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Re-Emergence: The Cave of Crystals; The Return of Heron, except in-character like, open all!
Topic Started: May 14 2018, 11:49 PM (75 Views)
Belial
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Archduke
[ *  *  * ]
For months, maybe days, maybe years, it was hard to tell with the ways of the Illogical Field being what they were, how long a number of people had been...missing from the goings-on of Weyr life or indeed just from around the village. Some of them were reclusive types anyway, not prone to being missed.

It wasn't as if anyone was going to notice Shrayla had vanished.

Others, however, had once been active participants in Weyr business, and their disappearances had likely been felt in some way or other. Weyrwoman Sandasa had definitely noticed that one of her most stalwart blueriders had disappeared, particularly as Khareesh tended to be chatty, and where the hell was Linah? That junior weyrwoman was still due for disciplinary actions for her part in injuring Khareesh's dragon!

More time passed. Sandasa sent a few parties of searchriders, but didn't have too much hope. If she couldn't sense them herself, there was little chance of finding any of the missing alive or on Teragaia.

Until one day...




Hurry up, she has to be this way!

Although there had to be some irony in an Athid telling a Hellhound to hurry up. Soot, built like a tarantula, was enormous for one of the clockwork crawlies, but a Hellhound was still winning the size competition. Xe was maybe the size of one of Shevah's paws, realistically speaking.

Go easy, eager one, aforementioned 'hound cautioned. We know very little about what lies ahead of us.

But you said you smelled Anaeth and the other drag-

Dormant, I said. I said I smelled the dragons dormant.
Whatever lies ahead holds the dragons incapacitated. Keep that in mind.





Posted Image

Wake. Up.

"Nnrrrgh."

Waking up required effort, and Arieh Harel was quite sure he would rather sleep. Sleep held much more allure than the waking world, and that siren's seduction almost pulled him under again before War all but punched him in the brain with a mail-clad fist, and that brilliant kaleidoscope of pain sent Arieh gasping to consciousness and slamming his forehead into a cold, hard surface he didn't expect to meet just then.

It was...crystal? Glass? Arieh found himself encased standing upright in some kind of mostly transparent structure that reminded him eerily of Snow White's coffin. Throwing himself against it only hurt him. And air was thinning, now that he was awake and using it up.

Stop panicking. Be still.

Not that Arieh wanted to listen to War, precisely, but right now he didn't have many other options. "I'm trapped. There's no way out. I can't die until you're Called, so this is going to be my tomb until the Apocalypse and I can't do this I can't please make it go away I can't handle this I can't-"

STOP.

Arieh stopped babbling, slumping against the unforgiving walls of his prison and smearing them with the tears streaming down his cheeks. He was trembling uncontrollably.

Remember what you are. Failing that, remember what I am. Nothing but you cages War.

"I d-don't know how you p-plan to get out of here," Arieh stuttered, shivering. If he leaned on the wall behind him, there was maybe a three and a half inch span of space between his chest and the crystalline surface locking him in in the front. With perhaps five inches of moving space side to side, that was not a lot of leverage.

Nothing. Cages. War.

Arieh felt his panic being pulled away, burned, as if it was being used as fuel, and War's armor began to form around his hand. Almost without his own cognitive input, his hand began tapping the glass-like surface of his prison, progressively harder, until he was punching cracks into it. With one last, hard blow, it shattered outward, and Arieh fell out, freed.

From one prison, at least. He found himself in a dark cavern. Daylight and fresh air seemed to be coming in from a passageway over his head, but there was no way to get up TO that passageway, so he could only go deeper in. Where he stood was a fairly narrow walkway, to the right, an abyssal chasm.

His prison had been a crystal growing out of the wall. Made of ice? Mineral? Something else the Illogical Field had dreamt up just for the occasion?

Well, there was only one way to go from here, right?

War finished dressing him in the lighter armor Arieh really only ever had access to in dire straights and furnished him with a flaming sword more as a torch for lighting the way than as a weapon. Arieh was grateful nonetheless, because for the first time in his artificial life he was out of his depth in totality and completely intimidated.

Although at the end of the chasm and the beginning of an internal corridor Arieh began to forget about his own problems, as the flames of his sword illuminated another crystal prison jutting out of the wall. And this one held a young man with blue-grey skin.

