Tread the Path at Dusk

Znath · **Posted:** September 20th, 2010, 9:14 pm

"Mmm.,... so we're clear on the issue. What happens if we just... do not face this Dusk guy..." Adam says carrying his supplies. He stows most of the material. "The way you described the guy, he sounds like a rather large problem... but do you really think even all of us together could stop him?" He stopped for a while wondering about some things 'Raila' said. "What puzzles me.. is he seemed genuinely outraged by Kyrina's kidnapping... and he was giving us useful advice as well. Could it really be that he is not completely an evil person?"

Landerpurex · **Posted:** September 21st, 2010, 1:28 pm

"What do you think would happen, Adam? He'd most likely continue terrorizing people until he had a reason to stop." Caston paused, giving thought to what he had said about Dusk not being entirely evil.

"I agree...he's an enigmatic character, that's certain. As I believe I've said before, when we get to his home I have no idea whether he'll try to kill me or offer me brunch and chat about the intricacies of magic. But we won't know until we find him."

Tahu 1000 · **Posted:** September 21st, 2010, 1:37 pm

Great, more morality. Might as well set things straight.
"We have to face him because he's a large problem. He's powerful enough that he feels he can do whatever he wants with immpunity. Does that make him evil? I don't know. He's proven himself to be hostile and capable of hurting us, and that's really all that matters."

Landerpurex · **Posted:** September 28th, 2010, 1:21 pm

The trip back towards Windrow was no different than the first. Rolling hills, a single meandering path, and fair weather made it a pleasant walk that served to take Caston's mind off Dusk.

The party soon came upon the western path that headed towards Rodell, this time they had no business there and traveled on.

Eventually the sun inevitably began to descend behind the hills. In the distance, the forest outside Windrow could be seen. Caston pushed the thoughts of earlier events from his mind. He stopped.

"This is as good a spot as any to make camp." He said, making his way to the top of a small hill just east of the main road. "We certainly shouldn't head into the forest at night." Caston chose to gather whatever burnable material was laying around rather than to read. When he read, he had to think about magic. When he thought about magic, he thought about Tory and Dusk. Instead, he busied his mind with whether or not this twig or that was wet...

OOC: The last reference to time we had was when kikori said the sun was "tilting into setting" and I took that to mean early afternoon? Which makes sense because we would have been leaving Rurm in late morning.

Znath · **Posted:** September 28th, 2010, 8:32 pm

Adam took this as an opportunity to work on his weapon. He finds an area out of direct view to avoid hurting anyone's eyes. He worked some of the round bars into rings and a frame and then focusing energy at his fingertips to fuse the joints. As soon as the frame was done, he took out the coil of brass wire and made a series of thick coils around the frame. With the mechanism done, he took what he had finished back to the camp. "I figured that shooting energy or launching rocks was a fair bit inefficient. If my design is correct, this will be able to launch bolts at high speed using little energy."

He found a place by the fire to carve the wood for the stock. Sitting down, he carved the stock out using one hand with the palm superheated to burn away the excess. When ever he finished he would fix in the mechanism and test it out.

Saten Ruiko · **Posted:** September 28th, 2010, 8:49 pm

The trip back towards Windrow was certainly quiet enough, but it was probably just as well, as everyone was probably tired anyway, Kyrina included. It had felt like a longer (or at least more eventful) day than most, with what waking up hostage and all, followed by some sort of miniature epic battle, followed by hours of walking. Kyrina barely bothered considering Caston's apparent change in attitude at the fight. For all she knew, her first impression of him could have simply been incorrect. If not, he certainly knew how he was acting, and even said so, so it probably wasn't her place to intervene.

Kyrina helped out in gathering nearby twigs and sticks for the fire before laying out her bedroll again and sitting down on it. She stared at the flickering flame for a few seconds before grabbing one of her books from her belongings and starting to read up on light manipulation.

Kikori · **Posted:** September 29th, 2010, 12:39 am

Having naught to do but rest as well, Paige sat cross-legged, slightly farther away from the group than everyone else. She placed a hand on the dirt and concentrated, lifting just enough moisture from the soil to have a small handful of water; perhaps two swallows worth. But rather than drink it, she held it in her palm and up to the fire, her eyes fading into a focus as the water took a human's shape--distinctly female with a unique dress--and began dancing in place in front of the flame. It was a simple but calming meditation that would keep her head clear and her worries of the next couple days at ease. Though despite the effort of maintaining contact with her aquatic ballerina and dancing her fingers with it, one thought was desperate to escape her lips. Was this party finally ready to face Dusk before his mind gave way?

