Nice Night For Fishing
Log Info
- Title: Nice Night For Fishing
- Emitter: Cryosanthia
- Characters: Cryosanthia, Braelnoir, Konstance, Zant, Elleandra, Merek, Lanier
- Place: A10: Temple of Daeus
- Time: Thursday, April 09, 2020, 10:01 PM
- Summary: Cryosanthia is waiting at the Temple of Daeus, hoping Zeke will come. He does not, but Braelnoir and Zant do. The silvery chimera is very surprised by the changes to her sith friend, astounded at her age, and growing more-so as she relays her story. Zant listens, but has to leave, and the scale-sisters head to the Tornmawr so Cryo can finally go swimming. At the short, the sith-makar is acting strangely but does attach a safety rope around her neck and instruct the others to pull her up after an hour. Braelnoir ties herself off on the other end of the rope while Cryo finds a rock and dives into the depths. The Tornmawr is at least 100' deep, and the rope runs out and drags Braelnoir in. Elleandra immediately wildshapes into a squid, while Merek risks casting while still infected with the plague and dives after. Cryo meanwhile, reaches the bottom, switches over to breathing water and attempts to deal with her emotions. She barely starts on this, when she sees Braelnoir sinking and Elly trying to rescue her. Cryo abandons her mental health efforts, and with Elly's help gets the suddenly heavy Braelnoir to the surface. As they do this, strange cracking noises come from her body, while Merek behaves strangely at depths. On the shore, it is revealed that Braelnoir has become a four-armed mermaid and can no longer speak. Unsure what to do, they carry her off.
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=<* A10: Temple of Daeus *>=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
The temple of the Sun Lord glitters golden beneath the same. Rather than walls, the majority of the temple is composed of what appears at first blush to be a raised round platform made of one of the largest slabs of marble likely in existence. Columns rise into the air as if to hold some massive ceiling, though instead of a normal ceiling, one finds the deep blue sky, studded by a disconcertingly close canopy of bright stars. One should not worry, however, as the rain never falls, and the wind never blows on this particular temple, but for a gentle breeze, whatever the weather outside may be.
Despite the austerity of the columns, warmth suffuses the grounds. A grand, marble statue of the Shining Knight stands a the center, a hand outstretched in benediction. Beside Him, the statue of Althea, their hands clasped in love. The central position of the temple to the others gives view to all of their children, and the two look upon one another with the solemnity of love that has been the center of so many tales and legends.
Masterfully designed mana lamps provide further soft, golden lightning where needed, their pedestals carved in the form of the Dragons of Light, over which Daeus is said to have dominion in His form of Draco Solis. Majesty, justice, and welcome suffuse the temple grounds. Around the central temple are a series of smaller buildings, each with a simple function and form. One houses the sacred book depicting some of the earliest known translations of the Laws of Light, which pilgrims from near and far come to visit. Another houses the well-appointed quarters of the Sunguards, and among all the ground bristle the Sunblades.
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Appearing, in Order -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Cryosanthia 6'9" 267 Lb Sith-Makar Female A dashingly tall, elegant white-scaled lizard woman. Braelnoir 5'11" 246 Lb Silvery Chimera Female A silver deer-lion chimera with a feral grin. Konstance 6'2" 240 Lb Human Male A human with blonde hair and blue eyes Zant 6'0" 190 Lb Human Male Olive-skinned, wild-haired young man in simple clothes Elleandra 5'4" 108 Lb Wild Elf Female Blue-haired, green-eyes, Sylvanori Merek 5'10" 215 Lb Human Male A black-haired, dusky male with golden eyes. Lanier 6'0" 245 Lb Human Male Young, lean and strong Acanian wearing hide clothing. -=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=
The Temple of Daeus, known to the sith-makar as the Temple of the Dragonfather, has as its light source many mana-lights on pedestals that form the Dragons of Light. It is on one of these pedestals that a white-scaled sith-makar woman sits. She's tall, sleek, with good posture and wears a layered set of wizards robes. These robes are a stark white, both have pale blue highlights and trim. Under the warm glow of the mana light-source, her colours are shifted, making her white-gold. She is seated with her knees together, gazing out from the temple, her hands clasped together. A ribbon is tied around her left wrist, her sleeve pulled back enough it's visible. She's watching for something.
"Well if it isnt my favorite lizard girl. If you didnt have a long line of suitors, I would flirt with ya, but I am afraid I dont do scaley girls with sharp teeth." He says. cigarette in his mouth and lit so smoke exhales from his mouth. "You know, Eluna is a goddess of magic, so why stay here?" He asks curiously.
"You say funny things, Inquisitor." Cryosanthia replies without turning her head. She's still staring off into space, or perhaps the entrance. Her line of suitors is nowhere to be seen, unless it's a reference to the Dragon-lights she's in the midst of. There's very little inflection to her words, she sounds bored, disinterested. "It honestly doesn't matter where I am. So I am here."
Wimp.
The night finds a figure moving between the mana lamps as if on a mission. The split hooved stride, the angry lashing of a spaded tail, the female's silhouette gives a number of citizens pause, others when the lamplight gleams from silvered limbs, though few go through the trouble of reading the, admittedly, rough looking sign dangling around Brae's neck, probably because the unhappy and determined look on her face. She draws near the temple catching sight of Konstance at first, she calls a quick, "Hey!" as a hand comes up, then she sees who he's talking to and she clops to a vaguely confused halt at the boundry of the temple's light with the sound of sith's familiar if uncharacteristic voice. What.. the...
