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Post by The Big Cheese on Feb 3, 2014 10:07:09 GMT -6
Hamon lets his feet up onto the table with a contented sigh, taking his enchanted gold coin and turning it into a toothpick. The pale skinned man sits across from him with his elbows on the table, his head on folded hands.
"Quite strange table side manners your friend has there, Kaim." The man says with a grin as Elda goes around the table pouring tea for Kaim and his guests.
"Yes, and no consideration for the clean table, either." Kaim chuckles. "Elda, please prepare a wash cloth for our guest."
"Right away, master." Says the blonde maid with a bow.
"It's just a table..." Hamon grumbles, but he doesn't protest when Elda comes back with a cloth and bucket, carefully cleaning the grime off of Hamon's feet. "Hey, while you're down there, can you give 'em a massage, too?"
"So, let's get on to business." Kaim announces, seeming to ignore Hamon's shenanigans. "Hamon, this man is Belinus Andratorix."
"I own the Keltoi Mining Company in Northern Cleatia." Belinus explains. "We're the widest distributor of resonite in Austur. Whoever is looking for that stone you found, is probably in here..."
Belinus produces a thick tome from his coat, placing it on the table where the plate of entrees had been moments before. Hamon can't read the script on front, but assumes it to be the sales records kept by his company.
"You came all this way from Cleatia...?" Hamon asks suspiciously.
Belinus chuckles. "No, I was already in the Republic on other business." He admits. "I wouldn't ordinarily stop by for something like this, but I consider Kaim a good friend, so you might as well make the best of it."
Elda takes a towel, drying Hamon's feet and placing them back on the table. "All done." She says. "Master, I am going to check in on the other servants now."
"Hey, woah, woah, woah, what about my massage?" Hamon asks indignantly. Elda looks to Kaim, who just shrugs. "No massage." She says sternly, picking up her cleaning equipment and taking her leave with a bow.
"Ah well, maybe I can hire my own servant girl for a foot rub." Hamon says, passing it off pretty easily. "So, how will we tell which resonite is the one I got?"
"We'll start by searching for people who do business around here." Belinus says. "We keep notes on what we know about all of our customers and products, so if you let me take a look at the stone, it should narrow things down further."
"...If it helps..." Hamon says reluctantly, taking the stone out of his cloak and handing it to Belinus.
"The runner also had six bars of gold on him, as well as a decent wage in coin." Kaim adds. "That doesn't even approach the resonite's price, so it's likely that there was some sort of illegal trade going on. I'd like to get to the bottom of this myself."
Belinus strokes his beard thoughtfully. "Well, I don't know how much help I can be of there. But I can tell you some interesting things about the stone."
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Post by GX1997 on Feb 3, 2014 10:33:46 GMT -6
Elia used the spear of light, throwing it at a large group of werebats. She was able to control the direction some, so she impaled several using just the one. But when she took a moment too long to see what was going on around her, she saw all the blood and gore, and lost her focus, nearly allowing one of the werebats to bite her.
No, stay away!
Elia sent a small sphere of light flying towards it and then made it burst, killing it instantly.
I don't know how much longer I'll be able to keep this up...
Just then she could hear a huge group of them flying through the cave to reach the clearing, and there was only one thing she knew to do.
"Get out of the rune!" she yelled as she sent another orb of light to the area behind them, in order to make sure they would be able to see once she followed through with her plan.
I need to expand it in the direction that they're coming from and put up weak barriers!
As Elia stepped into the the newly lit area outside of the rune, she held her hands out in front of her to direct the expansion of the rune.
"Get over here now!"
The werebats are almost here, and they need to get out of the rune before they're trapped by barriers!
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Post by SwordMasterEX on Feb 3, 2014 10:40:27 GMT -6
Jam delivers a devastating haymaker to one of the bats that approached Elia. It's head explodes on contact and it's body drills through another werebat. Getting frustrated with the lack of dwindling in their numbers, she fires an ice bow at the ground beneath her. A somewhat roomy ice barrier forms around her body. Several hundred ice spikes sprout from the smooth surface. Stabbing her trident into the ground she spins around the spike shield, kicking them towards werebats as she goes. Just a little late, she gives the team a warning of the spikes, "Get down!" She kicks them around Arcturus and Elia leaving a bind spot in the attack and the last one at the top towards one that just got above her. Sliding down the pole with bow in hand, she picks up the magic arrow and shoots it at a group of werebats that thought they could escape by hiding at an angle the attack didn't cover. The arrow finds its mark and freezes them dead on the ceiling with a wave of ice. The werebats hail down, breaking as they fall. Jam flips back on top of the trident for a quick celebration, "Yeah! That show them no mess with Jam!" The werebat that was struck earlier falls to the left of her. She then hears Elia tell her to run and she backs out of the rune with weapons in hand.
