IC: As the Black Cloud sweeps into the Throne Room, the Sabretoothes within attack in a semicircular formation, bombarding them head-on and from both sides at once. Sabretooth Group 4 turn as the Bats fly over them, attacking the cloud from below and behind.
Sabretooth Group 1 suddenly withdraws from the barricade, slamming their shields together into a defensive wall and rapidly marching backwards in unison. Sabretooth Groups 2 and 3 now fully press their attack on the remaining members of Lion Group 1, driving them back into and over the barricade towards the Throne Room.
As the battle in the corridor moves further into the Temple, a Raven Report camera crew flutter through the outer doors to observe it from midair.
***
Sabrin acts swiftly, raising his sidearm and firing an icy blast at the NPC Lion before darting at Lynna with his sword.
OOC: So the Lions went... over the barricade? Which would put them into the doorway to the throne room, right?
IC: Bats fly up and start throwing fire chi grenades into the tunnel the Hunters entered through, burying the passage. Others swarm around their adversaries' faces, obscuring their vision and movement to prevent them from stopping the tunnel's collapse.
In the hallway, the Scorpions, seeing that the bulk of the Sabertoothes are still focusing on the Lions, break through the remainder of barrier 3 and run up behind the Sabertoothes, stinging several to gain reinforcements, and taking down others.
Sirius shouts to the Lions: "Go into the throne room and merge with the Bats!"
The Praetor then has the temporarily venom-brainwashed Sabertoothes intersperse into the enemy forces, taking down their brethren from within and creating more confusion for the Sabertoothes. The Scorpions in the back turn around and start melting free the frozen Lions in the hall. At the end of the hall, a bright orange light starts to shine from outside.
Scorpion: "What the...?"
***
In the hall outside, Lycor and Lyn's respective groups continue to enclose Sabrin's group (with the exception of Sabrin himself), diminishing their number more with the pincer attack; not much of Sabrin's force remains.
Inside the storeroom, Sabrin's blast doesn't freeze the lion due to his plugged fire chi, but it does stagger the soldier and cause him to stumble back. He quickly pounces to the side and gets between the sabertooth and the fire chi stores.
IC: As the Black Cloud sweeps into the Throne Room, the Sabretoothes within attack in a semicircular formation, bombarding them head-on and from both sides at once. Sabretooth Group 4 turn as the Bats fly over them, attacking the cloud from below and behind.
Sabretooth Group 1 suddenly withdraws from the barricade, slamming their shields together into a defensive wall and rapidly marching backwards in unison. Sabretooth Groups 2 and 3 now fully press their attack on the remaining members of Lion Group 1, driving them back into and over the barricade towards the Throne Room.
As the battle in the corridor moves further into the Temple, a Raven Report camera crew flutter through the outer doors to observe it from midair.
***
Sabrin acts swiftly, raising his sidearm and firing an icy blast at the NPC Lion before darting at Lynna with his sword.
IC: As the Black Cloud sweeps into the Throne Room, the Sabretoothes within attack in a semicircular formation, bombarding them head-on and from both sides at once. Sabretooth Group 4 turn as the Bats fly over them, attacking the cloud from below and behind.
Sabretooth Group 1 suddenly withdraws from the barricade, slamming their shields together into a defensive wall and rapidly marching backwards in unison. Sabretooth Groups 2 and 3 now fully press their attack on the remaining members of Lion Group 1, driving them back into and over the barricade towards the Throne Room.
As the battle in the corridor moves further into the Temple, a Raven Report camera crew flutter through the outer doors to observe it from midair.
***
Sabrin acts swiftly, raising his sidearm and firing an icy blast at the NPC Lion before darting at Lynna with his sword.
IC: As the Black Cloud sweeps into the Throne Room, the Sabretoothes within attack in a semicircular formation, bombarding them head-on and from both sides at once. Sabretooth Group 4 turn as the Bats fly over them, attacking the cloud from below and behind.
Sabretooth Group 1 suddenly withdraws from the barricade, slamming their shields together into a defensive wall and rapidly marching backwards in unison. Sabretooth Groups 2 and 3 now fully press their attack on the remaining members of Lion Group 1, driving them back into and over the barricade towards the Throne Room.
