Session Start: Sat Aug 25 21:24:21 2007 Session Ident: #lunar-iog2 * Logging for #lunar-iog2 started * TheStoryteller changes topic to '-= Chapter 49: Paradox Lost | Location: Ien island | Pool: 0 MXP =- http://storen.rpgcafe.net/IoG/ =-' == SESSION START == Last we left our itnrepid heroes, they had banished the sentient storm that appeared to be guarding the mysterious island hinted at in the rumors. As the ship drew closer the enshouring mists dissapated and revealed the remains of a magical city, clustered around a large stone wizard's tower. The power auras of this place certainly did not go unnoticed by the well-attuned of the bunch... << enshrouding >> The Polaris drifted closer, cautiously, with Angie at the helm. Not far away was a set of stone docks. They were in a lot better shape than one would expect to find, and could likely accomodate a vessel of this size. * Saki is right at the prow of the boat, almost clambering over the rail in her haste to get to the island with her eyes riveted on the tower. * Vytor stands by and awaits the docking orders Approaching this debarkment point, a small coastal fjord rose up with an excellent view of the waters. On the crest of it appeared the vague outline of a robed woman sorcerer... could this be the source of the tales? * Angie passes the wheel off to one of Mel's men, a pilot more familiar with these waters, and emerges on deck with her box instruments slung under one arm and her gun in her hand. * Trune is quiet, his eyes focused on the island and tower. He still looks a little waterlogged from his previous dip in the ocean. His gaze then drifts upwards towards the woman's outline, "Hey, you guys see that?" See what? * Saki cuts in, voice like a whip. "Yes." She nods in the general direction for Vytor. "There." * Vytor looks upwards in the indicated direction, "Hmm." The figure has its hands raised skyward, looking intently upon the waters. You could imagine a storm eminating from her pose easily. Only it is strange.. she barely moves at all. In fact, the appearance seems translucent, as fog passes around and through it. I don't suppose Angie could just hit it with her bazooka from here. That...might be a really, really bad idea. Her oufit is not like the Prophetess, being rather revealing and sporting a dark cloak. The face has a tatoo under one eye and dark purple hair. Pandora's would have been green at least... * Mikel half leans over the railing, staring out at the island as he lets out a whistle. "This... is a rather impressive place!" He frowns, trying to get a better look at the figure and hrming. "Let's not randomly blow up stuff in the rather magical island, shall we?" * Angie shakes her head. "It's a long shot. Besides, you never know, right?" I don't think it's her anyway. She's uh...a bit more... Uh... * Saki frowns a moment longer. "... don't waste your ammunition." * Trune skritches his head and looks sheepish, "Slutty?" If you say so. ...well, that's definitely one way to put it. * Mikel shakes his head. [Emili] It could be a ghost... Not that this is bad or anyth---I mean...uh...Yeah! It's probably a ghost. Let's move on now! * Saki shakes her head, stepping down from the railing and glancing at Vytor. "... it'd... go right through. She's a..." she gestures lamely a moment, then nods at Emiri. * Angie sets her case down and flips it open, removing her instruments and taking readings. «ooc: li » * Ryllan looks out at the magical docks, Misogi strapped rather noticably to his hip. His former dagger now rides obstrusively on a bandolier across his chest, which seems weighed down with a number of other pouches and items, "Perhaps. Either way, no way to tell, we should investigate." * Ark (kohryuu@staff.lunarnet.org) has joined #lunar-iog2 [Woman] *faint voice on the wind* Dark Castle D... come to your mistress... * Mikel blinks. "Erm..." Dark Castle D? What's a Dark Castle D? Hell if I know. Maybe she likes consonants. Are the other letters of the alphabet involved here? Next she'll summon Horse Stable P and Church Q for Mikel to ram into. You really want to swim back, don't you? With the storm dissapated, nothing appears to happen. And the sinister sorceress appears to be repeating some ancient lament over and over like a broken record. No, not especially, thank you. I'm STILL wet. * Saki pays only brief attention to the ghost once it starts to repeat, focusing once more on the docks. * Mikel listens to the repeating words to try to glean a bit more if possible. * Angie holds out the glass ball on a string, and it tugs insistently in the direction of the island. It is dark inside the ball, with a thousand pinpricks of light shining in it. Angie flicks the ball back into her hand and peers into its depths. "That's weird," she says. "A lot of star energy here. You almost never see that." * Saki makes an unpleasant face back at Angie for a moment, then sighs out and leans against the rail. Lovely. Can we get close enough to drop the Destiny, do you think, 'Captain'? The eerieness here is much like the old grave of the Prophets, but overall the aura of the place does not have the same sinister taint of unlife. It feels more like this place was the site of some ancient magic experiment gone awry. * Vytor senses none of the magical hoo-ya, but the island is creepy nonetheless. The dock looms closer, and is wide enough to debark the Destiny. Though the island itself is quite small by most estimates, and could be traversed on foot well enough... unless of course the ground doesn't play by normal rules. We should be able to get the Destiny down, but we might be better off just heading up there ourselves. That's true. * Saki tries it herself, hopping over the railing and --at least hopefully landing neatly on the dock. >> Angie is less eager and waits until the ship is in place and the gangplank laid to cross. She leaves the instruments behind, but carries her bazooka on her back. She rises to tiptoes and waves at the figure on the cliff. "HEY!" * Vytor awaits the rsults of Saki's disembarking, then follows suit once he's covinced its reasonable to do so. Alright. We should be cautious, though. This place /tingles/ with willforce. Saki lands on solid, stony pier! * Trune stares at Angie, "Is that really a good idea?" Angie also is rudely ignored. No reaction at all. Probably not. * AmyDinner is now known as Niri * Angie doesn't respond to Trune's concerns. She watches the figure for a moment longer, then begins hiking toward her. * Mikel shrugs and grabs his things, disembarking as well. "Ah well, ruins to check out now... or making for the weird lady, sure." * Saki rakes a hand through her hair, looking peaky but in-control, and follows after Angie. * Trune watches Angie trudge off and shakes his head, "Who's running the show here?" * Vytor follows suit, keeping a wary eye out. * Ryllan follows, "Keep together, and quiet, watch for anything out of the ordinary." * Mikel shrugs. "She's a professional, at least?" Off he goes! Outside of the ordinary from this, or in general? ....She is? As Angie stalks up the rise, the brken cobblestone road leads into the remains of an old town. It is built in ancient style, with wooden houses abundant. The symbols on the doorstops indicate this was once a very magically-included village. << er inclined >> * Angie starts off walking at a brisk clip, not yet stopping to explore the houses to either side. As the nears the apparition she slows. * Trune stops and stares at the symbols, then quickly rummages through his bag, looking excited, "Agh, have I seen those symbols before? I wonder..." * Vytor holds back and waits with Trune, since Saki is keeping tabs on Angie. * Mikel takes a moment or two to examine any close by markings, though he doesn't let himself fall too far behind. "Town of magic folk, at some point? Place sure has enough of it floating about.." * Saki shadows Angie, being infinitely more wary of the ghost: she's just about ready to attack it as they approach. * Trune pulls out a huge book from his bag and quickly thumbs through it. The excitement is growing on his face. * Ryllan rests a hand on Misogi, trusting in the star-blessed weapon as he approaches the ghost. Trune managed to find a confirmation that these marks were a form of magical runes used in the heyday of vane and the Magic Academy system. * Trune ahahs and stops, putting a finger on a page that has a symbol that matches one found on the door, "I knew it!" The ghostly woman still doesn't move... but when ANgie is almost right on top of her, finally it turns around. What is it? [Woman] ..don't bother me you little brats! Well, it's way back when Vane was still around. As for the actual symbol meaning...hang on. Angie has the feeling this is isn't addressed to her, rather it's again playing out an encounter from the past. * Angie jumps back a step, bristling like a startled cat. She doesn't raise her weapon yet, but her knuckles are white around its grip. "Did you cause that storm?" she asks. * Saki moves forward a step as Angie goes back, taking the front guard. Vane? I thought that was a Lunar institution. Not a Blue Star one. Yeah, it was. That's why this is so odd. [Woman] We'll have the power of the Blue Dragon, and then the Vile tribe will...! Emili said this place was like those ruins where we found the Prophetess... * Vytor frowns * Ryllan pushes past Angie as well, standing shoulder to shoulder with Saki, saying nothing. Suddenly, the woman's outline wavers and dissapates before Angie gets an answer. Anyway, these runes are mostly for protection...but also for welcoming others. Proection from what? One the ground where the ghost was is a small stone shard. * Angie narrows her eyes and takes a second look at her surroundings. "Maybe