let the magic take control, it's there wherever you go

[promittere]

CADENZA DI FIRST QUARTER

On this bright and sunny morning, Sage Tatara and Mentor G'raha call a meeting. It's mandatory.

Once every wizard is gathered in the lounge, Tatara settles into one of the plush armchairs, clearly too big for him, but absent is any of his silly expressions that might make light of the difference in size here. Instead, with a serious hue in his coral eyes and neatly pressed lilac dress shirt, he looks like he means business.

"Now that the Western wizards are back, we need to share what we've learned with each other. I know some of you have been sharing information privately amongst yourselves, but I think it's time we put all the pieces we have together.

"Everyone encountered a moon stone on their missions, and I think the general consensus is that neutralizing these stones brings the old wizards back physically, somehow. But we haven't received any reports of any of them waking up yet."

That isn't to mention the sage, who still remains missing...ostensibly. They'll get to that in a second.

"If there's anything else you've learned that you think might be related to these things, or to our situation specifically, then speak up now."

For a summary of everything discussed in the meeting, please see this comment. Thank you Mauyn!

When the conversation dies down, Tatara raises his hand to get his attention back on him and G'raha again.

"For the second order of business, I have good news and bad news."

His tone and expression are lighter this time.

"The good news is that we've found a ritual that can send everyone back. There are details we can work out in the meanwhile, especially if you've decided not to go back to your home world, but for now, we need to talk about the ritual itself.

"In order for the ritual to work, we will need rare materials from all over the world. I'll be posting the materials on the job board so you know where to look."

G'raha adds, "We'll need these materials by next week, before the full moon. There's a reason for that, but we'll touch on that in a moment."

Tatara glances at him and nods.

"The ritual is far too powerful for any of us to perform, so we'll have to wait until the old wizards wake up. But...I have a feeling we might be able to do something about that."

When Tatara stands, G'raha follows suit.

"There's one last thing I need to show you."

With a silent gesture, Tatara makes for the door of the lounge and expects everyone to follow. Yes, everyone.

Sage and mentor then lead everyone down the winding corridors of the manor, past an indiscreet door into a wing of the building that has remained relatively untouched. The lights here are off, but the chandeliers and sconces quietly flick on as they make their way down the dust-laden corridors.

Soon, all will notice that the halls they walk through are a mirror image of the residential section of the manor, except it seems no one has lived here for quite a while.

You're led up the stairs, where Tatara and G'raha stop before a door that is a mirror location to Tatara's room on the second floor. A faint energy pulses from inside, one belonging to a person unfamiliar to all.

After an exchanged glance, Tatara pushes open the door and G'raha steps inside. He gestures to the sight at the center of the room: there, on his knees, is a young man. His face is frozen, twisted in panic—in fact, all of him is frozen, and his image practically see-through, just scarcely flickering on the razor-thin edge of existence. He holds his fist high above his head, as though clinging, with dear life, to five faint ethereal threads—yellow, purple, blue, pink, and green—that float in the air above his head. The threads are just as faint as he is, fading before they reach the walls.

"This is the previous sage," Tatara says. "He appeared here a little before the Western wizards returned from their mission. I'm guessing whatever they did to the last moon fragment is related."

G'raha nods. "The sage's soul seems incomplete. Putting him back together may be the key to waking him, and the rest of the wizards, up. However—" he pauses, reaching to gently run a finger over the purple thread. It flickers faintly. "The energy in these threads is too faint to see where they lead. They do seem to grow in strength as we get closer to the full moon, though. It's likely we'll see what lies at the end of them when the time comes, next week."

"Next week," Tatara repeats. G'raha steps out of the room, and Tatara closes the door behind him. "We'll wake him up next week.

"But before that, we have materials to collect."

JOB BOARD

An important note for these tasks is that they are time sensitive. At least one completed thread of each material must be submitted before 11:59 AM EDT, June 22 for the gathering of the materials to be considered successful. Now's the time to coordinate and work together.

