Difference between revisions of "Porcelain Child/SessionFortySeven"

Revision as of 09:04, 3 April 2010

[10:14:57:] <onine> ----------------------------------------------- [10:16:31:] <onine> The sun begins to peek out of the clouds, warming the area and adding a rich colour to chase away the cool shades that the rain brought. The sudden sunlight causes the fresh rain to evaporate into a fine billowing steam almost immediately. The fresh smell of the rain and flowers is in the still air as the humans and exalted talk inside the mighty tree. [10:17:09:] <onine> Kess and Yengo seem to have occupied the group's strange new guest with conversation and sign language of their own whilst Lao makes her own survey of the area. [10:17:48:] <onine> While the others enjoy the peace and serenity of the scene, Mistral and the Dragonbloods attempt to piece a theory together for their escape from this strange prison. [10:18:45:] <onine> Mistral drags the charcoal across the paper, tracing a straight line from the ruins to the apparent place in the Wyld. [10:19:20:] <onine> "Somehow a passage has been opened from the archway of Six-Birds here... and has provided instantaneous travel to where we are.. here." [10:19:35:] * @Kess sniffs the air. "It's almost a paradise," Kess muses, talking both to himself and Yengo. "But today, we're going to break out of it. One way or another." [10:21:08:] * Yengo shrugs. "I deal with nature best when I'm sure it's not trying to kill me." He looks around at the rather unthreatening display of birds chasing each other across the sky. "Or... at least imprison me." [10:22:49:] <Epheri> "And yet it's apparently only one way. I've heard of demons that can do things like that, but not for so many people all at once, and not really over such distances." [10:23:27:] <onine> "It's a passage enchantment. It has to be." Anona finalises. "Though admittedly I am not aware of any such spells that would allow such travel." [10:26:40:] <Yengo> "Anyway, I guess it's their responsibility to get us out of here," Yengo points slightly up the staircase, where the Dragonbloods and Mistral are still talking. "Much as I might not like it." [10:27:44:] <@Kess> "True. I'm often left reliant on the scholars when I wander into something nasty." [10:27:57:] <onine> Mistral passes the map to Epheri, along with a magnifier crystal and he takes out a book. [10:30:18:] <onine> The magnifier crystal distorts and warps the line on the sheet of paper, shortening it from the angle Epheri looks at it from. [10:30:31:] <Yengo> "Well, your friend seems to know what she's talking about." He shrugs again. "At least as far as I can tell. As far as Anona and Epheri, we wouldn't have gotten out of the spots we've been in without them. I guess that's what Dragon-Bloods �do�, though." He doesn't comment on their more malicious actions. [10:31:43:] <onine> "OoooOOOOoooohh!" Magpie has somehow gotten up the steps behind Epheri and leans her full weight on the dragonblood's back as she tries to grab the magnifier. Her arms are thankfully a little too short. [10:31:45:] <@Kess> "The Dragon-Blooded, the world's saviors, right? What with the Realm keeping tabs on everything. So what do you bring to the table, that these Princesses of the Earth keep you around?" [10:32:54:] * Epheri frowns at the map through the crystal. She moves her head this way and that. She'd seen that before, recently. In the puddle. Now what in Paisaps name did that mean? [10:33:25:] <onine> Magpie makes a grasping motion with her hand. "Pleeeeeeease Epheri can I borrow it???" [10:34:30:] <Yengo> "A job left undone, I suppose. I wonder half the time myself... but these are different than most, they've stood beside me when I needed them, and that's more than most of them would do... for a mortal, anyway." [10:35:01:] <onine> "That's Chairoscuran glass young Magpie, it is very valuable and delicate - and I only have one." Mistral says. [10:35:16:] <onine> "Aw, come on, I wont break it - you can trust me!" [10:36:36:] * Yengo does not comment on this loud and rather dubious proposition, at least when fragile things are involved. [10:36:37:] <@Kess> "Here's a comfort. Unlike them, I've heard your name before. Siaka spoke highly of you." [10:38:27:] <Yengo> "Siaka... so you've met the caravan, eh? I guess sometimes Creation's smaller than we think. We were with them so briefly, I'm not sure what I did to impress them." [10:39:09:] <Epheri> "Not now magpie." she says, as she suddenly looks up. "Or sometimes it's a lot larger, Yengo. Thank you." [10:40:11:] <@Kess> "I owe the Guild a few favors, but we came to Six Birds on our own. I thought you at least had a right to know that. And yes, Siaka said you were quite helpful, although I forget her specific words." [10:41:55:] * Yengo nods, coughing suddenly to cover his embarrassment at the discovery Epheri was listening in. "Well, I hope they found my last message useful. I guess I'll hear back if they need something else..." [10:42:00:] <Epheri> "I think I know how to get us out of here." Epheri announces. "Or rather, how to stop the effect that is making here be all the way over here in the Wyld." [10:42:33:] <onine> Mistral and Anona look up, Mistral with an expression of curiosity, Anona's is more one of disbelief. [10:46:06:] <onine> "Any theories are more than welcome Tepet Epheri." Mistral answers.

