Raven's looking for lesser officers again, if there are any to be found. And if not, regular soldiers work too. Once she's got a talkative - and possibly well-lubricated - group, she asks casually, "You lot get involved in that mess I was hearing about earlier?"
The group of NCOs laughs. They seem to laugh a lot. "What, the riot? Lir no! They don't pay us nearly enough to mess with mages blowing off steam. No, there are mages who deal with that, we're in the army, we're for fighting enemies, not citizens..."
"There's mages as could take all that lot down, so we just make sure they have their own areas and that no one murders the fire brigade, and wait for some real action."
"Don't listen to Vittalio, he was raised on hero stories of the black road. Nobody wants real action."
"No, soldiers are happiest when the worst thing to fear is an ambitious captain..."
Raven snorts. "Ambitious captains ain't captains for long. You seen any real action, Vittalio?"
"No, Captain. Little things, but not like before."
The senior NCO laughs. "You, Captain? How'd the black tides work in your homeland?"
"How'd they work for anybody's?" Raven asks dryly. "Did my time in the Navy during that mess. Can't say as how I'm sure everything we fought were what you'd call men, exactly, and lost touch with a lot of folks back home, but I guess we came through okay. Yourself?"
He takes a drink. "Saw a lot of men die, here in the north. This wasn't always the northernmost outpost, even if it's named for it. We used to have towns further north. We survived. I was with a group that came south."
Another NCO replies. "The good news was when we got far enough away, the Wizardfolk were more than helpful in terms of blowing the enemy to pieces."
The older veteran laughs. It's a short, barking noise, and by itself it refutes the last statement. "They weren't about to let anyone get in the way of their plains of anarchy."
Raven snorts and shakes her head. "C'mon, now, can't leave a man hanging with a line like that. Can't say I have more than the first clue what happened outside me and mine, other than who's standing and who ain't. Anarchy?"
The soldiers laugh. "Isn't this where he complains that storytelling makes him thirsty, Roe?"
"Oh, yeah, I'm sure he can't go on without a drink..."
The older veteran turns slightly red. "It's thirsty telling, that's for sure. It's what we call the Plain of Towers when the war fever hits the mages and they make it impossible for a man to survive, unprotected, out there. Our mages ain't their mages, but it's close, and they that look for that kind of place, they generally find it. I have mages in the family, it's not a safe thing."
"Thirsty telling deserves a drink." Raven waves at the nearest barmaid for another round. "'Specially when I get to ask the dumb questions. I ain't so familiar with mages - know enough to know when to run, but I generally try to stay away, to tell the truth. What's this Plain of Towers?"
The man thanks her for the drink and takes a good-sized slug before continuing. "It's not a legend, I've been there. A land where heroes roam the scorched plains, fighting for and against the lords of the towers, who are magicians who make ours seem tame. Some of the locals, who can find it, go there to train.
"I fought there for a season, before the black road. Learned a lot, saw a lot of death, saw magic that our mages just can't equal."
The younger soldier speaks up. "They say we came from there, in the first place. They say the Tower Lords Raised the Gate."
One of the older men puts his hand on the boy's shoulder, and he sits back.
"Mm. I heard of a Plain of Towers like that," Raven offers. "Seems to me it was a long way from here, though. Don't know, of course, but that's what I heard. Shouldn't be the same place, I guess, unless you know something I don't."
"Oh, at least one thing. Not all natural ways between the worlds are on the sea, Captain."
The older vet shrugs. "I hope to the de'il there aren't two such places."
Raven snorts. "Did I say they were? But you're right - if it ain't on the sea, it ain't on the charts I know. Not that all of those work proper these days." She reaches for her drink. "But it sounds like you might know more about the ways on land than I do. How'd you get over that way?"
"The lure of adventure, Captain. Or at least that's what I called it when I had no cash and no skills and no prospects, and yet these foreigners would take me for their 'easy job'.
"There's a market for mercenaries for hire in Gateway,and half the jobs are underwater or to foreign lands..."
At that moment the entire bar became silent at once, as everyone could hear, from the direction of the castle, the ringing of the tocsin bell.
"Well," Raven says dryly, "that takes me back to my days in the Navy. Do we keep drinking and let the lads on duty take care of that, or are you lot off to die nobly for whoever's in charge today?"
Their chairs are all scraping back and their drinks are all being finished. "If it's a fire, we all help. If it's something magic, we stay back in case it starts a fire."
Raven hears howls from the Weir. They seem to be all around. People seem less inclined to go outside.
"I'd suggest you stand back, then." Raven drops a handful of coin on the table and gets up. "You got a few Lords of Amber in the area, and they ain't too pleased with those as are in charge. Can't say as how I see that you lot should be, either. Not when there's boys getting turned into birds and sent off to die in mage games for what ain't much more than the kind of thing most boys get up to once or twice." She adjusts her coat before shoving her hands into the pockets and giving the men around her a level look. "Now, I'm not saying you should stay here and make sure this bar don't catch on fire - but I'm thinking most sane folk ain't going outside to set fires with that racket, and the ones as are responsible for this mess... well, they'll be out of your hair soon enough. So maybe instead of watching for fires, you should be passing the word to keep heads down until the storm passes."
The others all look to the old veteran who was talking about the Plains. He picks up his drink. "Captain, When you see your Lords of Amber, just remind them that there's two kinds of citizens here in Gateway Above: Mages and those who take orders from Mages. I got no arguments with Lords of Amber, personally. No Lord of Amber ever tried to kill me, and I hear they can be decent drinking companions.
"You best be about your business, and we'll be about ours."
