Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

[ranger]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

Focusing her spirit energy Sara found her mental view zoom to the forge where dozens of shards shimmered in the dark. She could feel pulls in another direction as well but this seemed to be the location of most of them. After practicing her floating skills she headed back to the forge where she picked up shard after shard of the blade quickly discovering that not all of it was here. No doubt the shards had been scattered after one of the many attacks on the fort. Still with these shards the blade could be reforged into a short blade.

 

[sturm]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

Sara was actually quite pleased by her haul, now she had her own magic blade! It was very exciting! Of course, the realization that she had no idea how to forge or repair blades quickly put a damper on that. But at least it was a start.

She stowed the sharp fragments away in a leather satchel, along with the hilt, and placed it all with the rest of her gear before returning to her traveling companions to see how they were doing. "Well I found enough fragments to repair the blade. Don't suppose you guys know anyone who can reforge a magic blade do you? What are you all up to, anyway? Have you killed the wine yet?" She wondered what the three of them would be able to do with their time since they would be here for another full day to let Lumi move out of the area.

Spoiler

Forgot to put this in my last post, but spent about 8 EP flying around and 5 on scrying

 

[ranger]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

Thelia spoke up as Aya was currently downing some of the wine straight from the jug. "Endus is one of the largest trade cities in Crolia. There should be someone who can repair your blade." Done with her swig of wine Aya wiped her lips before passing it to Sara. "Yeah they say you can buy anything in Endus if you know or ask the right people. I once heard that a noble imported all his exotic slaves from Endus even though they outlawed slavery. Of note was a cat girl that had two different colored eyes!" Thelia raised an eyebrow at Aya. "Yes their underworld market is no doubt thriving with all the refugees constantly pouring in. Also Aya they are called Su-Ku-Ta." Aya waved her hand at Thelia as if shooing her off. She was clearly drunk. "Bah they are cat girls.. so cute and delicate with soft bushy tails and triangle ears." Aya was drooling before falling over and starting snore. Thelia looked at her and snorted before finishing off the jug of wine if Sara had passed it.

 

[sturm]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

"Thanks Thelia, I didn't know that. This is actually my first time outside of my home village and I'm really not that familiar with the surrounding city-states...But now that you bring it up, I'm kind of looking forward to going there. It sounds fun seeing a city with so much to offer! Except for the whole slave bit, of course..." Sara took a sip of the wine and passed it back to Thelia for her to finish off before playfully shaking her head at Aya.

"Good grief, silly girl. What's next for you, Thelia? If you don't mind my asking." While talking, Sara started focusing on a new buff she had gained access to. It didn't exactly give her bulging muscles, but it did feel like an incredible adrenaline rush, helping her to pick the limp succubus up out of the chair once Thelia finished talking. "I'll be right back..." With a grunt, Sara lifted her up and then used her flight power to hover a couple feet off the ground before floating up the stairs and into the room to deposit Aya on the bed. With a sigh, Sara released her powers and returned to the ground.

With Aya put to bed, Sara walked back down stairs. She sat down next to Thelia and propped up her feet on the table. "So, anything we need to do to get this place ready for night?"

 

[ranger]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

"Oh I will turn in this contract or at lest send a messenger to let my employer know I finished the job. Then I will find another. I'm sure Endus has lots of people who want other people removed." Watching Sara use her abilities Thelia seemed unimpressed but given how intently she watched her Sara had little doubt that while she acted like she didn't care deep inside she was either impressed or gauging her strength if it should ever come to it. Dropping the sleeping succubus off seemed far more trying than it should have been as Aya simple wouldn't let her go. Though after a little struggle she managed to free herself and return to Thelia who was spinning the empty jug in her hand on her palm. Stopping to hear what Sara said the assassin thought a moment. "Well besides getting the fires for our room going we should at lest bar the door just in case. Though I doubt our frozen friend will make an appearance tonight.

 

[sturm]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

Sara tilted her head, contemplating what the half-elf said before nodding. "I see. An adventurous life, I'm sure." Once she finally got Aya into bed and was back downstairs she took Thelia's suggestion and looked for something to bar the door with when the time came.