• Epheri resists the temptation to look smugly at Anona. She'd never hear the end of it. "We're not 600 miles out in the Wyld, though. We're right under Six Birds. It's just that the intervening space is all twisted. If we break the tether, we'll snap right back to Six Birds."

<Kess> "That...makes a strange sort of sense." He taps his chin as he puzzles it over. "Are we any closer to finding out /why/ this place is here?"

[10:48:39:] <Yengo> "Sounds good. But how do we do that?" He draws his only comfort from the fact that at least Six must be more confused than he.

[10:51:11:] <onine> "For that piece of the Dragonwrath, I thought we went over this?" Anona replies with a hint of frustration one gets from telling a child something numerous times. A frustration that was familiar now. [10:52:09:] <onine> "Of course, I think Epheri is quite correct if we consider this in dimensions far above the ones we know." Mistral says. "I had the... opportunity to travel the forests of the far east..." [10:52:35:] * @Kess grunts in acknowledgement, his own frustration being closer to a child whose questions of 'why' keep getting answered 'because'. [10:52:40:] <onine> "...I spent nearly a day navigating a gorge and climbing a rise, it was a greuling trek and I nearly fell on quite a number of occasions." [10:53:17:] <onine> "When I reached the top I allowed myself a triumphant look down only to discover a small gully and the previous night's camp mere feet away." Mistral describes. [10:53:47:] <Epheri> "It is possible that removing the peice of the Dragonwraith will do so, or it is possible that our countermagic can sever the spell." [10:54:56:] <Yengo> "This is why it pays for mortals to avoid the Wyld, Mistral," Yengo's reprimand lacks some force, because, well, he's HERE, isn't he? [10:55:16:] <onine> "I doubt that your magics will have any effect." Mistral replies. "Not attempting to diminish your station, but those who created this place knew sorcery far beyond the height of the Dragonblooded power." [10:57:01:] * Epheri nods to acknowledge this. "You are correct." [10:57:23:] <onine> Anona snorts but does not disagree vocally. [10:58:58:] <onine> Around this time Lao returns, ducking to allow her to enter a tree built for standard height humans. She puts a few brass distance measuring tools into her pouch. "Well, this area is certainly centered on this tree. I took a measure of the corner stones of the ruins - they are all an exact distance from the center." [11:00:31:] <Yengo> "So..." Yengo raps a fist against the tree. [11:00:46:] <onine> "They are square ruins, but there are six points an even distance around the tree. Not to mention the statues, the ones on the grass? Only one has survived, but the remnants of the others remain." [11:01:09:] <onine> "So...?" She asks, wondering about the quiet. [11:01:11:] <@Kess> "Six points, six birds." [11:03:12:] <Epheri> "...Space really is distorted, if there are 6 points in a square ruin." [11:03:20:] <@Kess> "The remnants?" He thinks for a moment. "Lao, I'd like to see one of the broken statues. I have a thought." [11:04:36:] <onine> "Any in particular? Or just a broken one specifically?" She asks. "There's one still intact, another almost, the remainder are just shattered into pieces." [11:06:03:] <@Kess> "Let's start at the intact one, then the broken." [11:06:54:] * @Kess shrugs, and addresses the others. "Just a curiosity. I'll be back soon; just give a signal if you're going to try anything impressive." [11:07:28:] * Yengo shakes his head as the man moves off, wondering why anyone would want to know more about this place other than how to get out of it. [11:07:30:] <onine> "Alright, follow me." She leads you outside and onto one of the many meandering broken stone paths. The walk is more or less straight, though you have to detour around pools of water and gardens you could swear were not there before. You walk some distance, several hundred feet from the tree to the first statue. [11:08:52:] * @Kess takes a minute or two to look over the statue, get an idea of its dimensions and construction, so he'll be able to make better sense of the broken parts of the others. [11:09:31:] <onine> The statue is of a young man, dressed strangely in a simple shortcloak. He wears no sword, though has a quiver of arrows on his back - but no bow. He looks slightly to the side, his eyes have a far-away look. A sea navigation instrument hangs from his belt. [11:09:40:] <onine> The statue has no name, and no identifying marks. [11:10:08:] <onine> He does not look a day over seventeen. [11:10:22:] * Yengo prods the instrument. "Still dunno where he thinks he's sailing around here." [11:11:14:] <@Kess> "Maybe the other statues would give insight into the theme, if they were whole." [11:13:37:] <@Kess> "Let's