Renew the Pact: The Hand of Asumit, p8

Log Info

• Title: Renew the Pact: The Hand of Asummit, Part 8
• Emitter: Cryosanthia
• Characters: Seldan, Merek, Cryosanthia, Cesran, Serene, Karelin, Aya
• Place: The Wilderness of Alexandros
• Time: Tuesday, June 22, 2021, 8:03 PM
• Summary: The battle is finished. The pieces of Merek fade without words, leaving ugly stains. Aya's alternate simply vanishes as she often does. Seldan leaves with a smirk, and leaves his sword Discord. This blade is the first truly evil thing the adventurers have encountered. Serene insist on placing it in her scabbard and is nearly overcome by the minds inside. Cryosanthia is not doing well, seeing herself fall to pieces and vanish. Aya comforts her, Merek offers platitudes and Serene restores some of the Sith'makar's damage. Everyone works on finding pieces of Kravar while Cesran ensures the area is safe. Griva identifies what they went through as Asumit's work, that the holes in the sea of mana are how to find him, and they can trace him back to his lair. Merek is giddy with his experiences and eager to save magic for the world, while Aya and Cryo express more cynical thoughts about it. The whitescale even questions why she is present, when everyone outclasses her in abilities, experience and knowledge. Cesran and Griva reassure her that her perspective is and was useful in the battle. Cesran casts Mage's Magic Mansion so the group can rest, and Karelin departs. This is a concern and a job for mages. Swords will always work.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=  Appearing, in Order  =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Seldan       5'11"    187 Lb     Human             Male      Ginger-blonde human in armor wearing Eluna's symbol.
Merek        5'10"    215 Lb     Human             Male      A black-haired, dusky male with golden eyes.
Cryosanthia  6'9"     291 Lb     Sith-Makar        Female    A dashingly tall, elegant white-scaled lizard woman.
Cesran       6'1"     185 Lb     Human             Male      A tall dark-skinned man
Serene       6'2"     175 Lb     Eldanar/Charn     Female    Glacier meets granite meets strawberries.
Karelin      6'2"     256 Lb     Human             Male      Tattooed Korite warrior. Tall, dark and scarred.
Aya          4'7"     105 Lb     Shadow Elf        Female    Mul'niessa. Braided hair. Simple clothing.
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=

-=--=--=--=--=--=--=  NPCS of Note   =--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=
Griva Brassbringer               Khazdi            Female    Head of the Alexandrian Chapter of the Resurrection Society
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=
     
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=  As the GM   =--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=
Whirlpool    5'0"                Otyugh                      I am stinky!
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=

Previously

They still struggle. Seldan shields Griva.

Brass Dragon Cesran lectures his opposite with a three point plan that will guarantee success and is mathematically sound.

Kravar rushes the Titan-Cesran, wounding him so badly it's raining blood and he is struck by a retributive spell. Kravar turns to stone, plummets and shatters.

Aya chastises her opposite that if she has surrendered to despair or would share it with others, it proves her weakness.

Serene's clone stares with empty eyes, listens to Serene's words, heeds them and dissipates. Griva channels a tremendous amount of magical energy into the Rod, and calls for a dispel. Power ripples through the area.

Cryo's opposite is snapped free in her last moments, truly sees her and says, "You must save her." She shatters like glass.

Titan-Cesran tells his other, "The holes -- you can't see them, but you'll need to find them," and fades away.

The fallen form of Karelin's opposite, one who lost only by the barest of margins in truth, stares up at his oppposite. He starts to say something, but then pauses, smiles, and then starts again.

"There's none left to witness."

...and then he breaks apart.

Cesran listens carefully to his duplicates parting words, "The holes. I will find them." The brass dragon rumbles before he turns to look at the others. He heard Griva, but holds his spell ready to cast should it be needed. "I'd suggest everyone back away from it. Give me at least 50 feet if you value your magical items and spells."

...and then the rod pulses once after Merek's magic hits it and dispels ... *something*. Tamps it down, actually, as it can still glow in fits and sparks. Like it's a fire trying to spark out from under something smothering it.

"That won't last long, but it'll do. Seldan! Serene! Grab hold with me."

She reaches down to grab hold of the rod, and with their help, yanks it free from the earth. There's a monumental shaking to the ground that nearly takes everyone down off their feet, and then the *air before you* shimmers, reality ripples like a pond. Stabilizes.

She drops to her knee, Griva does, her own opposite seeming to shatter away into nothingness as she does.

"My gods," she heaves, "They were us, but clad in nightmare. Poison leeching into the land all around us, and into the Sea of Mana."

Now

Griva's spell seems to resonate.

Merek's ... remains, the other Merek, begin to dissolve into the earth, leaving scorched black marks where it remains. Seldan's dueling opposite, more severely injured than the paladin himself, raises his blade. "Discord," he snaps, "Grant me the strength to -- " and then he turns towards Griva and Seldan, pausing for a moment. A cruel smirk flitters across his face.

