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Kallik doesn't let her shock at Wamblee's sudden appearance show on her face. She doesn't waste time with questions, even though she's curious. Still in her enlarged state, Kallik walks toward the stairs so that she is between the emerging monster and Wamblee. She takes a wide, defensive stance, and waits.
An angry, hollow-cheeked Kallik appears near Qizz, now magnified to twice her regular height, gory details and bleeding eyes all too visible now. She swings her axe and easily knocks one of the creatures to pieces. The sundered pieces, however, still retain an unholy vitality (was not slain by holy/fire, so will regenerate next round. Marked as BLACK triangle)
Placing her hand on what passes for Qizzlvutz' shoulder, Kallik completes the path from the ethereal to the material, manifesting before you. Her mouth is cracked with lines of tired pain. Cold air billows from her, draining the living of small pieces of warmth and joy. Loneliness clings to her like an aura. Her tears are bloody, but her eyes remain clear. Pointing with her marble/jade axe, she indicates the tornado-creature, specifically its heart. "We need to go where the clouds are the darkest. Probably lightning. And hard to breathe in there I bet. That's just easy pessimism." She almost smiles, since it almost a joke.
Kallik senses a hateful ghost in the vicinity, but she can't get a bead on it. Wiping ichor from her eyes, she scans,
&*#@. What in the rotten Black North is that 'human' Bigmind thing? It's like watching a bunch of pale slugs trying to dance ballet together. Wonder if their psychic #$@! can hit her ghostly form. #$%@.
Kallik hides in ethereal shadows for now. Everyone else seems to have it covered. She thinks about what Abnaki said in her head. Seeing Egret again. Don't think about it. Damn it. If she's going to die for real this time, can't she see Egret one last time? She dugs her fingernails into her palms, and doesn't allow herself to hope. She doesn't have to sleep, so Abnaki can't get into her head without her permission. Probably.
The translucent oread performs a strange upward stroke of her baroque axe. The portal closes neatly; no sign of it remains. Unconsciously, she tries to wipe the blood from her eyes, but it has no effect. She takes a moment to go over to Qizzlvutz and hug the moldy myco, surrounding them with insubstantial arms. She stands up. To no one in particular, she says, "That's the hell I've been to. I hate Ignoscoeli. Let's keep that one closed. " She disappears from sight.
An orean specter appears slightly behind Karoff's bulky form. The female oread, slightly translucent, wields an axe made of ivory, malachite, and stone. Her eyes and mouth weep a steady stream of blood from their corners. Her voice, though low and hoarse, carries across the room to each of you. "Get ready to push him through." She raises the axe impossibly high, like a stretching illusion, then brings it down upon the huge backwall of the worship room. Where her axe touches, the wall splits, revealing flaming red cracks and fissures, as if hell is trying to escape into the equal plane.
Kallik's ghost would be ripping this husk to shreds...if she weren't bound to a little fungus el skipping merrily toward an inn
I've got positive attitude positively bleeding from the corner of my eyes, she jokes bitterly, silently to herself. On the outside, she gives a small, reassuring smile to Qizzlvuts, who seems agitated by all the sudden appearances.
Kallik stands nice and close to the guard with the quick blade. She stays invisible, even from her allies, and smiles a bloody phantom smile at the guard who can't see her. Try drawing steel on my friends again, and see what happens.
Kallik has been silent, both brooding and thoughtful. While you all consider the ceiling and the opening above the heart, she says, "Now that we're going back to Temple territory, how do we tell the good guys from the ones that need an axe to the face?"
Kallik shrugs at Samen. "My axe is good at slashing through planar stuff. Just show me where to hit it."
"Damn!" Kallik can't think and run, so she just runs. She feels like a useless coward.
"Different hell." No further explanation seems to be forthcoming as she drifts slowly in the direction you indicated.
"Back to hell, huh? Some things never change."
