songerein | Crystal Cave Exploration

Entry tags:

Crystal Cave Exploration

Who: Alastor and Madhuri
Which: Log, Closed
Where: The tunnels around Orkili
What: Alastor and Madhuri join the search to find out what happened to the crystals that were supposed to keep Orkili's reactor stable and get a bit more than they bargained for.
Warnings: Standard Alastor warning. Will update with any additional warnings as needed.

Alastor practically skipped towards the tunnel, summoning a ball of light to better light the way more for his partner's benefit than his own. His shadow friends preferred the dark, after all. However, it wouldn't do for her to trip and twist her ankle.

He looked back at her, grin a mile wide, as his ears swiveled about to catch every possible sound. "Not the way I thought I'd get a chance to explore the Wasteland but I can't say I'm disappointed! What about you, my dear?"

He suspected Madhuri had agreed to team up with him to balance out his enthusiasm. The Orkili natives looked like they didn't know how to react to him: a mix of deep gratitude for keeping the nightmare energy from exploding outward until help could arrive and disturbed fascination from the way he'd inhaled a whole carcass (still didn't know what animal since he'd been too tired to identify it much less taste it) raw before passing out on a cot once the danger had passed.

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Oh, that... sounded fantastic.

Her body complained that she kept moving, but she had to ignore that whining when someone else was in a far, far worse state. She was abundantly glad to have left her teachings as a White Mage behind for the swifter, more precise dealings in Sharlayan sagecraft.

Prognosis... significant damage, but she had plenty of dreamotion power to give, feeding her own stores to mend what of Alastor's that had been damaged in the fall. She needed to be fast and stitch the poor man together, keeping her eyes out for their pursuer.

Her glance had caught the gleaming crystal, but-

"Talk to me, dear, but be still. I think we've found what we're looking for, but it matters so little if you're dashed to pieces here..." He took a hit to the head, and she hoped he hadn't been completely scrambled.

Jumbled bits of thoughts/music stumbled through his ambient static as Alastor groaned, forcing his eyes open.

"That wuz...unpleasant."

His Transatlantic and Southern accents kept wobbling back and forth for dominance. His brains were a bit scrambled, but he at least seemed somewhat present.

"You okay, sha?"

"I'll be okay, you goose..." She stroked an ear and reached up with the other hand, gently redirecting the hovering foci. They worked in a frenzy that matched her thoughts, working to knit this closed here, soothe an inflammation there...

"But after this, even if we do get you right as rain, you'll need a good long rest. Dreamotion mimics natural bodily functions a tad too well..."

"I'll be rain az right in no time!" he said, starting to try and sit up to a loud pop from his back as something forced itself back into alignment. He gave her a goofy smile. "Made a sterner stuff den da living!"

His gaze drifted upwards, taking in crystals on the ceiling providing light from above.

"Shining like stars!" he blurted out merrily. "Makes ya look like an angel!"

Oh boy. He'd definitely gotten his bell rung by all that.

She shifted to prop him up. The short, quiet laugh was incredulous.

"Oh, an angel now, huh? Now I know your poor brains jingled around in your skull. Naughty crystal, knocking the noggin like that."

Madhuri scanned above. If they needed to move, she would move them, but ideally, he needed to remain where he was until he was in a state to get back on his feet.

Alastor's ears twitched as he looked back at the crystal that had rudely introduced itself to his skull.

"Hang on. Aren't dese...?"

He didn't complete the thought, instead reaching out with his hand and dreamotion to set it and the surrounding crystals humming, all of them glowing softly.

"I... you're right." She looked around.

"I've grown so used to feeling this energy, that I'd forgotten what it was like to be without it, only to be surrounded by them again. The air is so thick..."

"Ah believe we may have solved our prahlem wid da reactor!" Alastor said cheerfully, his accent still wobbling back and forth between its two extremes. "Looks like we don't haveta 'splode afta all!"

"It wasn't far off the path of the carts, either... it was accessible. Perhaps our little friend in the tunnel may have to take the credit for the little ones' present woes."

"It would certainly make sense. Partic'ly since da tracks come real close. They had to have seen da crystals."

His accent was starting to even out. A good thing, too, since their unwanted friend was starting to catch up.

She was mending as quickly as she was able. But sagecraft and the use of dreamotion were wildly different tracks.

"...Then it likely falls to us to figure out how to shoo the thing away. By force if we must."

"Typically these sorts of things need ta be sent out by force."

He reached out to pat her on the shoulder.

"My brains are unscrambled enough ta get the job done. No need to waste your energy on this. Though maybe we should back up into the crystals for a bit more light."

If nothing else, noctaere didn't like light. The crystals might make the mongrel hesitate.

"Alright. I'm going to keep the nouliths set in their recovery protocol, but let's get you moved... gently."

She was strong for one. Two? ...Sorry, Al, but you're a beanpole. It's not going to take much to move a bit closer to the clusters and their light.

No offense taken, Madhuri. He was well-aware of his beanpole status. He'd always been one.

He got to his feet and used her to help him balance as they moved into the crystals' glow. He kept his eyes on the noctaere as it approached the edge of the field...

...and entered it without hesitation.