Her concentration broke, and the dancer simply fell apart in a small splash into Paige's lap. Her attention had immediately shifted, unable to suppress the thoughts about and analyses of each party member versus that of her lord. As they currently were, her lord would have to hold back to lose without being able to kill well over half the party... But, there was always the variable of change. And she herself had witnessed it. Despite her fondness for her lord, Paige hoped for it again.

Riptide · **Posted:** September 29th, 2010, 12:10 pm

OOC: Sorry I haven't been posting much. Got grounded etc.

BIC: Jarrett had been wondering, if his sword was well balanced, why shouldn't he use it? But he had seen what had happened to Grageon's axe when it hit a turtle. It was bent and corrupted. He pulled the sword from it's sheath, testing it's weight once again. He had never been much of a sword fighter, mainly using bows and arrows and darts and such. But this one felt different than the others he had practiced with at home and on his other adventures. "Hey Caston, how long do you assume it is till it gets dark? I would like to test this sword out." he asked. Caston seemed really deep in thought, like he was either trying to forget something or remember something.

Tanksandguns · **Posted:** September 29th, 2010, 12:18 pm

Grageon stared at the hilt of his axe, and the bent, broken head on the other. A sort of sadness came across his face for a brief moment. He then remembered Adam was good with metals. He walked over to where Adam was and sat next to him.

"Do you think you could fix these? That toxin did quite a bit of work on them."

Znath · **Posted:** September 29th, 2010, 2:08 pm

"Suppose I could in just a second." Adam said setting the mechanism he made into the stock he made, jamming a pair of nails into the handle to fix it in place. After loading a bar into the center, he aims it at a tree about 20 ft away and concentrates. Shortly after, the blunt bar flies at the tree smacking into it with a loud crack as the round bar plunges awkwardly into the tree. "They may work better sharpened but... that is the idea anyway.... mm let us see what I can do with yours."

Adam took the axe looking over the head and prying it off the handle. Some of the metal was eaten and corroded away but the majority was still there. He took a smaller burning log from the fire and brought it to a separate pit and piled a few more wood chunks along with some of the coals he was saving. "While I get the fire to heat, find some water to quench the metal. If anyone else needs something done, now is the time." He said while punching the larger of his hammer head into a rock as a make-shift anvil.

Kikori · **Posted:** September 29th, 2010, 5:12 pm

Paige, having little else to do, decided it would be done anyway should Caston decide to, but given the situation, his energy was a higher priority than hers. So she pulled a very thin layer of water from the ground around her, about a gallon's worth, and centered it into a cylindrical shape at Adam's side. She only made sure to keep the outline still, allowing the water inside to flow and settle freely. Less of her stamina was used this way, though she didn't know if this kind of tactic was an option for other colors of magic.

Landerpurex · **Posted:** September 29th, 2010, 10:27 pm

"I'm sure you have close to an hour before it gets completely dark." Caston answered, assuming Jarrett was intent on finally using the sword he had picked up some time ago.

He was finished gathering sticks, and was in good spirit for some reason. He was looking forward to seeing the headmaster. He had also fallen back into his calm, academic, apathetic mindset. Brooding about Dusk and his minions wasn't going to solve anything, it would only further fester in his mind, potentially poisoning him. Though he hated it when his friends compared him to Dusk or worse, to Tory; they were right in that he could drive insane.

He approached Paige. He was completely detached from her as a person, but she was incredibly beautiful. Then, he felt slightly guilty for thinking that with his feelings for Kyrina in mind. But again, he was betrothed to his studies, to knowledge. Never to a woman.

"So then, what kind of valuable intel can you give us on Dusk?" He casually asked the enigmatic sorceress, ignoring the fact that she was currently channeling. He was sure she could do that sub-consciously while holding a conversation at the same time. "You've lived with him, why is he doing this? How in the world did he gain control of all colors and colleges?"

Kikori · **Posted:** September 29th, 2010, 10:44 pm

"..." Despite the question being incredibly easy to answer and the entire answer being within her head, Paige felt reluctant to consider responding. She hadn't been treated with hostility by the party, but she was still bound to her lord and had never considered speaking about his life to others. This was both due to that he asked her not to reveal him to the world, and that she hadn't come into contact with people often enough to spread the word... Did this count? Did a party actively seeking to kill him as he had suddenly pasted his name over the country nullify her agreement to stay quiet about her lord's intentions?

