ꙮ The bells, and the Sun’s light streaming through the windows, tell you that it’s morning again. Yazhn Ravhi, of all people, is up early, at the shelter and personally set out breakfast, vats of hot oatmeal and jams from the carts that trundle quickly through the city as the Sun rises, from shelter to shelter, making sure everyone starts their day off right.
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#full cast session
#chapter 5: mu
#qarina
#chaya
#got milk?
silently greets Rahvi as he enters, and makes sure Ĉasid isn’t getting into the oatmeal or the jams.
: “Hot oatmeal instead of cold cereal, in this weather…? … Although I guess there is a distinct lack of milk. Hm.”
steps out of his room at the scent of breakfast–and stops dead at the sight of Ravhi industriously setting out breakfast. He rubs his eyes like he’s trying to clear them. “Ravhi? Why are you serving us breakfast?”
: “Don’t even get me started about the milk.”
shakes his head, before getting a bowl and sitting down somewhere.
emerges from her rooms in layers of diaphanous fabric—soft pink, ochre, deep blues, burgundy. She stayed up maybe a little too late putting the outfit together, but she stops short when she sees Ravhi and her head turns, almost mechanically, toward Wolf.
glances up at Wolf, and the scales around his horns darken very slightly, and nonchalantly replies, “Providing shade and comfort to all those who live is the Work of all those who live.” And then he folds himself into a corner with a bowl of oatmeal and chopped dates.
: “Feel like there should be donuts though, or at the very least pastries…”
just chuckles and shakes his head–the look is very fond–and gets himself a bowl of oatmeal and…with a look at the group that dares them to say anything about it…sits down next to Ravhi.
does not say anything. Does not say a single word. She just fixes herself breakfast and plops down next to Awa. “What’s up with the milk?”
is dressed in the white, embroidered burnoose Salme provided him, and underneath is a long-sleeved, tan, linen tunic, with pants to match, and shin-covering leather brown boots. An even larger brown robe is placed over the back of his chair.
pours some oatmeal through their face-plate and goes back to applying yet another coat of wax to their shell, attempting to forestall any further degradation.
stumbles groggily out of his room, hood pulled firmly over his eyes, which goes great for him until he fails to see a chair that’s been set out, goes hurdling over it, and lands face-down and spread eagled. “Hm. Dignified.” He begrudgingly sits up on the floor, wincingly removes the hood, sees Ravhi, and throws it back on, ears burning. “… Thanks for breakfast.”
looks to Salme with a distant stare. “They don’t know where it comes from, Salme. They don’t know.” He mimes cupping two giant… spheres in front of his chest. “They have them but they don’t know.”
: “Well yeah, that makes sense, since people don’t give birth here. Weird that they kept them, I guess, but they are aesthetically pleasing?” She looks down at her own, and at the top that’s … fairly revealing, then shrugs.
: “Hope you aren’t into that, though, because that one is super off the table.”
: “Yes, it’s great! Wonderful! Magnificent!” while conspiciously staring and making grand hand gestures, as though presenting Salme’s top to the narrative.
: “Glad Ravhi doesn’t have enough context to realize how fucking weird you’re both being at the breakfast table.”
: “But I mean… there’s no cheese, either…”
gives Wolf a sidelong glance and a toothy slight-smile, and– for someone who can command a congregation by walking into the hall, he’s surprisingly good at making himself relatively unobtrusive.
grins back a little, and might be sitting so his shoulder is pressed up against Ravhi’s as he eats.
: “Also, I’m pretty sure anyone could tell how weird you’re all being.” It’s said very affectionately, though.
: “Well, Aury, the best way is to make sure he knows is that you announce that we’re being fucking weird to everyone.”
: “Mmhm.”
: “Besides. I think he only really has the attention span for one weirdo right now.”
is not, by any means whatsoever, having a normal morning or– week or– anything, really, so he truly has no room to talk. The oatmeal’s delicious, though. Eventually he does speak up loud enough to say, “I expect Qarina will be passing by shortly. I asked her to take you to the Rohsu barracks this morning while I lead dawnsongs.”
: “The weirdness spices up the place. You can’t milk a hippalectria, by the way.”
stares at Awa. “…how do you know?”
stares back at Wolf. “No nipples.”
: “…Anyway.”
finally pulls himself to standing and grabs a biiig plate of food, making sure to have a little of everything. There’s a familiar large tome you see him scribbling notes in as he delicately and carefully considers the first taste he has of each item, but when everything has been sampled and noted, the book gets neatly tucked away and he dives into the food with abandon.
: “Just smooth, like finely shaved ice.”
shudders a little bit at the thought of milking fiends.
utterly deadpans for Wolf’s ears: “(He’s right.)”
nearly gets a whole mouthful of oatmeal up his nose because of that and ends up in a spluttering coughing fit.
: “Have you just been examining things, trying to see if you can milk them?” She says it without judgment, like she sort of expects the answer to be yes.
: “Since I learned The Truth That Can’t Be Milked? Yeah.”
notices Wolf splutter, and then raises her voice loud enough to ask, “Do Kin have nipples, Yazhn Ravhi? Can they be milked?”
looks to Ravhi with curious intent.
sighs, loudly.
was not spluttering, but he comes precariously close to it now. With the same grave deadpan, he replies, “No, we do not.”
recovers himself just enough to shoot a ‘I will get you for that’ look at Salme.
recognizes the look of someone working very hard to maintain their eidesis when he sees it.
smiles beatifically and snaps her teeth at Wolf. ‘Try it.’
waves a hand. “Another datapoint for the plane.” He turns his attention to the honeyed oatmeal and jam spread on figs.
snorts, and turns himself back to his oatmeal with as much dignity as one can manage, eating oatmeal. But not before saying: “Turnabout is fair play, sister.” And smiles big, with fangs.
ꙮ There’s a knock at the door.
smiles even more widely, and says, “I look forward to it.” She doesn’t seem scared. She seems, if anything, genuinely excited for whatever Wolf might have planned.
hops up and immediately opens the door.
: “Good morning, Salme!” Qarina walks in, oversized hammer in tow. (“The hell were you all just talking about?”) “Everyone sleep well?” she smiles at the group, trying to forget what she just overheard.
whispers, to Qarina, “(Yazhn Ravhi’s lack of nipples),” because she was asked, and she believes in sharing information.
(“I guess I should have said WHY, not WHAT but really nevermind. Don’t actually want to know”)
: “Wonderful! The blackout curtain technology on Mu is truly powerful.”
glances up from where he’s just finished his oatmeal, amiably. He does look like he’s more well-rested than you’ve seen him in Literally Ever. “Ahh, Qarina, shade and comfort. Can I leave our friends in your care for the morning, then?”
shrugs and gives Qarina a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.
: “Shade and comfort, Teacher.” She pauses a moment. “As long as we’re still heading to the Red Column, then absolutely.”
: “Shade and comfort indeed, Yazhn Ravhi. Thank you for the food and your company this morning. And yes, that’s my understanding! I would be very interested in learning from the Rohsu.”