As the battle in the corridor moves further into the Temple, a Raven Report camera crew flutter through the outer doors to observe it from midair.
***
Sabrin acts swiftly, raising his sidearm and firing an icy blast at the NPC Lion before darting at Lynna with his sword.
IC: *Lynna turns slightly and brings her left axe down on Sabrin's sword, while slashing horizontally from left to right with her right axe.*
OOC: Sabrin stabbed, right? If he didn't stab, that might also modify/change this post.
OOC: So the Lions went... over the barricade? Which would put them into the doorway to the throne room, right?
IC: Bats fly up and start throwing fire chi grenades into the tunnel the Hunters entered through, burying the passage. Others swarm around their adversaries' faces, obscuring their vision and movement to prevent them from stopping the tunnel's collapse.
In the hallway, the Scorpions, seeing that the bulk of the Sabertoothes are still focusing on the Lions, break through the remainder of barrier 3 and run up behind the Sabertoothes, stinging several to gain reinforcements, and taking down others.
Sirius shouts to the Lions: "Go into the throne room and merge with the Bats!"
The Praetor then has the temporarily venom-brainwashed Sabertoothes intersperse into the enemy forces, taking down their brethren from within and creating more confusion for the Sabertoothes. The Scorpions in the back turn around and start melting free the frozen Lions in the hall. At the end of the hall, a bright orange light starts to shine from outside.
Scorpion: "What the...?"
***
In the hall outside, Lycor and Lyn's respective groups continue to enclose Sabrin's group (with the exception of Sabrin himself), diminishing their number more with the pincer attack; not much of Sabrin's force remains.
Inside the storeroom, Sabrin's blast doesn't freeze the lion due to his plugged fire chi, but it does stagger the soldier and cause him to stumble back. He quickly pounces to the side and gets between the sabertooth and the fire chi stores.
The Bats succeed in burying the tunnels, "trapping" the Sabertoothes who are in the throne room. Bliston sends some Bats into the doorway to protect the Lions as they run into the throne room, and as the rest of the Bats continue swarming around and striking at the Sabertoothes.
The Scorpions melt the frozen Lions in the hall free, and the process is expedited by a fiery presence; Lyrix, armed with a Fire Wing Harness, flies through the hall, going straight for the throne room.
***
In the hall leading to the fire chi storeroom, Lycor and Lyn's converging forces route the remnants of Sabrin's group, capturing any Sabertoothes who surrender.
IC: As the Black Cloud sweeps into the Throne Room, the Sabretoothes within attack in a semicircular formation, bombarding them head-on and from both sides at once. Sabretooth Group 4 turn as the Bats fly over them, attacking the cloud from below and behind.
Sabretooth Group 1 suddenly withdraws from the barricade, slamming their shields together into a defensive wall and rapidly marching backwards in unison. Sabretooth Groups 2 and 3 now fully press their attack on the remaining members of Lion Group 1, driving them back into and over the barricade towards the Throne Room.
As the battle in the corridor moves further into the Temple, a Raven Report camera crew flutter through the outer doors to observe it from midair.
***
Sabrin acts swiftly, raising his sidearm and firing an icy blast at the NPC Lion before darting at Lynna with his sword.
IC: As the Black Cloud sweeps into the Throne Room, the Sabretoothes within attack in a semicircular formation, bombarding them head-on and from both sides at once. Sabretooth Group 4 turn as the Bats fly over them, attacking the cloud from below and behind.
Sabretooth Group 1 suddenly withdraws from the barricade, slamming their shields together into a defensive wall and rapidly marching backwards in unison. Sabretooth Groups 2 and 3 now fully press their attack on the remaining members of Lion Group 1, driving them back into and over the barricade towards the Throne Room.
As the battle in the corridor moves further into the Temple, a Raven Report camera crew flutter through the outer doors to observe it from midair.
***
Sabrin acts swiftly, raising his sidearm and firing an icy blast at the NPC Lion before darting at Lynna with his sword.
OOC: So the Lions went... over the barricade? Which would put them into the doorway to the throne room, right?
