BoZV - Arc 4

[Vic Alriikerson]

As Alriik advanced, away from the swords, the two may have noticed something small in Alriik as he walked towards the next fight. Relief. Seems he made a bit of a gamble with that move… And it's paying off. Watching Terra go in on Skinny, he quickly darted into the fray after her, quickly positioning himself on Skinny's backside as he deftly wailed on the cyborg's back. “Monsters, eh? Well, I know a thing or two about monsters…”


He'd attempt to get Skinny's attention, annoy him by keeping moving, dodging but… Keeping his mouth moving. “Cap's not a monster. Her damn heart’s too big. Neither is Terra. She knows when it’s time to stop and talk. “ He’d rush in, getting a few attacks on metal on metal in before ducking back again. “Arne’s got his little dragon friend, Rion's full of light, they aren’t monsters.” He’d begin to try to move around, keep his focus on him. The others can do the big damage. “You want your big monster on monster fight? Your Kraken VS Golem bout? I’m the one you want!”


He'd leap at Skinny now, attempting to climb on him and just… stay alive. Keep the focus on him. Run that big mouth. “FORGED FROM THE BLOOD OF CHILDREN, WITH VEINS FULL OF METAL!” His voice would take a theatrical tone as Skinny attempted to swing on him, him rolling off of Skinny to the side. “BEHOLD THE LIVING WEAPON OF THE MALICIOUS DWELLERS OF THE BLEAKWOODS, THE GROTESQUERIE KNOWN AS THE SILVER KNIGHT!”


Alriik should have his attention now. He’d come in one more time, low, and attempted to get a solid swing at Skinny’s remaining fleshy bits. But it didn’t matter, he was never going to be the big gun or the decisive swing in this fight… He just needed to give them the tools and the opportunity.

[Swim]

Terra and Alriik were just not operating on the same wavelength. Or rather, the problem was more that their plans were too similar, as both attempted to draw Skinny's attention toward themselves and away from their companions. Terra was thankful for such a selfless ally, but she couldn't imagine Skinny wanting anyone dead more than herself. Still, Alriik was inflicting an impressive amount of damage and regardless of his hatred for Terra Skinny was forced to divide his attention. While he bucked back and forth attempting to throw the elf off of his back, Terra lunged in and severed some of the wires connecting Skinny's tank to the rest of the machine, then she whirled around and buried Alriik's flaming great-sword into the steam-knight's side.

By this point Skinny had grown frustrated. The saw blade on his arm swiped at Terra, grinding into the wooden planks as she dove to the side. Then the wrecking ball rocketed out. Terra raised her gauntlets to guard herself but the force of the blow launched her several yards away, smashing through several supply crates. The steam-knight lunged forward to finish Terra off but fortunately one of her friends intercepted Skinny before he reached her.

Terra sat up gingerly and examined her left hand where several fingers appeared to be dislocated. She closed her eyes tightly and painfully wrenched them back into place. As long as she didn't aggravate them any further she'd heal. Despite being on the ocean her earth magic wasn't completely without use. All things considered she was able to shrug off blunt force relatively well and the next blow she thought, noting noting that her face and arms had hardened, would be even easier. She picked herself up and noticed the supplies that she had crashed through. Calico's ship had all sorts of equipment strewn across its deck, and she paused after coming across something she recognized.

"Burn in hell you son of a bitch!" Terra yelled, hurling a canister of adhesive oil. It shattered against the side of the steam-knight's chassis and splashed all over its legs. Skinny pivoted to face her but the oil had made the movement sluggish on one side. Terra saw her opening and changed, rolling under the knight's legs and yanked Alriik's sword out of its side, then proceeded to rake the sword across its oil covered legs.

[Sorrum]

Skinny screeched in his glass capsule as the oil both burned him and restricted his movement. His limbs squealed with steam as they tried to free themselves, but the adhesive held him in place, and the steam was not enough to put out the flames. The red glare from his eye seemed to intensify as he stared murderously at Terra, shining like a beacon in the fire. Suddenly, the saw blade arm swung and chopped at the chain holding the wrecking ball in place, grinding the blade down but somehow, severing the chain. The Steam Knight swung his blade at the boards below him, trying to cut the boards free from the ship to get itself out of the flames.

