...when the Servants have overrun the Eyrie, you shall be the first to die.
Outside the Eyrie, there are Servants of the Board. They don't even bother to hide now. They keep their distance, none being fool enough to try to enter. Likewise, the guards steer clear of them. The Servants seem nervous around the Eyrie, but thus far have not budged. They are not letting anybody out if they can help it.
At the top of the mountain, Sky waits, the rings he wears glowing faintly...
The starhawks form regular patrols, leaving the daylight watch to the celestial eagles. The nestlings are moved inside the caves where they will be more secure, the older fledglings set to tend to them if there was fighting.
Outside the Eyrie, there are Servants of the Board. They don't even bother to hide now. They keep their distance, none being fool enough to try to enter. Likewise, the guards steer clear of them. The Servants seem nervous around the Eyrie, but thus far have not budged. They are not letting anybody out if they can help it.At the top of the mountain, Sky waits, the rings he wears glowing faintly...
:::Mr. Sky sir, what's going on? I can see commotion throughout the Eyrie.:::
Meanwhile, Lilsa sits in her room, meditating. Suddenly, she opens her eyes. She stands up, muttering under her breath, and walks purposefully to the door. Her hand is on the knob when her eyes widen. She gives a brief scream, and collapses.
Ragged from his trials, Ch'ack returns home to the Eyrie. He smiles at first, then notices the activity and frowns.
"What has happened?"
Ragged from his trials, Ch'ack returns home to the Eyrie. He smiles at first, then notices the activity and frowns.
"What has happened?"
Djuhah pauses in his work organizing the guard patrols to answer.
"Welcome back. I am uncertain as to the exact nature of what has transpired, but some time ago Starsong declared open hostilities against the one known as the Mask as well as some others known as Dral, Tarvek, and Stina. This happened shortly after young Arielle returned early from a training session with her grandfather and began screaming for her mother. I'm afraid that's all I know, other than that the Eyrie is currently under siege after a fashion."
Ragged from his trials, Ch'ack returns home to the Eyrie. He smiles at first, then notices the activity and frowns.
"What has happened?"
Djuhah pauses in his work organizing the guard patrols to answer.
"Welcome back. I am uncertain as to the exact nature of what has transpired, but some time ago Starsong declared open hostilities against the one known as the Mask as well as some others known as Dral, Tarvek, and Stina. This happened shortly after young Arielle returned early from a training session with her grandfather and began screaming for her mother. I'm afraid that's all I know, other than that the Eyrie is currently under siege after a fashion."
Barely letting the words register, CH rushes to their rooms to check on his family. A thanks floats on the air in his wake.
Barely letting the words register, CH rushes to their rooms to check on his family. A thanks floats on the air in his wake.
LJ is sitting on their bed with Arielle laying down with her head on LJ's lap, half asleep. Winds rush in and out from the balcony carrying information. She looks up as CH comes in an expression of joy and relief on her face. Arielle smiles sleepily and sits up.
"Daddy!"
Barely letting the words register, CH rushes to their rooms to check on his family. A thanks floats on the air in his wake.
LJ is sitting on their bed with Arielle laying down with her head on LJ's lap, half asleep. Winds rush in and out from the balcony carrying information. She looks up as CH comes in an expression of joy and relief on her face. Arielle smiles sleepily and sits up.
"Daddy!"
CH rushes to them and grabs them both in a hug. He doesn't try to hide the tears of joy that fall freely down his face.
"You're safe! I'm back." He cuts the rambling greeting short, before he sounds like a total fool with obvious statements.
CH rushes to them and grabs them both in a hug. He doesn't try to hide the tears of joy that fall freely down his face.
"You're safe! I'm back." He cuts the rambling greeting short, before he sounds like a total fool with obvious statements.
Arielle hugs him back tightly. She felt better having her dad back home. Everything had gotten so crazy so fast. But at least now her parents were both here and that made her feel safer.
LJ smiled as she hugged him back, though there might have been a tear or two of her own.
"Yes, you're back," she whispered. "My love."