IC: Bats fly up and start throwing fire chi grenades into the tunnel the Hunters entered through, burying the passage. Others swarm around their adversaries' faces, obscuring their vision and movement to prevent them from stopping the tunnel's collapse.
In the hallway, the Scorpions, seeing that the bulk of the Sabertoothes are still focusing on the Lions, break through the remainder of barrier 3 and run up behind the Sabertoothes, stinging several to gain reinforcements, and taking down others.
Sirius shouts to the Lions: "Go into the throne room and merge with the Bats!"
The Praetor then has the temporarily venom-brainwashed Sabertoothes intersperse into the enemy forces, taking down their brethren from within and creating more confusion for the Sabertoothes. The Scorpions in the back turn around and start melting free the frozen Lions in the hall. At the end of the hall, a bright orange light starts to shine from outside.
Scorpion: "What the...?"
***
In the hall outside, Lycor and Lyn's respective groups continue to enclose Sabrin's group (with the exception of Sabrin himself), diminishing their number more with the pincer attack; not much of Sabrin's force remains.
Inside the storeroom, Sabrin's blast doesn't freeze the lion due to his plugged fire chi, but it does stagger the soldier and cause him to stumble back. He quickly pounces to the side and gets between the sabertooth and the fire chi stores.
I think the Throne Room is technically an oval or round shape rather than rectangular, but it takes long enough to format this as it is so we'll have to imagine that part, as well as the fact that the Bats are presumably over the Pool as well as around it.
Key: W = wall F = The Chi Falls at the the back of the throne room T = the throne and its daius P = the Sacred Pool D = door S = Sabretooths L = Lions A = Allies of Lions C = The Black Cloud
This respresents the Throne Room and the inner end of the main corrdor. It doesn't include: a) The outer doors and other end of the main corridor b) The area behind the waterfall where the Sabretooth tunnel is c) The Fire Chi stores in another part of the Temple
Guide to the map: 1) The Chi Falls and the walls to either side 2) The throne, with empty space on both sides 3) The curve at the middle of Sabretooth Group 5's semicircle formation, which on this map is more of a u-formation. The "arms" of the formation can be seen stretching to the other end of the room. 4) The front end of the Bat Cloud 5 through 12) The empty Sacred Pool, with the Black Cloud above and around it 13) The rear end of the Black Cloud 14) Sabretooth Group 4, who have retreated a short way into the Throne Room. 15) Sabretooth Group 1, who were defending Barrier 2 but retreated a short way into the throne room. 16) The doorway between the throne room and the main passage. The doors have swung open into the throne room, where they go back as far as Row 14. Lion Group 1, who have been caught between Sabretooth Groups 1 and 2 for some time (so are reduced in number compared to the size of the other Lion Group) are standing in the doorway. On the lines below this the walls are closer together to respresent the corridor being narrower than the throne room. 17) S. Group 2, who have just driven Lion Group 1 over and through Barrier 2. 18) Barrier 2, which is starting to fall apart due to having been under attack for several posts and just having had both L. Group 1 and S. Group 1 climb over it. 19) S. Group 3, which is beginning to follow the other Sabretoothes into the throne room. 20) L. Group 2, attacking S. Group 3. 21) Allies of the Lions, principally Scorpions
IC: As the Black Cloud sweeps into the Throne Room, the Sabretoothes within attack in a semicircular formation, bombarding them head-on and from both sides at once. Sabretooth Group 4 turn as the Bats fly over them, attacking the cloud from below and behind.
Sabretooth Group 1 suddenly withdraws from the barricade, slamming their shields together into a defensive wall and rapidly marching backwards in unison. Sabretooth Groups 2 and 3 now fully press their attack on the remaining members of Lion Group 1, driving them back into and over the barricade towards the Throne Room.
As the battle in the corridor moves further into the Temple, a Raven Report camera crew flutter through the outer doors to observe it from midair.
***
Sabrin acts swiftly, raising his sidearm and firing an icy blast at the NPC Lion before darting at Lynna with his sword.
OOC: So the Lions went... over the barricade? Which would put them into the doorway to the throne room, right?
IC: Bats fly up and start throwing fire chi grenades into the tunnel the Hunters entered through, burying the passage. Others swarm around their adversaries' faces, obscuring their vision and movement to prevent them from stopping the tunnel's collapse.
