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Once the rites are over, any remaining energy and adrenaline dissipates, leaving behind only an empty silence where a number of the young elens had been. With the vultures freed and the reanimated dead defeated, it was technically a victory for the group, but it didn't feel like it. Luu Sânh has been here before - all soldiers have - but she's used to it rather than numbed to it. Looking around at the others, she's not so convinced that they have. Albert in particular looks pretty crushed - unsurprising given the students in his care.
There's no real wind but the air is chill and their shelter is the best they can do in the circumstances. "Get some rest," she says. "I know it's hard but there will be no shortage of time for grief and reflection. We still have work to do and doing what we can is the best way to honour their memories."
She pulls out a bottle and pours a few drops onto the ground, an offering to help the departed souls on their journey, before passing it around. After taking a hefty slug herself, Luu Sânh beds down to get some sleep before taking the middle watch.
When she is tagged in, it is bitterly cold, though the punch of her alcohol takes the edge off. It's black as pitch but mercifully quiet and the candles pass uneventfully. She is able to grab a bit more sleep afterwards before dawn rolls around once more.
Something seems off, or odd about your location. Like a seed stuck in one's teeth, it is annoying and difficult to grasp. What is it?
Blearily rousing herself, something in the chill air feels amiss. Luu Sânh's danger sense is tugging at her and she quickly shakes off the remnants of sleep. Her hand automatically reaching towards her scimitar's hilt, she casts around for a sign of whatever has put her on edge.
While everyone else seems to struggle getting past their exhaustion and grief, you take a hard look at your surroundings. The trees, the lay of the land...they are similar, but not where you were before. You estimate, from the positioning of Volcano, you are one or two days' worth of journeying closer to Hearth than you were last night.
Bye's strange proclamations of needing to "find the time" echo through your head.
You all notice that Chezarina is gone.
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Zephyr emir, Anan awakens you from your deep slumber; the rites and rituals of the previous day left you exhausted in both body and spirit.
"My prince! The very hills seems strange and terrible to me this morn. I do not know how much more of this I can take. How can we glean meaning from life amidst such chaos and death?" His eyes strain for some filament of hope as he looks to you.
Scrutinising the landscape, Luu Sânh has a weird sense that something is not quite right. It takes a moment, scanning back and forth across the treeline, but however weird it might seem, she is convinced that they are no longer in the same place they bedded down for the night.
Similarly concerning, and easier to spot with their reduced numbers, Chezarina is nowhere to be seen. Luu Sânh isn't immediately worried by this - in their brief time together she's grown to trust the ifrit's abilities and she may well be off scouting - but a more careful observation reveals that all of her belongings are gone too. Will these mysteries never cease? she sighs internally.
Although the address is to Zephyr, Luu Sânh jumps in and replies to Anan. "You have a point there - they're not the same hills they were last night. Or rather, they are, but our position with regards to them has changed. Look towards Volcano and mark it for yourselves." She points towards the landmark, giving them all the chance to come to the same conclusion she had. After the pause, she continues, "I estimate we're maybe a couple of days closer to Hearth than we were. What fell magics have caused this I know not, though I would have sworn we had not moved while I was on my watch." She shrugs. "I'd wager that everyone else would swear the same though. And," she finishes in a weary tone, "Chezarina has vanished."
Albert laboriously dons his metal suit, physical armor to complement his mental shields. Infusing himself with various vials and covering his eyes with layers of lenses, he scans the immediate area with a neutral expression on his face.
"There's some kind of lingering teleportation nonsense in the air. If I had to guess, Chezarina was on patrol when our little camp got hit by this Moon garbage. She could be wondering where our camp went right at this very moment. Or just a small difference in the directionality of the effect, due to her relative positioning, could mean she's somewhere in Forest now. Or River. Or the Fronts."
He hides behind his technical words, only implying the ugly truth: you have lost another member of your group.
The boy Drook tries ot put on a brave face, but he clings to Gamberino's side, his knuckles pale with the strength of his grip, as if desperation alone can save him from Moon. The phoenix markings around his eyes and and cheeks glisten with silent tears.
The boy Drook tries ot put on a brave face, but he clings to Gamberino's side, his knuckles pale with the strength of his grip, as if desperation alone can save him from Moon. The phoenix markings around his eyes and and cheeks glisten with silent tears.
Zephyr turns from Anan to see Drook standing by Gambarino, and smiles
"You know that you are touched by greatness? You know that the gifts you have will grow, right? The Moon will fear you one day little man, you are like the legends: the greatest threat to the Dark is fire in flight. Long ago it was called The Sun. The moon has no power in a land which sees the Sun."| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Drook looks you square in the eye, and says, "Maybe one day. But my dreams tell me I must be a servant first, for those who we will meet along the way."
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Gamberino looks over Zephyr's shoulder, and his eyes widen in fear and confusion. "Is that...a wall of ice or something?"
Picking through Albert's words about the random effects of the magic that appears to have moved the group, Luu Sânh laughs bitterly. "So basically she could be anywhere, and here we are, like more and more tributaries splitting off from the source. And even if we knew exactly where we were and could retrace our path, we don't even know if she would be there or half the world away." She curses colourfully under her breath in frustration. "It's pretty clear that nothing can be done but it's so... maddening."
