act complete Angelcynn: The Myrcian Conflict - Act 3 Reunion

[Jotari]

"I have all the arrows I need right here" Emmet said, opening his cloak to reveal the quiver he kept permanently strapped to his leg. "And I do more than shoot you know. I also make sure people are comfortable and refreshed." He opened the other side of his cape where he kept his healing stave.

Emet looked up as he heard the princess call his name. He couldn't really understand what she was talking about but she noticed she was with the butler. HIs eyes darted around the room. If he's here then where's the bard? "I'll talk to you later Emlia" he muttered as he got out of his seat. He walked directly towards Sebastian. "Where is she?" he said in a low voice with no hint of the drunken merriment he had before.

Edited October 30, 2016 by Jotari

[charlie_]

Somehow, fate had managed to find a way to make Claire's day even worse. One encounter with the maniac bard had been more than enough for the day, so running into her again like this... she just froze up at first, sprawled over Angus' shoulder with her mouth slightly agape, not believing what she was seeing. No, no, no, no... Why? Why now? Nobody else here understood how dangerous Scuttle was, and Claire herself could barely reach her tomes with how Angus was carrying her - and after what she'd had to drink she didn't trust in her ability to beat her down.

Instead, she began to shake, but this time fear was not the cause. Her face turned to a scowl, which the Kearney finally setting her down didn't even phase. Claire's hands had balled into fists as she stared down Scuttle. She was pleased to note the absence of a weapon, but it did little to ease her worries. "What did you do to meeeee? Ohhhh, I don't know Scuttle..." The mage shrugged, trying to stay level-headed. She took a deep breath, and the continued on. "I lost track afterrr you knocked me unconscious and tried to killlll me. Funny that, isn't it?" she snapped, her short-lived pretense of calmness vanishing as quickly as it came. Why the hell was she here? Did they really just let her go after Claire left, knowing what she'd done? Why was she here?

Edited October 30, 2016 by SB.

[Ether]

Well... that was an interesting explanation, Cassandra, in all her drunken glory, told the news like it was a bard's tale...ironic, that, given the contents. Sebastian soon confirmed Cassandra's take, giving the abridged version of the goings on, before clarifying the answer to Cassandra's follow-up question.

"So, let me get this straight... Scuttle went mad, attacked Claire and Emmet over this Engel-damned vial, was subdued, and now you have the damn thing, even after he drank it?" Adele asked... though Sebastian hadn't affirmed that part. Why would Cass hold on to an empty glass vial?

"Regardless, it's too dangerous. I won't be having you with another blasted target on your head, Cassandra, you've too many already. Give it to me." Adeltrudis noted with a stern expression, practically demanding Cassandra's compliance at this point.

[Nanami Touko]

"SeBAStian, I'M the one who's sssssupposed to be drunk, Emmet DRANk the vial already!" What was he talking about? She didn't have anything on her! She didn't even have any pockets. She tried to think, but thinking was hard, and kissing Adele was easy~ So who cared about some little vial? And who cared about her fake marriage, anyway? "Sham's a shaaaaam, and it was a STUPID one. This makes me way happier~ ...S'not fair to Angus, anyway. I've been a cuuuuuuuuuuunt..." She whined the word out, slumping against Adele, sucking at her neck.

She gave the action pause, just for a moment, to mumble into Adele's ear, "I don' have any vial, honey... So take me back to where we're sleeping... Mmm, where are we sleeping, anyway...?" A thought popped up, was there an inn to be slept at? Or maybe they'd just sleep underneath the staaaars. How romantic~ Whichever it was, Cass was ready to leave, if she was to be denied further beverages. "Y'should ask Emmet where the vial is, he had it last... Nnnnno wait, Sebby did... Someone had it... I'm tired~"

[Frostivus]

Scuttle jumped skittishly, "Sh-sh-sh! Maybe you've having too good a time! Sir Baron, were you escorting her ho--ok, you're just as drunk."

She wasn't ready for this. Scuttle had to make the transition easier. If she could make the truth more palatable, perhaps by exploiting her ability to twist the truth of tales by just a tad . . .

They deserved the truth, didn't they? But Scuttle couldn't handle the truth. Even when they were more than likely to forget everything in that state of inebriation.

It wasn't really lying. Just a severe omitting of facts! For pathos and political correctness and whathaveyou.

