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Hafnium Test Thread


Re: Hafnium Test Thread

Lenalee recoiled inwardly at the name of the village, and quickly went over what had happened to her before she had blacked out last. It was... Fuzzy, at first, but became swiftly more clear as she played over the events that preceded her loss of consciousness. That.... Turned out to not have the best of effects upon her mental state. Indeed, as the doctor attempted to touch her, and she felt him working magic on her, the sorceress recoiled away instinctively, reflexively reaching for her magic. Electricity crackled through her fingers as she turned toward the man with a look that said quite clearly that if he attempted that again, he would not survive it.

She did not, however, strike at them just yet. She had gleaned a little information from what they had said, and it had allowed her to swap her instinctive rage for bone chilling horror. Mari was here, which meant she was alive, at least. But, they said that she had moved in.... Which Lenalee doubted the rogue would ever do if given the choice. And it had been days since she had done so. "How long was I unconscious?" She asked, her voice cold and hard, attempting to hold back bile. 'This is all my fault.... If I hadn't been stupid and gotten myself knocked out, we would have gotten out of this village according to plan. Instead, she came to help me... And now this.'

She ignored, for the moment, the fact that these people could talk. The sorceress had more pressing concerns. She wanted to scream. To cry. To unleash her magic and pound and burn this place until there was nothing left but ashes. 'And look where that line of thinking got you? Don't just react... Think. You need to now more.' She thought back to her inquisitorial training, and closed her eyes, her legs folding up against her body as her hands clasped in front of her. 'Focus.....' She silently worked a spell upon herself, ignoring those around her unless they attempted to touch her. She needed clarity of mind, and the very real horrors of the past, the hallucinatory evils that the gems had shown her and the imagined evils that had befallen her comrades were not helping. She banished them, one by one, until her mind was empty. Then, she began sifting through her thoughts and memories coldly, searching for signs of influence.

The inquisition often used mind control on their recruits, until such time as they had proven trustworthy. Ironically, they also taught their more learned members how to detect such manipulations, and once recognized how to remove them. Repressed memories, and other more subtle forms of control were harder to discern, but with enough concentration, she could do the same. She probed herself for thoughts that were not her own, starting with more recent events and gradually going backwards. The apparition had shown her her family in its attempts to break her, and she had not seen them in years. That meant that not even her past was safe.

She needed more. More clarity, ore focus. She needed to see more, hear more, and know more, but at the same time she needed to be able to fight off mental compulsions better, if she happened to find any. She cast the same spell again, showing no signs of the use of her magic that might be detected by the naked eye. She continued the probing of her memories, ignoring any outward stimuli unless they might signal an attack. Lenalee banished her emotions to the back of her mind, remaining dispassionate. She had always hated it, when her "teachers" had ordered her to assume such a state, feeling at the time that her passions were what had given her her power. A lot had been learned since then, and she barely managed to fight down the shame that surfaced as she realized that, had she simply planned her foray into the village a little better, it would have never come to this.

She cast her spell again, forcing her mind to remain focused and clear. Then, once she had gone over and dealt with her findings, she opened her eyes once more. Turning to Lucy, she asked a series of questions, waiting until each had been answered to ask the next; "Was there a storm the night that I was found? Has anyone seen me while I was asleep other than you? Have there been any strange happenings of late, like a sudden population boom, or people not remembering what happens after dark? Do the words; "Interloper" or "Eden" mean anything to you?"

If he was still there, she turned to the apparent doctor, and rose from the bed, ignoring any pains that might have rose up due to her motion. "Take me to Mari." She said, and no part of her tone of voice suggested that it might be a request. Her emotions remained boiling under the surface, waiting for a time when she might release them, but she held them, and any further magic at bay. There would be a time and a place to unleash the violent storm brewing inside of her... But it was not now. She had to find her companions, and figure out just what the fuck was going on. Then she could decide whether to annihilate Amere.

Assuming her demand was met, she examined the village around her as she walked, accepting no assistance in walking even if she might have needed it. She forced her body to comply to her wishes, whether it liked it or not. There was too much for her to do to allow for further weakness, and she took in any details that she could about the village as she passed through it, searching for signs of damage among the houses, and for signs of mutation among the population. She allowed no one to touch her, not until she had seen Mari, at least. Any who attempted to do so would not feel her rage, however, but only the quiet dispassion that she had adopted. That would not mean that she had any sort of restraint, however.

Cast Power of Chaos (level 2 entropy spell) three times.
The first time has her Mind at 50, so +16 Mind.
The second time has her Mind at 66, so +22 Mind.
The third time has her at 88 Mind, so +30 Mind.
That should leave her sitting at 118 Mind, which would give her 59 Resistance and 34 Perception before modifiers.
No upkeep, but all in all this costs 6 EP. She's going to keep them on.

Anyone that tries to touch her gets Implosion (level 4 bolt spell) to the face. Repulse if it happens to be multiple someones, or they grab her. At this point, property damage or anyone that isn't someone she knows. Sadly, this does not yet include Lucy.
 
Re: Hafnium Test Thread

Lenalee: HP = 50, PP = 70, EP = 74/80, Status = +68 Mind (3 Buffs), Pregnant
Rolls
Casting: Oh, to hell with it, I'm not rolling it.

Perception: Success.

"Calm down, I'm only trying to ensure that there's nothing wrong," the doctor stated with the same level of dispassion, though he didn't move to touch the sorceress again. "I'm surprised I didn't notice that you had magical aptitude when I first healed you." He said, almost an afterthought. Then the lightning witch managed to vocalize her question. "It's probably been weeks..." Lucy answered, hesitation entering her voice at Lenalee's dangerousness.

The older man and the blond woman simply stared warily at Lenalee as she cast her spells, not quite sure what was going on. The doctor raised an eyebrow but ended up doing nothing. Similarly, the two less magically inclined people didn't seem even courageous enough to move, whereas the white robed man took a few steps back and leaned comfortably against the wall away from the bed. As the mage weaved her spells and checked her own mind for strange influence, she found nothing. She was herself. No oppressed memories, no compulsions, no oddities, nothing had changed since before she arrived at the town, beyond the trace of corruption that she received from the warped townsmen. Even after her third cast, she could find nothing strange. Though, the spells did at least have the benefit of allowing her to recall everything up to that point with crystal clarity.

Lucy was so intimidated by the mage that the answers to her questions came immediately. "No, there hasn't been a storm in months. James and Doctor Kadever have seen you, but nobody else," she motioned to the older man and the doctor, respectively, as she gave their impromptu introductions. At her questions about strange happenings, interlopers, and Eden, both James and Lucy shook their heads, and with Lenalee's magically enhanced abilities, they seemed to be telling the truth. The doctor merely stared at her with boredom present on his features, as though the whole thing was a waste of his time, but he had been doing so the entire time, so there was no real change there.

Kadever was apparently so bored that he appeared relieved when she requested to be taken to Mari. "Very well, follow me." The other two in the room seemed a little relieved that the dangerous sorceress would be off for a while. Nobody made an attempt to touch the emotional mage as she followed the white-robed man out of the room, down a hallway, and then out of the door of the apparently very small home. He kept a brisk pace as he walked, although Lenalee was still able to catch the scenery as she emerged into Amere. It was, in fact, Amere, though it appeared to be the town before all the property damage. The buildings were well taken care of, a few small children skipped down the road ahead of the two, carefree, and a few men and women could be seen taking care of more mundane chores, like maintaining the land and the buildings. The sky was blue and the mage could even hear birds chirping in what would be a calming background noise if she hadn't been so certain that something was wrong.

