Fantasy Well of Wishes | Main IC | [Closed]

[Lost Echo]

Nezumi, Bonded Rat
Catacombs, Leone's shoulder
April 20th, afternoon
Jet (Leone) Taigakitt (Yo, Stone, and Hubyr) The Regal Rper (Vaaltari) Sarahspn (Luna) BriiAngelic (Sigurd and Skaldi)
​

Nezumi keened. Kuma was in trouble. Kuma was gone. She knew she could not have died, for she would have herself, but it felt like she had. Nezumi burrowed into the warmth of her ride. She knew she had to function. Had to flee. But for moments that lasted for an eternity, she grieved the loss.

It took effort to focus. Why? The darkness. The darkness had formed into a...person. Nezumi did not know all the horrors, for her kin was smart enough to avoid it. But it seemed all-encompassing. Had she been...no, Kuma had not been defaced. Or at least not yet. Nezumi keened again, pained at the possibility.

 

[Jet]

​

Ayana was dazed and confused, leaning against the dome as blood poured from her wounded forehead. Her head pounded with nauseating pain as she compressed the seeping gash, feeling red warmth drench her hand and cascade down her face. This was bad. Her mind was sputtering and memories were impossible to put together, she barely knew what was happening and everything was blurred, but there was one exception to the rule — the moment when a descending stone slammed her forehead. Ayana remembered that more than her own name, cursing "Imme ana auca!"

Then she whispered "My head hurts" and breathed deep, closing her pained eyes. Her expression contorted into a grimace before eventually relaxing, forcing a meager smile when she beamed "But I will... I will be okay!"

Her words weren't convincing but she had a plan, freezing the blood around her wound to make a frozen "bandage" that stopped the bleeding. The cold also numbed her pain, but her wooziness persisted, ruining her balance when she stepped from the wall and stumbled.

"I haven't been drinking I swear!" She promised, leaning back against the dome before sliding down and sitting with a thump. Then she looked between the others, stomach churning when she realized the rest of the group was missing. Ayana hoped they were doing well. If they were hurt because of a collapse she was responsible for... well there weren't words to describe that pain, but she knew they were strong and trusted them to survive, focusing on the people around her instead.

Her gaze moved to Obsidian first, meeting eyes with the geomancer. "Without you we'd be tenderized meat for the monster, many thanks!" Her appreciation echoed around the dome as she looked to Lorrin, brushing away bloody hair when she wondered "We might've been too hasty with our approach, I'm surprised we're all breathing."

Ayana took another breath when she was done, before standing on hesitant legs. Her head was hurting but her balance was almost normal, barely wavering when she bounced on her toes. "The vibrations have stopped, we should reunite with the others in case the creepy clown returns."

She seemed confident but her wound was screaming again, sending pangs through her head. Her body seemed slow and heavy too, draining away her confidence — but that was unimportant for now. Ayana needed to buckle down and escape the nightmarish caverns, then she would find a way to save her kidnapped friends.

(OOC Note)
The elven phrase means "I'm too reckless"

—
​

Calicus trembled when the ground shook below his feet, profusely sweating when impacts reverberated through the tunnel. He was sure the whole place would collapse any second, ending his story here and now. What a depressing death. He hoped to god that nothing of the sort happened, mumbling prayers as the final few stones landed outside.

"Thankyou for the wall young misses" he breathed, brushing perspiration from his brow. His narrow eyes were fear-weary and exasperated, closing for a second as he shuffled towards the exit and went "Despite my endemic cowardice, we must check on the others. I shudder to think what might've happened to them." He sounded grim and hopeless, imagining three dead adventurers on the ground outside.

Lost Echo
Taigakitt
Sarahspn
Anne Boolean
Pik

 

[Jet]

​

It was surprising how much Kadar hated mixbloods, so subtle was his racism. Many viewed him as the progressive type, always extending olive branches to members of other races. But the shocking truth was much worse. He was xenophobic to a small extent, but even with that fatal flaw, he shuddered when the doctor lost his hand. He imagined himself where Pozou stood, extending and losing his own hand instead, and how tragic that would've been — good thing the mixblood won instead.

"That is tough" Kadar monotoned, watching the doctor careen back, collapsing as people espoused histrionics. Then the other mixblood ran away and... well her dust cloud was annoying but her decision was smart. Kadar considered escaping too, but safety in numbers was a better bet without his magic.

The dramatics were wearing thin though, and good god these people loved dramatics, losing their minds over a damned hand. Kadar was much more reasonable, muttering "People lose hands every day, you'll be alright."

Kadar smirked and crossed his arms, stepping back and standing near the wall while looking over the monstrous guard. He wondered how the creature resisted impacts without taking damage, and questioned what he could do without magic and bladed weapons. What a conundrum. There weren't any ways to damage the beast without them, so he leaned against the wall and looked down at Tammond.

"Having fun?" Kadar asked, noting how shocked the older man looked.

"His hand! Why is it.... didn't he win?" Tammond stammered, slowly standing from the ground.

"The game was always rigged" Kadar snapped, checking for dirt under his fingernails.

"Don't you care?" Tammond countered, scowling and pounding his forearm against the wall.

Kadar looked over the man, contempt crossing his face when he deadpanned "No."

"Fuck yourself" Tammond answered, rushing over to the wounded doctor, standing beside him with overwhelming concern etched across his face. And the same concern poured through his voice when he went "Keep your eyes closed and don't think about the pain, focus on your breathing kid!"

He panted and clasped Pozou's shoulder, squeezing to show support before staring down the monster, cursing "Why would you do this? You lying piece of...." but he stopped short, knowing what would happen unless he toed the line.

Kadar watched the emotional episode and slowly shook his head, dismissing the dramatics as the snakeman returned to civilization. "You're lucky he can control himself, because your hesitancy would've killed you" He droned, glancing at the sisters. His gaze continued around the room until reaching the scarred woman, who was making a weapon from stone. Kadar wanted one too and demanded "Give me one, I know how to use spears! Then I can do something, but until then..." He dramatically shrugged and shook his head, insinuating his uselessness unless the woman acquiesced.

Arcanist
Sarahspn
Taigakitt
EldridSmith
Fred Colon

 

[Anne Boolean]

Celestine Oceania​

While her main focus was reinforcing the tunnel walls with Calcius as the guide had instructed, she couldn't help but overhear the squabbling outside and think about it in the back of her mind. Level-headed and diplomatic Gwen was losing her grasp on the situation due to her overzealous companions. It was true that Celestine could learn something from the other woman, but it seemed Gwen herself didn't yet have all the skills necessary to lead. Perhaps the syphid princess's own haughtiness to squash the dissent from their allies if she could switch places with the mage, but truthfully, she had never been all that harsh to her subjects underseas. The only reason she was with the land dwellers was... because they were land dwellers. It seems she still had quite a bit of growing to do before she would become an effective queen.

The sound of a loud splash caused her to lose concentration for a moment, almost causing the part of the wall she had just fortified to crack. She turned to look outside the tunnel and noticed large boulders falling into the lake, sending water flying upwards and onto the underground shore. It seemed they had finally caused the newcomer to lose their patience. Unsure what would happen next, the syphid just stared at her companions which were outside the tunnel, expecting any moment for one of them to get squashed. Thankfully, Obsidian was able to corral the hotheaded archers and shelter the three in a stone dome. When Gwen stepped into the tunnel, it seemed she had a similar idea for them when it came to withstanding the cave in, as she used her magic to strengthen the walls around them. It was done much faster than anything Celestine had been doing, and she was certain it would be more effective, but she still kept her hands on the wall and channeled magic into the stone in case Gwen's reinforcement didn't hold.

