Necrophage

Caravan: Resurrection

Baeshri Hills - Near Southern Baeshri Pass

"No, she isn't a druid but she is the best friend I've ever had. I owe her my life." Rem answered. The sun was almost down. He paused on the natural trail near a small copse that opened up to the star-lit sky. Mushrooms, flowers, vines. The forest was heavy in vegetation here. The mushrooms in particular seemed to line the sides of the natural pathway. Rem knelt down beside some of them a sniffed at the air.

"These are what I am looking for, the mushrooms." He took a seat, criss-crossing his legs. "Or rather what is hidden among them. You see, most of these are poisonous. They all look the same, smell the same, they even taste the same I'm told." He shrugged. Not like he'd eat poisonous shrooms just to find out how they taste. "There's a trick though. A beautiful trait in some of nature's more secretive flora and fauna." Rem sat back, leaning the palms of his hands against the ground. "Just watch closely."

As the last rays of light ascended and disappeared from the horizon the mushrooms in the grove began to glow. Not just a few of them, all of them. They lit up in a cascade of several different colors: red, blue and green. The forest was dark around them but in this small grove the bio-luminescence of the mushrooms gave enough light for them to see each other's faces.

"The people who know about them call them Wisp-caps. Beautiful aren't they? Go ahead and pick a couple of the red ones. Just don't touch any of the other ones." He smiled wryly. "They are known to have paralytic effects. Wouldn't want you joining my friend now."

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Caravan Centaurus

Daelin waved the can through the air to clear the mist, coughing slightly as some of the backspray of the mace wafted through the air. "Whew! A couple more seconds and you'd have officially made this my worst caravan run yet." Daelin commented. He was thinking purely of the kill count of course. No one had ever tried blowing him up before. A tactic that he definitely didn't approve.

The caravan was a mess inside and out but as it stood they were sitting ducks. They had no idea how many marksman were outside or if they had any more unapproved tactics. Daelin stowed the can back into his belt and rummaged around through the cabin for what he really wanted. He spotted just what he was looking for in the back where Lyullia had initially fallen. It must have been thrown back there in the crash. The crossbow! He rushed over to it, pushing debris off and pulling it out from under a partly broken box. It was scuffed up a bit and the stock had a new scar that he didn't put into it but it seemed operable. He tested the string, unsatisfied with its tautness he twisted a small crank along the center of the bow. He nodded at his work and turned to face the others. "I'm checking outside. I know they have marksman but we can't sit here either. For all we know they want to dump that rock above us on the caravan and be done with it." Daelin mused. He stopped at the ladder and looked up. "Cap'n! You okay up there?" He asked.

Caravan: Resurrection

Baeshri Hills

"I think you did an admirable job stalling for the children's sake. I have no doubt you would have figured something out, that is after all what we do." They started heading down an incline as the sun set in the distance. "I think that is part of what drew me to this role over everything else I did in life prior. The power of nature responds differently than sorcery. Nature itself listens when we ask because Gaia put her trust in us to watch over it. That means we can do almost anything that we can see and think of in nature so long as we have good cause to do so." The darkening skies didn't in the least slow Rem down, he moved with purpose. "Have you ever walked the wilds in the dark of night?"

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Southern Trading Route - Ambush

Daelin stepped his left foot back to conceal what he was doing with his left hand at his waist. "That is the worst stalling tactic you could come up with!" He commented to the myti. "Whose to say that we're gonna even care after what you did to our driver?" He questioned. As he spoke he popped the lid off the monster strength spray and got himself ready. "Your going to try slitting the throat of one of our mages. Then what? Nothing. You'll die like your friend on the floor." He flashed his eyes to Pyra, directing the next part to him. "Don't die, you're going to hate me for this." He drew the spray suddenly and blasted both of their faces since they were in such close proximity.

Caravan: Resurrection

Baeshri Hills

"So many questions." Rem commented as he gently tugged his hand free of Ellorei's double-handed handshake. "I wish I could tell you we were close by my home. Then we could sit down and perhaps enjoy a good discussion. One of the things I miss about good, quality interaction. Unfortunately, that is not the case. It is quite a distance further into the dense forest." He brought a free hand up to the blue bird on his shoulder and rubbed beneath its beak with his index finger. "And I am looking for something to help a friend of mine." He revealed. "I can answer your questions if you're willing to walk with me." He offered.

"First, explain to me what you were trying to do. Then I'll explain what I did." Rem started.

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Kel, Marvis Astorian's Manor

"That is gravely unfortunate Marvis. With people like you having no real say in this matter I suppose it was only a measure of time until the people came to this awful conclusion." Kanna lifted her dress in a curtsy. "I am deeply grateful you listened to me, Marvis. Best of luck to you, we're all going to need it if we can't stop this." She stepped, smoothly to the door. Before she left, poking halfway into the hall she commented. "Stay in good health, cousin. Kel still needs you." The door creaked to a close.