"I'm really surprised that you made it, you know. You barely had any spirit left when they found you. I told Lucy that you were a lost cause but she wouldn't give it up," the doctor made morbid smalltalk as he strode down the path. He walked so quickly that normally the mage wouldn't have been able to keep up, but she was particularly determined at that moment. "You should really be thankful to Lucy, she has a heart of go-"

The doctor stopped mid-sentence. In fact, he had not only stopped mid-sentence, he had stopped mid-step. The man's foot hovered in the air, weightlessly. He was frozen in place. What little color he had began to drain from him, leaving him monochrome. If Lenalee tried, she would find that she could not touch him, physically or with magic. Then, the sky turned an ominous red and the chirping stopped. Everywhere she looked were monochrome villagers. The sudden shift in scenery was the least of her problems, as she heard a dangerous shnk.

She rolled out of the way just as it landed, an assailant ending up right where she had stood not moments before. It turned toward her, a visage of death. A spindly, humanoid skeleton, with rotten flesh hanging off of its exposed skull. It wore tattered black robes, covering everything from the neck down, though tight enough to show that it had less skin and more bone beneath the fabric. At the end of two extremely long arms were five wicked claws apiece, long enough to skewer through any human. The creature itself was well over six feet tall. As it turned on the mage, it shrieked. It was an awful, ear-splitting noise. To make matters worse, its shrieking was taken up by two others, standing on the roof of a one-story building to the right of Lenalee. She had to cover her ears just to prevent from being deafened. The walk through the town was proving to be about as dangerous as her first had been.

Judging by how fast the first one had attacked, the others would be upon her within seconds. The first was about ten feet ahead of Lenalee, the other two were on a roof which was tens of feet to her right. The doctor seemed completely incapable of moving, helping, or being hurt, so it at least seemed safe to unload on the skeletal monsters.
 
Re: Hafnium Test Thread

'Weeks?' Lenalee thought to herself. A great deal could have happened in a matter of weeks. A great deal indeed. She cared little that her caretakers were frightened by her behavior, and offered no apology for it. Things weren't adding up, and at this point she had begun to wonder whether all of this was even truly real. Hadn't been a storm in months? She had conjured one when she had been knocked out, that much she knew quite well. There was no way it could have been forgotten, considering how many of the villagers she had killed with it. And she knew that, if Mari had known where she was, the rogue would have at least been to see her.

She followed the doctor out, and only grew even more confused as she beheld Amere as it had probably been before the corruption had fallen onto it. She was shaken from her observation of her surroundings by the man's small talk, but he stopped in mid sentence and mid stride. Her magic still running through her, she paused without walking into him, and waved a hand in his direction. Seeing it pass right through his form, she found herself more and more sure that what she was seeing was all a falsehood. As sound and color save the blood red of the sky drained from the world around her, the sorceress went over all of the possibilities that came to mind. Was she dead, and was this a nightmare? Had her soul been claimed by some daemon, or perhaps sucked into the gems themselves somehow? Or was this all just a hallucination from her own battered mind? Could it be a side effect of whatever had been done to her by the apparition, or perhaps the intended effect?

She was shaken from her thoughts by a sound, and with agility that surprised she hadn't known she possessed, dove forward into a roll. The mage rose back to her feet and spun in an instant, and found herself staring at..... She didn't quite know what, standing where she had been a second ago. Even before it had issued its loud scream, causing her to cover her ears to block out some of the sound, she knew its violent intentions. Of all the things she had seen, the only thing that it reminded her of was the unnatural apparition that had inhabited the Edenhearts. That led her to believe that the accursed things were responsible for this. And that awoke the fires of her rage once more, and her power came to her call in answer.

She did not use it immediately, however, and instead straightened, her arms rising slowly as power crackled across her skin. In her last battle she had been wasteful and sloppy, and it had cost her far too much for the sorceress to repeat that mistake. The doctor was seemingly immune to any harm so long as she was in this state, and truth be told she didn't care if the man was caught in the crossfire. He probably didn't exist anyway.

That did not mean, however, that she would be wasteful. Every strike had to be efficient, and either kill one of them or cripple all of them. Rage would find its place in the use of her magic, but she knew that she had to keep a clear head, or the next strike might not be so easy to avoid. She closed her eyes for a heartbeat, and then opened them. No lightning blazed from her eyes this time, and the power crackling across her skin vanished. She had reached the state that she needed, the balancing point between the mindless rage of a thunderstorm, and the perfect serenity of a clear blue sky.

Then, she directed her will, and a wave of force slammed into the center of the thing that had almost landed on top of her, throwing it back and sending it skidding across the ground. She hadn't even moved to do so, but as it was flung aside she turned to watch the other two, prepared to avoid the attacks she knew were coming. If all went well, she intended to do the same to them, albeit possibly with less power behind it if the first crumbled as she imagined it would.

{F} Greater Force Bolt (Bolt) [Targets affected by this spell must win a Resistance check against the caster or be knocked Prone and pushed back 10 feet.]
Level 3 force spell.
She'll be defensive fighting for 20 points, so that's d20 + 118 - 20 = d20 + 98 to see if she hits.
Her Resistance right now is 59, and her Dodge should be 79 + 20 = 99.

If it hits, the spell should do:
(2d4 + 22) * 4

Next round, she'll do the same unless this turns out to be complete overkill or doesn't work at all. If the thing turns into powder, cast the level 2 spell instead, {F} Force Bolt (Bolt) [None]
(2d4 + 22) * 3 damage instead!

If it doesn't work, she'll have to try something else depending on the results.
 
Re: Hafnium Test Thread

Lenalee: HP = 12/50, PP = 70, EP = 74/80, Status = +68 Mind (3 Buffs), Pregnant
Rolls
Round 1

Casting: Success
Attack: Hit
Damage: 3 + 22 = 25 * 4 = 100 - 8 = 92. Dead.

Enemy Attacks: Miss & Miss.

Round 2

Casting: Success
Attack: Hit
Damage: 4 + 22 = 26 * 3 = 78 - 8 = 70. Dead.

Enemy Attack: Hit, apparently.
Damage: 43 - 5 = 38.

Round 3

Casting: Success
Attack: Hit
Damage: 4 + 22 = 26 * 3 = 78 - 8 = 70. Dead.

Lenalee gains 4 experience!

The first thing, for there was no other way to describe it, that had attacked her was already on the move as she began to cast. The cantrips she had cast upon herself proved incredibly useful in preparing her spell before it was upon her. Her bolt, a perfect combination of her rage, calm, and sheer force of will, smashed into the first clawed assailant. Then it continued, directly through its chest, leaving a perfectly round hole in the thing. It looked down at its newly acquired hole, then back at Lenalee, and then black steam rose off of it. The skeletal creature literally faded away in a shadowy mist. Lenalee's prowess did not dissuade the other two monsters from assaulting her. They leaped off of the buildings, landing softly monochrome ground and displaying a preternatural acrobatic talent, and immediately charged at the sorceress.

