PriyaLeanTimesInRebmaIILean Times in Rebma IIShe sat down on the sofa again, concentrating. "Father?" The mental sorcerous contact comes swiftly. Briefly, she gets the sense that Father is indeed in an office in the palace, as Ykanga reported. He puts his full attention on her, obscuring other details. "Ah, Priya." he says. "News from Amber?" "Indeed, and it is a many wondered thing that should probably be discussed directly." Priya arched a brow, thinking back to the constellation of revelations she had been privy to the last many hours. "Come across then." Father says, opening the contact from his end, supplying additional power to bridge the space between for Priya and Ostegos. Once across, Father rises and walks to the entrance and gives an order to a waiting servant, and then turns back to Priya. "I'd forgotten to eat again." he says. "And it would not surprise me if you had done so as well." Priya froze a moment, trying to think back to when she had eaten last. She remembered breakfast with the diplomat and the bishop ... or was that yesterday? And lunch... she just couldn't place for either day off the top of her head. Food was not a primary motivator, but her stomach rumbled quietly in protest. Priya's pause gives her father leave to nod to himself in satisfaction. He sits down at the comma shaped desk. A couple of other chairs in the office can be moved to suit, and Ostegos does so without prompting. "You might as well get started while we wait for victuals and wine." Father suggests. Priya sat her Dragon Deck on the table. "This has been secured from the residence of the man I believe last held the title of master of the deck... and I believe I know the identity of the new scribe." Father doesn't touch the deck, but he drums his fingers on the table, making little ripples as Priya continues. She settled herself in her chair. "I returned to the castle wards to reestablish my connection with them when Princess Fiona arrived. She suggested that I secure a Deck, and I did so. The repercussions of that have yet to fully manifest themselves, but to find the old Artist, and the new one, was very interesting." "I've been trying to place members of the Amber Royal Family for some time." Father says. "They have risen and fallen out of it, especially as they have schemed for the Throne." There is a knock on the door. "That would be food and drink." Father says. "I'll get it." Ostegos offers, heading toward the door. "So who are they?" Father says. "The Old and the New? Surely the Princess Fiona is neither of those, although I do think she has been studying this secretly for centuries. She may also." Father continues "have access to the more primitive form of the Holds. It would not surprise me if she did." "She possesses access to a Hold, though I do not know which one. Her younger brother was master of the Deck in his time. With his passing, it has fallen to the youngest son of Prince Gerard's line, Prince Hadrian. I do not believe he is aware of his, nor are the others as of yet, though Prince Castor now knows of the Deck and should have the means to secure one for himself." "As for the Family ... I believe the Deck is trying to fit them in, but does not yet have the means of expressing them. In many ways, they are something new for it. Or so it seems, and do not fit the old mold." "Brand being former master of the Deck makes perfect sense." Father says. "I have felt, over the years, given their similarities, trump artists are usually the ones chosen to be the Master of the Deck. The Deck has a will in a real sense" he taps Priya's deck. "and even I can't pretend to understand why it chooses people to fill roles...or especially how it picks a master." "Its choices... however, can be... illustrative..." Priya mused, considering her own card. "The deck can grow, too, and it sounds like it is going to expand to fit members of the Amber Family." Father says. "We should also be prepared for more Rebmans appearing in the Deck now that Rebma is asserting its independence." Ostegos returns with wine, and food, mostly mussels, scallops,conch and clams and served seviche. "Most of Rebma's royal family do not appear in the Deck. I think the Princess was quite disappointed. How fortunate for her that I had already dismissed her notion of worthiness." Priya's brows arched for a moment as her eyes rolled. "I think it will be interested to see how the Deck reconfigures itself. Most relevant, I think, was Castor's choice of question." Priya sat for a moment with her Deck, considered his question again, and relayed the Cards to reveal the hidden allies among those arrayed against the Omphalos. "The woman was most perplexing." Priya pointed and then sat back, studying the spread again, but also giving her father time to consider it while Ostegos set out the food. Minos stares at the layout, replicated from Castor's question perfectly, as Ostegos divides the plates into three, and uncorks the heavy Rebman wine into deep glasses. Father takes a sip of this, sets down the glass, idly opens and devours a mussel and then, nodding, gestures with the hand. He points at Lorius as represented by the Knight of Dark. "Here's your missing woman. Tied to the Prince Lorius. You don't know her, or she doesn't have a card yet, or will." "May I?" he asks Priya before starting to manipulate