look at the next one, Lao." [11:14:26:] <onine> "Right, this way." She takes you on another short walk around a rough circle, keeping the same distance from the tree. [11:15:09:] <onine> The second statue is a bit broken, but is mostly intact. It is a woman, quite tall and clad in armour, though her helmet is missing. [11:15:50:] <@Kess> "See if you can find the missing pieces." He goes to search himself. [11:16:09:] <onine> She aims a long-armed bow into the sky. There are strange facets on the bow, as if the bow in real life was carved from something. [11:16:51:] <onine> Her face bears an expression of dogged detirmination. She wears a long-bladed straight sword on her belt, along with a small flute. [11:16:54:] * Yengo sifts through the grass rather halfheartedly, unsure what he'd do with pieces if he found them. [11:18:39:] * @Kess picks up a small chunk of smooth, carved stone in one hand, and a pinch of dirt in the other. "A trick I learned with that caravan." He spits in the dirt, rubs a finger along the rough edge of the stone, and sticks it back onto the statue. [11:19:24:] <onine> The broken piece of bow holds fast. [11:19:55:] * Yengo tosses a few stone chips Kess's way. "Can't say they taught me that one." [11:20:37:] * @Kess repeats his little ritual with whatever flakes, shards, and fragments he can find, the statue slowly becoming more and more restored. [11:21:10:] * @Kess frowns slightly at the well-carved face. "I'm not a fan of this one as much...but I still don't recognize the meaning." [11:24:09:] <@Kess> "Maybe this will change the essence flows...or something." He shrugs, giving a glance to Lao. Once he's done all he can for this one, he asks her to lead him to the next. [11:24:10:] <onine> "She does look very proud." Lao comments. [11:24:47:] <onine> "I think that you may be wasting your time." Lao says quietly and points to her eyes. [11:25:43:] <@Kess> "We'll head back if you think so. Still..." he taps his chest. "This place still has interest for me." [11:27:03:] * Yengo says, a trifle sarcastically, his hands covered with grass and dirt stains. "Considering settling down here, are you?" [11:27:27:] <onine> "Mmm." She nods. "This way." She leads you once again around to the next statue, which is unfortunately broken beyond belief. The few shards still contain the remnants of a stone sword - to Yengo a frighteningly familiar stone sword. [11:27:57:] <onine> (hold on kids - disregard) [11:28:04:] <onine> "Mmm." She nods. "This way." She leads you once again around to the next statue, which is unfortunately broken beyond belief. The few shards still contain the remnants of a stone sword. [11:29:09:] <@Kess> "It could make a nice country home. Why don't you see if the Dragons are getting anywhere?" he asks as he identifies and picks up the largest fragment he can find. Not totally sure where it goes... [11:29:57:] * Epheri starts to study the fragments herself, trying to work outwhich bits feel like they should go where. [11:32:25:] <onine> There's little hope for this statue. There's not even a body remaining. [11:32:57:] <onine> At your request you are taken around once more to the next statue - it is shattered and you remember it to be the one that Six was in the remnants of. [11:33:15:] <onine> It likewise is too damaged to repair.

[11:40:05:] <Epheri> "I'm still not sure how to sever the spell." She neglects to mention that now Anona is refusing to help, no doubt so that she can claim the answer was all hers when she comes up with it. She looks down at the sword and its fragments and then concentrates on them intently. [11:41:42:] <onine> There are still two more statues on the tour. [11:41:57:] * Yengo pats Epheri on the back briefly. "I'm sure you'll get it." It's only after he's moved a few steps away toward the next statue that he becomes aware of what he's done. [11:43:27:] <onine> The next statue is missing its arms, but appears to a slender boyish woman with high cheekbones and the shapely eyes of a southerner. Her hair is braided intricately and hangs down the back of her robes almost to the backs of her knees. [11:44:20:] <onine> She wears a lot of slender jewelery, chains and other items, but her dress does not seem cluttered or clashing, it is all a beautiful ensemble. [11:45:09:] <@Kess> "I wonder if this was some kind of circle...which makes me wonder again about Six." He looks for some arms to give her, anxious to see the full effect of the unbroken statue. [11:45:52:] <@Kess> "A brotherhood of six birds. I wonder if they'd want to recruit Magpie as number seven." [11:46:16:] <Yengo> "Don't suggest the idea to her, whatever you do." [11:48:03:] <@Kess> "She does seem a bit...excitable, doesn't she." [11:48:40:] * @Kess studies the figure