|
Post by blackghoulmon on Dec 10, 2016 16:15:20 GMT -5
While Doe flew around investigating, Urasina also looked at the wires. It was hard to see them, but they appeared to be strung in random directions. "If I could do that, I'd just fly right across and see if there's something on the other side to clear the way," she said. Pyoga had been studying the wires too. "Hey, wait a minute here," she spoke up suddenly, then lay down on her belly and began to crawl across the floor. She was just small enough to crawl right under the lowest-hanging wire, though it took some very careful maneuvering. A few minutes later and she had made it across the room, though the room was rather large, so Urasina couldn't see the other side very well. "There's a lever here," Pyoga called back to the others. "Should I pull it?" Urasina hesitated for a few moments. "Is there a door?" she finally called back. "It's shut," the Peophin answered. "Then go ahead and pull the lever," the Uni finished. There was the sound of creaking wood, then all the wires burst into flame and melted away in barely two seconds. A short rumbling sound came from the walls, and several tiles slid back. Urasina sighed in relief. "We're clear." She hurried over to catch up to her sister.
|
|
|
Post by Flutter (Frosty) on Dec 10, 2016 17:10:00 GMT -5
Doe sprung back into her equine form, chuckling. "Wow- that was actually right in front of my face, wasn't it?" She shook her head. "I swear, if I were a snake, the lever would have bit me."
"That's not how that phrase goes, Doe." Aerlliin let out a long-suffering sigh. "Anyhow, it's starting to look like there's going to be a room for each of us. These wraiths are too clever for their own good," she added, a little mirthfully. "I'd guess the next two rooms are for Doe and I, or the way things go for me, I won't get to solve a puzzle on my own."
"Are you actually going to pout about not solving a puzzle that, if we do it wrong, we're all either going to die horribly or wish we were dead?" Doe wasn't really impressed. "The way Jariev puts it, you already do plenty on these excursions. And-" The next room was filled with a stench that was so horrific it stopped the mare mid-sentence. "Oh, wow, do you smell dead things?" She lit up the room with a metallic orb and tossed it into the center of the room. She was instantly glad she did, as it drew the attention of both seen and unseen forces. Simi let out a small shriek of shock and immediately began quivering with fear as she looked up. Doe glanced up, as well, realizing she could only see half the problem. Pyoga and Simi, however, would be seeing all of this. "Oh."
|
|
|
Post by blackghoulmon on Dec 10, 2016 17:14:52 GMT -5
Clinging to the ceiling was the BIGGEST wraith Urasina and Pyoga had seen yet. Pyoga was so frightened that she couldn't even form words, let alone complete sentences. The big wraith stared down at the five mares before flipping over and dropping to the floor. Despite its size, it made no sound at all as it landed and rose to full height. "BLAST!" Urasina spat, seeing enough of the big brute through her magic to know what she was up against. In a flash, her enchanted silver armor had appeared and attached itself to her body, and she sprang forward, firing solar rays at a rapid pace as she flanked the big creature. Seeing her sister spring into action galvanized Pyoga too, who lashed out with her morning-star.
|
|
|
Post by Flutter (Frosty) on Dec 10, 2016 17:29:13 GMT -5
The sudden flurry of movement tore the attention of the undead away from Doe's metallic orb. Liin, though she might have been excited to do something useful, also sprung into action. "I've got the little ones!" She cast her signature repel undead spell, Guardian of the Night (which Jariev hated that it had such an ostentatious name,) the magic coming from her heart and ripping 'a new one' through the majority of the horde. It also gave Simi a bit of a boost, and likely Pyoga, the mare thought, to encourage them. While she was pretty much useless while the spell was active, no true undead, no matter how strong, was getting to the other mares.
Doe chuckled, and her own body was now coated in her metal armor. She had donned vicious spikes at all angles of her body, and a set of rudimentary wings that doubled as blades. Doe was shocked at the size of this thing. Liin's Guardian spell was bouncing off the side closest to her, making at least that much of the big monster visible. "Whoo-ee, you are an ugly one! Y'all are gonna have to let me know if I actually hit this bad boy." She skimmed the side of the big wraith, which just made it mad.