There's a clear path to the door.
"For all that I don't know if they've got the first idea how to not draw attention," Raven says dryly, "I think they got the sense to know that most folks don't have anything to do with what's gone on. But I'll remind 'em again. Have a safe evening, all of you."
And with that, she takes the nice clear path to the door and leaves them to it.
Outside, she'll see if she can't figure out where... whatever it is that's happening is happening... and head that way.
There's a tiny storm, not over the entire town, and it's against the wall some distance from the tavern. The center of the storm is to the north. That seems to be where it's all happening.
On a parallel street (or as near as there are to parallel streets with the streets are laid out by cowpaths), Raven sees someone out in the rising wind, running directly towards the center of the storm. He's very, very fast, possibly magically fasted. Raven recognizes his cloak.
It's Weyland Smith.
Well, either he's backup or he actually knows where he's going. Raven gives a piercing whistle - the kind that generally gets a ship's worth of attention - and heads his direction.
He's running, fast, like an Amberite can run fast. He's also doing something that seems like he may be casting some sort of spell ahead of him, towards the people.
Raven isn't sure she can catch him. She'll be lucky not to lose him.
Then trying not to lose him it is. And imposing on the universe that the people Weyland is clearing out of his way are going to safely stay out of Raven's as well, while she's at it.
Weyland takes three steps and leaps upward. He grabs the edge of his cloak and starts to flap it like wings.
Since it carries him upward into the storm, it's a rather good analogy. Raven might be projecting, but the cloak seems to have long feathers at the ends, like an Emuraptor's.
Once properly attired and an idea of what Brita and Raven are up to, Jerod heads off to meet with the Mayor, being sure to arrive a little early, partly for appearance and partly to scout the area and get a feel for what is up.
The Mayor has Jerod escorted to a room that's probably technically in the castle's wall. It may be, in other times, an Officer's Dayroom for the keep. It's furnished with plain but usable furniture: a wide table, a series of chairs. There is a raised dais at the far end, about 18 inches tall.
"We should be free to speak here, Master Cambric. Let us assume that your offer is ... tentatively not rejected. Tell me what you want us to do, and what you offer for it."
Jerod smiles slightly, noting the beginning of the delicate art of negotiation that precedes any form of betrayal involving one's superiors, or those that might be trying to induce you to betray them. Despite the access to table and chairs, Jerod remains standing, more comfortable being able to move while he speaks, as well as being more flexible if things go bad.
"I thank you Mayor for your... tentative... consideration of my offer." he says. "With regards to what the terms of the contract would be, I think it would be fair to start with what is being offered first, before we go to the idea of what is being asked for. I find that always helps to put things in order, gives some perspective.
"Let's start with peace. Peace of mind that an unpleasant situation is being resolved. Peace of mind that a neighbour with a long memory and sometimes limited ethics is suitably placated from deciding to act on their baser natures. The Princes of Oberon can be very vindictive at times. I sometimes wonder if it is a condition of having lived so long.
"I think we sometimes forget how all these things translate down to the general population. It's easy to think for leaders 'What do I get?', when it might be more appropriate to ask "What do we as a society get?'. Certainly not having the kingdom pounded into rubble is a good thing, and I think everyone can agree on that.
"One might also consider the peace of mind of continued good governance for Gateway. We all recognize that when the circumstances of history impose themselves, as happened recently with the Triumvirate, those in lesser positions that ensure the smooth operation of society are frequently at a loss to act against something they might not agree with, but perhaps lack the power or opportunity to act against, for the benefit of society. So having those people once more in authority, being able to act in the best interests of society as a whole, as opposed to the interests of a few, is a good thing to receive. All they need is the...opportunity...to act."
He pauses to tick off points on his fingers. "So, let's see if I covered everything...general government stays in place, annoying neighbour is kept in check, Gateway is not pounded into rubble, which of course means that no serious loss of life, trade and good fortune continues for all and the people go about their daily lives pretty much normally."
Once done ticking off with his fingers, Jerod looks over at the Mayor. "That's the product that one is buying. As for the price...the ones who started all this silliness. Maybe some of their more intimate flunkies too, depending on how much they know and how deeply they were involved, but the three are key.
"And I know the leader Dexamine is here now. Apparently not sleeping too much either."
He closes his hand then. "That's my pitch. Are you of the mind to try to make a counter-offer? Or are we in agreement?"
The mayor holds up his hand, one finger up. "Let's go back to the first part. Peace and peace are all important. In war, it can be simpler to determine if one's enemy is true to his word, the torch can be put to the powder and the fight engaged. In peace it is harder, because one must sift through all the offers and options and determine which are true without being able to test the mettle of the man behind the plan.
"In short, how can I have the peace of mind that you can deliver the peace you have in mind? Amber, I mean. How can you guarantee Amber will listen to you? It serves us not to follow your lead and still be pounded into rubble."
"Because his Majesty, King Random, sent Prince Jerod, the son of Eric, along with others, to Gateway to determine whether to have peace with Gateway, or burn it to ash as a lost cause." Jerod says.
"And having put the tinder firmly into place, I'm the one who is deciding right now whether to light that fire."
A small hand reaches out from the tapestry behind the dias at the back of the room.
"I told you he was here, Mistress." Phillipe leads the way in, followed by Harper, the Gatwegian Ambassador to Amber.
"Yes, Castellan, this is the Amber Prince and he is right, he is both the threat and the salvation of Thule and Gateway."
She curtseys as if she is in Eric's throne room. "Your Highness, an unlooked for pleasure seeing you here. The Castellan is my second and third cousin, once and twice removed, respectively."
