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Post by Sorrum on Jul 26, 2018 22:35:11 GMT -5
Aqua nodded and followed the others, trying to stand strong while they transported her friend. Despite the odds of another attack being low, she kept her guard up.
She looked over at Hien and Terra, and forced herself to look away and steel her emotions for the time being.
~
Inside the cavern, Aqua looked at the Crystal walls with curiosity. It had been unlike anything she had seen before, but she maintained a stoic grip on the situation. However, when Terra awoke, her facade faded and she turned away to hide her face which now welled over with tears.
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pantheon
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Post by pantheon on Aug 2, 2018 18:14:46 GMT -5
Etch had walked with the others quietly, anxiously brooding about the fight, he could have done so much better, but he didn't, why? He didn't know. He barely knew Terra, but felt responsible for her wounds. he started to tear up as the entered the cavern, putting up his hood as he did so.
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Post by Arashi on Aug 7, 2018 2:56:10 GMT -5
Silver waved at the others as they approached, smiling a bit at first. She looked away from Logan a bit, still feeling a bit odd about her first encounter with him. Though, she then noticed that Terra wasn't looking so good, and that Aqua wasn't looking so happy. As they got closer, she realized something had certainly hurt Terra and upset Aqua. This made her unreasonably angry. What had done this? She clenched her fist a bit and snarled, wondering what she missed...and wishing she could have crushed whoever caused them pain. Terra had just earlier proved herself to not be so bad after all, so this only fueled her anger more. She didn't...really know what to say though because it was clear she missed something big, so for the time being she just followed them in. She made her way over to Rion and gave him a look of both confusion and anger, still.
Enfurnus immediately walked up to Aqua, also taking notice that she seemed distressed.
"What happened to her...? Are you okay?" His voice carried a much more serious tone than his usual for the day. His team members being hurt was absolutely unacceptable to him, and it made him feel as if he wasn't doing his job of keeping them safe.
As they walked in the room, Silver looked around with awe. She had never seen light crystals like this before. However, her amazement was cut short. As she walked deeper in, her head began hurting more and more. That was a large concentration of light magic, probably much, much larger than she had ever been around. Her dark nature must have been having some sort of adverse effect to it, she assumed. The pain quickly became close to unbearable. She put a hand on her head and tried to mask the pain on her face by looking away from everyone, avoiding eye contact as much as possible.
Enfurnus watched as Terra awoke. He sighed with relief at that point, but still overall wasn't pleased with the situation. He looked at Aqua trying to hide her face and his expression softened a bit though. This was obviously hitting her pretty hard. He walked up to her and put a hand lightly on her shoulder.
"You don't need to hide. It's quite okay, and I'm sure Terra will be okay too. She's strong, after all."
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Post by Bloodbane on Aug 17, 2018 0:03:16 GMT -5
With Logan's magic appearing to activate the crystals somehow, Rion looked on, curious as to just what Logan was accomplishing with this. Was his magic being amplified by the crystals that lined the cavern-like room? Or was he somehow releasing energy that was stored within the crystals themselves? He scratched his head, watching as Logan continued his work. Before he could really inquire what Logan was doing, a fit of coughing broke the overall silence of the room, before Rion could hear Terra's low voice, causing him to close in briefly as she tried to speak.
"Hey, easy there..." He said quietly, looking over his shoulder briefly before looking back to Terra. "Everyone's all right, sounds like you guys had quite a tussle but they're going to be taken care of. Looks like everyone's more concerned about you making it out of this, so don't push yourself too hard just yet, okay?" He said, noting the rather somber appearance of the group. Interestingly enough, Enfurnus seemed more incensed than the others, though perhaps it was due to not knowing the whole situation yet.
Logan seemed to nod in agreement with Rion. "The boy's right, dear... there will be plenty of time to talk over what happened once you've recovered. The worst of it's over, at least, but I'd recommend you staying in here at least for a little while just to be safe. Perhaps your friends could tell me about your journey so far...?" He said, looking back to Rion as he lowered his hands. While the glowing from most of the crystals appeared to die down, the ones immediately surrounding the bed maintained their radiance, before looking over the others. "How's everyone else doing? The light energy given off by the crystals should be speeding up your healing as well, though I'll admit it's not so easy to fix a damaged spirit. You've got nothing to worry about, your friend may have some scarring when all's said and done, but while she might not be one-hundred percent by morning she will be fine." He stated with a calm smile, though he did raise an eyebrow as he looked in Silver's direction, since something appeared to be off with her reaction to the room.
