Blizz

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree [Complete]

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Jack saw the creature pop out out a portal and shake the ground with its presence. He saw 8th Street walk out from behind it, too many for most of the coven to realistically take on directly. Far off in the distance, to his left and somewhat behind him, he could see walls of ice rising up as a strange field of energy bisected it. If his memory served, that was Briana's anti-teleportation spell. Jack got fucked over by that a time or two on his tracking runs... Emily was there. Vashti was there, and was about to get slugged by a glowing hot Linqian. Was she fucking insane? Jack had half a mind to drop a Void portal under her feet just to save her from getting dogpiled by that many people.

Instead, he decided to play this smart. If she wanted to bang knuckles with the likes of Babylon and fucking George, then Jack could at least give her some quiet support.

Meanwhile, a roundshield formed over Stormy's wrist like an instinct. He eyed the hulking behemoth and assumed it was some form of Abominable or an Apparition. He didn't recognize some of them, but his attention was grabbed by Luca getting in between them and Britney. Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck-

"He can't get in there and fight in his-"

The house was on fire before he could even finish his sentence. Stormy flinched as it just started to spontaneously combust, only for Emily to shoot a flaming skull at it. More shields manifested to block any bits of debris or shrapnel that might've been thrown his and Drake's way.

Fuck.

"Drake- Let's go. I'm with you." Ignoring Drake's comment about Luna fighting them, His free hand began to glow the usual green shade of all his auras. "Take this, get in their faces and Emily can't burn you. Do it quick, before they can start throwing more magic out and make it less effective," he said, voice just low enough only he, Sully, Luna and Tayla could hear. "Luca's going to get himself killed and I do not trust Linqian to take on that many people alone, I'll be right behind you." All Drake had to do was tap his hand against Stormy's, and he would be given a Phantombane aura, to help him run into the fray with a bit more insurance.

In the aftermath of that miniature red sun produced by Emily, something appeared. The light emitted from it allowed for something to be manifest in the shadows cast. It was a vague humanoid shape made of darkness, like something from a nightmare. It appeared in a puff of black smoke with a zombie-like gait, and swung a solid fist aimed at Aaron's, a cheap shot at the guy who pulled out a gun. It was supposed to get his attention and distract him, even if only long enough for him to break the trick like glass with a bullet.

Meanwhile, in the upper floor of the house, Amara was in a frenzy. The explosion from Emily's abstraction means the front door and most of the lower floor itself weren't options. She kicked in the only remaining door she hadn't tried, and found Sloane and Lynn minding their own business.

In her hands was a .45 caliber pistol with a hefty suppressor on the end, pointed down to the floor. Red flames, broken pieces of the walls and smoke blazed around her, but she wasn't alone. As she stepped into the door, three ethereal figures in the shape of humanoids filled the room. They were featureless, except for different hairstyles and matching pairs of glowing yellow orbs for eyes. These were the ghostly fighters in the Army of One.

"Stairs are cut off!" she said, holstering her gun and tipping the dresser over. Now on its side, the three of them had an anchor. "Piece of the roof just caved in over them, we'll have to go through the windows! If we're fast, we can get out over the fire... The trees should be fine still!"

One of the phantoms ran over to a dresser, pulled a drawer out and swung it at the window to shatter it. Another swing knocked out extra glass, and a third seemed to satisfy the phantom. Another phantom came over and pulled the curtains off of the window, ripping them in half with the first to knot them into a long rope. The third picked up the now-empty drawer and tied it into weight.

"Give me that-" Amara took the makeshift grappling hook and hooked the hope around the weight in broad loops, knotting them so there were extra ways for it to catch. Amara leaned out the window with the air of a phantom, holding her breath for the smoke, and spun the contraption like a lasso. It caught around the chimney, and she gave the other end to a second phantom, who silently leapt out the window and hung right above the flames. The third phantom ran out, catching the second's hand and slid down to the ground where everyone could see.

"The phantoms are gonna catch you, that one will shield you from the fire for when you drop down, the second is gonna break your fall-" The remaining phantom demonstrated by jumping out, latching onto the hanging phantom. It was tossed further away from the reach of the fire before getting caught in a full body grapple by the one on the ground.