: “That’d be my suggestion, yes. And Rohsu Ziqhe wished to meet them, anyways.” And then he does, more slowly than is strictly necessary, entangle himself from the corner and get up to his feet, and turns, and in front of the God and all assembled slow-blinks at Wolf with his Actual Eyelids before bowing gracefully to all six of you. “Then I will leave you to it, I’ve dawnsong to attend to. Shade and comfort, travelers.”
stares a minute.
: “Shade ‘n comfort!” He carefully waves farewell with a glass of water.
flushes a bit, and smiles, and gives a cocky little two-finger salute to Ravhi.
nods. “Shade and comfort.”
waves with his spoon, before standing up to dispose of the dishes.
: “Thank you for joining us.”
ꙮ And Ravhi leaves, with another look backwards as he’s getting himself properly-accounted-for to travel outside in the Sun’s light. He’s probably going to be a few minutes late. It’s fine.
begins hastily donning more clothes than they’ve ever owned in their life. After a couple of moments, they look more like Ember’s pile of leathers than a seven foot tall Endjinn. Boots, gloves, pants, a tunic, then the cloak Salme made for them, now with a newly added on face wrap.
: “Well, you’re ready to go outside.”
ꙮ Dishes get taken care of, and everyone gets bundled up against the light, you’re all starting to get fairly adept at it, by this point.
ꙮ The Rohsu Barracks are a bit of a hike, they’re not incredibly far from the Temple but they’re definitely on the other side of it from where you are, so it’ll be good to take proper precautions.
gently nudes Aurelius with his parasol. “Thank you for this, by the way. Even with the cloak, it’s still very helpful.”
dons a now-brown robe before setting out into the sun, followed by a very, very long red scarf wrapped around his neck and lower face, with a tail long enough that it might almost hit the ground if it wasn’t so weirdly good at catching the wind. His also now wearing a comically large sombrero, with small light blue beads danging on string dangling from it.
: “You’re quite welcome.”
stands up to get ready, and as she dons her cloak, now dyed a delicate ochre, you can see her full outfit—loose pants gathered at the ankle in a diaphanous, transparent fabric of soft pink, with a wrap skirt cut high on one hip in many layers—frilled, transparent ochre; dark, solid burgundy; one in an intricate geometric pattern of burgundy, ochre, and deep blue. A belt of a thick blue fabric is wrapped tightly around her waist multiple times, with a thick, rope-like chain of gold securing it. Her top is the same transparent pink fabric that, conveniently, gets opaque enough in the right places for decency. There’s one strip of fabric that goes over each breast, gathered on another thick chain that rests slightly below her clavicle. Long sleeves, gathered at the wrist, are also attached to that chain.
throws on a pair over oversized sunglasses with reflective lenses, pink shading into an almost golden-yellow, as she heads out into the sun herself.
simply throws on the burnoose Salme embroidered for him, pulling the hood over his head to shadow his face–generally speaking, he’s usually fairly covered in any case.
shoulders his brown cloak and raises the hood. Dark goggles on. He snaps a finger to form a curved disc of tenebrous gnosis above him, to fight the unending sun.
: “Oh that’s a cool trick.”
pulls her hood up, “Alright, well, you’ll all be the best dressed guests the Rohsu get in their lifetime. Ready to go learn some Rohsu Rite-stuff?”
: “Ayup.”
: “Absolutely! The elementals won’t catch us flat-footed again.”
: “Mmhm.” She fastens a veil in the same transparent pink, over her lower face, and pulls on a pair of gloves.
grins, “Oh I bet they won’t. Come on, it’s a bit of a hike.” Qarina starts out the door and leads the esteemed travelers through The City, towards the Red Column.
ꙮ The Barracks, once you get there, are three large white stone buildings sheltering a central training yard paved with the same white stone; nothing ornamented, at all, except for a row of blood-red slightly shiny stone as decoration running in a line around the first floor of the buildings. In the middle of the training yard is a tall red column made out of the same stone, and embedded in the middle of the column is a frozen explosion of light blue-green crystal that looks almost like it’s bursting or growing out of the column itself. There’s a pack of Rohsu training with quarterstaves in the yard proper - some of them sparring against each other in Rite circles carved into the stone, some of them doing kata - and one particular Rohsu, enormously sturdy-looking and wearing shining golden armour in the middle of the hot sun that covers almost every inch of his imposing body, salutes Qarina as she approaches with the rest of you. “Good hunting, ma’am. These the travelers?”
nods, still grinning. She’s excited to see what they can do. “Good hunting to you. They sure are!”
ꙮ He turns to the six of you then, and salutes you, too. “Rohsu Ziqhe. It’s an honor to meet you.”
gives his hand-over-fist-over-heart bow. “Shade and comfort, Rohsu Ziqhe.” He gets it right the first time, too.
brings two backwards fingers to the brim of his hat in return salute.
: “I’m the Awoken Prince. Pleased to meet ya’, comrade!” He looks up at just the right angle so his goggles do a little glint with the right timing.
makes a small bow. “Luĉja. An honor as well.” Not an inch of gold to be seen under the layers of cloth, and they’re baffled how the Rohsu is standing it.
: “Hello. I’m Salme. Nice to meet you.” She waves.
returns the salute, momentarily knocking his hood off in the process. “I’m Archie. Thank you for taking the time to instruct us today.”
ꙮ His armor is, like… absolutely shimmering with gnosis, you don’t need Archie’s lenses to sense it, and if you get close enough to him to notice it’s actually cold. If there were any moisture in the air at all at all, it’d probably be covered in condensation. “Heard you’d like to try your hand at Ritebinding those God-forsaken things. Curious if it’ll work.” And he doesn’t waste any time - he starts walking towards the Red Column, and slaps the stone almost amiably. “Hail the dawn, Sorrowsclaw. I have some new friends for you.” He turns.
: “I figure it’s nothing we can’t learn with a good try or three.”
seems slightly amused at hearing something described as God-forsaken.
ꙮ ”Elementals,” -and he looks at the Red Column, at the crystal embedded in it- “Are wounds in the world. Living lies. The embodiment of nothingness. More than anything, so far as the Yazhn tell me, they just want nothing to matter, at all. The heart of the trick to trapping them in a Rite so you can get at ‘em is to make ‘em matter. Give ‘em a name that they’ve never been given before, a name that matters to you. And lucky enough for all of us, we’ve got one right here who decided to throw in its chips with us. Didn’t you, little freak?” And he pats the column, again. “Walk close to it. Think about how bad you wanna stop those things before they stop you, find a name in you to call ‘em. Or try and fail, and we’ll make sure you’ve got an honor guard any time you’re out the walls.” He laughs, loudly.
glances at the Rohsu as he explains, before looking up at the crystal burst in the pillar.
: “Are there… strict definitions, on what is a Name?” he asks, while slowly turning to look at Salme and Aury.
walks up to the pillar, with his fingertip faintly pulsing pulse energy as he placed it upon the pillar. “It’s never a bad time to kill the Name-Eater again.”
