Adventure On: Finale and Conclusion

[voidtreckermods]

Blue

The Mountain

Once they get close enough everything is storm, ice swirls around them, stabbing them like knives. Winds seem to be actively pushing them away, no matter what direction they approach from. Still the crystal wolves walk on, heads down, paws silent, climbing upwards.

The higher they climb the colder it becomes. So cold that ice forms on eyelashes, that air seems to freeze as it leaves their mouths. So cold their chests hurt. They would not be wrong to assume that the only reason they can withstand this at all is because of the SCA around their wrist.

Ice tumbles down around them often, shaking the ground. The crystal wolves know the way and they keep going, steady on the path. They have spaced themselves out, to be in sight of all those who follow.

The Summit

As they finally reach the top of the mountain they reach a calm space, outside of the swirling storm. Domed across the summit is a fire cage, larger by far than any they have seen before. In the middle of the giant fire cage sits a dragon. White and blue, scales that look as if they were made of ice themselves. Their head was bowed, eyes closed but they are breathing, breath escaping in clouds of freezing mist that evaporated in the heat of the cage.

Around the cage itself are ice elementals, outside the storm these can be seen by the snow they whirl around inside them, each is about three feet tall but fly in a whirlwind as they attack. Like those in the storm they try and push people around and attack with shards of ice. These corrupted spirits seem to have no reason to their attacks, they are just as likely to push a combatant closer to the cage then they are towards the raging storm.

They can be fought, fire works well against them just as ice and cold magic works well against the fire cage itself.

A Sovereign Freed

Eventually the cage stops fighting, fading away into the snow before them. The crystal wolves spring forth, nuzzling at the dragon until they raise their head. Piercing blue eyes look over the group and the dragon bows their head once. They take a deep breath and breathe out over those assembled, cold fire washes over them, healing any hurts that they have, easing their fatigue som

The crystal wolves bow their heads too, a thank you. Aerlie flaps their wings, rising high into the air. Another breath of cold fire flies out around the area, clashing with the storm for a moment before overtaking it. Around the mountain the storm calms, the ice elementals stop and seem to sink into the snow or fade into the air. The mountain descends into a calmness.

The crystal wolves will approach all those who helped free them, nuzzling into their hands, a personal thank you before a shimmering gate opens for the adventurers to step through.

Red

Final Siege

It’s been a tiring three days of protecting the crystals from the creatures that sought their power. But now, as their power is fully recharged it is time to return them to the border. That is going to be a tougher job than getting them to the volcano’s heart in the first place!

They thrum with power and that power is a siren call to the creatures of the area, fire dogs, lizards, fire sprites. Just as the mountain attacked inside the heart, here the spirtes join with the rivers of lava to flood pathways, block routes, making it harder to cross already treacherous territory, or even driving them into traps of waiting fire dogs.

The heat is oppressive, heat from around them, heat from the crystals seems to sap the energy from those carrying them and so the duty is best shared.

Eventually though they arrive at the border, a mess of melted ice and frozen lava. Each of the crystals need to be replaced.

Restoring the Border

Replacing the crystals is a little more complicated than taking them was. Each one needs to fuse with the holder it sits in. It doesn’t take any skill, just someone to hold it in place for a moment whilst the two fuse together and the magic is channelled into the ground.

Holding a crystal in place is a little more difficult when being attacked by the creatures. The fire creatures keep up the attack until all of the crystals have been replaced.

The Land Repaired

When the last crystal is in place there is a ripple across the land. An invisible line, an ancient magic, connects the crystals, seperating the two lands. Ice recedes from lava and the melted snow refreezes. The borderlands of slush undergo transformation as the two elements separate from each other once more. A land of fire and a land of ice, with a pulsing magic separating the two.

The firedogs and lizards retreat, fire elementals calm and join with the lava streams once more. A shimmering gate opens.

Orange

An Important Message

The Huma birds have been carrying crystals and helping the harvesters, protecting them from the blighted birds and encouraging them to work hard.

But those returning to the floating islands on the afternoon of the eleventh day of Horseshoe come bearing black cloth bags in their talons, each has a scroll attached. The Huma birds will make it very clear they are to read the scroll first.

DO NOT OPEN THE BAG UNTIL NIGHT FALLS

Inside this bag are rare crystals. When they are exposed to the light of the sun they will cause the islands to sink back to the ground. After the sun has set tonight please distribute these evenly around the islands and then depart back down to the land below before sunrise. The lands natural magic will do the rest but we do not recommend being on the islands when they fall.

Thank you for your hard work.

The Adventurers Guild

With a long night ahead they may wish to rest for the remainder of the day.

Distributing the Crystals

If they do as they are asked then it will be a long night, there are many chunks of islands and a lot of crystals to distribute. The darkness makes it harder and the blighted birds seem even grumpier in the cover of darkness.

