Patrollogs
Novels Ghost Banishing 250118
On a chilling morning at Arkwright Cemetery, Novel and his companions find themselves embroiled in a battle against infernal creatures summoned from smoke and brimstone. As they gather, the atmospheric conditions become an eerie prelude to the forthcoming chaos. A hellhound materializes and attacks Novel, embedding visions of suffering into his psyche. Meanwhile, Leaf, demonstrating a mix of indifference and strategic retreat, and Finn, arriving just in time to assist, join the battle-hardened Sam in their desperate stand against the supernatural assault. Their first encounter sets the tone for the relentless struggle that would follow, marking the arrival of yet more demonic entities aiming to thwart their efforts.
As the skirmish escalates, a sinister figure casting spells exacerbates the situation, tightening its grip around Novel's heart with magic. In response, Sam initiates a ritual, invoking ancient powers to combat the dark forces at play. Leaf's unconventional tactics, involving snowballs and a primal reaction to the chaos, add an unpredictable element to the fray. Sam’s ritual takes a grim turn, demanding blood and signaling a deeper, darker magic at work. Just as the group seems to be getting the upper hand, Novel is captured by a giant infernal spider, spurring Finn into action despite the inherent dangers of approaching his wildly flailing comrade. Amidst this turmoil, a malevolent laughter permeates their minds, seeking to exploit their darkest sins. The narrative closes on a tense moment, with Leaf possibly succumbing to Finn's aggressive approach, influenced by the sinister forces at play, while the rest fight not just the physical manifestation of their adversaries but the psychological warfare being waged upon their souls.
(Novel's ghost banishing)
[Fri Jan 17 2025]
On the Sprawling Hillside of Arkwright Cemetery
It is morning, about 22F(-5C) degrees, and there are a few dark grey stormclouds in the sky.
There is the sudden smell of brimstone that fills the area, and along with a rising, black mist: smoke, coiling along the surface of the graveyard. It seems to form strange whorls and shapes, and as they draw close to %n they begin to look more and more like creatures -- horned creatures, with red eyes full of menace.
Novel draws back into focus after his distracted stare into the middle distance, a sudden rippling tenseness as he sees Leaf, a hand reaching into his jacket - but then when there is no attack, or movement, he gradually unwinds, straightening up. "Oh. Okay. You just here to help with-" And then cloying malice wraps around him, radiating like a wave as he slowly turns towards it with glee.
Sam says "Aight, we on time?"
Finn runs his way onto the scene, slightly out of breath. He's still pulling on an armoured jacket
Sam says "Welp. I'll still help out. "
Finn nods along as well, pulling out some nasty looking brass knuckles and pulling them onto his fingers, seeming ready to help out too
A twisted figure forms out of infernal smoke, shaped like a terrible canine shape. It's a hellhound, leaping towards Novel with an awful snarl. When its mouth closes on %n, it has some phantom force, sending a vision of suffering in hellfire.
Leaf is indifferent to Novel's words, her gaze addresses the elephants in the room. The horned creatures which draw close. She shows her pronounced canines in a threat towards the smoke creatures. Then she takes a half step back as she thinks better of going on the attack. She hardly notices Sam and Finn arrive, she's aware of them in her peripheral but she does not treat them as a threat
"So we got a plan?" Sam pulls out his knife, an oily, strange, black blad,e and shudders as he clasps a hand around the handle.
"Well I was going to just-" Novel is interrupted by the appearance of an animal that he whirls towards, raising blade an arm, a disfiguring, anguished grimace crossing his features in grotesqueness, "BAD FUCKING DOG," As the blade flashes out, the shine of it repeatedly plunging into the side of the hound that refuses to let go, seeping smoke every which way. How he's stabbing something made out of smoke is probably better not thought about.
Finn reacts to the hellhound leaping through the group a little late, running over towards as it closes onto Novel and grabbing onto it's rear quarter, starting to try and pull it off the man "Fucking hell, what the hell is this thing?!" He shouts, clearly having not bumped into any hellhounds before as he tries to get the damn thing off of Novel as Novel eviscerates it's sides. "You gunna do your maw thing, Sam?" Finn shouts over his shoulder, only looking away from the dog for a moment as he wrestles with the thing
Some figure forms in the smoke: tall, it has twisted horns and red eyes. It levels a gnarled finger at Novel, beginning to chant in an unknown language as the air begins to crackle with magic. Immediately, Novel can feel something like a vise closing on their heart.
