The Dull Chill [open]

While the cleric did her work, Mackenzie opted to back away. She still stood guard almost, watching the other Ranger's body seem to dematerialize before her eyes. Thankfully, they had timed things just right. It wasn't the image she had originally thought death would be like.

Her gaze stayed focus on Rory's healthbar the entire time. As it slowly started progressing forwards, a breath of relief escaped her lungs. She let her gaze break once the bar hit green to check on the cleric, who seemed to be struggling. Opening her UI, she selected her canteen. Thankfully it was full enough. Grabbing her detachable hood, she soaked it with the cool water, offering it to the Cleric. She was definitely sweating.

Mackenzie offered a smile and a firm shake of her head in response to the now-healed Ranger's question. "No, we got here in time. Are you alright otherwise?"

God gave her this power.

The power to heal, the power to bring a person back from the brink of death. This was why she was brought into the game, this was why she was kidnapped. She had to believe there was reason behind it all because if she didn't she would break down and wouldn't be able to continue. This was all on her, to save players, to make sure no one dies in this wretched game.

Soon the vibrant glow slowly faded, and the glow from the cross vanished as well. Claire let out a heavy sigh placing her arm's on the ground taking hard shaky breath's. It was tough work, to save a player from the brink of death. She could almost feel herself slip in and out from conscious, but she had to stay tough she didn't want to worry the other two. She glanced over at Mackenzie giving her a grateful nod, grabbing the hood and pressing it onto her forehead with her arm, feeling great relief from the cold water.

She stayed silent at Rory's question, only pondering to herself when a good time would be to say good bye to them both.

Rory didn't respond to Mackenzie either. She sat up, her head rushing with the force of a river. She heard it coursing through her ears. The girl looked around, obviously dazed, but once cleared, she froze and looked towards the sky. A distant shriek sounded. The girl tensed and hopped rigidly to her feet. There was new strength in her bones. It was so easily given and so easily taken. Rory steadied, finding her thoughts more and more clear. And that's what made her so scared.

"We have to go," she murmured, walking towards the downward path. They could climb down to escape quicker, but if those dragons came...

They'd be dead.

She jogged down, motioning her hand for the two to follow. The shrieks got closer, surrounding them.

Seeing the cleric accept her cooling rag made Mackenzie feel of some use. At least she could do something to help, it made her feel useful. But when Rory got up, Mackenzie half expected to have to catch her from fainting.

We have to go...

Mackenzie didn't need to be told twice. The winds around her seemed to quickly pick back up to life, and it frightened her to a good degree. She normally wasn't one for backing out of things, but in this case... She wanted to get the hell out of dodge. Nodding, she made sure all of her equipment was in the right spot before taking after the girl.

"I know this probably isn't the time for small talk, but what's your names?" Her question filed towards the Cleric and the Ranger. Because it'd be better to at least know who to shout to in case something did pop up. Mackenzie clung to the hope that nothing would, though. She wasn't in the mood to fight at all. "I'm Kenzie."

Claire quickly stood up as well, not wanting to deal with another mist dragon. If one of them were to get injured again she doubted that she would be able to heal them.. when she healed Rory she felt almost completely drained of energy. She followed Rory down carefully, she didn't want to twist her ankle on her way down.

She glanced over at Mackenzie when she introduced herself, she sighed. "Claire" She said in a whisper.

In the air above them, a dragon materialized, dipping in and out of the clouds. Rory swallowed, keeping her eyes glued to the beige and gray above them. What was her name? Was this the time for introductions? The girl completely ignored the question, sprinting down the pathway, avoiding the occasional jutting stone.

That was when a figure shot from the mist, in front of the group, slamming itself into the stone wall they winded around. Rory jumped back to avoid it, as the mist dragon melted against the rock. When it disappeared, she shouted, "Keep moving!" Serpents swirled in the fog around them, over the rocky peaks.

Mackenzie could barely hear the name the Cleric uttered, but she caught it just enough. Claire... It rolled off her tongue well. It also fit the girl it belonged to - Claire the Cleric. If she became close with the girl, she could so use that name. Time for introductions or not, she at least got one name.

The new mist dragon in front of her face caused Mackenzie to loose her footing. She was able to catch herself, but her heart was now pumping with adrenaline. Beads of sweat were intensified by the moisture in the air, and it made everything worse on her. There was nothing she hated more then being sweaty during a run.