When the woman lit the area around them, Celestine looked to her and the guide, taking in the worried expressions on their faces. She was certain she had one which matched on her face as well. The tour guide suggested going out and seeing if the other three were okay, which seemed like a good next step if they didn't find themselves completely buried. Thankfully, that didn't seem to be the case. She hadn't thought about it until just now due to the turmoil they were in, but she had also remembered hearing Freya's familiar voice, and the strange jester had mentioned her being there. If she had indeed returned with rope, perhaps safety wasn't as far off as she thought.

"Okay, let's go," she said with a nod to Calcius, cautiously stepping out of the tunnel. Despite the darkness that surrounded her, she looked upwards, in case there was a slight chance she would be able to see a rock plummeting downwards and move out of the way before it crushed her.


Nearby: Jet (Ayana and Calcius), Taigakitt (Jester), Lost Echo (Obsidian), Pik (Lorrin), Sarahspn (Gwen)
Background: Arcanist (Valentine), BriiAngelic (Helena and Roland), Colorless Spectrum (Aedzel), (Freya), (Amalia)

 

[Pik]

Lorrin Yumi

Sarahspn Taigakitt Jet Lost Echo Anne Boolean

"I'm not taking the first shot I gave it its warning and it's lucky I haven't followed up on it yet! And I'm not being brash, I'm pointing out that we need it away from us. We don't know what it can do and none of us trust not to pull anything. Does it actually wanna help us fine, It can do from over there in my sight!" Lorrin's face was red at this point from the amount of screaming he has to do to explain his reasoning and given the current circumstances of what is going arguing is only going to get them killed. A moment later Freya's voice could be heard giving Lorrin a sense of relief. For all but ten seconds when the creature said it was going to crush them on its way out casually dancing out of the hole. "Oh no, you don't!" He was going to let loose his drawn arrow when Gwen grabbed him causing him to lose focus witch would shot the arrow off somewhere never to be seen again. He was about to yell at her once again but did notice the cave started falling around him. They were then dragged into Obsidian's dome as it shut around him, Ayana and Obsidian trapping them inside. "Damit! that shouldn't have gone as bad as it did." He punched the ground defeat of what just happened. The pain that rose from it hurt but not something to be worried about right now with them being trapped in an even more difficult spot. Looking over he noticed the wound on Ayana and almost caused in disbelief of the number of problems around him. There just has to be a solution to all of this he can't die here there all ways a way out ..... right?
​

 

[Jet]

​

Leone's expression barely changed when he was smacked, depriving the cheeky easterner his satisfaction. Then he shrugged and returned the pleasant lovetap, casting weak force magic when his hand connected. "Feeling grumpy?" He asked Vaal, turning his attention when Hubyr aggressively answered the Ayana question.

Leone almost laughed, respecting the bluntness before countering "Fair enough, but don't attack the others to capture her. Then your business becomes my business, and our next conversation won't be as civil. If they don't kill you that is." He was measured and dangerous, but relaxed when the charged moment passed, nodding when Sigurd wondered "What do you mean, why are we wanted? What has the Inquisition started?"

Leone shook his head, explaning "We met in Whaleshell, and the next morning we were excommunicated. Nobody knows a damned thing. On the brightside, the church wouldn't bother us unless the mission had merit." And when Luna mentioned her blindness, Leone grimaced "That's hard to hear... when we reach the well, maybe we can wish for your sight?" That depended on how many wishes the well granted, but maybe the device granted many?

To Leone this seemed like a reasonable end point — one of those moments where "well we need to head off now" sounded good, but then Nezumi started panicking, screeching and burrowing into his clothes. Her behavior made him hyper-aware of his surroundings, noticing the same presence that sent everyone scurrying away. This was getting ridiculous. The catacombs were flooded with people for some reason, and now the group was fleeing through increasingly dark tunnels, stopping when they reached a wide intersection.

"No these places are usually abandoned, it seems we have the worst luck on earth!" Leone whispered to the princess, looking around and mentioning "There are side rooms we can use to hide."

He gestured to a carved entrance that led into a small round room, hewn from stone hundreds of years ago. The cramped space was reserved for wealthy and important skeletons, resting in stone coffins on low stands beside the walls. Between them at the center stood an ornate reading stand, covered with carvings and common gemstones, holding a Sanovulnist Tome of the Departed.

"This should work" Leone went, heading inside and lounging beside the entrance, brushing Nezumi to soothe her nerves.

"Don't worry we'll wait them out here" He assured her, knowing the room was perfect as the door was narrow and the room was round, meaning there were huge blindspots from outside. So unless the new people were going into every room one by one, they wouldn't see a damned thing.

Sarahspn BriiAngelic Taigakitt The Regal Rper Anne Boolean

 

[Taigakitt]

Dungeon
Involved: Mook-LandStrider Fred Colon Arcanist Jet Sarahspn EldridSmith ​

“Oh, pretty little songbird went away. That’s okay! Other us will get to them~” They snickered. Hissing sounds started scuttling towards the dungeons, sounding giggly themselves. Voices could be more clearly heard, going in the same direction as where Amalgahsett escaped, not approaching the cells.

They turned their head completely around to look at the sisters and handless Pozou, “Oh! Your help is here!” The scuttles got closer before revealing themselves. Whatever could slip through the bars did, looking to surround the sisters holding Pozou. The creatures were squirrel-sized, with no eyes. Their bodies were a deep purple that seemed to melt into blackness. They had six legs, and when they reared up, their front legs acted like feelers. They had elongated antennae that seemed to act as their way around, as they did not have eyes on their heads. What seemed like jagged teeth seeped shadow ooze from their mouths as they squealed at Jane and Rose, “We promised you could stay! Pets, treat the bodies well~!” They were doing what they could to avoid being near Liam.

Just after their last sentence, they found that their legs hit a wall that came to their knees, making them stop their advance and look down, “Hello?”

As Daisy started backing up and spewing nonsensical words to the figure, they snapped their head back in their direction, noticing the spear now in her hands. “We are a lot of things. We long since do not care how we’re labeled. We just want to do what we want, and keeping our door open is something we want to do!” The creatures surrounding the sisters and Pozou squealed, as if cheering at what they were saying.

They started cackling as they threw their hands in the air, “Pozou gets to leave! Jane and Rose are staying! The man we like, the songbird~, and Daisy gets to be saved. The cards say so, so we oblige the cards.”

They sat on the knee-high wall, throwing their feet up to the edge, “Feel free to run if you like. We like chases too~” They fell onto their back on the wall and cackled.

 

[The Regal Rper]

Vaaltari of Jata​

The return fire by Leone was an expected rebuke to his act of defiance to both sell the deal and reclaim some petty self-satisfaction. As if grunting at the smack he received and then rolling his shoulder where Leone's swat had hit his back, the Matugna popped a bone in the neck with a loud pop and remained silent as he watched the female companion speak for the first time.