"Well, I guess it's time to end this." Vile watched from above, unnoticed by the combatants as the flaming metal workshop writhed on deck, screaming expletives and curses at the fire mage. Vile had discarded his pirate attire and weapon and drew his rapier, aiming it high into the sky. A blast of lightning came screaming from the clouds and down onto the blade's tip, sparks spraying left and right as they touched. Vile's body seemed to buzz with the electric current as well, but as soon as the strike ended, he sheathed his sword and leapt from his vantage point down onto the robot.

Landing just behind the robot and out of the flames, Vile cautiously would approach, holding out a hand for the others to stay back. He lowered himself and blitzed forward, lightning sparking the ground as he did so. He slammed into the back of the robot, startling Skinny in it's pilot seat. He landed with such force the metal crumbled in. His right hand sparked with electricity and with one fast punch he punched right into the hull of the Steam Knight, reaching into it's computer bits.

Vile tore from inside the Steam Knight a black box with wires on it, then discarded the machine over the edge of the ship. "You won't be able to move anymore without this." With that, he jumped off, and as he did the machine's arms and legs stopped swinging, the screaming from it's speaker quit out, and it's legs crumbled to a kneeling position. Vile looked on at the others. "Sorry for being so late, I had to protect the captain." He excused himself, looked around again and started counting heads. "Where's the elf girl?"

It was hardly noticeable during the battle with Skinny, but the cloudy background that had swallowed the ships now was dispersing, or seemed to be pulling away. Thunder boomed, but also echoed for much longer than natural, followed by what sounded like wind sucking away. Faded light of different colors beamed through the fog, as if a pale rainbow was splitting apart. The beams sparkled, grew vibrant, moved slowly, and disappeared then reappeared at random. But as one of these beams of light touched the fallen mast of the ship, it was torn from it's resting place and flew backward over the ship toward the beams origin.

Unfortunately for the Steam Knight, it happened to be in that path. The mast came flying in, smashing into the robot and clearing it from the deck of Calico's ship over the other side of The Sheperd. Skinny's glass box cracked from the impact, the robot limbs flailed wildly as it fell into the waters below.

The Steam Knight wasn't the only thing hit by the mast either. It cracked and smashed in half on the mast of The Sheperd as it crossed the threshold. Even though it broke apart, every piece of it still remained enveloped in the light and disappeared into the now clearing wall of clouds.

With that sudden interruption, Vile stared at the lopsided mast of The Sheperd in silence, then looked at the others. The deck had grown quiet in the fight; it seemed all the pirates now had abandoned ship and gotten away in any lifeboats that may remain. He stared ahead silently before clapping his hands in front of him. "Tally ho, then. Everyone back to the ship!"

[Sorrum]

Aqua kicked open doors left and right below deck of Calico's ship, before coming upon a hallway that looked seared from flames. Soot and lingering embers covered a door, which she opened immediately. She stood in an dimly lit chamber that was covered in blood and broken glass. She could see sharks swimming in sanguine water in a floor tank below, no doubt writhing in the ooze. Whatever soul had fallen in there had been torn to shreds, probably wasn't enough left of him to fill up a shoe.

Aqua frowned as the smell of burnt pork entered her nostrils. She had only eaten a bagel today, but something about the smell threw her off. It was unnatural. She continued into the room and noticed another door at the end. She hurried through it and into what was Sarah's lab.

Inside she was greeted by the sight of papers flipping through the air and being sucked out through a windy opening. In here, she saw the things that made Calico a feared pirate. Various machines beeped along the walls of the lab that she could not define. A large circular device with rods rising from the ground sat empty, where she imagined that giant robot had been before. At the end of the room, waves crashed up and foam entered the room, beginning to soak up the ship which already tipped dangerously.

At the opening she saw ropes that had been untied and left hanging by the door. A lifeboat must have been stored here for the operators of this equipment, and, seeing bits of blood on the ground here and there, she figured Calico as well. She lowered her head and stared out the gate in pain. She bested the pirate sure, but it was lucky. She could have finally brought this man in and made the seas a safer place, but it just wasn't meant going to happen today. She would not be able to ask him about the Prince, and the lost opportunity reopened a wound in the girl's heart.

Now that the chance had left her, she immediately thought of destroying the pirate that had gotten in her way. Whoever that lightning mage was she promised to crush him next time they did battle. He'd likely be gone too though.

