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

Tidus (Blue+OTA)

[blitzcheer]

mountain climb;

It's hard to see anything in this storm, and it's gotten to a point where Tidus isn't sure his magic can really do much to aid. But he tries anyway, offering to use barrier spells to surround and protect them of the winds and ice, some small means of keeping off the storm. Lea's fire may be more useful for keeping warm, the fire sprite with Galo too, and they may be able to work some of the available heat within the barriers.

But it's tough to say how long his own spells will last, though he'll renew any waning spells no matter how it exhausts him, grimacing through the cold.

"Keep close!"

summit;

But finally, they make their way out of it. The freezing chill still clinging to them--or it is Tidus--but he doesn't care. Limbs stiff, he sees the cage and finds himself sick to the point of just wanting to tear it down. Good thing that's the point, really.

He sprints through the weather, using magic to aid in being quicker than he should; using it as a means of escaping the ice sprites as best he can, while he tries to focus on the fire cage. Conjuring up large bubbling spheres of water that eat away at the flames when he can get the spells to go off.

"Get lost!" But the ice sprites are nuisances for a guy whose fire spells are weaker in comparison, slower to cast. He throws some out as he can as balls, but he's attempting to focus on the cage for a reason. Backup wouldn't hurt in the slightest.

sovereign freed;

He doesn't know what makes it come to a stop. It's cold on the ground--should be, anyway, but Tidus falls back onto his butt, sitting, dazed and the cold warmth keeping his body from feeling the chill. The contrast is almost startling--if Tidus could even comprehend it right now. Or wanted to.

"Can't believe we made it..."

royal lake hill;

He doesn't have the energy to bask in the awe of those within the village, and luckily, not everyone is easy to tell as one of the grand heroes or however they're being heralded. The mission's been personally emotional draining, but a rollercoaster too. He's not completely sure what he wants to do, until he sees some faces he recognises.

He wants to catch up, see how people are doing. So he approaches those he knows, asking with a tired tug of his mouth not entirely a smile, "How're you doing?", if they don't appear immediately occupied.

Other than that, he can be seen around with a...digital camera, is that? Taking snapshots of the town they're in, even in the adventurer's guild, to capture one of the large kingdom map. Though he doesn't appear to take any interest in any of the more pleasing-looking structures, taking a few snapshots of the other voidtrekeckers, particularly any weary groups.

And then later, he goes off, finding a place to himself up on the city wall. From a distance he seems to be writing inside the notebook issued to him by the train, using the quiet and privacy to concentrate. But the second he hears a sound, he snaps the book shut and looks up, letting out a sigh.

"Oh-- hey."

wildcard;

And for anything else, wildcard me up.

Sovereign freed

[faimommy]

"Wheet-woo~" Fai calls out with their success.

And then, there's a thud as Titus fall's over and Fai blinks for a second to see what happened.

Fai laughs a little and offers his hand to Titus.

"But we did it. ...Well, you guys did." He tries to play it off as if he didn't do anything himself.

[blitzcheer]

It's true, he shouldn't really be on the snowy ground or anything, but Tidus is looking at that hand and contemplating its offer.

"'You guys'? Hey, it was a team effort." Tidus doesn't know which guys 'you guys' would be but he doesn't want to take any extra credit over anyone.

But also, more importantly- "Do I have to get up?"

mooom just five more minutes-

[faimommy]

"Well, yes. But I didn't really make an effort," he just continues to smile.

Through a variety of reasons; for one, he's not sticking his neck out unless absolutely necessary. And the same could be said for his lack of magic.

Fai offers a shrug.

"No, I suppose you don't have to."

And a moment later, he'll retract his hand if Tidus doesn't take it.

[blitzcheer]

It's odd, and Tidus isn't really sure what the guy is saying, but he doesn't take the hand to get it. Huffing some, but easily getting up onto his feet.

"Well, it's not like it's easy to know what to do in these things." Missions, and not if you don't have any skills that can help. "Who are you?"

[faimommy]

"Hm. Yea, probably." But if he had a point, he doesn't elabourate on it any further.

"Fai D. Flourite." He smiles and gives a polite bow. "I've been here for... a couple of months, I guess?"

That isn't to say he's been going out of his way to make acquaintances with everyone, either. Also for a variety of reasons.

"Nice to meet you?" he says almost playfully.

[royal lake hill]

[alongtailtalltale]

When Tidus finds Tangle, she's in the middle of telling a story to a group of rapt listeners.

"... and there were so many of them! They kept jumping out, one after the other! But it was no problem for my partner and me! We showed those blighted rats who's boss!"

On noticing Tidus, her eyes lit up, and she immediately waved him over. "Oh hey! Look who it is! The man of the hour! This is the guy I told you about, everyone! The guy who could make water explode!"

[blitzcheer]

Wh--

All faces turn to him, a few awed remarks coming out -- 'Really?!', 'This guy?', 'Wow!' -- and Tidus looks flustered, swinging his gaze from the small crowd to Tangle, as if searching for some kind of save. What did she just drag him into?! He wasn't prepared!