Blind? He turned to look at her. So it is not a religious attire. Then again none of them were really dressed in...well religious fashion or style. Perhaps he had made an err in his quest to discover answers.

At the very least if these people were of no immediate threat at the moment, he saw no reason to continue being aggressive towards them. At least not at the moment. Maybe he had heard someone else's voice at the time and simply suspicion had tricked him into thing it was one of them. It hardly mattered now, what did was that they seemed to be moving. As Leone referenced the blind female half-savana elf, Vaaltari watched Yo and Stone depart ahead as the group began its destination. He couldn't help but agree with Stone's decision to keep an eye out for their new band of companions who all seemed to be obsessed with finding Ayana for whatever reason that might be.

"An odd question if I may ask, but do you by chance--", Vaaltari started only to stop at Yo's talking ahead. The sudden mention of others being in this forsaken unstable tunnel of torches and wet land, almost unthinkable unless this was some sort of trap- a set up--

Head twisting in a manner as if it were boneless, he asked Hubyr in a voice of calm: "Do you know anything about this?"

But judging from the reaction he saw, that question answered itself. Hearing a terrified squeak it only just occured to Vaaltari that the familiar Kuma possessed, her mouse or rat, was still with them. He turned his attention to Leone just in time take an entrance and with a arm stretching out and tapping the nearest on the shoulder, Stone, Vaal pointed towards the entry Leone had taken. A silent instruction to follow. Turning to Hubyr's assembly the Matugna stated in a low voice as he neared and then passed on by towards the same entrance, "I have new questions I desire you to answer. Like why you were in the church earlier and why you move with haste from it now."

Even if he was starting to feel like he may not have matched person to voice, he was certain the people had seen while scaling the church had been Hubyr and his other imaginative companion.

Squeezing through small space and making it into the room Vaaltari rose back up to his feet and then had a look around. Some sort of strange resting place for the dead? Judging by the skeletons at least.

It hardly mattered. Seeing Leone with Nezumi he turned his attention to the entrance and waited. Willing to help anyone through if he saw it but specifically waiting to get a answer from Hubyr.

Mentions: BriiAngelic Jet Sarahspn Lost Echo

Interactions: Taigakitt

 

[EldridSmith]

Liam wasn't sure how to process it all at once as the noises from what the others said earlier flooded in all at once, however he mentally gritted through it and dealt with it though it gave him a splitting headache for a few second, however as he didn't have time to spare with the situation he was quickly escalating. Amal had flown out of a hole in the wall while the others were stuck behind bars with a strange creature and earlier someone had shouted something about the roof, causing him to look up but he didn't see anything but normal stone.

Rose looked at the man Liam didn't know with disgust, prompting him to avoid the man before gasping in horror at what happened to Pozou. Jane screamed Pozou's name in shock and terror prompting him to pry even harder at the bars that kept him from the others. Jane then ran towards Pozou before Rose stopped her and the two traded words and Jane continued towards Pozou. He heard the sounds but not the words against the bars with all his might. Jane then looked towards him and looked relieved upon seeing him normal. He was glad she seemed to care, or at least that she wasn't worried or scared of him anymore. Rose looked at him with a sigh before going to help Jane take care of Pozou. As the dust settled Rose asked him to help get them out with a small smile, at which Liam nodded. "I-I'm trying to pry them open, o-once you can, leave, I-I-I'll hold him off." He nervously stutters before looking at Jane and blushing. "I-if I don't make it..." He states looking at Jane and blushing, unable to finish his statement. "P-please be safe." He implored the two before turning away to focus on the situation as he tried prying the bars open.

His attention was soon grabbed Daisy looked around before making spikes in front of the strange shadow creatures before backing up and suddenly appearing with a stone spear before bracing for the creatures charge. Her speech made it clear that the dark figure thing was evil and crazy, though Liam already drew the same conclusion from the chopping off of Pozou's hand. She then locked eyes with him and motioned to a specific section of the bars, and considering Liam had nothing to lose by trying to remove those instead he whipped his tail around as quickly and with as much force as he could muster to send the bars flying towards the dark figure. "HURRY AND LEAVE!!!" Liam implored the others as he rushed through the opening, hopefully the bars would distract the shadowy figure so Liam didn't have any issues wrapping him up.

Liam didn't bother paying attention to what the man he didn't know said, as he was one the sisters addressed with contempt. However there was one thing that stuck out to him that the black creature declared: there was another one of them. Liam didn't know what to do with this, he could only pin one down. He would have to do what he relied on his alter ego to do in the past to protect the others: Kill. He was scared, he was nervous, and he was worried, but he had to save them... live or die he had to save her. He was too shy to even finish what he wanted to say to her, but if he could save her even if it meant his own death he wasn't going to hesitate. As these thoughts raced through his head he lunged towards the shadowy figure attempting to wrap it up.

Fred Colon Mook-LandStrider Sarahspn Jet Taigakitt

 

[Colorless Spectrum]

Aedzel Phriln

Aedzel simply nodded at Freya's words, they all agreed that Kiel seemed rather off despite the of how the varying answers of how well each of them knew the dancer. She turned at the sound of new voices, seeing Helena, Ro and Kuma, giving them a nod of acknowledgement. She would greet them with a positive energy as she would act but it wasn't such the time. Especially when she suddenly felt the ground vibrate.

She tried her best to keep herself standing straight but she couldn't help almost falling over from where she stood. The Quetzola woman gave out a scream when a shadow-like figure greeted them unexpectedly from behind Freya. Aedzel quickly ran behind Valentine in surprise, and that wasn't pretend.

Aedzel could feel a tingle at the back of her head, the hairs on her skin going up as she heard the mix of a snake's hiss and a rat's scuttling. It sent a shiver down her spine as she didn't like snakes, or rats, or the sounds that they make and with it together just seemed even more nauseating to listen to. "EEEEEEKKKK!" (No offense Liam and Nezumi)

By instinct, the winged woman had stepped back and away from the might-be collapsing floor. The day had started out great, why the heck was this happening to them. Was this Karma for being such a diva to every troupe she joined? For lying to everyone else? "W-What did you do? You came from down there right? Where are the others?"

mention: || interaction: Arcanist Anne Boolean Taigakitt BriiAngelic Lost Echo

 

[Fred Colon]

"You do what you want, and then say you obey the cards?" Daisy barked a laugh, and then shook her head.

Daisy was done talking. The thing's nonchalance, it's cowardly claim that it 'didn't care' made her angry. She'd met people like that before. They 'didn't care' what other people thought of them, used that as justification for when they hurt others. Like her uncle. It was good to be independent, it was good to be able to defy the crowd. But saying you utterly 'didn't care' meant exactly that. Other people didn't matter to you, not just ignoring their scorn, but ignoring their fear, their joy, their sympathy, love, passion, everything. That was no way to live, if this thing was even alive.

She tossed her newly made spear at Kadar, for him to catch, and then when Liam launched himself at the shadowy figure she opened both of her hands and exhaled. Spines of earth erupted from the earth on every side of the figure, ramming into the creatures legs as Daisy tried to pin him in place for their new ally. She would have tried something more, something bigger, but she was afraid that with Liam launching himself at the creature, if the creature managed to move out of the way Liam might impale himself on the spines. So she kept the earth needles low to the ground and smaller.