"Better things to do then give the gods your attention. Not like they are going anywhere." Konstance says as he takes another drag and exhales smoke. He then looks to Braelnoir and nods. "Fancy seeing you here. I trust it wasnt my charming good looks which brought you.
"Oh, they haven't had my attention in a long time. I'm sure I've long passed from their notice."
The sith is not herself. Very little resembles the Cryosanthia of a few weeks ago. Wizard robes, for one, she'd never be wearing those. Her armour and weapons seem to be missing. She's taller, her tattoos are missing. She has long horns, rough scales, bumps and a full crest quite unlike before. Her build suggests her adolescence is long gone. Plus, her demeanor is so empty. The air around her is colder but it's worsened by her rigid motions, small disdainful gestures. It would be easier to believe it's Cryo's mother than Cryosanthia herself.
Except she looks over and that seems to give her a little life. She sits up, "Braelnoir!"
It's been... An interesting few days in the Temple for those who work and live there. Or perhaps harrowing would be a more accurate word, on this occasion. It certainly has been for one (1) certain Truthsayer who was not here when the tragedy took place, but has likely been dealing with the aftermath. It shows in Zant's expression, too. Sure, it's still bright and seems to preternaturally radiate warmth, but there's also... fatigue. Not physical, but there's been mental drain, for certain. He probably noticed the familiar Sith-Makar sitting at the pedestal before, too, but she, too, might have noticed him moving back and forth carrying various supplies about. He eventually showed up from within some side room again, Taking to approaching where Cryo had made her seat, only to end up slowing down in his steps with visible hesitation upon noticing the gathering about her.
You can know the friend you haven't seen in a couple of weeks has gone through some changes. Then there's knowing the friend you haven't seen in a couple of weeks has gone through some changes. The chimera blinks at first, her mouth opening partway before begining to close again, before another impulse to speak an incoherent thought issues forth. Kon's greeting results in a slow shake of her head, it's a different voice, it's a voice that belongs to the face it's coming out of and her eyes turn that way, "...yeah." she starts lamely, acknowledging his imput before her eyes are yanked back to Cryoanthia and she clops toward her as if in a daze, "Cryo.... is's really...?" She shakes her head again, "What...? What'd they do t'you....?"
Cryosanthia is known to the clergy at the Temple of Daeus. Not all the details, certainly some. A magic experiment related to a threat to the city left her significantly older, without memories, and under the care of one of their sunguards. She's rumoured to be the sith-makar version of a wife, although the healer in question was not known to be in a relationship prior to her arrival. She's 'fragile', was one of the few who rose against the vampire when he arrived, and a close eye needs to be kept on her. Some, might know the Sunguard tied to her has vanished. She shows no interest in the services and hasn't asked for any religious ministration, not even healing when she is injured, though it usually is provided. She's seen Zant going back and forth, but did not call out to him.
"Hi Braelnoir, it's really me." She says, smiling. Trying to smile. It flickers then it's gone. She seems shell-shocked, like she's seen some horror and it hasn't let go. Her voice is drained and wistful when she says, "Believe it or not, I did it all to myself."
Braelnoir is wondering why up tastes green right now. Why death isn't a reliable solution to problems. Why her friend suddenly looks like her own mom, with none of her old spunk. She takes a breath with one last shake of her head and begins to ascend the steps, "Did ya find Kaelyn's fidgit...?" she tries, even as she spreads her arms. She catches Zant, giving him a quick upnod and a soft, still slightly distracted sounding, "Hey."
"I did not." Cryo says, still seated, although Braelnoir has her attention and she is looking at her. She removes her left glove, sets her hand where it is visible. On the back, clear in the light, is a snowflake scar. The mark of the Fae Queen, Salina. Something plague victims receive, when they submit to her for a cure.
"I offered to help Her. I did not know over enough shelves. I was with Her for a long time, though barely minutes past. I remembered little of it. A first I had a feeling of success. That has worn away the more and more I found out. I hoped to bring back something to defeat Her with; I might have been more successful spending time in a library than with Her, and what returned with me was misery."
"Hey..." Zant calls back to Braelnoir, with a bit of worrying given down to his lower lip. He considers the two women from a few paces away, still, before he comes stepping up further... only to hesitate all over again, with pursed lips. "Um... Do you two... want a moment?"
Cryosanthia stands, to embrace Braelnoir.
The flashing of Cryo's new mark slows Brae's advance for an embrace, she takes it in, the most specific nuances on the embellishment lost on her, but she recognizes the general significance, her eyes reflect a new, awful kinship, and the chimera moves at once to complete the hug. "Just one." she says softly in reply to Zant, her arms curling fervently about the white scale, "Just... just one.. please."
Cryosanthia hugs Braelnoir, the embrace is weak. The chimera can feel the power and size of the sith-makar, she is taller, stronger, her scales that much harder, yet she seems ephemeral, empty. She exhales, and for a brief second there is a shudder, a tightening, a panic of her muscles. It's gone.
"Come over Zant. I have all the time in the world. I'm sorry Braelnoir, to be a shock. You seem to have had too many already."
"Oh, no, you two have known each other longer than I have known either of you, I'm..." Zant gives a dismissive wave, but he still seems clearly concerned. Not just about Cryo, now, but Brae just as well. "...I can go."