Simi, with Dreamsever (which currently looked like a seven foot long broadsword covered in an oily fire) shrieked. "I think you're just going to make him mad!"
|
|
|
Post by blackghoulmon on Dec 10, 2016 17:34:35 GMT -5
With attacks coming from all sides, the big wraith couldn't decide who to pick on. Urasina solved that issue. "All eyes on ME, bucko!" she shouted, and it was like a spotlight had appeared to shine on her: the big wraith turned and took a swing with its massive arms. But despite its size, and the likely power behind that swing, it was too slow to hit the speedy mare. Urasina shot another solar ray, tracing it along the ground in front of the wraith, and when she had finished drawing a circle, a column of sacred fire erupted from the ground and scorched the brute. Pyoga, meanwhile, had gotten around behind the creature and was flailing away at its backside. "You're a foot or so to the right, Doe!" she shouted as the biggest mare in the group made an attack pass. "Go more to the left next time!"
|
|
|
Post by Flutter (Frosty) on Dec 10, 2016 17:44:35 GMT -5
"On it!" She said as she slid past it again. This time, however, she felt contact. And a vast number of light spells going on from elsewhere in the room. Whether it was her wingblades cutting into flesh she couldn't quite see or the fact that its bottom half was now on fire that made the gigantic beast start wailing- the screaming alarm Simi must have heard earlier- she didn't particularly care. "Oh, man, this isn't going to be good. Now it's probably calling its mama or something."
"Bite your tongue, tubby-" Simi'd pay for that later- "let's just deal with this one." Simi flung the blade into the creature's belly, and the ribbon attached gave her some measure of control over where the wraith could and could not go. Dreamsever stuck itself into the ground, only adding to Urasina's holy fire. The room, Simitra thought, was now fairly well lit. "Doe, if you circle back around, you can use a hoof spike to make this thing shut up," she offered helpfully.
"Do this, do that, Doe, can you make this guy into a bug? You're so bossy, Simitra." She drove a hoof spike deep into... something... which did not actually silence the wraith. "I think I just made it louder!"
|
|
|
Post by blackghoulmon on Dec 10, 2016 17:54:32 GMT -5
"Quit fighting each other and fight THAT THING!" Urasina bellowed, clearly nonplussed about Simi's antics. With a furious bellow, she turned to face the creature, forcing her Light magic into what amounted to a gigantic drill that spun in front of her. "Doe, get back!" Pyoga shouted, quickly moving out from behind the wraith. "She's about to go full-force on that thing!" A few seconds later, once Doe had moved, the drill shot forward, plowing straight into the brute, slicing through, and coming out the other side to slam into the wall and explode. If the wraith had been alive, that kind of blow would have killed it; it had been almost cut in half.
|
|
|
Post by Flutter (Frosty) on Dec 10, 2016 18:07:48 GMT -5
"Just banter," Doe said when she landed. "Simi doesn't focus well if she's not talking trash," she shrugged. The big mare did not, however, let her armor down. "While I was up there, getting my ears drilled by what sounded like the world's largest Lupe whistle, I saw another potential problem." She dragged the still-spellbound Aerlliin along with her, and the minor undead that were anywhere near them fizzled under the weight of the Guardian. "We're going to need this," she said of Liin.
"How bad is it that you're still totally encased in battle magic? Is it worse than the wraith?" It didn't make Simi feel better in the least when Doe chuckled heartily. A chuckling Doe in full battle armor was seriously unsettling.
"Yeah, Simi. It's worse than the wraith." Her full-metal hooves clanked on the old clay tiles, echoing in the now nearly empty chamber. Simi noted that she was so heavy in this form that her weight was actually pressing the ancient tablets into nearly bent shapes. "Quit looking at my feet like that or so help me, I'll feed you to the monster at the end of this tunnel." They came to Doe's noted problem. "Actually, the end of this labyrinth." She chuckled again, a little too gleefully. "Oh, Liin, I really hope you can keep this up. This is going to SUCK."
|
|
|
Post by blackghoulmon on Dec 10, 2016 18:20:37 GMT -5
With the big wraith down, Urasina turned to see what Doe had taken note of. She couldn't see anything, but she could certainly sense something. Pyoga, however, could see just fine. "It's... an army of wraiths! Coming right at us!" she yelped. "Got it covered," Urasina responded. She began to draw a large circle in the air, standing up on her hind legs to make it big enough. Once she had done so, it formed into a golden ring that opened into a golden void-like portal. The first wraiths that approached were suddenly grabbed by Light magic tendrils that erupted from the portal and yanked in. The wraiths following along behind those met the same fate. And with each wraith it devoured, the portal got bigger, reacted faster, and had a longer reach. Before long, the tendrils were reaching beyond Liin's defensive spell and the portal was swallowing up wraiths like they were candy. Urasina snickered. "The Radiant Gate is hungry for undead today," Pyoga managed to say with a weak smile. "Thankfully it only devours undead and dark magic, so you three don't have to worry," the Uni said to the others.
