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Bastion of Bygone Days

Scene details

Setting: The legacy of Vaeltrandia is at last revealed. Awaiting our heroes is a tragic tale of betrayal, grief, and misbegotten ideals. But in the depths of the druids' fortress, a single hope lives on.

Log


 Light washes over plants starved for it. Ivo raises the Crux of Creation as a torch, its empowered glow spreading across dusty stone like the fingers of dawn reaching out to claim what was lost. The three arms of the incomplete cross glimmer with aether infused from his elespheres and converted into light by the Vaeltrandian relic. But all that is revealed is dense tangles of vines and darkened hallways stretching on. There are no trace of footprints.
 "...There we are."
 The Cosmopolitan murmurs this to himself as the hilt of his sword begins to crackle faintly, the telltale staticy frequency of his modified sensor. The young man's shoulders tense for a moment, only to relax after a few seconds pass.
 "There are eidola here," he confirms, "stirred by the presence of the Crux." The power of Creation, as a domain-aspected form of aether, represents the prospect of much-craved sustenance to eidola, even more so than mortal souls. "But only remnants." Attracting eidola is risky, but it seems that Ivo's gamble has paid off this time. "That marauder is gone, so they won't be transformed into violent enigmas. By activating as many of them as remain..."
 He takes a deep breath, dust stirring about him.
 "...perhaps we'll see what their fragmented memories hold."
 The remnants outside, before being devoured and converted into the marauder's minions, had been offering some sort of prayer or devotion, but there had been little time to understand its nature.
 "And so... why they're here."
 Ivo cannot help but spare a glance toward Reize's pendant. But Kernunnos is silent, and has been for some time.
 "Would you all mind giving me a hand with the vines blocking the way? I've got my hands fill with the Crux and the sensor."


  One of the traveling companions who follows the leading Crux-wielder is the Boy with the Long Yellow Scarf. Given that Ivo has possession of the Crux, it is best to let him use it like a torch and guide them along. For the most part, they managed to get through the worse of it.

  ... However, Reize is still a bit worried for Anna. His eyes glance over towards his friend to see how she is holding up. Noting the presence of the eidola gets Reize's attention to face Ivo. There is a bit of relief regarding the marauder being gone.

  Reize closes his eyes as he recalls 'activating the fragmented memories. "...You know, we were able to do that with Lily around." He frowns.

  At the request for help for the vines, the boy draws his boomerangs and starts swiping them away. "Haaa! You got it!" He starts hacking through the vines.
 

Ruidosa follows along with the group, glad no one is asking about the whole 'turning into a dark shadow creature and eating darkness' thing right this moment as she eyes Ivo. "I really hope the piece is here." she says as she holds her book to her chest as Reize starts chopping away at the vines and---says the 'L' word which makes her wiggle a bit for a moment.

Look, she can be jealous if she wants! Still. She steps forward and calls forth her dark sword art and swipes down into the vines calling out 'Falcata!' as she swipes and snaps vines with the dark blade with Reize on the other side of the corridor.

"I really hope these vines aren't alive and try to kill us for this." she says bluntly. Look.

It could happen!

  • Character: Anna
  • 2 years, 4 months ago


 Since the defeat of the marauding Eidola that decimated her tribe, Anna has been... Sullen in a new way. This is entirely different from the time she had been trounced by the Black Beast.
 She's cried as much as humanly possible, so that's over at least, but she's still quiet as the group moves along.
 She doesn't actually reach for her axe when Ivo asks for help with the vines; letting Reize and Rui handle it.


 Ivo, otherwise concentrated on the sound and vibrations emanating from the sensor attachment to Hauteclare's hilt, spares a warm smile for Reize. "And we will again soon," he replies, tone reassuring. "We're almost to our goal, now."
 The fourth and final fragment awaits somewhere here.
 "Oh, nice shot!"
 His own mood buoyed by his attempt to cheer Reize, he praises Ruidosa's spell but does not notice her wiggling, thereby missing out on some entertainment practically designed to appeal to Ivo. He does, however, note the unusual lack of axe-swinging. He does not think there is anything he can say to her right now. It is enough that, with the marauder slain, she is trying to move forward, if only in the simplest sense.
 "--special project is--"
 "Hm?"
 The party is at the threshold of a room, its features utterly obscured by dense and dying vines, a crystal mounted on its ceiling dusty and dull. But the Crux is not the only source of light. Flickering images of persons are gesturing at one another, their voices distorted and echoing but still intelligible. The dust stirred up passes through them, glittering like fireflies, bright but ephemeral.
 "--esources are limited."
 An older woman with noble mien stands beside an imposing hooded figure, while before them both, a young man in a matching green robe gesticulates passionately, as though desperately pleading.
 "Then why sacrifice so much?" The younger figure appeals to the other two. "Yes, they continue to improve, but at such cost! Let the warriors be content with the force they have now. With just a fragment, my project can--"
 The older woman shakes her head.
 "You are my worthy assistant, with great potential. But my decision is final. We cannot spare you any of the sta--"Their images flicker, their voices cutting out.
 "--special project is--"
 And then, in moments, they begin again.


  There is a rueful smike, "Well, I mean... she has the abilities to do that I can't, even with my pendant." He keeps hacking at the vines, "...I guess you can say that she other part of the pendant...? Like a bo-----" There is a pause and then a heavy shade covers his face as he can -feel- the displeasure and jealousy of Ruidosa.

