Difference between revisions of "2805/FATE: Rotten to the Core"

Latest revision as of 10:25, 24 August 2015

Bertram Silent (826) has posed:
Duty: Rotten to the Core

Location: Blessed Bud, North Shroud
Type: Investigation
Urgency: High
Difficulty: Medium

Enclosed Message: Guildmaster E-Sumi-Yan of Stillglade Fane has received word from the Hearers about elemental corruption in the farmland near the Blessed Bud. Adventurers are requested to investigate the site and purify the corruption if possible.

Bertram Silent (826) has posed:
Bertram Silent has been waiting in Gridania, near the Aetheryte and the Warpgate for those who responded to the Leve, ready to lead any who have offered to help towards the place. He's wearing his white mage's robes and in general looks to be in a somber mood.

The Blessed Bud is a normally pleasant vale near Treespeak stables, within a malm of the city state of Gridania's walls. Unfortunately, the weather has rumbled with foreboding thunderstorms lately, and the dark clouds haven't yet abandoned the highly magical forest. This, however is a different matter than the one that has drawn the attention of Stillglade Fane, the Conjurer's Guild of Gridania.

The earth surrounding the Blessed Bud looks to off, and some of the plants have started to shrivel up as though the recent thunderstorms have failed to bring any moisture. There is a clear central spot from which this effect spreads.

N'raha Tia has posed:
    N'raha is here with the Doc, standingclose to Bertram with a hint of worry. The last time they did this he was still experiments with his other styles of combat, but now...

    That armor he's wearing looks more comfortable. His axe seems more firm in his hands. His demeanor right now is more sure. Even his tail is calmer. And there's a brightness in those eyes. He's ready for this.

Inga has posed:
Inga has been a bit out of touch as of late. It is easy for a Seer to do. Get lost watching the wyrd, discover its days later and you've forgotten to eat or sleep...

Anyway, heard there was something she might be able to help with, and it is in the world of a certain catman that fate seems to have thrown her way. After the thoroughly unnerving experience she's followed the threads here.

The woman arrives swathed in a long cloak with the hood up, ready for rain. She holds an oak staff in her hand, leaning on it a bit as she walks toward the gathering group, her eyes on the clouds for a few moments, slight smile curving. Thunderstorms don't mean doom to Inga. They're an omen of Thor's presence. She then takes in the strangeness of the withered plants, frowning thoughtfully.

Upon sighting N'raha, she moves in his direction. "N'raha," she greets cautiously, as if she's half expecting him to flinch away. Or run screaming?

She looks at the plants again, pursing her lips. "Should have brought a goat."

Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367) has posed:
     Gridania! It was a large and bustling city. And also one wholly unfamiliar to a certain Guardian of the Wilds that was fluttering her way through the city, searching for the meeting point. Luckily, Bertram Silent had been waiting next to the warpgate, otherwise Nasa may have /never/ found her way to it! Okay no she probably would have. Probably after it was done. Depending on how used to purple faeries people are... they might find Nasa a bit odd. Considering she didn't look like the /other/ faeries that tended to be around even remotely.

     She shifts her gaze around, those light silvery-pink eyes glancing towards each person in the nearby area. "...Is looking for the people who are to being seeking out the corruption." Nasa says to nobody in particular, and everyone in the area. She should have gotten a name. Ugh. Still, she decided to stay next to the warpgate. Her eyes trailed towards the White Mage and the cat holding the axe, watching them for a few moments. Were those the people? Maybe? Hmm.

     Nasa flits over to them and lands, her feet resting on the ground. "...You are to being the ones who mentioned Twelveswood Corruption, yes?" Nasa asks, glancing up towards those rumbling and roiling storms. Today, rather than her usual paired Kukri, she had a single dagger strapped to her waist, the hilt of which appeared to be a lightly glowing silvery color. It emenated a Holy energy. Presumably to help with the corruption.

Testament (842) has posed:
Through the warpgate comes a pale, thin man with long black hair and black... sort-of-robes. He's so thin in fact, that the outline of his ribs can be faintly seen on his sides. He looks like a mage, doesn't he? Maybe? A little? Probably not. But still, he's here to help.

There's a raven on his shoulder, a black bird with a silver collar. There's a gathering there, it looks like, so Testament heads over there. "I'm here to help with the corruption as well," he says, after Nasa speaks.

His voice is just... WEIRD! It sounds heavily distorted, and like there's two of him speaking at a slightly different time, with a heavy reverb effect behind it. It's understandable, though.

