Fantasy The Guildstone Chronicles ((Questing Thread))

[SilverFeathers]

Nanalee Imphon

Nanalee nodded at Ymir's warnings, taking one last glance at the map as it disappeared, before sending her spirits back to their home realm with a wave of her hand. Their bright, glowing eyes, oozing concern and worry, faded away in an instant, before their watery bodies dissolved into the rest of the sea. Cautiously avoiding the abomination's feelers from above, Nanalee carefully continued peeking at Eiru.

The second mana pulse twisted her insides crudely once more, but what startled her most was the sudden eye contact with Eiru, her eyes crystal clear despite the vast expanse of bloody sea water between them. Transfixed, Nanalee instantly started shaking violently. The phantom pain of being sliced apart, limb from limb, with exaggerated and heightened senses wrecked her psychologically. It was nigh unbearable, and at this point, she felt she should've become numb, but she continued to very clearly feel the unending pain from every limb. Taking a few gasping breaths, having unconsciously coiled all her limbs around herself protectively, she slowly recovered her mental whilst watching Eiru greet the undead pirate lord.

Nanalee was usually quite strong mentally, rarely feeling much fear or folding under pressure, hence trembling from terror as she was now made her quite lost on what to do. How to deal with fear, how to calm down, her concerns felt foreign and difficult to deal with. Fortunately she was not in the most dangerous situation just yet, just watching the standoff before her, so she could take some time to breathe.

Abruptly, something tapped one of her tendrils and pulled at her lightly, causing her to jolt. Turning around stiffly, she realized the abomination from above had extended their limbs far enough to reach her, though she still couldn't see the main body of the creature. For some reason, whatever abomination lay above seemed more curious and playful than aggressive, as it poked and pulled at her lightly. Though having loads of tendril-like limbs was fun and all, it made it easy for the thing to grab onto her, even when she tried to get away out of caution. Oddly enough, Nanalee was now stuck in a playfight-looking situation with the abomination above whilst trying to pay attention to the duel far in the distance.

 

[Uasal]

Eiru vs Wyck

Tilting her head up toward the distant rays of light Eiru let the magic in her free hand fade, moving it instead to her forehead. As Wyck launched at the witch she began to cackle loudly, finding the entire situation to be quite amusing. Her scowl turned to a twisted grin that could rival Wyck's own, laughter echoing throughout the cavern-filled seabed "A world of freedom, carnage and bloodshed! Hahaha! You foolish Mortal! Do you not understand that such a world is already at play!? Your foolishness knows no bounds, your shortsightedness will be your demise as it has been for your pathetic race throughout history! Now..." Bringing her spear up above her head Eiru swung it with incredible force, sending a shockwave forward with incredible speed, creating a travelling vacuum within the water. "Dance for me, struggle and beg! I will demonstrate the difference in power between a lower race such as your own and mine! The top! How Comical!"

Wyck immediately stopped his charge, barely dodging the shockwave Eiru send his way by pushing himself off the sea floor. Small embers of decay dancing around the outlines of the footprints he left behind. "Shut yer trap already." Wyck growled, landing heavily next to a rock formation. "You ever meet a mortal that didn't die when they had their heart ripped out?" He quickly swung his fist into the pointed end of one of the rocks next to him, breaking it off completely. "Let's see what happens when I rip your heart out, shall we? We'll see which one of us is the lesser being after that!" He barked, hurling the rock towards Eiru's heart.

Eiru's eyes sharpened on the man as he retaliated in a most foolish way, twirling her spear to deflect the rock with the bottom end Eiru peered down at the man, her hand returning to her side. "You mistake the curse of perpetual rotting to that of the blessing immortality. Make no mistake mortal, you have died. Your life is over. You feel no pain, no warmth, no cold, yet forever more you will be subjected to the ever-growing rage and loathing that festers within you... forevermore until of course the rotting of your body catches up with you and you fade again into nothingness... how pitiful."

Raising her spear again Eiru let another pulse of mana escape it and as it clashed with the armour Wyck was already struggling to maintain, she launched her attack. Closing the distance with a strong kick, Eiiru propelled herself forward and brought her spear down with a crash, as if a bat or a hammer, kicking up a storm of debris that clouded both herself and Wyck from sight.

