Quest II. The night the towers cried [open]

[Talen Stirling]

Talen pulled at the woman, yet all his considerable strength was in vain against the unnatural hold of the liquid. And then the boy grapped his sword, his father's blade and pulled it from his scabbard. He reached out for him with his off-hand yet he fell backwards, kicking the sword towards the red goo that the woman he couldn't even help was trapped in. Looking back towards her, Talen was about to take hold of her arm with his shield-arm as well and make one last attempt at pulling her out. However she was no longer what she had been. His own gray-blue eyes widened in shock and awe as he met her vermillion gaze, red veins and muscles rippling on what had previously been fair soft skin. She had taken hold of his arm in an unnatural grip and looked at him with disturbing, almost seductive unnatural eyes. "Take me," Her voice echoed with lust and attraction, and Talen had no sense left to either run away or step closer. He would get to do neither, because before he could react or even gain his bearance her arm shot forward and grabbed the lapel of his shirt sticking out from the neck of his armour. She pulled him towards herself with unnatural strength and speed, the feel of her tense, feverish and magically altered body arousing an instinct in Talen that had no place in a situation such as this. She was so close to him, parted lips tempting the parts of Talen's mind that were not clear enough to search escape. And suddenly she kissed him, hungrily and viciously, warm lips and body pressing against his own. Instinct drove his hand to her waist and he didn't draw back, his body taking over for a mind so shocked and terrified it had lost all control. Muscle memory from years past remembered how to return the kiss, the feeling of a woman in his arms - And then, suddenly, he was torn away and up into the air like a child, thrown flying through the darkness into the mass of constantly spreading liquid. He flailed as he flew through the cold air, and then crashed into the liquid with a splash and a dull noise, rolling, flailing and floating in the mysterious poison. He reached for support to get up, he was back in control, but only for a moment long enough to scream and send a thought to Priskil for salvation. The liquid that surrounded him and had entered his ears, mouth and nose began to affect him as well.

[Ariel]

Ariel's unblinking gaze followed the glow that had settled upon the Akalak's hand. At times it hurt to stare, and yet, she did not want to draw her eyes away, the sight of it all being strangely alluring. The way its light cast her form in its glow, filling her with a strange sense of warmth. Not so much because the light gave off heat, as far as she could tell, but because it filled her with a strange sense of ease, despite everything else that was going on around her. After the light had seemed to fade, allowing the pycon's eyes to once again settle on green flesh, they widened, and her lips curled into a smile. "Now that's much better. You don't look all icky now giant green man. In fact, you may now be able to keep that hand of yours... although it probably stings a lot. Like when you lose a limb and have to eat tons and tons of clay to grow it back, all fresh and new," she commented. "That's never fun... and some of the smell seems to have gone too," she added as she sniffed the air thoughtfully. "That's got to be a good sign. Surely Rak'keli favors you at least a little bit, too. If not Harameus himself." Ariel fell silent after that as she glanced around the orb at the red goo, which seemed to be coming closer and closer still. Several people, she could tell, where already stuck in it, and seemed somehow... different. Although, she could not quite place her finger on how that were possible. As she considered, and continued to look, she realized that her kitten was still no where to be found either. This is turning out to be a petching normal day, now isn't it? she thought, as she squeezed Riki's shoulder once more in her tiny clay hands.

[Kamalia Timandre]

The commotion around her was alarming, but the Konti wizard strove to keep herself calm and composed amidst the sea of chaos. “It is dying and it is the last of its kind. I lost Her voice the moment She was about to instruct me what must be done,” she replied almost sadly, as if losing the music of her Mother’s voice pained her, and her lifeline had depended upon it. Kamalia echoed the Zeltivan scholar’s sentiments— she did not wish for the Ravarisk to be slain if could be helped. She intended to study the eldritch aberration once it was neutralized. Even in such a dire situation, Kamalia could not help her academic curiosity be roused.

