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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Mar 4, 2023 21:18:21 GMT -5
It isn't often that Count Thadda sends a messenger to Astrid's mansion on the outskirts of Sky Peak Village, and it certainly isn't often that the reason behind the message is urgent. As it turns out, the situation is indeed quite urgent. Count Thadda's message described the issue as "a spiky orb made of outer space wreaking havoc outside the village." While that sounds odd, it also doesn't entirely out of the realm of possibility. If Astrid had to describe what it reminds her of, well, she would say that it sounds like some remnant of Ziev's energy. But that can't possibly be it, can it? Turns out, that description is pretty accurate. Somewhere out in the Dragon's Spine, plants exist in all states. Some plants have wilted, and other plants are in the midst of their first sprout. Something else strange is afoot: many rocks, shrubs, and otherwise seem to have been lifted from their resting places and thrown all about the area. It's an odd scene to come across for Astrid and Veliky, and Astrid observes the area with a furrowed brow and fists on her hips. When the message was delivered, it just so happened that Veliky was at Astrid's house (for reasons unspoken, though Astrid has her suspicions that it probably has something to do with her and Kamille's interference on a specific luncheon in Sol City). Since Astrid has a habit of getting into trouble and usually takes a partner with her on adventures, Veliky ended up being the perfect (and only) candidate. So the two of them set out, and a scene confused in time is what they've come across. "Well," Astrid finally says. "This is weird, ain't it?"
Pets: Spicy Pawsage (dreadsnout reflavored as hell hound) Charles (scarecrow squire) Quest Name: The Cost of Our Sins Participants: Two or more Location: Anywhere Post Requirements: 8 post per person, 250 words per post Reward: +1 Mystical Archive Ticket, +1 (Light or Dark) Catalyst Description: It seems whatever happened in the Arid Mesa between Scern and those heroes has indeed angered Ziev, for his very own minions have begun to turn on Charon. Origin Matter, strange cosmic like creatures, have begun to change their form, transforming from a small docile orb into a spiky, volatile mass of rage. While rare these things are extremely dangerous, able to take on some of Charon's strongest warriors. One has recently been reported in the wild, and while it has yet to harm anyone, it is lashing out and destroying the wilderness in its path. We need a competent team to go in, combat the creature and capture it if able. Scholars in Sol City would like to study them in an attempt to understand the cause of their shift. Special Requirements: At least one member of the group (PC only, no NPC's) must be knocked unconscious during this fight.)
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Post by Veliky on Mar 4, 2023 21:37:45 GMT -5
"...You could say that." Veliky says, stepping forward, each action taken with that chilling briskness that's so characteristic of her. "But if you take into consideration that we're looking for something that's supposed to be made out of time and space? No, this doesn't look weird at all."
She looks back and gestures forward with her head. "Check the area." And that simple command is the spark that creates a thunder of clanking feet, as several Blixtbots™ march into the crater with weapons raised and eyes scanning. As efficient as the military unit they are, they leave no stone unturned. But what are they looking for? Well, it's difficult to tell, even for themselves; when you're tracking a beast that apparently has no legs, seemingly doesn't eat and probably doesn't shit, what exactly do you look for in order to track it?
But still, Veliky watches over them, her skeleton crew. While she isn't sure what they're looking for, she has some confidence that, when they *do* find it, they'll know. She just hopes that'll happen quickly.
She lets in a deep breath. The smell is a strange mix of hearty oak and dry rot. It won't come as any surprise to her, this time; she knows that this is going to be a long day.
"Remember, always let the bots go first." Though she doesn't look to Astrid, the foundling (and her newest employee) is the only one within her moderate tone's breadth. "And don't step anywhere they haven't stepped; we don't know how this thing's affected the landscape. And make sure you're clear when you're talking to them, or they'll just get confused. And please - please - do what I say, alright? This is an advanced operation, and it'll take complete tactical cohesion in order to get it done."
There's a thinly veiled frustration in her voice. Indeed, she was opposed to the idea of Astrid coming on this venture, at first. And, indeed, she still is. She simply doesn't know what they're facing. She doesn't know what danger it might pose...
Hopefully, the bots will find out before Astrid does.
Bringing Minions Knight-04 (Warlord) Rook-13 (Warlord) Tropos-02 (Sky Domain Apprentice)
Bringing Pets BF-03 (The Goodest Boy) {Sleight Bells} Lag Switch-07 (Ashlands Jackal) Silent Night-01 (Snow Owl)
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Mar 4, 2023 21:59:08 GMT -5
Astrid looks around at the weird destruction (or unconstruction, rather) of the area. “Yeah, I s’pose yer right about that,” she says with a slightly exasperated breath. “Wouldn’t be the weirdest thin’ I’ve seen if I’m bein’ rightly honest.”