"On it." Sam calmly looks over at the hell-hound. "Infernal ghosts. You've fought them before, I believe, Finn." He cuts into his p hand with that knife, and slowly starts to draw a triangular shape onto the ground, nodding to Novel, casually. "Unless ya got a brighter idea, I'm feeding them to the Big Guy, yeh?"
If Leaf cares for Novel getting attacked, she does not show it or move to help him. Instead the small woman breathes deep before squatting down in place to gather up some snow into a snow ball. She packs it together, nice and tight into a very respectable snow ball and then she stands back to her full height, hurling that impromptu weapon straight through the figure doing all the chanting. Instead of exploding on contact the snow ball sort of just sails right through to explode on the ground somewhere distant.
"Dog," Novel answers Finn brusquely as the other man successfully tears off the smoky critter and the ribbons it is, the brief press and feel of slimy organs and blood before, that too, disappates into foul-smelling smoke. He raises his blade again, shining and bright, and seems about to say something else - but then he's staggering to one side, flashing his white teeth in a pained grimace as his hand clamps over his own chest and he starts to stagger towards it. Strangely, sometime during his charge, he picks up in speed, seeming to recover and his mouth showing a wide-toothed grin of glee. "DO IT!" He calls back to Sam.
With a howl, some kind of winged monkey-demon swoops down near Novel, its body made of living smoke. It's all grasping claws, striking hard to leave psychic scars that hurt like deep slashes. Other monkeys attack anyone nearby, with similar screeching, rending claws.
Leaf squats down again, this time to cower and cover her head in a vain attempt to protect herself from the scratching claws of the smoke monkey-demons. She makes some noise, perhaps for the first time. Its a frustrated, part human, part animal cry that only last for a moment.
Finn falls backwards as the creature is cut into ribbons by Novel, holding onto the lower half of the poor thing as he suplexes the thing out of little more than muscle memory, wincing as he falls to the ground with little in his arms more than smoke. "Last time it was spider demons!" Finn calls out to Sam as he slowly gets up to his feet, watching Leaf throw a snowball with a half squint before a monkey demon is falling down on him! Instinctively raising up an arm to defend himself, claws dig deep into his forearm, the man letting out a yelp of pain before grabbing onto the thing and then hurling it other the top of his head, winging the small creature into the ground with a sickening crunch. Finn watches the thing turn to smoke before lurching forwards a few more steps as another monkey lands onto his back, Finn failing as he tries to remove the unwanted backpack made out of teeth and claws!
Slashing his blade through the air, Sam scowls at the monkeys, giving one of them a solid kick of a neat dress shoe. He speaks, voice laced with disdain and hatred, his whispers soft, but somehow carrying on the wind as the shadows around him start to coil and writhe, like angry serpents, or tendrils of some kind of beast. "Ghosts. Demons are worse." He lets out a soft chuckle, kneeling down as he spreads his arms.
Somewhere within her fur coat Leaf stashed away a blade chipped out of rock. It's a small knife, but none the less deadly. This is her resort when its comes to slashing the air wildly in an attempt to kill the unkillable monkeys. Finding this isn't going to work she tucks away the blade again wherever she seems to hide it. Sam's chanting earns a wary glance from her, suspicion evident in her eyes.
With a howl, some kind of winged monkey-demon swoops down near Novel, its body made of living smoke. It's all grasping claws, striking hard to leave psychic scars that hurt like deep slashes. Other monkeys attack anyone nearby, with similar screeching, rending claws.
Novel would have said something witty or clever but now he's embroiled in a brawl with a dozen smoke monsters. Truly, a thing of sufferring, terrible winged monkeys, scratching claws that leave pain but not a mark, allowing them to horrifically injure you over and over again while being truly unkillable, becoming one with smoke- "FUCK YEAH," Oh never mind, he's having fun. He grasps one, slamming it into another while having a headlock with a third. A headbutt comes out, then he PUNTS one sliding across the grass where it WHAMS violently into a grave, reducing to smoke as he flails around in aggressive, gleeful violence.
