The Magecraft Chronicles III Story Thread

[Damien]

Izaak sat reading from the ancient tomes, soaking in the knowledge they held. As he passed by a particular incantation and arcane formula he thought would be useful, he dipped his quill into the inkwell and transcribed it to his own spellbook. He sat for many minutes doing this until Sorin interrupted him.

"Might I ask what you are doing?" he asked.

"I'm transcribing spells I feel will be beneficial to my spellbook so that I can use them later. I've not mastered the Elemental Arts, so I need to get as much as I can. However, I'll get the rest of the spells when we're done helping Valendis find what he's looking for. This library isn't going any-"

A brilliant flash of light stopped Izaak short. He and Sorin threw their hands up to shield their eyes, but the light still burned into their retinas, causing their eyes to throb.

When the light dissipated, they opened their eyes, and, after blinking away the afterimage, they found themselves standing, or in Izaak's case, sitting, next to their travelling companions.

"I take it you found what you were looking for," said Veraask.

"I sure hope he did," said Izaak, a frustrated tone in his voice. "I was in the middle of transcribing a rather powerful spell..."

[Mizagium]

"Foelbraak Benzeiah welcomes you," echoed a disembodied voice.

"Welcomes us...where are we?" Valendis did a quick headcount of the group. It seemed everyone from the library had been transported here, wherever here was.
Felicia ran her hand along the smooth gray walls. "Feels cold, like we're underground. The walls are marble."

Raefe's hair bristled. "We're in a tomb."

"Correct, Familiar," the voice rebounded off the walls, creating an eerie reverberation. "You have been transported deep within the tomb of Foelbraak Benzeiah."

"What for?" Valendis challenged.

"You came seeking knowledge of the most ancient arte: calling and binding spirits. This is not information to be passed on wisely. My master has created this labyrinth as a test, a proof of your worth. Succeed, and you will receive that which you desire, fail and...well..."

"You die," Jorsin gulped.

A heavy silence fell over the party, broken quickly by echoing laughter. "Oh, heavens no! What would be the point in that? If you pass, you get the knowledge; if you fail, you get transported back to where you were. What would killing you do? How would anyone else ever find about about that book? I think you've read too many books." The voice regained its composure and continued. "If you receive a wound that would be fatal, the light that brought you here ejects you from the area and heals you."

"What's in here that could give us fatal wounds?" Valendis dreaded the answer.

"Let's see...animals, spirits, zombies, terrible music...thing like that. Oh, and you get to fight me at the end." A large slab of the wall slid upward, creating a terribel grnding noise at stone scraped against stone. "Don't stress too much about it. Have fun. Hopefully, I'll see you at the end."

This was not what Valendis signed up for, but he wasn't exactly hating it. At least it was some kind of adventure.

"So, uh, shall we?"

[Monika]

Lenore, who had hitherto remained relatively silent and stationary so as to avoid being recognized, couldn't help but pipe up as the party was teleported underground in a bright flash of light. "What in the world? Where are-"

Before she could complete her question, the disembodied voice spoke to the group and told them about the challenge they would undertake in order to obtain this lost summoning knowledge.

"That explains it. Of course it wouldn't have been as simple as just reading the book. Heaven forbid our quest is completed too soon..." she scoffed, although a part of her was somewhat pleased to be on an actual journey with an actual end goal in mind, as opposed to the aimless wandering she had been doing with Kazan up to this point. Feeling safe enough in her new location to traverse without being caught, she removed the coat she had borrowed from Kazan and threw it back to him.

"Huh? What?" Oblivious as always, Kazan had been too busy practicing his lightning magic to notice anything that had just occurred, only snapping out of his oblivion upon being hit by his jacket. "Where in the...Nori, can you explain-"

Ignoring him, Lenore unsheathed her staff and nodded to Valendis. "Let's go. Valuable knowledge awaits!" Eager to master more summoning skills, Lenore hurried on ahead, not bothering to wait for the rest of the party.

[Myrdraxxis]

Veraask promptly set off after Lenore, glancing around quickly as he did so. "Off we go then!" he said cheerfully. "I can't wait to see what sort of knowledge this place holds. This will be a delightful way to test out some of my more recent spells." his hands (talons) glowed with an ominous red energy of chaotic magic that was grossly out of contrast with the excited look on the Arkarris' face.