With the bot scouting the area, Astrid moves forward and squats down to observe some of the things that happened. Based on the direction in which everything was flung, she can figure out which direction the… creature… headed, or at least she can figure out the general path that it took.
But that’s difficult to do with Veliky in her ear constantly giving directions about where to step, how to speak, and to listen to her every direction. After a few minutes of Veliky's fussing, frustration builds within Astrid, and she stands upright and turns to Veliky. “Yer soundin’ a bit like Cantio, ya know that?” she says.
Sure, Astrid is a child, but she doesn’t need to be chided as if she doesn’t know what she’s doing. After dozens of adventures and harrowing experiences, Astrid knows how to be careful enough, but mostly she knows how to defend herself and get out of trouble when trouble finds her. In her defense, she hasn’t died yet.
Then a sly smile spreads across Astrid’s face. “I knew ya cared. And it ain’t just ‘cause I’m ‘an employee.’” There’s heavy emphasis on the bit about only being an employee. Without waiting for a rebuttal, Astrid turns on her heel and continues on. She figures it'll be easier for Veliky to figure out how she wants to respond to that if the girl isn't staring her down with a shit-eating grin.
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Post by Veliky on Mar 4, 2023 22:26:24 GMT -5
'Sounding like Cantio, huh?' she thinks as Astrid turns away.
"Well, I'm glad your father has been taking proper precautions the-"
She stops and goes stupefied as she realizes the full meaning of Astrid's latter jeer, before a scowl crosses her face and she scampers forth. Her steps are accelerated, almost comically so, in order to keep pace with the much-larger half-dwarf.
"It's only logical that I would want to give you extra guidance, given your usual MO." she retorts with a vexation that says a nerve was struck.
Astrid turns to look at her with a bit more confusion than she'd expected, but mercifully without that smug demeanour. "What's an MO?"
Some several yards in front of them, one of the Pawn units is on its knees, scrounging along the ground. It has several small vials, and appears to be taking samples for future study.
Veliky just rolls her eyes. Having to explain things after the jab is never quite so satisfying for anybody... "Method of Operation. What I'm saying is that your usual approach to situations like these warrants some additional-"
The sound that interrupts her is something that cannot be described in so few words. It's as loud as a banshee's cry, yet as fleeting as an angel's kiss. It's as visceral as a knife to the gut, yet as implausible as a flying pig. It's as sudden as a mugging, and as startling as the Pawn unit before them being suddenly crushed beneath a large stone that had, by all appearances, just fallen out of the sky - of course, it is precisely that startling because that is precisely what happens. The force of the impact sends little Veliky soaring through the air like a sack of potatoes flung by the world's strongest and also angriest farmer, but Astrid is so utterly unaffected that you'd think she were as immovable as the mountain itself[1].
Immediately, those other Blixtbots™ are on maximum alert. They raise their weapons high, scanning efficiently about for any sign of whatever caused such destruction. But, before they see it, they feel it - a bending in the air, a nausea like of drunkenness. Was the sun always moving that fast? Is such a thing possible?
With a grimace and a groan, Veliky pulls herself out of the pile of dust she was launched into. She, too, feels it deep within her stomach. Rime falls over her eye; all that flusteredness vanishes, replaced with cold-iron focus.
"It's here." she utters with grim acceptance, before pulling herself up and screaming "Defensive positions!"
1. Immovable Bastion (Astrid)
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Mar 4, 2023 22:58:26 GMT -5
Oh, Astrid’s face is so absolutely smug as she walks away from the quarterling. It’s even moreso when she hears the sentence cut short like a life with the blade of a knife. The little footfalls of Veliky as she objects in the most emotionless way possible brings a lot of satisfaction to Astrid, building up behind her smug smile.
That is until Veliky mentions her “usual MO.” This is a new term to Astrid. For all her experience in the field, her lack of proper schooling shows itself when she crosses unusual vocabulary. To be fair, Veliky’s vocabulary is plentifully bespeckled with uncommon words. Still, Astrid’s demeanor falls away like an avalanche, replaced only with a confused half-dwarf expression as she turns to look at Veliky for clarification.
