Geyze II

Session 102: Closing the Record (Act 2)

* Day changed to Monday, 12. May 2025
<@DeathStar> 5
<@DeathStar> 3
<@DeathStar> 1
<@DeathStar> -0-
<@DeathStar> Date: 10-662.6.13
<@DeathStar> Location: Kumen - Asarar's Casino
<@DeathStar> *Asarar leans back against the bar, reading over a datapad on something that is making her frown - it appears that the President is raising taxes across the planet on the other cities to pay for various projects as well as to make Kumen City a "city for the future". Ymir having gone MIA a few months back, despite the team's best efforts, and soon the President claiming the Corporations back due to declaring her dead - rather shady*
<@DeathStar> *Asarar throws a drink back, drumming a finger on the bar counter* I am annoyed.
<@Jackieness> <Kira> "That seems to be a rucrring theme around here." *slides a fresh drink over to asarar*
<@Jackieness> recurring
<@DeathStar> *Asarar folds her hands, eyeing a folder she's made on the case* <Asarar> Problem is that Luci is linked with Ymir - so if she was killed and thrown into a ditch, she'd feel it. But she doesn't feel her alive either. But it's been shown in the past that can get around
<@Jackieness> <Kira> "She's been kidnapped and stock in a box somewhere before."
<@Jackieness> stuck
<@DeathStar> <Asarar> That's what I'm worried about - only they took out the kidnapping part and just put her in a box somewhere
<@Jackieness> <Kira> "Assume she is not coming back. What is our move?"
<@DeathStar> <Asarar> I imagine Luci will not give up looking for her. But the rest of us have turned up nothing, so we need to decide what we want to do. This new President doesn't appear to have anything on him openly. We've tried to find it. But he's making the shadiest of moves.
<@DeathStar> <Asarar> Bringing the Corporations back. *she looks at the board of the people running them now* And so far he's putting "normal" business men and women in charge. I haven't found anything linking them to crime - yet
<@Jackieness> <Kira> "He's borin. Probably a puppet pushed into position because he was boring. So the question is who is giving the orders? Who beenfits?"
<@DeathStar> <Asarar> That is hard to tell right now. Especially not living in the city like we used to
<@DeathStar> *Asarar taps the document* The question is do we want to get involved in that madhouse of a city again
<@Jackieness> <Kira> "Its not like transparency was a thing even when we were.""
<@DeathStar> *Bonnie leans on the counter, eyeing the two*
<@DeathStar> <Bonnie> I have a theory
<@Jackieness> <Kira> "Let's hear it."
<@DeathStar> <Bonnie> It's that you two thrive off stuff like this. You two could just sit here and rake in the money - pay the outrageous taxes coming in from the new President; hell being the biggest casino on the planet, you could probably become part of his inner circle by paying off the right people that way - but you two like the thrill of getting on the street level and taking shit down
<@Jackieness> <Kira> *pours herself a drink and then downs it*
<@DeathStar> *Asarar doesn't deny it either, reaching and finishing her own drink* I admit, we have had people from his camp reach out once or twice. They are aware of how much we make
<@DeathStar> <Asarar> It began after Ymir vanished
<@Jackieness> <Kira> "Our girl is back home. Seh and her crew are grounded after the Aquarius was decommissioned. Maybe we should just be moms."
<@DeathStar> *Bonnie glances over at her kiddo, serving drinks and food to the tables*
<@DeathStar> <Asarar> We'd be set for life. *She admits*
<@Jackieness> <Kira> "..and maybe Bonnie is right. Maybe we do want this to be crap because we need it to be crap..."
<@DeathStar> *Asarar rubs her face hard* <Asarar> So we let it go for now? What if it does get bad? I mean I could set up a network of spy cameras around the city and.... *Bonnie eyes her slowly, amused*
<@DeathStar> <Bonnie> If it wasn't for Ymir being missing, I'd say you were looking for something too hard
<@Jackieness> <Kira> "Just keep an eye out and a plan ready, just in case."
<@DeathStar> -SHIFT-
<@DeathStar> Location: Hapian Castle
<@DeathStar> *Neekito, Kito, and Rain finish a daily update with Sasha* <Kito> It appears that the daily shipments from Mirror Earth have finally begun to arrive. With Kumen no longer being part of the Alliance, they are trying to get the best deals from them but surprisingly Verdant is not playing ball so far. Infact, she seems to favor our kingdom
<@DeathStar> <Neekito> She often asks if we have seen Nicolette - who has been missing since the day of the attack on the Queens
<@Jackieness> <Sasha> "And nothing more has been learned of the attack?"