"Wake up!" Arieh shouted, pounding on the crystal. It seemed stronger on the outside than his had been from within, however, and his armored fist barely scratched it. "Wake up!"



I'm back! I know it's been forever, sorry. But I figured my characters have to have been somewhere, right? So, they've been here, in this cave, stuck in crystals. Arieh got out of his own because of War, but the others aren't so lucky.

In fact, they're probably going to need some help.

This little mini-adventure is OPEN TO ALL! Feel free to have any characters and shinies you want run into the search party outside, that's Athid Soot and Hellhound Shevah, although the cave passageway to get in is fairly narrow, so who actually gets in may be a little size-restricted.

Oh, my descriptions aren't great and you want a map, you say? Okay, you didn't say it, but heeeey, my DM taught me a little trick with Google Draw, so have a map anyway!

It takes a little imagination. The X shape is the broken crystal that Arieh got out of, the diamonds are the other character crystals in the walls of the cavern, the giant hearts off in the one chamber are actually dragons lying dormant and unconscious. But it's a basic visual.

How do your characters know to come looking? Well, some might be personal relationships, others might have heard 'round the proverbial water cooler from Soot putting out the word that xe and Shevah have 'found some trace of the missing'. If your characters don't know any of mine, it can also be totally random, your call. ^^ I'm just looking for a fun IC way to pull my people off their shelves and dust 'em off.
"Life is not about what you deserve. Life is about free will, life is about what you choose. Afterlife is about what you deserve, and all the Heavens forfend you deserve me." --Belial

"Redemption is a work in progress. I've...got a lot of work left to do." --Shrayla

"Fair winds and good fortune to you, friend." --Khareesh

"I think you have me mistaken for someone penitent, and I don't appreciate it." --Melonwei

"If someone rains on your parade, start dancing in the rain." --Linah

"The rules of the Lord of Poetic Justice are very simple. You do unto others as you would have me do unto you, aye?" -- Aletha Hoarfrost

"War's the candy, I'm just the wrapper, but that doesn't make me ready to die any time soon." --Arieh Harel
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Raferties
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[ *  *  * ]
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How Hana had found out Kemori didn't know. And to be honest with her seeming wealth of knowledge at her wingtips he had long decided it was little point to ask. The Kitsune only knew that he'd been awoken from a warm nap by the lake by her arrival, calling to him that individuals long-since missing from the Weyr had been found once again. Or at least their likely location had, though no sign of the individuals themselves had been seen as of yet.

Your Foxfire might be able to see further, she said as he sat up and shook the sleep from his head.

"And the Weyrwoman can't sense their dragons, either?" He inquired, proving that he'd been paying attention. Though happy-go-lucky as he was, Kemori knew this could be deadly serious. Even though he was relatively new to the Haven area he'd heard about the missing, and had even once in quiet tried to use his Foxfire to help, but found nothing.

No. Apparently an Athid found some trace of them, but that is all I heard. I am hoping that with this new clue your powers will aid. With a quick bound off of the rock Kemori was up her side and onto her back.

"Well then, lets go!" She gave a nod and with a beat of her powerful sixteen foot wingspan they were airborne.

Kemori kept his eyes on the ground as they flew, looking for signs though any they might have seen from their height would have been quite visible to the searchdragons that had been sent out, so he doubted he'd see anything.

He was accurate, at least: the hole in the ground was far from conspicuous. In fact is almost blended into the ground in a sense. Perhaps IF involvement? Who knew.

The Roc landed a safe distance away and Kemori approached cautiously.

"Afraid you won't fit down there, my flower," he called over his shoulder as he drew near. "Stay nearby, though, just in case." For a moment the Kitsune knelt by the hole, peering in but seeing little to give any indication other than it was quite a drop down. He smirked – didn't the best adventures start out like this? - and jumped, landing in a three-point stance at the bottom with a faint whisper of silk from his clothing. He took a couple of steps in, held out one hand, and a black-purple flame bloomed in his palm, matching the purple his eyes became.

In its flames, he saw hints of the passage ahead, a shattered crystal, and many more unbroken ones. He also caught the shadow form of someone banging on one of the crystals, though the details were obscured. And beyond that -

Dragons. All laying as if dead, but he could sense the life within them.

"There you are," he murmured to himself, closing his fist to extinguish the magic and beginning to move forward, calling a ball of a more mundane fire into his palm to light his way and ducking just a bit to keep his ears from being bruised on the ceiling.



