Lunar: A Story Forgotten 2 Session 14 Log Session Start: Mar 30 21:19:07 ============================================================================ Cast of Characters: Dragonmaster Lou as Gamemaster, Selene, Raven, Zissel, Ares DNW as Kodah Lucca as Samantha Nadia Hemady as Yuuwaku Nicole Peters as Varemi, Sephina, Temporary Co-GM Rune Lai as Jan Scott Kroush as Galen (Dragonmaster Lou as ~Galen) Seath as Marcus Storen as Chrissy, Dante Tim Peters as Ambush 6000 ============================================================================ ===GAME ON!=== --It is morning, deep underground in a Dragon cave... People are stirring as they go through their morning routines, whatever they may be...-- * Jan mediates in his room, trying to calm himself for the coming day. * Samantha is still sleeping in. Apparently she was up late last night talking to someone... ;) * Yuuwaku has not slept but is milling around outside of other people's rooms, waiting.. * Galen wakes up from a few hours sleep. * Marcus gets up and gets dressed. * Galen heads out of his room, spotting Yuu. "You okay, kid?" * Selene walks in, after washing herself... She's fairly bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. * Selene sings softly to herself. * Chrissy is still in the workshop Sephina left her in, half sprawled on the cot, parts strewn everywhere, things half gutted, one heap smoking slightly. Someone had fun last night. ^^ She's snoring really loud, though. * Kodah sits in his room, thinking about many things. * Yuuwaku's head snaps up to glare at Galen, eyes narrowed. Galen: O_o; "What?" * Yuuwaku then realizes how he must look and sweatdrops slightly. ^^; Yuuwaku: "Anou... nothing... I was thinking of unpleasant things." ^^; * Ambush 6000 unplugs itself from a port located near the monitor seen earlier, and trounces over to the workshop. Galen: "Hopefully unpleasant things to do to Ares, his cronies, and Shadowfall." * Marcus leaves his room. He ignores Galen and Yuu and is on a quest to get some food! * Yuuwaku laughs a little. Yuuwaku: "Ah, if only." ^^; Galen: "Remember what I told you during our conversation." Yuuwaku: "I guess it doesn't matter. As long as we all hold hands and think happy thoughts, all the bad guys will magically disappear." >_< * Ambush 6000 slowly and softly begins playing some melody that can't quite be identified yet. * Sephina is, for the record, in her room (writing something, but who'd know that) and starts to hear some people stirring about, not quite sure if she should go out yet. Galen: "It'll take more than that, Yuu. But we have to keep our spirits up." Galen: "Even if you have a one percent chance of winning, and you believe you'll lose, that one percent becomes zero." Yuuwaku: "I don't know. If we concentrated hard enough, they might explode." Yuuwaku: "On the other hand, *we* might explode... but I'm sure the world wouldn't be any worse off... Excuse my angsting." * Marcus walks back over to Galen and Yuu, "You'd think there'd be a kitchen somewhere but then again, Dragons probably don't keep a store of human food." * Chrissy mumbles, Tia's notebook over her chest as it rises and falls, "... Mm, it's the Dragonstarship..." * Varemi wanders in, big wide eyes narrowed sedately... but not tiredly. She is holding a flower. Galen: "I don't know, Marcus." Yuuwaku: "No, there's a kitchen." * Galen hears his stomach grumbling like a grizzly bear. Galen: "Speaking of food..." Yuuwaku: "I had tea there last night..." Marcus: "Where?" * Ambush 6000 projects the figure of some obscure pop star with white hair singing a melody to a bunch of teeny-boppers onto a wall in front of Chrissy, while slowly increasing the volume in an attempt to wake her up. Galen: "I hope Sephina realizes I have a sorcerer's appetite." Yuuwaku: "Come on, I'll take you there." * Selene perks up. "A kitchen?" Galen: "Okay, thanks." Yuuwaku: "Ah, Selene. Good morning." ^_^; Yuuwaku: "I hope you slept well." * Chrissy tries to roll over a few times and blot out the noise, and in doing so she falls off the cot onto the floor. This landing spot happens to be occupied by something sensitive, and as she crushes it, there's a slight explosion and a puff of smoke. o_O * Jan rouses himself from his meditation, still in his room, and begins a warmup stretching exercise in his room. Selene: "Good morning, Yuu... I did, thanks. And you?" Chrissy: "What the..." *cough* "bleeding Lucia..." *cough cough* ^^ * Marcus hears something, "What was that?" Ambush 6000: [playback] Pre-teen girl screaming unusually loudly: "Oh, Zigfried!" * Yuuwaku's ears twitch at the sound of the explosion. Yuuwaku: "I found that I can't sleep very well since I left home so I stopped trying awhile ago." ^_^; Galen: "Probably Chrissy." * Yuuwaku leads Galen and Marcus and Selene to the kitchen. --Sephina's kitchen is typical of Sephina in many ways... but you'd think with all of the romantic roses and flourishing things and waterfalls outside and the easy simplicity outside that her kitchen would be less... kitchen-y. I mean, really. She even has silly oven mitts. And... cute coasters. Other than that, a well organized, very balanced and handsome kitchen-- * Ambush 6000 suddenly stops the playback and sprays a cold gust of water onto Chrissy to protect her from possible harm! * Chrissy looks up at the image the bush is projecting, blinking a few times through the soot. Yuuwaku: "I'm going to go see if Chrissy has destroyed herself." Yuuwaku: "I suppose Sephina won't care much if you help yourselves." Galen: "Don't worry, Yuu. That girl's a tank. I doubt that'd hurt her." * Chrissy gets sprayed in the face, now soaking wet. She glances over at her "savior" -_-; * Yuuwaku shuffles off in the direction of the noise. * Marcus takes a look at the kitchen, "This is almost too much." --The tea pot makes a noise.-- Yuuwaku: "You're probably right... but I should tell her where the kitchen is." Galen: "I doubt the most destructive spell in all of black magic could hurt her." Chrissy: "You could've... just rang an alarm... or something..." *ptoos some water out* * Galen looks around for food... and plenty of it. * Ambush 6000 shuts off the water and starts happily (or so you assume from the smile its "leaves" make) panting. Yuuwaku: "Whereas the most pitiful spell in all of black magic cast by the most inept wizard in existence would probably destroy me completely." Marcus: "But it might make her mad, and I don't think I'd want to have her mad at me." * Sephina slips into the room with some biscuits and some other little breakfast crackers and treats and takes the water off the boil in a graceful sweep, holding a tray and a teapot... Black, with a white Chinese dragon on it. * Chrissy gets to her feet, and picks something off the table of gadgetry, blowing some uneven hot air and drying herself off. * Yuuwaku manages to find Chrissy by following the direction of the noise. Chrissy: "What was up with that image? That guy was kind of cute." *looks at the bush* Yuuwaku: "Chrissy?" * Yuuwaku wanders around where he thinks she should be calling her name. * Galen whispers to Marcus, "I'm going to have to grab a bite in Zaback." Yuuwaku: "Are you hurt?" * Kodah decides to go about finding something to eat. Marcus: "Hmm, what's wrong with the stuff here?" * Selene nibbles on a breakfast treat in a very kawaii way. :P * Sephina pours some cups of a tasty smelling brew and offers a cup to whoever will take it, looking over for whoever will drink the tea. * Chrissy swivels her gaze, and Yuuwaku gets a face of hot air. "Over here! The bush was just being my anti-snooze device." ;) Galen: *whisper* "Not enough of it." Selene: "May I have some, Sephina?" Yuuwaku: "Oh... that's nice of it, I suppose." * Yuuwaku steps over near where Chrissy is. Yuuwaku: "What were you doing?" * Yuuwaku tilts his head to the side curiously. * Chrissy chucks the thing back onto the table. "Oh nothing really... well.. lots of things actually." Sephina: "Certainly. Also, if anyone else wants something else, I should have something... I have Teal's soda... though I don't know who would want that awful stuff this early... some milk... or just plain water." Yuuwaku: "Anything useful?" ^_^ Marcus: "Coffee?" * Sephina hmms... Yuuwaku: "And do you want to eat?" * Kodah wanders around for a while, trying to find a kitchen or the equivalent. Galen: *whisper* "I was traveling with another soceress, and a swordsman for a while, and we almost put several diners out of business in different towns." * Sephina ducks off into a storage room. You can see into it... there are jars and jars of this and that. Some common things, some odd. * Chrissy spreads her arms. "Lots of useful things! Sephina gave me this whole room to play in. The possibilities are simply staggering what I could do with more time." Ambush 6000: [playback] Male voice: "Zigfried Brandl concert recording, date unknown." Chrissy: "But... well... right now it's kinda a mess." ^^; Yuuwaku: "Hmm..." Yuuwaku: "Then we'll have to keep that in mind." Sephina: "Hnn. Coffee beans... coffee beans..." Yuuwaku: "But for the moment, you should eat." Yuuwaku: "We need our energy." * Selene sips on some of Sephina's brew. Marcus: "Doesn't that bush-thing know anything good like Beethoven?" * Chrissy rubs her head, listening to the Ambush's timestamp. --And yeah, she has a lot of things, some like biscotti sorta things, some more like pastries, breads, bagels... lots of fruit... * Kodah finally discovers the dining area, and the people therein. * Yuuwaku picks up the Ambush. Yuuwaku: "And we should water him... er... it." * Ambush 6000 shows a recording of a very large Saint Bernard attacking a man. * Yuuwaku pets the bush with one hand. Yuuwaku: "Good bush." Chrissy: "I guess... I can pry myself away for a minute. Ehehe." ^^; Ambush 6000: [playback] Voice: "Beethoven, starring Charles Grodin." Yuuwaku: "How would you like to eat a nice time traveling crystal, Ambush?" * Marcus shakes his head, "I still say we should take that bush and turn it into a salad high in iron." * Ambush 6000 turns off the playback. * Chrissy takes the notebook with her, and follows Yuuwaku, dodging several crates of spare parts still unorganized. * Kodah picks around here and there amongst what's offered in the way of food. * Yuuwaku leads Chrissy to the kitchen... Yuuwaku: "Sephina?" * Ambush 6000 cocks its upper stem to one side at Yuuwaku. Selene: "This brew is really good! May I have the recipe?" * Yuuwaku looks over at Selene. Yuuwaku: "Hm..." Yuuwaku: "Want some too." ^^ Selene: "Something wrong, Yuuwaku?" * Sephina somehow figures out how to make coffee from a jar of coffee beans without a normal sort of coffee pot and offers it to whoever would not prefer tea. Yuuwaku: "No, it looks good what you're drinking." ^_^ * Marcus takes a cup of coffee. * Galen grabs a plate full of food, and a glass of milk and sits down. * Yuuwaku sets the bush down and waits for Sephina to be not busy. * Kodah plunks down in a chair with come choice breakfast bits, and munches on a raisin muffin. * Yuuwaku walks over to stand near Kodah. Yuuwaku: "How are you feeling?" * Sephina pours herself some tea from the tea pot, pushes in some chairs into the spacious kitchen space... * Chrissy finds a chair, her nose in a very old looking notebook, mumbling to herself. It doesn't look like she slept much last night... ^^ * Kodah looks over at Yuu, and swallows what's already in his mouth, "Better than yesterday." * Sephina takes a seat, nods subtly to herself, and takes a bite of a biscotti. Yuuwaku: "I'm glad." ^_^ Galen: "You okay, Chrissy?" Yuuwaku: "I guess you talked to Sephina then?" * Ambush 6000 ambles to Sephina's side. Yuuwaku: "Sephina?" * Chrissy pulls off her work gloves and throws them through the hall back into the workshop. Three points! :D * Kodah nods, a takes a swig of orange juice. * Varemi stares at the flower she picked. Varemi: "...." Yuuwaku: "Could you water the Ambush please?" * Varemi has wandered into the kitchen if she wasn't already dragged there by a considerate member of the group. * Ambush 6000 starts panting at the prospect of being watered. * Marcus pours some coffee onto the metallic plant, "Will that do?" Yuuwaku: "I don't know if it likes coffee." * Varemi looks at everyone. * Yuuwaku watches the bush to see its reaction. Galen: "Morning, Varemi." * Kodah waves at Varemi. Yuuwaku: "Hi Varemi, are you hungry?" ^_^ * Ambush 6000 fizzes a bit and fires a thorn at Marcus! Sephina: ^^;; *nervously watches the bush after seeing in horror Marcus putting coffee on the thing* Yuuwaku: "Ah... I don't think it likes coffee." Varemi: "... I think so." * Selene sweatdrops. Marcus: "Bloody hell. If