Shin crossed his arms, looking around the room and nodding. "It sounds like he wants us to stay at least for a little while. I suppose getting a better idea of what you've all been dealing with would be a good start, and it'll help get those who just joined us up to speed." He stated as he looked to Enfurnus and Aqua.
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Post by Swim on Aug 19, 2018 14:09:52 GMT -5
Terra listened closely as Rion explained the situation and nodded once he'd finished. Everyone else was alive, and by the sounds of things Terra herself had gotten the worst of it. She supposed this was the best possible outcome for the scenario they'd found themselves in. She was sure there would be questions later, and her companions certainly deserved to know the full scope of what she'd gotten them involved in, but for the moment Rion had encouraged her to rest and recover.
The older man agreed, he seemed to be the most knowledgeable healer among them and was manipulating the crystals around her somehow. Their warm glow felt fantastic and Terra allowed her eyes to flutter closed once more. She was fully conscious now but elected to listen and rest while the others spoke quietly around her.
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Post by Arashi on Sept 8, 2018 3:08:24 GMT -5
Enfurnus looked around at the group, and then looked in Logan's direction as he asked about how their journey was going. He scratched his head for a moment, not sure how to start with it, since he didn't quite know what the new group members or Logan knew about the blight. He assumed Logan needed to at least know a decent amount, considering the crystals. And their new group members would be finding out soon enough anyway, if they chose to follow.
"Well, let me shorten this the best I can. I wasn't with these fellows at the start of their trip either, so I can't really speak for much there...or how they all managed to meet. I am aware of them finding a blighted town though before I was in the picture." He shrugged. "After I met up with them, I guess....you could kind of say it only got worse. We were led to more blight, and we took out the crystal again. Er, well..." He paused for a moment and scratched his head, realizing what he just said may raise a question. So he decided to answer it first. Sort of.
"Silver takes out the crystals with some spell she learned. I dunno how she does it. Everybody else kills all the stuff."
Silver gave Enfurnus a bit of a look, but her mind was a bit too foggy from enduring the pain for her to really react. Though as a large amount of the crystals dimmed, it hurt a little bit less at least. Her horrid reaction to the crystals didn't really stop her fascination with the room though. This was stuff of legends...painful, but stuff of legends still.
"Anyway," Enfurnus looked back to Logan, "we also went to the festival, as you saw, so it hasn't been all just bad things. We've had some fun too. As far as for what happened to Terra, I couldn't tell you that. I wasn't there, but hopefully whoever did it is dead. At least they better be, or they will be if I see them." He scoffed.
"I am interested in that story though. But I think I mostly covered everything."
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Post by Sorrum on Oct 1, 2018 10:33:27 GMT -5
Aqua maintained her composure to Enfurnus and told him what had happened, about the men surrounding them, Terra giving herself up to let her escape, and the fatal strike that she thought took her life. It still weighed on the girls mind, so afterward it wasn't until she remembered he asked how she herself fared. "But I'm fine.. I wasn't injured." Aqua said in reply.
~
Aqua listened silently as the others spoke, still trying to calm down. It certainly helped that . When Enfurnus mentioned whoever had attacked them had better be dead now, Aqua's emotions flipped. "Some escaped, but the one who cut Terra is no longer in this world." She said morbidly.
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Post by Bloodbane on Oct 8, 2018 0:01:28 GMT -5
Logan listened intently to the explanation given by Enfurnus, adjusting his glasses after a moment. "Oh my... so you've found a way to nullify the crystals that have been spreading this plague?" He said, looking over to Silver after a moment and tilting his head before looking to Rion.
"That's right." Rion said after a moment, before putting a hand to his neck. "The thing we'd been searching for all along... only to find it too late." He frowned briefly, recalling that had been a focus of the Shining Swordsmen as it became more apparent that parts of the world were becoming afflicted with darkness again. It was, after all, part of the reason that they had come to train him when he was old enough, which led him to another question that had not been answered during their earlier conversation. "So... my mother was one of the Shining Swordsmen as well, from what you told me. That much I understand... but you said this was all done by her?"
"Mm, not quite..." Logan admitted, before placing his hand beneath the crystal pendant that was used to open the path to this chamber. "This was a gift from her, when she returned to Eulene. When she showed me first-hand how she formed the crystal, I had some theories about it, but it wasn't until I really looked into this sort of magic that I realized how remarkable it was; not only is this crystal formed from highly-condensed light magic, but it can be cultivated and shaped by drawing in more light. Something like this makes for a highly-effective catalyst." He explained, before looking around. "As far as this chamber is concerned, I also found that the only places in the world where these crystals tend to thrive are in deep caverns. There are other caves like this that exist naturally, but while it would be difficult to prove in this day and age, it is believed that these crystals only form and maintain naturally in regions inhabited by the Alpha Dragons; old tales state that their boundless energy would radiate throughout their lairs, coming together to form crystalline chambers much like this one." Logan chuckled afterward. "Of course, this one I had dug out, mostly as a means to more easily store and nurture the crystals using my own magic. It's also a rather nice place to relax, possibly because of the ambient light energy." He then realized how long-winded his explanation had gotten, before giving another laugh.
