Selk Mar
Knight
Posts: 114
Profession: Protector, Mercenary
Affiliation: N/A
Affinity: Thunder
Profile: Selk Mar
OoC Alias: Hewhostandsalone
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Post by Selk Mar on Feb 6, 2010 13:31:23 GMT -6
The trip had been far more trouble thus far than what Selk had expected. Those wolf creatures and then the fire...and losing three friends in all the chaos. He hoped and prayed they were still alive. Still, he had to get up. Aaron was right. They needed to get somewhere that they could get proper rest. They probably could do with restocking on supplies, too. Denzel also made a good point. There was no doubt that they were late on the completion of their mission. Selk shook his head and sighed as he got up. Never in his wildest imagination would he have foreseen so many problems when he left home. He wondered if he was in over his head.... "Alright. I'm as ready as I'll ever be." Selk's leg was still bruised and sore from where the large tree branch had fallen on it. His burns weren't completely healed either.
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Lilith
Shaman
Never forget who you are, for surely the world will not
Posts: 169
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Post by Lilith on Feb 7, 2010 14:32:36 GMT -6
Lilith gave a bubbly laugh and released the spell. "No, I can hardly do magic most shamans can. But I'm trying. I learn pretty fast." she said to the monk. "So where are you from?"
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Kishou
The "Before" years
[M:0]
Be gone, evil ones!
Posts: 24
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Post by Kishou on Feb 7, 2010 19:59:54 GMT -6
"I come from Eturia. I practiced under a Bishop named Doug from the Church of Elibe. I just became an appointed monk, but left on my own for a pilgrimege in purging the remains of evil within this continent."
Kishou was glad he didn't offend Lilith too badly, who assumed that her magic is still amateur. He use to be the same way, now that he thought about it, when practicing under Doug. He could barely conjure as anything as bright as a spark, and now he was able to extinquish flames with light, which is an accomplishment on its own as Anima magic such as Fire dominates over Light.
"We best be on our way. We can talk on the way." The monk brushed his robe as he stood up, and offered his hand to continue following the group of mercenaries (plus Bridget).
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Aaron Winsett
Sage
Seeker of Knowledge
Knowledge is a weapon. I intend to be formidably armed.
Posts: 419
Sacae Fame: 1
Lycia Fame: 2
Profession: Student of Magic
OoC Alias: Feldsky
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Post by Aaron Winsett on Feb 9, 2010 20:37:06 GMT -6
Aaron was stretching his back, out as he finished his roll, when he heard the voice, and sighed in relief.
"Ah, Sir Denzel, I'm glad your up and about." Aaron turned and inspected the knight. He'd been out for awhile. Would he be up to full strength? Well he had agreed it was time to go, and it wasn't a long trip...
Aaron checked the position of the sun, still rising in the east, and set his back to it. He approached the knight quietly.
"We've picked up a couple of new traveler's. Kishou is the monk over there, and that's Bridget. I'm not really sure who she is, but she says she is here, in Lycia, searching for her father.... We haven't seen Malachi, Wyatt, or Yaen since... those things."
Troubled once more by the memories of those things, Aaron started walking towards the city, beginning the mild challenge of the small hills they were in.
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Lilith
Shaman
Never forget who you are, for surely the world will not
Posts: 169
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Post by Lilith on Feb 11, 2010 10:35:11 GMT -6
Lilith smiled and started walking wish Kishou. "I didn't really know that there was much evil left here, not since the disbanding of the Ruinz. But that was before I went to Etruria and heard the Prophet's speeches. He seems very sinister to me, branding everyone who does not believe him to be the chosen one as heretics. I guess you could say that's why I left my apprenticeship a little early. I just hope I can still become strong enough to become a shaman proper without a druid teaching me." she twirled her hair a bit as she talked, her happy demeanor slipping a bit as she worried about her magic abilities.
