Fantasy RPG Forum - Standing Trials

There was no end to them. At least not an end in sight. One would go down, their mask would be ripped off, their face would be unfamiliar, and he'd go onto the next. It was almost like filing papers or filling envelopes to Balthazar. Monotonous. Yet in the monotony there was intrigue. He couldn't stop going. He would have been overwhelmed if he stopped. Yet that fact that he did not recognize a single face he saw beneath the masks grew more and more interesting with each mask he ripped off their faces. One or two strangers was to be expected but everyone? He'd been in Scalvoris for a long time- and not just one part. He'd been stationed in Almund and ran the Black Cats from there. He'd seen a lot of faces. He would have expected to recognize one but he didn't. The more he fought, the more he had time to think and to recall that he hadn't seen any of them. Ever.

Is this an invasion? The thought came and passed quickly. Balthazar's hands and feet sped up a little more, shifting his focus from balancing defense and attack to entirely offense. Overwhelming speed and force would protect him from the things too dangerous to endure and the rest he could deal with. Three strikes to an abdomen- he couldn't tell if it was someone he'd hit already or not, and a leg sweep to put the target in front of him on the ground. A rushing kick to push one person into two others. Three punches to someone in a mask on the right and an odd feeling backward leg thrust to push away someone moving in behind him who thought he wouldn't notice. The fight kept going. At least when he hit someone who's mask he'd taken off, the skin to skin contact would put them down for a little longer.

I found it. Fuego's voice beat into Balthazar's thoughts like the mage's fists beat into the unfamiliar faces. I don't like it.

Stay away from it. Balthazar thought to his diri. Come back.

It was about then that Balthazar realized he was no longer the only person fighting at the docks. Kura had arrived from wherever she'd been directing everything before. Probably one of the Element's buildings but which one? It didn't matter to Balthazar at the moment. It was odd because it felt like the first time in a while that he'd seen Kura and been relieved. Then, shortly after her eye's turned golden like his had been before many mutations changed them, birds began attacking masked people. Well, now if he threw lightning he was worried he might hit bird too... then again if they came after him he wouldn't have thought twice.

Next to the bundle of chaos were the strange wolves that traveled with Kura and the ghost. Perception of them wasn't quite as easy as everything else but Balthazar was watching for spirits because he wanted to know when Fuego returned to him. It probably didn't matter so long as the wolves didn't come for him. Kura, on the other hand, moved through the crowd combat towards Balthazar at the same time as an Element moved through to reach Kura with an explosive. Balthazar glanced at itDetection Capstone - Balthazar has developed an acute ability to break down and analyze that which he can perceive at almost a glance. From finding the seam in a cane hiding a sword to noticing the a red hair on the coat of a brunette individual, within the first few trills to a bit (depending on size) of examining a person, object or place, Balthazar will be able to discern any visible oddities and details as accurately as others would with much more focus and time dedicated to it. to make sure there was nothing wrong with it that he could recognize.

If there was nothing wrong and it was stable he'd say nothing but if it looked like it had been sabotaged or was generally missing something, he would mention it as soon as he knew.

Kura asked if his magic could do anything about the smoke and Balthazar gave her a strange look- mostly because that was what happened to his face when he transitioned from mindlessly hitting stuff to thinking with magic. She was a Rupturing mage as well, last he knew- so he figured she would have already had an idea for something with portals. She'd asked a question though and the longer he didn't answer, the longer Almund burned.

"Rupturing. Any Element with the spark should make a porthole or larger portal in the sky with a pull to draw the smoke through the ingress and a push to send it somewhere else through the egress." Balthazar said before turning to look at the ships. Somewhere else indeed. "It won't stop the burning though and it could work against us. It isn't a technique where we get to choose what is pulled through. Keeping the ingress high and and egress by the boats attacking should stop anyone from being sucked in though." Balthazar said as he attempted to demonstrate just that. The boats were within eyesight, as was they sky above him despite it being filled with smoke. Eyesight was always a lot easier to create portals between than the ones bridging history.

