[Game Thread] Chapter Six: Be Careful What You Wish For

[Blue]

As the psion bastard was being led away, Mrith contained her frustration and let it die within her. She had been looking forward to this.
She spoke almost in whispers to Morgan when the offender felt far enough from earshot.
"He shouldn't be detained anywhere captives are normally held. Nor anywhere important. Maybe not even in the castle, in case he may be put somewhere he actually wants to be."

She'd scratch the back of her neck with a wingclaw, uncomfortable.
"I imagine you've laws against this in Halva, but honestly I'd execute him right away. While he perhaps cannot defend himself. Letting an enemy seer live and be willingly confined seems like poor strategy to me. I wouldn't mind doing it for you and be put on trial for it, if we must. I mean, sounds like something worth doing to get rid of what might be the enemy's equivalent of you."
It would be even better if someone else did it but some personal involvement was useful to express how badly she thought it should be so. A trial and punishment for this did scare her much and could be somewhat convenient as well but she knew she'd be more useful elsewhere.
She coiled herself tighter. Her scales clicking together.
"If it becomes an issue and we somehow need him to be alive, Kala could bring him back. At least he wouldn't be a concern in the meantime."

When Xu'deln appeared, she couldn't help but stare at him in awe. Nevh filled her in on what she knew about the half-drow.
It was difficult to understand most of it, but the principles of his visions made sense, to a point. Some details were more interesting to her than others, however. Especially given his current appearance. It was bewildering.
"You just bound the last two Zodiacs... Crone lent you her strength."

If he was connected to the dead, then it was no wonder he would be overwhelmed by those voices; The realm of the dead had probably just received a rather large shipment of drow-related souls lately.
The world burning didn't sound overly terrifying but a return to the Demongate Wars seemed possible with the Seven getting involved again. The chain of blood was perhaps a reference to some mystical thing that prevented the higher Powers from being personally present in Aheka.
It sure felt like that Last War that the Children had been speaking of was about to start sometime soon. If it hadn't already.

[Makenshi]

Kala doesn't seem too pleased by the idea of killing Hywel, although Zilira grins. "I like the idea, but even that has its risks until we know more aout him. Sending him to an unexpected place will do for now though I expect, especially with Lekkar lurking about upstairs now."

Xu'deln's eyes dart towards the two Drow in surprise. "Here? How?" Just as Nallaul expected though, the Half-Drow was far from comforted by their presence, immediately backing away. "She said I was safe here, you said I was safe here." He looks around nervously. "Where is Shade? Can't he take me away again?"

Felynda looks at him with oddly concerned eyes. "What...what has happened to him? He was never this bad before, even at his worst moments. And what do you mean he is connected to the dead?"

"That is a rather complicated story, but the short of it is that we don't understand exactly what it is he's doing, only that it has something to do with interacting with dead beings of great power and drive." Zilira explains.

Originally Posted by Mrith

"You just bound the last two Zodiacs... Crone lent you her strength."

Xu'deln keeps a wary eye on the Drow while responding. "He said I wasn't ready but the symbols came to me like the first ones did and so many others since." He holds out a hand which begins to crackle with electricity before dripping in acid, rippling with force, bursting into flames and breathing out an icy mist, one after the other until he closes it again and looks back up at Mrith. "She is...emboldening. I've never felt so..." He seems at a loss for exactly how to describe the sensation.

Originally Posted by Nallaul

"Goddess. Something I've been meaning to ask you. Is the one whom goes by Sulion one of your children? I also suspect the one she called Gadget was her brother."

Zilira raises a curious eyebrow. "Not to my knowledge, unless Shosanna and Coiya have been playing dress up, but then again I was wrong about Coiya before. I would have to see them to be sure and even then it is relatively easy for someone disguise themselves if they really want to."

While all this is going on, Morgan makes his symbol and offers up a prayer to the recently released Soul Guardian, although the reply does not come in the manner he expected as no sooner does he call upon Salorne than one of the nearby soldiers yells out, clawing at his helmet and throwing it to the ground, prompting everyone (including the other guards) to take up a defensive posture. The dark haired Halvan clutches at the sides of his head, eyes scrunched up tight. "Hywel, he must be-" But before Zilira can finish a white...'something' quickly starts to gather around his eyes, forming into the top half of a skull. "...ok...most likely not Hywel." She seems just as surprised as everyone else. "I didn't know Salorne could do this."