Tiki (850) has posed:
    The red and pink wearing Tiki emerges from the Warpgate and she immediately begins to blink her green eyes rapidly as her vision adjusts to this new world. This vale was supposedly quite beautiful and Tiki was quite excited to see this world's beauty in all its splendor. Unfortunately, the reports of corruption were proving to be quite true and the natural beauty of this land has been cruelly warped from its natural state. The Manakete slowly crouches down to inspect a nearby withered plant. Her expression immediately sours at what she observes so far of this new world. There is much work to be done.

    Tiki rises back up and glances towards the nearby gathering of interesting individuals. But what she could overhear, Tiki sumises that this group represented an allied force and thus walks over to join them. "Salutations, I am Lady Tiki and I would like to pledge my assistance in removing the corruption from this land." The 'young' Manakete then smiles succinctly towards the group at large.

Bertram Silent (826) has posed:
Bertram leads everyone to the site. "Thanks you for coming, this is a serious problem. I'm Bertram Silent, a conjurer of Stillglade Vane." He introduces himself on the way there. "To cleanse the corruption we must draw out the corrupted elementals and excise the corruption. Please remember that sometimes the proper cure is painful for the patient, this is one of those times." He does a doubletake at seeing a short purple fae-like creature come to help, but the similarities to tempered sylphs appear to end there, so he lets it slide.

At the site of corruption, Bertram sits down on the ground and holds onto his staff, concentrating. "I probably won't be of much direct help, I'll have to spend all my attention to draw out the elementals and keep the healthy ones from lashing out."

This said, he concentrates, and at the center of the corruption, where some of the withered plants have already died and started to grow moldy, a yellow crystal with deep purple streaks slowly emerges from the ground, drawing rocks and stones from the corrupted area around it to form a protective layer.

N'raha Tia has posed:
    N'raha... well, a whole bunch of new people he doesn't know... AND INGA! His super serious reverie breaks as he waves cheerily at his Fellow Chosen, and gives her a thumbs up. Well, if he was worried about their last meeting, it seems to be gone. Maybe someone gave him a talking to?

    He does offer waves to everyone else though. "Hi! Name's N'raha! I sorta work for Bert and Alwyn, maybe a little." Narratively speaking, that might as well be true. But now we're heading for the site, and the Miqo'te's tail flicks back and forth fitfully. Business time.

    And as the first of the earth sprites shows itself, he grumps. "It had to be earth elementals, didn't it? Least it's not something nasier like a golem." He looks over his shoulder. "They're gonna huck rocks at you, try to bind you up in the dirt, there's probably more nasty stuff with that purple crap that's in there. Be ready!"

    And with that, he lifts the axe, hefts it over his shoulder, and starts dashing in, lifting his Aether and hurling himself towards the Rock Thing.

Inga has posed:
Inga smiles in recognition upon seeing Nasa, nodding to her. "Nasa, how good to see you," she greets. Her eyes are drawn to the others as well, giving Testament a quick look over, focusing then on his raven. Another omen perhaps? She nods her head to him, as he certainly looks to be a mage of some sort. Tiki gets a raised brow with her nod after Inga has taken in her very colorful outfit and very high heels.

Inga then turns to Bertram Silent, nodding respectfully. "I am Inga, wisewoman," she introduces, as they've never met. "I hope that I can be of assistance," she adds.

To N'raha, she unexpectedly smiles. Well, alright then. IT is always good when the victims of your visions and what not don't run screaming when they see you again. She takes his advice gratefully, frowning. "Well, I can provide wards. I'm afraid I have no experience with...whatever that is," she says, motioning to the crystal. She does however, pull back her cloak to pull the knife from her belt.

A quick flick and she's drawn blood from the veins on the inside of her arm, flicking the blood outward around herself, the crimson liquid turning to a shimmering mist that surrounds her like a barrier. N'raha soon gets the same treatment, as she figures as a warrior he will be getting himself into trouble. The stabby kind of trouble.

Yup, there he goes.

Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367) has posed:
     Nasa follows after Betram, her wings fluttering slowly as she's lead along by Bertram. She lifts her fingers to wiggle them towards Inga in acknowledgement and greeting, a small smile flashed towards her. Which would likely easily let people see her sharp teeth. Just another reason to be a bit nervous of Nasa. Luckily, she's not Tempered! "Is good to see you too, Inga-shaman." Nasa says cheerfully towards her.

     "Excising corruption... ah, should to being relatively easy then. Probably." Nasa says, fluttering a bit lazily around Bertram as he sits down on the ground. She takes a small breath as she draws the dagger from its sheathe, moving to a somewhat protective orbit of the Conjurer as he concentrates. And then... there was a yellow crystal?