Finn manages to get the monkey off of his back, reaching over his shoulder and managing to get a grip on it's head as he similarly flings that one into the ground too, bringing up his heel to deliver three sickening stomps down the to the creature. He quickly checks over his shoulder for another one before tilting forwards into a run as he makes his way over to Leaf crouched on the ground trying to defend herself "You good, Sam?" He calls over to the man trying to perform a ritual as he runs, stopping just shy of Leaf in order to volley a full swing football kick directly into the creature perched on top of her, booting the thing off into the horizon!
Leaf does not give thanks to Finn, in fact she gives a hostile snarl and shows her teeth to him, the canines of those teeth sharpened naturally into fine points. It's the threat of an animal telling someone to back off because they don't want you so close.
Lifting his knife, Sam's body jerks upright, still kneeled, and his eyes stare forward as he turns his head aside, blinks a few times, before he just gives a broad grin, almost feral in nature, to Leaf's suspicion. The Jock winces in pain as his hands, seemingly moving like puppetted by unseen strings, clasp firmly around the blade of that knife. "Blood." His voice is soft, and a gutteral, ancient sort of hiss echoes in the back of his throat.
When someone adresses him, he doesn't seem to respond, though the name gives a detached, strange sort of recognition in the man's face. That blade then gets put into his right hand, and stabbed into the earth, before his hands go onto two sides of that triangle, black, oily tendrils of shadow wrapping around the blade and slowly oozing into the cemetery earth, giving it a shadowy, black sort of sheen, turning that triangle into something akin to a deep pit.
Lifting his knife, Sam's body jerks upright, still kneeled, and his eyes stare forward as he turns his head aside, blinks a few times, before he just gives a broad grin, almost feral in nature, to Leaf's suspicion. The Jock winces in pain as his hands, seemingly moving like puppetted by unseen strings, clasp firmly around the blade of that knife. "Blood." His voice is soft, and a gutteral, ancient sort of hiss echoes in the back of his throat.
When Finn adresses him, he doesn't seem to respond, though the name gives a detached, strange sort of recognition in the man's face. That blade then gets put into his right hand, and stabbed into the earth, before his hands go onto two sides of that triangle, black, oily tendrils of shadow wrapping around the blade and slowly oozing into the cemetery earth, giving it a shadowy, black sort of sheen, turning that triangle into something akin to a deep pit.
Finn takes a step back with a frown on his face before cautiously moving a step closer, holding his hand out to offer her some help getting to her feet, but holding it out in the way one might reach a hand out to pet something they weren't sure was about to bite them or not "Come now, let's be friends" He mumbles under his voice, mostly to himself.
There is a look above -- and then, from an overarching tree, Novel and their companions can see a black spider made of infernal smoke. It's huge, with a bloated belly, and then spun spider strands of black mist descend to wrap Novel into some awful cocoon.
Leaf is thoroughly distracted by Finn attempting to befriend something or someone incapable of basic decorum. The woman gets to her own feet, letting her lips slide over her teeth to stop showing them but she's definitely not going to reach out and take his hand and she even half turns to the side to give him the literal cold shoulder. No words spoken.
Novel is kidnapped from his violently revelry with a 'whup' noise, "Oh not this shit agai-mff!" He finds himself briefly flipped upside-down, wriggling in the air as he tries to keep his knife free and not get completely tied up as the spider is now dealing with an incredibly uncooperative knife-wielding maniac who is here to make enemies and kill things.
Finn is absolutely heartbroken! He's not, actually. But he is glad to see Leaf get to her feet without any other shadow demons dumping themselves on top of her to bring her back down to the ground. He seems like he's about to say something before he notices Novel getting wrapped up "OH SHI-" He makes out before the muscled goon starts to run off after the spider demon "Hold on boss, you got this!" He hypes the club owner up.
