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[h2]Asset Goal: Fae See Church F[/h2]

Esther remained crouched down beside the sulking skeleton, even when he stood up to his full height. He confirmed that he was fine, twice, before entering the shack. 

[color=74c3a2]"I see. You’re welcome.”[/color]

But she didn’t see.

She had confirmed that there was something off about Severin and Liu, and that it didn’t have anything to do with the spores. But that was the extent of her search. Given that Severin was back to his old self and Liu seemed agitated, she could only speculate as to what happened. Liu had to have been rattled by something, and maybe Severin as well. But then why did Severin recover so much faster? Furthermore, what was it about him that made her, the students at the luminary, and even a cat tremble in their boots? Too many questions, and it was starting to overshadow the mission.

Ester approached the doorway and looked inside. She really didn’t feel like everyone had to be in there, which was one of the reasons why she had kept her distance. But also, the anomaly being a crystal was less interesting to her. She was unsure if it was the source they were looking for, as it didn’t look like a wounded entity to her.. Though that changed when Liu and Vitreous examined it closer. The way they spoke about it was like it was some living creature.

[color=74c3a2]"So this is it, then? We’ve found it? Then I imagine our scrying devices are collecting information on it as we speak.”[/color] The parental figure in her started to speak up. [color=74c3a2]"Whatever you do, don’t touch it! If that thing corrupted the forest, who knows what will happen if-”[/color]

Esther cut herself off as the featherduster closed the distance. It was too late to do anything. 

Her only recourse was to fly backwards, and not by the power of her weak yet beautiful wings. No, it was a magical cataclysm that sent her flying. 

She was one of the lucky ones. A field of corrupted grass and soil was far softer to tumble across than being shoved into a shelf full of wooden dolls. 

The barrier had long dissipated, so Esther had to deal with the rough landing herself.  She bounced once, then landed on her side and skidded through some mud. She had just enough time to watch Severin fall beside her. Her eyes shifted back to the shack. 

[color=74c3a2]"Well that’s not good!”[/color] Esther’s joints were sore, but urgency wouldn’t let her remain still. She tucked her harp under her arm and offered a hand to Severin. If he needed a hand, she’d offer it. If he dropped his cane, she’d pick it up and hand it to him. As suspicious as he was, nothing he did had been malicious. That, and there was no guarantee that the danger had passed. His expertise might prove useful in such a situation. [color=74c3a2]"Come on! Let’s find the others.”[/color]

Unless Severin was willing to move at a decent pace, Esther was fully committed to fast walking him over to the collapsed shack. [color=74c3a2]"Is that Liu’s torso? Liu? [i]Liu, Zelda!?[/i]”[/color] She didn’t have the time to slow her thoughts and say his name correctly.

Esther rose her harp and strummed. A crackle, like an ice cube breaking apart in warm water, filled the area. Since Esther had good luck using her magic to detect the presence of spores inside people, maybe she could apply the same logic and find her allies that were hiding inside the shack’s rubble. It would also be beneficial to appraise Severin and see if he was under the effect of anything, but that was a far, far distant objective compared to locating everyone else and [i]parts[/i] of everyone else. Liu was a skeleton, so it was possible he just needed to be snapped together. Unless…

She hoped for the best, prepared for the worst, and started moving debris.

[hider=Actions] 
1:Drag Severin to the shack like an overeager child who wants to show their parents their drawing.


2: Song of Search: Magic E, Area F (15 feet), Appraisal F (Attempting to detect all of Liu’s body parts and other allies… and inspecting Severin), Artisan Artificer E (mark debris with special runes if they are covering an ally) - Grade E  -  1 post cooldown - Ability E (2) + Catalyst E (2) +  Intelligence D (3) = 7 base effectiveness

3: Dig through rubble.

Note: I’m aware that Esther shouldn’t be able to move and cast such a strong spell, so let’s say she waited a few seconds to better center her mana and cast her spell properly. A few seconds probably doesn’t matter here, right? Hehe… HehehehehehehHEHEHEHEHEHEHEH!
[/hider]