ꙮ ”They’re all ‘Sorrowsclaw’ to me. Fair number of us named ‘em things that don’t bear repeating to strangers, if you understand me. Whatever feels right and sparks a Rite.”
takes a seat and watches. Especially watches Salme and Wolf.
ꙮ There’s a very playful, curious sense of amiable malice, radiating from the crystal. It likes to watch this part, you think.
looks up at the pillar, his face equally stony. Walks close. “I shall cast out fear…Heart-Wound.“
ꙮ Little ripples in the air, the suggestion of a Rite building and dispersing, stakeless, when a name takes, silently or aloud.
tilts her head at the column. “So there’s an Elemental in this column, and it’s allied with you? They don’t want things to matter, but this one … does?” She doesn’t walk close to the pillar, because she wants to understand it more than she wants to fight it at this particular moment.
: “Rare for there to be one-hundred percent unity within a group.” He looks up and to the side, considering something, but wordlessly discards it.
ꙮ He shrugs. “Yazhn that convinced it’s been crystal longer than I can imagine, I’m a Rohsu, not a Zvahr. Don’t know why this one threw in with us. Never asked for rations, at any rate.”
walks up to the column, and stares through the thin gap in their headwrap. “Neajo.” Gnosis-boundaries flare up, radiant and burning.
removes her sunglasses and takes out the Mask, slipping it over her face instead.
ꙮ Rohsu Ziqhe says, “Well, I’ll be sandblasted.”
observes, quiet and contemplative, mulling over the Rohsu’s words. His eyes wander over the crystal, studying it, wondering if it reminds him of any recent sights back home.
hums while slowly circling the column, hands behind his back. “Kind of hard to find a specific hate when you don’t remember a whole heck of a lot…”
stops suddenly, planting both feet. “…so what’s the name of this sucker?” he says, jabbing a thumb at the column.
ꙮ Rohsu Ziqhe shrugs. “They don’t have individual names, so far as I can tell. That’s why this trick works. Name one, you’ve named ‘em all.”
: “Search your heart, Awa. You know you have it within you. You can find your hatred… For this Cowless World…”
ꙮ ”Only need the one, and you’ll be set for life.”
: “Fine.” He tenses up, hands collapsing into fists, widening his planted stance. He brings his fists to his side, and evens his breathing for two… three… four… on the fifth breath, he strikes a quick and solid straight right into the column.
: “Colly!” he yells, drawing ire from the stars, the sun, the sand, the searing insult within.
raises an eyebrow.
has his awareness flicker back into him at the strange sight. “… Colly?”
ꙮ And the air ripples, and Rohsu Zique snorts softly through his nose, nods to Qarina, impressed with this batch of recruits, as it were.
: “Yeah! Colly!”
: “The column’s giving me sass!”
is clearly torn between face-palming and laughing.
: “Thought your beef was with dairy production, not dogs, but if it works it works.”
’s fist drops and they turn their head to face the Awoken Prince. You have the distinct sense that if they could go slack-jawed, they would be right now.
ꙮ It feels like it’s laughing. It feels exhilarated. It hasn’t had this interesting a day in millenia. Licks of fire ricochet off the internal facets of the crystal.
ꙮ Rohsu Ziqhe says, “Seems like you’re all set, if the six of you always travel together, at any rate. Worst case scenario now if one of these assholes gets the jump on you, Ritebind it and then haul ass on a hippalectria and forfeit, it might follow you, but they don’t move too quick when they’re Ritebound, so you’ll have time t’ get somewhere with backup.”
looks at him with interest. “Do they commonly demand the same stakes when Ritebound? Some of our previous enemies would have been fairly disastrous to voluntarily forfeit to.”
takes off the Mask and steps forward. She presses her hand against the crystal, hard. “Hello, I-Will-Use-Violence. Aion-käyttää-väkivaltaa.” She sounds certain. Sure.
ꙮ The Rohsu replies, “When they’re Ritebound, it’s. It’s weird. Other than this one, at any rate, they just want to hurt you. So there’s not really stakes to forfeit - you can run, and it’ll just. Get madder.”
ꙮ The crystal flares up, joyously and cruelly, around Salme’s hand. (It’s hot to the touch.) And the air ripples.
leaves her hand there, unflinching, determined to bear it before she pulls away of her—her—own volition. “I’d like to come back sometime. It owes me a story.” She steps back, swapping the Mask for the sunglasses again.
ꙮ It flares up again, insouciantly. Rohsu Ziqhe nose-snorts. “Never seen it react like that before. But, hey, if it worked.” He glances at Qarina. “What are your plans for the rest of the day, ma’am? Will you be sparring with us, or?”
: “Give it a noogie, too.”
whispers to her Brother “Elementals aren’t gonna know what hit ‘em.”
: “That’ll depend on what our honored guests’ plans are. They’re in my care until Teacher finishes his duties.” She successfully doesn’t look at Wolf once during that sentence.
: “Two things. Help us find The Survivor. And then play your song.”
stares daggers at Aurelius. “Rite then. Right then. Looks like we’re going to be occupied Elsewhere, Rohsu Ziqhe. I look forward to sparring with you and yours tomorrow.”
ꙮ He salutes, again. “Thank you, ma’am. Looking forward to it.”
returns the salute, and leads the group to some nearby shade that’s more out of earshot.
gives a slight nod, before following after.
ꙮ Dyu’s busy working with Ravhi, this morning, but Qarina knows who to talk to to get hippalectria invoked for everyone, when she needs to. Some explanation in order, first, though.
: “See ya’ around, don’t get a tan.”
gives his formal bow again. “Shade and comfort.” He follows after…but not without a long look at that pillar.
gives a final salute to the Rohsu and follows in toe, curious to observe the summoning of hippalectria again when the opportunity presents itself.
lifts her sunglasses long enough to wink at the Elemental in the pillar, and then waves goodbye at Ziqhe.
bows to Rohsu Ziqhe, and follows the group.
: “Okay, listen, I can take you to Chaya. But On His Return. You can’t just be shouting that out in front of everyone. If I get caught nicking supplies to deliver out to the Apostates, there’s no way that’s not trouble for me. Speaking of which. We’re going to make a quick stop at Logistics before we head out.”
: “Oh, hey, there’s apostates?! Why didn’t you say so earlier!”
: “That is a lot of words I do not know.”
stares at Salme with a look that says “These two?”
looks at Aurelius, grateful for the shared confusion. “Yeah, I’m going to need you to describe, like, five of those things.”
sees Qarina’s look and squares her shoulders in a way that says, ‘Yes. These two.’
ꙮ You can walk and talk, it’s fine. Logistics is weirdly empty for this early in the morning, at the Temple, when you get there.
nods sagely. “Rare for there to be one-hundred percent unity within a group. (Remember when I said that? Eh? Eh?)“ he asides to the group, looking satisfied with himself.*
: “Chaya is what your book-thing calls ‘The Survivor.’ Apostates are the people who don’t believe in The God and don’t do The Work, and they live out in caves . Logistics is where they portion out care packages for the Faithful in the Fields, but there’s usually some extra, so I’ve been bringing some to Chaya and her people. There is no way there’s two more words in there you need.”
frowns, brow furrowing, at the idea of an ‘apostate.’ He gets the drift–and clearly doesn’t like the taste of it. “Outcasts, then,” he says. “Do they attack the City? Attack the Work?”
laughs. “Why is that the first place your mind goes to?”
