Open Chronicles Fires In Elbion

[Luc]

White hot pain. Searing. He had been aware of the growing warmth going from the amulet he wore but he had frozen in place, watching the horror which unfolded before him. Such horrible music was in use and he watched as each member of the Black Circle burst into flames. He was no different then any patron who stood there in shock, until the warmth in his chest turned into pain. His breath caught in his chest as he thought he was next to befall the fate of the men he killed.

There was no arguing. Him going there... Killed those men. And he was next?

Wake up child!

The voice echoed in his head and he snatched off the amulets and tossed them to the ground. He winced in pain and watched with wide blue eyes. But aside from them being cracked and one smoking... Nothing happened.

And he bolted, making his exit and running for the door.

He did his part. He delivered the damned things.

Now, he just wanted to be with Anima and escape Elbion once more. Fate had other things in order however.

 

[VigiloConfido]

Walter saw it happen with his own eyes. It hadn't taken long at all.

And the deed was done. Those horrible purple flames he saw through the large front-facing windows of the tavern. He saw what happened to that man's face. And he knew that he was party to it.

He ran.

Ran before Luc even came back out of the tavern.

These Luminari. By the gods, what had he even agreed to join?

* * * * *​

Anima watched from her vantage by the alley. Luc walking across the gap of the intersection and then into The Midnight Dream. A view into the tavern from the number of tall windows fanning out like segmented glass wings from the front door. She lost him for a moment as the door was shut.

A moment. Passing. Nothing.

Then she saw a sight made even more peculiar by distance. A spout of purple flame, the column of it there and gone like lightning. And the screams began, heard all the way from the tavern to the alley. A man standing outside the tavern dropped his pipe and sprinted away.

The door to the tavern was flung open and out spilled a panic most tangible and the first few people to flee with reckless abandon.

Anima's body tensed.

More people. Patrons. Shoving their way out through the doorway and then a great living tumor formed in the portal as too many tried to push out all at once. Luc, she noticed, not among those who had escaped. Anima broke from her standing in the alley and ran toward the tavern and as she did she ignited an orb of bale fire in her hand.

Glass shattered and a man's body toppled out from one of the front-facing windows, collapsing as a mannequin taken by the downward pull of the world and there on his chest a gaping wound and the dying wisps of a black and purple magic fading. At near the same time an explosion of normal fire blew open a man-sized hole in the side of the tavern wall, debris crashing to the street and embers flitting away in the night.

Anima reached the middle of the intersection and stood before the tavern and hurled the orb of bale fire at the door. Those people crushed into the jamb were hit and racked with sorcerous pain and they flinched and flailed and their bodies went limp for just a moment and in that moment they slipped and fell forward and the living blockage at the door deteriorated and the way was once again open as those behind them stumbled out.

Anima waited. Excitement euphoric and terrible gripping her heart and stretching her wild smile as her eyes searched and searched.

* * * * *​

The three surviving members of the Black Circle stood in a momentary daze. All the world slowed about them. Their two brothers dead on the tavern floor.

The Senior of the Black Circle still lived. And with a grim look he glanced to his two fellows. One nodded. The other nodded. They both knew. All five men of the Black Circle knew the day might come. And they all swore that if they were discovered then there would be no talk nor confessions nor deals nor anything of the sort. They would not be made to explain themselves nor share their secrets, for all vowed that they would not be taken alive.

They would die, and take as many souls down with them as they could.

The three members of the Black Circle left standing unleashed their magic on everyone in their vicinity inside the tavern. Firing bolts of consuming void and spears of bone and orbs of acidic blood indiscriminately and with wanton malice.

The Senior shot a man with a bolt of void magic and he toppled into the glass of a window and fell through it and outside. Another member of the Black Circle impaled with conjured bone spear a heroic student pyromancer from the College, and the pyromancer's fireball shot backward instead of forward as he fell and blew open a portion of the tavern wall.

And the Black Circle members continued their slaughter inside The Midnight Dream.

* * * * *​

Khadija Han and Clarissa Mejeure walked at a brisk pace through the Residential District. Arguing.

Until they, specifically Claire, bumped into somebody.

"Willis!" Claire said, springing back up to her feet. "There, Kha, see? Two against one. Leave the city wins, how marvelous. Let's be off then, shall we?"

Kha looked from Claire to Willis and to Claire again. "We can't leave yet."

"We can, and we are."

Kha made a wide flourish with her arms. "No! We're! Not!"

Kha's operari. Her responsibility. The Luminari could put a magical catalyst like the Vicar to superb use, lacking as they were in arcane resources. So much time invested into this. Time, time, time. She couldn't let it go to waste! They had been so close. There had to be something. Something they could do to rectify this catastrophic turn of events. Trajan was watching. He was always watching. She couldn't let him down!

Claire huffed and planted hands on her hips. "What are you going to do, love? Hmmmmm? Drag that thing away from the city all by yourself?"

How obvious to Claire. Her dear Kha just couldn't accept that it was over. Over. Oh Claire had done her part. Done it perfectly, she might add. She got all the information necessary for Kha's little operari and, well, the situation quite rapidly changed, didn't it? Giant monsters were things Claire left for other people to deal with. And her dear Kha wanted them to go chasing one? Oh no no no, she was absolutely mistaken!

"We do what we always do," Kha said. "Wait for the right opportunity. Think about it."

"We don't even know where it was going!" Claire said, raising her voice with little concern for those nearby.

"Easy. That thing was huge, we'll get pointed in the right direction."

Claire rolled her eyes. "Fine. Be a darling and tell me how it goes." She poked Willis in the chest and said to him, "We're. Leaving."

* * * * *​

The Symbiote climbed up the wall of the Residential District and out and into the Merchant District.

A thing horrific in its size and speed scurrying across the buildings and across the streets as needed through Elbion, shocking those citizens and alarming those guards who saw it. At some points the dark of night swallowed it whole and in others its freakish silhouette was painted against the lights of distant flame and magical illuminations.

The Vicar laying flat on the crossbeams of wood, the undulating body of the Symbiote spilling out from the wound in her chest like a terrible cosmic calamity. It had grown considerably and had wrapped itself many times about the length of the Vicar's body and the wood to which she was affixed and it cradled and kept her stable. Those massive spider's legs in their great arches like eight monstrous sentinels keeping guard around the treasure of the Vicar dangling within their perimeter.

Men and women pointed when they saw the nightmarish creature. Some screamed. Some hid. Few in their strange curiosity caught the molting black which fell like ash from the legs of the creature as it skittered above them and watching as it disintegrated slowly in their very hands. None had time to see the change over time, the turning of the creature's legs to white, matching the leech body of the Symbiote.

And it grew closer.

Closer to The Midnight Dream.