"Look, I'm still piecing everything together about what happened today," she rubbed her swollen head with a convenient sample of method acting, "Everything's been hazy since the fortress and Malaphar. What are you talking about, killing you? Did I actually do that?" Her eyes widened in staged horror.

[Shin]

Freakshow

Either Claire was incredibly unfortunate, or she really needed to consider who she associated with. Esclabor didn't like the sounds of Scuttle at all, he vaguely recalled her from before but the claims of assault and attempted murder removed any doubts in his mind. There was no explanation otherwise, and even after all the drink he could feel the tension in the air.

"I don't know tales you're telling, bard. But if Lady Claire says you tried to kill her, then you're no friend of mine." he growled, readying the axe at his belt. "Kearney, you keep Lady Claire covered. You, with the funny walk, you're with me. If she tries anything funny, she's getting a free height reduction."

Disaster

Sebastian's dedication to his work was the only thing keeping him sane at this point. It must have been much easier to watch Lady Adele and her friends when they were younger and less troublesome. Hopefully Adele would be able to keep both Cass and the vial safe, for now. Emmet appeared rather alarmed by the mention of the bard, but she could hardly cause trouble locked away in the church.

"She's in the church, locked with one of Master Jeeves' finest locks. It would take a miracle for her to escape." Sebastian replied, keeping his voice low. "She claims to recall nothing, and is acting as her usual self... but I'm not certain."

Imported Milk

The bartender wasn't too fussed by Serge, city folk always were rather particular. Letting out a gentle sigh as he began wiping down another glass, he looked Serge in the eye. "If you want something else, I can get you a glass of milk. We don't get much around here, the farm doesn't seem to make a lot, but I've got a good source in Wyke that ships it over for us." he replied. "Can I tempt you?"

[Terrador]

Too Hosed

Angus blinked at Claire in surprise--that bard as a killer seemed about as likely as Geoffrey being mistaken for a man! [Claire wouldn't lie abou--axe. Heee's got an axe.] The mooncalf shakes his head, like a dog ridding his jowls of some stubborn detritus. Angus gives the mage a gentle (or so he hopes...) push barnwards before stepping in front of Thomas.

"Beard. Barrd." The slurring mooncalf throws up his arms, waving them frantically. "Git! Shoo! Outta heeere! Beadet! Raarrgh!" The bear roars, too: a pathetic thing, more a mewling burp than a rumbling terror. Angus still staggers a step back, checked by someone quite a bit more sober and more grumpy than he. Baron to baron, Angus whispers a most confidential secret, turning his back to the overtly threatening, overwhelmingly-armed Scuttle.

"We're tooooo dunk," he flatly asserts. "Member tha' Nelon guy? Lesssssss go seem. 'sides, shaint got nothin'!" An attempted elbow tap to the ribs certainly wasn't helping matters, but try for it Angus did regardless. "I'm work morrow; you c'n spend allllll day give ner a height reduck shin! Long's Claire's with you, th'board c'n wait, noooooooooo~?" To Angus' imagination, everyone present (with the possible exception of Scuttle) was too drunk for a real fight--some too drunk even for a brisk walk! "Who stabbed who" could wait until everyone was at least sober.

"Er... wazzit whom..."

Definitely better for Angus to not be fighting, at least.

Edited October 30, 2016 by Terrador

[Jotari]

Emmet rubbed his temples. He was suddenly regretting that last drink. A church is bound to have windows. How high up would they be? What if a priest finds her in there. No, it's night time. Small chance of that happening. But she might be able to find a weapon in there. Some sort of ceremonial knife or something. Who knows what kind of things they do in bandit land even if they do follow engel. And there would be plenty of places to hide. I should go check on her now. But how would I get past his lock. I can't be certain of the kill either. Not in this state. I'll go first thing in the mornin. Then we'll get to the bottom of this.

[Ether]

Adele was doing her best to ignore Cassandra's antics, though the Princess did bring up one valid point... the young heiress had no idea what, if any, arrangements had been made for them to spend the night. Would any of the others know? She turned to Sebastian, the man explaining where he had left the bard to Emmet, hoping he might know.

"I'm honestly not sure where we're spending the night... if arrangements were made, no one told me of them. Sebastian, would you have any idea?"

