When the four companions arrived at Vindecaldra's landing on Faldrass, near the former resort's ruins, atop the fissure that led into the Broiling lagoon, they noticed that she was not alone. In fact, when they thought they'd arrived in front of her, as she was quite large, they'd keep walking and come over the crest of the broiling Lagoon to see four figures with her, standing at her feet.
There lined up in front of her, from left to right, in a neat sort of row, were no other than four Immortals. First, Ralaith, in his human guise, bespectacled and grim of countenance. Next, Daia, looking far from her usual cheeriness. To those who have a keen eye for subtle
moods she would appear almost shaken. Next to her, Empress of Ivorian, Ethelynda, who bowed her head respectfully to the people entering their midst. Otherwise, she looked up adoringly at Vindecaldra from time to time, sharing in the warmth under her wing. Finally, on the farmost right, there appeared Xiur, who nodded with a cheerful smile toward Vega and Elisabeth, his champion and marked respectively.
Ralaith spoke to Varlum first, "You've been using what I taught you I trust." He said, and then shrugged.
Xiur smiled broadly, and peered over at Ralaith, after taking in the measure of the very tall Ithecal mortalborn, "He doesn't strike me as the typical Shirvain!"
Ralaith scoffed, "And what is that supposed to mean? Wisdom comes in all shapes and sizes."
Xiur responded with a chuckle.
Ralaith shook his head, grumbling, "Anyway, Daia? You don't mind?"
Daia turned to Ralaith, her expression silent and withdrawn. "Yes, tell them. It's important."
"It would be wise to inform our champions of what they're dealing with, exactly what they're dealing with." Ralaith admitted, as sensitive an issue as it might've seemed to one of their number. "We believe, and Vindecaldra has all but confirmed through her observations in her part of the world, that Vü-erik has been located."
If the heroes had blank or bemused stares on their faces, it was to be expected. None of them would know who that was. "Vü-erik is the Blade-Bearer, the murderer of Daia. A powerful Becomer and assassin that has an unbroken chain of lineage, of totems dating back to the Immortal War."
Vindecaldra found it in her to speak then, lowly, which was still a very brassy and voluminous voice, "We believe he's seeking what he thinks is a Miracle stone, or else the means to create one, in this very Fracture. We do not know, and cannot confirm if this is indeed something that lies in the Broiling Lagoon. But the presence of Vü-erik alone is enough to warrant concern and immediate action."
Ralaith cleared his throat, "There's no way to confirm if it is a Miracle Stone, if this is a ruse to lure us in, or anything else. Vü-erik is cunning, but his single-mindedness can lead to tunnel vision, to where it's possible he hasn't considered that he's been discovered, or that his own intelligence-gathering may be flawed. That part of your errand could very well be a wild goose chase, but it's of the utmost importance that we neutralize the threat he poses."
Ethelynda took a turn to speak, "He is a base coward, and will avoid confrontation, but he is a formiddable opponent when cornered."
Daia softly spoke, this time directing her words to Vega, "There is one with him, a man named Ban Azîr. If you find him, he is utterly loyal to Vü-erik. He would stop at nothing to protect him, believing him to be his brother. But he is not, though he has the appearance of an aukari. He is one of my own, my lions."
"It was he who informed Vü-erik of the potential to find or else trigger the creation of a Miracle Stone." Daia said.
Ralaith's mouth tightened into a grimace, as he interjected. "We cannot risk such a powerful well falling into the hands of an elusive mage of such power. He could very well unmake the world with the consequences wrought from such a thing. Your lion's welfare being important as it is, it cannot be set above the prevention of that stone falling to Vü-erik!"
Daia sighed, and shook her head. Yet she couldn't but agree. "Yes, of course. The greater good of mortalkind hangs in the balance."
Vindecaldra sighed, a bracing warm and comforting breeze over the assembled individuals. "Immortals... always squabbling about this or that, hung up on details. Where are my manners, I haven't introduced myself to the better portion of you!"
"I am Vindecaldra. From the Heart of the World. And a Dragon, as you can see. With a capital D." She winked. And then looked at each of them in turn.
"I hope you'll forgive my curiousity. I have questions, so I hope you'll indulge me with an answer before you venture into this very important mission. If indeed you still wish to." She smiled gently down at the mortalborns and mortals assembled. First she turned to Praetorum, "Well met, Praetorum?"
"You know, you remind me of someone I once knew. I could swear we've already met." Shaking her head gently, she asked her question of him, "If you could have a single wish, what would it be?"
She waited for him to answer, and then turned to the next in line, which happened to be Elisabeth. "Hello Elisabeth Black. It's a pleasure to meet a Forged whose acquaintance I've yet to make. You all seem to get around, don't you? But that's not my question." She hummed mirthfully.
