Fantasy Ascent into Madness

[Tardy Grade]

"Well, I certainly can't deny that fact is often replaced with fiction with some of the wilier tales in these parts." Adar had to scratch his head a bit having gotten more than a little carried away with his retelling. Whether by way of boredom or out of habit the travellers always made their adventures sound grander by a margin than what they truly encountered. And as it often does, tales of helping a stranger find a mountain pass home could turn into wizards imparting magic maps that were inked in blood before the 4th mug of Molelasus was had.

"After all, it's not men of paper or men of gold that have to live here. Have to spend generations passing on lessons in the guise of stories. It's the 'men' of Earth." A hint of pride made it past the grey visage of the climber.

"Anyone with solid footwork and a strong rope could likely prop their way into Last Smile... though being in such confined space often makes people the biggest danger in any case. Being careful would be the deciding factor." He paused a bit as the captain lady made her offer and took his measure. Apparently, his sales pitch was heeded enough to be considered a 'semblance of a plan."

"Credit cards? I'm afraid I don't quite know what that is? Some kind of mage currency?" with a tilted head Adar tried to recall the name but was finding himself drawing a blank. Could it be some sort of luxury item? Adar shook his head. He had no need for such luxuries in his line of work. While money could be used as well as any climbing tool; he took no other substitute save for metals most precious.

"Your friend is correct though. These instabilities might be the forerunners to a shift in the earth."

 

[C.DEX]

"Who is our savior, again? Because I'm pretty sure we've learned all of that, already. Not like we're going to start a community here, lizard." Cyell said in response to Kniges. "Congratulations, though." he added in sarcasm, soon looking to Gniss as she made a declaration on what they would be doing. Argis' shoulders moved as he let out a silent chuckle in his suit as they decided whether or not they would leave him behind.

"I'm sure you would miss me." he added.

Cyell glanced down to the dragonborn's tail, vaguely remembering the occurrence of events that had lead to the dragonborn attempting to heal himself. He rolled his eyes as Kytrek's comment. "Sitting there and healing a bruise would be a waste of my time, anyways. Maybe you should cast something that doesn't put us in the mirror realm and utilize the one thing you're supposed to be good at?" Cyell quipped in his mentor's direction.

"Perhaps the rocket will supply a place to sleep that doesn't involve getting our belongings tinkered with in the night." Argis said. "Though I'm weary of walking all the way there. Sleeping in the river isn't a terrible idea, is it?" he joked, though his voice had been so constant that it was unclear for a moment for the party members that didn't pick up on those things so easily. Of course, he had began walking down the river again, so the idea had come at somewhat of an annoyance to him. He stifled the feeling, making his way back where they had come from. "At the very least, the descent will be easier... And will give me some time to sit down and adjust to this level."

"If you take your helmet off and throw up then you're the one cleaning it." Cyell replied, with Argis only grunting in response.

 

[Jeda Teq]

"It does cause mana to flow in an odd way." he replied to Kytrek as he began to walk towards the mouth of the cavern. "You already know the answer to that, grey skin. I accept your congratulations," He paused and looked over his shoulder, "However, do know that you wake up feeling 'Less' of man, do know that it's because you insist on calling me, a True DragonBorn, a lizard."

Hearing Argis' complaints Kniges stepped next to the half-orc. "Argis, friend." Kniges right winged hand reached up and perched on Argis' left shoulder, "I'm starting to like you, but you do say some pretty assanine things. Resting in the river would not be a good Idea for you." He looked up at Argis with psuedo caring eyes, "I'd put you, in terms of usefulness, on par with the ashy egg head. It took him just about all the strength he had just to survive the short time we were in there. You'd surely die." He removed his hand and walked past Argis. "I emplore you to muster up all your will power and press on. It really isn't that far."

He stepped out of the cavern and into the pasture. He examined the wildlife, specifically the larger creatures, as he pondered how he would get them to submit to his will.

 

[Jeda Teq]

It didn't take long for the group to follow the example of Argis and Kniges. They vacated the tunnel, with Adar, to head towards the rocket that brought them here. Following the path they took previous the part walked down stream with the river, however not too closely. It still radiated with mana and likely would pull them in again.

Two, maybe three hours passed as they trekked towards the center. There was hardly a moment of silence with Cyll and Kniges bickering back and forth; a game off who could get under who's skin the deepest. Silence did fall over them once Kytrek pulled his attention from his book to put the pair in place. Once he could regain his concentration Kytrek delved back into his spell prepping. Word mancing had to be done properly after all. During this time Adar and Gnis discussed terms of the Tiefling services; coming to a somewhat of an agreement.

In the distance there was a hastly made camp. The sillouette of a person and a kerchink bird could be made out.