 

[Smiling One]

It was good to see Claire again. Of course Willis hadn't forgotten the time where they fucked right after he killed their captors. The young man almost missed her rack, but right now wasn't the time to remanence their lustful engagements. Claire's friend: Kha mentioned about not leaving Elbion, the young man raised an eyebrow at the woman's insistence of doing something. Was this part of Lumanari business that Claire vaguely alluded to? As far as Willis knew, he was considered a recruit but it seemed that Claire didn't follow up on it. Then again they were fucking their brains out, Willis could barely remember the men he killed while he and Claire were getting on by their corpses.

Claire predictably opposed whatever Kha was going to do. There was a selfishness to the woman something that she and Willis shared in common..... to an extent. This whole exchange was just baffling to the young man, especially when Claire poked Willis in the chest saying that they were leaving. What the hell is going on here? It was times like this that Willis wondered if he was passed out drunk again. If that was the case could he wake up next to a naked Tavern woman? That would be just grand.

There was a flash from the distance and a brief rumble along with more terrified screams. Earthquake? No an explosion possibly the fire came into contact with some magical items. Some contents were combustible and can lead to massive explosions. The Great Explosion of the Marketplace during the Age of Expansion came to mind where a dropped lamp landed on some potions which created a massive explosion which killed hundreds and mutated others. Some had an third eye others had a four arms and on it was horrific to the point where the Merchant's Guild placed some heavy restrictions onto the herbalists on what potions they can create and sell.

But what thing that Kha and Claire were talking about?! What was this thing that was crawling through Elbion? Grabbing Claire's finger and gently putting down, Willis stared at Kha. "You're Kha right?" Willis asked. "Name's Willis Reede, Claire's ummm how should I put this?"

The young man felt his ears redden all of a sudden. "Eh you probably know how we met and shit," he shrugged. "What thing are you talking about? What's crawling through the city?"

Willis stared at Kha and Claire trying to get read on them. "It's bad enough there's a fire," he said. "But if that thing is a Monster, it's going to get a hell of a lot worse for us. So tell me Kha, Claire what the fuck is going on? Do you know who started this fire?"

 

[Luc]

Self preservation was not an exclusive thought Luc found as the exit was choked with patrons attempting to flee. He pushed hard, trying to escape as he soon realized all those seated at the table his amulets attacked had been killed. Nay, three still lived and they wasted little time springing into action. Though the door was someone clear now thanks to Anima's actions, he would still get caught in battle trying to make it through.

They held no regard anyone inside it seemed as they struck down any and everyone and he would be no different.

And so it seemed Luc switch from flight to fight, gathering mana in his hand to deflect a bolt of power that shot towards him.

Rage....

The voice instructed.

He was no hero.

Never intended to be.

He was a survivor.

And much like the mages before him who saw no innocence in the Midnight Dream, so did he respond in kind. A gust of wind shot forward, a blast so powerful it self tables, chairs, and patrons alike hurtling to the to the far wall. Attacker or not, he was clearly a path between himself and the Black Circle for this day he held no plans on dying.

 

[Phillipa Ebonheart]

The gargoyles at the stairs simply watched, listened, silently without chatter and barely signs of even drawing breath. It was near impossible to discern their gaze, both facing the hallway. They had their orders, as did the rest of them and there was no need to speak to one another as they stood vigilant. A handful searched in imposing silence as they rounded up students and deposited them into large gatherings. Singular guards were silently delegated around the crowd as the rest continued searching. Professors were pushed back into their lecture halls or studies as students were also brought to them for safety.

More gargoyles began to ascend from the basement, singular postings at key points below allowing more of them to search and find anything that did not belong.

A pair of silent guardians strode through the hallway where a hole seemed worn through the wall. One stayed in place while the other continued on, informing the other gargoyles through the link the school had given them.

---

"A breach has been found. Unknown if an intruder has escaped or entered." the gargoyle with Phillipa spoke suddenly. Her eyes snapped to the figureb narrowing as she spun her thoughts together.

"What kind of breach? A blown out hole? As though the stone were cut?" she snapped, anxious and irritated at waiting for details.

"It seems, eroded." The gargoyle replied, pausing as if to search for the proper word. The pause concerned her. What kind of magic eroded? She chewed her thumb for a moment, going through her memories for any encounter for such a thing. A fleeting thought, chasing a student, trees falling without obvious forms of magic. Falling as though they had died on the spot.

There had been another that night. She hadn't caught a proper look at the second person, but if they were one and the same, it could be trouble. Unsure of what abilities an intruder had was always a danger. A gamble, risking resources against an unknown. She only had a hunch, and she hoped it was wrong.

"Have the gargoyles avoid physical contact if an intruder is found. Heavy shields and ranged attacks only. You know what to do." She informed the gargoyle who simply nodded. The warning laced into the intructions was passed along the link they all shared

---

Gargoyles around the college began to invoke shields around themselves causing a stir among the students and staff. They also began actively looking around for some unknown reason as they waited. The pair at the staircase had been stock still for a brief moment, and without instruction that could be seen, they invoked shields. One kept its gaze on the hallway while the other began to scan the walls and ceilings.

 

[Nayella]

Vault Stairwell
Phillipa Ebonheart

Nayella froze in place as the two Gargoyles stood still, appearing as statues for a moment before suddenly shifting.

Shields fell into their hands as though seemingly from nothing, trickles of magic allowing the small summoning. A grimace slipped across Nayella's face, and she wondered if someone had discovered she'd made her way into the halls of the College.

It was a big assumption to make just from the summoning of the shields, but Gargoyles did not just suddenly change without reason.

She did not know much about the strange creatures, most students at the College didn't. Yet she knew enough to be cautious. So she did not fight them head on, knowing that such a tactic would only lead to a quick and untimely death.

The Blight Witch would have to do something else.

A breath filled her lungs, and low trickles of magic filled her.

She knew the gargoyles spoke to one another, that as soon as these two saw something it would trigger the rest. Yet if they were the only two nearby she would have a window, small as it might be.

Slowly she reached out, her magic lacing not across the room, not in the air, but instead burrowing through the stone of the College itself. Like deeply burrowed roots it reached out, crawling, grasping, and then suddenly taking hold. In an instant the rot would take the Gargoyles.

It would spike into them, draining life, taking age, and pulling them apart at the seams.

 

[Phillipa Ebonheart]

When the magic touched the pair, the focus of every gargoyle narrowed to that staircase. Their interlaced consciousness all at once feeling the pain and death of the pair. For a brief second, every gargoyle went rigid, processing what had occurred before the ones still searching shifted their attention to the hallway that now lacked their kin.

The pair before Nayella did not initially react, at least not until the link between this pair and whatever held the rest together was severed. The bodies shook violently, a shrill and quick scream of a man and woman emitting even with the sudden aging and life drain. Pieces fell off of the two as if they had been sewn together. First a few fingers, then an arm before they crumpled into a pile of robes with the signature mask landing with a soft puff of dust as flames erupted from the robes.