So intent on his goal, Veraask didn't notice as he stepped on a pressure plate in the floor, which promptly opened up a panel in the ceiling and dropped a large boulder on the Arkarris, crushing him instantly.

There was a brief flash of light as Veraask appeared back with the group, evidently unharmed. "I believe we should proceed with caution." he said, nodding seriously.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

There was a loud creak that echoed across the chamber as the large gilded double doors opened, granting Nathaniel entrance to the Vaerian Emperor's throne room. The construction that had gone into the Emperor's palace reflected the rich-yet functional style of most of Vaer. While Arcian architecture favored bright, opulent and colorful masonry and style, Vaer chose a more tame, singular style, a mixture of old Hyddick style and blend from the immigrants of Old Earth. The Inner Chambers of the Emperor were a large chamber, bordered by large pillars that rose up into stretching arches. Tapestries and banners of Vaeran conquest decorated the walls, and a bright red carpet led from the doors to the Emperor's throne, which rose up from a raised dais, framed by the far wall made entirely of glass, to allow one to look down on the entirety of Helgras stretched out below.

Nathaniel walked down the middle of the room confidently, ignoring the rows of Honor Guards that lined the room, and the few nobles that stood in attendance.

Emperor Lukkas Dareon II watched silently as his Mage Hunter approached, and remained silent as Nathaniel approached his throne, bowing deeply.

"My Lord." Nathaniel said, not looking up. "I have come at your request."

Lukkas regarded the young man -still little more than a boy in the Emperor's opinion- and finally spoke. "Rise, Hunter Sorian." he tilted his head slightly, letting the bangs of his bronzed, greying har fall across his face. "And stand easy. Despite the noise some of my nobles are making about it, your..erm, return to Helgras is not something I want to broach at the moment."

Nathanial straightened and relaxed slightly, but did not fully leave his attention pose. "Sir."

"I called you here to listen to your report on the Kelenyr mission personally. I take it that you were successful." Of course, Lukkas expected him to be. Nathaniel was one of his best Hunters, despite his youth. Nathaniel cleared his throat and nodded.

"Of course sir. My team and I arrived at Kelenyr...."

-

Nathaniel gave his report clearly and efficiently, his tale lasting for a good half hour. When he finished, the Mage Hunter stood waiting for the Emperor to give his judgement. Lukkas Dareon watched him for a long moment, considering all he had learned.

"This...Apophis, fellow. He was the leader of these radical necromancers?"

"That is what I believe to be the case, my lord."

"Hmm. It is a strange coincidence." THe Emperor murmured, thinking to himself. Nathaniel's curiosity peaked, though he didn't show it. THe Emperor was silent for a long moment before speaking. "We have recieved strange reports from Nostia of such a figure as the one you described. And there have been odd sightings near the Ceberus border as well. It is mostly second-hand accounts, but now I wonder..." he trailed off.

"Sir?" Nathanile dared to inquire.

"Mage Hunter Nathaniel Sorian, you have carried out your duties well. I am pleased to know that those foul mages will no longer plague Nostia."

"You honor my, sire."

"And while I know you have only just arrived back in Vaer, I require you for another mission. This one will probably take longer, and you need to have a certain degree of.....discretion."

Nathaniel frowned. "Sir? Where are we going?"

Emperor Lukkas Dareon II smiled grimly. "Arcia".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Three hours later, nearly sundown, Nathnaiel stepped into the hospital wing where his prisoner was being held. He nodded to the nurse in the coridoor and the guards at the door. With a weary sigh Nathaniel steeled himself and opened the door, stepping inside.

The girl was awake, as Ishabel had reported. "I see you're awake." he said unnecessarily. he paused, clearing his throat. "Now then. I believe it is time for us to talk."

[Mizagium]

Felicia ventured a question. "Can people not seeking ultimate knowledge be excluded?"

"No," came the echoing reply. "You have to stay even longer."

"Damn."

Valendis started to edge his way around the bolder before a realization hit him. "Hey wait, I thought fatal blows would send us back to the library."