it's an illusion," she says to herself. Who knows? * Saki blinks as the thing fades, and makes an almost comical sweep of her hand through the air it occupied. "... a ghost town," she adds. [Emili] Definitely some kind of dimensional echo here. She thought you were another person... oh, hey what's that? I can sense some time magic in the background here. Not a spell, I don't think, just the energy. I got pretty good at picking up that sort of thing when we were chasing the Prophetess. We might be seeing something that happened in the past. * Ryllan kneels down to investigate the shard, looking carefully at it before picking it up. The shard appears to be much like the piece Emili has, a fragment of Star Dragon Diamond. It's inscribed with a small magical sigil. * Vytor continues to keep watch while Trune researches. * Mikel starts to make his way over towards where Emili and the others are, hrming. * Niri frowns uneasily. She hasn't said anything since landing on the island... * Saki jolts backwards bodily from it. Huh. More diamonds. Nnn. The time here is all messed up, Angie. You might well be right. Recognize the sigil, Emili? This is your trick, not mine. ...Hmm. That would explain why she vanished. Weird... What'd you find? * Angie leans in to look at the diamond. Failing to recognize the symbol, she stands back and paces into the town proper. "Well, let's try not to spend too much time here, then." More Star Diamond. * Angie opens a door and peers into a house long left abandoned. * Ryllan gives Emili a look at the sigil, then pockets the shard in yet another pouch on the bandolier, following Angie back into the town. [Emili] Hmm hmm hmm... it.. doesn't look too familiar actually. I think this is one part of many that form something... * Mikel glances at Emili. "So... find all the parts, then we figure out what it does?" [Emili] Oh, that's it! I bet if we find all the Star Dragon Diamond pieces, it will be a key or something! :D Let's figure out what it does before we put it together. * Saki huffs out a breath, opting to take up a guard in the middle of the ruined town. After a moment's thought she's hoisted herself atop a roof, balancing carefully to get a better view of the situation. We have a bad track record with ancient artifacts. * Angie stops short of actually stepping into the abandoned home. She returns to the group, leaving the door open a crack. "This is like a tour of all the creepiest places in the world." * Vytor notes Saki taking position on the roof, and adopts a more ground-suited watchmanship. * Trune snaps his fingers, "Angie, when all is said and done, you could market that as a tour and make MILLIONS." Yeah...I think Ryllan's got the right idea here. ^^; The town itself is pretty small by modern standards. The feeling of a secluded area is dominant, though there are what remains of a market. There's five buildings of note, arranged around the tower in a vague star pattern with 5 spokes. * Mikel snickers. "It's better than taking people down to the land of zombies, anyways." * Angie steps back from the houses to get a clear view of Saki. "Do you want to try the tower?" she calls out. Many buildings are in ruins or partially collapsed, but the destruction here is not as great as one would think. If this town is so ancient, why is it in such good condition, unattended for centuries? * Saki blinks downwards, and nods. "It's our best bet," she calls back over the wind above before hopping back down and making for it. Maybe we should do a general check of the area outside the tower first, so we don't run into any later suprises if we have to leave the tower in a hurry. Saki catches a glimpse of some shifting shadows around the town's districts before she steps down. Are these people, or ghosts of what once was? Towers are always important. What kind of insane logic is that? * Mikel snickers. "She's right, you know." Well...how? * Saki evidently has a change of plans: the moment she's hit the ground she takes off running down a sidestreet, racing for approximately where she saw the ghostly figures without a word and at an astonishing clip of speed. It's the law of the levity of importance. Important things always go to the highest point. The town's also built around it. Another way of looking at it... someone built that tower for a reason, Trune. Saki! It probably wasn't to have a high place to hang their laundry. Okay, that I can buy. >> Saki blasts by Angie in a rush, leaving her nonplussed and ruffled. After a moment she lifts her gun and follows cautiously. * Mikel looks up, blinking. "...well, then." * Mikel takes off after Saki We should check the are- Aw fuck. don't split up! * Ryllan follows at speed! Hey, wait! * Niri blinks and stares as Saki and Angie take off, then follows them, along with the others! * Trune puts the large book back in his bag and follows the others. * Vytor grumbles, and tries to juggle the mutually exclusive tasks of following Saki and keeping an eye on the party. Saki acts on impulse, rushing off into the eastern streets. Building rush by in a blur, as she catches the faint murmurs of long departed citizens going about daily life in the old marketplace. There's one building in particular that stands almost unmolested by neglect. It has a hanging sign that goes back and forth in the wind, creaking. It reads "Brune & Alba's Potions & Herbs" Maybe I should have brought my instruments after all. This place just stinks of magic. * Saki comes to something of a halt at the sight of the marketplace; faltering a little in her run, she slows to a brisk walk then a stop, shaking her head with a wince. "... loud," she adds. * Trune stops and peers at the undamaged house, "Huh. Bizzare." * Niri catches up to Saki after a bit, eyeing the sign. * Niri frowns and steps closer to the building, cautiously Saki, less impulse exploring please. Rapid movement like that attracts the eyes of those that might be watching. There a crowd of spectral mages murmuring outside. "Did you hear? Professor Hyde finally managed to stabilize the crystals..." "Oh, this will be a boon for Ien's business with Vane!" Ien and Vane. Huh. * Mikel skids to a stop once he catches up, raising an eyebrow. "Hm. This place is in really... whoa!" His attentions rivets towards the mages, edging towards them. * Trune catches bits and pieces of the conversation, "Ien? This place is named Ien?" * Saki huffs out a tired breath, shaking her head. "... those eyes aren't pointed anywhere near us," she replies, then hunkers down against a wall. "... nnh. Too many voices around." * Angie shakes her head. "It's no use," she says to Vytor. "If there's anyone alive, they know we're here." So this isn't Vane, but someplace like it? I guess so. ...Do you know the name, Trune? [Emili] Ien.. Ien... I know there was something important to that name in Star Dragon history... but what? Well, it couldn't be Vane. That was back on Lunar, back in the old world. But if what Lure and Lucia said was true, maybe it's like an echo of that? * Mikel glances at Emili and gestures towards the book at her side. "Might be in there?" Emili takes out her little silver-sealed diary and starts thumbing through the memoirs of Sandra for clues as they travel. * Trune shakes his head, "No. I've never heard of Ien before." * Saki hauls herself back up and tries again, moderating her pace this time. She looks distinctly uneasy, and always on the verge of catching a conversation on her lips. * Mikel nods, mulling for a moment before he goes to poke his head into the building, curiosity getting the better of him. * Vytor resumes his sentry work, since Saki seems increasingly distracted. Ien's business... is Ien a place or a person? A group? Used like that, it sounds like a place. Mikel pokes his head into the store and is greeted by a beastman in a white robe, typical of ancient followers of Litany magic. [Ghost] Welcome, sir. We've got a special on Sun Sparkles today... * Mikel blinks. "...Sun Sparkles?" * Niri frowns. Can they...see us? * Angie wrestles with her hunger for mysteries and her competing desire to stay safe. For now she sticks with the group, keeping allies at her back. I... don't think so? I mean, they react when we're near, but... [Ghost] It's the latest in alchemy.. a full restore of your HP and MP, guaranteed. Great for a hard day after class. It's only.... only... * Saki nods, her tone quiet. She's started hanging back. "... they see people. Act as they did in life." ...Hey. That sounds useful. SOmehow the ghost gets stuck in it's conversation, like a record that jumped. * Mikel blinks once again. "...the hell is HP?" You do notice the old cabinets are hanging open and tinctures are readily available. * Niri eyes the stuck ghost. This place has all gone wrong. They're here, and they're not. * Trune blinks as well, "...and MP?" Besides some dust, they seem eprfectly solid and usable. Are they...real, then? Or not? I mean... * Mikel goes to take a look at the tinctures, examining one or two. Hey, Ryllan! Are they just memories, or is there a person in there? In fact, one shelf has a sparkling stone on it. Wait a minute... another shard? We don't know how far from the past these people are. Vane has a lot of mysteries. * Ryllan pokes a head into the shop, "Yeah?" * Niri reaches out carefully to poke the ghost. * Mikel tosses a tincture towards him. "Think this is any good?" A glance back towards the shelf and then the adept lets out a whistle. "...and another shard, too." He swipes that from the shelf as well. * Saki carefully keeps away from the shelves, clearly unwilling to go anywhere near the sliver of shining material. Niri gets a slight tingle across her finger, as the ghostly shopkeep dissapates.. but as Mikel reaches for