[Dandragon]

Serge shook his head. "If you don't get much then I won't take away from what you have. I'll just take a glass of water, thank you."

[Toogee]

Doug knew the charm was too good to be true. It had no effect on Claire whatsoever. Needless to say, he saw no need to continue his silly walk. It was a good thing too: he was exhausted. Evidently, the power of cheap liquor proved too much for expensive charms. Perhaps he needed to try it on someone else. As luck would have it, someone else showed up: Scuttle!

Just as Doug was about to muster up more charm, he took note of Claire's dread. Accusations began to fly, Angus took Claire away from the scene, and Doug was once again left clueless about what happened. He was also weaponless, exactly like the time they accused the wizard of misdeeds. How did this keep happening to Doug?

The only thing left to do was to use the only weapon he had in his possession: the charm.

"So, Scuttle, was it? I'm Doug...of Dougistan. What's up?"

Once again, Doug ended with a wink, hoping to diffuse whatever this was while still holding the charm next to his face.

Meanwhile...

"Aw, what happened to the silly walk? He looked precious. Like newborn foal taking his first steps. Come back Doug, don't make me chase you..."

[charlie_]

Claire's expression didn't ease up, even with Esclabor making an attempt to diffuse the situation. At least someone here isn't completely crazy... She took a small solace in that, but the scowl on her face showed no signs of leaving. The mage ignored the bard's question - as far as she was concerned Scuttle was full of shit. You weren't even with us in that place... There's no way you could forget like this. There were five people who Claire might've accepted that excuse from, and Scuttle was not one of them.

"Be careeeful." she warned Esclabor, eyes finally torn away from the crazed bard. With how Doug was reacting, she wasn't optimistic that he would be able to help out. With that said, she took her leave from the scene, keeping her distance from Scuttle as she passed. She slowly calmed as she walked, finally speaking to Angus as soon as they were out of earshot. "Sooo... where are we goiiing then?" In her haste to make a getaway, Claire had completely forgotten. If she'd even known to begin with.

[Shin]

Coordination

"Baron Kearney and Esclabor had arranged the use of Farmer Perroy's barn. There appears to be little space in the village for a group our size." Sebastian replied, rather drained by Cass' antics. "It would be best if I checked on her, just to make sure."

Another issue was keeping the Princess out of trouble, or at least minimising her drunken antics. Thankfully, her guard was nearby, and no doubt would be fine with keeping an eye on her. "I will excuse myself now." he added, looking over at Freya. "Can I trust you to keep an eye on the Princess this evening? I feel that her judgement may be... impaired."

Drimp

Shaking his head, the bartender passed Serge a small cup filled with water. "Enjoy, don't drink it too quickly." he replied, getting a few smirks from the patrons around the bar. Hans and Lars approached their boss, pointing towards the door casually.

"We might head to the old guy's house, boss. Getting kinda late and it'd be good to make an early start with the fence." Lars yawned, his brother mirroring him as always. "Might be worth keeping an eye on Emily, she's pretty far gone."

[Dandragon]

"Right, thank you." Serge nodded, tanking the cup. Before he could get a quick sip, Lars had spoken up about heading off for the night. Facing the axe the brothers, Serge nodded at them, too. "Right. Don't worry. I'll look after her. You two just get a good nights rest." With that, he headed back to the table and sat down next to Emily, before taking a small sip of his drink.

Serge +1 Water...hopefully it is actually water

"Emily, maybe I should get you some water, too. You don't look so good..."

[Xinnidy]

Owen accepted the invitation to sit beside Sidney, sighing. For many reasons, he felt inadequate -not even a slap, no upfront anger like he'd been bracing, but rather a kiss. Sidney was certain to hit his guilty conscience off-guard. A few words in and he already felt like the dirt road he'd stepped that morning.

"I... good grief, Sidney." He felt heavy, weary like a villain caught after much running. "I would never blame you, rather..." Owen cringed, he recalled the dance. He'd thought Sidney gorgeous and interesting then, but her confessions dwarfed the emotions his memory held to memory. In comparison, his feelings were far smaller, far less adequate for their relationship. It pained the heart. "I... I'm so sorry." He slowed his breath, "I'd never want you to feel like the cause of my doubt. Never." Tears were escaping her, Owen wrapped an arm around Sidney. Light consolation as it was.