Braelnoir shakes her head, drawing back some to look her sister in the face, "I leave town for a couple weeks..." then reaches out to gently touch her face, looking for some of the absent markings, perhaps, "That's what got you so down, luv...?" She looks over to Zant, "Moment's done, luv.. it's just been... a while. How you been, Zant?"
Cryosanthia closes her eyes, shakes her head. There's a lot more to her skull, large horns that must add some weight. Her white-scales gleam, but amongst them are some which are an off-white, a very pale blue, the colour of ice deep in a broken glacier. At times a shadow, but when the light hits it right, a highlight. "I am very happy with those, look."
Except she doesn't sound happy, her voice remains flat. She dips her nose, concentrating, her clothes vanish except for a simple wrap-skirt about her waist. Her tattoos are gone. The deeply gouged black markings in her hide have completely vanished. In their place, the highlight scales form beautiful patterns all over her body. Two stripes down either side of her spine out to her tailtip. She makes a casting motion with her right hand, there's a flashing of her scales, starting at her heart and cascading out down her arm in a waterfall of light. "They're so much better now."
A blink, and her robes are back, and she looks at both of them, "A lot happened, a lot happened after. It's been too much."
Zant might seem uncertain, but once he's called over by Braelnoir, too, he nods his head slowly and comes stepping in further to proper conversational range. "I..." He starts to say in response to the chimera, but then looks away. He really, really wants to say he has been okay, so he isn't adding anything on top of the atmosphere already present between the two of them, but he isn't allowed. Stupid oaths. To be fair, the redness around his eyes would make a lie like that not convincing, anyway. "I've been better," he eventually says, trying to avoid specifics.
"...I have been meaning to talk to you, Cryo," he says, then. "Me and Brae have missed... jsut as much, it seems." When the lizardgirl's robes suddenly disappear... well, he instinctively snaps his head to the side with a gathering of red color. Sure, there's not the same kind of things to see as with a human girl, but some things just come out of reflex, you know?
Braelnoir smiles a little, "You're gorgeous, Cryo..." tracing an offwhite marking with a silvern fingertip, scales drawing over scales, but it fades to a thoughtful frown as she speaks again, "But happy...? Those'll have t'be some private words." Her hand withdraws and she folds her arms loosely across her midriff, tail twitching irritably and she spares a furtive glance above, here and there, then to Zant, and a twinkle of mirth glitters in her eyes, just for a moment peeking out of whatever place the chimera's in right now. She looks to Cryo, "Seen anything outta th'boys?"
"Merek and Ezil? No... a little. Ezil, has been quite upset at these changes. Merek, well, he's angry at me for giving him the plague and motivated to go after Her. Not many have come to see me here." Cryo says, sitting back down. She watches Braelnoir's reactions to Zant, Zant's reaction to her. She actually seems to smile a little. "I've missed you so much, you know. So, so long. Would you hit me, as hard as you can?"
There's actually a brief hint of guilt on Zant's features while he listens to Cryo talk, but he doesn't say anything. Not about what's behind that feeling, anyway. When the Sith asks to be hit, though. His eyes widen and brows jump up. "Wait, wh-"
Braelnoir pages: less 2 for power attack penalty, she did say hard as she can GAME: Braelnoir rolls weapon0: (15)+8: 23 GAME: Braelnoir rolls 1d3+7: (2)+7: 9
Braelnoir blinks and her head lists a smidge to the side, "Gave'm the...?" She sighs. What the hell has she -missed-? There's probably an instant between Cryosanthia forming her request and the knuckles of the unspiked fist crossing the side of the sith's head. She even put her hips into it. Then, "Now what?" a glance to Zant, then her focus returns to Cryo.
Cryo has a lot to her skull, so hitting it with knuckles isn't fun. More damage is done to her. She takes it like a punching bag, waiting, impacted, knocked and returning to rest. She exhales slowly, still sounds disinterested, gone.
"Hmm. Well. Oh well."
Zant is taken aback by the sudden display of friend-on-friend violence, even taking an instinctive step backwards. He's relieved enough to see that Cryo isn't knocked back, at least, and he lets out a heavy sigh afterwards. "... Are... you okay?"
Braelnoir takes that in and nods, looking to Zant with a shrug, "She's tougher'n that, luv. That's meat pain.... ain't her trouble."
"No." Cryo answers Zant directly.
She keeps staring, at him, then at Braelnoir. "I had a child while I was away. Adopted. Salina experimented with many things, but parthenogenesis wasn't one of them. My mate has killed my foundling and I feel nothing. Absolutely nothing at all. He has begged my forgiveness but I don't know what I will feel when I see him."
"Everything else, is going through the motions." She shrugs.
Again, Zant is visibly taken aback. By words rather than actions this time. "W-...what?" He stammers out, with color fading away from his face while he looks to Cryo. "I don't... I don't understand. What *happened*?"
The chimera takes that in with varying shades of questions lurking in her eyes. When the fuck did Cryo get a mate? Who the hell is Salina? What in three squirts is partheogenesis? The question she frames is, "Why would he do that?"
"She messed with my mind, left something in there so when I saw my child I tried to kill him." Cryo explains, staring straight at Zant and Braelnoir. No guilt, no embarassment, no shame, sounding very matter of fact. She blinks, "That, hurt a lot. Seldan managed to save him, me. The pain of it was driving me insane, why I would do such a thing. Zeke said he would take it away, and did, but then he saw my foundling as the enemy. I can't blame him for what he did, I tried the same, I gave it to him."