the cards, taking the deck and pulling out cards He starts experimentally trying cards, trying to align them to Lorius and the mystery woman without success. After a few tries, he gets one to stick as being connected to Lorius, not to the main question. The Empress of High House Life, Deirdre. "There" Father says. "This mystery woman not yet in the deck is strongly connected to Princess Deirdre, and to Lorius. I know of no daughter of the Princess, however, only a son." "There's another relationship here, too, we're missing." Father said. "Whoever this woman's father is, he's connected to her and to Deirdre. There's a chain of people here. But to have a whole set of people waiting entry makes it sound like something radical is going to happen, like a shadow suddenly rising in power or strength." "Like Rebma's rise?" Ostegos says, nibbling on a piece of conch. "Yes" Minos says. "Some other realm is rising in power and influence. The woman, Lorius, Deirdre have connection to it." Priya frowned at the cards, the depth of thought as the wheels spun leaving her food cooling and forgotten. "Hmmmm." The noise resembled a soft growl as she reached blindly to reclaim the Deck from her father, her gaze firmly inward as she gathered up all but Lorius and Deirdre. She concentrated a moment, building Lorius' family around him, starting with his Mother, then searching for his sisters and Princess Deirdre's son... and grandson, searching for cards to represent them. Ostegos watches with fascination, and father with concentration, as Priya deals out matters again. With Lorius at the center (Knight of the Dark), his Mother (the Sorceress or Magi of Dark) falls into place immediately. Shannon, his youngest sister is the Herald. His other sister, Brandeigh, has a place as well, as the Captain of the House Dark. Deirdre fits in as Empress of Life, again. There does not appear to be a card for her son Percy, but her grandson, Brandeigh's son, Kieran, is the Mason of House Dark. It's also clear, from the tensions and what Priya is trying, that Lorius is not quite the father of this mysterious woman who is Deirdre's as yet uncarded daughter, but is something in an honorary capacity. A tutor, or perhaps a father surrogate. Lorius also has a strong connection to the Executioness card Priya came up with when looking for those opposed to the Omphalos. Lorius also seems awfully comfy with the Weaver of Life, Noys and the Herald of Life, Pollux, to the point that feel like close family. "Hm." Priya sat back. "Prince Lorius has the answers, but I think I will wait to see what Castor and Tina come back with." She made a face, put her Deck aside, and finally turned to her food. "This piece of matters any current." Father says, grabbing some more of the seafood. There is a pause and quiet for a while as father, and Ostegos both contemplate matters over eating. "I should show you what I've been working on, changing subjects." Father says, pulling out a thin stretched out soft metal tablet, sometimes used by sorcerers and scribes in the realm under the sea. It is a rough representational map of the golden circle, using lines and circles to represent shadows and connections. Some shorthand symbols label the map. Amber. Rebma. Begma. Eregnor. Kashfa, and a few others. "The Princesses of Amber see shadow as a diffuse thing, migrating from one to another." Father says. "Since they can walk to any world, they can walk to every world. Those of us that use paths and connections see that its really a web. You know this of course." he says to Priya. "And I hope, with what has happened with Rebma's Pattern, you don't forget it." He starts pointing. "The Omphalos have been dropping Doors in their incursions. Mostly in Amber, but also here in Rebma. I've been making a study of how they impact shadows. It turns out, like a whale's song, you can distantly detect them at long range if they persist long enough." Priya had been nodding slightly as she listened, but now looked up sharply, playing close attention. He points at Begma. "Until very recently, there was a Door here. It was very recently unraveled, and not by the Omphalos. There are a couple of other Doors, though, lurking in the Golden Circle. They are changing tactics and going for a more infiltration based approach." Priya frowned, displeased but not surprised. Father pokes at a circle inducating the shadow of Yarmuta. Its a shadow Priya knows of. A mostly submerged realm, with small mountainous islands. Dominant culture are water breathers with cities on the continential shelves around the islands. possibly partially descended from Rebmans back in the early days after the founding of Amber and Rebma. "This is the nearest active door One of our own shadows, or one that Moire wants to claim for a Coral Circle anyway, to counterbalance the Golden Circle. Amberites ignore it for the most part, but its potential for Rebma is high." "There are a few others, in more Amber dominated shadows." Father adds. "If not for its dissolution, I'd suggest investigation of the Begman one. Amber has clearly reacted to that one, or perhaps the Princess Coral was moved to act." "One, the other, or both." Priya agreed. "I should have a note of the Amber related doors, and I would like to tend to Yarmuta's. Additional shards and information will give us more access