She could see the fog thinning through the door and realized that the storm must be drawing close. Mana ran down Sharksbane as Aqua ran forward to the gap, leaping out and over the water. Sharksbane fired upward and pierced a board on the tipping pirate ship, reeling Aqua up and over the gap to the top deck. She didn't see Skinny, but was relieved her friends were still keeping it together. Somewhat. Alriik and Terra looked pretty rough. But it looked like Vile had finally showed up, so maybe his claim of being an arch mage were true after all.

There wasn't any time to waste. Aqua quickly descended the stairs of the pirate ship, which was now no longer lopsided but losing its buoyancy. She called out to Terra and the others. "I couldn't find Calico! But we can't stay here, that storm is getting close!"

[Bloodbane]

Rion watched as Alriik drew attention to himself, though there was something about his battle cry that unnerved the light mage slightly. 'Not to say it isn't intimidating... but "forged from the blood of children"...?' He had a feeling there was a story behind everything the silver-haired elf had to say. Before he could really put the sword to good effect, however, it appeared that Terra and Alriik's efforts had already brought the steel titan to slow down, but with the crash of thunder came the mage he saw helping Alriik from before. 'He shows up now...?' Rion's face contained a somewhat hard to read expression; something seemed... off. However, he could not get any time to really think about it as suddenly the broken mast was sucked toward the incoming storm, taking Skinny with it.

"Ouch... um, in memory of that guy...?"

With Skinny taken care of, Rion looked to the others on deck. Terra had taken some damage in the fight with Skinny, on top of possibly still having some effects to get over from her experience deeper in the enemy ship. 'Well, I couldn't use this offensively, but...' he mused, as he channeled light magic through the silver katana that Alriik handed him. He tilted his head as the blade began to glisten with multiple colors, before emitting a radial wave of light that washed over the deck of Calico's ship just as Aqua made her way back up topside. Streaks of colored light began to splinter off from the blade's colored aura, a feeling of warmth and healing soon being experienced by the members of Aqua's crew and soon the crew members of the Shepherd as the light continued outward.

"... W-wow... Alriik, I don't think your master was kidding about this sword..." he said, approaching the elven warrior and returning the katana to his possession. "Thank you." Rion looked across the boat and nodded to both Vile's and Aqua's statements. "Yeah, let's get out of here... I don't know what this thing is but we gotta try and clear its path!"

[Vic Alriikerson]

All had been handled with the battle, but… Alriik couldn't help but be disappointed. For just a brief second, it almost felt like the old days, but… No. He needed time to really find his place with this team. However, as his Master's sword shone it's prism again… He couldn’t help but smile. The battle was over. There was a storm, but… Can't fight a storm. Just do your best to work through it. He took the katana as it was given. “Thanks. My Master was right about most things. 'Cept his hatred of rock and that he could take that last guy. But trust me, there's gonna be a time I'm gonna ask you to use this again.” He'd pat Rion on the shoulder, and make his way over to Terra. “Hey buddy… Er, sorry for the crossed wires back then.” He’d hold his hand out. “But we’ll get there, I promise.”

---

After speaking to Terra, Alriik would notice Vile’s return. Something bothered him… Maybe residual hangover or the near drowning experience, but he SWORE something was up with that guy. Whatever. Wasn’t the time for it. He’d go to the crew, whatever was needed, and joined in… Whatever was needed of him to keep the ship afloat and, hopefully, on course. He’d reply and give call outs, but in the back of his mind… He was still dreading their arrival. If they made it… He promised to talk. He promised to explain everything, but hopefully he could learn more about them. But… It was a lot. And he was not excited for their reactions…

… It’s like… It’s like forging a weapon. But, at the same time… It was a sacrifice.

[Swim]

Terra experienced an odd mix of horror and satisfaction as she watched Skinny burn. It seemed like an awful way to go, being cooked alive inside of a metal sleeve, and she felt regret that it had gone down this way. Yet at the same time Skinny had become a rabid dog and chosen to pursue them out to sea, it was well enough to put him down. In the final moments there came a blast of lightning, and Terra instinctively raised her fists thinking the pirate had returned but it was only Vile... she had wondered where the supposed 'arch-mage' had been during the attack. Interesting that he claimed he'd been protecting Captain Waverly, he'd been nowhere in sight after Rion fished her out of the sea and Waverly had revived her. She could recall the merchant Lloyd had been guarding the bridge but as far as she could tell the lightning mage had not been present. In fact, the only spark of lightning she'd seen until now had come from that mystery pirate. Terra narrowed her eyes and looked on Vile with skepticism but kept her suspicions to herself for the moment. It was an easy claim to disprove, Waverly would either vouch for him or not. She'd felt unease toward Vile from the very beginning, but hopefully being a creepy pervert was the worst of his offenses.