The man nods. "We hear from the thief that you want to stop Dexamene's connection to magic. And then take her far from here in the ways of your people so she cannot return."
"We would be a position to support a rising by the Academy, which would either capture or kill the other Triumvirs."
Harper nods. "It would be best to sail into the gate with a ship crawling with fighting men, carrying Dexamene's head on a pike, but other arrangements may be made.
"Which is to say, Prince Jerod, what exactly do you want of us, in all of this?"
A nod to Harper's curtsey is followed by a flat response. "A clear path to Dexamene." Jerod says. "And the other two. Alive. They all have something to answer for, and I want what they know. And while one of my cousins has a rather morbid ability in speaking to the dead, I'd rather not call on him if I don't need to."
He looks at Phillipe for a moment, before smiling slightly. "You need to work on your thieving urchin routine. It worked on my associate when you were exploring his pockets but you're just a touch too smooth in buttering up the royalty. Shows you've been around more than you let on. Get it fixed and I might have a job for you."
Looking back at Harper, he continues. "If we need to sail into the Gate in a show of force, then you should know that I lead the Weir now. Our ship has a contingent aboard for my use. I have two other Family members at my disposal should they be required."
"Oh, and Marius' father has come looking for vengeance upon the Gate. Thankfully we've been able to get him to adjust his expectations a bit. I wouldn't recommend pissing him off though.
"Where is Dexamene now?"
Harper nods. "We can give you Dexamene, but the other two might try to flee or defend themselves. A quick strike here followed by a quick strike there is the best bet. Don't let them regroup when news of their leader's capture becomes known. You might even send your ship and Weir ahead, if you can use magics to get from here to there in the same night. I'd give Marius' father what he wants, if I didn't need the triumvirate to placate you..."
Phillippe smiles broadly at Jerod. "I wasn't always a pickpocket, Prince Jerod."
"Yes you were," interrupts Harper.
"Alright, yes I was, but I wasn't always just a pickpocket."
The Castellan clears his throat. "I would recommend, your highness, that when you do whatever it is you're going to do to Dexamene, you consider punching her very hard in the nose, so that she doesn't surprise you with her non-magical skills."
"He won't need to," says Philippe. "Assume I can play rougher, if I have to, yer grace. What job y'got fer me?"
Harper just looks at him, somewhat disbelieving.
"A punch to the nose, or the equivalent, is fully intended." Jerod says to the Castellan. "I'll want her docile when transferring her to his Majesty for questioning.
"As for sending the ship ahead, I will check to see if the Family mage I brought along is up on getting me from here to there very quickly." and he makes a note to talk to Brita about trump sketches.
"Now, assuming we are reasonably successful and the Triumvirate are no longer an issue, let's discuss the follow-up. There will be a power vacuum and I'd like to know who will be occupying it."
Harper grins. "A unity coalition of the native institutions of Gateway, friendly to Amber and Rebma, but decidedly Gatwegan in nature."
Phillipe says "She means herself and her friends at the Academy, yer lordship."
Harper glances at the boy again, her moment spoiled. "Precisely."
"So I would presume that none were associated with Huon?" Jerod asks. "Her majesty in Rebma has him as a ....guest. He's working off his penance for awhile after killing a lot of people, but we both know he's got a unique position being Family and all. His associates are another matter. There are many in Rebma who will remember their dead for a long time. I'd prefer not having anything exasperate that."
"The Scholastium Arcanum declared itself neutral and withdrew to the college boundaries when the triad came to power, so yes, not friends of Huon. How vicious does Amber require us to be, in order to assure peace? Like the Castellan here, many people would have accepted the new order and not resisted too much. Most people were not powerful enough to fight the coup, and they arranged for most of us who could to be elsewhere first.
"You can verify any of this you want with Thalia, once we get to Gateway."
"What I require is control and follow-through." Jerod says simply. "Bodies and brutality don't make for an effective change-over. There are those who think it does, but thankfully they're never in charge. I don't want any of the hangers-on from the old regime being around to screw things up if they're likely to. Those who went along because it's convenient, suitable or they had not choice are not an issue - they're always the majority of the masses. It's the individuals I'm concerned about...the ambitious ones, the fearful ones or just the greedy ones. Even if they are obedient to the return of the old ways, their presence could cause distractions when I am dealing with other matters that will require my attention.
"His majesty will expect that should such a situation arise, that you'd deal with it internally. An issue the crosses boundaries of kingdoms would require his attention and that's not what either of us want. I personally am not interested in how such situations are resolved, so long as they are.
"I think that just about covers everything, don't you agree?"
Phillipe speaks up. "One thing more, Your Grace. Part of convincing all the parties to agree to this may include some form of assurance that Amber isn't just dragging the triumvirate off and murdering them. Do you have complete confidence that your cousins and your uncle aren’t going to exercise private vengeance?"
Harper looks at the thief as if he's grown a second head. "Not that we care if they do, and it might be advantageous 'twere it so..."
Phillipe just shrugs up at her.
She continues. "We accept your terms and agree to the arrangement as stated."
Jerod nods once. "If his Majesty had wanted the Triumvirate dead, we wouldn't be speaking. You, or any of the survivors, would be picking up the pieces of what's left of the Gate," he says to Phillipe, before pausing to check to be sure his triggers are still in place. Once that is done, he returns his attention to the group.
"We have our work ahead." he says, speaking to Harper. "Let's see about getting this dealt with, with a minimum of casualties."