"I should feel something. I don't. I read his letter and it all, stopped. I want to go for a swim. I think that would be nice, lying on the bottom and looking up a the light patterns on the waves."
"..." Zant stares at Cryo quietly for a good moment, with a frown of concern. When that moment has passed, he takes a step closer, and... just extends his hand towards her. He doesn't presume to take her hand right away, no, but he does offer it. "...A lot has happened, I can tell," he murmurs. "You.... Will ahve to start from the beginning though, I think, because I don't understand any of it. If you would rather not, though, I understand. IT can be... hard. To recount things like this."
Braelnoir purses her lips a bit, giving another furtive glance skyward, then, "Well... let's go, then. Th'cold doesn't bother me any." The breathing... well, they'll have to work out the breathing, but the river's a while from here, she'll figure something out. She thinks about her sister's situation, her pain and she brushes the hair back from her left ear, a faraway look in her eye for a moment, though she comes back to it with Zant's remarks.
Cryosanthia stands, "Lets go."
"I'll try Zant. There is a lot." She starts walking, towards the Tormwrar. "We were experimenting with ooze in the Fernwood. It went badly and I got the plague. The Fae Queen, showed up, asking for the ooze version we had, as it was unusual. I offered to go with her. I had an idea I could remember what happened in the shard tower. I remember very litte. I lived in it, I cleaned it. I was her Beloved Pet. Kol the vampire is not allowed to hurt me, and She may be watching me at any time. While I was there, I was so lonely I bonded with a human child as his mother. When I met him, back here, grown adult, I could still smell the memory of him. I attacked him, Seldan stopped me. Zeke later had this thing in my mind, and he attacked, and Faran and I were barely able to stop him. Zeke promised he would destroy this enemy, vanished, and then was successful."
"I thought I could outsmart her. All I've done is bring back disaster. And get older."
The chimera listens to the tale, though she seems somewhat flabberghasted at first at mention of, "Zeke? Wow, really?" Ahen, "Sorry." she murmurs, but is listening intently. A silver hand, the one only partly sheathed in steel is rubs gently on the sith's shoulder as the tale carries further to a foundling and her expression is solemn, "... I know what that's like, sister... Matron o'the house used t'say it takes a bigger heart t'take in a child that ain't yers... reasonin' aside, it cut ya this deep... it was... real."
Zant bows, departs, "I have a matter to attend to."
Cryosanthia exhales, nodding slowly. "I feel it, I know it, my body knows it, and I remember nothing of him. One flash of a memory, seeing him in a cell as a child, seeing myself, a shell. I don't even know who I'm grieving. I've spent more time trying to kill him or stop Zeke doing so than knowing him since. Come. I just want to get underwater."
She leads, out of the temple, through the darkened streets without really seeing them, dragging the silvery chimera along behind her until she reaches the south bridge over the Tornmawr, and down to the banks.
Her last visit, there was ice, now the river is clear and dark and the shores muddy with impending spring. "A rope. Should have brought a rope."
"How much rope would you like?" calls out Elleandra. She's here, fortunately enough, though she hasn't gotten in the water, herself. She has an unusually serious expression, but her smile banishes it. "And what need do you have for a rope, my friend?" She looks past Cryo to Braelnoir and offers a small wave, "Hello! What are you up to today?"
Merek is making a way along, upon his chores for the night. As an Elunite, he is about often enough, buying up a few supplies while he pulls his cloak about dark attire. He notices the three, waving to them.
"Spidersilk in m'bandolier." Brae says softly as the two scaley ladies traverse the night, "Cryo... I ain't the most sagey person you know, but I know there's some things that work behind what we use up here." A finger taps against her temple, "We don't need t'learn how t'sneeze, right? We just -know-. We just -know- how our heart's work. Plenty o'people I wish would ferget, mind, but still. Under the thought, wanna call it the heart, we can, the heart rememb-" the sudden voice from another vector sends a hand to the sword on her belt at first, though she relaxes quickly. "Hey, Elle... 'ow ya been?" She's much calmer... less breaking the wilderness around her, than she was the last time the druid saw her, though her scythe is still absent. And for those who knew her before the Merkabah missions, she has spiney fins on her calves, and base of her tail, and webbing between all of her digits.
"I don't know, how deep is the river?" Cryo seems very intent and focused now that she is on the banks. She hasn't noticed Brealnoir's fins, or reacted if she has. Seeing a hail from far away is beyond her. She stands stiffly, her tail down behind her, arms at her sides. Through the whole walk her body language was easy to read, things are bothering her. When she speaks her voice is either flat and disinterested, or has a tight ribbon of anger running through it. Appropriately enough, she has a ribbon tied around her left wrist as well.
"I thought if I don't come up after an hour, you should pull me up. Faran is afraid I will drown myself. She's away with the Fae and would be upset I didn't take her with me."
"Well, it's already wet in any case," says Elleandra. She does carry a pack these days, and there is rope. For one reason or another, everything is quite drenched. "I'm no master of knots, though. Perhaps you should tie it on yourself? But.. what is your intention, Cryosanthia?" She looks from Cryosanthia to Braelnoir, and offers Merek a friendly wave, as well. "Is everything alright? You seem.. unwell."
When Cryosanthia and Brae seem a bit busy to notice him, Merek smiles at Elle, then offers a polite nod, "You doing well?" he asks, lifting a brow in thought while he think about it.
