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Post by Vitsheep on Jan 27, 2018 1:16:00 GMT -5
Dewey
Fox, no longer thinking, slices into the injured stalker quick as lightning. You follow him up with a bolt of actual lightning, and the monster collapses. One of the two left spews a jet of flame at you and your robes catch fire. It's awful. You completely understand why Fox is panicking now. The other slaps Katie again. She grabs it by the tail and slams it into the ground. Somnis reappears in midair, dropping on the thing while it's stunned and slitting the back of its throat. The last stalker starts skittering away in a panic - attracting more of the ones that had been hammering ineffectively at the crystal hourglass. A bolt of lightning strikes the retreating stalker, and it explodes. The rest disappear under the surface of the lava lake.
~Angel of Mercy: Shadowy Cascade~
The other stalkers scatter as a feminine, angelic figure descends from on top of the hourglass. One of her six wings covers her face as she alights among the party.
Dewey notices his wounds aren't healing like they did before. His robes are still burning, as is Fox's outfit. The more visible injuries on Katie's arms are also showing know signs of recovering. And it didn't seem to protect him as well during that fight. Dewey's able to form a hypothesis - his key does seem to have a limit. Maybe it can't protect him from the heat and handle healing or the stress of combat. That would certainly make exploring this area difficult.
The angel flaps a wing and unleashes a gentle, refreshing gust of wind that extinguishes the flames and soothes Dewey's injuries. "The Otherworld Exploration Team? And Karl nowhere to be seen. How odd. Perhaps I was wrong to entrust him with this task. Though he has certainly proven useful for flushing out my enemies. Why, he's revealed another just tonight." The angel seems to be talking to herself more than you.
Fox and Katie are letting their guard down, but Somnis is frozen in a combat stance.
The angel shifts, now clearly addressing you. "Hello, Dewey. Fox. Katie. And you must be Somnis. It is a pleasure to meet you all." She gives a formal bow. "I am Mercia, one of the otherworld guardians."
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Post by mrfuzz111 on Jan 27, 2018 1:27:54 GMT -5
As a Caster Dewey's combat stance isn't really that different save for keeping his book ready, so he stays like that.
"What task are you talking about?"
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Post by Vitsheep on Jan 27, 2018 1:48:02 GMT -5
Dewey
"Oh, we heard him talking about it!" Katie exclaims. "Defeating the dragon, right?"
"She doesn't look very dangerous..." Fox mutters. "She's tied up and in that hourglass thing. I feel kind of bad for her, actually. Why would anyone want to kill her?"
The human-dragon is spewing a constant jet of flame towards Mercia's back. It's bouncing off the hourglass harmlessly.
"I don't want to kill this dragon. I want to kill that dragon and takes its soul, for the sake of us all." Mercia points to the edge of the cliff far above. The outline of a massive black dragon is visible through the shimmering heat haze. "To that end... I will kill this dragon if I must."
"How would that help...?" Katie asks. "I know I'm not very smart, but this doesn't make sense to me!"
"Motivation. I am perfectly willing to trade her life for the Fire Soul."
"That's... horrible!" Fox says. "You're a monster..."
"Yes. I am. As is Laura."
The human-dragon's flames intensify in protest. Dewey thinks he's probably heard that name somewhere? But Fox, Katie, and Somnis all clearly have, based on their reactions. You can only surmise that hostage is, like Laura, a transformed student.
"So? Will you accept my offer? You're free to bring as much help as you can fine. I'll even teach you how to deal with the heat in this area as a bonus. I rely on your success after all."
She extends her hand, looking among everyone in turn.
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Magma Scar
Jan 27, 2018 11:49:46 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by mrfuzz111 on Jan 27, 2018 11:49:46 GMT -5
Dewey thinks for a moment, remembering back to what Somnis said about Guardians all having a special kind of soul.
"Hang on, what do you need its soul for? If you're a guardian then shouldn't you already have a similar kind of soul?"
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Post by Vitsheep on Jan 27, 2018 12:18:07 GMT -5
Dewey
"Yes. I have several, in fact. Donated by other guardians who wish to prevent the world's destruction. But some are being more... stubborn, and I need to collect all 13 to avert disaster."
"Prevent the- yeah, right! I trust you as far as I can throw you!" Somnis spits. "You tried to kill Lamia!"
"Oh, yes, yes, yes, right. No sacrifice is to great. And thank you for reminding me, Somnis. You can go ahead and bring your friend 'Tia' along. It was clever, disguising a guardian as a human and hiding her in the human world. I even quite like the name you chose!"
"How did you..."
"I overheard your little friend Kiran." Mercia turns away from Somnis and back towards everyone. "You know, you really should be more careful about where you talk about sensitive things. You never know who might be watching..."