closely...intently. [11:49:28:] <Yengo> "You have... no idea." [11:50:56:] <@Kess> "No..." He smacks his mouth, dryly, as he contemplates the statue. "No, I don't." [11:53:37:] * @Kess turns away from the statue with a soft sigh, not bothering to try to piece this one together. His face is an emotionless mask. "Let's go back." [11:53:59:] <onine> "Are you alright Kess?" Lao asks. "You look as if you have seen a God." [11:55:21:] <onine> She follows quickly, her long legged gait catching you swiftly. "You're not going to look at the last one?" [11:55:52:] <Yengo> "Sounds good to me... Epheri, think Anona's come up with anything yet?" [11:56:17:] <@Kess> "Maybe I'll tell you later, Lao." He shakes his head. "This one...reminds me of someone." He glances over at her, running over the count of statues in his head. "Okay. The last one." [11:56:24:] * Epheri looks at Yengo with a raised eyebrow "She hasn't shouted triumphantly yet." [11:56:29:] <onine> Mistral, Anona and Magpie exit the tree. [11:56:46:] <onine> "Ah, good, we have come up with a method of-" Mistral begins. [11:57:09:] <onine> And Anona finishes. "I'm going to take that ring and torch this tree to the ground for good measure." [11:57:21:] <onine> Anona appears quite pleased with the idea. [11:57:29:] <Yengo> "Well, I was starting to wonder if you were the real brains of this op- oh." Well, that's certainly a plan. [11:58:21:] <Epheri> "Well, it will do /something/ Anona dear." [11:59:06:] <@Kess> "Let's hope it works. Or else we'll be stuck here, AND our only shelter will be an inferno." [12:00:14:] <onine> Together you walk to the final statue, which like most of the others is damaged quite beyond belief. [12:00:44:] <onine> The only piece that has survived the ages is a large talon. [12:00:55:] <@Kess> "The usual; look for anything interesting, anything identifying." [12:01:38:] <onine> This one however looks as if it was destroyed recently, unlike the other statues, including the one opposite that Six lay in the shards of. [12:01:53:] * Epheri looks at the talon with interest. How does it compare in size to the strange tracks that lead us here? [12:05:29:] <onine> Doesn't

[12:11:45:] <onine> "Hmmm... do not think you can fix this one Kess." Lao says with an amused smile. [12:12:12:] * @Kess kneels down and picks up the talon. "No...and I'm not sure exactly what it depicted. Not as successful an endeavor as I had hoped." [12:13:00:] <onine> "Was the expedition fruitful for you?" Mistral asks, patting you on the shoulder. His face is very serious. [12:13:34:] * Yengo shrugs, as if to say "Ask them." [12:17:04:] <@Kess> "I think so. It was worth at least a look before we leave this place behind." [12:18:51:] * @Kess idly pockets the broken talon. [12:20:30:] <onine> "Well then... shall we?" Mistral says. [12:20:51:] <onine> "Yes of course we shall and its about time - I should have done this when I got here!" Anona replies impatiently. [12:21:20:] <@Kess> "Shall we bring this world crashing down in flames, possibly throwing ourselves head-first into the Deep Wyld?" Kess chuckles. "I can't think of a better way to spend my time." [12:21:36:] <Yengo> "Well, I'm sure not planning to stay here forever." [12:21:43:] <onine> "In theory." Mistral concedes. "This is what we have come up with..." [12:22:42:] <onine> "WE-" Anona gestures to Epheri and herself. "-Will go up into the tree. Epheri will look after getting the sword-piece and *I* will set about the systematic destruction of the tree." She rubs her hands together. [12:23:21:] <onine> "We mortals on the other-hand will wait on the outskirts of the ruins where we will have a head-start should something happen." Mistral continues. [12:24:07:] <Yengo> "Ah, so we can be the first to be tossed into the Wyld." But he says it with a strange kind of levity, glad to be doing something. [12:24:53:] <onine> "Quite. The dragonbloods are far better suited to the task at hand in regards to the tree." Mistral explains. "Plus they have numerous resources at hand to speed their flight." [12:25:33:] <onine> "And lets not forget that Epheri can give us some of her legendary hounds to aid us." [12:27:46:] <Epheri> "That I could do. I wasn't aware they inspired legend, though." she smiles. [12:28:37:] <onine> "The charge at the Battle of Glie certainly was inspirational." Mistral says with a sly smile. [12:28:46:] <@Kess> "You've got my faith. We'll make it out of this one." [12:29:52:] <onine> "How many *people* can these hounds carry?" Lao enquires. [12:30:11:] <Yengo> "They're calling it the Battle of Glie now?" He shakes his head. As long as The Battle of Nishimo doesn't come up, but - "It's worked before, it'll work again." [12:31:35:] * Epheri colours just a touch at the mention of Glie. "Two, perhaps three. They are the size of a