"Go! She can't stay like that for long!" The phantoms were technically undead, but demonic hellfire surely didn't discriminate. It would only be a matter of time before the phantom cooking over the fire, and the rope it hung from, would be burned away. With the stairs and most of the bottom floor going up in flames, they didn't have long.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree [Complete]

Jack’s Joint Spells

Moonflower ⫻ By joining their hands together, Jack and Britney can mix their forms of red and purple Lux together to create a flower that glows in the light. A Moonflower floats around one or both of them, making them experience low gravity. With the spell active, Jack or Britney can move twice as fast, carry twice as much, and jump twice as high. Moonflowers can be given to others, and will wilt after 30 minutes.

Using a Moonflower can be awkward if one isn't accustomed to it. Experiencing gravity less when you aren't expecting it can cause you to trip easily, or misjudge how fast you are moving. The antigravity sensation of a Moonflower also doesn't take into account added weight a person might take on after the first assigning of one. Meaning it won't let someone pick up an extra hundred pounds a few minutes after receiving one. Moonflowers cannot be given to people with an emotional field unless they accept it willingly.

Saturnian Glow ⫻ Jack and Britney combine their Umbramancy and Lumomancy spells to form a swirling orb of energy. The surroundings grow dimmer as it practically eats the light away. When fired, this “Saturnian energy” eats away at physical matter and energy alike, as if matter and antimatter had collided.

Due to the weakness of Britney's Lumomancy, the Saturnian Glow is inherently weak, and often best for destroying things that need to be destroyed in a controlled environment. It isn't ideal for a fight in any way unless Britney improves her spells

Winds of Midnight ⫻ Jack charges Britney’s Hyetomancy with purple Lux, allowing them both to fly in any direction that Britney wishes. To maintain this, they must stay within 15 feet of one another. Britney’s wind magic is capable of telekinetically pulling objects and people as if she were a purple Adept, so long as she is with Jack.

Winds of Midnight was invented to compensate for Britney's weak wind magic. Therefore, their mobility is entirely dependent on her, meaning it isn't very fast.

Black Fulgurite ⫻ Jack casts his Reaper’s Blade spell, which Drake then electrocuted with a heavy burst of lightning. This created a scythe made of purple lightning that gives its wielder superhuman speed. In Drake’s hands, the Black Fulgurite can be thrown at an absurd speed through the air to cut something like a sawblade, and return like a boomerang.

Umbral Glass ⫻ Similar to the Black Fulgurite spell, Jack and Drake combine their red Lux to give it physical substance, in the form of crystallized shadows. Umbral Glass can be shaped by either Jack or Drake like their regular spells, and will absorb the energy from other spells such as fireballs and beams of light.

Heavenfall ⫻ Jack combines his Lux with Drake’s to create a thunderstorm of destabilized space. Storm clouds black as night begin to form overhead, and bolts of telekinetic lightning rain down in a chaotic fashion. Anything hit by these bolts are temporarily separated from the planet’s gravitational field, causing them to float aimlessly for a few seconds. While the Heavenfall storm is present, Jack and Drake may freely teleport anywhere within its radius with no effort. It is very difficult to see in the storm, though. The lightning strikes are some of the only light one can see with when inside. Jack and Drake are unaffected by the lightning, but others are not.

Blind Sanctum ⫻ Jack blankets a huge area in pitch black darkness, which Kari then fills with the power of her white Lux. This creates a zone of blindness where only the two of them can see. Everyone else sees total nothingness, while they see as clear as day. This spell allowed them to set up protective areas that were dangerous to intruders. Kari would receive a mental alert the moment anyone other than them set foot inside, as she would have a hyperawareness of everything that occurred within the spell’s radius, no matter how big or small.

Wisened Phantom ⫻ Based on the Night Terror spell, Pale Shadow is a modified version infused with white Lux. Jack’s body is overtaken by a strange gray smoke that is directly connected to Kari’s mind. Every place Jack goes to, along with everything he perceives with his five senses is relayed to Kari. This includes knowledge he gains while the spell is active, essentially making Jack an extension of her consciousness. The spell has a theoretically infinite range, meaning Jack could leave Shimmer while Kari stays behind, and it would still function.

Archon’s Shadow ⫻ An odd spell that became necessary to find things. By building off of Jack’s affinity for knowledge, and Kari’s affinity for doing things for her friends, the two were able to develop a spell they let them teleport to the places relevant to an object’s past. If they were looking for the origin of an artifact, it would instantly teleport them to the place it spent the most time at. Archon’s Shadow got its name from this spell’s tendency to slingshot them through time itself for a brief period, allowing them to see through windows into the history of the universe. After the window passes, they would be rebounded back into the present if applicable. This only occurred if their target was old enough to blur the lines. Otherwise, they may end up staying in the space where they arrived.

