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Mainland (Rescue Isabella Event)


Re: Mainland (Rescue Isabella Event)

Ellisia looks a little surprised at the sight of the dark claw grabbing for the food, watching it carefully but staying put to see what happened, "Well, as strange as that just was, it's good to have you back with us. Can I ask how you got in that state to begin with? Did something happen?" She asks, checking the surroundings again as she does so. They were after all, virtually right on the doorstop of their destination now, though it was also good to have all of them together in one place again.

Grace was still pulling an uncertain face, not knowing what to make of this Jonathan guy right now. Her expression probably comes off as wary, though honestly she was rather excited about seeing all these people with strange abilities. She was just still a bit too much in shock about the whole trip so far to show that.

Harrel was panting for breath leaning down on his knees standing beside Al. "Aww jeez, all that running... for nothing huh. Not like I can read this guy anyway. It all looks like wisps of inky smoke to me."


((Just for confirmation Siph, the party is now in sight of an old ruined castle right?))
 
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Re: Mainland (Rescue Isabella Event)

Jonathan blinked, looking at Ellisia. He quickly recalled why he was in such a state. His expression changed, becoming darker and much more serious. "First... Gather everyone here. I've seen a lot of things you guys need to know about." He slowly sat up. Thankfully, the darkling began to regain some strenght. "This might be vital to our success, so all of us have to be informed. As for my current state, I'll answer that question in due time." He didn't notice the uncertainty in Grace's expression, mainly because he wasn't paying attention.

He waited for a bit until he had everyone's attention before beginning. "As you already know, Emily and I decided to split up. While she was away, I've managed to get a layout of their patrol routes... Approaching them won't be easy, but at least I know where the entrance is. I've also had a good look at the enemy... Undead, demons, beasts..." Jonathan stopped to think for a bit, gathering his memories into a proper report. "Anyway, I watched for a bit, until I saw something unusual. Some guy popped out of nowhere and got shredded to pieces, then revived as a zombie... Which means that with every dead person, they grow stronger." The darkling glanced at people, expecting reactions. Should he wait for them to speak?

Deciding that he just wanted to get it over with, Jonathan continued. "That guy... He went off in the direction he came from, along with a group of demons. I tailed them." This would explain why Harrel couldn't notice him. "It turns out... There was a camp nearby. About fifty people, armed with all sorts of melee weapons and firearms. Those things headed straight for them." The darkling briefly wondered whether he should mention that he recognized their clothes, then decided against it. "I figured they were after the same target as we are, or at least after the demons. I didn't want them to get caught off guard, so I threw a part of my body at them. Somehow, it worked."

"I've watched the battle from a distance. The humans were winning, slowly but surely. Until..." Jonathan winced, as if in pain. "Something... Descended upon the camp, and completely incinerated everything. I couldn't get a good look, but I could feel the heat... And hear it's shriek. I've immediately decided to retreat." He sighed, his face returning to normal. "I was wondering what to do next, but suddenly those... Things outside the fortress got a bit agitated. I was afraid they've noticed me, but that wasn't the case. Their boss decided to show up." He turned his gaze towards Siphon. "He teleported in a flash of blue light, and looked positively undead. Or at least half-dead, with all that rotting skin, and there was some bad vibe about him. But that's not all."

The darkling took a deep breath, preparing to drop the bomb. He knew this would cause unrest. "He was carrying a young girl in his arms. She was unconscious, or at least looked like this. I couldn't get close, so... I don't know for sure." A short pause for another breath. He was feeling tired from all this talking. "She was wearing a school uniform, clearly from our school... Rather damaged. I've also noticed two things. First, she was wearing a pendant of sorts... One bearing that symbol you told us about." Another stare directed towards Siphon. "Second, she was... Glowing. Or at least pulsing with some green aura. He took her under the castle. After seeing that, I decided to go back and report... And passed out when the aftereffects of my little body-throw caught up. That's all."
 