"The bird-man gets a pass."

"Why? That isn't fair."

"Because I like him. Got a problem with that? I can shoot any number of poisonous and/or dysentery-causing projectiles at you - through you - or even behind you."

"...What?"

"NO BACKSASS!"

A bolt of lightning appeared from the ceiling and struck Veraask.

"Right, so...anyway..." Valendis urged the group forward. Past the boulder the hallway ended, opening to a large empty room. Or so it seemed.

As soon as Valendis set foot over the threshold, he lost footing and fell - upward, landing on his head on the ceiling. As well, section of the walls, floor, and ceiling fell away, revealing seemingly-bottomless pits. Apparently the room was composed of tiles because squared sections began to shift around, opening and closing pits everywhere.

"So, you reversed gravity," Valendis observed. And we have to avoid falling into the pits. Doesn't seem so - "

And then the gravity shifted again, and he went falling sideways, narrowly avoiding a pit.

"So, the gravity randomly shifts. Awesome."

[Razgat]

Deyanira laid on the hospital bed, not bothering to sit up when Nathanial entered. The handcuffs prevented her from totally sitting up anyway. She held a pout as she looked at him, squinting her eyes. "You know, it might be easier to talk if I could actually move." She tugged at the handcuffs, creating a clinking noise on the bar. "But you're not letting that happen, are you?"

[Myrdraxxis]

"Considering that the last time you were loose, we nearly nose-dived into the capitol....no. That won't be happening any time soon." Nathaniel shook his head. He glanced around the sparse room for a moment before walking over to the chair sitting by the bed.

He sat down, facing the bed and leveling a glare at the bed's occupant. "Now then. We can have one of two things here. A discussion, or an interrogation. Your choice. I'm legally allowed to conduct either, no questions asked." he said, the warning obvious in his tone.

"First question. Where did you learn blood magic?"


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Recovering from the random lightning strike that temporarily (and unnecessarily) robbed Veraask of his senses, he set off down the hall -careful to avoid falling boulders this time- and stepped into the room Valendis had just entered. The bird-man took stock of the sudden change in environment.

"Oh my." he said rather calmly...as he plunged towards one of the pitfalls. He managed to fling himself to the side at the last moment, thankful that -while no longer having the ability to fly- his people still managed some mid-air directional capabilities.

"I don't suppose you would know how to get through this one?"

[Razgat]

A frown pulled the corners of Deyanira's mouth down. She didn't want to involve her parents in any of this. If they were ever killed, she would never forgive herself. "I taught myself," she lied, "I had a book. I was a natural at it."

[Myrdraxxis]

Nathaniel studied the girl for a moment, quirking an eyebrow. While he was inclined to point out that there was nothing natural about blood magic, he refrained. It was technically possible to teach yourself magic. But often times texts would contradict each other or even contain misinformation, if the writer was feeling especially malicious. Not to mention that, while few and far between, blood magic tomes were often highly prized and illegal.

Still, it was possible. So he let it go.

"Very well. It would seem you take to magic quite well then." he said evenly. "Why were you at Kelenyr?"

[Razgat]

Deyanira sighed heavily. She'd much rather be out of the bed and walking around, but according to Nathaniel, she wasn't going anywhere. "I live there, duh. I just wander around until I find stuff. Do you know how boring it is there? I find a lot of good bones just laying around, so that's what I was doing......gasp STEVE! I FORGOT ABOUT STEVE!"

The guards must have taken her things when they took her to the hospital, along with the skull she had found earlier.

[Mizagium]

When the Specter rematerialized, he was greeted by several of his "siblings", all of whom were busy telling their stories to one another, which amounted to little more than everyone shouting over everyone else. One clapped him on the back and another clasped his hand. If they said anything, it was lost in the insane cacophony of the room.

"Everyone," boomed a voice that much like their own. "Please, settle down. There's an easier way than this."

All of the identical men glanced about uneasily, knowing what was coming next. It had happened before - well, not to them specifically, but to the brothers who came before; all of those assembled shared those memories. But there wasn't anything they could do about it.