|
|
|
Post by Flutter (Frosty) on Dec 10, 2016 18:32:53 GMT -5
Doe watched, not truly understanding what she was looking at. "I know a few people that this thing would eat right up," she stated. "Pretty much instantly, with how fast this thing grows." Doe watched, intrigued. "Still not the thing I'm most worried about. And who here thought wraiths would actually be the least of our worries today?" She stepped into the labyrinth, her feet springing rather lightly for someone going into a labyrinth that smelled of death and rot.
"You're holding something back. What is it." Simi's eyes narrowed and she used Dreamsever to cut through Aerlliin's spell, ending it. The mare fell in a heap.
"I'm with Simi- what did you see up there? Just because I can't move when Guardian of the Night is active doesn't mean I'm deaf. You're way too happy for it to just be wraiths, now spit it out." She dusted herself off, now pretty certain there was almost nothing undead in the labyrinth. Doe cackled.
"Did nobody think of what we might find at the end of this little journey? What the Wraiths might be guarding? It certainly wasn't the portal. I'd wager Urasina has some idea of what we're going to deal with, since these desert ruins are more her thing." She grinned, revealing that even her teeth and tongue were coated in the metal. "It's still quite a ways off, but this is not the end of our little foray into wraiths and ancients."
|
|
|
Post by blackghoulmon on Dec 13, 2016 15:49:09 GMT -5
Urasina gave Doe a warning glare. "You're being VERY vague and beating around the bushes," she said, her voice a little chilly. "What do you know? And HOW do you know it? Did you absorb information from that big wraith or something?" At the point, the Radiant Gate was so big it was clipping through the ceiling of the room. The Uni stuck her horn into the glowing void, and a few seconds later the gate vanished into thin air. "Good. Fully charged and ready to rumble," she remarked. "The Radiant Gate contains the magic of anything it devours, and when Urasina dismisses it, she gains that power as Light magic to refill her reserves," Pyoga explained to Liin, who was standing right next to her. "Since we're nowhere near any sunlight, that's one of the few ways she has to recharge. But she can go for days without seeing the sun if she has to... Or, when she was mortal she could. She could probably never see the sun again and still be fine, now that she's immortal..."
|
|
|
Post by Flutter (Frosty) on Dec 13, 2016 16:21:22 GMT -5
Doe snorted. "Nah, nothing like that. I saw the thing- looks like it's probably a Revenant or Lich- from way up there." She pointed upward with her muzzle. "You guys don't understand, I FREAKING LOVE fighting these guys." Liin sighed.
"That explains it." She carefully listened to Pyoga, taking the information in. "That makes sense, sort of. If the vacuum serves as a liminal bridge to the-" Doe coughed, encouraging her to not sound like a textbook- "Anyhow. Dark magic reversal to light is a common- but necessary- paladin skill, especially in these sorts of ruins." She turned towards Doe. "But how could a Revenant or Lich survive any of that? Got any insight, Doe?" The big mare nodded her great head, her mane tinkling like bells.
"They're pretty much in the same family and the magic used to keep them alive is much the same. They're not absolutely undead, of course, but we're going to need to find a very specific vial of blood. It's not likely to be anywhere near the Lich or Revenant, and I won't be absolutely certain on how to destroy this one until we get close." She stopped for a moment, lifting Simitra off the ground as she set off a poison dart trap. "If we get there without Simi killing us, you'll be surprised to learn that they possess a wide array of magic. This one appears to, so far, be able to summon wraiths, but I'm not actually certain from whence the wraiths came."