A cant of her head, and the transfigured woman wonders, "A'ight, who the hell's Fran?" What kinda friends is Cryo making while she's been off doing... righteous stuff? Brae's own tail is flicking in agitation or... elevated alertness for some reason, though she's kind of caught in the moment. She looks over her shoulder as Elly waves and does one in turn as she notes, "Mer! s'appenin', brother?" She looks to Elleandra again, then, "Be honest... I probably should see what yer fishies did t'me. Now's good a time as any."
"Oh. You've changed." Cryosanthia looks at Braelnoir, seeing the fins on her arms, legs, tail, for the first time. "You look nice. That's the thing, Brael, my heart isn't feeling a thing at all. I don't care."
The white-scale sith looks Elleandra's way. She doesn't answer her question, the answer she gives is exactly the kind that suggests she isn't well. "I want to go swimming. I've had a lot happen and I want to go swimming. Everything will be fine if I can just go swimming."
She takes the rope to tie it off around herself, although the first thing she does is loop it into a noose around her neck. Since even that is a little too obvious a risk even for her, she ties that off to her horns. It shouldn't slip off. She gives it a tug, pulling her head to one side. "Safe. See?"
Elleandra frowns thoughtfully. "Let me check," she says. She looks over Cryosanthia carefully, inspecting her health as well as she can. Healing is a new craft for her, but she takes it seriously, and she's quite worried over the state of her friend. After a time, Elleandra steps back. She can't quite smile through her worry, but she tries. "One last thing you need before I can let you swim," she says. And at that, she will try to wrap Cryosanthia up in a hug. Granted, Elly's not got quite the height to pull it off, but her heart is in it. "After you swim, we need to talk, dear."
"Not a lot, I'm just adventuring and all," Merek admits, while he smiles a bit to Brae, then a nod to Elle. He looks then to Cryosanthia, "I am wishing that you are doing better!"
Taking the other and of the rope, Brae ties a loop at the free end before winding it around her elbow several times, then taking to loop in her hand, "I suppose it'll do." With Elly's act, with her remark, she looks between the women, "Yeah... -we- do." Merek's well wishings draw her attention and she says, "Yeah, some o'that been going around."
The white-scaled sith seems healthy. She has a knife injury which is bandaged, there's some swelling on one side of her face as if she took a massive whallop. The hug happens, she allows it, she doesn't really participate beyond leaning a little for Elleandra. Her arms hang at her sides. She has an intensity about her, and her pupils are wide. "Sure. Talk after. Sounds good."
"Thanks Merek."
She doesn't look his way, anyone's way. The sith is singularly focused and all her words are perfunctory. She heads immediately for the shore and starts hunting around for something. Whatever it is, she doesn't seem to find it and instead pulls one of the stones in the riverbank retaining wall. It's heavy enough she holds it against her chest with both arms. A moment later, her clothes vanish, leaving her wearing only gloves and sleeves, then she walks into the water.
Elleandra gives Braelnoir a meaningful look, communicating concern plainly. Her words are off-topic, though, "If you want to see the little fish again, I will need to take you out past Wilderness Pointe. They are enjoying life in a little camp that we have there." She steps closer to the water, watching every move Cryosanthia makes carefully. She sets aside her pack, just in case there is a need for sudden intervention.
Merek looks thoughtfully between all of them, "If you need ability to manage water better, I can assist," he says, then he begins to settle back a bit while he yawns. A smile.
"I cain't risk another shift, luv." Brae replies to Elly, that hate from the other night glittering in the subdued ripple of her facial muscles beneath the gleaming scales, "Not till she's solved." She steps forward to the water, stopping as her hooves splish-splash into the drink, "I'm sorry about that night at the Fern, Ell..." She twists and regards Merek, "It might become necessary. Got anything fer seein' in the dark?"
Cryosanthia walks out into the river. While skinny dipping is somewhat expected, taking a huge stone block along as an accessory usually isn't. She walks away from shore, the water rising up her legs, to her waist. A little beyond that she reaches the point where the sloping shore meets the deep dredged channel and the underwater shelf that drops straight down.
Cryo steps off. She sinks like a stone because hugging one will do that. The rope whips after her as she shoots down into the depths. She lets her block pull her, holding it with arms stretched in front, diving into a darkness she can see through, but one which is rendered in strange colours to her special sight. It becomes like falling into a dream.
Finally, the sensations on her body align with the feelings in her soul. Cold. Dark. Crushed.
The rock hits bottom.
A little further down the river, a man and his dog seem to be walking in companionable silence. The noice and commotion (such as it is) of people, seem to catch the man's attention, causing him to angle towards the river. As he closes, it's readily apparent that the man is the Green Warden named Lanier Vaylan. Spud crouches down, looking around at those gathered, while Lanier looks towards Elleandra with curiousity on his face, "Are you going swimming?"
"Cryosanthia, what are-!" And she's sinking. First, Elleandra calls light to herself, and then her clothes vanish much like Cryosanthia's did, she doesn't seem to care if she's seen or not. "Yes, I apparently am going swimming," she replies. A moment later and she's leaping into the water, diving after. She has no rock, but in moments she isn't herself, either, and a squid pursues Cryosanthia into the murkey depths.
GAME: Merek used a Potion of Water Breathing.
