Posted by Alyson on 6/2/2009, 7:22 pm, in reply to "Re: A Merciless Ending To The Mercy Family"
Without a word, Willow Bark walked over to Sally Mercy's fallen form, scooped her up into his arms and carried the dead woman over to the circle where he set her among her family members. He once again took his place outside of the circle and waited to see what would happen next. While all of this was taking place, War Scribe silently stood aside passively recording all that she observed in her giant tome.
The Gamer took his place before the central seal, opposite the Mercys. “This will be similar to how we created the Gate to the Dragons' Graveyard. We'll be going clockwise around the circle, starting with Kana in the east. As I signal you, focus on the idea of creating that Gate. Draw on the power of your Weapon, and send it to the next person. Serna, when I give you the word, send the gathered energy to me. This is the last point where questions would be appropriate. Once I've started the ceremony, we need to stay focused.”
After he was certain everyone was ready, Tommy took a deep breath, centering and grounding himself. As he shifted his awareness into the Eye of the Serpent, the stone in his eyesocket began to glow a deep red. He turned towards Kana.
“Buer, Grandmother Huntress, I call upon you.” As the Gamer spoke, the seal in front of Kana started to glow a sunlit yellow. A strange form faded into view at the opposite side of the seal. As large as a man, it was shaped like a five-branched star or wheel, each branch composed of a satyr's leg. The center of the body facing him was a green, hag-like face, smiling beatifically. From the other side came a growling, like that of a large, angry cat. The apparition began to roll from leg to leg along the circumference of the circle.
“Thou has summoned me again,” Buer spoke in a kindly voice from the hag's face. “What is thy need?”
“We have a Great Work before us,” the Gamer replied. “I call on you to guard this Circle and lend us your aid. This fulfills the Pact.”
The cat-face squalled angrily, and the hag-face smiled sadly. “As you will, so shall it be.”
*********************************
Tommy met Kana's eyes, and nodded to her.
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Visualizing a Gate, Kana drew her Bow and fired it upon Alyson.
However, the Energy Arrow mysteriously bypassed The Elementalist and flew straight towards The Swordsman.
The Gamer then turned to face Alyson in the South. "Acerak the Devourer," he declaimed, "I call on you! Lord of the Tomb, Master of Death and Undeath, be here with me now!”
As the Gamer spoke, the seal in front of Alyson started to glow the red of the setting sun. Within the seal, dust swirled in from the surrounding air and up from the ground to form a yellowed human skull with the jewel as a tooth. A moment later, gems winked into being, so that each eye socket and the space of every tooth was occupied by a shining diamond, ruby, emerald or sapphire.
The jewels glow briefly with an inner light, and then Acerak spoke, his dry voice filled with contempt. “Why do you call me again, child?”
“We have a Great Work before us,” the Gamer replied. “I call on you to guard this Circle and lend us your aid. This fulfills the Pact.”
Acerak laughed, sounding like a death rattle. “As you will, so shall it be.”
***********************************
Tommy met Alyson's eyes, and nodded to her.
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Alyson followed Kana's lead by catching the magical energy from the bow with her staff of elements, and sent forth the collected energies of both weapons onto Lord Irzen.
The Gamer turned then to the West, facing Sterling. "Savnok the Instigator! In the name of the Brothers whom you served and whom you betrayed, I call on you!”
As the Gamer spoke, the seal in front of Sterling started to glow the the blue of the open sky. Out of nowhere, an arrow appeared above the seal, as if fired from the darkness into an invisible target. Then a dozen more arrows whistled into the seal, each one landing with a metallic ping. Trickles of blood spouted into the air where the arrows hung, and as more struck home, the blood gradually outlined a heavily armored form that seems too broad and powerfully built to be human. Any features were obscured by the plate armor and helm, as well as the rivulets of blood and the many arrows that peppered its form.
When Savnok finally spoke, it was with a gravelly voice that seemed heavy with resentment. "We have made our bargain, oh insolent one. Why do you call upon me again?"
“We have a Great Work before us,” the Gamer replied. “I call on you to guard this Circle and lend us your aid. This fulfills the Pact.”
Savnok seemed for a moment about to argue, but then nodded. “As you will, so shall it be.”
**********************************
Tommy met Irzen's eyes, and nodded to him.
**********************************
As the Energy Arrow reached Irzen, the Drow closed his eyes and concentrated upon the image of a portal. The Swordsman held Evenflow aloft and caught the Energy Arrow upon his blade. Pointing his Weapon of Power at Serna, The Dark Elf released the larger and more powerful energy arrow at Kana's Ex-Servant.
The Gamer turned at least to face Serna in the North."Halphax, the Angel in the Angle! Your brother in spirit calls to you to fulfill the Pact of Souls!"
As the Gamer spoke, the seal in front of Serna started to glow the green of the oldest forests. For a moment, nothing seemed to happen. Then, space around the seal appeared to warp, growing deeper and extending to what seemed an infinite distance beyond the horizon. In that distance, a figure appeared, and suddenly the distance closed, bringing Halphax into his seal. Halphax took the form of a gnome wearing leather breeches and a vest, both of which were covered in pockets and loops for holding tools and items. The tools of an engineer hung from his belt, and he slouched with hands in his pockets as if bored. Halphax's most striking feature, however, was that he seemed to have no flesh and bone beneath his clothes – only broken bits of stone and masonry - the shattered features of bas-reliefs and gargoyles making up his face.
“We have a Great Work before us,” the Gamer intoned, knowing Halphax would speak no word. “I call on you to guard this Circle and lend us your aid. This fulfills the Pact.”
The strange Gnome nodded, and though no words were spoken, the meaning was clear: “As you will, so shall it be.”
**********************************
Tommy met Serna's eyes, and nodded to her.
**********************************
Serna held up her shield as the Energy Bolt struck her Weapon of Power forcing her to dig in her heels. Gritting her teeth, Kana's Ex-Servant gave a low growl as she thrust forward sending the slowly growing ball of energy towards The Elementalist.
((OOC Tommy: And next we start the actual spell! I wonder what Gareth would think of *this* little endeavor.))
((O.O.C: Hehe, Wait til Alyson does a ritual or ceremony, Tommy. It'll be just as long or intense as this one.))
((OOC: Gareth would be proud of Tommy for taking the time, expense and trouble to engage in the necessary safety protocols via the proper rituals and incantations to pull off such a dangerous spell. He would note that even the most reckless spell done in a none reckless manner is more beneficial and less harmful than a non-reckless spell done in a reckless manner. Yep! Gareth would applaud Tommy's efforts. Safety first!))
((OOC: Dear All, I'm sorry that I had to jump the gun on Alyson to keep this game going. But my patience has been short as of late.))
((O.O.C: Apologies to all for waiting too long. My bad. And I forgot to add what Alyson was supposed to do following Kana. Sorry.))