There was no time to dwell on it, Calico's ship was coming apart and to make matters worse a storm had arrived, sweeping away the remains of the steam-knight. Terra looked around trying to account for all of her friends. Frida was still missing, and Alriik was making his way toward her. He'd apologize for some miscommunication as Terra returned his great-sword. She shook her head. "Nothing to be sorry about, we just need a little more time to practice together. You were great back there," she assured him. It was almost funny, she felt what had tripped them up was that their instincts had actually been too similar. Going forward she wouldn't worry about what Alriik was likely to do, odds are it would be largely in line with her own plans. Now they just needed to get in sync.

A harpoon caught the side of the deck and Terra felt a flood of relief as Frida's line pulled the elf up to the deck. "We'll get him next time!" she called back to Frida after her friend reported that Calico had abandoned ship. She had to shout now to make her voice heard over the howl of the wind. The ship buckled under the growing storm, the wooden boards under their feet groaning with strain as the ship took on more water. Then the remaining lines tethering Calico's ship to the Shepherd grew taut and began to snap one by one. "We have to get out of here," Terra shouted. She seized upon a long wooden plank, all that remained of the mast and balanced it between the two vessels as a makeshift bridge. "I'll keep her steady, get back to the Shepherd now!" The woman's tone allowed no room for disagreement. As the last of her friends boarded the Shepherd the ships began to drift apart and the deck under Terra's feet split, but she had no intention of taking another swim. She channeled a blast of fire magic and directed it downward, the force of a rocket empowering her jump as she returned to the Shepherd. She came up just short. At the last moment Frida's hand seized her own and she was hauled aboard. Terra exchanged a nervous smile and braced for impact as the storm bore down on them.

[Sorrum]

"Yeah!" Aqua replied to Terra. She wanted to believe she'd have another chance at the pirate, but she wasn't sure when that would come. The man was a human as far as she could tell, and her an elf. If she didn't track him down before he died, she'd live with the failure for hundreds of years to come. These thoughts had to be set aside though. Aqua too felt the sudden lurch in the ship's float, but Terra's quick thinking bought them a bridge back to The Shepherd. Aqua waited to go last, looking back at Terra just before running off. When the girl's jump fell just short, Aqua threw her hand out to catch her. She smiled as she grabbed on. "C'mon, I won't leave you behind!" She said as she pulled her friend up on deck.

At this point, the beams of light eerily hung above The Shepherd, aimlessly moving about but snatching anything they come in contact with. Men had taken to throwing random objects at the beams to ward them off, but more were appearing.  Below them, Calico's ship bubbled and sank slowly, it's main deck now submerging. Pockets of air burst up as sea water flooded the interior, drowning the ship and leading it down to it's fate on the sea floor. The Shepherd's security force succeeded in destroying the boat, due in part to Terra's destruction of the boats hull and Rion knocking over the mast, smashing the deck and leaning the boat into one of the opening made by Terra, filling the lower chambers with water until it began to sink.

Remnants of the crew could be seen paddling away in life-boats, ten men per boat. Some boats overcrowded and erupted into brawls as the weight couldn't be sustained, and room had to be made to keep afloat on the turbulent waters. A lucky man was snatched by one of beams of light and carried into the heavens beyond the wall. Though one may ask if he were really lucky; to avoid drowning in the sea instead being tossed to an unknown fate beyond time and space. He may land in paradise, or in the depths of space. 

The wind howled again from the Dimension Storm as it drew closer. Seamus shouted directions at his crew and demanded results, but something was amiss. Aqua shouted at him. "Captain Waverly, we should be clear of the pirate ship! Get us moving!"

"The wind won't move us! Calico must have anchored us somehow!" Seamus called back.