Only for the quarterling’s explanation to be interrupted by an explosion of metal parts flung in all directions under the weight of a boulder crushing it from seemingly nowhere. The force blasts Astrid’s hair and cape back, leaving her with clenched eyes and a dusty face. She blinks away the surprise and looks around with confusion painting her face as the bots all jump into action.
“Uh… Auntie Velik-”
She doesn’t even realize what she’s said, and she probably won’t as she notices something strange just down the way. Well, Thadda’s description of a spiky ball of space itself is apt. Astrid decides she probably couldn't have described it any better. A piece of Ziev's magic is on the fritz.
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Post by Veliky on Mar 4, 2023 23:15:19 GMT -5
It is like the antithesis of nothing. It is a something of no precise texture or lustre, concentrated into the tiniest pinpoint of life (if it can even be described as 'alive) and surrounded by a membrane of that same luminous 'something.' It is an existence in its simplest form. It is as if a being were created from scratch; without any of the preconceptions of flesh, fibre, metal or stone; taught how to move and be... and then got really, really mad. Its epidermis of glimmering materia spikes and rises to points of impossible precision, like the spines on a hedgehog's back, before retracting and repeating the motion erratically. It is a ball of hatred, and its ire is indiscriminate.
Alas, any time processing is time not spent fighting, and fighting is precisely what must now be done. And so Veliky wastes no time; the moment she sees that great something crest the rim of the crater, resounding with noises that even the stone cannot comprehend, she reaches for the one friend that she can truly rely on in such situations[1].
Barrel forward, powder rammed and sights glinting in the being's light, she pulls the trigger and the pellet flies from a cloud of smoke! As it flies, the pellet glows with a holy light - a piercing, holy light[2]. But as it comes to the being; it does not pierce the membrane, but neither does it bounce off. It simply changes its course, diverting and orbiting about the cosmic entity... before being flung outward with impossible speed[3]!
Veliky raises her arms in fear that it might strike her. But, perhaps fortunately, it instead punches through the hull of the BF beside her. The mechanical hound emits a mechanical yowl, only to decrescendo as its eyes go dark.
"Dammit!" Veliky curses through gritted teeth, black powder still dusting her face as the being draws nearer. "Alright, projectiles don't do shit! Astrid, throw some magic at it!"
1. Musket 2. Angelic Light 3. Telekinesis (Origin Matter)
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Mar 5, 2023 0:03:03 GMT -5
Whoa, gods, what the heck was that?? Astrid nearly jumps out of her skin when the sound of a literal explosion goes off from Veliky’s position. Suddenly, BF gets taken down by the small glowing shard that rockets forth from whatever the heck is in Veliky’s hands. Well, that doesn’t make a lot of sense.
All is clear when Veliky declares that projectiles are useless against the thing, and it’s obvious that the cogs are turning behind Astrid’s eyes before she puts together that whatever that weapon is works like a really loud crossbow or something.
“Throw some magic at it!”
“On it!” Astrid shouts, holding her hand out and summoning forth her war hammer. Seemingly from nowhere, the massive, icy weapon manifests into her hand and crackles with electricity. What should seem to weigh a literal ton, she wields with ease. When Veliky says to throw magic at it, Astrid takes to literally throwing magic at it in the form of her magical, enchanted hammer. She reels back then lets it loose, sending it flying through the air with massive force. The weapon’s magic makes it pretty effective, and she wouldn’t exactly consider it a projectile.
At first, it seems like the hammer will strike the creature perfectly center. The hammer wobbles in space as if the creature tries to turn its course, but it’s unsuccessful. Suddenly, reality warps and splits asunder in front of the space blob, an abyss of stars and galaxies in the tear. The hammer flies through it with little more than the sound of a drop of water hitting a pond. Astrid looks shocked by what’s just happened, and her mouth falls agape. She holds up her hand and tries to summon the hammer back to her.
And back to her, it comes. Another rift in reality opens behind her, and her spinning war hammer flies through and strikes her hard in the back. Were she not so sturdy, she might fall over, and the force of the strike certainly threatens to drop her to her knees. Oh, that hurt, and she cries out in surprise, looking back to see her hammer plummet to the ground with a loud thud and toss up a dust cloud. What the?
Active effects: Immovable Bastion Cuirass - -1 hit prevention
Passives: War Hammer - (spellblade bond - returning, weightless, electrified), Pale Ice, Heavy Diplopia Armor - gives an afterimage, making it difficult to accurately strike the target Lightning Resistance Charged Particles/Extended Charge - lightning damage charges the enemy for 2 posts; if they take lightning damage again during this time, the damage is doubled and they become paralyzed for 2 posts (no physical attack/defense, but can cast spells) - this ends the charge Unstoppable bolt - Lightning abilities ignore resistance/immunity Storm Lord - physical touch causes moderate lightning damage and paralysis, preventing the affected from using a physical attack/defense for their next post. They can still cast spells.