Harper nods. "So, the plan. You do your Amber magic to stop her magic. She falls asleep or is overcome by the the Castellan's guards, who put a bag over her head and shackle her hand and foot. You carry her like a sack of potatoes to your ship and we all sail to the Gate to finish the war.
"If that is the plan, then it seems the first move is yours, Prince Jerod."
"Point me to where she is and have the guards ready." Jerod says. "On the off chance she has access to a source of magic that transcends the Gate's, then I'll deal with her personally. I will need to collect one other person before making my way to deal with her."
The Castellan arranges a quick and covert trip to the appropriate quarters.
Phillipe says "She's behind that door. If we open it, or even make too much noise, she'll be aware of us. Assuming she isn't already. If she makes me an emuraptor again, I swear I shall take her eyes."
Brita grins at the little scamp, but her eyes find Jerod's, "The Order of This Day - No Magic Here." She turns to the door and her hand sketches a brief pattern - reminiscent of the Paris Pattern's start as she focuses the Order of the Universe. With two Of Order here, she is sure the probability is high that Their Will can Cover the meager magics of this shadow in this area, Blanketing those around them and Smothering the local magic's meager sparks with the strength of the True Pattern's Fire.
If there is no stalling action from Jerod, she will knock on the door.
Jerod raises his hand just enough to forestall her knocking on the door. "Two seconds." he says.
Then he reaches out to his triggers that he set up previously, and pulls one.
It does not last long, but any number of things shift slightly when Jerod uses his trigger. Things that were done are undone. And the ties do not reassert when the magic returns, moments later.
There is a crash, as if someone had fainted and fallen to the floor.
A heartbeat later there is a tremendous whoosh! And a frozen blast of air blows out under the door.
Knowing that Brita is basically going to be either at his back or right beside him, once the crash is heard, Jerod is kicking in the door and going in.
Brita is definitely beside him as he barrels through the door. She is keeping the Pattern in the forefront of her mind in case it is needed.
The door splinters under the force of two high-fire Amberites in a hurry. The scene beyond is unexpected. Dexamene is on the ground, unconscious. Where she was likely standing there is a figure that can still be seen. She looks to be made entirely of clear ice, but disfigured. She may have melted slightly in Jerod's magical interruption. She says something in a strange, painful language, a language of Chaos, and icy tentacles twist out of her finger and head towards the door.
"Lir!", yells Harper, jumping back...
Brita Cannot find it in herself to be afraid of ice, having wintered in Jötenheim with her Grand Mater many times. She uses a twisting Kata taught by Master Ngyuen and reminiscent of the Pattern to snap a boot or arm through any reaching tentacles.
Brita snaps the ice tentacles like dry twigs, and the pieces fall to the floor. There they quickly melt and run back into the creature's feet.
Jerod's impression of the situation is a blink as the memory of the Black Road comes to the background, but the Pattern comes first as he summons it, focusing it squarely on the figuring to fix it in place and deny it any chance to adjust or effect anything in this place. He knows enough of Brita to trust her judgment while he is busy.
Jerod treats this as a creature of the Black Road and it seems that it is, perhaps protected by Dexamine all this time. His pattern use reinforces the reality of the shadow and prevents most effects the chaosian might use. The creature hisses in desperation, but quickly realizes that it is trapped, and chooses flight rather than fight.
It reaches down and scoops up the unconscious Dexamene and leaps through the casement window, leaving ice and water in its wake and embedding parts of the window frame in the ice creature.
Everyone rushes to the now-demolished window casement. Three floors below, it lands in a courtyard with a crash, but it seems to be reabsorbing itself quickly.
In a nearby tower, someone is ringing the tocsin bell.
"By the Unicorn, I hate being right." Jerod mutters as he looks down before bolting in pursuit. "We need the Weir." he says to Brita as he is leaving at speed.
And then he howls....and he makes sure that it carries, without a doubt.
Brita, noting the placement of window ledges and casings, takes the direct route down out the window. Once on the ground, she gives a fierce Viking battle cry and gives chase.
Harper makes the sign of the Unicorn, and Phillipe looks at her. "It's not that I'm religious, it's just... that."
Brita makes a leap that requires a goddess -- Harper and Phillipe will not be following. She lands in a three-point stance and takes off into the streets of the city, the thrill of the hunt in her blood and the baying of the weir in her ears. She can smell the blood of the wolf-creatures from all around, even in the city. People fear it, and are right to do so. Brita concentrates on her prey. If the creature is as magical as it seems, it won't stay on foot for very long.
Clouds blow clear of the moon and Jerod's cry is answered from half a dozen spots in the city, some close and some far. Jerod can imagine no sane Gatwegian who would not hear such and lock her door and stoke her fire against the encompassing darkness.
The tocsin bell continues to urgently ring, but it is unclear who will brave the howls of the night to fight the emergency it portends.
Jerod follows in a slightly less "super-hero leap" fashion, more grateful for the training that parkour can provide (he used to think it was silly in Shadow Earth, but not anymore). He knows Brita is the better tracker and her senses will track it better. He focuses on short, sharp howls to focus the Weir towards him, gathering the pack to him in preparation for a fight. He is also comparing the direction Brita is taking and considering where the creature may be going with Dexamene in tow. If a probable destination makes itself apparent, then he'll increase his pace considerably.
The creature moves fluidly, its body sometimes stretching out, sometimes contracting as it takes corners and runs through the town. It seems to be headed directly north, back to what was called the black ice in this shadow. The weather seems to change near it, becoming wetter and slicker. It wasn't snowing before the incident and the full moon fights with the clouds, making eerie snow-shadows in the air and on the ground. Jerod notices that parts of the town are on fire, although it's not clear how the creature started that.