points to use, and we should eliminate the Door that leaves them with a foothold near Rebma. Do we know if the Door is on one of the islands, or have they found a way to stay beneath the waves?" Father shakes his head. "This door is sitting on the island of Jarmuth One of the smallest islands in Yarmuta and not really good for much beyond some coconut trees. A submerged Door here, though, would be disastrous for the Omphalos, the waters around the island cannot be breathed by surface dwellers." He looks at Ostegos. "Sorry." he adds. "An enchantment would be necessary to visit the undersea inhabitants that's all." he says mildly. "Indeed." Minos says. "I can certainly give you coordinates, Priya, for all the Doors I've been able to locate for the Queen. The Amberites, too, such as your acquaintance Princess Fiona, may have duplicate or overlapping work in this regard." "She may... but even if she does, providing the information shows good faith." Priya took a moment with her food before continuing. "I have a small task here I would like to complete, and then I will return to Amber. Ostegos and Tina can handle things there, I will tend to the Yarmuta Door, and upon my return we can bring the information to Princess Fiona, unless you wish to pass it to Tina, or have the Princess contact you? I am not certain how far removed you wish to remain." She looked up at him thoughtfully. "There are good reasons" Father says "to channel everything through you. Not only because of your official role between the Courts, but because of the roles that the Princess and I each play." he says. "I do not understand." Ostegos says. "Better for my daughter to handle much of this. That is what the Queen.. both Queens, I should think, have arranged for her to do." "What task did you need to complete here?" Father says, changing the subject, taking a piece of conch. "I didn't think you came in person just to talk to me and do a Deck reading." "I wish to complete the project I was working on before the Door appeared..." Priya didn't roll her eyes, but she was tempted. "Even if I only transfer the image, I would like to get the image down and have a chance to look at it, something I have never had time to really do since I have always had something else pressing to devote my attention to." Such as trapped temples trying to kill her and Doors.. and Princesses... and refugees... She did roll her eyes. "I must steal quite moments for my own matters when I can." "Sometimes one must carve out a space within the reef of time for ones own desires and needs." Father says. "Regardless of the pressing concerns of the current tide." He takes one last mussel, and thoughtfully takes the meat out and chews it. "Best you leave quickly and do that, before her Majesty knows you are here to assign yet additional duties." "Isn't she already on an errand for the Queen?" Ostegos asks. "Yes but that fact wouldn't stop Moire. She always wants more and more. Her motto since she was Priya's age, or even younger." Father chuckles. "You might prefer to teleport home to work on it." He quickly writes down a set of figures on a free metal tablet and offers it to his daughter. "The coordinates for the Yarmuta Door." "Thank you." Priya accepted the tablet, setting her Deck on top of it and leave the items next to her while she took another bite. "But I would like to leave the completed image here, for you to look at as well. I think your wider perspective will be useful." Father nods and smiles. "Also wise." "Tell me that when I have shown you what I've done..." Priya murmured. Priya wiped her mouth and fingers, set her napkin down and excused herself. Her materials were where she expected them to be, set aside after the attack, but not yet put back away. She unrolled the paper, working with Ykanga to quickly transfer the image from her mind, to the paper. An only slightly distorted panoramic view of the murals inside the pyramid... with the sword Ostegos now wore featured prominently. Priya does notice that Father has not given Ostegos' sword a second glance since he rerturned with it. It occurs to her as she finishes the drawing and lets him inspect it, that it is as if Father hasn't or even can't see it for some bizarre reason. Certainly Father's keen interest in the symbols does not suggest disinterest in the writing. "A prison" Father says. "A prison for a sentient blade, from the First Age. These murals tells the sword's construction, and history, and of a undershadow skeleton of paths and connections." Father turns to look at Ostegos and Priya can feel him concentrate, feel the magical stress he puts himself under like the smell of sea salt. "You've attuned to it. It's hiding from me." he says. "It fears me." he says, turning to look at Priya. "Do you realize just what you have bestowed upon him?" he asks Priya. There was a pause before Priya answered. "Someone on par with who I carry. Someone to help him against the adversaries we will face, and the adversaries he will face in my service. So, in short, yes and no. The effort needed to reach him, and then again to retrieve him, was a strong indication of his power, if not his name and story." While it wouldn't be visible to others, the element of concern in her answer would be apparent to her father. "May I?" Father asks Ostegos. Ostegos gives a casual