In fact, the creature bent its head to snap up some loose crystal shards in its jaws, grind them between its teeth, and swallowed them. In the light, it was easy to see it seemed to have been carved out of darkened rock.

"...That is concerning."

Oh.

That.

Weren't they supposed to be repulsed by dreamotion...?

"...And now we know why the Orkili were having trouble." So dreamotion was likely not the name of the game. What if striking this creature with it only made it stronger?

"But it is made of rock. Blunt force may be the call."

"If we can crack the shell, I could use sound to further break it apart," Alastor said just loud enough for her to hear.

It reminded him of his first encounter with a noctaere two years ago with Yoshiya in the cave. It hadn't been very strong and neither of them had had any mastery of dreamotion, so Alastor had used sound to bring the roof of the cave down for them to get away.

"At the very least sound might be able to temporarily stun it into holding still long enough for a good hit from anything you have, my dear."

Alastor's ears twitched nervously. This noctaere was unhurried, completely unworried about anything they might throw at it. Perhaps it was because of his own predatory instincts, but he had the distinct impression that it wasn't confidence born of ignorance in what its sighted prey could do but that it knew it could overcome whatever they threw at it.

The prey instincts of his demonic form wanted to run far and fast.

"Right. I'll go in guns-a-blazing." She gave him a pat and tapped into the soul crystal in her pouch. With a swift change, she moved from Sage to Warrior, complete with the furs and skins adorning her body and those clawed gauntlets.

"I would only need a moment to prepare, but we can give it a solid whack and see what happens, improvise from there."

She didn't like how it seemed so aloof. But perhaps it spent enough time being an apex predator and had never gone unchallenged until today.

"Sounds like a plan. I have a few defensive spells if necessary, but I'm afraid you're a lot more versatile." His grin sharpened into his version of a grimace. "And I doubt my claws would do much against that hide."

She manifested her hammer and grinned. "I've got you, darling!"

Then, she roared, amped herself up. Berserking came naturally to her, letting her mind sink into every horrific thought, every vengeful memory, every last bit of how she was thoroughly done with the nightmares of past experiences.

Madhuri let it power her by advancing, channeling the furious dreamotion through the hammer, and swinging it solidly.

The noctaere looked between its two targets before it charged towards Madhuri. However, it was quick a nimble, swapping from a straight run to using the crystals as springboards to change direction on a dime, claws digging deep gouges into the shiny, glowing surfaces.

It was trying to get behind her, to strike where she'd be the most vulnerable.

Swing and a miss. Oh. Oho. It's a slippery one trying to pick a time and a place... but this critter missed Combat 101 from her humble woods of Etheirys-

The tank ALWAYS makes the appointment.

She grasped the hammer in both hands and was still. Let the anger build. All she needed was one hit. One solid strike, and whatever happened was up for the Beast to decide.

Madhuri hunched, turned her head, and the shift seemed to come naturally: Any refined demeanor or prancing frills was gone with the hurl of a hand axe at the creature's feet, stagger its momentum before she was up and a whirlwind of concussive force to clock their pursuer one with a Primal Rend.

Her trick worked flawlessly.

It had dodged out of the way of the hand axe, but that had left it vulnerable to being struck solidly in the side from the attack. There was a resounding CRACK from the rock-hard skin spiderwebbing where she'd hit it.

Alastor aimed and fired a concentrated blast of sound at the spot to strike the moment she prepared for another blow. However, he was too far away to see what Madhuri would see as some of the rock chipped off from both her strike and Alastor's:

More crystal. Only it hummed with pure nightmare energy.

It got back to its feet and pounced.

...It wasn't a shell? It was- it was pure-

She braced with her hammer to take the brunt of the pounce and grit her teeth, try and drive this thing away and give herself some breathing room.

"Ah-ah-ah- no kisses on the first night!" The strength was comparable. On sheer toe-to-toe, she was confident she could handle the creature. But she'd handled enough noctaere to know that this creature- on top of being comfortable being around these crystal structures- was something alien. Even to them, who had been here for so long...

"...Deer friend, I do believe it's best we cancel this date and reconvene!"

Under normal circumstances, he'd be inclined to protest. However, with his brains still a bit scrambled and this noctaere not fitting the typical pattern...

He shapeshifted into a great red stag, running over to Madhuri, stretching his neck down so she could grab hold and swing herself up onto his back. His gait wasn't like a horse's, but hopefully she'd be able to hang on well enough.

Damn it all. She never wished to flee, either, but there was no use in dying for one's pride. G'raha would be immensely upset.

She swung on and held on tight. She tapped into her Dancer crystal to draw upon a Peloton spell for greater speed. They needed to get OUT of here!

"Thank you, darling. Swift as you can make it!"

Alastor said nothing, focusing instead on racing forward. His shadow took on the shape of a stag as well, mirroring him so that he didn't need to worry about missing a board as he followed the cart tracks back to where they'd come from. He could solidify his shadow just enough to act as temporary ground where their hooves met.

He ran as if the hounds that had torn him to shreds in life were hot on his heels. He could still hear their howls in his ears. He'd been a helpless human then. He was prey once more but at least he had more of a chance.

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Crystal Cave Exploration

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