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Kel, Underworld; The Whispering Cove

"Thank you, Mister Finnick. A professional as always." Vetch quipped. He placed the jingling bag into Finnick's waiting palm and took the bag of powder off the table. "You'll be hearing from the Lady or myself soon for more services, count on it. Goodbye, Mister Finnick." He said. He placed the sack into an open pocket in his long coat and turned heel to leave. As he pushed through the door he nodded to the brothers and made his way out.

Caravan: Resurrection

Baeshri Hills

A man with a bark mantle and fur cloak set across his shoulders stepped in from the denser forests. He walked right between the two and turned to look straight at the maw beasts. They were slavering, the rows of teeth in their gaping maws were twitching excitedly. The force the poor druid here was using was working but only just enough. He looked at the beast in the front sternly and addressed it like it were another human. "Hungry are we? Well, we aren't an easy meal." He turned briefly to look at the druid behind him. She was one of the youngest druids he had ever seen. "Are we?" He smiled and a transcendent calm settled across the area. A small blue bird found itself relaxed enough to settle on his shoulder even in the midst of the drama. The elder druid turned back to the hounds. Several started to close their maws and look down and around. They seemed to be disappointed. Several of the pack turned away, ready to leave. The man chuckled and pointed off into the forest. "Go back to your grounds, food is waiting." He suggested. It was obvious that he was using magic to speak to them, it seemed like it wasn't altogether necessary for him to even speak out loud but he did it nonetheless.

The supernatural calm started to lift from their senses. The man let out a weary sigh before he addressed the young druid. "Strange circumstances to meet a new person. It's always better when there is peace in a meeting. Then again, a dramatic circumstance makes a meeting like this all the more memorable and exciting." His green eyes practically sparkled when he grinned. He swapped his staff to his left hand so he could use the other, extending it to handshake the young woman. "The name's Rem."

Caravan: Resurrection

Daelin was able to react in time to brace against the hit aimed for his head. He raised his ax against it and wound up getting a nasty claw across his forearm and getting knocked back against the wall. He still clutched his ax and the grapple in his other hand as he faced off against the myti that had jumped down. He kept his guard against the assassin from the roof but he still had a hold of the myti that was assaulting Flin. The loose grappling line drifted lightly across the floor between Daelin and its victim. He hit the return lever and the spring mechanism sparked back, pulling the line sharply. He held onto the device snugly. With the spike still in her gut, the myti was in a poor position to evade Flin's projectiles while being reeled back to the front of the caravan.

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Kel, Marvis Astorian's Manor

"It makes me happy you are willing to listen." Kanna expressed with a smile. "You may not know it but I have been working hard myself. I've become privy to a nasty bit of information regarding magic extremists in the lower quarters. I couldn't pin down their location with my limited resources but I do know that they plan to do something far more dangerous than they have done before." She warned. Her face took on a serious tone to help convey the gravity. "The extremists are planning to destroy part of the south wall. They were even talking about it in the middle of the day." She shakes her head at the thought. "They're so brazen with their confidence in how lax the government has become. I have this on good report from a friend of mine. If someone isn't ready to stop them or clean up their mess then we'll have bigger problems than just the wall being broken. Something might get in." She paused to let it sink in.

"I come to you with this because the guard wouldn't listen to me. If we can be ready with enough men to make a move on the wall when this happens or even get the information to stop it outright then you can garner more respect as a hero and we can both save lives. Just like grandpa always wanted from us, right Marvis?"

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Kel, Underworld; The Whispering Cove

Vetch shook his head with a groan. "Prissy? A shame you don't know the Lady Kanna like I do Mister Finnick." The wretched looking eld peered around the shop at the various piles of junk strewn about in Finnick's strange style of ordered chaos. "The Lady was very busy today. So much that I haven't had the privilege of seeing her. It was my honor to do the tasks that burdened her beyond a single day." For being normally silent, Vetch was quite talkative with mention of his Lady.

Vetch fished around in a pocket inside his long coat for a jingling bag that he held close to his chest. "If you have the special blend powder from Marrenfell, the Lady has procured the requested payment." He jingled the bag a little for emphasis. "As promised, Mister Finnick."

Caravan: Resurrection

Daelin had started to regain some of his vision. Ears still ringing, he drew his grapple-gun with his left hand. The grapple configuration was currently equipped with a spike -- for trees. He took aim at the myti through blurry eyes that was still standing outside. He narrowed his eyes until he could get a little better of a picture and aimed for the assailant's thigh. The air compressing mechanism went off with an audible pop as Daelin launched the grappling spike.

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Kel, Marvis Astorian's Manor

Kanna frowned. "And that is why you are no closer to the seat of high chancellor." She hopped down from the case and walked toward the middle of the room, leaving her back to him. "I came here fully intending on kicking the hornets nest... The hornets will lay quivering on the ground in shock." She chuckled at herself, a sound that had no real mirth. "Let me try to get back on the right foot. I apologize for insulting you. What you do you are amazing at." She complimented. There was a genuine feel to it, a soothing feeling washed over Marvis that he had no real control over. "The people of Kel aren't satisfied with how things are currently run. There's a great disparage between poor and rich that only expands. Change is coming whether you like it or not. Right now you are a in a position to gain from the change. Whether or not you'll accept it will be up to you." She turned back to him slowly. "You dug your way to this point by your work. You have no heavy ties to the other major political factions. This means that the people can look to you when those groups fail them. I wouldn't have come here if there were no benefit to you. At least trust me on this." She asked.