A blue flame flickered into life amidst the smoke and a trill later it roared open into a wide, vertical portal about fifty feet above the docks. It was a grand, blue, flaming thing with a small vortex of sensory flames reaching out towards the smoke to draw it in with a force like a tempest. Balthazar had positioned it carefully. The vertical orientation of the portal would keep it from pulling in anything from the ground which meant the vacuum would mostly target airborne things such as the smoke.

As was the law of the magic, a second blue flame came to life and roared itself into existence about forty feet above the ships. It had a similar look to the other portal but rather than draw in, the egress pushed out everything moving through it with the same tempest of force. The hope was that one portal would draw in the smoke and the other would push it out over the ships- but that was not the entirety of Balthazar's plan. While normally you could pass through an ingress and an egress as if they were the same thing, when an egress was pushing out with the force of a tempest, it was harder for anything to get into Almund through it.

"If you let me do something brash, and probably reckless, I might be able to break the ships." He said with a gesture towards the water to indicate he didn't need to keep still while focusing on the portal and the fighting around them. "Cleared or sunk- I could also just drop those onto the decks unless you have your eye on a target." Balthazar said with another gesture towards the explosives.

Balthazar did not think he would have to add flying birds to the list of things coming after him but by the time they joined the fight, he was fed up with it. He hit the birds as hard as he hit the people in masks. They were a problem but they weren't enough to break his focus on the portal. All and all they were just smaller, flightier, and clawed targets to punch and smack. His bootsA set of boots. These shoes possess a powerful magical effect similar to Shirvain's Pocket of Time (Major). As long as both shoes are worn, the wearer can go through time twice as quickly as everyone else, moving extremely swift and reacting to their surroundings exceedingly well. This can be used in short-bursts nearly infinitely per trial if one spaces out their uses. helped him anticipate the bird which weren't attacking with any tactical strategy he could recognize. People were easier to plan for than wild birds but Balthazar felt he could cope.

"My portals won't survive long moving water." Balthazar pointed after Kura explained her plan for getting water into the city. He gestured to the one portal in the air that was funneling out smoke as effectively as the push and pull would allow it too, but he was trying to point out that his portal was lined with flames whereas normal portals were not. It was a mutation that made the magic more costly. One portal wouldn't kill him but trying to open a big enough portal to cover Almund would- well now... it didn't have to be a big portal now did it? Just one that was high up and shot the water out everywhere that it could. The higher it was, the wider the water could spread and since the sea gave them a large supply of water... maybe it would work. "Other mages could make it work though. Any Elements who can should do the same. If the Rupturers funnel water through portals high in the sky, the Defiers should be able to spread the water and put out the fires with enough control not to flood the city. I've done something similar before."

Balthazar tripped an incoming masked man and then ducked as a bird tried to dive-bomb him and missed. When Kura explained the situation with the Candlemaker, Balthazar reached into his bag and produced a bronze bracelet.A simple bronze bracelet. When worn, this bracelet enchants the wearers voice and allows them to shout up to five times as loudly as they normally could without damaging their throat. He closed his bag, keeping the bracelet in his hand while he thought about what Kura said. Well- he thought as much as one could while dodging around birds and cultists. In an effort to scare away the wild animals and the masked people, Balthazar burst into flames- his whole body and being became coated in blue fire that did not burn or emit any heat apart from his natural warmth.Mantle of Spirit - You gain the ability to assume the illusionary spirit form granted to them in the thread for 2 hours, twice a season. While it does not actually make them spirits or give them spiritual abilities, it is likely that those they meet while in these forms will assume that they are a spirit until given a reason to think otherwise. While it wasn't going to fool anyone into thinking he was a spirit- he was hoping that given his reputation it would fool a good number of people into thinking he was on fire- and who wanted to hit something that was on fire?