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Perhaps it wasn't so noticed, at least to most, when Shrayla vanished.

But Keldos noticed.

They had spoken once, discussing things such as redemption and self-worth, and after that talk had concluded the Archangel had taken care to look for her around the Village and Weyr, whenever trouble struck so if needed he could come to her aid, or simply to give her a greeting when things were peaceful.

In short showing her that he counted her a friend, and that she was worth the friendship.

So when he realized that a week had gone by without anything, he started to wonder. Half a week later and word of the others' vanishing made wonder turn to worry. And when Weyrwoman Sandasa called for the searchriders, he had gone out as well to see if he cound find some trace of the werewolf.

Nothing.

Even calling in Raferties, with his skills as divination even aside from his long-severed Chorus powers, turned up no clue. It had been disheartening to say the least.

But then this morn the Guardian had come to his brother, dazed and eyes a bit distant, with a hastily-drawn map with an X marking on place, and simply said he'd seen something in his sleep that past night.

Shrayla.

That was all it'd taken. Once Raferties assured Keldos he was alright the Archangel had set off for the location on the map. He'd wanted to take along one of his Bondeds for aid but his concerns for what he'd find made him request they stay behind on standby.

And when he reached the hole he realized that had been a good idea.

A Roc was settled nearby, watching, but didn't say anything to him so he reasoned there was another in the hole already. As it was dark he lit himself with his Radiance and dropped down. There was only one passage to take, and with a scowl he realized he would be at quite a hindrance. The ceiling was considerably smaller than he was by almost half a foot, and his wings would have to be tightly restrained or pay the consequences (and even then he was likely to lose a few feathers in the process).

Well, so be it!

Couching low and moving carefully to maintain his balance, reach to grab for his blade at the first sign of trouble, Keldos moved deeper within the tunnels hoping there was still a chance to save them!

((Just consider Keldos having arrived a minute or so behind Kemori, lol!))
Note: Until further stated, Scarheart, Belial, and Cassandra have standing permission to powerplay Raferties or Anari.
Raferties and his Shinies ~~Anari and her Shinies~~ Keldos and his Shinies~~Cobalt and her Shinies~~Taki and her Shinies~~Kemori and his Shinies
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Tidesweep
Shrine Attendant
[ *  *  * ]
The absences hadn't gone unnoticed by a certain bronzerider. Though she hadn't been too terribly worried in the beginning. It could be any number of reasons. From a mission that needed a departure ASAP to just the illogical field deciding that it wanted them over there rather than over here to even getting a little lost. After all, Tide knew that the illogical field was not above completely rearranging roads and other landmarks at a whim, thus making any maps useless. Unless they had been enchanted and even then, it might take awhile for the magic in the map to catch up with what had just happened. Point is though, she hadn't been too worried when she hadn't seen Khareesh for a couple of days.

She became mildly worried when Linah wasn't around at the tavern and Jason had said Blue was running it by herself. With the companions that weren't directly tied to Linah. So to speak. But even then, it might not be of a concerned and Linah had survived worst.

Tide truly started to worry and panic when it became nearly a month. No Khareesh. No Linah. No contact with either one of them and no one knew where they were. She bottled it down though and continued to hope for the best. There were other things going on and Tide had to focus on that for the sake of the Weyr and Haven. Didn't mean she had to like it, but she could do it.

Then came the whisperings. The missing had been found. Or at least a clue had been found. The dragon grapevine sometimes got jumbled when they were excited and anxious. Such as now. It didn't much matter to Tide as she obtained the location from Lenaarth and was off like a shot, Jason on her heels as well as a few of her companions. Namely Araghuamont and Bob. Some of the others weren't too far behind, but it was like Tide was given wings today as she raced down the road that would take her to where she wanted to go.

Stamina was a thing though and it wasn't long before she found herself on the back of Bob with Jason as the t-rex ran down the road. Each step sent the ground shaking and vibrating, so it was a good chance that everyone already at the cave would know she was coming long before she actually showed up.

As Bob skidded to a stop, Tide slide down and ran for the opening. Not even bothering to check how far down it might be, she took a leap into the hole. While not as graceful as Kemori or Keldos, she landed alright. Looking up, she saw Jason's worried face as he looked down at her. "You okay mom?" She gave him a wan smile and nodded as she held out her hands.

