HE BROUGHT UP HIS BUCKLER and advanced into the room. In his ear, MAC spoke through his headset, fusing his words into the pop-up notification: [WARNING: Fae Warrior type detected. Proceed with extreme caution!]
"What does that mean? Warrior-type?" he asked.
MAC replied right away, saying, "Warrior-types are rarely seen fae-construct models. Although more common in places with military purposes in mind, such as structures belonging to Ancient Societies of a Certain Kind, even here, it is a noteworthy event to see such a hostile Assemblage Creature. Typically, they form when unattended martial matter -- such as weapons and defensive gear infused with magical energies -- suffer disrepair beyond measure and break down as a result. When breakdowns happen, the resulting magical decay often results in fae-generation."
"Good to know -- there it is!" Jiehong shouted.
Over in a corner but coming to them as fast as its shambling body could move -- which was not very fast, to be clear -- was the fae construct. It looked like a possessed suit of old armor. He actually thought it resembled a suit of armor so much, he was half-tempted to ask MAC if the possession of inanimate objects was something which actually happened. Thankfully, he snapped back to the more pressing concern.
[Fae-Construct Detected: 'Combat Drone,' the warrior-type fae-construct. It uses its melee weapon to lunge and slash at its prey. Upon their victims' deaths, they absorb their victim's released spiritual essence through the use of ill-grown 'gills' capable of converting elements of so-called 'death vapors' to usable spiritual energy]
"It's an ugly one," he said, summarizing his headset / MAC's pop-up explanation.
Ready to confront the fae head-on, Jiehong pulled him back at the last moment. "Let me take this, buddy," he said.
He warred with himself for a moment. Said, "No. I'm the leader. I should take point!" He lunged toward the enemy, but the fae parried his sudden blow.
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Jiehong took the moment to attack the fae. His blow landed but only at the fae-construct's side; though large pieces of its shambling, armor-heavy body fell apart and clanged to the floor, its main body remained functioning, which is why Jiehong had to take a dodge-action resulting in him accidentally slamming into a nearby support beam.
"Enough of this," he said, and channeled into his hand good old tried-and-true fire-oriented magic. Simple as channeling magic into his hand and then getting mad to give the magic its 'fire' tint. He reared back and slammed the flame-sphere into the construct like he was throwing an athletics ball.
Already on his way to assist his brother as he stumbled out of combat -- him clearly disoriented after knocking into a solid beam -- he got only a couple of steps before he realized the Combat Drone fae-construct was unharmed. His flame attack slipped off the fae's cracked armor like it was a gentle wind. Still on the move when he realized this, he barely had time to raise his shield and block another of the combat drone's assaults. The fae continued to bang away at his buckler with a speed he wholly believed impossible for an entity which, moments before, seemed so deconstructed and weak.
If I don't do something we are going to get killed. What the fecking-heck was I thinking, charging into this thing? What the feck was I trying to prove?! He shouted at himself, heavily berating himself for what now, in hindsight, clearly had been a terrible choice. To Jie, he said, "Are you alright?!" He had to strain his voice to be heard above the clatter and clanging of the Combat Drone. "What can I do?" he internally shouted, trying to think of something to do in the heat of the moment.
Jie shouted an answer back, but he barely heard him speak, let alone its contents. Which became irrelevant during the next moment, as Jiehong threw himself into the Combat Drone's side, sending them both to the ground with much fanfare as their tumble dislodged the many off items this room stored and which he saw for the first time. 'A storage room?' he offhandedly thought as he simultaneously moved himself to strike the enemy. Thrusting his Order sword through its helmet, then its plate mail, and then several more places besides, the fae-construct eventually stopped moving after even more violent jabbing.
His headset took note of the fading eldritch energies of the fae-construct. [Fae-Construct Destroyed], the notification alerted him to.
Up from the ground, Jiehong yelled, "What the feck was that Zan?! Seriously, what the fecking -- FECK!"