Brita can keep up, but she doesn't know the town well. Luckily no one is about. The creature tries a trick that will almost certainly set the Weir back: it runs straight onto the town's main lake, skating across the surface of the water as it freeze in front of it. It will definitely reach the wall before the Weir, and on the other side of it is forestlands.
Brita grins - Her Element! She calls on both her heritages to bend the water to Her Will. She is the North Wind as she races out on to the lake, bringing a blast of frigid air that causes little ripples in the lake which instantly harden to ice, creating a good, ridged tread for fleet paws and boots. The water in the air around her condenses into fat snowflakes, powdering the ice to create more traction. It is also highly probable that there is an area in front of the creature where the wash of minerals from the forest streams that feed the lake have changed the salinity of the water enough that it will not freeze at expected temperatures.
When the chaos creature sees Brita's handiwork, it changes tactics, and begins to run upwards at an angle. It's hard to see what it's doing. Maybe it's creating an ice-bridge for itself, maybe it's running on the snowflakes.
It's hard to say what effect Brita's probability manipulation has, but she knows from hard experience that if the creature's magic is chaos based, her pattern effects are going to be diminished.
The clouds around the moon darken, and a there is a flash of light and a deafening boom on the surface of the lake. The lightning breaks the ice and some of the Weir fall in, but the others on the outskirts reach the wall and begin climbing. They are barely slower going vertically up the walls in the storm then they were on land, and it looks as if they plan to physically intercept the ice creature, if Brita keeps driving it towards them.
Being able to take in the situation, Jerod decides that the weather needs to change to be much more favorable to their own conditions than to the creature's and make appropriate changes, hopefully slowing the creature a bit to allow the Weir to engage and thus giving him enough of an opportunity to catch up and do the same.
Brita hears the lightning strike behind her and recalls a trick Uncle Thor taught her - she Pushes to force as much of the salinity and impurities in the water-laden air into a narrow column in front of the creature, providing an easy path for the sky to discharge to the ground. She continues to follow.
Using Pattern in the vicinity of Sorcery or Sorcery where the Pattern is being used is always hard. Somehow, here, it's harder, as if something is intentionally suppressing their effects.
Both Jerod and Brita succeed in their tasks, but not their aims. The ice beast is neither struck by lightening nor does it seem to be slowed.
It reaches the top and leaps over, like a pole vaulter crossing the high bar. At the same time one of the Weir leaps at it.
The lightning, building up for so long, finally crashes down.
There is a blinding flash, and a crack like the end of time.
There is nothing but whiteness.
Then nothing but darkness.
When it clears, there is nothing where the three being should have landed. But there is one set of paw prints going off to the north.
Jerod shakes his head to clear away any residuals from the flash. Then he is off in pursuit, spear in hand. An idle thought circulates that maybe he might find out where the spear's components came from, but he doesn't dwell on it.
Brita continues her pursuit, scenting the wind as she follows the paw prints - is it just Weir or is it something More, now?
And Raven, muttering under her breath about people that take off flying, similarly is along for the chase.
The Weir are stamina runners, with only brief sprints to take down prey. They fall behind as the trio from Amber race into the woods. They'll catch up, eventually. In the meantime, they're preventing the prey from circling back.
In a clearing shot through with moonlight, they see a new trail branching off from the first. These tracks are fresh, small, and human, as if Dexamene split from the creature here.
Above them all Weyland soars like a giant eagle, wings wide and paying no attention to the storm. He doesn't attempt to communicate with the ground party. He doesn't deviate from the northward path.
Brita scents the wind, coming from the north. The creature either is intentionally leading them by its scent or else it has to go north and does not care that hunters are downwind. She smells a human, the Weir, and something acrid, all taking the path with the Weir's footprints.
And the entire place stinks of emuraptors.
"Keep Dexamene as the target." Jerod will say to Brita as they run. "If we need to, be ready to send her through to Random. I want her alive, and Weyland may disagree.
"And be ready. There may be dragons or worse the further north we go," he says to both of them.
"Human, Weir, and other All Track Together," Brita notes, continuing to follow the paw prints.
"What's north of here?" Raven asks, mostly directing the question at Jerod since Brita's doing the tracking. "Besides dragons. Because he," she points up, "looks like he's got an idea where we're headed, and I was talking with some soldiers about the Plain of Towers. Said they'd gotten there from Gateway by land, and that ain't anything I'd heard you could do, before. Of course," and her voice goes dry, "didn't get a chance to find out where before this stopped being the quiet way."
[OOC: Immediately north of here (past this arm of the Emuraptor Forest) are a range of hills that were probably mountains long ago. They are the reason for Thule’s existence, because they mine the rare Mountain Copper (a magical metal) in them. Mountain Copper burns, under the right circumstances, which is why there is such a strong tradition of firefighting...
Beyond the hills is only the frozen north, which however populated it used to be, was destroyed in the black road wars...]
An ice-ball flies upwards at Weyland from a spot directly north of the clearing. He does something back, and there's a small fire burning. The smoke that comes back towards Brita is acrid, and could interfere with tracking.
"The Plain of Tower isn't good." Jerod says simply. "But it would fit with Weyland, and Chaos."
"And Chaos?" Raven scowls. "Great. And now fire. There ain't an easy way to catch up or get ahead of them, is there?"
"We could Rip a Hole Ahead of it," Brita notes conversationally as she glares up at Weyland. Uncles - always making things difficult! She begins to track with both scent and sight.
