Re: The Game: Chapter 03
In reply to Boreas Highwind (msg # 425):
Travian shakes his head, responding before Petri can do so.
"Too risky. We don't understand enough about the chokers to allow her the chance to use a powerword of some sort in an attempt to ensnare Wildheart himself."
***
Chez returns a short time later, a frazzled-looking elf tagging along behind him. The hierophant pants, her slightly overweight form winded from the journey.
She looks old, though perhaps younger than the Elders, and is dressed in simple robes. Her silver hair has been woven into a single braid that hangs down her back, the tip of which nearly touches the wooden floor.
"Cheila," Petri nods in greeting. "Our guests have brought us the Everstaff, Crown of Thorns, and a Cloven Choker -- perhaps the last of its kind. Sadly, these items have not been removed from their hosts. Would you be so kind as to assist with that?"
Cheila frowns, eyes widening as she processes the Elder's words.
"Which first?" she asks, rolling up her sleeves.
"The twisted one, I should think," Travian replies, nodding at Cassie. "We may need to invoke Wildheart to deal with the staff, and I'm not comfortable doing that with a Cloven Choker nearby."
Cheila nods, walking over to the amber prison and standing behind it. She places both hands on the structure and begins a musical chant.
The words ebb and flow, and after a time the amber begins to glow with a soft green light. Beneath it, the collar around Cassie's neck shimmers with a dark aura. The ivy etchings erupt in a blaze of harsh yellow light, and Cassie screams -- though no sound can be heard.
The yellow light from the choker flickers slightly, then intensifies, causing Cheila to grunt with exertion. Beads of sweat dot her brow, and she narrows her eyes in focus. The pale green light flickers, brightens, then fades entirely as the yellow light envelops the hierphant.
"I... no... I cannot... it's too...such power...aaaarrrrgh!"
Her scream is lost amid a deeply resonant laughter, which echoes throughout the room from a focal point of swirling yellow light hovering above Cassie's prison.
"Quickly, Petri, before she is lost!" Travian yells at the centermost Elder, who nods and extends a hand toward Cheila. An amber prison shimmers to life around her, sealing her in much the same way that you've witnessed before.
The sickly yellow light does not dissipate, however, and the laughter continues as it coalesces into a spectral form that resembles an elf. It floats above Cassie for a moment, then lands next to her -- shadowy boots touching the solid wooden floor without making a sound.
A final pulse of light flickers from the choker, then fades to nothing -- though the etched ivy continues to blaze with a fearsome glow. The spectral figure's eyes snap open, shining the same color as the etchings, and the being turns toward the now cowering elders.
"Did you truly hope to banish the light of Veilspire so easily? The Cloven Circle yet lives, as do I, and upon this day, both shall be reborn!"
Geminus starts running for the door. "Stall him! I'll summon the -"
His thought is cut off by a bolt of angry yellow lightning, and he falls lifelessly to the ground in a heap halfway between the dais and the P.A.R.T.Y.
Veilspire cackles with glee as Petri and Travian cower in the corner, ignoring the P.A.R.T.Y. entirely.
"Go ahead," he sneers, inhuman eyes dancing with fire. "Summon your hero, if you dare. Summon the Wildheart. We have unfinished business..."
[Private to Zuriel Silendril: He is, of course, evil.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:34, Tue 29 Oct 2013.