 Change of topic, "---Boooy, there are a lot of vines here!!" Reize is slashing the vines in their way until they make their way into the threshhold.

  He looks over at the sight of a crystal mounted on the ceiling. The spectral images of people gets the boy's attention, he wanders closer to watch the conversation between thw two, puzzled. "... I wonder what happened here... What was the 'project'?"
 

Ruidosa stops at the threshold of the room and stops swinging her dark energy blade to open her book and take notes. write , write write... she's taking down what the strange images are talking about. Well. whatever they're talking about. she 'ahs!'

The jealous streak disappears fast at least. NOW she wants to go on a rant about human hubris but she doesn't, instead she just continues to write, and writes conjectures in the margins with little question marks after them as she scribbles down things.

She looks over to Ivo and blinks a little, before she looks back as she realizes... "Ah---"

"They're repeating." she says as she stops writing, writing a note that 'it repeats'. She sketches what the figures look like.

"Sounds like something important. Stuff about sacrificing." she says.

"I wonder if this is another humans trying to live forever mistake."


 "High... Druidess?"
 The light from the glowing Crux wavers as Ivo, startled, looks toward the source of the tremulous voice: Reize's flickering pendant.
 "The High Druidess paid me many visits at my shrine," Kernunnos continues, slow and halting, as though dragging memories from mud. "She was always so eager to show me the new beetle she had bred. But... there is no trace of that spirit on her features here."
 The flickering and repeating image of the high druidess is stern, even grim. She stands tall and proud, but her back is hunched as though burdened with the weight of her responsibilities.
 "High Druidess... what happened to you... that your memories would be made a remnant here...?"
 "I wonder," Ivo murmurs, "if these are her memories."
 The looping images and voices begin to fade. Proximity to the power of the Crux has stirred them to full potency, but soon they dwindle, their figures ghostlike and sound almost inaudible.
 "Be careful not to touch them," the Cosmopolitan warns. "We know that remnants remain even when their loops seem to cease. Their distortion effect is weak and they are non-aggressive, but they're still eidola. Contact will mess with your head."
 As the remnants fade and the light of the Crux extends beyond them, the full expanse of the room becomes clearer. It remains very difficult to say what its purpose was without attempting to remove more of the dying vines that strew the stone and burst from every corner. But given its size, one might surmise it were a foyer or antechamber, a gathering place of sorts. Indeed, two other figures have become visible in the Crux's glow, leaning against the entrance to a hallway that continues on.
 "--nother mission?"An androgynous figure with long green hair, its hue seeming faded by the remnant's recollection, is smiling gently at their fierce-looking companion, a tall and slender man with hair of ice blue that blends into blond. Upon their smooth brows glimmer the outlines of gemstones.
 "They're trying to kill us," the ice-haired figure says bluntly. "Our power is a tool to them, and our hunger is a threat. Don't let them use you up, Erato."
 "You too, Arcas," replies his friend. "You're the one they're sending into battle. You'd think those proud warriors would fight for themselves."
 "Ha!" Arcas barks a laugh.
 "Arcas..." Kernunnos whispers, before his voice turns sharp. "Arcas!?"
 "Their lust for conquest is only matched by their resentment of us," Arcas snarls. "What a vile partnership. The druids churn out we loathsome soldiers so that the warriors may cart back tribute. And for what? For what are we born, why must we die? For their nightmarish dream?"
 "Mm." Erato smiles almost playfully. "Isn't it beautiful, though, their dream? Though I'd much prefer to be free."
 "It's hideous," Arcas replies without hesitation. "There's no beauty in it. I hope you see that soon, for your s-s-s-sake."
 The image and sound stutter.
 "You always were too s-s-s-seri--"
 They do not loop. They simply fade.

  • Character: Fox
  • 2 years, 4 months ago



 It starts with a *click!* which sounds, despite the talking of long-dead spirits, way, way, WAY too loud. Should any of the group look behind them, in the direction they came, they will be able to see the source of the sound: for perhaps the first time since she's been known to Reize's little group, Fox has the antique pistols that she wears drawn, holding both of them out in front of her. The alchemist's bright foxtail hair is like the sparking of a flame as she emerges from the gloom.

 "How did I know," she drawls, "that it would be you people."

 The shift in her posture, her demeanor, even her facial expression... it's tectonic, as if it were an entirely different person standing here now than the blithe and somewhat alcohol-pickled freewheeler that Reize and/or Ivo keep running into in a series of wacky vignettes. There is nothing here that suggests she is going to suddenly start shooting... but at the same time, there's nothing that suggests she WON'T pull the trigger if she feels she has to.

 And something under the stormcloud grey of her eyes looks very, very... tired, all of a sudden.

 "What are you even DOING here." It's a question, but it's definitely not phrased like one, as if she were asking the universe instead of the people in front of her.


  There is a rueful smike, "Well, I mean... she has the abilities to do that I can't, even with my pendant." He keeps hacking at the vines, "...I guess you can say that she other part of the pendant...? Like a bo-----" There is a pause and then a heavy shade covers his face as he can -feel- the displeasure and jealousy of Ruidosa.

 Change of topic, "---Boooy, there are a lot of vines here!!" Reize is slashing the vines in their way until they make their way into the threshhold.

  He looks over at the sight of a crystal mounted on the ceiling. The spectral images of people gets the boy's attention, he wanders closer to watch the conversation between thw two, puzzled. "... I wonder what happened here... What was the 'project'?" r
 Reize's eyes widen as he looks to his pendant. He can feel the vibrant essence of the pendant returns in the form of his Companion. "Kernunnos..?!" He listens to the Eidola as he reflects of the old age. The gaze falls over towards the flickering image of the high druidess.

