"Maka she's here to study magic things and meditate. We don't have to fight her even in a sparring fashion." ...though it might happen anyway.
Selena rolls her eyes at the banter before asking the six-armed lady with obvious curiosity "What are you studying?"
“Though I suspect your friend hopes to explore destruction with me, I’m must admit I am pleased at your way with words young one. She remains in where she landed beneath the tree, several hands near her weapons. Much was created in this place, with the power that has resided here. I came here to learn of it. Of the one who created it.”
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“Though I suspect your friend hopes to explore destruction with me, I’m must admit I am pleased at your way with words young one. She remains in where she landed beneath the tree, several hands near her weapons. Much was created in this place, with the power that has resided here. I came here to learn of it. Of the one who created it.”
Quasit smiles. "Maka doesn't actually mean you any harm. She's just rowdy. Fighting is like play to her. Isn't it, Maka?" She looks back to Maka for confirmation.
Then turning back to Lady Sixarms, Quasit continues.
"It sounds like our journeys brought us here for similar reasons, but maybe you haven't heard that Baba Yaga is currently missing. We actually came here looking for clues of how to find her, as well as learning about her power. We've explored a lot of this place already actually, if you have any specific questions of us."
"You should also know that some wicked demon-worshipping centaurs and giants are wandering these halls, looking to steal the Mistress' secrets. You'd be wise not to trust them. Otherwise, we have no desire to bother you and your meditations. We'll just be on our way."
Quasit smiles. "Maka doesn't actually mean you any harm. She's just rowdy. Fighting is like play to her. Isn't it, Maka?" She looks back to Maka for confirmation.
"Yeah fighting is a bunch of fun!" Maka replied with a thumbs up and a toothy grin.
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"Yeah fighting is a bunch of fun!"
Fin smiles automatically in response to hearing Maka, instantly recalling the 'fun' they had at the bathhouse in Whitethrone. Seems like ages ago now...
He snaps out of this train of thought as he glances over at Bull; guilt instantly hits him like a hammer and he lowers his eyes to look at the ground instead...
But when Fin hears Quasit mention that we'll be on our way, he gets a bit nervous, fingering his bow as he awaits the six-armed lady's response...
“An arrangement may be possible. Is this the only route you’ve left to consider?”
Bulvi kept his voice low and whispered again to Saki "Diplomacy seems to be winning out Saki... though it looks like there'll be a catch." He kept his eyes on the six armed woman watching how she moved and trying to consider the best way to tackle such an opponent.
“I thought perhaps you might find whatever it is your looking for elsewhere. Failing that, there is an continually shrinking chance I may find what I’m look for. Either way, there is at least a delay to our mutual destruction.”
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“I thought perhaps you might find whatever it is your looking for elsewhere. Failing that, there is an continually shrinking chance I may find what I’m look for. Either way, there is at least a delay to our mutual destruction.”
Quasit stiffens a little. "Are you saying you won't let us pass?" she asks carefully. "We have no argument with you."
Selena rolls her eyes, again, at Quasit's provocative question and steps in with her own "What are you looking for?"
"Perhaps we've found a clue to what you're looking for elsewhere? But we can not help you with that without knowing more about it." Bulvi offers hoping to avoid the uneccessary risk to his friends.
"If you come with us, we can help you find what you are looking for."
“I have found what I came for. Yet I do not yet understand it. Let me say that I would prefer only I go into the area beyond.” She gestures with a few hands behind her.
"Perhaps if only I go with you. I can easily stay out of the way, yet I can see how it relates to our goal, and if it kills me.." she shrugs "My companions will just groan when I come back again. I haven't yet found death to be more than a temporary setback. And it isn't like I'm any threat to you on my own."
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Quasit frowns at this answer, sparing only a few seconds of pained expression when Selena makes her statement. She takes a moment to formulate her own response, speaking very slowly and clearly and watching the eyes of the six-armed lady, like a duelist in a face-off before the hanky drops.
"Well, now we HAVE to look for ourselves." answers Quasit simply. "Look, I don't want to be difficult or unfriendly, but you're being very enigmatic here. You still haven't told us who you are or what exactly you're doing here. Perhaps it's none of our business, but then I think you owe us the same consideration. By your own admission you've come here as an acolyte on some sort of quest for enlightenment, so it's not that you're entrusted with guarding what's beyond this room by Baba Yaga. You have no claim to anything here, that I can see."
She rests her hands on her hips and gives a little twist of the neck.
"So, with all do respect, please stand aside and let us pass."
With practiced ease Bulvi slipped into a more overt defensive stance not moving to attack but making it clear he was ready to stand his ground and whispered "Sakitu do you know what manner of creature she is, an outsider of some kind?"
“You will make the choice you feel you must.”
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Quasit nods, then turns back to the others.
"Come on, let's go." she says calmly, but as she starts walking forward she's wary as a nervous cat, watching the strange woman as well as trying to keep her eyes open for any unwelcome traps, surprises or allies she might have hidden in her carved forest.
Without moving anywhere, Selena takes on a chastising tone,"Quasit, you are acting like those witches you claim to hate as 'evil' people. You have someone you can avoid a fight with, and yet you want to just bully your way through because your suspicious, without even seeing if she'd accept a compromise. Aren't you being a bit hypocritical? Is that what you want to be, an evil witch handing out motivations for others to kill you?"