"My apologies... I suppose all this isn't nearly as interesting to you folks." He stated, before Shin put a hand to his chin. "It's interesting none the less, however... the crystals we've come across have had similar properties, only they seemed to be fueled by a dark energy." Shin then looked to Rion. "Perhaps if you found a way to harness and control that power you used back against Yung, we may have a way to aid Silver with... well, whatever it is she's been doing." Shin said before looking to Silver. "Is something the matter?"
Rion looked to Silver, realizing that something did indeed seem off. Thinking back to what Logan said about the ambient light energy brought him to walk over to Silver. "You okay...?" He asked, before looking to the others. "It's... uh, been a long day for all of us, huh? This festival ended up being a lot more adventure than we bargained for... Perhaps we can save planning our next move for morning?"
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Post by Swim on Oct 9, 2018 0:17:59 GMT -5
Things had quieted down and the tension had been defused somewhat not that it was clear that Terra would recover. It looked as though everybody was ready to get some sleep, and Terra was entirely fine with that. A thought occurred to her as her thoughts turned to the next day. Her eyes snapped open and searched the faces around her before finding the pair that she wanted.
"En.. fur.. ness," she croaked out slowly, beckoning him closer. Her voice hadn't fully recovered yet. Thankfully he noticed and bent down close enough to hear the favor she wanted to ask of him. Satisfied that he would understand the reason behind her request and take care of things, and slightly dizzy from the exertion she lay her head back down and closed her eyes once more.
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Post by Arashi on Oct 12, 2018 0:00:43 GMT -5
Enfurnus nodded at Aqua, listening. His expression slowly grew to one of annoyance at Terra's attackers, and his face made it clear he did not approve. He couldn't help but wish he was there. He then sighed, and gently laughed a bit at Aqua saying she wasn't hurt.
"I can tell you aren't hurt on the outside. Was more so worried by how your mind is faring through this. Regardless...I'm sorry I wasn't there to help. I'm glad you took care of business, though. Let me know if you ever see the rest of them and we can crush them too." He scoffed in disapproval. What barbarians.
Silver just listened as everybody spoke to each other, paying close attention to Logan. He spoke of legends she had also heard of; tales she heard from her mother. It all sort of added up; dark magic crystals worked similar to what he was describing about the crystals in this room as far as she knew, but...something didn't add up. These crystals seemed to radiate light magic, but they didn't spread out energy in a destructive manner...but she couldn't focus enough on that thought at the moment.
She quietly handed the flyer she picked up at the bath house to Aqua after walking up to her and gently nudging her, figuring she would get the hint and like the idea. She then winced a bit and went back to where she was; slightly away from the crystals.
Silver then realized Shin was looking at her and asking her if something was up. She hesitated for a moment. Before she could answer Shin, Rion had walked up to her and asked her the same thing. Her gaze shifted a bit. He, out of all the others, had probably figured it out. She spoke quietly.
"I-I'm okay, it's just my head. Sorry. Too...bright." She hoped he was able to figure out what she meant by that. Shortly after though, Rion had mentioned wrapping up for the evening anyway. This brought her a great sense of relief. She simply nodded.
Meanwhile, Terra asked an...odd request from Enfurnus. He was confused by it at first, but accepted none the less; and quickly put the pieces together, though he would keep that to himself. He smiled at her.
"Yes, consider it done. Now you do me a favor and feel better."
The group said farewell to Terra and Logan, confident in her care for the evening with plans to check in on her in the morning. Silver found herself slowly feeling better as they left the room with the crystals, though that headache still lingered a bit. She found herself sticking sorta close to Rion out of habit.
Enfurnus came out a bit after everyone else, carrying some of his old torn up clothes that were in his backpack in his hands instead. He kept a somber expression and gently placed the clothes in plain view right outside the clinic, and then waved his hand over them. They promptly burned up. Afterwards, he walked at a brisk pace to catch up with the others.
The group then went back to their rooms at the Inn for some much needed rest.
