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Post by blackghoulmon on Dec 12, 2017 15:58:13 GMT -5
Urasina slowed her attacks to look over at Doe. "Ten seconds, Doe," she said to the other Uni. "You can do what you want to him now, but once I back off, you have ten seconds before that piece of undead trash dies in fire." She dismissed her sword and backed away, then lowered her head. The very air around her began to distort and heat up as she began to count down from 10. The air around the fallen Lich began to heat up too.
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Post by Flutter (Frosty) on Dec 13, 2017 18:25:07 GMT -5
Doe shrugged, and primed her swords almost instantly. They put off an eerie chill in comparison to the Uni's shimmering heat, and where the two magical elements met, a vapor filled the air in wisps. The greatswords glistened in the light, each internally glowing with the same strange light the wall barrier put off. They were, however, far more substantial than the barrier and would not shatter when Doe released the spell like the barrier would. In a near instant, each enormous blade found its mark within the Lich, which again roared with the pain of being frozen on the inside while being seared on the outside. Doe couldn't help but think that was a rather painful way to go and almost felt bad for it, but remembered this was the very same lich that had enslaved those he was meant to rule. She gave a quick nod to Urasina, holding her blades in place as the creature attempted to shake them out. "This could kill anything else. Its core is frozen solid, like I did with the undead in the thoroughfare," she said with a bit of shock to Liin and Simitra. She realized that, at this point, Urasina probably wasn't going to be hearing anything. She did not move, but encouraged the other two to move.
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Post by blackghoulmon on Dec 14, 2017 14:48:35 GMT -5
Urasina finished her countdown and raised her head sharply. "Burn!" she bellowed, her voice changed significantly, and the Lich shrieked as every cell in its body burst into flame at the same time. The blast also set off Simi's mines, and the resulting mix of fire, holy fire, and Light magic engulfed the fallen brute. When everything faded, Doe's swords lay beside a tiny pile of ash. Urasina grunted. "That one won't come back, but we'd better be absolutely sure," she said. With a toss of her head, the ash pile glowed with Light magic and vanished. She exhaled slowly and shook herself, her armor clanging as she did so. "I guess that's that, girls. The Lich is dead and the wraiths it summoned should have vanished back into the ether. That village should be safe now." She exhaled again, still coursing with unbound power, before looking over at the others. "That, Doe, was my insta-kill spell. You know, the one I was going to use on the gooey cat-mummy monster we fought. I guess it's a good thing I didn't use it then, as it takes a long time to recharge."
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Post by Flutter (Frosty) on Dec 14, 2017 19:34:28 GMT -5
Doe lifted an eyebrow. "I'm sort of glad you didn't use it on the gooey cat monster, too. That much burning goo would have smelled so much worse than the lich did." She collected her swords in a clatter, setting them on her back and latching them on with her mercurial armor, which had now receded to nearly just her horn and a few patches on her back. She also called back the barrier, and the area dimmed now that the enchanted ice no longer provided the light. All that remained now were the ancient torches, but they, too, were beginning to dim. They no longer fed off the magic of the dead-again Lich lord. "I am, of course, still curious about the lich. I'm not as familiar with Lost Desert history as I am Altadorian, but shouldn't some mention of the Lich have made it into history? Any history at all?" She furrowed her brow, the amused expression replaced with one of one being very disconcerted. "Liin? You spend more time in libraries than anyone else I know."
"No, nothing right off hoof. He could have been a minor landed noble that just went too far, but we're really too far away from either of the major cities- or an oasis- for that to be the case. At least in more recent years." She turned to Urasina, unsurprised by the power the mare wielded. "If you're unfamiliar with the story aside from what we saw, perhaps we should go speak to the relic merchant again. Something about him still doesn't quite seem right to me," she said with suspicion.
