[b][color=#CE2B95]"Umm!"[/color][/b] Yue scrambled to get away from the cairn stone.

[b][color=#c45302]"Uh, Yue, hon... for [i]no reason in particular[/i]... just [i]how long[/i] have you been propped up against the enormous enchanted cairn stone?"[/color][/b]

[b][color=#CE2B95]"I dunno... like four hours? ...Why?"[/color][/b]

[b][color=#c45302]"Hey what's that thing that happens in Final Odyssey when two out-of-control magical storms run into each other?"[/color][/b] Archer asked, with [i]far[/i] too much amusement in his voice.

[b][color=#CE2B95]"Oh! An [i]Aether Cascade![/i]"[/color][/b] Yue answered with a note of excitement. Her eyes widened after a moment, her smile snapping into a frown as she observed the threads of [Crimson-Silver] twisting their way around the base of the stone, threading up through the enchanted runes and forming into a natural lattice that seemed to reinforce the integrity of the enchantment. Tendrils of color shot into the stone from outside like bullets of ideation that have had far too much room to gain velocity.

For a split second Yue thought she recognized a familiar static blue dancing over the stone's surface. The inscription on the stone was searing, nearly too bright for her to look at... seemed like the sort of thing that should have stood out to her. Was she really [i]that[/i] absorbed in her book?

[b][color=#CE2B95]"Oh,"[/color][/b] she muttered, in a much less excited tone. [b][color=#CE2B95]"I... don't think I'm far enough away from this thing,"[/color][/b] she noted, as a thread of [Silver] peeled out of her skin and joined the spiderweb crawling through and around the litany of runes.

Great... she broke it. Awesome. Smooth job, bonehead.

[b][color=#c45302]"Don't touch the card, please, I'd prefer not to have to wear boiling sauce this morning,"[/color][/b] Archer instructed casually. He balanced a card with the image of a red robed man holding a scepter and crown [color=#c45302][IV - The Emperor][/color] on the rim of the pot containing their breakfast. A gentle pulse of Mana rooted the kitchenware firmly in space as if it were held down on all sides by a vice.

The stone pulsed, or thumped rather, like an enormous bass drum. The ripple splashed against the barrier formed by the medallion Yue still clutched in one hand, knocking her down. She grunted as she fell on her ass gracelessly, pressing her lips together with an expression of guilt, horror, and embarrassment in equal measure.  A chorus of deep tones washed over the Stoneworks, like the discordant crashing of dozens of Gong cymbals being struck at once followed by the violent groaning and snapping of wood.

Shards of bark and splinters showered the manor from the garden as its carefully manicured trees and shrubs began to explosively grow, twisting in gnarled fractal patterns. The greens of the grass and colors of the flowers were near luminous in their intensity as lawns turned into tangled masses of tall grass in an instant. Tentacles of color spiraled out from the manor's foundation as masses of wildflowers sprouted and flowered, racing down the paths and hills to the borders of the colony and beyond. Tree roots ripped up the ground as saplings rapidly matured and shaded huge swathes of the settlement in arches of intertwined boughs and leaves.

In the span of half a minute, the entirety of the Stoneworks transformed from a neatly curated idyllic garden into a mature, overgrown forest spreading beyond its established borders for roughly a mile in each direction. With the majority of its energy spent, the reaction seemed to slow down, though scattered patches of vegetation were still growing at a visible pace. Archer flicked the card back into his sleeve to return control of the pan to Raudd once the tremors subsided. Yue stared out the window, white faced, for a long time in the deafening silence.

[b][color=#CE2B95]"...,"[/color][/b] She opened her mouth to speak but couldn't find any appropriate words to say for an awkward second. [b][color=#CE2B95]"Maybe... we should head back to ShieldTown... where... perhaps... there is less sensitive magic for me to break."[/color][/b]