Journeys

Following the roaring and craching sounds, Taljor quickly and very easily found the tell tale signs of which direction the chase was going.

Deciding it would be the path of least resistance, he chose not to be in the trees and brush, but to use the path already created.

As he approached a hill top, slowing just enough to take a gander, the sight was awespiring. THe man dragon had "shown" his true nature and knew right then and there not to go any further... unless the clash of these titans turns in an unfavorable way.

Taking up a defencive spot from sight, Taljor sat and watched the battle... and ready at a moments notice.

The creature bellowed, a noise that broke through the air and crushed its own sound. Its pincers waved menacingly through the air in front of his bulk as it shifted from side to side, appearing even larger than it truly was.

It reared, spreading its legs in the air for a brief moment before coming crashing to the ground, bellowing once more, its eye stalks swivelling constantly to and fro.

It seemed to regard the now larger dragon facing it... and though it looked as though it may have been hesitant, it still stalked forwards, growling and threatening with its pincers.

A second later, it struck towards the dragon's vulnerable serpentine neck, either completely forgetting the young man left on the ground between them, or not at the moment willing to hurt him.

Crowched down, observing the battle and seeing the man that the man-dragon once carried lie motionless between the behemoths. Taljor watched for an opening to make a daring and high risk rescue.

Setting his feet, the minotaur saw the opening he was looking for as one of the many legs from the crab creature had moved. Taking off in a dead sprint and a bee-line for the unconcious man. He was abit behind and to the left of the giant crab, he made all attempts to watch and avoid the sharp, spearlike tips.

GoldenDrakon's first intention was to let forth with a massive spray of either searing fire or bone-chilling ice, but realized that either would likely kill the young man, if their brawl did not accidently crush him outright. He needed to lure the creature away...then rip it apart.

With that plan in mind, GD jerked his head back, letting the pincer hang in the air threateningly before him, and backed away. His golden eyes narrowed as he hissed in displeasure, but the dragon hoped that his being just out of reach would goad the creature forward and away from where he suspected Wulff might still lay.

The creatures reared back, either not caring or not noticing the large minotaur as he raced beneath the behemoth. It reared back and roared through its maw and as it set its stickly legs back onto the earth it shook with the massive impact.

Screaming again, it scuttled forwards, now intent on the golden enemy just out of its reach.

Taljor, you now have a clear shot at rescuing the unconscious Wulff.

Wulff, you are now allowed to become conscious. You are still groggy and confused and you feel a strange pulling sensation towards the creature looming right above you. That and the warring desire to run for your life.

Golden drakon, you are awarded an opportunity to strike or retreat.

Snarling in response to the creature's approach, GD leapt up, his massive red-gold wings openineg wide and carrying him aloft with two powerful strokes. But no sooner than he had risen above the trees, the wings folded again and the dragon came crashing down. All four feet extended, intending to pounce onto the creature's shell and crush the beastie into the earth.

The beast roared again, its cry echoing against the sky as it reared forwards, scuttling towards the dragon, carrying its bulk over and free of the unconsciuos young man. Its eye stalks swivelled around, following the dragon as it suddenly swept into the air.

Pincers reared up, attempting to pluck the airbourne creature from the sky, but the monster missed, its pincers waving ineffectually in the air as Golden Drakon suddenly dropped down onto its back.

Claws sank into its deceptively soft shell and GD would be reminded of a species of crab on earth called the King Crab which often did not have a shell - but looked as if it did.

The flesh beneath the dragon's claws quivered and muscles twitched, almost throwing the dragon off. Eye stalks swivelled around to stare balefully at the dragon and the creature gave a great bellow that spoke of enormous effort. It was almost as if it grunted.

Suddenly, through the soft flesh that GD clung to, rose sharp spike, definitely harder than the flesh that had covered them. GD would then see that the creature beneath him was covered in small holes - currently hiding the deadly spikes that were unbeknownst to him, tipped with a deadly poison.

The creature seemed to bunch up beneath him and let out another grunt... the spikes would not be far behind.