 He continues to walk along the site, venturing further as the looping images fade away.

 "...Yeah, I know." He gives a weary nod to Ivo, recalling his summoning of Kernunnos. It takes a lot out of him because he is typically in the nexus of it all. While the room clears, the boy walks ahead while swiping at the dying vines.

 The new set of imagery gets his attention to watch. There is a weird feeling that Reize from the interaction with the two. "Arcas...?" He looks at Kernunnos, "You know him, Kernunnos?" Given the sharpness of the voice, it is not pleasant.

  "... Are they the 'Star-Crowned'...?" He looks at Ivo.

  Suddenly, a new presence gets their attention, "...Ah?" He turns his head to see the source of a very loud noise. It looks like Fox is armed and has a different mood about her. "Err..." He starts to look over at Ivo, expectant of him to 'smooth talk' the lady into getting them out of what may be a 'confrontation'.
 

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 Reize's eyes widen as he looks to his pendant. He can feel the vibrant essence of the pendant returns in the form of his Companion. "Kernunnos..?!" He listens to the Eidola as he reflects of the old age. The gaze falls over towards the flickering image of the high druidess.

 He continues to walk along the site, venturing further as the looping images fade away.

 "...Yeah, I know." He gives a weary nod to Ivo, recalling his summoning of Kernunnos. It takes a lot out of him because he is typically in the nexus of it all. While the room clears, the boy walks ahead while swiping at the dying vines.

 The new set of imagery gets his attention to watch. There is a weird feeling that Reize from the interaction with the two. "Arcas...?" He looks at Kernunnos, "You know him, Kernunnos?" Given the sharpness of the voice, it is not pleasant.

  "... Are they the 'Star-Crowned'...?" He looks at Ivo.

  Suddenly, a new presence gets their attention, "...Ah?" He turns his head to see the source of a very loud noise. It looks like Fox is armed and has a different mood about her. "Err..." He starts to look over at Ivo, expectant of him to 'smooth talk' the lady into getting them out of what may be a 'confrontation'.
 

Ruidosa doesn't know what an 'eidola' will do to her vampiric self if she touches one, so she doesn't touch them. Now isn't the time to experiment with dumb things, instead- she takes notes, and quickly notes the conversation, transcribing as quickly as she can, before the images vanish and she frowns and goes over the conversation in her head as she sketches the figures quickly.

"How sad." she frowns. "It sounds like they we're making people to fight." Pause. "I mean. Making beings to fight dumb battles." she says with a frown. She trails a bit and looks far off in thought when there's a click and her eyes refocus onto the woman with the pistols.

"Huh?" she asks as she squints. Does. She know this woman? She means... beyond the recent run ins. She looks to Ivo and Reize and Anna as she blinks. "Is this a trick question?" she asks, narrowing her eyes again. "Clearly. We are explorers, exploring." she says.


 "Didn't you say," Ivo is saying as he walks toward where the now-faded figures once stood, "that the floating city that Vaeltrandia constructed, the one that was sealed away, was named Arcadios?"
 "Arcas was the mightiest of the Star-Crowned," Kernunnos replies, voice now tight with emotion, but tone valiantly clinging to dignity. "I was told that against protest, the city was named in honor of his exploits. It was to be the staging ground for the solar ascent. But... he betrayed Vaeltrandia. I think... yes."
 "Mm, yeah," Ivo quietly replies. "I could tell."
 He frowns toward the darkened hallway, standing by its entrance.
 "What I *can't* tell," he continues, "is where these remnants came from. Eidola don't just show up out of nowhere. They're created by immense magical power, the kind that tears minds into pieces and leaves those pieces behind. To find remnant eidola far from a Gate means--"
 A telltale click interrupts him. Ivo turns in shock, and then, of all things, brightens considerably, his cheeks flushing a bit.
 "Fox! Ha ha, did we get ahead of you in the search for Vaeltrandian relics?" he says lightly. "Sorry about that. I would've invited you, but you can be a hard woman to get ahold of. Though I do hope to get ahold of you someday... ha ha..."
 He trails off, the glow of the incomplete Crux of Creation in his hand illuminating his face falling, smile becoming lopsided as he tries to process her expression.
 "The, uh, fourth and final fragment of the Crux is within this place," he manages, after clearing his throat. "It seems to have been some sort of druid headquarters. Why, uh, don't we explore it together? It looks like we just... go down this hall..."
 He points in the direction of the hallway. As he does, the light of the Crux floods through it, the tangle of vines casting a tangle of shadows.
 "--bel forces."
 "Guh!?"
 Ivo startles to the side, barely dodging a massive figure, glowing and transparent. Though the remnant's memory dulls all color, somehow, the vivid red of his lion's mane of hair and great beard seems undimmed. His stride is a natural habitual swagger, but his expression is an indecipherable mask. In his hand is what, despite the flickering of the image, is discernable as a jug, which he raises to his lips, drinking from it directly.
 "O mighty chief." Stepping from what would be his shadow if he cast one emerges the high druidess. "Now, in Vaeltrandia's moment of greatest peril, we need your strength more than ever."
 "Sure," the fire-haired chief replies, lowering the jug and wiping some dark liquid from his lips. "I figured I'd have to fight him someday." There is a tightness to his words that belies his casual phrasing. The high druidess lowers her gaze, impassive, saying nothing. "But I didn't expect to be on the defensive. I assume you've got *some* sort of plan. You usually do."
 He smirks. She smiles slightly. They have paused in the center of the large chamber where the party is arranged, heedless of the tension in the air, visitors from another era.
 "Our counterattack will seal him within Arcadios," she promises, "with the same means by which we suspended it. We need only time, which your valor will surely provide us."
 "Surely. I have one condition, Druidess."
 She raises her eyes.
 "My daughter." The chief steps forward, and does not look back. "You can suspend a city in the sky. You'll use that power to protect her." His gaze is distant. "We've sacrificed them. Only fair to sacrifice me. But s-she d-d-d-"
 |c"I-i-i-it shall be d-d-done. G-g-glory to V-V-V-"
 Their images are flickering, contorting.
 "Ha! Ha ha!"
 Their following words are lost. All that is clear is the chief's laughter, ringing out, echoing in the chamber as their images fade. Somehow, despite the tense undertones of their exchange, within the man's jovial cackle, there seems not a trace of bitterness.
 The figures do not return.