horse, though they do not tire." [12:32:36:] <onine> Mistral. Magpie. Yengo. Kess. Lao. Five mortals. [12:33:20:] <Yengo> "I'll take Magpie. She's small, Mistral, you could probably fit too..." [12:35:21:] <@Kess> "Do you think that's necessary, that we'll have to run? I'd take my chances on foot." [12:35:53:] <onine> "As would I." Lao agrees. [12:35:59:] <@Kess> "This place already has enough strange sorcery; I'd feel safer trusting my own legs." [12:36:11:] * @Kess nods to Lao. [12:36:12:] <Yengo> "With Anona in charge of things? Well, it's your own neck. Err... no offense." [12:37:04:] <onine> Anona shoots Yengo with a fearsome glare. [12:37:17:] <Epheri> "As you wish. I certainly see no point in forcing aid on you." she says with a small smile. [12:37:33:] * @Kess tries to defuse the situation. "Ah, I trust Anona in this. Things won't get out of control. Right?" [12:37:55:] <onine> "Of course not!" She snaps. "I am in *complete* control at all times!" [12:42:08:] <onine> "Then its settled." Mistral says with finallity. "Let's get out of here." [12:50:49:] * Epheri nods and steps back away from the group of mortals and Anona and then she concentrates on the spell that came easiest to her. The legendary spell. Actinic arcs of white essence curl around her as she channels the essence and then from the west, the winds come, all 5 bounding as one before they reach her, coallesing into shape of a hound. [12:51:45:] * Yengo looks up at it. "Huh. Getting almost used to these things." [12:52:40:] <onine> The grey shape of the hound bounds forward from the vortex of its creation, skidding a few paces across the long grass throwing up a mixture of seeds, leaves and flowers from the gale of its passing. [12:54:08:] <onine> The hound stalks slowly up to Epheri waits quietly for its mistress' orders. [12:54:23:] * Epheri smiles and strokes at its fur, whispering in its ear giving it instructions, to obey the 5 mortals here. Then she calls another, this time her skin turning white as marble, diamond dust sparking in her hair, whispering the same instructions in its ear. [12:55:39:] <onine> The paired hounds wait quietly next to the mortals. Though it seems almost inconceivable that an automaton would do so, one sits. [12:56:10:] <onine> "Alright." Anona remarks impatiently. "Let us get this show on the road then cousin." [12:57:03:] <@Kess> "Color me impressed." [12:58:12:] * Yengo clambers up on the back of one of the hounds none too gracefully, pulling Magpie up in front of him. [12:58:42:] * Epheri smiles to Kess, then nods to Anona. She starts to climb the air to the top of the tower. [12:58:43:] <onine> Mistral and Six take the second hound. [12:59:56:] <onine> Anona watches Epheri step onto an invisible step of air and growls, running quickly toward the distant tree. "Beat ME will she? I think not cousin..." [13:00:25:] * @Kess crouches beside the hounds. If it does come down to running, he might as well be ready. [13:01:17:] <onine> Anona weaves in and out, climbing the natural staircase of the tree. The distant red shape darts in and out again, spiraling up and into the peaks where the sword-piece awaits... [13:01:58:] <onine> Anona is a little winded at the top, but you arrive roughly at the same time. The strange and wide flat area cradled in the tree has not changed. [13:02:15:] * Epheri carries on running up the air, her path that much more direct. She also isn't winded. [13:03:10:] <onine> The area is nearly a hundred feet wide, made of shattered stone intricately fitted together to make a smooth and perfectly flat stone surface. In some areas the stones give way to allow a growing branch through and the stone is frequently interrupted by strange sculptures of similar broken fragments. [13:04:09:] <onine> Dried leaves skitter across the perfectly smooth stone and the birds above chirp and hide away fruits and seeds as if the entire place is in a perpetual state of waiting for an autumn to arrive. [13:04:52:] <onine> The view beyond the ruins is an endless vista of long swaying grass, there aren't even mountains on the horizon. The gently rolling hills go on forever. [13:05:49:] <onine> Anona points to the strange fountain in the center of the stone area, you can see the golden glint from under the water even here. A bird scoops up a mouthful of water and returns to its nest. [13:06:31:] <onine> "That is for you..." Anona says and turns to the tree, its boughs full of burnable leaves. Her voice does not hide the sinful anticipation. "And the rest is for me." [13:07:35:] * Epheri looks away from the view "Have fun, cousin." she says as she walks to the bowl, looking down into the water. [13:08:32:] <onine> As soon as you turn your back you hear the familiar whoosh of a flaming bolt being launched into the foliage.

