[Alvadas Quest, Part I] Reflecting the Illusion of Water

[Derric]

"If only there was some way to do that, magician.” Instinctively, Derric looked back over his shoulder, certain that he'd heard the woman speak into his ear. Then again, I suppose it was just yet another effect of this illusory world, he thought, quickly figuring out that she wasn't actually behind him, Can't say I like the thought, but trusting her seems to be the only choice we have. After all, the crazy woman hadn't truly deceived the pair yet, and maybe the whispers were proof that they wouldn't be entirely alone on this mission. Well, whatever that mission happened to be, anyway. Derric quickly sized up the three men guarding the door, coming to the conclusion that, if illusions could be harmful, these guards posed a decent threat. However, if the other part of the woman's 'hint' held any truth, then brute force would not be the only method to dispose of them. Distract them and they disappear, leaving only reality behind. He replayed the words in his head, trying to consider his possibilities. A distraction. That much was obvious, they needed a distraction that would successfully capture the attention of the guards. But what would do the job nicely? The answer was plain and simple, if not slightly insane. It would have never worked on a actual set of guards, but then again, nothing here was exactly congruent with reality. "A riddle." he mumbled. The words were too quiet for the guards to overhear, but just loud enough that Pain may have heard them had she been focused. Of course, the words wouldn't have meant anything to her anyway, as the whispers she'd heard were entirely different from those spoken to Derric. For the performer, however, the words made perfect sense. Illusions had short attention spans, what better to distract them than with a riddle. Sure, a Syliran Knight probably wouldn't start pondering the answer to one while on duty, but why couldn't Derric trick these guards into doing just that. "Hey, do you guys like riddles?" The words felt silly rolling off his tongue, and for a second he doubted how well the plan would actually work. But, he'd learned enough from the flooded cabin to realize that his own thoughts mattered when it came to this un-reality, and therefore holding a belief in his ideas was something necessary to the effectiveness of them. "I got a good one that I haven't been able to solve, want to try and help?" Derric focused on the plan as he spoke, tricking himself into believing that it would work. "You can only keep me after you give me to someone else. What am I?" The words flowed from memory. Unconsciously Derric put a hand into his pocket and gripped a single piece of paper so tight that his knuckles nearly paled. He'd lied when he said that he'd never been able to solve it, but it was an important puzzle all the same. The riddle was told to him a while ago. He'd contemplated it for days, unable to see through to the answer, only to kick himself when he had finally figured it out. The solution was simple, really, but, judging by the looks of the guards, if it took him a few days to realize the answer, they'd need all the time in the world. And that may just be enough to get by and into that room.

[Elhaym]

More words, this time much less subtle. Pain clutched Tanny close to her chest as she viewed the imposing visage of the three men, trying to collect her thoughts and assess the situation. Not her strong suit. They needed to get through this barrier one way or the other, for something beckoned to Pain. She was no wizard, but she felt something. It emanated from from farther down the hall... yes, a doorway. One of the Sailors had spoken, and seemed to nod to the other two as if he were giving orders. "Okay... gods, this is bullshyke. So these men can hurt us, just like that water could have killed us. That one there spoke, so... chances are, he's the real one." Pain thought to herself, trying to formulate a plan. It seemed that her other companion of the human variety had his own scheme. Perhaps the woman had spoken to him as well. Pain could only guess that he was trying to distract the men, but would that work? You couldn't get out of a bar fight with a riddle... then again, nothing else made much damn sense on this ship. Pain knelt down, pushing Tanny from her grasp and freeing the leash from her hand. She placed a hand on his haunches and pushed him back, and he obliged her silent command by scampering well behind Derric and herself. As Derric's words oozed about the narrow hallway, Pain tried to decide what to do. Her heavy pack lay harmlessly a few feet away, having been thrown down the hatch by itself, and Tanny was safe. She was free to fight to her fullest, but... "If I go up there right now, they'll all be on me. I'll blow it. Dammit..." Pain thought, bouncing from one foot to another and raising her arms up slowly. She didn't quite go into her fighting stance, as she wanted their attention to remain on Derric's riddle. It was unnatural for her to do this. Pain's entire philosophy in a fight focused on aggression and being on the offensive. She would never purposely allow herself to be on the defensive from the get go, but here she was... waiting. She had too. It was still advantageous to them, anyhow. The hallway was narrow, and Pain was fairly certain that Derric had little fighting skill. Not really such a bad thing, but the fact that she was firmly between the sailors and her companions left her reassured. Did they just blink? Pain shook her head from side to side quickly, swatting at her eyes as if a fly had just buzzed far to close to her pupils. Perhaps it was working. If it was, then it would be showtime for her. Pain silently gave thanks to Derric's quick thinking... if he hadn't followed, she would have been forced to fight three men down here in a confined space by herself. Not a pleasant though. One on one wasn't so bad, but three on one? Doesn't typically work out well for one of the four involved. Ah, again? Pain couldn't tell if she was letting her high hopes get the better of her, or if sailor's really did seem to be fading and returning extremely rapidly periodically. "Come on big guy... give me your best shot." Pain pleaded mentally. Her body was begging to go. This trip was far more than she had bargained for, and her stress levels were reaching new heights. She needed to release her pent up stress, preferably by breaking something. Or someone.