"... but a momentary pause. Soon, you'll be as we, and all will be as broken." He collapses to the ground, but perhaps worrisomely, the blade, Discord, remains on the ground, humming lightly like a thousand voices crying out in disharmoiny.

It is unpleasant to listen to.

Aya's opposite --- ... where did Aya's opposite go? It was just whispering to her. And then she just ... vanished?

Cryosanthia's hand is outstretched. Fingertips almost touch. The words stop her cold.

Cryosanthia shatters like glass. They almost touched.

Cryosanthia stands, unmoving. Staring. At the pieces of herself falling away. An eye, a nostril, the little bag of scales, a horn. Falling to earth, vanishing. The stars are down.

Cryosanthia crumples. She drops to her knees, "No no no no. Where did they go? I can fix this. I can freeze her back together." She's scrabbling in the ground, clawing, digging for what vanished. Like a cat after a light-pointer is switched off, but all the more tragic. It was here. Her shards were here. Where are the pieces? Where is she! Where is me!

Cryosanthia is gone. Cryosanthia remains. Kneeling in front of scratched rocks, staring, pupils wide, wings folded back. Still. Frozen.

Cesran stays in his brass dragon from for a moment and he looks around to make sure it's over, "I'm going to do a quick fly around to make sure that this is over and we aren't in for any nasty surprises." He rumbles loudly, "No need for any rude visitors to interrupt us." He flaps his wings and takes off in a slow spiral up as he looks around for any one else that might be trying to interfere with what they are doing.

A version of Aya that appears from nowhere, utters quiet, opinionated words, and then vanishes? Was it not implied that this was some form of -alternate-? Perhaps the two exchanged places unnoticed?

Alternatively, perhaps not, as the one sith-adjacent reaches a hand for the whitescale's shoulder. She need not even stoop to the kneeling one. "You are still here, Cryosanthia. The other was -not- you, and so is gone."

"Nothing could be as broken as you." Keen regret sings through Seldan's words, and his blade lowers, his own wounds aching, but not half so much as watching this - shadow of himself, a part of himself that hates everything and everyone, fade from view. His eyes go at once to the sword left in its wake, and absently, he allows his own angel wings to fade from view, sagging just a little as his feet touch back down to the earth.

Discord. A fitting name for the blade his shadow left behind - true that Reunion could be discordant at times, when it was truly riled up. And yet - it truly is discordant still, that one, the sound only adding to his state of mind. _Discord indeed._

"Seldan?" Fallia's voice is audible to all, the nasal tones of the older woman concerned and troubled.

"Hey. Snap out of it," the gruff male voice adds.

Kanian, meanwhile, is his usual querulous self. "_Discord_? By all the gods, Seldan, I thought being called Reunion was bad! You'd better never-"

"Shut up, Kanian. Now just what is that sword, because it sure isn't us." Tisa chimes in. "Seldan, be careful."

"Yes - of course." Seldan looks up, seeming to mentally shake himself, although the edge of that haunted look remains in the lines of his bloodied face.

Merek looks to what once was well... The man's self. Then he walks to Cryosanthia and offers to her, "You're still here Cryosanthia. This is not the place, it's too dangerous to be taken over with the memories and... What is from another world." He then takes a look about the place from the scarf which he wears, "Cryosanthia. Remember Lily. You need to, she's waiting back at home for you, your youngling."

Then he takes a look about the whole of the leylines, watching to see if his magical detection will note anything. He thinks back, like a whirlpool it all comes together, the time in the Iron Hells, that alternate self. The times that the man was killed in battle. He's getting a little old for this, and he's not even old. Ancient magic his mind had no need for, he has touched upon it. Then, like an echo he remembers touching into the pool. The timeline. His mind won't allow him to piece it all back together.

This world and many others seem to dance along his mind, what can it all mean. Then, he recalls the ritual with his friend, his time in the Halls. Peace. He knows peace, he knows what it means to also be taken to a lowest point. Then he speaks, "All of you. We are still here, and we still have a mission to carry. If they taught anything, it is that this world must be protected, so let us protect it. Griva, what must we do?" He asks this, clarity granted. A serene peace, one that comes from mastering of the self. He won't ever let them win.

Serene looks somewhat... satisfied... at least with the resolution of her own conflict. As if her twisted double confirmed something in her own mind. But her awareness of the battlefield doesn't let her dwell on that for long, and so she witnesses each of the others fade.. though not before leaving their own cryptic, and in some cases dark, messages. Her lips curl slight... an echo of a snarl, perhaps? But then Griva is calling for aid and she is there to assist.