Wyck laughed. "If this is what being dead is like I'd gladly die again and again. You seem to have gotten things mixed up, my life didn't end when I became like this, it started." He said with a maniacal grin. "You're very full of yourself, calling yourself a higher being and all. You're just a little girl with a little more strength and magic than normal. Even that stupid brat Cynric has more magic than you."

He readied himself for another charge when the pulse of mana clashed with and overpowered parts of his armor, the flames of decay around his right arm and leg fizzling out of existence. He took a clumsy step back right when Eiru closed the distance between them. Firmly planting his right leg on the sea floor and stepping forward under the swing of the spear before ever so slightly sluggishly raising his right arm and ramming his elbow into the side of the spear. The loud crack of bone echoed across the sea floor as the spear was knocked off course and sailed past Wyck's body. Wyck suppressed a pained scream, shifting his weight to his left leg and swinging a fist diagonally up at Eiru's stomach.

Taking a heavy blow to the stomach Eiru gripped her spear tight before launching herself backwards with it, creating some distance between herself and the undead fiend that had dealt the blow. Indeed for a few seconds, Eiru even seemed to have taken the punch like a champ but that facade soon faded when she was forced to take a knee, moving a hand to her mouth as she began into a fit of coughing. Pulling herself back to her feet Eiru was clearly out of breath and very much pissed off at having been dealt such a blow. "I...Am... I am going to erase your very existence! Ready yourself!"​

 

[Sylph]

Ymir
Location: Sea Floor
Mentions: RatKing Key of Stars BakaTheIdiot SilverFeathers Uasal ​

"She'll be looking for signs of magic in the area-" Ymir had hoped to use the nearby bones as a shelter, but no sooner had her words ended than a nauseating force washed over them. Ymir covered her mouth, hunching over with the sudden desire for the side of a ship to hang on to.

The feeling worsened as she shut her eyes. A distant gaze turned upon them and she felt—rather than saw—it sweep over with all the subtlety of a rain of pins and needles, casting
its veil of death on those with the strength remaining not to bow their heads. For the briefest of unthinkable moments Ymir did away with her second sight, surrendering herself to the darkness she associated with safety, and a quiet doubt surfaced to whisper if this was how it felt to be observed by something unknowable.

We should have gone further, she lamented, hunched over with eyes squeezed shut. Staying too close to the edge had not been the right call. They should have gotten as far as they could like Ruvo and Olivia said- if we survive this I'm never taking on another Fae-related mission again.

The oppressive weight lifted from them as Eiru's gaze moved elsewhere, though any relief was crushed by the echo of her malice-stained voice. For a stricken heartbeat Ymir feared it meant the worst would come—that she was ready to attack them—but as her second sight illuminated the coral shelves once more, she realised it wasn't them being addressed. "It seems a single death is not enough for some. You dare to trespass in these blessed waters?"

Who in the forsaken dawns is that? Ymir narrowed her eyes as she tried to make out the blurry figure at a distance. They had to have descended from the surface or been out of her range prior to... whatever malicious entity had cast eyes upon them. There was no way they'd been hiding from her sight—unless... disguised as a fish?

But that didn't justify the second infestation of magic they amassed. She didn't have to be attuned to energy to know this one tasted of oil and rot—so malignant in nature was its presence. The edges of her fins wavered nervously as she turned to see where Leo was. He was further than she anticipated, though in looking she noticed Ruvo close by, reaching out to tap his shoulder—

In hindsight that may not have been the best idea. Ruvo startled, the subtle tremor in his feathers becoming more pronounced as he regained his senses and Ymir was at a sudden loss for how to help, glancing to Leo again before recalling that this was his speciality.

"Um, you're ok," she assured, at least wanting to encourage him that her next action wasn't complete abandonment. "Just wait here a moment-"

She crossed the distance to where Leo was in record time—by her own standards—paying less attention to where his mother was as she grabbed his arm. "Over here," she said, already pulling him across to Ruvo. It hardly seemed necessary to explain what it was about—Ruvo was in such a state that even she noticed—and Leo had always been so much better at these things.