For a few moments more, the sorceress observed the man’s masterful spellwork. “Do you remember the tales the poets sang, my lord?” she asked softly. The scholar seemed learned enough to know about the legend, but it was a legend worth repeating. He seemed to look as if he were trying to pin down where he heard it, anyway, and she wanted to help him remember. “Kontinese tales paint the Ravarisk as a creature borne out of Qalaya’s spilt ink, in the eons where she endlessly wrote down much of the knowledge Eyris had imparted, lest the world fall to ruin. In the depths of the world it grew, until it matured into a great beast of crimson ink and arcane memories." If Ravarisk was chased high and low for centuries, and not one was able to vanquish it, what were their chances against such powerful creature, even if it were near death?

What did Avalis want her to do?

Pathfinder shifted in her hand as if in frustration, and as if it wished to tell her something. She almost wished the darned staff could speak. Randomly Kamalia began to speak to it in Nader-Canoch, the ancient vernacular of wizards. It was worth a try. “What do you wish?”, “Show me the way”, and “Speak or I will set you on fire.” Talking staves were probably common in Ancient Alahea. Perhaps that veiled Benshira walking towards the pair could help her translate a few phrases into Shiber. Sagallius was Benshira, after all.

Breaths passed and she witnessed how the dark-haired woman who spoke with Satu fell to the blood-red pools, on which black script shifted constantly and randomly. Kamalia was shocked by the woman’s transformation, and that of the young man who tried to save her, and that of the elderly beggar who was now shambling towards a red-haired kelvic. “It wishes to breed. Avalis told me it is left with no other drive but to procreate,” her voice was filled with concern. She wanted to help her, but now was not the time. She would save her magic for later. She just felt that she needed to wait.

It did not escape her attention when the Ebonstryfe woman started approaching the transformed dark-haired girl. There will be battle soon.

[Sira]

All around her things were.. well, they were getting crazy. From the goo with a mind of it's own to the strange lights that helped heal the akalak's hands, it was all just.. crazy. Not to mention somebody just got thrown clear across the disk to crash into the invisible wall. How had that happened? Was the monster back!? But Sira couldn't see anyone. Still, she gripped her sword all the tighter, praying to at least get a chance to see her enemy before it killed them all. But with all the chaos around her she was more likely to get trampled by the crowd. There had to be something somebody could do to at least try to get things under control. Wait a minute, Sira thought to herself, I have an idea! "Addy! If anyone comes near us, let me know.. I need to close my eyes for a chime." No, Sira wasn't taking a nap. She just needed to try to block out all the chaos going on around her. She needed to concentrate. Sira was no skilled meditator, nor had she ever really tried, but she did try, breathing in and out and doing her best to block out everything that was going on around her. She didn't know if her idea would even work, but she had to try something. Calling on her Wind Eagle side, Sira reached out with her mind to the disk. She had linked with multiple people before.. but this.. this threatened to be overwhelming. She had to try. One mind. Two minds. Ten minds. Twenty.. how many people were on the disk? A full chime passed and still she hadn't touched everybody, but she was nearly there. Most wouldn't notice her presence, only those who were familiar with such things would even realize what was happening, and even then they might not know how to block her out. Sira grew dizzy but she held her ground. Finally she reached the last mind.. well, almost the last, and when she could feel nobody else on the disk to grasp for she stopped. Taking a deep breath, Sira spoke. EVERYBODY STOP!! Her mental voice was loud and booming. ALL THIS CHAOS IS ONLY MAKING THINGS WORSE. YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN! LISTEN TO ME.. I AM.. UM.. PRISKIL! YES.. THIS IS PRISKIL! DO AS I SAY! CALM DOWN, WORK TOGETHER, STOP FIGHTING AND STOP PANICKING! HAVE HOPE! WE WILL ALL GET THROUGH THIS, I PROMISE! Sira stopped. Should she say something else? She didn't have a plan.. she didn't know how they would get through it. But she had to think of something. What would a Priskil say? What would a god say period? Sira wasn't very intelligent when it came to divine beings, but she did know one thing. Prayer. The two healer's prayers had done something, activating the symbols, and maybe prayer was the answer to saving them all. YOU UM.. HAVE TO PRAY! PRAY TO ME.. PRISKIL! AND I WILL SAVE YOU! OR.. PRAY TO YOUR OWN GOD, AND MAYBE THEY WILL SAVE YOU! STOP FIGHTING AND- Sira couldn't take it anymore. The connection severed to all but those nearest to her, perhaps maybe ten or fifteen people heard her last word. PRAY! Sira fell to her knees, her brain hurting, but another thought had occurred to her. Yes, she had told everyone to pray, and when she was done she too would pray because quite frankly there was nothing else to do. Sira didn't know that there were super ink-infused people out to get her and her baby. She didn't know she was going to have to fight soon, or be thrown into the ooze. But one thing did occur to the kelvic. If she could talk to all those people.. what if she could talk to the monster. Still keeping her eyes closed Sira extended her mind outside the disk. If the barrier stopped her she would try to escape through the cracks, and if she was successful.. if she could find the Ravarisk, Sira would ask it a question. What do you want with us? OOC Edit: Just so it was clear, Sira's message was screaming out loud. She is telepathic. The voice everyone heard was in their heads, not with their ears. If anything painful happened it would be a headache, not a bursting of eardrums.