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Aaron Winsett
Sage
Seeker of Knowledge
Knowledge is a weapon. I intend to be formidably armed.
Posts: 419
Sacae Fame: 1
Lycia Fame: 2
Profession: Student of Magic
OoC Alias: Feldsky
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Post by Aaron Winsett on Feb 20, 2010 21:21:04 GMT -6
It was roughly noon. They'd traveled for a few hours towards the great city. They'd spent the time since the fire away from any large roads, tramping over the easy slopes of Ostia's countryside. Aaron was reasonably sure that they werejust a rise or two away now. Not all was fine and dandy though. The clouds in the west hadn't moved off. instead he had started smelling the smell of ashes as they came closer to their goal. That didn't bode well. The mage grew tenser and quieter as they went forward. Fearing the horror that the scent could represent.
He climbed a last rise and looked out over the great expanse spread out before him. Instead of fields of green surrounding the crown jewel of Lycia. Instead of what was possibly the most successful, powerful, and grand city in the world, he saw only charred ruins. The burnt out husk of a formerly mighty city. The ash was still falling from the sky, like some great fall of dirt and decay spreading on the corpse of a once noble warrior. The place reeked of absolute destruction, and the very light of day seemed to quail at it.
Aaron stood on the ridge. What was there to do. The location of the head of the Lycian Counsel. The hope of Lycia, itself, was exeplified by this place. Having fallen in the past, it was always quick to rise to it's feet again. It had even fallen in the last war, restoring itself to near it's former glory in barely five years, but How could anything rise after the complete and utter devastation wrought here.
Aaron sank to his knees, robbed of his voice by the blackened crater. All that death... All at once. Stunned and shaken he rested there. He felt sick. His senses were filled to overwhelming with the remnant of the magic unleashed here. Off, far in the distance, he saw the flags of a great host encamped, but he wasn't really ready to do anything just then. The full implications of Ostia's remains were trying to force their way past the block that his brain had set on everything.
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Bridget
The "Before" years
[M:0]
My eyes are up here. Look up here!
Posts: 47
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Post by Bridget on Feb 21, 2010 2:16:25 GMT -6
Bridget's legs hurt, but she was feeling quite well in spite of what had happened lately. She had been content to just keep up with the others in the group and listen to their conversations, occasionally adding in when she felt like it.
Bridget's good mood began to sag when she noticed a few worrisome signs. She hurried her pace to the front of the group. Bridget kept quiet, not wanting to say what everyone else was probably thinking. When Aaron made his way over the rise, she was right behind him.
The ruins.
"This is not happening." she said, mostly to herself.
It looked like the city had been razed by some kind of force beyond human power. As if a force of nature decided that it was no longer worthy of standing. Or something.
"This isn't happening."
Was father in there? Had he been in that city, destroyed along with everyone and everything else? When had this happened? So many questions. No answers.
"This isn't happening. This isn't happening. Thisisnthappeningthisisnthappening." Bridget rambled. She wrapped her arms around her midsection. She stumbled a bit before sitting down.
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Wein Lowell
Sniper
The Noble Arrow
If you're a glory hound, then I'm king of the glory hounds
Posts: 268
Lycia Fame: 2
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Post by Wein Lowell on Feb 21, 2010 22:34:37 GMT -6
Wein's brow furrowed as they walked, noticing the dark, ashen clouds in the sky above them in the distance, but it was not until the city, or what was left of it, was in sight did Wein truly understand what horrors had occured.
Seeing Aaron fall to his knees, Wein, who had been holding up the back of the group, dashed to the front. As he did, though, he wished he hadn't. He wished he could just turn around, and walk away. Before him was a giant, black crater. His mind rejected it at first. There was no crater here. How could there be? This was Ostia, the greatest city in all of Lycia...This was Ostia, land of the finest knights in Elibe...This was Ostia, his home...