The flames devoured what was left of both essence and spirit. The soul inside the body fizzled out of existence, consumed by something unseen. The hallway was open, if only for a short time. The silent sneak attack with magic did not give the rest of the gargoyles anything to go by, those of them in the basement changing tactics and masking themselves in the shadows and dispersing their shields.

The focus of those gargoyles topside changed suddenly. The one's that had moved to intercept, what they assumed was the intruder, now moved with a haste that mimicked Phillipa's kinetomancy.

---

The gargoyle with Phillipa shuddered, a sharp inhale as it turned it's head ever so slightly away from her. Another deviation from what she was used to seeing from these silent monoliths.

"What happened?" She asked quietly, unsure if she truly wanted to know. Silence filled the room for a brief time, making the professor uncomfortable.

"A pair of us have perished. We are going to destroy the entrance to the vault."

 

[VigiloConfido]

The Senior of the Black Circle turned about in the tavern.

Many had fled. Whether through the recently unblocked front door or through that broken window or even out of the flaming hole in the wall made by the pyromancer's stray fireball. Still some patrons remained, trapped by the mishap of their position in the tavern and that of the Black Circle members, hiding and cowering behind upturned tables or diving behind the bar with the barkeep.

One patron still stood. Some manner of elf.

And this elf pummeled the Senior and the other two of the Black Circle and everyone else with a burst of wind. The gale deflected a glob of acidic blood already in flight from striking a patron by the bar counter, instead it hit a cask of wine on a stand along the back wall and the drink spilled out as the acid corroded the wood.

The Senior and his two fellows of the Black Circle were lifted and tossed by the wind and so landed in an awkward gaggle alongside all those hiding behind the bar. The two went about their macabre work even as they lay on the floor and from behind the bar came the screams of those gathered and unseen patrons as their safe haven as made no more by magic of bone and blood.

The Senior stood. Faced Luc.

Conjured two bolts of purple and black void magic. One in front of Luc, the other behind and at a slight angle. And with a twisting of his hands he bid the bolts toward Luc.

* * * * *​

Willis introduced himself. Said, "...you probably know how we met..."

"Far more than I'd ever want to know," Kha said.

Claire strummed fingers on her own cheek. Said, "That sounds like ill-concealed jealousy to me."

Kha lifted a hand so as to block sight of Claire's face. Said to Willis, "The fires? No idea. Doesn't matter. That's irrelevant to us--"

"What a coincidence, just like the giant spider-demon-elf-worm-thing," Claire said, lowering Kha's hand. "It's someone else's problem now, dear. So let's wash our hands of the whole debacle, shall we?"

"No, after all this I have to try! We need it! I need it!" Kha shot a glance to Willis. Then back to Claire, saying, "You do what you're going to do, Claire. And I'm going to do what I have to do."

Kha started running at a full sprint down the street, vaguely in the direction they had seen the Symbiote heading. Claire called out to her but she didn't stop and Claire didn't pursue.

Claire stood her ground in an annoyed and worried huff and muttered a curse under her breath.

* * * * *​

Anima saw others, the last of the more fortunate tavern patrons escaping from the building and the massacre within. They scattered and fled in all directions and some ran past her in the intersection of the streets and some didn't and as her eyes searched they saw no guards, many drawn perhaps to Nayella's fires. But it would not be too long, would it? Order would attempt to impose itself once again.

She heard the whistle of wind and from inside the tavern the sound had come. Her gaze snapped back and she stepped to her right just so to see Luc, just beyond the open front door and still inside.

The taste of cherries--

--banished as the crushing weight of being watched fell down upon her. Far more intense than before.

It was there in her mind. In the pit of her heart. The deep recesses of both.

Anima froze. She knew that feeling. That presence.

Illuminated by the purple flash of lightning in storm clouds miles distant from the city, the eight-legged silhouette hurried along the rooftops and the collection of buildings across the span of Elbion behind Anima.

The Symbiote's arrival imminent.

* * * * *​

Crows gathered on a rooftop adjacent to The Midnight Dream. Curious, avian eyes observing.

 

[Smiling One]

Willis had to snort when Kha said that the fire didn't matter to her and Claire. Claire he understood, but this woman. What did she mean that the fire wasn't important? Considering how many people have been dead or injured in this fire it's pretty obvious that Kha and Claire was hiding something. This had to do something with the Lumanari organization and this Ink Elven Monster that Claire was screaming about.

The young man stared at Kha continuing to sprint up the resident district and was heading to what appeared to be a tavern nearby. Willis new of the place: The Midnight Dream, the young man took up lodging in the place a few times before. Good bed, beautiful waitresses but the drinks were awful, their ale tasted like Cat piss and the Vodka smelt as though it fell out of an Dwarf's asshole.

What could be in the Midnight Dream? As Claire called out to Kha, Willis took out his silver mini telescope and peered through it. The young man's heart dropped seeing a brief look of an ink like monster slinking to the inn and quickly disappearing. "What the fuck?!" Willis increased the scope of his telescope to get a closer look but there was no sign of the monster. Was it an illusion? There were some accounts of people hallucinating due to the smoke.

Willis placed his telescope into his minibag accidentally biting his tongue while grinding his teeth. The metallic taste of blood absorbed on to his wound. He felt tempted to go after Kha, he had a horrible feeling that she's going to get herself killed. He took one step but he heard Claire cursing Kha while remaining rooted to the ground. Claire is a great lover and a lovely seductress but she was selfish and vain, Willis knew it but still remained with her for a while.

He sighed it looks like Kha can take care of herself but Claire Is not a fighter and can get nervous when it comes to fighting. Elbion is descending into chaos right now and there are mini fireballs raining down on the people. Claire wouldn't make it, Willis glanced at Claire nervously. "Will she be fine?" He asked his tone of voice shaky and uneven. "Can Kha fight?"

 

[Nayella]

Nayella darted forward.

The gargoyles had perished, and she knew as soon as they had a call would sound out. In her estimation she had but mere minutes before others arrived.

Thus she ran as fast as she could, breaking into a sprint and taking four or wife of the stairs at a time. Within just a few moments she stood on solid ground once more, the hallway in front of her seemingly bare but illuminated with rows of torches.

Her gaze shifted, searching.

Then she darted forward.

There was no doubt in her mind that more obstacles would oppose her, but that didn't matter. She could sense what she needed ahead of her, the crown in her skull pulsating as the magic drew her closer and closer with each passing second.

Phillipa Ebonheart

 

[Phillipa Ebonheart]

The gargoyles below waited, hearing the footsteps of a descent from the stairs. A pair popped out from around an alcove of a doorway that each of the basement rooms had in their design. All of the alcoves were spelled, mostly to sense who was entering and magically cataloging the entry. A few had more serious enchantments around them to prevent entry without permission.

