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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Mar 7, 2018 13:35:07 GMT -5
The snow covering the mountains shone a soft pink under the dim light of the red sky. Despite the disquieting scene, all was calm. Very little disrupted the somber atmosphere beyond an occasional bird call or the wind whistling through the peaks and valleys, a sharp contrast to the madness of the invasion that had plagued the island. As one might discover upon venturing into this frozen landscape, the assaulting wyrms seemed to actively avoid the frigid northern region, and those unfortunate enough to have plunged directly into the mountains upon their initial arrival were buried in the snow, frozen stiff, looking deceptively lifeless in their dormant state.
If they were as vulnerable to freezing temperatures as this discovery let on, Swift deduced that it was very much to their benefit that the red dust they emitted could possess bystanders and compel them to do the creatures' bidding. Among other things, it provided them with cronies who could venture into territories unsuitable for the wyrms themselves if, say, they needed to dispose of a lifeform who could be the key to their undoing.
Such seemed to be the case with Evan, as Swift found herself traversing the surface of Crystal Lake in search of the missing slime man, effortlessly and hastily skating across the thick sheet of ice as she scanned the waters below for a familiar blue tint. The cold, stinging winds did little to deter her beneath her scarf and her thick winter coat. In the pockets of said coat, she carried two companions with her: the sole remaining, unfrozen handful of slime that Evan had left behind, and the shrunken mage whose fire magic would hopefully prove useful in this trek.
Sometime into her search, eyes still peeling for the slightest traces of blue, Swift slowed her pace ever so slightly to address the two boys she was carrying. "How're you guys holding up?"
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Mar 7, 2018 22:25:15 GMT -5
"H-H-Hanging in there...!" Evan stammered, quivering like jelly as the tiny mass of blue slime inside one of the coat's pockets huddled as close to Swift's body as he could. The warmth she radiated was comforting beyond measure, and truth be told, he wasn't shivering because he was cold. He was simply trying to stay mobile to avoid freezing from exposure to the near sub-zero air outside his cozy compartment. He had to stay fluid to maintain communication with Swift.
Besides... every now and then, Evan switched his consciousness back to the larger portion of his body trapped beneath the ice, hoping that he would be able to see where he was in relation to Swift and guide her there. Every time he did so, he was struck with a feeling of pain he wasn't quite used to. Every cell in his body rigid and compressed, simultaneously numb and stinging, an intense feeling of pins and needles jabbing him at every point... It wasn't the worst pain he had ever felt, but it was definitely mortifying in its own right.
"I-I still can't see you..." Evan continued. "I can't even tell where I am. Can't see any kind of unique landmarks..."
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Post by ColArana on Mar 8, 2018 6:51:15 GMT -5
Ranuen wasn't a huge fan of the cold either. He's grown up in a relatively humid climate, near the sea, where especially cold weather was almost unheard of. And he was in a sleeveless shirt on top of that. Thankfully whatever magic had been used to shrink him didn't cause all the other problems with small objects like inability to keep heat very well, but even so he was freezing cold, and had hugged both arms around himself. Fortunately, Swift's pockets were pretty warm at least. Ranuen kept an eye out, his head poking out over the pocket to keep watch for any signs of trouble or anything unusual, but all he was seeing right now was ice and snow.
"I'm fine." Ranuen answered. He couldn't use his fire magic to keep him warm, wanting to conserve his strength, but that was true enough. "It's warm enough in here, I'm just not seeing much out here though." Hearing Evan's reply, Ranuen pondered for a moment. "Say, Evan. Do you think you could notice any major changes?" He asked. "I know it's probably pretty hard to tell, but if you're looking up from where you're trapped, do you think you could make out the sky?" Even though they hadn't been searching that long, Ranuen knew that every second was probably wretched for the slime in Swift's other pocket. "If you can, I could try shooting up some kind of a signal flare for you. Might help us figure out where you are approximately, even if it's just North, South, East or West of wherever I fire it up..." He offered.