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Re: Mainland (Rescue Isabella Event)

Ian takes a seat nearby, still resting after using his powers for so great a concentration of time. He listens to Jon's report, frowning as he goes into detail about the creatures that he saw. It's Sho, though, that speaks up after the report is finished, at least of the creatures.

"A...dragon, do you think? Flying. Shrieking. Massive gouts of flame?" She scrubs her face with her hands. "If that's the case...shit."

If either of them seem put off by Jon's little display of violent osmosis, neither seem to be showing it. Then again, given they've been taking almost all of the power displays mostly in stride suggests their either very unflappable or have dealt with it enough.

At the mention of the 'big bad's' other prisoner, Ian's head snaps up. "A pendant? Like Siphon's? She a blonde?"

Another "Ah, shit" passes Sho's lips at that, though it seems more at Ian's reaction than the news.
 
Re: Mainland (Rescue Isabella Event)

Emily listened intently as Jonathan explained what had happened while she had left him alone, frowning as he gets to the part about the dragon. "Sounds like we've got more on our plate than first thought," Emily finally said once Jonathan had finished, her tone taking on a more serious note. "Dunno about the rest of you but I'll at least be protected from its flames, though I doubt I'll be able to much damage to it if it managed to wipe out all those demons and people. I'll at least make a good distraction for it while the rest of you beat it senseless if it comes to that." A touch of lightheartedness could be heard in Emily's voice at the end.

"And you," The young girl turned on Jonathan, almost face to face with the older boy. "Don't be pulling that kind of stunt again. We can't afford to have anyone out of it for the rest of this mission. While there was a tone of authority in Emily's voice there was also a subtle hint of concern.
 
Re: Mainland (Rescue Isabella Event)

Jonathan looked at Sho when she spoke up. He nodded when the girl suggested that dragons might be present. "To be honest, I thought it had to be something like this... If it catches us, there won't be enough left even for a symbolic funeral." He also nodded when Ian started to ask questions. "Yes... I can't say anything else, I didn't have the chance to investigate. Too much of a risk, and I simply couldn't avoid detection. At least we know she's there. Altough I'd like to know..." The darkling's expression changed into a questioning one. "If he took her somewhere outside of his fortress... Then where was he with her before returning? And why?"

When Emily suggested becoming dragon bait, Jonathan merely shook his head. "Too much of a risk. Even if you're resistant to one of his methods of attack, I'd wager that it's perfectly capable of rending you in half manually. And we might be unable to damage that thing at all. We should avoid contact at all costs." He did have enough decency to look sheepish when the girl reminded him of his recklessness. "Yeah, yeah, I know. One time was painful enough..." The darkling quickly turned serious after saying that, though. "Anyway... We need a battle plan. I imagine they will suspect something, considering you guys took down one of their patrols, I believe. We need to plan quickly." He hoped he'd have enough energy to help. A quick rest was probably all he could look forward to.
 
Re: Mainland (Rescue Isabella Event)

"A dragon? What the fuck. He can't be making all these with the sketchbook can he? Even the gargoyles were strange. I don't get this." Grace groans hanging her head back in frustration.

Harrel steps forward, "Well where ever it is, I don't believe it's anywhere nearby right now. I should be able to give us at least a half minute warning if anything like that is coming in our direction. Perhaps a bit more depending on it's speed."

"Well I can put up a barrier that will stop fire pretty well, but if this thing's flying around it's gonna be damned hard to keep things properly covered. And if the trees start going up in flames around us, then there's not much I can do about that." Grace offers as an addition to the tactical side of the discussion. "Though if we're going into that castle and want to control the flow of nasties coming at us, I can definitely help there. Give me a moment to work and I'll block up a door or passage way with a barrier that could stop a speeding truck."

Harrel nods liking the sound of that, though also stills a bit as he just then remembers and realises just what they were talking about going into, and starts to wonder quite how Ellisia had gotten him to come along on this job quite so easily. He was no knight, nor trained for front line shit like this. Hell, he'd been considering aiming for a therapist role when it came to picking his specialisations soon back home.