The mental quickness bestowed upon her by her castings allowed her to quickly judge the best manner in which to avoid the two monsters' attacks. Wicked claws flashed at her but she ducked, weaved, and avoided the deadly sharp blades. In the chaos, she somehow managed to find time for a counterattack. Her second bolt flared out from her hand, weaker than the first in order to avoid overexerting herself. The bolt struck the targeted fiend directly in the face, blasting its skull to pieces. It took a few steps back before vanishing into the mists like the first had. The third reaver fought more furiously with its first two allies dispatched. Dodging backwards was all the sorceress could do to keep her head on her shoulders as it flailed at her with dangerously long talons.

Eventually, the sorceress made a misstep. stumbling over a small rock in the path. It seized the opportunity, its razor-like claws lashing out at the mage. Those dangerous fingers easily pierced the heavy robe. It cut all the way from her right shoulder to her left thigh, leaving five bloody lines down the length of her body. The force behind the swipe was enough to send Lenalee to her backside, but the determined mage wasn't done yet. She lashed out with another bolt of force, taking off one of the fiend's legs. It did not fall, instead the creature stared down at its missing appendage before fading away.

With all three of the monsters simply gone, the assault appeared to have ended. Indeed, its end was heralded by a voice. "-ld. I suppose somebody has to be unwaveringly positive for those of us who can't be." Yet, the voice had changed. While it still held all of the arrogance and disinterest of the man she had started out following, it had become hollow and echoing. A look at the doctor revealed that the doctor, indeed, all of the men and women of Amere, had changed as well. All of them had become golden balls of fiery energy, floating through the air. The one that seemed to represent the doctor, or at least had his voice, was continuing on the path as he had been before the ambush. The ball of energy didn't seem to notice that the surroundings were monochrome, nor that the sky was a deep shade of red. It didn't notice that Lenalee had been clawed and was still on her backside, either, which meant that she would have to get up and begin following it quickly, lest she lose track of it.
 
Re: Hafnium Test Thread

Lenalee retained her calm state of mind throughout the engagement, using her enhanced senses to avoid the deadly claws of the creatures rather than relying on her reflexes. Every strike was predicted, and despite the creature's speed, it seemed like they simply weren't able to land a blow on her as she side-stepped, weaved and ducked every one of their frighteningly swift attacks. The one that she had killed had dissolved into mist, and that meant she had a clear sign of when one these things had been dealt with properly.

It wasn't long before the two remaining monsters offered her an opening, and Lenalee stretched out a hand, directing a lesser version of the same spell at the head of one of the other creatures and smashing it's skull into dust. It dissolved, and the contest became one on one. At first, the sorceress thought that it would be made easier. That might have been why she tripped on a stone, and ended up on her plump backside, a line of gashes running down her front as she hissed in sudden pain.

She retained her calm, and unleashed another spell to slow the thing down, but the bolt of force proved enough to finish the thing, tearing its leg from its body and causing it to dissolve into mist as the others had. The way that it had not fallen, and simply stared down at it's injury, was mildly concerning, but Lenalee couldn't exactly do anything about it now, so she pushed that worry onto the increasingly large pile of things that she couldn't do anything for. She immediately started to cast again, wanting her wound sealed before she could lose too much blood, but just as she did so, she heard the doctor's voice start up again, and she turned her head in his direction.

He, and the world around him, hadn't reverted to normal, and he didn't even seem to notice that she had stopped following. Scrambling to her feet with a muttered curse, Lenalee tore after him until she was close once more, still casting her spells between breaths so as to seal her painful wounds. It was surprisingly easy to ignore the pain, which she attributed to her magically enhanced state of mixed rage and serenity more than anything else. Then, as she followed the man who was now just a ball of energy, she decided to test something, and said; "I suppose that I ought to, shouldn't I? Perhaps when I get back to her I will."

(Cast level 1 healing spells until she's back at full, and follow the good doctor.)
 
Re: Hafnium Test Thread

Lenalee: HP = 50, PP = 70, EP = 60/80, Status = +68 Mind (3 Buffs), Pregnant

(Forgot EP costs for the force bolts, whoops!)

Lenalee managed to keep up with the wisp of a doctor, her magical boosts making it easy for her to cast her healing cantrips on the move. The golden ball of flame said nothing else as it continued to float down the path at the same hurried pace as it had when it still possessed legs. It turned and it weaved through the town, much in the way that Edmund had when he led the sorceress through the place in a much more dangerous situation, until it eventually came upon a house. The wisp's change in direction, setting it on a path moving directly at the small home, was as much a sign as anything else that it was their intended destination. A second clue came in that, mmediately upon the mage seeing the building, color returned to the world. The doctor regained his body and his robes, as well.

The house itself was a cottage with a thatched roof. It was small at one story with probably no more than three rooms to it. A fence of white wooden stakes surrounded it, a swinging gate allowing for visitors to walk to the cottage on a cobblestone path. As Lenalee followed the doctor up the cobble path, she found that the grass inside the fence was well trimmed. Likely more interesting than the state of the lawn's manicure, the sorceress noticed that the place looked completely out of place in Amere. None of the surrounding buildings shared any of the materials that had been used in the construction of the small cottage. Finally, she noticed two patches of soil next to the house, one on either side of the cobblestone next to the door, that were likely used as gardening. Specifically, Lenalee noticed a short figure working on the left side of those would-be gardens.

She, for it was a feminine figure, was short, with a light complexion. A very slender frame, from what the mage could see while the woman was on her hands and knees and working the dirt with a hand shovel. She was wearing a grey tunic and loose grey pants, the color having proven a poor choice for the gardening inclined and as a result both being noticeably stained with soil. There were no signs of mutation on the woman. At the sound of visitors approaching, she set down the hand tool and stood up, further displaying her short stature. Red hair fell to her shoulders. "Renee! Back to gardening so soon?"

The girl turned. It was, in fact, Ren. Or, more accurately, Ren without the rabbit ears. "Doctor Kadever!" She spoke with obvious glee as she rushed forward to hug the robed man. The girl pulled away from the embrace before continuing. "You know me. It helps my nerves!" The doctor smiled and nodded. "To think that a healer of your caliber would need my help with a simple delivery! Speaking of which, how is Mari?" Kadever seemed to have forgotten about why he was there, perhaps even having forgotten that Lenalee was there. "She's sleeping right now. She's just exhausted. I believed you but I still wanted to check for myself once I was done hyperventilating." The strikingly normal girl replied, though afterward she gave a quizzical look at Lenalee. "I don't think I've met you before! I think the doctor here has forgotten his manners to have not introduced us yet," the smile on Ren's face all but declared that her comment was in jest. "Oh, yes, she's here to speak with Mari. I assume the two know each other somehow. Her name is..." After a pensive moment in thought, the doctor turned to the sorceress. "I don't believe you've given me your name."
 