Water from the Lost Oasis. Mesa was once a great city of commerce in the southern part of the Central country...the part of the country that is now a vast desert. The city was once lost to the sands, and though it is said to have recently emerged from its sandy grave, it is still rather difficult to find in the desert. It is very easy to get lost, even on broom, so be careful.

Either way, your task is to collect a bottle-ful of water from this barren oasis. Your only choices may be to commune with the spirits to have them to show you a phantasm of what the bustling city was like in its heyday, before it was destroyed, or to brute force dig your way to the ground water. Why here, when there are other oases in the desert? This is an ancient place of power, and the land is special.

The Central spirits here are very old and very picky—Northern wizards beware, as your presence may not be entirely welcome. Acting out may cause the spirits to lash out and cause sandstorms.

The Frozen Oz Root. Named after the world's most powerful wizard, the Oz flower is a brilliant crimson and deathly poisonous. It grows in the vast snowy plains of the North, but it is said to be exceedingly rare, despite how the color of the flower stands out so starkly against the white of the snow. Finding it will not be easy and you will need sharp, tireless eyes.

Despite how beautiful the flower is, that is not what we need. All of the flower's poison is housed in its roots, and we need the poison. However, the most important thing is that the roots remain frozen. Do not let it thaw. Once it thaws, the poison loses the quality we need for the ritual.

A Storm in a Bottle. It's the fickle quality of the spirits in the Valley of Storms that cause the eponymous storms. They're shy and sensitive, a lot like the Eastern wizards themselves, and don't require a lot of prodding to elicit any sort of reaction from them. Your job is to agitate the spirits in the valley just enough to cause a storm, and to catch that storm, lightning and thunder and rain and all, in a bottle for use in the ritual. Western wizards in particular will have an easy time stressing them out, but be careful not to push the sensitive spirits too far—the valley is also known as the Valley of the Lost for a reason (don't get trapped, please come home!).

In contrast, if you accidentally make the spirits happy, they might take the form of cats instead... Which is nice, but the manor isn't exactly aching for more cats. Just don't get too distracted playing with them if this happens, okay?

Blood of the Last Monster. The Western military and word on the street will tell you that all of the magical monsters in the West have been slain, their mana stones harvested. But is that true, when there has been no word of the death of the mythical tarasque? The legend of the tarasque tells of a large, ancient beast with six bear paws for legs and a massive turtle shell on its back, who slumbers in the depths of a remote ravine among the mountains on the Western Country's northern border. You are to collect a vial of this ancient creature's blood. Nothing more, nothing less.

Be careful not to wake it, and be careful not to kill it. If awakened, there's no telling if anyone would be able to stop a creature of that size and caliber. And if killed, its mana stones would attract all the wrong kind of attention. Besides, doesn't the West still deserve to keep some of its native fauna, magical or otherwise?

Pestilence Frog Mucus. Though once a plague-ridden bog, the Swamp of Pestilence is now home to a thriving, diverse, and healthy ecosystem. It's now also home to a very rare type of frog, its stunning green, yellow, and blue stripes eye-catching and attractive. However, this frog only emerges from the depths of the bog on a clear twilight after a day of rain in the rainy season...except the Southern rainy season isn't for another few months yet. You don't exactly have the time to wait until then, do you? You'll have to figure out a way to trick the frog into thinking it's the rainy season to lure it out, or dig it out by force... Either way, you'll need at least a vial's worth of this frog's mucus. Make sure the swamp water (or rain water, for that matter) doesn't contaminate it.