After looking around for a bit, she sat at the table with Thelia. "So..." The spirit wielder quickly became bored with just sitting there. She wanted to practice her powers, but she was having trouble figuring out what the last one was and didn't want to use any more of her spiritual reserves just training. She wanted to have the energy to fight if she needed. The young wielder decided she would wait until tomorrow to figure out what the final power was. That left her incredibly bored sitting at the table.
"So....this is rather boring, just sitting here, don't you think? Care to explore the outside of the fort with me? There was some stuff in the other tower I didn't get to check out and we could look to see if there's more stuff around the wall."

Sara wanted Thelia to come with her so she could get a chance to know the half-elf better. Truth be told, even though the assassin was about as cold as the ice witch emotionally, she was still a good looking woman. Sara certainly wouldn't mind getting her in her bed, and Aya probably wouldn't mind either.

Regardless of whether or not the half elf came with her, Sara would go check the tower for any valuables and then walk along the wall to see if there was anything else before returning inside and blocking the door.

 

[ranger]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

The woman sat a moment in silence almost convincing Sara that she would pass but after a moment she got up. "Its not a bad idea, but lets stoke the fire a little more and get one started in your room so the bandit wench doesn't freeze." Leaving Sera to tend to Aya Thelia began to place a few more logs and table debris on the fire they had going. After their respective chores the half-elf met Sara outside, she was already looking into the tower but had yet to step inside. Giving her a slight nod Thelia followed her in, the boxes in question where simple things. Once was a crate of wine with one bottle missing, and yet another was full of dried meat wrapped in paper. The last one they checked was a box of horseshoes. Thelia however was more concerned about the two bedrolls and had a frown on her face. Not saying a word she moved out of the fort and around the wall. If Sara followed she would see Thelia stop and swear in elven. Looking she could see what she saw a set of sky marks and that of a sledge. Along the wall sat five pairs of skis. "Damn we missed some." Looking at the tracks though Asha's brief training came to mind. These tracks where old, maybe a day or two.

 

[sturm]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

When Thelia explained that they missed some bandits, Sara swore as well. She tried to get a gauge for how many bandits they might have missed. Looking at the tracks, she was able to figure out something good. It was a good thing Asha had taken the time to teach her a thing or two. "It's not all bad news, Thelia. The tracks are a day or two old. They left before we attacked, so they won't be expecting trouble when they come back."

Sara looked around, suspecting that there was only one entrance into the Fort. If there was, then there was just one way that the bandits could come back through with their sled. "I could potentially summon some fey to keep watch for the night. That way they wouldn't get the jump on us when they return. And who knows, maybe Lumi got them already anyway and they're already dead?"

 

[ranger]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

Thelia looked at the tracks in the snow and sighed. "I won't take the chance that this Lumi killed them I guess we leave tomorrow. The bandits won't need these skis and it should make the trip easier." Sighing she never the less finished her patrol around the fort revealing no other entrances just as Sara had thought. Though just poking threw the snow lay dozens of grave markers, worn and weathered. Most seemed fairy basic but one stood out from the rest. It was near the back of the graveyard and anything besides it size was hard to make out. "Come on Sara lets get out of this cold."

 

[sturm]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

It was too bad that they would have to leave tomorrow, but at least they had skis. Finishing up their recon, Sara was about to return with Thelia when the larger gravestone caught her eye. Part of her wondered if it could be that they recovered Lumi at some point after the journal entry she had found and just not written it down. Regardless, she wanted to investigate it. "Hang on for a minute, Thelia. I want to check out this big tombstone and see why this one is different from the others. She went up to the larger stone and read the inscriptions on it.

 

[ranger]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

Stepping threw the deep snow hindered her movement and chilled her greatly but after a few moments she reached the grave. Getting a better look at it in the poor light Sara could see it was a weeping angel draped over a stone. In writing similar to that of the journal she found it read "In memory of our dear Lumi Heartwind. May you find peace." Looking it over it seemed more a shrine than a grave, but unlike the other it had been cleared of the snow. A moment later Thelia moved up next to her and looked it over. Scoffing a little the assassin turned to walk back when she slipped on patch of ice. Going down hard Sara heard the crack of ice as the small ring of water around the memorial became clear. Pulling herself out of the shallow water quickly shivered her lips turning blue and her skin palling. Already the cold air had frozen her hair. Stiff and shivering the girl tried move up back to the fort but her legs had already gone numb.