"It feels like he's stalling. You could use the time to get the order out to the Elements so they can deal with the fire. I'll want it back, but this bracelet can make you louder if you want to keep him talking." Balthazar knew it wasn't his place to give Kura any orders, but he felt that advice could be useful. "The more he talks, the longer the Elements will have to get the fire under control. When you can take him out, give me a few trills notice and I can get anyone he has on his ship back here. I'll need to close my portal in the sky but if the Elements are on it, it shouldn't matter. The ships are close enough now for me- or us to get on and off them with portals. If he puts his hostages at risk, I can get there faster than the arrow." In theory. He wasn't traveling a distance when he moved through a blink portal, he was cutting the distance entirely. The arrow had to fly to it's target, even if it didn't miss. Together, Balthazar and an arrow could probably get Millicent... but they were waiting to see what the Candlemaker had to say.

It was a little bit sad to feel the birds dying beneath the impact of his fists so suddenly but it did keep them away. Once he was engulfed in flame he had almost nothing left to be concerned about as far as distractions went. No People nor animals wanted to play with the burning man in the middle of the invasion. Kura responded well to the suggestions Balthazar made and the mage kept his focus on their surroundings while the messages were delivered. When the Candlemaker spoke, Balthazar listened with passive focus. It wasn't anything he didn't expect. Threats and ultimatums. Negotiation. Balthazar had an ability that would have allowed him to slip lies into whatever they told the Candlemaker, but he was not the one speaking so it did no good to think about.

With the attacks on his person at a momentary pause, Balthazar issued instructions to the two diri who were surely looming around him somewhere by this point. Fuego had little legs but he was quick and Crow had wings. Crow, Fuego, wherever you are- get eyes on the Candlemaker and the hostages. Kura's eyes won't be enough for me. He instructed the diri as he cast his eyes and ears towards the Candlemaker. The man had given up any and all stealth when he shouted his terms to Kura and so Balthazar refined his instructions for the diri. My friends, search the ships he isn't on for any hostages. I can find anyone on his ship.

It was then that he considered what Kura expected of him and he realized something. It would have amused him to no end at any instant prior to then. She didn't know very much about magic, despite having suggested as much during his trial. He needed to call people on their bluffs more often because at the moment the differential between their knowledge of rupturing was slowing them down. "Portals aren't that simple. We can only open one to a place we've been." Balthazar said, hoping that no one paid too close of attention to the pronouns he was using. It couldn't hurt to try and teach Kura a little bit about the spark she'd shown that she had during his trial. "Once we have a location, I can get aboard and get there- either without being noticed or with such speed that they have no time to do anything. Either way, when I am with the hostages, I can move them all back here with a portal. Until I'm there, I can't open one to a place I haven't been."

He hoped that explanation would help her understand the limits. It was different than what she was asking the Elements to do. They were picking two locations that they knew well and merging them whereas Kura was asking Balthazar to bind a ship he'd never been on with the docks he was on. Could he do it? Probably. Math and magic were strange when mixed but when they were combined the mage had a habit of overstepping. Balthazar didn't want to overstep again. Kura had more tricks up her sleeve, but Balthazar was only thinking of the limits on him.

"If you hold his focus long enough, I can get onto the ship without being seen. It's the only way I make a portal back here for them." Balthazar said. "I have diri searching the other ships, once I'm on his, I'll be able to sense anyone else aboard. If the hostages are here, we can secure them and take him out if we do it fast enough." Balthazar said as he cast a look around for any spirits he could perceive. Fire was his kin element and the first one, if there was anything to notice about it- he felt he would notice. However he wasn't just looking at the flames because Fuego had been worried about going into the smoke. There were more spirits abound than simply diri. An abundance of fire was sure to draw Anaks of the element to the forefront and Balthazar was looking to see if he could tell what the strange smoke was doing to them. Maybe there was a chance to learn what it did without sacrificing their own companions.