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Post by Sorrum on Oct 12, 2018 6:05:12 GMT -5
Aqua couldn't help but smile and nod at Enfurnus's promise to eradicate the remainder of the attackers, but she hadn't much to say beyond that. This day had been one packed with events, and at this point she sought to reflect. With Terra's and Hien's recoveries assured, she had felt a heavy load lifted off her shoulders, and her heart. She wanted to wish her friend well, but her current condition demanded rest.
At some point throughout the proceedings, while lost in thought, Silver slipped something into Aqua's hands. Only now did it dawn on her that during most of the proceedings in the clinic, she had been quite inattentive. On their way back to the hotel, she realized this and inspected the item. It was a flyer for a.. bath house? Behind her, she witnessed Enfurnus disposing of some items from his pack. Not sure if or what to say about it at the moment, she walked along with him back to the hotel.
~
Aqua made it to her room without much hassle, bidding the others pleasant dreams. The day's events left her drained by all aspects. Crashing onto the bed unceremoniously, she once more pulled the flyer regarding the bath house into view, noticing that it would be open tomorrow as well. Her thoughts drifted over Silver's intentions.. the half-dragon, normally recluse, was now trying to bond with her and Terra on a personal, physical level? Aqua allowed a small smile. This was an interesting development, to say the least.
Her thoughts clouded with the attack on Terra, and how it had effected everyone. She wouldn't want that to be the last thing Terra remembers about this festival and the good times they had together. Hopefully, if she was up for it, they could do one last fun thing together before resuming their search of their furtive blight mage, which was sure to escalate now that they had recruited more allies.
Before falling asleep, she considered calling her father, but the conversation would likely last until morning. Perhaps it would be better saved for another night, though that would not stop her dreams from reliving the events on this day. A long night of tossing and turning awaited the elf.
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Post by Swim on Oct 14, 2018 2:39:26 GMT -5
That night Terra dreamed a strange dream. She found herself in battle with an ice mage that she didn't recognize, and while the woman was unfamiliar to Terra, the other had plenty to say about her.
"Why did you have to do it?" The woman raged, forming a pair of buzzsaw blades in her hands and lashing out. Terra ducked under the strike but could feel the icy chill linger in the air above her. "Why couldn't you leave well enough alone, why did you have to keep pushing?" The ice mage demanded, continuing the assault. Terra had no idea what the woman was talking about, but was too focused on parrying her sawblades to ask. "They're all dead because of you!" the woman roared, bringing both blades down in a downward strike. Terra lifted both arms up to guard herself against the attack. Her gauntlets shrieked as they were hewn through and fell to the ground with a clang. Terra looked into the face of her attacker and saw nothing but rage in the eyes staring back at her.
Terra woke up in a cold sweat and noted how odd the sensation was. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt cold. Usually she could regulate her own body temperature and keep warm regardless of the season or clothes she wore. The healing crystals around her seemed to have been sleeping as well, or at least they had dimmed a bit since the previous night. Interestingly, they seemed to be reacting to her now that she was awake and moving, radiating their light and warmth once again. Terra stretched and assessed her body. Movement felt fine, a bit stiff from lying on her back for so long but no lasting damage. She had full control and range of motion in both arms and legs. She sat up and rubbed her core. Everything seemed normal, apart from that persistent chill. Terra swung her legs down and rose to standing position. It was impossible to tell what time it was from within this crystal cavern but Terra suspected it was early. She was hungry for breakfast at any rate. In the meantime she supposed she'd walk around, see if she could find a blanket or some warmer clothing while she waited for her party to return.
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Post by Sorrum on Oct 17, 2018 7:57:10 GMT -5
Aqua rose from her sheets restlessly. It was yet early morning. Her conviction did steal some of her sleep predictably.
She packed her belongings and donned her armor, foregoing a call with her father again. She didn't need to contact him, it wasn't an emergency after all, yet she didn't feel right explaining to him that she was going through a trial in her own mind. This journey was stressful enough without his fatherly chirps informing her of the obvious. Yet, she reconciled, he was supportive before he was negative. She'd call him. Eventually. There were other matters at hand.
Aqua lifted her visor and looked over the flyer once more. It had been Silver's idea to attend this hot spring, but perhaps last nights events put her off before she could follow through with her suggestion. Aqua rolled the paper up in her hands and placed it among her other belongings, turning over the idea in her head again. "Yes," she thought. "following through with this will be a good thing overall. Leaving here after last night's attack will be a lasting memory, but this may improve everyone's remembrance of our time spent here overall." Aqua allowed herself a small smile, closed her visor, then marched out to the lobby.
This early morning afforded Aqua a silent hotel lobby, her other party members still asleep. First, she would go retrieve Terra and escort her back. It won't do to have her eating breakfast in that cavern by herself. The elf quickly and quietly moved out the door and into the street.