Ears pricking at Gamberino's words, Luu Sânh swivels to follow his gaze. "It's certainly something," she says drily. "But yes, it does have a sheen to it suggestive of ice."
Picking through Albert's words about the random effects of the magic that appears to have moved the group, Luu Sânh laughs bitterly. "So basically she could be anywhere, and here we are, like more and more tributaries splitting off from the source. And even if we knew exactly where we were and could retrace our path, we don't even know if she would be there or half the world away." She curses colourfully under her breath in frustration. "It's pretty clear that nothing can be done but it's so... maddening."
Ears pricking at Gamberino's words, Luu Sânh swivels to follow his gaze. "It's certainly something," she says drily. "But yes, it does have a sheen to it suggestive of ice."
"Ice ... or magic. That could be a wave of dissposition. Something like that could have washed over us while we were sleeping and transported us elsewhere. If Chezarina was awake at that time, it might have affected her differently. This is certainly maddening though."
The wall of ice approaches slowly, seeming more and more like a glacier in fast-motion. It is still about a brutbreve field away from you. It could be ten or fifteen feet tall, but tough to judge from this distance.
The wall of ice approaches slowly, seeming more and more like a glacier in fast-motion. It is still about a brutbreve field away from you. It could be ten or fifteen feet tall, but tough to judge from this distance.
"Anan, shift! We must fly out and inviestigate this! Fury, follow us closely. We will want to see what is on the other side as quickly as possible."
Anan falls to his knees, clutching the black feather to his chest. "I cannot! It is too much! Too much is happening!"
While Zephyr sets off to view it from an another angle, Luu Sânh peers at the wall, trying to discern any magical properties, or even identify what definitively what it is.
Gamberino is furiously swearing in ifrit, but his hands are steady as he prepares a handful of cold resisting ointments, and another handful of fire bombs. His family comes from the old ways, and he gives a desperate prayer to the Cauldron Lady as the ice wall comes closer. He makes sure Drook stays close by - Gamberino won't let another of his charges die, unless he dies first. No more failures.
Anan falls to his knees, clutching the black feather to his chest. "I cannot! It is too much! Too much is happening!"
"Stay here, look to your friends, we will do what we can."
Once more, looking deeper into situations and events has caused a rebound. Able to shrug it off without any ill effects, Luu Sânh nevertheless feels worse upon discovering - unsurprisingly, she must add - that the wall has been Moonkissed.
"Ware," she calls, "the wall has been touched by the chaos energies of Moon." After a beat she adds, "Obviously," more than a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
Once more, looking deeper into situations and events has caused a rebound. Able to shrug it off without any ill effects, Luu Sânh nevertheless feels worse upon discovering - unsurprisingly, she must add - that the wall has been Moonkissed.
"Ware," she calls, "the wall has been touched by the chaos energies of Moon." After a beat she adds, "Obviously," more than a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
Luu Sanh, you feel a small, smug acknowledgement of your frustration. You are unsure if you were meant to share this little gloating moment.
Zephyr, you feel Fury attempting to take a more solid form, like a hand of compacted air. The hand-shape is slowly, carefully lifting Anan off the ground.
Albert has been quiet for several long beats. He speaks into the relative calm, the only other sound the distant roaring of the ice wave. ”Okay. Need heat. More than just a few fire bombs, Gamb. Something big. “. He mumbles a few quick calculations under his breath. Maybe, he says a prayer.
He overloads his sunmetal suit, and gives everyone a chance at life.
Albert just needs to keep steady. He pumps himself full of alchemical infusions and mutagens, sharpening his body and mind. The sunmetal is unpleasantly hot.
All in a day's work, he thinks grimly.
Mentally checking through her roster of spells, Luu Sânh tries to come up with ideas on how to improve the group's survival chances. Water and ice magic, rather than fire, is her speciality, so perhaps there may be some use in that to control the ice after Albert has blazed a path. And while she is quick, her movements fluid, and she trusts to her reactions, the undine is still less graceful on land than she is in water. As her companion loads himself up, she can feel the heat starting to radiate from his metal shell.
Albert plunges into the oncoming glacier, blazing a trail for the rest of you to follow. The physical force and mass of the ice is suddenly real.
With fire not being her element and Albert preparing to use it as an opposite, Luu Sânh decides to lean into what she does know. Perhaps it's counter-intuitive but she wonders if summoning an ice storm of her own might allow her to absorb some of the wall's magic or grant her an element of control over it. Dipping into her spell pouch, she withdraws a black cylinder. Dabbing her little finger in, she pulls out a snowflake, preserved by the chill properties of its case. Hoping that her instinct is correct she chants through the words to her spell, a melodic song-like quality to them, and flicks the flake into the air. It spins upwards and begins to rapidly multiply into a haze of sleet.
Zephyr shifts ... into Lightning. It isn't something anyone would get used to, and everything cold begins to melt around him. He takes a position directly ahead of Albert, so that Albert will always have a place to move forward, and things will melt rapidly around Albert.