  • Character: Fox
  • 2 years, 4 months ago



 Oh, that's not... that's not *fair*.

 The red-haired, rough-hewn man talking to the high druidess. Every reply Fox was devising -- a smart-aleck crack back at Ruidosa, a pointed question about what kind of moron would want to reconstruct the Crux to Ivo and Reize -- dies on her lips the second his faded, hologram-like self pops into existence.

 There is a clatter as the gun in her right hand, the one with gold tracing and the solar emblem, clatters to the ground, having fallen from unresisting fingers uncurling from its grip. The other, the silver one with the lunar emblem, hangs in danger of the same fate from a left arm that has gone slack at the woman's side.

 Clever children in the audience may realize that the duality of the sun and moon is a cornerstone of many animist religions of old... including druidism.

 "You..." Limbs, muscles move under her clothes, as if she wants to take a step forward, but she can't, the result being that Fox sort of... vibrates in place, a bit, as she stares with unblinking eyes, pupils practically pinpricks at this point. Reize, Ruidosa, Ivo, maybe even the walls and the plants and the weather: all gone.

 "...how DARE you?!" It's not entirely clear who she's screaming at.


  Reize is looking back at Ivo, sweating nervously as he lets the older companion handle the 'smooth talk' in convincing the older lady to join with them rather than blasting them. After all, they already had a fight against the marauder, another fight is not ideal.

 The next set of images gets the boy's attention, watching the conversation between the two. He stares at the conversation for the whole while processing a few things. Kernunnos and Ivo talked about Arcadios, which is the stronghold of 'Arcas', the mightest of the Star-Crowned.

 After the figures fade, he watches the next reaction from Fox after the gun clatters to the ground. He stares at her, watching the look on her face. "... Ah..?"
 

Ruidosa La Crima rolls 1d20<=10.
Comment: Resisting the urge to dunk on Ivo.
Roll(s): 6. Total result is 6. This is a success (by 4).

Ruidosa takes notes again. Scribbling down words quickly. Since the eidola's are now sometimes not repeating. She'll do this with her pen as she fills her book. She frowns a little bit as she follows along. She eyes the woman again as she frowns heavily. "I feel as if I might know you." says Ruidosa. "Somehow. But I don't really know how." she says bluntly, as Ruidosa sometimes can be.

While the woman all but screams out, she seems taken aback and head tilts.

She starts, flipping through her book rapidly...

She frowns as she presses her finger deeper into the earlier pages of the book. Dusty, yellowed pages compared to the cleaner new one.

'Today, I meet some other nobles!....' there's a few sketches of others but more important. there's Fox. She points and seems mortified herself.

"That's impossible.... you'd be hundreds and hundreds of years old...!" she mutters, looking to Ivo, with a ''look'', her mouth hangs open. She them clicks her tongue and fumes at something internally at him... but he gets a ''glare'' for some reason.


 "I-I'm sorry!"
 Ivo blurts this out without thinking, still taken aback by his narrow evasion of the remnant and Fox's unusual demeanor. He fumbles with the Crux with one hand on the hilt of his sword, which can be heard crackling faintly as the conversation of the specters fades.
 "Its light is stirring these fragmented memories. I can't stop it now, but the charge should fade eventually, so..."
 He trails off, first realizing that he is not sure why he is apologizing, then coming to suspend that Fox's ire is not directed at him. Only then does he have the brain space to reflect on the significant exchange they've witnessed.
 "Th-then, that bear of a chief must have fought a losing battle against Arcas to buy the druids time," he murmurs. "But was the high druidess's plan this 'special project,' or was that something else? And the chief's daughter was... suspended? Protected, somehow? Then..."
 His eyes flicker to the guns that Fox has dropped upon the stone. Symbols of sun and moon. Relics, he inferred, that she had likely salvaged from Vaeltrandian ruins, thus explaining her interest. His thoughts wander in the manner of a dilettante, as usual.
 "No, that's..." Kernunnos is muttering to himself almost inaudibly, though Reize's pendant offers a telltale flicker with every word. He is usually quiet, if only out of prudence as an eidola, save when he judges necessary. The demigod sounds dazed. "...how did..."
 After all, Ivo is busy thinking, the Vaeltrandians united over the star that Kernunnos led them to. Stars are associated with purification and stasis, the power of Eradina, but perhaps the druids learned to achieve a similar affect with the aspect of Creation. Though, such a power might have been weakened with the party's sealing of the Gate of Creation. In which case...
 His expression goes very still. Ruidosa is speaking now.
 "...Fox."
 That's not possible. It's beyond imagining. Even if it were possible, what would he say? He cannot even think of what to say to Anna in her grief. Vaeltrandia fell over a century ago. Descendents of its druids, like Nais, have little to no memory of its past. As for its warriors, well, perhaps the party now already knows what became of them.
 "There... may be more ahead."
 Ivo's voice is soft.
 "Why don't we... see them together?"
 This may be the only chance before they fade.
 "You... won't be alone."
 Perhaps even that is too bold. But... he has to say something. He looks to Reize, then to Ruidosa. Wait. What is she mad about now!? He's being nice!
 "Hey," he adds lightly, "when all this is through, let's split a bottle with Rui's mother back at her manor. I promised I'd use my newfound sommelier skills to get her something good." He studied hard for Darcea's dinner, perhaps harder than strictly necessary. "The three of us can have a good time together."
 He smiles, with a hint of satisfaction at his own cleverness. See, because she's a vampire from the same era as Fox, though they could have an interesting conversation. It's perfect. Why, he dares Rui to find anything objectionable in what he's just said.