The pair that emerged focused on the intruder, one casting a shield around them both while the other spoke quickly. "Vivamus ignis." It spoke before it was consumed in magical fire and seemed to shrivel into itself. It shifted however, a shape in the fire before a wurm of pure fire began to emerge from the flames and slithered towards Nayella.

It roared before spraying a stream of liquid fire in her direction.

 

[Luc]

He was a battle mage, first and foremost. Though he didn't graduate, his time with Lady Eneer had been grueling. She was a wise teacher and under her watch he had transformed from a scrawny halfling to a proficient fighter. He was a well of mana and had been the direction on how to shape that power. Admittedly, he had been raw for a long while, slowly coming to his own.


Would could have thought that being run out of Elbion could have been the best thing to happen to here. Gone were the restrictions that the college enforced. Now he was free to act freely. To learn freely. He also had a new teacher, the voice with in the emulate. The soul sealed with in. He didn't have the experience he needed however. He was a battle mage in theory, but he was untested.

And at that moment, as a off smile played upon his innocent visage, it seemed he was ready to put what he learned into practiced.

Water gravitated towards his body and stretch out forming a thin delicate bubble. It was to weak to serve as a shield but he seemed to have a design for it's reflective surface. With in his hand, a spear of water formed and he appeared poised to throw it yet he hesitated as his keen eyes caught something in the reflection and instead, he just waited for his attacker to make the first move.

 

[Nayella]

Nayella dropped on the ground in an instant.

She slid on the floor and beneath the stream of fire, the tails of her hair barely catching within the flames and sending a sickly sweet smell into the air as they caught on fire.

The Blight Witch however continued her path, sliding forward across the stone cobbles. An odd green glow surrounded her palms and wrapped her fingertips.

This time she did not send the magic anywhere, but instead grasped the stone beneath her.

The cobbles shook, and then suddenly collapsed out from beneath all of them.

Her intent was to see the gargoyles fall just alongside her to the space beneath all of them, there in the air she would reach out and touch them, her magic infecting and grasping their life before any of them touched the ground.

 

[VigiloConfido]

Anima could feel it.

A body both hers and not. Ghostly appendages, eight in number, growing more and more intimately known as her own arms and legs. A heart beating in tandem with hers, like a sister organ residing in a counterpart Arethil, what veil separating each world thinning rapidly and letting each be known to the other. This imposition a weight as crushing as that of being watched from before, and then more so. Like the squeezing of a fist about her entire body, a smothering and a suffocation of the soul within.

Anima couldn't stand. She dropped down to her knees, hands and arms limp at her sides, head hanging down.

A new field of vision crept in from the periphery of her own, as if she her whole life had been looking exclusively through a tube or keyhole, only now to have such limitations slowly removed and the true expanse of perception revealed. This new field of vision saw the world in a manner wholly alien; dull and drab colors and vague outlines for materials inanimate, colors lurid and shimmering for things afflicted with life and mortality.

And she saw with her own eyes the street upon which she had sat. And there with her sister eyes she saw the back of her own head, from a vantage higher than the street and not far behind. Her color a swirling teal.

Anima turned her head. Looked over her shoulder and up.

The Symbiote stood on top of the building behind her, eight massive spider legs spread out for purchase upon the roof. It looked down at her, and she through its eyes that were her sister eyes knew that it was doing so. Horrified screams from the small pockets of Elbion citizens still in the vicinity.

The Symbiote's sight moved. Up from Anima and towards the Midnight Dream, therein an assortment of colors, many of which were fading or morphing outright to the dull and drab of the wood and the brick and the cobblestones and the clay and all else. Three signatures stood out the most, each a pulsating yellow. And one among those three burned with the intensity of the sun.

In a split second the massive Symbiote crawled down from the building to the street and rushed over and past Anima and the crucified woman that was its body nearly missed colliding into her. The Symbiote rammed the front of The Midnight Dream and caved in the front end and partially the red clay roof and with its front four legs began to thrash and break open the building further and clear a way. Debris flew in arcs small and arcs enormous all across the street and the surrounding buildings like ruinous hailstorm.

The Symbiote ignored Luc and ignored what few other living patrons there were. Instead it reached a leg forward and impaled the stunned Senior of the Black Circle upon the tip and extracted him from the tavern and turned and slammed him down onto the street outside.

The Symbiote slashed and stabbed and slammed and skewered and altogether brutalized the body of the Senior with its two frontmost legs, his screaming cut short violently and suddenly as the assault began. A great shower of blood and gore and innards and organs flying and scattering and splattering about as he was torn apart in every conceivable sense of the word. The other members of the Black Circle inside the ruined tavern, one standing and one lying, each as stunned as the other, frozen in paralyzing dread from their own bloody task.

Anima watched, through eyes of her own and through the vision of the creature, how the Symbiote stabbed the Senior over and over like a mother given the chance to punish her daughter's murderer.

And she felt the phantom blood drenching her hands.

The euphoria in her heart.

* * * * *​

Claire hurried along through the streets. Oh yes it was time to be done with this little endeavor. You simply couldn't win them all, could you? Of course Trajan would understand. Oh but don't pretend like there aren't other magical catalysts out there ripe for the stealing. Even better, said other magical catalysts likely wouldn't sprout spider legs and run off and terrorize a city, now would they? Her dear Kha. She had a rather poor sense of what ought to be pursued and what ought to be swept neatly under the rug and cleanly denied. Why, what wasn't "true" could hardly damage one's pride, now could it?

Oh well. She'd come slinking back to Claire soon enough. Of course she would. And it would be lovely to have a nice little "I told you so" at her expense.

And Claire had Willis with her. Just in case that monster decided to double back around to try and eat the most beautiful woman in all of Elbion currently. She could push Willis forward and let him do his thing while she made for the city gates. Fighting monsters simply wasn't the flavor of danger she yearned for, oh no no no. Hers was a delicate balancing act with potentially hostile people she could convince and cajole and coerce, all with varying degrees of subtlety and sexuality.

Monsters? Ha! Surely you jest!

Huh. Willis seemed...oddly nervous. Where did all that lovely confidence go?

"No." Claire thought for a second. "To the second question. Oh but she'll just fine, love. For all her other niggling faults, she's not stupid. She'll find out quite well and quick that she's volunteered herself for a fool's errand. Why, even if she did find a way to incapacitate that monster what is she meant to do then? Hmm? Pick up the Vicar and toss her over her shoulder and just, what, walk away? And that's if the giant spider legs even disappear or are cut off or what have you. I mean, honestly, she acts like we actually need to do something about this, like it simply won't be taken care of eventually by the locals. Like its our fault or something. Ha, ha, ha! Can you imagine?"

She talked a lot. Oh but did it feel good to vent a little, even if she had plenty more where all that came from.

* * * * *​

Kha ran. Her lungs burned but she ran.

She yelled at everyone she saw and didn't stop. Asked them if they had seen it. If they had no idea what she was talking about they obviously had not. Those that had, unanimously with faces contorted by some degree of dread or outright horror, pointed her along the correct path.

