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Post by Elvira, Wandering Cleric on Jan 20, 2024 8:08:25 GMT -5
They were so close! Just over a week ago, Elvira and Tatalia had uncovered the secret of the Magic Archive. All they had to do was enter, but tragedy had struck. Elvira had been hit with a spell that drove her into madness, forcing her to attack her lover. Now, they had to pay for a ship to take them out to the Luna Sea.
"I let my guard down... this is my fault," Elvira thought to herself. Much had happened since that fateful day. She met Rinntoki, she became even more conflicted in life, and she had done a ritual which had called upon a Celestial being. Making a pact with this being, she sought out truth. Of course, this came with its own set of consequences. She looked down to her hands and arms, her pale skin now featuring purple swirls all the way up her arms. It looked as if purple smoke trails had been trapped in her skin, swirling and dancing their way up her arms and onto her torso and neck. On top of this, her hair was now white with her natural dark gray streaked through in different parts.
Looking back up, she takes a deep breath of the sea-salted air. She did enjoy sailing, it reminded her of those times with her family when they would aid the sailors in whatever mission they were on for that month. The sea wasn't quite as calm as it could be, but she didn't mind. The steady rocking of the boat was actually quite soothing for her. Plus, the occasional spray from the bow of the boat crashing through the waves only energized her. The breeze from a storm up ahead blew her hair back, making her feel like she was a hero in some cheesy novel. She giggled at the thought. Tatalia would probably have laughed at that, too.
Tatalia. The goblin was downstairs, at least at the time Elvira had chosen to move to the bow and feel the breeze. Stars above, she loved that goblin, but she was very conflicted. It wasn't possible to love two people at once, was it? Even then, was it okay? These thoughts plagued her as she leaned against the railing. Today, she chose to wear light clothing due to the chance she might have to swim. That signature blouse with black leggings and boots, it had actually become one of her favorite outfits. Now, on the bow of a galleon, she probably looked like a pirate.
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Post by Tatalia on Jan 21, 2024 7:37:06 GMT -5
Meanwhile, Tatalia was facing a very different sort of conflict. She was battling her weak stomach.
The small scholar glared at the bulky pile of maps, scrolls, and tomes spread out messily on the table before her. Tatalia was doing her best to study them intimately so she could learn everything she could about her target. Really, she was! But the poor goblin was even greener than usual, and she had to remain seated on a tall stool with a big, rusty bucket set next to her just in case the urge to expel the contents of her stomach rose in her chest yet again.
The simple truth was that Tatalia suffered horribly from seasickness. She avoided the ocean like the plague normally, but the thieves she was after appeared to have made their lair in the Luna Sea itself. That, of course, was just about the rudest thing anyone could ever do to her.
Still, Tatalia pushed herself and her ill body to remain standing and awake. She focused on the texts in front of her, difficult as it was, and tried to summarize the information she'd gathered in her head.
The people they were chasing had left clues of their passing by the shoreline: a few tracks and spell components, the sort used in water breathing magic. Tatalia thus determined they must've come from the water itself, not from the shore. After doing some research into underwater caves and sunken ruins in the sea near the Zeinav Desert, Tatalia and Elvira hired a crew of sailors and started investigating each site one by one. They were on their way to the next one - some temple lost to time and the waves - and Tatalia had a good feeling about it. All the evidence she'd gathered so far suggested they were probably facing some sort of cult, and the next stop seemed, well... dramatically apropos?
They'll be there, Tatalia told herself.
Another spell of dizziness and nausea struck the goblin again. She groaned, then slipped off her stool and grabbed her bucket, walking carefully up the stairs leading to the deck of the ship. Tatalia simply couldn't read a single word more without vomiting.
With ginger steps, the seasick scholar trudged out of the relative safety of the hold and into the open sea air. She was immediately greeted by a gust of wind that almost knocked her off her feet. She swayed in place, then heaved out an irritated sigh and marched forward with her eyes half-closed, following the railing along the ship to go toward the familiar sound of Elvira breathing.1
Hey, Tatalia still had enhanced sensory abilities! And she was still good at using them! She just hated the ocean, that was all.
Moving a little more loudly than usual on account of her upset stomach, the explorer not-so-extraordinaire-while-at-sea stepped on up beside Elvira. She took a deep breath of the sea air, then slumped against her paramour's leg.
"I am sorry for being so absent, my light," the smaller woman murmured quietly, eyes fluttering open as she looked up at the elf. "I've been quite distracted with my... studies, and..."
Tatalia's words died on her lips. She stared up at the elf for a good, long time before speaking again.
"Oh, I must be awfully sick to be seeing things," Tatalia mused, cracking a little grin. She rubbed her eyes with a bleary expression, then paused just before she was going to say more. Then realization struck, and the adventurer stared dumbfounded at Elvira.
"Erm. Your hair isn't normally white, is it? Um... Did you get tattoos...? And- and are you posing heroically?"
The smirk that flitted to Tatalia's mouth as she asked that last question told Elvira that, yes, Tatalia was very amused. She probably would have laughed if she weren't so sick to her stomach!
