The Rostical Users - Sceldrant's Comet

by Michael Rogers

  Scoldrant: "Squral?" *It flapped its wings, causing a gust to break the guard's Rostical.*

  Lance: *A sudden pulse of wind pushed him back.* "H-Huh?" *He looked up and stared at strings of fire swirl around the Scoldrant's wings.* "Wat the?!"

  Scoldrant: *It glared at Lance and faced him.* "Raging flames, fall down, snatching heat, FLAMING WHEEL"

  Alicia: "Wha-"

  Ashton: *He stepped back in surprise and stared at a bright red glyph, which flashed under the Scoldrant.* (How can it use Rostical-?)

  Teresa: *She looked down to Lance's feet and her eyes reflected red, due to the igniting flames.* "Tcch-"

  Lance: *He looked down and stared at the flames swirl around him.* (I-I can't move-?)

  Guard: *He looked up towards the Scoldrant, noticing slight burn marks.* (It only suffered minor burns-?) *He ran towards Lance in thought and pushed him out of the fire's range.*

  Teresa: "It is slightly stronger than expected."

  Ashton: "Will we be able to beat it?"

  Teresa: "Even though it is strong, compared to a single digit captain-"

  Scoldrant: "Squarll!" *It looked up and opened its beak, screeching out a string of flames.*

  Teresa: "It is nothing."

  Ashton: (I have to help?) *He looked around with a frown of desperation.*

  Scoldrant: "Sq-" *It faced the party and it violently flapped its wings, blasting a gust of wind towards Alicia.*

  Alicia: "Eek-" *Her hair and pendant flapped backwards, as she whimpered in pain.*

  Ashton: *He watched the wind push Alicia back, feeling helpless.* (What use am I? I'm not even holding a weapon-) *He paused and looked over to Teresa.* "I'm going to find the women, I'd be better off doing that."

  Teresa: "Understandable." *She nodded her head, as if it were an approval for Ashton.*

  Ashton: "Okay." *He gritted his teeth and glanced at the party, before running down the path.* (Take care, everyone.)

  Teresa: *She stared at the Scoldrant with an emotionless face.* (What is it's weakness?)

  *Lance and the guard recollected themselves and faced the Scoldrant.*

  Scoldrant: "Raging flames, fall down, snatching heat-" *It faced Lance and a red glyph flashed under its feet.* "FLAMING WHEEL"

  Lance: *He raised the sword in front of his face, ignoring its red-like appearance.* "Wat should we do?" *He grunted to the guard on his side.*

  Guard: "Raging flames, fall down, snatching heat, FLAMING WHEEL" *He pushed both arms forward and two lines of fire swirled on the ground in between Lance and the Scoldrant.*

  Teresa: "Hoh?" *Her eyes widened, as she muttered with realisation.* (Their Rostical collided-)

  *A bright wall of flames erupted into the air, causing Lance and Alicia to step back.*

  Teresa: *She looked at Alicia, ignoring the hot gusts of wind.* "Alicia when the Scoldrant uses another enchantment for a Rostical, use Icicle Edge right away."

  Alicia: "O-Okay-?"

  *The wall of fire suddenly exploded, knocking Lance to the ground.*

  Teresa: "After observation, its defence drops when it uses Rostical. How fortunate, we once again have the upper hand."

  Lance: *He grunted and wiped blood from his mouth, looking angry and helpless.* (Dammit.)

  Guard: "For Surpreon!" *He ran towards the Scoldrant, unsheathing a sword in the air.*

  Scoldrant: "Squalarh." *It waited for the guard to run into striking distance and spun around, kicking the guard in the chest.*

  Guard: "Argh-" *He tumbled back across the ground and slammed into Alicia.*

  Alicia: "A-Arh-" *She fell back and hit the ground.*

  Scoldrant: "Squarkarglarh!" *It made feral sounds, which further intimidated the party.* "Raging flames, fall down-"

  Teresa: "Now!" *She yelled out to Alicia, keeping her emotionless face.*

  Alicia: "Icy swirls call down upon me, frigid skies grant me power, ICICLE EDGE" *She coughed and gasped for air, as the pendant shined blue.*