the shard, the energy around them shifts noticably. * Niri blinks, glancing around warily. * Saki turns her head to one side expectantly. Niri, what did you do? * Ryllan examines the tincture, then slips it into his bandolier, leaving the examination for later. I just poked it! Stop poking then! I think that one was my fault. Ryllan also gets a Star Light! Okay! There's nothing left to poke anyway. ^^; * Angie backs off, left hand slipping into her pocket. The stone in Mikel's hand suddenly burns white hot. o_O YEOW! ! * Mikel drops the shard, shaking his hand. Mikel? What is it? What happened? * Niri wide eyes As the shard clatters to the wooden floor, a powerful spirit encompasses it and causes it to rise up and levitate. It bur-... oh boy. Get back! * Mikel scrambles away from the spirit, cursing. * Vytor reaches for his hammer. * Niri takes a step back Mikel, agh! Bad Mikel. Bad! Hey, we need the shards anyways, right? * Saki steps forward, ready to aim a square punch at the thing. * Trune steps back as well, pulling out his athames, "Oh sure, try to spin your way out of blame!" * Vytor intrposes himself between Mikel and ...whatever this is. The shard lengthens and distorts into the form of a crystalline sword, moving of it's own power. Where the ghost of Brune was, Niri notices another entity appear.. this one is a star with many magical sigil floating around it in the shape of a magi. [Emili] Mikel, are you Ok?! He's fine! Focus! * Mikel holds his staff out in front of him with his other hand, examining the other to make sure there's no lasting damage. "Fine, I think! As long as I don't shishkabobed by that sword." Emili takes a defensive stance, summoning her dark spear, as the restless holy ghosts attack! >> COMBAT! * Ryllan draws Misogi and the runed dagger into his hands, stepping forwards to combat the foes. * Niri furrows her brow thoughtfully. "Hey, uh...who- gack!" Misogi hums in disdain at the thought of fighting these monsters! * Niri draws her sword! >> Enemy Front: Gleade >> Enemy Rear: Starsign << gelade rather. >> * Tanan sounds reluctant. "I don't..." * Saki has her eyes locked on the sword, watching the movements it makes like a hawk. * Niri frowns. "What is it, Tanan?" >> Declaration Phase. We're in the wrong here. * Angie stares at the enemies along the barrel of her gun. "If you want something you'd better say so now, because I'm going to shoot otherwise!" We are? How? ...Because we came in and started taking things, huh? ^^; Can we...avoid fighting, though? * Ryllan looks at Misogi, "Something's wrong, aye." [Emili] These things feel like kindred. I'll protect you though, Mikel! * Mikel frowns. "If they're trying to hurt us, uh, I'm not holding back." >> Emili begins charging a protective enchantment on Mikel! These aren't.. evil. * Saki shakes her head, out of irritation and a nasty building headache. "... then at least let's lay then peacefully to rest." * Angie lifts a fistful of coins from her pocket and tosses them down in front of the enemies. "Do you want money? Here! Go buy...ghost stuff!" Evil or not, if they attack I'm not holing back. They're.. I'm not sure what they are. People. Reflections? * Trune begins to trace a pattern in the air with his athames, and the wake left behind is a strong reddish color, "What would qualify as ghost stuff, anyway?" Nice white sheets? Why would they need stuff? They're dead! Are they? Or are they shadows of living people, displaced? "I don't know!" shouts Angie, sweeping the air with her free hand. "Why else would they be attacking? I don't know how to deal with dead people!" I noticed! >> The two souls don't seem to want silver. Gelade moves to attack Ryllan with a weapon skill, as a quiet song vibrated from the blade.. * Mikel raises his hand, a spark of blue light beginning to gather in his hand. "How about a one-two punch, Trune?" >> Starsign begins casting a spell aimed at the front row, motes of star energy gathering. I can go for that! * Saki looks back over her shoulder, voice sharp. "... Niri! Your call. Stay, or leave. Do we need that shard?" I...don't know if we do or not! We don't know what it's for, or why we're being attacked for touching it, or why we would need it... * Niri looks very flustered and confused. Niri, make a desicion! No offense or anything, but I don't think they'll wait for us! * Saki stares a moment, and shakes her head to soften her tone. "... we can always return if we do. Remember that." * Niri goes into a defensive stance, not liking this. ^^; Niri, let's withdraw. Something is certainly not right here. We can certainly come back if it turns out we do need this.. but we needn't do this, not right now. If they'll let us go... back away? * Niri nods. "Let's try it. If they're not evil, they'll let us go. If they don't...well, we fight, I guess." * Niri raises her voice. "Whoever you are, we didn't mean to disturb you! We'll leave quietly if that's what you want!" * Angie begins backing up, an inch at a time. She throws a glance back over her shoulder to make sure there aren't more coming from the other direction. "Let's head for the tower," she says. Can you talk at all? ^^; * Ryllan begins to back away slowly as well, "I don't think they can, Niri. Actions speak louder." It's worth a try, though... * Mikel makes a sharp gesture, the blue light quickly fading. "You think they'd have said something before angling to hurt us." [Starsign] This place.. is not for the living. Leave now while you can. * Vytor retreats, but slowly, intent on defending the party. [Gelade] The Blue Dragon's secret... guardians... ...Guardians? Is that who you are? Guardians...? * Angie stares at the Starsign with wide eyes. For all the talking she did, she obviously wasn't expecting a reply. "We'll be gone before too long!" she says, turning and taking off toward the tower. >> Battle Phase. We didn't mean to disturb anything. We're very sorry! Can you tell us who you are? Why are you here? >> Emili sees the group beginning to back off and aborts her spell, defending instead. Not for the living? So they are just... ...Ghosts after all? >> Saki escapes combat successfully. Mikel escapes as well. We can debate it outside. Start backing out. * Trune is already doing the shuffle-flee-dance...er, he's trying to escape. * Saki looks all too happy to get away from the pulsing blade, a burst of speed backwards sending her out of the shop. >> Gelade dashes at Ryllan and skewers him with a crystalline balde, as his whole body reverberate with painful echoes of a time lost. 155 damage! Mindrot for 1 turn! >> Vytor, Angie both escape * Niri backs carefully toward the door, her eyes on the thing in front of them... * Vytor ducks out of the shop with little fanfare. Ryllan! You okay? I'll live. * Mikel springs out of the shop after Saki, waiting to see if everyone else emerges. >> Starsign uses Astral Starquake on the front ranks! Which is Niri and Ryllan! * Tanan snarls. "Ghosts. Shades!" >> Tanan's presence seems to blunt the damage somewhat.. 149 damage to Niri. 144 to Ryllan, as his resistance shows it's might. >> All rest escape. * Niri yelps, then growls at the thing. "Okay, I tried being reasonable! But if an apology isn't enough..." * Tanan is audibly growling. "Get back in there. Get back in there. I'll kill them." * Ryllan shuts the door behind him as he ushers Niri out." ...so. Need a mend? Wouldn't mind one. * Niri blinks as she finds herself outside, realizing something funny happened there. ^^; >> Ryllan is no logner inc ombat and Mindrot is removed! * Vytor keeps wary, in case the group is pursued. * Angie takes the healing ring between her thumb and forefinger and concentrates on it, directing its healing energies toward Niri. >> Round 2 Thanks, Angie. Gah! Tanan, what's wrong? >> Emili just escapes before the enemies can react further/ You heard them! They're not even alive. * Saki huffs out another breath, growling at the open air, then turns and stares silently at the tower. >> Combat End: Withdrew! This place is absurd! You're now outside the store, and have not been chased. So that's your metric, is it? * Vytor raises an eyebrow at Tanan. So we should /leave/. Right? I mean... Uh..Tanan? Whatever. Let's just head for the tower. We need to find out what was causing those storms before we go. Maybe they're not natural! Maybe they're ghosts of the past. But...they're not evil, right? If we just leave them alone... >> ANgie heals Niri for 283 damage. * Niri nods I say we investigate the tower and keep looking for Johnathan. >> And Ryllan too! * Mikel glances at the tower. "...We need to see if the Prophetess and Johnathan are here." * Niri gives Angie a wavering smile in thanks Mm. Thanks Ang'. * Saki nods, grinding her knuckles together for a moment. "... alright. Straight to the top." Tower it is, then, Niri. Everyone here and accounted for? Yeah, I think so. * Tanan falls silent * Niri nods. * Niri mentally prods Tanan. * Mikel glances around. "Yep. Let's go!" * Angie heads for the tower without another word. This time she keeps her gun pointed straight ahead. * Saki stalks off towards the tower, placed just a little behind and to one side of Angie. * Vytor brings up the rear, just in case. * Mikel follows after Angie and Saki, staff raised as eyes peeled. << as=and >> * Niri joins the others in heading for the tower. The tower itself is in the center of the ghostly city, and hard not to miss it since essentially all roads but the dock lead there. As you approach it, the double doorway appears to be locked tightly. In the center of the lock is a depression t insert something, as well as a rune. Part of it looks familiar... then you recall the piece you found before. ...well. * Mikel glances at Saki. * Saki sizes up the door with an extremely familiar air about her. * Vytor keeps watch while the door is dealt with. * Ryllan brings the piece of diamond out, comparing the rune. * Angie tries the door, just in case. Finding it unyielding, she steps back, shrugging at Saki. * Niri sighs. The partial diamond's marking corresponds to a lower portion of the entire pictograph of a stylized star and crescent. Is there any way to find out where Johnathan might be? Although just our luck it will be IN the tower. Well, we can either go and find all the pieces or we can break through the door. Saki? As you poke the entranceway, there appears from behind a tall professor in green robe with blonde hair. He.. walks right through the party and the door. * Niri blinks and stares ...whoa * Trune shudders, "Ooh whoa that was creepy." Man, what's /with/ this place. * Saki catches wind of the amount of perusal she's getting right now, and appears unable to figure out whether she's supposed to grim smugly or look embarrassed. The decision's made for her when she's always walked through by a ghost; with a squawk of surprise she pitches to one side, blinking wildly. "Glen, you're late..!" you hear from inside. 