"Anchored!?" Aqua asked in horror. As close as she had ever been to a Dimension Storm, she didn't imagine it to sound like this. Like the wind had been blowing over thunderous booms, now she could hear a high pitch screech that sent shivers down her spine. She recalled the three headed dragon again and felt her blood run cold. She shook her head and ran the perimeter of the ship, looking for anything that might be holding the ship down.

Off it's port side, down at the bottom, she saw a large metal body hanging on one of the port holes. It had hanging from it's severed chain a length of rope which on the end held the ship's anchor, buried in the sea bed not far below. The Steam Knight survived somehow. In his glass box, his red eye looked back at the elf who stared at him from above.

"I have been on this ship exactly 8 times in my life." Skinny said flatly, his voice no longer coming from the speaker but from within the box, quite muffled so Aqua struggled to hear him. "I was never skilled at this kind of work and even relied on my crew when it came to fighting pirates, but any fool can weigh an anchor if they're strong enough. Without my power supply I can hardly move. I'll die in this ocean, but I know your lot will get a much worse fate when that storm takes you to hell!" Skinny laughed at Aqua, but his laughter died out as the elf replied in silence. He became confused for a second by her solemn demeanor, until she spoke suddenly in a gravely tone.

"I could never have imagined someone who'd go this far over losing a fight. All we wanted was to cross over to Sandora as fast as possible. I'm truly sorry for what has become of your crew and yourself, but did you really think this was worth it? Your friends are all dead, and soon you will be too. Just look at you. Even if you made it out of this what would you do? You're terrifying, but not as terrifying as Calico, and certainly not as terrifying as me." As she said this, Aqua's hand reached through a glyph in front of her, creating another glyph above the robot. An icy hand the size of the robot's wrecking ball appeared suddenly and smashed the robot down, knocking it of it's grip on the port hole and into the waters below, Skinny's screams being cut off by the waves consuming him. "Blight, murderers, illness, starvation, war. There are many ways to die, but on these seas my enemies know I am the biggest threat. My mother was a master of naval combat, and I am proud to continue that legacy! I promise you, Skinny, that your pathetic fate won't repeat itself. I will capture Jack Calico and rid the world of his piracy!" Aqua said coldly, the ice on her hand shattering as did the conjured fist. She turned and looked toward the encroaching storm and braced for the worst.

[Sorrum]

The Dimension Storm drifted over the battlefield with deadly wail, wind sucking upward and into the multicolored clouds and into the darkness overhead. It's appearance among the beams of light pouring through the clouds above was like the shadow of a storm cloud. Beams of light that crept like snails now bore down like strikes of lightning on The Shepherd, randomly snatching loose items and crew members from it's deck. The Shepherd tried to move, but with the storm upon it the wind could not push it's sails, it's fate up to chance. The storm centered over the boat, and from it's center came much larger beams that fell from above.

Those capable would deflect the beams with their magic, sending shards of ice, fireballs, lightning strikes, light beams, and what they could throw into the lights' path. But the larger beams, as wide as the ships, fell down without pause, reaching past the deck of The Shepherd and down below to the sinking ship belonging to Calico. With as much velocity as was seen, the ship rose from the sea and hurtled upward into the storm, out of sight behind the clouds in just a few moments. While ship members stared in awe at the power of the storm, another beam bore down on their own ship.

No amount of firepower flung at the beam turned it from it's path as the beam struck it's deck. The beam spread immediately over the boat like a thick coating, simultaneously grabbing in it's path those who stood upon it. The ship lifted from the sea and into the sky above, passing through the clouds and higher into the sky, approaching the core of the storm, a pulsating black bubble emanating with the beams of light. The ship seemed to shrink to the bubbles tiny size as it drew closer, entering the tear in reality, no bigger than one's eye.

The ship was surrounded by streaking lights as wind blasted it's front. Those on board struggled to stay on, gripping whatever rails or lines they could. Around them the bright lights faded, a black background of infinity filling the spaces, speckled with dots of light so far away the distance was unfathomable. Sound faded, the wind broke and settled, and for a moment, The Shepherd drifted in this pocket of space for a moment.

In the blanket of space, the Shepherd drifted silently. Those on board began to shake and struggle in the vacuum, nothing to save them from the harshness of space. In only a few seconds however they would find themselves at comfort as a white light enveloped the ship, returning air and warmth. As the riders came to, they stared in awe at the image of a man staring back at them from beyond, a blinking image of an older man with silver hair, piercing yellow eyes behind spectacles, and a black cloak that hid his features save for a gloved hand that held the marble sized ship in place, safely in his hand.