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Magma Scar
Jan 27, 2018 14:18:59 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by mrfuzz111 on Jan 27, 2018 14:18:59 GMT -5
"And why would there be any other guardians who refuse to help you? If all you're trying to do is prevent a disaster that would affect them as well then I can't think of any reason for the other guardians to reject your request, at least unless there's something you aren't telling us."
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Post by Vitsheep on Jan 27, 2018 14:38:41 GMT -5
Dewey
Mercia shrugs off your suspicions. "A fair question. Various reasons. Some don't believe me. Others, like Dragon, wouldn't part with their souls even in the face of the apocalypse. Others, I haven't been able to speak with yet. Nova, for example, is so territorial that it won't even speak with me."
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Magma Scar
Jan 27, 2018 16:43:04 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by mrfuzz111 on Jan 27, 2018 16:43:04 GMT -5
"And rather than try to prove to them that you're telling the truth or find a way to work together with those who won't willingly hand over their souls, or even simply deal with them yourself, instead you thought you'd take a hostage in order to force children to fight your battles for you."
Dewey glances over at the rest of the group in the hope they'll contribute something to the conversation.
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Magma Scar
Jan 27, 2018 18:19:48 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by Vitsheep on Jan 27, 2018 18:19:48 GMT -5
"Yes, exactly. Firstly, I have no proof other than the guidance of the stars. My power of prophecy."
"You... You're doing all this because of a prophecy?" Katie demands. "I can't believe y-"
Mercia raises her hand. "I don't care what you believe. My faith is absolute. Secondly, I dealt with one - the original Soul guardian - but I'm unable to deal with the rest."
"The beasts, right?" Somnis asks. "When you killed Lamia's mother, Asterius woke up and stopped you from claiming the soul. And Ifrit, Golem... All of them!"
"Yes, yes. A guardian is unable to strike down a beast."
"And those stupid Gorgons couldn't, either," Somnis taunts.
"They could not," M ercia admits. "But I must still try. No price is too great, no plan too unlikely."
"But why children!?" Fox asks. He looks at Dewey.
"True children, they lack the strength of soul to power a soul key. Adults have difficulty forging bonds with a soul key. For all your emotional turmoil, you're all the perfect age. ...I tire of this. Choose to claim the soul, or not. If need be, I'll find another plan. I do not expect you to act on blind faith alone, I shall grant you several boons to aid you."
Mercia plucks a shining-white feather from one of her wings. She begins scribbling in a tome. Dewey's tome. How did she get that...!?
"Your soul keys can convert raw materials into new armor or weapons. Somnis can guide you through the specifics. If you forge armor made with materials from this monster, it should reduce the stress on your soul key sufficiently... To find it, go to the beach and use the portal closest to the water."
Mercia produces a few materials, slides them between the pages, and snaps the time shut. She flicks her wrist and it levitates back into Dewey's hands.
Dewey obtained Leathery Wing x3!
An entry was added to the bestiary.
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Magma Scar
Jan 28, 2018 14:18:00 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by Vitsheep on Jan 28, 2018 14:18:00 GMT -5
Dewey
No one seems to have anything to say, so you all retreat. Outside, Somnis tells you to meet at the beach tomorrow around midnight, then you go your separate ways.
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Post by Vitsheep on Apr 4, 2018 17:41:56 GMT -5
Levi, Morgan
You head to the Fire Station, wait until the portals appear, and head inside. This is your first trip to the Magma Scar, and you're surprised by the intense heat. Your Soul Keys trigger on their own, as if they're trying to protect you.
You're in the bottom of a giant canyon. Far off in the distance you can see a giant dragon asleep at the top. The bottom, where you are, is mostly filled by a huge lake of lava. You can see a cave in the side of the canyon, and several more in the walls, as well as stone bridges over the lava lake.
A large, hourglass-shaped crystal is sitting in the lake. A young humanoid, female dragon is sitting in the bottom, dozing in a slowly rising puddle of lava. A half-dozen salamander-esque monsters are striking at the outside of the crystal, but they seem to be doing no damage.
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Post by Just14 on Apr 4, 2018 18:25:45 GMT -5
"Morgan, hold on tight, okay?" Levi will hold Morgan and spread his wings. Fly up to the top of the canyon. "Make sure you stay calm. As long as we don't panic, monsters shouldn't attack us."
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2018 18:35:35 GMT -5
Morgan
Okay then lead the way
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Post by Vitsheep on Apr 4, 2018 18:56:29 GMT -5
OK... Well... My job isn't to be the voice of reason, but are you sure you want Levi's first attempt at carrying someone to be done over a lava lake?
I'd also veto this for the sake of 'you can't just solve all the problems by flying over them' but honestly this is one of the few dungeons that don't have an obvious reason you can't.
But I am going to say that proper, combat-level flight is going to require a skill or high-end armor.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2018 19:06:15 GMT -5
At this point I support Kitty's plan 100%. If Morgan drops into the lake of lava then ehh it was meant to happen and Levi can live with the consequences that his plan got Morgan killed.
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