: “What? No? They’re not evil. They’re not Elementals. They just…decided they weren’t gonna do it. People have free will.”
lifts his eyebrows at Awa. “I am looking for the harm they do, to be outcast, exiled.”
: “I really fail to see how a random Rohsu would’ve made that connection, but, duly noted.”
: “I do think that’s sort of fair. ‘The Survivor’ is pretty vague … I hadn’t even connected that name with Chaya.”
: “He’s not random. You’re just not from here. It’s fine, he didn’t catch it.”
nods in agreement.
: “They’re apostates, not like… heretics. I mean, I guess they’d be heretics too.”
stares at Wolf, “I don’t know what it’s like where you’re from, but you’re wrong.”
: “It strikes me that so much work goes into food production here, and the population size so carefully managed, that coincidentally having extra food seems unlikely. Is it at all possible that the fact that there’s enough for them, too, is to some degree considered and planned? Yazhn Ravhi doesn’t strike me as the type to let anyone go hungry, Work or no.”
looks at Qarina with a complex, hard to read expression. “We do not exile those who do no harm because they believe differently,” he says–not an accusation, not a judgment, just a fact.
turns to Archie, “Dyu and I have been trying to figure out if he’s behind it or not. But either way, it stays on the down-low.”
: “Dissident, bohemian, iconoclast, deviant!” He singsongs these words with little care.
: “Pretty sure they leave on their own, based on what Ravhi said yesterday when the topic was brushed past, for what it’s worth.”
nods. “Of course, there’s lots of ways a place can feel hostile and make someone not want to be there without outright exile being involved. It seems like, the most reasonable thing, would be to let Chaya and her people speak for themselves?”
holds up his hands, placatingly. “I am not trying to judge, it is merely…strange to me.” He shrugs, but still doesn’t necessarily look happy.
: “Unfortunately, I can’t really ask him without fessing up to it. And yeah. They decide to leave. It’s not like what you’re thinking. Some people decide that they can’t do…all of this.” She gestures past The City, at the Fields. “They have to go find out for themselves what they need to do. But if someone decides their Work isn’t here, it’s not like we’re kicking them out. We try to convince them to stay. They just gotta do what they gotta do.”
: “Makes sense.”
looks rather less convinced, but holds his tongue.
ꙮ Anyways, you get what you need to from Logistics. With this many people heading out, and one of them being Luĉja, you can exfiltrate even more than usual!
is a good helper
does the good ol’ ‘one for you, one for me, two for you, one, two for me’ counting system.
is certainly glad he’s not actually wearing the pack(s) he’s carrying out into this heat.
’s Brother seems to be unusually animated.
is certainly glad she can stow her own stuff in Aurelius’ pocket dimension.
is happy to carry as much as is needed. What wonders clothing has done for them.
shoulders supplies without complaint–nothing he’s not used to.
With the group stocked up, Qarina is happy to lead them out through the Gate, and tries to point out the admittedly, very few landmarks that can be used to navigate to the caves.
ꙮ And then to the City Walls. There’s a young Yazhn posted there who perks up when he sees Incredibly Important People at the gates, and - when Archie asks him to slow down and invoke the hippalectria very slowly so that he can watch, he does so gladly.
ꙮ There’s ruins, here and there - and to everyone else they look pretty much the same as any other ruins, but Qarina can read them like a map of the desert, sticking out of the sand like broken bones.
makes sure to grab a couple loose pieces of stone, if there are any
ꙮ You pick a few up along the way, yeah!
considers, briefly, trying to wear the sunglasses over the Mask but decides that’s too logistically complicated. She’ll want to record these later, though.
makes sure to refill the cartogrix’s ink as they head out.
ꙮ Some ways out - but the hippalectria are very fast - there’s a very deliberate pile of stones made out of white ruin-rock, and Qarina knows that near that is the first of many cave entrances, under the sands. This one not part of the main network - but it’s convenient, and closer than the caves proper.
ꙮ Qarina leads you down, into that cave - the hippalectria wait outside, the Sun’s light doesn’t bother them. It’s clearly obviously been used as a shelter, for quite some time - and parts of it look deliberately carved. There’s a few crates of supplies in one corner, and in another corner there’s a bed, and someone lying on the bed, with a leather coat on, and a hat that rivals Aurelius’ covering their face, and a grey-furred fiend curled up between their feet.
tilts her hat back and looks out at the group, a pair of piercingly green eyes gleaming from under the hat even in the dim light. “Well. I was expecting Quarina.” The voice is rough, someone unused to speaking. “So who are the rest of you? And why are you here?” Apparently she hoards her manners even more than she does her words.
: “I’m the Awoken Prince, and we’re checking boxes off a list.”
: “Off world traveler’s - yeah, basically.”
: “Pretty sure you have a hint we need about whatever the fuck’s going wrong with your world.”
: “Yeah, Chaya, the Survivor.”
: “How’s the world gonna end?”
: “I promise they’re not sun-mad. They’re…just not from around here. Also, they helped me load up on more extra supplies than I can usually carry out here.”
: “Nice coat and head gear, by the by.”
just…blinks at Aury and Awa, head swiveling back and forth as each speaks in turn.
places their face in their palm.
flicks a hand and produces several Packed Goods out of the air, at that.
slips her sunglasses off so she can see better in the dim light.
stares in wonder. “Okay, I gotta learn that one before you guys go.”
ꙮ The fiend looks up from between Chaya’s legs and meows indignantly at the Disruptions.
crouches down to look at the fiend, offering their hand, with a small pulse of gnosis in it.
leans over to Wolf. “(Deciding to spare the pleasantries with these two around remains an occupational hazard),” he says, though there’s fondness in his voice. “(Glad some things don’t change.)”
grunts and slowly sits up, swinging booted feet off the bed to plant on the stone floor. “Yeah great you know who I am. So far you’ve all given me one title and a bunch of supplies. Thanks for those, they’ll be useful at least.” She pets the fiend absently. “How you feeling today, Quarina?”
snorts softly. “(I don’t think you could make either of them change with all the gnosis in the universe…)”
tips his hat. “Aurelius.”
ꙮ The fiend grumbles as it is displaced but then saunters over to Luĉja to sniff at the gnosis-pulse in their hands and absorb it contentedly.
: “Archie. Long story short, this place is one of several worlds, and among us, we’re from everywhere but here.”
: “We gave you two names, too. That burden’s increasin’.”