Ellisia was standing arms crossed looking deep in thought, though unseen her teeth were clenched and she was actually quite agitated by the whole rapidly spiralling situation. All of them were taking a massive risk here. High stakes, little intel, no support, and no back up. Honestly, she was scared. Not for herself, but that she might not be strong enough to see this through without them taking further casualty. She couldn't help but feel responsible, even if really she was more the outsider in this group than most of the others. These concerns were of course kept firmly to herself. She breathes deeply, looking inwards for support from her Sword Spirit. "Finding and securing those kidnapped will be a top priority. We want to do everything we can to avoid a hostage situation. After that I would say evacuation would be out next goal, except that the possibility of more flyers, and the threat of what we'll refer to as the dragon, could potentially make that more dangerous than a straight confrontation. I'm hoping that if we can defeat the leader, or obtain or disable his source of power over these creatures, we may be able to finish it there without fighting all of them. Though of course, if that fails, I doubt there'll be any way out of it once we go in and we'll be committed to the fight." The young knight says, with the unmistakable business like tone of someone who does such things as a way of life. "With the amount of information we have to go on, this is hardly absolute though. Anything could happen." She adds, then looking to Siphon for any input on the situation.
 
Re: Mainland (Rescue Isabella Event)

Siphon seemed wary at first of the display, but gradually seemed to accept it. He then quietly listened until the part about the dragon, a look of almost fear crossing his face.


"Oh ... fuck. That shriek then we heard, the flame ... oh dear god we've got major trouble. Grace is right ... that's not a sketch. In fact, we're very VERY fucked right now. Jon, I need you to tell me something very important. Did ANY of those caught in the flames rise again? I need to know if they did."


He frowned though as Jon explained more about their enemy.

"Undead too? That's ... new. I don't get it though ... Wait, maybe I do. A blue flash? That sounds like Lich teleportation, but ... they can't teleport with another person like that. That's something totally new that I hadn't planned on. As for that necklace and the glow you saw ..."

He hesitated, certain the others wouldn't like it.

"If she had a green aura around her then he's forced her body into something of a decelerated time frame. In effect, he can keep her alive indefinitely inside of that without her requiring food, drink or needing to .... expel bodily processes. However her mind is very much intact and she'll be aware of what's going on around her. The device is normally used to immobilize captives for transport, however ... If one is inside one of them for an extended period of time ... they can become permanently locked in stasis, or die. It's part of why we discontinued using it many centuries ago."


Another pause.

"First priority is to get her the fuck out of that thing before it causes any lasting damage. From there ... honestly, this needs to end. If he's able to create these kinds of things, it won't be long before he has an armada large enough to over run a small town, and from there .... the kind of magical power required though ... frankly frightens me."
 
Re: Mainland (Rescue Isabella Event)

"End? And precisely how do you want to end this?" Jonathan frowned. He could swear that his guts were screaming at him to run as far away from the place as possible. And he had enough of keeping that to himself. "Let's face it, this is suicide. We don't know what's going on, we don't know what those guys can do or what they're after. There could be a f***ton of enemies inside, god knows how powerful, and don't get me started on that dragon. And by the way, it doesn't leave ANYTHING that could rise after firing." He tilted his head down and stared at the ground. "If one of you can come up with a plan that gets us out of here in one piece... I'll go with it." The darkling let out a sigh. He wasn't a fighter, for crying out loud!
 
Re: Mainland (Rescue Isabella Event)

Listening to Siphon explain the necklace, Ian seems to relax just a little bit. Not that he liked the idea of another girl in trouble, but the thought that it wasn't Aya or at least might not be her was comforting. And given everything that was going on, a little comfort was fine by him.