'Did you bring the Wing boy?" * Angie steps aside as the figure passes by. She watches him walk away from her. ...Can we get a view of what's going on? Wing...boy? * Saki straightens up, gritting her teeth. "... this place is getting on my nerves," she adds, then looks to Niri for permission, rotating one arm in readiness. ...if we break the door, I would think so [Ghost] Yes, it's time for the new Guardian of Time to step up. The voices stop after that. ...Guardian of Time? Guardian of Time? That sounds like quite the badass title. ...Do you guys think this has anything to do with Johnathan, or is it just a coincidence? Who knows. A year ago, I would hav called this a coincidence. Not so much now. Shiro sniffs at the door, pawing at it to little effect. Coincidence. We're going to need that shard to get in, if this door's as sturdy as it seems. * Angie swats at Mikel, since he's the closest of the loud ones. "Shut up! I can't hear." A few moments pass, and nothing else is said. Angie grunts and looks around. * Tanan sounds pleased about this. Ow! * Saki smirks at it. "... we can test that, if you like." [Emili] Johnathan? No, this is way before his time if it's the Ien I'm thinking of. Dammit, Angie. I'm going to have to buy you a punching bag or something. You remember this place now, Emili? Who's the Guardian of Time? * Mikel glances at Emili. "What's the deal with it, then?" But...maybe it's no coincidence that it's appearing, is what I mean... [Emili] This was once the place where a Star Dragon lived! But there's a huge block of memories missing. The island just... vanishes from my book. You might as well try, Saki. * Mikel taps a foot, thinking. "Vanishes, huh?" Vanished? Hmm. Saki, go ahead and try it! * Mikel turns to see how Saki's attempt goes. * Saki nods once. "What I wanted to hear," she replies then is bounding forwards, driving a fist into the door with a yell then pivoting to immediately slam a kick at the same spot. * Vytor ignores Saki, still keeping watch. >> *WHAM* *SLAM* Saki beats on the door with all of her might, but nothing happens! A magical field 10x more powerful than her force counters the attempts. * Mikel ...grimaces. "So. Time to go get shishkabobed?" * Saki lands, wobbles a bit, and mutters a lengthy string of curses to herself under her breath, holding her hand. Whoa shit! That's...holy..,that's some barrier on that thing! Well, if we want to get in the tower, yes. ^^; Being that I didn't hear the satisfying crack of a door giving way, we need another option? [Emili] Wow, that's some protection spell it's got. I bet the diamond shaped hole has something to do with breaking it... Yeah. Here's one. We make all of Tanan's wishes come true. Or we go fight things. * Ryllan just /looks/ at Emili. Well, no kidding. Of course it does. ^^; You OK Saki? * Niri looks rather irritated with Emili. * Saki appears fine: if anything, she's sulking and nursing dented pride and mildly aching hand. Come on, let's go make Tanan's fondest dreams come true. We don't even HAVE any chocolate. * Angie squints up at the nearest window. It's a fair distance up. "We could try going in that way," she muses. Bet you five silver the barrier's on the windows, too. Through the windows? With a door locked that tight, will a mundane effort lke that really work? * Trune then stops and looks at Emili, "Wait, wait wait wait wait WAIT." You knew? * Niri would stare at Tanan if she could. [Emili] Well.. uh.. it's pretty obvious don't you think? ^^; ...Now I'm starting to crave chocolate. * Mikel coughs. "I think she noticed it when it stopped Saki." Fiendish plan, complete, etc. ....You know, I have this overwhelming urge to stab something in the face. * Mikel glances at Angie. "Take a shot at the window and see?" * Angie backs up a couple paces so that she can get a good look at Emilia's back half. "Do those work?" she asks, pointing at the wings. "If we could get someone up there we could lower rope." It just so happens as Angie points, the ambient Star energy ahs cause Emili's wings to start appearing in a ghostly manner. << er causes >> * Niri can't help but grin a little at Tanan. [Emili] I could try I guess. Unlock the door from inside? * Angie does not look stupid. HWEEL! The windows might have the same spell on them, but it's worth a shot. * Mikel chuckles for a few moments, recalling something before peering up. "Let's make sure we can even get in through the windows before trying to get some rope. Gimme a lift, Emili?" That could work too, but ideally you could just lower a rope or something. Best not to wander around too much when we don't know what's inside. [Emili] Oh, there you go again hotshot.. loving danger! Oh /hotshot/! Emili starts flying upwards gently and grabs a hold of Mikel's shoulders. Don't have too much fun up there! ;) * Mikel would offer a witful retort towards Trune but he's too busy turning red and getting hoisted up. << witty, even >> ....wings. hrm. Damn. Design flaw. * Angie watches nervously, glancing from side to side every so often to make sure that none of the natives are coming by for a look. Whatever gets us inside. * Niri blinks Oh wow. If you could have had wings...that would have been cool. Not to say you aren't awesome as is! ^^; Just. Wings. Yeah. Keeping a good demigod grip on her little adept, Emili rises to the position of the 2nd story window. Peering at it she mumurs, "I think it's also warded up." * Saki frowns up at the tower. "... that would mean there'd be an easy way of turning off that thing inside. Aw, c'mon Niri. You only like a guy for his wings? Don't be so shallow. «ooc: + have to » * Trune sounds like he's mostly joking, though. * Niri is carefully ignoring Mikel and Emili. Not surprised... but let's make sure. * Angie cups one hand around her mouth. "Give it a whack? it might not be as strong." Crystal just doesn't make a good setup for wings. * Mikel takes a swing at the window with his staff. ...Trune, if that's what I looked for in a guy, I'd have a pretty hard time finding one! * Vytor doesn't seem surprised that the widow is warded as well. Hrmph. Yeah, I suppose you're right. >> Mikel's staff meets an invisible fizzle as it almsot reaches the shutters. Still... * Mikel shouts back down towards the group. "Barrier's on them too!" [Emili] Aww... sorry, Mikel.. we might have to do this the hard way. This isn't that surprising. Eh. I wasn't expecting this to work, really. It'd be a nice bit of luck, but well. Right, get down here! Let's go beat up some Star-energy-shades. A moment after Mikel smacks the window, the open and a ghost looks out. "Hey, you kids cut that racket I'm trying to sleep!" * Angie sighs. "Maybe we can get the jump on them this time," she says, resigned. Happy fun times for all. ...um, sorry? * Mikel blinks a few times. * Vytor exhales once, rests his hammer on his shoulder and heads back to the shop to go get beat up. * Mikel tries to poke his staff through the open window. >> Nah, the window is still warded. But the poked soul of the old wizard casts a wind spell suddenly and it makes Emili lose her balance a minute and Mikel goes tumbling to the ground! Ah shit! Emili zooms down to grab him before he lands too hard. "oops... that was real uncool!" * Mikel lets out a sigh of relief as he gets caught. "Right. /Now/ I want to go throttle some of these things." Then let's go get smacked around. ...That came out really bad. * Trune facepalms * Saki heaves out a breath. "... I can't exactly stay here and wait, can I?" * Niri (~arianadre@68.185.3.29) Quit (Quit: BRB) Do you need to? * Vytor pats Trune's shoulder, "Yes, yes it did." Okay, if we're going to do this let's try to do it as a team. Maybe we can take them by surprise this time. * Mikel waits for Emili to lower him the rest of the way. "Thanks, Emili." * Saki frowns, and shakes her head after a long pause. "... mm. I'll be careful." Emili smiles, and gives him a quick squeeze before she lets go and stretches. They're ghosts. I dunno...would the element of surprise even work on them? I mean...Hm. Okay. Let's go. Everything is weak against surprise! Suprise works on everybody. It's outside of the normal elemental system. Remind me to research out of body experiences. I'm vaguely curious now! Depends. How concerned are we about collateral damage? I'm a little concerned. The stuff in the shop /was/ still good. Then we can't just blow it up then. Also, we /do/ want the shard Well we CAN, but Ryllan would be unhappy. Burying the shard in rubble would be a bad idea. * Mikel shrugs. "So we go in magic and weapons at