"He's got another one of Saoire's lot in a small cabin on the boat beside his." Balthazar reported to Kura as soon as Fuego told him that one of the hostages was found. He didn't know exactly who the second hostage was but he did assume most of the little fur friends weren't going to be upset by being called 'Saoire's lot.' "He is alone right now and my diri are watching him. I don't think it's a coincidence that they're both connected to her school." However with the report given, he was still waiting for confirmation as to whether or not he should try to sneak aboard. Portals wouldn't work for stealth conventionally, but he already had a portal open and even better- it was spewing the perfect cover for him. The noise it made and the smoke it was spitting over the ships should have been enough to mask Balthazar's arrival and thanks to Ilaren he had abilities which would allow him to teleport without sound.

After all, lighting was just the electricity and light- thunder was the sound that people thought of. His abilities could create one and not the other. It didn't really matter unless he got a visual on the man he was aiming for and odds were that would only come if he moved through the portal.

Kura was keeping the Candlemaker talking, which was good but not perfect. The more he spoke, the more they learned about his motivations and the more time they had to plan. Unfortunately the little exchange, coupled with Balthazar's active looking, revealed a lot about the nature of the fire. It wasn't like a normal fire. Anak didn't emerge to enjoy it. There were no clear spirits lingering amidst the mass of flames burning the city. That was unusual. When the fires began to subside Balthazar took a turn to look around him again before returning his attention to Kura. He gestured to the slowly fading flames, "These fires are wrong. There are no anaks and there should be with this much burning. Fire can be controlled by magic but not like this and not over this much space. Not even I could do this alone and I'm a fairly bold mage. It has to be something else." Well... it might be doable but not without giving into the spark and revealing.

Crow, find out how many pirates are left on the ship then get back to the hostage. Fuego... um... any chance Faldrass could just tell this fire to stop? Balthazar messaged his diri mentally when he realized that the fire seemed to be acting sentiently. Whatever it was, it was under the control of the Candlemaker for the moment but that wasn't a guarantee that control couldn't be stolen by a higher power. Defiance just didn't seem to be the higher power they needed.

Kura had delivered on her promise to get the birds under control and Balthazar was grateful that he didn't need to keep hitting fowls. Despite that, he maintained the illusory form of the fire spirit to keep the masked people away from him. If he attempted to get onto one of the ships, he would drop the form as he came out of his portal. At the moment the fires around his body matched the blue flames mixed into the edges of his portals so he could blend in until he needed to be less glowing. He was distracted from mentally planning out how he wanted to get onto the ship unnoticed when he saw the retreating flames take on strange shapes. Balthazar reached into his bag again and pulled out a necklace of glass beadsA necklace of glass beads that can, once a trial, be activated to provide the owner with a bubble of breathable air around his or her head. The bubble will last for half a break. the beads will pulse and flash faintly about five bits before the time is up. And yes, it can be used underwater., which he put on but did not activate.

Kura tried to speak to the strangely shaped flames and Balthazar began to think he wasn't out of his mind for hoping Faldrass could help. Apart from that, she'd told him she could protect Millicent if he could get the other hostage and he knew he could do that. Then there was the bit about Faldrass being attacked. Balthazar's ring connected him to Elisabeth and he knew she was in something of similar situation- well he assumed she was because it was going off. He'd tried to bury that concern in the back of his mind but it was becoming difficult to do in the midst of this attack. "It may not be free to choose." Balthazar pointed out to Kura when she tried to converse with the flames. "If the Candlemaker is controlling it, he would need to have something with him to do so. I hope. The thought that he holds this much power without some artifact is not a pleasant one. Either way, when you say the word I'll get the other hostage." Balthazar said as he walked over towards the waterline at the docks. He had a new idea that he thought might work a little bit better.