1. Tracker Extraordinaire
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Post by Elvira, Wandering Cleric on Jan 22, 2024 4:12:29 GMT -5
Elvira laughed and struck a heroic pose for real this time. With her hands in fists on her hips, her chest puffed out, and her face playfully steeled, she held the pose for about three seconds before cracking up and looking back down to Tatalia. "No, love. I performed a ritual after our run in with... whatever this is we're about to face. A beautiful celestial being presented itself to me, my word it was... it was beyond imagination. It held its hand out to me and... well, I bonded with it. I'm now learning what I can do with it. It's been... well, it's been a journey to say the least."
With a soft smile, she looks down to the unusually green goblin. "I might ask the same of you, my love. Are you okay, love? Let's go find somewhere to sit, it should ease your ailment. Even if it's just the slightest, it's progress towards you feeling better, yeah? Come on, arasha." With this, she begins to walk over to a bench on the center of the ship motioning for Tatalia to follow. Her eyes looked slightly pained, however, and she felt a lot of guilt internally. In her mind, she was the reason Tatalia had to suffer on the seas. If she had just kept her head on a swivel, none of this would be happening, right?
A quick warmth filled her body, and she suddenly was calm again. It was as if something inside had cleansed her of the negative thought. The celestial, perhaps? "What are you doing in there," she thought to herself. Or... was it herself? "I will have to look into this later. Perhaps Tats can help? For now, she needs my help."
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Post by Tatalia on Jan 22, 2024 5:20:12 GMT -5
"A beautiful Celestial?" Tatalia retorted through her grogginess, a teasing smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth. "Why, Elvira! Do I need to be jealous? Were they more beautiful than me?"
To be fair, most things were probably prettier than a nauseous goblin that had to carry a vomit bucket around just in case she got especially queasy again, but that didn't stop Tatalia from trying to strike an indignant pose. Her teasing was cut short, however, for just a scant few seconds later she needed to employ her bucket and made an awful lot of noise doing so.
As Elvira urged the deathly looking adventurer to have a seat, Tatalia shook her head and raised a hand up.
"Nnnno! I- we can't wait," she murmured, pulling a map out of her jacket and waving it in the air. "We're already here."
That was a bold statement. The boat was in the middle of nowhere.
"According to my calculations, we've been traveling at a brisk enough pace in the right direction that we should be within a nautical mile or two of our destination," Tatalia mused, stumbling to the edge of the ship to peer down at the sea. The very act made her want to wretch, but she closed her eyes and focused her thoughts.
"Tell the captain to drop anchor," Tatalia mumbled, reaching into her sash. She held out two little black potions that shined with starlight, the same kind that allowed her to fly Elvira before. "We'll drink this. When we do, focus, uh-" Tatalia had to pause to clutch her stomach, but muscled through. "Focus on the power to breathe water, and repeat the words I do. We'll just... swim straight down. We should find what we're looking for."
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Post by Elvira, Wandering Cleric on Jan 24, 2024 5:13:05 GMT -5
Elvira looked sorrowfully at her lover. Watching the goblin struggle because of her mistakes was more painful than anything she had experienced beforehand. Well... most things. When Tatalia stood back up and stated confidently that they were within a nautical mile of their target, Elvira didn't second guess it. She didn't even look around for a sign, she just trusted Tatalia. Besides, this was the woman who had found the Archive using a few notes, and the vault underneath a forest in their first encounter. Oddly, however, the biggest reason she trusted Tatalia was because of the time they had fought. Tatalia could have struck her down at any point in Elvira's arcane madness, but she didn't. Instead, she went for nonlethal options and decided to hold her down. In Elvira's eyes, this woman deserved every bit of trust possible. She loved this goblin, she loved her to death.
The second that she was asked to inform the captain of their approach, she simply raised a fist in the air. Some shouted callouts ensued and the ship slowly crept to a stop. Elvira knelt next to Tatalia and looked her over before taking the blackened liquid. "I'm with you, arasha,1 lead the way."
As the two dove in to the crystal blue sea below, Elvira followed every single instruction given to her. "There will be no mistakes this time," she thought to herself. It wasn't long until strange structures began to appear. Spires covered in coral, pillars of marble worn down by the tides of thousands of years, even an ancient theater that was now teeming with underwater life. All of it look wondrous, but carried no sign of cultist activity. That was until they approached the largest building. This building, like the others, was worn down over the majority of its structure. The strange part, however, was that the tympanum and acroterion were still clean of coral. Moving through the massive barnacle-covered pillars, they approached a door that was cracked open. Elvira looked uneasy, but she still followed her lover nonetheless
Inside this door were two stone tentacles. Approaching them, Elvira stared with unease before eventually reaching out and touching the closest one. It began to fall, only to be caught by the other. This was quickly followed by a loud rumbling and a massive weight on the two. It felt as if gravity itself was multiplied.