Actually... yes. Yes, someone is. As Cryo sinks like a stone, snapping her return line taught, the Chimera, securely fastened to the other end is yanked armfirst with a surprised yelp into the water with a massy splash! Thankfully, she doesn't need a rock to counter buoyancy as she's still in over sixty pounds of equipment. Glrblblblblblbl!
GAME: Merek casts Blessing of Fervor. Caster Level: 10 DC: 18
Merek looks to the water while Cryosanthia begins to maneuver into the water along with Brae with that rock. He sighs, while he takes a potion, then he drinks from that, before he begins to cast a spell that should keep range on at least him and Elle. He then begins to forward into a dive within the water, his attire shifting about him with the waves.
In the depths...
Cryosanthia exhales what air remains in her compressed lungs. The first breath after is always the worst, and the best, a cold shock of water rushing in and filling them with a cold weight. Physiologically, her body switches over to getting oxygen from the water. Her chest muscles have to work harder to circulate the heavy fluid, her mouth has to stay open. The rest of her switches over to an anerobic mode where she'll need a lot lesss oxygen to move, reserves in her cells will last. She can breathe water, for a while.
Twisting around, she lets her back sink to the bottom, wiggles one hand under the block so she won't float up and doesn't have to keep waving to stay down. The low oxygen mode of her body takes over her mind. She still thinks, just differently. With no distractions, her physical responses suppressed, she's willing to poke at that giant emotional mess she's carrying around. What are you? What's wrong? She asks herself, as she floats, staring upwards.
At a glowing squid and a silvery suit of armour coming straight down at her.
Rather quickly, Lanier begins putting two and two together, and having noticed one tied together with a rock, starts thinking some pretty awful things might be going down. Lanier is quick to rip his cloak, armor, and shirt off, leaving it in a pile on the ground. Next are his weapons, save for a hand axe kept shoved into his belt. Finally his boots. He takes a moment to rub at his chest, perhaps taking a moment to enjoy the last bit of warmth before he starts wading into the water. As soon as he hits the water, he begins swimming in an easy hand-over-hand motion out towards where he saw the others start going down.
For the record, any squids in the area could probably tell that Elly is communicating potty mouth words. If such a thing exists for a squid. She moves swiftly as she can, which is pretty fast, indeed, thanks to Merek's spell. Straight down she goes, though at this point it's hard to tell just who is in trouble. Did Braelnoir gain a set of gills to go with those fins? That didn't stick out.
Braelnoir only trails noisey bubbles for the first twenty-twenty five feet. Still disoriented by the sudden dip, she is nonetheless starting to try and reorient herself and is almost clawing at the water above her with her free hand, all of her natural swimming instincts are conflicting with that came with her recent add-ons and she's, scandalously for a Korite, apparantly forgotten she's ARMED.
Merek moves along with Elle, and shifts towards where that rope is at. He then lifts up a hand while he draws his sword, swinging that into the material so he can begin to slash into it. He manages that well enough, and noticing Cryosanthia does not look bothered, focuses upon Brae.
Lanier hits the water and realizes it is too cold for an unprotected human to swim in. He returns to shore and goes for help.
A squid, a chimera and an angle dive into the Tornmawr...
There's a joke in there somewhere, but Cryo can't think of it. As the strain on her eyes to see grows less and less as all objects sink down towards her, the distraction from her problems grows.
This isn't exactly what she wanted. At the first poke of attention her emotions exploded, rushing out in all directions, threatening to overwhelm her. The slowed state of her body clamps down on them the same as her mental reaction to it does. Harmony. Everything, all the pain, despair, hope, confusion and countless other things she's been going through freeze into a giant block too big to feel. Too much to process. An iceberg of reactivity she can only occupy a small part of, while the rest lurks below the surface. She's stuck to it, more than it's stuck to her, but the size is sensed.
Is Braelnoir in trouble? Becomes her dominant thought, followed by where did a squid come from. She tugs her hand free and kicks upwards. The trio will sink to her soon enough, she doesn't have to swim hard to join them.
Seeing Cryosanthia break free, Elleandra can turn to the problem at hand, which is the incredible, sinking Braelnoir. Elly, which is to say a rather random-looking, glowing squid in murky water, pauses not far from the chimera and reaches out, as it were, for one of Braelnoir's hands. She imagines that she might just be strong enough to carry them both upwards.
Braelnoir's end of the tether parts under the blade, and her other hand comes up in a sort of frantic effort to match what her other hand is doing and the split of her hooves as her fins flex and relax out of synch with her frenzied motion. And then she's grabbed.
Merek looks a bit content to watch while Elle manages that situation. He then begins to shift along the water, watching people, and possibly assisting if need be.
The white-scaled sith swims largely with her tail, lashing it from side to side behind her, legs help with kicking but they are more to steer and get out of the way of her tail. Likewise her arms paddle at her side but she doesn't reach forward with them. It's a slow, predatory swim, but she is streamlined and the water flows over her.
She reaches the squid and the chimera. Her eyes look strange, covered with her underwater eyelid, pupils wide with darksense and low-light. She reaches out to grab the back of Braelnoir's breastplate, taking some of the weight and helping the squid haul her upwards.
The squid makes.. some sort of reaction to the appearance of Cryosanthia. Or perhaps to Braelnoir. Or perhaps to something else. Anyone's guess is just as likely. With a powerful thrust upwards the squid drags Braelnoir steadily upward, working its limbs harder and harder. At least now it should be clear the thing is trying to help.