Wein closed his eyes, imagining the the familiar site of the gigantic, bustling city; it's castle spires touching the sky. He imagined the sight of the roving caravans, traveling the road to and from Ostia. He imagined the soldiers standing on the ramparts, bearing their flags. He imagined the sun, beaming down from the sky. The archer opened his eyes. None of that was before him. Instead, all he saw was a big, black, hideous crater. All he saw were ashy clouds, falling from the sky. He blinked again. The crater remained. He blinked again. Still a crater.
No, this wasn't right. They must have taken a wrong turn somewhere. Yes, this wasn't Ostia. After all, there was no force that could just wipe out a city like this. If this was Ostia, there would be ruins. This looked as if there had never been anything there at all. "W-We must be l-l-lost guys," stuttered Wein, turning to Aaron. The archer stumbled a bit as he did. "This isn't O-Ostia. T-This is a crater." He began to walk down the ridge, ambling like a drunk man.
As Wein stumbled, his senses began to blur. Nothing made sense. It was silent all around him. He could tell that because he could see it. He could see the silence. No, you saw with your eyes. He could hear the silence. Yes, he could hear it. But this was Ostia. It wasn't supposed to be silent. This couldn't be Ostia. "...Not Ostia..." muttered Wein to himself. He slipped, falling over and sliding down the side of the ridge, hitting a rock and landing on his rear end. It should have hurt, but it didn't. Slowly, the archer pulled himself to his feet, lolling from side to side as he did. He lost his footing and fell off of the rock, rolling down the embankment like a barrel.
Wein's body came to a halt as he came to the bottom of the slop, bouncing as he hit the ground. His vision was blurry. He must have hit his head when he fell. Dazed, Wein put his hand to his face. Wet? There was no water around here. Was it raining? No. These were tears. Were they his tears? No, they couldn't be his tears. Why would he be crying? This wasn't Ostia. This couldn't' be Ostia. Ostia was his home. This wasn't his home.
The archer sat up, staring at the giant scorch mark before him. No, this was Ostia. This was all that was left of his home. Everything was gone. The cries of merchants hawking their goods in the bazaar were gone. The shouts and calls of children playing the streets were gone. The soft smell of peppermint tea in his living room was gone. The smiling faces of his family...were gone. It was all gone.
Who could have done this? What could have done this? What sort of evil demanded that Ostia be wiped from existence. So many were dead. So much was destroyed. Why? Why had this happened? Tears flooded down Wein's face as he sobbed uncontrollably. He had spent so much time wandering around, getting away from home. Now he had no home to go back to.
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Selk Mar
Knight
Posts: 114
Profession: Protector, Mercenary
Affiliation: N/A
Affinity: Thunder
Profile: Selk Mar
OoC Alias: Hewhostandsalone
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Post by Selk Mar on Feb 22, 2010 12:28:41 GMT -6
Everything from the past few days had been weighing on Selk's mind, so he wasn't much for conversation during the final stretch of their trip to Ostia. It wasn't until he saw Aaron drop to his knees that Selk spoke up. Sure, he had noticed the black clouds and the smell of ash, but he hadn't really noticed them. "Aaron, what's wrong?" Selk asked, now looking worried and confused.
Then Wein rushed up....and his reaction made Selk even more worried. Selk picked up his pace and finally reached the top of the hill. Utter devastation. Decay. Death. Ostia, or what Selk believed was Ostia at one time, was a smoldering hole in the ground. The earth below and the sky above were so scarred from what had happened here that even they could not weep at this atrocity.
Selk had no relatives in Ostia. He hadn't been there but once or twice in his lifetime. But that didn't stop the feelings that welled up inside of him. The events of recent days were a mere shroud when compared to the impact that the sight of Ostia's charred remains had on the young man. His whole body went stiff just to keep from falling face first to the ground. His expression was one of horror, disbelief, despair, and sadness. It was as if the feelings of everyone around him...all of his trusted companions...and the remnants of those who had perished...had been flooded into Selk. Although Selk was a somewhat empathetic young man and he could relate to others well, this was almost too much for him to bear.