Re: Hafnium Test Thread

Lenalee was startled as the world filled in with color once more, and the doctor regained his human form. What could have caused it? For that matter, what could have caused the world to change in the first place? Unless it was just the appearance of those creatures, but then she had to wonder why they hadn't just remained hidden and struck her when she wasn't aware of their presence, and also why they had targeted her in particular. She quickly glanced down at herself, trying to see if her robe was still bloodied and torn, before turning her gaze back upwards to view the woman whom the doctor was speaking to.

She was shaken from her thoughts by something she hadn't been expecting in the slightest. Ren. The girl looked just as she had when Lenalee had met her, except without the unusual ears. She seemed.... Happy, to say the least. "That would be because I haven't given you my name. It doesn't matter, I'm nobody important." Lenalee replied calmly, her voice perhaps a little too cold than it should have been. She pointedly didn't look at Ren as she spoke, focusing on the one whom she didn't know rather than the redhead. More pieces of the puzzle had been set before her, but they had only enlarged the the mystery, adding more questions while giving no answers, at least not that the sorceress could see.

"We have never met. But I was with a woman named Mari when I lost consciousness. I need to know if it's the same one. She need not be awakened if she is in recovery, I merely need to see if she's the woman that I know." Lenalee said, her voice still calm and cool as she turned to look at Ren as she spoke.
 
Re: Hafnium Test Thread

Lenalee: HP = 50, PP = 70, EP = 60/80, Status = +68 Mind (3 Buffs), Pregnant

(I was considering pushing straight forward to dat Mari, but did not want to murder any potential conversational opportunities. If you don't feel that Lenalee has anything to respond to here, just let me know and I'll edit the next part in!)

Ren watched the sorceress with a frown as Lenalee avoided looking at her. Meanwhile, a subtle twitch of the doctor's eyebrows were the only indication that he took any offense to the mage's demeanor, or even noticed her. At least the former rabbit girl's frown became a cheery smile as the Badarian woman made her request. "Well, Miss Important, do you mind if I call you Nobody?" The redhead quickly moved on, turning around and leading the other two to the door, before any sort of retribution could be delivered for her bad joke. "That's fine though! Any potential friend of Mari's is a friend of mine. We'll see if she's still asleep or not. Jan is watching our little bundle of joy in the spare room, so we won't disturb them. Besides, I'm sure you're not here to bring any harm. You have a familiar feel about you!" The doctor merely shrugged and tagged along, leaving the mage to decide whether she would or not.

Assuming Lenalee did follow, the redheaded mage gently opened the front door of the cottage and stepped inside, gesturing for the other two to follow her. The first room was, as expected, small, though it was certainly cozy. There were padded chairs in abundance, five of them, gathered around a small fireplace. A bearskin rug adorned the floor in front of the fireplace. A few short end tables sat in-between the chairs. There were only two doors, one on the wall opposite of the one the group had just entered, and one directly to the right, Ren was moving for the former. "You said you lost consciousness?" The redhead offered a question to break the silence as she led the other two. "Yes, she was found on a doorstep several weeks ago. I didn't think she was going to make it, she barely had any energy. It's a miracle, reall-" The doctor seemed set to ramble on and on, except Ren ended up cutting him off. "Are you a member of the carnival? They came to town around that time. Although I don't think that Mari had anything to do with them."
 
Re: Hafnium Test Thread

"That would be fine." Lenalee quickly said following Ren's request, not particularly caring. 'So, Jan's here as well.... This can't be real. But, she seems to recognize me somehow... What in the void's name is going on here?' That the three were together in this place signified something, but just what, she hadn't the slightest idea. There was no hesitation in following Ren into her home, but Lenalee remained wary, her eyes taking in her surroundings carefully.

As such, she was shocked by Ren's mention of the carnival, and immediately said; "No!" She paused, and then more quietly said; "No... I had no relation with them." Another piece of the puzzle. And one that made her cringe, at that.
 
Re: Hafnium Test Thread

Lenalee: HP = 50, PP = 70, EP = 60/80, Status = +68 Mind (3 Buffs), Pregnant

"Oh, good, then I can tell you how much that place gives me the creeps! I gave it a visit when they first set up and they wouldn't let me in. They said it wasn't my time yet. Needless to say, I haven't really wanted to try again." Ren stared off into space for a few moments after verbally recalling her experience with the place. She snapped out of her stupor with a shake of her head, before moving her finger to her lips as a signal to be quiet. Her hand slowly reached out to the doorknob and pushed. The door opened with a soft creak. The redhead practically tiptoed into the room, which was apparently a bedroom. Three beds lined the far wall with nightstands next to each. Entering the room, Lenalee immediately spotted Mari on the middle bed. Raven hair, olive skin, and noticeably athletic, it was the same Mari. She was still different, though, younger and with a softer expression on her face as she slept. Happy, even.

Lenalee was quickly disturbed from any thoughts she might have on the subject by a sudden change in the room. The wooden walls aged in front of her very eyes, becoming old and decrepit. The sheets on the beds rotted away and signs of wear and tear appeared in the mattresses. The doctor, who had padded in behind the two, became a golden wisp again, so did the sleeping rogue. Ren, however, stayed exactly the same as she had before the shift. "She's sleeping so peacefully," the redheaded mage whispered, apparently not noticing any of the changes. As Ren finished the statement, Mari and Kadever became human again and the scenery reverted to what it was when the sorceress stepped inside the room. It was then that the short girl softly ushered the two out of the room.

"Was Mari the person you were looking for?" Ren asked quietly after she gingerly closed the door behind the trio.
 
Re: Hafnium Test Thread

Lenalee stepped into the room behind Ren, and beheld Mari unconscious. She was younger, but without a doubt the same woman whom Lenalee had met in the woods not too long ago. She watched the transformation of the room around the unconscious rogue impassively, the certainty that this was all an illusion of some sort growing swiftly. Ren had remained the same, but Mari had changed into an orb as well, but why was a mystery that Lenalee was growing too frustrated to try and solve. Another piece if a a puzzle that she was increasingly wishing that she could simply sweep from the table. Or set on fire and dance as it burned.

She left the room silently, and only then did she realize that Ren had mentioned the carnival. The thing that the horror within the gems had used twice before. "No, she wasn't. Where is the carnival you spoke of?" Lenalee quickly replied, and set off in that direction without another word unless either tried to follow. Any attempt to lead here there would be met with an ice cold reply of; "Just point me in the right direction."

She had to be rid of the two quickly, to put Ren out of danger and to keep the doctor from bothering her further. Or from trying to stop her when she burned the accursed place to the ground. She was growing increasingly certain that she was somehow within the gems, or the realm that they were tied to, and that none of this was real in the physical sense. The images of carnage within the carnival were the dark side of it, as close to truth as anything like this could offer. The sorceress, still in her state of deadly calm that hovered just over a sea of rage, intended to see that place wiped from existence. That way, maybe she could return to the real world.
 
Re: Hafnium Test Thread

Lenalee: HP = 50, PP = 70, EP = 80, Status = +122 Mind (6 Buffs, 3 from Lenalee, 3 from Ren), Pregnant
Rolls
Perception: ??? wins.