Simi spoke up, using Dreamsever to light her own path. "I'm more worried about the fact that this labyrinth hasn't dissipated. Shouldn't we have been poofed back to the entrance by now? Unless we're so far underground it's uncomfortable for me to think about." She shuddered a little, clearly unhappy with the thought. "I know you said it was probably an illusion that it appeared so small to start with, but this seems... excessive." Her ears pinned to the back of her skull. "I'm with Liin. There just seems to be something more to this."
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Post by blackghoulmon on Dec 15, 2017 18:32:34 GMT -5
((We've been at this almost a year. I think it's time we began to wrap it up, and we're in a good place to start that.))
"The Lost Desert is one of the oldest Neopian lands," Urasina commented. "It's history goes back way farther than even the most knowledgeable archaeologists can date. Much of the really far past, before the ascendancy of Sahkmet, is lost to the sands of time... literally. There's huge gaps in our knowledge of the region, mostly because either the records are completely gone, or we can't translate them. Did you three know there must have been at least a dozen different glyphic alphabets that were used through the eons? And those are only the ones we've been able to locate; who knows how many more there could be that we haven't found yet." Then she glanced between Liin and Simi. "Frankly, this doesn't strike me as suspicious at all. Mainly because, I've seen this kind of thing before. It's not always like you see it in the old Neovision action films; where the big baddie dies and the ruins begin to collapse. The illusion only hid the ruins; it didn't support them or control them. Once word of this place gets out, I expect the Sahkmet Royal Museum to take a VERY keen interest." They had reached the edge of the arena and were standing above the thoroughfare. None of the undead Doe had frozen remained, just piles of magic ice. The air didn't smell anywhere near as bad either; it had gone from the stench of death to the musty smell of old ruins, one Urasina was quite familiar with. "I bet my friend at the museum will demand to get an expedition together to explore down here, and of course, she'll ask that I be her bodyguard. I'm looking forward to working with her again; it's been a long time."
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Post by Flutter (Frosty) on Dec 18, 2017 14:24:28 GMT -5
Doe grinned. "You're right. And I'll get to test the additional abilities given to me by the vials once we get to the surface. Probably in the Shadowed Vale, since that's about the only place I can do long-range offensive spells without actually hitting anyone." She chuckled. "But I would like to hear what your archaeologist friend has to say about these ruins. I wouldn't like to visit them again and I feel like we've spent too much time down here, but I do like learning about Neopia." Her eyes followed Aerlliin as the smaller mare walked along the edge of the ruin, and grinned again when the mare seemed to step on a switch.
"Maybe it is like the action movies, sometimes. This just opened up a door." She pointed with a hoof to the door that was slowly crawling up an ancient gear. "I just had a hunch. The air change came from over here." The door hit a hitch before stuttering the rest of the way up. "Thankfully, the Royal Museum will have an easier way into the city ruins than we did." Her mane shifted with a blast of desert air, and a shaft of sunlight broke into the darkness."
"I guess I just wanted it to be... more. Like everything went so smoothly and..." She sighed, and felt Dreamsever chatter on her leg. "Dreamsever says it's because Doe came up with a plan and we stuck with it, so we had limited losses and- honestly I can't make sense of what he's saying anymore, it's all stratagem and 'the strength of a commander' and a bunch of things I can't repeat because I'm trying to cut down on my bad language," she finished, but waited politely as the sword-and-pet had more to say. "Dreamsever also says he enjoyed battling with you, Urasina, and found you worthy to call a sword-sister. I don't know what that means, but he says it's important."
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Post by blackghoulmon on Dec 18, 2017 22:38:46 GMT -5
Urasina felt herself relaxing a little bit. The issue seemed to be resolved. She dismissed her armor and checked her pulse and heat level. Both were within acceptable ranges. "That's convenient that there's a door right here," she commented. "I'll mark the location with my magic and conceal the door so no unsavory types get in before the museum staff does." She snickered at what Simi had to say, or what Dreamsever had to say, rather. "Interesting, but I'm pleased he enjoyed it." She led the way up a long flight of steps, coming out in the early morning light. "The sun couldn't have come up more than an hour or two ago. We were down there a little less than a day. Not bad." Once all four mares had come back to the surface, she turned and cast a spell on the door, which seemed to vanish into thin air. Then she spread her wings and flew straight up before turning to look around. "The village is maybe two miles that way," she said, landing again and pointing with her muzzle. "Oddly enough, we're on the opposite side of it from where we entered the ruins. So... we went about three miles or so as the Uni flies, and who-knows-how many miles of back and forth in the labyrinth."