<@DeathStar> <Rain> The Magi Tower believes it was an attack done with magic.
<@Jackieness> <Sasha> "That seems likely."
<@DeathStar> <Rain> They believe it might have been ancient magic they have dubbed "Wild" magic.
<@Jackieness> <Sasha> "Anything from the Peacekeepers?"
<@DeathStar> <Rain> Well, speaking of Wild/Creation magic, the Peacemakers have been breaking into that temple and it might be tied to it a little as well. Lumi has been tightlipped though
<@Jackieness> <Sasha> "Then we shall need to be patient until their investigation progresses further. In the meantime, we must attend to affairs of state."
<@DeathStar> <Kito> The entire Magi organization has been becoming tightlipped lately since you stepped down from the Academy. I don't think they plan to leave the Academy, but I do think they plan to expand
<@DeathStar> <Kito> So many students are turning to Magic now over the spirits, that I am hearing that they are thinking of expanding the school
<@Jackieness> <Sasha> "Not a surprise. The spirits have been in the middle of the last few crises."
<@DeathStar> <Neekito> A Magi school in every major city?
<@DeathStar> <Kito> It would lead to a shrinking of the spirit's sphere of influence
<@Jackieness> <Sasha> "I am aware. The crown's legitimacy is sitll invested in Aska's blessign though."
<@DeathStar> <Rain> Let us hope that Aska and Soren remain strong then
<@DeathStar> -SHIFT-
<@DeathStar> Location: Peacemaker HQ
<@DeathStar> *Lumi has Brooke beside them as they chart out the temple before them* Alright, this is going to be a big operation. We're going to have Brooke drain the inner chamber to allow the equipment a chance to start working
<@Jackieness> <Lana> "While the chamber is drained, we can then deploy my barrier generators to keep out the water."
<@DeathStar> <Gwen> You think of the neatest stuff
<@Jackieness> <Lana> "Ahhhh...we cna't depend on Brooke using ehr powers infinitely."
<@DeathStar> *Lumi has them suit up and Brooke takes them down into the water; they arrive in the chamber with the equipment and doors shut and Brooke begins to slowly drain the room out*
<@Jackieness> <Lana> *begins placing the barrier generators as the chamber is drained*
<@DeathStar> *Gwen watches all this and looks cool as they get the barriers in place. Soon the chamber is properly dried*
<@DeathStar> <Brooke> I will be nearby if you need me. *She moves out into the ocean*
<@Jackieness> <Lana> "Barriers are holding."
<@DeathStar> <Gwen> Alright. *Lumi leans forward, studying the equipment* Think you can get it started?
<@Jackieness> <Lana> "Ahhhh... hopefully." *weaves and scans the equipments*
<@DeathStar> *it looks like it has power - it's just slowly drying out*
<@Jackieness> <Lana> "I am detecting a power feed... just need to let the water finish draining."
<@DeathStar> *Gwen offers a food bar*
<@DeathStar> *Lumi eyes Gwen*
<@Jackieness> <Lana> "Ahhhh? Thank you." 8nibbles from the bar*
<@DeathStar> *soon the equipment begins to beep and lights on the side go green*
<@Jackieness> <Lana> "Ahhhhhh!" *moves over to the console and then weaves, bringing up an interface to try to translate the Keeper systems*
<@DeathStar> *the Keeper system boots up and it appears to Lana to be an observation system*
<@Jackieness> <Lana> "Observation systems... not a surprise. Let's see what they were observing." *tries to bring up the last records*
<@DeathStar> *as it were designed to observe not only the village nearby, but the areas around the islands, the ocean, and the Amazon/Legion/part of the Spiritalist lands*
<@DeathStar> *it looks like it has nothing to do with Spirits this time - it appears they were observing the people of Geyze - long before the 12,000 year mark. The information coming in shows the levels of mana were high based on the observations being made - making Geyze a mana influenced planet*
<@Jackieness> <Lana> "Northern region...these reading might match Counter Geyze."