[13:09:58:] <onine> The pool is about a meter wide, and reaching the ring would have your arm elbow deep in water. The ring is elaborate, around the size...

[13:10:32:] <onine> ...of a bracelet. It has many marks around the outside and inside in a language you do not recognise. [13:13:00:] <onine> You dip your hand in...and chip a nail on the surface of the water. [13:13:21:] <onine> It's solid as stone. The 'water' still ripples from the disturbance. [13:14:25:] <onine> Anona curses, walking around the stone circle. [13:14:33:] * Epheri shakes her hand in suprise. She tries pushing on the water more gently with her finger. [13:14:57:] <onine> There is a slight give, but still nothing comes of it. [13:16:02:] <onine> You can almost here the creator of this place snickering as he watches over some obscure hidden observation device. [13:17:06:] * Epheri frowns deeply at the water. She tries dipping her sleave in. [13:21:54:] <onine> Still nothing. The sleeve sits on the top of the water, which ripples around it like quicksilver. [13:22:48:] <onine> Anona continues to curse and launch flaming bolts at the foliage. "Cursed thing...just...wont...CATCH!" There is a much louder whoosh as she pours more power into the next blast, ruffling your robes. [13:23:01:] <onine> You feel the heat wash across the left side of your face even from the distance. [13:23:13:] * Epheri frowns even more deeply, then thinks and runs over to the nearest branch poking through the plateau, and tries to snap it off. [13:23:23:] <@Kess> "Something seems wrong..." [13:24:32:] <Yengo> "Yeah..." [13:26:03:] <onine> *snap* [13:27:26:] * Epheri sees if the branch behaves the same. [13:28:51:] <onine> The branch dips effortlessly into the water, leaving circles of silvery water rippling around it. [13:29:21:] * Epheri hooks the ring, and starts to lift it [13:30:32:] <onine> With little to no effort on your part, you are able to lift the ring clear of the water on the end of the branch. The water drips off it and the wet artifact glistens almost blindingly in the sunlight that pierces the branches. [13:31:04:] <onine> And for three seconds, nothing happens. [13:31:08:] * Epheri blinks against the light and then takes hold of the ring with her own hand. [13:31:33:] <onine> Its warm. [13:32:27:] <Epheri> "It's so beautiful. I guess we were wr-" [13:35:12:] <onine> With a deafening bang that seems to come from nowhere and everywhere at once, the entire world seems to lurch downward, dropping a few feet and then coming to a teeth jarring stop. The sky dims and suddenly becomes overcast, the force of the sudden lurch causes the tree's branches to groan, ruins to fall and statues to crumble. [13:35:41:] * Yengo grips tightly to the wolfhound's back as the tremors begin. [13:36:21:] * Epheri looks down at the plateau, now several feet below her. [13:37:09:] <@Kess> "Oh." [13:37:27:] <onine> With the sudden drop-and-impact the colour of the land changes, starting with the great tree. The leaves suddenly washout their green and become the rich red of autumn and the bark begins to chip and grey [13:38:27:] <onine> The brown, gold and red expands, taking in the grass, the small trees, the gardens and eventually extends to the endless fields of grass, now the dead gold of the pre-winter. [13:39:22:] <onine> Flowers dry and shrivel, their colours dark and faded as the moisture suddenly departs from the ground. Small pools of water empty instantly, leaving bright coloured fish on the dirt and stone. The do not even struggle. [13:40:01:] <onine> Butterflies litter the ground, and birds fall slowly from the sky in a haunting slow motion. [13:40:42:] * @Kess closes his eyes momentarily. So much knowledge that was here, soon to be lost. [13:40:45:] <onine> The chirps of chicks and the chittering of fox-cubs is absent like that, the only sound is that of the wind caressing leaves as dry as corpses. [13:41:23:] * Yengo watches the world wither around him, checking himself and those close by for problems. "Should we...?" But where is there to go? [13:41:29:] <onine> "Now this is more like it." Anona's voice echoes in the dry air as another firebolt bursts from her hand and into the dessicated foliage which explodes into flames. [13:42:18:] <onine> The dry fuel catches easily, and within seconds the flames are racing through the branches. Burning leaves float down and evaporate into embers. [13:42:50:] <onine> Far below Mistral turns his hound. "It's time for us to leave - now!" [13:42:58:] * Epheri starts to run off the plateau and away from the rapiddly growing flames [13:43:54:] * Yengo kicks his hound into motion, holding on tight. [13:44:00:] <onine> "[Wait!]" Six shouts suddenly, his eyes wide. The young man leaps from the back