She glanced around for the others as she waited for Leo to come up with a verse, unable to see Nanalee but spotting Ashitaka next. She was hardly about to make the same mistake and so as she swam over to the swordsman she stopped at a safe distance, calling his name in a whisper. "Did you see where Nanalee went-?" she half-yelled next, still aware of the fight raging within an uncomfortably close range from them. The strikes sent up plumes of sand and debris as interspersed shouting echoed across the sea floor. The shock waves continued to shake their surroundings into even more of a mess—the edges of rocks beginning to crumble, seemingly without cause.

The last member of their group, of course, was half-obscured from sight in half a dozen tentacles, which explained why Ymir hadn't been able to locate them with either sight. She nearly screeched as she spotted abomination Nanalee was struggling with, abandoning caution to shove Ashitaka at the problem. "G-go help her, quick! I'll get Leo and Ruvo right away-"

She spun around to rush back to the other two, intending to tell them of the emergency in the hopes they weren't too late to save the final member of their team.

 

[Key of Stars]

Leonidas Hood
Location: Sea Floor
Mentions: RatKing Sylph Uasal SilverFeathers
​

Leonidas found himself staring at the rough surface of a rock, for once finding himself at a complete lack of ideas. Should they have left Eiru behind, should they have just left? He shook his head, smacking himself across the cheek softly, no, he wouldn't leave his friend behind. "Over here," He jolted when Ymir grabbed his arm before nodding, simply letting Ymir drag him quietly over to where Ruvo was. "Right, right, uh, just give me a moment."

He found himself glancing past Ruvo at the two figures in the distance, the soothing verse he had thought of disappearing as quickly as it had came. He let out a hollow somewhat meaningless chuckle. It really was him, one of the few people he had hoped to never come across, Wyck Allister, the lord of the dead. "We're dead." He whispered. Wyck Allister was within eyesight, fighting whatever being had taken over Eiru's mind and body, a single attack from either of the two beings would reduce any of them to dust, not a chance of survival. "We're so dead." He said a little louder, falling to the floor slowly with another hollow chuckle, barely managing to shoot Ruvo an apologetic look. "Sorry, I don't think I can say another word without throwing up."

He stared at the rough floor of the ocean, watching the small pebbles dance around in rhythm with the strikes Eiru and Wyck exchanged. He tried to push himself up from the ground but the shaking of his arms sent him straight back down to the ground. He silently cursed, punching the ground. He had to get up, he had things to do, people to help, he was supposed to be the hopeless optimist, yet here he was, shaking on the ground, unable to even get up.

He slowly raised his head when he felt a soft hand on his shoulder, staring straight into the gentle blue eyes of his mother, not a trace of worry present in them. "Pull yourself together, they need you." He shakily nodded. "I know, but..." Olivia interrupted by pulling him close. "Hush now child you don't have to fight, I'm right here with you, you'll be alright." She quietly sang, hugging him tightly.

Leonidas could slowly feel himself stop shaking. Removing himself from his mother's embrace with renewed confidence. "Thanks, I needed that." Olivia smiled. "Got it back together?" He chuckled, this time sincerely, before nodding. "Right, dying? I have things to do, I can't die just yet." He declared, noticing the struggle going on towards the back of the cave. "Mom, go help out there! I have things handled here!" He said, earning him a look from Olivia. "You barely have things back together and now you think you can order me around?" She asked with an amused grin, swimming over to Ymir without waiting for an answer. "At your service."

"Right." Leonidas said, pushing himself back upright. "Sorry about that Ruvo." He put his arm to his chest. "It's high time I recite something nice."

"Here we are, stuck amongst the rubble. I know right now it seems that we're in trouble. And yes it's true, out there, it stinks and smells of death. But I want you to calm down and take a long deep breath. I believe that we won't have to fight, I don't believe in any god but surely just this once they'll listen to our plight. Now, I hope this stopped the shaking of your figurative knees, I hope it gave you peace of mind and put you back at ease."

