Smite The Wicked (Titus)

[Ignotus Everto]

42nd of Summer, 513AV

Ah, Animation. One of the only branches of magic a zoologist could reasonably be more prepared than others for. And a wonderful branch for someone who just liked to mess with animal parts. Ignotus was, perhaps unsurprisingly, the latter.

To be precise, after the rather delightful use of killer pigeons during the siege of Sahova, the wizard wanted to research new creatures to reanimate. Perhaps larger ones... Or smaller? Akajia's mark had its uses, but he could still do with a bit more information... But his creations were simple. Dull. Only useful for base tasks. Vino, the little wooden golem skittered circles around the Nuit, occasionally striking out in a random direction before whizzing back ticks later.

"Now if only it could distinguish size..." Ignotus grumbled to himself.
Pigeons again might be nice, but they were hard work... Perhaps something new was in order. Something a touch sneakier... A hummingbird, maybe? Contact Nadea again,
poison its beak... Perhaps. Vino was whirring off again. He'd set it to retreat when it detected movement, and explore as it wished. It wouldn't do to get blindsided by a bear, after all...

[Titus]

Titus walked through the woods, not caring to be silent as twigs snapped under his massive frame. His lance rested on his shoulders, his arms draped over them. He had to get out of the city, at least for awhile. It had been twenty one days since he arrived and it was abit overwhelming, even for him. He sighed and stretched out, letting out a big yawn as he did so. He rotated his neck causing it to crack. He looked around before spotting a small creature that obviously wasn't natural. His face turned serious as he began walking towards it. He was wondering if there was a mage near by, he would love to crush something right now. When he neared the little creature it took off running back towards where ever it came from. Titus turned and ran after it, he lance occasionally brushing against the ground. Causing him to slow abit.

[Ignotus Everto]

Eventually, Titus broke through into a small clearing of about fifty feet in diameter. Though the occasional tree still popped up here and there, this section of woodland was much sparser than the thick line of trees around it. To the East of the clearing, a small river sparkled in the sunlight, and to the North a small mound sloped gently upward. The ground here was relatively clear, with shrubs and ferns spread throughout like seeds on a strawberry. Ignotus was examining a woodpecker perched on a tree towards the North, when Vino raced back and started bumping against the Nuit's ankles. It was not long before he wheeled around to see what had "frightened" his golem. Around then was when he saw Titus.

The large human was presented with an unnaturally pale man in thick, albeit rather worn clothes and a fading black cloak of heavy wool. His eyebrow raised slightly, and his eyes turned to the lance momentarily.

"Well, that's different. A hunter? Or one traveling to Zeltiva. Though he's a touch too healthy for the latter..." thought Ignotus.

Titus, in the meanwhile, may have noticed the dry, lifeless quality of said eyes, or the thick bags under them. And when the Nuit waved and said hello, he may have noticed his tongue was a mottled black. In short, he looked an awful lot like a corpse. A walking, talking corpse.

"What brings you to these parts, stranger?" asked Ignotus. It wouldn't do to be rude, after all...

[Titus]

Titus looked at the man, or rather this creature standing before him. This 'man' was a little to lifeless to be a human. A scowl spread across his face as he looked him over then down to his little creature. He raised his lance up and pointed at the stranger. "Who are you and what is that thing" he said ignoring the mans speech. "Why are you here? You are obviously not a human, and you're not anything I've seen before. You seem to life-less. What are you doing here?" he scowled. The anger in his voice rising as he spoke. His eyes darting back and forth between the man and his golem.

"Why are you out here alone? You look sickish" he said. His lance gripped tightly in his hand, his fingers rubbed against the wooden handle. He started to step side ways, making a circle around this man. His eyes looking him over as his mind told him to attack. "I'll give you one chance before I pound you're skull into dust. Who are you and why are you here? And what is that thing" he command, his tone demanding an answer. He twisted the lance in his hand before he stopped walking around the man. He could easily beat the man without having to worry about the city guard out here.