only . . . ah forget it." * Varemi looks at the eatables. * Yuuwaku pours a cup of water and then waters the bush with it. * Chrissy lifts her head from the manual. "Hey, pure H2O only! Don't damage it's systems with that sludge!" :p * Yuuwaku looks around the kitchen. * Kodah tosses a strange-looking muffin to Varemi, "Try these, they're really good." Yuuwaku: "I'm going to see if Jan or Sam is up and wants to eat." Marcus: "This coffee isn't sludge; it's life-blood to some of us." Galen: "Okay... I think we need to really start to strategize soon..." * Ambush 6000 lowers its leaves a bit as the water flows over it. * Yuuwaku picks up some bread-like object on his way out and eats it as he walks. * Varemi looks at the muffin, then at Kodah. * Yuuwaku taps lightly on Jan's door. Yuuwaku: "Jan?" * Jan opens the door. "Yes?" Yuuwaku: "Would you like to eat something?" * Varemi keeps staring at Kodah and munches on the muffin, not looking at it. She's so strange. * Chrissy holds out a hand expectantly, for one of those muffins no doubt. Varemi: "... It's tasty." * Kodah waves Varemi over to the table to join the throng. Jan: "....... I suppose so. Is everyone else already up and out?" Galen: "Looks like Chrissy's found a book she can't put down." Yuuwaku: "I think so." * Varemi is kind of there. Yuuwaku: "I'm going to find Samantha." Yuuwaku: "Well..." Yuuwaku: "If she's not awake, I'll let her sleep." * Jan nods. Jan: "Where is everyone?" Kodah: "Those are good muffins. They're spicy and fruity at the same time." Yuuwaku: "They're in Sephina's kitchen, eating." Sephina: "... Ah, that book." * Sephina looks over to Chrissy. * Ambush 6000 ambles away from the table, apparently content with the level of attention it received. Sephina: "Have you found anything else from it?" Jan: "Where's that?" Chrissy: "Well Galen, would you put something down that could save us all?" ;) Yuuwaku: "Ah, I can take you there." Jan: "Thanks." Yuuwaku: "Let's see if Samantha is awake first." Jan: "Sure." Yuuwaku: "If she isn't..." Galen: "Not really. Anything interesting in there?" * Yuuwaku fumbles around in his robe. Yuuwaku: "I'll leave her a note." Galen: "Why do you think I spend so much time reading my magic texts?" * Yuuwaku finds some paper and a writing implement. Chrissy: "Well, there's an overwhelming amount of things. But I've gotten the basics of Tia's designs down pat, I think. I might be willing to even try her sword formula... but I can't guarantee anything..." ^^ Galen: "If you need any sort of magical enchantment, I'd be glad to assist." * Yuuwaku walks to Sam's door and knocks on it lightly. Varemi: "... I like them. They're interesting muffins." Yuuwaku: "Samantha?" Chrissy: "Hah, for once I'll admit we're going to need some of that too. Making a replica that can actually do something isn't all about the materials." ^^ * Jan waits. Kodah: "I do too. I wonder what's in them." Galen: "Does it have the information on the necessary spells in the text?" * Yuuwaku jots something down on a note and then shoves it under Samantha's door. Yuuwaku: "There." Jan: "I guess she's not up yet." * Chrissy grabs a muffin and takes a bite as she iterates her findings, an eyebrow raising. "... Hey, pretty sweet muffins." * Selene sips some more on the yummy tea. Yuuwaku: "If she stays too late sleeping, we'll have to wake her up." Sephina: ^^ "Thank you. I make muffins at times. I'm here a lot..." * Jan nods. * Yuuwaku heads towards the kitchen, motioning for Jan to follow. Chrissy: "Yeah Galen, it has magic spells simple enough for me to grasp, but putting them together right isn't going to be just done overnight. I'd like a bit more time." * Kodah waves good morning to Sephina while he munches on toast. * Marcus sits down and just starts to stare off into space. Galen: "Chrissy, what do you think about letting Sam take a more active leadership role in this party? She was chosen as Dragonmaster, after all." * Jan heads to the kitchen, following just a little behind Yuuwaku. Chrissy: "But a solid recipe is the most important part of any good finished product, right?" *has a bite* * Chrissy grins a bit. * Yuuwaku enters the kitchen and heads straight for the tea. * Selene explores the kitchen a bit more, taking a very close look at what appears to be a spice rack. * Jan looks around at everybody and finds an empty seat. Kodah: "Morning Jan." Yuuwaku: "Would anyone else like tea... or more tea?" Chrissy: "Well... that's up to her, I'm not the type to force anyone into anything." Jan: "Morning, everyone." * Yuuwaku pours himself a cup. Selene: "Morning, Jan. Are you feeling a little better?" * Jan gets a muffin and proceeds to eat it. He seems to be calm enough on the surface. Yuuwaku: "Samantha's sleeping so until we really need to wake her, I think we should let her sleep." Galen: "Neither am I, Chris. Neither am I" Chrissy: "I could make some defensive measures to even make Dragon equipment blush, I bet though." ^_^ Jan: "A bit. Thanks." Selene: "You're welcome." * Sephina smiles at Chrissy, glad she could have helped. * Varemi eats another muffin curiously... * Yuuwaku pours Jan some tea too and hands him the cup. Then he takes a muffin and stands near the door, watching everyone while he eats. * Jan accepts the cup mechanically and sets it back down on the table. Galen: "If the Church gets wind of her being chosen as the real Dragonmaster, then she'll be even more of a target for Ares." * Kodah snacks on an orange, feeling abnormally hungry today. Varemi: "..." * Yuuwaku looks at Galen. * Varemi holds up a banana. Yuuwaku: "Samantha?" Galen: "Yeah, Yuu. We're going to have to be supportive of Sam." Jan: "We'll protect her." * Varemi eats the banana... slowly. Varemi: "Hmm." Galen: "And protect her with our lives." Yuuwaku: "She has to gain confidence as well." Chrissy: "Ah, I'm not afraid of that Ares.... I've got too much genius on my side." ;) * Sephina looks around. "If she decides she will do this." * Jan finishes the muffin, but his mood seems to have taken a swing towards the darker side. Yuuwaku: "She'd be the best leader for this group." * Kodah watches Jan a bit, but says nothing for now. Galen: "neither am I, Chrissy. However, if his Dragon Magic really is just an illusion, we'll have a slight advantage... granted Eris doesn't get a hold of the Sword of Zophar." Chrissy: "We saw yesterday that we need to come together for a new reason than just our little stint running away. You think she can be that thing?" Yuuwaku: "People will follow her without any bitterness." Sephina: "... But regardless of whether or not she will be a Dragonmaster, she'll still be a target. So... I hope something will work." * Chrissy looks up fully from the book, fixing a loose paper as she does so. * Varemi finishes the banana. * Sephina stands up, leaves the room... after checking to be sure everyone is settled, to get something. * Samantha acks as she opens the door and almost runs into Sephina. O_o Samantha: "S... sorry." ^^; * Chrissy tilts her head to Galen. "We may not have to worry about the Sword of Zophar if I can get the tech to make a duplicate real enough..." Sephina: "Ah!" ^^ "Excuse me, Samantha." Samantha: "It's all right. My fault." ^^ Sephina: "Here.' *gets out of her way then goes out the door* Yuuwaku: "One person isn't going to bring us together. We have to bring ourselves together." Galen: "If you can get the tech part done, Chrissy, I'll cast the enchantments." Yuuwaku: "Good morning Samantha." ^_^ Varemi: "... I don't know if I really like anyone right now." Selene: "Do we really want a duplicate of the Sword of Zophar? I mean... it's kind of evil, isn't it?" Varemi: "But these muffins are very good." Samantha: "Good morning! How is everyone?" Kodah: "Morning Sam." Galen: "Selene, the power to control both light and darkness lies with those who exist between both." * Samantha sits down. * Marcus snaps out of his trance, "Yuuwaku, it helps to have a figurehead though. Most people are either too weak or afraid to do anything on their own unless motivated." * Yuuwaku nods to Marcus. * Jan looks up, just a bit, when Samantha sits down. "Good morning." Yuuwaku: "Well, we'll all have our reasons." Galen: "Morning, Sam." Yuuwaku: "A figurehead might help some of us, but others I'm sure it wouldn't matter very much to at all." Chrissy: "Well I'm saying it's possible. Lots of things are now.... but it's all in how you use the knowledge that's true power." Samantha: "Mm. So what are we discussing?" Selene: "Hi Sam!" :) Selene: "Maybe, Galen... but... something about it gives me the chills..." Kodah: "Muffins." Samantha: "Seriously? Dark muffins that give Selene the chills?" Yuuwaku: "How we plan to come together as a group so we can face the crisis." Samantha: "Those must be some sorta muffins." Yuuwaku: "Or... well... whatever crises we need to face." Marcus: "I still think that we shouldn't rely on powers and items from the past. We've had Dragonmaster, Demonmasters, and all the like and yet Lunar and Earth are still targets." * Jan starts on another muffin. Marcus: "We need to find something new and different." * Chrissy waves to Samantha. "Grab a seat, and have a muffin. I think you'll be interested in what's going around the table this morning." * Yuuwaku nods to Marcus. * Sephina walks back in and sets another tray of food-stuffs down since you all went through her stuff quicker than she had anticipated. Mm. Blessed Dragon Muffins. * Samantha grabs a banana nut muffin and chows down. Yuuwaku: "Well, before we can do anything... I think we should try to find out what we're up against." Galen: "Marcus, how about a power that lies BETWEEN a god or a dark lord." * Samantha gives Galen a look. * Sephina takes off her little oven mitts with the patchwork cows on them and puts them on the table, a little to the side, and takes a seat again wordlessly. Chrissy: "Yeah Galen, and that powers technology! But I need to know what we need before I can try to make these things..." Yuuwaku: "Then we can come up with a plan to deal with it that doesn't involve just going by the well-treaded paths that others have set before us." Marcus: "What really is a god or dark lord? Just a being with significantly more power that most other beings." * Samantha grins wickedly, and stuffs a muffin in Galen's mouth, trying to look meek, "... You looked hungry." * Sephina also gives Galen a look, but says nothing so as to let him say his peace. ^^;; * Samantha grabs another muffin. ^^ * Yuuwaku nods to Chrissy as well. Yuuwaku: "That's why we have to figure out what we're fighting." Galen: "Not just technology, Chrissy." Yuuwaku: "Then we can make our own tools to fight it." Marcus: "Power is power. To beat somebody with power, you use more power or you use what power you have in a more intelligent way." * Chrissy nods to Yuuwaku. ^_^ * Chrissy also nods to Marcus. ^_^ Yuuwaku: "We don't have power to compete currently. We may be able to get it, but we can't just use it indiscriminately." Yuuwaku: "And we may have to use our power more intelligently." Yuuwaku: "Either way, using it more intelligently is probably best." ;P Galen: "The most powerful weapons or spells are useless if you don't know where or when to use it." Jan: "The thing is... I don't care for power. I don't care about dragons. I don't care about the Church. And it's sick that we have to get power just to get rid of the other two things." Chrissy: "And the first step to using our power better is pulling together..." Galen: "You're right, Chrissy." Yuuwaku: "What do you think Samantha?" Samantha: "Hmm?" Yuuwaku: "How do you feel about power?" ^^; Chrissy: "Jan... we're not going to have peace till we knock Ares off his high horse anyway.' ^^; "We might even learn something valuable from all this. I mean... I sure have already!" * Samantha looks up from eating her muffin, "... If power is used to protect people... I guess it's not so bad. But... It can be misused pretty easily." Jan: "I didn't say I wouldn't do it. But I don't have to like it." Yuuwaku: "That's why we have to be careful." Yuuwaku: "And about other things as well." * Varemi half-liddedly eyes the discussion, shrugs, and bites another pastry. Selene: "It depends on the kind of power... Power over people is dangerous... but power with people can be a good thing..." Yuuwaku: "I was talking to Sephina last night..." Yuuwaku: "We have to be careful of Ares." Yuuwaku: "He might use his illusion magic against us." Yuuwaku: "Try to trick us with it." Yuuwaku: "We all have to think about why we're fighting and what could turn us against one another." Samantha: "Plus Ares has the people behind him... I mean, they don't know the truth