In the hallway, the Scorpions, seeing that the bulk of the Sabertoothes are still focusing on the Lions, break through the remainder of barrier 3 and run up behind the Sabertoothes, stinging several to gain reinforcements, and taking down others.
Sirius shouts to the Lions: "Go into the throne room and merge with the Bats!"
The Praetor then has the temporarily venom-brainwashed Sabertoothes intersperse into the enemy forces, taking down their brethren from within and creating more confusion for the Sabertoothes. The Scorpions in the back turn around and start melting free the frozen Lions in the hall. At the end of the hall, a bright orange light starts to shine from outside.
Scorpion: "What the...?"
***
In the hall outside, Lycor and Lyn's respective groups continue to enclose Sabrin's group (with the exception of Sabrin himself), diminishing their number more with the pincer attack; not much of Sabrin's force remains.
Inside the storeroom, Sabrin's blast doesn't freeze the lion due to his plugged fire chi, but it does stagger the soldier and cause him to stumble back. He quickly pounces to the side and gets between the sabertooth and the fire chi stores.
IC: It's not immediately obvious to the Bats, who were not present when the Sabretoothes first arrived, where the tunnel entrance is; there are no obvious holes in the walls or floor, though since most of the surfaces are coated in ice, a small door could quite easily be invisible beneath. Given this, and the fact that the Bats are being bombarded with icy blasts from in front, behind, below, left and right, steadily eroding thir Fire Chi (along with the latent ice aura that's developed due to the Hunters having been in this room for a while).
S. Groups 4 and 1 pull back further into the Throne Room, simultaneously attacking the Black Cloud from below and luring Lion Group 1 further into the icy trap. While S. Group 2 continues its brutal attack on Lion Group 1, S. Group 3 retreats over and through the damaged barricade into the doorway.
The Scorpions' tactic has some success in creating confusion within S. Group 3, but the venom proves much less effective against Hunters than against conventional foes. Many of them have limbs and body areas imbued with ice, which are totally impervious to the Scorpion trick; the liquid venom cannot enter the bloodstream through solid ice, so any scorpion that stings a frozen area just gets a cold stinger. If the Scorpions sting an ordinary part of a Hunter's body, the venom is more effective, though their latent ice auras should slow the venom's progress, so that it takes longer than usual to take effect and will wear off sooner.
* * * * *
Outside the storeroom, the remnants of Sabrin's group form a close-knit bloc and attempt to break free. They hurl the explosives meant for the Fire Chi store up at the ceiling, above Lycor's section of the pincer formation, bringing the ceiling crashing down towards the Lion King. Hoping the threat to Lycor's life will distract the other Lions, they charge at the very edge of the other group of lions, trying to push them aside and escape.
IC: As the Black Cloud sweeps into the Throne Room, the Sabretoothes within attack in a semicircular formation, bombarding them head-on and from both sides at once. Sabretooth Group 4 turn as the Bats fly over them, attacking the cloud from below and behind.
Sabretooth Group 1 suddenly withdraws from the barricade, slamming their shields together into a defensive wall and rapidly marching backwards in unison. Sabretooth Groups 2 and 3 now fully press their attack on the remaining members of Lion Group 1, driving them back into and over the barricade towards the Throne Room.
As the battle in the corridor moves further into the Temple, a Raven Report camera crew flutter through the outer doors to observe it from midair.
***
Sabrin acts swiftly, raising his sidearm and firing an icy blast at the NPC Lion before darting at Lynna with his sword.
IC: *Lynna turns slightly and brings her left axe down on Sabrin's sword, while slashing horizontally from left to right with her right axe.*
OOC: Sabrin stabbed, right? If he didn't stab, that might also modify/change this post.
OOC: He stabbed, yeah.
IC: Sabrin leans backwards to avoid the axe's slash, almost doing a back bend but stepping his right foot back at the last minute to keep himself balanced. As his sword is pushed down by Lynna's axe, he fires the pulsorn in his left hand at the lioness's right knee at close quarters.
OOC: So the Lions went... over the barricade? Which would put them into the doorway to the throne room, right?