"I am fine. You want to come down too or..." She trailed off as Araghuamont, realizing he couldn't fit like most of the companions that could easily keep up with Bob, helped lower the boy into Tide's waiting arms. Much to his protests, but Tide quietly pointed out that what she had done was a bit stupid and that seemed to quiet him. She couldn't help it though. Khareesh was here. He had to be here...Right? Right?

Noticing a light up ahead, she followed along the path, being careful to keep her and Jason away from that chasm to their right. It wasn't long though before they ran into a pair of wings...Six wings to be exact. "Keldos?" That was about all she could really see at the moment. That and a fluffy tail. It reminded her of the fox person at the doorways that had lead her to the battle that spanned across dimensions and a bit of time too. Her voice held out hope and a bit of worry as she tried to peer between the two into the chambers beyond. "Are they here? Are they...Okay?"

Her voice almost broke at that last part, but she had to know. She just had too.


(AN: Tide is a short person. The hallway isn't that wide. With that info, I am assuming she can't actually see around Keldos and Kemori to know who is in the crystal currently. If this is wrong, just let me know and I can change it~)
"Death has a bone to pick with you and I'm here to help out." -Cain Skelington

"The waves have their own music...Are you listening?" - Tidesweep

"Don't take my silence for agreement. That would be a mistake."- Gertude Weavian

"I will protect what is mine with a will forged like a diamond."- Mildred Fresi

"Healing can take time. Lucky for you, you should having nothing but it for awhile."- Jeremi Kgute
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Telmaril
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The End of Ascalon
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Guardian, I think I’ve got something for you.

Crow flickered into being just above Dust’s shoulders, the rearmost sections of his shell held at stiff and disapproving angles. Whatever bit of intel the little Ghost had tripped over, he didn’t much approve of it. That much was normal, a steady constant Dust had long ago adjusted to. The thread of worry in their bond, however, was rather less normal. Through all the chaos and despair of the Red War Crow had held steady, refusing to sway in the face of the unknown. That he was worried now made Dust’s proverbial hackles rise.

“Alright, what kind of something?” It was his standard response, but there was no hiding the flicker of photolingual fretfulness that brightened his throat-lights.

I’m... honestly not sure how to describe it. That too was unusual, and made Dust’s audio finials flick back in concern. This planet doesn’t have a proper datanet like the City does. I’m making due with what I can find, but the data tends to come out garbled. This report’s from the Harper Hall. They’re saying that someone’s been... trapped in crystal?

“Crystal. We’re not talking Hive crystal, are we?” Memories of Taeko-3 and her grisly demise bubbled up in the back of his head, ruthlessly suppressed the moment they surfaced.

I don’t know. The notion distressed Crow, if the rapid spin and fold of his anterior segments were any indication. Nobody here uses standard data markers. It’s all just raw code. I’m trying to piece together what I can, but in the meantime, would you mind going and taking a look? I’ll join you as soon as I can.

“‘Course.” Dust darted a hand out, snagged his Ghost clear out of the air, held the distressed synthetic close until he began to relax. “And I’ll be careful. Don’t worry. ...okay, don’t worry too much.”

Alright, Crow sighed, drooping as only a Ghost could. I’ll behave myself.

Then the little light vanished in the tell-tale flickering glow of transmat, off to glean the truth by whatever means necessary. Satisfied for the moment, Dust rose from his workbench, metal pinging as inactive systems came back online. He’d have to run a proper maintenance cycle soon, sort out some of the kinks just starting to make themselves known, but that could wait. For now he holstered the hand cannon he’d been cleaning and snapped his mask back into place.

Just like that, the Hunter was on the prowl.

Crow hadn’t been too certain about the coordinates he’d passed along, and once Dust reached them he could see why. The coords marked the entrance to... what looked alarmingly like a cave, and not one made of crystal. Stranger still, what looked like an insect made of metal lurked just outside, clearly waiting for... something? Or was it someone?

Soot answered that question a split second later, hailing Dust with a desperation that verged on worrisome. The scenario the Athid laid out was almost too fantastical to believe, and yet... would Crow have really wasted his time on a wild goose chase? More to the point, would Soot have aided and abetted a prank started by what was, to xir, a complete stranger?