like we do." * Sephina sits with her hands folded in her lap. * Galen looks to Yuu. Yuuwaku: "And watch out with him..." Chrissy: "Well he made Eris think she saw Dragons, fake Dragon Magic... I'd say that's up there alright..." Yuuwaku: "Especially you Samantha." Samantha: "Me?" Selene: "That's assuming we can even trust Eris..." Yuuwaku: "I guess we're all necessary." Yuuwaku: "But I think it's more likely he would go after you." Galen: "I don't trust Eris as far as I can throw her." Marcus: "The sad thing is, people tend to follow those with power whether it be good or bad." Yuuwaku: "Or Varemi." Yuuwaku: "Maybe even Galen or Marcus." * Samantha frowns, considering this. Yuuwaku: "He could use our deepest hopes and fears against us." Sephina: "... His trouble isn't that he's a master of illusion magic, but that his illusions are very good. They can take physical shape. ... And there are a lot of mysteries surrounding him. He could be able to do more." * Chrissy bites another muffin, sighing. "Eris is honest, she's just following the wrong part of her body right now." Points to her chest. ^^ Yuuwaku: "We have to keep our minds and hearts clear and try to make sure that what we see is really what is." Galen: "Well, he may not realize one thing. That as long as I can sense power on the astral plane, I can possibly see through his illusions." * Varemi sighs something, tries to stop eating the muffins. Yuuwaku: "But what if they separate us." Yuuwaku: "It would be the best way to do it?" Yuuwaku: "We may not be able to rely on each other at the most critical of moments." Yuuwaku: "We each have to find our own way of guarding against it." Marcus: "I don't think his mind tricks will have too much effect on me. I can *see* right through them." Selene: "Marcus may be able to sense something about the illusions too... I mean... he can sense if any illusionary people are real or not, probably..." * Yuuwaku nods to Marcus. * Selene nods at Marcus. * Chrissy rubs her chin. Varemi: "... I wonder if dream magic is anything like Illusion..." Yuuwaku: "I'm not so worried with you." Yuuwaku: "You're too cynical." ;) Varemi: "I wonder if Ares could be haunted..." Yuuwaku: "No, I'm teasing." Selene: "They may be related..." * Selene is oddly talkative this morning. :P * Varemi looks over at Selene. Varemi: "... Hm." Selene: "Varemi?" Yuuwaku: "Haunted?" Chrissy: "Well, I'm picking up the mechanics behind conventional counter-measures... maybe magical isn't far off..." Jan: "Hm?" * Varemi nods. "Well. Mostly all my magic is good for is what you see in battle of course." Marcus: "Do you mean possessed?" Varemi: "... But I have a talent with haunting people's minds and making them see things in the day that they might normally see when they sleep..." * Varemi blinks at Marcus, wondering if that was directed to her. Galen: "A subconscious illusion?" Varemi: "I guess it is. They can look pretty real." * Yuuwaku blinks at what Varemi said and blushes suddenly. Varemi: "I can be someone's worst nightmare." * Yuuwaku distracts himself by going for more tea. ^^; Yuuwaku: "Anyway, regarding what Jan said about power... and what Samantha said about misuse." * Sephina looks people over and starts putting things to be washed, letting people talk to each other. * Kodah listens carefully. Yuuwaku: "And I guess this touches on something Marcus always says about not relying on artifacts." Yuuwaku: "I do not think we should use the Ordak Crystal if we get it." * Jan drinks his tea, fading back from the conversation. Yuuwaku: "If we do acquire it, it should be only for the purpose of keeping it out of the hands of the enemy." Yuuwaku: "Using something like that strikes me as extremely dangerous and foolish.... though if anyone wants to disagree, I'm open to disagreement." ^_^; Galen: "That's a valid point, Yuu... however, what's to keep them from taking the crystal? At our current level of strength, we're no match for Enyo, Alcippe, Cera, or Penthesillia." Yuuwaku: "If they can't find it, they can't take it." * Yuuwaku smirks. * Yuuwaku's eyes drift over to the bush Varemi: "... I don't really want to go through time." Marcus: "For once I agree with Yuuwaku. Time travel is messy business in anybody's hands. I say if we find the crystal, we destroy it." Selene: "What's to keep them from dissecting the bush?" Yuuwaku: "Destroying it might be a bad idea..." * Sephina sits back down after cleaning things. * Jan eyes the bush, wondering how serious Yuuwaku is. Yuuwaku: "What if they find an alternate way of traveling through time?" Chrissy: "Yuuwaku, you really were going to feed it to the Ambush?" ^^ * Ambush 6000 curls up a bit more. Marcus: "Then we've closed down one route." Yuuwaku: "Then we might need to follow them and keep them from getting the Demonmaster's powers or whatever." Galen: "If that crystal has that much power inside it... then destroying it could be the one thing we DON'T want to do." Yuuwaku: "Why not?" Yuuwaku: "Although..." Samantha: "Magical backlash?" Yuuwaku: "On the other hand..." * Samantha blinks. ^^; Galen: "Possibly, Sam." Yuuwaku: "Perhaps it would be possible for Chrissy to even create such a thing." Marcus: "A risk worth taking." * Chrissy blinks. Yuuwaku: "Then we could destroy it and we'd have the ability to make another one." Chrissy: "Hold up a second there Yuuwaku, I don't exactly have the secrets of time in this here notebook." ^^ Yuuwaku: "Assuming this is at all feasible." Selene: "But wasn't the crystal created from the power of an ancient wizard?" Jan: "Wizards are just human beings..." Yuuwaku: "I don't really know much about it." ^^; Yuuwaku: "And Galen is a wizard." Yuuwaku: "If he and Chrissy worked together..." Yuuwaku: "I don't know." ^^; * Selene sighs at how complicated this all seems. * Sephina pours herself another cup of tea. Yuuwaku: "As for the bush eating it... I'm not really sure where things go when the bush eats them." Chrissy: "Well, I could certainly study the crystal and all, even reconstruct the matrix of it, but... it'd still be just a rock without someone who knew magics like that." ^^ Galen: "I'm still not too comfortable with the high level of technology that Chrissy's used to, but I'm willing to work with her." Yuuwaku: "So it might not be the safest thing. Also, it might listen to anyone's commands to throwing it up." Yuuwaku: "Perhaps you and Sephina could work on it together Chrissy. She might have some information somewhere around here." ^^; * Sephina looks over to Yuuwaku. Yuuwaku: "I'm just trying to suggest things..." ^^; * Selene sips some more tea. Galen: "I once heard that the Dragons have a means of storing important items in a cross-dimensional plane. I think Sephina's father, Ebony, was very fond of using that means." Sephina: "Information on... ... If you mean what I used a long while ago... I never made anything that would travel through time." ^^; Yuuwaku: "Ahh, oh well." Yuuwaku: "Oh right. There's one other thing I wanted to say." Yuuwaku: "Then I'll be quiet, or... I'll try to." ^_^; Yuuwaku: "I think we should try to find out about Ares's background." Yuuwaku: "See if we can figure out what his motivation is." Yuuwaku: "Then we might be able to figure out his probable plans and construct some kind of counter plan." Galen: "Interesting theory, Yuu." * Jan nods, leaning forward over the table. "That's about the best idea I've heard all morning." * Varemi sips someone else's tea to see how it tastes. Yuuwaku: "I don't know how successful we'll be, but it seems a little more logical than searching for a crystal that may not exist." Marcus: "Ahem, all of this discussion is intriguing, but our resources are quite limited. We need to decide on one thing and focus on that." Sephina: "... And I suggested Raculi." Ambush 6000: [playback] Voice: "The Ambush 6000 Personal Companion does not meet PharosCorp Class AA Security standards. Please store secure data within an authorized PharosCorp receptacle." * Ambush 6000 sniffles at its insecurity. Jan: "I've been told that some of the undead inhabiting Lunar and the Blue Star are connected to the Church. I would like to explore that connection sometime." * Samantha drums her fingers on the table, thinking. * Yuuwaku nods to Jan. Yuuwaku: "That's another good question." * Chrissy pats the Ambush. "You're secure enough for me, pal." Yuuwaku: "Anyway, I've said my peace." Galen: "Undead connected to the Church? Your best bet as far as a perpetrator there would be Alcippe or Penthesillia." Yuuwaku: "So I'll be quiet now." ^_^ * Ambush 6000 quietly pants. Jan: "I'm aware of who the likeliest suspects are, Galen. I'm not stupid." * Yuuwaku picks up some breakfast pastry and begins to chew, watching the others. * Samantha quietly cheers for Jan. ;) Chrissy: "Anyway, I like that idea about info. I'm sure I could dig up something about Ares from any guarded databanks with a little of my *coughs* lesser used skills." ;) Galen: "Never said you were, Jan." Yuuwaku: "We should check on her background too." ^_^ Yuuwaku: "Well, all of their backgrounds... if we can..." Yuuwaku: "They might have lied about their pasts or something." * Varemi pokes at Kodah's scarf. Galen: "If Ares is from Raculi, that town's just a hop, skip and a jump away from here." Varemi: "... Aren't you hot?" * Kodah sips at his tea, realizing that someone took a slug of it while he wasn't looking. Kodah: "Hm? Not really." Yuuwaku: "What do you think about this whole research idea, Samantha?" Varemi: "That's strange. I guess I wouldn't know." Samantha: "I think it's a great start." Galen: "And the more we know, the better off we are." Selene: "I'm fine with it..." Marcus: "Then are we in agreement on the background checks?" Jan: "Yeah." * Galen nods. * Samantha nods. Kodah: "Works for me." Chrissy: "Knowledge is power, alright." ^^ Galen: "We might be able to ask Guildmistress Katarina about Penthesillia." * Sephina looks a little relieved, picks up any cups or plates people are done with and washes them. Jan: "Katarina Ausa was the one who told me about the undead and the Church. I think she's already given me all she knows." Selene: "Cera is a ninja... There aren't many places one can acquire those skills." Samantha: "What about Horam?" Selene: "Horam, or maybe Japan?" * Chrissy makes a funny face for a second. "I always wondered how they ate raw fish...." Marcus: "It takes all kinds to make a world, Chrissy." Galen: "I hear it's a delicacy." Kodah: "Okay, so where are we going first?" Galen: "Well, the closest place for us to start is Raculi." Varemi: "Ehy, Yuuwaku. Where are you from?" Yuuwaku: "If we go to Japan, I want to go home." ^^ Selene: "That leaves Enyo and Alcippe, as far as figuring out where they're from..." Yuuwaku: "I live there." Yuuwaku: "Lived." Selene: "Do you know of any active ninja trainers in Japan?" Chrissy: "Cool, Yuuwaku. maybe that master you always spoke about might know somebody?" Varemi: "Is that why you dress different than the townspeople in the towns?" Galen: "Alcippe said her home was Azado." Yuuwaku: "I lived in a secluded cabin in the middle of the woods somewhere." Yuuwaku: "I don't know anything about it." ^^; Yuuwaku: "But my master might know..." Yuuwaku: "I think he wouldn't be very happy to see me... but..." ^^; Varemi: "I guess everyone in this group dresses different from each other..." Yuuwaku: "Ooh... actually, let me write down the places we should visit." * Yuuwaku finds his little note pad and pencil. * Kodah polishes off the last of his tea. Yuuwaku: "I think Sephina told me something about Raculi being destroyed." Samantha: "Destroyed?" Yuuwaku: "So I'm not sure how much information we'll get from that place." * Selene finishes off her tea as well. Yuuwaku: "But we should try." Sephina: "At a time. They rebuilt it." Sephina: "... But a lot of the information was lost..." Galen: "And there's Serak Palace too." Yuuwaku: "Oh." ^_^ Sephina: "It's very suspicious." * Samantha hmms. Yuuwaku: "Active ninja trainers..." Yuuwaku: "Wouldn't umm... Iria Yamato know." ^^; Selene: "Iria doesn't seem to know too much about our worlds." Yuuwaku: "Or Tony might know about ninjas..." Sephina: "Iria's a bit of a stranger wherever she goes. I don't know if she'll be of much use to you for information." Yuuwaku: "And Teal might have some information... especially if she's gathering an army." * Sephina nods, folds her arms. Yuuwaku: "She might know people who know people." * Kodah thinks, glancing at Sephina. * Varemi grabs a biscuit that she finds to be interesting looking and bites on it. Galen: "Oh, one more thing. Sephina, I know why Crystal knew so much about the Crimson Knights. I've been having visions about the past holders of