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Post by Flutter (Frosty) on Dec 19, 2017 15:37:14 GMT -5
Doe sunk into the sand, her face miserable. "I can't teleport back to the Shadowed Vale in this. We can either all go back to the village together to deliver the news, or the three of us can do it. It's your choice, Urasina. We've got to get to the village, anyhow, since I can't keep my balance here." She squinted in the light, though she didn't particularly need to, as she could see the village as though it were right next to her. "Also, I could use some water. That iceforge spell really takes a lot out of me," she explained. "More than other spells, at least."
Liin and Simi shrugged when the other two mentioned the village. Neither had the eyesight of the larger mares. Simi took off towards the village, trudging through the sand. "I once had to go to Terror Mountain to pull a treasure chest out of a glacier. I'd prefer to do that again." She continued to grouse as she walked out of earshot, muttering to nobody in particular as she cut a line through the sand.
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Post by blackghoulmon on Dec 19, 2017 20:18:55 GMT -5
Urasina simply grinned at the other mares struggling to walk in the sand. She had spent all but her first seven or so months living in the Lost Desert, so she was used to it. Thankfully, they didn't have to go very far: Light magic engulfed them all and teleported them to the entrance to the village, where the sand was firm enough to stand on. The villagers that were present jumped at the mares' sudden arrival, but then they were relieved. "I don't sense any Wraiths left," Urasina said loudly enough for them to hear her. "And the creature that was summoning them is dead; or rather, dead again." That was all she had to say, as the villagers present began to cheer, and others quickly gathered.
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Post by Flutter (Frosty) on Dec 21, 2017 10:24:09 GMT -5
Doe shrugged off the clamoring masses, allowing the others to get the attention before the cheers turned into a more sedated roar. "Should anything happen again, though it probably won't- the thing is really, really dead- I leave you with these greatswords." She stuck them in the sand, though few of the villagers took her up on her offer. "Mostly I don't want to carry them home, they're heavy," she said under her breath. "At any rate, it is best the rest of us go home and leave you lot to your business. No need to interrupt it any more than we already have." With a sigh, she began collecting her magic to teleport the trio of unlikely adventurers back to their 'home base' in the Shadowed Vale. "By the way, Urasina- it was nice meeting you. Perhaps our paths will cross again, someday."
"Indeed!" Liin said excitedly. "I'd love to see more of your light magic, some day. Perhaps I'll have a better grasp on my own, then." She gave the draconian Uni one last smile before turning to join Doe in her circle of electric magic.
"Saps. It was nice meeting you, though, Doe's right about that," Simi said evenly. "Even if I couldn't see half the stuff you lot were doing, it was nice to have another along for the trip. Tell Pyoga I said hi, she missed out on quite the battle." She looked as if she were going to say more, but instead simply looked at the mare and said "Farewell."
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Post by blackghoulmon on Dec 21, 2017 21:34:08 GMT -5
Urasina smiled at the other three mares, but didn't say anything other than "Safe travels." Then she turned back to the villagers who had gathered around them. "I'm 100% sure the issue is resolved, but I'll stay a little longer and make doubly sure," she told them. "And you won't need those amulets anymore, so bring them to me so I can dispose of them properly." She scanned the crowd, but didn't see Rakt anywhere. "/I'm going to go have a talk with him,/" she snorted to herself, shaking out her mane as the villagers began to present their amulets to her, putting them in a small pile at her hooves.
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