  Scoldrant: "Snatching heat, FLAMING-"

  Guard: *He looked up and noticed two ice spears materialise in the air.* "Ice?!" *He muttered under his breath in disbelief.*

  Alicia: "..." *She lowered her arms, causing the ice spears to blast down.*

  Lance: "Grr." *He stood up with a frown and firmly held the sword.*

  Scoldrant: "WHEE-" *The ice spears pierced its wings, locking it to the ground.*

  Lance: "Harh!" *He ran up to the Scoldrant and rammed his sword into the Scoldrant's chest.*

  Guard: *He sighed in relief and stood up, helping Alicia onto her feet.* "We should hurry and see if Ashton has made it to the women yet."

  Alicia: "Y-Yes, are you okay?"

  Guard: "No time, we need to go!"

  Teresa: "I concur, we do not know if there are more Scoldrants lurking."

  *Alicia, Teresa, Lance and the guard prepared themselves to look for Ashton.*

  Lance: (I hope he's all good.) *He looked worried, mumbling in thought.*

  Alicia: *She faced the slope and looked shocked.* "L-Look!-" *She pointed at Ashton in disbelief.*

  Lance: "Aye?" *He smiled with uncertainty, as he watched Ashton walk up the slope.*

  Ashton: *He comforted a small child, holding her hand and wrapped a woman's arm over his shoulder.* "You both are doing well."

  Guard: (He was able to find the women and managed to walk back up-)

  Ashton: "Alicia, could you please heal her, she feels very cold." (Which is not a good sign in this heat.)

  Alicia: "O-Okay." *She nodded her head and walked towards Ashton.*

  Lance: *He gently touched a cut on his lip, causing him to gasp in pain.* (Shit that hurts-)

  Alicia: *She looked over her shoulder to the party and nodded her head.* "I'm going to double the Neurons in this Rostical, so it will reach you all."

  Teresa: "Hoh-?"

  Alicia: "With the divine power of the holy spirits, scattering light, HEALING RINGS" *Her face began to wrinkle in pain, as two bright rings started to materialise around the party.*

  Ashton: *He looked up at the white rings and spun around.* (Did the area just get darker, or is it because her Rostical is brighter than-?)

  *A pulse of wind blew around the party, as a massive glyph drew itself on the ground.*

  Teresa: "Ashton and I are fine, please focus on everyone else."

  Alicia: "..." *She focused in deep concentration, causing the glyph to fade away from Teresa and Ashton.*

  Ashton: *He looked down and stared at the little girl's cut on her leg in amazement.* (The deep cut is closing-)

  Woman: *She started to snap out of her dizzy-like state.* "Th-This light?"

  Ashton: *He stared at the little girl's face in disbelief.* (And the blood has stopped dripping from her nose.)

  Alicia: (Th-They're healed-) *She sighed in exhaustion and dropped to her knees, causing the light to disintegrate away.*

  Woman: *She took several steps forward and picked up the little girl, carrying her on her back.* "Thank you so very much. I would like to give you a gift, what is your name?"

  Ashton: (Wow, that was sudden?)

  Alicia: "My name is Alicia and-" *She paused and took a deep breath.* "You don't have to give us a gift-"

  Woman: "No, I insist please. If you didn't let us repay our heroes, my daughter and I will be gravely insulted. My husband works in Surpreon's research facility, and I can give you his latest product."

  Alicia: "..."

  Woman: "It's called the RPG bag."

  Alicia: "Th-Thank you, but I can't accept something with such value-"

  Lance: "Shh-" *He hissed and gently elbowed Alicia on the side.* "Shut it, woman."

  Alicia: "W-Why-?"

  Lance: "That's the bag thingo, Teresa was talkin' about before."

  Teresa: (What a selfish man.) "Would it not be a loss for you to freely give it away?"

  Woman: "It's fine, my husband can easily make another." *She rubbed her daughter's hand in a mother-like manne
r.* "And if it wasn't for you all, we may not be alive."