Just as the skull mask fully forms over the top half of the man's face a grey mist forms robes around him and the skin they can see pales slightly before black and grey eyes open from beneath the mask, looking straight to Morgan and paying no heed to the horrified expressions on the other guards' faces. The Lord of Skull's voice was surprisingly soft, but unsurprisingly steady and measured. "The vessel will not be harmed, this was merely the quickest way to get here." His eyes turn to Xu'deln as Salorne extends a hand outwards.

The same white substance than created his mask forms a scythe in the outstretched hand but before he can move any closer to Xu'deln Zilira places herself in front of him, looking anything but the playful Goddess they usually saw and with a threatening undertone to her voice. "I sincerely doubt Morgan called you here to hurt the child." As if to make her stance clearer, the Goddess summoned her shadows to her, creating the more familiar shadow form with grey eyes that she seemed to fight with.

Salorne seems more annoyed than concerned at her attempt to get in the way. "He is an impossibility that even I did not fully understand but after what happened with L'arabiel..." He shakes his head. "An abomination, that is what he is, what he has always been. Think of the horrors he could bring back from beyond the veil, beings beyond your understanding or comprehension. He is too dangerous to be allowed to live and suffering for this shell of a life he leads, so I will do the only thing I can to help and help him pass to the other side." He raises a scythe. "I have no desire to harm any others here, so stand aside or I can make no promises."

"Back down or your followers will be robbed of your presence for another generation or two. You are still weak from your imprisonment after all."

"Not as weak as I should be, and as a Paragon I am still very difficult to kill." He glances to Kala, who had likewise moved to place herself between Xu'deln and the Lord of Skulls, even placing a comforting hand on Xu'deln's shoulder to try and ease the Drow's growing panic. "And even her magic will have its limits."

The Silent Seer's signed response is quick and easy for Mortimer to translate, despite being made one-handed as she casts some sort of ward on Xu'deln with the other. "Try me."

To everyone else Zilira is quick to offer some advice. "This fight is beyond the rest of you, but Malhas shouldn't be too far from here. Find him and stay out of it." Even if they could get Malhas back in time, two Demi-Gods and a Godling versus a weakened Paragon was likely not going to be an easy fight, especially if all Salorne wanted to do was kill Xu'deln and keep him dead. Perhaps stalling for time would be enough? Shade might have some sort of ward in place to detect danger to his apprentice or perhaps Lekkar would be drawn out of his meditation by the fighting and intervene. Unfortunately, given how Salorne had appeared, it was unlikely that simply fleeing from him with Xu'deln would be of much use, as he could presumably use another 'vessel'.

~MTWC

[SpatulaOdoom]

Morgan watches Sarlorne's return with curiosity. He's about to welcome the Zodiac back with a quip about the land of the living when the whole thing takes a decidedly sinister twist.
”Oh crap.” He mutters, triggering a contingent sphere of force around himself. His face registers first shock, followed by quickly growing anger and exasperation. Finally he snaps.
”Would you KINDLY stop being an utter F@#%ING C^*T and listen for one minute!” Morgan snarls. ”We can give you two different fights you can't win.
One. An Elder Demon Hybrid is our guest and friend here, and would no doubt be happy for a nice durable opponent he can test his strength on. Might be able to do something permanent.
Two. Shade would use his just recovered shard of the godforge to lock you up and throw away the key if you attempt to harm his apprentice. He'd lash together an engine of your blood and bone to split the cosmos asunder to bring him back just to spite you. Think he wouldn't?
Heck, depending on how quickly Ciilla can show up to pitch in for her friend, I'm thinking quick, we could make that three fights for you to loose at the same time, and make a slew of enemies doing it.”
Morgan continues quickly. Whatever pause for consideration he's bought should be used to convince Sarlorne to back down and think things through.
”Do I have your attention? That's why you can't, let's talk about why you shouldn't.
Killing Xu'deln here and now for what he might do is so stupid on so many levels I'm having trouble understanding how you even came up with the idea. The murder of a man innocent of any crime? It flies in the face of every law and justice system and every moral structure that even pay lip service to being fair and even handed. That's supposed to be one of your two schticks right? Law and order.
You've already admitted you don't understand what is going on with Xu, this so called impossibility. Undertaking drastic action in ignorance is a recipe for disaster, I know that from painful experience. Investigate. Find out before you make your judgements. Otherwise you just expose your own close minded blindness.
Do you really want your first free action in centuries to be making an enemy of every sane being in the world? Do you maybe want to hear whether or not somebody here, like maybe me, has an idea or two as to how you can actually help the situation?
One abomination to another, could you please put away the scythe?”
Half the people here were abominations or unnatural in some way, Morgan and Salorne included.