:::Mr. Sky sir, what's going on? I can see commotion throughout the Eyrie.:::Outside the Eyrie, there are Servants of the Board. They don't even bother to hide now. They keep their distance, none being fool enough to try to enter. Likewise, the guards steer clear of them. The Servants seem nervous around the Eyrie, but thus far have not budged. They are not letting anybody out if they can help it.At the top of the mountain, Sky waits, the rings he wears glowing faintly...
Sky doesn't answer for a while.
:It is possible... that the Eyrie is about to be attacked. I will fight, but I must ask you to do something for me. Do not fight. I want you to go with the nestlings and help keep them safe. If our enemies get past us and the wards, I want you to get them out of the Eyrie anyway you can. Freefall will be with you, and he has harnesses for those to young to fly or fly far. Defend yourself only if you need to.:
He looks back at the enemies, and raises his hands s his eyes crackle with lightning. A storm rolls in, lightning leaping from cloud to cloud as winds begin to howl. Sky sends a message to all of those residing in the Eyrie that he considers allies.
:Do not fear the storm, it is mine. It's wind will allow you to fly faster even as it hinders our foes. It's lightning will warn you even as it strike the enemy. Fly high Windriders!:
His next message, almost a whisper, is sent to Blodwen only.
:I want you to stay with the little ones. If by some horrilbe luck they get past us and the wards, the little ones will need protecting. Do not worry about me... I'll be fine:
Something about those last words worries Blodwen
[ooc]This battle may very well cause his little "I can't shift" secret to be revealed.[/i]
His next message, almost a whisper, is sent to Blodwen only.
:I want you to stay with the little ones. If by some horrilbe luck they get past us and the wards, the little ones will need protecting. Do not worry about me... I'll be fine:
Something about those last words worries Blodwen
[ooc]This battle may very well cause his little "I can't shift" secret to be revealed.[/i]
:You had better be, eranoyeh. In case you had forgotten, my life is tied to yours. Do not take unnecessary risks with all three of our lives. Stay safe.:
She hesitates.:I cannot stay out of the fighting entirely if it comes to that. I have no intention of wading into combat, but I am hyea and my people need me. I promise I will stay close to our little ones though.:
:You had better be, eranoyeh. In case you had forgotten, my life is tied to yours. Do not take unnecessary risks with all three of our lives. Stay safe.:
She hesitates.
:I cannot stay out of the fighting entirely if it comes to that. I have no intention of wading into combat, but I am hyea and my people need me. I promise I will stay close to our little ones though.:
:You need not fear for your life or our child's, of that I can assure. In one way or another, I will always be with you. Do not forget about the Ritual of Three I performed not very long ago-the one that awaken your other powers?-it will allow me to fight three times better than I normally could. Ward yourself, though, there is no telling what the results of the Ritual's success will do to you when I use it. Eranoyeh, there is nothing I would rather be doing right now than to be curled next to you and watching our nestlings play. I will do all I can to ensure that I can when this is done and the threat gone.:
There is a small booming sound from within the room Aidan was working, and he crashes through the door(now nothing more than than charred wood and ash) to slam into he wall. He slowly and shakily stands, glaring at the red gemstones that had melted and bubbled as a result of his failure. Now nothing more than a red heap of worthless stone. He starts pulling gem shards out of his arms and torso as he goes of to find Djuhah.
Devlyn activates his crystal from his location in the Bazaar of the Bizarre and sends a message to Allura.
"Allura - that wizard I saw checking out the warehouse the other day has come back, and he just threw down some figurines that enlarged and destroyed the main loading doors. He says he is 'Solmyr of the Azure Flame', and he wants his stolen property back. I'm not sure if this is legit or not yet, or how it will affect our own hit on this place. You'd better spread the word over there and see what we want to do, love. It could be a window of opportunity."
LJ smiled as she hugged him back, though there might have been a tear or two of her own.
"Yes, you're back," she whispered. "My love."
"Now, please tell me what happened. And of The Mask's role in it."
There is a small booming sound from within the room Aidan was working, and he crashes through the door(now nothing more than than charred wood and ash) to slam into he wall. He slowly and shakily stands, glaring at the red gemstones that had melted and bubbled as a result of his failure. Now nothing more than a red heap of worthless stone. He starts pulling gem shards out of his arms and torso as he goes of to find Djuhah.