<@DeathStar> *there are records popping up and Keeper logs talkign about a massive civilization before 12,000 years*
<@DeathStar> *with the last one being near the 12,000 year mark*
<@Jackieness> <Lana> *tries to bring up a full map of Geyze at the 12000 year mark*
<@DeathStar> *the map at that point is very close to the way it looks now, as around 12,000 years is when the spirits were introduced - at least Shade, Aska, and Void were*
<@Jackieness> <Lana> *then tries rewinding the changes to the map back to the beginning to observe how things change. She also sets an alert to pause the rewind if the map matches Counter Geyze*
<@DeathStar> *The map goes backwards with the updates - sadly, it isn't constant updates, since the Keepers seem to do snap shots. But it goes from looking like current day Geyze at Geyze's snap shot at 12,000, then the next snap shot at 10,000 it looks like a completely different Geyze, complete with what appears to be massive cities all over the place. And indeed, the world lay out looks to be very close to Counter Geyze. Between the two snap shots, huge areas of land vanish in this area of Geyze along with what looks to be high tech cities. Maybe the logs say more*
<@DeathStar> <Lumi> ... *squints*
<@Jackieness> <Lana> "There..." *brings up the logs for the period with the disappearing land masses and cities*
<@DeathStar> *the log begins to list the Keeper's horror at the disappearnce - that the planet has experiened a massive mana influx that is soaked into it's very core and changed it's nature. They will need to study it and see what the effects are on Geyze. They theorize the good people of Geyze have destroyed themselves in a Magi War with each other, using their unusual magic and their magic towers around the planet. The record seems to believe that the cities were either vaporized, buried in the sea with the land masses, or maybe the people of Geyze have complelely erased themselves with magic*
<@DeathStar> *there appears to be logs on the magic in various places throughout the computer - labeling it as "Wild Creation Magic formulas"8
<@Jackieness> <Lana> *checks for casualty estimates*
<@DeathStar> *it seems to be in a number that some might say Geyze only recently is reaching*
<@Jackieness> <Lana> "Its hard to tell if the entire population perished then the ancestors of modern Geyze arrived from earth or that their were survivors...or both."
<@DeathStar> <Lumi> I'd say there had to be survivors.
<@DeathStar> <Lumi> Since Earth never factored into Geyze
<@Jackieness> <Lana> "Maybe. Alot of this is fuzzy. Those humans from modern Geyze are presumably descended from refugees from Earth before the reality reset."
<@DeathStar> <Gwen> Don't look at me. I was always told that the people of Geyze were descendants of the seven heroes mostly.
<@DeathStar> <Gwen> With Hapian being the oldest Kingdom
<@DeathStar> <Lumi> Well we're only seeing records of the upper map. Where is Hapian during all this?
<@Jackieness> <Lana> "Either unmonitored or there was another observation post for the southern hemisphere."
<@DeathStar> <Lumi> Can you ping this and see if it can locate another observation post?
<@Jackieness> <Lana> "LEt's see..." *tries to find other posts on Geyze*
<@DeathStar> *Lana gets 2 pings - one to the south and one to the far west - on an island* <Gwen> So what are we looking at? The Keepers were friends or at least monitoring some ancient Magi Civilization? Can you see if there is more information on them?
<@Jackieness> <Lana> *marks the two new posts* "LEt's see..." *tries to retrieve a summary of the Magi Civilization*
<@DeathStar> *A Keeper hologram appears and begins to speak*
<@DeathStar> <Keeper> The people of Geyze seem to built their entire civilization on their mana filled world. Strangely Geyze does not seem to run low on mana but continues to manifest new mana from the core of the planet. We are hoping to learn from it in order to make Natural Spirits before the end. The people of Geyze seem to be divided into the Hap'ian, their military they call the Legion, and those who believe in a higher power called the Order and use their magic for strange crusades. (cont)
<@DeathStar> <Keeper> The people of Geyze use an Magic they call Creation magic - which we have dubbed as Wild magic due to the abilities it presents. It allows them to create all sorts of creative spells and abilities by writing down on paper and linking it together, they can chain spells and make more and more. They can even create magical gems to power their structures with this creation magic (cont)
<@DeathStar> <Keeper> That is the other problem with them - their powerful magic can be found in their many Mana Towers around the planet - each of them containing the power to destroy whole cities. We fear that one day one of them will use these towers to destroy such a creative race. In the meantime we will study what we can in the meantime for our purposes.