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Post by Golurkcanfly on Feb 3, 2014 11:02:17 GMT -6
"Get over here now!" Arcturus heard from Elia who was now standing within a protective circle.
"That would be helpful if I wasn't stuck!" Arcturus shouted back as he struggled to remove his hand from the mucous slime. "It's flammable and your Magick should dissolve it!"
I don't have time to deal with this. She's preparing a spell that will drain all of her mana.
Arcturus struggled violently against the stalagmite, pushing, pulling, tugging, towing.
"Screw it!" he shouted as he summoned Lenna to his left hand and crushed the stalagmite under its weight before bolting to the protective ring.
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Post by GX1997 on Feb 3, 2014 11:36:21 GMT -6
Good, time to make the barriers!
Walls of light surround the entire rune, making it impossible for the approaching werebats to reach them, and keeping them same from the coming explosion. Three long seconds later the werebats arrived, only to run into the barriers and start swirling around in circles, looking for a way out. There were so many it was almost impossible to see the rune on the ground as they formed a herd leaving almost no gaps in the small area where they were trapped.
"Get ready, there might be a few left over that don't get fried."
Elia then made one swift motion that detonated the rune, and soon after shattered the barriers. Horrifying shrieks sounded throughout the cavern, forcing Elia to cover her ears. Once the dust had settled there was a carpet of dead werebats, many partially turned to ash because of how close they had been to the center of the rune. The few werebats that hadn't died were dazed by the light, flying into each other and the walls of the cave.
"There..."
Elia barely had the strength to stand after that, and even the small sphere of light was very dim now. She didn't bother going after the werebats herself, instead letting Arcturus and Pearl finish them off.
Oh... all those corpses, and I did that. I think I'm going to be sick.
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Post by Golurkcanfly on Feb 3, 2014 11:43:08 GMT -6
"Pearl, handle the stragglers." Arcturus instructed her as he prepared to catch the now wavering Elia after summoning a mana potion. "I'll tend to her."
He opened the cork off of the leather flask and put the potion in Elia's hands.
"I need you to drink this." he told Elia as he dispelled Lenna. "You're mana will regenerate much faster."
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Post by GX1997 on Feb 3, 2014 11:58:04 GMT -6
I'll need it too. You can't explore a cave with no light.
"Thank you," Elia said to Arcturus as she started drinking the potion.
Not great, but it tastes better than Cleatian food.
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Post by SwordMasterEX on Feb 3, 2014 11:58:06 GMT -6
"Jam on job!" Now that the horde part was over, she wasn't so tense. It became easy to tell just how many were left and where they were. Ten in total looks like that last attack was extra effective. Standing still, she slows her breathing. Immediately afterwards she fires round after round from her bow. Seven shots in total. Seven werebats dead on the floor. Two more try to flank her, but her trident has an answer for that. She stabs one in the chest and skewers the other one with a suplex motion. She begins scanning the room for the last one. It appears behind her ready to trap her in it's mucus, when the hand from earlier yanks it in to the shadows. Screams and shrieks echo in there for a minute. A headless body is spat out by the darkness with more holes than a Gale Dragon. Pearl looks back at Arcturus, "All done! Jam not know what happen to three on fire."
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Post by Golurkcanfly on Feb 3, 2014 12:05:33 GMT -6
"It doesn't matter." Arcturus stretched his neck as he summoned Lenna again and carried it on his shoulders like a staff. "As long as its killing them and not killing us. That should be all the werebats. If there are any left, they know to stay away. Now, for what we came for."
He lowered Lenna so its head was touching the ground.
"Elia, we're going to be fighting a metal golem. They're pretty big, so tell me if you want to stay back for the fight."
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Post by SwordMasterEX on Feb 3, 2014 12:10:35 GMT -6
Jam begins retrieving her arrows from the dead bodies. Magical ice arrows weren't too easy to come by after all. When she finishes, she notes that one of them is cracked. How am I going to repair this?! Only Mister Alucard ever tampered with them. I'll have to find an enchanter soon.
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Post by GX1997 on Feb 3, 2014 12:16:06 GMT -6
"I'll go, but I'll stay in the back and provide support. But I need to rest for a little longer so I'll be able to keep the light bright enough."
And in the meantime...
"Arcturus, Pearl, I need your help. Like, really badly. That's why I risked coming here."
Elia noticed her hood was still up, so she put it down. She had nothing to hide right then, and she wanted to have a serious conversation. More than anything, she wanted them to see her. Another living being who deserved to be treated as such, and who needed help.
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Post by Golurkcanfly on Feb 3, 2014 12:37:27 GMT -6
"I think I already know your situation." Arcturus told her as he dragged several bodies out of their path. "You were kidnapped, taken from your home against your will. It wouldn't take a genius to figure it out."