All signs pointed to no, and all roads led into the cave. Hand cannon drawn, Dust leaped into the darkness, cloak whispering behind him.

The drop was significantly shorter than he expected, and not only because he damn near landed on top of... what looked like a knot of incongruously mismatched people. There was what looked like a bog-standard human, another with oddly avian wings, and... one wearing what had to be a very realistic costume. There was simply no way those pointed ears and fluffy tail were real.

Yeah. Right. Costume. Keep thinking that, Dust.

Whatever the humanoids might have been, none of them looked armed. More to the point, none of them possessed the seething, roiling Light so characteristic of Guardians. Civilians, then, and that just made everything ten times as complicated. When everything went sideways- and it would, he knew right down to his struts- they’d be under his care. One at least had the bearing of an ex-military type, but the others...

Well, it wouldn’t be the first time he’d played escort, and it wouldn’t be the last, either.

Holstering his gun, Dust padded up to join the group, a warm flicker of solar Light rolling across each of them as he arrived.

“Anyone got any idea what’s going on here? The buggie at the door didn’t have many details.”

Posted Image

Dragons talked. Oh, they denied it, swore up and down that they kept their secrets and those of their bondmates, but spend enough time around any dragon and the truth became self-evident. The great beasts gossiped like oversized office workers, and what one knew the others eventually found out.

And so it was that Yaleelth- cold, clinical, didactic Yaleelth- was the one to alert her bondmate to the storm brewing on the horizon.

You are needed. The words came like a thunderclap, leaving Tel to press a knuckle against his temple and sway on the spot. Even two years after Impressing his great silver battleaxe the sheer volume she was capable of still caught him off-guard from time to time. Or you will be. Bring your kit. It will be as needed as you are.

Beneath the cold slice of Yaleelth’s mindvoice there lurked a worry that made Tel frown. The silver wasn’t what one would call warm and fuzzy, disinclined to worry herself overmuch with the concerns of others. That she would actively call out her bondmate boded ill for whoever needed a healer. No fool Telmaril, he gathered up his effects and called for Midgardsormr, his erstwhile companion through thick and thin. Thus outfitted the two set out-

-and very nearly tripped over Shevah just outside the weyr proper.

The Hellhound filled healer and miniature dragon alike in, urging them to hurry to the aid of who and whatever was in that cave. Tel wasted no time in whistling for Aymeric. The gryphon was kind enough to ferry both of them to the cave, and kinder still to wait patiently while Tel gathered his nerve and took the plunge.

Elementals, but he hated heights.

Unprepared as he was, Tel completely botched his landing. He wound up flat on his rump, much to the amusement of Midgardsormr, who floated down light and languid as thistledown. Grumbling, Tel hauled himself back to his feet and brushed the dirt from his robes before trotting over to join the fast-growing group of would-be rescurers.

“Is anyone injured?”
Edited by Telmaril, Jun 5 2018, 09:11 AM.
It matters not how strait the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll
I am the captain of my fate, the master of my soul


Telmaril | Shinies
Legion | Shinies
Dust | Shinies
Astrid | Shinies
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Belial
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Archduke
[ *  *  * ]
Soot and Shevah, having been missed by several parties at first, had split up, hoping to cover more ground. Athid had remained, unwilling to leave until xe could find a way in, and Shevah had headed back to the Weyr, looking for a search party.

Neither had quite known where the cave exactly was or even what was in it until Keldos entered, actually, because from there the information hit the very convenient Weyr Grapevine. From Keldos, Zalanth learned it, and from Zalanth, every other dragon, because dragons just gossiped no matter how taciturn their riders thought they actually were.

And while Anaeth and Tiombeth were among the missing, Soot had a few contacts to bespeak for raw data, at least. Zalanth thatamongthese, given Keldos was one of the few, perhaps the only, that made the effort to call Shrayla a friend.

The clockwork Petroleum tarantula was torn, a bit, stay outside and guide more people in, or rush inside and find Shrayla. Eventually rushing inside won out, and the little giant mechanical spider scuttled through the tunnel and unexpectedly tumbled off the drop-off without seeing the small cliff that made leaving through the entrance impossible. Soot tumbled, bounced. Recovered, eventually. After that, it was a matter of following Keldos' glow and the sounds of voices ahead.

~*~

Arieh yelped in protest when War snatched back the flaming sword and left him in darkness once more.