[Ignotus Everto]

This did not produce a pleasant reaction. The wizard's features affixed themselves in a scowl, and Djed began to bend and twist around him. Res began to gather underneath his clothes in anticipation of a fight, and his words became tinged with hypnotic power. Of course, Titus would just see him turning to face him. "I am Sir Ignotus Everto of Zeltiva, A Nuit of some esteem in the city. This is a golem. Animators make them. And you, my dear foreigner, are treading on thin ice."

A certain trepidation followed the wizard's words, and imparted itself onto Titus. Uncertainty. Reluctance, even. Was it really so wise to be aggressive? "We are not like the savages in Sunberth, my boy. We have laws. Etiquette. And civilization. And we do not," another hypnotic pulse. This time carrying a certain subconscious weight, so to speak. A subliminal message. "Threaten."

At ease. Stand down. It's unbecoming of you.

Now, while the combination of emotional and unconscious nudging would, under normal circumstances, produce at least a certain civil mannerism, there were certain factors that could make such things... Less than effective. For one, Ignotus was a wizard, something he did not know Titus hated. For two, he was, in fact, a reanimated corpse. A product of magic. Something that would only anger Titus more. For three, the man with the lance was rather angry, and was unlikely to become less so when he found out that he was, in fact, talking to a veritable fount of arcane ickiness. Something that would make some of the Nuit's Hypnotism less effective. Possibly negate it altogether. This was not good for a peacemaker.

[Titus]

Titus' breath started to grow heavy as his anger built. The voice in his head where not his own and he knew it, his anger had somewhat lessened the effect of Ignotus' hypnosis. "So you're a nuit? Isnt that some creature created by magic" he said as the words burned his lip. His scowl grew into a frown as his face turned serious. "And that thing is also a creation of magic? And you're trying to use magic on me" he said. His muscles tightened and his veins began to show as the mans patience disappeared. "So what are you out here for, demon spawn?" he asked, not waiting for an answer he spread his legs out. One behind and one pointed forward at the man. "You spawn of evil. Im going to crush you" he said as he launched himself forward towards the man. His lance tip going straight for the mans gut. He roared as he neared the man, slowing himself down and thrusting out with the lance. If that failed he would swing is, broadsided, towards the nuit in an effort to knock him back.

[Ignotus Everto]

Ignotus was not pleased by this turn of events. While the lance didn't pose that much of a threat- he didn't bleed, and it would be exceedingly difficult to crack his skull open- it could easily render him near-immobile, and would definitely force him to switch bodies. And he liked this one! So he had to get him to not try to murder him. Fortunately, this was fairly simple.

A globule of Res the size of a baby's head broke off from the main and pushed itself out so hovered about a foot or so from Ignotus. He would have liked to move it further, but Titus was moving fast. This globule then elongated itself into a vague, conelike shape. The surface of the half facing Titus then burst into flame, while the rest of the globule transmuted into air. When this happened, the resulting atmospheric disturbance displaced a large quantity of air in the direction of the flat end of the cone. Or, in layman's terms, oh gods there's a cloud of fire shooting at me.

Of course, Titus could easily prevent his front receiving an immediate, major searing and getting knocked onto his arse via the simple act of stopping his charge. Meanwhile, a smaller globule the size of a robin's egg threw itself into a patch of brush near a spruce tree and flared, setting the plant alight. This would be useful in the near future. For now though, the big deal was Ignotus stopping himself from being murdered.
[/indent]

[Titus]

The charging giant slid to a stop just a few feet from the burning cloud. He spat at the ground in distaste. "Filthy petching magic" he mumbled as he raised his lance up, keeping it pointed at the wizard in front of him. He glance to the side as a brush ignited into flames. "Your work, I would say. What are you trying to do? Trap me?" he said with a chuckle. He took a deep breath and brought his lance to his side, still pointed at the man, as his body turned. The target for the wizard shrinking as much as it could, as Titus' left shoulder was pointed towards the man. Titus stepped backwards in a counter-clockwise circle around the wizard. His mind pondering how to attack this enemy, the fact that this man could shoot flames prevented a straight charge. Titus groaned, he thought this would be quick and easy. "Petching magic" he mumbled to himself, as his hands adjusted their grip on the lance's hilt. His eyes glanced down to a rock sitting at his feet. His body relaxed slightly as he tried to make it seem as he wasn't going to attack the man again. The tip of his lance pointed at the ground. Titus quickly, as quick as the big man possibly could, reached down grabbing the rock. He adjusted his body just a bit and threw the rock straight at Iggy. He quickly shot back to his feet and ran to the side before re-adjusting, sliding a little causing him to slow down, and rushing towards Iggys "blind" side. His lance pointed at the mans lower ribs. A growl escaped his lips. He stretched his arms forwards, trying to extend the lance as much as possible trying to land some damage. If it didn't land he would jump to the side to hopefully avoid any damage the man could do in a counter attack.