Of course a signal flare might attract other things that were out in these icy wastes. Predators, or agents of the red dust... Though Ranuen wasn't thinking about that. They hadn't encountered anything so far, and the idea that the red dust could use hosts to enter areas they could not had slipped his mind entirely.
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Mar 8, 2018 17:31:01 GMT -5
"That's actually not a bad idea, Ranuen." Swift quickly, warily cast a glance at the sky over her shoulder before directing her attention back on the ice. "Granted, I'm... not sure what kind of attention that might draw. The wyrms might not like the cold, but they're not the only dangerous things out there. If I can avoid it, I don't wanna leave you in a tighter position than we're already in." Lord knows she had already done that a mere twelve hours ago.
"Man... I really wish we could just split up and look for him, but even without the debilitating lack of phone service, I don't wanna force you to waste too much energy. We're gonna need all the literal firepower we can get to break through this ice."
Even still, while Swift might not have known where exactly to look for Evan... deep down, somehow, she felt like she was heading in the right direction. It was hard to describe why she believed that. Instinct, maybe, but... she could just feel it.
"Hey, Ev. Shot in the dark, maybe, but are you absolutely sure you can't sense the presence of your missing pieces? Do you feel anything drawing you and your larger portion together?"
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Mar 9, 2018 17:38:42 GMT -5
"W-Well, I can see the sky..." Evan awkwardly responded. "...but it's just a big, pink blur beyond the haze. I can't even tell where the sun is, let alone which direction I'm facing. I-It's a good idea, but for all we know, my left could be Swift's right. Not sure how useful I could be on that front."
Constricting inward slightly, Evan tried his best to concentrate on the frozen majority of his body and ignore the icy sting for the sake of leading Swift in the right direction. "Uh... Kinda? I-I guess I can detect some sort of tug. A-A small one, at least. I mean, the last time I got separated into pieces, I was able to reassemble pretty easily. I-If I had to make a judgment call, I'd say we're getting close, but it's hard to tell. If there is something pulling me together, it's being overshadowed by the paaaaain..."
He hated sounding this negative. He hated feeling so useless and helpless. But try as he might, it really was hard for Evan to stay positive when part of him was in such an extreme state of discomfort, one part was so small and feeble, and a hundred percent of him was disturbingly contorted beyond recognition. He really... really didn't like being made of slime, and he was starting to get the feeling he would never get used to it.
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Post by ColArana on Mar 9, 2018 19:19:14 GMT -5
Ranuen turned his head toward the pocket Evan was in and grinned. "Swift's a smart girl though. She could probably work it out." He replied with more cheer than the other two probably had right now. But as Swift pointed out the problems with his idea, Ranuen frowned and dropped his suggestion. "I mean... I guess so. We probably don't want to get distracted looking for Evan." If Ranuen was gonna be melting this ice, it was probably best he focused on that and not battle, lest he accidentally damage Evan's main body, which, regardless of how powerful Evan may have normally been, was probably weakened significantly by the long deep freeze.
"But hey, doesn't mean anyone would be looking for us in particular right? It's just a lone girl out on the ice, isn't it?" As long as the dust didn't access the memories of the people it possessed?
As soon as Evan stated that he could feel a tug, Ranuen's enthusiasm returned in full. "Really?! Well then what are we waiting for? Guide us on-- oh.... the pain, huh?" He said, cutting it short. "Yikes.... sorry man. You know we're searching as quick as we can..."
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Mar 11, 2018 21:12:58 GMT -5
"It's alright, Evan." Swift patted the pocket that the little blob was curled up inside. "You don't have to put anymore stress on yourself. You say we're getting close? That's good enough for me. So you boys just sit tight. With any luck, once we find him, it'll be smooth sailing from there."
With steely determination, Swift picked up the pace again, continuing onward in a rapid, graceful glide. Her eyes were still fixed to the ice, but every now and then, she lifted her nose up to the wind, hoping to catch a trace of Evan's scent as she remembered it last night... moldy, but with his natural, recognizable aroma buried beneath it. She wanted to believe she could detect it nearby. She wanted to believe that her instincts were leading her in the right direction. But she knew too well that she had no solid evidence that Evan's body was anywhere near here, not that this mattered any to her. Regardless of how long it took, she would find...