[Darik]

Maybe kicking women into a moving red puddle isn’t a good idea. Instead of melting her, she seemed to get faster, stronger, and… hotter? No hot as in smexy hot, but hot as in lots and lots of sweat hot. That sweat must have been pure testosterone, because she lifted Talen into the air. Dam she was strong, Talen and his armor looked at least two hundred pounds! Then she did the unthinkable, she kissed him! Why him? Why not Darik? Sure he was a knight and all, but Darik was actually handsome. Some people get all the luck…. After throwing Talen into the pool she turned towards him. She picked up his longsword and advanced towards him. Well he was screwed…Except, there was a women coming up from behind her. Darik’s smile became larger and his hand started to point towards her back. No matter how slow he appeared to her, if she was smart she would realize that he saw something behind her. If not…maybe there was a chance the Black Sun women would enact justice. He got up quickly, years of running away from killer’s had taught his muscles to warm up in seconds. And off he went! The sword actually had a purpose in a situation! It made him go faster. It was like a scene from a horserace; the whip crackling against the runner’s vulnerable spot to make them run faster. Everything was going swell till something invaded his mind. It was by the name of Priskil. It was so loud it caused Darik to go from a fast run to a tumbling roll. It invaded his personal space and he couldn’t block it out with anything. He tried using his hands, that didn’t work. He tried to say lalalalalala. That didn’t work either. He even tried to think happy thoughts! Nothing worked. This was going to drive him insane. “GET…OUT…OF…MY…HEAD!” He screamed in desperation. It stopped right after that. It must have worked, dam Darik was good. While he had been in a ball whimpering from the invasion a pile of ooze had been making its way towards him, Seeing it, he made a split second decision. He wouldn’t try that stuff out. There was a chance, a very, very, VERY small chance, but still a chance, it would overpower his mind. Losing his mind is about as bad as losing his money, and we all know how much Darik likes his money. Getting back up, he dodged around the ooze and kept running. Maybe there was one piece of serenity on this disk… He was cut short from that thought when he ran into a pillar of something. On the ground he saw something truly amazing. Stone and razor sharp pieces of ice mixed together with some…foreign object. Luckily, he had hit the stone and not the ice. That could have been a little more than a flesh wound When he got up he was about to curse the fixture. Till he looked through there clear part. There was a man, unimportant, and a woman, very important. She was beautiful, her skin, her face, everything about her radiating perfection, and she was holding something that looked ancient. It must be worth lots of money. “Ello!” He waved towards her trying to get her attention. He waved with the wrong hand at first causing pain to shoot up his shoulder. Maybe he should stop using it for awhile, so it heals properly. “How did I miss a jewel like you in a crowd of dirt?” He said when he thought he had her attention. There was a chance that the shield also blocked sound, but Darik hoped not. He needed to get in there.

oocCass, you can fairly stab Darik.((You are super fast afterall. )) If that happens, well, everyone else ignore my paragraphs 3+.