IC: Bats fly up and start throwing fire chi grenades into the tunnel the Hunters entered through, burying the passage. Others swarm around their adversaries' faces, obscuring their vision and movement to prevent them from stopping the tunnel's collapse.
In the hallway, the Scorpions, seeing that the bulk of the Sabertoothes are still focusing on the Lions, break through the remainder of barrier 3 and run up behind the Sabertoothes, stinging several to gain reinforcements, and taking down others.
Sirius shouts to the Lions: "Go into the throne room and merge with the Bats!"
The Praetor then has the temporarily venom-brainwashed Sabertoothes intersperse into the enemy forces, taking down their brethren from within and creating more confusion for the Sabertoothes. The Scorpions in the back turn around and start melting free the frozen Lions in the hall. At the end of the hall, a bright orange light starts to shine from outside.
Scorpion: "What the...?"
***
In the hall outside, Lycor and Lyn's respective groups continue to enclose Sabrin's group (with the exception of Sabrin himself), diminishing their number more with the pincer attack; not much of Sabrin's force remains.
Inside the storeroom, Sabrin's blast doesn't freeze the lion due to his plugged fire chi, but it does stagger the soldier and cause him to stumble back. He quickly pounces to the side and gets between the sabertooth and the fire chi stores.
IC: It's not immediately obvious to the Bats, who were not present when the Sabretoothes first arrived, where the tunnel entrance is; there are no obvious holes in the walls or floor, though since most of the surfaces are coated in ice, a small door could quite easily be invisible beneath. Given this, and the fact that the Bats are being bombarded with icy blasts from in front, behind, below, left and right, steadily eroding thir Fire Chi (along with the latent ice aura that's developed due to the Hunters having been in this room for a while).
S. Groups 4 and 1 pull back further into the Throne Room, simultaneously attacking the Black Cloud from below and luring Lion Group 1 further into the icy trap. While S. Group 2 continues its brutal attack on Lion Group 1, S. Group 3 retreats over and through the damaged barricade into the doorway.
The Scorpions' tactic has some success in creating confusion within S. Group 3, but the venom proves much less effective against Hunters than against conventional foes. Many of them have limbs and body areas imbued with ice, which are totally impervious to the Scorpion trick; the liquid venom cannot enter the bloodstream through solid ice, so any scorpion that stings a frozen area just gets a cold stinger. If the Scorpions sting an ordinary part of a Hunter's body, the venom is more effective, though their latent ice auras should slow the venom's progress, so that it takes longer than usual to take effect and will wear off sooner.
* * * * *
Outside the storeroom, the remnants of Sabrin's group form a close-knit bloc and attempt to break free. They hurl the explosives meant for the Fire Chi store up at the ceiling, above Lycor's section of the pincer formation, bringing the ceiling crashing down towards the Lion King. Hoping the threat to Lycor's life will distract the other Lions, they charge at the very edge of the other group of lions, trying to push them aside and escape.
After being unsuccessful at finding the tunnel, most of the Bats fly up to the high ceiling of the throne room to get out of the Sabertoothes' range of fire (though putting the Sabertoothes out of their range in the process), regrouping and re-plugging with their remaining fire chi.
Bliston: "It seems we won't be finding those tunnels unless some Tigers show up. Might as well let them retreat then, one way or the other."
The Bats shift their focus mostly toward the front half of the throne room, throwing their remaining grenades into the midst of Sabertooth groups 1 and 4, before flying down and swarming the groups, obscuring their vision and getting between them and Lion Group 1. As Bats unfreeze Lions and hold off S. Groups 1 and 4 at least for the time being, the reinforced Lion Group 1 turns and pushes back against S. Group 2.
In the hall, Sirius has the Scorpions, the many thawed-out Lions who'd been frozen earlier in the battle (I'll call them Lion Group 3 now) and L. Group 2 pull back, re-plug, and regroup into one larger force, preparing for a charge and concentrated attack on S. Group 3. Possible attempts from S. Group 3 to move forward and strike first in reaction to this are thwarted by Lyrix, who continues on his course, flying low to set the Sabertoothes themselves ablaze with his fire wings.
