Snippet #1501092

Duran gritted his teeth as he headed towards the dragon Jakanther. It seemed that three legionnaires could keep it occupied, but Duran was relatively sure that it wasn't because the dragon was unable to utterly destroy any of them with one of its massive claws. There was no doubt that getting smacked by one of them was a death sentence without immediate medical attention. It was lucky then, that Sarish was following behind him. Though he had left first, Sarish found his speed relatively stunted compared to Duran's, whose long legs gave him a quick stride that would be the envy of any of the deer from the forest in which he had grown.

Duran began to mull around attack strategies in his head as both he and Sarish closed in on their target. It would be key to try and keep it on the ground, with the secondary objective of disabling its ability to attack. Of course, the beast's head was a particular cause of worry, between the teeth and the fiery breath that the species was known for. Then again, If these dragons had the ability to breath fire, they probably would have done so by now. There was no doubt that one well places blast of fire would take care of their intruder problem. Regardless, he made a quick mental note not to stand in front of the beast's head, or it's tail, for that matter.

A thought quickly entered his mind. The Darkguards. They could be immensely helpful in at least neutralizing the dragon's attacks while the legionnaires finished it off. However, it seemed that his own personal darkguard was nowhere to be found.

"Sarish!" he yelled back, "Where is your darkguard?"

"Good question." Sarish responded dryly.

"We gotta get them here and get them on that dragon! Hold its legs, keep its mouth shut, anything!" Duran said, huffing.

"Well, then think about it." Sarish wasn't exhausted at all, though he was in much heavier armor. It seemed being able to slither instead of stride had advantages all its own.

Duran felt like an idiot, though he wasn't sure exactly an expert on giant magical constructs. Quite the opposite, in fact. "Then think about your darkguard beating the living crap out of that dragon!" he shouted back to Sarish, as he did the same thing.

"Darkguard, we need assistance. Attack the dragon I'm looking at. More specifically, do anything you can to keep it on the ground or to cripple its attacks." He wasn't sure that it would work. He expected it not to since he couldn't see his obsidian protector, although he hoped that the magic used to control them was potent enough to carry at least a mile.

As the druid and the cleric made their way towards the dragon, the enemy forces seemed to become more lively. More and more enemy combatants seemed to pop out of nowhere in the same way a family of rabbits would. Hopefully it wouldn't take very long to dispatch them, but hope was in short demand these days. At least four weapon-brandishing city guards blocked their way, one of them wearing a white robe.

Duran growled. Literally. His canines began to grow, and fur began to sprout from his body. He face cracked and formed a snout, and his entire form began to grow massive bulk. Sarish raised a brow, but quickly decided that it would be better not to ask anything. Mid-run, Duran got down on all fours, and his now massive limbs shortened. As all his equipment merged with his new form, Sarish realized what had just happened. This was one of the abilities that druids were well known for.

Shapeshifting.

Duran collided with the wall of foes, now in the massive form of a bear. His new hide would offer about the same protection as his armor would against the weapons, but he decided that the Child of Fire in the group was the biggest problem. Duran charged the Child, his massive paw catching him before he had time to react. He was thrown to the ground, knocking another of the guards onto his backside. Without hesitation, Duran landed on the Child's chest with both massive paws, and without a thought, encompassed the Child's head with his jaws. A quick crunch was all that was heard, as the sheer force of his bite cracked the Child's skull. He tried to yell for assistance, though it was cut short by a quick jerk of Duran's own head. The two guards still standing jumped on Duran's new form, though Sarish quickly caught up to the fray.

Sarish let loose his spiked maul, colliding with one of the guard's heads with his favorite sound: A cracked skull.

The other guard did not hesitate, and plunged his short sword into Duran's large thigh. The sheer bulk of his form seemed to prevent most of the damage, though he still let out a stifled roar of pain through the head of the now half-decapitated child. He reared back and smacked the guard with his bear claw, ripping the calf from one of his legs. He fell to the ground in agony and the inability to further support his own form on more then one leg as Sarish lended his maul to the mans head, ending his suffering once and for all.

The final guard, finally getting back to his feet, quickly reared back and held out a now quivering sword.

Duran let out a furious roar, the thick scent of blood on his breath.

"That means run away." Sarish quipped.

The man did the opposite, and was quickly met with a claw to head, sending him reeling to the ground once more, this time landing on his chest. He tried to turn over, but by then it was too late. Duran was on top of the poor man, as his fate was not unlike the Child before him, his head encompassed in a deadly, toothed vice.

"Uh, I think we should get going. That dragon won't kill itself." Sarish said.

Duran grunted in agreement, and left the massacre behind, his heavy paws thudding against the ground as both the Druid and the Cleric continued on their way. A small limp was evident in Duran's left thigh where the guard had pierced him, though he wasn't bleeding heavily, it was still uncomfortable. There was little doubt that a blow like that to his human form would have done considerably more damage. He stayed in his animal form for now. It would be useful for barreling through any more enemies that were to appear, though he would probably have to discard it once not having thumbs became a loss of advantage.

Meanwhile, the darkguard that both Sarish and Duran had left behind became active, obeying the distant mental command of their charges, and heading towards the dragon. They would probably reach it before their masters did, though it would hopefully be enough to keep the dragon occupied until Duran and Sarish arrived to back up their fellows. They charged onward towards there targets, each of them praying.

Sarish prayed that the dragon would kill itself, while Duran prayed that the dragon would not be dead by the time he got to it.