Porthca Landing II: Lost & Found

[Ash-6116]

Tyrius looked to both Virra and Eliza, wondering how they felt. "Say at least one of us wanted to come back some time. Could we?"

 

[DevilishEgg]

“Truth is, it is such an awesome place that I am findin it difficult to leave in the first place.” Eliza hesitated before reaching out to hold Pyria’s hand. “You have had a rough time of it and... and I don’t think anyone deserves to be so lonely.” The half-orc looked down at her hands for a pause before smiling kindly at the elf, “I promise this comes from a place of pure honesty. No charms here.”

 

[Abrahms]

Cabin:

"If you could find the door ..." Pyria brushed away more buildup of ice around her eyes. "It tends to wander, I'm unsure how to make it stay somewhere. My magic is limited..." as she spoke she closed her fist, small wisps of cold fog spreading out from her hand and surrounding her seat before she opened her hand, the fog dissipating into the air. "As my season changes so does the magic afforded to me by my nature ..."

Eliza holding Pyria's hand would note it almost feels like holding an icicle, the typical warmth of someone barely present. Pyria glanced at it before looking at Eliza, a faint hint of green becoming visible underneath the blue, "You ... would actually like to visit me again?"

 

[DevilishEgg]

“Are you for real? I have devoted my life to the study of magic and I have yet to come across anything as purely magic as you. And the food isn’t half bad!” Eliza nodded towards the others, “The whole charmed thing caught us off guard for sure, but if you say you can’t help it then I guess I trust you.”

 

[Ash-6116]

Seeing Eliza hold Pyria's hand made the sorcerer smile. He didn't get up or move to hold Pyria's other hand, figuring the moment of physical tenderness should be Eliza's. As Eliza answered and looked back to them, Tyrius smiled and returned the nod. "I'm the same. I haven't devoted my life to the study of magic the way Eliza has, but well, I understand what its like to have magic you struggle to control. So I trust you too, Pyria, and would love to return if that was possible."

 

[WetHawk]

The Knight watched impassionately as the group spoke before finally letting out a sigh and walking back over to the table, sitting down. “‘Pologies, Pyria. I don’t much care fer my head bein’ messed with, but sounds like it’s outta yer hands. Even without yer magical crutch, yer still a lovely host an’ a very kind hearted woman, an’ I’m awful sorry fer callin’ ya a witch. I hate ta see a woman cry, ‘specially if I’m the one ta blame.” Looking around at the others, he wondered what sort of plan they might have here as he tried to ignore the insistent buzzing in the back of his head.

 

[NotHaruka]

Seeing the Knight sit back down and say his piece, VIrra beamed at him. "See, Pyria? Everyone wants to visit you again. Forget the magic, you're just straight-up charming."

She took one last happy forkful of vegetables, then set her plate down and leaned forward. "So obviously, the question is: how do we find our way back to this place when the door goes wandering?" She looked pointedly at her four companions. "Magic people, help me out."

 

[maasnssmaamsm]

Ander looks on with a very perplexed expression on his face, "Um, I've got no clue how ta make a magical door show up where ya want it to." He returns to his seat across from the Knight and puts his head in his hands. "How did we get into this situation?" he whispers just loud enough for the Knight to hear it.

 

[WetHawk]

The Knight shook his head as well. "I'm 'fraid I'm not much 'f a man a magic myself." Hearing the whisper, he responded back in kind to Ander. "Haven't got a clue. We're too curious fer our own darn good, myself included."

 

[DevilishEgg]

Eliza thought about the conundrum for a moment taking occasional sips of the best coffee she has ever heard in her short existence. There had to be a way to help this woman. "The only thing that comes to mind is maybe disassembling the door itself. I think the teleportation magic is in the door so if we take it apart it won't work theoretically." Drumming her fingers on the table she continued, "But how do we do that without permanently damaging the portal entry. I don't want her to be stuck alone because no one could enter anymore." She looked up at Tyrius with a sudden gleam in her eyes, "What if we just took apart the doorknob? We could take the door and doorknob separately to your parent's house."