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Post by Veliky on Mar 5, 2023 0:41:15 GMT -5
"Astrid, wait!"
Too late. The hammer's already left her hands, sent whirling through the air with enough force to remove a knight's helmet and head at once. But Veliky knows well enough now, that that force will only make things worse for them.
There's a fleeting moment where it seems she might be wrong, and the hammer continues on its course despite the clear influence upon it. But then Astrid's karma, strange in its method, returns to her with an awful CLANG upon the poor smith's cuirass.
Veliky winces. That wasn't *how* she thought it would happen, but it precisely *did* happen. She curses under her breath. She should probably give Astrid a crash-course on tactical terms in the future...
But, more importantly at present, Veliky looks at the two spacial apertures that the being seemingly carved out of will alone. She's never seen such a thing... But seeing the hammer fly into one, and out from the other at an identical angle, is enough for her to immediately understand. She has no word for such a thing, but 'rift' seems apt for now. Quickly, both rifts close, as if they were never there at all.
Her Blixtbots™ stand beside her. But, facing a creature of this nature, only one of her underlings - the Tropos - truly has any hope of harming it. Hands raised, it shoots bolt after bolt of lightning[1] at the creature, electrifying its and sending ripples across its membrane. The being flares in some form of anger... or maybe pain? Either way, it's having an effect, and that's good enough for her.
But then, another one of the rifts opens before the being as it hovers around the edge of the crater. It intercepts the lightning, which goes into the void without a fuss. Veliky knows what'll happen next.
"Everyone move!" she shouts, having already begun a sprint to the sidelines. And not even a second later, another rift opens just above them! With her meagre strides, it's only by a Rook's intervention that she's practically thrown out of the blast. The Knight, too, escapes; but the Tropos is not so lucky, as its pieces are strewn all across the battlefield.
As the Rook gently deposits a furious Veliky onto the ground, great stones begin to rise into the air. It's as if they're weightless, but the pebbles dripping like water tell of its magnitude. Like a storm on the horizon, a devastating attack is clear.
In its tactical mind, the Rook knows that this is the time to strike. It dashes forward, talons clanking on the ground as boulders rise around it. But the entity is still out of its reach - or is it? The Rook leaps upward, grazing one of the floating stones and then pushing off in a massive leap! It hops from stone to stone with impossible deftness[2], precision beyond human scale. And stone by stone, it ascends, until it leaps with unsheathed sword! Down, it swings its blade at the entity...
But it does not cut. As if it were falling into water, the bot passes through the entity's membrane. And inside the entity, it hovers, frozen in that downward descent even as the entity moves with it.
Veliky's eyes widen, but only for a fleeting moment before furrowing into a scowl. "Oh, you're just full of surprises, aren't you?"
1. Lightning Bolt (Tropos-02) 2. Cat's Grace (Rook-13)
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Mar 5, 2023 19:32:40 GMT -5
Great, so this thing has some kind teleporting magic, but it’s not the same as the way a Displacer Beast teleports. It opens some kind of rift in reality to move things from one place to another as they pass through. Okay, that’s new.
The impact from her hammer definitely is going to leave a bruise on Astrid’s back, but nevertheless, she picks it up and looks around at what’s going on. When Tropos fires off a lightning bolt, she hears Veliky shout and looks up only to look up in time to see the bolt strike the center of the group. Lightning explodes out from the strike zone, and again, Astrid clenches her eyes closed, mostly unfazed by the stray bolts that arc out from the center.
A lot of chaos has erupted very suddenly.
So throwing things, including weapons and spells, isn’t working, because this thing will just redirect it. Maybe a direct attack? Just as she gets ready to go after the orb, she watches Rook leap into the air, using the rising boulders as a means of getting up to it. After all that effort, it’s ineffective. GREAT.
“I’m starting not ta like this thin’,” Astrid says, hefting her hammer over her shoulder and studying the angry spiky space ball. Maybe it’s time to get up close and personal with magic then? It keeps redirecting it, so it must not like it, right? Lightning still arcing around the ground begins to gather around Astrid, starting to jump at her feet and running up her legs until she’s completely encompassed in the stuff. Her eyes glow bright blue with the power coursing through her veins.