Kha ran. This street and that street and followed the fingers of bystanders and witnesses who had seen the thing, however briefly.

She pulled out disk-shaped chunks of lavastone from a pouch on her belt as she ran; these particularly good at taking and holding her various enchantments, easy to work with. But she had no idea what to use. What would work? Would anything work against that creature? Was there some special trick or some condition that would cause those legs to retract and disappear or something equally worthwhile to her end goal?

The staples, perhaps, start with those. Lightning trap, to potentially stun. Ice trap, to potentially freeze. Light trap, to blind or confuse.

She didn't know how she was going to extract the Vicar from Elbion, and she knew she didn't know. One problem at a time, Kha. All in order. Minute after minute, second after second, solve this, then solve that. There probably wasn't enough time to send a bird to Dio and have him contact the wagon team and direct them to wherever the creature was going. Ugh. Both herself and Claire didn't really think Anima and Luc would deliver the pendants tonight. Well, yes and no. Possible, yes, but unlikely. Damn it! They should have been fully prepared just in case.

But even then, they didn't expect the Vicar and the Symbiote to...change. The Black Circle certainly had no problems even remotely like this with the Vicar, according to Claire.

Tick, tock. Make the best of a bad situation. You can still do this. Time doesn't wait for anybody.

And Kha ran through the city.

* * * * *​

The crows watched from their perch the happenings down below in and around The Midnight Dream. Heads cocked at the same angle.

 

[Smiling One]

The flames continued to spread throughout the residential district, men and women continued to scream and shout with many running for cover from the falling embers. Yet amidst the chaos, all Willis was focused on was Claire's incoherent babbling. Of all the women Willis has slept with in his life, Claire is the most enigmatic of them all and it's not close. She danced around the organization she's working for even though she considered him a viable candidate, she randomly disappears at times and now this. Willis jogged towards Claire's position and looked into her eyes. One can gleam a lot from a person by looking at their eyes and Claire's was filled with panic and distress though he can't tell whether or not she's worried for Kha or for herself. Possibly both.

"Vicar?" Willis asked raising an eyebrow. "Spider Monster? What Spider Monster are you talking about? Giant Spiders usually stay away from large cities."

Giant Spiders prefer caves and forests where it's easier to ambush their prey and get away quickly. In a city it's harder for them to do their job. Sure Giant Spiders have been taken down by locals but there's something about this particular monster that has Kha and Claire spooked something that it sounds like Kha is taking responsibility for. "What is she hiding?" Willis thought. "Claire is making it sound that she Kha fucked up."

An flaming rock, the largest Willis has seen flew past he and Claire at breakneck speed and crashed into a Hovel. The explosion created a thunderous tremor causing the young man to jump back a bit and grab Claire's hand. "Come on Claire," Willis mumbled. "Let's get you out of this city."

"So I can fucking question you in peace," the young man thought as he began to escort her through the burning district.

Just at the two was about to past the cratered Hovel, a sneering laugh penetrated the young man's ears. The young man then saw squat and stubby humanoids crawling from the huge hole. Their magma encased bodies lightly covered in flames. Their permanently etched mischievous smiles stared at Willis and Claire especially Claire.

"Inferimps!" Willis gripped Claire's hand and tried to make it to the docks but the flaming imps leapt right in front of them forming a line. There were about 5 five them getting closer to Willis and Claire, the young man saw from a distance citizen getting attack by Inferimps with some of them getting set on fire. "Of course they would be here." The young man growled. "They're attracted to massive fires!"

More Inferimps were on the rooftops ripping off tiles and trying to set roofs on fire. The larger the fire the more numerous Inferimps are. They love to contribute to the chaos while basking in the flames. Willis saw a wooden barrel behind him perfect for Claire to hide behind. She values her life over anything, Claire is going to need Willis to get out of this city alive. Now more than ever.

"Hide behind that barrel!" Willis said to Claire. "This won't take long!"

Escaping just got a hell of a lot harder.

 

[Isabeau]

Chaos filled the streets of the city, as screams filled the air, and the sickening sweet smell of death also loomed. The reason why this happened had everyone perplexed and in fear, specially the family in which Issy had been visiting.

Sally was busy making sure that if the fire reached them, she was ready, little twins Zander and Zeya, whom were no more then 3 were snuggled close to Issy’s as they sat upon their mothers’ bed. Issy gently placed one arm around Zander who leaned against her side from the right and the other arm wrapped around little Zeya on her left.


“Shhh, calm now, you will be alright, come now, do you think gabby and I would let anything happen to you?” She gave a soft smile as she leaned over and kissed both heads, one after the other.
In a small voice Zander looked up, with tearful big eyes.

“You promise, you promise?” Though she couldn’t see those innocent eyes, the meaning and feeling didn’t escape her as she squeezed him into another gentle hug.

“Yes, I will make sure both you and your sister, mommy and daddy will be alright.” Gabby now would trot over to them and snort. Zeya’s tears began to ebb and soon her small fingers curled within the main of Gabby.

“See now, Gabby even agrees, you two stay here while I go see if mommy needs help, think you both can take care of Gabby?” Instantly Zander nodded his head fiercely as his tears had stopped and the only evidence that he was crying, was the sniffles he made here and there.

“Yes Aunty.” A smile stretched along her lips as she patted his head as she moved off the bed and went about finding their mother.

Sally was sitting in the kitchen drinking a warm mug of tea, Issy could feel the uneasiness of the woman as she took a deep sigh.

“Making diamonds, are we?” She tried to ease the woman with a small joke as she moved toward the woman.

“Issy, I’m in no mood, for all I know Jack could be out there, dead . . .Burned up or worse.” She sighed obviously the woman was in no mood for humor. Issy moved closer and gently wrapped her arms around the woman in a comforting embrace.

“I am sorry, I was just trying to help, Jack is a big boy, you know it would take a lot to harm him.” She hoped that would help, but the woman though she was leaning into Issy, was still tense. Another deep sigh.

“Sally, I will go, I will go and see if he is ok.” There was a bit of silence and then with a muffled slight cry, she felt the woman’s tear’s soak her shirt, then they stopped with a sniffle.

“I can’t have you go out there, goddess knows what the mages brought on us, you are easy target.” Issy smirked.

“I’m blind, who would mess with a blind woman, I’m a boring target.” Her lips thinned into a smirk.

“No one ever suspects the blind.” Another attempt at humor. Sally snorted a laugh and then she sighed.

“Fine, fine, but at least take this.” Soon a can was placed in her hand, Issy almost wanted to laugh, she would certainly now look like the typical blind person.

“Thanks, I’ll take my supplies with me, just in case. . . Now, go and calm your children and wait for us and know you all will be ok.” Issy squeezed the woman’s shoulder. Sally seemed to relax just a little.