"I am my own issue, Sidney." He spoke, bluntly, staring down the tavern floor. "I thought I could be a prince, somebody Wyke could rely on, but... somewhere along the way, I forgot how to be Owen." That was sure to be confusing, so the prince went on.

"When I think of things, I worry about many: Wyke, my sister, the nobles, and others. Yet, I've stopped thinking about what I really want. That is to say... I've stopped asking myself: What do I want to do?" Stopping to sigh and take a breath again, Owen held Sidney tighter through the sidehug. "Or even what I like doing, or what makes me smile. Sometimes I just... toss away my sense of self, 'the country matters more', or something among those lines." He shook his head, "I'm... frustrated. I sometimes wonder if this is right at all, if I'm really this kind of person, and... it makes me apprehensive. I don't want to hurt someone like you over it." Ironically, the only thing consistent seemed to be his concern for other's comfort first.

[Frostivus]

“Claire, wait—“

Scuttle stopped dead in her tracks as the barons surrounded her.

The scene unfolding before her was so bizarre — even for her — that she had to take a moment for it to fully sink in.

Scuttle had hoped for heroes. She had hoped to find the pillar of strength that shrugged off ballista bolts for his subjects, to perhaps lean on his strength. To ward off the demon's return. She didn’t expect to find Baron Kearney tripping over himself in an incoherent babbling mess, sluggishly flailing his arms as if he was drowning in all the brew he had drunk.

IT’s aLl anGus knoWs how tO Do.

“This . . . this is what you have been doing?” she asked incredulously --desperately-- pinching her nose as the stench of alcohol wafted from his spitting slurs, “And you’ve been feeding this to Geoffrey too?”

And Doug, with his bauble, and a wink of levity that was ruefully misplaced in this situation.

DoUg doesn’t know what’s haPPening HalF tHe time.

Her cracked lips split into a pained and painful smile. The chuckle, broken and hysterical, bubbled out of her.

nO herOES Here

“My name . . . my name is Scuttle Thames,” she reassured herself, the words falling quietly from her lips, then once more, “My name is Scuttle Thames.”

Scuttle had to trick herself into believing in the delusion again. Heroes had to have their downtime, and how fitting that they would partake in merriment of this magnitude! Would she expect anything less from them?

BoO

The air seemed to grow thinner around her; she rasped for a breath.

Scuttle folded her arms around her shoulders as if bidding them chained to her before they could act.

“I’m sorry, Doug,” she said, shaking.

She turned and ran.

The streets were abandoned, further out still: the unforgiving scape of Magonsaete.

Scuttle had been wrong. She couldn’t go back.

Further out still: nothing but darkness to welcome her.

The clouds swallowed up the night, snuffing out the last of the starlight. The sky was empty tonight.

_____________________________

Scuttle Thames leaves the group.

Edited November 3, 2016 by Frostivus

[riariadne]

Sidney nodded slowly at Owen's explanations, leaning onto the prince as he held her. "Well, what do you want to do? As Owen... not the prince of Wyke. Everyone needs time to relax their bodies, but their minds too. Maybe that can help make things a bit better, taking some time here just to clear away all the negative energy of the past week or so. Of course, it's not something you'll probably ever be able to really get away from for long, but it's unhealthy to not take the chances you do have to be yourself." She paused briefly to wipe away at her face again.

"What are the things you enjoy? Your mother said you liked the gardens at the castle, right? Maybe you could take some time to look at the flowers in the fields," she suggested. "I could sing for your or dance with you if you wanted, too... I don't know, just ideas. You just need to take some time to feel good about yourself, I think." She wrapped her arm with his that held her, squeezing his hand and smiling.

[Shin]

It had been an unusual evening, with Scuttle's disappearance and the vast quantity of alcohol consumed. Thankfully, not much else had really occurred that night. By the early morning, Owen's party had all found their way to Perroy's barn - and the Reliants had the luxury of the old man's house. There hadn't been an ounce of trouble during the night, but the morning came too soon for many of the group - hangovers did not care for class or creed, purely what one had consumed. The rest of the day was perhaps a little weary but did not provide the same scares that had occurred before. Claire's knees were safe from arrows for the time being.