"What are you going to do? Run or fight?" She asked the sisters. "Either way is fine, though I think at least one of you should take Pozou and run. I just want to know what I have to work with. I'm staying to fight until those who need to flee have done so. Grimgr willing, we'll kill this thing." She said, invoking her family's ancient god of remembrance, though even she wasn't sure they really existed.

As she was talking she pulled another stone spear, from the floor this time. She didn't want to take too much stone from the wall or it might collapse.

Jet Sarahspn Arcanist Taigakitt EldridSmith

 

[BriiAngelic]

• Tallis Sideris || Stone’s Throw Master Mage

• 
  
  
  
  Tags:
  Luca ( Jet ) Elizabeth ( Anne Boolean )
  
  Catacomb Crawlers:
  Yo/Hubyr/Stone ( Taigakitt ) Vaal ( The Regal Rper ) Luna ( Sarahspn ) Nezumi ( Lost Echo ) Leone ( Jet ) Sigurd
  

  ~ The Church ~
  Heaven (Reincarnation)
  
  He gave Luca a smile as he showed how much he grew when it came to his magic. It was an impressive task to be able to handle and direct combined magic, one that he only imagined would continue to grow as the boy trained more. He patted him on the shoulder as he nodded along to his beloved’s reassurance. Though many might not see the woman as nurturing she was certainly motherly in her own way.
  
  “Eliza is right we must hurry. The wards cannot be left down long lest the changed find their way in. Even so I do believe it may be time to take more drastic measures, our game of outlast will only hold for so much longer.”
  
  It didn’t help that with each passing day Luca reminded him more and more of his boy. His apprentices were all beloved as part of his family but he’d lost so much in the past weeks that his heart could only take so much. He was old, older than a fair deal of his city and he would allow these cretins no more of his house to demolish. A healer he may be but when one localized an infection the proper response was to annihilate it.
  
  “Luca my boy. Prepare your firepower, if we run across the addled very little will stop them but brute force. Do take care to not let your sensibilities rule you, they will give you no quarter.”
  
  With that he started to charge magic into his body. He’d spent years not only dabbling in healing magic but reinforcing magic. His body may be old but magic was far more than capable of carrying it through. He took point not wanting for either of his companions to take the risk. Descending he came across a ruined floor as he yanked at the water below bringing it to become a frozen bridge across.
  
  “Just what are they doing down here?”
  
  He whispered the words as he heard the muffled sounds of people speaking in the distance. His face took on a frown as his brow furrowed, an uncommon look upon the face of the typically relaxed grandfather figure. He looked back to Elizabeth and Luca with a raised eyebrow as if to ask if they knew what the bubbling others were doing in their escape.
  
  He rose his hand as he approached and flung a gust of wind at the intruders aiming to slam all but Luna to the wall as they dared to destroy the wards.
  
  "Explain to me just who you are. And you two, how dare you destroy a ward meant to keep this structure safe."
  
  

 

[Taigakitt]

Hubyr, Yo Stone​

The words of the Lawrence (Leone) man went in one pointy ear and out of the other. Hubyr didn’t think the threat held much weight. Humans had no understanding of elven affairs, so he wasn’t about to feed the conversation with more words. It would just go in circles.

Though, with the same human man talking about some fantastical, mythical legend that was the well, he concluded that Yes, this man is insane and not to be taken seriously. The well was that. A child’s legend. As if something like that could exist. Someone would have found it by now and the world would be forever changed and it wouldn’t be taken as a joke.

Hubyr wanted to take the lead, wanted to be the first out of this hell hole that was underground darkness and lack of nature, but alas.

At the mention of the side room, Yo felt at a stand still. If they were normal civilians, it would be fine to walk amongst them, right? They weren't even paying attention to them, and it wasn't like they were really able to hide. It didn’t seem like walking among them would be the consensus as Leone had slipped into a side room.

When Vaaltari had turned to question Hubyr if he knew what was going on, the forest elf had made a sour face, “And how would I?”

A tap on Stone’s shoulder grabbed his attention as he wrapped his hand around Yo’s wrist to tug her along into the side room. She didn’t argue. As soon as Leone, Vaaltari, Stone and Yo were tucked away into the side room, a gush of wind resounded through the hallway and it seemed they were missing the two elves and the armored man.

Yo went to the door and leaned against it, her expression setting into something less scared and more defensive.

~*~​

Back outside of the side room, the wind blew past and Hubyr felt himself pushed back, to which he moved Luna where if he was slammed against a wall, at least her head wouldn’t get squished. “Okay, holding you just got dangerous.”

He set her down and held up his fists, flexing his chest and arms as he looked in the direction of the gust of wind, seeing the church members approaching. Shit, we weren’t fast enough.

At being questioned, Hubyr took a step forward, “We broke the door, which in turn broke a ward. We’re trying to get out! Not be trapped in some hell waiting to starve to death. Feel free to go back and fix your door and hide away. I am not going, nor staying in that cramped building any longer.” Cramped was probably a silly word to label a huge church, but it was different from the forests.

It seemed he traded being questions by some blue beast in for being questioned by the church.

Mentions: The Regal Rper Jet BriiAngelic Anne Boolean Lost Echo Sarahspn ​

 

[Anne Boolean]

Master Elizabeth​

Elizabeth grumbled a little as Thallis allowed the apprentice to join. He had proved himself capable of using a locator spell, but that had no bearing on his skills in combat. A young apprentice like him could easily get hurt! She would have preferred if the adults handled this. Still, learning through experience was optimal, so maybe this would be good. She only wished the experience was less dangerous.

Either way, she pulled out the white orb the higher ups had given her. It was meant for casting powerful spells, but more often than not she used it to clean up large messes. Like that day in Whaleshell Port, it seemed today it would be again be used for its actual purpose. She looked over to Thallis when she sensed him gathering his magical energy. Her brow furrowed when she noticed he wasn't holding a similar orb. She would remember to lecture him about going into a dire situation unprepared later.

After crossing the frozen bridge that her partner set up with the other two, she looked to the three and listened to the harsher tone he used when addressing them. It was certainly not near how harsh Elizabeth herself could get, especially when she was truly angry, but the fact that someone or something had affected him enough to cause that also got her rage burning.

Apparently being hit with the wind spell left one of the them with enough energy to mouth off. "You can't wait a little bit while we try to figure out what's happening? You don't look like you're starving! Is your gluttony so strong that you're willing to risk your life as well as countless others to stuff your gullet?! And where exactly do you plan on going to find a meal? Or do you plan to dine on sewage?! Do the stone walls of these tunnels feel more spacious than the halls of the church?!"

Taigakitt BriiAngelic Jet Sarahspn

 

[Sarahspn]

​

The pain in Gwen’s leg was becoming too much for her to bear and she bit her lip, attempting to not show that she was hurt. She had put too much weight on the injury when she dragged the archers towards Obsidian and knew she was pushing herself too far. The light was dim enough to conceal her blood-soaked pant leg and she wanted to keep it that way. The last thing she wanted was for the others to worry about her or make them use any energy they had left to heal her.