Pulling her battle hammer from her belt, Astrid charges it with electricity, then she dashes forward in a blur. Reappearing midair near the origin matter, Astrid uses her momentum to slam both of her hammers into the creature, one right after the other. When her hammers collide, they pass through, but the magic on both of them strikes the creature. First, the battle hammer sinks into it, and the electricity transfers from it and tiny arcs emanate out from it along the surface, charging the creature. Then her war hammer follows up on the same swing. There’s a huge flash of blue light when the electrified war hammer strikes it, and electricity swarms the sphere.
If a ball of space could be paralyzed, it certainly is. Gravity tries to take Astrid back to the earth, but the heads of her hammers are caught inside of the creature, and she stubbornly holds on to both of them, trying to pull them free. Without something to get some leverage under her feet, Astrid just kind of…dangles there.
Active effects: Charged object (cast on battle hammer) Bullet dash
Passives: War Hammer - (spellblade bond - returning, weightless, electrified), Pale Ice, Heavy Battle hammer - ice rune, silvered, weapon tether Diplopia Armor - gives an afterimage, making it difficult to accurately strike the target Lightning Resistance Charged Particles/Extended Charge - lightning damage charges the enemy for 2 posts; if they take lightning damage again during this time, the damage is doubled and they become paralyzed for 2 posts (no physical attack/defense, but can cast spells) - this ends the charge Unstoppable bolt - Lightning abilities ignore resistance/immunity Storm Lord - physical touch causes moderate lightning damage and paralysis, preventing the affected from using a physical attack/defense for their next post. They can still cast spells.
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Post by Veliky on Mar 5, 2023 20:04:24 GMT -5
And please - please - do what I say, alright? This is an advanced operation, and it'll take complete tactical cohesion in order to get it done.
Veliky can't help but remember these words - her own words - as she sees Astrid zoom unto the great entity. The little warrior slams both hammers into the being; but, just as had occurred with Rook, her hammers only become suspended in the stasis of the enemy's own being. Veliky would be rubbing her own face in exasperation, but these straits are far too dire; instead, she's gritting her teeth and plotting her rebuttal.
"Silent Night, get up there and start us a storm! Give Astrid some support."
With an immediate chirp, the great owl unfurls its wings, metal feathers clinking, before taking to the sky in one swift ascent! It's a winged silhouette on the sky, diving and soaring. In its chest, metal plates separate to reveal its icy core, which builds power to unleash a great gust of frozen wind[1]! In its wake, hailstones begin to fall and; though the impact does little to the creature; the cold seems to unsettle it even more than Astrid's electricity already had.
Is it getting weaker? It's difficult to tell what is and isn't affecting it. But it's definitely becoming more erratic, more frantic with every 'wound' it takes. But the boulders around it begin to swirl in a vortex of stone and destruction, and some of them are flung directly toward Veliky's company!
Veliky raises a hand to her frozen pauldron. If she needs to, she's ready, standing against what would be assured destruction. But her minions are swifter to react; Knight leaps in front of her, and the great stone shatters against its shield[2]! Its steel shield buckles, and it's sent flying backward - with Veliky in tow, but the two are unharmed. And as more stones fall to the earth around them, Veliky scrambles to her feet.
"Come on, we need to find cover!" she shouts to her guardian before practically dragging it behind a pile of earthen debris.
1. Heavy Blizzard (Silent Night-01) 2. Kite Shield (2 strike preventions remaining)
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Mar 5, 2023 20:42:00 GMT -5
As Astrid struggles to keep a grip on her battle hammer, she feels herself slipping so starts to compensate with her unbreakable hold on the bonded war hammer. She pulls herself up a little bit to adjust and pull harder to try to free her hammer only for cold wind to start swirling around her. Ice and hail pelt Astrid from all sides, but the cold seems to be having an effect on the paralyzed(?) origin matter she’s hanging below.
The sphere’s spikes jut out of it erratically, and it moves about as if it’s suffering some kind of confusion. Boulders that it pulled into the air as weapons or defense suddenly fly about in all directions. One strikes Knight and sends the bot and Veliky both flying back from the impact.
“Veliky!!” Astrid shouts, her voice barely heard over the howling wind buffeting her. The rocks around her vibrate in space, and the lightning pulsing through her hammers continues to shock and damage the orb. It’s getting desperate, best she can tell.
A rock suddenly slams into her stomach, making her nearly lose her breath, but it’s just barely softened by the protective padding beneath her armor. More rocks are flung at Astrid, and she flails about, trying to dodge them. The abilities of her Diplopia Armor don’t have much effect on a creature made of spacetime! Rocks smash her greaves, her pauldrons, and her gauntlets until they start battering her body beneath the broken armor.