<@DeathStar> *on the screen, what looks like simple scribbles appears, but Lana would recognize them as magic formulas - more advanced than what is found in the modern texts - it looks like a formula for creating fire - then the next slide shows water, then earth, then wind*
<@Jackieness> <Lana> "Ahhhh...this is fascinating... its not too disimilar to my weave magic, in a way. Its just used for more dramatic effects than I've risked."
<@DeathStar> <Keeper> By taking formulas like this, we might can work work on a form of our spirit project. By combining spells, one can make newer spells. We will work on learning more of this Wild Magic formulas and see what can be combined
<@DeathStar> *The player stops there*
<@DeathStar> <Lumi> So what do you make of all of this?
<@Jackieness> <Lana> "My hypothesis is that there was indeed a self-inflicted apocalypse on Geyze that drained most of the mana that emanated form the center of the planet. The Keepers responded by seeding what was left of geyze with spirits to help the natives recover."
<@DeathStar> <Gwen> So our ancestors stone aged themselves? Where are all the other Magi Towers are then - why is there only one?
<@Jackieness> <Lana> "...ahhh...I think the surviving tower is the one that actually fired. An...ahhh..de-fanging strike against the other towers."
<@DeathStar> <Gwen> We should---- *suddenly outside the chamber, in the ocean there's a commotion. Gwen trots over and tries to see down into the waters* <Gwen> Crap, I think I see Brooke fighting something in the water. *he begins to suit up and put his helmet on*
<@DeathStar> *Lumi works to do the same*
<@Jackieness> <Lana> "Ahhhhhh?!"
<@DeathStar> <Lumi> You stay here, Lana
<@Jackieness> <Lana> *nod nods and turns back to go through more of the data*
<@DeathStar> *The two dive into the water*
<@DeathStar> *something emerges from the water as Lana brings up images of the cities - they look a lot like Earth cities in the 20th century, but it's clear the cities run on Magi Tech. There are domes of mana protecting places, vehicles with mana being driven around, etc*
<@DeathStar> *A Sahuagin creeps up on Lana*
<@Jackieness> <Lana> *tries to zero in on the war*
<@DeathStar> *it appears that the war wasn't caught in the snap shot, but Lana does pick up some data of unrest. The Order speaking to speak to the mana as if it were a living thing that had it's own will and that the people of Geyze were abusing it, while the Legion were trying to size control of the Magi Towers to "protect" everyone. They seemed to look like strong Knights with dark magi looking armor and they didn't car about the other two groups - the Ha'pia or the Order. The Ha'pia mostly were a governing group and were trying to keep order and were working with the Order at the end of the last snap shot. So who caused the destruction in the end? Unknown.
<@DeathStar> *Lana would suddenly feel herself grabbed and lifted up*
<@Jackieness> <Lana> "Ahhhhh?!"
<@DeathStar> *the Sahuagin carries Lana toward the water*
<@Jackieness> <Lana> "Ahhhhh! Let em go! I don't have my suit's breathing mask on!"
<@DeathStar> *Lumi emerges from the water, bleeding from her suit and stabs the enemy, causing it to drop Lana into the water*
<@Jackieness> <Lana> *goes flop*
<@DeathStar> *Lumi sits on the edge, holding her arm*
<@DeathStar> *as the monster die flops in after her*
<@DeathStar> <Lumi> You okay, Lana? We have a situation
<@Jackieness> <Lana> "...I...ahhh...I noticed..."
<@DeathStar> <Lumi> The monsters took Brooke and Gwen
<@DeathStar> <Lumi> Well, more like Gwen got taken by accident
<@DeathStar> *Lumi pulls Lana up with her good arm*
<@Jackieness> <Lana> "Anhhhhhhh?!"
<@DeathStar> *Lumi hands her a stone tablet with writing much like the wild magic - it looks like it says something akin to "Capture"*
<@DeathStar> <Lumi> They had this out and pulled them both into some sort of crystal
<@Jackieness> <Lana> "...I think I can translate it..."
<@DeathStar> <Lumi> I think Brooke was their target
<@DeathStar> <Lumi> The monsters swam away after getting them - faster than I could
<@Jackieness> <Lana> *weaves and tries translating the tablet*
<@DeathStar> *the tablet translates to - Contain Person [Soul and Body]*
<@DeathStar> *Lumi pulls out a Terra fruit*
<@Seraphna> **Terra pops in** Someone called my Banana Phone?