Calicus’ voice caught her attention and gave him a silent nod when he thanked her for the wall. Pushing herself off the stone, she stood as straight as she could in the small tunnel and thought for a moment. “Hopefully Obsidian was able to create the dome fast enough. It sounds like rocks have stopped so hopefully it wasn’t a full collapse and they’re safe.” Gwen said, avoiding the thought that she had led the others towards their death. She put her palm flat against the wall she created and it collapsed, the stones scattering along the ground. Watching as Celestine walked past her and out the tunnel, she let Calicus go in front of her before exiting as well. She grimaced in pain as she stepped forward and took a deep breath before continuing to venture outside the safety of the tunnel.

Her lumen spells that once lit the area were gone, most likely struck by falling rocks. Darkness consumed the cavern, making it to where she could barely see her companions in front of her. She casted a small lumen spell just bright enough to light their path towards the dome. She’d rather not attract the creatures that lurked within the shadows of the caves, especially the frightening one she heard during the small downfall of large boulders. Stepping around rumble of various sizes, she approached the stone dome and lightly knocked. “It’s safe. Well, as safe as it can be.” She said as she kept her eyes scanning the darkness around them. Stepping away from the structure, she gathered herself and looked to her companions. “We must quickly find a way out. We could continue our plan of digging out or Obsidian and I can construct a staircase leading to Freya. The caves are out of the question. There are creatures lurking and we must act fast. Freya and many others are in danger but we have been spared for now.”

Jet Anne Boolean Lost Echo Pik

 

[Jet]

​

Luka hated the catacombs. They cursed anyone who entered with seven years of misfortune, unless mourning candles were carried of course — but the unprepared mages had none. Instead they wandered the ancient tombs without divine protection, scurrying past crumbling skeletons and grumbling rats, searching for dusty footprints and magical traces. But there were none of those too... what a drag.

"I think we lost em" Luka murmured, mood souring when he conceded "Well good for dem I guess, now they..." but he stopped-dead when familiar voices bounced down the tunnel, along with several others he didn't know.

Luka raised his brow at the distant conversation, surprised the escapees exchanged words instead of making haste, but the unexpected turn cast a smile across his face when he beamed "Next time I'll hold me thoughts!"

But his commander was more reserved, ordering “Luka my boy. Prepare your firepower, if we run across the addled very little will stop them but brute force. Do take care to not let your sensibilities rule you, they will give you no quarter.”

"Aye sir!" Luka nodded, increasing his pace and focusing his arcane attunement, preparing a flame spell as he rounded a corner, coming face to face with the runners. He stopped twenty paces from them, narrowing eyes and charging magic, steeling himself before shouting "Oy, where you goin?"

Tallis was more aggressive though, casting a massive wind wave that pressed the men against a wall, plastering another smile on Luka's mischievous face. A smile that widened when the hunter complained — and then evaporated when Elizabeth started lecturing again. Damned speeches. Luka thought about cute coworkers when she monologued, snapping back to the present when she was done. Then he summoned a small flame sphere above his hand and teased "Ya reasons don't matta short stuff, cause ya comin back one way or another, understand? So make things easy cause I got arrangements for tonight!"

He smirked, passed the sphere between his hands and stared down the adventurers, considering which one to blast if they made a move. He knew they were both powerful, so his decision came down to pure, unabashed bias between the two men — but who was more annoying? Was it the shirtless hunter with attitude problems? Or was the scarred madman even worse? Luka wasn't sure, and decided that the first one to move would catch a fireball to the chest.

Sarahspn
BriiAngelic
Taigakitt
Anne Boolean

 

[Sarahspn]

​

Jane caught Liam’s eyes and smiled brightly at him. Her expression slowly faded at the possibility of him not surviving the conflict. “Do not get yourself killed, Liam. I can't lose you.” She sternly said, furrowing her brows. She couldn’t lose a comrade, especially one who has saved her life once and is attempting to do so again. She cared about him too much. Rose backed away from the bars and put distance between them and Liam, making sure they wouldn’t be hit by debris. Jane kept her eyes on Liam, making sure he wasn’t going to hurt himself as he slammed against the bars. The sisters froze for a moment when they heard numerous footsteps approaching them. Looking behind Liam, Rose saw a handful of small creatures beyond her comprehension emerging from the shadows. They scurried through the bars, surrounding the three and the redhead looked to the dark figure with a glare. “You can’t keep us in here forever.” She snarled, keeping Pozou close to her. He was her main focus at the moment now that Jane has expressed that she doesn’t need protection anymore.

Jane took in the creatures that surrounded them, her fear growing so large that she could barely mutter a word. “R-Rose… w-what do we d-do?” She stuttered, keeping her eyes on the monsters. Rose stayed silent, trying to find a weak point on the creature's bodies. Small… easily kickable. No eyes… go for the antennae. Strategies ran through her head and she grabbed her knife. “Protect Pozou and run when you get the chance.” She said, taking Pozou’s nub of an arm off her shoulder. Jane went to protest but kept silent, knowing this was the only way out. Looking to Liam, she watched him break through the bars and she felt a sense of relief. The tiny monsters squealed and she cringed at the high pitch of their sounds. Rose stepped forward and gripped her knife. Taking a deep breath, she narrowed her eyes on one of the creatures and kicked it. The thing went flying and she chuckled a little. Turning to another, she swung her knife and cut off its antennas. Its black ooze splattered onto her hand and she grimaced, wiping it off on her clothes.

This had created a small opening and Jane quickly moved, dragging Pozou with her towards the bars. A monster grabbed her ankle and she kicked it off, making it slam into a nearby wall. She made it to the opening in the cell and looked back at Rose. The older sister kicked another creature and met Jane’s eyes, giving her a nod accompanied by a smile. Jane smiled back, holding back tears as she escaped to the other side of the bars. Looking both directions she decided to take the opposite way that Amal went and quickly walked into the darkness, determined to get Pozou to safety.

Jet Taigakitt EldridSmith Arcanist Fred Colon

 

[Jet]

​

Lorrin was steaming mad and slammed the ground, looking part insane and part passionate when he screamed and cursed. His sudden anger washed through the dome like a wave, surprising the huntress who arched her brows for a moment, wondering how the collected adventurer could be so enraged. Her heart went out to him though, panging with empathetic sorrow as she clasped his shoulder, whispering "Then we will make things better!"

Meanwhile her other hand clamped her forehead, keeping the bandage steady as Obsidian lowered part of the dome. The opening revealed a gloomy hellscape of shattered stones and cratered earth, completely covered with debris — but thankfully the cavern was stable. Ayana was also pleasantly surprised by Gwen, who stood beside the opening with a small lumen spell above her head.

Ayana's heart warmed seeing the mage in one piece, casting a smile across her face when she chimed "See, everyone will be okay!" Then she bonked Lorrin with her bow and bound into the cavern, skipping over loose rocks before stopping next to the woman.

"I was so worried when I didn't see you inside!" Ayana gushed with a wave, but her face immediately darkened, realizing Gwen was wounded too.

"Your leg is hurt! This doesn't look good" she worried, kneeling down and freezing the blood around Gwen's wound — the same way as before. Then she checked for more cuts and bruises, pawing over bloodstains as she explained "The frozen bandage will stop the bleeding and numb your pain!"

Meanwhile, the ancient "tour guide" approached and stood beside the women, clearing his throat before droning "Yes well... Gwendolyn was just suggesting we reach the other group using stone stairs, that's a good idea but I'm all ears if you have suggestions!"

