[Welcome back to the stage of history. Err. The Nexus Universe. All but one of you were resting peacefully when a familiar figure appeared in your dreams.] (*cosplays as Talim*) (Ao's closer, actually...) (..she is. Frighteningly.) (Taki dressing up as Taki would involve a great deal of padding >.>) (Might even be the right age.) (Sorry, Kate ^^; ) ["Heya!" Mela says. "We said we might need your help again. Delinara's mobilizing some kinda force, and it looks like she's headin' this way. And, uh, this is gonna seem kinda stupid, but there's some setup we've gotta do beforehand that we need you all here for. So, if you're interested in helpin' out, wake up, get dressed, and put on that ring you got last time when you're ready.] ["Neri and I will take care of the summoning spell. See you soon!"] [Session Start!] (You may now go ahead and give a brief description of yourself getting ready, if you so wish. Let me know when to proceed.) * Isaac fiddles with the ring as he floats in the lobby. * Isaac puts it on his finger, more than eager to come. ~Ao, it's time. Com'on!~ * Taki yawns, rolls off of her futon, streaches, and then starts searching for her clothes. * Jinx wakes up, stretches for a moment, grabs his assorted armaments, hangs the naginata one way on his back, and his shotgun the other way on top of it, dons his hat and waits. He seems a bit surprised by the lack of a rising Millie, but shows no inclination to wake her if she doesn't want to come. [Isaac, despite being ghosty at this point, has no trouble wearing the ring. Yay for magic rings that don't make you go insane and need to be thrown in volanos to be destroyed!] (Mind you, there is a handy volcano nearby, but we won't be going there in this session. ;p) * Taki reaches for the ring inside a small jewlry box, but she sees a necklace that's also in there...after staring at it for a moment and then putting it on she digs out a piece of paper and scribbles a note onto it. (Um, the ring is ethereal too. :P) (Is it? Wow. It's *very* magic! ;p) (Well, anything that the character posesses when they become incorporeal become incorporeal with them. :P) * Taki takes the quick way to the door of the aparment, slips on her shoes, takes one last look around and then slips the ring over her finger. * Ao-Lang mutters something incomprehensible and cracks one eye open. "Three in the fucking morning..." She rolls out of bed, though, landing softly enough to *not* wake Mariah, and starts dressing in the dark. (That's true. Rei had an ethereal version of her necklace once.) (She did.) [Destiny calls at strange hours, Ao! It's not polite. Sorry.] ( Huh? That's funny. Why do they all have call-waiting now?) * Ao-Lang snatches her ring from the dresser and sneaks out of the room, into the common room for the suite. She waves at Isaac and conveniently ignores Kairi, who's snoring on the couch with an open biology text over his face. (Taki shakes her fist at The Wheel, People need to sleep!) [And it is time! Suddenly, everything goes white, and you all arrive in what looks like a village square. Neria and Mela are standing off to the side. Mela waves and grins when she sees you all.] * Ao-Lang is there! And still braiding her hair. She blinks the white away. "More warning next time?" * Isaac smiles. ~Hi! What's up?~ ^_^ * Jinx nods in acknowledgment. He doesn't seem to be too bothered by the hour. * Taki yawns and waves back, "Why can't your evil be like my evil and attack in the afternoon?" [Mela laughs. "Hey, it's not my fault you take so long getting up. And it *is* afternoon here, see?"] [She is correct.] * Shinrethryn blinkblinks and looks around, ruffling her fingers through her hair. "Huh? That's funny..coulda sworn..." She looks around at all the people. Except for possibly Isaac, she probably looks up at them too. [Neria inclines her head. "Greetings to you all... ahhh..." She blinks at Shinrethryn. "Where did you come from, little one?"] * Taki looks up at the sky, "Okay...maybe it the same." * Ao-Lang is dressed in those shiny, black leather boots again, but now wears jeans and a silk, smokey gray Chinese shirt with long, open sleeves. She eyes Mela with her gold eye. "Veeeery funny." [Mela just grins back.] * Jinx glances over the new arrival. * Ao-Lang sticks her tongue out at her and starts her other braid. [Mela blinks at Shinrethryn, too. "Huh. We picked up a stray."] * Shinrethryn looks, for all intents and purposes, like a small little girl dressed in an outfit you usually see in faery tales. She's got a short transluscent skirt and a long white dress. Her blue hair is tied into two short pigtails by two red ribbons, each with two silver bells tied on the ends. She's also got pointed light-green shoes, which also have the same ribbons and bells on them. ["Neri, we gotta work on the preciseness of those transportation spells."] * Shinrethryn 's complexion is rather pale and looks like it has a faint light light blue tint to it. Perhaps she's sick. * Isaac is Isaac, from Battle High. Red shirt, blue jeans, messy brown hair, very short, about 12 years old, and corporeal in this case. * Shinrethryn looks up at Mela with big deep blue eyes and perks up. "Huh? Stray? What were you trying for?" * Taki turns and blinks and does a quck headcount, "Where'd the girl with the big gu...Milly, that was her name...go?" ["Well, we were tryin' to summon these folk here to help us out with defending the village. We weren't aimin' for you."] Maybe she didn't wanna come. People have other stuff to do. Uh-huh. You dropped something! * Shinrethryn holds up something shiny in her small little hands in triumph. True. [Neria nods. "She declined the offer."] * Jinx mutters something under his breadth, it's hard to make out, but the term 'of age' may have been used. He then glances over at Taki, "She didn't get up this time, and I'm not gonna wake her up if it's not morning." Ahh, that's too bad. [Mela walks over to Shinrethryn and looks at it. "S'not mine. Neri, you recognize this?" Neria looks over and shakes her head.] * Isaac smiles at Shin. ~What's your name?~ ^_^ Huh? That means I can keep it?? [Mela smiles at her. "Sure you can."] [Mela stretches. "Anyhow. Welcome to True North Village."] * Shinrethryn perks up at someone else addressing her and gets a big huge smile, running over to give Isaac a big hug. "Ooo! You're so cuuuute~! Can I keep you too?!?" Your home town? Cool. * Taki blinks, "So this is the place she was talking about." [Mela laughs, and even Neria cracks a smile at that.] * Ao-Lang watches Isaac get glomped and snickers. * Jinx looks around the town. * Taki grins at Shin and Isaac. * Isaac is hugged and hugs back. ~Sure ya can! Where are you taking me?~ ^_^ * Shinrethryn smiles brightly and look sat Isaac with wide eyes. "My name's Shinrethryn na Talna Ellllll~ga. But most people call me Shinny! Pleased ta meet ya!" [Neria nods to Ao-Lang. "Yes. It is protected in part by an ancient power, but one I fear may not be enough to withstand Delinara's forces."] * Isaac smiles brightly back. ~I'm Isaac Phillips. Nice to meet you too!