Of Rifts and Portraits

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fearecia
Posts: 340
Joined: Sat Apr 26, 2014 2:09 pm

Of Rifts and Portraits

Post by fearecia »

Devardec. Tranos. Frostfall. The Great Northern Road near the junction.

Fearecia stared at the map, tracing the incidents, trying to make some sense of it all. Rifts had opened in each location, spewing out Mithril, Runic, and Rusty golems. Every time adventurers beat back the invading hordes, the rifts would destabilize and vanish before anyone could get too close. She let her claw drift to the location on the GNR, right next to the entrance to Nirimloth. She tapped the spot for a moment, thinking. This last one had been different, though. As she and Alioik had beat back the golems, the rift had decided to throw more monsters at them before closing. Carnivorous Fanworms. Duerger Slavers. Muscle-Bound Demon Soldiers. Lesser Demon Trainees. Furitive Lesser Demons. She and Alioik had hunted them down and removed them, preventing them from invading any of the nearby towns. Still, it was a troubling change from the status quo.

She'd remarked to Alioik that all the monsters seemed to be from places of darkness. She had seen where those golems were made and knew it was underground. The others were fairly self-explanatory. He seemed to think the rifts were sentient and were drawing power from the monsters they threw out. In the end, no one was sure.

The world had quieted, and she'd sought Lamaenor to speak about the Faire and upcoming preparations. No matter the circumstances, the world would continue on. Kollin and Alioik joined them in the audience chamber of the palace, occasionally joining in on the conversation. They were wrapping up details when a portrait had suddenly fallen from the wall, seeming of its own volition. Everyone was startled, but Kollin and Lamaenor investigated while the dragonkin and barbarian hung back, knowing their hands could easily damage such a priceless painting.

Silk's portrait lay on the ground, toppled of its hook by an unknown force. Concern flowed through the group immediately. Was it connected to the rifts? Was someone trying to tell them something? Shadows began to pool and form around the portrait as it lay on the floor, then launched themselves at the group in the form of Shadow Elementals. The group immediately sprang into action, defending against the invading pair of monsters, only to fall back, finding their weapons could not strike the beasts. Only Lamaenor, flinging fire with deadly accuracy, could hit the monsters. The fighters fell back to guarding the enchanter, protecting him as he dispelled the threat.

Too many coincidences. Silk's portrait. The shadows attacking them. A torn tapestry. The rifts appearing throughout the lands. Kollin and Lamaenor remarked that it all reminded them of the Chaos Storms. The dragonkin and Hemomancer had both been absent during those storms, so could not comment. Still, it almost seemed like the shadows were trying to send them a message. And with Silk ruling over Fate, Shadows, and Dread... everything seemed to be coming back to Silk.

In an effort to find answers, the group journeyed to the home of the Temple of Shadows in the Enchanted Forest. Nothing seemed amiss, which was both a relief and a frustration. No templers could be reached to speak with, to see if they had noticed an issue in their faith. Empty-handed, the group left, returning to the palace. What could they do?

They spoke and theorized. Perhaps if someone could get a good look at one of the rifts, they could get an answer? But how to do that without dying? Was Silk trying to send them a message from the Void? Were the Shadows themselves reaching out? Just whose thread was it that was torn in the Tapestry? Was the thread Silk's, and it was torn as a result of his own meddling from long ago?

Answers would not come. Still, she knew Anera would be interested to know that the rifts weren't just targeting places with Temples of Fate. However, there did seem to be a large circle being drawn around Nirimloth. Perhaps it was just coincidence; perhaps not. Regardless, Omnicat had to be informed of recent events, and she'd have to discuss things with the lizard as well.

The ebon kin sighed, turning away from the map. There was little more she could do about the rifts and Tapestry and Shadows right now, but there was a lot she could in prepping for the Faire. She may as well get to it.
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fearecia
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Fire and Thread

Post by fearecia »

It had been several days since her Dojo training, and the subsequent wrestling with a variety of dinosaurs. It had taken far longer than she’d liked, but the Dragonkin finally found enough equilibrium to be speaking Common again, even if she was staying in a primarily quadrupedal form. Still, it was an improvement. So, here she was, chatting with Sylvanna, enjoying a quiet evening in Devardec.

At least, it was quiet until alarms were raised in the Guild. Somehow, a fire had gotten started. Grumbling about the insanity of it all and how she really didn’t need another fire to put out, figurative or literal, the dragonkin prowled back to the guild. Following the shouts, she went up to the Relaxation Room, finding Afterglow already on the scene, working on controlling the fire. The dragonkin smiled and took a waterskin from the new Monk, helping to work to put out the flames. It was working… until it wasn’t.

The fire pulsed and flared, then growled at them. Both monks backed up in shock. What in the name of the heavens?

Then the fire elementals descended. Fear scowled and reached for her katana, immediately engaging the enemy. Afterglow was right beside her, flinging magic to try and repel the invaders. Caught by surprise, the two were quickly separated by the incoming inferno, and Afterglow fell to the flames. Fear snarled, furious at the elementals for invading her guild, for hurting her guild member… and steadily, the invading horde fell. Afterglow returned after a quick trip to Naria, helping the dragonkin to disperse the invaders.

Growling with irritation, Fear glared at the fire, aware that she was dealing with more than a simple incendiary issue. Point her katana at the flame, she rumbled, “Now listen here, Mr. Fire. I've had enough of your impunity. Go back home.”

The fire crackled back at her.

“No. I don't want to hear it. Go back home,” she said, glaring and making shooing motions at the fire.

The flames began to grow in response, challenging them. Determined, the two monks grabbed their water skins, intently targeting the base of the flames to control the blaze. Smoke started to fill the guild as the flames sputtered, the water beating them back. That was when the smoke elementals descended, forcing the two monks back into the fight. It took a little time, but soon the newest threat was destroyed. Once the smoke cleared, it was clear that the fire had also died.

Fear muttered and cleaned her katana before returning it to its sheath. “I swear this world is going mad.”

“In a handbasket, it seems,” Afterglow said, grinning.

The dragonkin chuckled a bit at the comment, staring at the place the fire had been. It was the usual one they always had in the hearth here, meant for Monks to relax around. What had caused it to suddenly become a source of unfriendly energy?

The pair engaged in some idle chatter, trying to determine if anything needed to be done about the development. They were moving on to discussing Afterglow’s studies when they spotted it: a single strand, falling from the air, clearly enchanted. It was there for the space of just a moment before touching the floor, and vanishing.

Fear stared in shock a minute, then cursed. Barely explaining to Afterglow, she bolted downstairs, trying to see if the strand may have just fallen through the floor to the lower levels. She found herself before the Tapestries on the ground floor, staring at Radiance’s likeness. Idly, she wondered if perhaps the thread was toying with her by possibly hiding out here. Afterglow caught up to her moments later, looking at the dragonkin quizzically. Fear started to explain, when they both felt magic positively surge through the guild, vibrating and humming, before fading away to nothingness.

Fear stared at Afterglow, making sure the sorcerer turned monk felt the same thing she did. Afterglow nodded.

Great. Just great. First, rifts spouting golems. A loose thread from the tapestry. Then, a cloudless rain in Devardec that created a rainbow, the end falling on the Monk’s Guild. Now, a fire going haywire in the guild, spewing monsters, followed by a sighting of very possibly the missing Thread. What was going on?

Sighing, the dragonkin beckoned to Afterglow, returning to the meeting room to relax for a bit. The poor girl had no idea what was going on, so Fear had a lot of explaining to do. Flopping down on one of the oversized, well loved couches, Fear began to get her guildmate caught up on all the recent occurrences involving the rifts.
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