[Cadence]

Pain and Derric The guards stared with blank, dumb eyes as Derric spoke. When he fell silent, the guards continued to stare at him, as if expecting something more. Finally, one of them blinked, his eyes wandering away from Derric to stare up at the ceiling. He opened his mouth as if trying to form words and the man next to him followed suit. For a while, the two just stood there, their mouths hanging open like those of fish suddenly thrown on dry land. The man who had initially expressed his inability to let Derric and Pain pass appeared to be in deep thought as well. Finally, he spoke triumphantly, “Meat. It’s meat because when you give it to someone else, you don’t have it anymore. No, wait…” The brows of his companions were now furrowed in deep thought. Their torsos were shimmering, flickering in and out of existence like dying fireflies. Finally, the strain of thinking proved to be too much and the illusions faded out of view, their transparent images billowing upward like smoke and dissolving into the air. For a few seconds, the sailor didn’t seem to register the fact that his comrades had disappeared. He still stood there, trying to reason out the riddle. Slowly his eyes regained focus and he looked at the empty spots where the illusions had been. Then, his gaze darted between Pain and Derrid, finally settling on the one who looked the most threatening. The man might not have been a genius, but he could recognize a fighting stance when he saw one. “Hey, girly. Don’t you go getting ready for a fight. There ain’t going to be a fight here.” Like a giant, lumbering bear, he shifted forward and swung the full weight of his arm toward Pain. Hadrian Curn’s eyes began to bulge, his eyebrows climbing up to his forehead. He grabbed at his throat, tearing away at his neck as if it were his own skin that were suffocating him. The illusions which he had built up so carefully began to flicker rapidly. There was the dingy, old armchair in the middle of the room, shimmering in and out of view. With every gasping breath that the illusionist took, the furniture became more solid. And there was Asperenus, sitting in the armchair as if nothing were amiss. He stroked his mustache thoughtfully as he regarded the body withering on the floor. He raised one bushy eyebrow in surprise when Hadrian rammed into the ex-Deputy Scholar. If the mood had been right, Asperenus might have felt inclined to applaud. Meanwhile, Curn’s body was propelled backward by the force of his impact with Hadrian, slamming the illusionist into a wall. Curn continued grabbing at his own throat, making strangled, unintelligible sounds in the process. Funny, that he wasn’t even trying to push Hadrian off, just scratching at his throat, the neckline of his robe, the black string that hung around his neck and dangled down to his chest... Just as Curn was about to pass out, he finally located the pendant hidden beneath his robe. With a last, spasmodic jerk, he tore the string by which the pendant was hanging and sent it flying to the floor. The pendant would undoubtedly remind Hadrian of the little, wooden sculpture he had held in his hands just a short while ago. It was made of the same material, had the same vaguely hourglass-like shape, and was saturated with Djed. When the little wooden structure made contact with the floor, it cracked on one edge, sending multiple hairline fractures along its surface. Within seconds, Djed had begun leaking out of the pendant, sending raw illusion into the air. It was as if an explosion of illusion had just rocked the room, sending flickers of disconnected colors and images into the air. There were shimmers of Acacia trees and remnants of sand dunes, along with flashes of bright magenta and muted greys. Within moments of the explosion, the room had been turned into an endless expanse of sand. White, hot sand met a bright blue sky at a horizon that didn’t exist. Asperenus stood next to Hadrian and at their feet lay the unmoving body of Saaren Curn – illusionist extraordinaire. Hadrian’s throat felt parched, as if he hadn’t drunk water in days. No sun could be seen in the cloudless sky, but Hadrian could definitely feel heat radiating from the air, causing sweat to roll down his forehead in waves. Asperenus wiped his mustache with the back of his hand and knelt down next to Curn, feeling the man’s neck for a pulse.