~ [Mela waves. "Heya, Shinny. I'm Mela Telenar."] Right, so you want us to help protect it? * Shinrethryn keeps staring off into space. She's more interested in her new toy, err, friend. * Isaac looks at the older people. ~So, what's going on? ["Yes. But first, we must activate the Three Pillars."] * Isaac 's eyes flash red briefly. * Shinrethryn notices other people talking and turns around, looking up at Mela now and putting her index finger in her mouth in thought. * Taki looks at the natives for a bit...and then looks past the natives at the town. Three Pillars? [Neria looks at the group. "Telling the history of this place would take time that we cannot waste. But it is a village of the descendents of very powerful magic-users who controlled the Three Elements."] Just three? ["Fire, water, and lightning."] I've always thought earth was overrated. Go on. Huh. Silly. There's 4! The dryads and sylphs would get maaaad if you talk like that... ["And they created the Three Pillars as protection for the village."] * Shinrethryn holds up 3, no wait, 4 fingers. [Mela shrugs. "Believe me, we know there's more than three. But that's what they believed and studied back in the old world, so that's what they set up here."] * Isaac smiles. * Taki nods. ~Go on?~ * Ao-Lang shakes her head. "Tradition overrides everything else, yeah." Her hair's fixed now. Just like those stupid heads to forget my friend Drydoria. [Neria continues. "The shield can only be activated by those of the bloodline of the magic-users. And it is designed to keep all those without some bit of that bloodline out, unless they are inside the shield when it is activated."] ["Which is why we require your presence now."] Huh? I don't get it... Neither do I... I don't think I actualy count as being in a line of magic users. * Shinrethryn sucks idly on her index finger. Magic? That's Mariah's thing. * Ao-Lang shrugs. [Neria looks at Shinrethryn. "I am sorry, little one. I did not mean to catch you up in this..." Mela interrupts. "Basically, an evil fire sorceress wants to destroy this village, and all of us are going to stop it."] [Mela shrugs. "You don't have to get involved, of course, since we didn't mean to bring you along."] * Isaac nods. ~We're gonna kick their butts!~ * Shinrethryn 's eyes widen. "Wh...what? Who...?" * Jinx is taking it in as if it is just another job. "Alright.. so, any special rules we need to know about because of the magic?" [Neria shakes her head. "As long as you are within the boundary as each Pillar is activated, the shield will accept you."] Ahh, that works. So, I'm guessing this evil sorceress is of the bloodline? W-well...I guess..I could. [Neria nods to Jinx. "She is... a very distant member, but she is."] [Mela kneels down next to Shinethryn. "Scared of fire, huh? No, she's not gonna be here for a while."] * Jinx nods. "So, get in the shield, kill her when she enters. Simple enough." * Isaac pauses. ~Wait, we're going *into* a shield?~ [Neria nods again. "That is the plan, although I wonder what she is planning on doing with those forces of hers..."] * Shinrethryn lets out a slow long breath, and looks up. She looks like she's gotten a bit teary eyed for a second but it's started to fade. "O-okay.." How far apart are the shields? I mean can she just leave her army at one and then take out another? [Mela pats Shinrethryn on the shoulder before looking at Isaac. "No, Isaac, we're gonna put the shield up around the village."] * Shinrethryn looks comforted and looks around intrigued with everyone else. * Isaac grins sheepishly. ~Oh, sorry. Midterms coming up soon.~ ^^; * Ao-Lang puts her hands in her pockets and considers this, which might explain why she's surprisingly quiet. "Gonna win the midterms, too." Excellent. So, the army can't raise the village, no troublesome hostages, simple enough. [Neria looks over at Taki. "The only Pillar she could access would be the Pillar of Fire, since that is her element. That is where we shall meet her."] * Shinrethryn blinks and looks at Jinx oddly. "Why would you want to raise a village? Did it sink?" * Taki nods, "That makes sence...and I I think he means burning it." * Jinx nods. "Razing, it's what evil people do to villages. Well, particularly if they're fire mages." * Isaac grins at Ao. ~You bet we will.~ How can you raise something by burning? Burning makes stuff go WOOOSH! And then it gets all hot and scary. Why you'd want to burn a village I don't get." [Mela looks puzzled. "What's a midterm?"] * Jinx smiles and nods and then looks at the adults. "Right, so find someone to look after the kid and lets get to this pillar." When they give you bunch of tests to make sure you've been paying attention to the first half of your classes. * Shinrethryn looks at Jinx and pouts out cutely at him. "Heyyyy! Who you calling a kid?" You, on account of your age. Or apparent age at least. I'm not! I'm 596,259 you knooooow... * Taki nods again. * Taki ...boggles. Isaac can look after her. * Jinx shrugs. "My mistake." He likes her anyway, and besides, if anything came close, he'd kick its ass. * Shinrethryn grins slyly. "At least this week." [Mela nods. "Oh, okay." She blinks at Shinrethryn. "Right. Anyhow! We'll do Fire first, then Lightning, then come back here and pick up Neri and head for Water."] Sounds good. Why? Can't we do water first? * Isaac grins. * Taki rubs her hands together, "Now where's the pillar?" [Neria looks odd for a minute. "We shall do Water last."] Why? ["Please do not ask again, Shinrethryn. There is a reason."] No. Why? [Mela looks over at Neria. "So, where is he?"] [Neria looks upset. "It is the way it must be done!" She turns to Mela. "He should be coming soon."] Why? * Jinx coughs. "Uh, perhaps we could find someone to look after the elderly lady." * Taki grins. [At this point, a young man strolls into the square. He's blond, grey-eyed, and rather cute. Looks about sixteen or so. His ears are slightly pointed, but not as much as Neria's. "I'm here, I'm here. Geez."] [Neria ignores Shinrethryn this time. "Ah, good. This is my cousin, Deryk. He shall be our lightning mage."] [Deryk looks the group over. "I can't believe you're using a bunch of outlanders."] * Shinrethryn eyes Jinx out of the side of her vision and flicks her fingers at him. A small mist forms in the air and streams at Jinx, forming into solid droplets that fly towards his nose. [Mela snorts. "Yeah, nice to see you too, Deryk."] * Jinx attempts to duck. * Ao-Lang folds her hands behind her head. She eyes Deryk evenly, then smirks. "Wanna make something of it?" You use what you've got, and they've got us. Why turn down help? [Deryk smirks back. "Maybe."] * Jinx gets hit by a few solid droplets in the nose as he ducks a bit to let. He wipes them off and glances over at his hosts. "I'm going to be trying to figure out my Naginata, over there." * Jinx points some distance away. "Let me know when you need me for fighting." * Shinrethryn hmmphs and crosses her hands over her chest. "Silly breathers." * Taki blinks and mutters to herself, "What is there not to know about a naginata? You hold the stick part and slash with the pointy end." ( He mocks the naginata! ) ( Er, she does. My bad. ) Whatsa naginata? * Jinx walks a bit away from the group and takes his naginata off his back, he still seems unfamilar with it. Pointy end? Huh. * Shinrethryn watches Jinx curiously. * Jinx does his best to ignore the kid and first works on getting the balance of the thing, practice swings, etc. ~It's a sharp pointy implement of war.~ What's war? ~Um... It's something you use to hurt other people.