of the hound and sprints across the dry and dead land, his orange clothing matching the colour palatte of the unholy autumn that grips the place. [13:44:29:] <Yengo> "Where the hell is he GOING?" [13:44:33:] * @Kess breaks into a run, following Mistral. Leaves crunch heavily under his feet as he struggles to keep pace...then fly up in a cloud as he slides to a stop. "Six!" [13:44:33:] <onine> "[Six, don't!]" Mistral calls out after him. [13:45:07:] <onine> Slender hands unwrap from Yengo's waist. "I'll get him!" Magpie yells, leaping off the hound before Yengo can grab her. [13:45:22:] * Epheri starts to descend in haste as she sees people running the wrong way [13:45:31:] * @Kess rushes to intercept the young man, but not to stop him - merely to figure out what's going on. His eyes are filled with concern, not anger. [13:46:12:] <onine> The young man runs, with Kess and Magpie in tow towards the ruined fragments of the statue he was found in. He searches in the grass. [13:46:55:] * @Kess strives to overtake him, calling out to him. [13:47:08:] <onine> The white orchid that once grew perched like a vulture on his chest still lives, fading slower than the other living plants and animals. His booted foot crunches onto it heedless as he kicks dead and limp grass aside. [13:48:26:] <onine> "Those fools-!" Lao hisses from back with Yengo and Mistral. [13:48:41:] * Yengo kicks the wolf after them, rushing to catch up and swearing. [13:50:11:] * @Kess crouches next to Six as he searches. [Let me help. What are you looking for?] [13:51:38:] <onine> [My sword!] He lifts and moves what might have been a stone torso. [13:52:31:] <Yengo> "Hurry! We don't have the time!" [13:53:21:] <onine> "He's trying to find his sword!" Magpie yells to Yengo, joining the search. [13:53:22:] * @Kess grabs the torso and throws it aside, and aids him in searching. "Go! But I need him, and he needs his sword!" [13:53:45:] * @Kess turns back to Six. [I saw a broken stone daiklave nearby. Is that it?] [13:54:25:] <onine> [No!] He yells back over the howling winds. [It's a short sword - a kid's sword. I dont know why but I cant lose it!] [13:54:50:] * Epheri looks about from on high for the sword [13:55:02:] <Yengo> "This is over a SWORD?" He gazes down desperately from atop the wolfhound, riding in circles. [13:55:28:] <@Kess> [Don't worry.] Kess assures him. [Focus. Think about where it was.] [13:55:58:] <onine> "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU ALL DOING?!" Anona explodes out of the tree a hundred feet away followed by a jet of flames. "THIS PLACE IS COMING APART AT THE SEAMS! RUN!!!" [13:56:03:] * @Kess snarls at Yengo. "GO!" [13:57:10:] <Yengo> "I'm not leaving you here!" [13:57:33:] <onine> Despite being wreathed in heat, Anona tears past Magpie and siezes the girl by the scruff of her shirt, bodily hurling the mortal girl at Yengo. [13:58:24:] <onine> "Dammit Yengo! Take Magpie and run!" She roars, her eyes blazing like a furnace. A huge flaming branch falls with a crash nearby showering the area in burning leaves. [13:59:21:] * Yengo catches her, the wind temporarily knocked out of him, and turns the wolfhound around, kicking it forward again. [14:00:41:] <onine> Anona looks up at the tree and extends a hand that quickly becomes wreathed in flames, the heart brighter than any mundane fire. With an occult shout flames leap from her fingertips and streak upwards, shattering another falling branch into burning spinters that rain down harmlessly. [14:01:13:] * @Kess keeps searching, his eyes peeled for anything out of place. [14:02:06:] <onine> "Tomescu!" She commands. "Make certain that they - and Epheri keep running and dont look back!" [14:02:35:] <onine> The demon's protest is cut short by Anona's roar. "Do it!" [14:04:08:] <onine> Yengo and Mistral ride their wolfhounds as fast as the elemental automatons can carry them, the canines leap across the walls of the ruins, taking the swift path over rather than through most of the complex, and literally walking on the walls when taking the corners they are forced to. [14:05:33:] <@Kess> [This place is coming apart. We've only got a minute, maybe less. Think, think hard - where is the sword?] [14:07:13:] <onine> Assured that her cousin and the mortals are well on their way out, Anona races back to Kess and Six her eyes burning. She dodges as strangely, stone begins to fall from the sky, crushing dead plants and wrecking large portions of the ruins. [14:08:07:] <onine> [When we get out of this mess we you two and I are going to have chat-] she yells over the searing cold winds. [-A RUDE PAINFUL CHAT!!] [14:08:29:] <onine> Then she likewise begins to search. [14:09:03:] <onine> After a few more seconds that seem like hours, Kess stumbles