9th April 812

The morning of their final day in Magon had come. As bright and clear, albeit without the grogginess of hangovers, as the morning before, travelling conditions seemed ideal. There was still a fence that needed a few last dabs of paint, and Esclabor's promise to tend to the farm still held. Whether or not Owen wanted to leave without his entire group was a matter he needed to decide for himself. Nelon was another matter, he was still not fit for travel, his wounds had been dealt with but little more than preventing his death had been achieved.

Perroy stood in front of his hosue, facing Owen and his group. It didn't appear that he was too fussed with speaking to royalty, or even that he acknowledged Owen's position. "Your friend should live from his wounds, it wasn't easy but within a couple of weeks he should make a recovery, Owen." Perroy announced, looking over at Esclabor. "This one's promised to do some work for me today, but I'll be kind and let you have him back after noon. Hopefully he'll be a little more coherent than the boy from yesterday. I'd recommend having a wander around the village, making sure you've gotten everything you want before setting off. The border's less than a week away, but it's nothing but a wasteland until you get there. I'd keep an eye out for trouble if I were you."

The party is free to post!

Esclabor is stuck at the farm for the morning!

Reliable Art

Serge's group had made an early start on the fence. It had been far larger than the man had described, and Emily had been little use the previous day. Hans and Lars were rather adept at the job, starting at opposite sides and working their way towards the middle. Neither Larissa nor Morganna were particularly skillful, but they at least managed to contribute somewhat. Slathering the white lacquer on the wooden posts, it wasn't exactly mercenary work... but it wasn't particularly easy either.

"I think those two would have made him a new fence if he'd asked." Larissa joked, nudging a now sober Emily in the side. Emily had returned with a new energy that morning, her lethargy from the previous day almost uncharacteristic. Completely splattered in paint, the mage brushed wildly, thankfully applying more paint to the fence than herself.

"Boss, if you and Emmet want to go get supplies, we can finish the rest for you." Emily said firmly, a particularly large blob of paint dripping down onto her boots. "I'll work three times as hard to make up for yesterday!"

Their employer sat at the front of his house, watching the motley crew slave away at his monster of a fence. "Yer kids be pretty good! Should be finished today, might even pay you a little for it!" he cheered, taking a strictly supervisory role. Taking out a pipe, the old man put it to his lips, delighted with the results so far.

Serge and Emmet are free to post!

[spoiler=BEXP - Booze EXP]

Owen gains 15 BEXP!

Cass gains 25 BEXP!

Cass grows to level 12!

(94 3 45 87 30 5 6 49)

Strength up!

Speed up!

Luck up!

Defense up!

Angus gains 32 BEXP!

Claire gains 21 BEXP!

Adele gains 12 BEXP!

Serge gains 26 BEXP!

Emmet gains 19 BEXP!

Sidney gains 14 BEXP!

Freya gains 15 BEXP!

Edited November 5, 2016 by Shin

[Jotari]

Emmet hadn't been all too excited about the prospect of painting a fence. Under normal circumstances he probably would have refused to do so and slept outside instead but after making us of the bed to recover after being shot, he really had no valid excuse to separate himself from the work. To his surprise he found the menial labour quite enjoyable. Aside from when meditating, Emmet's mind was always active. Either deliberating on some issue or trying to take in all of his surroundings to improve survival chances. It was extremely refreshing to actually do something methodically without thinking or worrying about anything. The idle chat with the other reliants was also pretty enjoyable. Though he intended to leave them at the end of this job, he did find them to be a relatively amusing bunch.

At Emily's comment, Emmet glanced at Serge. "I did drop my bow in to get some repairs the other day. I definitely don't want to be looking for the smith as we're leaving. What do you say boss?"

[charlie_]

Compared to the roller-coaster of emotions that was the first day in Magon, the following day was a fairly calm one for Claire. Beyond nursing a brutal hangover, it had also been a surprisingly productive one. She'd certainly learned a few things, at any rate, but the day ahead of them felt... strangely empty in comparison.

The mage was a little hesitant to return to the library after the incident with Scuttle, but from what she'd heard the rogue bard had fled after escaping the church (and she definitely wasn't supposed to be roaming freely) and there was still a lot to do. Malaphar isn't going to rest, so neither can I. she sighed. This was a small town, anyway, and the short list of things to do had been otherwise exhausted to Claire.