After a good-bye Issy, quickly made her way toward the docks, she’d of course had to dodge people, who were screaming and crying. The aroma’s in the air were a sickening sweet mixture of smoke and flesh.
She would soon make her way to the docks and toward the ship in which Jack worked. Issy clung to her large bag’s handle as she could hear yelling, but this wasn’t the normal yelling this was agony, these men were dying.

Jack! She thought to herself as she tired to move faster, well as fast as she could. She didn’t have Gabby with her. She began to go aboard when a mage stopped her.

“Sorry Miss, but you can’t come aboard, the ship is quarantined.” A hand was placed on her chest to stop her, then quickly moved away. She could feel the blush from the young sounding mage. She would have given a sympathetic smile, but she was to concern about Jack. Quarantined meant one thing, a plaque had invaded the ship. She had to help.

“I know, its why I am here, I am here to assist I’m an herbalist.” She held up the bag and then she lied.
“You know a healer of sorts.” She sorts of lied; she was a healer but not one with healing gifts. She waited and hoped that this one time her good looks and clever mind would live up to their potential.
“Miss, I.” The mage paused.

 

[Luc]

The reflective film that covered his body just didn't offer a glimpse of what was behind him bytrelying on simple science. Magic was at work and it gave him a picture perfect view of everything offering a panoramic view of he could view at his command. All he had to do was think about looking behind him and the transparent image slipped into place. He wasn't sure if this was a design of his making of a result of the amulet imposing it's knowledge upon him yet again. He just knew he was in a fight and he wanted every advantage he could afford.

The viewing bubble (he'd have to come up with a better name for the spell later), showed him the bolt that launched at him from behind. Luc shifted just in time, the bolt piercing the bubble and shattering the spell and it appeared no different then a bubble of soap bursting. It was a fragile thing, but it provided him the moment he needed to evade both attacks and launch his own. Only something unexpected happened.

As the water lance was released from his hand and thrown forward, the entrance of the tavern exploded in and his lance destroyed a table that flew into it's path thanks to the unexpected carnage. Luc found himself blown back by the sudden discharge of magic and flipped over the unconscious bodies of some of the unluckier patrons. Amidst the fallen, Luc focused his swimming gaze towards the leader of the Circle intended on killing... And found the symbiot in it's place. He was frozen in terror as he watched the monstrosity, unbelieving as to what his blue eyes paid witness to.

Get. Up!

The voice in his mind echoed and Luc stood upon shaky legs. Someone he knew. He knew that he was the cause of this. And with that knowledge, he fled, racing to the door to find Anima.

They played their part in this mad scheme, no sense in them furthering their contribution.

 

[VigiloConfido]

Still Anima sat on her heels in the middle of the intersection, arms limp and head hanging. A visage of calm bliss overtaking her expression. Yes. The annihilation of the Senior. His body reduced to ragged parts so fine that the next rain would all but wash away the last traces of him upon Arethil. And in this she felt naught but joy. The pleasure of a righteous killing.

The Symbiote shuffled its huge legs about and turned itself apparently back toward The Midnight Dream, the fire from the pyromancer's awry fireball having spread now and consuming almost half of what remained of the building. The other two living members of the Black Circle looked to each other. One conjured a bone spear and the other a globe of acid blood and they unleashed their magic upon one another in a mutual suicide and their bodies fell to the tavern floor and joined those of the innocents they had slaughtered. A small and final defilement, that their bodies be included among the slain, as if they too were somehow made victims.

The Symbiote stood idle for a moment. Anima saw through her sister eyes the sudden disappearance of the pulsating yellows that had been the other two Black Circle members. Their bodies made to blend in with the blacks and grays of the inanimate and lifeless.

And then the Symbiote turned again, shifting the massive bulk of its eight legs. It faced Anima. It faced Luc. She a swirling teal by its eyes and he a simmering red.

It started walking toward them, the points of its legs leaving cracks and divots in the street. Still a constant fall of the specks of black from its spider legs, ashen snow, further exposing the pure white underneath.

The Symbiote raised up the crucified elf, moving her from parallel with the surface of the street to perpendicular, tendrils twisting and leech body elongating to make it possible. She, the Vicar, now held out in front of the creature, the spider legs behind her. Writhing and squirming tendrils of white wrapped about her body and the wooden cross-beams holding her aloft like a proselytizer with a sign declaring his faith. The leech body of the Symbiote, spilling out from the wound in her chest and extending all the way behind her and from which the impossible legs of the spider had sprouted, pulsating with the rhythm of the Vicar's heart.

Anima looked with her own eyes. A turning up of her own head. The visage of calm bliss fading from both Anima and the Vicar.

"Luc," both Anima and the Vicar whispered. "You know her."

And the Symbiote approached Luc and Anima slowly. Presenting the Vicar.

* * * * *​

Spider monster, pig monster, rabbit monster, oh what did it matter? As long as it was over there and Claire was over here it could look any which way as far as she was concerned. This simply wasn't her forte nor did she very much care for it be. But of course those who made it their prerogative to slay monsters would figure out all the little particulars and why they were so significant, and let them. That was for them to do, not Claire. Oh no, of--

Claire flinched hard when the flaming rock and destroyed someone's home. Hopefully a xeno's home, that would be pristine, wouldn't it? Nothing much other than that, just Elbion unraveling at the seams as was dreadfully usual for this city.

"Get out of the city? Why, yes! I'll have you know how utterly refreshing it is to hear some good sense from--"

Um. What was that? GAH! More monsters? Seriously? This was simply ridiculous! Why, was it any wonder that Trajan was so focused on Elbion and the traitorous College in particular? This city needed a tragic amount of cleaning up to be made even remotely livable. What would Trajan say? Oh! Something like: "Surely this is what can only be expected to happen when xenos are even so much as tolerated."

Well. Willis had taken her hand and had the same idea she had: run. Only those, what, Inferimps Willis called them, jumped in front of them. Others on roofs.

Fuck! She couldn't stay here. Oh, no, no, no! Things would be alright. Of course! Things always turned out alright for her. Always! She just needed to run. Run and run and get the hell away from here.

As soon as Willis said, "Hide behind that barrel," Claire did exactly the opposite. She turned and sprinted away, back the way they had come.

Let Willis do his thing. That's what he lived for, yes? She could find her own way out of this damn city!

And Claire ran.

* * * * *​

Finally Kha came within the outer vicinity of the creature's destination: none other than The Midnight Dream itself. And she collapsed from the sheer exhaustion of her sprint across the city. Her body tumbled into the side of a shop by the Dream's intersection and slid down to the street and she coughed and wretched and threw up water and bile and a portion of her dinner. She wiped her lips with the back of her sleeve. That disgusting, acidic taste lingering in her mouth. Ugh. She wasn't a runner, oh no. The enchanting temptation of rest threatened to lock up her legs.

"Come on, Kha. Come on."

She stood. Gave herself a couple of seconds. Then walked to the corner of the shop and peered around it carefully.