Sho leans against one of the trees, crossing her arms. She's quiet until Jon finishes ranting. "If I know Siphon," and here she fixes him with a look, "he's not going to expect any of us to help deal directly with this guy. There's only one man for the job in his mind." She gives him a little bit of a smirk. "Maybe he's right. But we," she seems to indicate the group of them with that inflection, "need to mainly concern ourselves with rescuing his hostages. Even if these things aren't proper sketches, if he's somehow using Isabella's book to fuel them, maybe getting it away from him will help cut their numbers." She sighs. "Hate to admit it, but Jon and Ellisia have a point. We aren't equipped to deal with this. But maybe that's about the only thing we have going in our favor. Jon mentioned the group that the dragon incinerated. They were organized. They were prepared. They were probably using tactics, sending out the scout and whatnot. Now, they're dead. Our greatest asset is that we're probably unpredictable to him. He doesn't know what we can do. He doesn't know where we are." She chuckles. "Ancient Chinese proverb say 'The greatest swordsman in the world fears not the second best but the worst.' He can predict what a tactically equal enemy can do. Us, he's got no f'ing clue what rabbit we're going to pull out of our hat next. So, let's figure on what we can do and the best way to use that to locate his hostages and then get the hellthefuck outta Dodge, boys and girls."
 
Re: Mainland (Rescue Isabella Event)

Siphon grunted.

"Suicide for you yes. Not for one already dead. More than once I might add. I'll be honest with you all. Sho is right, I don't expect any of you to stay behind once the captives have been rescued. In fact, I'd seriously recommend you all get the hell out of here as soon as we do. For me though ... I can't let this go any further. This person is directly responsible for the death of one of my closest friends, and now he's threatening the people I've come to know and call a family. Partially, this is revenge. However, there is a large part of this that is about not seeing the past repeat itself. I have to try at least. As for our dragon ... that's a good sign actually. It means it's power is diminished in this dimension. Or maybe it isn't him, I'm not sure. However if that thing comes back, you all need to get as far away as possible. I'll run interference with that. Both he and our main target ... we have some unfinished business to deal with, and only one of us is going to walk away from this."


His eyes had taken a dangerously dark tone, and it was plainly evident there was a fury extended to both their main target, and the dragon that none would have ever seen from him. And it was barely in check. After a moment, he spoke, but it was with a still furious tone, albeit lighter.


"We also have one other thing on our side. We know, at least partly, what we're facing. We've seen some of them in action. Those hunters, I will assume they were of the same faction we fought earlier, they did not know about what was coming at them. We have a one up there on them. And your right, he doesn't know what to expect from us. That will change though. If he becomes aware we're here, he will waste minions in order to gauge our abilities. We will need to not reveal everything right away, keep an ace in the hole so to speak."

Another pause.


"Jon, you said you saw him go into an entry that those things aren't patrolling? Do you think you can get us to it?"
 
Re: Mainland (Rescue Isabella Event)

Jonathan's frown got even worse. "He isn't exactly alive either... Probably. Just something to remember." He really doubted that things would end well... And frankly, he didn't trust Siphon. A part of him wondered whether the bad guys didn't just follow him here once he left... Whereever the Hell he came from. "The patrols are really hard to avoid. The routes and timing are well-planned. They know what they're doing. It might be possible to sneak by, though... I think I've managed to notice an opening while watching those guys. It leads straight into the jaws of the beast, so to speak. However, I don't like this. It'd make sense to put someone guarding the entrance all the time. If that's not the case, they probably have a reason not to. Smells like a trap."
 
Re: Mainland (Rescue Isabella Event)

Siphon paused before nodding.

"I'm willing to bet your right. Unfortunately, it's also an opportunity and an opening, and we may not get another one. Only other real option would be to fight our way through, or provide a distraction. Frankly, I don't think any of us could outrun those things, let alone manage to take them all on. I hadn't ever imagined anything like this."


A grim look crossed his face.

"Priority one is any hostages he may have. Anything else is secondary, however ... if a chance comes up to annihilate that bastard once and for all, then by all means, take it."


He shook his head.

"Though I don't understand how both of them managed to figure out a way to reopen those gateways, let alone make it here. There's a billion other dimensions they could have ended up in, why here? Why now? I may be wrong, but I suspect it has something to do with Athanasia."