"Comvertimini ad me, coniungere, et communem omnium"

Like a supermagnet acting on iron filings, the assembled were suddenly pulled towards the other end of the room, where stood a single figure, identical to those before him, but more...real. And it was into him that they smashed and joined, losing individual forms. Suddenly, all of their minds pressed up against one another within one brain.

One by one, ego barriers were torn down and the individual minds melted together, sharing learned information with each other at superluminal speeds - until there remained only one body and one mind.

Abel Xander Damasca always hated that part of the technique - the reunification of the elemental clones. It had taken a long time to master. The basic skill itself, creating clones, was a standard Illusion spell. Filling them with elemental magic was developed by his ancestor Asher, during the heyday of the Dark Wing organization. And it was his father that pushed it further by throwing the mind-meld, which was borrowed from Druidism.

Abel seated himself and performed a few deep breathing exercises while clearing his mind of stray thoughts. Sometimes, the clones were resistant and maintained an ego-barrier even after the spell was invoked, hiding somewhere within the far reaches of his psyche. Left unchecked, this could develop into bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and multiple personalities.

Sure that his was the only mind within his body, Abel rose and rejoined the rest of his companions.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he announced. "There's something interesting going in Nostia."

[Monika]

"Hmm. This new terrain might prove just a bit hazardous..." Lenore eyed the various pits scattered throughout the room and quickly formulated a plan that would hopefully prevent the party members from falling to their doom...or wherever the lair's guardian saw fit to put them if they failed this test.

"Kazan!" she called.

"Yo, wassup?" Still completely oblivious to any potential danger, through sheer stupidity Kazan was successfully weaving his way around bottomless pits, seemingly defying gravity as he did so.

"Ugh, must you always be so...Never mind! When I give the signal, I want you to use your-" As gravity shifted again, Lenore barely dodged another gaping hole in the decor. "Phew...When I give the signal, use your Thunder Flash technique, okay?"

"Hmm?" Kazan skillfully dodged more pits, too busy staring at his hands and practicing his magic to notice them. He gave a quick glance to his surroundings before returning to practice, replying "Nori, I'm pretty sure none of the people here are our enemies. No need for that attack. Conserve our strength and all that."

Withdrawing her staff and thus rendering herself incapable of facepalming, she shot Kazan a look that - even though he couldn't see it - was powerful enough to communicate her desires.

"I'm glad you understand!" Lenore smiled, sensing Kazan's acknowledgement. "Now, let's see if this works...IncolaMundus Spirituscustoditemandatameaetrespondemihidicereveneruntadme: Advanced Tier, Earth Golem Ferros!" In an attempt to save everyone as quickly possible, Lenore's words slurred together, but a flash of light later proved that the spell still worked. Once the light cleared, next to Lenore stood an 8 foot tall titan made of various patches of rock, with glowing holes where you would expects its eyes and mouth to be.

The beast looked at Lenore and cocked its head to one side, awaiting a command.

"Ferros, Iron Sand Shower!" she ordered.

"RRAAAAAAAAARGH!" Roaring in compliance, Ferros opened its glowing maw and raised its hands toward the ceiling (or what appeared to be the ceiling from its perspective). Its fingers retracted into its fists, changing into some sort of machine gun. From Ferros' mouth and the holes where its fingers had been emerged torrents of black sand that completely covered every inch of the walls around them.

"Now, Kazan!"

"Right. Not that I know what's going on...Ha!" Kazan threw one sword to his left and one to his right. "Here goes...Thunder Flash!" While the blades were still in midair, Kazan rubbed his hands together and sent thousands of bolts of electricity from his body toward the sand covered walls. Thanks to the magic of SCIENCE, the walls were instantly magnetized. Electrically magnetized. These new electromagnetic walls attracted anything of metal (as well as the rock golem) and were powerful enough to resist the force of the randomly changing gravity.

Kazan grabbed one of his swords, which went flying into the wall, stuck there. Lenore did the same for the other of his swords, flying into the opposite wall.

"All those years of homeschooling came in handy, I guess..." Lenore muttered, adding this to her mental list of all the good things her father had done for her in her lifetime. The list was now up to a grand total of 2, the first being the Morana family staff he entrusted to her.