Weyland seems to be herding Dexamene and her demon ever so slightly further west than their original path led them. That way lies the darker forest, and possibly the shadow-path to the Plains.
Brita smells and sees a wild emuraptor in the trees ahead. It doesn’t seem disturbed by the storm. There's at least one more behind them, between them and the Weir.
"Wait." Jerod says. "Let's see what Weyland is up to. I don't want to break this place unless we need to. If we get to the Tower Lords, that's another matter. Then we may start breaking stuff real fast."
Brita nods in acceptance, "No Holes," she says. She continues to move forward, however, to get a better vantage point on the battle they can currently only see from the air. She is keeping an eye on the emuraptor.
The emuraptor spreads her wings and puffs up, but it's clearly a threat meant to keep the humans from coming closer. The bird does not make any more aggressive moves, unless bothered.
The ice creature/weir/witch/whatever it is and however many there are of it is pushing forward to the north, and allowing Weyland to lead it further inland.
Brita can tell that wherever it is that Weyland is pushing it towards is the only place without the smell of emuraptors. It smells -- warmer.
"Our Winged Kin is Trying to Warm Up our cold prey by Driving it Inland. What is There? One of Cousin Ossian's Volcanoes?" Brita is skirting the emuraptor's territory as best she can while still tracking the ice demon and mage. "Anyone have Uncle-Intent Interpreting Skills? I do Not Feel like Yelling 'What in Grandmare's Name Are you Doing?!?' to the Heavens." Brita is obviously not well pleased with this latest example that the older generation are all cut from the same 'mum'-ified cloth.
"Well, I'm guessing throwing a rock to get his attention ain't going to go the way we mean it to," Raven says dryly. "Didn't have much luck flagging him down on the way here, even before he decided to start flying."
"Can you tell if he's running magic or real sorcery?" Jerod asks Brita as they continue the pursuit. "He's using something to keep aloft. If things go too silly, nudging him a little to get his attention might be in order. Might piss him off, but that's a risk."
It's a mix: He's manipulating probability to keep his cloak aloft and he's using an odd flavor of shadow magic (not like the Gatwegian shadow magic) to blast the creature.
"As for what is North...if it's Ossian's volcano, that's easy to handle. Not sure if warmer is going to be unpleasant for the Ice queen though. It's Chaos after all."
Brita doesn’t smell anything that would indicate a Volcano. Unless it was a Magic Volcano. She does smell something odd on the wind. Odd like two-things-in-the-same-place odd.
"Our Chosen Reality is keeping him Aloft. Shadow Magics - not from Here - are his Weapon of Choice," Brita responds to the first question. "I Do Not Sense a Real Volcano - Just a Warmer Duality. Maybe Something Left from the Black Times - although That would Not be Where I would Drive a Chaosian Creature."
"Then let us be what everyone sees Family as being...opportunistic." Jerod says with a smile, one that could almost be wolfish. "Let the Smith push the creature where he thinks it might be best. We'll see if it gives us an opportunity. And if he's busy with the prey, we can focus on the pursuit and seeing what's up ahead."
"Probably ought to be a little closer, if we're looking for an opportunity." Raven makes a face. "Can't say as how I want to get caught by a stray spell, though."
Ahead Jerod sees a circle of standing stones in a clearing. It's where the Smith is driving the creature. It's heavily populated with Emuraptors.
It runs looking backwards, between two of the largest stones, and disappears. Weyland stops casting bolts and power dives towards the stones.
It's probably the natural shadow path that was rumored to be around here.
Brita gets the feeling that someone is trying to contact her via Trump.
Brita slows but does not stop. "Who Calls?" She says loud enough for the others to hear.
"Hello, darling, it's your mother. Is now a bad time? The King has called a conclave of all the family and is brooking no excuses. Breakfast tomorrow at the latest, but earlier is better. I don't think everyone knows, but there's a reason.
"Queen Vialle is with child."
Jerod hears but does not slow down. If anything he wants to get to the stones faster and increases his speed.
A Conner-watt grin burst forth from Brita. "That is Excellent News, Mother! I am with Cousin Raven and Cousin Jerod and will Relay the Summons. We are Chasing chaos Right Now in Shadow Gateway's Realm with Master Smith. Is He Invited?"
Brita speeds back up to chase after Jerod as she awaits the answer.
Fiona smiles her more-composed smile at her daughter. "I suppose, although nobody expects him. Don't let him give you any weapons, he's got... something of a reputation, really. If you can't come immediately, don't lose track of the time differential. There's nothing worse than accidentally insulting the monarchs. Oh, and anyone else you come across who's family. Mother seems to think Dworkin is out that way, so if you see him, pass the news as well."
Well, summons usually means 'hurry up and finish what you're doing and get back here,' in Raven's experience - assuming it doesn't mean 'drop what you're doing and get back here' - so she puts her head down and puts on some speed as well.
Jerod rolls through the shadow-gateway between the two stones, with Brita and Raven close behind, covering his flanks. There's a drop off, as the gate is perhaps ten feet in the air. The Chaos creature and Dexamene are fully separate here, and already some distance away across the vast plains. In the middle distance Weyland is flying. His magical strength seems to be significantly greater here. In the far distance there are towers on the plains: tall, spindly things that look to be indefensible, unless their goal is to provide a greater line-of-sight for their occupants. An Emuraptor flies overhead, just passing the gate without entering. It looks less unnatural here, somehow.
Jerod looks at the Chaos creature and Dexamene, and they're moving unnaturally fast. Jerod doesn't think that he’ll catch them on foot.
"Either we speed up or we turn back." Jerod says. "Got anything to boost us?"