Banish ⫻ A Hexmark made from Jack’s purple Lux being combine with Sloane’s magic. The Banish Hexmark immediately shunts a marked object into a place chosen by whichever one of them applies it. If no place is chosen, the object is teleported to a random location within a thousand feet.

Snare ⫻ The opposite of Banish. The Snare Hexmark is a trap laid on an object. When that object is picked up by someone, they and the object are immediately teleported to a place determined when the mark is first applied. This can be used to capture someone who might be looking for artifacts, or as an anti-theft measure.

Backtrack ⫻ An inverse version of Jack’s Blackout Shift spell, which was coincidentally inspired by Hexmarks. This allows Sloane the ability to instantly teleport like Jack, by keeping one Backtrack mark with her and another at her desired location. Sloane can mark objects with Backtrack to teleport between them, but since they are made with Jack’s Lux, intense light will destroy them.

X-Men: GenetiX

As the jet landed down on the strange pad, the mutants gathered around would feel their minds invaded like cold water down burnt skin. Ryder dropped out of the ruined aircraft and glared at the man with the metal helmet. His kind was untouchable, but he was the easiest target here. One flick of her wrist, and that covering would be buried in his rib cage faster than he could blink.

She was scanning the others’ minds for evidence on Cylcops. All the while, she reached out with her telepathy to find that, sure enough, he was alive and was being taken care of at the very least. That was one problem taken care of for the time being. The other was was in front of her. She had no idea where she was, the jet’s radar didn’t give any indication of this being here. Ryder just looked away for a second, and some force took her here. So something unusual was going on without a doubt.

”Not sure who the hell you are, but I’m leaving with the guy who can actually fly this thing. You can try and stop me if you think you’ll survive, but I’m not in a great mood right now,” she warned.

”You’ve got ten seconds to explain yourselves before I start destroying this. Start talking.”

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree [Complete]

Interactions: Drake and Sully

Kari's house

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Another fucking recollection?

This one made Stormy’s jaw clench a little. 8th Street had been here, they had come and desecrated a kind girl’s home. They came and took notes that Kari had, but what did those notes hold? Stormy never knew Emily to be the academic type, or most of her “friends” for that matter… It seemed like someone was paying them. Or they were going to use the notes to their advantage somehow. Maybe they had a buyer. He wasn’t sure, but Drake knew more about them.

Once it ended, he looked around at everyone. Luna wasn’t in much of a position to fight. Drake just got his soul damn near knocked loose. It was almost funny how quickly things like these got out of hand. But now that they had some more information, maybe it would be more in hand.

Stormy walked over to Drake and Sully. ”Listen, I’m not actually angry with you. Sorry if it sounded like it- We can talk about that later,” he said, sincerely. ”But for now… You saw that too, right? Is it possible that Kari could be doing that to us? Showing us that recollection? Maybe a spell that transferred information when someone went investigating?”

He looked up at the house. ”Ken isn’t going to like this.”

Interactions: The Coven

Kari's House

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When Sloane pulled a knife on him, he didn’t flinch. He was like a statue, just leveling that dead-eyed stare at her until she put the weapon away. It was a habit of his to always arrive in such a poor fashion, one that gave him quite the experience with a certain federal agent. But he was dramatic like that. And besides, the coven could stand to stay on their toes a little more often with this serial killer business.

”I see you’re ready for anyth-“ He was cut off by Lynn jumping back to the land of the living. She began ranting and raving about the possibilities that surrounded Kari. It was always worth listening to her, so he did just that. Lynn’s predictions were incredibly narrow in this case, and that was a surprise.

”Those odds are rare for you,” he acknowledged. It wasn’t a guarantee, but whenever there was a considerable chance, one had to consider it. So of course, Jack took the warning to heart. He looked at Sloane, who obviously didn’t care much for the predictions. ”I’ll help search, in case Lynn’s prediction doesn’t come to pass. But first, I’ll inform everyone else. If this is a false alarm, I’ll be back shortly.”

Jack walked out of the room, and used his magic to get around the place in the span of seconds. The basement first, then the ground by the door, then the woods with that mafia bitch. Everyone was given the same quick message: ”Lynn is almost certain we are about to be attacked by the 8th Street Coven. Be prepared, in case she is right.”