Another pause then he turned to Jon again.

"Did you happen to see any other potential entry points? Hell, anything we can do to avoid detection for as long as possible is a good thing. Otherwise we're probably gonna have to take the only route presented to us and risk it."
 
Re: Mainland (Rescue Isabella Event)

Jonathan's eyebrows went up in suprise as he listened to Siphon. He didn't say anything until the man finished, though, and asked the darkling another question. "I'm afraid I haven't found anything... Looking for another entrance might be very risky." He let out another sigh, involuntarily. Fortunately, his body was returning to proper shape thanks to the food, but it was below his full strenght. Thus, he was still feeling a little tired, even if it didn't affect him much. "Altough I'd like to know two things first. You're talking as if we were dealing with TWO big bads instead of one. Care to explain that? And who is Athanasia?"
 
Re: Mainland (Rescue Isabella Event)

Siphon nodded glumly.

"Athanasia is the daughter of the man our primary target murdered many years ago. Her father was an extremely close friend of mine, we were military partners. I guess she always felt that I killed him because the symbiote Talvesh chose me as a host. I didn't know about her thoughts until she recently arrived here, in fact actually we were all led to believe she and her entire planet had been wiped out in the initial undead assault back in my home dimension. Somehow she managed to figure out where my people and I went, and she's come here looking to seek revenge. I fear she may be mentally unstable, may even try to kill others if she feels they are in her way. Nevertheless, I'm wondering if whatever she did to come here also opened the door for the other two as well. I still don't know how any of them managed to come here, let alone reopen the dimensional gateway. I thought we had permanently destroyed it."

A pause as his features took on an unreadable expression.

"As for your other question, it's because I believe we do in fact face two threats, and at this point I'm not sure which is the bigger. Our other enemy is the dragon you mentioned. I believe him to be a Dragon Lord from my home dimension named Fregion. Many centuries ago we fought his race after they emerged as a dominant power threatening to slaughter any humanoid race in their path. Extremely hostile enemy, at first we didn't even know about the larger ones. Of course, we fought them for some time, protecting those that we could. One day, we were finishing up the defense of a particularly ugly attack, it seemed we had the day won. And then a great shadow blocked out the sun, stretching across the land. In moments the sky was lit with flame, and all those caught in it's fury were either incinerated or worse. As it turns out, at least back there, his flames are eternal. They can't be put out, and they also are capable of entrapping the very soul essence of a person in eternal slavery. Those who were caught in the flames that day .... they returned as his minions many times. I never fully understood how his dark magic worked, only that it did and we had little in the way of an answer for it for some time. Then eventually, after almost a fifty years, we managed to find a way, so we thought, of killing him. Obviously, that didn't work if he's here. Fregion is immensely powerful, and honestly ... I sincerely hope that his travelling here DID weaken him, otherwise ..."

A long pause and then he finally finished.

"Otherwise I don't think we can stop him. But if we come under attack by him, I don't want any of you near those flames. The fact you said Jon that there weren't any bodies left or any soul discharges bodes well for us, it leads me to believe his power has been weakened. Unfortunately, I have no idea if that will last or not. I pray that it does, or we're in serious trouble."


A very long pause followed as he let this sink in, before he returned his attention to the last part.

"I have to agree, poking around looking for something that may or may not be there increases our risk of being detected. I'm afraid we must take the opening presented to us, and hope for the best of it."
 
Re: Mainland (Rescue Isabella Event)

A thought occurs to Al as he listens to Siphon's story.

"If the magic is in the flames, presumably you'd be safe so long as you don't actually come into contact with them, right? If that's the case, and you had a magic shield or barrier that was strong enough to stand against the flames, would you have a shot against him?"
 
Re: Mainland (Rescue Isabella Event)

"It's all well and good saying that these two bad guys from your world are too powerful for us to take on, but have you forgotten why we all decided to come here?" Finally speaking up after listening in silence while the two men spoke Emily had had quite enough of the negativity being thrown around. "We came here to rescue a girl and kick the butt of the jerk that kidnapped her. Regardless of what happens I'm staying to teach him that messing with us is a bad idea whether you like it or not. And I'd guess some other people will do the same." Emily had crossed her arms over her chest and gave Siphon a look of fierce determination that Jonathan had recently been aquainted with.
 