Still following Rory's orders, her speed seemed to pick up after her recovery. She wanted out of there. But a question formed in the back of her mind - should they really be trusting the one that had just nearly died?

The roars from the dragons terrified Claire, she had to get out of here. It was way to dangerous, why did she ever venture out? She needed to find some good people to trust if she wanted to survive this... She glanced at Rory when she shouted commands.. maybe, she could get these two to trust her. After all she practically did save Rory's life. The cleric continued to run, how far did they need to get away to escape these demons?

It took a few moments for Rory's feet to meet the flat ground level, the rocks towering over the trio like skyscrapers. Above, the serpents brooded like vultures. the sky was filled with them, the fog being replaced by silhouettes of dragons. The girl's lungs ached, but she kept moving. If she stopped, they would die. A rush of wind with the force of a tank would probably kill them instantly, crushing them against the hard ground. Rory almost tripped over a jutting stone, but kept her pace. Each step was one closer to escape.

She saw one divebomb. Rory reached into her quiver, withdrawing an arrow, and shot it towards the beast. It dissipated from an accurate shot, but two more came down, bearing towards the group. Their shrieks grew louder as they dropped, maws agape.

Mackenzie's gaze traveled to each person in the little trio they had formed. She wasn't going to let anything happen to any of them... She'd use everything in her power to guarantee that. Of course, she wasn't exactly very strong. But she'd still do her best. Seeing the terrified reaction of Claire only further pushed her motivation to get out of here quickly.. and safely.

The threat of the living wind made Mackenzie bring her bow close to her body, a somewhat resting but still ready to fire position. This seemed to be the good choice, because not even a split second later the Dragons were coming for them. She could count three, and seeing the Ranger fire an arrow at one, she quickly followed suit for the other two. Her arrow pierced the first one she took target to, the arrow seeming to evaporate alongside the dragon. So much for my strategy of getting two for one... She thought in dismay, adrenaline coursing through her as the remaining dragon seemed to take charge after Claire.

She had no weapon, nothing to defend herself with.

She couldn't keep up her pace she was becoming slower her lungs were heavy and her face became weary. Claire felt like she was in the race of life and death herself and she didn't want to die. The cleric took a quick glance behind her shoulder to see that Mackenzie was shooting arrows at the dragons, killing two of them.

She felt relief when she killed them but she quickly realized that there had been three dragons.. shit. She blinked as she had heard the mighty roar of the dragon tripping and falling down on the ground. Her legs and face getting badly wounded. Shit, shit shit.

Rory heard a thump. The girl spun around to see the cleric on the ground. That idiot! They were so very close to the end, and she was eating shit near the finish line! The short-haired girl thought about leaving her, but she owed her life to the player, so she ran over, noticing the blood on her face, and hooked her arm over her shoulder.

"Let's go!"

It was hard to carry a limping girl down a pathway, dragons screaming from above. It was Mackenzie's job to defend. The fog had already begun to thin, the rocky walls becoming less and less monstrous. They were so close. No one was going to die when Roslare was just a hair away. She wasn't going to let her grandfather kill her, not once.

When Claire hit the ground, Mackenzie let out a gasp. Thankfully, Rory went back to grab her - she had other things to deal with. Even though the fog was thinning, the dragons most definitely were not. They seemed to carry the fog with them, although they were almost on an invisible fence.

Even with that secret leash holding them back, they were still coming right for them. Kenzie wasn't going to hold back one moment. Quickly, arrows were pulled from her quiver, and she would only pause to fire. Otherwise, she was running and reloading. Dragon after dragon, arrow after arrow.

Eventually, the fog had thinned out enough to where she didn't feel the threat of whatever the hell those winds were. She slipped her bow around her body, and moved to help Rory carry Claire.

Claire moved with a limp as Rory had helped her walk. Sweat dripped from her forehead but she continued to move forward, the screeches from the skies encouraged her to move as fast as possible. She quickly glanced behind her to see that Mackenzie was fending off the dragons, and Claire had been in awe of how Mackenzie's arrow had hit a dragon with almost perfect accuracy.

In the distance Claire could see where she had came from! There it was! Safety was just a hair away for all of them... Just a little further! The cleric had thought to herself with relief.