And then once everyone here today had that warning, he teleported himself into a tree overlooking the house. Obscured from sight between the leaves, he knelt on a thick branch. He could see everything from here, and quickly maneuver around attackers if they did decide to strike.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree [Complete]

Interactions: Tsukino and Drake

Kari's house

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Stormy did as Drake asked, dropping the shields and letting the whole thing slide. Ten years hadn't left him lacking the memories of the things they had to face as children, not at all. But Stormy was thinking of the big picture here. Yes, they were being picked off, and yes, Tsukino was a problem they had to deal with back then. But they didn't have much to go off of now, and jumping the gun like this worried Stormy. And when Stormy began to worry about people, he worried a lot.

Tayla stepping in seemed justifiable, when she pointed out that she could feel the hostility on the woman. But... Didn't she sever a long time ago?

Odd.

”It could be that Wolf Bastard for all we know! That would make sense, wouldn't it? A lot of sense. And even if she isn't working with or for Father Wolf, you haven't been in St. Portwel in over ten years, Stormy. Some of the groups that call St. Portwell home...?"

”... Yeah, you can't play softball with them.”

"I think we would've caught Father Wolf sooner if it was this easy to capture her," he responded, and was going to respond to Drake again before Sully came in like a freight train and tackled the man.... Ouch. Sully could probably fix that. Probably. He let Tsukino down when she started writing around in his arms. Only for her to fall to the ground limb as a stick.

“This isn't fucking fair. I'm just trying to help you. Don't you know I have friends that can help with your little problem?”

"If that were the case, why didn't you approach us openly? You could have done so sooner, or waited until we were done investigating the house. You could've even done it while we were here. I'd be lying if I didn't understand why Drake felt the need to attack you," he said patiently, keeping close to her in case she tried anything funny.

"You were one of us, Tsukino. I'm almost positive Auri tried to reach out to you. And if she did, you had to have known stalking us would've been a bad decision, when all of us are very capable of defending ourselves. So why? Talk us through that."

Interactions: The Coven

The Shadowzone > Kari's House

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By the time Jack even thought to check the time again, he had sped through the rest of his books in a frenzy to find something they could work with. His books on the Pit mentioned ways one could break out in theory, but he had no proof that Raven or Sunshine actually left the Pit. He had nothing of real substance here. Pieces of knowledge that could help the others to approximate an answer two, yes. Maybe even another lead to pursue, but not an answer in sight. Jack enjoyed being in the dark, but not in this meaning of the word. It frustrated him to not know something about the paranormal world, but he could manage. The answers would come in time, and time was a place he needed to return to.

Shadows lifted books from the desk to their resting places on the shelves, and Jack marked one with his Blackout Shift spell. He grabbed his channeler off of the desk and made a portal into Shimmer. Hopefully there hadn't been anything particularly eventful...

A black, swirling disc of energy appeared in Kari's bedroom, without a sound to be heard. Jack could hear a void through the other side, growing more clear by the second starting at the sound of being underwater. His boots touched the floor in equal silence, and found himself standing behind Sloane and Lynn, who was clearly exploring the future.

“You set a bad example. We’re supposed to be searching the house, not sitting around doing nothing. Really, I can’t believe how unhelpful you’re being. This is a group effort. You think you’d at the very least tolerate being in the same room with them. Can’t even make it through a single meeting without starting a fight. You’re such an embarrassment. Why would they even invite you? If we accomplish nothing again it’s all your fault.”

Was she talking about herself?

"You aren't responsible for everything, my friend," he said, breaking the illusion that she was alone at last. He was terrible about announcing his presence this way.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree [Complete]

Interactions: Tsukino, Drake and Sully

Kari's house

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God. Fucking. Damn.

Luna was only getting more agitated, and Drake was the one to light the powder keg. Sully just happened to follow them right in time to see Drake blast Luna off her perch. Was he out of his mind? Sure, they were getting heated, but attacking her was going from a three to a ten immediately. He made a mental note to get on Drake’s ass about that. First Sloane, now Luna, he didn't like that pattern.

Sure enough, Luna tipped and fell over as she displayed her magic. The Stoic Shell evaporated and Stormy booked it over to her point of impact. When Luna was close to the ground, Stormy caught her in his arms. A moment later, multiple circular shields formed in the air to put a wall between Drake and Stormy. Just in case he had the bright idea to throw a lightning bolt at her or something.