OOC NOTES

🌙 Welcome to your final final mingle! It's time to share info and get down to business.
🌙 How do you feel about the bonds you've forged thus far? Was it all worth it?
🌙 Pair guesses are now closed! Thank you and congratulations to all who found their pair!
🌙 A reminder that rewards close at 11:59 PM EDT, June 19, and that includes mission rewards. If you have not submitted rewards for your mission participation yet, then now's your last chance!
🌙 Speaking of time limits, if you missed it above, all materials must be submitted before the finale for the gathering to be considered a success. Plan your time and your threads wisely.
🌙 Your OOC plotting post is here. Please note that this plotting post doubles as the sign-up for the finale and final encounter. Read it over carefully and fill out the form if you'd like to die play.
🌙 Speaking of, what do you think is happening next week...?

» NAVIGATION

Comments

[leewards]

What, you did not think to prepare for that? [A soft grumble.] Perhaps we should have come at night instead.

[Except colours like red are far more difficult to spot at night, so that would be annoying to them soon enough.

He shakes his head, then removes his half-mask to hold it out, pulling his hood further over his head so some part of his face is at least still in shadow.]

Take it, protection is better than nothing.

[foresightis2020]

[ Jing Yuan grants a sheepish look at that. ]

...It would've been a bit more difficult if we had, I imagine.

[ One might think with the snow that even in the night such colors might be easier to witness, but alas. It is true it would be just another barrier; at least in Jing Yuan's opinion, anyway.

He blinks at the offer, and then reaches to take the half-mask carefully, sheepish expression turning vaguely appreciative. ]

Ah, I thank you for your generosity. After all, there's no need for matters to become more difficult for either one of us, hm?

[leewards]

[Jingyuan will note that the half-mask has lenses rather than proper eye holes. They're not dark by any means, mere glass, but it's clear that the dark effect they have while on Ithaqua's face comes from both his black eyes and the shadows on his face while he has it on. It doesn't sit flat after all, but molded. Ithaqua finds it comfortable, at least.]

Best it does not. We need as much luck and as litte hardships as possible, for this to finally end on our terms. [Which is why he's working so hard. What is sleep?

Actually, the dark circles under his eyes have been there for years so... his lack of sleep lately has nothing to do with them.]

[foresightis2020]

[ Jing Yuan's observations are quiet, taking note of the mask's qualities with something like interest. At the very least it also isn't all that uncomfortable when settling on his face; his own facial structure will not make it difficult.

...Ithaqua is somewhat sporting some racoon-like eyes naturally, huh ]

Well, it is certainly about time we'd manage that, yes. We've enough of being quite a few steps behind in regards to our enemies, and our situation due to being unfamiliar with this world.

Though, considering their movements thus far, I wonder if they're hardly expecting much from us now.

[ The filter makes the snow seem even less blinding in this Aeons-damned treacherous winter wonderland. Enhances his vision even, just a bit as he scrutinizes for that stark color among the white. ]

[leewards]

[His eyes are really just black, it's fine. Does he have pupils? Are they just white? Or is it all black and the small white circles are just light reflecting on them? Who knows? It's fine.]

The best we can hope for is to be so underestimated that we gain the upper hand when the plans are properly in motion.

[That's not entirely true-- the best Ithaqua wants to hope for is that everything proceeds as planned, and without problems. That Bruno's prophecies are just warnings that never come to pass because they all did well.

With that in mind, he's bolstered, and he starts to bound across the snow like a hare to make good distance. He was not exaggerating when he said that this is his domain. He's the only Northern wizard to be this comfortable in the snow, and he takes pride in that.]

[foresightis2020]

[ Totally fine. Absolutely fine. ]

Such foolishness would indeed be quite the balm. That, and alongside other strikes of fortune.

[ Jing Yuan merely sprints across the air, hovering not too far up above the ground thanks to the boots. It's a balancing act — remaining close enough to see more and not close enough so he has to trudge through the snow himself — but due to that he can keep up. He is actually quick...and can move swift enough that it'll be hard for a normal human to keep up — it's all thanks to his previous Master for that, though.

The rare animals still around scurry out of their way with ease, and Jing Yuan hopes to spot it sooner rather than later. There are still trees that dot the land, and have him pause to check around them. ]

...Living up to its name as difficult to catch sight of, I see.