[Myrdraxxis]

Dare I ask?

The thought lingered in Nathaniel's mind for a moment before he shook his head, sighing heavily. "Okay, calm down.....who is this Steve?" He was not entirely sure he wanted an answer, but at this point he wasn't even sure if this girl knew how much trouble she was in.

[Sariel of Tevet]

Johanai sat at his desk, staring at the painting of his family. His son, Roluo was only eight at the time it was made. Things were not so complicated then. Thinking back to those times made his decision even harder, but he knew he had to protect them. Not just his family, but the village. He pulled a small journal from a hidden drawer in the desk and laid it out next to a vial of ink and his quill.

“I may not be able to tell you why I am leaving Roluo, you and your mother wouldn’t understand, but at least I can tell my journal. Even just for my sake. Maybe one day you will find this.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I guess we can stop here for the night Liulfr. We have been wandering for days. Maybe we shouldn’t have jumped ship so early, I was hoping we would be a lot closer to this chronomancer than we ended up.”

Roluo collapsed against a nearby three trunk and slid down onto the ground. Liulfr sauntered over to him and rested his head on Roluo’s lap and began to drift off.

“Yeah, that seems like a good idea boy,” Roluo said as he stroked his feral pets head, “I guess I’ll try to get some sleep as well.”

And with that Roluo succumbed to sleep and was forced to spend another night with his memories haunting his dreams.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And there they were. Lifeless. Inanimate. As cold and unforgiving as the icy permafrost they collapsed on. Roluo looked around in horror as the masses lay scattered across the barren, frosted earth. The populace of a once active clan, a small one at that but a carefree and joyful people. MY carefree and joyful people. MY loved ones. MY friends. MY family. Their shining faces now tarnished by the ice of death, the only thing colder than the frozen abandoned wasteland that is Nostia. The same shining faces that radiated the only sliver of warmth to be found for miles. A warmth blown out like a candle with their passing.

The snow powdered ground was melting into puddles from the warmth of the blood that now stained it. THEIR blood. MY...blood. It poured from Roluo's now festering wound on his neck and chest. So much blood...my mother's blood. She was face down, in worse shape than most of the others, tattered and torn like a used rag doll. Mother...how did this..

He rose, stammering to his feet with the minute amount of strength he still possessed. He tried to look around to take in the sheer gravity of the devastation to his village, but his injuries inhibited him from turning his head. Roluo slid his feet around, attempting to strafe a small degree and see the rest of the town. The tents were all torn apart and thrown throughout the street. Some even caught fire at some point and were now smoldering into ash, yet the fallen houses' heat still failed to warm the souls of their deceased inhabitants.

He walked around slowly, a pace he was not used to. It made him feel weak, more so than his injuries did. The pain made him feel stronger as though he had accomplished something. It fueled his pride, a pride that was now starving from his inability to function properly. As he wandered through the streets, not sure what he was searching for, a cause or any source of life, he saw the faces of the fallen. The faces he knew all his life. The faces of those same radiant, warm, selfless people.

Roluo was stunned. The panic he saw on the faces, the terror. It paralyzed him. The longer he stumbled around his home the more and more sickened and terrified he became by the destruction. Death had never frightened him so severely before, or at all even. Nostia was filled with necromancers and death was welcomed.

Why do I feel this way? I...why do I feel so sick? It's like...like I had something to do wit...

His words were cut short, like the lives that surrounded him. There at the end of the town, were the remains of his family’s tent. A trail of blood lead from where he stood and into the home. A home that seemed untouched and cut off from the carnage. The animal skin walls lay intact and unharmed by the surrounding fire. It seemed to be walled off from the rest of the world by the flames. Apprehensive, Roluo limped to the opening of the tent, wishing he had someone to pray to keep him from seeing what he knew would be on the other side of that entrance. He pushed back the flap of the tent and saw things in place, all accounted for. Unharmed. Unchanged. Aside from the linear path of blood along the snow, all seemed well inside his home. He followed the trail to the back of the tent to his parent’s room, the room that seemed like the safest place in the world when he was a child. He only wished that it still applied now in his teenage years, for the sake of whoever was behind the animal skin flap. His hands trembled as he raised his fingers to the edge of the canvas, and peeled them back. He collapsed from the pain that surged through his chest.