”Drake! That’s enough!” He shouted, loud enough for Drake to hear from in the air. ”I’ve got her! Drop your weapon! This isn’t getting us anywhere!”

He motioned for Sully to come over, that shock looked painful. ”You and I are going to have a long and thorough discussion about escalating later, Drake.” he said, before turning his attention to Luna.

”Can you stand?”

Avengers Academy: X of Swords ⚔️

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Location: Who the Fuck is Baldur
Skills:
WHAT. THE. FUCK.

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From Leah’s point of view, it seemed like Ed has struck her down for her hubris. In a moment’s notice, Leah was no longer in the sky, soaring across everything below her as she did years ago. Now, she was in some fleshy, wretched pit without an ounce of geological material in sight. It was abrupt, and she wasn’t the only one here. And… Her skin was green. Why the fuck was she green?

Leah was suddenly in some weird mix of leather and fur. Like armor made from a dead animal, which showed off her stomach… Was Ed doing that one purpose? He better not have been. Others were with him, the Murdertwink that Dorian was dating, along with Danni and Diana. They were all some sort of fantasy thing like her. Leah looked down and realized a big fuck-off axe was in her hands. Light as a feather for someone with her strength, but it looked mean.

Leah noticed they were being attacked. A bunch of tiny infantile demons were clambering towards them. Somewhere out in the universe, there was a wizard laughing at the thought of this.

”You have got to be fucking kidding me. Alright, whack-a-baby. Why not!” This was fucked.

Leah didn’t know what a “Nautiloid” was, or what a Baldur’s Gate lead to. But what she did know is that this was just a video game, so killing the imps wasn’t that big of a deal. After Mads set one on fire, Leah took a swing. She raised the axe up high over her head and the devil fetuses were unharmed- She missed!

Fuck!

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree [Complete]

Interactions: Tsukino and Drake

Kari's house

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Accusing Stormy of being that bad guy here was like throwing dead wood onto a bonfire. Not the best way to de-escalate a situation. Tsukino surely had tricks up her sleeves, literally and figuratively if his memory served him well. She was an Aberrant, and Stormy loved facing Aberrants. "If you know about that business," he started. "Then you understand that instigating anything against us means entangling yourself in things that aren't worth your time or energy." His face was stone cold, stoicism drowning out the annoyance he felt at her threats.

“Maybe I should really teach you how to be someone's friend, huh?”

"Maybe you should stop and ask yourself if you want that," he retorted, bluntly. "We have enough to worry about as it is, you have a poor reputation in this coven. If you start this, neither of us will be responsible for what the rest of the coven decides they want to do with you."

Stormy tightened his grip on his shield, and his free hand twitched slightly. She was too far up for him to scare off with Consecration, but maybe he could knock her off the branch. Or throw a rock up there with the aura imbued. Whatever happened, he had a feeling he couldn't make the first move.

"But if you back down, I'm sure we can do this without violence."

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree [Complete]

Interactions: Fucking everyone, it seems.

Kari's house

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The recollection happened and… Left Stormy confused. Thus far, they were only having these in their dreams. It was akin to Anya’s magic, insofar as there was information to be shared. But this one was waking. Kari had some sort of dealing with 8th Street, something she wanted no part in apparently. Honestly it was hard to blame her. Stormy could guess that they wanted her for her knowledge gathering Lux, assuming she hadn’t done anything crazy like severing. But that was put out of Stormy’s mind when he hear Sully shouting about Drake running down a stalker. He noticed Tayla and Sully talking, after Tayla had put on those headphones.

Odd. Stormy waited a moment, and then made his mind up once Sully started passing out shots from the Chalice. ”I’m going to go and back him up. Too many cooks in that kitchen as it is,” he nodded to the house. ”Mind yourselves.”

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Stormy followed the voices in the distance, one he could easily recognize as Drake. He could pinpoint them by the glow of his friend’s electrical weapon brandished in the open. He managed to catch the very end of their conversation, hearing Drake mentioning someone coming back to the coven- Who the hell could that be? For Drake to be chewing them out like that, it must’ve been someone shitty. Whoever they were, both they and Drake were treated to the sight of Stormy stepping forward with a shield hanging off of his arm, the Stoic Shell. A glowing green tower shield of magic energy that stood at 4 and a half feet tall, and 20 inches wide.