The wind sprites also are not resting and indeed seem delighted that playtime has been extended into the hours of night. Placing crystals is difficult when the Voidtreckers find themselves swept up into the air to dance around the trees.

Getting down by sunrise may be a little trickier than placing the crystals, especially if they have used up their flight potions, but hopefully there are enough people to help everyone get to safety.

Islands Fall

The sun rises, as the first rays of light hit the island they begin to vibrate, shudder. Then one by one they begin to fall, rapidly and chaotically. It is perhaps wise to not be anywhere near the crater as they do so.

They land in a crash of dust, which obscures the area. When the dust clears however they will see a perfect undamaged land. The pieces have fit back together, exactly where they should be, despite the chaos. The land is repaired and whole once more. Huma birds call excitedly as they dart through the air, their land restored.

A gate opens, for them to step through if they wish.

Purple

A Cure

It is day ten of Horseshoe when the first Huma birds fly into the village, they carry crystals either in bags in their talons or in their beaks.

The villagers clearly know what is going on for they welcome the birds and take the crystals thankfully. Anyone not currently fighting or purifying crystals is brought in to help distribute cures.

Actually curing someone is easy, it just requires the crystal to be touch an affected person or creature. The crystals are only good for one cure so those curing the blighted will be required to carry a few and run them to the villages.

Others can take crystals out into the woodland, looking for blighted animals to help.

A Final Fight

All but one of the golems have been found, defeated and restored. The final one has been elusive, not approaching the village or even the nearby woodlands.

The restored golems are back to standing vigil in each village, ready to deal with any attack that may occur.

But when an attack comes, it is not on a village, but on the shrine in the centre. A golem, three trolls and a host of animals, some blighted, some just angry. They attack in the early morning, the villages awoken by shouts and sounds of battle.

Luckily the blighted creatures can be healed, angry animals can perhaps be soothed. The trolls cannot be soothed though and will indeed try to rile up the animals again, to cause as much chaos as they can.

Peace Once More

Once the final golem is taken down, the crystal restored and the trolls defeated there is a quiet comes across the villages. Those who were blighted are cured, the golems are back in their place as guardians of the village and thanks to the adventurers the villages have gotten through this time with minimal damage.

The villagers thank the adventurers, tell them to come and visit whenever they are in the area. A gate opens, for any voidtreckers who wish to return to Royal Lake Hill.

Royal Lake Hill: All Teams!

They return to the tavern, each to the inn that they set off from. The town is a little busier now, more areas have recovered from the blight and it has brought more trade into the town. Everyone is still relatively elderly or young, non fighters. But the market is bustling, there is even a puppet show going on in the square.

Around midday a beeping of their SCA will show a dot on their map where the Voidtrecker Express has landed, not far out of town, and a message. You may remain here until sunset.

It is up to them whether they wish to return to the train or spend the rest of the day in the town. For those staying in town they will find word of their deeds have preceded them and they will find no end of young, wide eyed, budding adventurers ready to buy them a drink or two in exchange for stories.

Comments

[xue_yang]

"I'm dead on my world so this is more like a second chance you could say. The train is boring but there is not much I can do about it." Because if he isn't here then he is dead and living even in a boring existence is better then that.

"There are still other experiments to be done even if I don't have any dead to play with."

[fun_thementalist]

That caused Gen to reevaluate slightly. It's of course why he posed the question like he did. Some people found themselves doing regrettable things due to circumstance, Gen could recognize that. It's - that philosophical term. 'What you do in the dark.'

"I think most people would benefit from a second chance, though few are wise enough to take it," Gen mused, slightly less light now. Yet, still just as curious, he asked, "What sorts of experiments?"

He blinked, and laughed sheepishly, if only just now realizing how inquisitive he was being. "Forgive me. My friend is a scientist, and I'm used to he and his apprentice running all kinds of experiments. I suppose hearing about them makes me a little nostalgic."

[xue_yang]

He holds up the talismans. "I've managed to figure out a few more of these since being on the train. This mission was their experimental phase to see if they would be beneficial. Next will be to see if I can combine their power with the power of a weapon."

And that is an experiment he can now do since he was able to obtain two words to be able to use and practice with.

"Who is your friend?"

[fun_thementalist]

"Interesting," Gen said, peering forward to get a better look. "To what end, might I ask? If they're already showing they have utility ..."

Gen opened his mouth as if to answer, and then smacked himself in the head. "I'll forget my own head next. We haven't even introduced ourselves yet. My name is Asagiri Gen, it's a pleasure meeting you."

[xue_yang]

"Xue Yang. Nice to meet you as well." He offers up his name before giving the explanation towards being able to make his sword have magical attributes.

"A sword and a talisman are useful alone. Each having a certain scenario in which they are better then the other. Swords meant for close combat, talismans good for distance. Combine the two and you extend the reach of the sword and the power of the talisman, making them stronger as a unit. Just like two fighters will always be better in a battle then one."