As the man's image began to waver and blink, his mouth moved. "The bubble has closed.. you are certain to die out here..." The voice said. His voice was warm, but seemed far away, as if the words being heard were memories of days long since past. "That must not happen.. your story.. has yet to finish.. so.. I will guide you.."

The ship moved forward again, albeit at it's normal pace through the sea. Another bubble appeared in front of it, but within could be seen a city on the bay, none like anyone had ever seen before. The man spoke again. "Here.. you will find those who will lead you back.."

The ship tipped forward and entered the bubble, once more being surrounded by the passing of light and heavy wind. Over the sea in the distant world, a beam of light descended from the sky and dropped The Shepherd onto the waters. It's sails caught wind and blew the ship to the bustling city where an arena could be seen in the distance.

~
~
~


Once more in that sea, as predicted by the Alder, another storm appeared suddenly. It lifted The Shepherd into the sky again, tearing it from it's new world and once again into the black cosmos. However, this time, they would not see the vast darkness and the silver haired man, but the dark surface of the ocean and the moon above's reflection in the shaking sea.

As the ship landed, Seamus immediately called for the crew to catch wind and start moving, not wanting to stand still in the water again. He stared above at the constellations, trying to determine which way to go toward Sandora. He had to be thankful for a moment that the stars were the same, because of all the tales he had heard about the storms of time and space he didn't want to go so far that they had burned out and he'd be lost on the ocean.

Not long into the cruise they had discovered they weren't far from the location of the battle with Calico and his crew, who had completely abandoned the battlefield and retreated. This meant that they'd make Port Sandora soon. The crew, it's captain, and those mages who fought bravely to protect them would celebrate having survived not only the battle but through one of nature's most lethal events. When Port Sandora's lighthouse first came into view, the jubilation reached it's peak among them, the chefs using most of their supplies on board to throw a banquet for the mages, at the captain's order, while the other crew mates busted out barrels of Honeyfarm and special occasion liquors for themselves. By the time they'd reach Port, the party would be in full swing.

[Sorrum]

Aqua sat at the banquet table with the others, staring at the food on her plate and the wine in her glass, next to bottles of Honeyfarm that crewmates would come by with and insist on giving to her as respect for their work. Since this was now the first time the elf had really gotten to sit down and relax and recount the events, she was in both shock and awe she was alive. She gazed at her fellow mages, and with a smile thought about each of them.

To her, these mages were becoming life long friends. Terra had always been steadfast in her support of the elf from repairing her armor, protecting her from The House's mercenaries, and now giving the others an escape route from the sinking pirate ship at her own risk. That wasn't all, but those memories stood out to her at this moment. Alriik had proven himself capable despite his strange personality. His strategy in battle was to be reckoned with, but his antics sat with her and formally grew from an annoyance to a welcomed distraction from the struggles she dealt with. She was concerned for the both of them as they had troubles not so easily solved, but she genuinely felt care for them.

Rion had come off stoic and focused on his fight against the blight, but he was becoming a reliable asset. She couldn't understand his strength quite yet, but she felt time together would open up the warrior to sharing more about himself and the secrets he concealed. His power was quite strong, noting he defeated the champion Yung Fueg, the blight giant in Aldur, and dealt a devastating blow to Calico's galley and leading to it's abandonment. Arne also shared these traits, she noted. Hearing about his powers and his desire to improve them sounded akin to Rion's, and his creativeness got him Calico's special attention in the fight. Of course she couldn't forget about Hien as well, the wyvern's chirping and loyalness to Arne making her smile each time. And he was, without a doubt, adorable.

Aqua couldn't help but feel however that their party was only half complete. Sure enough her thoughts drifted to the dragons, Silver and Enfurnus, whom they hadn't seen since their first encounter with the Blight mage. She was only starting to grow fond of them before they'd been separated. She was withholding judgement on Silver having abandoned them in the fight, but as the alcohol took it's effect she went from being angry about it to confused, not understanding why the dragon girl suddenly.. disappeared. Sure, Enfurnus had a valid excuse. He was their general, after all. But for her to flee when they'd finally found the man orchestrating these attacks.. she couldn't put it together.

