Chp 7: Out the Maw and into the Frying Pot

Location: The Great Bulwark (Realm of Brass and Blood)

Date: ERROR 

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Adam rolled to the side, the blood letters demon blade burning off left side of his eyebrow as it passed striking the ground in a cloud of sparks.

Over the past weeks he had found out through necessity that he had quite the talent for biomancy more than Kaldor had let on, but fine control was something he still totally lacked. A thing that was now becoming a pressing problem, with the bloodletter trying to take his head off. 

What did Kaldor say again he thought, backing up quickly… 'Remember to anchor yourself in the warp', 'to avoid it consuming you', 'channel and direct', vaguely he also remembered Kaldor making other more worrying comments like 'to avoid being 'blown to bits of becoming a demon' it's important to do ….'

The bloodletters blade coming around to take his head off, forced his thinking time to a quick conclusion as he ducked.

Its now or never he thought, steeling himself as he drew on the warp, shaping it with his intent, locking onto the force and emotion of predation which came spiraling back through the warp with a growl as the bloodletters sword came back for another swing.

Gaining control of the force he quickly channeled it inwards forcing it from datian to datian and into his arms.

'Pop'

His muscles shifted angonisingly looking like a cramp from hell.

'Creak'

His bones expanded, growing thicker around the wrists and forearms, nails drawing themselves into jagged bone claws as angry veins snaked down his arms.

Aggression brought on by the pain, and influenced by his raw channeling of the concept of predation he stepped in, closing the distance with the bloodletter, pivoting in an arc before striking clean through the bloodletter's abdomen with one claw, ducking under the blade of the bloodletter spinning as he went, he other arm trailing behind slashing across the demon's back as he completed the turn. The opposing directions of movement just about tearing through the rhino-like hide of the blood letter.

However, unlike any mortal the creature which felt fickle things like pain, the demon instead exploded in rage as it whipped back around backhanding Adam across the ground like a skipping stone thirty meters across the hard ground.

Dazed having rolled a number of times, eyes still dancing with white spots he stumbled to his feet. 

Though still wobbly, Adam capitalised on the distance gained, reinforcing more of his upper body and legs with the warp, whilst also repairing ligaments strained from his initial lucky strike. Already the blood thirster was back at him covering half of the distance in the time it took for Adams heart to beat three time.

He broke into a mellow gait, his body still sore. Waiting until the last ten metres to burst into a flat-out sprint.

As they came upon one another the blood thirster's sword swiped down diagonally from right to left, on course to split him in twain, a roar smashing out from its mouth like a hammer. 

He fell dodging messily out the way onto the coarse gravel-like ground, his momentum translating into a slide between the roaring beast's cloven legs.

The top of his ear coming off as blood thirsters sword came down, just missing the rest of his head as he passed between the beasts' legs. 

Whipping both claws through its groin, he tumbled past painfully, skidding into what resembled a scorched bramble bush.

'Crash'

'Arrrrgh' he cried.

Extricating himself quickly, at the cost of thorns tearing into his skin as he battled wearily to his feet.

I've not got much left in me he thought having spent the last few days trekking between the high peaks of the volacanos he was descending from.

Raising his head, ready to throw himself back at at the demon.

'Come at me' Adam screeched, somewhat losing it as he looked up just in time to see the demon dematerialise into ashes his last strike having been just deep enough to connect with the previous splitting it in half from its groin to its abdomen.

'Thank you' said Adam tiredly to no one in particular letting out a whistling breath.

His adrenaline immediately dropped off, allowing pain to return with a vengeance.

Looking down he winced as he felt and saw the gravel embedded across his right knee and side.

On his forearms, lacerations crisscrossed his forearms.

Oh thrones my ear he thought which was was beginning to feel like a scalding iron had been pressed to it, the blood blood dripping onto his shoulder not being a good sign either.

Limping to an alcove pressed into a cliff face, he fell, sliding down awkwardly before hitting the ground.

'Thud'

Sending more pain through his hips and joints which he was now also beginning to feel. 

'What should I do Kaldor' Adam said his eyes beginning to flicker closed.

But there was no one there to reply as Adam fell into a perilous but utterly unavoidable deep sleep. His young body had been pushed to the extreme over the last few daya seeing through almost closed eyes as a city-sized mortal engine chugged past beneath, making its way across the hunting fields, the great volcanos behind content to release there great bronze ash clouds into a similarly ashen sky.

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Two months Ago

Adam appeared in a familiar crater still screaming as he prepared to be eaten alive by so great warp predator.

'AAAAaaaaaaahhhhhhh' .... 'aaaahhh' ..

'Wha-t' he said confused opening one eyes as he didn't feel the pain he had been expecting.

This is was our last camp before we made a break for the formless wastes he thought, how did I get here? Looking confused.

His accidental magic had saved him except this time, he was alone and Kaldor wasn't coming back.