Immediately she snapped her head back around the corner. Good gods of time and clocks, the Symbiote was enormous! She hadn't gotten a solid look at the thing back at the Senior's house. How the hell was she going to do this? Think, Kha. Think, think, think. Use your surroundings.

Kha peeked back around the corner at the intersection. A good portion of The Midnight Dream was on fire, the parts that weren't utterly destroyed that is. Did it have a primal fear of fire? That'd be nice. Convenient. Oh. Look. That was Anima there. Sitting in the middle of the street. Oh, and-and there was Luc! The creature turned from whatever it was doing and seemed to face the two of them; though it was difficult to tell which end was the "face".

Now Kha's endeavor had suddenly became more...complicated. Certainly neither Luc nor Anima would be happy to see her. Especially Anima, she imagined. In a perfect world she could invite Luc to have some tea with her and smooth things over and see where it all went and who knows, you know, think about it, maybe--

A quick shake of her head. Distracting thoughts. Get back on track. Alright. How vindictive were they, truly? Well. Best to assume an appreciable degree. It would be terribly embarrassing to be captured by them and held for ransom or similar blackmail against Trajan. Look, no one ever wanted to be the butt of a poetic justice ballad sung by the bards.

Well, maybe they'd just run from the creature. Kha wouldn't mind if it killed, say, Anima in the process. Then maybe a loose force of Elbion guards could distract the thing, and Kha could have her moment then when said hypothetical guards hypothetically were routed.

Kha primed the enchanted lavastone in her hand, a trap of arcing lightning.

She had to be ready.

* * * * *​

Another crow landed beside those gathered. Became one of the many watching.

 

[Phillipa Ebonheart]

All of them fell, the wurm roiling in the air as it flung it's tail to the floor to catch itself and caught it's associate beneath it. The wurm crushed them with the flaming mass of it's tail. The scream of pain from the gargoyle was short lived as it too caught flames and all that was left was the mask. The other pair fell aimlessly for a moment, one trying to cast a spell.

 

[Smiling One]

Willis pointed his Rapier towards the five flaming creatures before him. Inferimps are less deadly more mischievous, they would rather set a house on fire or set a person's hair on fire just for shits and giggles rather than malicious intent. If a people died which was often it was usually a result of the Inferimps trickery and overuse of fire spells. Inferimps are uncommon since they love to live near warm places often a Volcano or a Hot Springs. The Mountains of surrounding Elbion was once said by Bards to be a massive Volcano named: Amgeforn which was Dwarven for "destruction."

According to the Bards, Amgeforn erupted millions of years before the Age of Urogosh spreading it's thick black smoke, and molten hot lava throughout the land. Giant flaming meteors also fell from the Volcano and It landed everywhere in the surrounding area. Scores of plants and animals became extinct, many people were killed in the fires and Villages destroyed. It is said that the Savannah was eventually formed as a result from the Volcano. Afterwards, a group of Dwarven mages came to the Amgeforn and performed a transformation ritual on to the Volcano turning it into a series of Mountains and help lay the foundation for Elbion.

At least that's according to the stories scholars and residents tell a different one but with many Inferimps running around, It was the only guess Willis had at the moment. An Inferimp rushed towards the young man and began to leap at him only to be bisected through Willis' Rapier. From a Monster Hunter's perspective Inferimps were easy to take out but they were so damn numerous. "You all right Claire?!" Willis said through clenched teeth. He turned around and his eyebrows rose up in fury.

"CLAIRE!" Willis said turning around. "Don't fucking go run off on your own! It's fucking dangerous!" What the fuck was Claire doing?! Willis told her to stay behind that damn barrel It was for her fucking safety! With Monsters infesting resident district the last thing a person should be doing is fucking running around like a Dwarf who lost their forging hammer.

It was then Willis felt a searing pain on his right shoulder followed by a scratch above his Achilles. The Inferimps took advantage of the distraction because of course they did. Their claws were enhanced by a molten flames making their scratches like volcanic punches. The remaining four Inferimps danced and screamed around Willis with one of them jumping on his back preparing to fill the young man's hair with molten lava.

"FUCK NO YOU WON'T!" Willis yelled dropping his Rapier and grabbing the creature by the neck and slamming it on to the ground. Willis rose his foot and stomped as hard as he could on to the Inferimps face. Its head immediately shattered causing the rest of the Inferimps to scatter...… for now.

"Fucking Claire!" Willis shouted. "Come back!"

The Inferimps on the rooftops saw the commotion and dropped down in front of Claire. Six of the Imps began spewing out lava from their mouths blocking the young woman's path. "Hang on Claire!" Willis said grabbing his Rapier and rushing towards her. "This bitch is going to the end of me....." he muttered to himself. "At least these are Inferimps it's not like it can't get any worse....."

Just then a medium sized creature came from behind the alley way and approached Claire from behind. It had sharp claws, and a mouth for a head. Its whole body was doused in flames.

"It just got worse," Willis moaned shaking his head. Magmaws…… another creature who dwells near volcanoes. "The things I do for breasts," Willis said shaking his head. "Especially Claire's."

Taking a rock, Willis threw it at the beast causing it turn around and locking its..... maw towards him. "Now Claire if you value your life!" Willis growled. "I highly suggest to GET YOUR ASS BEHIND ME!"

 

[Alistair Wren]

Once he had collected the vial of blood, Alistair popped it into the pouch on his belt and packed up his case. As he was walking back to the healer's cabin, he saw one of the guards refusing somebody entrance aboard the ship. Squinting, he made out the features of a young woman, probably a few years older than himself, shimmering beneath the light of the guard's lamp. Brow furrowed, Alistair turned away from the cabin and walked across the length of the deck.

He met the guard at the ramp and turned to face the young woman, navy eyes glinting over the top of his mask.

"Lord mage, this lass 'ere says she's a herbalist, shall I send her off?" The guard asked, holding his lamp at the level of the woman's face.

A pause followed. Eyes shifting between the guard and the woman, Alistair creased an eyebrow and turned to face her. She appeared sincere, like she desperately wanted to lend a hand, or she knew one of the men who had come down with the plague.

"Let her on board, we can use all the help we can get," Alistair said to the guard.

Nodding, the guard put his sword back into it's sheath and stepped aside, to let the woman on. Alistair extended a hand for her to take if she wished and helped her onto the deck. His case in hand, he lead her past the patients and towards the healer's cabin. He opened the door and let her in, the took of his mask and allowed her to look at his full countenance.

"The plague was created with magic, and I'm looking for a way to discover the source and destroy it, just healing patients one by one isn't enough," he shook his head, speaking professionally, like a professor of the college far beyond his years.

Resting a hand on a table, Alistair leaned down and looked at the woman, "we didn't send for a herbalist, do you know somebody aboard the ship?" He asked.

