[Jean] Chapter 16: The Ramparts

[pringerbeam]

     Jean stared into the screens, frowning at the conditions he could see from them.  "Hard to see much here.  Only way to know for  sure is to see it myself.  Telamon, Ren, stay here while I go out."  With a press of the controls, he exited the watchpost out into the blizzard.  Looking to where he hoped he might catch a glimpse of the moon through the clouds, he pointed to the sky.  "Fire! I seek you from the burning planes of T'Klet where dwells in flames The Nine-Eyed Sage. Conjure Flame!"  He incanted, casting the spell into the sky above.  Squinting, he tried to see if he could catch a glimpse of Gust and Dalina.  Hoping for some sign they were out there.

[info]Casting Conjure Flames at 3 MP

Perception Check to try and see Dalina and Gust[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+18 : 9 + 18, total 27[/blockquote]

Will wait 10 minutes and repeat for the next hour.[/info]

[pringerbeam]

[info]Should note I guess that Jean will stay outside the whole time.[/info]

[Throndir]

Might not use it all, but go ahead and roll Perception 5 times for once every 10 minutes to fill the hour. I'll resolve this next I can post in here.

[pringerbeam]

[info]Perception Checks[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+18 : 4 + 18, total 22[/blockquote][blockquote]Rolled 1d20+18 : 12 + 18, total 30[/blockquote][blockquote]Rolled 1d20+18 : 2 + 18, total 20[/blockquote][blockquote]Rolled 1d20+18 : 5 + 18, total 23[/blockquote][blockquote]Rolled 1d20+18 : 6 + 18, total 24[/blockquote][/info]

[Throndir]

http://www.youtube.com/v/7AGvw8pWprA

Ren wanted to follow you outside, but with the cold it wasn't the wisest course of action. Unlike you who could resist it well, Ren was still susceptible to it. Instead, it was Telamon who offered a solution. Changing one of her equipment into a heat producing gadget she managed to make a small area enough for Ren to be comfortable in. Telamon herself was resistant to the cold much like you were. You cast your first spell, conjure flames up into the sky. It was all in hopes that Dalina would see it. Visibility was extremely poor however, in fact, if it weren't for your status as a hero, and the fact that over the past week you've grown stronger than you had ever thought was possible before, you doubted you could have seen as far and as sharply as you could now. Though the blizzard around you raged, you kept a close eye on any sign of Dalina and Gust. Dalina knew where you would be, so you held out hope that she would find her way back. The plan was to meet back here when the moon was at the highest. And though the moon was hiding behind the snow, it was well above at it highest peak.

Another 10 more minutes passed, and you sent off another flare of fire that shot out into the night-sky. The cold didn't bother you at all. Your cloak kept you warm, but the fact you were out here rather than in the outpost gave you a significant advantage over what Lili's cameras could have ever captured. There were no other animals, birds, or living creatures up here where the cold was unnaturally cold.

Another 10 more minutes passed. The wind continued to blow hard. Ren, kept warm by the gadget Telamon had created was your anchor; she continued to keep you down as the winds buffeted you. Telamon too started scanning the skies. By now you realized that the moon was already past its highest peak.

And then another 10 more minutes passed. And yet again, another flare was fired off. This continued on and on. As the time ticked, the moon continued to sail across the night skies heading on it's downward trend. It was on the attempt almost an hour from when you started that you finally saw something in the blizzard. It was slight. But it was there.

"Unknown anomaly sighted, absolute bearing 113 degrees." Telamon stated, shortly after you yourself detected it.


Location: Peaks of the Mountain Range
Date: Day 7 (Jean), Day 9 (Rosalie) - Time: 2:30 AM

You weren't quite sure what it was at first. As the blizzard continued, you caught glimpses of that small green light coming from the skies.

"Master, is it them?"

However as it neared, you eventually realized what it was.

[spoiler]                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

It was Dalina, riding on a giant flaming bird.


Viridio.

[/spoiler]

[pringerbeam]

     "Oh Yeah!  Viridio has been eating his Wheaties!"  Said Jean with with a fist pumping into the air.  He sent up another flare.  "Dalina!  Viridio!  Down here!"  He yelled as loud as he could even though he knew it was unlikely that he could be heard over the howling winds and waved his arms.

[Throndir]

Your last flare must have caught the attention of the two flying high above. Gliding downwards you managed to see them both much more clearly. You immediately noticed that there would bruises and wounds on Dalina, but she was carrying supplies with her, including a large backpack and a thicker coat. As for Viridio, he was almost unrecognizable due to the fact he was much larger than before. When they both landed and Dalina hopped off, Viridio chirped and headed towards you excitedly.

"Master...!" Viridio chirped.

"Jean!" Dalina called out making her way towards you, using her cloak to cover herself from the wind. When she neared she eyed Telamon curiously, with the gynoid simply responding with a smile and a nod of her head. At that moment the door to the outpost opened up again.

"Come in!" Lili called out.

[pringerbeam]

     "Come on Dalina, we need to get inside where it's warm.  We've made some new friends."  He said, putting an arm around her shoulder and pulling her into the room.  "Uh Viridio, can you resume a more... manageable form?  Speaking of which, I thought it would take a while for Viridio to grow to full size, let alone be able to carry you here.  Where's Gust?  And what happened to you?  You look like you took a beating.  Did you run into the treants on your way back?"  He asked as they entered the outpost. 

[Throndir]

"Yes..." Dalina said as Viridio transformed, turning into a smaller flaming green bird. "It should have taken at least a few months for her to be able to transform... But when I made it to the perimeter of the camp, and the rest were alerted, one of the wind priests brought Anja and Viridio to me. Viridio was already... large." She shook her head. "Apparently, earlier that day, Viridio would suddenly have bursts of growth and maturity, no one knew what to make of it. And then seeing Gust the way he was... Viridio insisted we take her instead." She sighed.