the ready, then." Yeah, seems the best option. * Saki frowns at the entryway once the group arrive. "... Vytor and I first." * Vytor hefts his hammer to signal his readiness. I'll be right behind you. * Mikel nods, hrming. "Same approach as before for us, Trune?" * Trune nods, "I think so. They're powerful, and it's best to take them down as quickly as possible." * Saki sets up, ready to burst through the door. "... say when." * Mikel takes a breath, focusing for a moment before he lifts his staff up. "Ready when you all are, then." * Vytor get ready to move when Saki gives the signal. The path seems clear, as the two transformed ghosts of battle remain there, motionless. << er in there >> * Ryllan takes stock of the party, making sure everyone's ready, then gives the word, "Go." * Angie draws a bead, gripping her pistol in both hands. * Saki steps forward twice, then makes for a run at the crystal sword at speed. * Trune quickly begins to trace the same pattern in the air with his athames! * Vytor charges in after Saki! Springing into action, the group assaults the shop mercilessly. As they enter, the creatures flare to life, but are at the disadvantage! >> COMBAT! >> Party AMbushes the Monsters! >> Round 1 >> Declaration Phase. [Starsign] ..it's mephis' flunkies! Must protect...! * Trune continues to trace the air with his athames. The wake left behind is a bright red. * Mikel raises his hand as the blue spark of light flashes into existance. "Here goes!" >> Emili prepares to strike the Gelade! * Ryllan moves in, standing in the centre of the room, drawing power to him, and directing it to Niri, speeding her blows! >> Battle Phase. >> Mikel's magic kicks in, Jolting him for 25% Reaction boost! >> Emili strikes the Gelade squarely, however it cannot be swayed by Darkness attack. 58, 62 damage! >> Saki's action. * Saki streaks across the room, low and taut: from beneath the floating blade she rises up in a fierce uppercut and whirls instantly into a series of kicks that catch it in midair. [Emili] They definitely do resist anything traditional... try to make some kin dof weakness? >> Saki tears into the creature, pushed hard by the hatred of her alter ego.. Torrent of Blows! 93, 156, 123, 144, 128! * Saki skids back in a landing, watching for the presence of the sword over her; her skin crawls as she growls back to the party. "Take it down!" >> The magical crystal shatters from the sheer force of her hand. >> gelade is KO'd! Saki, that was extremely awesome! Holy crap, Saki! >> Mikel's action. * Saki cuts off her yell as the thing shatters: with a relieved sigh, she slowly picks herself up off the floor. * Mikel flicks his hand towards the Starsign, sending the spark of blue light spiralling into it. "Everything is weak to an assualt from within... freeze!" A clench of the fist and suddenly blades of ice erupt from within! * Niri (Elfie-chan@71.84.167.24) has joined #lunar-iog2 * ChanServ sets mode: +o Niri >> Mikel's spell meets with the resistance of striking an otherworldy being, but it overpowers the magical sigil dealing 288 damage. >> Starsign is surpised and cannot act >> Vytor's action. * Vytor runs forward and slams his hammer onto the ground, causing an explosion that sends Starsign screaming into the sky! Vytor leaps past, and then spins over in a massive overhead strike! Starsign plummets to earth like a suicidal meteor, with Vytor not far behind. As he lands, Vytor slams his hammer once again into Starsign with earth-shattering force! He leaps away, leaving Starsign half-buried in the ruined ground. * Mikel narrows his eyes. "Just like those shadows before." >> Vytor's Mega Press sends it to heaven then hell, as a crater harms it for 301 damage. it is barely able to remain intact. >> Angie's action. * Angie persuades the remaining foe to give up the ghost using a well-considered three-point argument. Session Time: Sun Aug 26 00:00:00 2007 >> Angie negotiates with a Hard Rain of bullets, each striking the same spot for pinpoint accuracy. 73, 74, 71, 79! >> The Starsign gives up the ghost... Ko'd! * Niri looks rather disappointed. >> VICTORY! Well. Hrmph. >> The group gains 5 MXP. That was astoundingly easy. * TheStoryteller changes topic to '-= Chapter 49: Paradox Lost | Location: Ien island | Pool: 5 MXP =- http://storen.rpgcafe.net/IoG/ =-' * Angie pulls out her ammo box, shakes a handful of bullets into her palm, and begins to reload. "I hope I'm not that big a jerk when I'm dead." * Vytor cleans some debris off his hamer, and puts it away. * Mikel moves forward to grab the shard and the remaining tinctures. The tinctures get passed off to Ryllan, of course. Nice workd Saki. That was impressive. The animated stone returns to being just a pretty little rock. Agreed. * Saki huffs out a breath as she stands back up, and instantly gets out of the way as it falls to the ground. "... mn." * Ryllan pockets the items as they come his way, sorting them if he recognizes them, and making his best guess if he can't. Mikel unfrtunately finds that the previous battles have damaged some of the store's stock! :( But he still finds a few useful things.... (incoming list) 1x Jasmine - 1A: Heal 800 HP. [1000s] * Angie refills the cylinder of her revolver and snaps it into place, then bends down to gather the coins she threw earlier. She jingles them in her palm and looks at her reflection in the silver. With a sigh, she slips the money back into her pocket, pulls out one coin, and tosses it to the floor where the shard fell. 2x Mint Essence Cure FREEZ 1x Holy Smoke Cure DAZE Interesting. * Mikel lets out a sigh at some of the wrecked goods, then examines the shard. "How many of these do you think are left?" I'm...not sure. I wish there was a way to check. What if there's like...thousands? The shards look like they fit together. There's probably 3-4 pieces still missing. As long as the pieces are all around the same size as these two, I'd say we're ok Hopefully, yeah... [Emili] That wasn't so bad, when you put your mind to it. :) * Ryllan holds the Starlight from before, "Folks. Hold still." He crushes it in his hands and silver energy flows over him, then extends to wash over Saki, Angie, and Mikel. * Mikel does as Ryllan says, still looking over the shard with a curious eye before finally tucking it away in his jacket. Nice trick. >> Ryllan shows his prowess at enhancing inaminate object energy as well as willforce. Saki, ANgie, Mikel allr egain 50 Mps! Let's hurry it up. We aren't wanted here. That's pretty awesome. * Saki nods in agreement even as the energy washes over her. "... let's go." * Mikel winds his arm about, grinning. * Ryllan nods, "Let's go." * Vytor sets off once more. >> Ryllan also gets the boost as well. * Trune sighs and goes to follow the group, "Hope we find the rest fairly quickly. This place gives me the willies." Any idea how many more shards we might need? This place would be nice, if... well, if whatever happened to it hadn't happened. I... think three or four more, I guess. * Niri nods Their guardian of time must have messed up at some point. Something happened to this place. Something big. * Mikel nods at Tanan's comment. "Maybe there's a way to undo it...?" Probably. Get Emili here and Johnathan to spend a few years on the problem and they might come up with something. Even if there was...would that be a smart thing? So much time has past. [Emili] You bet. This is so much bigger than i thought. One problem at a time. [Emili] At least let the souls trapped here go and find some peace. They are caught in a warp forever... Next building, unless anyone has a more efficient suggestion? That's like saying we shouldn't clean the radiation from the icefields because they've been that way forever. ...Which they haven't. True, I guess. * Niri winces at the mention of the icefields. * Mikel frowns, thinking for a moment. "I've got nothing besides a building by building search." OK, but splitting up this time. Right Saki? <> Absolutely! Well, then, let's keep searching... * Saki hares off. «ooc: nuke » << dammit Saki ge tback here >> << lol >> * Saki rakes her hair and nods. "... alright. I don't like this place much," she adds as way of explanation. All the more reason to stick together. I agree. Let's get searching so we don't have to be here any longer than necessary... * Mikel nods, starting to walk. "Welp. Let's get to it. This is going to be a while, either way." * Niri leads the way toward the next building, peering in the windows * Vytor kep watch while the party searches. * Trune follows behind Niri, keeping an eye out for anything that may be a clue. * Ryllan follows Niri. * Tanan (~Nehn@dynamic-acs-24-239-125-230.zoominternet.net) Quit (Connection reset by peer) * Tanan (~Nehn@dynamic-acs-24-239-125-230.zoominternet.net) has joined #lunar-iog2 The group wanders through the streets to the northeastern part of town. It still seems vaghuely commercial here, as stores have displays of books and robes still hanging there in tatters through the glass. * TheStoryteller sets mode: +o Tanan * Niri peers into a bookstore curiously A group of spectral girls gawks at one display stand. "Oooh.. a Quintet Robe! It's so fashionable! I'll be the envy of everyone with this." * Saki frowns around the place, apparently rather out of sorts and definitely out of her depth. * Mikel pokes about one of the shops, just glancing at the gawking ghost before shaking his head. * Trune notes with an amused grin that these ghost girls are pretty hot. [Ghost] But Layla, you know we need to buy one of those Star Dragon Diamonds first... * Angie glares mistrustfully at each apparition she sees and drums her fingers against the handle of the gun. ... Convenient. * Niri perks up Yeah, no kidding. Too convenient. * Mikel