GD's talloned fingers flexed as he leapt off the creature, ripping away chunks of flesh as he did so. His powerful hind legs likewise rent long slashes from where they drew back before carrying the dragon off. Yet even as he did so, one spike scorred his left hand, drawing blood from between his thumb and finger.

Heedless of the injury, the dragon jumped back, trying to stay behind and the the flanks of the creature, where he could strike while avoiding the forward facing pincers. The serpentine neck snapped forward, seeking the bite and tear at one of the rear legs.

The creature bellowed, trying to swing its massive bulk around to face the dragon, now behind it, but its body was simply not designed for such a maneauvre. It teetered to the side, still exhaling and thrusting spikes, arching its body trying to catch the dragon, though he was no long in its range.

If Drakon went to bite, his aim would hold true and he was score a hit, folding one of the creature's legs momentarily - unbalancing it.

The creature screamed as it wheeled to the side, bending its other legs to hold its weight. Its pincers sliced towards Drakon but the dragon would know it was momentarily out of harms way.

Eye stalked kept unerringly focused on the dragon as the creature attempted to scuttle around to face the golden winged beast once again. It clearly did not like having the dragon man at its back.

Dodging and avoiding dragon feet and giant crablegs was giving the minotaur a workout, not that he enjoyed the challenge. The battle started to move away from the unconcious man and eventually opened a clear opening.

Reaching a hand out, Taljor snatched the man about the waist and slung him over his shoulder with out losing a step. Moving quickly to other side of the battle trail, he stopped only when he knew the man would be safe.

Powerful jaws clamped down on the long crab-thing's leg. Shell and bone cracked as razored teeth serated flesh, muscle and sinew as GD bit deep. He tugged backwards, yanking the creature farther off balance and then gave a savage and powerful twist of his neck, not only seeking to break and ruin the leg, but possibly rip the limb away all together.

Making sure the unconcious man was out of harms way. Taljor put him on the ground and made a quick look over for injuries. The minotaur turned his attention to the clash between the titans.

Being a student of studying adversaries, he watch intently on the crab creature. The only noticable flaw was that is was so bulky. It could be used for an advantage, but what to use? There were tons of debris, but none too useful.

As he scoured the debris field, he saw a large remnant of a tree that had been snapped off and leaving about 6' still rooted, that may have stood over 70' by the looks of the girth, but tilted in thier direction. "That's just what I need."

The fighting beasts had moved off and left enough space to allow Taljor the much needed time to attempt a plan. Making a mad dash to the 6' tall stump. Swining his axe at angle's to shave off the fractured, splintered wood into a very precise sharp, spear like tip and then waited paciently to catch the dragons eye.

Taljor's hopes lie in the educated guess, that this crab creature is like the dragons scaley, but tender underside.

The creature screams with fury as Golden Drakon latches onto one of its spindly limbs. As the dragon seeks to tear away flesh there is a popping and sucking sound as the monster neatly dislocates the limb, popping it from the joint and offering GD no resistance in his effort.

This served two purposes - one it allowed the creature to save massive blood loss through unnecessary tearing and two it should provide a little shock to the dragon man.

Of course, it also served to leave the creature with one less leg.

Skittering back onto its remaining seven legs, it unbalances for a fraction of a second before recovering - much faster because it knew what would happen when sacrificing the limb.

Roaring, it lurched forwards, using its bulk to drive forward some momentum into its pincer claws as it attempted to pluck the dragon from the sky.

Golden Drakon: In your situation, you are in a prime position to see the minotaur and his current ministrations. You see that Wulff is taken care off (while you cannot physically see him, you deduce he is now safe) and with your excellent eyesight you quickly reason out Taljor's plan.

Pressing your attack would drive the creature back onto the improvised spike, however with the loss if its limb to one side, its movements and reactions are now unpredictable. The creature could tilt to the side to avoid your attack or overcompensate and lean the other way rather than going backwards.

And you must consider that a frontal assault has the disadvantage of bringing you into prime range of its powerful pincer claws.