~ ^_^ [Mela rolls her eyes. "Anyhow, let's go. We've got work to do."] When lots and lots of people decide to fight eachoter. Oh. But.... I think we're trying to stop a small one here. Yeah, usually because one god's better than the other when they're actually the same one in the end. Not that important. [Neria nods. "Good luck to you all. Return when you have activated the first two pillars."] We going yet? * Shinrethryn tips her head to the side and puts her finger on her cheek thoughtfully. "Why would lots of people like to fight each other? Couldn't that get messy? * Jinx calls out has he works. "No, we're trying to win one. Key difference." ...Yes, that's the point. * Shinrethryn points back behind her over to Jinx. "I thought that was a point." You win when there's nobody left to disagree with you. No, that's just a point...and he seems to know at least a little bit about it. Yeah. Grabbing a point would just be silly. [Mela waves to Neria. "We'll be back soon!" She then turns to the group. "C'mon!"] * Shinrethryn sits down on the air, as if she were in a chair and crosses her legs, thinking about it. The fact that there's nothing to sit on doesn't seem to bother her in the least. [Mela leads you out of the village, which is fairly small and is Renaissance-ish in appearance. Kinda like your standard RPG village. ^_~] * Jinx first takes a swing with the naginata, he seems like he's concentrating a great deal and his careful to aim in a direction where no real harm can be done. [Curious townspeople peer at you as you walk past. A few smile and wave. Very few seem to have Deryk's attitude.] It's too bad I didn't get a chance to look around this place last time...it'd make this trip a lot shorter. * Shinrethryn blinks and perks up. "Hey! Wait up! Don't leave me behind!" She rushes after Mela. [Deryk broods along behind your group. Friendly, isn't he? ;p] * Taki walks somewhere in the middle and looks around as she walks. * Isaac smiles and waves back at people, not saying a word. * Shinrethryn looks out curiously at the people, waving. Her bells all jingle in the air and on the ground behind her as she walks. * Taki waves back at various people. [A wave of energy flies from the blade of the naginata, distrubing the ground at which he was aiming, shaking the dirt and making a bit of a furrow. Jinx gets a real big grin on his face and then rejoins the group. * Ao-Lang walks along. She grins at people, but doesn't generally wave. [Deryk looks at Jinx. "Wind magic?"] Ahh, that's why it needed figuring out..It's a magic naginata. Not sure exactly, it's captured loot. First time I've managed to activate it. ["Hmph. Not one of the True Elements, then."] * Isaac looks over at Jinx. ~Need some lessons with that thing? I could teach you something.~ ^_^ * Shinrethryn looks at it and hmms. "I don't see the sylphs around it....I'd think they'd be playing.." [Mela yells back. "Shut *up*, Deryk! If we didn't need your lightning magic, we'd leave you home!"] * Jinx grins over. "Sure, but teach me those games first." He then looks at Deryk. "So what's your problem, am I cutting into your share?" * Ao-Lang chuckles and walks over to Mela. She taps her on the shoulder. [Mela looks at Ao-Lang. "Yeah?" she says quietly.] * Shinrethryn shrugs and goes over past Ao-Lang, looking up at her. "They're silly." [Deryk frowns. "I simply don't see why my cousin has to rely on outlanders to defend this village. We've done quite well for ourselves over the years."] * Ao-Lang replies, equally quietly, "If you want him to stay behind, I can probly give this thing a jolt of lightning. It ain't magic, but will it notice the difference?" [Mela sighs softly. "Yeah, it's gotta be someone from the bloodline. And that stupid jerk's the best one we've got. Sucks, doesn't it?"] * Shinrethryn walks up to Mela and tugs at her robes, or whatever she's wearing. "So..why do we have to go to the Water one last?" * Jinx shrugs, "So you'll have extra help, and maybe you'll capture this sorceress instead of just running her off." [As you converse, you walk. Right now you're heading northwest of the village, towards the mountains.] ~I'm so sorry. :P~ We'll find out when we get there. * Ao-Lang looks at Shin. "'Cause it's the best one." Well....yeaaaaah. But still! [Mela is wearing a tunic and pants, actually. She turns away from Ao-Lang and looks down at Shinrethryn. "It's because of the ritual, and because Neri really doesn't like going there, so she wants to put it off."] Why? What's wrong with it? Is the water tainted? I'd think I'd feel it if it were. ["The water's not tainted. But it's something that's easier to show than explain. Sorry, Shinny."] * Shinrethryn frowns and looks disappointed. "That's not an answer." ["You'll get your answer. Soon. I promise."] [Deryk frowns at Jinx. "She is a heretic. She deserves whatever she gets."] * Shinrethryn pouts and says distantly. "I hope so. Everyone seems to keep things from me. Just because I look like a kid..." No restraint? Alright, that'll make it easier. ::He glances over at Mela:: That your take too? [And you continue walking, and eventually you reach a large obelisk made of a reddish stone. Various symbols are carved in it.] * Ao-Lang glances at Deryk and gives the faintest frown, but doesn't say anything. So this is it? * Shinrethryn blinks and goes up to the obelisk, poking at it. "What's this?" [Mela looks at Jinx. "I'm not sure we'll have license to hold back."] [Deryk scowls. "Don't touch it!"] * Shinrethryn looks behind her back and eyes Deryk. "Huh?" * Jinx hangs the Naginata on his back and draws his shotgun. "From what you've said about her, can't say that bothers me." [Mela shakes her head. "She's not gonna break it, Deryk. Chill." She turns to the group at large. "This is the Pillar of Fire."] * Isaac looks at Ao-Lang. * Shinrethryn snickers at Mela and grins. "I could arrange that." [Mela grins back. "Ice mage?"] Nooooo~pe. [Mela walks over to the pillar as she continues talking with Shinny. "Water, then?"] Yes and no. I'm not a mage. You've got a magic thing like Jinx does? * Ao-Lang looks back at Isaac, shrugs, and goes to watching Mela and Shinny. "Bet she just does it." * Shinrethryn shakes her head, bells ringing to and fro. "Uh-uh." * Isaac smiles. * Jinx inspects his shotgun as people converse. [Mela places one hand on the pillar. "Yeah, I think so, too. Okay, you guys go stand over there." She motions to a point a bit to the southeast, a short distance away. "I'll cast the activation spell."] * Taki walks over there and waits. * Jinx goes to stand over there. Okay. [Deryk eyes Shinrethryn. "Don't use your magic on me, outlander."] * Isaac nods. He walks over to that place. * Ao-Lang walks over. "Get over yourself, kid," she says, calmly ignoring the fact that he's probably two years older than her. "If you were any good, it wouldn't matter." So, Taki, what sort of world do you come from? ~Yeah, really.~ ~If ya can't take the heat, get out of the fire.~ ~_^ * Taki attempts not to giggle and fails miserably. * Ao-Lang smirks. ["I'm good!" Deryk yells. "I'm the best lightning mage in the village, and I'm second only to my cousin in swordsmanship!"] * Shinrethryn melds, her whole form turning into a watery shimmer and falling with a splash of waves. When she reappears, first as water, then as her solid form again, she's 2 feet in the air and at the distance where Mela pointed. She blinks and settles back onto the ground. ~Remind me to finish that teleportation technique Ao.