the Crimson power, myself." Galen: "so, Yuu, put down Dragon City as one of our destinations on this 'fact finding' mission." Selene: "Why Dragon City?" Galen: "Well, if I'm not mistaken, a former Crimson Warrior was from there." Sephina: "Ah..." ^^ "Yes, Crystal did seem to know everything about everything. Maybe that was why. ... Strange that you should be getting those visions." ^^; Marcus: "Galen, what in blazes are you talking about?" Selene: "Hmm, wasn't also the place to look for Atlantis?" Samantha: "Yeah, what ARE you talking about?" O_o Yuuwaku: "It'd be good to find out information about Atlantis at least." Galen: "Atlantis, and maybe about Zissel too." Yuuwaku: "Just in case we decide to go after the crystal for one reason or another." Sephina: "... He's talking about something bizzare. But it's not completely ridiculous." Yuuwaku: "We should ask the Neo-Pharosians what they know." Yuuwaku: "They helped us before with information, didn't they?" Varemi: "... ... He can turn into a raven..." Varemi: "Why can he turn into a raven?" Varemi: "Birds... scare me." * Kodah blinks at Varemi. Kodah: "They do?" * Varemi blinks back at Kodah, nods. Varemi: "Beaks mostly." * Kodah blinks again, trying to process that. Galen: "If we do look for Atlantis, there's no way to completely know if it still exists..." Yuuwaku: "Well, I don't think it should be our top priority." ^_^; Marcus: "There might be." Varemi: "Is that strange?" Galen: "Most stuff that pre-dates Zophar was probably destroyed already." Yuuwaku: "It is a little scary Varemi." Kodah: "It's strange to me, but I doubt it's strange to you" Galen: "Should we head out?" Kodah: "Thusly, that makes it a personal problem on my part." Marcus: "A civilization as large as Atlantis was told to be definitely leaves an *imprint* on the world long after its destroyed." Yuuwaku: "Do you think we could fight in the cave a little?" Varemi: "... I must have a lot of problems. I don't understand much of anything." Samantha: "Yeah, we should head out soon." Samantha: "It's probably near noon." * Selene nodnods. Yuuwaku: "Also..." Yuuwaku: "Now that we're no longer being followed by the Church, we should start talking to townspeople." * Kodah waves a hand at Varemi, "Who does?" Yuuwaku: "See if we can pick up any random bits of information." Varemi: "... We don't know if we're being followed." Varemi: "I mean... Not." Varemi: "Being followed or not. We can't be sure. She said so... but..." Yuuwaku: "Well, we shouldn't be too reckless." Galen: "Besides, I'm still thinking that we may be followed, granted that presence I sensed before coming down here." Varemi: "... But even so. I think talking to people is a worthwhile risk. Some people. Not just anyone." * Yuuwaku nods. Yuuwaku: "And we shouldn't walk around saying, 'We're planning to overthrow Ares and make him burn. Can you give us information?'" Yuuwaku: "Not that anyone would... but..." Yuuwaku: "Ahh... I meant to shut up." ^^; Sephina: "Also, Yuuwaku, I don't think fighting in my cave would be all that good of an idea, now that I'm looking everyone over." ^^; Samantha: "Hmm." Kodah: "Shall we get going then?" Samantha: "We can pretend to be Ares groupies..." Yuuwaku: "Ooh." Samantha: "Oh Ares! I love Ares and his sexy, sexy hair! Can you tell me more about him?!" :D Jan: "Somehow I doubt that'll work." Samantha: "... Is that a good impression?" ;) Galen: "Don't look at me. I can't stand the guy." Yuuwaku: "I think it would make sense if Samantha did it." Jan: "If he's the head of all this, he can't be dense enough to fall for that." Yuuwaku: "Well I'm sure that random townspeople won't be reporting back to him." Samantha: "I'm not saying we bribe Ares for info, but the people in his town." Samantha: "See, everyone is still fooled. They think Ares is a swell guy." Samantha: "So if we act like we adore Ares, they'll help us." Yuuwaku: "We could also pretend we're doing a research project." * Sephina nods. "As long as posters aren't up, telling everyone who you are.." Jan: "I don't know..." Yuuwaku: "Writing a book or something." ^^; Sephina: "Or." Sephina: "As long as you don't happen upon someone who DOES know you... but who you do not know." Yuuwaku: "But I don't think we should just blurt that out unless people ask." Galen: "I'm going to head up. I'll wait for you there." Sephina: "..." * Galen stands up. "I also want to see if that presence is still out there." Selene: "Head up how?" * Samantha eyes Galen for a moment. * Varemi looks over at Galen. Yuuwaku: "Ah wait Galen." * Kodah considers things. Yuuwaku: "I think we should all go together." ^_^ Yuuwaku: "What if the presence _is_ up there?" Yuuwaku: "You might not be safe." ^_^; Varemi: "Galen is pretty strong. But..." * Yuuwaku turns to Samantha. Yuuwaku: "Should we go?" Varemi: "It could be anything." Galen: "My magic will protect me well enough." Varemi: "I don't know, Galen." Marcus: "Let's just go for crying out loud." Selene: "What if this presence is far more powerful than you?" * Kodah glowers at Galen. Jan: "Let him go." * Samantha nods. Jan: "If he wants to take the risk let him." Samantha: "..." Samantha: "Yeah." Galen: "Just don't take too long." Samantha: "Go on, Galen." * Kodah shrugs and gives up. * Galen turns around and walks out of the room. * Sephina sighs a little quietly out of her nose. Sephina: "Well." Samantha: "... I'll tail him and make sure he doesn't kill himself or us." Yuuwaku: "Ahh... and umm... I was thinking..." Yuuwaku: "If we plan on retrieving any more items..." Samantha: "You know, because the guy annoys me." * Samantha shrugs. Yuuwaku: "I'm thinking it might be a good idea to take Sephina along." Samantha: "I'll meet you guys in a bit. Take your time." :) * Samantha heads out. Sephina: "You're all welcome to leave whenever you wish. I can lead you there if you do not remember the way. ... And feel free, Samantha." Yuuwaku: "She could turn into a cat and guard the item so the Church doesn't get it while we're fighting off some huge demon." * Kodah idly stirs his empty tea glass. * Jan turns away and shakes his head. Yuuwaku: "Like with the ashes." ^^; * Sephina blinks as Yuuwaku suggests that right as Samantha leaves. Sephina: "... I say you do what you need to first." Sephina: "Such as get information on Ares." Sephina: "You don't need me for that." * Yuuwaku nods. Yuuwaku: "I was thinking more with the Ordak Crystal, if we chose to go after it." Jan: "The Ordak Crystal..." Marcus: . o O(Turn into a cat? What a bloody idiot.) * Jan pauses, a thought occurring to him. "How does it work?" Yuuwaku: "Good question." Varemi: "We don't know." Varemi: "What if we're trapped in time forever." * Yuuwaku looks at Marcus expectantly. Marcus: "How would I know how to use the crystal? I'm not a mage." Yuuwaku: "Oh, I thought you knew about it." ^^; Yuuwaku: "Maybe Galen would know." * Yuuwaku smirks a little. Jan: "I might be able to figure it out... given time. I was supposed to have become more of a mage than I am." Yuuwaku: "Actually... I'm going to go after Samantha..." Yuuwaku: "I wanted to ask her something." * Jan gazes inward into his tea. * Yuuwaku rushes off. Sephina: "But. My -idea- was.... if I were to come along in disguise or otherwise hidden.... and Ares did not know... he might send someone I could easily repel if you wished to get the Ordak Crystal and not have it taken from you the moment you get it." * Galen stops in the middle of the garden, under one of the trees... and suddenly collapses. Kodah: "Hmm.... seems a sound idea to me." Varemi: "... But if we even try to find it... they'll know about it. Do they know about it now?" * Samantha watches from afar for a moment, and blinks, "... Dude, he's a narcoleptic." o_o * Galen attunes his spirit to the energies of the astral plane, and projects his spirit form to the surface. * Yuuwaku nearly bumps into Samantha in his rush to catch her, out of breath and dragging his bag behind him. Yuuwaku: "Oof." Samantha: "Gack! Yuu!" O_o Samantha: "Shh!" ^^; Yuuwaku: *whisper* "Sorry." ^^; Galen: .oO(Merciful goddess.) Yuuwaku: "I wanted to talk to you... uhhh what happened to him?" ^^; Samantha: "He's narcaleptic now. What's up?" * Galen projects his thoughts through the astral plane to the rest of the party. Yuuwaku: "I was wondering if you were feeling alright?" --The rest of the party isn't as receptive to the astral plane as Galen, so they can't receive them. :P-- * Kodah looks at Sephina. "Can I ask you a favor?" * Sephina looks to Kodah. "Yes? Certainly." * Galen then lifts himself back up, and spots Sam and Yuu. "Get everyone else out here!" * Yuuwaku blinks. Samantha: "What's going on, Galen?" * Yuuwaku furrows his eyebrows. Kodah: "If you get a chance, could you talk to Teal about... what we talked about earlier?" Galen: "Something's going on in Zaback. Buildings are burning... and that presence is closer than ever." Yuuwaku: "Do what he said." * Chrissy looks up from finishing up the last passage of the manual she was on. "Huh?" Yuuwaku: "Galen, can you walk or do you need help?" Samantha: "... Oh drat. Okay." Galen: "I'll be okay. I'll cast Raven to move." * Samantha runs to fetch the other party members. Yuuwaku: "Alright." * Yuuwaku waits for Galen. Galen: "Something is jamming my ability to move about on the astral plane, though." * Chrissy blinks, as Samantha runs in. "Lemme guess, trouble's finding us again?" Galen: "I had to project my astral body on this plane." Samantha: "... Yeah. Zaback is burning!" O_o Jan: "What!" * Kodah blinks. * Yuuwaku heads over to give Galen a hand. * Jan stumbles out of his chair and starts running up the direction Samantha had come from. * Sephina is about to reply but blinks. * Samantha follows Jan! * Marcus rushes out. Chrissy: "Well, at least i can say I didn't do it!" Yuuwaku: "We have to move out now." * Ambush 6000 springs out of its mellow reverie! * Sephina decides to run out with them to the garden. * Galen tries his best to use his astral energy to sense the presence better. * Kodah runs after the group. * Chrissy grabs a muffin that was leftover in her mouth and runs for the lab, grabbing her stuff! * Ambush 6000 scurries off after everyone. * Varemi follows everyone else... Varemi: "... Burning..?" Galen: "Damn..." * Selene rushes to join the others. Galen: "The more I try to identify that presence... the more it jams me." * Chrissy swipes her gloves up from the table, and her new and improved armor. "Fortunately, I was preparing for just such an occasion! Time for a field test." Galen: "It's as if it knows how to counter my astral power." Varemi: "It must be someone strong." * Yuuwaku sees everyone coming and does a quick head count. * Samantha is right behind Jan. * Sephina listens to the situation intently. Galen: "Whatever that presence is, it knows me... and my power." * Chrissy tucks Tia's notebook safely away somewhere in her coat figuring the disk will have to wait till later, slinging Dante onto her neck and jetting after everyone. ^^ Yuuwaku: "Bush?" Galen: "It can't be Raven Darkholme, can it?" Yuuwaku: "Who?" Yuuwaku: "Your sister?" * Samantha rolls her eyes at Galen. Galen: "My sister." Samantha: . o O ( Gee, duh! ) * Ambush 6000 rustles at Yuuwaku. Varemi: "...?" Yuuwaku: "Can you eat my bag, please, bush." Galen: "Come on." Jan: "......." Yuuwaku: "I'm going to have to move fast and carrying it will be a hindrance." * Ambush 6000 shakes its upper stalk and starts bouncing up and down. Jan: "Let's get moving then. Is everyone ready?" Galen: "I am." Kodah: "Ready." Marcus: "Yes." Sephina: "This is where we say goodbye, then. I'll try to be accessible." Samantha: "Thank you for all your help, Sephina!" Galen: "Though my astral projection has left me rather weak... I'll just cast my flight spell to move." Kodah: "Thanks for everything Sephina." Sephina: "You're very welcome." * Jan nods his head to Sephina then starts moving. * Yuuwaku hands the bag to the bush. * Yuuwaku sighs and adjusts his yukata so it'll be easier for him to fight in it. Yuuwaku: "Not exactly the best outfit but..." --; * Galen takes off into the air. "Let's go." * Ambush 6000 attaches itself to Yuuwaku, then bounces away from his hand, the bag evidentally taken with it. * Yuuwaku smiles to the bush, then runs off after the others, drawing his sword. --Soon you reach the elevator Sephina used to bring you down in the cave. She conveniently already opened it for you. :P-- * Chrissy takes this in, looking a bit angry, though she tries to hide it. "Doc, keep the workshop warm for me okay? Heehee." * Ambush 6000 tumbles quickly into the elevator. * Galen lands in the elevator. * Samantha heads to the elevator. * Kodah looks back at Sephina one last time, then hurries after the group. * Sephina hmms. * Chrissy waves once, then heads off. ^^ Sephina: "Goodbye." Sephina: "... Gee. I probably could have followed along to be sure..." * Yuuwaku runs into the elevator, then waves to Sephina from it. Sephina: "..." * Sephina follows along, a little behind them. Most of them might not even notice. * Galen gets a very determined look about him. "Now, I guess it's time to end this madness." Sephina: . o O (To be sure they're safe. No one gets killed when being protected by me.) * Yuuwaku fingers the black-stone pendant around his neck. --Once everyone is in the elevator (except for Sephina), it closes and rises up to the surface.