Posted by Irzen, Willow, Aurilaz & Serna
on 9/17/2009, 7:50 pm
Closing her eyes, Kana ferreted out Mermidon and Quake to see what was going on. Opening her eyes, she turned to Aurilaz, "Your zealots are fighting with the others of my group. Stop them and bring my friends to me unharmed."
"As you wish, my Mistress Master!" declared the Black Dragon before she transformed herself into a voluminous black mist that quickly seeped upward through the cracks of the cavern ceiling and out of the Adventurers' view.
Closing her eyes again, she silently sent a command to Quake to scout out Venger and his army without interaction, then to return post haste.
Upon opening her eyes again, she looked at Tommy. "Suggestions?"
"Power corrupts," the Gamer commented lightly. "Absolute power...is kind of fun!" He shook his head with a smile. "Sorry. Two things." Turning to Alyson, he asked "Do you think you can get a Sylph or something similar to our friends before Aurilaz gets there to let them know that she is more or less on our side? I don't think they'd trust it from Myrmidon or Quake, all things considered." He turned back to Kana. "And a bit of hopefully redundant advice with regard to the Talisman - think about what Waylon Mercy would do with the Talisman, and how that would make you feel. And think about what your Teacher would tell you to do. Beyond that... Watching Aurilaz transfer the Talisman to you gave me a much better appreciation for what it is. I'm going to have to rethink my ideas a bit. Terenor didn't do things by halves. Of course, neither did Dworkin. Hmm. That gives me an idea..." His voice drifted off in thought.
The elementalist smacked herself in the head, "D'oh! Thanks Tommy for the reminder of why power corrupts absolutely." Alyson made a gesture before the wind blew briefly then stopped suddenly, "Nevermind, gamer. The dragon beat me to the others. Just got word from Quake."
Tommy shrugged. "Not your fault. And hey, what good am I if I can't trot out sage advice at a moment's notice? At least I try to be not quite so arcane about it as Dungeon Master," he concluded with a grin.
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"I'll go first!" volunteered the Swordsman who without a moment's hesitation walked through the veil and into Aurilaz's chamber where he discovered Kana, Tommy and Alyson talking amongst themselves. Calling back to the others, Irzen declared, "It's okay, guys, you all can come on through!"
Neven and Serna cautiously entered through the portal but all of their caution disappeared when they saw their two mentors alive and seemingly well.
"Master Tommy!" the Thief smiled as he raced towards the Gamer, "It's good to see you. I'm glad you are still alive. Are you well? Is there anything that I can do to help?"
"Whoa, hey, slow down!" the Gamer replied. "I'm fine! Even managed to dodge the Vast Cosmic Power bullet." He nodded towards Kana. "Unlike our friend, here. And there is something I'm going to ask you to do, but it can wait until quite a bit later."
"Okay! I'm game for whatever it is you want me to do," offered Neven eagerly before he thought about what he said for a minute and added, "No pun intended."
"Tommy, what's going on here?" asked the Swordsman, "Quake pointed out to us that Aurilaz no longer possesses the Talisman. Who has the thing if not Aurilaz? And did you know that dragon pulled a tac nuke strike on the village we passed coming up here? That's right! It's gone! And every living soul in it. Did Aurilaz say she was going to do that on her own or did someone else command her to do it?"
Tommy shook his head. "Kana, no I didn't but it doesn't surprise me, and no, I think that was her interpreting Kana's order…creatively." Towards the Wolfen, he continued, "And that's probably your first important lesson in the use of the Talisman. Dragons are still Dragons, and Aurilaz is still an evil Dragon. There's a reason that 'never deal with a Dragon' is such a popular saying."
"Mistress Kana!" cried the Shield Maiden in relief as she raced towards the Archer. Yet when got close enough to see what was around the Wolfen's neck, Serna put on the breaks and clasped both of her hands in front of her mouth to contain her surprise. Lowering her hands, the Shield Maiden gasped, "Mistress Kana! What happened to you? What is that thing around your neck? What's going on?"
The Ranger came through the portal next, studied the scene around him and merely acknowledged The Elementalist's presence with a firm nod all the while keeping a safe distance from Alyson.
Aurilaz rematerialized within her lair once more and bowed low before The Wolfen, "My Mistress Master, I have done as you commanded. What is now thy bidding?"
Kana had turned as she heard the others come into the chamber. She looked at Serna as she ran up to the Wolfen, a small smile flitting across her face before it disappeared. Her eye's still slightly distant. She then turned to Aurilaz.
"I did not look to see what your intentions were to be with your zealots," the Wolfen told the Dragon. "I did not wish for them to die. This has now created an unbalance. Go now to your sleeping chambers and rest. I will deal with this later."
"I only obeyed YOUR orders, my Mistress Master," replied Aurilaz as she moved off towards an adjacent cavern where she could properly retire, "I stopped my followers PERMANENTLY! But I will do as you command, my Mistress Master--for now."
It did not take long for the massive beast to disappear within the deep recesses of the hollowed out mountain within which she dwelt and sink into a deep slumber.
Kana's eyes glazed over suddenly as she looked at the chamber wall. Grey-blue lichen suddenly grew around her as she just stood there. Then it stopped as she turned to look at Tommy, tears in her eyes.
"What's wrong, Mistress Kana?" Serna was deeply moved by the Wolfen's tears, "Why won't you answer me? What is that thing doing to you?"
"I have seen Venger with the Talisman," Kana told Tommy. "What is your thought, Amberite, so that we may stop this from happening?"
"Actually, I have several thoughts on the subject," the Gamer began, "but most of them can wait until we have everyone caught up. One doesn't directly relate to Horn-head, but does tie into the Talisman and power in general. Please, call me Tommy. Not Amberite, not Gamer. The same goes for Alyson, Serna and really just about everyone. It turns people into objects. I hope I don't need to explain where that leads." He paused. "As for Blue Boy, I don't speak his name for the same reason that He Whose Name Cannot Be Spoken is called that. I wish neither to bring myself to his attention nor to give him power. There are additional reasons, but they aren't relevant here."
Tommy turned then to his recently arrived friends. "And speaking of getting caught up… It's good to see you all alive and well. I understand you had some problems with a few of Aurilaz's servants. We had a remarkably interesting conversation with Aurilaz – as you can probably imagine – the upshot of which is that Kana is now the Bearer of the Talisman of Dragon Control. And I have a better idea now of the Talisman's nature, at least enough to know that my original idea for altering it so that V would gain no benefit from it won't really work. Which isn't to say that I'm out of ideas, mind you." He looked around. "Are there any important details anybody needs to add, or can we get started brainstorming a solution?"
"I have fought battles in my lifetime and I have never, ever witnessed such Death and destruction as I have seen this day," Willow Bark sighed as he shook his head, "I am all for any plan that does not duplicate the same."
"Ditto!" chimed in Neven and Serna somewhat eagerly.
"I sympathize with you, Willow," confessed the Swordsman before he turned to The Gamer, "Tommy, I have this to add. Willow detected that Venger and an Orc Army of at least company strength--that's roughly 100 to 200 in all--are not more than fifteen minutes away from here. If the Dark Lord is riding his Night Mare and keeps pace with his forces, then he and Shadow Demon will not be more than ten minutes away from us. I'm all for brainstorming and listening to any thoughts you have on this subject. But if you are going to share them with us, I recommend you better do it now."
Irzen turned towards The Archer, "Excuse me, but did you say something, Kana? I thought I heard you calling my name."
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