Kallik tries her best to keep anger out of her voice. She bites her tongue hard enough to bleed as she says in a mostly-calm voice, "Help him or not. Please tell us what you're going to do. Stop saying things that don't mean anything."
Kallik, half-real in this plane of half-truths, picks up Abnaki in her arms. It's hardly a burden, the bard seemingly made of flowers and quips and little else. She waits for Samen or Gabriel to lead the way.
She cannot help it - her feet immediately run after Egret, even if it's a fake. Kallik won't take a chance that Egret is really there, being hurt. She runs into the portal, and loses more of her strength to the Night Carrion as she gives in to fear.
Kallik slips from her bonds as the fear drains away. Without hesitation, she slams her fist into the Ky La that comes close to her.
Kallik nods at Samen's choice of spells. For good measure, she tries to scare away the damn shadowy stuff, to bolster Samen's attack.
Qizz can stay awake and watch over us, but there's no way I'm staying behind. I've been fighting my own nightmares for years.
Kallik wonders how much dream-stuff a phantom is made of. Will it be like throwing a chunk of ice into a raging river, slowly melting into the current? Ignoring such thoughts, she gives a smile to Qizz as they caper about and blurble about cookie-dreams and bird-dreams.
The ghost of a smile touches the phantom's lips. To be so content in the moment. To be able to taste again.
Qizz loves the crowds and the applause, of course. Kallik stays invisible, blood dripping from her mouth as she bites her tongue to keep from growling. Even invisible and insubstantial, it feels like everyone is looking at her. Damn crowds, even nice ones.
Kallik takes particular pleasure in guiding Qizz's scythe to strike these vile beings from the face of the land. These creature are nothing but greed and hate.
Qizz stays safe, first and always. A brief storm of emotion follows these thoughts, but an Eastern Tribe warrior is taught to channel such feelings. She feels nothing instead. In a measured voice, Kallik tells Qizzlvutz what to do. "Qizz, please tell your friend to stop digging for now and go back to the entrance. Our other friends might need help talking." She keeps the words light, while preparing for the worst. the slate ogre will buy us a minute if things go bad. we'll stay far back for now.
Kallik experiments with her incorporeality on the rock of Uluru. To her surprise, she finds it hard and unyielding to even her slightest ghostly touch-- clearly the ancient keepers of Branch imbued all of the plateau with warding magicks many centuries ago.
Damn. She looks guiltily over at Qizzlvutz, hoping they have not heard her angry curse.
Qizzlvutz is fascinated by how you walk. They mimic the style as best they can, though the myco's efforts end up looking like four muddy, frantic stilts. They giggle blue glowing gas. "You (are) good at this!" They fall on their face, but instantly shift back upright and continue to romp next to Abnaki.
Qizzlvutz has been skipping and shifting around the perimeter of the gathering ever since it got boring. They're not sure how long the talking has even been going at this point, but suddenly there are presents! The little myco darts in to grab the remaining small chests, blurbling a thanks on the way to catch up with their friends. Maybe the pink one will do more magic. And maybe there are chocolates in here - the sweets that Learningto showed Qizzl earlier this morning.
Qizzlvutz holds up the scribbled book they have in their possession. "Big-mountain-tree-library?" They open a page of the book, and the drawing, though crude, looks remarkably like Uluru.
Kallik the phantom doesn't need to sleep. Once Qizzlvutz is asleep, huddled in a corner on the various packs and cloaks of the group, the warrior-ghost shows herself briefly to the others. She nods, to let it known she will be watching throughout the night. She goes invisible again.
Kallik is satisfied that she won't be needed here to clean up any random monsters. She notices Qizzlvutz looks tired. Unseen, unheard, the phantom warrior shepards the small myco to their sleeping quarters for the night. Learningto sees that young Qizzl is in good hands, and decides to stay at the song-dance-play-eat-talk. So many things to see.
Kallik's only interest in Qizzl. She ignores the warlock's latest freakshow, except as a potential threat.