shrug, nods to Priya and unbuckles sword and scabbard and offers them to Minos. A stream of bubbles in a sigh exhales from father's lips as he takes the scabbarded sword. He holds his hands over the hilt, but does not draw it. "Vox, the Voice Against the Wyld, the Orichalcum Blade" Father says. "Indeed, taking him from that Pyramid will have consequences as yet unknown. A blade older than even the Logrus." He lowers his hand again as if to draw it. Priya can feel the rise of energy within the blade, as it attempts to fend off her father's hand. "It knows who and what I am." Father says. "It remembers me." HE stops the gesture and bades Ostegos to take the sword back. "It would seem that much of the old world is rising again." Father says. Priya nodded. "We have entered interesting times. Which are always troubled." She regarded the image again and quietly rolled it up. "Do you think we have reason not to trust him?" Priya's gaze went from her father, to the sword, and back again. "As long as his goals and ours are aligned, we can trust him." Father says. "And suppression of the forces of Chaos and Disorder, to preserve against forces from without, is what Vox was created for. I should think the Omphalos would fall within that mandate." "The Pattern made the choice, didn't it?" Father says. "Yes," Priya confessed with a small, rueful smile. "I was presented with a unique opportunity and gambled that what I desired was close enough to what would serve It, to serve me. It also saved me from a long journey and much searching, and time is valuable." Her head tilted briefly to one side as a dozen thoughts competed with each other, but what was done, was done. "I will return to Amber, and then be off to attend the Door. After that, I expect it will be time to retire for the night." She gathered up her things, put them away neatly and turned back to her father. "Maybe tomorrow I will get back to the business of diplomat." She didn't sound sure of that. "Even the most courtieresque of diplomats must be prepared to not be considered hors de combat." Father replies. He looks at Ostegos. "Be wary of the weapon. The Pattern sent Priya to retrieve that weapon, that tool, for reasons of its own. Those reasons may dovetail with what we wish, but they are not guaranteed to mirror them." "I understand, sir." Ostegos says. "I will not allow the sword to harm Priya." "Good" Father says. He turns to Priya. "Do keep me informed, and I shall do the same. Our enemies move, but we may be in for a quiet mid-game before the next exchange of pieces." "Long enough for us to move ourselves into a better position I hope..." Priya gathered her Deck and the coordinates for the Door. "I will be in touch, though I expect you will see when the Door is closed. Good night, Father." "Good night Daughter. Be wary, even so." "I will." Priya gave her father a kiss on the cheek and turned to Ostegos. "We'll get back, get changed, and you can tell the others I hope to be back in time for the after dinner drink." "Do you intend to go alone to this Door, then?" Ostegos asks, furrowing his eyebrows as he awaits Priya's transport spell to be constructed and manfiest. "Is that particularly wise? Do you have other business you need me to take of?" "Yes, but I do not plan to directly confront anyone, or become engaged in any conflict." Priya replied absently, her attention divided. "Tina and Castor should probably be watched, if that is possible, and I need to make an arrangement to speak with Princess Fiona. If you can leave a message for her, that would be helpful, but it is possible that she will be summoned again when I return to the roof." Priya gave a wry smile as the last pieces of the spellcraft wound together. "Shall we?" "Aye, Priya" Ostegos says. Back to the Ambassadorial quarters, and a clothes change later, Ostegos regards Priya pensively. "Even if you do not directly confront a threat, be careful, anyway." He strokes the scabbard on his belt. "I can keep an eye on Tina and Castor. I find the blending in part to be effortlessly easy with this." Priya smiled slightly and nodded. She had changed into short, but very practical clothing in dark blues and gray and set to work confining her hair to a simple braid. "I will probably go and see the Princess, first." Ostegos adds. "I have a feeling she won't turn up on the roof again unless you do something drastic." "I am hoping all drastic actions will be confined to the mission. I am hoping the mission will be quick and simple, I will return, tidy up, have that drink, a bit of conversation, and then some sleep while it can still be had. Father is likely correct about the lull before the storm and I intend to make the most of it." "They have Hurricanes here, don't they. Or maybe its too cold." Ostegos says. "Big, bad storms, brewing up in warm waters. Lemuria was hit by them every few years. Your, ah, counterpart tasked with deflecting or steering them away. Some years, we'd get a bunch of them lined up on us. Its how its feels. We're between them now but the next is right over the horizon." And with that, Ostegos takes his leave and heads out into the Castle. Priya nodded, very familiar with the big storms that were birthed on distant shores and arrived as spinning demons of howling wind and drenching rain. It was a fairly accurate metaphor. She wrapped