There was a slight pressure put on Marvis' mind. Something that felt like it was coming from him, a desire to agree, to give Kanna her chance.

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Kel, Underworld; The Whispering Cove

Vetch grunted in response. He nodded to Othozar and muttered in a deep voice as he stepped past the two into the shop. "No trouble."

The gaunt eld approached Finnick directly. He looked over the diminutive owner's shoulder at the work he was busied with. "Finnick." He stated. There was a pause as he waited for Finnick's attention. "I'm here for the powder." Vetch announced.

Caravan: Resurrection

Daelin stumbled back, getting a face full of flashbang. He held his ax between him and what he perceived was the doorway while squinting madly and rubbing his eyes with his left hand. "Holy hell!" He shouted in alarm. At least it wasn't an explosive object.

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8:08 PM
Kel, Marvis Astorian's Manor

An eldan lady clad in a purple gown that faded to white along the bottom stepped gingerly around the office, examining each little artifact and contraption that the manor's owner had accumulated. His collection was interesting but they had no real use other than looking fancy. She paused at a particular ornament. An orb fit together like a puzzle. As she drew close enough near to touch, it reacted in a display of blue energy softly humming as the pieces came apart and flew around in circular patterns around its base.

"All these baubles. Your collection is admirable, cousin. It's been at least a year since I've been over here. It's almost like nothing has changed." She took a seat on the edge of the table the artifact displayed itself around. "So many things and yet the events of late have neither grown worse nor improved." She pulled the strands of black hair from covering her youthful face. "So little ambition is unbecoming of you. Put in such a great position and all you do is collect nick-knacks and admire stale politics." She gave him a tired smile that her eyes didn't reflect. She didn't really mean it. "I have a proposition for you, Marvis."

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8:11 PM
Kel, Underworld; The Whispering Cove

A particularly tall eld limped into the cavern. His movements suggested he favored his right leg over the left. The long coat he wore fluttered as the draft from the sea swept into the cavern. His worn boots splashed against small pools of water that had gathered from the tides. The eld had been to Finnick's before. This visit didn't seem much different from the usual. Often appearing with coin to take some rare, potentially dangerous item before disappearing for another month.

The eld nodded to his kin, the brothers that stood at the door way. He gave them a grunt of recognition, his red eyes watching them ever-warily as he waited for their approval to enter and take care of his business.

Caravan: Resurrection

Daelin watched the orb roll into the chamber and panicked a little on the inside. If that was a bomb they were in some serious trouble. It rolled into Pyra's range and the eldi took interest and acted immediately. The orb matter somewhat handled he turned to the doorway and nodded to Flin as the musician made his move.

The myti outside seemed to have been effectively disrupted by Flin's sound attack. Daelin's thoughts went to what to do next. He glanced around the room for the crossbow he had lost hold of during the explosion. It was nowhere obvious, perhaps hidden under the slew of other fallen crap that had tumbled at the onset of this assault. He grimaced, still not daring to move from his position guarding the door. He couldn't allow himself to drift too far from it or otherwise the others would be in serious danger. If he couldn't find his crossbow then what else could he get? Daelin sidestepped to the wall alongside the door so he was no longer directly in the sight of assassins. He noticed a crate marked in Marrenfall merchant symbols spilled along the wall. The top had come loose, hanging part of the way open on its hinges. He lifted it with his off hand as he kept his axe up, watching the entrance. There were various survival supplies but one thing caught his eye. A big spray can with a picture of a Grim crying as its logo had rolled out. He squatted to pick it up, vigilantly watching for the assassins. In all capital letters it read, 'Migli's Mighty Monster Mace!', Daelin squinted at it and shrugged, tucking it into his belt. Better than nothing. He would be thankful to its creator if he actually knew how to read the title. He turned his attention wholly to the doorway.

Caravan: Resurrection

Daelin bolted back through the doorway to avoid the two assassins and pulled his ax out. He held it at the ready with both hands and stood just on the other side of the doorway to the cockpit. If the would-be assassins wanted to come in they'd have to funnel through. "I hope we have a plan to get out of here!" Daelin shouted to the occupants, Zay in particular. "If they have another explosion like that I don't think the caravan will hold out through a direct hit!" He was ready to swing at whichever assailant entered first.

Caravan: Resurrection

Daelin complied, dropping down into the hatch and scanning the room for everyone. With Pyra and Zay on top, everyone was accounted for except Marilyn. He went toward the pilot area. It was a mangled wreck. The reins were destroyed, a venbu was missing and the remaining one had been violently gored by the explosion. Unless Lyullia had some crazy magnetic skills they were stuck with this fight. Daelin kept low as he explored part of the pilot area and briefly peeking just outside the cockpit for Marilyn, wary of exposing himself to any archers.