<@DeathStar> <Lumi> We need an escape plan now that Brooke is gone. *she turns to Lana* Anything else you need in here?
<@Jackieness> <Lana> "Not much to go on...but this tablet is structured like the Wild Magic spells in the Keeper records."
<@Seraphna> Terra> Brooke gone!? **flails**
<@DeathStar> <Lumi> Keep it then; maybe we can learn something from it
<@Jackieness> <Lana> "I need to ge tit back to my lab." *turns* "But first, I need to safely shut these down again in case we have the chance to come back."
<@Seraphna> Terra> This everyone? Where’s the Gwen looking one?
<@Seraphna> Terra> And the Boob cat.
<@Jackieness> <Lana> "Ahhhh....Gwen was apparently taken too...somehow..."
<@DeathStar> <Lumi> Mabe we'll get lucky and Gwen will show back up
<@DeathStar> <Lumi> He has that nack
<@Seraphna> **Terra calls out at Lana’s breasts** Boob cat?
<@Jackieness> <Lana> "Ahhhhh?!"
<@Seraphna> Terra> Guess Talia with Gwen? Maybe that’s good.
<@Jackieness> <Lana> *starts shutting down the facility's systems*
<@DeathStar> <Lumi> Did you download everything you wanted?
<@Jackieness> <Lana> "Ahhh...probably not, but we don't have much time...right?"
<@DeathStar> <Lumi> That is true. And we can come back later with more guards
<@DeathStar> <Lumi> Alright, Terra, take us out
<@Jackieness> <Lana> "Also we have two more additional sites."
<@Seraphna> **Terra nods and teleports with them**
<@DeathStar> *they arrive back at the Peacemaker camp and Lumi hisses, eyeing the wound on her arm*
<@DeathStar> <Lumi> I'm going to ---- *an agent runs up and begins to whisper in her ear, making it perk up* Dammit
<@Jackieness> <Lana> "Ahhh?"
<@DeathStar> <Lumi> It is Kalam. There has been an incident at her temple. She still isn't clear what happened but it appears the jist of it is monsters attacked after some of the spirits were summoned there for a fake meeting by some of her summoni who turned out to be monsters. The spiris were taken like Brooke before anyone realized what happened.
<@Seraphna> Terra> Oh no…
<@Jackieness> <Lana> "...I need to study this tablet."
<@DeathStar> <Lumi> Go ahead. I'm going to head to Kalam's
<@Jackieness> <Lana> *nods and heads for her lab*
<@Seraphna> **Thena poofs by Lumi with medicines and bandages**
<@DeathStar> <Lumi> Thanks
<@DeathStar> *she pats Thena's hand8
<@DeathStar> <Lumi> Terra. I need you to take us to Kalam's
<@Seraphna> Terra> Okay! **she teleports them again**
<@DeathStar> *the group arrives outside Kalam's place, where the walls have holes all over the place, smoke is rising, dead monsters litter the place, and summoni bodies are all over the place*
<@DeathStar> *it looks like a war zone. Peacemakers are running around trying to find monsters lurking about*
<@DeathStar> *Kalam is with some summoni, trying to piece together what happened*
<@DeathStar> *Rain is there with a magical orb, which is allowing her to communicate with Sasha* <Rain> My Queen
<@DeathStar> <Rain> I have not seen Aska or Soren yet - they may be among the ones lost in this conflict. I am still searching
<@Jackieness> <Sasha> "Confirm the situation. An attack on the Light spirits are an attack on the crown."
<@Seraphna> Terra> Not Sorey!
<@DeathStar> <Rain> Of course. *She walks over to Kalam who looks up, speaking to everyone, including Sasha*
<@DeathStar> <Kalam> I'm afraid that we all are not entirely positive what happened, but this is what we believe occurred. And you will not like it
<@DeathStar> <Kalam> We were in the middle of a meeting when 5 of my most trusted advisors stepped in - and it was them. They passed every check. And they began to summon and have some of the others summon, having ordered them to do so. Once the mass summoning occurred, the advisors some how transformed into monsters. High level queen monsters with intelligence, and outside monsters began to siege us. The queens then used some sort of spell to trap the spirits that were being summoned in. I never heard of monsters being able to summon - it is an impossibility!
<@DeathStar> <Kalam> They then took the captured spirits and ran out. I believe Soren escaped her trap and went after them.