[Acathala]

Nallaul steps forward also, possibly surprising everyone, most likely Xu. "I somewhat doubt I'd be more than a gnat to you, but if you think I'm going to just let you hurt him, then you have another think coming. I may not be able to hurt you, but I'll help those whom can." This wasn't for Xu's benefit. Nallaul was doing it for Xufaer. She might not be able to love him back, but he can help protect the one person she does. He's hoping it doesn't come down to that, as he's fairly certain that he wouldn't be able to help much. So it comes down to whether Morgan can talk Salome down or not.

[Blue]

Originally Posted by Zilira

"I like the idea, but even that has its risks until we know more about him. Sending him to an unexpected place will do for now though I expect, especially with Lekkar lurking about upstairs now."

Mrith agreed, though wasn't completely convinced. The behavior of dead things was usually much more easier to predict than that of living things. She'd feel a lot better about it, at least.
"Here's hoping he's not one of those simulacrum creatures, like what Deimos used. Or some other living puppet he's just moving about from afar. It'd sort of explain a few things, like why he isn't bothered by being captured."

Originally Posted by Xu'deln

"She is...emboldening. I've never felt so..."

"...full of purpose?"
She felt something similar often when she contemplated the sphere. Driven to serve, full of obligations, the need to carve a path for others and lead by example. The inner strength needed to pull through.
She could only imagine what effect her influence would have on the drow. When she saw the energy seeping through his hand, she had matched her breathing to their change until they all manifested. She could feel the energy inside herself as well. The potential was there, hidden. It wasn't the strength of one strong breath, but many intertwined as one. The rope of many strands had always been better than the one thick cord; A simple lesson, yet so difficult to put in practice with the different energies, and dragons.

When Salorne appeared, through some poor sod, Mrith was reminded once again of how merciless the world was to those of lesser quality.
It was mystifying but once things went sour she was honestly not sure which side she should take, if any.
She sort of agreed with Salorne that the half-drow was a dangerous element, considering it brought back L'arabiel. A hazard that had the potential to undo things that weren't meant to be tempered and for which he had taken the responsibility of overseeing.
From her own point of view, and perhaps also Salorne's, Xu'deln's crimes or lack thereof had nothing to do with it. It wasn't a legal process.
It was simply an extermination. There is a problem, and you get rid of the problem. And he *is* a problem.
Morgan's good heart for his well-being was commendable and touching, but unlike Salorne he had little to no idea of exactly what lied behind the veil of death. With this knowledge, and after watching Xu'deln for a good while as part of his 'audience', Salorne had decided that it was better for the balance of life and death that he would be ended.

Of course, she knew Nevh wanted to help the lad, but what Nevh wanted didn't matter much.
She would need more time to think about it.

Thinking on it, as her temporary replacement until this hybrid vote issue would be done with, it was mostly her mandate to make sure the interests of Quall would be served appropriately. Xu'deln not dying would perhaps be to the benefit of the resistance against whatever the Last War was about.
Aheka not being crushed and enslaved again was to the benefit of Quall, so if Xu'deln was indeed an important piece not losing him was probably for the better - Assuming Salorne wasn't right in that he could make things worse by ushering the return of something pretty darn terrible. Like something that could trigger the worst stage of the Last War.

Perhaps it was indeed for the best not to get involved.
She stayed attentive to how things would be handled. If anything, she could quickly reach Malhas and Lekkar to have them lend a hand.
And perhaps slaughter Hywel while he was gone to help them. Or resist the temptation. Decisions, decisions.

[Makenshi]

Salorne does not appear to be moved by Morgan's words, nor intimidated by Nallaul. "I understand more than you do what he is, it is the how that I do not understand. You do not realise the full extent of the danger that the Drow poses to our existence and I do not have the time to waste in explaining." Salorne starts to cast a spell, almost too quickly to react to before Kala counters it, but that only delays him as he casts again, this time slower in his gestures as he starts to scream in an similar to Wail of the Bansheeungodly and deadly wail which is cut off a moment after it starts as fire consumes the Paragon. The robes become mist again while the mask melts, although the guard drops to his knees unharmed revealing the red haired, golden eyed Lekkar standing behind him. The soldier barely has time to start trying to get to his feet before the mask starts to form again, but the Hybrid doesn't even flinch before flames engulf it again.

"I can do this all day Salorne." He says, frowning at the symbol. "You might be the Soul Guardian, but I am the Heart of the Void, although a more accurate title might be 'Soul of the Void'." He spares a glance for the gasping soldier before looking back at the symbol. Once it seems as if the Lord of Skulls won't appear again he looks to Zilira. "I should probably be annoyed that you slipped one of your symbols into my room, but I'll let it slide this time."

