The Time Travelers' Guild

[Lore_Master]

Once most of the members had arrived, Nathan merely began to move to the other end of the bridge. The orange tint on his eyes had disappeared, Nathan knew that he would see no flaw yet. He was already thinking of how to destroy the clockwork without damaging the box... his only concern was the trumpets, and what purpose they served. If they did what he thought they did, he would need to be ready. Once he reached the gate, he stared at it for a moment before turning around, and seeing if anyone else was coming.

Edited April 24, 2012 by Lore_Master

[Alenaria]

Chel nodded. "I've got some homework to finish," she said with a sigh. "But maybe we could spar later?" She knew she could beat him, but he at least seemed like he could put up a fight. Following his glance, the monster hunter took in the rookies behind them. They were both awfuly hesitant, but they were pretty green. Shrugging, she focused on Liz, still at the door ahead of them.

[Silver_Voices]

Matthew grinned. "You sure you want to? Cause I'm game if you are." He figured he could probably beat her quickly, but who knows, maybe she could provide a challenge, even if she was only 16. He shrugged. "If we do, how long do you think the match will last?" He bet it wouldn't last past ten minutes. If it was within the 'rules' to use their powers, he might take another form. Just to make it interesting.

[sailing101]

After making sure that mos everyone had caught up, Liz once more turned to the door in the timeline. She then raised her hand and placed it against the door, which opened at her touch.

 

On the other side of the door, was a field. It was a large clearing in a forest of pine and aspen trees. Behind the trees, the peaks of mountains could be seen. A breeze blew, warm and sweet after the stagnant air of the guild. Liz smiled to herself, she had always loved mountain breezes.

She stepped through the door and looked back once more, the grandfather clock to which the door belonged was set in a crumbling stone wall, which appeared to be the only manmade structure in sight.

[Alenaria]

Chel just looked sideways at Matthew and smirked, before walking through the door after Liz. The breeze that floated across the meadow swept through her hair, carrying a sweet, summery scent. Closing her eyes, the young monster hunter indulged herself and took a deep breath. A moment later, though, she was once again focused on the task at hand. "So," she asked, "where's the Gryphon?"

[Silver_Voices]

Before stepping through the door, Matthew looked back at Emily and smiled, then walked after Chel. When he stepped through he took a deep breath, always enjoying is escapes into the beautiful world. He had never appreciated the air, scent, or scenery as much as he should have before his fifteenth birthday. He sighed. It was quite a while ago. About seven years. He had grown accustomed to the guild, but he missed this. The normal world. After looking around with a wistful look, he turned to Chel as she spoke. "See, that's what I want to know. Just get the job done and go ASAP." He shrugged, then blinked at the sky, as if expecting it to give the answer.

 

---

 

Emily looked back and saw the other guild members. She hesitated for only a moment before stepping through after them. She blinked at the sudden change in scenery, then looked around at the others. "So, what are we doing?"

[coralkiki]

“Come on…” Freya gave the brown haired rookie a friendly nudge towards the door before stepping out herself. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, enjoying the fresh air and the way the breeze blew through her hair. With a sigh, Freya opened her eyes and looked up at the mountains. “I’ve missed views like this…” She said; smiling slightly and tucking a couple of strands of hair that managed to escape her braid behind her ear.

[Lore_Master]

Nathan quietly walked through the door, along with most of the other guild members. On the other side was a mountainside, near a forest clearing. This was fifty years before he was born, meaning his grandparents were probably just kids right now... He felt a bit melancholy as he got on the small wall and looked around. If it was a class two clockwork, it would be easier to track due to its limited intelligence. If the clockwork was following the Gryphon, all he needed to do was follow the monster students.

[sailing101]

Liz looked around the clearing, to try and see if there was anything abnormal in the area. Seeing nothing, she turned back to the group.

"Knowing Janus, he would have put us at a point of time when the gryphon is nearby our entryway," she said, "So we should-"

Liz was inturupeted by an agonizing screech that sounded like a cross between a cat's howl and an eagle call. A large brown and orange shape darted out from the trees, straight at the Time Travelers. Liz leapt to the side to avoid the creature, but she hit the ground harder than she had expected, and had the wind knocked out of her. August was not so lucky. She was knocked off he feet, and her head hit the wall hard, knocking her out cold.

Groaning, Liz got to her feet and hurried to the Clockwork Hunter's side to check her vitals. When she found a heartbeat, Liz breathed a sigh of relief. She then turned her attention to the Gryphon.