 

[Lyro]

Gniss had never been briefed in the details of payment on the upper Levels - she had only vaguely heard of some of the methods uptrekkers used to wire funds when in the wilder parts of the world. And all the way up here, there was certainly no network to connect to. It had taken some convincing, along with a substantial down payment in cash, to get Adar to agree to a promissory note that he could redeem at just about any major city center from the Tenth Level downwards. She assumed the amount on offer had helped nudge him in the right direction. That, and perhaps the approaching sight of the tip of the massive rocket, peeking out of its hole in the ground like a curious mole. The two were moving on to discussion of a less financial nature when Kytrek briefly looked up from his book, stared ahead for a bit, and dispassionately said, "More freaks up ahead," before going back to copying down the spell he was studying.

Gniss paused in her conversation and looked ahead with narrowed eyes. About mid-way between them and the rocket's shining top, the unnaturally steady light of a spell or enchantment illuminated a tiny encampment that had been set up in one of the less-forested parts of the cavern. The spores seemed to avoid that area, suggesting the light spell illuminating the area repelled more than ordinary darkness. The pixie's lips tightened, and there was a brief taste of blood in her mouth as she cut herself once again on her clenched teeth.

"I am sorely tempted to simply walk past whoever they are at this point," she said in a flat tone. "I've had my fill of eccentric natives for the day. Unless this is some associate of yours you hadn't mentioned?" she asked of Adar.

"I don't know anything about that," Kytrek chimed in before the tiefling could respond, "but that," he said while pointing at the inscription on the hastily pitched tent, "is a Guild logo. Looks like we're not the only uptrekkers up here."

 

[Tardy Grade]

Adar carefully kept the promissory note away on his person. Making sure the worms in his bag would not misconstrue the latest addition to their home as a snack instead of the all-to-welcome guest it was. That having been decided he packed up his supplies and took a few gulps from the stream before they sallied forth. The mana density seemed to pulse stronger as they moved and Adar could almost feel it like a second heartbeat. *Maybe this is what a pregnant mother-to-be might hear in the dead of night?* Cyll and Kinges seemed to be a comfortable duo in their interactions. Seeming to have known each long enough to develop the tell-tale signs of close friends.

The group did, however, come to an unintended pause and Adar paid close attention to the reason why. Or perhaps *reasons* would be more apt... for
The spores seemed to avoid that area, suggesting the light spell illuminating the area repelled more than ordinary darkness.

Adar's face scrunched in consternation at Gniss's inquiry. "There shouldn't be any people staying in this part of the cave... this is practically no-man's land. Iffin you don't count the vegetation and critters of course. No wonder no one's found that giant hunk of metal of yours and scrapped it for parts. No one comes to this place and everyone that does is usually far more in a hurry to leave."

"Guild tents? Guild members should have more substantial lodging setup elsewhere on this level. It could be someone who decided to pass themselves off as members?" there was no immediate way to be certain without asking the people themselves and testing the waters. "I do know one thing though, them spells being used are banned on this level. Strong wards that are cheaply bought. The longer people use them the more they fucking poison the surroundings. Make it harder to grow stuff later too ... and whatever does grow from it ... usually grows wrong."


"We better find out why the fuck they're out here and I bet you they're wondering what the deal with that pointy-topped monstrosity of yours is as well." Adar sheathed the axe he'd been using the clear the vegetation now that they were in viewing distance of the tent. "I'm putting away my axes so they don't think we're hostile but you guys better have a plan for yourselves if things get dicey." He pondered whether he should pop another metal but decided against it for now. Ingesting too much in such a short time frame would just hurt him in the long run.

 

[C.DEX]

As Kniges reassured Argis that he shouldn't, in fact, sleep in the river, the orc gave off a sigh, his joke having flown over the flighted man's head. After that, they had begun to walk, finding themselves venturing toward the rocket in a long-winded walk back to a safe area to rest. They were all tired, sleep-deprived, the spores that had indicated their days and their nights having long since flipped back into the presumable 'night' portion. Conversation was sparse, but when it had happened, it was bickering. The dragonborn and the bloodmage seemed to know no level of exhaustion when it had come to how many mean-spirited words they could share with one another, almost seeming to be at the spite level of siblings.

Until they had gotten to the rocket. Well, close to the rocket. Someone in particular had decided to set up camp near the rocket, ending their long, tired haul with more interaction. Cyell quietly groaned, looking away from Kniges up to the camp and bird. "Could it be someone sent up to investigate why we got stopped?" he asked, quietly, as not to arouse suspicion or alarm the camper, who by all means should have seen them approaching.

Argis reached up, his fingers touching the dial on his helmet that had slowly perforated the seal, twisting it and letting a glimpse of mana radiation permeate his once sealed suit. He instantly felt a wave of nausea hit him as his suit hissed, and then he tightened it back up again. Cyell glanced to him as he did, narrowing his eyes. "This the best time?"