"What is your deepest and most abiding desire, Elisabeth, that
you want for yourself?" Vindecaldra would listen to her answer, and then nod thoughtfully, turning to the next in line, which was Vega.
"Lady Vega! How wonderful you would come. I do hope your children are doing well." The utterance was pregnant with meaning, specifically for Akor, but Vindecaldra was reticent to say more in present company. "You're always looking forward, always pushing for the next horizon, never stopping. A force of nature is my effigy-bearer. But I do wonder, if there was one part of your present or past you could cling to, and keep on yourself and to yourself in perpetuity, what or who would it be?"
Vindecaldra waited for her to respond, and listened. She would address the answer privately later if it required more discussion, but then her attention was turned to Varlum, the very large ithecal mortalborn by Vega's side.
"Well met, Varlum Onormus. I have heard much of your exploits, mixed with mingling curses and praise. But none can deny that you are a valorous, strong, and indeed a man with a large destiny."
She winked at Vega, and then turned back to Varlum, "Now, my final question I reserve for you. Why do you continue to fight, to bear the weapons of war? What is your cause?"
This final question posed, the way through to the Broiling Lagoon fracture was open for them, a large cavernous opening that steamed with unearthly heat.
Ralaith spoke then, "Time is short, as too often it is for mortals. They already have a head start on you, so the longer you tarry here the less time there is to catch up to those inside. If you need anything, ask for it now and enter. Just be wary of weighing yourselves down unnecessarily. This Fracture is unlike many others."
Xiur nodded, "Ask for what you need, but I'm afraid we're fresh out of rope, torches, and tarps."
offtopic
Hello everyone, thanks for joining this quest.
Okay three can-and-probably-should-do objectives:
1. Answer Vindecaldra's question to your PC.
2. Prepare whatever extras you need.
3. Get in there.
You all have 5-7 days to post. If nobody posts, the plot will resume anyway as it does with the bad guys and the other group getting closer to their goal, and a post from me detailing their progress. Every round will operate this way, until one of the groups reaches the Heart of the Broiling Lagoon.
I leave it to you all how you deal with anyone falling off the posting schedule, although there will be IC consequences. Posting does not guarantee success either, but you are encouraged to play to your character's best judgment as failure may have big consequences.
I say 5-7 days because I may feel like posting sooner rather than later. For that reason, I'd advise you to prioritize this thread. If you back out now or fail to post in time, having heard of these limitations, there's no shame and no penalty in particular for your character. But there won't be an opportunity to leave unscathed once inside nor will you be able to enter after the others from this round onwards if you miss this next one. Assume this is a big reward/big risk type deal. It's part of an Effigy plot request that triggered it, so that's pretty major in terms of rewards. Ok that out of the way....
If you're worried about the timeline, Ralaith is isolating and casting forward this moment in time for the benefit of the group, so you can proceed without timelocks. If anyone dies, their death will be thrown to the last three trials of next cycle. Your characters are unaware (both in the event and afterward) of this phenomenon, so proceed to next cycle as normal without acknowledging the events here. When the event concludes, events, meetings, and such will have a way of reoccuring to you. It might feel a bit hazy but this is how it has to be for the sake of playability.
Due to the fast nature of this thread, I'm not going to hold you to any specific posting order, but work out among yourselves the posting order from round to round. Teamwork is important so feel free to coordinate OOC.
There are three groups whose progress will be tracked via this method:
Three Wise Mice & Arlo: 1 turn behind.
Praetorum/Vega/Elisabeth/Varlum's Group: 0 turns ahead.
Vü-erik & Ban Azîr: more than 2 turns ahead.
The method of tracking will include more precise proximity to the Heart than in how many turns ahead they are as we go along. What I have there is just an example. But it reflects how far behind/ahead you are, relatively.
Now, each of you have at least 5 points of action you can take.
0 Points for narrative and thinking things through.
0 Points for Praetorum and Elisabeth to communicate at any length with each other, due to Qylios bond.
0 Points for quick/brief personal reactions to others in the group.
1 Point for anyone else to confer with any other.
1 Point to ask one question and answer one from any or all of the Immortals/Dragon assembled.
1 Point to ask one question and, or otherwise confer/converse with them any statement complex that demands a response.
2 Points to gather what is needed.
2 Points to take an action.
2 Points to take an action and movement.
2 Points to examine your environment lightly.
3 Points to examine your surroundings in detail.
Please include 3-5 knowledge tags for knowledges in each post written. I will not assign any knowledges at the end of the thread that you didn't tag yourself in a post. These can include tier 2 skills if you have any.
Please include the point-cost actions you take in a summary offtopic at the end of your post, and the tally-cost of them. You can go over 5 points, and there will be consequences for doing so unless there's a good reason to extend the amount of actions you can reasonably take (abilities, capstones, magic, marks, etc.).