-- * Varemi is most likely holding onto one of the group members in an attempt to keep up. Even so, she is not dragging anyone down and is keeping pace. Yuuwaku: "This is going to get painful for me again, isn't it?" Samantha: "I'll protect ya Yuu." Galen: "Not if I have anything to say about it, Yuu." Yuuwaku: "No, I'll be okay." ^_^; * Kodah makes sure that Varemi keeps up, as usual. --When the elevator reaches the surface, the secret door opens... You can smell the smoke blowing into the cave...-- * Yuuwaku coughs once or twice. Galen: O_o; Yuuwaku: "Ugh..." Galen: "Like Nota all over again." Kodah: "Phew." Yuuwaku: "I hope people found a way outside." Yuuwaku: "Err... somewhere safe I mean." * Jan heads on out. * Galen flies out of the elevator and toward town as fast as he can. * Samantha follows. * Yuuwaku heads off at a sprint. * Ambush 6000 skitters along with the group. --Various strange monsters can be seen running around the town, killing the various townspersons and any animals that happen to also get in their way.-- * Varemi is keeping up with some of Kodah's help. * Yuuwaku slows a little so that he's somewhere between the slowest people and the fastest people... keeping a link between them if there's a huge rift. * Varemi narrows her eyes at the monsters. * Kodah keeps pace with the group, drawing his staff once again. * Chrissy takes a whiff of the smoke. "Heh, unfortunately for whoever's out there, I hate to miss a good barbecue." She follows behind towards the city. * Galen prepares his magic. * Jan whips out a rolled up cloth from his jacket and yanks a bunch of shurikens from it with his free hand. Galen: "Leave this to me...." --As you approach the city, the monsters start to attack you in waves...-- * Yuuwaku growls, sword in one hand, clasping his pendant with the other and mumbling something under his breath. * Jan hurls a barrage of shurikens at the enemies around him. Galen: "Die... boom... stain... spirits of earth and air... bound by the ancient pact... obey now thine sacred obligation." Yuuwaku: "K'so." >_< --These monsters, fortunately, aren't too strong, but there are lots of them!-- * Kodah aks and starts hammering any monsters that get too close. * Samantha takes a deep breath, and starts slashing away with little fanfare! * Marcus looks at the others, "So much effort wasted." * Selene starts singing her heart out to help the party against the creatures. Kodah: "Shoo!" * Galen gestures towards the field of enemies as fierce winds whip around, causing the earth to shake and crack around the enemy force. "MEGADEATH!" * Ambush 6000 "arms" itself and spreads its leaves in a spiky little defensive halo! * Jan fights like a man possessed, a wild light coming to his eyes... * Marcus looks at several monsters causes them to simply burst. Jan: "AAAAARGGGHHHH!" * Chrissy gets and evil grin and starts tearing into the monsters left and right, throwing them into the hordes to force them back. "Wanna kiss the cook? Come on!" Galen: "SHOW YOURSELF, RAVEN! " * Kodah inches away from Jan. o_o; * Varemi holds out her hands and closes her eyes, a light surrounding her. * Yuuwaku fights with single-minded purpose, weaving in and out between them and causing as much damage as he can while trying to avoid any attacks. * Varemi crushes some enemies, freezes some others... lightly whispering. * Selene keeps on singing, healing the injured and strengthening those that are fighting. * Marcus looks at a few other creatures who start wailing and flee. * Jan gestures with a hand, drawing his necromantic magic to him... "Die, all of you! Sleep and die!" Galen: "Guys, keep fighting. I'll try to put out these fires." * Yuuwaku keeps near to Selene though... * Varemi notices Selene's work and tries healing some people. Samantha: "Jan...?" O_o --The monsters are no match for you right now, even though there are many.-- * Samantha looks VERY concerned now. * Galen starts casting Crimson flood on the fiery buildings. * Kodah keeps swatting monsters aside. --The fires are slowly extinguished by Galen's water magic.-- Kodah: "Go away!" * Chrissy ducks a few fanged blows, slamming the creatures to the pavement in huge indentations, then stepping over them to tackle the next bunch. ^^ --As you the battle the monsters, you notice they are all undead creatures...-- Yuuwaku: "..." * Jan tears rifts into the darker realms, using his magic to change his visage into a withered gaze of death. * Ambush 6000 suddenly bounces high into the air, spinning like a helicopter. It then spreads a flurry of spinning blades well out of the way out of the phalanx -- lucky for the party, not so much for the monsters. Galen: "Guys, get back... I'm about to use a more powerful spell." * Kodah realizes that there's a zombie hand still grabbing his staff, and he tries to swat it away. o_O; Samantha: "... Dammit, Jan!" O_o "What the HELL?" Chrissy: "Geez, they keep coming... and they look like that deadhead Althena woman..." --Every so often, you also notice hyper-quick silver slashes or lightning bolts, seemingly out of nowhere, striking down some of the monsters...-- * Yuuwaku tries to keep track of as many of the other party members as he can while still fighting... particularly the healers and mages. Jan: "Die! Die Die!" * Galen concentrates his magic as a field of black power surrounds the monsters. * Jan's eyes look completely glazed over, the worst he's ever been when fighting the undead. * Samantha acks as several monsters jump on her back! O_o * Kodah eeps and leaps away from one of Jan's more enthusiastic efforts. o_o; Galen: "GET BACK NOW, JAN! I DON'T WANT TO KILL YOU WITH THIS SPELL!" * Chrissy shoulder throws several more of the monsters, starting to get surrounded, then a bolt strikes down one about to pounce her.... * Jan fights on, heedless. * Samantha tries to shake them off! Kodah: "I don't think he can hear you Galen!" * Yuuwaku throws a bolt of lightning at Samantha's back. Yuuwaku: "Gomen nasai!" ^^; * Varemi heals some people in her unusual way, but leaving Jan be so as not to invade his mind. * Ambush 6000 lands in front of Yuuwaku, onto a zombie moments away from pouncing onto him! Galen: "Well, it's too late to cancel the spell." * Samantha eeps, but is free of monsters. Her hair is a bit... standuppish though, "... Thanks." O_o * Jan buries shurikens into several corpses, but he's hardly slain a batch before he's already moving on the next group. Yuuwaku: "Samantha! Try to get Jan back!" ^^; * Galen finishes his enchantment, as a huge beam of destructive light shoots down from the heavens, engulfing the undead monsters. "HARROWING!" * Kodah gets dogpiled by a bunch of undead dogs, and isn't thrilled about it. Yuuwaku: "Ah never mind." o_O * Varemi zaps the monsters on Kodah. --After an extended battle, the monsters are all vanquished...-- * Samantha whews. O_o Kodah: "Thanks." ^^; * Varemi looks around at all of the carnage and frowns. --The battlefield is strewn with the remnants of zombie corpses as well as the bodies of those who were unable to defend themselves against the creatures...-- * Yuuwaku stops for a moment... then rushes to check on the other group members for injuries. * Chrissy trips a monster, throwing two others into a building painfully. She's beginning to sweat a bit, she yells and pounds the one she downed into submission. * Varemi heals any that Selene does not. * Ambush 6000 retracts its defensive thorns. Yuuwaku: "Is anyone hurt?" * Galen is still high above the battlefield. * Jan ends his fight a short distance away from the rest of the group. He looks battered, but still standing. He's panting heavily though and his weapons are still drawn. * Kodah looks sidelong at Jan. Galen: "No one was caught in the spell, were they?" Samantha: "Jan... are you okay?" * Yuuwaku casts a quick eye about for the bush. Chrissy: *pant* "Hurt? Me? I'm just... *pant* getting warmed up!" * Yuuwaku sees it and sighs in relief. Varemi: "I'm doing very well." * Selene sings to try to reinforce Jan's strength. * Jan flinches at Samantha's voice and collapses. Yuuwaku: "Good." Varemi: "... But..." * Marcus brushes some dust off his coat but otherwise looks unharmed. * Galen looks around for the presence. "There it is again." Jan: "Why..." * Kodah waves his staff, trying to get the stupid zombie hand off it, "EW!" O_o; * Samantha runs over to Jan and helps him to his feet. Galen: "There." * Yuuwaku edges toward where Samantha and Jan are. Samantha: "S'okay. We can discuss it later." :) Chrissy: "The place doesn't look so hot, though..." *finally gets a chance to notice the destruction* Yuuwaku: "Samantha, you got him?" * Galen throws a bolt of astral power into the smoldering ruins of a building in front of him. Yuuwaku: "We should check for survivors." Jan: "Why..." Yuuwaku: "But first..." --A shadowy figure emerges from the smoke surrounding a smoldering building... She is a female mage and is wearing a strange crown on her head...-- * Marcus surveys the area, "Hmm, the undead make good battle fodder. Easy to get an army of them, and not a problem if they're destroyed." * Yuuwaku strikes battle pose again. Galen: "Raven..." Yuuwaku: "There's one more monster that needs defeating." Samantha: "Hmm. That must be Raven. I sense Galen angst soon." * Kodah stops waving his staff as the newcomer comes into view. Raven: "Galen... I thought it was your astral presence I sensed..." Kodah: "Is this a bad thing?" o_o Yuuwaku: "More than likely Kodah..." Galen: "So, you've taken up shamanist magic too, eh? Or did Radoria teach you to sense astral energy?" Yuuwaku: "Do you think while she's talking to Galen we should try to get survivors away?" ^^; * Chrissy looks up, trying to kick some zombie parts out of the way of her path. "Who's this sister...?" Galen: "That, Chrissy, is Raven Darkholme." Raven: "Oh, I've been working on my astral spells... I figured they may be useful against you, one day..." * Marcus looks at Raven, "That's not all she is Galen." * Kodah plants a foot on the zombie hand, trying to push it off his staff. >_<; Galen: "I know... she's possessed by a spirit in that crown." Raven: "However, I have nothing to do with these undead warriors... Necromancy isn't my forte..." * Jan whimpers and buries his face into his hands. * Yuuwaku keeps an eye on the group and Raven while shifting through the zombies for any real people. Samantha: "Then who did this?" * Samantha sighs and hugs Jan comfortingly. Raven: "He'll be arriving any moment... now..." * Yuuwaku swallows hard and continues searching through the dead and undead bodies. Chrissy: "'He'?" --A dark swirl of energy, taking the form of an alien demon head (but fortunately it's not really a demon head) appears beside Raven.-- * Chrissy cracks her knuckles. * Kodah blinks. Kodah: "Who's that?" * Jan sighs and relaxes in Samantha's arms. --A familiar figure, the alien wizard from the ruined tower near Drachenburg, emerges from the swirl of energy before it fades...