I shouldn't tell her someone sold her out yet.
"I'm not entirely sure I can help you escape your current predicament." he continued after confirming that their path was clear. "However, I can make you feel more at home in Shaldra."
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Post by The Big Cheese on Feb 3, 2014 12:41:13 GMT -6
"First, take a look at the golden base used." Belinus explains, moving the resonite around his palm to show it. "The stone is inlaid directly into the metal. Gold is an inferior mana conductor to resonite, so the base's purpose is probably to guide the mana towards a target. It's likely a weapon."
"Sounds like a lot of money to drop on a weapon." Hamon says. "Maybe we're dealing with a non magickal person?'
"Maybe. Or a mage looking to cross the typing barrier." Belinus suggests. "But we usually ship these in big orders to be used for security purposes."
"So ol' Toby was just looking for a duel to celebrate a successful caper." Hamon decides.
"Not exactly..." Kaim interrupts. "I did some asking around, and there's nobody in Kadath who uses resonite panels in their security."
"Then what else have we got?" Hamon asks. "What's in the book...?"
"I'll get to that." Belinus says patiently. "Now, take a look at the base's other side."
Belinus flips the resonite over, showing the golden end to Hamon.
"It's some kind of insignia." Hamon observes. "A stork?"
"It's called a swan." Belinus tells him. "A river-dwelling bird that only lives in Cleatia. It's not exactly a common symbol in heraldry, but there are a few families who use it. If one of them is in my book, then we at least have someone who might be able to tell you where the goods were supposed to go."
"So, what are the families?"
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Post by GX1997 on Feb 3, 2014 13:05:18 GMT -6
"Oh yes, I'm sure I can feel at home in Shaldra when I'm locked inside a room after being beaten for disobeying them, and I won't be let out until the next day when I'm sent to the academy. And then after school I'll be taken back and the cycle repeats. I'm sure I'll love my new life in Shaldra."
Elia was done with her sarcasm, and she sat down and held her head in her hands.
What will they do when I go back? I'm sure they'll notice that I just vanished from school, and missed half of my classes.
"I was counting on your help. What am I supposed to do now?"
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Post by Golurkcanfly on Feb 3, 2014 13:11:26 GMT -6
"I can't even touch whoever brought you here." Arcturus told Elia as he tried to keep a calm tone. "I wouldn't even be surprised if it was Emperor Titus himself who ordered your capture. Plus, even if I did manage to take you back home, whoever sold you out would just do it again."
S***, let it slip.
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Post by SwordMasterEX on Feb 3, 2014 13:19:41 GMT -6
"Oh Jam have idea master! Elia go live in Jam home! City underwater. It very protected..." she then looks at Arcturus' mark, "Nevermind. But Jam still have other idea. Elia live with magic man. Magic man very kind to Jam, treat Elia same!"
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Post by GX1997 on Feb 3, 2014 13:20:59 GMT -6
Their emperor is that corrupt?
"Arcturus, I don't care about going home. I haven't lived in my village for a few years now. I left because I was scared of this sort of thing. The only thing I care about is getting away from Shaldra, and making sure Jacob does too."
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Post by Golurkcanfly on Feb 3, 2014 13:26:06 GMT -6
"Jacob, your friend, right?" Arcturus asked as they walked down the tunnel. "Why was he taken? I understand why someone would try to train you, as you're a Type-1, but why bring him along? Wouldn't he just inspire you to rebel? Wouldn't he be more of a liability?"
Doesn't seem like she caught the part about someone selling her out.
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Post by GX1997 on Feb 3, 2014 13:46:02 GMT -6
"Jacob and I were the only teenagers at the monastery where we were living. Being a teenager gives them more time to train us, and possibly... break our wills. He may only be a Type-7, but he was in the garden when they showed up. So there's another reason to take him, so he couldn't be a witness. He's also really smart, so they could have seen potential there. And last but not least, they're using him to get me to cooperate. They know I don't want to see him get hurt, and they're using that against both of us."
Arcturus, why are you even asking this?
"I know what you're implying, but unless I have evidence that he could be involved, there's no reason for me to doubt him. We've been best friends for years, and he's always been there for me."
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Post by Golurkcanfly on Feb 3, 2014 13:54:42 GMT -6
She's smart, but naive. You can't always trust a friend.
"Why do you think you were kidnapped?" he continued interrogating her as the tunnel forked and the group stopped. "To use you in the military? Private purposes? To serve in Titus' court? Whatever it is, you are guaranteed high position, and logically, Jacob would be too. Plus, he doesn't seem like one to waste potential. I certainly wouldn't want to see someone such as yourself squander your gift."
Arcturus took a quick glance down both paths and took the right one, beckoning them to follow.
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