Braelnoir starts really wig out for some reason, the hand wrapped in a tentacle feels like it's fighting the grip but.. not in a tugging way and something starts rippling under the scales of her other arm, then comes the sounds, mostly subsumed by Brae's sudden burbling scream. Like carrot sticks cracking under water.
Merek assists, blinking a bit to Brae, though he tries to not get in the way a lot.
An urgent, alarming-moan sounds in the sith's throat. She can't speak underwater, but she has certain calls and this is one of them. Her tail lashes and she fights to pull the silvery chimera upwards.
Those noises make no sense! Crackling sticks? Bones Breaking? Braelnoir is screaming, something is wrong. Cryo's first priority is to get her out, and her second is examining her to see if she can tell what's going on.
GAME: Cryosanthia rolls perception: (2)+5: 7 GAME: Merek rolls perception: (18)+25: 43 GAME: Elleandra rolls perception: (18)+13: 31
Angsts
Elleandra has no idea what to make of this. Braelnoir is.. falling apart? She lets go, hoping that if she does, Merek and Cryo can take over with a less horrible result. It feels like the chimera is.. getting even more chimeric, so to speak.
Merek looks at what all looks to be the main issue with Brae, then he tries the best he can to assist.
Cryosanthia gets a face full of hair, then some sort of eyelid-cramp-failure. It's painful and she's seeing a kaledescope version of what's around her, light focusing through her regular eye, underwater eyelid, and bouncing off her irregular light sensors it's primarily confusing and little psychadelic. She focuses on swimming, up, ignorant of what's going on.
GAME: Merek rolls athletics: (4)+2: 6 GAME: Cryosanthia rolls athletics: (5)+7: 12 GAME: Elleandra rolls athletics: (15)+5: 20
Braelnoir's new mane trails behind her as they trio, lead by the magnanimous squid fight her uncanny mass to bring her close to shore. Some have noticed her left arm has split longways, leaving two matching limbs behind, while the right seems to be trying to do likewise and her legs and tail are begining to fuse. On the upside, despite all the trashing and staccato carrot sounds, at least she's stopped screaming. That's good, right?
So seeing as the progress upwards seems to taper off dramatically when she lets go, Ellesquid grabs hold again. Who knew swimming with these guys would be such a drag! Elle at least got naked before jumping in, and since wild shape absorbs all clothing anyway, she didn't even have to. Rookie druids are the worst. Maybe she should take Brael's gear off and make this whole thing work better. But who knows what might split, clone, or otherwise morph if she did! Plus it seems to the squid that one needs thumbs for that kinda thing. So upward it goes!
Cryosanthia struggles with the uncanny weight, the hair wrapping around her face. The safety rope which seems to be geting tighter. The screaming has stopped, screaming underwater usually ends quickly. That might not be good. She works on whipping her tail, moving higher. She'd almost be better grabbing the underwater cliff and climbing it, her swimming seems so ineffective. She makes another danger, help, sound in her throat which travels through the water.
GAME: Merek rolls will: (8)+18: 26
Merek looks to it all, perplexed. It's clear he just kinda breaks. The man shifts the blessing, enough that both of the women can bring Brae to the top of the water. Meanwhile, he will sink into it.
Braelnoir stops thrashing, and whatever warmth was felt by the tendril trying to haul her to the surface has cooled to something warmer than the water. at the lower end of the silent chimera, a spiny fluke remains furled in the current and her hands hang limply at her side.
Finally, Ellesquid feels the suffocating press of atmosphere on her gills as she gets above the surface. With much flailing and struggling, she struggles to get Braelnoir out of the deep water. While the group has been busy trying to drown (or not drown?), a grizzled old fisherman has just started to settle down on the shore. With his first cast, his hook bounces off Ellesquid's face. Some of her flailing is remarkably reminiscent of rude hand gestures used when she has arms.
Cryosanthia's head breaks the surface, water streaming off her horns and scales. It's pouring out her nose. She gets her arms under Braelnoir's... arms? How many does she have, are they still arms. She shakes her head, attempting to pull it free from the hair drapery that has captured her. She gets her feel on the shallows, and drags the silvery... chimera? closer to shore.
She stays low in the water, rising out of it means lifting lungfuls of water and they are not happy with being used in this way. She ends up backstroking and pulling on Braelnoir with her above her. Once she's assuredly in the shallows, the sith rolls over and heaves her lungs empty, gushing a huge stream of water from her mouth, followed by a hoarse inhaling of air.
GAME: Merek rolls will: (16)+18: 34
Merek does come up with the party after a bit, then he settles up onto that place all of them are. He nods a bit, then looks about.
GAME: Braelnoir rolls fort: (4)+7: 11
Now draged from the water, the supine silver something lays in a haphazard sprawl where she was set. Her arms, all four of them, seem to possess the usual count of fingers, with a slightly less pronounced translucent web between each, while past the waist, all of her lower extremities have fuzed into a single, fishlike tail with a spined fluke at the end. The sheen of her scales has an odd lavender hue to it, while her hair, all four new feet of it, is an iridescent black that parts only to reveal the tips of very long, narrow pointed ears and what seem to be some kind of beelike... antennae? Portions of her hide are arrayed with the cold blue light of bioluminescent patches.