[fun_thementalist]

Senku had given him a head's up about Xue. This was the man who confessed that he'd killed someone on the train, before. Oh. Well. He already was playing cautiously, he certainly wouldn't stop now.

His expression remained unchanged, curious and a little amused. "That makes a good deal of sense - but I have to ask, as someone very new to all of this - why don't more people combine them, if they're so effective together?"

[xue_yang]

"Perhaps no one has figured out how yet." Which is what Xue Yang intends to do. "Basically it is like inputting spiritual energy into the sword. For cultivators when they use their sword it is already linked to their spiritual energy. They don't have to think about alternate methods. For me, my spiritual weapon isn't here so I need to find a way to infuse energy into a normal blade."

And the blade might not be able to handle it. It is a test he will have to be careful about because he would hate to shatter his blade after just getting it.

[fun_thementalist]

"Because most of our things were left behind," Gen mused quietly, thinking that over. There's additional implications about such a drive to get a weapon, but at least for certain missions that he saw posted by the train, it'd be useful. If Gen was less paranoid, he'd give Xue the benefit of the doubt.

But, given what the man had said ...

He smiled. "It sounds like a tricky sort of puzzle. Requiring a good deal of trial and error - unless you've been able to get any research materials, stranded as we all are on this train."

[xue_yang]

"I have a sword. That is all the research materials I need. I will have time between now and the next mission to figure out if it is even possible." And mostly done in the training car since that is the only place that might be durable enough to deal with any failed experiments.

"I may start with trying to transfer the energy to something else first." He doesn't want to try it immediately on the sword and have it shatter from the attempt.

[fun_thementalist]

"A small scale test sounds just like what my friend would suggest. And then, I'd recommend that he take care, so he wouldn't accidentally set fire to our train," Gen remarked, all amicable cheer.

And then, as if it just slipped his mind - "Ah, that's Senku, by the way. Have you run into him before?"

[xue_yang]

Xue Yang smirks a little at the name. "We've talked a few times. He's one of the reasons I now have a sword. We repaired some roofs." They had talked a couple times prior to that as well which mean Xue Yang had been more willing to do such a task with him.

"I'm aware of how he likes to experiment as well. By using himself." To experiment with death is one that he does know something about.

[fun_thementalist]

Senku, Gen thought, you meet someone who admits to killing someone on the train, and then you help arm him? He supposed he shouldn't be surprised.

"Senku does appreciate anyone he can rope into doing work," Gen laughed softly. "I think that's how he makes all of his friends."

Then, however, Gen sobered a moment, a flicker of something real passing over his face. If only for a moment. "Much like catching the train on fire, that is something I advise him against doing."

[xue_yang]

Xue Yang looks rather interested in that, "Has he caught the train on fire or is that an inevitable outcome of one of his experiments should he do it?"

Xue Yang is just as likely to catch the train on fire if he chooses to play with fire talismans but that is why he needs to be in a place that can handle it.

[fun_thementalist]

"Hard to say!" Gen smiled and shrugged. "I don't believe he's caught anything on fire yet, but you know that experiments - even for a genius - aren't always successful."

Which is why he brought it up. He glanced at Xue casually. "I'd prefer our combination free train vacation and jail to not go up in smoke, which is why I advise caution."

[xue_yang]

Xue Yang smirks, "I suppose I should promise that my own experiments will also avoid doing so." Xue Yang doesn't really care if he burns down a train car but he has already been punished by the people on the train once so it probably wouldn't sit well with them.

[fun_thementalist]

"Perhaps you should, but I know that can be a tall order for some people!" Gen said, as if he's playfully teasing. "All the same, I would appreciate not burning to death if the fire should catch."

[xue_yang]

"You'll just come back to life but that certainly wouldn't be a pleasant way to go out."

Not an experiment he would like to have himself.

[fun_thementalist]

Gen laughed a little nervously, and his trepidation wasn't entirely feigned.

"Yes, I want to avoid dying generally, but if I had to choose, burning to death would not be the way I'd want to go."

[xue_yang]

"Well then I'll try to make sure you aren't around when I play with fire."

Because he's going to make no promises about not burning down the train because honestly it would be fun to watch it happen, even if it has consequences.

[fun_thementalist]

Gen laughed, as if Xue was joking, as if he didn't suspect he was serious.

As if, he didn't suspect that the man was someone who would burn down the train for a good laugh.

"I appreciate your consideration, my friend," Gen said cheerfully. He was going to be as wary as hell around Xue going forward, and keep a close eye on him.

[xue_yang]

It's a smart plan to be wary of him. Even though he doesn't hurt people who he feels don't deserve it, his sense of right and wrong is slightly more skewed them most people.

He sees the village kids coming back and so he stands up. "I think I'm going to wander around before I get asked to do more tricks."

[fun_thementalist]

"I'll entertain them in your absence," Gen winked at him. "Good luck on your escape."