 

[RatKing]

Ruvo Steelfeathers
Location: Sea Floor
Mentions: Sylph Key of Stars
​

There was an unexpected tap on his shoulder startling him enough to turn his focus away from Eiru and see what had gotten behind him to find that it was Ymir simply checking in on the bard. "Um, you're ok," she said trying to reassure him and ease his worrying but he couldn't easily shake the terror he felt. "Just wait here a moment-" the cartographer swam off toward Leo. While he waited Ruvo gripped his lute tight and held it close to his chest. The waterlogged instrument brought him a small semblance of comfort to ease his trembling body. The other's might have been right...perhaps they all should of delved down to get the spear together or swam away when they had the chance. "Over here," Ymir was dragging Leo along who seemed to be focusing on the brutal fight the distance beyond him.

"We're so dead." That statement was so matter of fact that in his current state of terror and despair it intensified Ruvo's trembling and brought tears to his eyes. "Sorry, I don't think I can say another word without throwing up." How did things get so bad so quickly? He didn't want to die here deep under water but it didn't seem like there was any hope left for them. However, it seemed one thought otherwise as Leo's mother swam up to give her son a pep talk.

"Right. Sorry about that Ruvo. It's high time I recite something nice." The poet pulled themselves up off the ground seemingly with newfound courage and a role to fill here in their time of need.

"Here we are, stuck amongst the rubble. I know right now it seems that we're in trouble. And yes it's true, out there, it stinks and smells of death. But I want you to calm down and take a long deep breath. I believe that we won't have to fight, I don't believe in any god but surely just this once they'll listen to our plight. Now, I hope this stopped the shaking of your figurative knees, I hope it gave you peace of mind and put you back at ease."

Ruvo closed his eyes and focused on the magically interweaved verses letting the poetry wash over him. The words soon eased his trembling and fear and stopped his tears. "Thank...thank you Leo" he said with as much gratitude as he could. With a sigh he continued "We have to do something...anything. Do you think we can put the winner of the fight between those two to sleep if we combine our magic like how we did against the sea serpent?" he said gesturing to the ongoing fight between the witch and pirate lord. "Maybe they will be weakened or tired enough after fighting that we can pull it off" he said trying to think of anything they could try to survive.

​

 

[Key of Stars]

Eiru vs Wyck
​

Wyck grinned maniacally, slowly walking up to Eiru, disintegrating all the imperfections in the seafloor below his feet as he approached. "Now that's more like it, keep bowing like that and I might just make your death somewhat painless." He laughed as she shakily stood back up. "I'd like to see you try, struggle in vain all you like." He provoked Eiru, spreading his arms like he was about to let her land a hit for free only to swiftly raise his leg and bring the back of his foot down at her face hard. "For now, how about you go back to grovelling?"

Forced to the seabed Eiru was in quite the pinch, with her head pinned beneath Wycks foot she had very little room to swing about her spear with any accuracy let alone threat. Even so, the small Fae wriggled violently, kicking up sand in her wake as she tried to free herself. "Grovel? You impudent fool! I'll make you eat those words!"

Wyck laughed, a hint of actual amusement present in the otherwise rather cold sound. "Make me eat my words? Don't make me laugh. How about you eat some more sand?" He taunted, grinding his foot against her head with increasing force.

"Well," He said after a moment. "I think it's high time we end this." He stepped back, raising a hand in the process. The flames of decay that made up the lord's armor receded before flaring up again in just his right hand. "Good riddance, you annoying wench." He spat out before launching a punch at her heart.

As Eiru lay underfoot and at the mercy of the pirate lord her mind was invaded by the memories of another. Visions of war filled her mind, death, slaughter, and vicious combat the likes of which she had only read about in ancient texts came to life so vividly in her mind. Indeed it was as though she herself were there watching as man and fae clashed in a death spiral of blood and tears. And as she stood alone atop a hill watching all this unfold a sudden power flowed into her very being, her spear and eyes coming a light.

As Wyck brought his fist down to strike the fae she all but vanished in a flash of red, appearing some five feet behind the man with her back to him she spun the spear around in her hand before gently resting its base against the seabed. For a few seconds, it seemed as though all she had done was escape his grasp but as the man turned to face her once again he would come to find himself suddenly cut in countless places, had he not been an undead he very well would have perished for every vital he had was cut with precision and finesse.