  Ashton: "That is very generous, thank you, to the both of you." *He smiled, wiping sweat off his forehead.*

  Alicia: "Yes, th-thank you." *She sighed with exhaustion and awkwardly stood up.*

  Lance: "Wateva, let's get outta here." *He grunted and walked past the party, down the slope.*

  Guard: "We are victorious, let's go back to Surpreon and tell the ruler the good news."

  Ashton: "Sounds fantastic." *He smiled and watched the party recollect themselves, before walking down the slope.*

  ----------

  Pepper: *She cautiously walked through a forest in a lost-like state.* (Where am I? Who am I-?)

  *Sounds of running water caught Pepper's attention, causing her to spin around.*

  Pepper: *She ran at amazing speeds through the forest, suddenly finding herself next to a small stream.* "I say-" *She dropped to her knees and started to gulp the water from her hands.*

  *Two warriors walked out of the forest and stood along the stream, deep in conversation.*

  Pepper: *She sighed and stared at the water, noticing her reflection.* (I am a teenager-?)

  Hundred and Five: *Pepper sighed again, catching his attention.* "Who-?" *He noticed Pepper and chuckled, glancing at the other warrior.* "Hundred and nineteen, check this out."

  Hundred and Nineteen: "What?" *He stared at Pepper in shock.*

  Hundred and Five: "What's a fifteen or so lady doing out here?"

  Hundred and Nineteen: *He snickered, unsheathing a large axe.* "Want to come here for a second?"

  Pepper: *She stood up and stepped back in a defensive manner.* "I say, where am I-?"

  Hundred and Five: *He stepped forward, unsheathing a thin sword.* "He said come here."

  Hundred and Nineteen: "I haven't killed anyone for the Consultant in a few weeks!-" *He grunted in anger and ran directly towards Pepper, raising the axe behind him.*

  Pepper: "Humph-" *She skipped forward and spun around, dodging the warrior's charge.*

  Hundred and Nineteen: "Arh?" *He took awkward steps forward, as he tried not to fall over.*

  Hundred and Five: "I'll get her!" *He pointed the sword in front and charged for Pepper.*

  Pepper: (These movements, they come naturally-) *She looked shocked, reaching over her shoulder in confusion.*

  Hundred and Five: "Hah!" *He ran into striking distance and lunged the sword forward.*

  Pepper: *She bent forward and jumped into the air, as a swirl of sparks scattered from her back.* "Humph-"

  Hundred and Five: *He looked up in shock, tripping on his feet.* "Argh-" *He slid on the ground, grunting with frustration.*

  Hundred and Nineteen: "She's fast-" *He mumbled to himself, raising the axe next to his head.*

  Pepper: *She held a large mallet and grabbed it with both hands.* "I say, this is the end!" *She yelled and slammed the mallet into the warrior's back, causing a loud crunch to echo.*

  Hundred and Five: "K-Kark-" *He stared at Pepper's legs with blurred vision, as she casually walked off his back.*

  Hundred and Nineteen: "H-How-?!"

  Pepper: *She lifted the mallet over her head and ran at blinding speeds.* "Hermph-"

  Hundred and Nineteen: *He looked down at Pepper in shock, as he watched her hair move in slow motion.* (She's as fast as number seven-)

  Pepper: "Harh!" *She quickly swung the mallet across the warrior's face, causing him to instantly drop to the ground motionless.*

  *Pepper took deep breaths and looked around, glancing at her hands in shock.*

  Pepper: (D-Did I just-?)

  *Several warriors yelled in the distance, causing Pepper to instinctively run into the opposite direction.*

  ----------

  Lance: *He walked off the sand and onto the grass.* (This walking is lame.)

  Alicia: "..." *She swayed her arms, catching Lance's attention.*

  Lance: *He spotted a cut on her arm, causing him to chuckle.* "Oi, slurry cruncher, your healing ring thing sucked-" *He pointed at her arm like a child.* "You missed a scratch."