SILENCE! War commanded, all but snarling, and Arieh cringed away from the volume of it in his head. War had a way of making him feel like his head was the epicenter of a supernova when the inner Horseman was annoyed, and Arieh chose to stop annoying the Horseman further rather than continue being hurt. Turn around.

That, at least, was spoken at a bearable level, and Arieh turned to find lights coming at him in the darkness. Was that help or harm coming his way? At least War had left him with the (however flimsy) armor. It made him feel somewhat safer in this basket of unknown variables.

It still would have been nice to have a weapon, but he was Israeli. His training in Krav Maga would have to do.

Although when they started talking to each other, Arieh heard surprise, familiarity, a little bit of lost desperation. A search party? Oh. That changed things significantly.

"HELP!" Arieh bellowed at the approaching lights. "OVER HERE!"

~*~

What Kemori, Keldos, Tidesweep & Jason, Dust, and Telmaril found upon entering the choked passage was that after a good fifteen to twenty feet of being squeezed and swallowed, they scrunched through an extra-narrow bit of tunnel and stepped down expecting floor and found maybe a seven foot drop down to the wider ledge adjacent to the chasm.

It was like being born again, a little bit. Not precisely fun or comfortable, but not dangerous either.

The ledge platform next to the chasm was plenty wide, no danger of falling into the chasm unless they felt like flirting with it. Or tried to walk in a straight line, for that matter, as the cavern itself curved rather heavily. Walk forward, then turn and seemingly backtrack to follow the natural bend and flow of the cave; about thirty feet in they encountered the shattered remains of a crystal.

About another ten feet beyond that they started running into each other, and another ten feet beyond that they started to hear shouting for help.



Yo! Thank y'all for joining me! :D

This is me trying to comb everything into a coherent sort of timeline while also writing things out of chronological order. Consider part two sort of what everyone is hearing at the end of part three. Also it's a huge walk, so you have time to talk to each other before you actually reach Arieh. ^^

(and if you need a couple of posts each for conversation purposes, yo, go ahead)
"Life is not about what you deserve. Life is about free will, life is about what you choose. Afterlife is about what you deserve, and all the Heavens forfend you deserve me." --Belial

"Redemption is a work in progress. I've...got a lot of work left to do." --Shrayla

"Fair winds and good fortune to you, friend." --Khareesh

"I think you have me mistaken for someone penitent, and I don't appreciate it." --Melonwei

"If someone rains on your parade, start dancing in the rain." --Linah

"The rules of the Lord of Poetic Justice are very simple. You do unto others as you would have me do unto you, aye?" -- Aletha Hoarfrost

"War's the candy, I'm just the wrapper, but that doesn't make me ready to die any time soon." --Arieh Harel
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Raferties
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((Gonna be blending my pair, just for flow of words. I hope it won't get too confusing!))



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Keldos turned, hearing his name called by a familiar voice from behind and carefully arranging his back appendages out of the way so he wouldn't lose more plumes than he already had.

"Tide, Jason, glad to know I'm not entirely alone down here," he greeted with a smile. "I take it you heard the rumors as well. I hope that they are down here somewhere, and unharmed."

Having heard the Archangle's heavy armor and the pair's echoed voices, Kemori turned around to backtrack to them, thinking it was far better to venture forth as a group, especially if one of the others was a defender-sort.

You know, the kind that could keep the relatively unarmored spellcaster in one piece!

The Kitsune was considerate enough to clear his throat before he actually got within the range of that rather large blade, and realizing he had allies on both sides Keldos did his best to press his back and wings to the wall, so all could see one another, even as Dust and Telmaril joined as well.

"While I cannot account for unharmed," the Kitsune said as he came to stand with them, having caught the tail-end of Tide and Telmaril's words and with his foxfire still burning in his palm, "I can say that I believe the lost are here, somewhere." He held the dancing flame once more before his eyes, looking in to see the unseen. "Crystals, one shattered, the rest not. Large ones, enough to hold someone. A being trying to break one, though now he – I believe he, anyways – has stopped. And dragons, laying still but I believe alive yet." He raised his gaze to the others, for one of the rare times (especially to those that knew him, the flirt that he was) not throwing that winning and often blush-inducing smile their way. "What has happened to them otherwise I have no idea."