[ Watch it be lying underneath some monster. That'd be a hoot. ]

[leewards]

[More trees are coming up, and Ithaqua has to slow his pace to a brisk trot so he can peer around them. Adjusting his grip on his axe to illuminate the darker areas better with the lantern, Ithaqua ventures closer-- though the light is less for him and more for Jing Yuan.]

Quite. But we're only shaming ourselves if we were to fail here. [And Ithaqua is too proud to allow himself to fail, especially at such a critical moment for everyone.]

[foresightis2020]

[ Jing Yuan does appreciate that light, though he thinks he can adjust to just fine in the daylight — and his eyes have adjusted to the filter.

Somewhat. ]

Hm...indeed. That is something that would be impermissible.

[ There is no real good strategy other than being particularly scrutinizing about hunting down a hard-to-see plant, but at some point there doesn't seem to be much change in the lay of the land. Dotted trees, skeletons of shrubbery where snow clings, and slight higher elevations. Regardless, it also seems that he thinks he spots something crimson and a creature of some kind looking about to swipe up whatever this is. Well, that's probably going to be a problem if it messes up the plant so it can't have its roots frozen. To boot, it's some kind of shadowy monster of some sort that will definitely not play friendly, nor is some normal animal. ]

It looks like we may have found it. Ithaqua, could you grab it?

[ Jing Yuan is already charging the creature, swinging the glaive he has summoned into his hands into it. He isn't hovering that high, so that is easy enough. Indeed, with the interloper of that enemy being dealt with it seems that it is in fact the Oz Root. ]

[leewards]

Yes, yes.

[Ithaqua is already bounding towards the plant with the speed he boasted about, and of course it wasn't exaggeration. His stance is different from the way he traveled earlier, as well-- he'd been bounding feet-first earlier, and this time, he acts as if he's practically throwing himself headlong into danger. He skids to a halt, body between the beast and the precious plant they need, and he grows throatily at the monster as a threat.

It gives the beast enough pause, hopefully to buy himself some time to extract the plant without damaging its roots, and Jing Yuan an opportunity to strike. Then he gets to work.

It's a mistake to turn your back on a beast, but Ithaqua knows his priorities-- he has to protect this plant, even at the cost of his body. He digs through the snow and dirt with his gloves and claws, deep enough that he can feel the end of the plant's root system. With a little concentration, the roots and half of the plant's stem is encased in ice-- and will not melt for a good while despite not being able to see a thing. (15) Not the way he'd like to create ice, honestly, but better than nothing.

He boasted about this too, and he refuses to fail now.]

I have it!

[foresightis2020]

[ It certainly does; the beast seems to be surprised enough already with the arrival of one fighting combatant on the scene. But the sudden grow from a second coming in between it and the plant throws off its game entirely.

There is no question that this allows Jing Yuan, wielding his glaive in that reverse grip, to thrust his weapon right through the one-eyed monster mercilessly when he had leapt in earlier.

Nothing like team work at its best in this blasted cold, huh? Despite his heavy coats, thanks to the spells cast previously, his movements are unhindered as he goes next to kick it back where he's wounded it (8), as it screeches, rearing back claws and all. ]

Good. I assume you have the rest handled where that's concerned.

[ Jing Yuan can't exactly turn to face Ithaqua just yet, but he is already moving to insert himself in the way by continuing to face off against it. Just a little more and they can wrap things up here, he thinks. ]

[leewards]

I do. [His gloves are filthy, but he has the frozen roots of the plant in them, clawed fingers holding it tightly. When they're pressed for time, he'd rather just uproot the whole plant and transport the entire thing, than take the time to remove what they need. Who knows, maybe the sage will let him have the flower, leaves and stem, and he can see what he'll make of those.