~ [Mela rolls her eyes again. "Sure, if you wanna ignore half the village..." Her voice trails off when she sees Shinrethryn do her thing. "Hey, that's new. Neat trick!"] * Taki pointedly ignors Deryk, "I'm from a city called Tokyo, in a island contry called Japan, on a planet called Earth." What trick? ["Your water teleportation thing. Are you an elemental?"] * Jinx nods. "What's it like?" Maaaay~be. * Shinrethryn lets out a little grin and giggle. * Isaac smiles and his eyes flash red. ["Well, if you are, cool. We don't have many of those around here anymore. Now, hang on, 'cause here we go."] * Ao-Lang grins at Isaac. "I'm gonna work on one, too. Got the start... all I need to do is figure out how the shadow chick in Musashi does it." She pauses. "She's going down, y'know." * Jinx glances over at Shinny for a moment. "Quite the powerful one." He then looks back at Taki. ~Oh, but only after I take down that Sabrina bitch.~ [Mela places her other hand on the pillar and chants. The pillar, and her body, begin to glow red.] * Taki grins at Ao, "Some of us are just born with it." * Ao-Lang shrugs easily. "Not that lucky." [Deryk sulks somewhere halfway between where Mela is casting her spell and the rest of you.] [Mela continues chanting. The glow increases, and for a brief moment, her body is surrounded by flames. Then they fade.] Anyway, Tokyo's this great big sprawing city, and there are uhm... ::trails off as she tries to figure out what a cowboy from her earth would know about.:: * Jinx looks over at Mela for a moment while Taki figures it out. Uh huh. Ahh! Right, there are train lines that do nothing but run from one part of the city to another. * Shinrethryn grins slightly and waggles her finger, humming in a slight sing-song voice. "~The scarry man did have a plan until the...uh...shoot, I can usually finish it. Hold on.." She pouts and puts her finger on her cheek and thinks, putting up a little frown. Biig place. [Mela hesitantly removes her hands from the pillar.] You got poker? Why do you want to poke someone? ~Poker...~ ^_^ Darn it...now you made me lose my train of thought! [She turns to the group, looking slightly disoriented for a moment. "Okay, first part's done." Then she looks back at Deryk. "Your turn. Lead on, O Glorious Warrior."] Yeah, but I'm too young, and I'm not any good at it anyway. * Ao-Lang snickers. [Deryk starts stalking off back to the southeast.] * Jinx chuckles too. "I used that line for years. Well, big or no, couldn't be too bad." He then follows Deryk. [Mela grins over at Ao-Lang. "You'd kick his ass. I think he knows it, too.] * Shinrethryn shrugs and splash-teleports again next to Deryk, idly hovering to the side and behind him for a bit. * Isaac grins at a hidden joke. * Ao-Lang winks at Mela with a smirk. "I know he knows it." She heads after him. I wish that was just a line...What's the phrase? 'I tend to wear my hand on my sleave?' * Jinx nods "That would be a liability." [And onward you go! You head southeast for a little bit, and eventually you reach another obelisk. This one is yellow, and carved with more odd symbols. And there's another person here, too.] [He's currently sitting against the obelisk and appears to be taking a nap. His brown hair is falling in his face. He's dressed in dark blue armor, and a spear is propped up against the obelisk next to him.] * Shinrethryn looks at the other person, her eyes gleaming a bit. She then looks at Mela. "Ooo. Can I wake him up?" [Deryk rushes up to him. "You there! What do you think you're doing?"] Looks like he's sleeping. I think you're going to have to wait in line. [The young man's head jerks up. His eyes are grey, and seem unfocused. "Huh?"] * Jinx snickers as they get closer, he then looks over at Ao-Lang. "If it comes to a fight against the Lightning Mage, 3:1 in favor of the sleeper." * Shinrethryn pouts at Deryk and grumbles under her breath. "Some people just don't know how to have fun." She flicks her hand up a little and a small shower appears over the man's head. "Wakey-wakey." * Ao-Lang grins at Jinx. "I'm betting on the sleeper." [The young man looks up at the water. "Is it raining?"] What's... Um...three-too-won? [Deryk, meanwhile, has pulled a huge broadsword from seemingly nowhere. "What is your business here? Are you one of her spies?"] Alright, I'll put ten on the traditionalist then. [Mela groans. "Deryk, if he *were* a spy, do you think he'd just come out and say it?"] [The young man looks puzzled. "What's a spy?"] I'll just behind the two of you if you don't mind too much. You mean he wouldn't? Doesn't bother me. Thanks. [Deryk blinks. "What's... a... No! You can't distract me from my duty by feigning ignorance!" He continues to point the sword at the poor guy.] I say that guy and the water kid hang out and feed on each other's cluelessness. So....um...what IS a spy? Meanwhile, we save the world. Or whatever. * Jinx grins. "Sounds like a plan." * Isaac smiles. That's as a good a plan as I've heard today. * Shinrethryn frowns at Ao-Lang. "That's not nice! Just because I'm a kid and I don't get out much...." ["Easy, Deryk," Mela says, putting a hand on his shoulder. "So, what are you doing here?" she asks the other guy.] [He smiles. "I... don't know!"] * Ao-Lang grins at Shinny. "I'm not nice." ["What's your name, then?" Mela asks.] * Jinx laughs at that. * Shinrethryn frowns. "It's not a good idea to pick on kids." ["I don't know!"] [Mela sighs. "Oh, I think we've got a real brain trust here."] * Taki eyes the guy just to make sure he's not Jin. (He predates Jin. Honest. ^_~) (We had the same thought, Taki.) [He is not Jin. Jin has long blond hair. This guy has unruly brown hair. And smiles a lot. But he isn't Aaron, either.] * Jinx also steps a slight distance away from Ao-Lang and adopts a slightly more defensive stance, keeping his eye on Shinny. (He's their bastard lovechild?) * Shinrethryn tilts her head to look at Jinx curiously. "What?" Nah, not really a good idea, but I do it anyway. I do a lotta things that aren't healthy for me. (*cracks up* That's horribly disturbing.) [Deryk doesn't relax. "So why have you come here?"] $10 on 'I don't know' ~You're nice Ao. You just don't like people to know it.~ ^_^ Even I know not to take that one. ["I'm not sure! I was wandering around for a bit, and then I felt tired, and this place felt nice, so I decided to take a nap!"] * Shinrethryn blinks. She then smiles at Isaac, then looks at Ao again. "Is that true?" * Taki speaks up, "He probibly got here the same way we did the first time." * Jinx grins at Taki. "That's a start." He said "I'm not sure", but the sentiment was there. [Mela raises an eyebrow. "Felt nice? Huh. You must be lightning-elemental."] * Ao-Lang shrugs at Shinny. "I'll tell you a secret." She waves the water elemental over. * Isaac smiles. ~I, um... I don't know?