"Vial of blood? Whence? Seriously, Doe?" Simi said from above. "Wait- the vial thingy. Isn't that a filictery? I know I'm saying that wrong." She looked out over the labyrinth, using her new vantage point to her advantage. "Oh, wow. Doe wasn't kidding about a labyrinth. Urasina, you might want to check this out, too."
|
|
|
Post by blackghoulmon on Dec 15, 2016 16:30:28 GMT -5
"Let me get this straight..." Urasina said slowly. "When Rakt took the urn Pyoga is holding, he broke a seal. Behind that seal was this Lich or whatever, not the wraiths. The Lich has been summoning the wraiths. Is that what you're implying, Doe?" Then she turned to Liin. "The Lich was way out of the Radiant Gate's range, so of course it wouldn't devour him/her/it. I'd have to summon it a lot closer than what I did back there." At Simi's request, the Uni flew up to also have a look. "Geez, it's a lot bigger than I thought," she admitted at length. "The gap over the walls is too narrow for me to fly through, but I can see the whole thing from up here. I'll stay in the air and guide us as we go. It'll be a lot more efficient than trying to figure our way through."
|
|
|
Post by Flutter (Frosty) on Dec 15, 2016 18:50:26 GMT -5
Doe nodded. "Though your Radiant Gate likely still would have only made him mad. The word Simi was looking for was 'phylactery,' which makes me think she's not as air-headed as she lets on. It's the Lich's blood force. I've no doubt that the wraiths we're seeing are powerful in their own right and likely would have come out with or without the Lich, or maybe the Lich hitched a ride on that big monster of a doohickey you killed. But if I'm right about his abilities- and I usually am- we're also gonna have to deal with him spitting out fire, ice, shock, or even higher elemental magic like plasma or metallurgy."
Liin narrowed her eyes at her friend. "You use those big lungs of yours for breath control? And you certainly didn't happen to read about any of that, I'd have known it, too." She lept over what was obviously a cursed tile (that Doe was just able to walk over) and triggered a spike trap that narrowly missed her fluke, and only went off behind them. "I don't think this labyrinth was designed for quadrupeds. And is it just me, or are the traps a little... too obvious?" Simi, still floating, nodded.
"This is... suspicious. Also, everyone currently not floating or flying should watch out- in about thirty feet, there's a circle of tiles that look like, if you step on them, they're going to shatter. They look warm, so it's probably a lava pit. Doe, please don't drop me. I won't call you fat for the rest of the day." The big mare guffawed.
|
|
|
Post by blackghoulmon on Dec 18, 2016 15:09:03 GMT -5
"...Are you even from Neopia, Doe?" Urasina asked, eyes narrowed slightly, though it was impossible to tell due to her helmet. "Your grasp of magic is impressive, but most of what you described is not how magic works in Neopia. It's a lot simpler than that: there's the six Faerie elements, and everything falls into one of those elements. Plasma and metallurgy don't exist normally in Neopia. In other dimensions, yes, they exist. And I should know, thanks to absorbing that dragon's magic. But Neopian magic is simple, direct, and quite orderly. The Faeries don't let it get out of hand, or go to the extremes." Pyoga didn't say anything, as she was on high alert and looking around for any traps that might be present. But Liin was right, they were pretty easy to spot ahead of time.
|
|
|
Post by Flutter (Frosty) on Dec 18, 2016 17:45:00 GMT -5
Doe shrugged, lifting herself and Aerlliin off the ground to avoid what Simi saw. "Probably not. It's really up for debate where I'm from."
Liin allowed herself to be carried, hanging limply in the air. "I'm willing to bet we're mostly just going to have to deal with fire, of the ones you listed. Shock doesn't exist here, either. I'm willing to bet that, since I can't currently fly, Air or Earth are more his thing. The closer we get, I've been feeling... I dunno. It's like when my sister-in-law fought and killed my brother- there was a significant amount of dark magic, but Gris also had a superior command of Light and Earth magic. This- lich, you ladies keep calling it?- feels like it's got a panoply of elements. It makes my nose twitch." She rotated a few times as Doe moved quickly over the fire trap. "Also, Doe, can you please keep me upright? My nerves are already making my stomach... not completely settled."