Stormy fixed a calm, yet firm gaze on their stalker… Yeah, that tracked.

”Whatever you’re about to do, I’d suggest thinking heavily on your options. You aren’t welcome around here, Tsukino.” Just like Britney, he advocated for her getting removed when they were young.

”We have no interest in dealing with your mafia.” If it really came down to it, Stormy could always hurl a shield up at Drake to deflect a projectile like some shit from a bad movie.

Interactions: The Coalition of Cunts

Kari's House

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Amara gleaned absolutely nothing from the recollection.

The unfortunate truth was that Amara couldn’t remember Kari Wilson from Shimmer. The Army replaced that memory with one from another world, probably Glint or Flare, where Kari was relatively useless. She had cool magic, but didn’t do much. And Amara sure as hell didn’t know which phantom to ask, since that was like finding one grain of sand in particular on a beach.

So she put it in the back of her mind, and didn’t even try to think on it. Ken cracked a joke and Sully started running a shot line. Amara wasn’t entire disappointed, but she didn’t think now was the time. Rather, Amara just followed Ken and the others down into the basement. It felt weird being here, she had this nagging feeling that she should’ve remembered this stuff. Maybe if she went through the books she wrote, she could find some memory of her and Kari being familiar.

Maybe.

All this stuff told Amara that whoever Kari was, she must’ve been talented. Capably. It was a whole workshop, so why weren’t her memories strong enough? Amara appreciated people who were crafty enough to have workshops, and Kari was one of them… Yet she was a blank.

Amara didn’t want to say that out loud, it wouldn’t be right. It would be admitting she wasn’t going to be useful around the coven, admitting that the Army was adjoined to more than just her soul. Instead, she paid attention to Ken sliding in a coin between the seams of a wall, and opening up a pocket dimension. He always was a damn good Adept.

She found her hand resting near her gun under her jacket when it opened, but it dropped back down in disappointment when Ken started tearing through everything inside. Ken was unstable now, and that meant he’d need a minute to recenter. Quickly, Amara jumped on that.

”Ken, listen to me, man. We need you collected, okay?” She asked, stern but gentle like she was taking to someone on the edge of a cliff. ”Wherever her things went, this tells us the culprit can possibly get into pocket dimensions on their own. Silver linings.”

Focus. Focus. Focus. Complete the mission.

”Maybe we can use what got left behind. I’m going upstairs to look around, see if there’s anything telling that way. In the meantime, get your thoughts in order. Put that ninja discipline to use,” Amara offered before turning to the stairs. ”And think about why someone would go for her notes and not the rest of the things in there. Anyone coming with me, come with.”

Someone had been here, this house had been compromised. It could’ve been weeks ago, or it could’ve been an hour ago. Knowing that, Amara crept up to the main floor of the house, gun drawn, and slowly crept up the stairs to the top floor. If there was a fight, she’d be ready.

SPIRITUM

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Somehow, the robot survived getting that sword buried through its skull. Morden noted that even when blind, it still had the potential to hurt someone. He dropped low and hooked his arm around the machine’s neck, and was just about to “strangle” the damn thing when Silje pointed something out. There was a volatile pocket of mist behind them, fuming and growing violent. Silje was as unhinged as he was convicted, but she had practical ideas when it came to wrecking things. He understood her plan in a loner, and that was why Barghest was not to be trifled with. They were a well-oiled machine. So Morden rested his other hand on the blade in its head, and started to spin.

It was too heavy to pick up and throw like a person, but Morden’s brand of magic allowed him to leverage physics in the ways both power armor and infantry could without making a compromise. He had no trouble dragging the robot horizontally, so whirling it in a circle became easier as he picked up momentum. Morden’s feet closed together as he began whirling in a circle like a tornado for all of one second. Then, hearing metal tear around the robot’s face, Morden let go with one hand. The blade was rippled clean out as the robot caught just enough air to skid into the mist pocket, skidding across the ground right where Silje wanted.

The momentum caused Morden to stumble backwards, but he managed to stay on his feet. He could’ve just dragged it into the mist pocket the easy way, but that would’ve put him there in it. And explosions weren’t very comfortable.

Boom.

Silje took care of the rest.

They’re too strong for brute force, he said, telepathically. I recommend aiming for weak points. The head, the arms, disable them first and worry about neutralizing after.