When the power surges she stumbles... and then when it fades, and the wrongness seems to subsides, she leans down to heal some of Griva's ills before turning and witnessing the final departure. Dark Seldan. She bares her teeth at his message, then when he, too, fades, leaving his sword behind, she snaps, "Do not touch it." Less an order, more a warning... though the weight she puts behind her words might make that unclear. Then she slowly approaches the abandoned weapon, her eyes intent upon it.

When Serene goes for the blade, Seldan's head snaps up, and he, too, studies it closely for a breath or two. "Ware, Serene," he warns suddenly. "If it is to Reunion as the shadow was to me, it may contain many souls, imprisoned against their will. I can hear Discord, and it is in my mind that the souls imprisoned within it cry for release." The words are tight and tense, laced with pain, and more than just physical. "See that you do not become one of them." Reunion in his hand has lowered, and the point now rests gently on the ground in front of him. Griva gets a glance as she is restored to health.

"We are not in here against our will, Seldan." Fallia's tone is firm.

"You are not. Discord is an evil thing, and the evil reverse of you would be a soul prison." Seldan doesn't take his eyes from the blade, or Serene.

The whitescale stares are the ground. There are words. She feels Aya's touch on her shoulder. Her hand is warm, her shoulder is cold, solid. Like scaled ice under the flimsy sleeve of her blouse. There are more words, some far, some closer. Seldan is arguing with his swords. Sword.

Inhale. Exhale. Her breaths come slowly.

"As if I would forget Lily." Cryosanthia says, distant and cold, her words emotionless. Her eyes fixed on the spot where she stood. Until she breaks her stare with a blink, looks at Aya beside her. Places a hand overtop hers, holding it on her shoulder. Wordless thanks.

"She talked to herself. All the time. Two of her." Cryo tells Aya. An irrelevant fact, unless her thoughts have wandered far. The experience does lend itself to questioning paths, how one got where they are, how decisions might change the future. Her chest rises and falls. Her eyes meet Aya's. Her pupils are wide, curve slices that take up half her eyes. Still, there is sapphire blue. She's not all lost in emotion. "I've heard that before."

Cesran finishes his sweep of the area before he lands near the others. He spots the sword and hears Serene's warning. He shifts back into his human form, still up on his carpet. He focuses his arcane sight upon it to see how magical it is, but ready to turn away should it become painful. He looks towards the others as he readies himself to cast a spell incase this gets out of hand.

"This bears all the signs of the work of one man." She glances towards Cesran. Then back to the others.

"He calls himself Asumit."

GAME: Serene rolls will: (9)+33: 42

Serene kneels down in front of Discord and pauses. Perhaps reconsidering her course, or perhaps just mentally preparing herself. Silver lands nearby... and if a gryphon could look displeased, he certainly does. He even starts approaching her, but her hand goes up in the steed's direction and her head shakes.

"I understand, Seldan. But this cannot be left here.. and the nature of its arrival, I am not sure I would trust it in a holding sack. I want to have eyes upon it from now until it is time to destroy it." With that said, she sets her own sword aside briefly and unclips her scabbard from her belt. Then she lines it up with the blade's end, flexes her other gauntleted hand... then thrust it forth to grip Discord's hilt. And then she freezes, her entire body going tense.. a second drags into two, into another.. and then with a grunt she slams it into her own holy sword's scabbard and releases her hand from its dark grip. Then with a quick practiced ease she secures the leather peace bonds about it, securing it to its temporary prison before she clips it back onto her belt and retrieves her own weapon and rises.

"It is..." she finally says, "As you say."

"It is absolutely to be destroyed," Seldan agrees, but falls into silence as Serene picks up the thing, watching intently. Real sympathy and understanding settles onto the even features as he watches her struggle and ultimately win out, his warning apparently well-placed. "Do you carry it on your person, it may try again," he warns. "Hold your guard." He seems now to be starting to come back to himself, although the dark words spoken by not-him will no doubt be examined more closely later.

"Asumit?" The name snaps him fully out of his funk, and he turns his head towards Griva. "I have heard that name before, although not in some time. I would hear more, if you would tell it."

His eyes scan the others, settling with some concern on Cryosanthia. He says nothing of that yet, though.

Cryosanthia pats the rock in front of her one more time. In case... what? There's a scale? There's a black dagger she does not see before she? Perhaps to help herself stand up. Which she does, then sighs as she looks down at Aya. Her head raises and she gazes vacantly around.

There are pieces of Kravar. She could pick those up. Someone should do that. Merek is mission focused. Cesran is ... looks like he has a spell planned. He seemed so interesting a few seconds before, now he's simply a human mage. The whitescale wonders what she found so attractive moments earlier. Serene and Seldan are dealing with Discord, making Reunion seem a lot nicer in comparison.

Despite the Silverguard's assurances to Fallia, she thinks of it as a prison too. A topic for later. Serene's struggle with Discord holds her attention until the Arch-Paladin appears under control again. Her eyes are a little wider once more. A lot of topics for later.