"The injuries on Gust got worse after we left, I didn't realize how much of a beating he took, and the cold from when we went here first was enough to cause some freezing on his wings and extremities. Gust wanted to keep going, but I could tell he would have lost consciousness if he kept it up, so we landed... I didn't think the treants would go after me... But they did. Luckily one of the scouts for the camp managed to spot me, and after I met up with him, the treants left us alone. But Gust is safe. I carried him back to the camp, running from the treants, and left him in the care of Anja and the other priests."

Once everyone was inside, the door the outpost was closed, some of the lamps inside the room started to grow brighter, radiating heat, and soon enough it was back to a comfortable temperature for everyone. Dalina eyed the strange room, noticing the buttons on the walls, and the crystal display panel Lili had pulled out. She watched with fascination as Lili pressed another set of buttons, and the panel went back into the wall, with a cover protecting it and also moving it out of sight. Lastly, Dalina examined both Lili and Telamon herself. There was a look of confusion and curiosity in her face.

"First princess o' th' remnants o' th' Drugan kingdom. Lili Seadhg." Lili said, noticing the look, and sticking her hand out for Dalina. Dalina took it and nodded.

"I'm Dalina Mitrofanov, a wind priest." Dalina responded. Lili nodded. "Drugan? You're a dwarf? I thought... I thought you didn't exist anymore."

"We exist. Mah fowk juist wanted tae disappear from th' rest o' th' world. Wi' yer hero, Jean, ower 'ere. A'm hoping it'd be enough fur a' body else to come to up th' surface-dwellers 'n' help in th' war."

Dalina smiled. "Surface dwellers..." She chuckled softly to herself. After she let go of Lili's hand, she then looked towards Telamon.

"My designation is Telamon. Granted to me by my master, Jean." Telamon said with a hint of pride in her voice. You noticed Ren roll her eyes, but choosing not to say anything.

Dalina looked questioningly towards you, but soon enough responded to her. "It's a pleasure to meet you too Telamon." Dalina said bowing her head slightly.

"And it's a pleasure to meet one of the descendants of the Heavens extremists." Telamon said innocently.

"U-um... huh?"

[pringerbeam]

     "Oh right that.  We'll need to go over that later.  For now though we have a mountain of other new problems that need to be dealt with.  Excavations, supplies, repairs, rest, diplomacy...  Intrigue..."  Replied Jean with a look to Lili. "Long and short is that I'm a captain now and we need to talk to the king.  Hopefully we can get a meal and a good night's rest in too before we deal with the other problems.  We should probably get going too.  If we're lucky we might be able to interrupt the priests making a demand for my head on a platter or something similar."  He said as he walked up to the elevator.  "Your highness, if you could take us to the throne or wherever your father might govern from."  As the elevator started its descent Jean, holding onto Dalina to prevent himself from drifting away, had Viridio sit upon his outstretched arm.  "So Viridio, you talk, you transform, all in just a few days.  I don't suppose you're already done growing?  Or are you still a juvenile?"  He pondered out loud as he looked over Viridio's flaming plumage.  "How's Anja?  I hope she isn't too worried."

[Throndir]

"Aye, that ah can do." Lili said waiting in the elevator. Once everyone had gotten in, she pushed the buttons to make it zoom back down.

Viridio cocked her head in confusion. "Young still!" Viridio chirped again. Dalina spoke clarifying.

"Given that she can transform now, I'm not sure if there's any more growing that she has to do." Dalina explained. "As for Anja, she wanted to come with me, but I didn't think that would be a good idea... I did tell her to take are of Gust though, so she's content with that for now."

"Anyways Jean you really met some strange people... Not just land-dwellers, but the one's who lived under the ground too. And Telamon... She has all this weird armor... And those flying things? They... kinda remind me of the things in Marina's room."

"Cute." Telamon said quietly, staring at Dalina all the while. Dalina started to shift uncomfortably at the stare. "You're quite different than the ones I knew of. Even the most docile ones used to be uncooperative. Unless you happen to be hiding explosives under that coat of yours."

"N-no..." Dalina said. You felt Dalina tighten her hold on your hand.

[pringerbeam]

     "She's from the age when the wind temples were first built.  There might be something for us to find in the ship's logs about them.  Oh yeah, the ship...  It seems to be something like the wind temples but instead of being powered by Marina through the island's inhabitants it's powered by mana crystals.  Or well a derivative.  Still figuring it out."  He said, pulling the manual out of his robe and waving it.  "For now though we have some other problems.  The local priests were being problematic so we got in a fight.  You're the closest thing to a fellow clergy member that we have right now so I don't suppose you could help smooth things over?  They seem to be in communication with the dryads so we will need to talk to them if we want to ever pass through the forest unacosted."

[Throndir]

"I can try. I don't really know much about the dwarves, other than stories we had of them. Most of the dwarves had died out decades ago according to our history. There are still a few small villages of dwarves... and more than likely more had been brought in due to the shifting. I don't know all the teachings of the goddess of earth either. But at the very least I can represent my people." Dalina said nodding her head.

Let me know when you want to speed it up to the next encounter/scene.

[pringerbeam]

     "It will have to do.  I kinda wish we had someone from the dragons and the knights here too but I guess they'll just have to find out about their neighbors later."  Replied Jean as they continued their descent.

[info]Good to move the scene on[/info]

[Throndir]

"There might be a way to talk to them maybe. Or at least send a message." Dalina said as she pulled off her backpack while the elevator continued its descent. She pulled out what looked to be an orb.

"Marina gave this to me. Told me that this was a way to communicate back to her if we need to." Dalina said as she handed you the orb. "She said to put your mana in it. Kinda like what you did with Viridio's egg."