The explosion of fire was unexpected but not entirely startling given the other things happening. "If he burns all of Almund, he will have nothing to negotiate with. He seems to know that. He's not as confident as he is trying to sound." Balthazar pointed out. The hostages were one thing and sure, they mattered, but if the entire city was turned to ash then there was very little reason to discuss anything with the Candlemaker. Balthazar cast a glance towards Kura to see how she wanted to respond to the explosion. "If we have to play along, send me to stall him. I have enough in my bag to trick him if we need to."

He maintained his portal and waited for the word to go after the hostages. Crow came back with a report that there were about a hundred pirates left on the ship and Balthazar grimaced slightly. He could probably manage that many people if he started hurling lightning around at them. Between the fear he would try to inspire and the speed of his attacks, what was a hundred enemies?Alright. keep an eye on the hostage and let me know if anything changes. Balthazar instructed his diri of death before bringing his focus back to the docks and his fiery portals in the sky.

Balthazar got another idea. "Attunement." His whispered to himself as his eyes shifted wildly towards the figures forming in the flames. He could use his spark to emit a signal so powerful it suppressed the spark of other mages but it wasn't strictly for that. The spark could suppress marks and magical items too. If he could cut off an immortal from their servants, why shouldn't he be able to cut off the Candlemaker from these Chuckles things? Then again it was a risk and there were far too many of the figures in the flames for him to do anything alone unless they were all connected. He'd tried to attune to Faldrass before he was ready and it hurt him. He hadn't used as much magic now as he had been using then though. He had only opened a portal. He wasn't the only mage around, though, was he? "Kura, the defiers can't stop the fire because those things control it. I have an idea, it's a risk but, if you have any Attuners in the Elements attune to those figures- they might be able to jam whatever the Candlemaker is using to control them- or at least jam their ability to use the fire against us." Would it stop the fires? Probably not exactly- but it gave the mages in the Elements who weren't Defiance or Rupturing mages an opportunity to try and help out a little more.

Kura shook her head, casting the suggestions aside because she seemed to have her own plan in mind. She declared that he had given them all the information they needed and that he'd outlived his usefulness because of it. Balthazar didn't agree. There were still a lot of questions that needed answers and they couldn't get those answers from a corpse. He wanted to suggested restraint in the form of capture but there was no time. Kura told him to get the hostages and then she said words he'd been waiting to hear since the ships were first spotted in the distance.

"Destroy the ships by whatever means you please."

Finally.

He was certain she'd said other things but those eight words echoed in his thoughts. It felt like the trial that he'd been released from his paradim shackles and had his magic returned to him. It wasn't even his birthday! Anywho, he noted that she said that she would save Millicent and handle the Candlestick Maker but he was not as thrilled about that as he was about the prospect of freely destroying two ships. It wasn't him- or that is how he rationalized it in the back of his mind. The urge to let loose with magic came from the sparks, he hoped, but the freedom to do so was pleasing to him- not them. In a dark way, it was like telling an addict that they could have more.

Kura told Balthazar not to attune to the creatures in the fire and he disregarded it almost entirely because he was not thinking about them anymore. She didn't entirely understand magic and his mind was set upon dismantling the ships in as many ways as he possibly could. He'd already come up with a few ideas before being given permission to let loose. "Faldrass was different but I get your point." Balthazar said mindlessly as he thought about destroying boats and not their conversation. He saw Kura preparing to fire her arrow and she gave little warning before disappearing into a portal that was nothing like their shared magic. Kura gave a warning to the Candlemaker when she apologized to Millicent about the rough warning but Balthazar spent those few trills in action.