She slowly poked her head around the library door, still a little on edge about coming back here. It was silly of her to think that the archer would be waiting for in there again, but part of her just had to be sure. Phew. To her relief, the building was in much better shape than it had been during her last 'visit'. Finally at ease, she stepped inside and began examining the bookshelves carefully. Hopefully she could find what she was looking for.

[Dandragon]

The paint job had been a bit more difficult than Serge had expected, but Hans and Lars were extremely efficient, and Emily, after a day of a hangover, was incredibly helpful. Larissa and Morganna had been done as expected, but he didn't mind. And Emmet was Emmet. He wasn't sure how to describe it other than...Emmet. Perhaps he should change his name to Enigma?

"Sounds good to me, Emily. I'll take Emmet to the blacksmith and then we can both go looking for supplies in the market." Serge placed his brush within the paint can, the handle sticking out so it could be easily picked up again. He looked at Emily and chuckled a little. "Maybe we'll get you some new clothes while we're at it. Those look like they need a wash. Come on, Emmet." With that, he made his way to the gate and waited for Emmet to follow.

[charlie_]

[spoiler=the nerd herd]

It was the evening of the second day, and instead of getting horribly drunk, Claire was instead taking a nice, calming walk. Once she spotted the library nearby, she almost turned back around, if not for the spotting a familiar figure she wanted to speak with. "Hey, hold on a second!" She approached hurriedly. "You're Morganna, aren't you? I don't know if Serge mentioned this or not, but I was hoping that I could talk to you." She paused, before adding: "I'm Claire by the way." Maybe the mercenary had no idea who she was.

Morganna hadn't expected anyone to be at the library, especially after the events that had occurred. What was even more of a surprise was... who it was, it was her, the girl Scuttle had tried to murder. "Ah, yes. I'm Morganna. The commander didn't say anything about it... but if there's something you need, I suppose I might be able to spare some time."

"Thank you." Claire nodded, smiling slightly. "I was hoping you would be able to talk to me about your magic. I don't mean with your tomes - your erm, illusion spells. I was wondering how they worked. I haven't really tried very much freehand magic since before I started using tomes, but considering what's been happening recently, I think understanding them better would be useful." Making a replica of yourself and creating a whole new world were in totally in different leagues of magic, but perhaps there were some similarities between the two.

Her illusions? They were a unique talent that Morganna possessed, relatively few could produce magic without the aid of a vessel. "It's a rather advanced art." Morganna replied, not quite able to be too smug about it. "If it's lessons you want, it might take some time. Even mine are relatively simple in the grand scheme of things."

"It's not so much the illusions themselves I'm interested in." Claire admitted, hoping it wouldn't bruise the other woman's ego. "If you remember Malaphar's magic, he was able to whisk five of us away almost instantly. I didn't see a tome, staff or anything else." Her face was sullen now, it was difficult to stay cheerful while she was remembering that. "I've never even heard of magic on that level before, and I imagine it's the same with you? But the foundations have to be the same, don't they? And perhaps any shortcomings they have would be shared too." That was her rationale, anyway. Whether or not Morganna thought it held up was another thing entirely.

Morganna paused, she'd been trying to avoid thinking about the sorcerer and his antics. Part of it was a strange jealousy of his ability, but there was a terror to him that she couldn't shake. "I can't say that I've ever seen anything quite like it." she replied, recalling the illusionists from the academy. "He's far beyond anything my tutors could ever achieve, and he seems to be able to do more than simply distort images, his powers are very real... the process is the same, but to find a weakness in something so potent. Did you figure anything out when you vanished?"

"He couldn't maintain his magic indefinitely. He was trying to maintain a whole world after all, and seemed to struggle with fighting off multiple threats. If he hadn't taken so many of us, I don't think we would've made it out." Claire bit her lip. "He took us to a whole other world - I've never seen anything like it. It was like a sick mockery of our world, and everything there was under his control. I don't know if his prior injuries weakened him, but they didn't seem to stop him." That was a terrifying thought. If he could do all of that while bleeding from the chest, what would he be like after he recovered? They were nowhere near ready for this.

Morganna didn't even want to consider what Malaphar's full power was, especially if he had his own world that he could maintain at death's door. "Then... perhaps he can only focus so much? Even with all that power... he is only one man." she replied, curious to how Claire's group actually survived the experience. "How did you escape?"