raises an eyebrow. "Jeez." * Niri watches to see where they go. I suspect they weren't quite as rare here. There's so much star energy here... * Niri watches the girls and follows them when they head down the street * Vytor perks up at the mentions of Dragon Diamonds, but forces his attention back on task. They enter into another place of business with a jewel on the hanging sign, crossed by a wand. ...Yep, this looks promising. * Niri enters cautiously * Saki frowns at it for a lengthy moment. * Mikel follows along, humming. "Maybe we have a bit of luck after all." * Niri frowns as Mikel hums off key ^^; * Trune enters the store as well, "S'my kind of place." There appears to be a line of people inside :o Or what was once people. "Ladies and gentleman, please, please. one at a time... thank you madam... get your hands on an infinite magic source here.. only 2000 silver!" .../infinite/ magic source? Emili looks at the ghost curiously. "Hey.. ONLY 2000?" :( Inflation is a bitch, apparently. * Mikel starts attempting to move through the line, curiosity spiked now. Anyone got 2000 silver on them, or do we have to beat these ones up to? * Saki hangs back by the door, starting to expect a fight. There's a greying professor along with a bespectacled shopkeep holding a treasure box of sparkling diamonds! Or, they would have been, but his chest holds only a tiny piece of what once was gorgeous gems. ...Right, I'm not touching it just yet. * Niri crosses her arms. "Have we got a plan, then?" Well, I assume when I touch it another fight's gonna break out. [Ghost] I, the great professor Hyde, have tapped the powers of the cosmos at last for the betterment of humanity... Most likely. Hmmm. Wonder who this Hyde is. Mikel, you're not touching it. Bad things happen when you touch things. You touch it then. * Mikel goes to poke through the rest of the shop. I will if you cover my back. [Ghost] Locked inside each tiny jewel is the power of a star, placed in the palm of your hand. It's warmth and shine will burn well past your lifetimes. hand it down to your future mage children, sirs... * Niri sighs. Hm? Sure. Look, maybe I should just grab the shard. Both me and Trune can cover /you/, then. Mikel pokes through the store, shoving past ghosts that aren't there. He finds a rack near the back with some interesting rags... but one cloak is still intact! ...hey, nifty! The only reason Mikel is offering himself to cover you is he's too busy grave robbing. It is black on the outside with a nice red lining, and a clasp bearing an old magical power symbol. * Mikel examines the cloak for a couple of moments, plucking it off the rack while keepig one eye towards Niri and the shard. That being said, did he just find something shiny? Agh, jealous now. >> Mikel finds Quintet Cape! Acc: Regen 5% MP every round in battle. [no value, unique] Focus, people! ...oh, this is an awesome little thing. * Mikel folds it away. "Okay!" * Niri looks around cautiously, then slowly reaches toward the shard. As Niri reaches out for the box, it hums defensively, and the scene ofthe store ripples. Here it comes! * Niri sighs, having expected this. She draws her sword. Crud. * Saki is instantly ready to smack the first thing that gets anywhere near her. * Vytor steps forward, ready to fight again. Slowly, as before, the spirits burst forth from the quiet gem, and a lance of jagged quartz springs to surreal life. One of the customers of the establishment burns with light magic, and transforms into a glowing spirit. >> COMBAT! * Niri waves. "Hi! We kinda need this." >> Enemy Front: Gelade >> Enemy Rear: Saith Wisp * Mikel actually puts the cloak on as the rules of life dictate the ring slides off. Then he lifts his staff and frowns. "A sword. Again." << lance, even. Stupid names >> >> Declaration Phase. >> Saith Wisp begins summoning the winds for an enchantment on the front row. >> Gelade prepares to go into a counter attack mode! Trune! Let's hit the spirit! * Saki hangs back, hunkering against incoming attack. "... be careful." * Mikel frowns, lifting his staff. "A bit of a boost coming up!" * Vytor takes a defensive posture. [Emili] Hmm, that wisp doesn't seem so star powered... let's experiment a bit. * Trune quickly traces another pattern in the air with his athames, with the same reddish color seeping through. >> Emili prepares to strike the Wisp. * Niri grips her sword and concentrates, watching the gelade carefully >> Battle Phase. * Tanan crackles and takes on a faint yellowish glow, a small arc of lighting working its way around Niri. >> Emili dashes forward and brings Rosebud to bear on the Wisp! But it manages to dodge! [Emili] oh.. I haven't missed in a long time! They're fast! >> Mikel also Jolts! React up! >> Saki and Vytor are defending! << er no, wait >> >> Just saki defending. >> Mikel's action. * Mikel grins as lightning crackles along his form, whipping his staff about before smacking it against the ground. "Here goes!" At the point of impact lightning flies towards Trune and Emili, quickening the mind! >> Mikel gives trune and Emili a Thought Impulse. Talent up! Thanks! [Emili] Ooh.. thank you Mikel. My aura feels all a-tingle. * Trune 's speaks in a falsetto, "(w) Oooh, hotshot, thaaank you!" >> Gelade takes a stance, as soundwaves from above shield it from foes. Sonic Boom! 2x Countering enabled. * Niri snrks at Trune. ;) * Mikel rolls his eyes. "You're definitely taking a dip into the ocean." * Tanan laughs, once. "Ha. Someone's jealous." Hm? Nah, not me. Trust me. Not me. >> Saith Wisp hurls tradewind from old Lunar appropriately named Saith Gale at Niri, Saki, Vytor and Ryllan! * Niri bites back a comment! >> Niri resists Air, 77! Ryllan eats it for 149. Saki and Vytor brace themselves, suffering 135 and 116 respectively. * Vytor winces and staggers from the onslaught, but soon rights himself. * Niri staggers very slightly at the strike, but grins defiantly as she resists it. * Ryllan flinches back, but rights himself, grinning confidently, "And I was wondering who I'd convince to do my hair." * Saki shields herself from most of the attack, dropping to her knees and turning away; she still gets buffeted around viciously. >> Angie's action. ...Is this really all the power the old mages had? * Angie grits her teeth and unloads half her cylinder into the eerie blade. Doesn't seem like much, does it? Maybe they're weaker due to being just ghosts of themselves. Unless they're small fries, and the big stuff's coming later. Or that. >> ANgie's Hard Rain managed to clip the slippery target for 96, 107, 102! << that was the wisp. I'm sorry. rerolling.. >> >> Gelade suffers 62, 75, 72! >> trune's action. Cord of flame, pierce the enemy with your power! Flare Arrow! * Trune holds out his athame towards Wisp, and a single point of flame appears at the tip of the blade, expanding and growing larger. Suddenly, it flies towards Wisp in a stream of fire and smoke, impacting it dead-on! * Ryllan slashes his hand in a guesture of dismissal, and at the last moment, Trune's firey arrow explodes in a display of raw magical power! >> trune boosted Fire spell shreds the enchanted wind spirit for 1054 damage, as it is weak to Fire! It's annihilated! Whoa. * Mikel lets out a cheer. "Alright!" * Niri looks impressed. O_o * Trune lets out a breath, and then grins, "That was...oh wow I gotta do that again!" >> Niri's action. Right, time to test my blade... Impressive, Trune. Very well done. Couldn't have done it without you. Thanks! * Niri focuses, gripping her sword in her hands and beginning to hum. The blade echoes back the sound, and overtones sound up and down the harmonic register. Then Niri darts forward at the enemy, slashing a pattern of strikes... * Niri 's blade moves straight down, then up right, straight across to the left, and up right again - just like a conductor's baton. * Niri jumps back after striking the final blow, with a shower of electric sparks! >> Niri puts her faith in the professor's old sword as it clangs against the parrying Gelade for 129 damage. It however, siphons off it's resistance to Thunder attack like a charm. * Niri grins, waiting to see how her plan works... >> Niri's Harmonic Strike is met with a coutner strike, as the lance pushes her back and pierces her side painfully on the way out... 112, 119! >> Tanan's action. Damn, you okay Niri? * Niri bites back a cry, muttering to herself and holding her side as blood pours down. "You're gonna pay for that..." I think so. *grits her teeth and nods* * Mikel grimaces, shifting a bit. "Just hold on a bit longer!" * Tanan crackles as Niri is struck, an arc of lighting jumping from her to the lance >> No longer shielded, Tanan's invocation of Niri's Thudnerbolt maims the crystalline entity for 349 damage! Yes! It worked! * Niri punches the air, then doubles over, wincing. Ow. * Mikel winces. "Try not to do that until you're healed." * Niri makes a face. >> Mikel grins as the cape recovers 11 MP. >> Round 2 >> Declaration Phase. * Saki rises from her defensive position like a rocket, aimed straight at the lance. * Vytor maintain his position. * Mikel takes a deep breath as the cape rejuvenates him a bit, then lifts his staff up. "Mending on the way!" >> The wounded Gelade prepares to impale Vytor! * Vytor grimaces, and preapres himself. [Emili] Hmm, maybe I'll just let you guys handle this. >> Battle Phase. * Ryllan holds a hand over towards Mikel, "Or you could treat this like a serious fight, Emili." ...Yeah, I'd recommend we kill the thing. >> Focus fun for the whole party! (Emili +104 HP/43 MP, Tanan +63/23, Vytor +71/14) >> Saki's action. << Don't forget Trune's focus >> >> Trune gets in on the group focus. oom, oom. +41/23 * Saki smashes into the bright lance with abandon and more notably one shoulder, then pivots to throw a straight jab that knocks it flying! >> Saki dashes forth and gives the Gelade a good old fashioned beating without any gimmicks. 