"A good a time as ever." Argis said. "There have been no 'good times to sit down and adjust' since joining up with you all."

"Underneath your tone you sure do complain a lot." Cyell replied, voice low. Then, he looked to the others, and stepped forward to approach the camp, his hands lacksadaisical at his sides, attempting to give off the appearence that he wasn't on guard. Really, he wasn't particularly panicked; tiredness had worn down the mage's inhibitors. "Hello?" he called out, hiding the usual sardonic tone he'd taken with those he knew. "Are you from the Guild?"

Argis stayed behind, watching as the mage waved down the camper.

 

[Jeda Teq]

A soft gentle medley could be heard being strummed lazily on a guitar as the part came approached the encampment. The large bird seemed to be engrossed with the tune the man had been playing. The man's head popped up with a gasp, as if he had just came to life, when he heard Cyell's voice break through his song. He looked at the on coming group with a smile as he gently placed his guitar inside its open case. When the music stopped the bird became agitated, which was common for such a creature. The man reached down by his feet, grabbing something with a jerking motion from under a tarp and tossed it to the bird. The agitated bird stepped on it with its large foot and began to peck and tear at it. It had to be some sort of meat.

He stood with out stretched arms to show he was no hostile, "Why hello to you too friends." His voice was deep yet tender. It made most feel at eased and welcomed. "Aye, that I am. What of you lot? This is a bit far from home for humans of the deep." The light from the orb reflected off the pale brown skin of his face. The dark circles around his eyes made them appear to be deeply seeded in his elven narrow skull. His tattered clothes draped from his slender frame and long limbs. "would you happen to be uptrekkers as well?" He queried.

Initially Kniges was paying attention to the man or the creature. He was focused on the orb emitting the light and contemplation on how he could copy it.

 

[Lyro]

Gniss looked suspiciously at the man's guitar as she stepped forward, arms crossed in front of her. "Something like that," she answered non-noncommittally, not remotely trusting the sudden appearance of an uptrekker on this day of all days. "What business do you have here that we happen to cross paths?" She eyed the rocket out of the corner of her eye, but it did not look to have been tampered with. She had faintly hoped that the enchantments would have returned in her absence, but the sigils were still absent, as was the dim orange glow the rocket should have sported this high up.

Kytrek stood several feet behind Gniss, his brow furrowed as he stared at the man and his equipment. The scene seemed familiar to him, somehow, but he couldn't quite place it yet. That voice, though... he was sure he had heard it somewhere before. "Here, now," he added, "don't I know you from somewhere, old timer?"

 

[Tardy Grade]

The old man seemed to consider Kytrek for a moment. Eyes went wide with recognition. Finger raised and poised at his face before gasping aloud! ... and then he gave a smile and said,"Nope. Frankly, I wouldn't even know if we had as 'old' as I am." Clearly, he hadn't taken well to snide mention of his clearly advanced age. After patting his thigh enjoying the fakeout he took a moment to catch his breath. Gesturing to them to take a seat. Then took a smaller piece of meat he focused on it and before their very eyes, it seemed to shimmer and boil. The fat bubbling into grease that slid past his uncaring fingers. Adar couldn't help but bemoan the loss of the flavour that must have been locked in it.

"Oh come on! You're letting all the good stuff fall! " he extended his own hand in exasperation. "Bah. Can't handle that much fat with my constitution. I'd rather not die to a failing ticker this far up. That'd be a joke my friends would never let me live down." Biting into the strip of meat he tore a good chunk out before passing the now cooked meat strip to the closest one of their party.

"Eat up now. Kids like you need to know when to make the most of any given meal."

"The reason I'm 'here' is to say ... 'hello'... to an old friend." the light of his eyes dimmed for a short moment. "We used to trek in our heyday. Big claims of big fame. Sighh...."

His attention fell on Kniges eyeing his orb and he asked,"Didn't your mother teach you that it's rude to stare at another man's orb, boy?"

 

[C.DEX]

"How'd you get up here?" Cyell asked, his eyes flitting to Adar as he grabbed the strip of meat. "Most of us aren't 'humans from the deep'." he added in comment to the elder elven man's. "Crew is full, so if you were waiting on us to get a ride back on the rocket, it's a no." he said, callously. "Who's your friend?" he asked, his finger itching on his weapon due to the situation. Realistically, they were attacked. Their camp was sifted through, the rocket's enchantments were stripped, and they still didn't know who did it. It could have been any one of the people they had come across so far. Hell, it could have even been Adar, as much as he doubted it, watching the Tiefling accept meat from the strange man and chomp into it.