Asumit is behind it all, and Karelin is... over there. The whitescale exhales again, glances at Aya once more. "Thanks. Let's get Kravar." She goes to look for pieces she might find.

Merek nods a bit to Cryosanthia, while he takes a look along to Griva, then he seems to think about it, "Alright. I can bring back... The guy," he notes, motioning to rocks, while he nods a bit. Ya, that... Well, the man takes a look along to the place. He begins pulling the cavalier hat along his features while he takes the time to consider the party, "Well, part of me either isn't all on me, or I'm... Part of everything. You know what, I'm not going to question it."

"I'll see to it that every effort is made to restore Kravar to his life," replies Griva, glancing at Cryo as she goes to get the pieces. "Yes," she says to Seldan. "They call him the Binder, for he traffics in demons. The man who destroyed the town of Versis by sacrificing its entire peoples to demons. Though many would be rescued by heroic sacrifice in turn years later, the power granted to him remained. He took up residence in the benighted land of Skald, where the Demon Wars began, and has since used his minions to bedevil us, frequently literally. His true goals remain an enigma, but this is not the first time he has attacked the wellspring of magic itself. It is believed by Rune that he seeks to control the ley lines themselves, to grant magic only to himself and unto himself, like so many before him -- but I believe now it runs deeper than that. I think he seeks to *end* magic, to choke it form the world."

She nods towards the space where the rod remains.

Cesran watches as Serene takes up the blade and sheaths it, "If you like I can attempt to suppress the magic inside of it, perhaps enough that it might be destroyed. Perhaps now it not the time or the place and this is a discussion for another time. If you need help destroying it I'd be happy to assist." He looks over towards Griva, "Asumit again."

He growls as he feels the anger welling up inside of him. "Of course it's him." He takes a deep breath to calm himself down, "All right let's focus on how we can fix this and then help Kravar." He lets Griva explain as he starts to study the area around him and the area where the rod is to see if he can glean any new understanding of how to repair this damage.

Aya dips her chin to Cryosanthia and begins to move to aid in retrieval of the ...Kravel(?). No translocation, now, only brisk strides. "A magi, mad with power, seeking to claim all magic for his own..." she summarizes flatly as she collects . "How utterly novel." Obviously, she feels that it must be Tuesday.

Reunion's point comes to rest in the soft dirt at Seldan's feet, and both weary, gauntleted hands come to rest on the pommel. Seldan's eyes wander around the blighted area, resting on the rod briefly, then to the crystals, as he listens to the explanation. "A dangerous threat indeed, far more so than I knew. He must be stopped, indeed. Think you that that - creature - was him, or but one of his works?"

"I think that was Merek's final form. At some point it seems the best way to save us is by absorbing all of us." Cryosanthia says, her voice still disconnected. She's focused on the ground, on Kravar's impact spot and the scatterings of his pieces. This could take a while. "Maybe it was something of Asumit."

Crouch, gather. She concentrates a pocket onto her clothes for the bits. She'd prefer a dedicated bag, later. The large chunks are easy, it's the little pieces. She's concerned she'll miss an important sliver. "Swords will still work, and crossbows. Artifice might take some re-jigging but I'm sure everyone will still figure out ways of killing and destroying and the world will go along just fine."

Perhaps it will even be better. The dead will stay dead. Death will no longer be employed as a stepping stone to greater poewr.

So, novel perhaps, but nothing new under the sun. "Our other selves said things that might have been relevant. I didn't manage to catch it all. Cesran's said Asumit failed and turned himself into a conduit."

"If this sword is indeed a prison... " Serene shakes her head slowly, keeping her hand very deliberately away from the dark sword. "It may be best not to weaken its bonds for now. THe presence inside... we do not want it unleashed," she says. Her voice is its usual strong, confidant timbre.. yet the crease to her eyes is a touch more concerned than it normally is. She shakes her head, then touches the holy symbol upon her breastplate... as she does, the luminescence pulses outwards from her, divine healing washing over those around her... then she joins, as well, in collecting Kravar's... bits.

"It is far past time for Asumit to meet his end. Too long has he been allowed to plot and act. He has... so much to answer for. " Griva gives Aya a look. She has a point.

"Yes, wizards do have a tendency to get full of themselves. We know. There's a reason for the Conclave and the Pact with Animus." She grumbles.

Aya's view(s) have always been present, even if they are rarely popular. She doesn't press the point as she gathers. The mul still listens, of course. "Then he should answer. There is only the matter of locating him to deliver the question."

The wave of healing washes over Seldan, and it seems to catch him - almost unawares? His head snaps up, and the small smile returns, his gaze once more even and calm. "She blesses us through you, Serene," he murmurs, but the small smile vanishes. "So there is." He, too, begins to help collect the bits of Kravar, but as he works, it is Cryosanthia's words to which he turns his attention.