"Aw," Ren replied after Lenalee had issued both her response and her request. "I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help. This might sound crazy but I feel like I was supposed to aid you with something, although it feels like it was from a long time ago." The redhead sighed, the edges of her lips curling downward into a small frown. "Well, maybe I can at least help you with this." The redhead placed her hand out, palm towards the sorceress. The mage could feel warmth spreading through her body, soothing her and increasing the capabilities of her already formidable spellcasting. The redheaded healer's magics felt more powerful than Lenalee remembered them being, more calm and collected. With her boons quickly granted, the former rabbit-girl simply nodded toward the door. "Take a right once you're past the gate and keep walking down the path, you'll be there in no time. Good luck with whatever you're trying to figure out! I have a feeling that you'll need it." The doctor nodded, but offered no words.

Assuming Lenalee left once the goodbyes were said, she would find her way out easily. The door of the cottage opened and closed normally, her walk on the cobblestone path back to the main road was uneventful, and the gate opened and closed with only the squeak of its hinges to herald its movement. It wasn't until she stepped foot on the main path that the world became monochrome again and the sky turned crimson. None of the wicked creatures that had assaulted her earlier set upon Lenalee this time, however. The streets of Amere were empty. Completely empty of life. Each step down the path brought no response, hostile or otherwise. As desolate as the town had been on her first day in it, it was more-so on this trip. The dreary atmosphere continued, even until she had reached the last set of buildings on the path and cleared out of Amere proper, what felt like hours later.

It was then that she spotted it, the carnival. Tents and stands set up for as far as she could see. It was exactly as it was in her visions, only it was devoid of the crowds. Instead, a handful of performers, thirteen in total, stood on the path ahead of her, garbed in bright performer's clothing and with various animal face-paintings. They stared at her intently, having noticed her by the time she was within a hundred feet of them. Unfortunately, as seemed to be a common reaction in the place that Lenalee currently found herself in, the men and women would not remain men and women for long. A sickening series of cracks that echoed throughout the area signified the beginning of their changes. Their fingers elongated into dangerous claws, their appendages and bodies became spindly. Their flesh rotted away and their bright clothing became black, tattered robes. Ahead of Lenalee, stood thirteen of the things that had assaulted her earlier.

They continued to stare at the empowered sorceress, who with her own boons and Ren's would probably be quite capable of destroying them all. Then, as suddenly as they had changed, they moved. The thirteen parted into two columns, to allow the mage past them and into the carnival proper. The creatures did not move threateningly, they did not shriek, they did not do anything. Indeed, they had even remained in perfect range for a single of her most powerful spells to destroy them all. But they did not seem to care. They merely swayed, as if an nonexistent wind was threatening to topple the tall beings over at any moment. It appeared that the mage could try to continue on without conflict, or...

She could release the pent-up rage she felt on the place that had twice attempted to haunt her. The choice was hers.
 
Re: Hafnium Test Thread

Lenalee wasn't willing to argue with Ren, but the sorceress adopted a surprised expression when the girl enacted her own magic, doing much the same that Lenalee herself had done and increasing her focus and concentration. A troubled look came upon the mage's face, but she didn't go back on what she had done. Instead, she nodded, and only offered, in a voice far more polite than she had used so far; "Thank you."

She left Ren's house, and proceeded in the direction that the girl had indicated to her. The world changed as soon as she passed the gate of the girl's property, and Lenalee sighed as the world became monochrome again. She immediately tensed, preparing for more of the strange monsters to show up, but no threats appeared, and even stranger the spells that Ren had enacted on her continued to function. For a moment, she considered going back into the house and speaking to the redhead again, but Lenalee quickly discounted that idea. The last time she had taken Ren with her into a fight, the girl had been left comatose. She didn't know what dying in this place might do, but it wasn't an experiment she had any desire to make, particularly where the rabbit girl was concerned.

"You need to redecorate." She said aloud, and then began walking down the road. It took her far longer than she had expected that it ought to, particularly given Ren's suggestion that she would be there in no time, but the sorceress was grateful for the time to think. As she walked through the desolate town, the sorceress tried to assemble all of the pieces she had into a picture that made sense. Ren was here, and was somehow different from the others in this realm. The last time Lenalee had seen her in the waking world, she had been unconscious, and when she had attempted to pour magic into her spirit to rouse her there had been a strange pull, as if some hungry force desired her energies for itself. She herself had felt a similar pull last time she had been awake, when Mari had been fighting to defend her from the corrupted villagers of Amere. What could it all mean? So far, her only conclusion was that she had been drawn into some other world by the gems she had taken from the servants of the priestess, and Ren's presence seemed to fit with that somehow. How, or why, or anything more specific was still a mystery, however. And, perhaps most importantly, she hadn't the slightest idea of how to get out.

The carnival came into view, and with it a group of masked performers that quickly turned into more of those wretched abominations, and Lenalee sighed once more. Without even thinking about it, she prepared her magic, knowing that, with so many of them, she would likely only have one chance to eradicate them all before she was buried under their numbers. But, it proved to not be needed, as they formed into ranks on either side of the path before her and simply swayed in the wind. A welcoming gesture?

She had stopped walking as soon as she had seen them, and didn't continue, letting the silence and stillness stretch on as she considered what she ought to do. They weren't attacking her... Yet. But she had about as much trust for inhuman wraiths as she did for demons that she hadn't made a deal with, which put them just a step above demons that she HAD made a deal with on her scale of trust. The image of the monsters all exploding into motion and rending her limb from limb as she passed through the center of their ranks entered her mind, and she shuddered slightly, closing her eyes. Was the creature within the gems attempting to be polite, or was it attempting to lay a trap for her? If so, it was a poor attempt at it, and it had to know that she would never even consider negotiating with it. She had come to obliterate it, and that goal was supported by all of the rage boiling beneath her calm exterior.

"Welcome to my parlor. Won't you step in and have a bite to eat?" She muttered to herself, watching the thirteen monsters standing in place. After a moment, Lenalee tilted her head to the side, as if curious, and then spat; "Fuck you."

The lightning bolt came down in the center of the group a second later, electricity spreading across the ground and (hopefully) destroying the lot of them. If it did and nothing else came forth to bar her passage, she strolled through the gate, pausing in the center of where they had held their formation and where her lightning had struck. "If you wanted to play nice with me, then you should have tried that from the start. When I find you, you're dust." She said, speaking plainly but to the empty clearing, and then continuing on.

I don't think I can fail at casting at this point. >.>

Lightning Strike, level 4 Lightning spell.
{EL} Lightning Strike (Ball) [Deals damage as a spell one level lower, but creatures struck by it must win a Resistance check against the caster or be Stunned for a round. The caster gets a +4 bonus to this check.]

Unless they've significantly increased in durability since the last fight, I don't think rolling damage is really necessary. Unless there are other factors in play, of course, since I remember you telling me that they get stronger the more of them there are.
 
Re: Hafnium Test Thread

Lenalee: HP = 50, PP = 70, EP = 74/80, Status = +122 Mind (6 Buffs, 3 from Lenalee, 3 from Ren), Pregnant
Rolls
Nah, not really. They're all pretty dead.

Lenalee gains 4 xp.

The things did not move, even as she prepared her spell. They made no attempt to dodge, not that they could have anyway. The crimson sky lighted up and before anyone could even begin to utter 'one, one-thousand' a bolt of furious lightning struck the middle of the group. It destroyed all caught inside it, including the thirteen creatures and several of the stands that lined an impromptu pathway. The skeletal beings, as they had earlier, simply faded into shadowy mists. The stands were obliterated, splintered wood sent in multiple directions by the explosive force of the bolt and ending scattered across the ground. The bolt might have been deafening to any others, but it didn't even begin to affect the sorceress.