Cautiously approaching the flailing web sac, Finn looks it over, trying to figure it out if it was possible to get close enough to the thing without Novel slicing him to pieces "Sam, you got anything for this one?" He calls over his shoulder, wondering if the ritual was developed enough to use those tendrils he's seen yet
For a moment, the dark smoke is still around Novel ... but then a low, evil laughter begins to echo. It takes only a second to realize the laughter is echoing inside the heads of those who fight here, and with it comes a sudden urge to give into everyone's worst sin.
When Finn leaves her be, Leaf can focus on what the task at hand. She seems to have a strategy that would only make sense to an insane person. She reaches up into the nest of hair on her head, plucking out a twig no longer than a finger. She holds it out in front of herself like it was the holy grail and with her other hand she takes the other end of it, and snaps it into two pieces. Now she has two, shorter holy grails that she holds up. She hums then, no words but its a melodic, gutteral noise, humming to those two twigs that she holds out.
Sam's eyes flick to Finn, and he tilts his head aside. He speaks to Finn, his voice a deep hiss. "Consume." He winces, every movement seemingly causing the jock's face to twist in pain. Then he glares at that knife, adressing Novel, Leaf and Finn in equal, or unequal measure. "Hate." He speaks, and hisses out, the shadows around that ritual form starting to twitch, seemingly searching out the smoke around the cemetery.
The answer that Finn is looking for is: No. Not it is not. As soon as the man comes close, his hand springs free and the blade arcs through the air, trying to give Finn a new scar with the whisk through the air as he openly gives into wrath and other hungers, but hey, at least the strands are gone. "GET OVER HERE SO I CAN FUCKING CUT YOU," Novel calls out to Finn violently. Subtlety, he is not, as he writhes and jerks this way and that, the ritualists doing their thing to conquer the disaster of the cemetery.
Leaf just seems a bit like a crazy person, humming to her two short twigs pinched between the thumb and forefinger of each hand. Only the most perceptible arcanist might here the twigs resonate back at a higher pitch, channeling some sort of naturalistic magic
Finn manages to get back in time, his face curling up in angry before he looks over his shoulder at Leaf as a strange feeling comes over him. He stops what he's doing, abandoning Novel to his feet as he starts to march his way towards the girl, aggression clear in his body language ...
Finn seems to think noting of the twigs in her hands, thinking the girl little more than a woman of vulnerable mind and vulnerable body
Finn nothing*
Leaf is too busy humming and doing her own thing to notice Finn coming at her blind spot. Her humming increases in volume and the twigs echo back even higher in pitch, just as things seem to culminate and the spirits start to fade away. It's impossible to know if she had any effect at all
As the skirmish escalates, a sinister figure casting spells exacerbates the situation, tightening its grip around Novel's heart with magic. In response, Sam initiates a ritual, invoking ancient powers to combat the dark forces at play. Leaf's unconventional tactics, involving snowballs and a primal reaction to the chaos, add an unpredictable element to the fray. Sam’s ritual takes a grim turn, demanding blood and signaling a deeper, darker magic at work. Just as the group seems to be getting the upper hand, Novel is captured by a giant infernal spider, spurring Finn into action despite the inherent dangers of approaching his wildly flailing comrade. Amidst this turmoil, a malevolent laughter permeates their minds, seeking to exploit their darkest sins. The narrative closes on a tense moment, with Leaf possibly succumbing to Finn's aggressive approach, influenced by the sinister forces at play, while the rest fight not just the physical manifestation of their adversaries but the psychological warfare being waged upon their souls.
(Novel's ghost banishing)
[Fri Jan 17 2025]
On the Sprawling Hillside of Arkwright Cemetery
It is morning, about 22F(-5C) degrees, and there are a few dark grey stormclouds in the sky.
There is the sudden smell of brimstone that fills the area, and along with a rising, black mist: smoke, coiling along the surface of the graveyard. It seems to form strange whorls and shapes, and as they draw close to %n they begin to look more and more like creatures -- horned creatures, with red eyes full of menace.
Novel draws back into focus after his distracted stare into the middle distance, a sudden rippling tenseness as he sees Leaf, a hand reaching into his jacket - but then when there is no attack, or movement, he gradually unwinds, straightening up. "Oh. Okay. You just here to help with-" And then cloying malice wraps around him, radiating like a wave as he slowly turns towards it with glee.
Sam says "Aight, we on time?"