: “Three, even!”
snorts. “The Awoken Prince isn’t a name, its a title. But we are indeed now up to two more names, so that’s progress.”
takes a breath. “Hello. We’re travelers from various planes across the world. My name is Salme. Wolf and I come from a place of flourishing gnosis called Almachadta. That’s Aurelius and that’s Luĉja. They come from a plane of burning gnosis called the Beast. Archie is from Samudra, which is a pellucid plane. Awoken,” she omits ‘prince’ here, “is from Valaïs, which is tenebrous. At least three of those places—Almachadta, the Beast, and Samudra—are facing imminent catastrophe. We thought Mu might be as well, but this place is fucking weird. We’d like to know what you know.”
: “Not a bad day. Got to watch these six learn how to rite-bind Elementals. They’re gonna be something fierce. After a couple, they might not even need me to hang around. And we got to bring you a bunch of stuff, so that’s good. Archie also thinks Teacher’s making sure there’s extra like Dyu does.”
points to everyone as she mentions their name.
: “Oh, no, he’s stupid as hell and refuses to choose a name, so we do in fact have to settle for Awa as a title and name both.”
: “The universe would disagree with you, pal!”
: “How have all of you been holding up?”
: “And yeah. Awoken doesn’t have any memories at all, so that’s the best we can do at the moment.”
pets the fiend and introduces it to Ĉasid.
: “It’s really not the best, but it is what it is.”
gives an abbreviated version of his salute-and-bow when Salme points to him.
: “Aury, I really don’t think you can throw too many stones at people’s name-choosing protocols, considering.”
: “I picked one with speed and grace, and it fits thematically on several front. Literally no issues anywhere.”
: “It was a bit. It was a bit and a joke from the Bird and it does fit you exceptionally well, I couldn’t imagine you otherwise, but c’mon.”
ꙮ Ĉasid thinks the cat-fiend is Very Strange and they sniff at each other curiously for a minute.
whisper’s the words solid gold under his breath in Salme’s direction.
rolls her eyes.
: “Hey Aurelius. Do you wanna give her one of the things you gave me? Like, it was scary reading all that at once, but I think it helped.”
: “Awa. Got it.” The green eyes flick from person to person to person, storing, cataloging. There’s a visible start and wide eyes after Quarina speaks. “They’ve been to the pillar? Well, this day gets even better.” She takes the hat off and brushes pale blonde hair back away from a face that is all hard planes and angles. “Alright then, off-worlders. Lets trade. You need what I know, or at least what I think I know, and I need a hand with some asshole Elementals. You squash them, I think I can tell you what you’re after. Then we can haggle on the cost of taking you there. Sound fair?”
: “Given present company as a failsafe, I have no issue with this bargain.”
: “The guide or the tomestone? Well, I got a lot of spares of the latter either way and you two having an easier way to communicate could be helpful, so sure.” Produces another tomestone and pearl from Somewhere, before connecting them somehow and holding it out to Chaya.
nods, eyes growing stormy with thoughts of battle. “You’ve got a deal.”
shrugs. “Seems a fair enough trade. It will be useful to get experience battling the Elementals.”
nods as Aurelius hands Chaya the tomestone. “You might want to start with reading {So, Your World is in Peril} when you get the chance. Or you can just use the communication features. Depends on how curious you are.”
: “Depending on your stomach, it may or may not be light bedtime reading.”
looks over at Quarina. “I hope you’re right about them. I got walloped by a couple of Elementals outside the Third Gate, coming back from a supply run. If the damn things almost got me, they’ll damn sure get anybody else that heads that way.” She takes the tomestone and pearl and drops them into a pocket of the coat, then swings a canvas bag over her shoulder. there’s a clank of metal and the head of a spiked axe pops out.
: “They’re…unconventional. But I’m pretty sure they could beat me in a fight. And they picked up the Rite-Binding reallll quick.”
: “Anyway yeah Rite-ing real easy, we can definitely do that. However. Before we go could you like… concentrate real hard on how cool and badass you are for living out here in the desert wastes and get your theme song playing…? Not sure how long we’ll have you available.”
mouths to Salme (“What is he on about? He told me to play a song too?”)
: “Aw, come on, Aury, don’t force it. It could also happen during a slow, maudlin death scene.”
ꙮ The cat climbs up Chaya to sit on her shoulder, and you all head out of the caves. Back on the hippalectria, then. Chaya rides with Qarina without particularly asking, like they’ve done this before, which is true, they have; Qarina barely needs to be told where to go. ‘Directions’ in the desert, even here, are in terms of angles and distances, and whether or not you’re moving towards, or away from, the City, and she already knows where the Third Gate is.
: “I’m just saying, all the non-angels play automatically on first contact.”
whispers back, (“Anyone with their own page in the Traveler’s Guide seems to have a song. Generally we hear it when we first meet someone, but you, Dyu, and Chaya—it hasn’t happened. There’s something about that.”)
ꙮ The desert’s rockier, out here - there’s a little valley nestled against a sandy escarpment, with some incredibly scraggly-looking fruit trees, and there’s a cave entrance tucked away in the escarpment, and then sitting plop in the middle of the valley are four wounds in the world, near-impossible to look at head-on without immediately getting a headache.
: “Oh, that’s fun.”
pulls her hammer out of its sling, and does a few practice swings.
’s naginata appears in his hand in a swirl of fire. “Heart-Wound, I name you,” he says, almost to himself.
looks at Aurelius like he has lost his mind. “Sure yeah let me just do that instead of getting you where you can maybe do my people some good.” She shakes her head and hops up on the hippalectria with Quarina. “(I sure hope you know what you’re talking about.)” Once they get to the valley she slides off just as easily. “OK travelers. Show me what you’ve got.” And then she takes her coat and her hat and her fiend and parks her ass on a rock to watch.
draws their sword (“Do you too, feel the sun, Cousin?”)
: “It’s really not that complicated, I can demonstrate after this.”
snorts. “If you say it’s not complicated, then it’s going to take an hour to explain.”
looks bemusedly around at the others. “Are they here already? Is everyone ready?”
seems almost relieved that Chaya doesn’t seem inclined to help or immediately participate. She—again puts the Mask on her face, curious if this will be like the experience in the Red Column, and unsheathes her sword, completely normal ruby glinting in the hilt. She hopes.
: “If we have to explain music shit or Bird shit I’ll do it, Wolf. Don’t worry. Aury can just offer practical demonstrations.”
ꙮ As you approach, the four of them seem to take notice, and drift closer to you, menacingly, inch by inch. It will be easier, you think, for one of you to Ritebind all four of them for the five of you, until you have the hang of the technique. Archie?
: “Four of them… yeah, I’m ready.”He whips his right arm to the side, and a curved, ruby kilij forms into his hand.
: “Music stuff is diagetic and not complicated! Geeze.”
just shakes his head and steps forward, ready to fight.
thinks. “Entities which insist that nothing matters. It’s… distressingly familiar, in some ways. When I learned certain Truths, I felt as though my reality had crumbled to dust. That nothing, myself included, mattered anymore. Lucky for me, I had friends who could show me otherwise.” He looks aside at Salme and Wolf, a glint of emotion accompanying a growing purple glow all too familiar to those who’ve already fought alongside him. “Naming is knowing, and knowing is drawing-near. So by your name be bound, Dust-Drinkers, and know that our drawing-near means you’re in danger.”