No, no it can't be. No. "Mother!!"

Roluo crawled to the corpse and held the body in his arms.

"Mother what happened here? What's going on answer me!!"

She never answered, she couldn't answer. Deep down he knew this, but just couldn't resist the urge to shout at her. Even now he needed her, even in her death. He fell into her with tears. It was the first time he had shown selfless emotion since his father left. For that moment his pride and his anger were swept away from the wave of his mother's death over him.

If...if only I were here. If only I could remember what happened here. If only I...

"Wait...wait a minute." He dropped his mother and crept backwards against the wall in fear like he had seen a ghost, but it was worse. He had seen the truth.

“I…I think I remember…”

A memory flashed into his mind from earlier that day.

“I was going through father’s old study. And Liulfr accidentally bumped his desk and a book fell out. His journal. I…I remember what it said…but…barely…”

Son, Roluo, I do not know if you will ever find this. I do not know if Elan has willed this for you. What I do know though is that there is a terrible evil coming to our village. If I don’t prevent this now, everything we love will be wiped out. Everything. I stumbled upon the prophecy when I was out hunting a few months ago. I noticed the creature had an odd aura about it when I went to collect it. I brought it back to my lab and performed an extispicy. The omen was strong Roluo, too strong. I have to find out what is going to happen so I can save the village. The problem with extispicy is you can not see details, only vague visions. I needed a strong practice, I needed to summon a council with Elan. Yes, Elan. I seek council with our God. Roluo I know of a spell, but I haven’t been able to use it successfully. I am going now to find my old master up in the northern region so that maybe he can help me. In the meantime, if I am not back. If it takes you years to find this, you must leave. Everyone needs to leave. Escape Nostia. Please Roluo, lead your people and leave this place.

“That’s…that’s it…I remember. I thought I could do it. I thought I could summon Elan myself. My pride….MY GOD DAMN PRIDE!!”

Roluo picked up a vase from the floor and through it across the room and watched it shatter. He fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face.

“I was so angry at him for leaving us like that all these years. I wanted to be better than he was. I looked through his study until I found the spell. I thought I could do it…I wanted to be stronger…but I failed. I failed and now the entire village is destroyed. I couldn’t control the link between this world and the next, it took too long for Elan to make his way to me and a demon came through instead. Now the town is gone…my people…are gone. I remember now…it’s my fault, the prophecy was about me.”

[Razgat]

Deyanira was flailing her arms around, wondering where Steve could be. "I found Steve when I was wondering around and shoved him in my bag. I was going to use him on a staff later, but I couldn't find a stick. AND NOW STEVE IS LOST, YOU MONSTER!"

[Mizagium]

Valendis was pulled to the nearest surface by Garm, pulling Felicia along with him. Thankfully the magnetic attraction wasn't too strong, and he was able to mostly make it to his feet.

"Great job, Lenore! Everyone, let's move forward before our captor decides to make things more difficult for us."

Slowly, very slowly, Valendis and Felicia inched forward. Only he kept her from floating away. The walls might have been glassed together, but the shifting gravity was still in effect. Evey couple of minutes, Felicia kept trying to float in a different direction.

By the time they reached the end of the gravity room, the gravity was pulling her towards the wall Valendis was stuck to.

"So...how are we getting out?" She asked. The exit was much like the entrance, a hallway that opened up in the center of the far wall. You had to either climb or float through.

"Wait until the gravity shifts," Valendis said. "Then we try to float through the door."

She stared at him. Hard. "That's your plan? I could have thought of that."

"Yeah, but you didn't."

She made a disgusted sound but otherwise didn't argue. After a few minutes, they felt the shift in gravity. "Now!" Both of them kicked off from the wall - Valendis trailed slightly because of Garm's attraction to the wall.

So they floated.

"What now?" They weren't going anywhere but up.

"Swim!" Valendis started flailing about comically, but the meaning was there: swim through the air toward the exit. Felicia made it, but Valendis trailed, stuck between the walls, pulled by magnetism and gravity.