He also decides that the Emuraptors are going to think that Dexamene and the Chaos creature are a lot more like "lunch" than they had previously considered. He'll see if that slows them down a bit.
"Could we ride something?" Raven eyes the area. "I mean, I ain't seeing much in the way of horses right now, but anything that goes faster than we are and can be pointed in the right direction before it eats us is better than this."
Raven looks around the plains. Endless waves of grains. Emuraptors. gophers. Towers in the distance, the fleeing pair and the pursing airborne Smith. Not much else.
Brita, spurred by her Mother's call, pushes at Time and Space to speed up her steps and those of her cousins across the plain. She works to make each step touch down farther than a normal gait (thinking a smaller version of seven league boots here).
This is an easy shadow to use sorcery in, but it is somewhat dampened by Jerod's pattern use, as his pattern use is interfered with by Brita's sorcery. Things are moving, but there is definite drag on the process.
Brita makes a face at the dampening. She didn't know jerod was still using Pattern.
There's a loud squawk behind the three. A pack of Emuraptors are staring at them. They aren't looking aggressive, but they clearly think humans are... unusual. They don’t seem afraid.
Raven eyes the emuraptors thoughtfully. "Been a place where they rode birds. They were a bit bigger than this lot, but they were faster than a horse. Look like a damned fool riding one, but if you two ain't got a problem with that, maybe we ought to take a minute here..."
Brita makes another face at the suggestion. "I have Also Seen Bird Mounts. They Tend to be Not As Easy to Control. The Valiant Emuraptors May be Too Smart to Allow Riders, but We can Try."
"I'm game. Better than falling behind." Jerod says. "You want to try a bit of suggestion sorcery, or just the old fashion horse-sense?"
They have neither bridles nor saddles.
"If they're smart enough to talk to, maybe we can tell them what we want?" Raven shrugs. "Dunno what you can do with magic. Mostly what we did, where I was, was blindfold 'em, hop on, pull the blindfold, and then use the wings like a rudder. Well, and hope like hell you needed to go in a straight line. Been on rowboats with no oars that were easier to steer. But mostly right now, we need to go straight, aye?"
Jerod frowns only momentarily before deciding he's not going to wait. "Animals respond to hierarchy...who is in charge, who can eat you and who chooses not to eat you when they can." he says. "Let's see if we're really top of the food chain around here."
With that he will pick out an emuraptor to approach, the least timid and the one that looks the most "comfortable" around people. He will make a slow approach but not tentative as in appearing to be afraid (which he's not). Like when dealing with horses, he is ready to punch one in the head if needed to get both its attention and its compliance. Assuming he can get close enough to one to actually touch it and let it get used to the idea of close contact, he'll see what is the best way to jump on based on its physical structure.
(Assuming he gets that far, he's going to hop onboard...if he doesn't, then he deals with the new situation).
Jerod hops on, and the emuraptor takes off at a run. Luckily it was pointed in roughly the right direction.
He's now alone and ahead of his partners, but he's moving really fast. Holding on takes effort.
Brita turns from watching this maneuver and shrugs at Raven. Before moving towards one of the birds, she pulls out a small hunk of bread and some jerky left in one of her coat pockets from when she was painting. She approaches a bird large enough to carry her and offers the bread in one hand and the jerky in the other. Assuming the emuraptor takes on of the proffered treats, she will then say to it "I Ask You to Take me to Follow Your Kin and Mine." She then attempts to hop on its back and will hold on to the strong joint where each wing joins the back. "Let Us Fly!" she calls to her mount and guide.
Raven similarly shrugs, but she's smiling faintly. She picks an emuraptor that is (a) big enough and (b) pointed in the right direction and approaches it, muttering to it a litany of what sounds suspiciously like, "Nice big chicken. Good big chicken. All you have to do is stand still long enough..."
Assuming it does, she'll likewise get a good grip and try to hop on.
Like some demented, alternate-universe valkyries, Brita and Raven also mount emuraptors and begin a mad dash across the plains, following Jerod. In their wake, the rest of the flock follows. It's unclear if they are hoping to rescue the others or just following for the joy of running.
The birds are natural runners, and do an excellent job of finding decent footing and setting a fast pace. They also begin honking and grunting, which disturbing sound prevents much conversation. Weyland, Dexamene, and the snow-demon are almost certainly aware of the approaching flock.
It's unclear how to steer them or stop them, but at the moment, all is going well.
If Brita manages to get the emuraptor anywhere close to the snow-demon, she will draw her feet back up behind her and prepare to leap off with a tumbling move taught to her by Master Ngyuen. As she lands, she attempts to turn it into a tumble that puts her back on her feet and running towards the snow demon. [If she is close enough, she will actually try to end up leaping onto or running into the demon and the knife is out as she comes up.]
Brita manages to come up in front of the snow demon, which roars a blast of freezing air, cold as Ragnarok and as full of the scents of death, into her face. She slices at the beast with her knife, but it does no more good than stabbing a snowman. It swings a fist at her and she ducks, but feels the cold breeze from the creature's arm as it passes over her.
Brita roars back at the creature with a combination Viking/ice giant yell - she wintered in Jotenheim a couple of times with her grandmother. She then begins a weaving kata of blows, kicks, and blocks that force the creature into a structured dance with her through the paces of the Pattern burning in her soul.
The creature follows Brita's moves until it realizes what she is doing, or at least until the first burn marks appear upon it. It howls and abandons Dexamene and starts running across the plains. It is quite fast.
From above her, Weyland shouts down, "Worry about her, not that!"