<@Seraphna> Terra> They had to be very good. I normally know who is summoning and if I should send a proxy.
<@Jackieness> <Sasha> "Has any trace of these advisors been found?"
<@DeathStar> <Kalam> That is just it. There are no traces of the advisors. It is like they vanished. *she points at the ground where the advisors clothes fell after the transformation into monsters* I ran a magic scan on clothes and it is coming back as skin and sweat as belonging to them
<@Jackieness> <Sasha> "There is a chance that powerful magic was used to transform your advisors into servants of this enw enemy."
<@DeathStar> <Rain> I fear what magic can do that
<@DeathStar> <Rain> But it might explain how the Queens were so easily ambushed
<@DeathStar> <Lumi> Wait wait wait. Are we saying there's a magic out there that might turn my own men into ticking time bombs?
<@Jackieness> <Sasha> "The possibility cannot be ignored."
<@DeathStar> *Lumi groans*
<@DeathStar> *Soren floats back, one of her wings looking damaged*
<@DeathStar> <Soren> The monsters went underground.... tunnels were too complicated
<@Seraphna> Terra> Oh no what if they turn Gwen into a Queen? Wait would he look like Qui?
<@Seraphna> Terra> Oh hi Sorey. I can do tunnels!
<@DeathStar> <Lumi> That is true. If Gwen shows up he can't be trusted with this revelation
<@Jackieness> <Sasha> "We need answers."
<@DeathStar> <Lumi> I'll have to inform Qui about what has happened to her brother. She won't be happy
<@DeathStar> <Kalam> I agree. ... what should we do with the remaining spirits? I have to imagine they'll try for the rest
<@DeathStar> <Kalam> Any regular summoni calling a spirit now could be one of them
<@Seraphna> Terra> Maybe put in a safe space like last time?
<@DeathStar> <Soren> Wait, are we getting side lined - again?
<@DeathStar> <Rain> Soren! Think of your responsbility to Hapian. *Soren jerks and bows her head*
<@Jackieness> <Sasha> "The safest place for them would be the Spirit realm, I imagine. Of coruse, if they ignore all summons, thei influence will further decline."
<@DeathStar> <Kalam> The spirit realm should be the safest place as you say. I'll see what I can do to try to negate their influence.
<@Seraphna> Terra> We’ll need a way to tell. Like this.
<@Seraphna> **Terra touches Kalam and marks her**
<@DeathStar> <Kalam> You think this will work against that strange magic?
<@DeathStar> *Kalam sounds worried*
<@DeathStar> <Rain> It can't hurt
<@Seraphna> Terra> We’ll find out! That mark is on your spirit, not so much your body.
<@DeathStar> <Lumi> Well, consider yourself a test subject
<@DeathStar> -SHIFT-
<@DeathStar> Date: 10-662.6.20
<@DeathStar> Location: The Academy
<@DeathStar> *Shion steps out as summer classes are beginning, eyeing notes. Alouette and Zayne are there, the latter having her arms crossed*
<@DeathStar> <Shion> Well it looks like a situation with the spirits have cropped up. Spirit classes will be hence forth going forward with no summoning - just the basics from now on. .... I wonder if anyone will take the actual summoning classes now.
<@DeathStar> <Zayne> I received a note about being in danger. I would leave school if I knew where Nicolette was, but since I do not. *she shrugs. Shin simply nods, it appearing the two plan to keep remaining there for the time being*
<@DeathStar> <Zayne> Besides, the one called Yoiyami is amusing. *props her head up* I wonder what she will do now.
<@DeathStar> -TBC-
* DeathStar changes topic to: Geyze II: Monday 7:30 - 10:45 PM | Act 0: Closing the Record | Session 103: Closing the Record (Act 3)
<@DeathStar> -Minis Open-

* Now talking in: #Geyze-Nicolette
* Day changed to Monday, 12. May 2025
<@DeathStar> 5
<@DeathStar> 3
<@DeathStar> 2
<@DeathStar> 1
<@DeathStar> -0-
<@DeathStar> Date: After the wedding attack
<@DeathStar> Location: Cave System
<@DeathStar> *ironically, set up not too far from where the attack happened at the Legion capital, Selena has managed to set herself up in some old monster caves, having gotten away here from her assailant after being knocked liteally off a cliff edge. Now the ex-Queen lays wrapped up in various bandages to the point that one would be hard pressed to recognize her; even her long hair is hidden under a hood*
<@DeathStar> *Selena shifts from a makeshift bed to get to her feet, attempting to stand up and see how well she does*
<@MobileAri> * Nicolette sits up from where she rests against the cave wall, using her cape as a blanket, "Hey. You probably shouldn't be getting up yet."