up her dress and accessories in a tight, protective bundle, lashed Varuna to the outside of it, and secured it to her back. Then she spent a moment quietly working with Ykanga, picking a point far enough from the island to arrive unnoticed by other spellcasters. As always, she planned for the worst... for someone as sensitive as she was, and she used as little power as possible, arriving without fanfare, and dropping smoothly into the water. It was going to be a bit of a swim, but it felt good to be in open water and she slipped into a form more suited to the task and moved toward the island briskly. Ykanga's opinion is that a a kilometer, at the safest bet, would be outside the reasonable range any spellcaster Argus spell might reach. Priya is gently deposited on a coral reef pretty close to the surface, allowing her to step off into the water and submerge herself fully before transformation. The swim does do Priya good, the waters are warmer than Rebma in general and definitely in early spring. Thus, Priya is not restricted to strictly cool or cold weather aquatic forms for her journey to the island. Halfway to her goal, Priya can see the steep-sloped volcanic island , palm trees waving in the breeze, and a tall crystal needle tower, brilliant in the sunshine standing on the top of the peak. The destruction of reefs in the area as Priya moves toward the beach has the pattern of damage by something other than natural causes. Ragged holes, reefs ripped apart, disturbed habitats. The beach itself appears to be unoccupied and unguarded, at least to the treeline. Priya slowed, examining the damaged reefs by various means, arcane and mundane. Poking in and out, looping around and circling as she looked for a pattern and tried to determine the cause. The reef damage, to Priya's inspection and analysis (at least what she can do in her form and with her talents) appear to have been damaged by kinetic energy from spellcraft--someone blasted holes in the reef. The holes are random and do not appear to be in any sort of pattern, as if they were stray shots somehow. She circled the island, looking to see if the damage was uniform, or restricted to one side. She also kept a watch on the beach, checking each time she surfaced for signs of activity, near the beach, or up on the mountain. The damage is only in a fifty degree arc on the side of the island that Priya teleported to. The rest of the reef is undamaged and untouched. On the far side of the island from the damage, she spots a quartet of soldiers making their way around the island at the treeline, watching the beach and the water. One of them has something like large glasses. They have not yet spotted Priya or recognized her as a threat as yet. Priya bobbed in the water, watching the soldiers for a moment before slipping away again. She had practiced the fox form on her on Amber's beach, what seemed a very long time ago, and now seemed like another opportunity. Getting behind where the soldiers were, so they were walking away, not toward her, she stowed her dress and Varuna in a rocky nook, shifted to something with feet, and slipped up the beach to the treeline, stalking the soldiers carefully. The soldiers are far more interested in the shore than the island behind them, and so for a good quarter of a mile continue to patrol the shore of the island, heading toward the devastated portion of the shore, oblivious to Priya. At one point, one of the soldiers stops to re-lace his boot. He turns around and manages to fix his eyes at the spot Priya is, preternaturally. "Hi there little guy." the soldier calls to Priya, slowly extending a hand. "Come on out, I won't hurt you." "Gods" one of the other soldiers says. He and the other two soldiers have stopped. "Hoffman has found another would-be pet." Priya frowned, chastising herself for being sloppy as she accepted that she needed more practice. Facing the soldier, she simply sat down, indicating to him that she wasn't going to be that easy, though she was hoping they'd lead her to whatever camp they still had on the island. Hoffman spends a couple of minutes crouching and trying to slowly get closer to Priya. He certainly has been trying to deal with Priya as one might would a wild animal. Small moves, careful interactions, watching Priya. Priya sat patiently, watching the man. At least it was easy to hide her amusement. "Oh leave it, Hoffman." the soldier says. "The fox or whatever it is is not buying what you're selling. Let's get back to the Glasshouse. The Captain will make you peel eddoes for weeks if we're late for a patrol run again." "Yeah." Hoffman says, unhappily. looking at Priya. "You're a cute one, but I've got to go." He turns, reluctantly to follow his fellow soldiers. Priya waited a moment, and then shadowed their steps again. As such it is easy for Priya to resume stalking the soldiers. If Hoffmann knows Priya is doing this, he doesn't turn around, and neither do the remaining soldiers. Around the isle, to about three quarters around, and the soldiers stop their treeline circuit of the beach and head toward the interior, heading upwards as they quickly reach the slope of the mountain. Its not a steep trail, a switchbacking affair that gains a few hundred feet until they stop at a bare rock face. Hoffmann speaks a few magical words, something between