The ash filled air became far heavier than it should have been. Breathing was nearly impossible. Selk's mouth was agape, but no words escaped it. A steady stream of tears ran down both cheeks, but not from the air irritating his eyes. All sound went mute to his ears. The image of Ostia burned itself into his mind and stuck. No matter what he did he couldn't think of anything else. This was truly an unbelievable atrocity. An entire city, gone. Not just the buildings, streets, and homes, but the people. The young and the old, parents, children, brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles. Entire families had just been removed from existence. There were no words to describe how Selk felt right now. If he could have mustered any rational thought, he'd realize that some of his friends were likely in far worse shape.
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Kishou
The "Before" years
[M:0]
Be gone, evil ones!
Posts: 24
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Post by Kishou on Feb 22, 2010 13:41:00 GMT -6
Kishou stood there aghast at the sight. Ostia... it couldn't even be called that anymore. What use to be, from what he had heard of, a prosperous city, was now a smoldering crater.
Kishou turned to see nearly everyone was horror struck as well. Aaron, Selk Mar, Wein, even Bridget... he could only guess that some of them had families here, shocked to loose it all without knowing. For all Bridget may know, she may have lost her father without even getting to see him for the first time.
As a monk of the order or Elibe, he never saw such tragedy or bloodshed before. When he went on his self-righteous journey to rid evil, he always hoped it would just be brigands. But no brigand, not even the Bandit King himself, could have caused such destruction to a once proud city.
The fact that this happened to Ostia could very well implant the fear that it could happen anywhere else. Phrae, Sacrae, Eturia... All to be wiped out from existence, with no people, no buildings, not a soul left alive...
The monk shook his head, ridding himself with doubts. Now wasn't the time to feel melancholy. Yes, it was a tragedy, but mourning isn't going to help. It looks bad, yes, but surely there has to be survivors. Surely...
He started walking forward, pausing to acknowledge the weeping archer. "We must press forward," he said. "I know how tragic it must be, but there might be at least one survivor here."
He paused, wondering if what he said was doing more harm than good, for setting up a meaningless hope only to be crushed when he found himself wrong.
Kishou sighed, showing signs of weariness and melancholy. He couldn't spare a tear for these people. Not with everyone already admitting theirs. Someone had to be the rational one in times of despair, such as this. That feel on the followers of light, Monk or Cleric.
"At the very least," he said again, moving onward toward the charred land, what was once known as Ostia. "Someone has to give those who had a departed a proper respite."
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Denzel
The "Before" years
[M:-190]
Posts: 76
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Post by Denzel on Feb 24, 2010 8:48:38 GMT -6
Denzel looked on at the sight with shock. "The greatest of Lycian terroritiries redued to this, how could this happen?" He voiced his disbelief. Though he tried to turn his thoughts elsewhere all he ould think of was the futility of their efforts and the lies that must have been lost. It was the monk's words that brought Denzel back. 'Yeah we have to get moving again.' Denzel slowly started walking toward the ruins.
there had to be something they could do.
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Selk Mar
Knight
Posts: 114
Profession: Protector, Mercenary
Affiliation: N/A
Affinity: Thunder
Profile: Selk Mar
OoC Alias: Hewhostandsalone
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Post by Selk Mar on Feb 25, 2010 12:28:56 GMT -6
(OOC: I apologize for posting out of order, but I don't know when I'll have time to post again. With that in mind, I'll post now and let things go in normal order after that.)
For that moment, Selk was lost to the world. Never before had he seen or known of such evils being committed. It was true that he'd heard the legends of the scouring and the dark events that took place during those troubled times, but to actually witness first hand an event of proportional magnitude of death and destruction...it was almost unreal.