The onslaught of rocks combined with her weakened grip from the cold make this a dire situation for her. Astrid gathers up magic and casts a protective field of lightning that deflects two particularly large boulders away from her. This can’t go on! Her hand that came loose from her battle hammer reaches back to grab the Rime Mantle draped under her cloak and pulls it around her. Astrid activates its ability, hardening it like steel, and the stones that continue to pelt her crash into it, but at least they aren’t damaging her.
Active effects: Charged object (cast on battle hammer, continuing to damage the origin matter since part of the hammer isn't inside of it) Arcane Soul - unbreakable grip on war hammer Rime Mantle Greaves -1 hit prevention Spitfire Gauntlets -1 hit prevention Icicle Pauldrons -1 hit prevention Padding -1 hit prevention
Passives: War Hammer - (spellblade bond - returning, weightless, electrified), Pale Ice, Heavy Battle hammer - ice rune, silvered, weapon tether Diplopia Armor - gives an afterimage, making it difficult to accurately strike the target Lightning Resistance Charged Particles/Extended Charge - lightning damage charges the enemy for 2 posts; if they take lightning damage again during this time, the damage is doubled and they become paralyzed for 2 posts (no physical attack/defense, but can cast spells) - this ends the charge Unstoppable bolt - Lightning abilities ignore resistance/immunity Storm Lord - physical touch causes moderate lightning damage and paralysis, preventing the affected from using a physical attack/defense for their next post. They can still cast spells.
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Post by Veliky on Mar 5, 2023 21:29:44 GMT -5
Dust and shards of ice shower her and her guardian as they crouch beneath a jagged stone. It has given them refuge; but it won't last long, as even the earth below them has begun to rise and fall in the being's influence.
Veliky attempts to peek out from cover, but a shattering pebble dissuades her. "Kien!" a simple curse for a very complex situation.
Where's Astrid? Is she okay? Veliky can't see or hear her over the tempest... They can't wait long. They need to do something.
Veliky turns to Knight, who barriers the stone with its shield. "Knight, attention! On my mark, I need you to charge out of cover and run forward. I'll be right behind you; you'll be my cover."
It processes this information for a moment. Her order goes against several combat-safety protocol. It would refuse another, but it will not refuse her. It chirps in acknowledgement as the stone that protects them begins to crack.
With her order affirmed, Veliky reaches into her pocket and produces a small bottle of what appears to be absolutely nothing[1]. Unstopping it with fervour, she raises the bottom and chugs the absolutely nothing in one go! As she tosses the bottle aside, she can already feel it - that awful pressure...
"Mark!" she shouts, and the Knight immediately dashes from their hiding place! Veliky follows closely behind, practically clinging to its heel. In her stomach, she can feel it building, building as another stone dents the Knight's shield[2].
It's time.
"Knight, stand aside! Priority Gold!" she commands with authority. But in this regard, the bot is hesitant.
"Mistress Veliky, warning: stepping aside would put you in severe danger-"
"Priority Gold, Knight!" she screams, clutching her chest in pain.
Her will is unshakeable. Even the Knight knows to obey. It steps aside, exposing Veliky to the awful storm - but it is not the only storm that's brewing. As she feels the pain reach its peak, she raises her head... and lets out a burp to end all burps. It is a burp that swirls as the tempest; it is a burp with the force of a hurricane[3]. It sweeps through the area, buffeting the creature with wind. But, more importantly, it diverts and picks up those stones that'd been flying of the entity's will! All of its projectiles are sent swirling away with the tempest, out of the crater and into the distance!
Though Veliky has keeled from the power of her own emission, it's with a hint of triumph that she looks back up to the erratic entity.
"What now, maadpite?" It isn't like her to taunt. But in such a high-stakes game, against such a powerful foe? To disarm it brought her no slight satisfaction.
But her question has a grim answer.
All about the crater, sparks of violet lightning slither across the stone. Veliky's confidence fades. A purple glow surrounds them, and she turns around to run, knowing not what's coming! And then...
CRASH! A sound like a strike of thunder. But it is not a detonation, nor a blaze; nor a tempest, nor even pain. It is a sudden and impossible lightness, as if Veliky weighed nothing at all. The ground beneath her feet relinquishes her as she hovers into the air, and it's with great dismay that she sees Knight and even Silent Night have done the same!