Then he stares at the monster, black eyes wide... then shifts his grip so he can hold onto the plant with one hand, and raise the other. Apologies to Jing Yuan, but the air turns much colder thanks to the spell Ithaqua's just cast, a spear-like icicle coalescing in the air. He lowers his hand, and points directly at the monster, the icicle flying through the air to impale the monster right where Jing Yuan injured it. It's a nasty spell to be on the receiving end of, but no one should want to be on the receiving end of any of Ithaqua's spells anyway. (18)]

Let's go. It will not follow us now. [Probably because he all but freaking murdered it.]

[foresightis2020]

[ Pressed for time indeed.

Jing Yuan just watches — and feels, with the sudden drop in temperature (unfortunate, and he resists tugging on his furs closer) — as Ithaqua begins to conjure the spell. Then there's the sudden sailing of the projectile into the air which pierces into the creature where it has already been wounded. Given how deadly and powerful the icicle spell is, there is indeed no way it is surviving that; the monster gives out a last cry as it falls pitifully to the ground, dead.

Damn.

Not that Jing Yuan minds. He calls away his glaive before turning his attention back towards Ithaqua and nods, slightly amused at the comment, but also this solves the enemy having been kinda a minor thorn. ]

...Mm. It certainly won't.

[ With that, he'll begin to turn his back to the scene to trek on air. Time to return with their Frozen OZ Root... ]

[leewards]

[Ithaqua is going to have to continue to freeze these roots over and over rather than just enchant the ice to never melt, because... well, he doesn't know how to reverse that sort of enchantment. A complete, eternal preservation is what he intends with said enchantment, so why would he have any reason to find a way to undo that? Maybe he should have, but at this critical of a juncture?

Absolutely not.

So if Jing Yuan looks down at him periodically, he'll find Ithaqua blowing at the roots on occasion, just to keep them frozen.

Eventually, Ithaqua looks up, and stares right at the man as they make their way back to the elevator.]

This false necromancer, how exactly did you kill him? [Because... a certain someone has read a lot of books about creatures in the past. Wolf-like beings born from men tends to mean something, where Ithaqua is concerned.]

[foresightis2020]

[ Jing Yuan does so happen to keep a close eye on Ithaqua and the plant as they begin to make their way back...it pretty much is a given that it'd be important to ensure that it's presentable. It isn't like he has much doubt in Ithaqua's claims; it simply is best to be extra certain in matters like this, and as always, Jing Yuan is ever the cautious sort.

He blinks when the other male looks up, though, before smiling a little. If only because he considered that part a job well done. ]

Oh?

...Ah, well, it was mostly myself and Cid who handled him as the others were on purification duty. Cid stabbed at him with his shadow magic, and I essentially did some stabbing of my own, followed by electrocuting that false necromancer at the same time repeatedly until he died.

[ You ever see a man get thunderclapped so hard? Yeah, that's pretty much what happened...the results being as pretty as one might expect after the result of all of that. It never looks or smells pretty after someone gets mercilessly zapped. ]

[leewards]

[So they left the corpse there, like that? How careless. That sort of action created Ithaqua, after all. Just burn the damn body to ashes, and prevent future incident.

At least Ithaqua did the burning for them.]

Hmm. Was there any reason he attacked Urianger in particular?

[foresightis2020]

[ There's a pause as Jing Yuan begins to consider this matter carefully. Now, if the man they were fighting were little more than a mindless creature, he thinks he'd have had an easier answer. As it is, he does not. ]

...To be quite honest, I can't fathom the reason, seeing as we did have an obvious noncombatant in our group.

But, I believe whatever was left of the man likely simply chose Urianger at random rather than calculating that he would be ultimately a better target for a potential deathblow. Our enemy acted on mindless aggression.

Not that attempting that was worth it, on the man's part, given that he turned his back towards the one who was mainly attacking him. But, regardless, that man's sudden brutal attack upon him did necessitate us needing to hurry back alongside heaping those healing spells.