Wait... What was...?
Though she didn't drop in speed any, Swift raised an eyebrow when she noticed an odd glimmer of light along the ice. Even at a glance, it clearly seemed to be shining beneath the frozen surface; there was nothing above the could've been casting the light, not even the sun. Stranger still, it matched Swift's pace perfectly, always ahead of her. In fact, she found herself so entranced by the glow that she barely even realized she was veering to the left, unconsciously following it...
This light... Was it...? Again...?
A few minutes passed in silence. Then the light seemed to flicker out.
As Swift returned to her senses, she choked back a gasp when she spotted a splotch of dark blue beneath the ice.
"YES...! FRIG YES!!!" She skidded to a halt, snow spraying beneath her treads. Then she fell to her hands and knees and stared wide-eyed at the dark shape. "Evan! Evan, can you see me?!"
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Mar 19, 2018 20:14:55 GMT -5
Whoa, okay, she was speeding up. And turning left somewhat. The alterations to Swift's stride might've been subtle, but Evan noticed them nonetheless. He wanted to question if Swift knew what she was doing, but he kept quiet about it. He knew she would just say she did. He also had a feeling that she didn't.
Nonetheless, Evan trusted her. He had to. What else could he do? She'd find him eventually.
Wait... He... He felt something.
That gentle tug he had only barely felt before suddenly became a strong pull, yanking at every cell in his miniscule form. An instinctive need to reassemble consumed him, drawing him onward in the direction Swift was sprinting. At the same time, the icy sting intensified as he felt his small, jellified portion and his larger, frozen portion become locked in a magnetic pull from a distance.
Maybe not as much distance as he thought.
As Swift fell to her knees and shouted at him, Evan hastily switched his consciousness to his other self and back again, just long enough to see her blurred image on the other side of the ice. "Y-Yes! That's me!"
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Post by ColArana on Mar 22, 2018 16:10:25 GMT -5
Ranuen grinned at the sudden realization that they'd located Evan. "We've found him!?" Ranuen exclaimed, peeking out from Swift's pocket. Tough for him to see at his size-- it was like staring into space, and trying to pick out slightly different hues of black. But if Swift and Evan said that was where he was then.... "That's awesome!" He exclaimed as he clambered out of Swift's pocket, to drop to the ice below. A several mile freefall for most people, but Ranuen hit the ice unharmed, and in full superhero landing form. "Then I guess it's time for me to do my part." He added as he swiftly grew back to human height, and drew out his blade. While Ranuen didn't strictly require his sword to utilize his fire magic, it helped him focus. And well.... He wanted to be able to focus here. Losing control of his flame could badly hurt Evan afterall.
Now at his normal size, Ranuen was able to notice the dark blue beneath the ice. "That's you down there huh? Geeze... how'd he manage to get you down there so quickly?" He asked, as he placed the tip of his sword on the ice, standing with his hands on the pommel of his weapon like a European Knight of old.
"At least this ice shouldn't be as solid as the rest here, right?" He suggested. "It can't have frozen over AS recently as the rest here can it?" He took a breath. "Well... assuming nobody has any objections, I'm gonna get started." He stated, as the tip of his sword ignited in flame. It glowed white, in the midst of a red flower that blossomed around the blade, Ranuen taking care not to burn too fast or too fiercely. Fire was not the most surgical of tools, but he'd have to make an exception today, as the swordsman attempted to use his fire to melt the ice above Evan.
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Mar 24, 2018 17:00:15 GMT -5
Swift briefly relaxed her head and shoulders as she heaved out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank God..."
With her head still hung low, she opened her eyes again and looked into the ice, clearly making out a silver glow deep within the murky waters. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously at the sight. There was no denying it now. That specter from last night had led her here. And if this was in any way a repeat of the mess it had led her to then, then chances were it wanted more than to reunite them with Evan.