[Hadrian]

Hadrian was perforce shaken out of his meditative calm by the violence of his attack and so whatever immunity he had built up with his trance state was gone when the amulet cracked and took him and Asperenus together. Intriguing, he thought. He hadn't known pure illusion could work like that, the illusionist dead and all. Of course, he would have preferred not to be the target of the illusions. Sweating and suddenly parched -- it seemed that the illusions could affect all senses -- he cursed under his breath, out of the frying pan and into the fire. Asperenus' calm made him doubt himself, but then everything about these illusions made him doubt. Was Curn the grandmaster or merely a pawn? Was it too late to safe Curn to find out? "Is he dead?" he asked, his voice a surprising croak after the cool tones with which he had conversed with the illusionist. He dropped to his knees next to the prone form, pushing djed more rapidly to his hand until he had converted it into a thin layer of glowing res there, prepared to suck the water out of the man's lungs. He had seen men survive longer periods without air, after all. "What is happening?"

[Elhaym]

"Derric... you stay the hell back." Pain said in a hushed tone as the sailor surged towards her. It was all she had time to say before his giant fist lunged towards her in a broad sailing arc. Pain reacted, taking a step back and crouching her body low underneath the blow. His blow flew above her head, destined to crush naught but air, and Pain's body went into action. Using her forward momentum, she brought her knee forward and struck at the man's midsection. Damn, he was tall... almost a foot on her. Her blow landed, a vicious attack and the last blow she'd landed on many men before the fight ended. Yet, his height and inherent toughness displayed their advantages to Pain as her knee impacted the hard muscle and protective fatty layers of his torso. No good. Pain barely had time to retract her knee and return to her stance when she saw his fists. He threw hard punches, hard to block directly or even redirect with Pain's own arms. She was strong for a woman, but her smaller frame and arms couldn't match his hardened bulk. She moved from side to side, evading his blows relatively easy. Despite being able to read his movements and attacks as they came due to his dramatic body movements, he was very fast. Pain saw an opening, and her right arm shot out like a whip in a hook directed for his ribs. Thud. Pain retracted her fist and detected the slightest discomfort from the bulky sailor. This wasn't going to be easy. Pain's vision blurred and his head snapped to the side, her face on fire. What the petch? He'd managed to sneak a hook of his own in, hitting her squarely in the face. Pain stepped back a few times, but within a few steps her back was against the wall of the narrow corridor. This wasn't going well... not well at all. He came quickly, and Pain reacted by lunging forward and unleashing a low kick with her right leg. The blow impacted his left knee, but he went forward unhindered. Pain was surprised when his own leg came forward, digging into her chest near her diaphragm and pushing her roughly back against the wall. Pain's head snapped back upon the impact, hitting the wall and producing an agonized moan. He was on top of her again. This close, there was no dodging. He'd already made two brutal impacts on her torso when Pain raised her head and screamed. There was agony in her voice, but she be saying something rather than screaming from her own pain. "Ishmay! ISHMAY!" "Rrroof! Rrroof!" The Sailor's head snapped to the side to the source of the new noise. Tanny stood on edge, in between Derric's legs and barking with all his strength. Pain had needed a distraction. Now, with his head turned and exposing his outstretched throat and side of the head she had one shot. She took it. Her right fist collided with the side of his head and he stumbled back in a daze. Pain stayed on top of him, hitting him with everything she had. It was a flurry of arms, elbows and knees, and after a few seconds Pain had worked him to opposite wall of the corridor. He was on the defense, but he was a very tough guy. She'd exhaust herself working him over, and the door was beckoning her. Pain made a decision. She took a step back, and gave him room to attack. His instincts took over, and he took the bait. He threw a punch with his left