Reunion, meantime, has gone quiet for the moment. Eerily so.

"It is in my mind, Cryosanthia, that the shadows spoke, not of what is, but of what could be. But one of many myriad outcomes. Theirs, perhaps, were darker than what we seek-" He pauses. "I think that I now understand why Eluna and Her servants speak in riddles. It is impossible to speak clearly on the many things that may be. There are too many to clearly state which is, and they may but speak on that which is most likely, given the present. It may be that by changing the present, we change the future."

Cesran turns back from pondering how to fix this and he goes to help in searching for the pieces of Kravar, "I think if we get enough pieces together a make whole spell would work, if we can get him all back together I do have a break enchantment spell we could try to free him." He suggests as he goes slow looking for any small pieces that might otherwise get overlooked.

Gathering goes swiftly at first. The big, recognizable pieces are easy to locate and pick up, if a bit gruesome. It slows once those are all found, smaller pieces are hard to tell from unusually coloured rocks. It's mostly if they stand out because of colour, or have holes suggestive of veins. The sections aren't unfamiliar to the whitescale, although being stone is unique.

"Should we... glue him together to make sure we have all the bits? Is there a spell..." Cryo's words fade off. Is there a spell. Is there a spell that fixes this. Is there a spell when the problem is a problem with magic. "Oh. There is a spell. Thanks Cesran. I don't feel all that great."

The healing flows through the whitescale, warming her. It helps. She didn't have many injuries, at least not that sort. She repeats, "I can't think and I feel tired."

Cryo stares at Seldan. Really stares, as if she's having trouble following it all. Her tail is dragging on the ground. She's absolutely still for several seconds before replying, "Isn't... that how it works normally? Present decisions change the future? And... they don't need riddles to be unclear. I wasn't. It needs..."

She trails off as she attempts to imagine what 'it' is and needs.

"Gather all the pieces you can find," replies Griva to Cryosanthia, "and place them together. I'll take care of the rest. It's unlikely he'll be in fighting condition after going through that, if he's able to be restored at all." She lets out a sigh. "One more crime for Asumit to answer for. We know he is in Skald, but it is not a place to travel to lightly. The Cyst is ... dealt with. I don't feel anything here, but there are others. I would suggest that the best way to deal with them is to end him once and for all -- and in doing so, we'll be accomplishing another aim. The Renewal of the Pact requires the defeat of an enemy of magic, anyway. Who better than Asumit?"

She spreads her hands out in front of her.

Merek looks then to Cryosanthia, "We just need the pieces. You don't need to put it together." The man thinks about it, "Not the way I would imagine actually saving the people." He then looks to Griva, "Ya, I want to take care of the enemy of magic. Anyway, do you know... Actually, I don't think it's. Well, whatever I saw that was within the timestream was not meant for men I think. It's probably best we take care of that antimagic mage. Why he'd want to do away with magic, which probably gives the power to him, I wouldn't know."

"I will aid you, as I may, although other things call my attention as well." Seldan's eyes lower, and he pauses in his gathering of shards, adding those he has found to the pile. "This Asumit must be stopped." His eyes lift again, briefly, but only long enough to go to Merek, and then to Cryosanthia. "I pray that he can be restored. The Pact should be renewed, but one such as this Asumit must be stopped, Pact or no."

"They do, but there are too many futures to be clearer than _riddles_, I think."

Cryosanthia brings her pieces over to Griva, into the area encompassed by her out-stretched hands, interpreting that as the invitation and direction. She's shaken as she piles them, mostly one by one, sometimes attempting to stand one on an end. Often they fall over. She makes room as Aya, Seldan and Cesran bring theirs over.

She's still struggling to give Seldan an answer, "It needs a circle flower. No, a tree, with branches. Each a decision and a different thing happens after each one. No, it's more like a play, with audience participation, where they stop after every act and ask how it goes next. It only starts the same. Except sometimes the branches join back together."

"Except it's like a book, too, where you read and then choose to go to a certain page, but if you read it in order it doesn't make sense." The whitescale stares at him, expressionless, whisps curling out of her nostrils when she exhales, "You have to save her."

Cesran moves to place the pieces that he found with the others. "So it would seem. What is this Renewal of the Pact? I take it that it has something to do with the Shards of Animus that are being collected?" He asks as he gently brushes his hands to make sure he gets all the stone dust off. He takes a couple of steps back, "I think it's all agreed that something must be done about Asumit, but the question is how. We have to find him first."

"Ah, Cesran. You've missed that part of it, eh?" says Griva.