 

[sturm]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

Sara bowed her head in respect to the shrine as Thelia scoffed and moved away. The wielder's head shot up at the sound of the assassin falling through the ice and she quickly moved to make sure she wasn't standing on ice either before going to help Thelia. It didn't look good, the shock of the ice water had left the girl in a miserable state. "Oh no! Let me help you, Thelia!"

The purple skinned girl leaned over and helped Thelia to her feet, supporting her with her shoulder as she tried to help her to back to the fort. Of course, Sara wasn't a very physically strong person, and as Thelia got more and more numb, Sara had to support more and more of her weight. Soon she was practically dragging the half-elf through the snow, and was exhausted for her efforts. She kept thinking that the girl was soaked, so she needed to bring her up to her room and get her out of her wet clothes so she wouldn't become hypothermic. She needed to get her to her room so she could warm up in bed with her and Aya by the fire. She had to get her to her room. As she went, she tried to focus her energy into a flight spell, however she messed up and it went down the unfamiliar spiritual path. She blinked and suddenly both girls were transported to her room, if a few inches off the floor.

Both women thudded to the ground in a wet heap. In between tired pants, Sara said, "Well that certainly is...huff...huff a convenient power..." She looked at Thelia to make sure she was okay. "Sorry about that, I know you don't like people touching you without permission, but time was really a factor there. And I didn't even know I could do something like this... Anyway, we need to warm you up, may I help you out of your wet clothes so you don't freeze to death in them?

Spoiler

6 EP to teleport

 

[ranger]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

Thankfully the fire she had started in the room was still going. Thelia was shivering and trying to help where she could on removing her cloths but given how numb she looked it would be of little help. Thankfully the heat of the room managed to thaw the cloths that had already froze Moving to the fire the girls sat naked after a flurry of clothing removal. Thankfully Sara had managed to stay relatively dry. Bringing a blanket over from their bed much to Aya's surprise as the succubus rolled out of the bed, Sara covered the nearly froze girl up. Still even with the blanket and fire the elven woman shivered. Aya now up quickly saw what was going on and went to gather more wood fore the fire.

 

[sturm]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

Shivering heavily, Sara hung up her and Thelia's clothes over the fire so that they might have a chance of drying before the morning. Once that was done she put a blanket down on the floor for her and the half-elf to share. She called down to Aya after she was done and said, "Hey we apparently missed at least one bandit that left before we attacked. I'm going to summon some fey to start barricading the entrance and keeping a watch for us through the night."

With that, Sara summoned two kobolds and a nymph sorceress to protect them during the night. Once they arrived, she explained that she wanted them to barricade the entrance to the fort and then take turns keeping watch so any bandits they missed couldn't just show up without someone noticing and waking her up to deal with them. Additionally, she told them briefly about Lumi, explaining that she was a malevolent spirit that wielded some sort of ice powers and was drawn especially to males to drain their energy like a succubus, only she would leave them frozen solid when she was done.

She made it clear that she wanted at least one of them up at all times, and that they were to wake her up if there were any intruders, bandit or otherwise, and that she would pay honor the terms of the contract. A kiss for both kobolds and sex for the sorceress in the morning when she woke.

Once the fey understood their tasks, Sara would huddle under the blanket with Thelia. Unabashedly, she huddled right up to Thelia, putting an arm around the naked halfling. She rather enjoyed the feel of the assassin's skin on her own skin. The purple-skinned young woman knew from experience that they would warm each other up faster if they let used their naked bodies warm each other. "Hope you don't mind, Thelia. This really is the fastest way to warm up."