~ [The guy blinks. "Am I? Okay. I've got this armor, too, and a weapon, so maybe I'm a warrior?"] * Shinrethryn blinks and walks over curiously to Ao-Lang, craining her head. [Mela grins. "Oh, yeah, I'd fear to be your enemy." And even more to be your ally, she does not add.] * Ao-Lang crouches down. "People being nice or not isn't up to that person. It's up to everyone else, 'cause it's whether they think that person's nice or not. Lots of people try really hard so everyone thinks they're nice... but it's not really worth it, if it never works in the end." [Deryk continues to eye him.] * Taki eyes Ao, "you realy think so?" [Mela looks over at Isaac and taps her head.] * Isaac grins. So...if I think you're nice, you're nice? I know so. And yeah, if you think I'm nice, then I guess I'm nice. To you, anyway. * Isaac nods and his eyes flash red. Dunno about Taki here, but I did help save her ass. * Shinrethryn grins. "How about if I think you're funny?" * Ao-Lang grins. "Then I guess I'm funny." She ruffles Shinny's hair and stands. Trust me, if you need your ass pulled out of a firefight, I'm your girl. * Shinrethryn smiles and giggles, playfully batting at Ao-Lang's hands. "heey..stop!" Her hair feels a little colder than normal, but not overly so. * Ao-Lang mms faintly at the chill, but stops. Really. [The guy, meanwhile, has rifled through the pack next to him. "Oh, look! This says 'Sedge Lyssom.' Maybe that's my name!" He points to something written to the inside of the pack.] Wow, he's quick. [Sedge beams.] Perhaps you should write that on the outside of your pack, it'd save you time in the future. * Shinrethryn giggles at the silly man. "Even *I* know my own name...silly." Somebody must 'of erased his memory...Or maybe he's just realy forgetfull... I like him. Can I keep him? ["But where would you put me?" Sedge asks.] I'd dump you in the lake of course! ["I don't think I'd like that."] * Shinrethryn grins, eyes sparkling. "It's a good way to wake up, that's for sure." Lightning and water don't mix. Sure they do. * Jinx takes a few extra paces away from the Lightning Monolith. "Hey Sedge, could you come over here for a minute." Not well for anybody in the water. * Isaac is concentrating intently on something, but it's not sure what it is. Shockingly. [Sedge nods at Jinx. "Okay!" He gets up and walks over to him.] At least he's obedient. [Deryk frowns, but finally lowers his sword. It's a big sword. Think he's overcompensating for something? ;p] * Jinx looks over at Deryk. "Perhaps you should cast the spell." He then looks back at Sedge. "Need a refresh on your weapons? You could be in trouble later if you've forgotten how to use them." (Dunno, is it shaped like Sigfrieds GMW?) * Ao-Lang eyes Deryk. "Nice phallic symbol." [Deryk sniffs. "I'm sure I don't know what you mean by that. All of you go stand over there." He waves his hand in a direction vaguely north of the Pillar.] * Shinrethryn snickers at Deryk and gets her sing-song tone again, tipping her head from side to side as she does so. "~He held the tide till he was cast aside and the lightning mage was left to hide, he drew his sword and acted bored, but really I think he's out of his gourd.~" * Ao-Lang grins madly. "I'm sure you do." * Jinx nods and walks over there. "Come along Sedge." * Taki walks over there. [Sedge tilts his head. "Weapons? Oh, yeah, this." He picks up his spear and follows Jinx.] * Shinrethryn goes over there. Hovering this time but not splashily. (Perception rolls from everyone!) * Jinx nods and grins a bit. "That's simple one, as our weapon master indicated earlier," ::he grins over at Taki:: "You just need to put the pointing end in an opponent." (Jinx is perceptive) (Taki sees ALL! XD) (I think everyone's perceptive) (I'm blind, though. ^^;) (Although I've been doing other things, so...) (Unless..yeah, thought you'd already rolled the 6 ^^;) [Isaac is concentrating on something, and doesn't notice that when Sedge lifts the spear, for a second his eyes clear and he slips into a fighting stance. Then he looks as blank as ever. Taki notices a small flicker of green light from the area around his neck when that happens.] (Sedge is Itchy now? @_@) (Maybe? It's been a while since I read EW, but Sedge predates that, too. ^_~) [Deryk, meanwhile, gets to work casting the spell, and also doesn't notice. Neither does Mela, as she's busy making sure Deryk doesn't try to pull any odd stunts.] * Jinx shifts into a defensive stance, pointing his shotgun at the ground for now. "Appears you do remember, best to put the spear down now I think." Ah, guys? [Sedge blinks. "I do? Huh. Okay." He sets it down.] Actualy...Hey, Sedge, could I talk to you for a bit? [Deryk chants, and yellow light surrounds him.] Like riding a bike. * Shinrethryn grins. "Looks like you know how to use the pointy things after all." [Sedge looks at Taki. "Sure!"] * Ao-Lang goes back to watching Deryk. Do you remember anything at? * Taki looks at his neck as she asks this. * Jinx grins. He seems pleased with himself for the moment. [The Pillar also glows yellow, and a bolt of lightning streaks from the sky to touch its tip.] ["Water is wet!" Sedge looks proud of himself.] ~Hmmm...~ * Shinrethryn 's eyes flicker at the lightning bolt and she looks at it in wonder and glee. She then giggles at Sedge. "Yeaaaah...wanna feel it again?" [Sedge shakes his head. "Nope!"] Awww...but it'll be fuu~un. ["But I don't want to be wet!"] * Jinx smiles over at Mela. "Not bad, but I think your ritual was a far better show." * Taki grins and nods, "That's it? That's too bad, but don't worry, both times people messed with my head everything came back." [Mela grins back. "Thanks."] But the water likes you! * Ao-Lang gurmbles, "That's reassuring." [Sedge smiles at Taki. "That's good to know!"] ~Hehe...~ * Isaac grins sheepishly. * Shinrethryn tilts her head at Taki and watches her curiously. [Deryk finishes, and the Pillar stops glowing. "There. I'm finished. Back to the village."] Not to the water pillar? [Mela looks at her. "We have to get Neri, remember?"] We do? * Taki smiles at Sedge, "If you remember anything, tell me allright?" [She nods.] [Sedge smiles again. "Okay!"] Shouldn't the water like me though? Nah, you have to related to somebody for it to work. ["I'm sure it does like you, but the Pillar needs somebody from the village to activate it, remember?" Mela smiles.] * Jinx gets walking near Mela. "So, anything we should know about our adversary? Favorite sort of fire spell, that sorrt of thing?" But I'm related to somebody! But...I guess not the village. That's not fair. [Deryk stalks back towards the village, after casting a disparaging glance at you all.] [Sedge waves. "Bye now!"] Aww, he likes me. * Ao-Lang stretches her arms behind her back as she walks after. "Wonder if I can catch a duel with him later." * Shinrethryn folds her hands at Deryk and flicks her fingers at him too. The mist behind him forms a huge gush of water headed for the back of his head. "Grumpy." [Mela looks over at Jinx. "All of them? I don't know. She's very powerful."] Maybe we should take you back to the village, somebody might know you there. [Deryk gets smacked in the back of the head so hard with the water that he falls flat on his face.] [Sedge looks at Taki. "Okay!" He follows her.] * Shinrethryn hmmphs and walks down the path, passing him without a glance. * Isaac grins. [Mela snickers at Deryk's mishap, then looks at Ao-Lang. "You sure you wanna waste your time on him?"] [Deryk mutters something about accursed outlanders, then gets back up with as much dignity as he can muster, brushes himself off, and keeps going.] * Jinx nods and then comments to Mela in a low tone. "Not sure if you noticed, but our new freind seemed very combat ready when he picked up that spear." * Isaac walks along, and subtly pulls a root up in front of Deryk right as he walks there so he trips over it. * Taki looks at the Sedge for a second and then at her compainions and briefly wishes she knews sign language. [Mela murmurs back. "Really, now. I asked Isaac to check him out, and he said that there's definitely something odd there."] * Taki tries thinking hard at Isaac. [Deryk fails to see the root, and trips again!] * Ao-Lang winks at Mela. "Yeah. I do." He could handle bein' taken down about three pegs. * Isaac puts his hands in his pockets. [Mela chuckles. "Wait 'til we're done with this. I'll be cheerin' for you."] * Shinrethryn grins and looks over her shoulder at the rest of them. "Come on!" she then grins down at Deryk. "Slow-poke." ~Tell me about it.