"Fae Spear Art - Number Seven - Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy".

Turning to look at the man once again Eiru's grin from before had vanished and her expression was steeled and serious. With her spear raised toward the man once again, Eiru readied herself for combat. Though this time when the spear pulsed, instead of doing so outwardly it entered Eiru herself and her mana began to flair. "Fae Spear Art - Number Three - Charlotte" Disappearing again she struck the pirate lord again, and again and one final time before coming to a halt. This time though the effects were far more obvious, indeed both his left arm and right leg had been all but severed with his chest now sporting a gruesome hole through which all could be seen.

Readying her spear with both hands this time around, Eiru's cold gaze landed on the man once more and in a serious yet far more quiet tone she spoke once more, her body tensing "I've lost interest in this fight, it's no longer all that fun. Ready yourself, I'll grant you the gift of feeling pain one final time before casting you into oblivion"

Wyck breathed heavily, clutching his severely wounded left arm with his far less injured right. "Shit, you little..." He winced in pain, any normal person would have already succumbed to the wounds the fae had dealt him, his undead physique meant that Wyck would be fine but that didn't mean he didn't feel the pain of the wounds.

He stared back into the fae's eyes. "I should have killed you when I had the chance." He managed to say between deep pained breaths. He clumsily pulled out the blue ring, struggling to not drop it with his left hand. "Still, I'm taking that weapon with me." He spat out, grinning widely as he pulled the ring around his right ring finger. "Die!"

A familiar pain washed over Wyck, he'd felt this exact pain a million times and yet it never got better, clouding his thoughts and pushing all rationality to the side, only pain and blood-lust left inside of the lord's head.

The lord let out a roar that sounded more like that of a beast than a human as he launched himself at Eiru with renewed speed and strength.

With Wyck on the offensive once again Eiru returned to her attention to a more defensive approach, with Wyck suddenly growing in both power and speed the Fae had very little room for error on her end. Though that being said she had caused him quite a lot of damage, which had she not likely would have seen her face an even faster and more nimble Pirate Lord. When Wyck lunged in close Eiru twirled to the side and in the same movement brought the side of her spear down hard on Wyck as he flew past, twirling it back around her head as she did so, almost as if dancing with her spear as a partner. With Wyck now past her she slid her spear down in her grip and released one hand from its shaft, throwing it then outward toward the man open-palmed "Donate".

In an instant, a large sum of mana was transmitted to the very ring the man had just equipped, filling it with more mana and bolstering it's effects on the man. Clearly an enchanted Item Eiru had decided to see just how much the item could take and if it, the bearer or herself would brake first. "Donate"

Just narrowly avoiding yet another wild lunge with another dance-like movement Eiru cast the spell again "Donate!" Her spear pulsing its own mana within the fae yet again as she did so.

With every word and spell the Fae cast a new wave of pain unlike anything he had felt before washed over Wyck, pushing the lord further and further into madness. Though with every wave of pain a new wave of strength also surged through the lord's body, pushing his body to the absolute limit. The excruciating pain left the lord unable to think even a single rational thought, he instinctively had a wicked grin on his face as he launched a barrage of punches with more power than ever before.

The lord jumped back, obliterating the ground beneath where he landed. He let out another beastly roar before launching himself at Eiru again, instinctively putting all his remaining strength into the blow.

As the lord succumbed to his primal rage more and more with each passing second so too did his actions become more and more unpolished. His primal attacks were hard to read at times but ultimately lacked the precision or thought to land any significant blow on the focused and agile fae. That being said when the lord jumped back and readied what seemed to be his final blow and push for victory Eiru too prepared her own.

Bringing the spear down low in both her hands the Fae's eyes sharpened and focused on the lord's fist alone, and in the very same second she launched himself forward so too did she. Hurtling toward the man with her body low to the ground Eiru came up suddenly and brought her spearhead down from a height against the undead's fist. Striking down from above she had both her own force and the downward gravity of the heavy ocean waters working with her and as the spear point and fist came into contact a shockwave would send all else flying violently for miles. A loud bang echoed far beyond just the depths of the ocean, piercing the veil and reaching the skies above along with a sizeable splash.