ꙮ The air ripples, and the Dust-Drinkers change.
laughs lightly at Archie’s declaration, before jumping off his bird towards the Dust-Drinkers.
smiles at Archie, at hearing his statement of certainty. Though she is wearing the Mask, so he cannot see.
hollers and whoops, riding in fast on his hippalectria!
ꙮ The nothingness which they are swells and bursts and a thick black howling void cracks through beneath it, spills into the air like pus; they are given form and bodies and they are bound with it, and they howl - in rage? In exultation, that they may know you thus, and be known? Claws tearing open gashes in the air, too many bright and billowing eyes in a matrix of sorrow, and the void splits open again, bright blue unearthly fire radiating out from them.
- You hear — and your Star hears — a song, echoing from the stillness: The Rite ~ The Work, Interrupted
ꙮ They are two and two. Align yourself accordingly!
: “Also behold: your plane’s version of the Rite Song.”
: “What the fuck is wrong with these people?”
: “Things many and varied! Ha haaaaaaaaaaa!”
: “He’s possessed,” she informs Qarina.
: “You’ve know them longer than me, are they always like this?”
: “It’s been like two days. Salme was pretty normal. We talked a bunch. But together? Yeah. This is about the same as when they showed up. Maybe a little crazier.”
ꙮ Left Dust-Drinker A uses [The Danger Is Still Present], inflicting Exposure on Luĉja!
: “Honestly I usually try and reign it in but I’m not feeling much point with you three.”
howls as his left arm flicks forward, a ruby throwing dagger cutting across its shadowy form!1
[Snipe] - Left Row Left Drinker's [Siphon Energy]
ꙮ Before that, anyone who can [Snipe] does so, yes!
: “Well, if it works for them then great, I guess. (Also do you… hear… that?)”
: “Sure did. Granted. I don’t Rite-Bind. But I’m pretty sure that’s not normal.”
: “I’m still immensely curious on how you pull that off. Is it Shade related?”
ꙮ Salme, [Snipe] target?
: “Yeah. My Brother and I work together. As one. There’s no one like us. We got made special, just for this.”
: “Damn, that’s wicked cool. I’m jealous!” He takes a few practice swings with his kilij. “But I manage!”
pulls out her gun, with her offhand, and shoots a single flare of burning gnosis at the Dust-Drinker on the right. The recoil makes the shot go wider than intended, but it still hits.
[Snipe] [Eternal Reverberation] off the right one in our lane.
ꙮ After which point LDD A uses [Wind Up] to deal Pierce 1 to Luĉja, and LDD B also uses [The Danger Is Still Present], placing an [Exposure] in the Awoken’s hand (Quick) and then bopping him with [Sundered Redaction] for Pierce 3!
Tenebrous gnosis hisses out from beneath Lucja’s cloak - dealing one stress to their attacker!
: “Ach–!”He’s feeling especially exposed right now!
Stress 1 to LDD B!
ꙮ RDD A uses [Strangling Darkness] on Salme for 1! RDD B uses [Stun], forcing Salme to discard [Mirage] and Aurelius to discard [Lurk]!
ꙮ Luĉja, Wolf, and Awoken!
: “…Hmm… guess they don’t care about turn order.”
: “Elementals are some nasty creatures!”
: “Let’s send those Colly fucks back to nothingness!”
: “They also really don’t seem to enjoy echoing Rite-tones, do they?”
: “Hate time and change effects, checks out.”
: “Constantly caught in a single moment, eh?” She says it to Aury, but also to Wolf. To everyone, really.
spins his naginata around…and uses it to kick up a cloud of dust–in a shimmer of gnosis, he’s suddenly less visible.
[Lurk], drawing two. Next turn I get to play two rites, not one.
a pulse of radiance shines out from Luĉja, settling over them. They bring their Behemoth-Blade low and place their shield in front of them.
[Instant Barrier] + [Entrench] discarding 3 cards
ꙮ After the Awoken, Salme and Aurelius! Prepare your actions.
: “The sun’s radiance is fierce… soon, you will witness the darkness that can meet it!”
[Dark Propechy!] - [Rage] [Tracer] [Void Flare!]
is still mounted on his hippalectria, and a tenebrous circle appears under them, with burning and tenebrous gnosis spiraling around the mounted pair!
ꙮ Aury and Salme?
blinks forward, letting off a quick, wild swing at the slightly Stress’d Dust Drinker with his dagger as it appears in his hand! Then spins and slams the gunblade that appears out of nowhere into it as it lets off a blast of burning gnosis.
[Wild Swing] [Real Ultimate Power]. 4+2+1 = 7 damage, then 6+1 = 7 damage.
coils a whip of pellucid gnosis in her off hand, and then snags something from one of the Dust-Drinkers in the far lane.
Discard [Hip Shot], which just goes back into my hand. Play [Mirror Image] on [Crush!] in the DDR in the left-hand lane.
ꙮ Ferocious!
ꙮ The [Crush] is yours now!
ꙮ Dust Drinker A in the left lane uses [Chain Lightning], dealing Pierce 3+2 to every single combatant, and taking 8 damage itself.
ꙮ Which actually deals 10 to the Awoken, I think, because of Exposure?
It takes another 1 damage, as the last wisps of tenebrous gnosis seep out of Luĉja’s armor.
(also from me)
ꙮ Dust Drinker B [Hex]es the Awoken, discarding [Strangling Darkness].
reels, but steadies his hippalectria as he’s wracked by lightning!
Stress 1 to LDDA
ꙮ Dust Drinker C Refreshes, and then bonks Salme with a [Crush!] for 7!
ꙮ Dust Drinker D follows up with [Beatdown] on Salme for 6 unless she discards!
: “Light these things aren’t fucking around.”
: “They’re here to kill, yeah.”
ꙮ Clan Emberlight, retaliate!
Every attack by the Elemental seems to pass straight through Luĉja’s defenses. Their eyes shine bright. “No more of your Lies. Tell me the Truth and perish!”
[Libra]
dances through the attempt at the beatdown.
discards [Trick Shot], [Mana Burst], [Hip Shot], and Dust Drinker D takes 1 damage from the [Trick Shot] discard, thx.
gives Salme a very serious nod to respect for the play there, before dashing forward and jumping into the air and crashing down double-hit first on the rightmost dust-drinker.
[Crush] 4+1 = 5
There are two things in all the worlds which I fear. This is the second of them. It had a voice, long ago; perhaps you hear it still? Once it lived in the shadow of a tower which fell long ago; it stood when the bargain was struck and refused the opened door, and as such was not slain nor unmade but subtracted from the count of things which are. It carries no name of its own, for its name was the first thing taken from it; today it is named ‘Dust-Drinker’, and in its agony is wrought, not lies, but awful and burning truth.
ꙮ Awoken, Salme, Wolf?