Finn runs his way onto the scene, slightly out of breath. He's still pulling on an armoured jacket
Sam says "Welp. I'll still help out. "
Finn nods along as well, pulling out some nasty looking brass knuckles and pulling them onto his fingers, seeming ready to help out too
A twisted figure forms out of infernal smoke, shaped like a terrible canine shape. It's a hellhound, leaping towards Novel with an awful snarl. When its mouth closes on %n, it has some phantom force, sending a vision of suffering in hellfire.
Leaf is indifferent to Novel's words, her gaze addresses the elephants in the room. The horned creatures which draw close. She shows her pronounced canines in a threat towards the smoke creatures. Then she takes a half step back as she thinks better of going on the attack. She hardly notices Sam and Finn arrive, she's aware of them in her peripheral but she does not treat them as a threat
"So we got a plan?" Sam pulls out his knife, an oily, strange, black blad,e and shudders as he clasps a hand around the handle.
"Well I was going to just-" Novel is interrupted by the appearance of an animal that he whirls towards, raising blade an arm, a disfiguring, anguished grimace crossing his features in grotesqueness, "BAD FUCKING DOG," As the blade flashes out, the shine of it repeatedly plunging into the side of the hound that refuses to let go, seeping smoke every which way. How he's stabbing something made out of smoke is probably better not thought about.
Finn reacts to the hellhound leaping through the group a little late, running over towards as it closes onto Novel and grabbing onto it's rear quarter, starting to try and pull it off the man "Fucking hell, what the hell is this thing?!" He shouts, clearly having not bumped into any hellhounds before as he tries to get the damn thing off of Novel as Novel eviscerates it's sides. "You gunna do your maw thing, Sam?" Finn shouts over his shoulder, only looking away from the dog for a moment as he wrestles with the thing
Some figure forms in the smoke: tall, it has twisted horns and red eyes. It levels a gnarled finger at Novel, beginning to chant in an unknown language as the air begins to crackle with magic. Immediately, Novel can feel something like a vise closing on their heart.
"On it." Sam calmly looks over at the hell-hound. "Infernal ghosts. You've fought them before, I believe, Finn." He cuts into his p hand with that knife, and slowly starts to draw a triangular shape onto the ground, nodding to Novel, casually. "Unless ya got a brighter idea, I'm feeding them to the Big Guy, yeh?"
If Leaf cares for Novel getting attacked, she does not show it or move to help him. Instead the small woman breathes deep before squatting down in place to gather up some snow into a snow ball. She packs it together, nice and tight into a very respectable snow ball and then she stands back to her full height, hurling that impromptu weapon straight through the figure doing all the chanting. Instead of exploding on contact the snow ball sort of just sails right through to explode on the ground somewhere distant.
"Dog," Novel answers Finn brusquely as the other man successfully tears off the smoky critter and the ribbons it is, the brief press and feel of slimy organs and blood before, that too, disappates into foul-smelling smoke. He raises his blade again, shining and bright, and seems about to say something else - but then he's staggering to one side, flashing his white teeth in a pained grimace as his hand clamps over his own chest and he starts to stagger towards it. Strangely, sometime during his charge, he picks up in speed, seeming to recover and his mouth showing a wide-toothed grin of glee. "DO IT!" He calls back to Sam.
With a howl, some kind of winged monkey-demon swoops down near Novel, its body made of living smoke. It's all grasping claws, striking hard to leave psychic scars that hurt like deep slashes. Other monkeys attack anyone nearby, with similar screeching, rending claws.
Leaf squats down again, this time to cower and cover her head in a vain attempt to protect herself from the scratching claws of the smoke monkey-demons. She makes some noise, perhaps for the first time. Its a frustrated, part human, part animal cry that only last for a moment.
Finn falls backwards as the creature is cut into ribbons by Novel, holding onto the lower half of the poor thing as he suplexes the thing out of little more than muscle memory, wincing as he falls to the ground with little in his arms more than smoke. "Last time it was spider demons!" Finn calls out to Sam as he slowly gets up to his feet, watching Leaf throw a snowball with a half squint before a monkey demon is falling down on him! Instinctively raising up an arm to defend himself, claws dig deep into his forearm, the man letting out a yelp of pain before grabbing onto the thing and then hurling it other the top of his head, winging the small creature into the ground with a sickening crunch. Finn watches the thing turn to smoke before lurching forwards a few more steps as another monkey lands onto his back, Finn failing as he tries to remove the unwanted backpack made out of teeth and claws!