Despite folklore Often describing gryphons as large beasts, in reality, a fully grown gryphon was only the size of a cougar. This gryphon was only slightly smaller than that. The gryphon's tabby orange coat, normally glossy and smoth, was now disheveled and matted with dirt. It's brown feathers were in similar poor condition, and one wing hung limply to the side. The gryphon stood by the wall, panting as if it had been running for a long time.

Liz was taking a closer look at the gryphon when she heard another sound, the heavy clanking of something big and metal pushing it's way through the trees.

The clockwork stepped out of the woods, and the sun reflected off it's polished bronze plating. The machine was eight feet tall, and mostly spherical in design. Its head was little more than a raised disk with a single "eye" in the middle, and its stocky arms and legs came out of holes in the sides of it's armor. In one hand that was little more than a claw, it held the device from the picture.

Paying no attention to its surroundings, the clockwork continued its steady march towards the gryphon.

[Lore_Master]

When the gryphon appeared, and rushed directly at them, Nathan considered jumping to avoid being hit. But the Gryphon slowed down, and stopped near the part of the wall he was standing on. The sounds that came from it didn't sound normal, it was like a cat crying out in pain. When he saw the Clockwork coming from the treeline, he looked at August, only to see that she was knocked out by the Gryphon. "Bloody hell..." muttered Nathan as he jumped from the wall and pressed a button on his watch. The sword that appeared in his hand was rather simple, but it was more of a dagger then an actual sword. The only unique thing about it was the engravement near the hilt, and the ruby on the top of the handle. The engravement was heart-shaped, with bronze patterns.

 

"I'll distract it, if I'm right, it'll see me as the biggest threat." Nathan said quickly, already twirling the dagger so he held it downwards.

 

He dashed towards the clockwork, his irises turning orange yet again. This time however, he could clearly see the weak points of the Clockwork. Due to its size, the body had to the most components, "Alright, I'm on my own... I can't trust the monster hunters to provide much help, other then getting the object it was holding to safety." Thought Nathan as he pressed the ruby, rising the temperature of the energy. When he got close to the clockwork, he span around and stabbed it in its body. The temperature of the dagger made it like it was a hot knife cutting through butter, easily sinking into the clockwork and hitting a gear. He quickly pulled out the dagger, span around and waited to counter-attack.

[Silver_Voices]

Emily heard a dreadfully painful sound and looked up to the sky, seeing a gryphon heading, as it seemed, straight for her. She added her own scream to the noise and ducked, wrapping her arms around her head. It passed over her and a little to the left, but she was still shaking. She pulled at a handful of grass, terrified and panic-stricken. Surely she wasn't cut out for battling with and for these mystical creatures. Maybe she had jumped into this whole thing without much thought. She wasn't cut out to be a fighter.

 

---

 

Matthew heard the screech and looked up, just in time. He jumped aside and grabbed Chel's wrist and pulled her towards him, hoping to get her out of the way as well. He had spotted Emily dropping to the ground and covering her head, so she would be safe enough. He looked back to Chel. "Are you all right?" While waiting for her response, he glanced over at August, who seemed to have been knocked out against the wall. The gryphon looked weak, almost sickly in appearance. The poor thing must be so tired and afraid.

[sailing101]

In response to being cut, the clockwork pulled its limbs into its outer shel. Hatches covered up the holes where the arms and legs had been, making it a perfect sphere. It rang like a bell as it hit the ground and proceded to roll toward Nathan.

 

The gryphon eyed the other time traveler's warily, but when it saw Liz and Freya, its feathers stood on end. It gave a menacing snarl, then leapt straight at Liz, its beak aimed at her throat.

Lis only had enough time to activate her longbow before the gryphon's beak clamped down on it. The force of the animal knocked Liz back against the wall, and she found herself pinned by the beast.

[Alenaria]

Chel shoved herself away from Matthew. "Fine," she snapped. Her tine softened as she turned towards the Gryphon. "Hey, buddy," she murmured, reaching out a hand. "Remember me?" They had to get it calmed and quiet quickly, before it ate Liz.

Edited May 3, 2012 by Alenaria

[Silver_Voices]

Matthew released Chel's wrist as she roughly pulled away. He expected that response from her, and shrugged it off. He took a step towards August, and made sure she wasn't seriously injured. He lifted her in his arms and away from the maddened gryphon, laying her down a bit away. He glances back at Emily, still curled up where she had dropped. He took a step towards her and lifted her to her feet by her forearms. "Hey, don't be frightened. It'll all be fine. Just keep yourself safe, okay?" He knelt to look her in the eye. Her head was tilted down, so it was harder than it could have been. He swept a bit of loose hair behind her ear, and she looked up, rather shocked. "Keep yourself safe." She nodded, though words seemed to die on her lips. "Remember the time pause." Again, she nodded. "Good. Stay over there." He pointed to where he had laid August, then walked quickly back to see if Chel would need any help.