  Alicia: *She looked confused and lifted her arm, waving it up and down in front of her face.* "No, for some reason my healing won't work on myself."

  Lance: "Rightio." *He sighed and rolled his eyes.*

  Alicia: *She lowered her arms with curiosity.* "I forgot to ask, Teresa do you know why?"

  Teresa: "There have been case studies of people using light, essentially people with a light elemental affinity."

  Lance: "Oh no-" (Another lecture!-)

  Teresa: "There was not much information regarding this, but fortunately I was able to come across a document describing how healing in general works."

  Alicia: "Y-Yes?" *She walked slightly closer to Teresa, as they drew closer to Surpreon.*

  Teresa: "In theory, why you are unable to heal yourself is because, the Astragons expels or radiates from outside the body."

  Guard: (What are they talking about?)

  Teresa: "Unlike normal Rostical where Neurons are usually generated from within the body."

  Ashton: "So, Alicia can't heal herself because it doesn't start from inside the body?"

  Teresa: "Close, but not correct. Since her healing Rostical expels away from her, she is practically immune to her own healing."

  Alicia: "But sometimes I am shrouded in the light when healing?"

  Teresa: "I am not certain, if that were the case, the Astragons should heal you too."

  Ashton: (Light? Something Teresa isn't certain on-) *He thought to himself in shock.*

  Lance: "Boo borin'! Translation?"

  Teresa: "The user is unable to heal themselves."

  Lance: "..." (So why didn't she say that in the first place!?)

  Alicia: (I have to remind myself to ask Teresa more about it when we have the time.) "Thank you, Teresa-"

  *A loud scream echoed from Surpreon, causing the party to look alert.*

  Woman: *She looked surprised, staring at the entrance.* "Why is the entrance-?"

  Guard: "Left open?"

  Woman: *She faced the party, holding her daughter's hands.* "Whatever is happening in there, once it dies down I will give you the gift." *Before the party responded, she left the party.*

  Guard: "What is going on in there?" *He muttered to himself and walked into the city.*

  *The party followed the guard through the city, hiding themselves behind several crates.*

  ?????: "Where is the ruler of Surpreon!?" *She screamed at the top of her lungs.*

  Ashton: "What was that?" *He looked over the crates and noticed a female dressed in pink armour.* "Pink armour-?"

  Lance: "And pink hair? Pssht-"

  Teresa: (Blast, why now?) "Alicia how do you feel?"

  Alicia: "I'm a little tired but I'm fine, why?"

  Teresa: "It seems we may have to fight again."

  Lance: "Who are we gonna fight now?"

  Teresa: "That is Wendy, another captain."

  Alicia: "N-No." *Her voice trembled.*

  Ashton: (Another captain?! No, more people will suffer.) *He looked worried, gritting his teeth.*

  Wendy: "Answer me now, where is the ruler, emperor or whatever-?"

  Season: *He suddenly appeared in a flash of purple light and stepped forward.* "I am the man you look for, what business does a captain have with Surpreon?"

  Wendy: "We need the knowledge about the five Unknown Territories!"

  Season: "I am not allowed to give out any information from royal archives, not even I have looked through them all yet."

  Wendy: *She tilted her head and faced Season.* "Then give me the documents and this city shall be spared?"

  Ashton: *He watched the villagers Wendy assaulted run back into their homes.* "This isn't acceptable."

  Lance: "Yea, we have to do somethin'."

  Teresa: "No. Let this play out."

  Alicia: "Huh?" *She whispered on her breath, nervously biting her bottom lip.*

  Ashton: *
He silently observed Teresa and stared back to Season.* (Teresa spoke with confidence.)

  Season: "As I said before, I cannot give you any information."

  Wendy: "Too bad-" *She reached over her shoulder and clutched her hand.* "I actually liked this city."

  Season: (She's going to release her weapon-) "If you act in violence, I will bring you down."

  Wendy: *She pulled her arm forward, causing a swirl of sparks to scatter around her hand.* "Fine so be it, die old man."

  Ashton: (Whatever Wendy just did, it sounded like two swords scraping against each other-)