"Hurry, the gravity's going to change again soon."

"Incola Mundas Spiritus, custodite mandata mea et responde mihi dicere: venerunt ad me: Novice Tier, Wind Pixie Sylphie!"

Light flashed, tinted with green, and a little humanoid form appeared in front of him.

"Hello! My name is Slyphie and I'm sooooo excited to be summoned!"

"Great, can you give me a push?"

"Of course!"

She might have been small, but her wind magic was powerful. Valendis might have been thrown forward for all the force he felt propelling him. Felicia only just managed to get out of the way.

"That was smart," she quipped.

"Save it. We need to get everyone else across. Hey, guys if you can hear me, start swimming through the room!" He turned to the wind pixie. "Can you create a wind tunnel to pull the along?"

"That's a little beyond my abilities, man. I'm only a Novice tier. That's more Advanced Tier stuff. I can create a light jet stream that could pull them along, but they'd have to reach it themselves..."

"Good enough. You hear that? Head for the air stream!"

Slyphie flew out to the center of the room, unaffected by the gravity shifts. Ventus, factus flumen!" A narrow band of air formed a visible river through the center of the room. "Hurry, I can't hold it for long!"

[Damien]

"Flagello fulminis!" said Izaak, moving his hand in front of him as if holding something by a handle. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning appeared in his hand in the shape of a whip.

"Kopraan vokun gron!" said Sorin, moving his hand in the same manner, mimicking Izaak as his shadow would. A whip of shadow appeared in his outstretched hand.

Both struck their whips simultaneously at the opposite side of the room, latching onto the floor. They jumped into the room, pulling themselves along their whip spells towards the air stream. Once they reached it, they used that tailwind to propel themselves towards the door to the next challenge.

"That idea was rather brilliant, Izaak," said Sorin. "I'm glad I shadowed you!"

"Oh, hahaha," said Izaak sarcastically. "Quite the pun master, aren't you?" He turned towards Valendis. "Sorin can grab everyone through the air stream with his shadow whip and pull them along quicker so we can get to the next room. I would help, but I think my lightning whip would be a bit shocking for some people."

And you make fun of my puns, thought Sorin.

[Sariel of Tevet]

Roluo awoke gradually, shaking off his slumber and already trying to forget that dream. It had been ages sense he slept long enough to see it in its entirety, and he wished he hadnt. He rolled over to wake up Liulfr and was surprised to see a pile of bones next to him. “Wow, I must have been really out of sorts last night during that dream. Usually I can still keep the mental connection necessary to keep him here through the night. I don’t exactly feel like having company right now anyway so I suppose it is ok. “

He climbed to his feet, carefully packed up Liulfr’s bones and was on his way again. He hadn’t noticed last night but the city was just far enough away for him to see. He had finally reached the outskirts of town after wandering for days on end. Although where he needed to be, he still wasn’t sure of the whereabouts of this Father Time character. “I guess I ought to just journey to the city and ask around. Couldn’t hurt right?”

He sprinted off in the direction of the city, taking in the country side as he jogged along just in case he may spy the old man’s cabin. But it was a fruitless endeavor because anything fifty yards off of the road was encased in a looming forest. It seemed like hours had passed once he finally reached the outer walls.

“Hey! Who are you!”
Roluo stopped in his tracks and looked around. He couldn’t pinpoint where the voice was coming from. He was hardly near the wall at all yet. It couldn’t be from that far off.

“Up here asshole, in the tree.”

Roluo looked up to see a man with a spyglass and a rifle sitting up in the branches of a nearby tree just off the road. The soldier dropped out of the tree line and ran right up to him.

“You’re not from around here are you? What’s your name boy, and don’t be bashful, as of right now I have no reason to kill you.” The man really did have no reason to kill Roluo yet, but he did make damn sure to aim the rifle right right at his chest, finger ready to touch the trigger.