<@DeathStar> <Selena> How long can we remain here before --whatever that was shows up again. *she sits down on the bed* I am replaying the entire thing in my head. And it was unnatural. It was like he appeared in the middle of my staff of maids, catching us unaware. *she motions at a sketch she made of the attacker* And I think I know why it bothers me so much. How he -- it - happened. *her voice sounds hoarse as she fumbles with the pitcher of water*
<@DeathStar> *Selena pours the water slowly into a cup* Nicolette - I swear he transformed from one of the maids. And it was one of the maids I had known for ages. I saw no ... sign of any forgery or fakery before then. I do not know how this person faked a maid I have known all my life so perfectly
<@MobileAri> <Nicolette> "Right now, it's important that we regain our strength. We'll have time for answers after." There's an uncertainty to her voice though
<@DeathStar> *Selena nods* I do not see how we can reach out to the castle though. *she lays back onto the makeshift bed* If this person can do that, they could mimic anyone. Kito, Neekito, even Aunt Sasha.
<@MobileAri> <Nicolette> "Yeah... until we know how they do what they do, it'll be dangerous to reach out." She pauses, "We should probably think of some sort of code, and hope they don't have some form of memory manipulation."
<@DeathStar> <Selena> Right. You have an idea of what sort of code we should use then?
<@MobileAri> <Nicolette> *taps her fingers as she ponders* "Nothing as obvious as a specific code word, or a gesture..."
<@DeathStar> *Selena chuckles, then winces* I'd probably just come up with a place we both know so I'd choose poorly
<@DeathStar> <Selena> After we're healed a bit - I want to start traveling and seeing what all I can learn about this being.
<@DeathStar> <Selena> I wonder if it is safe to bring anyone along like a spirit. *She muses*
<@MobileAri> <Nicolette> "Yeah, I don't know how they can identify us."
<@DeathStar> <Selena> For now we should travel with the idea of being very careful
<@DeathStar> -SHIFT-
<@DeathStar> *after a few weeks of healing in the cave, Selena keeps the bandages on, but seems to have healed rather nicely and soon spreads a map out* <Selena> I'm trying to decide where I want to go; that magic being used magics I am unused to so where would be best to learn about it
<@DeathStar> <Selena> I know there are still many books in the Hapian achieves, but Aunt Sasha might have that locked down and it might be watched
<@DeathStar> <Selena> The Magi is a clear choice, but Shinobu's Dark Lands also have old books
<@MobileAri> <Nicolette> "I guess it's time to start thinking like our enemies."
<@DeathStar> <Selena> Right. Hm. I have an idea maybe. *she grabs a bag and steps out of the cave* We'll detour down to the Dark Lands briefly
<@MobileAri> <Nicolette> *hops up* "So what's the plan?"
<@DeathStar> <Selena> I know that there are some manners to allow transformation through Blood Magic and I believe Black Magic too, but both are flawed. Kito told me that she could mimic Neekito if she had some blood of her's.
<@DeathStar> <Selena> But it would not be a perfect transformation - height and other stuff and the transformation would last only a short while. Black Magic is even more limited, but they might give insight into how person did it perfectly
<@DeathStar> *Selena waves the drawing of the armored magic knight* Plus if push comes to shove, we can show this around
<@MobileAri> <Nicolette> "It's a start, at least."
<@DeathStar> *Selena starts to trek then turns back to Nicolette along the back ways of the Legion territory into the Amazonian lands; at first, outside the journey taking what feels like a LOTR type trip of walking and walking, camping and eating, nothing much happens until they come across a small village with many Amazons worked up about something. Selena hangs back, even with all her wrappings on still, observing the group of amazons moving about what looks like a small empty village; nearby a large hole in the ground can be seen*
<@MobileAri> * Nicolette has changed her outfit for a rather boyish looking shirt and capris, with her relatively short hair tied back. Not at all looking magical. She approaches the amazonss, trying to glance past them at the hole. "What's the commotion about?"