Kallik frowns at the snakes, even though they can't see her. She wishes they would pop back into their own plane of existence and leave them alone. Qizzlvutz does a strange little dance, the kind Kallik recognizes - they have just had an idea. With an exuberant burble, it says, "Fire (makes you) happy, yes?" Kessh-Amon scowls, hardly understanding if they have been addressed. Qizzlvutz, giggling, rubs fingers together, faster, a small green spark of gathering magicks. Taking Kallik's hand (which looks like grabbing the air to everyone else), Qizzlvutz opens a portal to (hell), in this case a plane of fire. Out hops a beetle the size of a large loaf of bread.
The beetle crackles and flames on Kessh-Amon's shoulder. Both heads roar with laughter and delight at the small thing. It provides enough light for the salamander to stop complaining, and provides it with a pleasant distraction.
Kallik's insubstantial heart pounds, hoping Umik has no special Sight to see phantoms. She is not ready to face him. So many mistakes since she was banished from the East Tribe. She just can't.
Kallik stays quiet, near the child, visible only to her. The warrior would rather keep her wounds for now, rather than leave Egret's side. --Leave Qizzlvutz's side. Kallik finds she has to stifle her tears, even as a ghost.
Kallik notices that Qizzlvutz can do little but cower, even in the fading presence of the Sunlord. What a loud prick. Kallik sighs, and shoves the angry thoughts down and focuses on the child-like myco. She offers as much comfort as she can, with ghostly arms and soothing words.
Kallik lets go of the strengthening spell, hearing (or perhaps just feeling) Qizzlvutz's plan to summon another stone creature. Qizzlvutz immediately begins casting the second summons, under the shadow of protection from her phantom guardian.
Not understanding the strange writhing vines, Qizzlvutz tries to cast a spell of agony into the chains, but the spell fails.
Kallik feels a moment of pity for the small mushroom creature, her host, so obviously out of their element. It will be alright, little one, she send to Qizzlvutz. She wishes for a solid hand to place on the little creature's shoulder, but pushes such melancholy thoughts from her mind. We will do this together. I am here.
Kallik scoffs, a headache already storming in her temples. "It's that same damn thing from Igniscoeli. The Owlbone Road." When she sees Samen the warlock look interested, she snaps, "No, I don't know how the damn thing works. It's scary, and Inam helped us walk across it. All I remember is that it hates sylphs."
***
"Hmm. Ok."
Abnaki, Kallik finds you after her patrol is done. She has a tight grip on her axe - her face is a mix of nervous and angry. "Hello, griot." You are surprised to hear the old Oread word for 'storyteller' from this warrior who has no tribal name. It speaks of a very traditional upbringing. Was she brought up in Great Forest somewhere, then exiled? "Hmm. Take a watch with me. We should talk about Krz. And what to do." As she hands out these terse statements, her dark jade eyes scan you: your shoulders, your weapons, and your boots, as if trying to locate your Krz. She scowls, mostly to herself.
Kallik nudges Samen. "Umm. Your staff is upside-down." There is just a hint of a smile that softens her face for a moment.
Kallik wakes up from a terrible sleep. Another dream of hugging Egret, sharing a dinner with her, and then she is taken away, or missing, or screaming. Angrily wiping away a tear, she thinks to no one, at least let me dream without pain! She rises. Sequoya is nearby, Mishipeshu too. Her breathing slows, slightly calmer. Ready to face the day with friends. Can't believe I'm leaving Ibinu behind. And Inam... She brutally cuts off that line of thought. As they march, stomping the cold and the anger out of her toes, Kallik asks Sequoya, casually, "Could you tell me more about your younger sister? I need some happy memories this morning." She does not look at Sequoya as she says this.
The axe wielding oread stays silent for now. Containing her hostility to her own thoughts is the best she can do. She mutters to her axe now and again. The streets are crowded, and loud. |