One thing at a time, though. After Ranuen exited her pocket and reverted to normal human height, Swift stood back up and shuffled back a few steps to let him do his work. "Well, knowing Patrick's capabilities, he very likely just teleported Evan to the other side of the ice." She experimentally stomped her foot on the frozen surface a few times. "Wouldn't surprise me if we hit an especially thick section. Might need a little more oomph to get to him."
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Apr 7, 2018 20:22:20 GMT -5
"Yeah, that's... pretty much what happened," Evan sighed in response to Swift's theory.
Bracing himself for the biting cold, Evan partially squeezed out of Swift's pocket to take a look around. At a glance, he couldn't see any landmarks. Just miles of frozen lake in every direction. And sure enough, he too saw the blue mass trapped beneath the ice, confirming not only that they had found the rest of his body, but it was in fact frozen in an amorphous pile. He had a feeling he had lost his shape the night before, but it was hard to be sure when he couldn't move to inspect himself or-
"Wh...?"
Evan flinched slightly when a flash of light caught his eye. So to speak, considering he didn't have any literal eyes yet could somehow see out of every part of his body... Seriously, so many questions...
Okay, but really, what was that light? And why was it shining from beneath the ice?
When the outside temperature started to sting, Evan retreated back into the pocket, quivering, trying to stay fluid a little while longer. Still, curiosity got the better of him, prompting Evan to switch his consciousness back to his frozen form. Once there, he examined the waters around him, quickly finding the light again.
Within that silver light, flowing like the very water it was immersed in, Evan swore he saw a face staring back at him.
"Uh..." The moment he switched back to the tiny blob in Swift's pocket, Evan gave her a slight nudge. Something about this seemed familiar, yet he couldn't put his metaphorical finger on why. All he knew was that Swift had found his body surprisingly easily, and he was starting to get the feeling this light was behind it. "What is that down there??"
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Post by ColArana on Apr 9, 2018 13:38:29 GMT -5
"A little more 'oomph'?" Ranuen asked with a glint in his eye. "I think I can manage that." He commented, as his blade flared to life, and steam hissed up around him, as the melting water evaporated on contact with his blade. The ice was thick, but against this level of heat, even thick ice would melt in moments, like tossing an ice cube into a bonfire. In fact even Swift and Evan would probably at least feel sweltering waves of heat emanating and cascading out from Ranuen's sword as the fighter drove it deeper into the ice. Ranuen was starting to sink in, as the ice beneath him also started melting. Despite this, and the blasting steam around him, Ranuen didn't appear to be getting burned or suffering any form of discomfort. Doubtless as a fire specialist, he had built up an extreme tolerance to heat. His eyes were firmly focused on the blue shimmer where Swift and Evan believed his body to be. "Evan, you make sure to give me a holler if you think it's getting too hot down there. I can dial it back, but I'll need your help with that. This steam's making it a pain in the ass to see." He warned the slime.
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Apr 12, 2018 17:14:48 GMT -5
"That..." Swift monotoned as she stared down at the silver glimmer beneath the ice. "...is the ghost light Ranuen and I followed to the Stone Temple last night. And something in my gut tells me it wants me for something else."
And by "gut," she meant the symbol that had been branded onto her stomach during her previous side quest. It was starting to tingle ever so slightly...
"Evan?" Swift's ears drooped heavily. "I'm really sorry to do this to you... but I think I need to follow that specter again. I mean, we said last night that there was a possibility I could receive more powers. Maybe it's just trying to speed up the process. I-I know you're in pain, and I hate making you wait, but... but I think... this might be important. And I don't know when I might get another opportunity like this."
The sheet of ice was growing damp on top. Steam was starting to fill the air. Swift looked over at Ranuen, shuffling back a few steps as his fiery sword drove deeper into the ice, melting it away at a rapid pace. The crystalline surface looked less and less hazy as it grew thinner, cracks stretching out from where the blade pierced it.