[Ignotus Everto]

Now, Ignotus' reflexes were a touch on the awful side, so it was vital that he avoid being surprised. So when Titus' eyes lit on the rock, the wizard elected against taking any chances. The remaining Res formed itself into a thin ring about six feet in diameter, with two balls the size of fists hovering above each of Ignotus' shoulders. Titus' feint was, unfortunately, lost on the paranoid, and the wizard decided instead to take preventative action.

One of the spheres narrowed in size, and a faint crackle could be heard from it. A half-tick after Titus dove for the rock, there was a clap of thunder, and lightning struck the ground where the rock was. Of course, by now Titus' large body wasn't in the way, and he only suffered a moderate shock as the electricity dissipated into the earth.

This made the rock miss the Nuit by quite a large margin, which was quite a good thing, given it would have left one hell of a bruise otherwise. As such, Titus' plan to take him by surprise was met with slightly less success than he might have hoped. The Reimancer turned with him instead of staying where he was, and was ready to face his enemy. Now, given that a lance to the sternum was as bad as a lance to the ribs, Ignotus needed a way to delay this.

The Nuit's lips pulled back, his teeth parted, and he let loose a Djed-tinged war cry in the face of Titus' advance. For a tick, the warrior was seized with smothering, paralyzing fear. That one tick was long enough. The second orb transmuted, and though Ignotus had aimed for Titus' heart, the lightning bolt had very different ideas. At this range, the steel point of his lance was the superior conductor by far. As such, the giant would witness a second thunderclap, followed by a loud crack! as his lance split down the middle, the front tip doing a half-hearted three-sixty before falling to the ground with a wimpy thud.

Ignotus was as surprised by this turn of events as Titus was, and as such stared at the shattered weapon for half a tick before remembering there was still an angry madman in front of him. A strip of the outer side of the ring burst into flames as Ignotus began to slowly step back towards the river, his eyes narrowing at the warrior. "Now, I do believe this doesn't have to be said." he began, "But you're a little outmatched here." Just keep walking. Keep away from crazy and his big, meaty hands. Gods, sometimes he wished he wasn't so flimsy!

[Titus]

As the actions unfolded the giant of a man did his best to keep with the plan. As the rock missed he hoped his strike would land, but alas the wizard used his magic to shatter his weapon. Titus stood there looking at his broken lance. The shock leaving his body as he looked up at the man who was backing towards the river. "Is that so?" he said "Because you seem to be backing up? Shouldn't you try to kill me?" Anger and bloodlust could be seen in his eyes as he stepped closer to the wizard. He stopped before his remains of his, now shattered, lance. The club-like handle in his hand, he gripped it tightly and stared at his man, who had caused this damage. He knelt down, dropping the handle at his side incase he needed to grab it. He picked up some of the bigger shards and began throwing them at the wizard one after another. Until there was a decent number in the air flying towards Iggy. Titus quickly gripped the handle and jolted up. He stepped to the side to avoid any of the magic that this man would use on the shards, stepping quickly as he notice the mans slow reactions to the earlier attempt. If any of the shards landed a hit on the man he would strike at the wound, hoping to either push the shard deeper or bust open the wound. He would then pull back the handle as quickly as he could and with a loud, monstrous, roar swung the handle towards the mans ribs hoping to knock him back and maybe into the river if the man couldn't catch himself.

(OCC: Since I couldn't get a hold of you, I figured the shards would be big enough to cause a little damage. If not at least act as a scare tactic.)