The elf looked across at the others dining with a smile. "I just want to thank you all for coming with me. I didn't expect to run into Calico of all possibilities, but without you here I'm not sure we would have survived.. as well as against the Blight mage making his home in The Frontier. Things seem bleak, but when I have you with me, I'm hopeful, no, certain we can stop these mages from destroying anymore homes, be they humans, dragons, elves, bestia, or any other race." Aqua raised her glass and toasted, "to you, my friends."

[Swim]

Amid the banquet celebrations Terra was notably quiet. She had found herself lost in thought after being returned to their world. While the events of Slagveld arena had been going on Terra had felt quite certain that it had been a dream, but now that they were back and she'd had time to talk about the experience with the others, well... she wasn't quite sure what to think. After her brush with death earlier and seeing those ghastly visions under the water it was hard to know what was real anymore.

The storm had actually transported them to another world. They had encountered a second Rion and reunited with Lucas Boltin. She'd used the power of the belt dials to tap into magical abilities she didn't even know she had. This had all been real. They had met and sparred with a party of strangers who were just as real as she was. She'd bonded with a young fire mage who might have been Terra in another life. They had seemed like good people. The experience had been positive... pleasant even. So nice that Frida had even suggested that Terra remain behind. It had been her one chance to be truly free from the House of Lords, to escape to a plane of existence where their influence could never again trouble her.

But as wonderful an opportunity as that may have seemed, there was never any choice for Terra. She'd already made a promise to Frida that she wasn't going to run from her past anymore, and as soon as they ensured the safety of her homeland they'd take the fight to the House of Lords together. Terra had never felt more certain of anything, it was the most real thing she knew, sure as the sun would shine tomorrow morning. She shook the cobwebs from her head and roused herself from her stupor, raising her head and returning Frida's joyful smile as the elf made her toast. No matter how dangerous their path, she would face it at Frida's side.

[Swim]

After the death of the previous town leader things began to progress quite rapidly. Elections were held and to one one's surprise except the man himself, Lucas Boltin won overwhelmingly. The onset of this news posed some new complications, Boltin had not intended to settle in Bultaranis long term. After some reflection however, Boltin determined that the burden of leadership would also afford him greater opportunity to create positive societal change and he accepted the position. He'd transferred his equipment into his new residence, that of the former town master, which afforded him more space to conduct his experiments, but also markedly decreased his free time. Boltin didn't know a thing about governing, and was happy to delegate responsibility as much as was possible. The citizens were not entirely difficult to please, they wanted low taxes and protection from raiders, but otherwise as little interference over their lives as possible.

Boltin had his own aspirations of course, and a vision that he wanted to see realized with his new town. What he wanted was an educated, healthy and secure society. In time he hoped they'd even be self sustaining but for now he'd need some outside help. Boltin had been horrified to learn that a significant number of his people were illiterate, he wouldn't be able to begin teaching them without that basic foundation of knowledge- he'd need to bring in teachers. He'd need doctors to ensure that his people were healthy and strong. Wood cutters and carpenters to build new houses for these people as his population grew. They'd need to create additional farmland to feed everyone, and establish new trade routes to buy grain, oxen, plowing equipment. He'd require miners for a special project in a neighboring province... And some kind of hook to entice these experts and craftsmen to come out to such a remote area.

Boltin pondered this dilemma as he finished making adjustments to the chamber he'd been building. It was designed to house the crystal as he subjected it to various electrical currents and microwaves, and ideally to contain the damage if something were to go wrong. He placed the crystal inside and powered up the machine. The crystal pulsed with a bright glow as it was subjected to the microwaves, Boltin watching as the dials monitoring radiation levels suddenly spiked. There was a loud popping sound and smoke began to billow from the machine prompting Boltin to hastily cut the power. He opened up the machine to allow for more ventilation and as he did a rainbow colored light burst forth and enveloped him. Boltin felt his feet leave the floor as his body was pitched forward into this tear between space and time.

The next thing he knew he was standing in some sort of colosseum holding a puck in one hand and a turkey sandwich in the other as an attendant fastened a belt around his waist. He took a cautious bite of the sandwich and studied his surroundings. He didn't know how he'd been transported here but it was a bother to be torn away from his research, even though a part of him knew that he was overworking himself and probably due for a break. He'd miscalculated before but he'd never been so far off mark that he'd blown a hole into a new dimension. He swallowed a mouthful of turkey and pondered if an explosion of similar magnitude wouldn't be able to send him back. At this point he recognized that some of the faces in the room were already familiar to him. How curious that they should be transported to the same reality together. Perhaps their shared experience with the Aldur crystal has called them together from across time and space. He'd allow this to play out, perhaps there was something to be learned here.