He tapped on his glass bead necklaceA necklace of glass beads that can, once a trial, be activated to provide the owner with a bubble of breathable air around his or her head. The bubble will last for half a break. the beads will pulse and flash faintly about five bits before the time is up. And yes, it can be used underwater., activating the bubble of air around his head which allowed him to breathe- and would allow him to ignore the smoke he was pouring onto the ships as he propelled himself into the air with a bolt of lightningBalthazar is able to direct a bolt of lightning beneath his feet, giving him an added boost to a jump. He is able to use this ability to increase the height of his jump equal to one half the distance of the Manipulation distance. Alcohol intoxication diminishes the power of this ability., forcing his body into range of his portal which pulled him through and shot him out towards the ship that the second hostage was on. As he passed through the portal, it screeched shut behind him and the flames surrounding his hands shifted from blue to emerald as he conjured two flaming ether missies and charged them to corrode whatever they hit.

This is where his plan to destroy the ships began.

He was jettisoned out of the closing portal high enough into the air that if he did nothing he would have cleared the first two ships and crashed into the water somewhere between the second and the third. Balthazar would throw the two ether missiles towards the hulls of both ships which the Candlestick Maker wasn't on. The first missile was aimed at the broadside of ship furthest on the right and the second was aimed at the other ship Kura wasn't on, but by the second throw Balthazar was beginning to lose height in the air.

If the bolts hit the hull and it wasn't protected in some way, they would melt away the wood. The few bright sides of the plan were that the targets were massive (the hull was huge after all), corrosion worked well on wood, and Balthazar had set his portal high enough that he had a few trills (which would feel longer for him due to his boots)These shoes possess a powerful magical effect similar to Shirvain's Pocket of Time (Major). As long as both shoes are worn, the wearer can go through time twice as quickly as everyone else, moving extremely swift and reacting to their surroundings exceedingly well. This can be used in short-bursts nearly infinitely per trial if one spaces out their uses. in the air to aim. Balthazar didn't know a lot about ships, but he knew it was bad when they started taking on water. The downside was that he was shooting through the air but he was agile enough to keep himself level. The smoke wasn't great either but he had good eyes and the bubble of air was protecting them from the smoke.

He wouldn't wait to see whether or not the corrosive bolts hit their targets before shooting a bolt of red and black lightningElemental Manipulation (Lightning)- The character is able to control more lightning, and at longer distances. Their limit is extended to a distance of 100 feet before the lightning dissipates, and can be bounced up to two times, to strike a total of three targets. Capable of throwing two lightning bolts a bit. If the bolt hits it can cause lingering pains, numbness, and slight burns to any struck body parts. Those hit by the bounce effects of this ability are dealt damage as though hit by a bolt of the Minor version. Alcohol intoxication diminishes the power of this ability. out of his hand at the deck of the ship with the second hostage. Another big target but Balthazar had the same advantages for that shot as he had for his first one... and the same setbacks. If his bolt struck the deck he'd activate another ability he'd gained during the tournament in Rharne and ride the lightningBalthazar is able to travel along any bolt thrown using his Elemental Manipulation, ending where the bolt impacts or at his Elemental Manipulations maximum distance. Alcohol intoxication diminishes the power of this ability. onto the ship.

While it seemed grand in scope to consider, it would only take a few trills for the events to pass and as soon as the mage was on the ship with the hostage he would make a mad dash for the small cabin that Crow reported the hostage was in. He would tumble through blinking portals with small bursts of blue flame further adding to his fiery disguise as he shortcut fighting entirely to reach the ends of rooms and doorways he needed to pass through. He would only be concerned with reaching Dweezle, not fighting pirates... for the moment. If something was locked and he could reach the lock, he would melt it away or if he could not reach the lock he would splinter his body through the doors. Both methods were more efficient uses of the magic than other options and less straining on ether.

As soon as Balthazar found the hostage, if he did, he'd greet Dweezle with a polite "Hello there," and open a loud, flaming portal back to the docks. It would take a few more trills to prepare than Kura's did but it was not a massive distance so it wouldn't take long. The benefit of Kura giving her orders for the Elements to destroy the ships with the bracelet was that Balthazar knew roughly how many trills he had before the ships he was trying to destroy came under fire. As soon as the portal was open, Balthazar would take Dweezle through and shut it. Assuming nothing went horribly wrong.