Eulene hadn't fully awakened yet. While wildlife, birds and insects, could be heard chirping, civilization had yet to be roused from it's slumber. The town guards were dousing street lights as sunlight bit into their eyes from between leaves still covered in due. A small team of handymen pulled a cart around, taking down decorations and signs for the festival, now past. It could be described as peaceful, if not for the apparent vagrants hiding in corners. Sharksbane clacked against her thigh as Aqua took off down the cobblestone street, headed for the clinic.
Upon reaching the clinic, she briefly wondered if Logan also lived in the establishment. Either way, Terra was bound to be in there. She reached up and knocked on the door.
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Post by Tony on Oct 18, 2018 21:42:48 GMT -5
Arne didn't talk to anyone for the rest of the night... choosing to stay focused on Hien, who quietly drifts off to sleep. Time passes, and he eventually leaves the clinic along with the rest of the group, heading back to the hotel. Returning to his room, he places Hien down on the bed and examines his wound once again... something that awakens the small wyvern, slightly squeaking in pain and giving Arne an annoyed growl.
"Oh. Sorry. Didn't mean to wake you there, pal. Just wanted to see how you were doing."
Hien chips questioningly.
"It's not too bad."" He walks over to his belongs and digs through his pack... pulling out a bottle of red liquid. "If you drink this, you'll be back in action by morning."
Hien yips at Arne... once again, clearly annoyed.
"Yeah, yeah. I know. It's the only one we have... and it was really expensive. But you need it. Now quit complaining and drink."
Arne remove the stopper from the bottle and hands it to Hien... who takes hold of it in his mouth and tilts his head back, drinking the contents and placing the bottle on a nightstand after finishing. Arne falls over onto the bed with a groan.
"This was one hell of a day, wasn't it? Guess our travels are gonna be a lot more interesting from this point on."
Hien walks over to Arne... and curls up next to him with a purr. It's not long before the two end up falling asleep.
The next morning...
Arne starts getting into his armor... having already packed up... he looks over at Hien, still asleep.
"Alright... time to get up!"
He slams his fist down onto the bed... causing Hien to immediately wake up and take flight with a yip. He looks over towards Arne, and growls.
"We need to get going... can't have you be sleeping all day."
After finishing with his armor, he hangs his halberd and javelins from his back... Hien making various noises in annoyance.
"Yeah, yeah. Let's get going, alright?"
He pats Hien's head... and the wyvern's attitude seems to improve, giving a happy chirp.
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Post by Bloodbane on Oct 22, 2018 21:02:37 GMT -5
At a few points throughout the evening, Logan had stopped by the makeshift cavern to check up on Terra, eventually leaving behind some extra blankets in case she woke up and found them necessary. After all, with it being a cavern of sorts, it could get pretty cold sometimes. When he had done his last check, she hadn't been awake just yet, but it was early enough in the morning that some people were likely to be up and moving even if the clinic wasn't open yet. Logan soon headed back up the lift, deciding that he would prepare some food and check back as soon as it was ready. However, he found himself somewhat surprised at a knocking on the door as he was preparing breakfast, making his way over to the clinic entrance before looking through a peephole to see the elven woman from Rion's party.
Taking a second to unlock the door, Logan opened the entrance with a small smile. "Well, hello again!" He said, looking past Aqua and seeing nobody else around. "Just you this morning...? I suppose it's still early. Come on inside." He said, making way for Aqua to head in, where the smell of eggs and different meats filled the air as they cooked nearby. "Here to check on your friend I presume? She seemed to be sleeping pretty well through the night. I think once she finally gets up and moving she'll be just fine." The doctor explained to Aqua, before turning the heating elements down for a moment to cook the food less quickly. "Would you like to see how she's doing?" He asked, waiting for Aqua to respond affirmatively before leading her back toward the lift the group had taken down the previous evening, though when the lift arrived and Logan opened the entry way into the chamber, his smile brightened a bit as he saw Terra was out of bed.
"Well well, you must be popular! Sun's barely up and you've already got a visitor." Logan chuckled as he and Aqua stepped inside. "How are you feeling... Better, I hope?" He asked Terra, waiting for her response before looking to both her and Aqua. "I'd better hurry and get breakfast ready. You can call the lift back down when you're ready using the panel on the wall." He explained to the two ladies, leaving the two to talk among themselves as he made his way back up to finish cooking. He also made a note to get some clothes together for Terra to change into; with the kind of injuries the clinic took care of at times there was no real shortage of basic clothing for patients, in the event they arrived in tatters.
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