a power word and a full spell, and a glass sided building, built into the side of this mountain, shimmers into view. Waiting in the brush at the switchbacks, rather than following them on each turn of the path, Priya continued to slink up behind the men. She inched close enough to listen, furry ears straining. Their conversation is light and casual and doesn't reveal much of anything save that there is a female captain in their glasshouse that the trio of them are lusting after. With a wistful look backward, Hoffmann and the other soldiers walk toward an open vestibule that seems to serve as an entrance. Leaning out from behind a rock, Priya gave the man a calm, curious look, with occasional glances at the glass building. Hoffmann tarries at the entrance to the vestibule and turns around. "Following me, aren't you?" he says toward the rock that hides Priya. "Well, if you are going to come in, now's the time before we close up. I can promise you some bacon if you come in." he says. "Leave, it, Hoffmann." one of the soldiers, already inside, calls back. "We're late." Priya slunk along the mountain side to the edge of the door way, peeking in curiously, nose working furiously, appearing to examine the smells as she examined the magic in place. Then, with a twitch of her tail, she dashed in and looked for the first nook to hide in. "You let it in, you idiot." the soldier says as Priya dashes out of sight. He cuffs Hoffmann on the back of your head, Hoffmann knocked to the ground from the blow. "Leave it. The repenomamus will find it in due time." "And kill it." the other soldier says with relish. "We'll have to tell the Captain you let it in, anyway. Kitchen Police duty is in your future. He hauls Hoffmann to his feet. With Hoffmann between the other two guards as if a quasi-prisoner, the three guards move off down a hallway. A quick check from Priya's hiding spot shows a set of corridors radiating out from this point. All of them appear to be six sided in shape, and the hum of machinery comes down from one of them, and the smell of food from another. The guards themselves headed down a third, and a fourth has the taste of warm, wet and open air. With quick glances at the corners of the room, watching for additional guards and the creature they felt so sure would get her, she headed down the hall toward the smell of open air. She did her best to blend in with the walls, by color and by smell as she trotted along. Blending into the walls does keep Priya, in this fox-like form, from being noticed. A couple of servants, wearing gray coveralls and collars around their necks, do pass her by, heading down side corridors and past her without nary a second glance. The dead, depressed look in their eyes suggests either psychological or arcane submission. The bluish skin and white and black hair suggests they are part of the local shadow population, as well. The corridor slopes upward, and finally opens into the open air, into a walled garden. This area is full of green vegetation, mostly semitropical ferns, orchids, and other lush green plants. A winding path leads through this toward a plinth where, standing proudly, is the Door. It is currently not open, although a bored looking guard is keeping watch over it. There is, as Priya gets a look at this, the sound of a growl of some sort of predator, about the size of a large dog. "What do you smell, girl?" the guard, woken from his reverie, says aloud. He snaps his fingers and the creature, which does look like a dog except with a lean, long head with a snout showing sharp, protruding incisors. "Some vermin sneak into the base?" The creature sniffs in Priya's direction. Priya flattened to the ground, perfectly still and watching the creature, waiting for it to approach. Little motes of pollen like particles formed on the tips of her fur. Each miniscule, sneeze-inducing mote covered in barbed spikes that would hold them in place. The little spores loaded with a toxin that would cause disorientation and delirium before it killed its victim. The incisor snouted dog sniffs at the ground, moving back and forth as it approaches Priya. The guard stands up and follows at a distance, watching the scene carefully but giving the creature plenty of room in which to work. By the time the creature reaches the cluster of ferns where Priya is hiding, she has the toxin ready. With a growl and a bark, the dog springs forward, intent on sinking those incisors into Priya's fur. Priya watched the creature approach calmly, body and head completely flat to the ground, fluffy tail moving with the branches and leaves. With the toxins ready, a bite was the goal, and she toughened her skin, bones spreading wide to minimize the damage, and waited. She was hoping the bitter taste and her lack of prey response would discourage a second... or third bite, and then it was just a matter of waiting for the toxin to turn it on its human. The dog creature obliges Priya's passivity, leaping forward, jaws open. Her skin and bones are toughened, the bite doesn't do too much damage, but it does *hurt*. Any yelp of response from Priya might not be entirely acting. The foul taste, though, does have its effect, as the dog moves away, barking its annoyance. Priya remained passive, braced for the pain and responding no more than a fallen branch. The guard comes