"Hey-- what about you and tail of yours?" But it turns out he doesn't need a save, not when he's been in situations like this before, his face breaking into softer edges. "She shown you how it turns into a fist yet?"

'Wha? A fist?!', 'No way!', 'Show us the fist!'

Now the attention has turned eagerly back again onto Tangle. And with the one young girl hopping on place to really see a fist tail!

[alongtailtalltale]

Now it's Tangle's turn to look flustered! "Uh, well," she said, thumbing her nose. "If you really wanna see it..."

She uncurled her tail, and raised it up... and closed the tufts at the end of it into a fist-like shape! Then, she struck a pose.

"Ta-da!"

[blitzcheer]

There's awed gasps, and the girl who'd been most fervent about seeing it steps forward out of the crowd, reaches out to touch it- though first pausing and ask, 'Can I touch it?'

Who knows the next time she'll get the chance to, with another like Tangle? When Tangle is one of the kind round these parts!

[alongtailtalltale]

"Eh... sure, why not?! Go ahead!"

Touching it would reveal how strong it felt, like firm muscle... also, it's very fuzzy!

summit- Hope kids come backup mister Tidus!

[myblueskies]

"Line!"

Romeo is exhausted. He's been exhausted a lot of this mission, he's used his powers a lot more than he has before! But he is determined to help all his friends, friends from the train and the wolf friends they have met on the way!

He throws a line between Tidus and the storm sprite swirling in at him, eyes dart around for heads of blonde hair, trying to keep track of Elfnein and Alfredo.

He spots the latter and also Madoka who doesn't have blonde hair but is another friend he's been watching out for. He calls over to them, "Let's stop the sprites from getting mister Tidus while he attacks the cage okay!"

Let's Captain Planet this thing up! AIR!

[hisblueskies]

"You can count on us, Romeo!"

Comes Alfredo's returning cry. He feels exhausted, and terribly cold despite Tidus' own help, but that just drives him to help Tidus in turn all the more!

Glancing carefully about to see if anything else is going to tackle him mid-step, he makes a run for a spot in Tidus' blindspot, where he can help shield the older boy.

if madoka is heart can she too get a monkey?

[happyends]

It's odd just how much more overwhelming this got. It's not like Madoka hasn't been scared during the escalation points of other missions - she has, plenty of times. But after her powers disappeared, it's like the scale of everything just grew so much bigger. Everything feels so much more dangerous and scary when there's little she can do about it.

Thankfully Tidus at least made sure she wasn't going into this without any ability whatsoever, but that doesn't make her any less nervous. She hasn't used it much before now! What if she screws up? What if she makes all this just harder on the rest of the team?

But despite the heavy beating of her heart, Madoka runs over all the same so she's close to the boys, frantically looking between them and the sprites seemingly hovering everywhere.

"I-- I can't do much about them!" Better to admit to that first before anyone expects her to pull out a no-longer-existent bow!! "But I.. I'll make sure no one gets blown away!" Or try to. Anyway.

wait i never watched captain planet, is there a water

[blitzcheer]

what is this team up.

Whatever this team up is, they don't go unnoticed by the sprites. The one stopped by Romeo's line blasts ice shards in an attempt to break it. Another two have come out, swirling in their own miniature storms, getting closer to Tidus, Alfredo and Madoka. Hovering high up, they blast wind at them to try and throw them off balance!

It's a strong gust, and though the protective barriers Tidus put up for the kids (and himself!) before helps to keep off some of it, the combined forces of the two sprites are strong!

And for Tidus, his barriers are always weakest from the back. And he's turned from the sprites as he tries to keep attacking the cage with water. The force knocks him onto his knees.

I've also never seen it ALAS

[myblueskies]

"Line!" His borderline had shattered from the attack but he throws up another a second later, covering Tidus on one side after he is knocked to his knees. He can see Alfredo and Madoka trying to help as well and he runs to get closer to Tidus!

"Mister Tidus! Do you want me to make you invisible again?"

If the sprites couldn't see him he should be able to attack the cage without them attacking back!

"Line!" That was an attack, towards a sprite that was getting close to Madoka.

Royal Lake Hill

[knifewithnoname]

She was enjoying her last day before getting back on the train, she had been mostly wandering the markets, watching people and checking up on those she knew whilst trying to not be worried about those she couldn't find. Stupid people, going missing in the middle of a mission, even though she was a bit of a hypocrite, because she had once vanished in the middle of a mission too.

It had been stupid.

She spotted Tidus, saw him pointing a device at things, was that a computer? It doesn't look at all like Peter's computer. She has no idea, she follows him from a distance, interested.

She follows him to the walls, she thinks she is being silent but when he speaks she blushes. Was she that much out of practice? Perhaps. It had been a very long time since she had shadowed anyone.

It was still embarrassing. "Hello Tidus."

[blitzcheer]

The device sits beside him, in view. His notebook on his lap, and it may not have even been B that alerted him but some other sound; he looks jumpy to begin with, but relaxes after. Gives her a smile and nod.

"What's up? How was Red Team?" A huff- "A bunch of annoying fiends to deal with?"

That was usually the case.