[Cassandra Coven]

The panic plain in the eyes of the pitiful creature before her was like a drug to Cassandra, and she trilled with pleasure. It was the same as the expression on the face of the nameless hobo she had slit the throat of seasons ago in one of Ravok's darkened alleys. Her victims' realization that their doom was at hand sent tingles of excitement through the crimson colored veins of her hands. She would slip the dagger between the third and fourth ribs of this one, she decided, stopping his heart cold with the sweet kiss of her blade. The young man seemed reach a hand up to her - in supplication, perhaps? But now, his lips were curving up into the beginnings of a twisted grin, and he was not really looking up at her but rather behind her. Cassandra whirled around. Was there someone behind her? There was no one close to her at the moment, save for the other young man she had thrown into the pool of red. She did note that the brutish Black Sun woman, spiked club in hand, had her eyes focused upon her as she approached in that slow motion manner that seemed to have affected everyone. Everyone except Cassandra. She still had time to dispatch of the fool and fulfill her goddess' wish. Then she would deal with the Black Sun she-man. The dark-haired tavern girl turned back to her would-be victim but his distraction had already served its purpose: he was on his feet again, his back turned to her, and was running in the opposite direction. Briefly, Cassandra played with the thought to hurling either of the weapons she held at his exposed back. She was still close enough to hit him with a degree of accuracy, after all. But in her heightened state of mind, logic dictated that she would be left vulnerable against the Black Sun if she did. Throwing the long sword she had procured was out of the question - it was too unwieldy and not really designed for flight. The dagger might work, but doing so would leave her with the sword and in truth, she had no idea how to use such a weapon, even if her new found abilities gave her the strength to do so. Let the fool run, she thought, her inner voice sounding strangely malevolent. He shall be dealt with later. The goddess wants me to kill th- Her thoughts were interrupted by another's, and this one was a mental scream that lanced through her brain. She staggered at its unbearable volume, even as she struggled to make sense of the words that were not her own echoing within her head. The telepathic commands momentarily broke through Ravarisk's insidious hold upon her and brought her senses back to her. "P-Priskil?" she whispered meekly, as she tried to make sense of what had happened in the last few seconds. Why did she have her dagger out? Whose sword was it she was holding? And why was she feeling so strange? "My goddess...help m-" ---KILL EVERYONE--- She could not resist that one compulsion. It must be a command from her goddess. Cassandra turned back around. The Black Sun woman was almost upon her. Cassandra raised both dagger and sword. Spilling the unholy bitch's blood would suffice in satisfying the craving to inflict pain and death that was coursing through her veins. Anything in the name of the goddess.

[Talen Stirling]

A flat hand hit the floor beneath the liquid, and with every single muscle in his body tensing to the edge of his powers Talen slowly emerged from the liquid like some deep sea abomination reviving from it's slumber in blood. His teeth bit back a scream as warm foreign matter entered his skin, his blood and his very being taken over by whatever sentience was within it. His heart raced, in natural terror and with the unnatural magical influence. He was on his knees now, supporting himself in his attempt to get up with an arm upon which he could see the transformation he was already undergoing. Drops of the liquid that had gotten in his mouth spread from there, and dripped from a mouth that fell open to gasp for air. He felt the infestation spreading rapidly, his face feeling warmer, heartbeat increasing even further and suddenly he knew things. Things he didn't know, things he didn't want to know. He knew that they were on a artificially created magical disc orbiting mizahar, he knew numbers and ancient tongues. He didn't want to know all these things! A guttural growl escaped his lips as he tried to manifest his own memory, his own self to drive away all the foreign information. And then, suddenly, there was a thought. Except, he somehow felt that it was not a thought, but a voice. Take others to the pools -- Take pregnant ones to pools..." The command echoed in his head, confusing itself with that of his own thoughts untill it was hard to tell where he began and all the strange things ended. He rose up on one knee and a foot, eyes and muscles coloured with borrowed power, and a foreign will. "No..." He whispered in Denvali, a sliver of his own conscience wrestling partial control from whatever aberration was invading his body. A sliver of hope, perhaps, but not the same strength that had guided him to try and help Cassandra. Not the same strength that drove him to guard duty, and to try and protect people in his village. He bared his teeth and stood up suddenly, violently, his eyes wide open and wild opposite to the other infected. A fragment of hope and a huge amount of pride forced him to retain a semblance of control. This monster wouldn't take him over, they wouldn't win. He wouldn't fail, not again. Unnatural eyes scanned the crowd, a crowd that seemed almost frozen in the heightened senses of his new vermillion eyes. He would have it all, have all of those who opposed him. With that thought, partially Talen and partially Ravarisk, he marched towards the woman who had stolen his blade. And, to his vicious joy, one of the four who had brought them both into this accursed state.