  • Character: Fox
  • 2 years, 4 months ago



 It's like whatever high-tension wire that was making her vibrate like a harp string finally snaps, and Fox sort of... unfolds down to a kneeling position, only barely hearing Rui's shocked realization or Ivo's not-sure-if-it's-flirting-or-not. She's just staring. Eventually, she just starts narrating into the probable silence, reaching out to pick up the gun she dropped but not standing up, not just yet.

 "The stupid... STUPID druids and their stupid, STUPID dolls!" Her voice cracks faintly and it's really as if grief and fury are fighting for control of her vocal chords right now. "Had their eyes up on the bloody sun every second of every day and didn't see for a second that they were setting the world on fire until it was too late, and it was the entire damn kingdom that paid the price. My *father* paid the price. For what?!"

 NOW she stands up, and now she turns her gaze to the party, and NOW it is clear which one, between grief and fury, is winning. "The last thing I remembered when I woke up was a druid apologizing for spiking my drink. I didn't... know about ANY of this. This... this deal!" She points a hand accusingly at thin air, where the image of the red-maned warrior -- now, at the least, identified as her father -- hung like mist mere moments ago.

 There's a pause, and then some amount of control seems to slip back into her expression. "You! Old man. In the necklace!" She turns to Reize, staring at him. It's not like she didn't hear them correctly the first time. "Why the hell would you let them reconstruct the stupid Crux? Vaeltrandia is GONE. It should stay gone."

 A beat or two of silence that goes on a little too long. "It should stay gone," she repeats.


  Reize watches the group, uncertain how to interact with them. He starts to walk over towards Fox, albeit slowly. He looks at Ivo and Ruidosa as they bear some connection with the lady for one reason or another. He runs a hand over towards his shoulder, lost on what to say.

 However, Ivo offers words of encouragement.

 A smile grows, "...I agree with Ivo on this." He looks over towards the traces where the images once stood, "We came here to find the truth as to what happened. ... Our goal is not to have the legacy forgotten." He smiles, "... You have people like Nais who has vague memories of his history, but everyone in Granse do not have that history.

  And then she asks the question.

  ....Why would Kernunnos let them reconstruct the Crux. "In the end, Kernunnos wanted to know what happened to his followers. That knowledge was robbed from him." He offers a faint smile, "He was left alone to be forgotten about, so we wanted to do what we could to help him."
 

Ruidosa grimaces. but she flips back to her newer pages. She jots something down, she draws a quick sketch, always scribbling and taking notes and vampires sure love their paperwork. She frowns as she clears her throat. "Because my friends are trying to save another friend, that's why." she says bluntly, as she places her hands against her hips. and ''HUFFS''.

"That, too. LOTS of reasons we're trying to reconstruct the Crux." she says.

A pause.

"Wait...why would you ....." she doesn't finish, shaking her head. "--- you clearly didn't know any of this, but I think you can either be a part of this or you can leave us alone." she says curtly.


 "Yes."
 Ivo, silent now, face furrowed with sympathy, gazes toward Reize's flickering pendant whence that voice issues, following the boy's own words.
 "Vaeltrandia is gone," Kernunnos softly affirms. The eidola's voice has quieted, but his previous tremulous confusion has faded from his noble tone. "Its dream is dead. But..."
 He pauses, remembering.
 "...its story is not yet written."
 Ivo smiles slightly, glancing up to meet Reize's gaze.
 "I... I do yet desire to know just what happened here, but..."
 The demigod falters once before his voice firms again.
 "These young ones," Kernunnos continues, "wish to use my children's lost knowledge, and the sacrifices of the Star-Crowned whence it came, to save their dear friend." He affirms Ruidosa's words. Lily, slumbering still in Cosmopolis, is a homunculus not so different from the ones who fought and perished here, if of an altogether different origin. "If all this pain could, so much later, be made to do some good... then even now, I should wish to try."
 He pauses.
 "My own judgment is not to be trusted," he then says. "It was my decision to point their way to the star that then lit their path. My desire... to join in their dream... led to all this. But these champions of mine who stand before you..."
 The pendant gleams.
 "...I trust them."
 Its light, oft flickering, glows undimmed.
 "Last daughter of Vaeltrandia, do not believe in me. But please, trust in them, too."