Soon, however, they would find out this wasn't the case. Instead, the tentacles had activated some sort of mechanism that had sealed the door behind them and drained the room of water. As Elvira stood, she looked concerned. "Arasha, this is... This is unprecedented. Truthfully, I'm worried. I wish not for you to come to harm, especially since this is my fault. I... I love you too much. Maybe you can turn back and I'll deal with this? I just... I worry for you. It has pained me to see you sick, I'd much rather not see you wounded as well."
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Post by Tatalia on Jan 31, 2024 4:51:39 GMT -5
'A city long since lost to the tides' was how the old texts had described the place Tatalia and Elvira found themselves. It truly was a place of a strange, wild beauty, a reminder that the might of civilization was not immune to the turning of the hourglass, nor to the power of the wilderness. The sea could stake a claim over places that mortals must have once thought to be impenetrable if the great, ruined walls that surrounded the sunken city were any indication.
But the city as a whole was not the adventurers' target. No, that would be the ancient spire that defied the sea's reclamation. Tatalia wondered what sort of spells were laid upon the structure that it resisted the grasp of nature... or what sort of curses.
The pair entered the strange structure. When Elvira but grazed a stone tentacle with her fingers, the door closed shut behind them both. Darkness greeted them, as did silence only broken by the rhythmic dripping of water and distant rumbles. Thankfully, Tatalia had a good idea of where she was thanks to her night vision and her keen senses.1,2
"Elvira," Tatalia croaked, looking up at the much taller woman. She cracked a thin smile over at her. "You're adorable when you worry. I'll be fine after a while. I just... need my body to realize it's no longer rocking back and forth on a boat. I promise that I'll be fine."
Tatalia rubbed her forehead, then focused on the task at hand. The seasoned adventurer checked her various pouches, hidden gear, and every other facet of her equipment. Everything seemed to be in order.
"Besides," the goblin added, reaching out to take Elvira's hand and give it a quick squeeze, "couples are supposed to do things together, right? Well, I certainly can't think of a more romantic outing than diving headfirst into dangers unknown! Can you?"
It was a cheesy line, but when was Tatalia anything but? She grinned, released Elvira's hand, and then drew her enchanted sword from its sheath.
"I'll take the lead. Keep your bow ready," Tatalia urged Elvira gently. "If I yell 'Flash,' be sure to look away or cover your eyes."
Her instructions given, Tatalia began sneaking forward, staying in sight of Elvira while also doing her best to muffle the sounds of her footsteps. She was remarkably good at it, to be true.3 The goblin also kept an eye out for any traps... of which she spotted a couple on the way: two hidden dart traps loaded inside sculptures of screaming eel heads, both of which had ammunition laced with poison. Avoiding those was easy enough, though Tatalia worried they might cause problems on the way back out. But there wasn't time to disarm them properly.
Eventually, the two women found themselves standing in front of a cave entrance. It stretched out wide, but not so very far across. It was hard to see more details about the space without stepping forward, but there was a pool in the center of the room, deep and broad, with a few carved statues of robed men and women adorning the space around it. Tatalia frowned.
"This has to be some sort of trap," Tatalia mused quietly to Elvira. "Call it a hunch, but nobody builds statues like those without placing some sort of enchantment over them. As for the pool in the center, either there's something lurking down there or the water's supposed to rise on some sort of command or trigger. It's evil overlord stuff," she assured Elvira, nodding sagely before looking forward.
"I'll go in first. Be ready for anything."
1. Dark Vision; 2. Tracker Extraordinaire; 3. Silent Step
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Post by Elvira, Wandering Cleric on Feb 9, 2024 15:08:14 GMT -5
Elvira blushed at the cheesy line, but nodded and fired off a quick quip. "I suppose I can't think of anything more romantic than saving you from whatever you're about to cause. My bow, my blade, and my magic are all ready for whatever we're about to face."
As the two moved along, Elvira kept her hand on the small of the goblin woman's back. She couldn't see as well, but she could feel the movements of Tatalia's body so that she knew when to step over, around, or through an obstacle. Hearing her voice as they came to the cave entrance actually gave her a bit of a startle. "A bit wild of a trap, but I trust you. I'm ready."
As Tatalia stepped in... nothing seemed to happen. Elvira waited moment after moment with her arrow nocked and ready to draw, but still nothing seemed to happen. That was until the elf felt comfortable enough to step inside, where she was met with the loudest crash she had ever heard. BOOM!!! The sound startled the two women as they whipped around to find that they had been locked inside the place. A loud rumbling began to shake the room as the statues began to glow and move, revealing themselves to be Golems. Elvira immediately pulled Tatalia back as the four beasts continued to awaken. She leaned in and shouted over the rumbling of the stones scraping together as they began to move. "They shouldn't be too much! The stones are old, but this will be a tough fight! Please be safe!"
With her well-wishing done, she begins to glow with a holy energy. The brilliant light glows brighter and brighter until it was just barely below a blinding level. Suddenly, the light splits from her body and forms itself into an angelic being. She stands ready with the being. 1
1. Summon: Light Elemental - Post 0/3
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