"Then we should move quickly – hmm?" Keldos had spotted movement along the ground, and knelt to get a better look at Soot. "I... I believe I know this Athid. Soot?" The tarantula responded to his voice, so Keldos lowered his hand so xe could climb into it and up his arm to his shoulder, not unnerved by the large arachnid-like creature. "Soot is one of Shrayla's Bondeds," he explained. As Shrayla was his friend, it felt only right to him to ensure that xe got back to the werewolf personally. Then he looked over the group, taking stock of what he could see and what he knew of each person.

Tidesweep: no lack of courage, but no weapon either. He knew her voice could accomplish some very powerful things, however.

Kemori: didn't know much about him, but clearly he was a spellcaster.

Telmaril: knew him well enough to know he was a healer with enough oomph in him to save a dragon hatchling's life, though the Solarian wasn't too certain of his combat skills.

Dust: never seen this one before, but that was a gun – yes, Keldos had had the interesting fortune to stumble on a world with guns in his travels plus his close friend Cain wielded them exclusively, so he knew the impact they could have.

"It may be best if those of us with combat training lead, just in case there are enemies or those who did this to our friends in the area."

"A sound strategy!" Kemori edged past Keldos, taking up a position in the back. "Though I admit my magic might be less than effective in these tight confines. But if the front line holds, the rest of us can conserve our strength for the real fun ahead." One of the Kistune's ears twitched as he heard a shout. "But we'd best make plans quickly. I believe someone up ahead is a friend and is calling for aid."

((Obviously, they're just making suggestions, and anyone can react or position around as they will, or even powerplay my pair if you need to. Gah, still feels awkward but I can't get it feeling much better than this.))
Note: Until further stated, Scarheart, Belial, and Cassandra have standing permission to powerplay Raferties or Anari.
Raferties and his Shinies ~~Anari and her Shinies~~ Keldos and his Shinies~~Cobalt and her Shinies~~Taki and her Shinies~~Kemori and his Shinies
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Tidesweep
Shrine Attendant
[ *  *  * ]
Tide looked back at the entrance of Telmaril and Dust. She gave Keldos a smile and before she could answer anyone, Kemori came into view. Which would have been just fine and dandy if it wasn't for the fox fire currently dancing in his hand. She froze up, muscles locking up as she fought back the urge to turn tail and try to scramble up the wall and out of the entrance they had come in. Which would have been all kinds of wrong.

It was just made worst as Keldos mentioned that those with little combat experience go to the back while those like Keldos and Dust remained closer to the front. Jason kept quiet, shaking his head at most of the questions, eyes watching Kemori as well. He was hoping that the fox guy would notice his mother's uncomfortable reaction, but it seemed like it would go unchecked.

Never one to talk first, he reached out to grab Kemori's wrist and forcibly move it away from Tide. "You. Are. Scaring. My. Mother." His eyes would be hard as he attempted to smother the foxfire out by trying to move Kemori's wrist and hand to a wall to slap it against it.

The action would have at least unfroze Tide's vocal cords. "Jason! Stop!" She would have reached out, but that close to the flame would have her fighting the urge too much so she had to take a small step back. "I...I apologize for Jason. I am terribly sorry...Jason...Please..." She would look at him with a pleading in her eyes.

Huffing, Jason would release Kemori's wrist and move over to gently take his mother's hand. "Close your eyes mom. I'll make sure you don't fall." He would of course shoot Kemori a nasty look, no matter if Kemori had put the foxfire out or not. The kitsune had just made Jason's enemy list...Which okay, wasn't that hard if you were a guy. But still.

Hearing the faint voice, Tide shook her head. "I...I will be fine." She made a point to not look at Kemori though. They needed the light and she wasn't gonna let them lose it based on her own fears. It might be the difference between finding the missing and not and she so desperately wanted to find the missing.
"Death has a bone to pick with you and I'm here to help out." -Cain Skelington

"The waves have their own music...Are you listening?" - Tidesweep

"Don't take my silence for agreement. That would be a mistake."- Gertude Weavian

"I will protect what is mine with a will forged like a diamond."- Mildred Fresi

"Healing can take time. Lucky for you, you should having nothing but it for awhile."- Jeremi Kgute
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Telmaril
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The End of Ascalon
[ *  *  * ]
Posted Image
<<Hey, Crow, c’mere. Think I’m gonna need you sooner rather than later.>> A beat. <<And bring the lights, would you?>>

Dust listened to the chatter around him with half an audio, more focused on their surroundings than on his newfound companions. Keldos had a point, in fact seemed to be stepping into a logical leadership position, but Dust wasn’t entirely sure he was ready to listen. This wasn’t a field of battle, in fact seemed void of any enemies to speak of, and so wasn’t subject to the rules Titans and their like seemed so fond of. In fact, this was uncharted territory, and it was off the edge of the map that Hunters were most at home.