"I would, but I have a sort of situation." Argis said, approaching the man. Then, his language switched to Elvish. Beyond the suit, there was nothing hinting about Argis that would make either Adar or the elderly elven man know he was an Orc, so he played it to his advantage. He approached the party, still swallowing down his nausea from opening the seal on his helmet for a moment, though he stopped in shy of the bird, eyeing it. "Do you have any other traveling companions?" he asked, his tongue foreign to most of the others. Still, the language was lilting, fluid, and beautiful, melodic tones, even from the mouth of an Orc. "We've run into some trouble up here so far, so mind my parties' hostilities ... do you find that this place is hostile, at all? Perhaps if you've been here for a while you can help us."

"What are you saying?" Cyell whispered, looking to Argis, who waved the comment away.

 

[Jeda Teq]

Kniges flashed his teeth in the dark and a low rumble came from his throat. "I'm Kniges the great, I do what I damn well please." He snapped out of his intense focus with his arms crossed. The moment he stepped into the light of the orb Kniges felt a shift in the flow of mana. It was subtle but his scales did not lie to him. He pushed the thought out of his mind as Adar waved the piece of meat around. Kniges happily snatched it from Adar's hand and took a large bite out of it.

"Well, not often does one encounter one as proud as you Kniges. It would be remiss of you if you passed on my offer to teach you." A bit of mana lept from the man's mouth as he spoke Kniges' name. Odd but not uncommon for certain words coming from some races in areas with a high concentration of mana radiation. However, with the mention of his name Kniges subconsciously trusted the man. The tall elf sat down next to his guitar where he had been sitting prior to their conversation. At the same time waving his hand, beckoning them all to come into the light. "Come, come, my vision isn't what it used to be now." he tapped his finger under his left eye which was hazed over. His brow raised at the mention of a rocket. He thought over the word for a second then laughed, "My friend has long passed., but that matters not to you... Tell me, do you mean you lot came here on a firecracker? You must be falling ill to the madness boy, I can help with that. Trust me." Again, with the word 'trust' being spoken mana sparked from his lips, silently encouraging Cyell to be more trusting.

He replied to Argis in the elven language, "My only companion on this journey is that bird over there." He gestured to the large bird and its dull feathers. "No worries friend. This isn't the safest of locations. Especially out here in the wilderness. This orb is more than just light. It wards off the shadowmen. Curious creatures they are." He looked each individual from head to toe. Taking note of their suits. "Why covered up so thickly friend? You look as if you're meant to go diving." The comfort of his voice would seem to have little to no affect on the orc. With his suit acting as a barrier to his mind.

 

[Lyro]

While Gniss had not been directly addressed by the strange man, the general tone of his voice had served to mollify her view of him. He was just another crazy old coot traveling on his own up here. It wasn't like that was particularly unusual so far. A bit strange that he had happened across their rocket and set up camp right next to it, but then it had made a lot of noise upon arrival, and he might have been curious. She looked at the meat Kniges was already happily wolfing down, feeling somewhat peckish herself at the smell reached her. "We thank you for your hospitality," she forced herself to say anyway, "but our own ship has everything we need." Even as she said this, however, she thought once more of how long it had been since she had partaken in real meat. It was all she could do to stop herself from licking her lips in hunger.

Kytrek, on the other hand, had been standing further away from the man, and had not been affected nearly as much as the others. He had frowned when the man had failed to recognize him, as the more he looked around the small encampment, the more he thought he could almost remember. He stroked his beard with his finger as he struggled to recall the details. "You're famous," he said at last, as something dawned upon him, "aren't you?" He stretched out his index finger and pointed it at the man. "You were involved in something with the Guild, many years ago. A controversy of sorts - I just... can't..." Why couldn't he remember? Was his memory really as bad as the boy kept asserting?

 

[Tardy Grade]

"You've seen the shadow-men? They're dangerous but not all too common as far as sightings go." finding bits of his story a bit amiss though not being able to find the will to scour for the reason 'why' he did so. Then the elvish talk began and he just zoned out. Eyeing the rapidly cooling grease on his fingertips. Wishing he'd washed his hands in the river before indulging himself. He usually did so ... so why didn't he? Still, he couldn't find it in him to argue those points.

Having spoken in common he thought he'd be best understood. Some of his clarity seemingly returning as the old man's words lost 'meaning' to him.

Adar had relished the texture of the meat more than it's taste. How the fibres tore apart to nothing once they met his teeth... He was feeling rather relaxed. As if the light-orb that enveloped them was indeed more than just superficial as the old man told them. Maybe even more so... Blossoming to a full-fledged hearth. "I don't know if pops here is famous but this meat sure as hell should be! Say ... what is it, old-timer? Thralding meat? Can't say that I've had the pleasure of trying something quite like it. This supposed to be a gift to the friend you said you were planning to meat-oops I mean meet?" Immediately feeling a bit cheated as he recalled the piece of meat being pried from his hands but choosing not to make a big deal about it. *He was a professional after all...* thought Adar as he stole a few glances of the morsel and then the tarp from under which it came.