With them out of the way, there was really only one way to go, forward. The mage continued on her journey to piece together the puzzle, maybe blast a few other things into pieces. Her stroll through the carnival went uninterrupted for several minutes, trying to return to the place the visions had forced upon her. It appeared that the performers from earlier had the only bits of fabric that weren't monochrome in the place, as all the tents were in black and white. It wasn't until a fog rolled in and enveloped her and her surroundings that she saw anything in color again. The fog was so thick that it forced her to stop for a few moments.

When the fog rolled away, as suddenly as it had appeared, Lenalee was standing in the killing grounds that she had become all too familiar with. Ten of the devices she had seen in the visions were arranged around her in a circle, each about fifty feet away from her. They were empty, though the stains on the grass below them suggested this was not always the case. The sky had become dark, a full moon in view and nothing obscuring the countless specks of light in the sky. The area outside of the torture devices was surrounded by trees. Darkness did not come this time, unlike what had happened on her last visits, but the creature in her visions did. A goat's skull with black flames for eyes rose from the ground, Tattered robes fluttered beneath the skull as it rose to its full height, appearing to materialize from the ground itself. Slender fingers returned. Its flaming eyes stared at the sorceress. A voice echoed inside her head.

Do you delight in destroying my toys, Lenalee? Do you think you can do the same to me?
 
Re: Hafnium Test Thread

The fog cleared, and Lenalee's face shifted into a scowl as the world changed again, the carnival falling away and leaving her in the killing field, where the corpses of this beings victims hung. All of the devices were empty, but the stains underneath caused a silent shiver of revulsion and horror to run up her spine. Another surge of emotion rose up, threatening her state of calm.

She wanted to vomit at the sight of the bloody crosses, wanted to curl up into a ball on the ground and bawl her eyes out, and wanted to turn and flee without ever looking back. She wanted to scream, to rain down fire and lightning until there was nothing left of this accursed place but dust and molten glass. She wanted to push her emotions away and never feel anything again. She wanted to go back to Mari and Ren, and never think of this place again. All of this all at once, but each urge was smashed down before it could gain any ground. She wasn't doing this because she had to do it, or because she had wanted to be here. This place was not of her creation, and as much as she might wish that she was somewhere else, this was where she was. The only way she could return to something that she knew was real would be by destroying the master of this place.

That thought steadied her, and it was what she kept in her mind as the apparition rose from the ground, its eyes of black flame boring into her and its voice echoing into her mind. Despite the hated abomination's presence before her, Lenalee smiled, and she suddenly stopped trembling. As the nausea passed, she remembered how much her parents had been frustrated by this particular quality of hers, and how many beatings she had gotten for it during her training. She grinned wider.

She was angry, and she was frightened, but she was still in control of herself. She could still fight, if she had to, and she could still view things in a calm, even light. There was always a trade-off for that level of control, however. She got mouthy.

"Oh yeah, they're great fun. They don't even notice when I break them, and they turn into black mist. It's like party favors but ugly instead of colorful! You probably heard me earlier, but I'll say it again: You need a new decorator. The whole blood and iron thing really doesn't fit the carnival theme you've got going on." She paused and put a hand on her hip, showing a toothy smile as she observed the thing's reaction.

"Oh, I don't know. I probably could. And I'm probably going to. Of all the ugly things I've seen, gotta say that you take the crown! I mean, c'mon, a goat's skull? Are you serious? The black flame eyes and the big cloak only get you so far. I mean, I don't know whether to cower in fear or to feed you lettuce and pat you on the head!" The sorceress laughed, not even attempting to hide her disrespect for her tormentor. That said, she was also careful. Or, at least more careful than her demeanor suggested. She expected the thing to attack at any moment, either at her body or her mind, and she had to be ready when it did. There would be no restraint shown against this thing, but that didn't mean that she wouldn't show a degree of control. It had to be hit hard and fast, and without wasting any energy on the scenery, so lightning was out. For now. Instead, she readied a blast of force, her will held around her like a shield in preparation for any undo motion from the monstrosity.

"So, I'm guessing you've got something to say to me? You brought me here for something. If it's just for a fight, then lets start up the music already, but if it isn't, you can monologue all you want. I could use a good nap before I wipe the floor with you."

If he attacks, use this:
{F} Hammer Blast (Bolt) [Targets affected by this spell must win a Resistance check against the caster or be knocked Prone. The caster gets a +12 bonus on this check.]

Also, not that I'm complaining, but Lenalee technically shouldn't have regained her EP since she has buffs active. She should still be at 60 EP.
 
Re: Hafnium Test Thread

Lenalee: HP = 50, PP = 70, EP = 74/80, Status = +122 Mind (6 Buffs, 3 from Lenalee, 3 from Ren), Pregnant

The being stared at Lenalee for several moments after she had finished mocking and challenging it. Its eyes danced, not unlike a normal fire was prone to do, as it watched the sorceress. Silence reigned over the field for a short time. It wasn't until the tension seemed ready to burst that its response came in the mage's mind. Laughter, somehow more grim than the scenery around them, that felt like it sucked all of the air out of the clearing.

Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha. Young mortallls have such spirit. Perhaps you would like to become my interior decorator, Sorrrceress?

It held no expression on its face as it spoke into the woman's very mind. Indeed, the skull that served as its face appeared incapable of emotion. The being made no moves, staying perfectly still except for the fluttering of its cloak. Lenalee had no problems holding onto her spell with her increased boons, though, with her improved spellcasting she could last for hours in a standoff against the thing.

But violence is not entirely why I've called you here, Lenaleeee, despite your knack for it. No, I have brought you here because we share mutual interests. Since youuu have so politely offered me the chance to monologue, I believe I will.

The being brought one of its long fingers up, a gesture threatening enough to make the mage consider loosing her spell on it, but rather than reaching toward Lenalee, it instead swirled the appendage around in the air. Within seconds, an image of a woman appeared. It didn't take Lenalee long to realize that the female in the picture was a demon. The woman was nude, which wasn't entirely out of the ordinary, per se. More specifically, she was nude and riding a young, uncorrupted man and the mage had a full-frontal view. With the view that Lenalee had, she could see that the woman did not have what would be considered a perfect hourglass figure, but came close. Pillow-y breasts, a lithe stomach, and noticeable hips were all present on the woman. What proclaimed her status as a demon, however, were her more supernatural assets. Three tails with spaded tips peeked out from behind her. Two long, leathery wings were expanded out from her back. Six horns, three on each side of her forehead, were visible, some curled around and behind her ears. She had long, wavy black hair, which framed her soft features perfectly with the exception of her glowing purple irises, which did not match her hair color.

Thisss is the priestess that you have sought. She currently feeds on a young boy at the top of her tower. At one time, she was to be my champion. That was before all this madness of Eden began. Before she began to grant my powers to pretenders and thieeeves.