"How may I be of service to you, young fire champion?" Djuhah asks politely once Aidan has found him. In spite of all the chaos around him the djinn seems perfectly calm.
Devlyn activates his crystal from his location in the Bazaar of the Bizarre and sends a message to Allura.
"Allura - that wizard I saw checking out the warehouse the other day has come back, and he just threw down some figurines that enlarged and destroyed the main loading doors. He says he is 'Solmyr of the Azure Flame', and he wants his stolen property back. I'm not sure if this is legit or not yet, or how it will affect our own hit on this place. You'd better spread the word over there and see what we want to do, love. It could be a window of opportunity."
"That could be tricky, love. The Eyrie has some problems of its own just now. As far as I've been able to pick up, the Mask has switched sides again, and did something that royally pissed off LJ, and the servants of the board are camped out around the perimeter. They're not attacking just now, but people are preparing just in case. I'll see if I can get a few people together anyway. It may just be me, Oroth, and Aidan though."
Meanwhile, in the Sanctuary, almost the entire area has turned into a giant ice cube. In that it is completely frozen. Frost sits in the ice, his eyes close.
"How may I be of service to you, young fire champion?" Djuhah asks politely once Aidan has found him. In spite of all the chaos around him the djinn seems perfectly calm.
"Lately, something has seemed very wrong. With my magic, that is. Like something lurking just below the surface, waiting to get free. I... tried to move it into a single pure gem I created, but it blew up and melted into useless stone. Once, after I had a scroll to bring me back, I sent a small ray of flame at Oroth, to see if the wards would send me to another plane. I felt the magic start to affect, then felt it burn away. I wake up at night with dreams of that wretched carnival still vivid in my ming and fire streaming from my hand into macabre images. Something is wrong, Djuhah, but I think I can keep it under control until this battle(if there is one) is over. When it is safe, I'd like your help fixing whatever is wrong."
"Now, please tell me what happened. And of The Mask's role in it."LJ smiled as she hugged him back, though there might have been a tear or two of her own.
"Yes, you're back," she whispered. "My love."
LJ hesitated a little, glancing at Arielle.
"It's alright, Mom," the girl said with a shrug. "I was there. It's not like I don't know what they were trying to do."
LJ smoothed Arielle's hair away from her face.
"I know." She looked back at CH. "Arielle was with Azuri'ith at the Place of the Winds having an extended weather lesson. She was at the point where she needed to practice somewhere far away from people. While they were in the middle of a lesson, the Mask and his allies attacked Arielle. They tried to kill her. PlantJack did an oops when he was trying to do something nice and gave Arielle the gift of prophecy. She can't use it, but apparently they didn't know that. Their intention was to kill her and turn her into a lich so they would have a Seer to help them forever. Thankfully, they were unsuccessful. They came underprepared. They were able to banish Azuri'ith back to the Plane of Air, but since Arielle was in the middle of a lesson she had a great deal of weather to work with to defend herself. And then she used the amulet I gave her to bring her safely back here. Now their allies are camped outside. Frogskin's spirit has been tied to the Place of the Winds. Apparently the Mask was done with him. But he went along with enough of it that I am in no hurry to rescue him. The Mask has frogskin's body, but there's no telling how long he'll choose to keep that. He could have already found another by now. As much as I wanted to hunt down the bastards that tried to hurt our child, my first priority had to be making this place safe. For her, and for all the rest who live here. But if I ever catch the ones that tried to do this..."
"How may I be of service to you, young fire champion?" Djuhah asks politely once Aidan has found him. In spite of all the chaos around him the djinn seems perfectly calm."Lately, something has seemed very wrong. With my magic, that is. Like something lurking just below the surface, waiting to get free. I... tried to move it into a single pure gem I created, but it blew up and melted into useless stone. Once, after I had a scroll to bring me back, I sent a small ray of flame at Oroth, to see if the wards would send me to another plane. I felt the magic start to affect, then felt it burn away. I wake up at night with dreams of that wretched carnival still vivid in my ming and fire streaming from my hand into macabre images. Something is wrong, Djuhah, but I think I can keep it under control until this battle(if there is one) is over. When it is safe, I'd like your help fixing whatever is wrong."