 

[Isabeau]

Issy stepped back a little, as she heard the guard who had stopped in mid-sentence to speak to another. He addressed the fellow as Lord Mage, and this made her stomach turn as this was serious.
When Alistair stared at the woman, her eyes weren’t staring at him, no they were staring off to the side a little even the light, that was held up to her eyes, didn’t even show that it hurt them. Issy was blind.
A sigh of relief escaped her lips, as the Lord mage agreed to let her own board, she would go to move forward her cane that was given to her swings ahead tapping Alistair’s arm. She moved her hand out, and soon she felt a hand.

He must not have noticed she was blind, how refreshing she thought as she took his hand, still holding the cane in hand, and moved on board.

She let him guide her, by listening to his footsteps and using her other senses and the cane to help her enter the healer’s cabin. She could smell the different herbs about and instantly knew where she was.
Her right hand still held her large back of items, she’d slowly make her way around the chamber until she found a seat, and seated herself down, setting the bag at her feet and leaning the cane against her knee.
She’d cross her feet at the ankles and continued to listen to him, his voice sounded young but the way he spoke seemed older. She’d listen more closely studying him and caging what kind of person she was dealing with.

“Yes, actually, Jack Shepard, he is my brother in law.” She only bent the truth, Sally though a dear friend she always felt like a sister to her. Issy’s voice was sweet and calming to the ear, she held herself regally but her eyes though they were eye watering in color were never staring at him, but a little off to the side.

It didn’t bother Issy that he didn’t see that she was blind, as she said it was refreshing and besides her eyes didn’t have the typical milky white color that most would think they would look like.
No, they were bright beautiful blue and looked like they could be working, but that little gesture would be the only tip that she was blind and the fact she moved a cane back and forth and her slow pace.

He said, the plaque was magically placed upon the boat, this was not good, her brain began to work, as there a few ways to get rid of the plaque in this manner, which none of them were going to be easy tasks.

“Have you looked at this differently?” She asked, as her brain began to turn faster with all possibilities.

 

[Nayella]

Nayella struck the ground as soon as the other gargoyle did, his hands already moving in order to cast a spell.

The Blight Witch felt panic sear into her heart.

Magic flowed from her finger tips, and like a wild animal she darted across the open space between them. She did not so much run as scramble forward, her fingers dancing like a viper and grasping the remaining guard.

In an instant the same wash of rot and death fell over him, catching the warped man by surprise and sending him asunder like it had his brothers. A scream was all that was left of him, echoing within the ruins of the broken hall.

A breath left her lungs, chest rising and falling as she caught herself and slowly rose from the floor.

There before her she saw it; the door of the vault.

Magics lay heavily around it, the wards and years of guards inplace being heavy enough to almost smell within the air. Nayella slowly stepped forward, and then without hesitation she began to carve.

She poured herself into a single spear tip of rot, blight, and hate, driving her way through the vault door until it fell open. Dust, dirt, and magic filled the air of the broken hall, and elation soared within her heart.

The artifact lay just beyond, the final piece, and she would take it.

Without another moment of hesitation she stepped inside.

Phillipa Ebonheart

 

[Phillipa Ebonheart]

The gargoyles had failed in their one unending task. Something the woman would have to speak with her superior about when this was all resolved and the pair could work through better ideas for how the gargoyles should operate.

Destroy the vault entrance? Bah. They had been allowed to much free thought in Phillipa's opinion now. A precarious thing making guards that were unyielding in their loyalty. To much of one thing and they became comprimised in their ability to focus. To little and they wouldn't act without instruction at critical moments.

Maybe it was allowing them even just a shadow of emotion that had elicited the angry response. It didn't matter at the moment. All the professor knew was that the guardians had failed to prevent someone from entering the vault.

Her own words rang in her head now as a grim smile appeared on her features.

It isn't a problem of people getting in, it's getting back out that is always the trouble.

She wrapped her footsteps in a silence spell as she traversed the corridors. Her own office was not far away from the vault, but it had been enough for the short lived and fruitless defense of the vault to pass.

Shaking her head in annoyance, she had left the gargoyle in her office with instructions to keep an eye on the students, thoroughly finished with sitting idle in her office.

She spied the entrance to the vault and slowly stepped down below, seeing the damage to the floor before she had fully descended. Her eyes narrowed at the damage, giving a moments thought to what she should do before shrugging and silently stepping underground.

The intruders back was to her, and she debated for a moment longer how to handle the situation. Another wide grin crossed her face, malicious and content with herself as she became barely a whisp behind the trespasser and wrapped herself in a silence spell.

She was not hidden from view, but the sound of her breath, the soft swish of her hair, even the clack of boots were now absent as she snuck upon the woman.

Phillipa's magic was heavy in these stone walls. Her own additions to the wards and use of magic here in the vault somewhat masking her magical presence here. Her home away from home as it was.

The artifact was before the intruder, and Phillipa prepared a volley of knives at terminal velocity with her kinetomancy when they grabbed it. A sort of sick congratulations in being able to touch it, even if only a short while.

 

[Phillipa Ebonheart]

The gargoyles had failed in their one unending task. Something the woman would have to speak with her superior about when this was all resolved and the pair could work through better ideas for how the gargoyles should operate.

Destroy the vault entrance? Bah. They had been allowed to much free thought in Phillipa's opinion now. A precarious thing making guards that were unyielding in their loyalty. To much of one thing and they became comprimised in their ability to focus. To little and they wouldn't act without instruction at critical moments.

Maybe it was allowing them even just a shadow of emotion that had elicited the angry response. It didn't matter at the moment. All the professor knew was that the guardians had failed to prevent someone from entering the vault.

Her own words rang in her head now as a grim smile appeared on her features.

It isn't a problem of people getting in, it's getting back out that is always the trouble.

She wrapped her footsteps in a silence spell as she traversed the corridors. Her own office was not far away from the vault, but it had been enough for the short lived and fruitless defense of the vault to pass.

Shaking her head in annoyance, she had left the gargoyle in her office with instructions to keep an eye on the students, thoroughly finished with sitting idle in her office.

She spied the entrance to the vault and slowly stepped down below, seeing the damage to the floor before she had fully descended. Her eyes narrowed at the damage, giving a moments thought to what she should do before shrugging and silently stepping underground.

The intruders back was to her, and she debated for a moment longer how to handle the situation. Another wide grin crossed her face, malicious and content with herself as she became barely a whisp behind the trespasser and wrapped herself in a silence spell.

She was not hidden from view, but the sound of her breath, the soft swish of her hair, even the clack of boots were now absent as she snuck upon the woman.

Phillipa's magic was heavy in these stone walls. Her own additions to the wards and use of magic here in the vault somewhat masking her magical presence here. Her home away from home as it was.

The artifact was before the intruder, and Phillipa prepared a volley of knives at terminal velocity with her kinetomancy when they grabbed it. A sort of sick congratulations in being able to touch it, even if only a short while.