~ [Deryk gets up and keeps going. His eyes are focused on the ground so he doesn't trip over anymore unexpected roots.] * Shinrethryn skips her way down the path, humming. * Isaac walks along. Everyone can hear him sing 'This is the song that never ends' in their heads. * Jinx gives a pleased smile. "Good, seems like you have the situation in hand." [Sedge brightens. "That's a neat song! But not as neat as this one!"] Isaac? STOP IT. [Sedge begins singing. "Stuff! Stuff stuff stuff stuff stuff stuff stuff! Stuff! Stuff! Stuff! STUFF!"] * Isaac grins at Ao-Lang... ~Okay, you thought I was annoying...~ [Sedge continues. "Stuff stuff stuff stuff stuff stuff stuff!" (...Dear god. Sedge is like a Dwarf who forgot the words were "Gold gold gold") Make. Him. Stop. (*snerk*) [Mela looks over at Isaac. "You started this, Isaac. You finish it."] * Ao-Lang glares at Isaac. * Shinrethryn flicks her fingers behind her back and does the same to Sedge that she did to Deryk. (Except from the front of course) * Isaac rolls his eyes. ~Hey, Sedge. That's nice. Shut up now.~ (Wow. This is almost exactly like what happened in the story where Sedge originally showed up, except somebody threw a snowball in his mouth to shut him up.) (^_^) (We have no snow.) [Sedge reaches the crescendo. "Stuff! Stuff stuff stuff! Stuff! Stu-" And then he's treated to a sudden gush of water in the face. He blinks. "Huh. How'd that get there?"] * Shinrethryn grins innocently, though Sedge can't see it anyhow, but keeps hoping down the path. ~tinkle tinkle.~ [And you walk, and you walk, and you reach the village. Neria is again waiting for you in the square.] [She nods to you as you approach. "You were successful." It's not so much a question as an acknowledgement.] You could tell? ["Yes. I am attuned to the protective shield."] Can't you? We radiate power. * Ao-Lang waggles her fingers at Taki. [Mela walks over to Neria and says something to her in a soft voice.] * Shinrethryn nods faintly before she looks around distractedly for something to do. (Anyone who wants to try and hear, make hearing rolls.) * Taki shrugs, "Nope, I don't have much practice at reading powers." * Isaac grins. ^_^ (Dicey really doesn't want us eavesdropping :P) [Jinx hears Sedge singing under his breath. "Stuff stuff stuff stuff stuff."] * Shinrethryn then looks at Isaac and smiles at him, skipping over. "So why do you speak in people's heads?" * Jinx grimaces. ~Because I don't talk in their ear.~ ^_^ * Ao-Lang rolls her eyes. * Shinrethryn giggles. "But whyyyyy?" * Taki glares at the back of Isaac's head. * Shinrethryn points to Sedge and speaks offhand to Jinx. "Want me to shut him up again?" [Mela gives her friend's shoulder a comforting squeeze, before turning and noticing Sedge. "Oh, yeah, this is Sedge. We found him near the Lightning Pillar."] [Sedge waves. "Hi!"] * Jinx shakes his head. "I'll just try harder to ignore him, but thanks." ["He doesn't seem to remember anything," Mela continues. She says something else quietly to Neria, who nods.] He was bored, so he decided to come along and annoy everybody. * Taki rubs her forehead. Yep. But I think he's alllll wet. * Jinx doesn't try to listen this time, but smiles at the conference. Nice to work for people who are sufficiently paranoid. [Neria looks at Sedge. "I shall have to speak to you later. For now..."] [Deryk, meanwhile, has slipped off somewhere. We're sure you're all heartbroken to see him go.] * Ao-Lang notices he's gone and makes a mental note to find him later. So she can beat him into pulp like a civilized person. [Mela sighs. "C'mon, Sedge. We'll keep an eye on you."] ["Okay!" ^_^] * Jinx meanders over to Ao-Lang and Isaac as he awaits further instructions. "So, as there's no rituals to bet on, either of you interested in 4:1 odds in favor of one of you getting the finishing blow?" * Isaac grins. ~Hmmm... What do you think Ao?~ [Neria starts leading the way. This time, you're going northeast of the village.] * Shinrethryn follows behind Neria, sticking close to her side. "So why is Water last?" * Taki follows people, not looking as happy as she usualy does. ["Because..." Neria looks pained. "It is the Crystal Forest."] What's wrong with the Crystal Forest? * Jinx comments quietly, "Also taking bet on whether our friend with the spear attacks us or our adversaries when the fight starts." ["It is ice. Nothing but ice."] * Isaac looks strangely at Neria. Cold? Ice is fun though. You can skate on it. [Neria jumps, then looks at Isaac.] * Ao-Lang mmms faintly. "I dunno. Always go for the finishing blow, but I'm not that greedy." She grins at Isaac. Oh. Yeah. He talks in people's heads. I forgot * Jinx looks to see what Isaac is looking at and processes the last few things said. "Huh, I've never seen that much ice." * Isaac shrugs. * Jinx then looks back to Ao and Isaac's discussion. * Ao-Lang wrinkles her forehead. "Wait." Nothing but ice? [Mela walks up to Neria and puts her arm around her shoulders. "It's okay, Neri. I'm here."] [Sedge smiles. "I'm here!"] * Ao-Lang keeps walking. "What kind of water place is that?" Maybe it can be changed back? (A frozen one, of course.) [Neria closes her eyes for a second. "It cannot."] Why not? Cursed? ["It was... too powerful."] What was? ["The magic..."] Can I try then? (That's not water! That's ice! Different elements, see?) [Mela looks back at her. "You can *try*..."] * Jinx frowns at Shiny and Neria's interchange. [Sedge follows merrily along, humming.] (But neither is as powerful as the slushie element you can create by combining them. ^_~) * Shinrethryn frowns. "I wanna try. If I can do something to bring back the water...so much needs water..." [As you progress, you notice it getting colder and colder.] * Isaac glances around... * Taki shivers a bit, "I shoulda brought a jacket." * Shinrethryn looks around. She's not trying to look like the cold gets to her. And it's hard to tell if it really does or not. * Jinx shivers a little. "This is worse than the desert at night." [And suddenly, as if you've crossed an invisible line, everything is ice. Well, not everything. The pathway you're walking on isn't. But everything else - trees, plants, and so on - is encased in ice.] [Neria swallows hard and trembles.] * Shinrethryn frowns and walks up to a tree, touching it carefully. ... * Isaac shivers as well. He looks concerned over at Neria. [The tree is cold.] * Jinx watches Shiny and asks quietly, "Can you fix it?" * Shinrethryn forces herself to keep her hand on the tree and closes her eyes. "I...don't know. Sometimes I can change the state of the water...but if it's counter-magic..." Let