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Fin shakes his head. "Selena, have you been listening? She basically dared us to move forward; if that's not clear, it also means she denied your request to go along with her...Q has been more than patient...but we must move forward if we are to find what we're looking for and leave this accursed place. If this lady chooses to fight us, she's the bully, not Q...it's all up to her..."
The Elf circles around east behind the cover of the trees to better cover his companions as they move forward...
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Without moving anywhere, Selena takes on a chastising tone,"Quasit, you are acting like those witches you claim to hate as 'evil' people. You have someone you can avoid a fight with, and yet you want to just bully your way through because your suspicious, without even seeing if she'd accept a compromise. Aren't you being a bit hypocritical? Is that what you want to be, an evil witch handing out motivations for others to kill you?"
"Selena... don't start with me right now." says Quasit tensely.
Fin shakes his head. "Selena, have you been listening? She basically dared us to move forward; if that's not clear, it also means she denied your request to go along with her...Q has been more than patient...but we must move forward if we are to find what we're looking for and leave this accursed place. If this lady chooses to fight us, she's the bully, not Q...it's all up to her..."
"That is not what she said. She told us what she wanted, then I spoke. Then Quasit decides to ignore the lady and do whatever instead of being diplomatic. The lady simply acknowledged this instead of telling Quasit off for it, and thus ignored my proposal as it was it clear that Quasit was ignoring my proposal. She never indicated that compromise was out of the question, that is what Quasit did, for which I called her out for it."
"So you can act like the queen and do whatever you feel like regardless of what anybody else wants? What has she done to deserve you just ignoring her? Is she not a person to you? Is she just not worthy of your consideration and respect if she isn't a southerner like you? If someone else treats you like that, you'd fight it, dagger and teeth, so why do it to others?"
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Staying safely behind Bulvi, Sakitu keeps peering out to take a peak at the six-armed, three-faced lady. "No Bulvi, I don't know what she is." she whispers back.
Her concern grows as Quasit and Selena start bickering. She taps Bulvi on the back several times and whispers more to him. "Their fighting is making me nervous. Bulvi, we have to stop them! It might make that lady agitated too and then she'd attack us. I mean, with all those weapons, I assume she knows how to use them."
Focused on the many arms of the enigmatic woman, Findurel and Quasit still notice as the nearby trees move.
Tezuzu yells as he is grappled by one of the trees, “I don’t know who or what you are, but I know these trees are your doing!
"You just had to pick a fight. Well you got one! Happy now Quasit?" Selena grumbles at Quasit as she deftly avoids the trees.
Sakitu and Bulvi are grappled by the branches while everyone else avoids them.
The woman speaks up as the trees flail about. “It seems you all will destroy yourselves without my involvement. A shame. She begins backing away slowly.
Selena replies to the woman, her anger is clearly not towards the women, though Selena is suspicious of the lady, but is not wholly convinced that she commands the trees, "That implies that you don't command the trees, if that's true, why are they attacking?"
Selena guesses that maybe the lady plans to slip away while the trees are busy, so Selena keeps pace with the lady to not let her get away. Selena also focuses on calming her emotions, what she is the most likely cause of the tree's attacks if the lady is honestly not responsible. Selena focuses on avoiding attacks while trying to determine the sort of magic coming from her.
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Quasit turns away from the strange woman as the branches of the nearest tree reach out to grab her. She wriggles and twists away with a small leap. Then she hears Sakitu cry out and her sword flashes out. She runs at the tree holding her friend. ”Drop her!” she warns angrily, then hacks at the stony branch with her blade.
”Maka, if one of these trees bites, grabs, favors us with a cross word or otherwise does anything a tree isn’t supposed to do, feel free burn away. But I have a feeling it’s not really the trees we need to worry about.”
Remembering her orders well, Maka starts launching fire the moment the trees started their attack.
The voice of the woman can be heard as she walks slowly around a turn further into the strange cavern. “The real question is did I command them to restrain your friends before or after they intended to attack. As soon as she is around the corner, the trees release who they were holding. Maka can tell the fire has harmed the trees no more than it would harm a rocky cliff.
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"She's just toying with us now." says Quasit bitterly. "She wants us to attack her. And she'll keep provoking us and testing us until we go after her. And she'll use this phony forest to hide from us and hunt us in return."
She turns and watches the strange woman saunter off, little Selena in tow. "But why? What's her game? I sorta believe her that she came here to study something, but what? Certainly not nurturing motherhood, that's for sure."
"Come on, let's stick together and move forward as a group. Let's find out what she's hiding in the next room."
"She's clever at least, the trees were a cunning move if nothing else. Even if she'd prefer to remove us than avoid a fight having the trees only restrain us fosters the embers of discord she's seen. If we can avoid her great but there is too much at stake for us to stop pursuing our goal."
"We might be able to change tactics though... does anyone have a clue what she is, some kind of outsider or fey perhaps? If we know her abilities we can come up with ways to counter them." He looks towards Selena. "If another fight breaks out, which hopefully we can avoid but she is not making this easy. You give a different perspective but I still back Quasit on this one. The stranger is stoking divisions and using that against us. She admitted to commanding the trees but keeping her actions vague."
Though he made a lot more noise than Findurel as he moved forwards Bulvi made impressively little given how heavily armoured he was.