"What the-?!" she exclaims, flailing limbs about and trying to find a grip on something - *anything*. But she's utterly helpless! Even her minions have been utterly incapacitated! It's such an absurd feeling; it'd almost be novel, if the straits were not so dire.
She can do nothing. She's been consigned to float on the air. Helplessness: one of her only true fears. Perhaps it's fortunate that she need not endure it for long; as, in a jarring moment, everything - her, Knight and Silent Night - are sent crashing into the ground with enough force to shatter every bone in their body. It's only with a knee-jerk reaction; activating the magic of her pauldrons and transforming into a statue of pure, invincible ice[4]; that Veliky is able to save herself while the constructs shatter into pieces.
But what now? She's frozen, completely unable to move. She may as well be a decoration. She can only watch and hope that Astrid can survive until she's free.
1. (Storm Chocolate) Blixt™ Air 2. Kite Shield (1 strike prevention remaining) 3. Call Tornado {Blixt™ Air} 4. Icicle Pauldrons
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The Tinkertons
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Dragon's Cradle
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Mar 5, 2023 21:54:23 GMT -5
The loud clanging of rocks against the steel-like fabric of Astrid’s mantle rings in her ears, making it difficult to perceive anything outside of her immediate vicinity. Still, it’s protecting her, thank Avasha, wherever the dead goddess is. Then the pelting stops, a pause in the moment, and Astrid peeks out only to hear an impressive belch from across the field.
Suddenly, a whirlwind manifests and whips gusts of winds across the mountaintop, throwing the rocks away from her and buffeting her in it. It takes all her remaining strength to hold on, and the ice and lightning in her hammer continue to pulse and damage the origin matter. Combined with the tornado ripping through the area, the spacetime orb is losing momentum.
Being freed from the hail of stones, Astrid feels confident in releasing the Rime Mantle from its defensive wrapping and hoping to get another attack out on the creature. Just as she reaches for her magic, thunder crashes in her ears, startling and disorienting her. She flinches in time to look down and see purple lightning crackling along the ground and through the air. Astrid feels gravity’s pull release her, and she starts to float up in the air, only held in place by her grip on her war hammer, unmoving in its entrapment inside the orb. She does everything she can to keep the tether attached to her battle hammer from getting stuck inside the orb too.
As she reaches the peak of her ascent, she looks over to see Veliky and her remaining bots floating too. They exchange a worried expression that lasts only a second. With a pulse of purple magic, everything that’s been lifted slams into the ground. Astrid’s iron grip on her hammer, magically enhanced, prevents her from falling, but the force pulls her arm from its socket, and she lets out a surprised yelp of pain. Her fingers fall limp, and she slips free from her war hammer, falling down but remaining suspended by the tether between her gauntlet and battle hammer. It’s not comfortable, but she didn’t hit the ground hard.
Unable to move her arm, she’s caught in a tricky situation. “Veliky??” she feebly calls, but looking around, all she sees is a block of ice in the distance. Astrid recognizes that, she has something that can do something similar. At least she knows Veliky is okay.
Active effects: Charged object (cast on battle hammer, continuing to damage the origin matter since part of the hammer isn't inside of it) Arcane Soul - unbreakable grip on war hammer Rime Mantle
Passives: War Hammer - (spellblade bond - returning, weightless, electrified), Pale Ice, Heavy Battle hammer - ice rune, silvered, weapon tether Diplopia Armor - gives an afterimage, making it difficult to accurately strike the target Lightning Resistance Charged Particles/Extended Charge - lightning damage charges the enemy for 2 posts; if they take lightning damage again during this time, the damage is doubled and they become paralyzed for 2 posts (no physical attack/defense, but can cast spells) - this ends the charge Unstoppable bolt - Lightning abilities ignore resistance/immunity Storm Lord - physical touch causes moderate lightning damage and paralysis, preventing the affected from using a physical attack/defense for their next post. They can still cast spells.
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Noble
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Half-Halfling, Half-Goblin
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Post by Veliky on Mar 5, 2023 22:21:10 GMT -5
It's a strange feeling, to be something that you aren't. To remember what it is to feel, and to move and struggle, and yet to have no such proclivities in the form you've chosen for yourself. She can see Astrid struggling, in pain; but here she is, trapped behind a barrier of ice, utterly incapable of helping. All she can do is hope.
'Fight, Astrid...' she silently urges. She wants so grievenly to stand, to rise and do something - anything - to save the poor little foundling. But her muscles won't obey. Her nerves are cut. She can do nothing. 'Fight...'