Slashing his blade through the air, Sam scowls at the monkeys, giving one of them a solid kick of a neat dress shoe. He speaks, voice laced with disdain and hatred, his whispers soft, but somehow carrying on the wind as the shadows around him start to coil and writhe, like angry serpents, or tendrils of some kind of beast. "Ghosts. Demons are worse." He lets out a soft chuckle, kneeling down as he spreads his arms.
Somewhere within her fur coat Leaf stashed away a blade chipped out of rock. It's a small knife, but none the less deadly. This is her resort when its comes to slashing the air wildly in an attempt to kill the unkillable monkeys. Finding this isn't going to work she tucks away the blade again wherever she seems to hide it. Sam's chanting earns a wary glance from her, suspicion evident in her eyes.
With a howl, some kind of winged monkey-demon swoops down near Novel, its body made of living smoke. It's all grasping claws, striking hard to leave psychic scars that hurt like deep slashes. Other monkeys attack anyone nearby, with similar screeching, rending claws.
Novel would have said something witty or clever but now he's embroiled in a brawl with a dozen smoke monsters. Truly, a thing of sufferring, terrible winged monkeys, scratching claws that leave pain but not a mark, allowing them to horrifically injure you over and over again while being truly unkillable, becoming one with smoke- "FUCK YEAH," Oh never mind, he's having fun. He grasps one, slamming it into another while having a headlock with a third. A headbutt comes out, then he PUNTS one sliding across the grass where it WHAMS violently into a grave, reducing to smoke as he flails around in aggressive, gleeful violence.
Finn manages to get the monkey off of his back, reaching over his shoulder and managing to get a grip on it's head as he similarly flings that one into the ground too, bringing up his heel to deliver three sickening stomps down the to the creature. He quickly checks over his shoulder for another one before tilting forwards into a run as he makes his way over to Leaf crouched on the ground trying to defend herself "You good, Sam?" He calls over to the man trying to perform a ritual as he runs, stopping just shy of Leaf in order to volley a full swing football kick directly into the creature perched on top of her, booting the thing off into the horizon!
Leaf does not give thanks to Finn, in fact she gives a hostile snarl and shows her teeth to him, the canines of those teeth sharpened naturally into fine points. It's the threat of an animal telling someone to back off because they don't want you so close.
Lifting his knife, Sam's body jerks upright, still kneeled, and his eyes stare forward as he turns his head aside, blinks a few times, before he just gives a broad grin, almost feral in nature, to Leaf's suspicion. The Jock winces in pain as his hands, seemingly moving like puppetted by unseen strings, clasp firmly around the blade of that knife. "Blood." His voice is soft, and a gutteral, ancient sort of hiss echoes in the back of his throat.
When someone adresses him, he doesn't seem to respond, though the name gives a detached, strange sort of recognition in the man's face. That blade then gets put into his right hand, and stabbed into the earth, before his hands go onto two sides of that triangle, black, oily tendrils of shadow wrapping around the blade and slowly oozing into the cemetery earth, giving it a shadowy, black sort of sheen, turning that triangle into something akin to a deep pit.
Lifting his knife, Sam's body jerks upright, still kneeled, and his eyes stare forward as he turns his head aside, blinks a few times, before he just gives a broad grin, almost feral in nature, to Leaf's suspicion. The Jock winces in pain as his hands, seemingly moving like puppetted by unseen strings, clasp firmly around the blade of that knife. "Blood." His voice is soft, and a gutteral, ancient sort of hiss echoes in the back of his throat.
When Finn adresses him, he doesn't seem to respond, though the name gives a detached, strange sort of recognition in the man's face. That blade then gets put into his right hand, and stabbed into the earth, before his hands go onto two sides of that triangle, black, oily tendrils of shadow wrapping around the blade and slowly oozing into the cemetery earth, giving it a shadowy, black sort of sheen, turning that triangle into something akin to a deep pit.