  • Character: Fox
  • 2 years, 4 months ago



 "I'm not the last daughter of *anything*," Fox hisses with surprising venom, at Kernunnos's exhortation to believe in Our Heroes. "Vaeltrandia is dust, broken pottery, apparently *you*, which was a fun surprise when we first met, let me tell you." Her words are sharp but, perhaps, that sharpness can be forgiven, considering the enormity of what the days events have now made clear. Ruidosa's not-entirely-a-threat gets a brief, sharp look as well, fleeting though it may be.

 But there's many stories converging in this ruin, today, not just Fox's. This is all to help a 'friend,' they say... and in truth, she had no idea that someone had left the ancient, perhaps misguidedly well-intending eidola down here in the dirt for centuries too. At least Fox had been asleep for most of it. A friend, though... a friend you'd need the Crux, and/or access to Arcadios, to be helped.

 Oh, that can only mean one thing, and it does not help the time-lost royal's mood AT ALL.

 But at some corner of her mind, she remembers a hapless Ivo and a deeply confused Reize at a country fair, being extremely bad at whatever it was they were doing, but doing it with an earnestness that defied any sort of sane logic.

 "...no. I can't be here for this," Fox says quietly, closing her eyes and taking a long, deep breath in and out through her nose before opening them again, looking at Our Heroes with a grave expression. "Sorry. Maybe someday in the future we can talk this out. I can explain what it is I know, at the least." A hint of her typical freewheeling smile returns, tugging at the corner of her mouth. "You're buying, if so."

 She turns to go, but then stops and half turns back, glancing at everyone sidelong. "But listen to me very carefully. That little trinket you're holding more or less ended a civilization, practically overnight. I'd go so far as to call it the biggest imaginable symbol that Mistakes Were Made," and the capital letters for emphasis are practically audible. "If you're smart, you'll break it into a thousand tiny pieces and think of some other way to help your..." Pregnant pause. "...friend."

 With that, she turns and leaves, maybe grateful that she has the entire walk back to think... and that nobody can see her face, at the moment.


  When Ruidosa and Kernunnos mention about Lily, Reize gives a slow nod. The young explorer had been eyeing Fox for some time because he half-expected her to go on the offensive. His hands slowly rested to his side, nearing the boomerangs with a sharp breath and sweat running along his face. There is a sinking feeling that this would rapidly turn hostile.

  He hoped not, but he had to be ready to not have his guard down, especially since they finished fighting a marauder and this is a territory where a battle can happen.

  It is when Fox decides against her plans makes her intentions to depart, the boy offers a faint smile her way. However, when she gives them a warning about the Crux that they possess. He take a deep breath, nodding before she left. He looks over at Ivo and Ruidosa. "We--we should continue onward."
 

Ruidosa watches Fox leave. "I'm sure my mom would like meeting you again..." she finally says as she leaves, as she frowns and looks down at her book and up at Reize and Ivo as she continues to frown and sighs a little.

"I hope she'll be okay but..." she eyes Ivo. "Hrmph!" she sticks her nose up at him and starts walking again, taking Reize's hand and tugging him along forward, onward.


 "Ah..."
 Ivo reaches out his hand as Fox turns to leave, but can only pause before he sighs and runs that hand through his tousled dark hair. There are worse things than watching her go.
 "What do you know," he finally says, long after his Babe Sense informs him that Fox has departed the fort. "Another princess." He grins, a little awkwardly, before looking back to Reize's pendant one last time. "Kernunnos... thanks."
 "Thank you," the eidola replies, "champions."
 "Well," Ivo says, "shall we try to live up to that esteemed title, and boldly see what's further down the hall?" He nods to Reize, smiling again. "I won't suitably impress all these noble beauties we meet if I don't take a risk or two. ...What!?" Why is Ruidosa giving him that look again??
 The vines are becoming denser, sturdier, as though there is more life left in them the further from the entrance that the party goes. But our heroes face no resistance beyond the plants themselves as they pass into the smaller room beyond.
 "--orry-- s-s-so--"
 A green-robed figure is sobbing into the arms of another, his heaving chest suggesting that the stutter is accurately represented, not just a function of the record's flaws. When the figure raises his tear-streaked face, he is revealed to be the young druid who had confronted the high druidess when the party first entered.
 "--wasn't s-supposed to-- I never--"
 "Shh." Embracing him kindly is the viridian-haired Erato, the Star-Crowned's eyes gentle and, perhaps, oddly mirthful. "There, there."
 "It can't be too late," the druid blurts, gazing up at the taller homunculus with a mingling of horror and childlike hope. "I won't do what she says, not anymore. I won't cast it away." He raises his fist and opens it. There, in his hand, is a familiar sight: one of the four arms of the Crux. "I could complete the Sol Ascent. If only..."
 "Its power remained," Erato finishes. "But the great high druidess has made certain there is naught a drop left, I'm sure."
 "How could this happen?" The druid is wavering again. "It's all wrong. We're so close, and yet..." Erato raises a finger to the druid's lips.
 "Then let's finish it."
 "Wh-wh-wh-what do you m-m-mean?"
 The images are flickering. The light of the Crux seems to bend around the faltering remnant, causing the shadows to dance among the vines that line the chamber.
 "You just need power, yes? Erato smiles, oh so gently. "Then take mine."
 "No." The druid first speaks softly, then with a sudden wild fury, pulling away. "No, I can't! No more sacrifices! That was the point! The whole point of the project was--"
 "To reach the sun. Yes?"
 The druid is still, then sags.
 "Wh-wh-wh-wh--"
 They are flickering rapidly now.
 "Why would you do this for our dream?"
 The images fade out of focus. Erato's expression cannot be deciphered.
 "Life," the Star-Crowned says, "is a dream."
 They disappear.
 "Where!?"
 A booming sound issues moments later. The young druid has appeared again, on the other side of the room, in a very different state. He has been slammed against the wall, his robe shredded and torn, a hand gripping his throat.
 "Where is Erato!?"
 Arcas's grip tightens, eyes full of hate. The young druid stares back, eyes full of grief, choked into silence, unable to speak. He seems to have aged, though Arcas appears the same. With a roar, the Star-Crowned Emperor thrusts his other hand at the druid's midsection-- and through it.
 "Gah!" Ivo flinches back, instinctively trying to step in front of Reize and Ruidosa even as he averts his own eyes, perhaps too late. At the very least, they will see light blazing about Arcas's hand, seeming to harden into crystal.
 Fortunately, the image soon fades entirely. Unfortunately, the light of the Crux reveals what remains in its absence: a moldering skeleton in the corner of the room, still pinned by a dull shard of crystal to the wall in which it has been embedded.