me try... * Shinrethryn concentrates. * Jinx nods. "Wish you luck." (Is the air cold?) I second that. (The air is cold, though not as cold as you'd expect.) (Like, really cold? ^^) * Ao-Lang shivers, and she seems to have turned paler than normal. "Fucking... ice. I should have been cold-blooded. Argh." (Shinny won't freeze, if that's what you're getting at. ;p) (Nope, didn't care about Shinny. ;P * Ao-Lang sneezes. (;_; ) * Shinrethryn frowns and pulls her hand away slowly, shaking her head. * Jinx frowns. "Worth trying." No, it's not actually. Nothing at all? [And you proceed a bit further. Mela is still escorting Neria, who's trembling, but likely not from the cold.] * Shinrethryn turns to Jinx and gives a bit of a pained look. "I could free the tree. But it'd die as soon as I released it. It's just too cold all around..." We'd have to do it all at once or else the trees will die. * Ao-Lang is trembling, but definitely from the cold. Her arms are wrapped tightly around her. "Are we there yet?" she grumps. Ahh, I see. * Shinrethryn hangs her head. "And I...don't think I can do that..." * Jinx nods and frowns. "And because of the clear border to the spell, you couldn't just start at the edge?" [Sedge pats Shinrethryn on the head. "It's okay! This is kinda pretty!"] I don't think so. It's the cold. It'd just shock the plants to the roots. ...How do warm everthing up without thawing the trees? * Shinrethryn takes a deep breath. "But the good news is the forest is still alive. Just sleeping." * Isaac shakes his head. He goes over to Neria... * Jinx smiles a bit at that. "Good to hear." * Ao-Lang sneezes again. * Jinx glances over at Ao-Lang. "Want an extra jacket?" [Sedge fumbles in his pack and comes up with an arumful of folded material. He holds it out to Ao-Lang. "Here!"] * Taki walks over to the two natives, "I don't suppose the two of you still have that bag of clothes do you? It's getting a bit nippy here." [Mela looks back at Taki and shakes her head. "Sorry. It's all back in the village."] * Ao-Lang sniffs. "That'd be-" And she gets cut off as Sedge shoves material into her arms. * Shinrethryn sniffs and rubs her nose with her index finger. [Neria keeps her head down now. She doesn't seem to be responding.] * Isaac rubs his arms to make himself warmer... * Taki rubs her arms, "Maybe I should go back and get it then...or do the shields and such keep people from teleporting around?" * Shinrethryn walks over to Neria and looks up at her with wide eyes. "I...if we could find something to amplify my powers, I might be able to do it...it wouldn't be easy though.." [Mela looks back. "We're almost there."] [Neria shakes her head and looks down.] I'll just freeze then, I guess. * Shinrethryn wraps her arms around Neria and gives her a hug, resting her tiny head against her for a moment. * Jinx takes off his relatively light jacket and offers it to Taki. "I've lived in a desert my whole life. Being cold for a while would make an interesting change." [Mela smiles down at Shinny. Neria doesn't respond.] * Ao-Lang pulls the cloak on, making sure every part of her it can possibly cover is covered. And given it's Sedge-sized... well, it most likely trails on the ground. (It does at that.) (Nope. It billows dramatically behind her wherever she goes!) * Ao-Lang pulls on the hood, too. She sneezes again, but looks a little better. Some color's returning, anyway. "Not an interesting change. More like an annoying one." (Ao isn't dramatic. ^^) * Taki takes the Jacket, "Thanks, when we get done with this bit of madness I'll try to find the ingrediants for something for you to eat and warm back up." (Anyone got a DR I can borrow? Gotta fix a crit-fail) * Jinx grins. "Thanks." (Not here.) (Sure) (That's Dr2) * Shinrethryn frowns. "Yeah. Water should be wet." * Jinx looks like the colds getting to him a bit more now, but he covers it fairly well. (Woot! Difference between a crit-fail and a success.) (That's what Jinx is good for, lots of luck :P) (Almost a critical success too) Damn right it should be wet. * Taki warms up inside Jinx's coat. [Neria suddenly goes stiff.] * Shinrethryn frowns and slowly lets go of Neria. "What?" * Shinrethryn looks where she's looking. * Jinx looks over at Neria with concern and then looks at Mela for guidance. [Mela grips her tightly. "Neri? Neri, what's wrong?"] * Taki looks for what could have caused this. * Ao-Lang blinks at Neri and rubs her nose. * Isaac is in somewhat of a daze as he walks... [Neria does not react.] * Shinrethryn starts to move her fingers, then frowns. "I can't splash her. It'd freeze too fast..." * Isaac stands there and shudders. * Jinx shivers a bit more. "Could something have happened at the monolith?" * Shinrethryn then looks at Isaac. "Hey. He doesn't look too good either." She runs over to him and grasps his shoulders, shaking. I hope not. I'm not up to fighting an army. * Isaac stays concentrating on something, even as she shakes him. [Mela looks at Neria, then at Isaac. "Isaac... if you're doing what I think you're doing... get out of there right now! It's too dangerous!"] What? What? There something in her head? * Ao-Lang spots Isaac, and suddenly forgets the temperature. She walks up to him and slaps him. * Isaac is slapped and falls on his back. ~Wha...~ [Neria falls to her knees.] There. Why'd you do a silly thing like that, you...you...silly breather!? * Shinrethryn looks at Isaac angrily. Well, as angrily as she can manage. * Isaac feels his face. ~I was just trying to help...~ I gotta see about expanding your vocabulary, Shinny. * Ao-Lang reaches down and pulls Isaac none-too-gently to his feet. "Nothing damaged?" [Neria whispers. "I did not... think it would be... so bad..."] * Shinrethryn blinks and looks at Ao-Lang. "What? Why?" ~No, nothing damaged... Except for my butt.~ He smiles half- heartedly. * Jinx looks relieved, and rather cold. "Alright, lets get this finished." 'Cause it gets boring getting called the same thing over and over again? [Mela helps her up. "I know. I'm sorry."] So...I should call you a sparkly head? Nah, after this we still haveta go back to the fire one and wait. * Taki ponders Shinnys question, "Only if I'm on fire." * Shinrethryn points at the multi-colored hair. "But look at it." [Neria nods and continues walking onward.] ~I... I'm sorry...