Without thinking much he made a grabbing motion for the source of the meat thinking that it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to assume the man would be open to a little more generosity.

 

[C.DEX]

Argis simply watched as Cyell moved forward, sitting down across from the elven man. He noted briefly the softening of the blood mage's features, a hint surprised considering the boy's paranoia. Cyell watched the others take the meat, his stomach grumbling. He was in the constant throes of paranoia normally, but there was something about the elven man that had seemed ... comforting? Something about him. New faces had always set him on edge, but he was different.

Argis slowly lumbered to join the rest of them. He lowered himself to the ground, looking quite like a giant amongst them. There was something odd with how the man talked, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Of course, the others had been surprisingly passive, but it could have just been tiredness overtaking them. It felt as if they hadn't slept in days, with their only actual rest being interrupted by the 'shadow men'. He went quiet for a moment after the man's attention laid on him and his suit, to the point where it might have even been rude.

"...I am from a lower level. Unadjusted to this one." Argis said, clarifying his position finally. "If I were to take it off I would be affected by the ambient mana, negatively. What is your name?"

"What do you know about the shadow men?" Cyell asked, glazing over the conversation he was having with Argis. "And yes, we came on the rocket. It's lower level technology, enhanced with enchantments, but it was stripped in the process of coming up here." he said, revealing a great deal of detail more than he might have normally. "I think it might have something to do with them."

His eyes turned to Adar as well. "What do you know?"

 

[Jeda Teq]

The man looked at Gniss with a blank expression. It was as if he was trying to wrap his mind around the word "ship". "There's no need to lighten your supplies just yet." His smile returned to his face, wrinkling the corners of his eyes. "I have food and drink right here. Far more than I need on my current trip. Why not stay awhile." his words now came out of his mouth as common. He furrowed his brow for a moment. Thinking of what Kytrek could be referring to then said, "We used to trek in our heyday. Big claims of big fame. Sighh...."

As soon as Adar reached for the meat the old elf made a go at it as well. His thin boney fingers laid atop of Adar's hand. His touch was cold. Inhumanly so. In that moment Adar could feel the warmth in his hand had vanishing. "Slow down child, there's plenty for everyone. Just have to keep enough for Byrd." He then proceeded to reach under the tarp and with another jerking motion pulled out a larger chunk of meat. He stared at the greyish red flesh in his hand as it began to sizzle and cook in his hand. He then ripped a small piece of meat off and offered it to Gniss while handing the rest to Adar.

Kniges let out a yawn and rubbed his eyes. The sheen of his scales that gave him a purple hue had begun to fade. They were now more of a matted black color. Close to how they were when he was in the lower levels with a lack of mana. His mind became foggy almost as if he were suffering from mana sickness. He remained silent as his head began to nod.

He simply nodded at Argis' statement. "You seem sick child. One shouldn't ascend to quickly." He then wiped his hands on his pants. "My name? My name is Roderick Le'saint DeGermain."
"Shadowmen... They are one of the impossibility race. Not much more I can tell you about them." He took note of Kniges then smiled gently, "Kniges seems to be a bit tire. How about I play a song, to help you all rest." he reached for his guitar.

 

[Lyro]

"Shadowme... What are you talking about?" exclaimed Kytrek, as he took a step back from the man. The stranger's words washed over him, confusing and disorientating him, but a lifetime of training and study resisted its full effects. "There's no such thing as shadowmen. It's a children's tale, like the boogeyman, or the gnashfly." He stared with narrowed eyes at the man, before his eyes moved to look at the faint shimmering of the air that lay around him, delineating the area the spores fell away from. It defined a semi-sphere, centered around the man and peaking with the shining orb at its top. Was it really just a kinetic defuser, as he had initially thought, or did it do something more, as the man claimed?

Suspicious, he raised his arm toward the orb, and, using his other arm to reach the controls, activated the directed short-range mana detector. Immediately a loud, halting crackle filled the air as the detector, having already adjusted itself to Twelfth Level baseline radiation, immediately spiked. Kytrek cursed loudly and turned back to look at the man, hand reaching for the gun on his back. "What is this? What is it doing? What do you mean by 'shadowmen'?"

"Professor!" Gniss shouted in admonishment at his outburst. She had remained still for the longest time, mulling over the man's words, and had only now started to move towards the food on offer with a hungry expression on her face. Now, however, she turned to look at Kytrek with an icy stare. "Is that any way to treat such a kind stranger?" She turned back to look at Roderick, slightly inclining her head forward as she did so. "I apologize for my associate's behavior. We have had a difficult day and he is ill-tempered."