~

After the fighting had ended there was a flash of bright light and Boltin found himself back in his laboratory, along with the dial belt and several chests filled with coin. He still wasn't quite sure about what, why or how that strange occurrence had happened, but he was certain that the money could be put to good use. He now had the means to create an enticing benefits package for the workers he wanted to recruit. A plan began to take shape. He hastily scrawled a note with instructions and began making preparations for his journey.

[Swim]

Arena crossover logs here:

www.dropbox.com/s/s0ha5gmzn035sj7/Sessions%20%23481%20to%20%23485.txt?dl=0

Session #481

[Vic Alriikerson]

The trip was a long one. He had visited a new world, and faced their champion, if the posters were to be believed. She was a child and he punched her into unconsciousness. Didn't feel much like celebrating that victory. But surviving dimensional barriers twice after fighting pirates was a good enough reason to party. He joined in with the revelry of the crew, leading in the shanties on the last bit to Sandora. He was actually a good, not great, singer.

By the time the party poured into Sandora proper, Alriik knew he wasn’t going to get around to his talk tonight. Part of him was relieved, part of him was stressed this needed to drag out further. But he had some inkling of proper time and place, this wasn’t it. Also wasn’t the time for drinking. During the revelry he’d obtain a guitar in an arm wrestling contest and proceed to carry it alongside the rest of his weapons on his back.

After a day of surprisingly sober revelling, he’d raise a beer during Aqua’s toast. She was obviously savoring that victory. He’d let her have it for as long as possible. She’d earned it. With a smile that was, well, mostly genuine, he shouted out. “TO FRIENDS!” He’d take a big swig. “Really starting to like you crazy kids.” He’d sit back and just watch as they had their revelry, eventually pulling out his guitar and proving he could actually play, and no, he didn’t know Wonder Wall, before eventually losing it in yet another arm wrestling contest.

-----

As the night died down, Alriik would eventually get some distance from his new friends, slipping away into the city streets and getting some much needed alone time. He was trying, and he thought he’d been doing fine tonight, but… He was used to being alone. Sometimes, you need to get some distance to get some perspective. He liked the new crew. They had a good spirit about them. Felt like he could trust them. He just… He hoped that he wouldn’t bring them too much trouble.

As he found a good spot on a rooftop, silent and secluded, to rest for the night. As he drifted off, he started to think of the happier parts of his story he’d get to tell them. Meeting his father for the first time. Training under his masters. His wedding day. He had some good stories to tell too, and for the night, at least, he’d hold onto them. He’d take one more glance at the Moon before finally slipping into slumber for the night.

[Bloodbane]

As the party recovered and celebrated their victory against Calico on the Shepherd, Rion was still trying to process exactly what the past hours entailed. The others... they saw everything he did, right? The empty space, the strange deity-like being, followed by the experience in another world, where they met another man named Rion Galford. Had that all really happened, or was it all some strange hallucination? He turned to Alriik, distinctly remembering that the two shared a mutual disdain when the third man of their crew took off with the winnings from their fight. "You... haven't heard of anything called 'zenny', right?" Of course, asking that question led to the elf's confirmation that yes, they did indeed lose the 'zenny' prize, along with others joining in recalling the events that had just transpired.

"So... all that really happened, huh?" he looked around as the other members of their crew confirmed his suspicions. In a possibly surprising decision given his previous lack of desire to drink anything in the last few places they had been, Rion shrugged and took the offer for one of the Honeyfarm drinks as everyone gathered for a toast. 'I suppose I've seen enough today to warrant a drink for once. But that other Rion... he knew something about my arm. Is that a bad omen? Or maybe... he had gone through a similar trial in his life...' a solemn expression settled on Rion's face briefly, but it was overtaken by a smile as Aqua gave her speech, with him raising his glass in agreement.

"I have to admit, this has certainly been an interesting start to our adventure... but if we all stick together, I think we'll get the job done." With that, he took a drink from his glass, giving a pleased sigh.