closer, puzzled, clearly by the events unfolding. "What IS that thing?" he says aloud, as the dog-creature and he converge. The toxin is coursing through its veins, Priya can see the eyes turning bloodshot, the foam forming on its muzzle. The guard is quite surprised when the dog takes a bite of the guard's ankle. The bite is less effective than it could be thanks to the boots the guard is wearing, but the guard backs away, pulling out some sort of baton. "Bad girl! Bad girl!" He says, stumbling as he retreats. Priya's move. With the guards at the door neutralized, and a moment to work in peace, Priya turned her full attention to the Door, studying the magics involved. This was not the first Door she had shut, but the third, and she looked to see if there any variations to how they were constructed. It would be ideal if she could seal it shut for the immediate moment, preferably in a manner that looked like a malfunction, and unmake it after the wizards were drawn out into the open to investigate. Using the Door as the bomb to kill them, seemed fitting.
After a few moments, with the guard and rabid companion providing a backdrop, Varuna and Ykanga speak. "This Door has been in place longer than the Door in Rebma." Varuna says. "Increased length of time in place appears to increase their stability, rather than decrease it" Ykanga offers "This suggests that dissolution of the Door becomes more destructive the longer it exists, rather than less." Varuna says. "It also indicates and shows how this is not merely a sorcerous conjuration, which would have a half-life or a inverse square law of losing energy and stability over time." Ykanga suggests. "Destruction of the Door would be likely enough to destroy the entire base, and is best done at distance." Varuna finishes. Their analysis dovetails with what Priya is sensing from her own analysis. A few tentative calls suggest more guards are coming to investigate the situation.
Then she headed for the hallway, her body easing back into the fox form she had used to enter. The guards were distracted, but drew a veil around herself to hide her from anyone not actively looking for cloaked individuals. She gave herself a good shake in the hallway, dispersing the rest of the toxin, and trotted down the hall to find the slaves. The guards (four of them in the end) are distracted by their fellow, and the rabid dog-creature, to pay attention to Priya slipping past them. Either they do not have the ability to see cloaked individuals,or they are just too wrapped up in the situation to really notice Priya, and definitely not equipped to notice Priya's tampering of the Door itself. Slaves are relatively easy to find. There are a few in the corridors, deeper within the complex, wearing collars and busying themselves with mundane tasks. Priya finds what appear to be living quarters, and there are, Priya figures, about two or three dozen of them, some of them sleeping on their "off shift". Priya took each opportunity to study the collars as she passed, but she did not pause until she found the sleeping quarters. Safely inside, she returned to her true form and went to the nearest sleeping form, and took a hard close look at the collar. She assumed it was a device to punish disobedience, but she was curious about its exact nature, most specifically, what triggered it. "Magically powered" Varuna comments as Priya sets to examining it. "Memory and recollection arcanosoftware." Ykanga says. Indeed, the collars are meant to elicit compliance by means of pain reinforcement. The collar seems to remember the last time, and the last level, the pain was activated (for this individual, five days ago, level 3 of 10). They have just as complicated a locking mechanism, as well. There is another field on there that Priya has set to examining when... It is at this moment that Priya hears the explosion. Clearly, someone has activated the Door, prematurely setting it off. The rumbling of the explosion suggests it is somewhat larger than she intended...not enough to overwhelm the base immediately, but the sound of rumbling thunder suggests that the mages and guards will have far more to worry about than Priya. If she is unfortunate, though, getting the slaves out might be a challenge.
Priya moved to the doorway, watching the slaves and ready to hush them and keep them all here and contained until the spell could be completed. "The teleport is not likely to succeed" Ykanga responds. "Too many interfering fields. Removing the collars would be an easier." Another rumble, the floor shaking. The situation is becoming worse. "A sympathetic spell can be set up to unlock every collar in the complex. Time to completion if Varuna and I work together: ten minutes. Shall we proceed?"