"Of course. I am sure that Starsong would also be glad to help. Though perhaps we might be better off consulting one of the other champions to see if their magic ever did anything so strange."
"Of course. I am sure that Starsong would also be glad to help. Though perhaps we might be better off consulting one of the other champions to see if their magic ever did anything so strange."
"I.. I don't want people to know. I know nobody in the Eyrie would say anything, but the might think it. And if our enemies somehow found out, in anyway, they may try to use it against me. But whatever you do, don't tell my brother, I don't want him worrying about something that could turn out to be nothing."
"Of course. I am sure that Starsong would also be glad to help. Though perhaps we might be better off consulting one of the other champions to see if their magic ever did anything so strange.""I.. I don't want people to know. I know nobody in the Eyrie would say anything, but the might think it. And if our enemies somehow found out, in anyway, they may try to use it against me. But whatever you do, don't tell my brother, I don't want him worrying about something that could turn out to be nothing."
"As you wish, young fire champion, but I think you are vastly underestimating the people here. But I will not interfere."
He looks back at the enemies, and raises his hands s his eyes crackle with lightning. A storm rolls in, lightning leaping from cloud to cloud as winds begin to howl. Sky sends a message to all of those residing in the Eyrie that he considers allies.The Servants scatter. After a moment, they reform into a group, farther behind. Five men in white-clad robes come out from the group, each on some method of unique levitation. They begin chanting, banishing the storm.
Straining to keep the storm, Sky contacts Lynora-Jill.
:LJ? The have at least five casters. They are trying to banish the storm I called, and I have no idea how long I can keep it here. If we are going to do anything, I suggest we do so now, while I keep these five busy.:
A small snake slithers through the Eyrie, looking for bird's eggs.
A small snake slithers through the Eyrie, looking for bird's eggs.
He will find that all eggs have been collected into safe havens and are well guarded.
A small snake slithers through the Eyrie, looking for bird's eggs.He will find that all eggs have been collected into safe havens and are well guarded.
"Ah, dangit..." The snake mutters. "Whenever I come here, those stupid eggs are under guard." The snake scurries about, hoping to find one that the Starhawks missed.
She looked back at CH. "Arielle was with Azuri'ith at the Place of the Winds having an extended weather lesson. She was at the point where she needed to practice somewhere far away from people. While they were in the middle of a lesson, the Mask and his allies attacked Arielle. They tried to kill her. PlantJack did an oops when he was trying to do something nice and gave Arielle the gift of prophecy. She can't use it, but apparently they didn't know that. Their intention was to kill her and turn her into a lich so they would have a Seer to help them forever. Thankfully, they were unsuccessful. They came underprepared. They were able to banish Azuri'ith back to the Plane of Air, but since Arielle was in the middle of a lesson she had a great deal of weather to work with to defend herself. And then she used the amulet I gave her to bring her safely back here. Now their allies are camped outside. Frogskin's spirit has been tied to the Place of the Winds. Apparently the Mask was done with him. But he went along with enough of it that I am in no hurry to rescue him. The Mask has frogskin's body, but there's no telling how long he'll choose to keep that. He could have already found another by now. As much as I wanted to hunt down the bastards that tried to hurt our child, my first priority had to be making this place safe. For her, and for all the rest who live here. But if I ever catch the ones that tried to do this..."
Shadows of blue and black swirl around CH's form as his anger grows, though his face remains calm.
The swirls fade.
"Where do they hide?"
The snake sniffs the air. "Ah, sh**. They told me she was gone! Now what do I do?" The snake glances towards the borders of the Eyrie. They are clearly defined by the Servants all around them. "Huh. Damn it."
A small snake slithers through the Eyrie, looking for bird's eggs.
Panting, Ellara sits down, frustrated. She looks at Glider, her bat familiar, perched on her shoulder.
"I can't even scry the hair color of the lowest ranked warrior! I am seriously considering going down there ans summoning vermin and poisoning their food and drink while protected by the most powerful magic I can find."
Glider sqeaks.