Mana arced to the environment around the two, both from the spear and ring respectively, tearing up the seabed in close proximity. Indeed it had been quite the clash but in the end Eiru was the one left standing, Wyck being sent flying back and deep into the side of a sea cliff. His entry collapsed the hole he himself had made behind and atop him. A burial at sea for an undead pirate lord. How fitting.

Standing on the sea floor Eiru let out a deep sigh and twirled the spear in her hand once more "Fae Spear Art - Number One - Little Stinger". Bringing the spear back down on its end Eiru stretched out her free hand and shoulder before turning to face what she knew all too well was approaching from behind. "Now. I suppose you've come to play too then. Though unfortunately for you I'm truly all done with playing around."

Towering above her some few meters away swam the sea serpent guardian, having been stirred from it's slumber by the clash. The ancient beast dwarfed the fae and it's battle-scarred body let all know just how deadly it truly was. A true ship eater, if ever there was. It's maw could split a battle class ship clean in two without any hassle and any civilian ship would be swallowed whole. Though the fae stood steadfast against it. Taking but a few steps back to better lock eyes with the beast.

"I'll end this quickly. My sisters are waiting for me, I don hope you don't mind". Raising the spear into a throwable position the fae tensed her arm tight and aimed with her free hand. When she seemed to have found what it was she intended to aim for the spear began to hum in response. "Gae Bulg, Heed my call". Gripping the spear tighter barbs began to piece the fae's hand and once her blood had been drawn and the spear had come in contact with it, the entire sea bed lit up in a dark crimson hue.

Seeing this the sea serpent immediately began to flee, as if instinctually knowing what was about to come next. The apex of this entire area had just become the hunted and it could feel death brushing up against it for a deep embrace. Though it was already over, Eiru had called the spears name allowed and fed it her blood. She had acquired her target and now all that was left to do was throw her spear and that she did. Like a bolt of lightning, the spear left her hand and no sooner had it did it hit it's mark. Piercing the huge beast's chest the spear found it's way to the heart and from there the beast was pierced by a thousand barbs that spread through its entire body, killing it instantly. Eiru had just defeated both the pirate lord and the spear's guardian. Nothing stood in her way now, if she wanted to she could easily slaughter her guildmates but just as her gaze returned to them, she passed out. With the spear out of her possession, she had been fully drained of her mana and indeed the spear itself lay snared in the slowly rising corpse of the sea serpent. The twisted aura quickly faded from the area and returned the sea life to their normal habits soon after.

 

[RatKing]

Ruvo Steelfeather
Location: Sea Floor
​

The battle that unfolded in the distance was extremely intense, at least from the glimpses of the fight he could see in-between the plumes of sand and dust that were constantly being kicked up. Back and forth attacks possessing such ferocity and speed that even if the view wasn't obscured Ruvo wasn't sure if it would make much of difference when it came to keeping up with the action. Perhaps he was wrong to even be hopeful enough that they could swoop in after a victor was decided and try to pool their efforts into one last ditch effort to still complete the mission. It was just too dangerous to try to salvage this instead it was probably best to focus on retreating. Speaking of... he turned around taking in his immediate surroundings and what had transpired during the time he was frozen by overwhelming fear. Things were rough here as well with the refuge they had found looking worse for wear, the area still cloudy with blood from the fish that were still attacking each other, and most alarmingly of all was that it seemed Ashitaka was in pursuit of some creature that had Nanalee in its grip while Ymir rushed back to Leo and himself for assistance.