"Fury, hold Anan aloft until he is ready to come to me. He will remember his power soon enough. We will all remember power sooner than we think. I may have remembered what Moon is afraid of ..."
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Zephyr, your lightning proves extremely effective, and the two of you carve a path through the glacier-wave as fun as Albert can run. Channeling so much energy this day is taxing your body heavily.
**
Gritting his teeth once more, Albert runs on his anger, his guilt, and he won't let anyone else die this time-
-and you are past the glacier, having sprinted through two hundred feet of ice-
-and Albert falls to the ground, alive, but exhausted.
"Well that was amusing, wasn't it?" An elen in black inquisitor's robe, cut in a garish arcing fashion, white crescent emblazoned on his chest, grins at you. He stands above Albert, popping up suddenly like a black toadstool out of the snow.
"Allow me to take this metal-suited genius with me, and I will leave in peace, eh? How's that for a deal?"
[dice=doom die, 1 is very bad]1d12
"Well that was amusing, wasn't it?" An elen in black inquisitor's robe, cut in a garish arcing fashion, white crescent emblazoned on his chest, grins at you. He stands above Albert, popping up suddenly like a black toadstool out of the snow.
"Allow me to take this metal-suited genius with me, and I will leave in peace, eh? How's that for a deal?"
"Real quickly, with regards to your first question, having checked ... no one seems amused. Maybe you were sharing that YOU are amused."
Zephyr looks like the tempest he released not long ago.
"I lie. I am a touch amused. Because I could swear that I heard you use the word "deal" in the absence of any terms. Help us with that? Could be that you meant "threat" rather than deal. Could be that you would like us to allow you to wisk away our friend for no reason other than our great great fear of the mighty magics you are poised to release?"
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Zephyr's response, dripping in sarcasm, catches Luu Sânh off guard. This seems slightly out of character, though she realises that in the short - but intense - time they have been travelling together, she hasn't really seen the sylph truly roused to fury. Whether it's the after-effects of the wall or the literal and metaphorical drop in temperature, there is a notable chill in the air that has heightened her senses. She has no clever words to match Zephyr's but in a flash she draws her scimitar to show that she trusts their judgement and will fight to defend the exhausted body of Albert.
"I believe I'll ask the questions, eh?"
"I believe I'll ask the questions, eh?"
While Zephyr and Luu Sanh have shielded their minds from the spell, the despair of a pointless existence washes over Gamberino and Drook. Gamb prepares to toss a fire bomb at their feet, while Anan (who resisted), struggles to make him stop.
Luu Sânh grits her teeth to keep control of her sword arm, as she feels the pull of magic that makes her consider stabbing it into her own body. She's resists this siren lure and instead clicks her fingers, causing a blue sheen to wash over her blade and enhance its ability. She then bounds into face this unknown assailant, slashing at the black-robed figure with her scimitar.
The inquisitor is struck by your blade; he seems surprised that you fought back against his ugly spell, and he falls to the ground, whining in pain.
Luu Sanh, your damage to the inquisitor seems too neat, too heroic somehow. With a quick glance using your arcane Sight, you see a whole web of illusions and trickery thrown in front of you. It's like the inquisitor cast several messy illusions all at once. The inquisitor before you is just an image, made realer with some quasi-real stuffing.
**
Zephyr needs only to give a nod toward Gamberino for his companion Fury to know his thoughts. The air elemental fooshes over to the alchemist and his dangerous bomb, and swiftly disarms him. Fury keeps both of the ifrits grappled to avoid hurting themselves until the inquisitor's spell fades. They offer little real resistance in their enraged and confused state.
Zephyr himself, meanwhile, worries about this mad elen getting away with Albert. There can be no escape route for these villains. He asks the winds for cooperation; he assures them of his love; and the rattling in the bare branches of winter is like a voiceless yes, my prince! as the winds rise, and rise, and form a mighty barrier.
Some oily, backward-sounding syllables float through the air, and crash into Albert. Inside his metal shell, the words echo hugely, sounding like a hundred old, stuffy professors all yammering at once. His metal suit begins to move of its own accord.
Albert crawls inside himself for a moment; that's all he needs. He finds the place where doctors can wade through horror and grief and come out sane at the end of the day. No one is taking control of his machine but him. The grip of the other presence loosens, and Albert is free to crash to the ground in exhaustion once more. Sigh.
He can't stand up, but he can still survey the situation. That spell didn't come from that whiny inquisitor on the ground. It came from somewhere else. "I don't think that inquisitor is the real one," he groans. He tries to keep the pain of his injuries out of his voice.
"Agreed," snaps Luu Sânh, though her frustration is directed at the inquisitor and the situation as a whole rather than her prone companion. "Everything here is a mess and seemingly radiating magic. I don't think I have enough power to end it all." She grimaces, weighing up her options. "Normally in such situation I'd just stick a blade in the source and that usually does the trick of bringing the whole lot crashing down, but right now I can't through this tangle of illusions to hit him." Keeping on her guard, she decides to target the area that seems to be just slightly out of kilter with the rest, suggesting perhaps an invisible presence and casts a spell to strip away other magics.