 

[Ash-6116]

Tyrius smiled as Eliza caught his eyes. The plan sounded perfect to him. He was fairly confident that at the very least his mother would understand but more likely all of the family would. "That sounds like a wonderful idea," Tyrius said, looking from Eliza to Pyria, "You wouldn't even have to worry about them panicking over the uncontrollable magic."

Tyrius was about to explain why when it hit him. There was something he'd read in Azarad a long time ago. Only a small paragraph in one of the many books he'd been reading for personal research. "But um, you might want to cover up these if you went outside the house." Tyrius said, putting his fingers behind his ears and holding them so it appeared his own ears were more like daggers than basic human ones. "Not everyone is as friendly as us. Some might try to take you away, treat you as little more than a pet." Tyrius didn't want to bring up the word 'slave' in front of Pyria, but that was what was on his mind. Elves were rare, Eladrin even more so.

Turning back to the possibility that she could have company who at least wouldn't be phased by magic, Tyrius added, "What do you think, Ms Pyria?"

 

[Abrahms]

Cabin:

Pyria listened as the discussion went back and forth, more and more green tinting the blue of her skin. As Tyrius spoke directly to her, her eyes widened slightly as she smirked, "I think ... the ears are the least of my concern, don't you?" With a hand she gestured to herself.

Looking around the interior of her demiplane she shrugged, "I ... think I am satisfied being here, I know the risk I am ... but it would be nice to have consistent guests..." Her blue gazed centered back to Tyrius before shifting to the others in turn, "I leave it to you ... if you feel confident in this."

 

[NotHaruka]

Letting the arcane-inclined group members hash out a plan, Virra listened in and was quickly convinced that it would succeed. Obviously the magic involved couldn't be as simple as taking a door off some invisible hinges and fiddling with the knob, but at least it gave her a clear mental image to understand and get excited about -- much better than the magical theory that she got force-fed at home.

"Oh, I think we're feeling confident," she answered on Tyrius's behalf, wearing a big smile on her face as she turned to face the others. "Well then, should we get started? Do you guys want any help? Gonna start chopping wood again?"

 

[Ash-6116]

Tyrius grinned as Virra answered for him. The grin only got wider at the mention of chopping wood, somehow he didn't think Virra would ever let him live that down. 'At least she didn't suggest I go hyper mage while chopping down another tree.'

"We should. Sooner we get it done, sooner Pyria can have some more company." Tyrius said as he looked to the lady in question, "Thank you for all the food you served us, Pyria. We'll do all we can to get your door to travel to Wyford." Looking to the group, he figured they'd be making a move soon.

'Wonder what Cate would've made of Pyria had she met her?' Tyrius thought idly as he waited for Eliza to say whatever parting words she felt necessary.

 

[Ash-6116]

Standing up and heading for the door, Tyrius held it open and started to look it over, trying to work out whether it was possible to remove just the doorknob or if it would have to be the entire door. For the moment, he was just looking and trying to work out how to do about it. 'Can't just hope like we did when cutting down that tree,' Tyrius thought to himself, 'If we mess this up, Pyria is gonna be trapped on her own until she dies. We've got to work this out carefully.'

Looking at the doorknob and running his fingers along the edges of it, Tyrius was surprised how flush the doorknob was with the door. "Either this doorknob was fused to the door - or someone crafted this perfectly." Tyrius said. "I know Eliza already cast a detection ritual but just to be safe I'd like to cast a similar spell as well. Just a heads up because up until now we've been lucky." Tyrius said, unsure how exactly to explain where his magic came from. 'Ironically it'd be better if this failed lightly and I somehow made something levitate by accident so I could just point and go 'that' rather than a long explanation on the origins of my magic.' he thought to himself.

 

[DevilishEgg]

Eliza nodded awkwardly never been any good at goodbyes. “Well, Ms. Pyria, let’s get down to it then. Thanks for your gracious hospitality.” She stood near Tyrius and inspected the door handle. She used the back of her wand and knocked on the handle and then the door. “They both sound the same, I think they are one. Any ideas on cutting this handle out?”