Ayana was too focused on healing to pay attention, vaguely answering "What?"

"How should we reach the other group?" Calicus sighed, crossing his arms as Ayana stood straight and thoughtfully looked up.

"Stone steps would work" she deemed after a moment, unknowingly agreeing with the plan.

Calicus un-crossed his arms and smirked, concurring "Seems like we're on the same page then. I can assist with the construction, along with the Syphid and Stone elf. Meanwhile you and the ranger can watch our backs in case anything comes from the cave system."

Ayana agreed with a nod, notching a couple arrows before declaring "I'll keep you safe no matter what, dealing with monsters is my specialty!"

Pik
Sarahspn
Taigakitt
Anne Boolean
Lost Echo

 

[Sarahspn]

Luna began thinking of all the things she would do once she got home like playing eight her little sister or having dinner with her family again. A small smile appeared on her face as she pictured everything she was going to get to do again. She could still hear the faint voices of the group coming from the church but Hubyr was gaining distance. At least she thinks he was as she felt the pace they were running at. A male voice cut through the silence of their escape and a gust of wind blew past them, causing Hubry to be pushed back. Letting out a small yelp, she tightened her grip on Hubyrs waist. Luckily, the man moved her slightly to make sure her head wouldn’t hit the wall near him. Breathing a small sigh of relief, she gladly let the elf set her down. She didn’t need to use her echolocation to see the group as she recognized the voice of Master Tallis snd she frowned, hanging her head. Every dream of escape she had shattered before her useless eyes and she felt tears well up. Thankfully, the fabric concealed her watery eyes and she stood up straight to face the master mage. She whipped her head towards Hubyr as he began speaking back, insulting the church as he explained their reason for their attempted escape. “No..” She whispered, trying to find her confidence. They were so close to their exit and she couldn't let her companions spend another hour within the walls.

A woman spoke next and Luna furrowed her brows as she tried to remember who the voice belonged to. Her face went pale as she remembered it was Master Elizabeth. They were in deep, deep trouble now. She then connected the earlier voice to be the stuck-up apprentice, Luka. The apprentice began threatening them and she heard the familiar sound of a flame sphere being summoned. Letting out a small whistle, she saw the location of Hubyr and Sigurd and quickly stepped in front of them. “No! It was all my idea. I couldn’t escape alone and I needed their help so please, punish me and not them.” She pleaded as a tear escaping her cloth and rolling down her cheek. Her companions had more serious missions than her and she could stand to stay in the church a little longer. She hoped the masters would believe her and that the men would go along with blaming her.

Jet BriiAngelic Taigakitt Anne Boolean

 

[BriiAngelic]

• Helena Lis || Human War Cleric

• 
  
  
  
  Tags:
  Freya, Jester ( Taigakitt ) Valentine ( Arcanist ) Amelia ( Anne Boolean ) Aedzal ( Colorless Spectrum ) Kuma ( Lost Echo ) Roland
  

  ~ Above the Cave In ~
  Nescience || Helena's CS File
  
  She nodded at the words as she followed Freya and the others. She returned the trident to Roland. Though he was unskilled in both magic and the trident he was well accustomed to longer weapons, it was her own fault that she had not gotten around to teaching him more. Each and every event that happened only gave her more proof that her boy would need to get stronger. It seemed there was simply no safe haven on the horizon in the future.
  
  Especially as they slowly lowered themselves down. The dark dampness was so foreign to the desert woman. She peered but saw nothing. She looked to Roland who was just getting down himself.
  
  “Ro darling do you see anything?”
  
  She never got the chance to hear his answer as the bolder moved rather abruptly causing the cave to come down a little more on those trapped. This was dangerous, she should be shouting at Kuma to drag Roland back immediately. But the Jester was suddenly behind Freya and she would have lunged for it had Freya not been faster and Valentine not shouted. She spun around.
  
  “Mom watch out! They’re at our feet! It’s- It I don’t know what that is.”
  
  Though she couldn’t see them yet she knew that he could see far faster than her eyes would allow. She heard a screech as she could tell he got one with the trident. She pulled out a knife she owned and got lower to the ground. It was dangerous but she needed to see them to kill them. Acid wouldn’t work. She didn’t want to add more fuel to the cave in, and she didn’t know what these things were, let alone how much poison it would take to kill them or what kind.
  
  “Disgusting vermin, end the ones by you quickly Ro. Let’s not wonder about what they are until they’re safely dead.”
  
  She slashed out as they approached and then jumped back and lowered herself again. She needed to be fast and safe about this. Go about it like the trenches. She kept focus on the creatures but kept an ear out for the weirdo near them. She couldn't handle it and these things, especially in the dark.
  
  "Someone light us up a fire."
  

 

[Taigakitt]

The Struggle of Kiel and Lucien
Collab with: Jet Anne Boolean ​

Lucien cursed when the woman's overpowering magic dragged him forward, careening him down the tunnel. Her power was unquestionable and the situation seemed completely hopeless, but the veteran mage wasn't concerned. He was confident instead, smirking when he pressed the round button on his enchanted cube to counteract her spell. Any second her magical connection would vanish, and hand to hand combat would decide the winner... but nothing happened when the glowing cube hummed.

"WHAT!?" Lucien screamed, wondering how her connection survived, even though his disappeared, shrouding the tunnel in darkness when his lumen orb evaporated.

"How are you doing this!" He continued, spinning away from the woman, leaning forward and stamping his boots against the ground. His stance was like someone braving a strong wind, even grabbing the floor when she dragged him backwards — but his strength was useless. He could only mumble more curses and complain when his feet lost traction, making him sprawl forward across the ground.

"Compose yourself coward" He subconsciously snapped, subduing nervousness and breathing deep when he peered through pitched darkness, hearing nothing other than his mage robes scraping stone, and the mysterious woman walking through the tunnel. But even when he calmed down there was nothing he could do. He couldn't use combat magic when she dragged him around, and he was too far away to grab her and use his hands. He needed to find an opening instead, and preserved his strength for now, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

With each step, the beak masked figure dragging Lucien shifted. The beak worked towards flattening, and the clothes shifted to something that was more hooded than a jacket over a sweater vest and tie. The hood placed itself over the figure’s head as two long pieces of fabric that seemed like ears erupted from the top of the hood. The mask then disappeared, revealing a bright white smile and same eyes. Their humming tone shifted from what a normal human woman might sound like to an androgenous non-human, where it was difficult to place a masculine or feminine descriptor to. A giggle was starting to insert itself into the hum of the being.

“Lucien, Lucien, Lucien~ We told you, we’re trying to save you. We hate the church. We want nothing to do with them. They can all burn. That special cube thingy isn’t going to affect us. Strange you have one, yet it seems like you hate the church just as much as we do! It’s fine, it’s fine. We won’t say a peep. Nope!”

Pretty quickly, they got to where the tunnel split into two paths. Liam had taken the left toward the dungeons, so they were going to go the opposite, where the lighting was getting darker and darker. People were starting to be spotted as feet shuffled along the stone. Voices could be heard excitedly chattering as they walked along. The lighting kept doing that strange pitch black before almost returning to normal, but a shade darker, seemingly coinciding when someone exclaimed it being their turn.