What will she do if Astrid doesn't survive? Can she simply find another person so talented and so driven? Perhaps... mathematically, it can happen again if it happened once. Perhaps she could take to Sol City, look through the youths there and simply hope that she can find anyone with that same prodigal gift? She'd never even considered hiring someone so young before she found Astrid on the peak of this awful mountain. She'd always relied on the 'cream of the crop' methodology, simply finding those with already the most acclaim and hiring them. But to think that such incredible talent could be fostered in such a way... Yes, perhaps she could. Perhaps she could begin a training program of sorts. She could create a hundred Astrids to replace her.
...
So then why does it feel so wrong? Why is everything in her heart telling her to break free, move forward and fight to save this little foundling? Why does the thought of *needing* to replace Astrid make her feel so... empty?
She doesn't know. It's a fact that she can't yet bring herself to accept. Will she? Will she ever? Perhaps, but today is not that day. But even still, it's working. She can feel it within her - that drive, that rage, pulsing through her and cracking her ice-shell! With every second of witnessing, the anger rises! 'Let me out!' she wordlessly cries, flinging herself to and fro and sending yet more cracks across her form.
Not today.
In a spectacle of shimmering ice, she breaks out of her icy self, crawling forward and rising to her feet as quickly as she can! She can still feel the cold upon her skin, but she pays it no mind as she rushes forward. "Astrid!"
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Mar 5, 2023 22:50:29 GMT -5
With the surge of gravity gone and an inability to move her right arm, Astrid decides she has to get the heck out of here. Rocks start lifting into the air again, and another firing of debris runs the risk of hurting her more. But Astrid needs her hammer to cast some of her spells. It’s her focus, it’s her partner, just as much as her friends are her partners on adventures!
This is the first time she’s gone out on a trip with Veliky since learning all this new-fangled magic! She can’t be useless! She can’t make Veliky question her capabilities and worry over her, even if she does tease the quarterling about the undefined characteristics of their relationship. She has to get free!
There’s still some feeling in the fingers of her limp arm, and her left arm is still functional if not caught in the tether. Astrid manages to wrap her fingers around the tether and gives it a solid tug with no success. Maybe if she tries to blink away? It gets her out of hanging here, and it gets her away from the creature so she can regroup with Veliky. Yes, that’s a good plan.
Her fur cloak on her shoulders shimmers with purple magic, and reality warbles around her, preparing for a teleport away. She attempts to move through reality, but instead, she’s launched forward with great force but doesn’t actually go anywhere. It’s a violent pull that leaves her swinging, and she shakes the disorienting feeling out of her eyes. Something with the origin matter is keeping this from happening. Either it’s because her hammer is stuck or it just has absolute control over the dominion of spacetime.
At least this time she was prepared for it and her grip on the tethered cord keeps her arm from being yanked out of its socket. There’s no time for her violent swinging to subside though before she feels a tug and notices she’s being slowly lifted up into the orb.
“No, no, no, that’s bad. No thanks. LET GO, YA STUPID SPACE BALL!” she desperately shouts. It isn’t long before her battle hammer is completely absorbed, and she’s being slurped up like a noodle. “Crap, crap, crap!” Astrid releases her grip on the tether, falling roughly back down, but her hand is freed, and she focuses on her war hammer. The weapon struggles against the pull of the origin matter’s gravity then it disappears completely and reappears in Astrid’s hand. She’s got one chance to get rid of this thing for good!
As she readies herself to unleash another wave of magic on the floating ball of spiky spacetime, there’s a pull on her hammer. “H-Huh?” With no way to fight the pull of the origin matter’s telekinesis, Astrid gets yanked straight up into the inky, starry abyss, a surprised shout cut short, leaving nothing more from her impact than a point from which bolts of lightning travel across the creature's surface.
Active effects: Displacer Cape - can cast blink at will
Passives: War Hammer - (spellblade bond - returning, weightless, electrified), Pale Ice, Heavy Battle hammer - ice rune, silvered, weapon tether Diplopia Armor - gives an afterimage, making it difficult to accurately strike the target Lightning Resistance Charged Particles/Extended Charge - lightning damage charges the enemy for 2 posts; if they take lightning damage again during this time, the damage is doubled and they become paralyzed for 2 posts (no physical attack/defense, but can cast spells) - this ends the charge Unstoppable bolt - Lightning abilities ignore resistance/immunity Storm Lord - physical touch causes moderate lightning damage and paralysis, preventing the affected from using a physical attack/defense for their next post. They can still cast spells.
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