"Some adventurers located one of the Shards in the wild. It requested we renew the pact. As a member of the conclave, you would know that the Pact was symbolically renewed by its membership every decade or so, through a series of ceremonial actions based on our commitment to magic. It was a ritual to Animus, nothing more, that stated who we were. Now, a shard has requested we go through these motions, likely as a result of some sort of vestigial remnant, but given that it harmed people near it, we need to ensure that we do whatever it was to calm the God's agony. SO yes, it has everything to do with the shards."

Griva places her hands together,

"We are fortunte I have placed non-detection up. No doubt Asumit has been alerted to our presence and our actions." She turns to Seldan, then reaches over to take his hand, a weary smile.

"A great many things vie for our attention. I can see how it weighs on us all. We have much to do. If it were so simple to end Asumit, the Parliament would have done it, but he hides behind a relic of great power."

Cesran nods, "I did, I was away pursuing other lines of research into other problems. I never was a member of the conclave, I support it yes, but I was just a student when Animus was killed and when I came to Alexandria the Society of Progressive Arcanists had taken over for Rune. I've never sought membership in the conclave because they weren't in the city of Alexandria. Don't get me wrong I'm happy to help the conclave in any matter that will protect magic, but I am not privy to their rituals and other secrets."

The whitescale continues rambling her explanation at Seldan, "It's a different branch if I leave now to go back to Lily, or I leave later. Except it might be the same for her. In the book it would be. Ssassa comes home. In life, I don't know. It might be the same or it might be different. The longer I wait the bigger the slice that is Ssassa doesn't come home is. It has to be the whole pie, every time."

There is another question that needs her wisdom, such that it is. Cryo looks at Cesran, Griva, back to Cesran. "Can't you scry..." Back to Griva, there's a relic. "Oh." Can't scry. The obvious approach is out.

Then, "me either." Cryo is slow in her responses.

She stares at the ground, "We are the pawns and playthings of Gods, Cesran. Do this. Do that. I hope you are watching Ceinara and enjoyed. Signed playbills are available after the show."

"I feel really bad I think I need to go to a Temple."

Cesran nods, "I can try to scry upon him and I can even try to use Discern Location as I have had the displeasure of actually seeing Asumit. As Griva said though he may be blocked from divination spells by a powerful artifact or direct intervention by another god." He shakes his head, "We are not Cryosanthia. I refuse to believe that. The Gods gave us free will and I'm going to use it. It's my choice to try to stop Asumit and I will use every spell, every piece of knowledge that I have at my disposal, every magic item, everything that I am to stop him and save magic. Not for myself, but so that others can learn the Art and go beyond what I can do. A world without magic would be a very dull and mundane world."

"Cryosanthia, the future isn't a set determined path," Merek will note to the woman, "And, we're not play things of the deities. I would know, I've probably went against most of the Pantheon and told a few demons that want me to kill their deities that I'm going to kill them and their deity. Think nothing of that," he will motion, while he nods a bit.

The man looks to Cesran, "I could care less about keeping the world mundane. I would like it safe, which is what this guy stands against." The man takes a look then to the party, "Anyway. I'm pretty sure that I went into the timestream, I am going to need to... Think on what I found while there. Remember, observation of an experiment makes different results of that same experiment. Which means by even knowing of one timeline, we've changed our own, and amid many paths. This is why a divination can change the outcome of things."

Between the information dump, the suppositions... and whatever it is Cryosanthia is attempting to convey, inaddition to those other... pressures... Serene has to give her head a quick shake. She stows her holy sword upon Silver's saddle, then approaches the Sith-Makar. Stopping before the whitescale, Serene looks up at her, then reaches up and places both hands upon her shoulders and once more channels. As she does, runes upon her bracers briefly light up before fading again.. and then Serene steps away, a slightly pained expression on her face. "Focus, Cryosanthia. There is still work to be done." As for all the rest of this talk about the time stream and futures, Serene presses her eyes closed, then looks to Griva. "Ending Asumit will in fact be very simple, I believe. Just also very hard. And he hides because he knows he can be ended. We will find him."

"Yes. I explained to Seldan. The future is a tree with a pie." Cryosanthia says. She straightens up a little under Serene's touch, and a much more effective healing flows through her. Things are much less cloudy. She looks over and smiles, a careful one where she keeps her teeth in, "Thank you. This one will try."

Although there are still demons, devils, a Man who took a swim in the timestream, and a Mad Man sucking up all the leylines. Cryo pulls on her horns, hauling back and aiming her head skyward as she straightens her neck. "Oh. I have wings."

She spreads them wide, watching the canopies stretch, then relaxes and watches them fold back in. This brings another smile to her face and a lightness of tail.

She looks back to earth, to Cesran, Serene and Griva, "Cesran, that's true for you, but why am I here? I'm no match for anyone present. I'm the least dangerous here. I'm Speaker-Caste, I can talk, but Asumit's talking days are done. You need Aya to shadow-step Kravar behind him. I don't know what I can do besides die and I have no idea whom I'm supposed to save."