 

[Tardy Grade]

Adar seemed to grow a bit more aware having stopped his consumption of meat. His mind catching up to queries asked minutes ago. Shaking his head a bit before focusing on Cyell's face. "S-Shadow men ... right.. I know a bit about them ... stories mostly ... one poem ... how did it go again?" Adar stumbled a bit as tried to get up for his recitation before giving up on the strenuous action.

"We are the shadow men
We are the hollow men
Leaning together

Our dried voices, when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As wind in dry grass
Or rats' feet over broken glass
In our dry cellar

Shape without form, shade without colour,
Paralysed force, gesture without motion;

Those who have crossed
With direct eyes, to death's other Kingdom
Remember us—if at all—not as lost
Violent souls, but only
As the hollow men
The shadow men..."

Adar hummed along a haunting tune that carried no further than his lips. As if wind refused to carry it. "Uhh... there was more ... can't... not sure why..." His mouth felt dry and he could remember what thirst was ... but how to quench it seemed elusive? Eat more ... meat? That should help, right?
The old man cut short his internal debate with another handful of meat. His thin bony fingers laid atop of Adar's hand. His touch was cold. Inhumanly so. Taking the meat, Adar held it in a greasy fist. No semblance of finesse or his usual motor control.

Though just as he was about to dig in more words flooded his mind. "Oh yes... it went ..."

"This is the dead land
This is dry land
Here the stone images
Are raised, here they receive
The supplication of a dead man's hand
Under the twinkle of a fading ... star."

"Hmm... wonder what a 'star' looks like. Must be pretty brigggght. Hehe." Adar laughed a bit before suddenly lurching over the side of the rock he'd been leaning on. Vomiting the entire contents of his stomach in loud, guttural retches. So violent was his retching that one of his worms shot out from his bag and squirmed around in a panicked manner. For a moment it went towards to old man before sensing something so innately frightening that it did a complete about turn and rippled it's flesh away.

Adar finally stopped puking out his gut and found himself feeling all kinds of ill. "M-Must be .... that I haven't had meat in a while. Heh. My constitution must be w-weaker than I thought ..." said the metal eater.

 

[C.DEX]

Between Kniges' scales turning a deep black, Kytrek's radiation detector going off, Cyell and Gniss acting odd, and Adar vomiting, something was up. Argis seemed to be the only one unaffected, even Kytrek acting odd, the lack of rest aside. As far as the Voldur had learned, Kytrek (and supposedly, all of the others) had been experienced Uptrekkers. So, when the man had began to draw his weapon, Argis rolled to the balls of his feet, rethinking the concept of sitting down for a meal with the man. Instead, the Voldur looked with concern to Adar, who seemed to be in an almost dream-like state, though he certainly hadn't known him long enough to decide that that wasn't the default.

Kytrek's alarm had send Argis into alarm, though Cyell hadn't been experienced enough to rouse himself. Instead, he stared between the two, feeling particularly groggy. It didn't even seem to register to the mage that Kytrek was drawing his weapon. Argis raised his hand, looking as if he wanted to mediate. He inched toward the opposite end of the 'camp', toward the glaze-eyed Cyell. "Well, listen. We're just going to head off toward where we were going to stay before, if you don't mind. As ... comfortable as this place looks." he said, his arm still up to mediate between them defensively. "Gniss? Kniges? It's time to go. Cyell?"

"Fuck off. I'm tired."

"It wasn't really a question." Argis said, reaching down to pull the mage to his feet. "There is a time to be children and there is a time to be adults. Now is not the time for the former. You all are being affected by something; whether that is our friend here, or his magic ... I am unsure." he said, glancing up from the old man to the orb that Kytrek's detector had gone off on. The old man hadn't seemed like an immediate threat; at least, not a physical one, and Argis hadn't put quite all of the pieces together. Gniss, Adar, Cyell, and Kniges seemed almost completely useless to the fact. But Kytrek wasn't.

"Kytrek?"

 

[Jeda Teq]

Laying on the ground, Kniges began to hold and scratch at his head. Murmuring about the mind worms attacking him again, the fictional creatures that Kytrek once convinced the young reptile caused his mana sickness. His body began to shake as if he were going through withdrawal from a drug.

In the short period of time the party had been in range of the light, the orb had doubled in size as it silently drained mana from them. Roderick's tinder smile faded when Kytrek began to show hostility. "Now, now friend." he stood up from his seat with his guitar in hand.
"Calm down friend, have a seat. I promise you some delicious meat." His words turned into song as they began to weave into a spell. Visible mana flowing out from his dry cracked lips like a mist flowing towards Kytrek. "Trust in me, you can go to sleep. From here on out you'll never weep." His fingers strummed an eerie tune to amplify his desire, "We're friend now Right? So just sit tigh.." Argis interrupted the song by moving between him and Kytrek. Suggesting that their party leave.