-- Galen: O_o; Raven: "Zissel!" Yuuwaku: "..." * Raven runs up and embraces Zissel. Samantha: "... Well pooh." * Chrissy gasps. Samantha: "... Oh EW." Yuuwaku: "Ew." * Yuuwaku heads over to Samantha. * Galen narrows his eyes. * Sephina gets people out of the way away from Raven (and most of the group's) view... and wide-eyes as she notices Zissel. She sneaks away quicker than Yuuwaku could. ^^; Yuuwaku: "Is he going to be alright... We may need to fight soon..." * Kodah forgets what he was in the middle of doing and falls over. o_o; Samantha: "I think so..." Chrissy: "What the hell... I buried you in a thousand tons of stone!" Yuuwaku: "Do you think we should try to move him somewhere safer?" * Jan stirs himself, pulls free of Samantha, and gets up. Zissel: "Hello Raven... Hmmm... I see my soldiers weren't enough against these fighters..." Samantha: "... Jan. Glad you're okay." :) Raven: "I'm sorry, Zissel... My skills aren't as great as yours... I can't control them effectively..." Zissel: "Don't worry, I shall be teaching you more soon..." Samantha: "Now uh..." *points to Raven* "... We should worry 'bout that." Jan: "No... not okay... Zissel... He's their master." * Zissel turns towards the party. Zissel: "Funny to be seeing you again..." Yuuwaku: "Hello Zissel." * Kodah scrambles back to his feet. Samantha: "Yeah, really. We kinda hoped you died." Yuuwaku: "So is Raven helping you to revive Shadowfall?" Samantha: "Guess we're all disappointed." * Jan grabs his shurikens. "I'll get you this time." Zissel: "Oh, I've been dead before..." Galen: "Funny that you're still alive, after 2,500 years." * Zissel casts Magic Barrier around himself and Raven. Zissel: "It was all part of my plan... The Lich Lord that originally owned this crown was a servant of Shadowfall..." Yuuwaku: "And was burning to this town to the ground just for fun or did it actually have a purpose?" Zissel: "Whoever wore it would be compelled to revive me..." * Jan shudders uncontrollably, still weakened from his exertion. Yuuwaku: "Well, that explains something at least." Galen: "So did Raven, or Radoria revive you?" Zissel: "Radoria started the process, Raven finished it... and I must say I greatly prefer her to Radoria..." * Zissel looks at Raven with lust in his eyes. Yuuwaku: "..." Yuuwaku: "I'm sick." Kodah: "Ew." :\ Yuuwaku: "Oh well." Samantha: "Okay." Samantha: "Pardon me." Samantha: "I'm going to go puke in a BUSH NOW." Chrissy: "Gah, this makes me sick!." :p Yuuwaku: "I guess he might be attractive for a... whatever he is..." * Galen looks ever more angry than ever. Yuuwaku: "Don't puke in the Ambush, Sam." Samantha: "... I wasn't planning on it." ^^; * Ambush 6000 buries itself in the ground upon hearing Samantha. Yuuwaku: "You never know." ^^; Samantha: "Ambush, not you!" * Ambush 6000 remains buried. * Chrissy takes out a small explosive and chucks it at Zissel and his little love slave of death. ^^ --The explosive bounces harmlessly against Zissel's magic barrier...-- Yuuwaku: "Why were you attacking this town Zissel?" Galen: "Source of all souls which dwell in eternal and infinite. Everlasting flame of blue, let the power hidden in my soul be called forth from the infinite." * Ambush 6000 quickly emerges from the ground and grabs the explosive before it detonates. ^^ Zissel: "Oh, you see, my god, Shadowfall, feeds off of death. Killing these people will help rebuild his strength, as well as increasing his undead army..." * Kodah kicks again at the hand, in an off-handed sort of way. Samantha: "... That's very twisted and wrong, you know." Jan: "We don't need anymore dead, walking or otherwise." Yuuwaku: "But if they're burned, how can they be revived from the dead?" * Galen gestures toward Zissel as he gathers all the astral power he can muster for one spell. The energy then shoots town toward Zissel and Raven. "ASTRAL TILT!" * Chrissy shields her eyes as it blows up harmlessly to the side. --Galen's spell deflects harmlessly off the magic barrier.-- * Ambush 6000 ducks back into the ground again. Yuuwaku: "It seems rather foolish to be starting fires around the bodies of people you plan to make part of your army." Zissel: "I'm sorry, Galen, is it? Your spells frankly are no match for my barrier." Samantha: "I guess he doesn't really care much about looks." * Yuuwaku winces at the light show going on but tries to stand his ground as much as possible. Zissel: "Well, in order to make an omelette, you need to break a few eggs..." Chrissy: "What kinda magic is that? It should have done something... back to the drawing board..." -_-; Selene: "Alien magic..." Jan: "Come out from behind that barrier. If you want to fulfill your god's wishes come and fight us. It doesn't matter. Gods don't help anyone!" Galen: "Zissel, where the heroes of the Nephar War failed to kill you, I won't fail. You will become one with the sea of chaos." * Samantha glances back at Jan for a moment, but bites her tongue for now. Yuuwaku: "Well there must be something you're weak against, Zissel." Zissel: "Oh, I wouldn't mind stepping out of this barrier, however... Shadowfall wouldn't like it if I were struck down before I completed my mission." Varemi: "..." Yuuwaku: "It's simply a matter of figuring that out." Jan: "I bet he wouldn't. He doesn't care about you." * Kodah finally pops the hand loose. It flies off into the distance, where there is the sound of breaking glass, a screeching cat, and a car alarm perhaps? Yuuwaku: "Until then, I don't think there's any point to us fighting you." Galen: "There has to be a power that can counter that barrier." * Varemi looks over at the hand. Varemi: "..." Yuuwaku: "But you wouldn't fight us anyway." Zissel: "If my god wishes to devour me along with all the life on this world, so be it... Becoming one with him is a great honor." Varemi: "I wonder how it held on for so long..." * Kodah blinks at Zissel. Kodah: "Gads are you stupid." :\ Samantha: "Wow. You freak me out." O_o Yuuwaku: "Sounds pretty kinky Zissel. Any idea what your god's other plans might include?" Varemi: "Ow." Jan: "I could only be so lucky." Zissel: "That is only known to Shadowfall, child." Varemi: "..." * Ambush 6000 "peeks" out of the ground at Zissel, with just its top branches and leaves visible. * Varemi tries not to laugh. --Suddenly, you hear a loud noise overhead...-- Kodah: "..?" Samantha: "Actually, Yuu isn't really a child... he's sort of a m... hey!" O_o Varemi: "That was to Yuuwaku, right..? ... Oops, a noise." --Materializing, apparently out of no where, is a large, blue-colored Chinese dragon!-- * Marcus looks up. * Yuuwaku wide-eyes. Yuuwaku: "Teal?" Yuuwaku: "Or...?" * Kodah goes pale. Zissel: "What in the name of Shadowfall..." * Jan doesn't take his eyes off Zissel. Samantha: "Whoa...!" O_o * Sephina peers from behind some rubble, a good distance away and curses silently. --The dragon doesn't appear to be a typical Lunar dragon...-- Sephina: "..." * Yuuwaku shifts towards Kodah while staring up at the dragon. * Chrissy blinks. "I sincerely hope that is on our side." * Ambush 6000 slowly rises from the ground. --Another voice can be heard in the background, shouting towards Zissel...-- Samantha: "Heck yeah! China is coming to kick your ASS, Zissel... or someone is!" * Galen starts to whisper again. "Kaizard... aruzard... kisc... kansei... cro... sik. Spirits of air and lightning... sages of hell itself... release thine power and let ultimate destruction rain down!" Ares: "Zissel... I thought it was your foul stench I smelt all the way from Raculi..." Yuuwaku: "I don't think Teal should look like that..." --Galen's spell has no effect against the barrier...-- Kodah: . o O (Crap.) * Samantha blinks, very surprised now. * Yuuwaku gasps. Jan: "Ares...?" Samantha: . o O ( Well, I wasn't expecting this. ) * Chrissy takes a step back. * Ares walks towards the group, in full armor. His beautiful, long brown hair blowing in the breeze... * Jan looks now, searching to find the Dragonmaster in his line of sight. * Yuuwaku gapes at Ares. Zissel: "Ares... I never expected to find you here..." * Samantha blinks at Yuu. * Galen only eyes Zissel and Raven. Yuuwaku: "Our savior." o_O Samantha: "Yuu! Resist! Resist his hair!" Ares: "Well, we still have some 'unfinished business,' so to speak..." * Yuuwaku winks at Samantha. Samantha: "His... long shiny pretty hai... Agh!" Yuuwaku: "Shinpai shinaide, otome-san." Jan: "You're... fighting him." Jan: "?" * Kodah inches 'away' from the strange dragon-thing. Galen: "You won't be able to break his barrier, Ares, so don't even try." Zissel: "Hmph, is this how you repay your ally?" Yuuwaku: "Ally?" * Marcus looks at Yuu and Sam, "What a bunch of idiots." Yuuwaku: "Now we're getting somewhere." * Ares and Zissel are too involved with each other to notice the others. Varemi: "... THAT's Ares? I always imagined him to be... ... bigger." * Yuuwaku smirks at Marcus. * Chrissy doesn't quite know what to say, but she is most definitely sizing Ares up for something... ^^ Jan: "Hmph." Yuuwaku: "You're a mind reader. You should know better." * Samantha idly considers flipping Marcus off, but now is not the time. ;) * Jan decides he really doesn't like either one of them. Ares: "If I had known just what you were, I wouldn't have hired you in the first place." Zissel: "Too bad... If it wasn't for my forces, you would have never united the world..." Ares: "And I had to spend the next five years cleaning up your mess... I should've known better than to trust Radoria..." Varemi: "..." Jan: "......." Zissel: "Hmph, well, I don't see much you can do about it..." Ares: "Oh, I think there is..." Kodah: "..?" * Chrissy glances sidelong at her comrades... * Yuuwaku sheathes his sword. * Ares raises his hand up to the sky, as if he's signaling to the giant dragon-thing above. * Varemi just watches quietly, eyes wide and looks directly at Ares in her stupid Naga outfit. Yuuwaku: "We may need to flee soon." Ares: "Blue Dragon, strike down your foe!" Kodah: "Can we go now?" o_o;; * Yuuwaku squeezes Kodah's arm. Yuuwaku: "Don't be afraid. It's an illusion." --The blue Chinese dragon overhead opens its mouth and fires an intense burst of energy at Zissel's barrier... shattering it after sustaining the burst for nearly a minute!-- Marcus: "That is no illusion." Raven: "Zissel!" Galen: "NOW!" Yuuwaku: "Ares can make his illusions take physical form." * Jan wonders if he tackles Ares if he concentration would break. * Galen throws a lance of intense astral power at the lich crown. Zissel: "We must retreat..." Yuuwaku: "He might be able to give them a consciousness even." * Zissel quickly teleports away with Raven just as Ares is about to strike with his blade... Yuuwaku: "That's why I told you, don't underestimate him." Jan: "Dammit." Jan: "He got away again." Galen: "Sh*t." * Ares bows his head and curses under his breath... Jan: "And we'd better getting away too." Kodah: . o O (Great, now what?) Yuuwaku: "Had we really?" * Ares turns towards the party... "Wait..." * Yuuwaku stands patiently, waiting for Ares to speak. * Galen forms a fireball in his hands. Yuuwaku: "Let him talk." * Jan tries to gauge Ares's intentions. * Kodah takes an involuntary step back. Yuuwaku: "Think before you act Galen." Yuuwaku: "We don't want to fight him if we don't have to." * Chrissy grumbles a bit, holding another of her only two experimental disruption grenades behind her back... ^^; Ares: "I imagine you're the ones Eris has been talking about. You've caused us quite a bit of trouble..." Yuuwaku: "I imagine you've caused us more." Galen: *whispers* "Source of all power, crimson fire burning bright... gather thine power in my hand." Varemi: "..." * Ares laughs softly. "Perhaps." * Varemi glares at Ares. Jan: "Your point being?" Yuuwaku: "Do you remember us?" * Varemi eyes Galen violently. Ares: "I remember you vaguely... I had no idea you'd actually turn against the Church..." Yuuwaku: "Someone stop Galen." Yuuwaku: "Turn against the Church?" Yuuwaku: "You were the ones pursuing us." * Galen throws the fireball at a ruined building. "DAMMIT!!" Yuuwaku: "And trying to kill us." --The overhead dragon turns its gaze towards Galen...