"I didn't disturb a nap did I?" Zilira asks with a grin.

Lekkar smiles a smile that looks disconcertingly like Lekan's smile, but not quite right. "Something like that." He turns his attention to Morgan next, still smiling. "Not satisfied with just yelling at Gods now eh Morgan? You've got to start picking fights with them." There was no real venom to his words, which seemed more like a friendly jest.

It isn't until then that he notices the newcomers, frowning slightly. "Drow? Ah, yes, Lekan knew something of their resurgence." His frown deepens and the Hybrid places a hand on his chest. "Something is wrong." He moves towards the two Drow, cocking his head to the side and inspecting them. Up close, his eyes aren't a simple gold, but a swirl of miniature ebbs and flows, like an ocean of gold, while the pupils seemed to pull you in to their endless, almost starry depths. It also seemed to be much warmer around the man, although not uncomfortably so. "Is this..." He stares at them, but it is the stare of someone not actually looking. "...It was so tempting to put, "as if a million voices were crying out and suddenly silenced" .like candles in the wind." His eyes widen in realisation. "I...I can feel them dying." He turns to Salorne's symbol again. "You can feel it too can't you?" Silence. "Answer me!" The temperature in the room rockets to blistering levels in an instant, causing Felynda and anyone else with fire resistance or endure elementsnot protected's skin to become uncomfortably hot. The Drow's hiss of pain makes Lekkar realise what he had done though, as it lessens to manageable levels almost as quickly, although the Hybrid is still focussed on the symbol.

"Of course." Salorne's steady voice filters through all of their minds. Confirmation, if it was needed, that Zilira was not the only one who could and would use her holy symbol as a quick means of communication. "The Fiends have pulled back for now, but they are still fighting amongst themselves almost as much, now that Lolth is dead. Ciilla and the Children are dealing well enough with that for now though. Once I find the vampire I intend to return to the surface and gather my clergy in case the Fiends decide to attack there."

Lekkar doesn't seem satisfied by the reply, but his concern for whatever it was exactly he was feeling distracted him enough that he didn't respond straight away and he didn't look like he would be rushing off, so perhaps now was the time to try and engage the Lord of Skulls. With the Hybrid standing in the way literally and figuratively, time wasn't a factor any more, and despite almost having come to blows Salorne sounded remarkably civil in his response, delayed as it was.

~MTWC

[SpatulaOdoom]

Morgan had been counting on Zilira to get word to him while Morgan delayed the Paragon. It works. but Lekkar cuts it close. Very close. Fortunately a look around shows that nobody was harmed. The tall mage lets out a sigh of relief, before dismissing his protective bubble and frowning at the possessed soldier who'd stood in for Salorne.
”Oh look. Somebody who couldn't be bothered to listen and be reasonable got his ass handed to him. What are the odds?”
He gives Lekkar a wry, long suffering glance.
”He started it. I was just hoping to ask him for a little help. He decided instead to murder a man innocent of any crime.”
Lekkar isn't listening though, he's caught in some sort of fuge state. Feeling the deaths of the drow perhaps. Best to speak with Salorne again, before the Paragon's attention wandered.
”So Salorne. Are you willing to listen to my suggestion on how you can help the situation? It's actually fairly simple. I'd be happy to hear what you know about this 'danger.'”

[Acathala]

Nallaul speaks to Lekkar once the newcomer has recovered. "Vendui' there. I am called Nallaul. My companion is Felynda. Yes we just came from there and I'm not surprised it got worse, as it was already pretty hellish when we left. Ira's dead until they get a replacement. Who might you be?"
When Salome mentions hunting a Vampire, he asks "You mean the vampire matron? If so, then I hope you catch her." Nallaul turns to Zilira. "She claimed to be around at the Demongate Wars. I don't suppose you remember her? I always wondered if she was full of it."
Finally he can't put this off anymore and faces Xu'deln. "I know you probably won't believe me, but I'm not here to hurt you." He sighs and offers this as an explanation. "You're still the only one your mother loves." The mage briefly looks old and sad for a moment.

[Makenshi]

Originally Posted by Nallaul

"She claimed to be around at the Demongate Wars. I don't suppose you remember her? I always wondered if she was full of it."

"Arra'aste? Unfortunately, she's not lying. I had heard she died at the end of the Demongate wars, but evidently she just decided not to show her face after the fighting ending. Unsurprising really, even then she was only barely tolerated so I wouldn't have been surprised if they turned on her at the end."