: “Bind me… clip my wings… and be struck to your knees upon witnessing the end!!”
rears back on his hippalectria, both of them giving off an echoing whoop that soars with burning gnosis! He waves his kilij forward, sending tenebrous gnosis that whirls about the LDDB, its tendrils pointing out several weak points…
then charges forward, and with swooping strikes he cuts through and past the Dust-Drinker, skidding just past it- and he leaps from his mount over the barely-formed being, and cuts through it as he passes over- and then with a free hand, he thrusts it at the sand underneath– there’s an explosion of tenebrous gnosis under it!
[Rage], but quick. [Tracer], but quick. [Void Flare!], but quick! LDDB takes 3 strikes at 8 each, halved due to curse, doubled due to Exposure!
: “But…that can’t be right.” Qarina drops her hammer into the sand and takes a step back.
: “The fire in my heart… burns hotter!!” he screams!
[War Cry]
: “I’ve never known Libra to be wrong about anything before, at least.”
ꙮ The Awoken tears through Dust Drinker B!
puts a hand out to steady Qarina. “Steady.” A deep frown directed at the world in general.
: “Kill them first, discuss revelations later, please,” Wolf growls. Flourishing gnosis runs down his arms, over his hands, and across his naginata–combining with the fire on the blade to cover it in flaming thorns as he slices at the rightmost Dust-Drinker. Then, with a swirl of his naginata and a graceful, spinning leap–he drives the blade deep into the back of the one on the left.
[Rootblade], striking for 2+1 (before Exposure) on DDB, then [Backstab] for 6+1 (before Exposure) to DDA. [Lurk] is expended.
stares at Chaya, eyes wide like the burning, raging sun, trembling within her own shadow. “Can…you hear them…I…”
.
Actually, that's 3+1 and 7+1, because of [War Cry].
ꙮ One moment, please.
ꙮ Wolf’s strike tears viciously through two of the Dust Drinkers, and one of them staggers backwards, clutching at its own chest.
ꙮ It screams, and you all hear it: “YOU WILL SUFFER, AS I HAVE SUFFERED!” And then it digs its claws in, deep, and there’s a sound, a horrible clicking which increases in frequency and makes the hair on the back of your neck go up, and a bright loud whine, and the taste of metal in the back of your mouth- [Mutual Assurance] ⁂
keeps her hand in place, bracing her dear friend. Green eyes narrow. “The elementals? Not any more than usual. But these six and whatever they are doing? Yeah… Yeah. And I don’t like it one b- Suns mercy I heard THAT though!”
picks up her hammer, and can only scream. Like lightning, a thing she has never known, but somehow can think of, she rushes through the barrier, howling, shouting, screaming, crying, anything to overpower the merciless shouts only she and her brother hear. She raises her hammer high and brings it down once, twice, ten times, crushing the exploding Elemental back into nothingness, sweating and shaking.
- You hear — and your Star hears — a song, echoing from the stillness: Lastu Wahdī Abadan
: “Well… Shit.”
gestures with his head. “Theme song.”
ꙮ Her hammer comes down, viciously, on Dust Drinker B, and as she was not a participant in the Rite, it is not defeated in the Rite, and it is hammered into nothingness, and the Awoken is spared.
: “…ah…ah!”
: “Damn that’s so cool!”
turns his head slowly to look at Aury, and his look is icy.
ꙮ The other three back away from her, slowly, snarling words for her, and her alone.
: “Hell of a trick that is, though.”
: “You’re breaking all the rules!”
: “Yeah if thats what you think I’m gonna do for a song you’re out of your mind. This is already closer than I want to be any an elemental, nevermind a gaggle of them.”
turns, feral, to the next one, “SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP”
ꙮ Salme, I think you’re up!
: “Oh, naw, it doesn’t need to be QUITE that dramatic but…”
taps at his chin, watching Qarina rain down carnage upon these things while not giving a single fuck about the turn order.
Huffs a bit of a breath, and then says, “Well, that’s a bit more hopeful. But still.” She sheathes herself in radiant gnosis and calls down lightning upon everything that wants to harm them.
[Instant Barrier] and my inherent grace give me +3 defense, +1 defense to Aurelius. [Chain Lightning] cast on all 3 Dust-Drinkers still standing for 5 + 1 + 1 = 7 each.
ꙮ Dust-Drinker A staggers back, and the Geiger counter starts ticking again–
: “NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO” Qarina leaps onto it, hammer left in the dust and is pulverizing it with her shade-wrapped hands, screaming and crying until it is no more than sand.
looks at Aury a bit chagrined. “And I can’t do anything else without hitting my tolerance cap, so I’m counting on you.” Though that isn’t necessary; he’ll do what needs to be done regardless.
Stress 4 to me for that.
ꙮ Qarina’s shadow, as she hammers it, fully detaches from her body with vicious glyph-claws of its own, bright and shining purple, and tears the part of it to shreds that Qarina is not hammering flat. It is gone, and her shadow rejoins her, wrapped around her, protectively, and incredibly visible.
: “Yeah, worst comes to worst Qarina seems to have us covered, but we’ll give her all the help we can either way.”
: “Claaaaaaaaaaaaaan Emberlight!”
ꙮ Dust Drinker C approaches Salme, and reaches out awful tendrils of shadow to strike into her heart and her body and– and because of the Rite, all it can do is hurt her, and it does, it hurts her very much indeed. But it does not annihilate her, as much as it would like to. [Death Parade], which becomes Quick, so it also [Smother]s Aurelius.
grunts lightly at the hit, before swatting it away from Salme.
ꙮ Dust-Drinker D is looking at Qarina in abject terror. It passes its turn. Clan Emberlight, finish them off!
runs forward, putting himself in front of Salme and Awoken, as they lay on the sand. “Friend-Salme, we must stop re-creating this moment. You did not care for it.” And then Luĉja also screams. A hissing of steam and burning gnosis, [Rage!] washing over them. Their chestplate opens, and from their burning heart, three tendrils of tenebrous gnosis tear out, stronger than they’ve ever been. “You will not have my Clan.”
Rage into Void Flare, +2 Grace, +2 Rage, +3 per defeated ally, 13 + 13 + 13 damage.
laughs a bit wildly even as she withdraws from the Rite. “Enjoy your violence,” she says to the last Dust-Drinker.
slips around the side, blinks once, twice, then stabs DDD in the back to finish it off.
[Bash] More Than 2
ꙮ The two remaining Dust Drinkers both stagger back in unison, clutching at their chests, tearing themselves open with a wretched howl, revealing the Cherenkov-blue glow inside, that gets brighter and brighter and bright–
: “I’LL END EVERY. LAST. ONE. OF. YOU. UNTIL. YOU. STOP” Qarina continues to brutalize every fallen Elemental, until her hands are bloody. Grabbing the two of them together, she picks up her hammer and brings it down one more time. “JUST STOP. PLEASE.”
ꙮ Her Brother holds them like an anvil and her hammer crashes down.
ꙮ They are gone.