Brita scowls. Uncles are a Pain. She decides that it the probability is high that the chaos being is creating a negative disturbance in the shadow that the positive ions in the storm are attracted to in another lightning strike, before she turns back to the group.
Jerod will be doing a combination of activities, including hanging on, using his knees to direct the emuraptor, similar to how a horse archer would direct their mount while shooting, and scanning for their quarry, which is Dexamene. The snow-demon/chaos beast, if it gets in the way, is basically something to "go through"... with prejudice.
And if Jerod has to "kill it by burning it with Pattern"... well, so much the better.
Raven is likewise headed for Dexamene, with an eye toward being the flanker for Jerod.
Assuming she can work out whether body weight and operating wings like rudders works to street an emuraptor, of course.
Raven circles Dexamene to the east, having gotten some measure of control over her mount. It still doesn't want to run into her, but it's willing to take her close. Raven thinks she needs to dismount to fight, but at this second, she's clearly preventing Dexamene from fleeing.
Jerod sees Dexamene, she's standing ankle deep in what looks like marshy ground, She's using Shadow magic to attack the flying Weyland. Weyland is standing athwart nothing in the sky, both arms in front of him and a spell of his own forcing back the beam of light from Dexamene.
It looks like Weyland will win, eventually, if no one interferes.
Jerod doesn't mind Dexamene losing, but he wants her alive for her information, whereas Weyland's intentions are not quite as clear to Jerod as he might like. He will close on her and if he can get around to her flank (and since Raven is closing he'll see if he can use that as a distraction to aid his own approach) he'll use the butt end of his spear to incapacitate her (he'll avoid head shots if possible, rib hits are so much more effective without being lethal). He will use that same attack to push her out of Weyland's "spell beam" (doesn't want her getting incinerated when her Shadow Magic gets interrupted).
Raven doesn't dismount yet, but she'll get close enough that getting into the fray should be a matter of leaving the bird and taking a few strides in the right direction. The bird is too valuable if Dexamene does decide to cut and run. Or if Weyland decides to scoop the mage up and get out of there once she's down.
And also, enormous ugly bird approaching should be a something of a distraction, rider or not.
Raven swoops at Dexamene, startling her. Jerod shoves at her ribcage with the butt of his spear, and knocks the wind out of her. She falters and Weyland's spell takes effect, turning her into a statue.
Since Jerod knocked her out of the puddle she was standing in, she doesn't actually sink, at least not very far. She's going to be hard to move.
Weyland lands. "One down," he says, smiling. "Good hunting, children."
"One Down," Brita notes, "But We Could have Had Two." She seems a little disgruntled at letting the chaos creature get away.
"We can find out about the Chaos beast from Dexamene later." Jerod says. He understands her desire to "finish the job" as it were, but recognizes when it is better to go with the path that is in front of you.
"I trust you can reverse this. His Majesty will be wanting to speak to her concerning what she knows. Plus a stone head isn't very good for intimidating her other two associates." he says to Weyland.
Raven disembarks from the emuraptor with about as much grace as is possible under the circumstances and lets it run off. "Just the head might be," she comments dryly, "but that ain't going to make it any easier to ask her questions. And while we're asking, where were you chasing her?"
Weyland looks at Brita. "There are only three that matter. And yes, it could be reversed, if I were so inclined. But it would be better to send Random her head to talk to and use her decapitated body as a threat against her compatriots. Or we can skip all that and just turn them to stone as well. Are you three ready to go against the last two? We've literally cut off the head of the snake, but there's no point in stopping."
"I've had enough of the whole talking to dead people routine to last me for awhile. It takes you places that are sometimes better to avoid if you can." Jerod says, mostly to Raven but including Weyland.
"And yes, let's collect the other two as well. Spent enough time out here as I'd like."
Raven snorts. "I'll keep that in mind if I find any chatty dead. Count me in on the other two, but I've got a another question. How are we moving this one and where? Ain't so comfortable with leaving her out in the middle of everything, no matter who's making off with which bits of her in the end."
"She's not going anywhere, but if you want, we can have local tribesman drag her to my tower. If you'd let her fall where she was, she'd be sunk in the peat bog by now, and unlikely to be discovered for half a millennium. No one will disturb her. Not out here." He looks over at Raven. "The middle of nowhere is my home, and we’re closer to it than you might think."
He turns to Jerod. "Now, are we still planning on sailing down the coast, easy as you please, and landing in their harbor, or do we do things more aggressively? I would recommend something fast, since news of our rather flashy disappearance is bound to be headed south already."
"Without Dexamene, I'd wager the other two will be easier to isolate and deal with." Jerod says. "Unless they've all got their own unique little passengers along for the ride. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that now, would you?"
Brita is staring at the rock that is Dexamene. She lifts a hand as if to knock on the surface with a knuckle and then shakes her head and drops the hand as she proposes, "Can We just Rip Through Now? That would be Fast, but do we Need the Weir?"
Raven is looking slightly unimpressed, but doesn't comment further just yet.
Weyland cackles, then stops abruptly. "'We' don't need them, but I reckon 'he' needs them. For political purposes, your Prince will want his allies in on the kill. Is that it, young prince? Or would it be fine if we just went and did the job?"
"There are no politics with the Weir." Jerod replies drily. "Unless you count who gets first dibs at the dinner table. I'd prefer they don't run uncontrolled. Means I have to clean up stuff afterwards and waste time mollifying people when I've got better things to do. If we're in quick, then I've got time to go collect them afterwards and keep any body counts down. Given that we have...news from home...I'm thinking I'm going to be busy soon."
Last modified: 4 December 2016