Priya moved into the room, now purposefully gathering the slaves in a crisp, authoritative tone that left no room for discussion even if the slaves had the spirit left to protest. The slaves are, for the most part, broken spirited. Even if Priya does not have the uniform of the Omphalos, the lessons of disobeying have left them reluctant to do so. She directed them toward the exit, letting the rumbling of the floor hurry them along.Once the slaves were moving, gathering their fellows as they fled, she cast the light glamour that deflected attention upon the main group. She trusted that her plain grey clothing would provide some camouflage. In the chaos, few would notice details, many of the guard would be ill, and many others would be concerned with their own survival. Which should give her an opportunity to strike when they encountered opposition. Opposition does not hit until about eight minutes later. Priya has 30 slaves gathered together, following her. There are occasional rumblings, the sounds of shouts, even a scream or two. Priya gets to a junction room where an Omphalos mage is trying to fight the fire that has spread from the opposite direction. The mage turns, narrows his eyes at Priya and barks at the guards. The language is unfamiliar but the command, as the guards draw swords, is clear. Behind them, the mage has stopped the spell he was doing and is starting something else. Varuna and Ykanga are still working the collar spell. "Go. Go." Spoke in a low, compelling tone to the slaves before she stepped in toward the mage and soldiers, casting a simple but well power force spell into the soldier nearest the mage, throwing the man, and the drawn sword, into the other spellcaster. Then she simply waited for the soldiers The slaves are a reluctant force, still dull and relatively dispirited, but a wave of thirty slaves is still something to be considered. They start moving across the junction room. One of the guards holds up a sword and manages to stop the force of slaves from getting too much further, with a few words in the Mage's language. In the meantime, Priya's power force spell takes a little longer than she'd like, with her spell processing power tied up in undoing the collars. As the guard goes flying toward the mage, the mage gets off his spell in turn as he gets mauled. A wall of something transparent manifests, diagonally bisecting the room lengthwise and running floor to ceiling. The mage, the fire, and most of the guards are on one side of the wall. Priya, the slaves, and two of the guards, plus the one holding the slaves at bay, is on the other. The passage that Priya had used for the exit is on the Mage's side of the wall, although there is the passage she and the slaves came down, and another passage, on her side of the wall. "One minute until the spell's completion." Varuna intones. Priya walked toward the guards, casting another force spell and holding it at ready. "So we do not die here together, does that passage end at an exterior wall?" Her tone was polite, conversational, ignoring the conflict. "We really should leave before the building comes down on top of us, or burns down, and your Mage trapped you here with us." She pointed out their situation while the clock ticked. "Don't speak with her" one of the two forward guards says. "She's trying to ensorcel you, idiot." He looks back at the third guard cowing the slaves, and then looks hard at Priya. "Aren't you?" Priya favored him with an expression that said 'no' and 'you're an idiot' with the same arched brow. "I...don't know, Idras" the second guard says. "We're trapped here. That passage only goes to the machine shop." "Fool" Idras snarls. He points his blade at Priya. "Speak another word" he pauses "and I will run you through." Priya moved at a casual pace, still ignoring the presumably dire circumstances. If all else failed, she was certain she would escape. That she would prefer not to leave the slaves trapped wasn't a detail she allowed to mar the calm surface. She placed herself even with the opposing mage, watching him through narrowed eyes as if he were the only threat. "The unlocking spell is complete." Varuna says. "Execute?"
"The enemy mage is nearly complete with his spell as well." Ykanga adds. "It appears to be elementally gaseous based and targeted to manifest on both sides of the wall." "Your mage does not care for your lives. His next spell may well kill you with us. Again, I ask, where is the exterior wall?" She turned her head, looking from the mage to the soldier. The fingers of her hidden hand twirled. Gas could be gathered. It could choke. It could burn. But if it could be funneled and contained, the damage could be minimized until it could be unleashed at an appropriate target. Preferably back at the mage who had created it. Varuna executes the spell flawlessly. On all of the prisoners, in a swift motion, the collars make a whining sound as they unlock and fall off. There are a few moments of daze as the prisoners, as if waking up from sleep, start to try to take stock. The guard with a a sword regards the group of prisoners warily. "The exterior wall." the second guard. He points at the passage on the mage's side of the wall. "That's the passage out." "Idiot" Idras says. He advances on Priya with his sword. The spell from the mage has not yet executed. Priya gave the cooperative soldier a grateful nod of her head and turned to face off with the mage. The wall would have to go, but for now she blasted the stone floor at the other mage's feet. He might be shielded from magic. She very much doubted the floor was and if it exploded under him, spells would be difficult to work, especially on top of his initial injury. As for the man advancing toward her... Thirty slaves free to seek vengeance versus one bully. Priya decided she would take her chances and largely ignored the fool to concentrate on more pressing threats. Backlinks |