 

[NotHaruka]

Virra started to get a sense that the visit was coming to an end. She hopped out of her seat and went around to the elf hostess, tugging on her sleeve. "That was a great meal, Pyria. We'll all be back as soon as we get your door fixed, okay? These two know what they're doing," she promised, then flashed her what she hoped was a reassuring smile and headed for the exit, pausing only to grab a rotisserie chicken leg on the way out. In all honesty, she didn't know whether or not Eliza and Tyrius could figure it out, but assuming the best was better than worrying.

 

[DevilishEgg]

Eliza waved goodbye to Pyria and followed the others outside closing the door after her. She tapped the tip of her wand on her small knife coating it in a dark shimmery web that dissipated leaving behind leaving it slightly glowing. She waved her wand next and a crackling, swirling cold fog appeared like a whisper covering the door knob. "I hope this works." she said plunging the knife with shaking hands trying to cut the door knob free. She was able to eventually pry it out with help from the others and plant it in the dirt-filled wooden box.

She stared at the place the portal was when it disappeared feeling anxious and doubting her choices, "I sure hope we didn't make things worse."

 

[WetHawk]

The Knight sighed as he watched Eliza and Tyrius at work, and walked over, pressing a handful of dirt against the leaking doorknob and chilling it magically. He took a step back and watched the others as they finished. “If it worked ‘r not, at least ya tried. Not sure we could do much better, given the circumstances. Anyways, we’ve wasted too much time here. Let’s get a move on.” He turned back to the cart and hopped back in, blissfully ignorant of their missing companion.

 

[Ash-6116]

"See you soon!" Tyrius called as he waved goodbye to Pyria. Looking over the door before they began, it had seemed like one solid block of wood that felt alive. Watching Eliza freeze the doorknob before cutting into the door with her knife, Tyrius hoped they were doing the right thing.

'If we've messed this up, we've either trapped Pyria alone for the rest of her life - or killed her.' the sorcerer thought to himself as Eliza pulled the doorknob out of the door. "Oh, Eliza, it's bleeding." Tyrius said, putting his finger on the part of the door where he could see a small trail of blood starting to pour out. 'Though hopefully it will work out. We stick that door handle into one of our doors in the manor, hope the demiplane transfers over, Pyria gets some new, dependable friends.'

As Eliza placed the doorknob in the chest filled with dirt and started freezing the soil around it to keep it cold, Tyrius had an idea. Rummaging around in his bag, he pulled out a waterskin and laid it over the top of the doorknob. "Try cooling that down as well, might help." suggested the sorcerer. Helping to carry the chest back to the cart, Tyrius glanced around, "Erm, aren't we missing someone? Man covered from head to toe in gold?"

 

[NotHaruka]

Virra watched the whole procedure attentively, growing worried for a moment when the doorknob began to bleed before Tyrius's waterskin and Eliza's magic seemed to get it under control. Her greatest contribution was holding the other end of the chest as Tyrius lugged it back to the cart.

She, too, didn't notice anything amiss until the sorcerer brought it up. Climbing up into the cart, she shielded her eyes from the sun and stared around at the road. "Oh, we are. Huh." She clicked her tongue and let her hand drop. "Maybe he went ahead? Or, I don't know... the will-o'-wisps came back for revenge?" Shrugging, she began to pack the chest in among several heavier boxes until it was good and snug. "He might just have got bored and gone to check out Wyford or something. We'll find him," she said blithely, then hopped up on a pile of empty ration boxes and began to swing her legs. "So, are we ready to get moving? Crash at the Silverbane house and see if Pyria's come with us?"

 

[Ash-6116]

Tyrius smiled, "Sounds like a plan." he said as he climbed up onto the cart and held out his hand to help Eliza up onto it as well. The redhead hoped they'd done the right thing. 'Will just have to wait and see if it works.' Tyrius thought as he settled in for the hours on the cart that were ahead.