The act continued in front of Lenalee, with the succubus violently bouncing herself atop the man. The youth, a handsome villager who was probably only barely a man, looked ready to black out, yet locked in mind-melting ecstasy. The demoness's thighs trembled as she thrust herself against him with increasing tempo and then, she arched her back. Full lips opened as she presumably cried out, the sorceress could not hear any sound from the image. It was easy to see that the act was at its end, the townsman finally slumped off into unconsciousness.

As the succubus lifted herself from her still-erect meal, the image rippled and vanished. The being pointed to one of the torture devices. With a flash of light, Dreadbeak was hanging there. Or, part of the goblin was there. The blessed berserker was quite literally half the goblin he used to be.

Heee was one of the thieves. To take my power without my blessing and to corrupt mortals. When you slew him, I took myyy revenge.

Dreadbeak's eyes shot open. He stared down at where his lower half had been at one point. Then, he screamed. An ear-splitting scream in the goblin's voice. It continued until he had run out of breath to scream. Only then did he notice Lenalee. "Please, help me! I did not mean tose tings I said! Please! Please!" The goblin babbled at the mage, actually breaking down and openly crying. Before the sorceress could offer any aid, the robed being violently impaled the goblin on one of its spindly fingers. It pulled the impaled demon closer to the goat skull, bringing the entire torture device along with Dreadbeak. A pitch-black mouth opened up beneath its 'head', with shadowy tendrils instead of teeth. Those tendrils pulled the frightened goblin and all inside and out of sight. Then, the jaw snapped closed. A cacophony of crunching bones, splintering wood, and goblin screams filled the air even as the next comment came in the mage's mind.

That'sss enough of that. To shorten this dialogue, the priestess has fallen out of my favorrr. I would see her slain and my gem removed from her care. In return for yourrr word to do thisss, I will sap her of the powers I have granted herrr, when the time comes. I will also answer any questionsss you might have. Does this offer appeal to you, Lenalee? Or do you still wish to destroy me?

The final question was punctuated with one final sickening crunch and a loud swallowing noise.
 
Re: Hafnium Test Thread

The silence stretched between Lenalee and the being she faced, and despite her outer calm the turmoil of emotions that even seeing this creature began to wear at her. Rage and fear gave way to surprise, however, as the thing began to laugh within her mind. That hadn't exactly been the reaction that the sorceress had been expecting. She recovered in time to reply to the thing, at least; "Maybe. You could certainly use the help." She managed to keep her voice level with the tone she had used previously, but only just so.

A hint of confusion crossed her face as it brought up the image of the succubus riding the young man, but she watched the display anyway. Despite her current situation, however, Lenalee couldn't help but find herself at least slightly aroused by the sight. She knew all too well how wonderful a time the young man was likely having, having experienced a demon's touch herself before, and the succubus was certainly quite good at it if the expression on the boy's face was any indication. She remained silent, allowing this creature to speak as the scene played itself out to its literal climax, the pair silently cumming together before the succubus dismounted and the vision faded.

She was about to say something when Dreadbeak, and at the sight of the tortured goblin any traces of arousal that the earlier scene had inspired were quite quickly washed away by horror and nausea. She looked away before the being impaled it on one of its claws, but turned to watch again at the sickening sound of the demon's impalement. She watched with a carefully composed neutral expression as the abomination lifted the goblin and the torture device that he was attached to, watched as shadowy tendrils stretched out from the thing's gaping maw and pulled goblin and cross both in. Within, however, horror, fear and disgust warred for a place of prominence. It was a close race, but disgust finally won out and claimed the right to twist her expression slightly as the screams and the sickening crunches filled the air.

She allowed the thing to make its offer, and the sorceress remained silent for a moment after. 'Fallen out of favor, eh? That means that this thing doesn't control whoever holds the gems..... Gem, I guess. The ones I got from Dreadbeak and those knights must be lesser versions of some sort. Still connected to the main one, but not as strong. Interesting....'

"Oh, after that, you're damned right I'd still like to destroy you. Doesn't mean I'm going to though." Lenalee casually replied, still speaking aloud. "I'm afraid that I'm not going to be able to take you at your word, so I find myself unable to offer mine. So, first, I'll have to ask a few things. Would you mind?"

Lenalee waited for an answer before she continued, and if she got the go ahead, and started rattling off questions, once more waiting for an answer before she gave the next.

"What are you? A daemon would be my first guest, but I've rarely heard of your kind taking an interest in mortal affairs, and even more rarely heard of one who had to act through physical objects."

"Where are we? What is this place? An illusion? A dream? And how did I come to be here? And why did you bring me here in the first place?"

"For that matter, why is Renee, the girl with red hair, here? Is it by your doing that she is in a coma?"

"How did the priestess come to have possession of your gem? What did she want with, and what deal did you make with her? Why don't you just do to her what you did to me, or assert your control directly over her?"

"What is happening in the real world? How long have I been out? Have any of my other fr-... Allies been injured?" She thought immediately of Mari, and how the woman had rushed to her aid.... Lenalee owed the rogue more than she could ever hope to repay, and she paused a moment to reflect on that before she started speaking again.

"What do you want me to do with your gem if I do take it from the priestess?"

The sickening crunch and swallowing sound that had marked Dreadbeak's end was still ringing in Lenalee's ears, and as much as she might like to destroy this... Abomination, she knew that such might not even be possible. Images of that maw opening to swallow her up began to pop up in her head, and she almost asked what would happen to her if she refused, but stopped herself at the last second.

"How was the priestess able to supersede your will, and grant your power to her servants?"

Suddenly, the memory of what she come here to do popped up, and Lenalee grimaced. 'A fine mess this is turning into.' She thought, and then asked; "I came to this area looking for someone. A young girl, a noble's daughter. Might you know where she is, or what her condition might be?"

(Exposition time!)
 
Re: Hafnium Test Thread

Lenalee: HP = 50, PP = 70, EP = 74/80, Status = +122 Mind (6 Buffs, 3 from Lenalee, 3 from Ren), Pregnant

Very well. As a show of courtesy, I will even aaadopt a form more suitable for speaking. It does not require telepathy to understand how unsettling my venue of communication can be.

It did not wait for her opinion on the matter. The being shifted, its body, robes and all, changing shape in front of Lenalee's very eyes. The process was not as alarming as it had been when the performers did it, nary a noise was made throughout it. Within moments, a human stood in front of the sorceress. He was easily seven feet tall. Yet, despite his height, he probably weighed no more than Lenalee herself did. He was hunched and looked frail. The man looked dessicated, despite being alive, and he had no real fat or muscle on him to speak of, only his flesh and the bones beneath it. He was naked from the waist up, showing off albino skin that was not merely pale but literally white. Vicious looking scars marred his entire torso, though upon closer inspection they were very organized and ritualistic in nature. The healed wounds were tally marks, countless on his body. His cheeks were gaunt and his pink eyes were sunken. Long, straw-like white hair ran all the way down to his ankles. Atop his head, the man wore a goat's skull. Covering his legs were a series of animal furs, crossing over each other such that they looked like a kilt.

