Aananda, remembering her extraordinary nutritional requirements, does remember to pack the everproducing rice mortar. :)
Aananda, remembering her extraordinary nutritional requirements, does remember to pack the everproducing rice mortar. :)
A little while later, Tam comes back up to the dining room.
"Okay - I think I'm ready to cast the spell. Shall we?"
Ryo sets Ruji down on a chair, scratching him behind his ears before turning to Tam.
"Yeah, I'm ready."
He raises a hand for silence, then goes to the door and snags Razzy out of his hiding place.
"You're not going, so why don't you go clean up the mess those explosives -the ones I told you not to mess with- made in your lab?"
"You should know something. We all know you hide by the door when something you can't be a part of is about to happen. Can't you be more creative?"
"I want to go though! You always go somewhere really cool, and you know I could help!"
He sulks as he is held slightly off the ground.
"I'd go even if all you let me do was cook..."
"I want to go though! You always go somewhere really cool, and you know I could help!"
He sulks as he is held slightly off the ground.
"I'd go even if all you let me do was cook..."
"But we need you to stay here. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure we'll all miss your cooking, but there's still a lot of bad stuff going on here. We need you to keep track of what's going on, watch the mirrors, make notes and all that stuff so that we're not scrambling to figure out what's going on when we get back."
She sighed. "I know it's hard to do the boring stuff sometimes, but it's really, really important. Please?"
For a moment, Razule thinks about saying no, but she did ask him nicely. Plus she said she needed him... (^-^)
"You can put me down now, I'll stay. But if something happens while you're gone, I'll find a way to get to you."
"It would be better if you simply found a way to get a message to us. There is a yellow crystal in the third drawer on that pedestal there that is connected to the crystal in one of my travel mirrors. You can send a message through that if it should be necessary."
"And thank you. Your willingness to help is appreciated."
"Everyone set then?" :)
This lady seems nice, but she did give him a headache, so he was still a bit wary of her.
"Um, you're welcome. I go find something to write down notes on now..."
He literally runs off, going to his room to look for the elusive blank notebook.
"Everyone set then?" :)
"All set," she said smiling as she took his hand.
"Everyone set then?" :)"All set," she said smiling as she took his hand.
Giveing her hand a squeeze, he says "Alright. Let's get this show on the road then."
Heading wherever they need to go on the property to safely perform an outbound teleport, Tam gets everyone circled up and starts casting.
"Everyone set then?" :)"All set," she said smiling as she took his hand.Giveing her hand a squeeze, he says "Alright. Let's get this show on the road then."
Heading wherever they need to go on the property to safely perform an outbound teleport, Tam gets everyone circled up and starts casting.
The only thing mitigating the heat and cloying humidity at the group's arrival point is the breeze blowing in from the water. The dense web of mangroves between the clearing and the water blocks most of the wind, but it helps a little.
On the far side of the clearing, the shimmering in the air above the rock formation has opened back up from the slit it had narrowed to when the Silver went through earlier.
"Hmmm. I guess that's a good sign..." Tam says as he looks at the portal and the surrounding area, casting a spell quickly as he does so.
"Looks like the only magic in effect is something to mask the portal's magic signature. I'm not getting anything else right now."
She looked around at the swamp. "It's too bad we don't have time to explore this place a little more," she said regretfully, turning to the strange portal. She took a big breath, gathering her courage.
"Well, I guess we'd better do what we came here for then," she said, doubtfully.
"Eh, so glad we knew this was a swamp before we came here." He says, floating an inch above the swamp muck.
"Eh, so glad we knew this was a swamp before we came here." He says, floating an inch above the swamp muck.
She looked around at the swamp. "It's too bad we don't have time to explore this place a little more," she said regretfully, turning to the strange portal. She took a big breath, gathering her courage.
"Well, I guess we'd better do what we came here for then," she said, doubtfully.
"Yep. Alright, let's hope we don't have an 'unwelcoming' committee waiting on the other side. But just in case..."
Tam draws his Caster and loads a shell.
"Here we go..."
He climbs onto the rock, steps into the glowing aperture and disappears.
A prickling sensation suffuses their bodies as they enter the portal, steadily intensifying as the seconds pass. Everything is a swirl of color and indistinct sound...
Then suddenly the colors vanish, the sounds cease. The prickling sensation, however, has been replaced...
...with almost mind-shattering pain. It's as if their very life was being drawn from them in the most agonizing way possible.