He then saw Denzel and Kishou through his peripheral vision. At first he didn't pay attention to them, still caught up in the terrible sight before him, but as they slowly proceeded forward he began to realize that they were there, and they were going towards the ruins of Ostia. Selk gasped for air for a moment and began coughing. He'd been so rigid and stiff that it had nearly exhausted him for the moment. He had feared that if he lost his intensity he would have fallen...and it was very likely that he would have. He stumbled forward and braced himself as he placed one hand on his chest. Tears still dripped from his cheeks as he looked down at his feet and then up to his hands. This was real. He wasn't dreaming...or more accurately, he wasn't in a nightmare. Although he might end up having nightmares from this.
He finally stopped coughing and made a step forward. This time it was an actual step and not a stumble. He raised his head and clenched his fists. With a raspy voice that was clearly full of more emotions than one, Selk nodded and said, "Y-you're right. We h-have to keep going."
Selk wasn't entirely sure whether he was crying out of sorrow, fear, anger, or just shock. Either way, if he let these feelings consume him he'd never be able to do anything. And if he could overcome something like this then he'd be able to handle anything. Still, that logic didn't make it any easier.
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Aaron Winsett
Sage
Seeker of Knowledge
Knowledge is a weapon. I intend to be formidably armed.
Posts: 419
Sacae Fame: 1
Lycia Fame: 2
Profession: Student of Magic
OoC Alias: Feldsky
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Post by Aaron Winsett on Feb 26, 2010 19:07:16 GMT -6
OoC: Lol. do we even have a posting order anymore?
BiC: Aaron began hearing the others move around, pushing past the tragedy, and looking for the answer of what they should do next. Kishou and Sir Denzel were both pressingfor pressing forward. What they said was right. There was a chance that people had survived. After all, the foundations of the castle could still be destinguished in the mess, but the widespread rubble made it difficult to tell what else may have survived the destrucion of the firestorm that had swept the place.
The mage felt like a ball of twisted up, knotted emotions. He felt startlemen, and sorrow. A great fear of what could have caused this, which threatened to drag him down to despair. Last of all, he felt a growing fury towards whatever it was that had done this. Part of him wanted to access the focus he used when working with his fire tome. To feel the weight of emotions simply drop away as he left them behind him, leaving physical discomforts as he submerged himself into the work of conjuring flames. Another part of him said that he would merely be running away from his troubles if he did that. He had to put it all aside for now.
Denzel seemed to have a plan, and that helped him. He climbed to his feet and glanced around. The sight had had a profound effect on the group. Most were still trying to recover in some way. He looked around for Wein, but didn't see him. His voice shook a bit while he called out. "Wein, Where'd you get to?" He kept looking until he finally heard some small rocks clacking along the edge of the ridge they were on, easing up to the ledge to see what had disturbed them. He made out the shape of the archer down at the bottom of the cliffside. "Ah, ah, I'm gonna go get Wein." Aaron said pointing down the cliff, towards the archer. "It looks like there's a path, from there, that we can use to join up with the main party again."
With that brief bit of warning, Aaron kneeled down on the edge before grabbing hold of the rocks and swinging himself down onto the side of the ridge. He'd had plenty of hiking over the years, and he liked to think of himself as an capable outdoorsman. He definitely hadn't been restricted to the study of old tomes, but even with his bit of experience, he still took a few scrapes and knocks on his way down.
He took a few steps closer to the archer, kicking a rock away as he finally came to a stop . He looked like he had just lost his home... Aaron came to understand then, from all the little things he'd picked up in conversation, from the way the archer was reacting. Wein had lost his home. He was from Ostia, and now... "Wein..." There seemed so little to say in light of these events. This wasn't something that would simply remedy itself and go away. It was a life shattering event. What he could do was support this man he'd come to view as a brother.
The mage remembered Wein telling him that he'd taken up hunting with family. That he was pretty good at it. "Wein... I'll be ready when you want to start the hunt." He remembered the campsite he'd seen to the north of the ruins, and felt sure that they'd been the ones responsible for this. He felt that fury towards them growing as he wondered: I wonder how much chaos a single mage can cause in a settled camp?