122, 149! >> Once again she shatters a dragon diamond! >> VICTORY! >> Gained 4 MXP * TheStoryteller changes topic to '-= Chapter 49: Paradox Lost | Location: Ien island | Pool: 9 MXP =- http://storen.rpgcafe.net/IoG/ =-' * Vytor holsters his hammer again. * Mikel keeps the healing spell going. So...one down, many to go? * Ryllan continues boosting it. Two. And two again, probably. Three down. We started with a single piece. Two to go or thereabouts. * Saki again repeats her performance of moving well away from the shard: she looks about ready to leave. * Mikel waves his staff as a mending rain begins to fall upon the group. >> Ryllan aids Mikel with his spell and a healing rain washes over all with a torrent of health. 660 restored to all! Hey, thanks! Thanks. I needed that. * Niri relaxes as her wounds close up and the pain fades away * Mikel grins. "Can't leave you all diced up. Let's keep moving." He fishes a ring from his pocket, examining it for another moment. "Trune, catch!" And then he flicks it toward his fellow adept. The stone de-powers, and falls quietly to the ground... it holds another piece of the puzzle. 2 more to go, now. * Trune catches the ring in his right hand, "Awesome, thanks. I can use this!" * Mikel nods, then makes his way out assuming the rest of the group starts moving as well. * Saki (~arpee@192.168.0.1) Quit (Quit: *collapse*) * Niri heads out, to search for the remaining pieces! * Vytor folows, keeping an eye out for danger. * Ryllan follows, watching and listening. The group now continue their circuit, arriving in the northwest sector of Ien. There's what looks like a large house, one of the classrooms on magic no doubt. Inside an old man with faded yellow hair and a red and black outfit mumbles to himself as he mixes a paste together. * Mikel can't help but chuckle a bit. "Back to school." The sign outside reason "dadis Academy for Cosmetic Magic"! * Ryllan sighs, "Let's just go." << er reads >> Cosmetic...magic? What the flying blue fuck? What's cosmetic magic? * Niri blinks ...magic that makes you look pretty? Magic for...making you look pretty> * Niri blinks at Mikel. How is that useful? That seems kind of a waste of perfectly good willforce! Not all magic has to be useful. /me walks into the academy and scans around for three different things; ghosts that react to him, useful items, or dragon diamond shards. Well...true, but you'd have to be pretty lazy not to put on makeup by yourself. << Erk. >> There's two academy students loitering around outside the building. one is a beastgirl with green hair, and the other a very short yellow-clad girl from caldor. * Ryllan walks into the academy and scans around for three different things; ghosts that react to him, useful items, or dragon diamond shards. Oh, I don't know. There's things you can to partially repair scars and the like. I don't see why you couldn't reshape things too. Like, if someone was born with a misformed hand, or a horrible face or something, you could make it a little more normal. I'd have thought you'd know about this, Trune, since your dad is- ...right. Nevermind. [Beastgirl] I can't believe he forgot who were are again... Dadis must have Alziemer's... * Mikel offers Niri a slight smile before shrugging. "Some folks care that much about their appearance, I guess." * Trune 's face darkens just slighty and he shuts up. Wonder if they used images or actually tried to change things though. It's apparently pretty hard. [Short Girl] Senia, you know he always forgets. Every... darm.. time. But if Ellie goes barreling in there, he'll remember we're his students for sure! [Senia] I dunno Lena... didn't she go to find some SHinsha fire rock? She's been gone awhile. Actually, those are all really worthwhile uses, Tanan. * Niri also scans around for traces of shards. * Angie lets her guard down a little, enough to take a look at the odds and ends on the shelves. I'm sure some floozy used it to look a bit more pretty though. * Mikel starts poking around some as well. [lena] You know Ellie wants that awesome power tatoo so badly. The ultimate magical makeup. * Niri opens her mouth to say something, then closes it. I'm sensing some hostility toward pretty people from the magic quarter! Only if you waste your abilities to do it. * Vytor ignores the banter and keeps watch. There doesn't seem to be any shards here... and the door to the house is locked. However, as you poke around, something strange happens.. The girls turn and actually.. notice Niri. Looks like a bit, yeah. Honestly, there's nothing wrong with using your abilities to make yourself look nice if that makes you happy. Not hurting anyone, and all. * Niri blinks. Um...hello? [Senia] Hi! Are you a new student here? Er... * Niri glances at the others. * Mikel blinks. "They... can see you?" ...Not exactly! * Angie turns her back to a wall and slips a hand into her coat, withdrawing her weapon. Emili blinks at the two ghosts. "Hmm.. they seem a little different..." Who are you? I'm Niri. ...oh my. * Ryllan mouths, very clearly and obviously, 'TALK WITH THEM. * Mikel thinks Ryllan is trying to get something across! * Niri smiles. [Lena] Well I'm Lena, and this is Senia! I'm a much better magic user, even if I'm short! * Niri giggles Hey, I know all about that. What kind of magic do you use? [Senia] ...not to mention failing Song magic class with your big mouth. :/ * Niri grins. "Song magic?" [Lena] Hey, I got carried away, Ok? You know I'm always better with Litanies anyway. What kinds of spells do you know? * Trune mumbles something about height discrimination and that tall people are mighty fine spellcasters, thank you. [Senia] Yeah... song magic. Mrs Terena is great at it. * Mikel gives Trune a pat on the shoulder. [senia] I'll zap any baddies in my way!! Mrs. Terena? Who's that? [Lena] And they say my wind spells are hot air.. puh-lease. Anyway. Mrs Terena is one of the many teachers here you can learn magic from. [Senia] She's really nice. Her classroom's in the west part of town. [Lena] Hey.. if you want to visit her, can you do us a favor? * Mikel raises an eyebrow. Sure, what might that be? [Senia] Ah, I get it Lena... you want them to check up on Ellie. Who's Ellie? [Lena] Well, you know if we help her she'll feel like she didn't earn it. [Lena] Ellie's our classmate! We traveled her from Caldor island together to study magic and go to Vane someday! << here >> Ah! That's awesome, that you're such good friends. *smiles* What is she doing, that she needs checking up on? [Senia] Maybe we'll just learn how to make our boat fly. That'll impress them for sure. [Lena] Heehee. Well, she went to this little trial cave to find some shinsha rocks. It's an ingredient to give a cosmetic tatoo magic some extra fire "oomph" [Senia] You can probably guess being the hothead she was, she wanted to do it alone... *sigh* :P Oh! I see. Want me to go check it out then? Also...what are shinsha rocks? I mean, do they have any other special properties? [Lena] You can also use them to make lots of fire in a hurry. They're actually the eggs of salamander-thingies. * Angie arches an eyebrow. You can tell she's filing this information away for future use. Hmm, that would be really useful! * Vytor (~lucca@staff.lunarnet.org) Quit (Quit: Quote #68 * Rasis laughs. "Guck you, Luk." Guck? Duck. O_O ....damn. * Lukka is enjoying this. ^_^ I think you meant... Fuck you, right? * Rasis means he wants to fuck you. O_O SHIT! RASIS!) Anyway, sure, I'll check it out for you! It's awfully nice to meet you. Do you come into town often? [Emili] I see... so this must be ancient times. Those monsters are extinct on the Blue Star post-unraveling... The two spirits pause a second, wavering unsurely. So they've been stuck like this for... a while, huh? [Senia] ..um... well, we've been here forever! [Lena] So much to learn right? * Mikel raises an eyebrow at that, mulling. SOmehow they sound a little less.. enthusiastic. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ask something...wrong! ^^; I'll tell you what, I'll go check on your friend, and maybe I can come back and let you know what I find out! [Lena] Uh huh. That'd be great Niri. [Senia] Maybe we'll go introduce you t some professors later when Ellie's back? * Angie narrows her eyes and her thumb slowly moves to the hammer of her pistol. The spirits do not make hostile movements, but it seems as if Niri made them realize something about their existence that was saddening. I'd like that. * Niri tries to think of a way to cheer them up somehow. ^^; Or at least put them at ease. * Mikel starts to shuffle towards the exit, looking deep in thought. [Emili] Niri, I thinkw e should get going... they might not remain nice forever. Mm. Let's go. Yeah, let's go littlebit. [Emili] I bet guiding their friend back would cheer them up, right? Um. Right. * Niri nods and waves to the ghosts. * Niri heads quickly out of the shop! * Trune follows the others. * Niri heads quickly away from the marketplace! * Mikel waits until they're out of the school like thing to speak. "...they realize something's off. Interesting." * Ryllan follows. I wonder what the heck happened here... I wish John were here to sort this out. Something huge, whatever it was. He... might... be here. He's not sorting much though Maybe he IS here. Right, we need to hurry up and find him. Where next? One crisis at a time. Western section, right? Right. Let's make this quick. I can't... I can't track him as well as I used to be able to. I uh.. I could tell you pretty accurately where Niri is now, though, if you'd