hand, fueled by frenzy and desperation. Pain went into action, stepping quickly to his side opposite the punch. She put a foot squarely on his right knee, and up she went. She ascended his body quickly, swinging her own body up and over... From Derric's point of view, he would have seen a flurry of movement with the result being Pain essentially riding piggy back on the sailor's back. Her right leg was wrapped around his neck, the inside of her knee clamped against his throat. She lowered her torso and leaned back so far she was nearly upside down, reaching up and taking a hold of the man's head on either side and pulling it back to expose his neck. She fought the strength of his bulky neck's muscles, but she would win. She was compressing his throat with her powerful legs, cutting off the blood to his brain. He stumbled to and fro, both hands pulling at her leg. In this position, he found that Pain's strength was more than enough to give her the advantage. Slowly his stumbling became more erratic, and after a dozen seconds or so he began to fall. His knees hit the ground, followed by his limp body. Pain unfolded her legs as he fell, simply riding his body until her legs hit the ground and she stumbled away. "Gods..." Pain said aloud, spitting a wad of blood from her mouth. His first blow had broken her nose, sending a stream of blood across her face that had run into her eyes as she hung upside down. "I don't wanna hear any shyke... for not killin' that guy. For all we know..." Pain stuttered, wiping her eyes and smearing the blood away from her eyelids. "... He saw two Zith covered in the blood of his companions and holding the Captain's head. I ain't killin' no one... till' we get through that door and figure out what exactly the petch is goin on inside this petched up ship." Pain pressed both hands against the wall, catching her breath and letting the pain of his blows settle inside her body. It hurt, but she could deal with that. He would be unconscious for a while... they had time to get by. Not to mention time to deal with her broken nose. She didn't think Derric would want to see this. "Go on... i'm right behind you." Pain said, moving back towards her pack and slinging it over her shoulder. Tanny scampered to her side, looking up expectantly. "Good boy... that's three times, Tanny."

[Derric]

If he'd had time, Derric would have smiled triumphantly. His plan had actually worked, and he'd successfully gotten rid of most of the sailors. Unfortunately, time was something he didn't have, and moments after the sailors faded from view, Pain ushered him back. In no condition to fight, the performer quickly complied, striding backwards in order to avoid getting punched. Of course, he couldn't tell how well of a fighter the girl was, but he trusted the confidence in her voice. There was no uncertainty, just a quick sentence before jumping in to attack the sailor; definitely the sign of some amount competence in fighting. And, that was good enough for him. Derric had next to no skills when it came to a fight, and he was happy to stand aside as Pain tried to beat up the sailor. What happened next seemed to prove the point well enough. In the blur of movement and punches that followed Pain telling Derric to back up, the girl seemed to do great. In no time at all, she seemed to end up on top of the sailor, ending the fight with the man sprawled out on the ground, eerily limp. He'd had no intention of getting mad at her for not finishing the kill. Quite frankly, Derric was happy she didn't. But, it was Pain's next words that really sent him thinking. "For all we know... he saw two Zith covered in the blood of his companions and holding the Captain's head." Staying silent, the performer contemplated the idea. It was possible, anything was on this bloody ship, after all, but the idea was spooky to say the least. What he saw might have been only one side of the illusion. Heck, after thinking about it, Derric came to an even more unsettling conclusion. Pain might not be Pain. For all he knew, she was just another illusion. He couldn't even trust the girl that seemed to have just saved his life. "Hey," he began as he walked towards the door, beckoning for Pain to follow, "Y'know that riddle I just told them? Yeah, well. To ease my nerves a little, do you think you can try to come up with the solution?" Crud, he thought after speaking the words, what a fucked up ship this is.

