey’s lips.
“She’s gone,” Momo replied. She watched as petals fell, landing on the dead body covering its face and chest, soaking with the sticky syrup of blood that still seeped from the fatal wounds.
“She’ll come back though right? Just use the magic?”
Momo shook her head,
“Not this time.”
Arey, covered her mouth and turned away, stifling the anguish even as it bubbled out of her throat. Momo looked away, unsure of how to comfort her. She knew if she looked at Arey, it would make her cry in turn and she couldn’t afford to show weakness.
“Lets move the body, a proper burial is the least we can do.”
With a wave and a knowing look Momo gestured to Tsukasa and Pink standing in the shadow of a large rock. They seemed to be busy sharpening their blades, but in truth they were processing the ambush that had just killed their friend.
“Ube… will be missed…” Tsukasa said, approaching the body and kneeling beside her.
“Can I get something to cover her with? Anything?” Pink asked, his broad shoulders heaving with a sigh because there was nothing he could do to bring her back.
“Yes, I’ll get a blanket from my pack,” Momo responded, reaching around to unclip her combat gear.
As she pulled out a tattered grey piece of cloth, a shadow suddenly darkened the sky. She looked up and screamed,
“INCOMING!!”
A body slammed down in front of her, a grotesque face twisted with primal hunger leered at her as the bare chested Norn screamed out,
“DEATH FROM ABOVE!”
A wave of energy was unleashed and Momo went flying, the blanket instantly shredding into ribbons that twisted in the breeze and became yet another addition to the flower petal shower that had not ceased to fall. Her head slammed into the dirt as she heard the weapons of her friends come unsheathed. As Momo opened her eyes, two more enemies were jumping from the large rock, their screams of rage polluting the air as she tried to catch her bearings and locate her friends.
A flurry of pink whizzed by as Arey slashed at a small furry creature desperately trying to cause damage with a dagger. With an effortless twist of her wrist, she made short work of the Asuran and moved without hesitation to help Tsukasa and Pink as they tussled with a blood soaked Char and a slithering green Sylvari.
The glint of the pistol was first. Then the body materialized. A thief uncloaked and unleashed a torrent of bullets into Pink and Tsukasa’s back. They fell instantly, their weapons clattering against the rocky ground in their defeat.
“I need help,” choked Pink as a thick crimson droplets spewed from his lips and stained his chin like cherry pie filling.
“Get out!!” A scream from behind made Arey turn. Grayla stood at the top of the hill behind them. She held her staff upright as she sent out a barrage of protective magic forming up in spirals of glittering sand around them. “This should help! Move!”
“Pull back to our group! We can’t take them,” Arey turned just as another body appeared out of nowhere. The attacker was pale and almost seemed to sparkle as their body split into two and the clone leapt forward slashing a greatsword directly at Arey’s back.
“No!” Screamed another voice from behind. It was Claudius, shoving forward, his furry face furrowed into a battle masters glare as he slammed his hammer into the ground causing the ground to open up and destroy the clone in a cloud of frantic butterflies..
“Thank you!”
Arey spun on her heel, pulling her staff from it’s holster on her back and slamming it into the ground. A line of warding swirled in the path of the new clone running towards her causing it stop and fall to the ground, dazed. She looked back at an ominous figure standing over the battlefield. The sun sparkled behind him, making the details of this new villains face impossible to see. His form was obviously that of a Charr but that was all they could determine.
He held a shimmering sword, the blade the length of his heaving body and pulsing with some impossible source of power that pulsed from the sharp steel in swirls and waves as if hungry for a victim. He jumped down from the rock, his eyes white with no trace of a pupil, glaring at the bodies writhing in pain below. He twirled his blade effortlessly, moving towards them with a hungry grin.
“GET OUT! THEY HAVE THE WEAPON!” Arcadis’ distinctive voice screamed out just as the buzzing sound of the legendary blade reached their ears. It was the weapon that had killed Ube with one hit and would not allow them to use their regenerative magic to heal. They had heard of it in whispers around the realm, but the reality was enough to make these normally fearless warriors pause and pull back.
“We need to know what we’re working with, pull back to the keep. If this thing brings the true death, we need to know how to stop it! Move out now!” Momo commanded.
“We can’t leave them!” Arey shrieked as the strange pulsing sword slammed into Pinks shield, which he had pulled up to block the incoming attack. It was not enough, the blade sliced downward, detaching Pinks head from his body and sending it rolling like some strange marble down the hillside. His body twitched and a visible swirl of icy blue mist rose from his body and dissipated in the breeze, almost dancing among the flowers in a beautiful farewell. Tsukasa was next, rushing to the aid of his friend. Without hesitation, the Charr raised the great sword again and with precision removed Tsukasa’s arms while cutting a deep wound directly across his chest. His armor was like butter, the blade slicing through and creating a fountain of gore that pulsed with each dissipating heartbeat of the fallen man. Within moments, his spirit joined his friends as their bodies lay lifeless on the ground.
“You’re gonna die for that!!!!” Arey and Momo shrieked in unison, drawing their weapons to try and fight their way back to him. Four more enemies had appeared and they were swarming to the armless body as it fell to the ground. The blood soaked grass cause a few to slip a little as they stabbed at the corpse to make sure it was completely dead. It was a bad situation for the survivors sa their enemies gained confidence and numbers.
Arey and Momo didn’t care, they wanted to avenge the deaths of their friends. They were stopped only by the shower of flaming rocks from the sky unleashed by a crafty elementalist hiding behind a tree. As they stood back, trying to dodge the deadly aerial attack, the number of their enemy increased by eight more.
Momo gritted her teeth.
“Not worth it, we can’t save anyone else if we die here,” she said, resting her hand on Arey’s shoulder. Arey agreed, sheathing her weapon and turning to retreat.
“I’ll speed you up,” a cute voice sang from the top of the ridge behind them.
Peach, an adorable Asuran with fluffy brown fur and big amber eyes grabbed a small bottle from his belt and hurled it at them, releasing a small cloud of particles. The retreating group felt their bodies envigor and move quicker, increasing the distance between them and the danger behind them.
The calls of the enemy could be heard as they pulled back. Nobody wanted to leave the fight, but they knew if they didn’t they might not ever leave that place again.