Re: Mainland (Rescue Isabella Event)

Jonathan buried his face in his hands, deciding that Emily's plan clearly required a double facepalm to describe it properly. "Emily, no offense, but are you nuts? We don't even know whether we have a chance of damaging them! You heard what Siphon said. Even if they are weakened, those things are way out of our league. Do you really think that just being able to control fire is enough to protect you from whatever they might throw at you? Or that you'll be able to handle all their minions? I swear to God, if you try to pull something like this, I'm knocking you out and dragging off this island. We're here for the hostage, period. You're not getting yourself killed while I'm around."

He really didn't want to speak about the enemies anymore. Siphon's description was frightening, to say the least. However, the darkling made a mental note to seek out this Athanasia, in case he got out of here alive. This story sounded interesting, and Jonathan wanted to hear it from more than one point of view.
 
Re: Mainland (Rescue Isabella Event)

"See, that's the kind of negativity that'll get us killed," Emily turns on Jonathan now, her anger slowly creeping up. And no, I'm not nuts, I know what the risks are, we all do. If anyone doesn't then they're fools for coming along, and if anyone thinks we don't know the risks they're even bigger fools. And it's not like I'm suggesting we run up to the front door, kick it in and attack everything that comes to greet us either. I know we have to sneak in as wuietly as we can."

"I've had enough of people telling me what to do. It's always 'Don't do that Emily, you'll get hurt' or 'Remember to take your raincoat just in case it comes down heavy'. Even Art's held back against me in our sparing sessions all these years. How do you think I'm the only person to beat him? Since I was five we've been at it and not once has he won against me. I'd understand if it was only recently he couldn't beat me because I'm thirteen and a damn sight better than I was then." Uncrossing her arms Emily then begins to slowly move towards Jonathan, it would be evident to everyone in the group that Emily has some pent up anger that has built up over god knows how many years and now she has finally decided to let it out. "I know the goddamn risks in both what I can do and this mission. But it'll be a very cold day in hell if you think you can stop me from beating the ever loving crap out of this asshole if I get the chance. If I have to I'll beat you and anyone else who tries to stop me from going with Vamp over there," The young girl points towards Siphon, her hand literally shaking with rage. "Do I make myself clear?" The air is literally shimmering from the rapid increase in temperature around Emily, it would seem that both her anger and her magical skills are as both as fiery as each other.
 
Re: Mainland (Rescue Isabella Event)

Jonathan didn't answer at first. He took a deep breath, then stood up, glancing at Siphon before focusing back on Emily. "Yes, you do. Your intentions were noted. Now, let me tell you what I think about them." The darkling wasn't patient, and frankly, this day sucked for him. His temper was about as bad as Emily's. "You're f***ing thirteen. There is no way in Hell I'm going to trust your judgement or let you do something reckless. Siphon does his job, we do our own. I don't really care what you're planning to do on the way, but I've seen enough people die today. If you throw yourself at something bigger than you, I'm personally coming for your sorry ass and dragging it away. It's not negativity that gets people killed, it's risks that they can't handle!"
 
Re: Mainland (Rescue Isabella Event)

Jonathan's pessimism was really getting on Al's nerves.

"I'm with Emily. We all knew there would be risks, but we came along anyway. We all knew we'd have no idea what we'd be up against, but we were prepared to fight it anyway. And I for one didn't come out here just to turn and run because the fight might be a little harder than we'd hoped for. If I'm to run, it'll be because I decided I should, not because you or anyone else did. And whatever we may or may not have to fight, if there's anything I can do against it I'm willing to give it a try. AFTER that, you can talk to me about running away."

Al turns to face Jonathan.

"So, will you be dragging me away too? Or are you just trying to play the white knight?"
 
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