Originally Posted by Nallaul

"I know you probably won't believe me, but I'm not here to hurt you." He sighs and offers this as an explanation. "You're still the only one your mother loves." The mage briefly looks old and sad for a moment.

Xu'deln looks as if he doesn't quite believe the mage, but he does seem somewhat alleviated by the last remark, muttering to himself. "Was it really her then?" Shaking his head, he looks to Nallaul. "Maybe, but you were the only one who she respected, who she would actually listen to. She didn't even listen to Myr'delith unless she had to."

Originally Posted by Morgan

"So Salorne. Are you willing to listen to my suggestion on how you can help the situation? It's actually fairly simple. I'd be happy to hear what you know about this 'danger.'"

Once again, Salorne is slow to respond, but he does reply to the question at least. "The...'realm' is a poor word for it, but it will have to do - the 'realm' which he is connected to, is more than just a realm of those that have died. It is a realm of those who will die and who might have died had they existed. That is where their foreknowledge comes from, but more importantly, it means that he is not just a bridge to this world for beings dead from our past, but beings that should not be alive now, or even in this world."

~MTWC

[Acathala]

On Arra'aste Nallaul merely states "Well I feel better about including her claim in my unofficial history of the Drow. Gul owes me a drink.... Oh my, he's probably dead. I hope it was quick at least." Given what they did to Fairy, he is not hopeful that his former student had a swift, painless death.
The mage smiles a little at Xu's words. He didn't need to say that to Nallaul, and the arachnomancer is apprieciative. He frowns a little as he realises Xu said he saw Xufaer. "Wait, you saw your mother?"

[SpatulaOdoom]

"Alright then. Next question is, can you interact with that realm at all?"

[Makenshi]

Originally Posted by Nallaul

"Wait, you saw your mother?"

"Not recently." Xu'deln clarifies. "Before I left. She told me that Myr'delith was going to kill me if I stayed. That I should run away to the surface, pretend to be a Drow-touched. I still don't know if it was really her or not."

Originally Posted by Morgan

"Alright then. Next question is, can you interact with that realm at all?"

"Only in my aiding souls to pass over. I preside over the process of death, not its aftermath, and so I have no connection to that Limbo, or what might lie beyond it."

~MTWC

[Acathala]

"That could have been her. I'm fairly certain she was at the limit of what she could do to protect you. I think that bitch Myr'delith had enough to accuse you of heresy." He sighs. Nallaul wouldn't have put it past that conniving, evil man-hating bitch to make him complicit in Xu's execution, to drive a wedge between him and Xufaer.

[SpatulaOdoom]

”Let's say for a moment that killing him is off the table, for whatever reason. If you've got a young lad with reality endangering powers, I'd say terrorizing him is about the last thing you want to do. Much preferable is trying to give him a nice calm, stable environment, that he has no reason to attempt to lash out or panic. To that end I was hoping you could help us do something about all those spirits that are endlessly tormenting him. Could you possibly provide some sort of barrier for Xu'deln between those boundaries?”
Morgan had been hoping Salorne had some servants or the like on the other side, but apparently not. Still, there was more than one way to skin the proverbial cat.
”Lekkar? Lekkar, would it be possible for you to send me to that in between place the way the Elder did when I visited it in the dagger?”

[Makenshi]

"It is not what he could do that worries me, but what others could do with him. Not everyone will have the same intentions that you did, and even that backfired in a manner you did not want. What if something else had come through?" On the matter of making a barrier around the Drow, there was another pregnant pause from the Paragon. "Possibly, but it would likely interfere with his own magic, and I've no idea if Shade has any wards in place that would prevent it."

Kala quickly starts to sign, her gestures empathic and somewhat angry looking. This surprises Mortimer for a moment before the cat translates, unsure if Salorne can understand her gestures. "How is that what Airis does and what I may be able to do is not an abomination?"

"You have limits, such as one body, one soul, but more importantly you only bring back those who died unnatural deaths into their own bodies. Not only can Xu'deln be used to revive anything that has lived, will live, might live or might have lived, but as you saw he can do so into a body that is not their own. It is like comparing the constant, consistent flow of a river to the ever-changing tides and currents of an ocean."

It takes a few moments for Lekkar to realise that he is being spoken to, and he is obviously still distracted. "Hmmm?" Once Morgan repeats his question the Hybrid frowns. "I believe so, but I wouldn't recommend it at this time. I am a newborn after all, still experimenting with my abilities, limits and memories. It's also-" He stops as an idea occurs to him. "The coin that you were given. You said that it gives you a sense of deja-vu? Perhaps that is because you learnt more from your first visit than you can remember? May I?"

~MTWC