[Lore_Master]

"That's not good..." Though Nathan as he saw the limbs of the clockwork being pulled inside its body, with the object as well. When it began to roll, Nathan managed to duck and roll out of the path. He had recalled his sword, and called out his bow. It was a crossbow, but with clockwork-like parts and a chamber for bolts of energy. All he needed to do was aim and fire, the crossbow would do the rest. The chamber disposed a bolt of crystalized energy onto the string. He waited till the Clockwork came back for another pass at him, then fired a bolt towards his body.

[sailing101]

The gryphon snapped at Chel in response to being touched. The distraction gave Liz enough time to reach for her watch and press a button. There was a flash of blue light, and Liz slipped out of time and into a greyscale world. She calmly took her bow out of the frozen gryphon's beak and walked away. She took up a position behind Chel before her watch flashed red and time resumed.

The gryphon squawked indignantly as it fell on its side. The creature got up quickly however, shook its head, and leapt up into the air. It flapped it's wings once, then stopped short as if caught on an invisible cord. It crashed to the ground with a pained screech.

Liz could not make sense of what she saw. The gryphon was trying once more to fly away, but something was keeping it grounded, and why had the beast gone straight for her?

 

The crossbow bolt bounced harmlessly off of the clockwork's rapidly rolling shell. It rolled past nathian and continued rolling towards the rest of the group.

Liz heard the sound of the rolling clockwork and turned around to see it barilling straight at her and Chel. Liz promptly grabbed Chel and dragged her back just as the machine rolled through the spot where they had been.

"You saved me, I saved you." Liz said after she had caught her breath. "Are we even?"

 

The clockwork came to a stop right in front of the gryphon, and unfolded itself once more. It then lifted its gadget, and pointed it at the gryphon. The etched runes then began to glow a sickly green.

[Lore_Master]

Nathan muttered a curse as the crossbolt bounced off the body. He had hoped the bolt would easily pierce the body of the rolling machine. He was prepared to roll out of the way, but it passed by him, almost like it no longer cared about him. That was the one thing he didn't want, so he bolted right after the machine. He managed to get within ten feet just as the clockwork began to use the device. "Not a chance old boy" thought Nathan as he called his dagger and pressed the button on his watch. A flash of blue light appeared, but Nathan didn't stop. He ran right to the clockwork, jumped high and slashed at the arm holding the device, then gave a crosscut at its body before grabbing the device. He then began to run, trying to get enough distance to focus all its attention at him.

[Silver_Voices]

Matthew growled, abhorring the sight of an animal being tortured. He dashed forward, ready to make a move towards the gryphon and clockwork, but in less than a second's time Nathan had already been and gone, taking the device with him. "Run, Nathan!" he called after him. He turned back to the gryphon, who was, as it seemed, tethered to the ground by some unseen rope. It had collapsed onto it's side, so he tried to creep closer while still keeping out of reach. "Hey, boy. Hey, calm, calm down." He kept his voice low and gentle. Hopefully he would be able to express that the small group meant no harm to it.

[Alenaria]

Chel nodded quickly, mumbling a thank-you. Anxiously, she watched as Matthew tried to calm the Gryphon. She hoped he'd have better luck than she'd had.

[sailing101]

As soon as it realized it had been cut, the clockwork retracted it's limbs. However, its damaged arm only went in halfway, and snapped off when the machine began to roll after Nathian.

 

Liz kept a wary eye on he gryphon while Matthew approached it. There were still some things that did not make sense; Why had the gryphon attacked her? And why could it not fly away. As she watched Matthew, however, she suddenly realized exactly what was wrong.'mathew had the sun behind him, so his shadow stretched in front of him, but the gryphon's shadow was pointing toward the sun, and Matthew.

 

"Beware Matthew!" Liz cried out, "Shadow wraith."

 

But it was too late. The gryphon gave a strangled screech as its shadow tore itself away. At the same time, its colors faded to a dull grey, and it's amber eyes bled out to a solid chalky white. The wraith then shot across the grass and merged with Matthew's shadow.

 

Liz blanched; Shadow wraiths were parisitic entires that fed off of their hosts positive emotions, leaving only fear and despair behind. They also have the ability to controll their host's movements to some degree. Once it has had its fill, the wraith then steals its host's shadow, leaving the victim as a hollow shell. If a person dies in this state, then they too become a shadow wraith. The only way to save someone from that fate was to banish the wraith that took their shadow, which was a difficult ritual by itself. Even then, their coloring would never return.