[Elhaym]

OOCI know we're supposed to post in turns, but seeing as how neither Derric or I went through the door and that was clearly the objective of our posts, I figured i'd slip a quick post in to keep things moving forward. If this isn't okay, i'll delete this and make this my next post after Cadence posts. Derric seemed to be hesitating as if something was bothering him, and the fiery burn in Pain's face could no longer wait. She dropped her pack to the ground, and knelt beside it with a grunt. She needed to clear her nose of the blood that currently pooled inside, which wouldn't be pretty. She cradled her forehead with one hand, muttering and cursing as she fished through a side pouch in her pack with other. Ah, paper. That'd do. She listened half heartedly to Derric's question, waving him off and delaying her answer for a moment. Couldn't he see that she was a little busy? If her face wasn't on fire, she just may well have snapped at him. Pain took the folded vellum in hand, and placed it underneath her nose... and then she blew. A throaty whine escaped her mouth as the excess blood from her injury soaked into her makeshift towel. Pain tossed the paper to the ground, where it slightly unfolded from it's former folded state. Pain didn't notice, as she was far too busy bracing herself for what would come next. Pain made a triangle with her hands with the pads of her fingers all touching, and brought it to rest on the top of her nose. She inhaled deeply, and slowly dragged both hands down across the broken bridge of her nose towards her chin in a straight line. If Derric was watching, he would see the agony on her face as she did so. Her teeth were bared and clinched tight. The muscles of her neck was so taut that her her head was vibrating. When Pain was finished, she let out a string of curses. It had hurt far worse to reset her nose than to have it broken, but it had to be done. Damned if she was going to walk around with a crooked nose for the rest of her life. The pain consuming her face was immeasurable. Hell, she'd been stabbed and it'd hurt less. Both arms came to rest on the wooden floor of the hallway, and Pain was left kneeling and gritting her teeth. She stared down at the paper that she'd used to initially blow her nose, noticing that it looked to have some charcoal marks on it. Pain shook her head, trying to expel the accumulating moisture from her watering eyes... not to mention the drying blood. This was a drawing. She knew it will. Her eyes widened as she took it in... a portrait of a young man, drawn from memory. Signed Pain in the bottom corner... and now splattered with her own blood. Her father must have kept it, and placed it inside her pack when she was gone. The same drawing that had been placed on her brother's casket upon his death... the drawing that had transformed her from a young girl named Elhaym into her current self. Pain. "Love." Pain said, leaning back and pressing both hands against her forearms. She tried to shake the pain out of her face, but it refused to budge. "You can only keep me after you give me to someone else. What am I? I think it's love." She said, slowly getting to her feet. She snatched the drawing up and stuffed it back into her pack. She was woozy, almost dizzy with the fiery agony that coursed through her head. "Now... can we just... get going?" Pain muttered, dragging her pack towards the door at the end of the hallway. She was already in bad shape, but she couldn't afford to get lost in grief over seeing that drawing again. She had to press onward, to meet a new challenge. She needed to get control over her destiny again. Through the door was the only way. Pain reached forward, twisting the knob. With a push from her shoulder, she burst through with her pack and Tanny in tow. She tossed the pack in front of her, letting it settle wherever it landed. Her vision was a bit woozy, her head hurt. What would she find in here?

[Aselia Timandre]

OOCI'm sorry I've been taking so long to respond! I'll be quicker from now on, especially in the next two weeks.

Paying close attention to Perian’s words, Aselia detected the truth in them, as solid as marble. So the ship was real; that was something. She took in the rest of the information with a serious expression, hands still folded. However, the scent of decay started penetrating her nose just then. Holuri shifted uncomfortably at her shoulder, her talons cutting into her pale flesh. While the peregrine falcon favored living prey, the scent of something eatable did make her nervous. She wanted to hunt something, preferably the source of the scent. Even though Aselia had spent a lot of time training her and making sure she reacted to her commands, she had no clue how the falcon would react in an extreme situation.