 

[ranger]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

Nodding at their instructions with only the sorceress lingering a moment as if wanting to say something. Thinking better of it a the moment she left to assist the kobolds. Thelia meanwhile looked at Sara. She seemed upset but didn't offer any resistance to her as their naked flesh touched. It was then that Sara felt the plentiful scars along the girls back and arms. From the pattern she could tell they where whip marks and sense they left such scars it was not the playful whipping she had heard about from Tanya. Still with the fire glowing and the help of blankets the elven woman warmed back up enough to stop shivering. It seemed she had fallen asleep her gentle breathing a clear sign that she would be alright.

 

[sturm]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

Sara hardly managed to suppress the gasp at the whip marks and scarring along her back. She wondered if this was from her father, or if they were from some other occurrence. It seemed that she was not exactly as used to such close contact as Sara after her extended time with Asha. Still, she appreciated the chance to cuddle with the very attractive elf. That said, she refrained from taking liberties with her body, positive that Thelia would make her life miserable for doing such a thing.

In the end, she just sat there in silence with Thelia, holding the woman to her as she slowly drifted off to sleep. With the half-elf asleep, Sara enlisted Aya's help the next time she came into the room to gently lift her into the bed and cover her with a blanket.

Stepping outside the room with Aya, she went to check on the state of the door barricade. It didn't bother her that she wasn't wearing any clothes, though the cold air did make her nipples perk up. "You know, once she's half frozen she's actually as cuddly as a kitten. I think we'll be sharing a bed tonight." She winked at Aya and continued, "How's the barricade coming?"

 

[ranger]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

Aya looked down the stairs as the koblods finished pushing a table against the outside door. "Very good I suppose. Though you might want to cover up and not give those two a free show." Aya smirked before heading down to grab some more wood. Meanwhile the faye sorceress approached Sara and bowed repetitively to her. "Mistress I have news of the ice witch. First I must tell you she is no spirit. She is a living being and can be killed. However this will likely anger her sire. Before you ask I will not speak his name unless I draw his attention. But he created her as you've encountered and I recommend you leave as soon as possible.

 

[sturm]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

"Not like you to be intimidated by a beautiful woman in your bed..." She kissed the succubus on the cheek before taking her advice and going to grab a spare cloak out of her pack. She was joined in the room by the sorceress. The news she received was shocking to say the least, further casting confusion on the issue of the Ice Witch's origins.

"Not a spirit? Okay...so what exactly is she? I was under the impression that she was the spirit of Lumi Heartwind, a healer from many, many years ago. I very much respect the knowledge and motives of your people, however I would appreciate it if you could provide me a little more information on her. Who and what she is, for instance. And maybe a little information on her 'sire' too. I don't think we are in a position to leave here. I'm pretty worn down, and one of my companions is in dire need of rest and warmth lest she succumb to hypothermia." Sara covered her up with the cloak before adding, "Any information you could give me would help. I'd really like to understand your side, because from where I stand she seems like a menace that has to be stopped. She was about ready to try and kill me mere days ago, and I suspect she's responsible for the frequent killings of the soldiers stationed here many years ago that happened to coincide with Lumi's death."

 

[ranger]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

Woman nodded and sat to answer Sara. "To the men of this fort she no doubt seemed like a spirit but those that possess abilities that supersede the normal flow of the world can know better. She is indeed a menace and partly you are right inside her rest the spirit of Lumi Heartwind, but she is also the dreaded ice witch. The being that created the ice witch used the spirit and body of Lumi when she was at her weakest. She didn't die not in the manner that most mortals do. Instead the daemon who interfered with her fate merged a part of his essence into her making the kind woman we all knew into.. that abomination. His power is what prevents her from remembering who she is. Without it she would die."

 

[sturm]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

Sara sat and listened to the nymph somberly. The news was not good. Instead of merely being the malevolent spirit of a long dead woman, it was actually two spirits. A long dead healer, and a malevolent daemon. The young wielder knew daemons were beings of great spiritual power, however that was about the extent of her knowledge.

After a moment of silence at the end of the nymph's tale, Sara asked, "Could you at least write this thing's name down so that I can call to it when the time is right? So how do I fight such a thing anyway? Does it die the same as any normal creature?"