on a root. Not a root, the handle of a small sword. A child's sword. [14:09:14:] * @Kess has his sword in hand, one eye watching the sky for deadly rain. [You can chew us out as long as you want once we scrape through this.] [14:12:06:] * @Kess picks up the child's sword, a tiny brother to the thin blade in his other hand. [Okay, let's go!] [14:13:20:] <onine> [Thank you!] Six takes the sword and tucks the small thing into his belt. The three of you race towards the direction the other three took and are nearly crushed flat as a massive piece of crystal-studded rock falls from nowhere in front of you. [14:14:32:] <onine> There is a disturbance in the air to the left, moreso than even the howling winds. As if leaping out of a doorway from nothing leaps a hound, it bounds across the grass and skids to a halt effortlessly in front of you. [14:15:20:] <onine> It is leaner than Epheri's wolfhounds, and has a strange colouration of cobolt grey and white furr with an orange 'beard', ears and tail. [14:16:00:] <onine> "Quickly!" It shouts, its jaw not quite moving in synch to the words it speaks. "Follow me, I will show you out safely!" [14:17:11:] * @Kess calls to Anona. "We wouldn't be so lucky that this is one of yours." [14:18:21:] <onine> "I'm not about to complain!" Anona calls back, following as the wolf bounds light as air between the falling debris... [14:18:29:] <onine> ...meanwhile. [14:18:57:] <onine> Then hounds burst from the gates of the ruins and into the endless plains of long grass. [14:20:13:] <onine> Lao is already ahead, having taken a direct route on foot by climbing over the ruins and running along the walls. She's not as fast compared to the Hounds or an Exalt, but she's fit and swift for a mortal. [14:22:32:] * Yengo rides hard and fast, the wind buffeting him. He doesn't have time to be impressed by the woman's speed, he's concerned about getting out of here. [14:24:19:] <onine> Sparing a glance back, the tree is ablaze like a massive torch, a leviathan pillar of smoke stretches up into the cloudy sky, tainting it an oily black. You're a few hundred miles from the ruins when suddenly everything goes bright and then suddenly dark, and the wind becomes stranger and colder, more real. [14:25:37:] <onine> When your eyes adjust you find that the hounds have cleared the illusionary prairie and taken a flying leap from the entrance to the stone sphere which even now crumbles behind you, fragments falling off it quickly [14:27:12:] <onine> The wolfhounds gallop down the bridge of stone that begins to drop away behind you. [14:28:08:] <onine> "No! We have to go back - Anona's still in there! How can you leave her!" Magpie kicks Yengo's legs. [14:29:28:] <Yengo> "Where is she?" He starts to slow guiltily. [14:30:24:] <onine> When the stone bridge nearly collapses beneath you, the Hound leaps agilely up and over, continuing its pace. [14:31:24:] <onine> The entire cavern shakes and rumbles, the lightning flashes around you without sound. One bolt shears through the bridge in front of you, splintering one of the links. [14:36:56:] * Joins: Billy (Beri@Magicstar-63277.240.135.40.Dial1.Phoenix1.Level3.net) [14:37:03:] * Billy is now known as Beri [14:37:13:] * Quits: Kess (Beri@Magicstar-16307.240.6.105.Dial1.Phoenix1.Level3.net�) (Killed (NickServ (GHOST command used by Beri))�) [14:37:15:] * Beri is now known as Kess [14:42:23:] * Yengo spurs the hound on as the bridge grinds and cracks in front him him, ancient stone bubbling and breaking away to reveal the structure beneath. Swerving through a sudden gauntlet of thunderbolts, he leads the wolf along one side of the bridge as the stone sloughs away, astonished himself at the way the creature keeps its footing on the single razor-thin support wire of orichalcum. [14:42:45:] <Yengo> The beast leaps free just as the cable snaps, landing on the opposite side of the chasm as the cable slashes through the air behind it. [14:44:12:] <onine> Mistral and Epheri skid their hounds to a halt and take a glance back at the sphere. Crumbling the entire structure begins to sag, and with a deafening crack and snap of anchor lines the structure plunges into the mist. [14:45:10:] <onine> There is a bright flash and then a rumble, a rumble that grows closer. The boiling wyld fog rushes at you, like water devouring an air-pocket. [14:45:21:] <Yengo> "Anona?" [14:45:46:] <onine> "No!" Epheri shouts as the shockwave approaches. [14:45:50:] <onine> "Up!" Lao screams, taking off up the stairs. [14:47:11:] * Yengo takes off after them, looking back the entire time. [14:47:49:] <onine> Your vision blackens and then you get the sudden sensation of tumbling through the air like a rag doll... [14:47:53:] <onine> --------------------------------------