Ellesquid is just about to dive again when suddenly Merek is back on the surface again. Well, if he's up, there's no need to be a squid anymore! So right in front of the bewildered fisherman, she transforms, back into a very naked, rather grouchy looking, druid. Before she can yell at the man for hitting her with a hook, she sees what Braelnoir has become. It is... shocking, and Elleandra's eyes go wide. "Braelnoir? Can you breathe?"
Cryosanthia finishes coughing her lungs clear and stands. She stares. There's a hook caught in Braelnoir's hair. She reaches in, wiggles it free and tosses it away.
The fisherman immediately shouts, "Hey, you lizard, that's my merthingy, I hooked... her fair an' square!"
"I landed her, we're keeping her." Cryosanthia calls back, staring at the mer-thingy. Well Braelnoir has her breastplate on still, so that's good. And, arms! That tail. That's a tail. She is completely captivated by it, staring, bobbing her head. It gets a reaction, her voice is still flat and neutral, but she doesn't sound bored. "Are you Ok Braelnoir. Can you move your... lower bits?"
The chimermaid(?)'s eyes flutter open and she draws in a sharp breath before she looks around in bewilderment, those new antennae on her brow going absolutely nuts, while her arms lop nervlessly around her as she's trying to push herself upright. She mouths the words, "Cryo, what" but there's no sound.
Merek nods a bit between all of the party, not sure what to say!
"Scales!" Cryo grabs Braelnoir's shoulders, rolls and holds her underwater, "Breathe!"
Elly glares at the fisherman, dressing herself with her magical sleeves. Her hand is suddenly engulfed in fire, and she looks ready to determine just how flammable the fisherman is. Taking the implied threat, he opts to flee. It takes a considerable amount of self-control not to lob a warning shot after him. When Brael can't seem to speak, though, the flame winks out. It's not so funny now. She watches Cryo's attempt, and does her best to determine if that's helping or drowning the chimera. "Can you see any gills?" she asks.
Splash! Suddenly, a very new, very confused Brae has just about enough time to realize something's really gone wrong, when suddenly Cryo's trying to drown her! We return to our normal thrashing schedule. Look at her churm up that water! Where's Elly? Where's Merek? FLAIL!
"Don't!" Merek then exclaims when Cryosanthia begins to push Brae like that into the water. He maneuvers that way while he begins to try and pull away the sith from the woman.
"I... don't." The palescale sith says. As the water churns and Braelnoir's thrashing increases, the thought occurs that perhaps this was not the best course of action. Then, Merek pulls her off. So she doesn't have to think about it anymore. So she stares, waiting to see what happens. Braelnoir looks a lot bigger, she idly wonders if she's magically absorbed her gear again.
GAME: Merek rolls cmb: (17)+9: 26
While Merek decides to wrestle Cryosanthia, Ellesquid.. err, rather, Elleandra is trying to help Braelnoir sit up. Can she even sit up? Having a fin kinda precludes the posterior required to actually sit. The Druid is trying her best to figure out if Braelnoir has gills. Or lungs. Or both. "Try to relax, we'll figure this out. You've had a umm, change is all. Nothing to panic about." She has no skill in bluffing, so this is probably about as convincing as compliments after five beers.
Braelnoir pants some as she is sat upright, the hands are starting to move in a semi cohesive way, now, but she makes another attempt to say something, but basicly gets to lip movements and something seems wrong with her tongue. The two left hands rise and awkwardly grasp at the wild lengths of what had been a litle better than shoulder length a couple of minutes ago and as she sees Merek and Cryo struggling, she mouths something with an 'O' in it, and flops to that side, trying to drag herself toward them.
Merek sighs, with a look to Cryo, and nods a bit, then to Elle. When he looks to Brae, he thinks about it, then he nods, "We... Should bring her in to the faith healers. You know, and probably... Ya."
Cryosanthia wriggles free of any holds, a slippery lizard, especially when wet. She stands, contemplating the situation. "Handsign would be really useful to know right now."
"Braelnoir. See if you can speak, underwater or above, and if you can still breathe air. We can carry you somewhere. It might be good if that place has a lot of water. Do you still have a room at the Fernwood? The... water there isn't safe, but it seems it isn't safe here either."
Braelnoir finally seems to notice her limb count, and shakes her head, but it takes severa tries to get only two of her hands to lift and, as she starts to flex her fingers into specified gestures, her supporting arms are flexing and twitching as if to try and mimic the movements of their sisters, "Feel breath." A nod, "Talk try." Her head shakes, "Home. Weak out. Bad bird." <handspeech>
Elleandra suggests, "If we have a place to hold water, I can fill it every day. Until we figure this out." How do we figure this out? She looks at Braelnoir's gestures and doesn't recognize them. Well, one seems kinda similar to an offensive gesture she learned from some Oruchs once, but she rather doubts that's intended.
Merek offers signs to Brae that they will assist. "She wants to be home, I think, we should bring the friend wherever she might need."
Cryosanthia moves, crouching down by Braelnoir and facing away. She still is very flat in her expression, but speaks clearly. "I don't understand Handsign Braelnoir. Climb on me. Elly, get her tail. If she's too heavy, move up to her waist and Merek can lift the caudal fins. Ok? I think the Iron Brew might have a tank they aren't using, or we'll figure something out with a cart."
She waits for the weight to settle on her back, for Braelnoir's many arms to wrap around, then she lifts her up and when the others grab she heads ashore.
Checking everyone is in position, she nods at everyone then heads out of the shoreline park to street level. Her clothing even re-appears before she gets there.