like. ... ...maybe if I ever go blind. The bonding? Limited usefulness, Tanan. ;) But why can't you track him as well? SLowly heading to the western area, you find it's across a bridge that goes over a river flowing through the section of town. * Niri talks as she walks, of course Originally I was just a piece of his power. But I've.. grown some, thanks to Lure. And now I'm more attached to you than him. * Mikel keeps a somewhat wary eye on the water as he crosses the bridge. "So now you can't get as good a sense of him.." There's another classroom in the distance and you hear a lot of people singing and some sparkly effects being created. Song magic class is in full swing. Not too far away is the boarded up entrance to a small tunnel. Ah, I see. It has a sign that says "TRIAL CAVES - CLOSED FOR RENOVATIONS" Not that I'm complaining or anything, of course. I'm just a bit worried about him, is all. Would be nice to know for sure if he were alive. * Angie heads for the tunnel, sparing a glance into the room as she goes by. "Saki, you might have better luck with this one." I.. think he's here. * Niri nods How.... how do you renovate a cave? I hope so. ...This is a good question. Make it more dank and depressing? It looks like one of the boards has been yanked off and is sligtly singed in spots. Maybe their trials broke. I'm sure we can get Saki to ah...help "renovate" it though, if we need to get in. * Mikel stays out of the way so Saki can do what she does best. Presumably, given that they're used for trials, they have all sorts of interesting gizmos and traps and only partially illusiory monsters. maybe they broke. Illusiory monsters don't traditionally make for veyr good trials. Shiro sniffs the barricade, as you realize there's enough room to sneak in for a fairly small, determined girl... Hence the partial. Hmm. Saki, if you would do the honors? * Niri pokes the barrier Hmm...this Ellie girl seems to be a lot like you, Niri. One of the nailed on boards is burn from some fire magic. * Ryllan grabs Niri by the Tanan and pulls her to one side. * Niri eeks and is dragged. ^^; Ha! Trune's right. Cutting a hole in a barrier and sneaking through to explore sounds like the kind of thing you'd do, Niri. * Tanan sounds as though he approves. Hey now. ;) Just because it's true! >> Niri barely misses the awesome might of freight train Saki, blasting into the tunnel and making the boards look like toothpicks. o_O Just as the entranceway is cleared, you hear a yell "aaaaAAAAHHHH!" * Mikel sighs. * Niri blinks. O_o "Saki?" I wonder if we can get any of those eggs. Because I'm a lot more cheerful about haunted town filled with murderous ghosts if I can get an extinct time-displaced fire reagent out of it. * Ryllan sighs, "ONce more unto the breach, mind the pitfall traps!" * Mikel goes into the cave once the wood bits clear to see what the screaming is about now, staff half raised. What the hell was that? Out of the cavern come running a young girl clad in red and white with a short cape, booking it! Hey, wait! * Mikel stops as the girl runs out. "...well." * Niri tries to stop the girl. * Mikel peers to see what she was running from * Trune blinks as the girl whizzes past him, "Uh, bye Ellie? You are Ellie, right" * Angie steps aside to let the girl pass. Years of college training allow her to put two and two together pretty quickly, and she turns her attention back to the passageway, gun raised. Oh no.. Ellie keeps running and goes through Niri in her ghostly manner.. but in the process a small round red chunk of rock doesn't make it, bouncing off Tanan to the floor. [Ellie] Ack, hey my rock! ;_; * Niri blinks, then picks up the rock. "Hey, is this a...shinsha rock?" [Ellie] Don't touch it. It's mine! I braved a thousand burning fire monsters for that thing! Theres a rumble for the cave a gout of flame that licks out. Followed by a disdainful roar. Yet nothing shows up, likely due to an internal barrier to keep mnsters inside. ...well, least it isn't another fight. Ellie catches her somewhat non-existent breath, looking like she ran out of a coal mine. Can you tell us anything about this rock? *Hands the rock back to the girl* Oh, and your friends were worried about you... Ellie takes the rock, smiling greedily and hugging it. "My ticket to super Fire power! Not to mention best dressed student." * Angie turns an ear to the conversation, but keeps her eyes on the entrance. [Elie] wait, Lena and Senia sent you here? * Mikel mutters something under his breath, looking a mite impatient as he watches the cave as well. Ellie sweatdrops. "..argh, I'm gonna be late for my presentation to Dadis! If i don't hurry he'll forget all about giving me this quest!" Yes, they were wondering if you were okay! Ellie then runs around Niri this time, juggling the Shinsha rock and leaves a trail of smoke on the grass. o.o * Niri blinks. "You okay?" In her haste to elave, the girl apparently dropped something before disappearing... it's a shard! Hey! Isn't that...? ...Success! One more to go. ...wait a minute. A fire stone, cosmetic magic.. wasn't there something about some mages tattooing themselves... Don't know why we had to go through all that, but... ^^; * Niri picks it up There was, Tanan. How do you think it connects? So... do we head back to those other girls now? Oh wait Hrm [Emili] Great.. then that means... the last one should be in that cosmetics class. Good guess, right? Probably, let's go back. * Niri heads off down the street! * Mikel nods, following Niri. * Ryllan follows. * Trune follows the others. * Niri hopefully arrives very soon back at the cosmetics location Strangely, the flow of time here allows you to arrive before Ellie does. * Niri looks around for the other two girls. Senia and lena are still hanging around, when suddenly Ellie comes through running. [Ellie] Hey, I GOT it!!! [Senia & Lena] Great! The small red-head then busts in the door and presents it to the teacher Dadis. WHo takes a minute to think "Uhh.. who are you girls.. did you come to signup for my class?" [Ellie] Come on you old fart, you promised me an awesome tatoo. :( Wow, that teacher is insane. He forgot them already? ... [Dadis] Oh right, you're that impatient girl! Fine, I'll give you one. Now just hold still! * Angie keeps one eye on the fire rock. Dadis takes the Shinsha and mixes it with his prepared base, making a nicely pigmented paste that stains the skin with power lines. He goes to apply it to Ellie, who suddenly starts disrobing completely. o.o The old man blushes, then tries his best to give her a tatoo of a serpentine fire-monster down the side of her arm and left breast.. * Mikel quickly smacks his forehead and adverts his gaze. [Senia] Oh Ellie.. I can't believe you... * Niri wide eyes ...not much shame on this one. * Angie stoically endures ghost boobs. ...No. None at all, really. * Trune 's mouth goes in a giant O. [Lena] *sigh* One upping Layla again... Flies are going to fly in, Trune. * Niri waits for Trune and Mikel to go nuts :P * Ryllan watches dispassionately, "And, apparently, this isn't that uncommon." Emili meanwhile claps in enjoyment. "Oh, that reminds me of me!" ...or on that one. You know, if she was just a few years older...I take back everything I ever said about cosmetic magic. This is every boy's fantasy! * Niri stares at Emili in disbelief. * Niri also kicks Trune in the ankle. The scene vanishes before it completes, like a movie that ended when some film broke Ow! * Mikel just buries his face in his hands at this point. "Oh goddess above..." ...And now we all know what Trune will do when this is all over. * Ryllan shakes his head, "Open a tatoo parlor?" On the ground is a peice of the fire rock, which has chipped off and revealed another piece of diamond. Nah, I probably wouldn't on the account I'd be labeled a sick freak. Trune. * Mikel just mutters a bit and finally looks up. "Is that the last one?" You already ARE a sick freak. * Niri blinks at Mikel. You're awfully shy. >> Gathering up all the pieces causes them to suddenly fuse into a fully itnegrated Star Dragon Diamond! Inside it swirls a rune identical to the one on the tower door. It's almost as though they wanted to be found, and reassembled. Just what is that stone, anyway? Hey! I am not. I am a teenage boy! Everything at my age is...well! Ask anyone, it's not just me, damn it! * Angie picks up the remnants of the fire rock that the diamond was embedded in. She sighs, turns it over in her hand, and then sets it on the desk. "Too small; gotta throw it back." Magic diamond that'll probably kill us all? Or open the door. After that. Then whatever's in there kills us all Either way, let's get going. This place is starting to grate a bit. I agree. Let's get out of here. ^^; Emili giggles at trune and Mikel. "Now it looks like the real mystery can be explained. Shall we?" * Niri winces at Emili's giggle, which appears to grate on her. * Trune also winces. * Mikel grabs the diamond and starts to move, though he's /very/ careful with the thing. It's very warm to the touch. And pusles with true power unlike the other visions and phantasms. * Mikel raises an eyebrow at it as he walks. "Probably /could/ super charge something with these things. Huh." Let's just be careful, huh? The last one we found attacked us. Departing back to the cneter of the magic school town, the Star tower looms large, seeming as as if it scrapes the sky. Inside somewhere is the Star Chamber of the mages here, mentioned in that old bottle on the beach. But what else could be there? prophetess, Johnathan, or something even greater that mires this town in time forever? == SESSION END == WHEW Tah dah! * Niri fall over LONG SESSION IS LONG Yes! >> 19 XPs! Session Close: Sun Aug 26 02:45:46 2007