As he swam swam over to help, the bard was abruptly hit hard by a shockwave and sent hurtling back away from the direction of the final exchange of blows between the fae and pirate lord. Still reeling from the hit and its deafeningly loud shockwave, Ruvo dazed and confused attempted to stop his forward movement using his air affinity only to realize his affinity much like the others too had changed to control water. Unfortunately it possessed the same strength the original did which is to say not much meaning it took longer for him to slow down than he would of liked. When he eventually stopped he looked back to the site of the battle only to see the monolithic silhouette of a serpentine creature in the distance. It could only be the guardian, awake and angry that someone had retrieved the relic it was tasked to protect. Except...something was wrong, very wrong, the silhouette was getting smaller as if it was leaving. Could it be running away? Suddenly it stopped and begin floating upwards and a chill went down his spine as that terrible gaze returned to their direction. If he didn't have Leo's magical poetry dampening his fear Ruvo was certain he would succumbed to it's terror once more. But just as soon as it started the gaze stopped and the feeling of the twisted and wrong mana permeating the area soon subsided. It seemed that the nightmare was over and now all that remained was to regroup and get out while things were safe. Calling out to the others he hoped they were also fine and that they could be done with this expedition.

 

[SilverFeathers]

Nanalee's eyes remained unblinking and wide, shielded by colourful blood-stained coral, curious tendrils and underwater stone as she watched the distant battle. Though at first she might've cared about the eldritch abomination lurking above her, before long she was far too invested in the earth-shattering duel between Eiru and that man. She... had no clue what to hope for, or what to do. It was like watching two gods fighting, the outcome of it shook your entire world, and yet you felt like you could do absolutely nothing to affect it. The aftereffects of Eiru's eyes still shook her soul too, leaving her legs weak and her mind erratic as she held onto her new friend for support.

Watching Eiru take a hit to her stomach, then being trampled beneath the heel of that man, left a simmering rage within Nanalee. Though she liked to keep herself distant at heart, Nanalee couldn't help but admit that she felt a sense of kinship and belonging being with everyone on that ship. Eiru may have unimaginable powers, and an unreachable identity too, but she was their silly and slightly arrogant adventuring companion. Perhaps it was for the best that she was stopped, but it still left sour and unreasonable feelings in her heart to see her being trampled like this. If they got out of here alive, she swore to get her revenge on that man one day, to at least avenge a once companion.

Suddenly, partially clouded by bloody waters and frenzied sealife, the tides turned in that battle. Eiru somehow recovered from what Nanalee saw as sure death, and fought with renewed vigor, wielding her cursed spear with an untraceable speed. Simultaneously relieved and disappointed, still hesitant on what outcome she wanted in the end, she watched the pair distance themselves for a final blow and quickly ducked beneath the cavern walls in preparation for the clash. Though her main body was shielded by stone, her tendrils were not, as they flung her backwards regardless of her quick-wit. Fortunately, her strange, unintentional, abomination of a friend was still there, as they cushioned the collision a bit behind her with their own tendrils. She still had no idea what the monster was doing, maybe they thought she was one of their kind, who knows, but she was grateful and patted them back to show her gratitude and apology.

Turning back to the sorry-state of a battlefield, the man was nowhere to be seen, and Eiru looked as if she was readying herself for round 2 with the now-awakened sea guardian... though it wasn't much of a fight at all. Within moments, the victor was decided, and Eiru collapsed in the ruins of the temple below.

"Is it over?"

Nanalee muttered in disbelief, carefully pushing away her friend and examining the scene, before slowly finding the courage to swim on over. Her swimming was the most tentative and cautious it had been all day, yet it was quick, using her tendrils to pull Eiru into her arms before heading over to the corpse of the sea beast. She solemnly eyed the end of the spear, poking out of the guardian's corpse like a glimmering jewel. They came here to retrieve this thing. Surely, it would be a waste of all their efforts so far, especially Eiru's, to not bring it back. But, Nanalee was not stupid enough to touch it with her bare hands, especially after what just took place. Scowling at the fact that she couldn't freeze the spear and carry it away with her, she solved the issue by wrapping it in her water magic, carefully pulling it out and keeping it by her side using currents of water as she returned to the group.

"...Do we still need to go to the Sacred Isles?"

She couldn't help but ask with fatigue, wondering if they still had the heart to go on after all that had happened today.

 

[Sylph]

Ymir
Location: Sea Floor​

Ymir was still recovering, her back against one of the rock walls she tried to process all that had happened. She'd watched the battle with eyes wide shut, continuing to monitor the surroundings as Nanalee returned with an unconscious Eiru.