Finn takes a step back with a frown on his face before cautiously moving a step closer, holding his hand out to offer her some help getting to her feet, but holding it out in the way one might reach a hand out to pet something they weren't sure was about to bite them or not "Come now, let's be friends" He mumbles under his voice, mostly to himself.
There is a look above -- and then, from an overarching tree, Novel and their companions can see a black spider made of infernal smoke. It's huge, with a bloated belly, and then spun spider strands of black mist descend to wrap Novel into some awful cocoon.
Leaf is thoroughly distracted by Finn attempting to befriend something or someone incapable of basic decorum. The woman gets to her own feet, letting her lips slide over her teeth to stop showing them but she's definitely not going to reach out and take his hand and she even half turns to the side to give him the literal cold shoulder. No words spoken.
Novel is kidnapped from his violently revelry with a 'whup' noise, "Oh not this shit agai-mff!" He finds himself briefly flipped upside-down, wriggling in the air as he tries to keep his knife free and not get completely tied up as the spider is now dealing with an incredibly uncooperative knife-wielding maniac who is here to make enemies and kill things.
Finn is absolutely heartbroken! He's not, actually. But he is glad to see Leaf get to her feet without any other shadow demons dumping themselves on top of her to bring her back down to the ground. He seems like he's about to say something before he notices Novel getting wrapped up "OH SHI-" He makes out before the muscled goon starts to run off after the spider demon "Hold on boss, you got this!" He hypes the club owner up.
Cautiously approaching the flailing web sac, Finn looks it over, trying to figure it out if it was possible to get close enough to the thing without Novel slicing him to pieces "Sam, you got anything for this one?" He calls over his shoulder, wondering if the ritual was developed enough to use those tendrils he's seen yet
For a moment, the dark smoke is still around Novel ... but then a low, evil laughter begins to echo. It takes only a second to realize the laughter is echoing inside the heads of those who fight here, and with it comes a sudden urge to give into everyone's worst sin.
When Finn leaves her be, Leaf can focus on what the task at hand. She seems to have a strategy that would only make sense to an insane person. She reaches up into the nest of hair on her head, plucking out a twig no longer than a finger. She holds it out in front of herself like it was the holy grail and with her other hand she takes the other end of it, and snaps it into two pieces. Now she has two, shorter holy grails that she holds up. She hums then, no words but its a melodic, gutteral noise, humming to those two twigs that she holds out.
Sam's eyes flick to Finn, and he tilts his head aside. He speaks to Finn, his voice a deep hiss. "Consume." He winces, every movement seemingly causing the jock's face to twist in pain. Then he glares at that knife, adressing Novel, Leaf and Finn in equal, or unequal measure. "Hate." He speaks, and hisses out, the shadows around that ritual form starting to twitch, seemingly searching out the smoke around the cemetery.
The answer that Finn is looking for is: No. Not it is not. As soon as the man comes close, his hand springs free and the blade arcs through the air, trying to give Finn a new scar with the whisk through the air as he openly gives into wrath and other hungers, but hey, at least the strands are gone. "GET OVER HERE SO I CAN FUCKING CUT YOU," Novel calls out to Finn violently. Subtlety, he is not, as he writhes and jerks this way and that, the ritualists doing their thing to conquer the disaster of the cemetery.
Leaf just seems a bit like a crazy person, humming to her two short twigs pinched between the thumb and forefinger of each hand. Only the most perceptible arcanist might here the twigs resonate back at a higher pitch, channeling some sort of naturalistic magic
Finn manages to get back in time, his face curling up in angry before he looks over his shoulder at Leaf as a strange feeling comes over him. He stops what he's doing, abandoning Novel to his feet as he starts to march his way towards the girl, aggression clear in his body language ...
Finn seems to think noting of the twigs in her hands, thinking the girl little more than a woman of vulnerable mind and vulnerable body
Finn nothing*
Leaf is too busy humming and doing her own thing to notice Finn coming at her blind spot. Her humming increases in volume and the twigs echo back even higher in pitch, just as things seem to culminate and the spirits start to fade away. It's impossible to know if she had any effect at all