<@DeathStar> *The Amazons look them both over, probably wondering what is with them* <Amazon> You two should make for the next town - unknown monsters attacked this small village and took very last person. Probably as food, if they are lucky. This is ill omen, if they are brazenly attacking villges - it must mean a monster army is forming and they are looking to humans for supplies now
<@MobileAri> <Nicolette> "That sounds horrifying... what sort of monster was it?"
<@DeathStar> <Amazon> That is just the thing - we are not entirely sure. *She points at the tracks* There appears to be the signs of vines here, the beast tracks of monster type centaurs here, large flying types clipped a building here, fur from wolf beasts. I believe we are looking at many different species of monster working together.
<@MobileAri> <Nicolette> "That seems unusually... organized."
<@DeathStar> <Selena> Disturbingly so. <Amazon> I agree. The monsters always fight each other. They only coordinate with other species if there is a Monster Lord. A monster lord is one monster that can get every other monster to bow to it's whims. You usually only see one of them every few hundred years. If there is a Monster Lord, we'll find it and kill it. We'll have to report this to the Alliance. Can't have such a being running around.
<@MobileAri> <Nicolette> "Well, best of luck with that! Hopefully we won't run into them."
<@DeathStar> *The Amazon bows and they move to set up a parameter. Selena takes Nicolette's hand and moves on, moving toward the south* <Selena> I do not like the idea of a Monster Army popping up out of the ground
<@MobileAri> <Nicolette> "Yeah. I'm sure they know, but this attack was too coordinated for just a monster lord."
<@DeathStar> <Selena> Of that we are in agreement. *soon the two cross over into the Dark Lands where Selena makes for the grotto first, the nymphs there being lazy. Selena studies the place, making sure it does not look compromised*
<@DeathStar> <Selena> It seems safe.
<@DeathStar> *she creeps into the grotto, past the nymphs who are lazing about in the waters*
<@DeathStar> *As the back of the grotto, they find Shade who seems to be musing on something and Vyvy painting. Shade glances up at them while Vyvy studies them suspiciouslty* <Shade> Hello, Nicolette. *she looks at Selena, almost knowingly* Many have been wanting to get in touch with you lately
<@MobileAri> <Nicolette> "Wouldn't be much of a vacation if I was on call, eheh."
<@DeathStar> <Selena> I was hoping we could get some information
<@DeathStar> <Selena> You have been around some time - do you know where we could find old tomes related to magic. Dating as far back as you can think. *Shade thinks* <Shade> Shinobu tries to hold onto what she can, but Rain's manor also has many old tomes. But --- this may seem risky. You may not want to attempt this
<@DeathStar> *Shade seems to be hesitating on bringing it up*
<@MobileAri> <Nicolette> "Risky?"
<@DeathStar> <Shade> There are surviving places underground; Gnome has described them to me and I have gone with her a few times. Old human buildings before even my time. Gnome has described them as having old writings and books - the reason she never takes anything out though is that these places are monster nests. Everytime she goes there she is practically run out. If you truly want to find something 'new', it would be under Geyze.
<@MobileAri> <Nicolette> "That's... a bit of an ask."
<@DeathStar> <Shade> I could send Gnome with you if you want. Otherwise, I would suggest seeking our a Black Mage or Blood Mage. They might can tell you a little bit even if the information isn't exact, they might know other avenues that could point you in directions you might otherwise never take. *Selena considers and looks at Nicolette* What do you think?
<@MobileAri> <Nicolette> "I think spirit back up might be in order after all."
<@DeathStar> *Shade calls Gnome in and Gnome appears thanks to Shade's teleport; yawning sleepily*
<@DeathStar> <Shade> Gnome, I'd like you to travel with these two and help them navigate the underground. Consider it your primary objective over any other calls that might come in
<@DeathStar> *Gnome looks over the two*
<@DeathStar> *Origin peeks out at Gnome* <Gnome> Gnome will be happy to take you! *She beams*
<@MobileAri> <Nicolette> "I doubt we could have a better guide."
<@DeathStar> *Gnome nods and an Earth hand wraps around them all, pulling them into the planet*
<@DeathStar> *Gnome gently pulls them along until they arrive at large tunnel system* <Gnome> We're actually going to go a bit deeper than the monster tunnels. *she pulls them down more*
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* Day changed to Tuesday, 13. May 2025