  When Ruidosa takes his hand, "Whoa---!" He is promptly dragged alone as she tugs him forward and onward. He follows suit, "I'm coming, I'm coming...!" As they continue to move further through the halls, they find the vines becoming more studier. He frowns, drawing his boomerangs out once more to start swinging at them to hack them away. His boomerangs should be able to push through them.

  This time, it is the interaction of the young druid and the Star-Crowned, Erato. He watches the flickering images.

  "Erato believed in the dream... enough to sacrifice his own life."

  Then the more confrontational scene plays out. His eyes widen in shock as he sees the young druid held up. As the sight of the hand pushes through the mid-section, the boy quickly turns his head away with a twitch. "Guhh...!" He grimaces, then he looks back to see the what the light of the Crux exposes.

  The skeleton in the corner of the room, pinned by the dull crystal.

  He starts to approach the skeleton, taking a breath, looking very uneasy. He lifts a hand up to touch the crystal while sweat runs across his face. "... ..Is this.. what was left...?" His eyes widen with shock, body shaking.
 

Ruidosa is a little slow getting to her book this time but manages to catch up, writing inhumanly fast. as she grimaces a little at the talk of sacrifice. She makes a margin note of 'Druids:Short term investments for no gain' as she continues on.

She then blinks at the booming sound and there's a large scribble off the words as Ivo throws himself in front of them and she flinches an cowers, holding the book in front of her.

When the world goes back to quiet, she quickly writes 'a big boom happened and I missed the rest.' in where the last bit would be. She sighs and looks up. Reize shakes she frowns a little...

Ruidosa looks to the Skeleton and .... well she's seen WAY too many skeletons and bones and handled bones and skulls and... well, she's too used to death to be too taken a back, but she frowns.

"No one must had been left when this happened. The body was just.. abandoned here." she frowns and gently places her hands against the skeletal structure. "We should fix that before we leave." Says the girl that lives in a cemetery.


 "Yes," Ivo softly agrees with Ruidosa.
 He lays a hand on Reize's shoulder. Now that they are close enough to see, the crystal so brutally wielded is a rare snowflake white. It is aether of raw Creation, almost unseen in the wild, here simply discarded, a precious gem put to horrific ends.
 "Reize," he murmurs. "Let's... come back later. We're almost through." He glances toward the far side of the room. "While the Crux's power still holds--"
 "--has departed."
 A light flickers down a short hallway there, a voice echoing.
 "I see."
 Should the others follow Ivo's slow but steady pace toward the exit, they will see a small chamber, what stone is visible through the gathered vines ornately carved with designs reminscent of the totems of the Painted Remains. There, through a broken archway, they see an image of the high druidess turning away from the tall assistant the party saw her with once before, when she was first confronted. "And our forces?"
 "We suffered heavy losses when the rebels broke through our defensive line," the assistant reports, "but with Arcas withdrawing to Arcadios rather than pressing his advantage, we have been able to come out of hiding and prepare the ritual of summoning.""Ritual..."
 Kernunnos stirs again.
 "What...?"
 "The chief?"
 "Fallen in battle," her assistant responds. "A glorious death."
 The druidess says nothing.
 "I..." The assistant pauses. "I regret to say that those taken prisoner have... been sacrificed to feed the brutish hunger of the rebels..." He clears his throat, appearing for the first time uneasy. "Arcas is... exceedingly cruel."
 "He is hungry." The druidess sounds almost nonchalant. "Without the Crux to feed them, they will starve. Their need for the aether of Creation is too great. Thus did we make them." She huffs, something close to laugh. "They will all either choose to kill... or choose to die."
 "Who," the assistant asks, "would choose to die...?"
 "You will leave me," the high druidess commands, not answering, "and travel west to the ruins of Aurita Meloda with a fragment of the Crux. Cast it into the sea there, where Arcas may never find it."
 "But you..."
 "I have no need of it," she continues. "Its gathered power is sufficient." She pauses a moment before smiling mysteriously. "Tell me, my faithful one. What is Kernunnos?""Ah..."
 "A child of Faleh," the assistant replies promptly. "Sent to us to lead us to the promised land. Our efforts and deeds shall show our worthiness to--"
 "Kernunnos is a *fragment* of Faleh," the high druidess corrects, "a glimmer of his will, a vagrant intention. His benevolence is a reflection of our Great Father's, but he knows not what he is. He is nothing himself."
 The assistant appears shaken, uneasy.
 "But with the sacred power of the sun, he may become more." The high druidess lifts her gaze to the ceiling. "Much like us. Do you understand?"
 Silence.
 "With the Crux, we raised Arcadios to the skies and forged the Ladder to Heaven," she says. "With its power, we will summon Kernunnos as he truly is, to shatter the Ladder and seal Arcas away and make our dream his tomb. There will be no need to bury our dead. Y-Y-Y-Y-You see?"
 She is flickering, fading, her features blurring, distorting. Her eyes seem to be widening, cheeks rippling, as though she is both smiling impossibly broadly and utterly soaked in tears.
 "Our dream is realized," she whispers, or perhaps says in a now fading voice. "We need not go to our Father. For our Father comes f-f-f-f-f-for us--"
 And then they are gone. Lying beyond is a stairwell descending into the earth. It seems that the fortress continues no further, and only downwards remains. The dusty path, for the first time, is strewn with flowers, the vines growing there vibrant as can be, blossoms splashes of red and yellow against the vivid green.
 "Then," Ivo says slowly, "the power that... produced the remnants..."
 Kernunnos is silent.