-- Jan: "I never belonged to your church to begin with." Jan: "Your goddess holds no sway over me." Yuuwaku: "If we did believe in you, you betrayed us." Ares: "True, but you seemed willing enough to work with us on recovering Varemi..." * Kodah goes stiff as the dragon's gaze passes over him. Yuuwaku: "Though in all honesty, I'd never heard of you till recently. But that is an aside." Chrissy: "You sure know how to pick your allies, huh Ares?" ;) Jan: "I went along for my own reasons. It had nothing to do with loyalty to you." Ares: "True... At least Varemi isn't in Neo Pharosian hands, so the end result isn't as bad as it could have been." Yuuwaku: "Why?" Yuuwaku: "I know nothing of the Neo Pharosians to be honest." Varemi: ". . ." * Kodah blinks, and stares at the dragon for a long time. Ares: "If Varemi was locked up with the Neo Pharosians... let's just say Eris would have me sleeping on the couch for quite a while..." Jan: "That's not our problem." Yuuwaku: "Ahh, I imagine it has something to do with the relation to Pharos that they might have." * Galen looks very much pissed off. Ares: "You know, Varemi... It's not too late for you to join us. Eris is still waiting for you." Varemi: "I never trusted them, either." Yuuwaku: "Varemi is our friend. We're going to protect her and make sure she's safe." Varemi: "But..." Chrissy: "Got her wrapped around your sexy little finger, huh? Like the whole damn world?" Varemi: "You're lying about things." Varemi: "People who lie remind me of Pharos." * Ares just smiles coolly, his hair wafting in the wind. Varemi: "I don't follow people who lie." * Galen approaches Ares, still with a look of rage in his eyes. "You..." * Varemi looks around at her group. * Ares turns towards Galen. "I wouldn't recommend you getting any closer." Varemi: "Not like everyone here is perfect." Varemi: "But..." Yuuwaku: "If Galen attacks you, please don't kill the rest of us." Yuuwaku: "Just knock him out." Yuuwaku: "He's hotheaded." Ares: "Killing Galen right now wouldn't accomplish anything... but if push comes to shove..." Yuuwaku: "I understand." Varemi: "You'll need to do a better job proving me you are right. These people don't scare me." Yuuwaku: "I don't suppose you'd be wiling to tell us something of what's going on?" Galen: "You knew about Zissel... about the power in that damn lich crown. Yet you did nothing to stop his revival." Jan: "Look, why don't you tell us what you wanted to say, or is that it? Asking for Varemi again?" Ares: "I did not know about the lich crown and Zissel until it was too late. I had only hired Radoria to help raise an army. I had no idea it would be an army of the undead." * Chrissy juggles the grenade like a mechanical baseball, a pitcher waiting for the call to hurl it over the plate. One eye flicks to Kodah, noticing him staring down the dragon. Yuuwaku: "When did this happen?" Galen: "I'm putting you on notice. I'll put an end to Zissel's life. Just stay the f*ck out of my way." Yuuwaku: "I'm not very up to date on my Lunar history." Ares: "About eight or so years ago, when I started my campaign to unite the world under the Church." Yuuwaku: "Do you know how to get rid of Zissel?" Chrissy: "Heh, more like hoodwink it..." Ares: "Galen, if you were to end Zissel's life, you'd be doing me a favor." Yuuwaku: "And do you know about his plan to revive Shadowfall?" Jan: "Zissel... has been around that long?" Varemi: "... I don't think he cares. He just doesn't like Zissel." * Galen turns, and walks away from Ares, and the party. Ares: "Zissel hasn't been around that long, but his influence through the lich crown has been." Jan: "Four years ago... in Vane. There was a renegade mage who killed a lot of students with the power of the undead. Was that through him?" * Chrissy whispers something in Kodah's direction... Ares: "My only regret is that I didn't stop him before he was revived. Our goals for these worlds are, shall we say, incompatible." * Kodah's expression changes from fear, to confusion as he continues to stare. Marcus: "And what is your goal?" Yuuwaku: "Everyone else seems to want to keep us in the dark..." Ares: "In all likelihood. All the evidence I saw concerning that event indicated it was linked to Zissel." Jan: "And where were you and your damn church?" Ares: "You think Vane was the only place being assaulted by undead monsters? As I've said, I have been working to clean up the mess I made for years now..." * Samantha listens quietly. Jan: "That's not good enough. I survived that massacre! I was only one of three! Knowing that you were busy doesn't help any." Yuuwaku: "That dragon you have is rather interesting." * Galen is now far away from the party, in an open field. The explosions of numerous fire spells can be heard as far as the party's position. Ares: "It was either Vane or New Meribia. New Meribia has a population ten times larger than Vane's." Samantha: "... So how come you didn't split your troops up?" Samantha: "That's rather cold hearted thinking, don't you think?" Ares: "The good of the many outweighs the good of the few." Yuuwaku: "Is that your general policy?" * Jan clenches his hands into fists. "I've been fighting the undead ever since then, but nothing will ever bring those people back. And it's all because it's your damn mess!" * Varemi frowns. Ares: "You could say that, samurai." * Samantha humphs, and crosses her arms. Samantha: "I hate people like you." Yuuwaku: "I'm sure you wouldn't feel that way in regards to everyone though." Ares: "I apologize, Jan... It was never my intention." Ares: "We all have a personal bias, that is true..." * Marcus agrees with Ares but says nothing. Ares: "However, in cases where my bias doesn't come into play, that is generally my policy." Yuuwaku: "But why do you need the Sword of Zophar?" Chrissy: "Bah, you're just trying to cover your over-idolized ass." Jan: "What about Lucia? Is your policy the policy of your goddess as well?" * Galen walks back to where the party is... and then collapses in fatigue. Ares: "Sword of Zophar? Why would a Dragonmaster want the Sword of Zophar?" Yuuwaku: "I don't know. But why else would you want the Ashes of Zophar?" Ares: "Lucia has been, shall we say, indisposed recently. She hasn't been feeling very well." Samantha: "She's a goddess." Ares: "What makes you think I want the Ashes of Zophar?" Yuuwaku: "A goddess? Not feeling well?" Samantha: "How can she not feel well?" O_o Yuuwaku: "Eris took them." Yuuwaku: "Or didn't you know about that?" Ares: "She may be a goddess, but she has human emotions." Varemi: "... Sick is feeling sad?" Ares: "Eris? She did say she was working on a project at the Pentagulia Ruins... I'll have to talk to her about that..." Varemi: "Oh... indisposed doesn't mean sick..." * Kodah doesn't seem to be listening, his eyes locked on the strange Chinese dragon that Ares brought with him. Ares: "She was in no condition to help anyone..." Varemi: "... I guess no one is talking to each other anywhere." Chrissy: "Lucia's got a little illness alright... and I think it's you, and your whole Church." Jan: "A goddess unable to help her people, what a useless thing. Then why believe..." * Ares turns towards Kodah. "I see you're fascinated by my friend..." * Yuuwaku stiffens slightly. Yuuwaku: "Kodah had a bad experience with dragons as a child." * Jan walks away from the group, just a short distance so the others have some room. Ares: "I see..." Ares: "Of course, there's no reason he should fear dragons." Yuuwaku: "Well, no, but you know childhood fears?" Yuuwaku: "They're sometimes irrational." Ares: "Yes, they can be... difficult... to cope with." Varemi: "..." * Kodah blinks. Yuuwaku: "You have experience I guess?" :\ Varemi: "Well. At least Ares is conversational." *is still talking to herself* Ares: "You know, Kodah, is that your name? You really are out of place among these adventurers, for lack of a better term to describe them." * Samantha narrows her eyes. Samantha: "I don't think he is at all." * Kodah snaps out of his fugue, as he realizes he's being addressed directly. * Chrissy tightens her grip on her device. "Ah, I don't fear a dragon... I mean, I have beers with them all the time..." Kodah: "Guh?" Ares: "I know what you are, Kodah... You shouldn't be wasting your time with these people." Yuuwaku: "Ares..." * Kodah pales. A lot. * Yuuwaku narrows his eyes. Yuuwaku: "Kodah is our friend." Ares: "Why don't you join us, Kodah? We could use your... unique abilities, and you'd finally get the respect you deserve." Samantha: "I respect him now." Yuuwaku: "Anyone can get respect." Samantha: "Back off." Chrissy: "Just what are you trying to pull? You going to beg on your knees for everyone to join your little entourage at this rate?" Yuuwaku: "But friendship is difficult to come by." * Samantha steps in front of Kodah. Yuuwaku: "Although..." Samantha: "What could you offer him that we can't?" Yuuwaku: "It's Kodah's decision, not ours." Ares: "I am only making a polite invitation. I won't kidnap him. Kidnapping is so... distasteful." Varemi: "..." *looks over at Kodah* * Chrissy narrows her eyes. "Yeah, you should know." Ares: "I can help Kodah reach his full potential." Jan: "Kodah..." Varemi: "I don't trust him, Kodah." *frowns* "But..." Yuuwaku: "Kodah can decide on his own." * Varemi trails off on her stupid "But..." yet again. Yuuwaku: "Although..." Samantha: "I'd like to know how you would do that." Varemi: "I know he can." Yuuwaku: "It would hurt very much if he left..." Varemi: "I just wanted to say my piece." --The Chinese dragon circles ominously overhead.-- * Kodah bites his lip. * Yuuwaku bites his lip and turns his head to the side. Ares: "Kodah, don't you want to know just what you are? Know just how you fit in to the grand scheme of things? I can show you all of that." Chrissy: "Shut yer hole, the only thing you show everyone is what they want to see." * Sephina still hasn't fled from the rubble and is still watching tensely. Yuuwaku: "Why would he have to join you to find out?" Samantha: "Why can't he learn that by traveling with us?" Kodah: . o O (Can he really do that?) Yuuwaku: "And..." * Samantha whispers something to Kodah. Yuuwaku: "Well, I guess it would be up to him if that's worth being used." Ares: "Now Chrissy, just because I am capable of illusions, it doesn't mean I'll always use them." * Marcus looks at Kodah . . . and then his mouth drops. * Chrissy lifts her eyes to the dragon. "I dunno, that one right there is mighty flashy..." Chrissy: "I mean you've got the form allll wrong though..." Ares: "Are you calling the blue dragon an illusion?" * Kodah blinks, and shakes his head violently. * Ares laughs that deep, sexy, biseinen laugh. :P Sephina: . o O (Oh please, Chrissy. --; Please don't tell him.) Yuuwaku: "It doesn't look like pictures I've seen." Ares: "As if you'd know what a Blue Dragon looks like..." * Samantha gives Kodah a reassuring look, "... Just remember that... but you're the one who's going to make the final choice here..." * Samantha scoffs at Ares, but decides not to mention that she's got the ring on. No sense making herself a target yet. ;) Yuuwaku: "Although, admittedly they were rather... small pictures..." * Chrissy grrrs. "... As if you would?" Yuuwaku: "But still. It's rather markedly different." ^^; Yuuwaku: "Not that you have to believe the boy who's been talking to fairies his whole life." Yuuwaku: "Everyone knows he's crazy." * Yuuwaku mutters. * Marcus shakes his head as if to clear his mind. Ares: "Dragons are capable of taking various forms... Seiryuu happens to like this one." Yuuwaku: "Does Seiryuu have a human form?" Yuuwaku: "I've heard legends of that." Yuuwaku: "And... hee... cats." =^.^= Ares: "He does, but he does not care for his other forms." Yuuwaku: "Ah... he... really..." Yuuwaku: "That's interesting." * Samantha begins to look very angry now. * Chrissy shakes. .oO( So fake, but I can't just blurt it out about Teal! Bastard! ) Chrissy: "Hey Ares!" * Kodah swallows hard, and takes a step towards Ares. Yuuwaku: "I'd always heard the Blue Dragon was female, but maybe my sources are wrong." Varemi: "..." Kodah: "Tell me something, Ares". Ares: "The last blue dragon was female. This is her successor." * Varemi watches Kodah. Chrissy: "If you're the Dragonmaster, where's the other three?" Kodah: "Is that honestly and truly the Blue Dragon of Legend, guardian of the Goddess?" Chrissy: "They a little under the weather?" Ares: "I could summon them, if you wish..." Ares: "They hate being summoned with no reason, however." Yuuwaku: "Could we have a tea party then?" Yuuwaku: "Summoning the dragons isn't going to do anyone any good." Ares: "You should be able to tell for yourself, Kodah..." * Samantha blinks a bit more. Kodah: "I want to hear it from you. I want you to vouch for Seiryuu. Is that or is that NOT the true Blue Dragon?" Jan: "I don't think proving their identities to us is 'no reason.'" Ares: "It is the blue dragon who chose me to become Dragonmaster." * Chrissy glares. "Alright then, summon the black dragon for me. Prove it." Ares: "If you insist..." Yuuwaku: "That blue dragon chose you to become Dragonmaster?" * Ares bows his head and chants... in a flash of black energy a black Chinese dragon, similar to the blue one, appears overhead. * Marcus mutters, "Oh this can't be good." * Ares nods at Yuuwaku. Yuuwaku: "This is very strange..." Yuuwaku: "What's this one's name?" * Kodah looks at Ares, then at the assembled dragons for a long time, as if trying to find something. * Yuuwaku waves to the dragon. Ares: "His name is Kouryu." Yuuwaku: "Hullo dragon." ^_^ Yuuwaku: "Black dragon." Kodah: "..." Kodah: "Impressive." * Marcus looks oddly at the dragons. * Samantha is not amused. * Jan studies the dragons, but appears unconvinced. Kodah: "Very impressive." * Chrissy watches the calling of the dragon, but she doesn't look impressed. In fact she is nearly laughing to herself. Ares: "Thank you, Kodah." Kodah: "It would be more impressive if they were genuine." Ares: "Now, now, Kodah... No need to slander the dragons." Kodah: "I don't know what you think those are, and they might look like dragons, but they don't FEEL like dragons." Chrissy: "... Gee, and you couldn't even be a little more original..." * Varemi huhs. Samantha: "This is oh so very sad." Ares: "Hmm... Your abilities are finer tuned than I thought, Kodah, but they still aren't sharp enough." Varemi: "... Oh no..." * Yuuwaku's hand goes to his sword. * Jan lifts his shurikens. * Chrissy winds up her arm, and sends the grenade she was saving hurtling through the air at the blue dragon's form! * Ares instinctively reaches for his blade. Yuuwaku: "Don't attack!" >_< * Varemi gets ready to protect. --The grenade's explosion has no apparent effect on the blue dragon, except making it arch backwards in response.