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Bridget
The "Before" years
[M:0]
My eyes are up here. Look up here!
Posts: 47
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Post by Bridget on Feb 26, 2010 22:37:02 GMT -6
Bridget turned her head away from the others, to ignore their pain and partly to conceal her own sorrow. Even if her father wasn't in Ostia when it was razed...so many people were. Her mind went back to a kind man who had helped her trace out her map. He'd said he had family in Ostia. Two brothers, and their families. Bridget's heart ached at the thought.
Some others mentioned that they should keep moving. Bridget wanted to lash out, to snap at them for suggesting something so completely pointless. The destruction was clearly rather thorough, and if there had been any survivors, they were likely beyond the help of a handful of people who could only be called soldiers if one was feeling charitable. But she knew that they were in pain as well, and she had no right to voice her poisonous words.
Bridget silently stood up to follow Kishou, Selk, and Denzel. They had all been through so much in such a short span of time. How could they possibly expect themselves to enter that wasteland of a city and do any good? "This evil shall consume us all." Bridget whispered, her eyes fixed on the still smoking ruins.
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Aaron Winsett
Sage
Seeker of Knowledge
Knowledge is a weapon. I intend to be formidably armed.
Posts: 419
Sacae Fame: 1
Lycia Fame: 2
Profession: Student of Magic
OoC Alias: Feldsky
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Post by Aaron Winsett on Mar 9, 2010 22:25:20 GMT -6
OoC: Ok.... Due to the fact that We've had little activity here, I'm moving on. After this post, I'll make a new thread. From there, you've only got three options: wait here, make your own thread, or join Aaron's next thread. Pretty simple. I'll probably give people 4-7 days to join the next thread before moving it forward. (And I'll probably pester you about whether you want to join or not.) Please don't put off posting here till the last second. It'll frazzle my nerves. lol
Oh yeah... Exiting thread.
IC:
Wein didn't move. The man was clearly in alot of pain right now. Aaron sighed and closed his eyes. I'm in alot of of pain right now. Wein must be crushed. He walked over and leaned against the rock wall, trying to calm himself from the anger burning in him. As much as he had wanted to charge in slinging spells on those who caused this apocalypse, the mage made himself realize that firing on an Etrurian army would not be a productive thing to do in the long run.
He felt himself fall back into considering the charge in the air. The power called upon to destroy the city was incomparable to anything he'd felt before. Even days after the the action, the magic still was there for him to feel, hanging in the air. Come to think of it, everything around him was humming with a leftover charge. It felt more frenetic here than up above.
The mage quirked his head a bit and reached out with his mind's touch, trying to find what was different. The leftover magic seems to be...concentrating somewhere...!
Just as he came to the realization of what was happening, he felt the power beneath him blast toward his touch, like lightning seeks a high place. He severed his connection as best quickly as he could, but was unable to prevent the blast from shooting towards him. Having no experience with this type of thing, he wasn't sure what would happen. only that he'd somehow triggered an uncontrolled remnant of the magic left from Ostia's destruction.
He waited, and waited some more, but, having cut himself off from the power, he could tell nothing. He took a step forward, and nothing happened he turned towards the road, and paced a few steps that way. Still nothing happened. He finally risked reaching out with his mage senses. The area seemed calmer to him than before. He breathed out in relief, and gave groan of relief.
Then there was a loud crack from somewhere below him. A rumbling began shaking his legs. The mage looked around for something to grab but there was precious little available. He was trapped on a cliff path, with an earthquake starting. He pressed up against the cliff side, and tried to grab onto it. Oh flux! This day just went from bad to worse!
"Wein! Earthquake" He shouted back to the unresponsive archer.
Before he was aware of what was going on, he found himself flying through the air, or rather falling down a pit that had opened up. Falling into the basement of Elibe with a wail.
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