Just as she was about to thank Perian for his advice, the scream echoed through the air. Was it even real? It almost sounded like some kind of signal to Aselia, a bell tolling like mad to announce trouble coming for the travelers on board. In between heightened alertness, she wondered how Pain was doing. Was she safe, close to one of the illusionists? “What are you ...”

Suddenly there was a flash of light, causing Aselia to blink. When opening her eyes, she found that the scenery had changed. Rather than standing in front of her, Perian was lying a few feet away. Alichino had vanished. Crossing the short distance, she hurried to his side to feel his pulse and examine his condition. Groaning reached her ears; his breath was going quickly. Something was definitely going wrong. It seemed that an illusion was wearing him down, his personal fear.

Strangely Aselia had been spared, because the deck was still a deck and empty for her. A quick glance confirmed that she wasn’t able to help Perian. At least she couldn’t make an impact on the happenings where she was now. Thinking about his words, she started walking towards where she had come from, backpack still on her back and Holuri on her shoulder. Perhaps she should hurry. But she needed time to process the information and decide!

Two illusionists had chosen the ship for their battlefield. Obviously it was safer to stand next to one of them while the “storm” of illusions raged, because there would be a tiny chance of survival. Influencing a person in power was the key. However, where to go? Pain had entered the Captain’s cabin, but according to Perian the Captain wasn’t involved in the power struggle. Would it be foolish to worry for Pain and follow her?

Just then, flashes of memory appeared to Aselia. A young Konti, turning her back to the Timandre daughter. A tiny magpie, abandoned present. Loss and loneliness. Tears ... so many tears, a screaming hole in her chest.

There was no decision to make. Aselia’s feet sent a fast tapping rhythm across the empty deck, down the staircase, following the path Hadrian had chosen before. As soon as her hands found the handle of the next door, she pushed it open. Holuri flapped her wings and let out a shrill cry.

[Cadence]

And so, the roads converge... Asperenus raised his head from the limp body to look at Hadrian. It was impossible to puzzle out the emotions behind those old, knowing eyes. There could have been a touch of regret, an ounce of bitterness, perhaps even some pure sadness. “Not dead. Not yet,” he said simply, making no move to aid Curn. “He might as well be. He will not be allowed to live this down,” he added, his voice acquiring a harsh edge. The Head Scholar stood up abruptly, shaking the sand from his robes. He turned his back to the body of his ex-assistant and spoke in a voice devoid of emotion, “Save him if you wish…if you can. I imagine he will need to be questioned. Perhaps it is best to understand the motivations of someone as twisted as he to prevent this kind of thing happening again…” He spun back to face Hadrian and said, his voice ringing with a touch more urgency, “Yes, save him. I will need to know how he has accomplished this.” The man might have been about to say something else when the air rippled around them. Hadrian heard the screech of a bird and just at the corners of his peripheral vision, a patch of air seemed to part and let in a glimpse of another reality. One moment, Aselia had been sure she would fine herself in a room when she walked through a perfectly ordinary door, the next, she was standing amid a desert, sand whipping against her face. Asperenus tipped his head at the woman as if her sudden appearance was the most natural thing in the world. Then he turned to Hadrian once more, saying, “You will forgive me if I hold off on answering your question. I do believe more are on the way.” Just as he finished speaking, a pack seemed to appear out of nowhere, landing with a soft thud by Aselia’s feet. A second later, a dog and a woman appeared, followed by a young man. Pain had wondered what she would find in this room. Well, what she found wasn’t a room at all. It was a desert, plain and simple. This was illusion at its highest – enfolding all the senses, fooling every pair of eyes, tailoring itself to perfectly fit the perceptions of everyone involved. For a half-chime, Hadrian, Aselia, Derric, and Pain stayed where they were. Compared to the commotion they had all been through, their current situation felt almost peaceful. “Well then,” Asperenus coughed, assuming his customary air of scholarly superiority. “I believe we are all assembled. Now if –" “Not all of us, you old fool,” said a dry voice. A few paces from where everyone was gathered stood the owner of the voice – Senessa Avenca. In the bright light and with no shadows to conceal her, the woman clearly looked like a Symenestra. Her pale, gaunt features appeared pinched and tired. Her azure robes hung from her frame limply, as if even the fabric could no longer hold itself up from exhaustion. “I think you’ve forgotten to count me, Doddel, though I forgive you for the error,” she continued. Azure robes swished around her tall frame as she walked to join the group. Senessa turned her gaze to Curn’s body and to Aselia, “Don’t the Konti possess some knowledge of healing, girl? Help the man, won’t you?” Then she addressed herself to the whole group, effortlessly taking away Asperenus’s implicit position as leader and making it her own. “Do not get comfortable. You are not safe here, though nobody is really ever safe anywhere. You might very well die here,” she said casually, as if speaking about the weather. “The remnants of Saaren Curn’s illusions have been unleashed. Currently, they are controlled by no one. And nothing – and I mean nothing – is more dangerous to the mind that an illusion without boundaries.” The Symenestra’s face split into a grin, a mad glint finding its way to her eyes, “I suggest you break it before it all goes topsy turvy.” Without warning, she plopped down in the sand, gathering her robes around her as she settled into a comfortable sitting position. “Any ideas?” she asked with an almost childish excitement. Her abrupt transition from grave severity to this careless attitude was unsettling to say the least. It was obvious that the woman either truly was mad or was pretending to be so for some hidden purpose. A strong gust of wind picked up the sand and sent it swirling through the air. The wind whipped against everyone’s faces, leaving grains in their eyes. Many would find it hard to swallow, finding their supply of saliva inexplicably depleted. The desert was finding its way within their minds, pushing away preconceptions and logic to make a space for itself.