[knifewithnoname]

"Yes, the monsters did be being annoying, but then Mami did be wanting to be going to be seeing Madoka so we did be travelling to where blue did be being and that did be being stupid cold and it did be being two days of walking through the snow."

Worse than fiends honestly. Though she isn't complaining that hard, she feels her and Mami did well all things considered and she wouldn't have let Mami go alone.

[blitzcheer]

I didn't forget the switch you can't prove it.

Her and Mami, huh. "You two close? Or were you just watching out for her?"

He isn't sure about the situation that brought them over, either case. Knew that Mami and Madoka were friends, but if Mami was already with the Reds...

[knifewithnoname]

"We did be only meeting a few weeks ago, on the island." She wrinkled her nose, "We did be seeing each others memories."

And now she had Mami's feelings in her head and it was stupid, but also it was so much like a bond of Priestess and Warrior that she couldn't ignore it. It would be wrong to.

"I do be protecting her."

for inigo;

[blitzcheer]

You won't have to listen to a peep from me anymore, so just-- just take care out there.

He was hasty. He wasn't thinking straight. That's what Tidus wants to tell himself; now that he's had time that wasn't him shoving himself out of sight everyone, actually engaging with people. Now that there's-- something in him again, other than an emptiness he doesn't know how to function over. A frustration, but better that than the nothing that was the alternative.

Inigo. How was he, this entire time? Terrible, Tidus figures, more terrible than he needed to be. But with him being so stupid, never speaking to him, and then losing Gerome-- Inigo was great at going on no matter what. To a point that worried Tidus, and that was no secret. But hiding exhaustion and wounds was a different kind of pain from loss. He doesn't want Inigo to hide, but as he searches for the other guy in the village soon after his own return, seeing a few Purples but not him--

It's a big town. He could be anywhere.

Tidus sees that the communications on the SCAs still work, and finds a single name.

He selects it.

[flatteries]

Inigo feels his everything freeze up when he looks down to see the name on the screen of his SCA. Sure, it's not.. a total surprise that some people may be looking for him, considering Inigo is trying really hard right now to stay out of everyone's way until he feels relatively okay enough to be presentable to others again. But this, specifically-- He keeps staring at the name as the SCA keeps trying to grab his attention. Tidus.

What does he even do? He promised the other that he wouldn't have to hear from him, so would answering the call now break that promise? It'd be easier too to just not answer. Especially now, when his emotions feel so incredibly raw, when it feels hard to even try to hide them like he usually does.

But he thinks of what Della said. And somehow that's what makes it harder to ignore the call. What if Tidus does want to hear from him and ignoring it would be the rude thing to do here?

.. He doesn't know. Inigo just genuinely doesn't know, and yet the SCA keeps buzzing, telling him to decide.

It's really starting to seem like he won't pick up, but then there's a click.

There's no voice on Inigo's end. After all, he promised-- Tidus wouldn't have to listen to a single peep from him. He won't break that unless Tidus asks him to. But despite the lack of any answer, it is obvious Inigo picked up-- there's background noise, the faint but consistent murmurs of people chatting in the distance.

[blitzcheer]

It's a horrible sensation over his heart, watching and waiting for the call to take. Both afraid of if it will, if it doesn't, or if Inigo will clearly and deliberately close the call, for a bonus third possibility. Tidus is zoned in on his SCA and nowhere else, tucked against the side of a wall leading between one road and out into the open marketplace. Listening. Hoping. What will he even say?

The click sounds. He thinks for one dreaded moment it's a disconnect, and sees instead--it's connected. A soft murmuring on the other end, and he waits, unsure if Inigo hasn't spoken on purpose or if he's still getting ready to speak.

"Inigo?" The murmuring continues, and admittedly, Tidus isn't giving him much time to decide on responses or what to do. That is the noise of the town. That's Inigo somewhere on the other side. His voice catches in his throat-

"I wanna hear a peep from you." It's like being in that car again, faced with Inigo, getting that chance to say what he's wanted to say for a few days now. I don't want you to stop talking. I'd never want to stop hearing from you. A contradiction to how he's been, he knows, and he doesn't care. It's the truth.

He speaks again, voice small but impassioned. "Where are you?"

[flatteries]

I wanna hear a peep from you.

So what Della had said was right. Tidus really had been trying to reach out to him already during the mission - no matter how indirectly. Inigo is unsure how to feel about any of it. It just feels heavy, more than anything. But maybe that's since everything feels so heavy right now, his thoughts weighing down on him, threatening to crush him.

Maybe he just shouldn't think about it and instead just let this happen. Inigo hadn't even tried to imagine what it'd be like the next time he'd see Tidus. He had been so convinced the whole mission that the other hated him, surely would never want to see him again that he didn't even think about this.

And now it's happening, and Inigo has no idea what to do.

Other than to answer. He owes Tidus that. That, and so much more.

"At the marketplace." There's no forced cheer in his voice, no fake smiles. It's like the smallness of his voice matches Tidus's own, though it's a bit more shakey. "In the alley behind the stall with all the colourful fabric." Hiding away from the crowds, the noises. The familiar faces he can't face.