***
Lycor snarls and goes a few feet backward with a chi-enhanced jump, avoiding the largest piece of the ceiling and crossing his arms over his face to shield his eyes from dust and rubble. The Sabertoothes' explosives cause the ceiling to continue coming apart, and more large stone chunks come down on Sabertooth and Lion alike. This results in a dust cloud filling that part of the hall. Lycor picks his Fire Valious back up, draws his knife from a slot in his Imperial Knight armor, and roars into the cloud.
Lycor: "Any who surrender, live. Those who don't, are done. Either way, not a SINGLE ONE gets away!!"
The Lion King starts striking down any 1 to 3 Sabertoothes at a time who run out of the dust cloud in his direction. Lyndis regroups the Lions despite their vision being clouded, and they attack any Sabertoothes they see.
IC: *Lynna turns slightly and brings her left axe down on Sabrin's sword, while slashing horizontally from left to right with her right axe.*
OOC: Sabrin stabbed, right? If he didn't stab, that might also modify/change this post.
OOC: He stabbed, yeah.
IC: Sabrin leans backwards to avoid the axe's slash, almost doing a back bend but stepping his right foot back at the last minute to keep himself balanced. As his sword is pushed down by Lynna's axe, he fires the pulsorn in his left hand at the lioness's right knee at close quarters.
As Sabrin seems to be held at bay by Lynna, the other lion grabs a couple stacked crates of fire chi and runs back into the hall.
IC: *Lynna turns slightly and brings her left axe down on Sabrin's sword, while slashing horizontally from left to right with her right axe.*
OOC: Sabrin stabbed, right? If he didn't stab, that might also modify/change this post.
OOC: He stabbed, yeah.
IC: Sabrin leans backwards to avoid the axe's slash, almost doing a back bend but stepping his right foot back at the last minute to keep himself balanced. As his sword is pushed down by Lynna's axe, he fires the pulsorn in his left hand at the lioness's right knee at close quarters.
OOC: Would this disable her knee/leg or just really hurt?
IC: It's not immediately obvious to the Bats, who were not present when the Sabretoothes first arrived, where the tunnel entrance is; there are no obvious holes in the walls or floor, though since most of the surfaces are coated in ice, a small door could quite easily be invisible beneath. Given this, and the fact that the Bats are being bombarded with icy blasts from in front, behind, below, left and right, steadily eroding thir Fire Chi (along with the latent ice aura that's developed due to the Hunters having been in this room for a while).
S. Groups 4 and 1 pull back further into the Throne Room, simultaneously attacking the Black Cloud from below and luring Lion Group 1 further into the icy trap. While S. Group 2 continues its brutal attack on Lion Group 1, S. Group 3 retreats over and through the damaged barricade into the doorway.
The Scorpions' tactic has some success in creating confusion within S. Group 3, but the venom proves much less effective against Hunters than against conventional foes. Many of them have limbs and body areas imbued with ice, which are totally impervious to the Scorpion trick; the liquid venom cannot enter the bloodstream through solid ice, so any scorpion that stings a frozen area just gets a cold stinger. If the Scorpions sting an ordinary part of a Hunter's body, the venom is more effective, though their latent ice auras should slow the venom's progress, so that it takes longer than usual to take effect and will wear off sooner.
* * * * *
Outside the storeroom, the remnants of Sabrin's group form a close-knit bloc and attempt to break free. They hurl the explosives meant for the Fire Chi store up at the ceiling, above Lycor's section of the pincer formation, bringing the ceiling crashing down towards the Lion King. Hoping the threat to Lycor's life will distract the other Lions, they charge at the very edge of the other group of lions, trying to push them aside and escape.
After being unsuccessful at finding the tunnel, most of the Bats fly up to the high ceiling of the throne room to get out of the Sabertoothes' range of fire (though putting the Sabertoothes out of their range in the process), regrouping and re-plugging with their remaining fire chi.
Bliston: "It seems we won't be finding those tunnels unless some Tigers show up. Might as well let them retreat then, one way or the other."