[Elhaym]

The first thing that Pain noticed when she came through the door was her feet burning. She was outside, that much she could tell. It was so bright that she was temporarily blinded, her eyes accustomed to the inherent darkness of having been inside a ship. Pain hunkered down, shielding her eyes with her forearms and gritting her teeth. Sand. It blasted her skin, peppering her bloodied face and seemed to suck the moisture right out of her. She was in a desert now...? "Aselia...!?" Pain yelped, making out the form of the Konti when she noticed she too was standing in a loose circle with her and several other human forms. Derric was behind her, and there was that scrawny looking guy from before with the "degrees". The two scholars from before were present, though one was either taking a nap or dead. Pain didn't have much time to get her bearings or comment, as the woman who had saved her earlier appeared and began her informative (if not disheartening) speech. Ideas? Pain closed her eyes, and began mumbling in a low tone. Those close to her might hear her saying "We're on the deck of the ship, we're on the deck of the ship, we're on the deck of the ship..." Pain's eyes fluttered open, and... she was still in the desert. Either the antidote she had been given had lost it's effect, or this was truly a powerful illusion. In either case, her only idea had failed. Pain let out a sigh, and went to removing her tailed white overshirt to lay it on the ground like a blanket. She stomped one foot on it to keep it in place as she pulled her pack close and set it on top. With another exasperated sigh, Pain sunk onto her "blanket" with her back up against her pack, and pulled her knees close to her chest. She felt miserable. The heat mixing with the ongoing agony of her broken nose with the addition of the sand sticking to her bloodied face and drying her skin was demoralizing. "I got no idea what to do. Hey." Pain said in a firm and annoyed tone, thrusting a finger at Hadrien and the standing Scholar. "You two brains figure it out." Pain growled, having slowly come to the conclusion that one of them was the one who rendered the apparent mastermind of this plot unconscious, and perhaps dead. "Since you decided to take this psycho down without thinking of the consequences, I suggest you start thinkin' bout them now. The petch did you think would happen, anyway?" Pain's voice grew to a yell, thrusting the brunt of her stress and anxiety upon Hadrien and Doddel. Tanny crawled into Pain's lap and whimpered, another sign that this illusion was indeed powerful. Tanny had been fine when dealing with the water, but this had his tail tucked between his legs. Pain turned her head to the side and spit a wad of blood and tissue into the sand, then wiping her mouth with the top of her hand and continuing to glare at the old wimp and the skinny wimp.