"This will serve our purposes," he spoke, in what sounded more like a death rattle than a statement. "I am a daemon. You may call me by The Lord of Change, if it pleases you, or The Heretic, if you absolutely must. These questions are all more interconnected than you know, mortal. You see, this place is both my tomb and my stomach." He paused to let the information sink in before continuing. "As my tomb, this place keeps me from easily interacting with the mortal world in any significant way. The priestess is too strong for me to met out justice for her transgressions. She is easily as strong as an angel or a nightmare lord, she might see this prison of mine destroyed with me inside it if I go against her openly. You were too strong for my pull, as well, until the hollowed shells took you." The self-proclaimed lord of change added, almost as an afterthought; "And I would not be interested in mortal affairs if I could simply find one to free me of this damned prison."

"I am sealed within the gem by a ritual more complex than even I can comprehend. Even when I was free, I was far from the most powerful of daemons, your gods. In truth, I do not believe the ritual that was used against me was truly intended for me, I believe that my sealing was a test to determine how it would work against an even greater entity," he scowled at the thought. His irritable expression remained even as he continued. "To find a willing soul powerful enough to unlock the seal and free me was difficult, so I sought to raise one to the status. The priestess had the potential, she had the will, and she happened to share my portfolio. I made a deal with her to grant her the strength to see her dream of helping humankind unlock its supernatural potential realized and in return she would free me."

He sighed. "She has conveniently forgotten her part in our deal. The priestess has become too reliant on me, using my gem's power to achieve a level of dangerousness even beyond that of the angels. She attempts to use this tomb of mine to convert the humans to supernatural beings of great power, to join her in her fantasy world. It is well beyond merely introducing them to the magical influence that would raise them in status, to make a race of super-humans and attempt to conquer the world was not a part of our deal, as you might have guessed," he added dryly. "But it is a transformation that would work, if I was not sabotaging it. Her attempts to empower her demons are much the same, the ones who were empowered were strong enough to resist my attempts to rip their souls away and came out the stronger for it. The rest were sabotaged and slain." The man watched Lenalee more carefully than before as he offered his next words. "With her foolishness, it is only a matter of time until a truly powerful daemon comes in and consumes us both for these atrocities." The heretic sounded more disturbed by the idea of being consumed than the atrocities he was committing.

"As my stomach, this place serves as the basis for much of my power. Those touched by the power of my gems in some way, Renee, for example, will end up here when their soul becomes disconnected from their body. Sometimes, this happens before their physical body is destroyed. In your case, it happened weeks before you even reached the forest." He did not allow Lenalee time to respond to the revelation before pressing on. "While their souls are here, I benefit from their energies and power. Until their bodies are destroyed, I can not consume them in the way that my kind is accustomed to. It is not by my direct doing that Renee is in a coma, she is split between this world and her physical body. But I can free her and any others that still have physical forms if you desire it, for a price."

"Lenalee, it was fate that brought you here to me. You were always intended to be the next wielder of my Gem and its power. When you lost consciousness, it was easy to pull you here, as some small fragment of your soul was already here. It was necessary. I would grant you power, the power to both free me and take the place you've always deserved in the world, if you would accept my offer. But I understand if you are wary, you have spent your time consorting with the tricksters of demonkind. So I will free you and Ren on good faith when our conversation is over, if you will only give your word consider my deal. And if you accept, you merely need to pick up my gem and I will grant you the power to stand toe to toe with the priestess. Give me your answer on this and my earlier offer and I will answer your remaining two questions and any others that have cropped up as a result of our little dialogue."
 
Re: Hafnium Test Thread

"Better looking, that is not. But at least you can speak out loud now." Lenalee said following the daemon's transformation. Truth be told, the Lord of Change's current look was even more unnerving than its previous appearance, but she found herself able to ignore it. Throughout his explanation she managed to keep a relatively clear face, but she couldn't help but twitch briefly to a horrified expression when the daemon told her where she was.

'Great... That's exactly what I wanted to hear.' She thought to herself. His overall attitude didn't really surprise, given his nature and what she had seen of him so far. Demons often lacked anything resembling a sense of morality, and daemons were even more alien and unnatural than the creatures of hell when compared to mortals such as herself. Particularly given that, if what he said was true, there wasn't much he could do to stop the demons from using his power however they liked anyway. And she wasn't likely to shed any tears over the deaths of demons under the priestess's service either. What bothered her more was that he had been able to ensnare a part of her soul even before she had come within a mile of Amere and the events unfolding around it. 'How did that happen? And when? How could I have not noticed?'

"You offer me power, daemon?" She finally began to respond, her voice tight with anger. "I know all too well just how reliable borrowed power is. You speak of Fate? I make my own fate!" She paused, and stared into the manlike things pink eyes with an even gaze. "But we have a common enemy, and our goals are not mutually exclusive. Release Renee and I, and give me what I need to wipe the demons out, and I will help see you released from your prison."
 
Re: Hafnium Test Thread

Lenalee: HP = 50, PP = 70, EP = 74/80, Status = +122 Mind (6 Buffs, 3 from Lenalee, 3 from Ren), Pregnant

The lord of change offered an unsettling smile - although many such things might be considered unsettling when given by a man in such a state - at the sorceress's talk of power and fate. "Interesting indeed. That is something that I will acquiesce to. The deal remains open, if you desire, Lenalee. Should you reconsider or should you fall on hard times while attempting to slay our mutual foe, merely steal away my gem from the place she hides it in. That is all you would have to do."

"And I apologize for my appearance. This is simply who I was before I died. The scars, you see, were the markings of my faith, or maybe it was my lack of faith. I had suffered a bit of crisis. Regardless, when I was exiled from my tribe, they were how I counted the days. And it was difficult to hunt, as frail as I was, so I had little to eat, which is why I am not much to look at. Right up until I died, I starved and carved myself." He shrugged, as though the matter was a distant memory. "I spent the last week of my life in prayer, seeking some new god or new reason to exist. It wasn't until the wolves found me in increasingly weakened state and killed me that I realized my true calling. It wasn't until I was consuming the lesser daemons that had come for my spirit that I knew my purpose was to take that position for those like me." For the first time, the heretic showed some emotion. Disappointment.

"From what I am able to tell, your friends are safe in the mortal world, watching over your unconscious body inside their fortified home. When I send you back, you will wake up there with full recollection of what has transpired here." After the abrupt change of topic, the daemon brought his right arm out in the air, palm parallel with the ground. A set of small white circles opened, one on the ground and one beneath his hand. In mere moments, Renee appeared in the spot between the circles. She looked very, very confused. "She will recall nothing of this place or what occurs in it. She will wake up where you left her."

"Regarding the noble, she is not among those in my world but I cannot tell you much more than that. Most of the souls you encountered were faceless. They have been here so long that they have forgotten what they once were. Their desire for a purpose is so great that they become others from the memories of those who are still themselves." Ren appeared increasingly confused, looking between the scarred albino and Lenalee and attempting to get a word in edgewise but failing. "You were not bound to this world in the same way that the others are, so you alone were able to see them lose their shapes as you moved between memories and dreams."

"I believe our business here is nearing its end, unless you have more that you would see done. I am anxious to see the priestess's threat ended but am willing to continue conversing, if that is your wish. When you have accomplished any remaining goals, you need merely say the word and I will send you both back." It was then that Ren finally found the opportunity to talk. "Uh, is anybody going to tell me what's going on here?"
 
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