Then, as quickly as it starts, the pain stops. A faint sound comes to their ears (a ringing sound, maybe?) as light floods their vision...
...and they appear upon a windswept plain of ice, broken in places by jagged upthrusts at odd angles.
a diffuse light comes from the cloudy, snow-swept sky above them, though its exact source is uncertain. The cold, however, is very certain, as they quickly realize that they are not dressed for the weather.
There is no sign of the portal anywhere around you, and no sign of the Silver (though your vision is limited due to the conditions).
Still a bit in shock from the pain, Tam yells out over the wind:
"Ummm.....maybe we should have brought those extra socks...?" ;D
"First it's too hot.. now too cold! If you two want some privacy you don't have to use the weather to kill me for it! Just ask!" Ryo shouts back.
"Because it will take more than that!" He shakes his metal arm at the spell-slinger. "Let's find shelter!"
Aananda falls to her knees and vomits. A lot.
The years of roaming the tunnels, struggling for survival, and finding no beings quite like himself, have driven the humanity out of the dwarf. It is only day by day, he and the black tooth carving out small bits of survival. The regression is complete. Kannic is a beast now. He lays in a small niche of black rock and sleeps. Dreams have long stopped visiting him.
As he sleeps, the rock around his body melts and he is sucked in. His last thoughts are of panic as he drowns in stone.
"Good. It is done. The regression is complete. Things like this can't be rushed. They take time."
chuckle YES. YES THEY DO. AND WE HAVE PLENTY OF THAT.
"Yes we do. Now we can begin the reprogramming."
A section of the lab's wall turns black, and the mishapen body of a dwarf tumbles out and lays upon the floor. The creature barely resembles the dwarf he once was. His lifeless hands still clutch the black blade, the gift from the one that will bring him back to life.
These peasants are so boring. That's what makes them such good servants. No imagination, no inspiration. On those rare occasions when he spots a glimmer of something more he has the commoner crucified. The bones adorn the walls of his mother's private estate.
He also keeps some special momentos for himself.
"Such cattle the low-born are," he says to no one in particular.
A servant girl quivers in fear nearby. She fears for the child growing within her. HIS child. IT'S child. She knows it only a matter of time before her condition is noticeable. One of the other servants will betray her. It is certain death for her. She must escape.
Jiminy turns as the thought enters his mind. The girl is too weak to shield such a strong thought. He signals her over, pretending to need a refill of his goblet. As she draws close he slashes her throat with the knife he had hidden. He catches some of her blood in the goblet as it leaves her body. He drinks deeply.
"Mmmm, salty... A little undernourished. "
The demon watches Jiminy's progress. This is the closest it's been in a long time. Or a short time. It has trouble keeping track.
It wonders how its other incarnations are faring.
A white flare of power from one of the scrying crystals catches its eye. The father is up to something. Something worthwhile. Its attention gathered, the demon decides to investigate. Pushing away the wards, bending time around them, it can't help but get excited when it sees the portal. It is also satisfied that it let the father have the lead. Soon it will be time to reel him in. And in doing so, the others. But, for now, the residue of the portal is what is important. If it could be duplicated...
Aananda falls to her knees and vomits. A lot.
"Oh hell..." Ryo quickly finds his cards and holds one up tightly to keep it from being sweep away in the wind.
"Block the snow and halt the wind!"
A pinkish bubble forms around them, cutting off the wind and snow, though the cold in the air lingers. He leans against it, concentrating hard.
"Shield, it stops wolves and weather!"
"First it's too hot.. now too cold! If you two want some privacy you don't have to use the weather to kill me for it! Just ask!" Ryo shouts back.
"Because it will take more than that!" He shakes his metal arm at the spell-slinger. "Let's find shelter!"
"We need to get some distance from the portal then, in case he comes back!"
Aananda falls to her knees and vomits. A lot.
Tam quickly looks around, then holsters his Caster. He helps get Aananda back to her feet when her nausea lulls. He then pulls out his digital binoculars and scans the horizon in various spectra to see what's out there. Spying something, he takes out some cording from hisHaversack.
"I think we can find something in that large upthrust to the southwest. Looks like about a mile's hike though. Let's tie up to each other and get moving!"
"How long will that effect last, Ryo?"
"Longer than it would if something were trying to get in. I can keep it going as long as we need it too. We're going to be pretty easy to spot in this bubble though..."