ꙮ The Rite concludes.
lets the glow fade from his eyes, finally, and rushes over to the others, assessing their injuries. Seeing that Salme is most in need of help, he places a gentle hand on her shoulder. “For you, the tides of life must swell again; / Like waves on shore, your heart beats on, for now. / And though one day the waters cease and still, / Today is not that day, my friend. Arise.”
lets his naginata flash back into fire and nothingness, and approaches Qarina slowly, carefully, hands open and palms out. “Qarina…they’re gone.”
glances between Qarina and Chaya, before addressing Chaya, “I assume she’s going to want a minute or two without us prestering her to calm back down..?”
stops shouting and sinks to her knees. She screamed to drown out their words. Now she weeps, for having heard them.
ꙮ Archie rushes towards Salme, and bright, shimmering radiance rises up around him, like it did around Dyu, like it has also done around Salme, and floods into her, and in the space of a breath, she feels better than she felt going into the Rite, as if the vicious blows had never happened.
: “It’s okay to be passionate!” He dissolves the kilij in his hand.
blinks at Archie. “You found your words! And in pentameter, too.” She grins.
kneels beside Qarina, and reaches out a hand to touch her, very gently and carefully, on the shoulder. “Qarina…”
moves over to Qarinas other side and rests a hand on her back. She doesn’t say anything, she doesnt really understand what is happening. But she wants Qarina to know her friend is there.
: “Why is everything wrong ever since you showed up? I thought it was gonna be okay. Teacher looked so happy. I had a new friend. I can’t. I can’t. I can’t.” Qarina rocks back and forth, slowly stopping her tears.
: “I’m sorry,” Wolf says, quietly. He gives a nod to Chaya, leaving Qarina in her care–and retreats, because he can find nothing to say in comfort. Instead, he goes to check on Salme.
looks at Aurelius, and then at all the rest. “I don’t know what set her off like that. But you lot better pray to whatever you hold sacred you havent hurt my friend.” A slow, deep breath. “That being said. Thank you for helping deal with those elementals.” She kneels down in the sand and wraps her arms around Qarina. “C’mon, lets get out of here. Too hot, Bunk is starting to change colors. We’ll get underground and talk about it.”
is on her feet and looks just fine. She nods at Wolf and shoots a concerned glance at Qarina, and an appreciative one at Chaya.
clings to Chaya, finally on her feet again.
looks her over, nods solemnly at her and Archie in turn. “You’ll have to teach me that healing spell, sometime. Good work.”
raises his hands in deferment. “It sounded like whatever those things were telling her was not something that sat well with her, but I couldn’t hear whatever they said, specifically. I don’t think we’re the root of the issue.”
: “I have never disliked the results of Libra so much.”
: “I am sorry, Friend-Qarina, if this was made of my error.”
: “You’re welcome!” rears his hippalectria about, pointing back in the direction of the caves.
: “For better or worse, we bring disruption and change,” Wolf says, softly. “Nothing is the same in our wake.”
looks at them all. “Haven’t we all experienced truths that we would rather not know? That were hard to accept? And hasn’t it sometimes easier to blame the thing in front of you, rather than the truth that might burn?”
ꙮ The cat-fiend is starting to look a little green and glowing around the edges. Luckily, the cave entrance is directly nearby.
will get her friend up and onto the bird, then hop up in front and lead everyone out of the hellish sun into the dark coolness of the caves.
takes off her Mask, which she realized she was wearing the entire Rite for some Light-forsaken reason. She tucks it away.
pushes his hood back with a sigh of relief, when they get into the shade of the cave. “Hhf. Shade and comfort, indeed.”
: “Being down here presents its own challenges, but it beats being up there.”
ꙮ Two apostates - one wearing leather like Chaya, although it’s not nearly as nice, the other wearing some kind of cloth that looks like it might have come from Samudra if you didn’t know better, meet you close to the cave entrance. “Chaya, ma’am. Are the elementals–?” “If they weren’t gone, these people would be. Let’s get them to shelter. Thank you, whoever you all are-“ -and they get you deeper into the caves. ⁂
dismounts at the cave entrance, jogging a bit to keep up with the lead apostates.
walks at the end of the line, making sure to keep an eye out behind, and one in front, to make sure their friends are no worse for wear.
ꙮ There are lines of very soft light tracing paths through the caves; subtly different colours overlapping at crossroads that must be distinct pathways through the main cave system. You follow a fairly straightforward path, led by Chaya, to a wing of rooms that are as-softly-lit as the cave-paths were.
ꙮ At least here, you can catch your breath.
raises his goggles and unshoulders his cloak, folding it over into an arm. He takes a few deep breaths after doing so. “(Don’t realize how much the sun makes it hard to breathe around here..)”
: “(Small grace it’s a dry heat and not a humid one.)”
ꙮ That’s the other thing - the caves seem. Well, certainly not moist, but it’s the first time you’ve felt properly cool and like the air wouldn’t evaporate the lemonade right out of your glass since you got here.
guides Qarina to a chair, then shucks her coat and hat to sit down and wrap her friend in a comforting embrace. “Take your time. Tell us when you are ready.” She looks up at the strangers. “In the meantime I’ll keep my end of the deal. Now that my people aren’t staring down a valley of elementals, give me the slow pitch of who you are and what the hell you’re doing here.”
: “I never expected to appreciate cool this much.”
removes her sunglasses, veil, and the hood of her cloak, revealing an intricate braid with small golden beads and pins woven in with cooling gnosis. She looks around.
: “We are travelers from worlds beyond this one, looking for a way to save our worlds.”
removes their hood, headwrap, and gloves. “We came here with the assumption that this one, too was in danger. We wish to help.”
: “We have a fairly reliable, if dubiously aligned, source telling us so, who began us along this geas.”
: “There’s a lot more to it, of course. You may wanna get a glass of water or a snack before we really get into the nitty gritty, though.”
: “And, well, so far we’re three-for-three.”
: “And,” she looks between Qarina and Chaya, “I at least am, and I’m sure several others are also, curious about what you know that they don’t teach in the City.”
: “But, perhaps…it might be best if we all have a chance to rest and recombobulate ourselves before we go much deeper in details.”
nods. He knows he’s lucky to only be shaken and not actually harmed, but it’s clear from Qarina’s expression that some time may be for the best.
: “Wise counsel. I could do with a bit of re-coating as well.” Luĉja sits, and begins breathing a small flame to melt some wax over their sword and their hand.
nods. “That’ll do for now, yeah. You’re safe from the elementals down here, so you can rest easy. We’ve got baths, food, and comfort. Take some time. I’m not going anywhere.”
looks up, brushing the last tears from her eyes. “Salme…why don’t I sound like me anymore?”
blinks, and then blinks again, and she does immediately go to Qarina’s side and take her hands. “Oh, Qarina. You can—you can get it back. But this is what happened when we were first taken.”
blinks at Qarina, at that. “…you’re no longer speaking to Radiant.” He shakes his head. “Why, I cannot say. But…it can be regained.”
squeezes her hands. “You’re still you, Qarina. It’s just the ability to speak with—yeah, as Wolf says, radiant resonance. I used to sound like this.”
: “We’ll help you figure it out. Whatever you need, however long it takes, you are going to find a way through this, Qarina. You are.”
ꙮ And you’ll never be alone doing it. No matter what, you know that.