[Riki Stormheart]

OOCNilkayn doesn't seem to be posting so I'm going to go. It calmed Riki to hear Aidara feeling sure of herself. It calmed him even more to know that the girl knew what she was doing. The pair kept pushing, kept working towards their goal. Saving the Akalak's hand. When the man did not answer Riki's request to try and talk through the pain he had to choice but to keep pushing at it. To keep trying to clean the wound. "I'm okay. A little tired but that's never stopped me before." Riki nodded as he looked down at the man's hand. He wished he was home. Not at Riverfall's Sanctuary but home in Endrykas with his clan. He yearned for the comfort of his family and the voices of his sister and cousins. He had always missed them in Riverfall but it was never this bad. He was scared and he wanted the support of his pavilion. He wanted his father to be at his side still helping him. He thought he had grown up enough to heal on his own but there was still a child in him. The same child that had met Rak'keli and saved Flower twelve years ago. "Let's take off the tourniquet and let his blood flow for now. We seem to have done all we can. If it worsens again… we'll have to try and cleanse it." Riki wanted to be strong for the Aidara and Nilkayn. If he was home he could have been leading his pavilion on a few years. He was old enough to throw his fear and worry away, like a strong Drykas would. He just needed to find the strength to be the strong Drykas who his father had tried to help him become. "Rak'keli help us. Rak'keli help us all." Riki spoke quietly as he looked at Nilkayn. His eyes widened slightly as he saw a glow forming around the Akalak's wrist and hand. "What?" When it faded away, the hand seemed better than before. It had to be the work of Rak'keli! She heard them! "Thank you Goddess. You…" His words were cut off by the chaos going on around him. People were yelling and magic was roaring and alive. He had not noticed how bad it had been before but now that he had stopped concentrating on the man before him it was all crashing into him like a landslide. Sira's yelled alerted him the most since he had be working with her somewhat. Riki looked to Aidara, a bit of fear in his eyes. "What is she doing? Is this normal?" He was not sure if the Gods were actually speaking through the girl but he listened all the same. He prayed to every God he felt a connection with. Drykas, despite being a more rough race were faithful people. They believed in the Gods heartily and never gave up a chance to show them their faith. "Rak'keli, the dark twin. You have watched over my clan and my pavilion since the birth of them both. You heal the sick, bring comfort to the dying, and hope to the ailed. Caiyha, the woman of the wild. You gift the Drykas with our Striders and Endrykas with our rolling Sea of Grass. you give shape to nature and demand respect where respect is due. Please, any deity than can hear my prayers. Please help us…"

[Aidara]