~ It's glittery. It's kinda neat. Glittery? * Shinrethryn shrugs. [And, finally, you reach the Pillar of Water. Or Ice, maybe. Neria walks up to it.] * Taki pulls the blue lock of hair out of her face so she can focus on it, and showing anybody who cares to look that her face is scarred. Don't tell me you're sorry. Tell her. She's the one that'd care. * Ao-Lang stuffs her hands in her pockets again. Cold. * Shinrethryn goes towards the pillar and looks it over. More curious than any of the other pillars. She sneezes and rubs her nose. [Neria reaches out a hand and touches it. She mouths something silently.] Great...my hair is freezing... (Does anyone read lips?) (Nope) (Not here.) (Wrong character.) (Not I) (Not really.) (Okay! In that case, make awareness rolls +4!) (Nope) (Well, whatever she said will just have to remain secret. ^_~) [Mela steps back. Back next to Sedge, who's gone unusually quiet, perhaps sensing the somber mood.] * Ao-Lang doesn't move forward, doesn't move back, and doesn't look worried. [Neria begins to chant softly. The pillar glows faintly, but not as strongly as the other two did.] * Shinrethryn moves next to Ao-Lang and looks at her. * Taki waits for the magic to finish so she can move someplace warm. * Ao-Lang blinks back. * Isaac keeps his eyes averted from the rest of the group. Gee, the ground sure looks interesting. You got neat hair. Thanks. So do you. [A bead of sweat forms at the corner of Neria's brow and freezes instantly. The pillar's glow remains faint.] * Shinrethryn looks back at the pillar. [Mela murmurs. "C'mon, Neri... you can pull this off..."] * Jinx looks worried, but there's nothing he can really do, so he just stands there and shivers. Jaw clenched to keep teeth from chattering. * Shinrethryn tilts her head and looks around the pillar. If there's no trees, maybe.. [Neria grits her teeth and keeps going.] * Shinrethryn tilts her head the other way, her bells jingling in the air and she takes a step forward, slowly at first, then more steadily towards the pillar. * Isaac shivers. * Taki rubs her arms. * Jinx looks at Shinny oddly for a moment, and then looks a bit hopeful. * Ao-Lang shivers. "Oh, hell. Why not." She walks towards the pillar, too, a wavering blue, gold-flecked aura forming around her. [Mela watches them both curiously.] * Shinrethryn looks at Ao-Lang and stops a few feet from the pillar, putting her hands on the ground and muttering a soft chant under her breath. * Taki watches the other water elementals walk forward and silently resolves to learn more about her powers, of course Isaac gets it pretty loud. (We should have brought Haruko. ;p) (Yes!) * Isaac glances at Ao-Lang as she does strange stuff. (Oh yeah, bring Haruko to fight the fire sorceress. She'll be real keen on that. :P) (We're already bringing a water elemental of sorts. Maybe. ;p) (Maaay~be o/~) * Ao-Lang sneezes again. "Start small." She snaps her left tessen into her hand and twirls with surprising grace, the cloak billowing around her. "Strike of Flowing Water," she says, not screams, as a rippling trail of water follows and comes into contact with the pillar. [The pillar glows a bit more brightly. Neria keeps chanting.] [Mela blinks. "Ao-Lang... whatever you did, do it again!"] Will lightning hurt it? ["Probably not a good idea to mix elements."] * Shinrethryn nods slowly, and presses her fingers more firmly to the ground. The ground around her fingers starts to glow a faint bluish color. From her half-closed eyes, locked in a drifting gaze, her pupils are lost as they glow the same hue. [The pillar glows even more. So does Neria.] * Ao-Lang shakes her head. "That's no fun." Mist begins to form around her, as the aura drops. She closes her eyes, forcing herself to forget about the cold, starting to almost... dance as she spins, moves, and whispers, the tessen trailing water to the pillar every so often. * Jinx decides to keep his eyes on Sedge for a while, since no one else probably is. [The surface of the pillar seems to ripple. A faint beam of blue light shoots from it to the sky.] * Taki watches Ao dance. [Sedge is staring open-mouthed, entranced by all of this.] * Jinx is satisfied with that and goes back to watching the pillar. * Ao-Lang starts moving around the pillar, though she never stops feeding it water. The right tessen's in her hand, now, but no elements radiate from that. [Mela watches, her fists clenched in determination. "Come on, come on... you've almost got it..."] * Shinrethryn spreads her hands out and the ice on the top of a few trees near the pillar melt downward, trickling along the surface of them. The area around the pillar melts and thaws, picking up a glistening dew. It slowly starts to spiral and Ao-Lang's water too joins it in a spiral, twisting around the pillar for a moment before a large geyser bursts out from below, showering it. (Whooo!) (We rule.) * Taki now shares Sedges awstuck appearance. (Yes, we do) [The pillar glows brilliantly, and the beam of light solidifies. If you look to the sky, it meets two other beams, one yellow and one red. The three join and a brilliant white light flashes through the sky.] [The ice-free area around the pillar slowly begins to expand, reaching out to encompass more and more of the forest.] [Neria raises her hands to the sky, singing the last part of her spell.] * Jinx 's eyes widen as he watches the spectacle, he comments very softly, "Got to hand it to the other elements of magic, they have style." [In a short while, the forest is completely free of ice. Neria stops and lowers her hands. Her eyes shine.] * Isaac runs up and hugs Neria from behind. * Shinrethryn oofs as she falls on her butt, her eyes glowing deep blue too for a moment before they fade away to the normal blue and her pupils return. She blinks as she looks around. * Jinx gives a slight but approving smile to Shinny. "Good work kid." * Taki continues to stare at the three for a long moment and then brings her hands together to aplaud them. [Mela lets out a delighted whoop and hugs Neria too. "You did it! You all did it!"] * Ao-Lang finishes where she started, left tessen held high and wide, the blue and silver on it glistening in the light. Her hood's fallen off during the dance, but she doesn't seem to have noticed. * Shinrethryn smiles over at Ao-Lang, apparently not even noticing Jinx's comment. "I like you more already." [Neria smiles and reaches back to ruffle Isaac's hair. "Yes. It is done."] [She looks first at Ao-Lang, and then at Shinrethryn. "I cannot begin to thank you enough."] * Ao-Lang opens her eyes slowly, then bows low. Afterwards, she straightens and grins cockily at Shinny, everything about the reverence of her performance fallen away. "Of course you do." Huh? Then don't. [Neria laughs.] [Sedge goes "Wow!" repeatedly.] * Taki is still clapping, "That was amaizing!" What? I mean it. Thanks is a silly custom anyhow. You do what you gotta do. [Mela hugs Shinrethryn as well, then stands up and grins at Ao- Lang. "Don't worry. I'm not gonna unless you really want me to."] And we had to get rid of the ice. Simple as that. Heeeeey~ Stop it! * Isaac smiles and holds the hug a bit longer than most normal people do... ~I almost forgot how good this feels...~ He lets go. * Ao-Lang nods at Mela, then looks around. She grins widely. "Warmer! Much better." * Ao-Lang snaps her tessen closed and flicks her wrist, the weapon disappearing. "So, anything else?" * Jinx seems to appreciate the lack of cold. * Shinrethryn pouts for a moment and blinks as she notices something. "Heeeey! I didn't get to go ice skating!" * Taki shrugs off Jinx's coat and holds it out to him, "Thanks again." [Neria straightens up. "Now, we return to the village and wait for Delinara to make her move."] * Shinrethryn wriggles her feet and looks a bit down for a second, but then pops herself up. * Ao-Lang removes the cloak and drapes it over Sedge's head, using him rather like an oversized coatrack. "Deal." [Mela grins. "We'll find you someplace to skate later, Shinny."] [Sedge blinks. "I didn't realize it was nighttime already."] * Shinrethryn puts her tiny fists on her hips and then shakes her finger at Mela in a scolding position. "yoouu'd better." * Jinx takes it back. "You're quite welcome." [And so, triumphantly, you head back to True North Village. The forces of Delinara are gathering... but that's a story for another time.] [Session End]