 

[Abrahms]

Morning of the 9th day | Wyford on the horizon:

After noting the group had lost the golden armored cleric, there was little left for them to beyond carry on towards Wyford, wishing Tristan well wherever he'd gone. Travel the past few days was rather boring and perhaps trivial -- the only main concerns the dwindling supplies as they got further along, and checking the chest with the doorknob in it to keep it chilled and stable. Those looking at it would note that it seemed to strangely have started growing roots into the soil, small sprouts along some of the edges.

Having made camp overnight, a chill has set in as a storm appears to be blowing in from the ocean to the west, strong winds pushing across the Sinking Plains, promising dreary traveling weather.

However as you're all clearing up breakfast, preparing for the day, sound catches your ears, traveling across the grass and from the nearby trees ... The Knight hears only three mumbles of common, Ander hears one more as does Tyrius, yet Virra, Banrigg, and Eliza hear the readying of crossbows and murmurs of orders from at least five sources ...

 

[WetHawk]

The Knight was relaxing on the ground, glaive resting beneath his legs when he suddenly heard a familiar sound. His eyes narrowed beneath his helmet as he suddenly leaped to his feet, more spry than one would expect for a man of his age. "Bandits!" He closed his fist as a layering of salt crusted around him, but felt a sudden impact as a crossbow bolt slammed into him chipping away at the armor, followed by another in rapid succession that drew blood. Even in the heat of battle, Ander could make out a high pitched whimper of pain clearly not fitting of the man behind the mask... almost sounding like that of a young woman?

Recovering as best he could from the the shock, the Knight attempted to bring his glaive about at their leader, and called out. "Ya don't know who ta devil yer messin' with! Leave now, and we'll let ya live!" The Knight avoided the majority of the rest of the bolts fired his way, and instinctively took a hand off his glaive to block a third that came streaking towards his head, a barrier of salt spreading out from the gauntlet and deflecting the blow. Angered now, the Knight swung twice more at the leader, calling out. "Best be prayin' ta yer gods fer mercy, since we've got little left ta spare now." His second strike knocked the leader's head clean off its shoulders, and as he rushed to the aid of his dwarven ally, the rest of the party finished the bandits off. Dropping his glaive to the ground and shattering it into salt dust, the Knight looked around at his companions. "Are y'all alright? I've got a potion 'a healin' if someone needs it."

 

[Ash-6116]

Hearing mumblings of common coming from ahead, Tyrius impulsively cast Expeditious Retreat on himself. Feeling a crossbow bolt fly at him Tyrius felt his spell fizzle out before it had really started. Deciding to retaliate in the biggest way possible he fired off his most powerful spell at a cluster of the attackers. Arcs of lightning came down upon a small group of them seeming to come from nowhere. As he did so, he felt something burst free within him, a sudden overwhelming heat as he seemed to stretch upwards, finally stopping with his head level with some of the trees nearby.

'Oh my gods, this is incredible.' Tyrius thought to himself as he saw with some satisfaction that a few of the bandits were now dead. Looking around, from his increased vantage point he saw a group of them standing behind some trees. 'Well, might as well stick with what works.' he thought as he fired off another spell towards the group of bandits stood in the trees, bringing more lightning down upon them. Concentrating for a second, he felt like he could cast another spell almost as if he'd only cast two and not three. Once he was ready to cast again, there was just one lone bandit left, quaking a little at the sight of a ten foot tall man staring at him. Tyrius had little sympathy. 'Should have chosen a better profession than highway robbery.' Tyrius thought as he fired the spell, a burst of thunder coming right down on top of the bandit and frying them.

With the fighting done, Tyrius made himself useful, feeling as if the giant form would drop any moment by quickly gathering up all the bodies he could carry and placing them at Eliza's feet, figuring they'd be easier to scavenge from that way. As he returned to normal size, he rummaged in some of the pockets, carefully putting things to the side as he did so. A few gems and a small symbol that looked vaguely similar to Ander's. "Ander, any idea what this is of?" Tyrius asked, holding the symbol up.