  It is difficult to figure what compelled Reize to try to reach and explore what happened. Perhaps it is youthful curiosity, albeit morbid? There is the fear, but there is the youthful desire to know what exactly happened. When Ivo gets his attention, Reize turns his head away from the spectacle and he nods at his older companion, "Y--yeah..." He looks at Ruidosa, nodding at his partner.

 *They continue onward through the halls.

 *They find themselves exploring the rest of the memory lakes that remain from the presence of the remnants. "...I think... the Crux is able to tap onto the playback of the events?" Reize finally realizes, "...Lily was able to tap onto those, due to whatever the crystal gave her." He furrows his eyebrows, "...Is that the same component as the Crux?" He looks over towards his pendant, realizing how little power that he has in comparison. He doesn't remember it reacting to his pendant. He holds onto his pendant in contemplation.

  "Hm.."

  As Reize continue onward, he watches the last remnants of the memories playback their last moments. A fragent of Faleh, huh? Reize thinks about Adrastus, a fragment of Faleh. He is very thankful that Kernunnos has been benevolent and an ally in comparison.

  When they finally descend along the stiarway, hegoes through the dusty path, strwen with flowers and the vines appear more vibrant, "..Wh--whoa...!"
 

Ruidosa is silently taking all notes she can, she ends up, even at her inhuman speed, needing to paraphrase what's said, or summarize. But the idea is to record so they have it to look back on later. She frowns, and trails off her writing as the remnants disappear.

They'll come back later for the remains. There's probably an appropriate place to bury them.

"Hrm..." she says.

It gets more vibrant... softly blinking as she eyes the way down further.

"How deep does this go!?" she mutters.


 "I," Kernunnos finally says, "have caused such pain."
 Ivo grimaces, averting his gaze.
 "Kernunnos, you didn't want this," he manages. "Their ritual of summoning must have been sudden, a blur to you. That's why you've been so confused the whole time we've been here. So--"
 "She used," the eidola says, "to speak to me of beetles, with overflowing joy. I loved her talk. I shared her joy, or so I thought."
 "You did," Ivo quietly says. "I'm sure you did."
 They descend the stairs, suffused in color.
 "I have misled you," the eidola says. "I had thought that the Crux would reveal the way to Arcadios. But I lack the knowledge of how the Ladder of Heaven was constructed. It seems that the city is still beyond our grasp."
 "It's fine!" Ivo says, effortfully cheerful. "We'll figure something out."
 "Arcas..."
 Kernunnos speaks again as they proceed.
 "Do you think he longed for those he lost, like me?"
 "You mean Erato?" Ivo shakes his head. "I have a hard time getting a read on either of them from remnants like these. If they were such good friends, why did Erato stay behind?"
 "Because," Kernunnos replies, "for the Star-Crowned, who must consume the essence of sapient souls, the choice was to kill or to die."
 "Oh." Ivo blinks. "Then... I... I see. Good point."
 "We fragments," the eidola continues, "face a similar choice."
 "But you never..."
 Ivo trails off, swallowing his words.
 "Behold," Kernunnos says. "The fruits of sacrifice."
 The cavern below the fortress is massive, the sound of crashing waves audible again, surging against the stone as they travel deep within the fortress outcrop. Here is a breathtakingly verdant garden, every root and flower brimming with life, filling the entire space. And there, in the middle of it all, stands an extraordinary tree. Its branches spread like wings, its leaves like feathers. It reaches toward a sky sealed away, a hollow at its base an entrance, gaps indicating that it has been formed to allow ascent to the top, where its peak is shielded by overgrowth through which beams of light filter, filling the underground chamber. The trunk seems segmented, bulging at several points.
 Ivo's hilt crackles.
 "The fragment," he says. "It's here."
 The party is able to enter the tree and ascend steps that seem to have grown naturally rather than be carved, a product of druidic magic and finesse likely beyond the knowledge of any living today. And there, within that shielded peak, is a room of sorts, at the center of which the final arm of the Crux has been embedded. Though centuries have passed, it glows still, the source of all the cavern's light.
 "There's a little writing."
 Ivo steps forward.
 "It's simple enough that I can translate," he murmurs. "It says... Sol... Ascent..."
 He pauses.
 "...someday... take flight."