Simi didn't rotate at all, so she figured Doe must be getting tired of the 'technical stuff.' She knew she was. "On the plus side, if you get sick, you can put a fire out." The other two mares in her own party groaned and gagged.
|
|
|
Post by blackghoulmon on Dec 20, 2016 14:43:22 GMT -5
Urasina nodded, not really pleased with Doe's answer. She was, however, glad to see that at least Liin had a good grasp of Neopian magic. As the other three mares made it over the fire pit trap, Urasina landed next to Pyoga. "Portal up, sis," she said, summoning a portal. It looked a lot like a smaller version of the Radiant Gate, though it formed on its own over several seconds. A second portal opened on the other side, and once both had stabilized and snapped open, Urasina and Pyoga passed through. "My magic isn't being affected by this lich or whatever," the Uni remarked as her portals closed. "Of course, that could just be that since I'm immortal, my magic isn't affected my such things. More for me to learn, I guess." She sighed at this.
|
|
|
Post by Flutter (Frosty) on Dec 21, 2016 12:26:11 GMT -5
Liin thought about Urasina's statement on her magic. "It's really just my flight magic that's being affected- since your wings are actually big enough to generate lift and most of your other magic seems to be solely light aligned, I'm willing to bet that what we're facing is really heavy on the earth magic. Thankfully, light magic is REALLY hard to snuff out, so even the darkest of creatures would have a hard time taking not one, but two Paladin mares down."
"It's really not my fault that Jari goes on and on and on-" she was lightly tapped on the head by Simi to make her stop- "when she lectures. Do I really need to know the entire history of Neopian magic to activate mine? No. Probably because I'm not really Neopian, not in the traditional sense." She set Aerlliin back down. "But there is a constant in magic- opposites. If Liin's flight magic, which is air based, is out of green frog, we've got an Earth Lich on our hands. He might have other elements if you're sensing it, too, but earth is going to be his strongest force."
Simi sighed from above. "So if her air magic is out, we can't use it to attack this thing." Dreamsever moved on her leg, and it seemingly devoured a wraith that came out of the wall. "GUYS I DON'T THINK IT LIKES US TALKING ABOUT THIS!" She cowered in the air as though there were something solid for her to stand on. Just the sight of it made Doe uncomfortable, so she gave her a metal platform to stand on.
"I could only sense the one, but your whatchamacallit seems to have already taken care of it. You can stop freaking out, now." Doe realized it wasn't the Dream mare's strange abilities that was making her uncomfortable. "But I think Simitra's right. It doesn't like us talking about it and it's getting mad."
|
|
|
Post by blackghoulmon on Dec 22, 2016 18:41:49 GMT -5
"Earth magic," Urasina repeated. "I'm solely Light-aligned, as you said, but my nephew is a geomancer, so I know a little bit about earth magic. Watch for tangling vines, quicksand, sandstorms, anything like that. Possibly rock slides, low-intensity earthquakes, and so on." Pyoga squeaked in fright, which got Urasina's attention. "Do you need a moment?" she asked, getting a vigorous yet nervous shake of the head from the Peophin. "Can you see anymore Wraiths?" Another non-verbal "no." "Do you want one of us to take the urn?" Again, a shake of the head. "Hey... Doe, what if the urn holds this lich's blood? Sealing a monster with its own blood... that's fairly common, isn't it?"
|
|
|
Post by Flutter (Frosty) on Dec 22, 2016 20:48:32 GMT -5
Doe thought for a moment, considering, and then used the metal she surrounded the urn with to guess its contents. "There's certainly the lich's blood in there, but it's not what it was sealed with. It feels like the heart and liver are in there. Sorry, Pyoga. I'll make sure none of it spills out on you." She surrounded it with extra metal to ensure it. "Were I to hazard a guess, though, I'd say we're going to be looking for a vial. A big one, since this Lich is huge- there's going to be at least a gallon of magically sealed blood in either a bottle or a vial."
Liin nodded. "Geomancers are great when they're on your side. If they're the ones you're fighting against, though, they're sort of a pain in the butt. One of my friends is a volcano guardian- fire and earth mixed together. The power she wields is absolutely terrifying and incredible." Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Simi's blade dancing on its own. "Hey, Simi? What's up with Dreamsever? I think it's trying to talk to you, but you're not listening."
"Oh! Yeah, I think he found a vial. He wants to break it, which means we probably shouldn't." Simi unravelled the dark blade from its ribbon, but kept it lashed at the end in case it went off on its own. "He wants to go in several directions." Doe let out a long, exasperated sigh.
"There's more than one phylactery. The urn must be just one of several sealing points." She rolled her shoulders, cracking several bones in her neck and back as though she were getting ready for battle or a particularly tough practice dummy. "This is going to be more difficult than I first thought. We're not splitting up to look for them. Urasina and Pyoga, you up for a little treasure hunt?" The mare got a glint in her already brilliantly colored eyes.
|
|