One of Rodericks eyes twitched and parts of his skin bulged out briefly as if something was slithering under his skin. "Gniss, Cyell, and Kniges have decided to stay." There was power in names and unbeknownst to him Argis allowed the man to strengthen his effect on them. Taking a knee he extended his palm out towards Gniss offering her a bed in his hand. The man then looked up towards Kytrek, "You want to stay too, don't you Kytrek?"

 

[Lyro]

The strange man's words assaulted Kytrek, who physically reeled from them, stumbling and almost losing his footing. His expression softened, some of the hostility leaving it, and he lowered his weapon. "Yes... staying is... good..." he muttered distantly, as he began to take faltering steps towards the encampment. Something was still wrong, but it no longer seemed quite as important as it had been before for whatever reason. Without thinking about it, he began to snap his fingers with his left hand while he moved closer. He snapped slowly at first, but the closer he moved to the camp's perimeter, the more urgent the snapping became, until it became almost painful for him to keep doing it so quickly.

Then, as he was about to walk within the stranger's sphere of influence, something seemed to click within Kytrek. He stopped, looked down at his snapping left hand, seemingly noticing the noise for the first time. He also looked at Argis, wondering why he had called out to him just now. His face looked puzzled for a moment, staring at Argis in his fully-sealed suit, before his expression darkened as he finally realized what was going on. He turned abruptly to look with a cold fury in his eyes at the creature that had invaded that most sacrosanct of locations - his own mind. He raised his rifle, aiming it squarely at the uptrekker, as Gniss wordlessly climbed into its hand and sat down on it, her face unreadable.

"Argis, get away from that thing," he said quickly to the half-orc. "Keep your suit on. It's some kind of mesmer. Isn't that right?" he added, speaking to the creature now, hatred and contempt coating his every word. "Well, you just messed with the greatest magical mind of the Depths.

Your words are weak,

" he boomed, his voice now charged with mana. He could shoot the creature, but it had not seemed frightened in any way by his gun. His mind therefore raced as he tried to improvise a quick spell that would buy him some time. He would have to take shortcuts, but...

"

All light is emitted from a source,

" he shouted as quickly as he could, coming up with a demonstration of impossibility on the fly he hoped would pass with the mana at his disposal. He would have to worry later about the consequences. "

Light, upon encountering an obstacle, produces a shadow behind it. I am an obstacle. I am surrounded by light. Therefore, I am surrounded in shadows.

"

All around the bubble surrounding the creature, the world instantly disappeared, being replaced by a formless void. Only the light from the orb subsisted, being of a magical nature and therefore more resistant to Kytrek's proof. From the shadows, Kytrek hurriedly pulled out some of his books, ducked behind a rock and began to read by the light of his suit's flashlight. "Keep him busy, Argis!" he shouted as he began taking new notes, "I have an idea!"

 

[Tardy Grade]

Adar spotted the concern looks from a few of the others but couldn't understand the reason behind them? Why was everyone getting up in arms? This old man was good. He had meat. Gave it freely as well. Adar managed to avoid plunging his hand into his self-made mess as he staggered to his feet. Noticing the wriggling of his bag beside him he found it spilt open with a frantic worm trying to get back inside. Reaching a jittery hand out he tried to console the poor thing but it only writhed further away from him.

"You all are being affected by something; whether that is our friend here, or his magic ... I am unsure."

This did get through to Adar. More instinctual than anything else. He'd been with these worms a long time and come to trust them as one would their very senses. It wasn't simply a few times that they'd saved his grey-hide from danger.

One of Roderick's eyes twitched and parts of his skin bulged out briefly as if something was slithering under his skin.

Adar's mind seemed to be fighting hard not to take issue with that. Rubbing his eyes clear was a mistake though as he caked the space around them in grease. Now even his vision was compromised! Adar still couldn't bring himself to a panic. The last sights he'd seen being a standoff coming to fruition and his worm's light seemingly grow dimmer past a film of grease.

As fate would have it the spell cast by Kytrek seemed to rob him of what little he could make out in the form of lit-up shapes. The only shapes that remained were those of his worms and the large sphere besides their 'meal-ticket'.

...his voice now charged with mana.

Like a splash of water or a breath of fresh air Adar was jolted by the sudden gesture. Grabbing both worm and bag before rolling further from the large orb. Paying closer head to the only voice that seemed to make any sense without conflict in his mind. Though a part would remain fixated on the acquisition of more .... meat...