"The future. The past. These things aren't what they seem, in any event. It's always happening, all around you, simultaneously."

Griva lets out a breath. "Navos teaches that the river of time runs in one direction, but the reality is far, far more complicated. That's the truth beneath it. The surface of the river seems to run in one direction, but its full of countless eddies and tributaries, inlets and ... anyway, I've lost track of the metaphor. Time is complicated. As for Asumit, I believe I have a plan. He may have given us a tool, unexpectedly."

Karelin is silent for a long time, staring at the place where his double was. Finally, he says: "Fucking Asumit. I should have finished him when I had him hurt." He reaches down, draws out an iron ball, and fidgets with it absently. "A tool. What is it?"

Cesran nods to Serene, "Thank you for helping her." He watches as Cryosanthia shows her wings, "They are beautiful wings. I don't know what dangers we'll face when we go up against Asumit. I certainly don't want to discourage you from helping but I also don't want you to feel up have to put yourself in danger. We may have need of your talents Cryosanthia, you are exceptionally insightful and better at speaking to people that I ever could be. This was a very tough battle for all of us, it's not easy to see something like that, a duplicate from some alternate timeline where everything went wrong. We will come up with a solid plan that will let us figure out what everyone can do besides die, we don't want any of that, and to see that we can save everyone from living in a world without magic." He finishes up and takes a deep breath before he looks over to Griva, "Do you mean that rod of absorption?"

Merek looks then to Cesran, "I think whatever it took in might be useful," while he will offer a little nod to Cryosanthia, "You're plenty great to have around, it is up to you if you want to assist. You need to make that decision for yourself though." Then he takes note of the fact he doesn't have an arm, "Ah... Well that's right. I could regenerate it, I might replace it though, we will see about it." Then he takes a cigarette with the free hand to place in his mouth, which he will light gently. "I would like to assist with the plan, I've come up with a little Artifice work I learned about when using the things that I found in Merkabah."

Cryosanthia's confidence flows back into her posture. Compliments help! She's standing taller, more composed, with an element of regality. Even her wings, so new she hasn't seen them in a mirror, fold and hang in dignified positions. She addresses Cesran and Griva. "This one apologizes. Tradespeak is not this one's first language. This one was seeking advice."

Advice which Cesran delivered in bulk. She nods as he speaks, thinking it over, finally saying, "Insight then. This one can provide. I can do that. I don't want to die. I won't leave Lily motherless again."

She looks at Merek, looking at his missing arm. "I don't want to lose bits either. I like my bits."

She focuses on Griva and Cesran again, "My magic skills aren't much, my fighting, worse than everyone. My diplomatic skills are honed, yes, but also easily exceeded by Serene's, Merek's, and likely Seldan's. If you need me..."

She takes a deep breath. A lot of people need her, she imagines. It might even be true. Her posture goes formal again, "The second topic of advice. This is the second time this one has heard the words, 'You must save her'. This one doesn't understand. 'You' plural or 'you' singular. Me, or we, everyone. Which 'her'? The first time, was in the Phalanx Falchis, from Zaya when she was... when she was possessed. This second time, from myself, from the future."

"This feels less of a choice, to me, coming from something beyond this reality. Twice." Cryo maintains her gaze. "None here were present the first time. I suspect 'you' means 'me'."

"She was right about one thing. I wouldn't understand." Lots of Shes were.

Karelin pauses. "Maybe the she is Taara, trying to take over magic and getting pulled down by other players."

"This one... dearly hopes she has not been given the task of saving Taara." Cryo says flatly.

Karelin shrugs. "We don't get to pick that shit. We just get handed the shitpile."

"This one will not argue that point." The whitescale is very formal with Karelin. She's seen him cut things up. Himself primarily. She doesn't want to provide any excuses. Her head turns towards Griva and Cesran, "This one desires a second opinion."

GAME: Karelin rolls spellcraft: Trained Use Only: 0
GAME: Cesran rolls spellcraft: (11)+41: 52
GAME: Cryosanthia rolls spellcraft+2: (13)+7+2: 22 (+2 Ancestor touched)
GAME: Merek rolls spellcraft: (4)+26: 30

Griva's observations have on logical conclusion. Those things had to be introduced to the leylines from a central source. Tracking them back through the sea of leylines is doable. It will require entering the sea of mana to do it. Dangerous.

It could lead straight to one of his lairs, or directly into a trap.

"You want us to travel through the leylines. That'll be wonderful," Merek notes, while he nods a bit to Griva, then he takes a look to Cryosanthia. "You are great at what you do. All Adventurers are. Power isn't measured upon only in, you know. Anyway, I'm glad you are safe, and... Well, Kravar will be safe when we get him back," the man draws from that cigarette and will look to the party. "Well, anyway. We should probably be making a few preparations, and looking back into Alexandria."