-- * Kodah doesn't make a move yet. * Samantha stands there glowering for now. Ares: "So, Kodah, have you decided?" * Yuuwaku looks at Kodah with a mixture of hope and fear. Kodah: "I appreciate your offer, but I think I'll pass, thank you. No offense intended." * Jan moves closer to the group. * Samantha smiles. * Yuuwaku relaxes considerably. Ares: "None taken, and the offer stands should you change your mind." * Ares again does that deep biseinen laugh thing. "Farewell, Kodah, Varemi, and the rest of you... I shall look forward to our next rendezvous..." * Varemi doesn't relax, still watches Ares carefully until he leaves. Jan: "Hmph." * Samantha scoffs once more. * Ares pulls out a small white, wing-like object and teleports away, the two dragons vanishing soon afterwards... Yuuwaku: "Goodbye Ares." Chrissy: "Take that you ugly illusion. Go run with your tail between your legs for thinking you're the real McCoy." Yuuwaku: "We have all the proof we need that the man is a liar." Marcus: "Well, I say we came out ahead. We're still alive." * Kodah watches Ares leave, then his knees waver, buckle, and he drops to the ground. * Varemi only then relaxes. Kodah: "I feel ill." * Samantha nods. Samantha: "Of course we do." * Yuuwaku kneels down besides Kodah. Selene: "Kodah, are you okay?" Samantha: "I have the real ring and he doesn't." Yuuwaku: "Would you like a drink of water?" * Yuuwaku looks up at the others. Marcus: "And I know a lot more that I did a few minutes ago." Yuuwaku: "We need to burn the dead." * Marcus eyes Kodah. * Chrissy pats her chest. "I've got it all on tape... every incriminating bit of it." Kodah: "I'm okay. I think" Jan: "I think... Teal and Sephina are more real dragons than his are. His were puppets. But them, they were real, even if they're not dragons." * Ambush 6000 nuzzles up to Kodah. Yuuwaku: "If we don't, they'll become Zissel's army." Yuuwaku: "And we need to help any survivors." * Samantha nods a bit. * Jan nods to Yuuwaku. Samantha: "I'll help, Yuu." * Sephina pokes her head out, and might or might not be noticed. Yuuwaku: "I'll give you some room if you'd like Kodah." Marcus: "Jan, I would guess that they were some kind of technological thing but Chrissy would have a better idea." Selene: "I'll sing a funeral hymn... It may help protect their souls." * Kodah tries to stand up, and fails. * Yuuwaku smiles at Selene. Yuuwaku: "Here, maybe we should take you back to Sephina's cave." * Samantha goes to Kodah and helps him stand. * Yuuwaku looks around suddenly. Yuuwaku: "Where's Galen?" * Jan goes about the grisly task of disposing of the dead. * Yuuwaku notices Sephina and waves to her. Chrissy: "Well they might be. Obviously that shot didn't do anything... but let's think on this later, I think we need to move. and Galen's flown the coop..." Kodah: "My legs feel like jello." * Sephina is surprised to be noticed, but figures it must be Yuuwaku's sharp hearing and vision and uhh... awkwardly waves back. Yuuwaku: "Alright Kodah... why don't you sit here for the moment." Samantha: "It's okay, Kodah. What I learned today doesn't change anything in terms of our friendship... although admittedly, there's stuff I don't know." O_o * Ambush 6000 offers itself as a temporary leaning post to Kodah. Yuuwaku: "I'm going to try to find Galen." Yuuwaku: "Does anyone know which way he went?" * Kodah flops back down in the ground, leaning heavily on the Ambush. * ~Galen lies passed out after his emotional outburst nearby. Yuuwaku: "The rest of you, gather the dead together and we'll say a prayer over them or something..." Yuuwaku: "Then we need to burn them." --Several of Zaback's residents offer to help in caring for the dead.-- * Yuuwaku sighs and heads off in search of Galen. Kodah: . o O (Well Kodah old boy, you went and officially put your foot in it.) * Yuuwaku pauses in mid-step and runs back to Samantha, whispers something to her, winks and then runs off. * Samantha nods back to Yuu. * Selene sings a sad, yet somewhat hopeful, hymn over the fallen bodies here at Zaback... * Chrissy shrugs and casts a few of her less refined toys that she had left at a spot, making a burning pyre for Jan's pursuits. She's not going to go burn the dead directly, that's not her thing. ^^ * Kodah looks down at the Ambush, "Please tell me I didn't just make a horrid mistake." * Chrissy tilts her head, squinting a bit. "... Sephina?" * Jan doesn't seem to have a problem with hauling corpses around. He seems more at ease now that Ares and Zissel have left. * Marcus walks over to Kodah, "So, care to tell me why Ares was so interested in you?" * Yuuwaku searches around, trying to find Galen... * ~Galen slowly gets up, and offers to help with the pyre with his fire magic. Ambush 6000: *rru?* Yuuwaku: "Ah Galen." ^^ * Kodah blinks at Marcus. Kodah: "Um... that's... uh... complex.' o_o; * Yuuwaku sighs in relief now that he's found and goes back to try to help. * Sephina helps people move some of the bodies and says some prayers for them, nods to Chrissy. "I'll be out of your way again. Sorry to be a stalker. I had to be sure you were all safe." Marcus: "Yes, I think it is." Chrissy: "No, don't apologize. You saw that didn't you?" --Soon, with the help of Galen's fire spells, a healthy pyre blazes.-- Samantha: "Leave him alone for now, Marcus." Samantha: "We can ask him later." * Yuuwaku goes over to kneel by Kodah. Yuuwaku: "Are you feeling any better?" * Varemi helps out... but does a terrible job. Sephina: "I did." * Ambush 6000 decides to continue nuzzling Kodah, not being erudite enough to offer words of wisdom while speaking only in PharosCorp legalese. * Marcus smirks at Kodah a little mockingly and walks away. * Jan looks into the flames meditatively. The stench doesn't seem to bother him, though it's quite acrid and nauseating to most everyone else. Yuuwaku: "If Marcus gives you any trouble..." Kodah: "I'll be okay, I just need some time." * Yuuwaku nods to Kodah. * Samantha smiles at Kodah, "Take as much time as you need." Yuuwaku: "I would say go to Ares to find out actually, if I didn't think he'd lie to you..." ;\ Yuuwaku: "Although it'd be interesting to find out what he'd say." Yuuwaku: "But I don't want to be nudging you away or anything." ^^; * Chrissy nods, her proof reaffirmed, and tries to bite back the terrible smell and use her strength to help out a little. ^^ * Yuuwaku hugs Kodah impulsively, then stands up. * Varemi moves... a cat successfully. Varemi: . o O (Poor dead kitty.) * Kodah looks positively fried. * Yuuwaku moves to help the others but tries to keep an eye on Kodah and the Ambush while he's at it. --After a lot of hard work, all the bodies are engulfed by the flames of the pyre...-- * Jan wipes the sweat from his forehead, glad that's over with. Yuuwaku: "We should probably go somewhere to rest now." Yuuwaku: "And Samantha, I'd like to talk to you soon." Samantha: "Okay Yuu." * Sephina most likely speeds off as quickly as she appeared unless she was stopped. Selene: "Sephina, do you mind if we rest in your cave again? Er, Sephina???" * Sephina IS stopped. * Chrissy phews, clearing her throat. "If that's all taken care of, I'd like to go back for a moment and... uh... Doc?" Selene: "Thought I missed you for a bit... I hope I'm not being intrusive..." Yuuwaku: "I'm worried the inn here is either out of commission or full of people who have no homes." Yuuwaku: "So if we could stay in Sephina's cave, it would probably be better than the streets." ^^; * Jan walks over to Samantha. "Sam...?" Sephina: "Certainly. If you wish to." Selene: "Thank you." * Kodah struggles to stand, and makes it this time. * Yuuwaku offers Kodah his arm. Varemi: "... I would have helped you up..." Samantha: "Yeah?" Varemi: "... But that cat was heavy." Yuuwaku: "Varemi, you might have pulled something." Varemi: "... Ow." * Samantha looks to Jan, blinking. * Kodah accepts the assistance. Jan: "I just want to thank you for being there. I'm sorry I got carried away. It shouldn't have happened -- that badly." Varemi: "...I don't know if I did. Nothing hurts." * Ambush 6000 shuffles around Yuuwaku, repositioning itself as Kodah wobbles. Kodah: "You can help me next time my legs turn into mush. How's that sound?" * Samantha sighs a bit, "It's okay. I'm just glad you're okay now." :) * Yuuwaku smiles a little to himself over Samantha and Jan. Varemi: "... I'm not very strong. ... But I won't hurt myself helping you. So sure." Jan: "Those undead... they were very similar to the ones at the massacre. I couldn't help it." * Jan shakes his head. Chrissy: "If it's okay with you, I want to take a look at what just happened today... Maybe I can learn something about the nature of those creatures." ^^; "Obviously my little test didn't hurt them at all..." * Samantha puts a hand on Jan's shoulder, "... It's okay. It's a painful memory, and it hurts you." :/ "Just be careful, though. You gotta live for them, right?" * Selene turns towards Sephina's secret cave entrance. Jan: "I don't know... I don't know why I'm living when they're dead, but I have to stop Zissel. I know that much." * Samantha nods, "... Me too. I should talk to Sephina... I think I made my choice." * Yuuwaku helps Kodah along. * Kodah takes a few steps forward, trips over a disembodied zombie hand, and lands on his face. Yuuwaku: "Ah!" :O * Yuuwaku hmms. * Chrissy tries to help Kodah up as he trips near her. "Woah there big guy!" Kodah: "Owie." * Ambush 6000 tries to break Kodah's fall, but isn't quite quick enough to respond. * Varemi helps Kodah up. * Yuuwaku lets Chrissy cause she's strong. * Varemi uhh... tries to. Almost falls. Yuuwaku: "Ambush, do you think you could clear the path?" ^^; * Selene tries singing something to help boost Kodah's strength. * Chrissy sets him upright, and dusts him off. * Kodah kicks at the zombie hand peevishly. Varemi: "... You are a heavy person, Kodah. Good thing Chrissy is strong." Yuuwaku: "Be careful. I think that one has a grudge against you." Kodah: "I guess." -_-; Chrissy: "Hey... don't let what that Ares says fool you, alright?" Yuuwaku: "I don't think it would." Yuuwaku: "He saw through the illusion." * Sephina waits to see someone make a decision. Kodah: "Can I declare today over? I'm done with it" --One of the zombies, conveniently, was carrying a sack of silver coins... Perhaps it belonged to the zombie before it was killed?-- * Marcus picks up the sack. 1000 S found. Kodah: "I just want to go someplace safe and hide for a while." * Yuuwaku nods. Sephina: "I can offer that." * Ambush 6000 makes a strange *kching* noise for no real reason. Yuuwaku: "And... and... I..." * Yuuwaku looks at the zombie ichor on his body. Yuuwaku: "I'd like to take another bath." ;_; * Selene nods in agreement with Sephina. Chrissy: "Well Kodah, this is your lucky day. We've got a comfy cave, with all the trimmings..." ;) Selene: "I think we'll all need to bathe after this..." * Selene feels dirty. Kodah: "Huzzah." ^^; * Sephina nods, dusts herself off. She kind of buried herself in some rubble. ^^; * Yuuwaku continues to assist Kodah in any way he can. * Kodah gets his legs back under him, and he hobbles off with the assistance of his staff and those around him. * Selene lemmings. :P * Sephina eventually starts walking to her cave, figuring people can follow and know the way. * Jan realizes that yes he could use a cleaning after all that, but it took a while for that to sink in. --Soon you arrive at the cave's secret entrance.-- * Varemi is trying to support Kodah with everyone else. it is very useless. --The door opens upon Sephina's command.-- * Yuuwaku is feeling quite glad he and Sephina talked to Kodah before this. ^^; * Sephina goes down the steps, annoyed at Teal again. * Samantha heads downstairs as well. ^^; * Kodah lemmings, feeling quite fried. * Jan follows Samantha. * Ambush 6000 slowly rolls down the stairs. Sephina: . o O (... Silly shoujo stairs... ) * Marcus follows. * Chrissy walks along with Kodah, running a few checks on Dante's memory, encoding this confrontation quite heavily for security reasons. You never can be too careful... ===SESSION END===