 

[C.DEX]

"Is it the best time to disappear to read?" Argis asked, his teeth gritting underneath his suit. He looked back to the elven man, the guitar still clasped within his grip. The mesmer spell was having little to no effect on the orc due to his laziness in getting the thing off actually coming in handy, for once. Still, he'd had Gniss in his hand, only a gesture away from harming the mesmerized pixie. Especially without mana, she was particularly vulnerable. Evil seemed to seep from him as mana poured in, causing the Voldur to be agitated even further.

Cyell's face had gone a shade paler as he vacantly watched Kytrek stand and pull his weapon, the intent of the action almost seemingly beyond him. He squeezed his eyes shut as if trying to shake a thought and comprehend, but little came as Argis had let go of his arm, allowing him to fall back, confused. The glossy gaze of someone not completely in their senses took his face and his tattoos dimmed almost completely.

Argis was only a hair further from Roderick, the fire between them all. It was an obstacle to which he paid no mind, the rather large man digging his foot under the fire as soon as Kytrek had made his suggestion, a sly enough movement not to immediately catch Roderick's attention as a flaming log catapulted in his direction. Any sane person would block it, hopefully dropping Gniss in the process. It was a heighty fall from where she was at, but a heighty fall was better than being crushed between the fingers of a madman.

It wasn't long after that Argis dashed across the fire, intending on outright tackling Roderick happen his diversion fail. Or ... period. The Voldur had a great deal of momentum.

Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap.

The sound echoed in the blood mage's head; it was a grounding technique used by Uptrekkers, their bodies instinctively reminding them that they had needed to focus elsewhere when that same focus was being stolen. Despite coming from Kytrek's fingers, Cyell's pupils seemed to constrict for a moment. He shook his head, only to look up to see the normally annoyingly calm Voldur kick a log at Roderick. He glanced up, watching the orb.

"Oooh ... shit." he said, groggy. His hand went to his arm, finding the Rano rune opposite of what he had used to fight the wraith. The blood mage struggled to stand to his feet, taking a step toward the pulsating mana orb.

 

[Jeda Teq]

The man's boney fingers wrapped around Gniss little body. The skin of his palm wiggled against her like a pleasant massage for a moment. Then tiny black slugs pierced through his skin in an attempt to latch onto her through her gear. Dark green and black puss leaked from the protrusions coating her small frame. The smell of rot raided her nostrils.

As the darkness consumed the area around his light Roderick let out a panicked shriek. As he rose to his feet a flaming log came at him, crashing into his skull. The weight of the log caved in the old skull and the heat boiled many larvae stage leeches. Each swelling with a hiss and popping. Dropping his guitar, he kept a hungered grip on Gniss, he reached for the object burning his face. His arm was pinned and snapped with a few ribs as Argis barrelled into the man's skinny yet bloated body. The force of the impact caused a black goo to eject from his mouth. Hundreds of leeches now covored Argis' back. The man stumbled backwards and slipped on the tarp. The tattered fabric slipped into the air as the tangled trio fell to the ground. What was revealed was two almost completely gray feathered civillians with chunks of flesh ripped off of their bodies.

The pale bird began to squawk and get violent. It quickly moved towards Argis and began to peck and slash its large talons at his back.

 

[Lyro]

The half-orc's jab almost prompted a retort from Kytrek, who only decided against it when an idea struck him and he hurriedly began to jot it down. From his position, he could not see what was going on behind him, but from the sound of the man's shriek Argis had begun the fight. The deafening silence from the other members of their group did not bode well, however, and so long as they were under the man's thrall they were at risk. Then Kytrek began to hear more disturbing noises from behind, along with a bird's irate cawing, and he decided to risk a quick peek at the scene now that his shadowing spell was fading... only to immediately turn back and resume hiding behind his rock having spotted their enemy's true form.

Mana leeches. That complicated matters. A lone wizard could be overpowered, but a pack of leeches could just disperse and regroup. And yet, on a fundamentally magical level, the charming spell they wove was little different from what a mage might cast. With just a few tweaks... yes, that would do. Quickly he began to whisper the words that would bend the universe to his will once more. He could not pull the uptrekkers out from their trance - they would have to do that on their own - but he could alter who was pulling their strings.

He finished his incantation, feeling mana flowing into him as it concluded, then sprung to his feet, emboldened by the arcane energy. He turned to look at the camp, focusing his attention on the spell-bound uptrekkers. Cyell at least seemed to be slowly breaking free, and Adar was on the move already, but the others appeared hopelessly lost. Gniss in particular looked to have succumbed entirely, which worried him. Mustering all the strength of will he had, he shouted:

"Arise, Kniges. Awake, Gniss. An enemy stands before you. You must fight."