The Bats shift their focus mostly toward the front half of the throne room, throwing their remaining grenades into the midst of Sabertooth groups 1 and 4, before flying down and swarming the groups, obscuring their vision and getting between them and Lion Group 1. As Bats unfreeze Lions and hold off S. Groups 1 and 4 at least for the time being, the reinforced Lion Group 1 turns and pushes back against S. Group 2.
In the hall, Sirius has the Scorpions, the many thawed-out Lions who'd been frozen earlier in the battle (I'll call them Lion Group 3 now) and L. Group 2 pull back, re-plug, and regroup into one larger force, preparing for a charge and concentrated attack on S. Group 3. Possible attempts from S. Group 3 to move forward and strike first in reaction to this are thwarted by Lyrix, who continues on his course, flying low to set the Sabertoothes themselves ablaze with his fire wings.
***
Lycor snarls and goes a few feet backward with a chi-enhanced jump, avoiding the largest piece of the ceiling and crossing his arms over his face to shield his eyes from dust and rubble. The Sabertoothes' explosives cause the ceiling to continue coming apart, and more large stone chunks come down on Sabertooth and Lion alike. This results in a dust cloud filling that part of the hall. Lycor picks his Fire Valious back up, draws his knife from a slot in his Imperial Knight armor, and roars into the cloud.
Lycor: "Any who surrender, live. Those who don't, are done. Either way, not a SINGLE ONE gets away!!"
The Lion King starts striking down any 1 to 3 Sabertoothes at a time who run out of the dust cloud in his direction. Lyndis regroups the Lions despite their vision being clouded, and they attack any Sabertoothes they see.
IC: Sabretooth Group 3 hastens their retreat, clambering over the barrier and through the widening gap in the rubble and merging with S. Group 2, sending a few panicked shots over their shoulders back at Lyrix and the reinforcements. One of their lieutenants directs his men to shoot upwards at the ceiling, aiming for anything that looks weak or loose - carved statues high in the wall, chandeliers and lamps, bannister railings on internal balconies and stairways - aiming to blast them loose and bring a rain of heavy objects down on the heads on Lion Group 3 and their allies, whilst hopefully forcing Lyrix to switch his focus from attacking them to avoid being knocked out of the air. Relying on this distraction, combined with the partial barrier still standing just in front of the doorway and the large amount of unfrozen water running all over the place and flooding the Temple, making the floor extremely slippy, to delay Lion Group 2, S. Groups 2 and 3 stand their ground against Lion Group 1's assault.
S. Groups 1 and 4 pull back from the Bats as the fiery grenades rain down, splitting into two columns and retreating to either side of the Sacred Pool. Whilst the Bats are unfreezing the other members of L.Group 1, they quickly reform into ordered ranks, with a layer of drawn swords and spears at the front and several ranks of pulsors and crossbowmen behind, ready to resume combat. King Finglor directs most of the Sabretooths in the Throne Room itself to fire at the ceiling and the top of the doorframe, creating a buildup of large icicles.
*** The Sabretooths burst out of the cloud on Lyn's side, charging with the desperation of those who have nothing to lose.
IC: Sabrin leans backwards to avoid the axe's slash, almost doing a back bend but stepping his right foot back at the last minute to keep himself balanced. As his sword is pushed down by Lynna's axe, he fires the pulsorn in his left hand at the lioness's right knee at close quarters.
OOC: Would this disable her knee/leg or just really hurt?
OOC: It would probably knock the leg out from under her or send her stumbling; if she's got heavy armour on I'd say she'd just have some bruising and limp for a few hours, but if she's just wearing light armour for ease of movement then the leg'd probably be out of action for a few days.
After being unsuccessful at finding the tunnel, most of the Bats fly up to the high ceiling of the throne room to get out of the Sabertoothes' range of fire (though putting the Sabertoothes out of their range in the process), regrouping and re-plugging with their remaining fire chi.
Bliston: "It seems we won't be finding those tunnels unless some Tigers show up. Might as well let them retreat then, one way or the other."
The Bats shift their focus mostly toward the front half of the throne room, throwing their remaining grenades into the midst of Sabertooth groups 1 and 4, before flying down and swarming the groups, obscuring their vision and getting between them and Lion Group 1. As Bats unfreeze Lions and hold off S. Groups 1 and 4 at least for the time being, the reinforced Lion Group 1 turns and pushes back against S. Group 2.