"His mental stability is in danger. You probably saw him at first as a madman; in all honesty, he is to a small extent. But despite the twists to his moral compass, he is still rational and holds values dear to him. I am an example. He and I come from the same home, but when he was a child and I was a newborn, he saved me. His mind at that point had already been corrupted, according to him, by what had altered him. You saw a similar effect in Tory... Once a fair student suddenly turned into a twisted, ruthless being. My lord's reaction was far more controlled, but the same threat applies. He can not suppress his instability forever; he seeks to die by someone strong enough to kill him." Paige let out a quiet chuckle and a weak, slightly sad smile. "Yet he could never just allow one of his fiendish creatures to kill him, nor could he simply go for help. He's too weak at heart to kill himself, and has so many clashing emotions that all help to keep from allowing anyone short of the strongest in the land from killing him. After all these years, I could, yet he doesn't ask me to simply because he knows I detest taking a life..."

Paige finally turned away from the water she was maintaining and looked at Caston. "I've never properly understood his ability to use every form of magic, however. I've not been curious enough to inquire until now. However..." Her eyes looked up at Caston's, trying to read him for how he was feeling now, and for traces of his angst between Rurm and the camp. "I can speculate. He's devious, yet not evil. He knows anger and rage, yet can be calm and calculating. Steadfast to his values despite his mental condition, and as you've seen in "Raila", very capable of both living alone and amongst those he cares about. Everything can be associated with a certain magic color. He touches them all, so I can only guess that he controls them all because he explored each feeling to its fullest. The rest of us either can not feel as wide a range of emotions, or are too devoted to those we feel primarily by our color... Or it could be his condition removed a limiter within his mind that allowed him this exploration. Regardless, that is my guess, and simply speculation."

She tilted her head, expression softening as her curiosity replaced reflection. "What about you, Caston? Would you attempt to control more than water and air for the sake of magical exploration if you felt is was possible?"

Discrimin8 · **Posted:** September 29th, 2010, 11:08 pm

"Say... I hate to interrupt your work Adam...." Delon started as he approached the group from the shadows. "But, I have a few questions, and you seem to be the only one in this group that would have the knowledge I need..." He continued, sitting down next to the metal man.

"These daggers... They are potent, but they do not hold poison very well, and I wish to give them a more... Sinister feel. Is it within your reach to serrate the edges?" He asked Adam, handing his blades towards him.

OOC: I'm in, for now.

Tanksandguns · **Posted:** September 30th, 2010, 12:11 am

Discrimin8 wrote:

OOC: I'm in, for now.

OOC:

Landerpurex · **Posted:** September 30th, 2010, 12:15 am

Tanksandguns wrote:

Discrimin8 wrote:

OOC: I'm in, for now.

OOC:

OOC: Hawt

Znath · **Posted:** September 30th, 2010, 1:25 am

Adam created a basin from the clay in the ground and slapped down the ball of water Paige had created into it. to fill it "That should be enough to quench the steel. Perhaps the lass can be quite useful hm?" He worked on Grageon's axe blade repeatedly eventually working it into a more gradual curve with a lighter blade. "There was less to work with, but this should be stronger and hopefully more resistant to damage."

"A serration is pretty simple." Adam says taking hold of the dagger. "The points both protect the sharp edge and act as focus points of pressure. I may not have the tools for a full serrated edge, but I do have another plan." He gradually worked the daggers to where they had a set of curves to the blades with a fairly dark carbonized coating.

"I noticed you had some difficulty in the battle as well." Adam noted handing the daggers back. "If you would like. I bet I could help both you and Grageon to focus your energy better. It could help even in a battle with a powerful mage. If you can manage to focus your core energy better, you can perform some incredible tasks for a short time. It does take its toll though. If this Dusk is 'the threat' I've heard about we would need all the help we can get."

Tanksandguns · **Posted:** September 30th, 2010, 4:23 am

Grageon listened to Adam's suggestion. He was intrigued by being able to possibly help out in a mage battle with his strictly melee talents.

"I'm interested. What would I need to do?"

Riptide · **Posted:** September 30th, 2010, 9:20 pm

OOC: Thanks discrim, for staying. I still wanna put you in a tree. Also, gotta wait to get my laptop. Dsi and PSP will have to do.
BIC: Before Jarrett left, he walked up to Delon an handed him the dart with flash powder. "It still may be a test weapon, but it'll be useful." Jarrett said, grinning. He did want to test it out himself, but he thought it would be best Delon did. And with that thought, he left to train.

Znath · **Posted:** October 1st, 2010, 12:00 am

"Just get some rest tonight and we can start at just before the sun rises. I find that is the best time..." Adam said pulling up his stuff from the makeshift work site. "I can just wait and keep watch until then."

Tread the Path at Dusk

Who is online