As they drew closer to Evan, something occurred to Swift. Here she was, very likely about to embark on another quest to receive some sort of power. Interested as she admittedly was to see what would come of this, she was sort of rushing into it blindly, not just because she still had no idea what the ghostly figure was or what exactly had happened to her in the Stone Temple, but because she was contemplating rushing off to gain more powers when she didn't even have a grasp on the ones she had received the night before...
"Hey Ranuen!" She raised a hand to the swordsman. "Looking good, man. I think... Let me help! I think I wanna try something real quick!"
Might as well get a better grasp on what she was getting herself into...
Swift placed a hand on her stomach, mumbling to herself, "The Elements of Creation... Earth... Metal... Nature..."
She raised her hand, staring at it for a good, long while...
With a deep breath, Swift started charging her yoki through her arm, much like she would in preparation for a claw attack. But rather than gather it in her fingertips, she let it settle in her hand, building and building with no intent to release it. As she did so, she noticed no surge of power. Instead, her muscles grew tense and her bones stiffened as if they were resisting the overload of energy. Once the tension started to become painful, Swift released the breath she had been holding and dropped her arm, letting her yoki settle and her muscles relax.
Maybe she wasn't doing this right...?
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Apr 12, 2018 20:16:43 GMT -5
"Wh...? But...?" Evan had to be honest with himself. He was in excruciating pain. Heck, if anything, Ranuen's flames heating up the water were making him feel better, if only slightly. Hearing Swift insist –albeit gently and with clear sympathy– that he wait a little while longer as a block of ice while she investigate the specter's intentions... Well, put simply, he wasn't keen on the idea. He wanted out of there. He wanted to be warm and away from this den of torture.
But... the forces at work clearly wanted Swift for something. And it wasn't like she was completely disregarding his wellbeing, right? Why should he force her to put what she needed on hold, especially something this important to her and possibly the island?
Well, when he thought about it, Evan had to ask himself if it really was selfish of him to ask that Swift wait a little while longer for him. After all, he had made it abundantly clear how uncomfortable he was, and everyone seemed to agree that his newfound slime powers were somehow pivotal to the wyrms' defeat. Was it so wrong that his safety take priority? That they get him thawed out before Swift set out to empower herself even further?
After mulling this over, Evan simply let out a sigh of defeat. Whether it was right or wrong quickly became irrelevant. It was just so hard to say no to Swift. "Yeah, okay, go ahead."
With the decision made, Evan curled up tighter in Swift's pocket and sulked, barely paying any attention to her attempts to channel her powers. He tried not to think about the position he was going to be stuck in for however long it took her to experiment and investigate. Just let her do her thing... You'll be out of here soon enough and we'll all be better off for it...
The silver specter cast a sad glance at the blue crystal floating nearby, then at the people gathered atop the ice. The water around its eyes bunched up in strange, tiny droplets, almost as if the lake was simulating tears...
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Post by ColArana on Apr 13, 2018 0:49:24 GMT -5
As Ranuen burned closer and closer to the blue shimmer he heard Swift call him. "Yeah!?" He called up, lowering the intensity of his sword and waving his hand to try and dissuade the steam blasting in his face. "Am I getting too close!?" He asked. But it seemed she just wanted to try something out instead? He paused for a moment, his blade burning at a moderate heat, so-as to keep some progress going and not risk the lake freezing back over, but not so hot that he'd deprive Swift of a chance to try things out.
It was tricky to see exactly what Swift was up to, as Ranuen had already melted his way right to eye level, but it seemed like she was concentrating at doing something. Oh! Was she trying out her new abilities!?
But so far.... nothing seemed to be happening. It dimly occurred to Ranuen that perhaps it wasn't entirely safe to be standing right at the epicenter of where Swift was about to test her new abilities. Her new, not necessarily entirely controllable abilities, if their battle with the dragon was any indication. Of course it was only a dim thought and one Ranuen didn't pay too much mind to immediately, as he watched to see what Swift did.
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