Cesran looks over to Merek, "It's dangerous, but we can prepare for it, which is what wizards are the best at, given enough time and study and preparation we can safely make a trip to the Sea of Mana, navigate it to the central source of these cysts and give Asumit one hell of a surprise when we come out. Hopefully we'll catch him with his pants down and as much as I don't like to do this, but end him before his plans come to fruition."

"Oh." Cryo doesn't sound reassured in the slightest. She blinks slowly, "Cesran, at your meeting someone said there was holes in the Sea of Mana. Someone who had been to Rune recently. I think it was a horse shaped golem. It said the holes seemed deliberate."

"Well, that sounds a little safer." Still not much reassurance in her voice. She keeps her hands clasped together, held low on her front, "Hopefully we'll hit his lair, and not a trap."

She inhales sharply, sounds very cheerful as she asks, "So any thoughts on that second opinion, a 'She' that is not Taara. Or my old Mistress?"

"I was there. That's what we're investigating," says Griva, gently, to Cryosanthia. "The holes in the Sea are ... what we just dealt with. It's not so much holes as it is an unknown shape disrupting the flow of mana. We can only know the thing by how it affects what's around it."

Karelin smiles thinly. "Asumit deserves every thing, pleasant or not. Maybe especially not the pleasant thing."

"Right." The whitescale nods, "That makes a lot more sense." She rubs at her forehead, shaking her head slightly, "Sorry, still putting it back together."

"It's all right. I know how it is, and what we all endured was ... traumatic."

Griva shifts uncomfortably. "Cesran, Merek. Let's put our heads together. It's going to take some time, but I think we can prepare to wade into the Sea from here and strike at Asumit himself. The rest of you, we're going to need to prepare a little. Rest while you can."

Cesran nods, "As Griva said there holes in the sea of mana are what we just dealt with." He nods, "Happy to, but I'd like Cryosanthia to participate as well, she has a unique perspective and could help. Seldan as well in fact any that want to help should, although it might get a little esoteric, just a warning. I still have a spell I can use from my book I can make a Mansion for the others to rest while we prepare."

Karelin cleans his sword off carefully. "You know what to do." He looks around, and gets ready for a long hike.

GAME: Merek casts Regenerate. Caster Level: 15 DC: 21

Merek looks then to Griva while he nods a bit, then he lifts up a hand with a sigh in thought, while he chants. "We are going right for it after we're finished up. Well, let me take a moment to." He then weaves along the magic which begins to bring about another arm in place where his was. The man will gently lift that up to check on it, and nod, while he begins to chant and use more magic to begin mending along himself. White scars along the new arm it looks like. It is notable that at this point, between resurrection and mending his body, he is not always coming back perfectly.

And with that, Karelin decides he's going to pack it in. Much as he would love another crack at Asumit, the white lizard is right, others might be the better for the follow-up. Others with more magic talents or crazy affinities. This is a little bit of a closed system. For mages. Karelin doesn't really fit, and he knows it. He's yesterday's news.

Retirement and family are looking good. It's a long walk back. The old fighter gets started and leaves.

"So, we're bringing Discord with us?" Cryo asks, glancing at the quietly conferring paladins.

"I think I'll find a cliff and throw myself off it." She tells Griva.

Then, both thoughts are forgotten. She clasps her hands together, holding them up in front of her in appellation, wings popping out wide as she bounces on the spot. All attention on Cesran, "You have Mikilos' Mage's Magic Mansion? I have eighty different layout designs! Do you like Ice Lairs? Or a Swashbuckler's delight? Or a gymnasium of hot tubs?"

Cesran hmms as he reaches into his pack for his spell book, "I don't have Mikilos' Mage's Magic Mansion. I do have Mage's Magnificent Mansion. I don't know what those look like so you'll just have to be surprised with the one that I come up with." He ahs as he find the spell and starts to cast it. Soon a large door appears on one of the large rocks, "There we go." He says as he moves to open the door, "We have about 40 hours before this spell ends, please feel free to help yourself, pick a room for yourself, feel free to explore." The mansion itself is done in a Jade Island style, what one would see if they had been invited to a merchant prince's palace.

It is lovely. It's missing something though.

To (Seldan, Cryosanthia), Aya pages: The true secret of the whisper? From the other Aya: Here's my info. Call me.
You paged (Seldan, Aya) with 'PAH!'
You paged (Seldan, Aya) with 'Call me, maybe!'
To (Aya, Cryosanthia), Seldan pages: LOL! So call me maybe?
<OOC> Seldan says, "Oh gosh, braincell!"
From afar, to (Seldan, Cryosanthia): Aya grins and winks. "I was just teasing, but that would be amusing, no?"
To (Cryosanthia, Aya), Seldan pages: Whoops! That was meant for here.