Shadows of blue and black swirl around CH's form as his anger grows, though his face remains calm.
The swirls fade.
"Where do they hide?"
"I do not yet know. But I was thinking of asking their friends out front," she said with a wicked grin. "Sky is having some trouble with the spellcasters ruining some weather that he conjured as part of our defenses. I really think that demands a personal answer."
And yeah, I know about the wards. But so far, there still aren't any wards against Sytt.
"That could be tricky, love. The Eyrie has some problems of its own just now. As far as I've been able to pick up, the Mask has switched sides again, and did something that royally pissed off LJ, and the servants of the board are camped out around the perimeter. They're not attacking just now, but people are preparing just in case. I'll see if I can get a few people together anyway. It may just be me, Oroth, and Aidan though."
"Blast it all..."
"Alright, stay at the Eyrie for right now. LJ may need all three of you if somebody in that standoff decides to blink. I'll come back there if that happens - for now I'll sit tight and see how this scenario here plays out."
"Blast it all..."
"Alright, stay at the Eyrie for right now. LJ may need all three of you if somebody in that standoff decides to blink. I'll come back there if that happens - for now I'll sit tight and see how this scenario here plays out."
"Okay, love. We'll stay put. I'll let you know right away if things go boom here."
Outside the Eyrie, there is a great stirring. Kobold Cleaver appears on a flying carpet. The five mages make way for him. He begins shouting commanding incantations, and the storm begins to diminish.
"I do not yet know. But I was thinking of asking their friends out front," she said with a wicked grin. "Sky is having some trouble with the spellcasters ruining some weather that he conjured as part of our defenses. I really think that demands a personal answer."
Shadows of blue and black swirl around CH's form as his anger grows, though his face remains calm.
The swirls fade.
"Where do they hide?"
He replies with a feral grin, "I wonder if they sleep..."
"So they have underlings out front? Shall we take a look?"
"Okay, love. We'll stay put. I'll let you know right away if things go boom here."
He replies with a feral grin, "I wonder if they sleep..."
"So they have underlings out front? Shall we take a look?"
"Yes, I think we should."
As she steps out onto the balcony she sees Kobold Cleaver on his carpet.
"Him," she hissed. "He sent them. Dral, Tarvek, and Stina. The winds heard them complaining after Arielle escaped that the team Kobold Cleaver had given them was insufficiently experienced."
She looked back at Arielle.
"I would tell you to stay here, but I know you won't. Stay close to your grandfather. They can't banish him again. I've seen to that. Help Sky rebuild that storm. I know that's what you're going to do anyway," she added with a small smile. "Your father and I are going down there to have a little chat with someone."
He replies with a feral grin, "I wonder if they sleep..."
"So they have underlings out front? Shall we take a look?"
"Yes, I think we should."
As she steps out onto the balcony she sees Kobold Cleaver on his carpet.
"Him," she hissed. "He sent them. Dral, Tarvek, and Stina. The winds heard them complaining after Arielle escaped that the team Kobold Cleaver had given them was insufficiently experienced."
She looked back at Arielle.
"I would tell you to stay here, but I know you won't. Stay close to your grandfather. They can't banish him again. I've seen to that. Help Sky rebuild that storm. I know that's what you're going to do anyway," she added with a small smile. "Your father and I are going down there to have a little chat with someone."
As LJ and CH head out, CH's eyes turn pitch black. A wisp of blue smoke escapes his lips. It swirls of its own accord, and coalesces into the shape of a wolf, and stands besides Arielle.
Arielle looks at the wolf a little oddly, then shrugs and starts concentrating on sending strength into the storm. The clouds thicken and gain momentum as the storm starts to gain ground once more.
Arielle looks at the wolf a little oddly, then shrugs and starts concentrating on sending strength into the storm. The clouds thicken and gain momentum as the storm starts to gain ground once more.
Kobold Cleaver hesitates, then begins chanting quickly now.
LJ uses magic to lift CH down to the ground along with her, setting them both down in front of the line of servants of the board.
She shoots an arrow of positive energy at KC, grazing his cheek painfully.
"That was a warning shot. You dare show your face here after what you've done?"