In the hall, Sirius has the Scorpions, the many thawed-out Lions who'd been frozen earlier in the battle (I'll call them Lion Group 3 now) and L. Group 2 pull back, re-plug, and regroup into one larger force, preparing for a charge and concentrated attack on S. Group 3. Possible attempts from S. Group 3 to move forward and strike first in reaction to this are thwarted by Lyrix, who continues on his course, flying low to set the Sabertoothes themselves ablaze with his fire wings.
***
Lycor snarls and goes a few feet backward with a chi-enhanced jump, avoiding the largest piece of the ceiling and crossing his arms over his face to shield his eyes from dust and rubble. The Sabertoothes' explosives cause the ceiling to continue coming apart, and more large stone chunks come down on Sabertooth and Lion alike. This results in a dust cloud filling that part of the hall. Lycor picks his Fire Valious back up, draws his knife from a slot in his Imperial Knight armor, and roars into the cloud.
Lycor: "Any who surrender, live. Those who don't, are done. Either way, not a SINGLE ONE gets away!!"
The Lion King starts striking down any 1 to 3 Sabertoothes at a time who run out of the dust cloud in his direction. Lyndis regroups the Lions despite their vision being clouded, and they attack any Sabertoothes they see.
IC: Sabretooth Group 3 hastens their retreat, clambering over the barrier and through the widening gap in the rubble and merging with S. Group 2, sending a few panicked shots over their shoulders back at Lyrix and the reinforcements. One of their lieutenants directs his men to shoot upwards at the ceiling, aiming for anything that looks weak or loose - carved statues high in the wall, chandeliers and lamps, bannister railings on internal balconies and stairways - aiming to blast them loose and bring a rain of heavy objects down on the heads on Lion Group 3 and their allies, whilst hopefully forcing Lyrix to switch his focus from attacking them to avoid being knocked out of the air. Relying on this distraction, combined with the partial barrier still standing just in front of the doorway and the large amount of unfrozen water running all over the place and flooding the Temple, making the floor extremely slippy, to delay Lion Group 2, S. Groups 2 and 3 stand their ground against Lion Group 1's assault.
S. Groups 1 and 4 pull back from the Bats as the fiery grenades rain down, splitting into two columns and retreating to either side of the Sacred Pool. Whilst the Bats are unfreezing the other members of L.Group 1, they quickly reform into ordered ranks, with a layer of drawn swords and spears at the front and several ranks of pulsors and crossbowmen behind, ready to resume combat. King Finglor directs most of the Sabretooths in the Throne Room itself to fire at the ceiling and the top of the doorframe, creating a buildup of large icicles.
*** The Sabretooths burst out of the cloud on Lyn's side, charging with the desperation of those who have nothing to lose.
The now united group of Lions and Scorpions in the hall walk slowly to avoid slipping, and around half of them continue firing at Sabertooth groups 2 and 3, as Sirius diverts the other half to fire at the falling parts from the ceiling, breaking up the rubble into smaller pieces to lessen the blow. Lyrix, meanwhile, swerves around the falling rubble long enough to get above the Sabertooths' barrier.
Lyrix: "You want me to fall, huh?! Then so I will!"
Lyrix allows himself to fall into the midst of the Sabertooths, his Fire Wings incinerating those within his wingspan upon impact. The lion is knocked around, but not frozen, by the surrounding Sabertooths' blasts, and he lashes the Fire Wings around to try to set more enemies ablaze.
Bliston quickly has the Bats melt the icicles, but the water that pours down as a result inevitably gets in their eyes, disorienting many. The Bats and Lions, however, know that their enemies had gone to the other end of the room, so they fire straight forward despite being momentarily "blinded".
***
Since Lyn's group is on the side of the hall with their backs to the fire chi storeroom, the Sabertooths encounter the lion who ran out of the room with the crates as the dust cloud clears. The lion, having already re-plugged fire chi himself, throws the crates toward Lyn and the rest of the force; the Lions replenish their fire chi with the fresh supply as they resume their battle with the Sabertooths. Lycor runs back toward that part of the hall to rejoin the group.