There was a cavern entrance to the left, and up ahead to the right was where that strange black glow was emitting from, along with people’s voices. They opted for the left, to which they would also find Kiel and Amethyst after they had traversed the sewers and into a break into the tunnels to meet up with whom was once Doctor Cash’s form.

“Oh~ Here we are! Kiel and Amethyst too! We saw there was no luck, but is okay. We are working on getting them. Such hardheadedness that group it is. Especially that Lorrin, shooting at us! Kiel, please explain to Lucien here that what we’re doing is a great thing and that we did right by you! We can’t seem to get through to him and we’d like them to be comfortable before we take care of him.”

“Indeed there wasn’t…” Kiel responded with a frown. “Freya and the others were too adamant on using the rope!” He let out a chuckle. “Oh Lorrin… hardheaded indeed.” He shook his head with a smile. The light-blue-haired man then turned to Lucien. “Lucien, please. Just let us save you! They’re only trying to help! I mean, look what they did to me!” He gestured to his leg and went on to balance on it. “You know how important legs are to a dancer! How could someone kind enough to heal- … no! Don’t- … as I was saying, how could someone who was kind- … Lucien! Run!- … wh- what’s… we only want to help!”

The dark hooded figure tilted their head slightly as they watched Kiel almost curiously. Amethyst seemed to have left the room to join the civilians that were headed further in.

Lucien groaned and glanced around the gloomy room, droning "Well he doesn't sound brainwashed at all!" He approached laughter but winced instead, feeling sharp pangs from scrapes and bruises across his damaged body.

"You're really testing my patience" He continued, gradually standing as vague voices echoed through the tunnels, reminding him how numerous the enemies were. He guessed there were hundreds of them, ranging from free mages to enslaved servants.

The odds were shit.

Lucien grimaced when he thought about them, steeling himself before snapping, "We're not here to he taken care of, and I'm not dumb enough to believe your song and dance. You're kidnappers, fanatics, probably murderers and one more thing… you should've bound my hands!" He winked and raised his arms, sending an intense beam of blue flames towards her chest, looking to punch through her torso. He knew there were more enemies around and that attacking was extremely dangerous, but getting turned into a brainless minion seemed even worse.

And as superheated flames were summoned, he looked to the dancer and shouted "If you're in there, wake up and save yourself!"

The smiling hooded figure snickered, but had gone to dodge out of the way, but not before a fire singed the shoulder. A white mark was left, a little steam from the superheated flames left as evidence, “Well, can’t say we’ve felt something that ticklish in a long time!” They skipped backwards, looking to Kiel to take care of the rest. “We trust this to you, as it seems we cannot spend much time here.”

Lucien suppressed severe, unending and hopeless confusion when the woman was damaged.

“Wake up? I don’t need to wake up!” Kiel responded. The same empty smile had returned to his face. “Oh Lucien… if you can’t see that we’re only doing this for your own good… I suppose we’ll have to be a little harsher with our care!” The light-blue-haired man drew his blade and ran forth. As he swung the sword though, his brow furrowed for a moment, and its trajectory changed at the last minute. “... s-stop…” he said in an almost-whisper. Then a moment later, the same smile returned to his face as he swung the blade again. The process seemed to repeat itself, leading to the sword veering off-course once more. “I… I don’t want to hurt…” Before he could finish another swing was made, and the same events took place yet again. “N-no!” This time the frown stayed on his face, and a look of intense focus and determination appeared in his eyes. The hand grasping the blade started to shake as he clenched his teeth, and after a moment his fingers spread apart, letting the blade fall to the ground with a clatter.

Lucien suppressed his confusion when the strange woman was wounded, almost shouting when her burned skin was revealed. It was clear she wasn't human, or any recorded race for that matter, but there were more pressing concerns than her background. He needed to worry about surviving instead, dashing back when the dancer started slashing.

"Stop you moron!" Lucien grunted between dexterous dodges, leaning and spinning away from the murderous weapon. He could see death written across the blade, glimmering from the weapon when it glanced his face, leaving a narrow cut across his cheek. The pain was sharp but adrenaline washed it away, turning into determination when he screamed "I don't want to kill you kid! Wake up!"

Maybe his screaming powered through Kiel's brainwashing, or maybe the dancer had amazing mental strength, but for some reason he stood down and dropped his weapon. This was perfect. Lucien had the space he needed now, breathing out a relieved "thankyou" before bending over and snatching the sword from the ground. Then he measured where the woman stood, raised the weapon, and summoned an aggressive wind current that enveloped it.

"Hope your hell is warm!" He snapped, shooting the sword at the woman. It would impale her unless something was done fast, because there was only a split second to react.

The figure didn’t stop the advancing sword, though they were interrupted in their retreat. The sword impaled right into their stomach. Wet white oozed around the blade and dripped to the cavern floor. They looked down, tilted their head, then looked up at Lucien before starting to cackle.

Their hand grabbed the handle and pushed it through to the other side, opening up a bigger hole than the blade would have left, since they decided to push the hilt through themselves.

“Now that felt good!” Their cackles demented in tone, as they held the slick, now bright white sword in hand, by the blade. “Thanks for the gift!” The blade seemed to bite into their hand as white dripped around their grasp.

Off they went, leaving Kiel to take care of Lucien, thinking their little pet would take back over. They had other things to deal with.

Despite now being unarmed, Kiel’s instructions once again overtook him. He let out a few grunts as he struggled to hold himself back while his body moved forth to grapple the older man. He didn’t weigh all that much, nor was physical strength his strong suit, so as his body disobeyed him and jumped for Lucien, all he could do was hope the other was able to overpower him.

Lucien spun around when Kiel lunged, looking to push away the dancer with a shove, but his timing needed work. He was too late and grunted when a bear-hugging grapple wrapped him up, pinning his arms against his chest.

"Let me go you buffoon!" Lucien cursed, pushing one forearm against Kiel's sternum, and the second against his inner elbow.

Lucien felt some give, but he was old and wasn't a physical fighter. His strength was average on good days, and breaking out with raw strength was a longshot. So he aggressively twisted and leaned sideways, hoping Kiel would stumble from the sudden momentum shift.

Lucien’s force against Kiel wasn’t the only thing working to push him away. The dancer himself did his best to loosen his grasp around the man and pull away. This most of the time just resulted in shaky limbs, although the instability of his arms did allow for the other to escape easier.

“Please… just run…” he said when the other was finally able to escape the embrace.

Lucien stumbled from the grapple and shouted "Thankyou son" before running away, heading back to the freezing water. He knew the cold wouldn't be pleasant, but he remembered where the hatch was and would get there no matter what. Then he'd climb from the darkness and traverse the town, seeking his strongest companions — and once enough were gathered he'd destroy the mysterious enemies, using overwhelming numbers to take them down.

Lucien explained as much when he dashed down the tunnel, glancing back for a moment while shouting "I'll get help and come back, stay strong lad!"

 

[Taigakitt]

Freya Hamrammr​

Freya felt sweat drip down her face.

The creepy crawlies closed in on the others. They truly did have six legs, their bodies a deep purple, maybe black, with no eyes, and antennae. When Helena slashed out, white oozed similar to the dark figure, splattering the floor. Once got flung over the hole, to which it screeched as it splashed into the water below. The creepy crawlies could be seen avoiding the hole.