"...Do we still need to go to the Sacred Isles?" the harpy said, met with silence as the group considered whether they had the will to press on--whether it was wise to do so at all. The original expedition objective was a far away memory. Ymir doubted if she could recall it at all.

"...No," she said eventually, taking her hands away from her red-ringed eyes to look at Eiru proper. The Fae was almost unrecognisable, yet there was little doubt it was her. Whatever remained of Odyssey's blessing was allowing the Fae to breath at least, but the state she was in wasn't far off death. "We're heading back." She would apologise to Leo later about not getting to clear his name. For now, she just wanted everyone out of there alive.

---

The state of the skies above the water was no better than the frenzied depths. The group would surface to find clouds rippling with thunder and waves that stretched as high as a ship's mast. It was safer to travel through the bloodstained trenches of the sea floor as they made their way back to the Salvager. Any form of life gave them a wide berth as soon as they sensed what the group carried with them, except for the already undead.

Fortunately or unfortunately, the growing storm had marooned the Salvager overnight in the shelter of the cove, ensuring a sleepless night for the crew as they struggled to fend off undead remnants of the Final Tomb. Somewhere along the line the guild members found Odyssey's blessing would dispel if they were able to remove themselves from the water completely, but it was only in the dark hours of the morning that urgency forced the crew's hand in leaving the cove, sending them into the mountainous waves of the open sea. Forcing the vessel to crash over towering peaks, only to fall into valleys of water beyond.

In a storm of such magnitude, the open seas were almost as perilous as the undead Lord they left behind. Between the splintering crack of the boat and peals of lightning through the sky, they may well face the same fate. Midway through the mast was struck. Water began to coalesce in the lower holds from the strain of the storm, but the Salvager lasted them long enough to reach the Base Camp of the isles. Those in the crew with a water affinity were still draining the holds even as they docked.

The Salvager was in no condition to sail after that, its crew forced to stay behind to wait for repairs. The chaotic influence of the Gae Bulg couldn't be allowed to linger, however, and soon after the camp guards were made aware of it, a red-haired General offered the group a place aboard their galleon.

No sea monster accosted them on the stretch between Base Camp and Mercantis, but the violent weather refused to cease. It wrapped the isles in a tempest that would for last days after their departure, but the group wouldn't be there for the peace that followed.

A heavier ship meant the final stretch of the journey wasn't nearly so heart-stopping. The reinforced prow withstood the brunt of the weather with less tossing and heaving. And so it was that after the long and arduous journey, the battered crew stepped ashore, once again within the the border of the waystone and able to use its magic. Farewells and thanks were made, but they wasted no time in teleporting back to the doors of the guild hall. An unconscious, and much heavier, Eiru rested on Ymir's back, while the Gae Bulg had been wrapped in a magic-resistant fishing net for Leo to drag along.

~FIN~​

REWARDS:
Eiru ( Uasal )
+ 100 points
+ 50 Magic
- 50 Fortitude
+ Race Ability: Fae Wings
+ Rank: Gold II [ See Azalea for reward. ]

Ruvo ( RatKing )
+ 100 points
+ Skill: Siren's Sound [ Ruvo's instruments can now take on an enchanting quality, similar to a siren's voice. ]
+ Rank: Iron I [ See Azalea for reward. ]

Leo ( Key of Stars )
+ 100 points
+ Skill: Siren's Song [ Leo's singing can now take on an enchanting quality, similar to a siren's voice. ]
+ Rank: Iron III [ See Azalea for reward. ]

Nanalee ( SilverFeathers )
+ 100 pts
+ Spirit Companion [ It seems Ael and Bal made a friend along the journey. This new spirit has a special affinity to water. ]
+ Rank: Iron II [ See Azalea for reward. ]

Ymir
+ 100 pts
+ Water Sight [ Ymir can begin to sense how light interacts with water as well air. ]
+ Rank: Silver II [ See Azalea for reward. ]

Ashitaka - Retired ( BakaTheIdiot )
+ 100 pts
+ Rank: Iron I