Blue light flickered into being above Dust’s shoulder, eight-dimensional energy spinning itself out into the unmistakable curves and angles of a Ghost. Crow trans-matted in with lights at full burn, filling the cavern with pale blue light that nevertheless banished all shadow. In that cool light Dust’s suspicions were confirmed: there was nothing here to shoot, and judging by the distant shouting their target lay further underground.

Temporarily ignoring the friction between Kemori, Jason and Tide, Dust padded past the lot of them, Crow floating lazily in his wake.

...he had to start crab-walking within twenty feet, mind you, but dignity was for people not actively embarked on rescue missions.

The tunnel proved a tight squeeze, tight enough for protruding rocks to strike sparks off his armor, but the passage was mercifully short.

The drop on the other end, however, was rather less so, a fact Dust nearly discovered firsthand. The exo caught himself a hairsbreadth from the edge of the gaping hole in the floor, arms windmilling as he fought for (and thankfully found) balance.

“Hey, hey, watch the floor, there’s a big drop here-”

Crow pinged off the back of Dust’s head, just hard enough to upset his balance, and the hunter toppled ass over audios straight down. Only the vaunted grace hunters seemed to resurrect with saved him from an ignominious injury or six. Somehow he managed to tuck and roll and come up running, turning all that excess momentum into forward motion.

And just in time, too, if the shouting from up ahead was any indication.

“Stay where you are,” Dust shouted, and sprinted for the voice’s source.

Crow, still hovering at the top of the drop, heaved a sigh disproportionate to his size. Of course his Guardian had gone tearing off into the darkness. What else would he have done? No choice now but to follow, ghostly (ha!) light filling the cavern as Crow’s lights hit full burn.

Posted Image

All around me are familiar faces...

Er. Wait. Make that un-familiar. Of the people gathered in the cave Tel recognized precisely two of them. One couldn’t meet Raferties without meeting his big brother Keldos too, and he’d had enough run-ins with Tidesweep to form a decidedly positive opinion of her. The young man with her looked to be... some sort of relation or close friend, judging by the protectiveness writ large on every line of his lanky frame. The other two, however, came with no such helpful associations. One was what a Doman would call a kitsune, complete with tail and orbs of glowing foxfire in tow. The other... honestly defied description, at least to an Eorzean, and Tel was more than a little relieved when the heavily-armed metal man vanished into the cave proper.

Whatever happened between Kemori and Tide, at least there wouldn’t be firearms involved.

“Crystals, mm? That’s worrisome.” Then again, ‘crystals’ had a very different connotation in Eorzea. No one on Teragaia seemed terribly inclined to start summoning primals, though Tel wouldn’t put it past some of the fringe elements on the farthest sides of the world. “Can you show me where the dragons and their riders are? They may need medical attention sooner rather than later.”

Especially if these were the riders that had been missing for weeks.

“You aren’t wrong about positioning, but I can hold my own in a fight. We should move. Quickly.”

Very quickly, lest the shout-er was rendered unable to shout.

Not for the first time Telmaril rued the fact he was nearly seven feet tall. The cavern walls seemed bound and determined to snag his robes, bruise his ribs, generally inconvenience him-

And then there was another drop, and Tel arrived just late enough to miss Dust’s warning. One moment there was blessedly-solid stone underfoot, the next it was simply gone, and Tel fell with a yelp most unfitting of a Warrior of Light.

It wasn’t a long drop, at least, even if he did completely fumble the landing. At least no one seemed to be around to witness his embarrassment. Tel popped back to his feet, brushed the dirt and grit from his robes, and hobbled after the blue light fast disappearing into the depths.
It matters not how strait the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll
I am the captain of my fate, the master of my soul


Telmaril | Shinies
Legion | Shinies
Dust | Shinies
Astrid | Shinies
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