It seemed that Rek'keli's divine intervention came just in time. It was quite true that the disease that permeated Nil'kyen's hand had a mind of it's own. It evaded every attempt that the healers made, dodging their gifts or simply pushing them away. With a growing frustration that, despite her meditative state, threatened to undo Aidara, the small redhead began wildly stabbing at the darkness with her gift, just hoping and praying that something would hit it. Praying that something would help. With one last final shove, the conscious disease that ate at the Akalak's and forcefully shoved both the healers away. Shocked back to reality, Addy couldn't help but growl in frustration, flying to her feet with both of her hands balled into fists at her sides. "What the petch is going on here...." The anger that bubbled hotly in her chest went suddenly cold, shock and fear replacing it in a tingle up her spine. The floor was glowing. "What the petch is going on here..." Since saying it once wasn't adequate, Addy stood open mouthed as the glowing in the floor rose and surrounded the diseased hand. Nothing seemed to happen, at first. Was the glowing mass...replacing his hand? Was the Akalak going to be forever noticable now by having ...a.... shiny hand? Completely out of her league and ignorant of most magics, Addy just simply stood and watched open-mouthed until the glowing faded, and then disappeared. The heavy breathing of their patent stopped, the pain fused tension of his muscles also seeping away as he fell limp against the floor, against the healers. Nodding as Riki suggested to remove the toruniquet, Addy let him get to it while she just conintued to stand in shock. Finally rousing herself, the little woman sat back down and gently touched his hand. It was no longer horridly hot, but cool and firm. It seemed the infection was gone. A quick dip into her power and a searching probe revealed that the nasty, creeping darkness was indeed gone. "Thank you, Mother." Addy whispered, turning her eyes not to the sky (or the top of the dome, in this case) but to symbol next to her, the one that had glowed. "I... I think we're good for now. Um... Ah!" Having turned her attentions to her fellow healer, Addy awkwardly tried to figure out if there was anything left they needed to do. Darting her gaze around as she sought for words, Addy spotted the goo as it slid over the floor towards them. It was only a few inches away, the dark red color pooling like blood near her feet. Again, shock and awe rooted Addy to her spot; she wasn't coping very well with all these new and mysterious things. Good thing Sira was there, or the healer might as well be dead by now. She was otherwise unaware of what the goo did to those it touched; to her, it was still regarded as liquid death. Sira came over then, startling Addy out of her intense inspection. Jumping to her feet and spinning, Addy grasped Siras wrist and began a cursory examination of her lover before she actually stopped to listen to her words. Oh, she wasn't hurt. A painful, sheepish smile and she nodded slowly. This was all too much to take in. As strong as she might be acting, Addy couldn't even comprehend the extent to which she was over her head. So she simply agreed with Sira, hoping that she had a better grasp on things. Opening her mouth to ask what the plan was, Addy was cut off, as Sira was already in action. Even though she was more than used to the Kelvic's presence inside her head, Addy couldn't help but wince when the booming yell echoed off the inside of her skull. That might have been a little much, dear. I think I saw them flinch. That fellow might even have bloody eardrums now. Trying to inject humor into the situation, since the voice was inside everyone's heads and had nothing to do with their ears (An inside joke between the telepathic duo), Addy stood by Sira's side, outwardly silent and calm while she communicated with her bond mate through the same connection in which Sira was talking with everyone else. Startled by the vicious cry across the room, Addy watched as Darik reacted violently to the "Voice of Priskil". She couldn't help but clap a hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh. This wouldn't work, after all, if they knew that it was Sira. Shoving her doubts aside, Addy stood slightly in front of her mate, green eyes darting from face to face as she watched out for any sign of trouble. She had no idea that those super humans wanted her woman. That was going to be a surprise. In fact, it wasn't until then that she noticed Cassandra, in all her awesome and red-goo-swollen glory. All the healer could do was blanch, then gasp, then reach for Sira's hand. [i] Please...tell me you know what happened?[/i] Addy and Riki had been submerged in their healing, unaware that Cassandra had been ordered to do the slip'n'slide through the oozing liquid. She only saw an alluring (and completely not huge) woman with bloodstains all over her clothes. Goddess have mercy on us all..

[Ariel]

Ariel had simply been watching from atop Riki's shoulder. There wasn't much the young pycon could do, unless she intended to be over-run by the mysterious red goo, or unless she wanted to fall to her death. Or at the very least, an acquisition of a rather large and unpleasant injury. Now that the akalak had been taken care off, her eyes passed between the group that surrounded her, to those who had found themselves in the goo. This isn't looking good at all, the pycon thought as she shook her head lightly. Something bad is happening here... something is very, very wrong. The world is changing and unbalanced... "Oww!" Ariel hollered with the sudden boom of Sira's voice in her ear. She instinctually raised her hands to her tiny clay ears, and covered them as she winced, doing her best to block it all out. "Too loud, too loud, oh familiar voice!" she cried, certain that she had heard it before, but not absolutely certain it was Sira's, although, she suspected as much. Addy merely confirmed as much later. After the inarta had done so, and the voice in her ears had gone away, causing Ariel to stop wincing in pain as her head stung, the pycon straightened. "Glad you asked Addy!" Ariel called, "for it seems, while you were too engrossed in your work to notice anything, that things have... taken a turn for the worse. That goo, whatever it is, seems to be doing something to those it touches. Or maybe it's simply my imagination... but they do seem, somehow different than before. Although it's difficult to tell from here." There was a slight pause, "if I had to guess, I'd say that goo has some sort of magical property. Good, bad, or indifferent is difficult to say... you see that one lady with the black hair?" she asked as she pointed. "She seems to have changed, but she doesn't seem to be doing anything bad... she seems to be defending herself from that creepy lady that came with the creepy giant men." Ariel shuddered. Maybe she wasn't a fighter before. OOCSorry about the blah nature of my pc.