[ Urianger suffering that amount of blood loss certainly meant they could not stick around to do much else for long. Jing Yuan remembers keenly picking the man up following killing the bastard and then them all making their getaway once the manor collapsed from the fierce final blows, which, well...certainly was something. RIP bozo and whatever remained of the manor, they will not be missed. ]

[leewards]

[In other words "who knows?" Urianger didn't know either, but Ithaqua didn't want to stress him out too much.]

That is inconclusive, then.

And you mentioned he was a wolf-like beast. [He is having a lot of thoughts right now-- thoughts he hasn't voiced to Urianger yet.] Urianger is fully healed and the bite has disappeared with little problem. thus there may be no lasting damage, physical or magical.

[Well, he would hope so. While he wouldn't mind a werewolf boyfriend... he's sure that Urianger might mind himself becoming a werewolf.]

[foresightis2020]

Ah, well, not exactly. The false necromancer had changes, though to be quite honest, I noted that they were more with the metallic implants I had mentioned. Though he did indeed have sharpened claws. He still looked generally ... more closer to a man in size, other than his gruesome physical appearance.

[ Which will in fact get a cw warning or something if Ithaqua wants to know, but it is what it is. The implication in the way he words it suggests that this 'gruesome physical appearance' does not lend towards a creature/or beast-like in nature. ]

I mentioned more specifically that the remaining actor and the daughter of the estate seemed to sport more beast-like features, with the actor himself I distinctly pointed out being more evidently wolf-like, before the two had reverted back to normal.

Regardless, I am glad to hear that Urianger hasn't presented with any further difficulties or complications. Given the fact that the false necromancer was irrevocably corrupted by the moon rock, I had wondered if he might have suffered some potential adverse affects due to being bitten by someone who had.

...Just in case, I would think it wise to monitor him for any oddities for a little while longer. Kurapika's condition wasn't something that could be detected or sensed by magic. Whatever the case, if nothing else is amiss in the next couple of days, then I can be certain he will not be moon-afflicted.

[ Better safer than sorry. Jing Yuan hasn't heard of anyone being bitten by anyone so deeply corrupted by the moon before, and he does think it is wise to be vigilant just in case. ]

[leewards]

... So. You're thinking the same as I. [He's silent for a moment, taking the opportunity to add more ice to the roots. He's mulling this information over, and it lines up with what Urianger had said.

Ithaqua may have gotten some details wrong, but the fact of the matter is that he and Jing Yuan are thinking the same thing. That there may still be some unseen side effects from the attack on Urianger by a man who heavily modified himself.]

I cannot discount anything when it comes to this false necromancer, not having been there and not knowing what he can or cannot do. Perhaps there was something dormant in his body, that the implants were not the only changes he did to himself. When it comes to this world of magic and monsters, best we are safe.

There's only one true way to find out-- if he transforms or otherwise acts strangely during the full moon. [Which is soon enough! but perhaps the anxiety of the wait will do Ithaqua in.]

Should that happen, I shall deal with it myself.

[His tone is... neutral. He would rather not, and if Urianger did transform, he would be fine with it as long as he kept his mind.]

[foresightis2020]

[ So they are.

It's funny how things work. But in this case it'd be for the best there isn't much working happening where any changes potentially inflicted by such a creature may cause. They do have enough to deal with—and he knows how important Urianger is to Ithaqua by now.

As it is, with Ithaqua laying it out, with the final true indicator being anything that ends up showing itself upon the reveal of the full moon. ]

Mm. You've a point that it would be more prudent to wait until then.

[ Though, there is a pause, considering the implications of Ithaqua's other words. It makes him reminded of the dreadful promise made between Jingliu and himself. Should either one of them succumb to being Mara-Struck...

So he understands the idea of wanting to handle such a dreadful scenario by one's own hands. ]

I suppose it needn't be said, though I'll say it nonetheless:

I do hope it will not come to the worst.

[leewards]

[Ithaqua is silent for a moment as they travel, before nodding.]

So do I.

[With that, he's silent for the rest of the trip. He needs to prepare himself in case that happens, and prepare himself in general.]