“Yeah ugh, I'm from the city but, I am actually er…lost. You see I uh…went out with a bunch of friends last night. We went camping. When I woke up they had all left me, as a joke I’m sure because I don’t exactly know my way around outside the city. I have been wandering out here ever since. I’m just glad I picked the right way once I found the road, I had to flip a coin and everything. But…since I found my way now I’ll just be goin…”

“Oh no you don’t!” The soldier yelled as he pushed Roluo back a few paces by jabbing him with the rifle. “Anyone in this city knows that there is a curfew. No one is allowed outside the walls at night. No telling what is in that forest. So you boys are either stupid or you really aren’t from around here. Say, you wouldn’t happen to be a mage would you?” The militant’s brow scrunched as he peered around Roluo’s shoulder to try and get a better look at the staff hanging off of his shoulder. In doing so his gun drooped just enough to be pointed to the left of him, so he struck. Roluo shuffled to the left and reached back for his staff. He pulled the head over his shoulder and right into the rifle, knocking it from the man’s hands. Then without hesitating he grasped the bottom end up the staff and turned it upwards, right through the bottom of the soldier’s jaw. The man’s eyes widened in shock as his throat began to swell with blood. He coughed and then dropped to his knees, beaten. Roluo kicked his chest, knocking him onto his back and then placed his foot on the soldier’s sternum. He pushed down with all his weight and yanked his staff from man’s jaw and turned to walk away.

“I guess I wont be asking anyone in town for advice. What a bunch of mage hating biggots they are. I wonder if they all hate mages or if the government is just forcing this on them? Oh well I suppose it doesn’t matter then. I only need to get to the outskirts anyway. Better summon Liulfr just in case I get anymore nosey soldiers with spy glasses poking around.
He summoned Liulfr and was greeted appropriately by the beast, as always. He knelt down and patted his companion on the head.

“You know what? I bet you can sniff out this father time guy. We may not be able to see his cabin but I doubt anyone is living in the woods. Liulfr just try to find someone that smells like me, but isnt the direction of that town over there ok?”

Liulfr understood and nodded slowly. He turned his back to the town and stuck his nose up into the air. His head twisted back and forth until his ears perked up to the south. He barked and without a second thought took off after the scent, with Roluo shocked and at his heels.

[Myrdraxxis]

Veraask squawked triumphantly as he made his way across the room, clutching the far wall. He'd like to say that his arm/wing-flapping motions were some Arkarris way to move through the air similar to flight like regular birds...but mostly it was an unconscious gesture, shamefully yet to be eliminated. Either way, it definitely looked like the bird-man flew across the room.

"Safe!" he called, digging his talons into the stone-work. "I suggest we move on quickly." not waiting for a reply, he floated through the door into the next room....and let out a yelp as he fell to the floor, gravity righting itself in the hallway leading to their next chamber.

He let out an irritated huff, picking himself up and dusting off his robes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Nathaniel just stared at the girl Deyanira, not quite sure what to say at this point. Surely this girl must have suffered some kind of head trauma during their turbulent land. Maybe the lack of blood had affected her. Either way, he was confident that there was absolutely no way this girl could have survived Nostia with her current mindset.

"Right. Um....look. I don't know about any skull, but your pack was put in the ship's footlocker. It should still be there..." he began, then paused. He wasn't sure the good captain would appreciate having this blood mage on his ship anymore. "Regardless, I see that this interrogation is getting me nowhere. You have no intention of being helpful, obviously, so I won't waste either of out time." he stood to leave.

[Monika]

Hanging from the wall by his sword, Kazan looked up from potential doom by falling long enough to notice Izaak's lightning whip spell. "Ooooh! I'm a lightning mage! I can totally do that!" he yelled excitedly, outstretching his hand toward the opposite wall. "Now, what was that incantation he just used? Flogella fliminus?"

BOOMCRASHKAPOWSHSHSHSKKKKSHXHK!

As could be expected, Kazan's terrible attempt at mimicking Izaak's spell backfired. Instead of creating a magical whip, he ended up creating a blast of electric energy with enough concussive force to knock him all the way toward the air stream and to the other side of the room.

"Owies. That wasn't right, was it?"

"How could such an incompetent traveling partner exist?" Lenore huffed, banishing Ferros back to the Spirit World. "One day he'll learn to take the logical approach." Sensibly, Lenore caught Sorin's shadow whip and made her way to the other side.