“Oh, more weapons! We’re insulted! We just want a place to ourselves. Then we get an arrow shot in our direction and general disrespect. At least Gwen has sense in their brain,” the dark figure tsk’d. Their leg pulled forward, foot still in the air. They turned their attention to Aedzel. “The others banished me from helping them. So… they get to pay.” They cackled, swinging their leg back.

Freya swung her axe, turning on her foot as she stood up, aiming her blade at the fiend as soon as she felt a foot touch her side. She felt almost nothing from the kick of the dark figure, but it still seemed to push hard on her leg. She felt her heel at the edge.

The axe lodged into the Jester’s side, lopping an arm off. White oozed around the wound, dripping down their side, to the floor, a strange contrast to the dark rock.

The axe was stuck.

Freya tugged.

The Jester looked down at their arm, then looked at Freya. Their cheeks rose, making their eyes seem… gleeful?

The arm on the ground crawled up the figure’s body, and they grabbed the hand with their still-attached one. With a swing of their detached arm, they swung it at Freya as they also threw their body into the weapon, digging the blade deeper into them.

It was a strange reaction to getting an axe deeply lodged within. Freya’s foot slipped. She quickly grabbed out a hand axe from her bag, aiming, and throwing it at the dark figure, the blade biting into their head, between their eyes.

“Run!” Freya was still holding onto the handle of her axe, her legs dangling in the air now.

The figure let go of their detached arm and touched the blade, “Oh, this is in the way~”

They pushed on the blade with their hand, cutting their hand in the process as they dislodged it, holding the axe in their hand and then tossing it over the hole in the cavern.

Freya went with it with no hope of catching herself. Her axe landed in the water first, but she landed on a sharp rock.

In Scene: BriiAngelic Arcanist Colorless Spectrum Anne Boolean Lost Echo
Witness: Jet Sarahspn Lost Echo Anne Boolean Pik ​

 

[Anne Boolean]

Celestine Oceania​

Not only had Gwen come around with a lumen spell, after checking on the three encased in stone she also made some more suggestions to escape. Although she could hear her sighs, Celestine's original thought wasn't to check the woman over for any injuries. Instead, she just assumed Gwen was exasperated by the turn the situation took and their narrow escape of death's clutches. After the other three emerged, the little elf was perceptive enough to notice the true cause of her disgruntled breaths: a wound on her leg. Ayana thought sealing it up by freezing the blood that had flowed forth from it would be enough for the time being, but Celestine couldn't imagine it being comfortable.

Out of Gwen's options, Calcius and Ayana were on board for creating stone steps to climb back up the cliff. No one had any disagreements, or at least no one voice them, including Celestine, who went along with the instructions given by Calcius. Like before, she followed the man's lead while the three others stayed vigilant for any threats that came their way.

While working, under the light of the lumen Gwen had cast, Celestine's eyes well on a figure laying on top of a rock. It was at the edge of the light, so it was hard to make out what it was right away, but after watching the light flicker on it for a few moments, the syphid's eyes widened. The figure was humanoid, and judging by the crimson that ran down its body and the rock, it was apparent that it had been impaled. Celestine let out a shriek, dropping any stone she was working with. As she continued to look at it, she realized the blonde hair and muscular appearance was familiar. "I-it's... Freya..." she said softly.

The Princess hadn't thought greatly of the Northern woman during the short while she had known her. Hell, her first impression was she was the red-haired pirate's lackey. Even earlier today she could not have thought of anything positive to say about her. Yet after the cave in, when Celestine would have expected her to abandon her companions in the name of survival, she had indeed returned with help. Despite being at each other's throats not long ago, she now felt a lump in her own. It was a cruel world which took the life of a poor woman for trying to help those in need.

Interactions: Calcius ( Jet ), Ayana, Gwen ( Sarahspn ), Lorrin ( Pik ), Obsidian ( Lost Echo )

Mentions: Freya ( Taigakitt )

 

[BriiAngelic]

• Sigurd Stellan Rask || Human Schoolmaster Mage

• 
  
  
  
  Tags:
  Elizabeth ( Anne Boolean ) Hubyr ( Taigakitt ) Luca ( Jet ) Luna ( Sarahspn )
  

  ~ Underground Tunnels ~
  Conquest (Ablaze) || Sigurd's CS File
  
  The ease at the information he received from Leone was lovely as he now knew why he hadn’t found them where he was expecting the group to travel down. Yet this information couldn’t comfort him as he and his barely managed to get anywhere before the church had caught up. Oh they’d had the Masters on their tail, it was no wonder he had not gotten far. Though the two were elders and physically worn, their dead was numerous. It was only natural that their magic was strong with so many to guide them.
  
  He surely felt their power as he was slammed to the wall with a wind that his earth would not have stopped even if he had prepared it. The newcomers seemed to get far enough into an alcove to not be seen just yet. He’d need to throw these three of their tail. As he prepped the earth feeling it’s resistance as he churned it meters below he heard Hubyr shout. While the man was not wrong he highly doubted that would make them happy to hear. The elder woman was quick to snap back and this was nothing new from what he’d heard.
  
  Yet for all that the elders were clearly stronger he couldn’t help but focus on the boy. The attitude reminded him of the wild children years, ones that had never been fully drilled in the way of the Drauttir. Especially as he held a fireball in his hand as if it were a smart idea to openly show one's magic as a threat. He shook his head negative as he spoke.
  
  “We had no wish to break the wards. The door yes, but it was necessary to leave. Your lifestyle upsets Luna. Look at how beside herself she is. Besides we have people waiting. Hubyr must find his daughter, I made a vow to fulfill a wounded friend’s duty.”
  
  He said the words to Tallis before his eyes flickered back to the boy. The schoolteacher in himself couldn’t leave it be, the boy was obviously lacking in discipline. He wondered if this Centosian Religion was more concerned about one's ability to increase their might over their ability to understand their might. The boy wasted more than he would gain if he didn’t get proper guidance.
  
  “Please, put your fire away. You only waste your energy maintaining the image of a threat that is already clear from association. A smarter idea would be to hide one’s manifestation just out of view. This way is rather impractical, what year are you? Do all of the church of Centos subscribe to such wastes of your own lifeblood?”
  
  

 

[Anne Boolean]

Master Elizabeth​

Once the blind elven woman got onto he feet and took a stand, Elizabeth's eyes narrowed. Oh, she certainly believed her words about being the mastermind of this operation, but the other two went along with it and therefore needed to be punished as well. Punishment wasn't on her mind though. Her goal, first and foremost, was to bring these three fools back to safety and put up the ward once again.

When Luca took a fighting pose and summoned a fireball, as much as she admired his enthusiasm, Elizabeth had to side with the silver-haired man after he spoke. Intimidation could be an important factor in combat, but it shouldn't be done through sacrificing one's actual power. Strangely, those weren't the only words she found swaying her.

"Then go," the master mage said after a moment of silence, "but you will not be welcomed back into this sanctuary until the issue is resolved." Her gaze then fell on Luna. "And you. If the Church's way has been troubling you so much, you could have simply walked out at any point. But instead, you choose to try and leave during a crisis. Foolish girl. Well, you all have your wishes, so begone!" He expression softened a bit as she turned to Hubyr. "... and make sure to keep your child safe when you find her."

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