 

The shadow wraith's voice hissed within Matthew's head, you ssshall join usssss, yessss. Your sshadow will nourisssh our sssoul for monthssss.

The wraith then pulled Mathew off his feet, and proceded to drag him after the clockwork.

 

Liz swore (in Latin), and proceded to run after mathew, her bow at the ready.

"You have fight it Mathew!" she called out, "Or I won't have a clear shot!"

Edited May 9, 2012 by sailing101

[coralkiki]

On reflex, Lucia tossed herself sideways as the gryphon came towards them. Keeping an eye on the Gryphon, Lucia ran to Emily, her only fellow rookie. She saw one of the Guildmembers being moved, seemingly unconscious. “Do they normally get knocked out this quickly?” She asked the air, keeping an eye on the action.

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

Freya turned around as she heard the gryphon screech. With her braid whipping around her she jumped back, falling down in the process. She rolled away from the gryphon’s path, and climbing back to her feet, saw August get knocked out. Freya sent the girl a concerned look, but she had more pressing matters at hand. The gryphon was looking at her, and with a snarl, Freya watched it leap for Liz. Before she had a chance however, Liz had gotten away.

 

Freya let out a breath she hadn’t notice she had been holding. Deciding she needed to get her head in the game and stay focused, she activated her bow, in case something would show up. Something did show up. Liz’s call of a shadow wraith made Freya turn her attention to Matthew and Chel by the gryphon. “Chel, move out of the way!” She called, lifting up her bow and getting ready to shoot in case she got a clear shot before Liz did.

 

Edited May 9, 2012 by coralkiki

[Alenaria]

Chel hissed angrily and dove to the side, pulling her bow out as she went. Scrambling up, she took off across the grass, barely managing to keep pace with the others.

[Silver_Voices]

Matthew gritted his teeth as he felt himself being controlled by an outside force. He only barely heard Liz's call as he took slow step by step towards the clockwork that was chasing Nathan. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the sinister voice in his head, doing all he could to lock his muscles. It seemed to work, causing a momentary pause in his progression. He held it for a few seconds before he felt himself moving forward again. He forced himself to his knees, knowing it was easier to fall and harder to get back up. He started feeling hopeless, almost knowing it would be impossible for his teammates to save him from this wraith. He grit his teeth and tried to fight both the physical movements as well as the emotional blackness.

 

As he felt himself rising to his feet again, he swiftly released his sword and plunged it into the ground, stabbing through his pant leg. He winced at the resulting bite of the blade, having accidentally sliced the side of his calf. He knew it was the only way to save time though, as he watched his hand release the handle and try to stand again. His leg was pinned down, and he looked imploringly at his his teammates for help.

 

---

 

Emily's eyes opened wide as she saw the gryphon's shadow seemingly tackle Matthew's. Liz shouted something out about a shadow wraith, and she shrunk further back. Another young girl, seemingly as clueless as her, ran to her side.

 

“Do they normally get knocked out this quickly?”

 

Emily shrugged, only half paying attention at the rookie next to her. "I donno. It's my first time out..."

Edited May 11, 2012 by Silver_Voices

[Lore_Master]

"The bloody things I get myself into..." Thought Nathan as he dodged out of the way of the clockwork, the thing was faster then he was. But Nathan was much more agile, he could easily weave his way around it. It wouldn't be the first time he faced a clockwork by himself, but he did wish his fellow guild members would try to led a hand. Oh well, it was too late to think rationally. He ran into the woods, if he was right there should be a drop on the other side that was big enough to finish off the clockwork with Gravity. He looked back, he hoped the trees would provide him some time and protection. After what seemed like hours of running, he saw the clearing... and managed to stop just before the drop. From the look of things, it was about fifty feet drop with a jagged surface. He turned around and waited for the Clockwork to come rolling at him. With a bit of timing, he could get out of the way and end it.

[coralkiki]

“Kom igjen…” Freya hissed through clenched teeth, trying to get a proper aim. Readjusting her arm, she noticed her watch, and nearly smacked her head at her own stupidity. She could freeze time for a little. Why hadn’t she thought of that before? Freya pressed button, and everyone around her seemed to freeze. She took a step to the left, before aiming again, and letting an arrow go. As the arrow hit the shadow wraith, time unfroze. “You okay, Matthew?” Freya asked, lowering her bow and sending him a concerned look. Having been too preoccupied with the shadow wraith, she didn’t notice Nathan being chased by the clockwork.