"Sir Nelon was able to figure out that Malaphar struggled to deal with multiple targets. We all attacked him at once and he seemed to be overwhelmed, although it was still a close call. The problem with that," Claire shifted uncomfortably where she stood. "Is that we can't guarantee that happens again. If Malaphar took one of us alone, there would be no stopping him. I know this is a tall ask, but... does any of this fit with what you know?" Claire didn't want to look too distressed, but going over all of out loud made her worry. What if Morgana was as clueless as she was?

"It's not like anything I've seen or heard of before. There are some sorcerers in the past who have been able to disappear and reappear at will... but this horrible world, it's completely unknown to me." she replied, noticeably uneasy about the sheer uncertainty of it all.

"But I mean, does any of this match up with your own magic? Any limitations or shortcomings which seem similar?" Claire had to force herself to take a deep breath at this point. The outlook was grim. "Do you even think they could be related?" Her voice was smaller this time. If it turned out that their spells were completely different, then the vial was her only lead once again. Nothing would change.

"My own magic is limited by my ability to focus. Unless it's a simple spell, I have to maintain concentration otherwise my illusions fade. Perhaps he could be overwhelmed in the same way?" she replied, curious to what Claire was pondering. "If that Nelon could figure a way to distract him, there must be a way to interfere with him magically too."

"Would there be a way for any one person to overwhelm him like that alone though?" she wondered. "Maybe some kind of spell could do it. I don't know..." It seemed far beyond the capabilities of any regular weapon - although the same held true for most mages. "I... I need some more time to think about this. But thank you." She felt as though she'd gotten something out of the conversation, at the very least. Claire just wasn't sure what yet.

"I'm not sure, I'd have to do some research." Morganna replied, her pride as a spellcaster driving her forward. "If I find any information, I'll let you know. Of course, I might have to tone it down to your level." Morganna smirked, Claire seemed like a bright girl, perhaps even too bright. She too knew the worries of having a powerful mind, but a weak will. "Do pass on my regards to Nelon, he may have given me an idea or two."

Claire ignored Morganna's jab at her experience, simply nodding. If the other mage could figure anything else out, then she would like to head about it - and not ruin it by trying to save face. "I'll do that, when he's well again. See you later." With that, Claire turned back around to leave. Her evening walk was a lot less relaxing than she'd wanted it to be, but now she had a lot to think about.

Edited November 7, 2016 by SB.

[Nanami Touko]

This morning was far, far better than the last. No hangover, less worries, not much left to deal with in Magon... Scuttles being free was troubling, but unlike Claire, Cass wasn't afraid to be attacked by the scrawny girl. If it came down to it, she was confident trading blows would result in her success.

But troubling thoughts like that were not on Cass' mind, today. What was on her mind was that lovely sword she'd passed up earlier, and she wanted to see if this Rashid still had it at his stall. She had been too preoccupied with Owen yesterday--well, a lot of people, really--to go and pick it up. Since this was their last day, this was her last chance. Strolling into the market, she looked around. The streets were fairly quiet, was Rashid even still here? If he was a traveling salesman, perhaps he'd already moved on, or headed back home to restock. Well, she'd look anyway. Perhaps something else would catch her eye if he wasn't available.

[Jotari]

Emmet put his brush away and followed Serge. "DId you hear the bard escaped?" Emmet asked in a low voice after they'd gained some distance from the others.

[Terrador]

Drinking sucks, so let's go find some herb

Two nights and a day later, Geoffrey still was still sick. Such a thing even after a day's hard work wasn't heard of in the Kearney family--if one of theirs wasn't chipper after a day of shoveling crap, that was their special omen of disaster. Sure, the bear himself didn't and couldn't work himself to exhaustion, but a day in the sun should've been more than enough! Angus dismisses the worry of yet more serious resistance in the few remaining days until Raewald. Instead, he hauls his groggy pet (after several inquiries and no few laughs of recognition) to one place that might assist him.

"Oei, eh, 'scuse me." The mooncalf taps the door open, bear hanging over his shoulder like so many potatoes. "You got anythin' for too much o'the drink? My boy here, well... we had a night." His regret was palpable, even if not wholehearted. No mother could wish any pain on his little one, of course! Sometimes it was still worth it, though. Like letting the sprouts play with fire, but with less crying and bowel control.

Angus visits the Herbalist!

Edited November 8, 2016 by Terrador