     Nasa looks curiously at that crystal. Purple streaks, and she /thought/ she could feel corruption. Though this land was noisy, so much magic all around. Literally everyone and everything. Which was part of why just tracking down the corruption on her own wouldn't have been as easy. "Oh right. Name is Na`Sabal-Une Fang, Guardian of the Wilds." Nasa murmurs softly, lifting her free hand up. The tips of her fingers begin to glow a colorful purple, flecked with little green sparks. "Thorned Brambles, grip and hold." Nasa says, her voice coming out with a melodical energy to it.

     She gently kneels down, a small seed forming in her fingers. She slowly pushes it into the ground, and a small sprout begins to grow, what seemed to be... blackberry brambles rapidly growing out to attempt to wrap around the Earth Elemental! Unlike normal blackberry brambles, however, these ones were much stronger, and glowed with the Wilds' holy energy. It seemed she was attempting to set things up for N'raha to strike!

Testament (842) has posed:
Testament listens to the explanation as they head to the site. They're to destroy a corrupted elemental, he read that in the job mission. When the yellow crystal comes out of the ground Testament gets ready to fight. At least, given what Bertram's said, they shouldn't have to worry about the not-corrupted elementals attacking them. Hopefully. But he'll prepare for the worst.

Oh yeah. That name thing. "My name is Testament," he offers to the group at large. And then N'raha offers tactical information about the thing they're about to fight. "Thank you," Testament replies. The raven flies up into the air, as if to spot. And Testament brings his hand to his mouth.

    There's a moment's pause and then he bites down HARD on the side of his finger. Hard enough, in fact, to draw blood. But the blood doesn't just flow from the wound, no. He tears his hand free from his teeth violently, producing an arc of blood that seems to literally freeze in place, and then sculpt itself into a scythe in his hands. The wound? Gone.

He nods to Inga in return. Yeah, it seems like he's a mage, all right... a blood mage! If that little thing he just did was any indication, anyway.

Tiki (850) has posed:
    "A pleasure to meet you all." A rebellious breeze soon sneaks through the area and gently picks up Tiki's pink cape before releasing it shortly after. The green-haired, green-eyed Manakete seems rather unconcerned with this as her attention is on Bertram as he offers an explanation on what the situation was. "Using violence to remove corruption is never the ideal solution, but benevolent solutions have grown increasing scarce as the millenia pass. What must be done, will be done." Lady Tiki lets her smile fade as she steels herself for what must come next.

    The Manakete reaches down to retrieve a golden orb from a pouch hanging from around her waist. The orb pulses with latent energy and would appear very valuable if not for the multitude of fractures forming on its surface. She holds the orb aloft, but nothing happens at first. Tiki hesitates as two mages before her both use black magic. "Am I surrounded by servants of Grima?" Tiki ponders alound with a grimace before shaking her head. No, they must simply be Dark Mages. The Manakete's thoughts are distracted as she stares into the golden orb in her hands.

    Whatever the case may be, there was still a job to be done. "Let us vanquish our foes, together!" Tiki suddenly calls out as she is enveloped in a bright light. The elf-like figure that stood there before is gone and a nearly iridescent -dragon- stands in her place. Outstretching her wings, Tiki takes flight into the air. It has been too long since she's really gotten the chance to stretch her wings and she's going to take a moment to do just that before the engagement begins in earnest.

Bertram Silent (826) has posed:
Bertram is focused on his concentration, and has his eyes closes, so he doesn't notice the draconic transformation. A chocobokeep who was coming by to collect some Gysahl Greens from Treespeak Stables however shrieks 'Heretics!' and turns around to run away. What's up with that, one may wonder.

N'raha gets the Elemental's attention, his axe cleaving through the rocks and chipping away at the elemental's core. In response, the just shattered rocks are sent flying toward's N'raha's face. If they land, at least Inga's protective magic will reduce how much they hurt.

Nasa's thorns wrap around the Elemental, rooting it in place, though its corruption fights with the holy energy inside the brambles. Whatever the source of this corruption, it does not agree with holy energy.

Testament's Raven can notice large mushrooms, not too far away, uprooting themselves and starting to waddle towards the group.

N'raha Tia has posed:
    N'raha's axe takes a chunk out of the Thing, but now it's drawing backup. He grunts and spins a bit, turning to snarl at the Funguars. If you could see his hackles under the armor, they're certainly raising. His tail's all poofed out at least.

    "MORE COMING! I GOT EM!" And even as the rock tries to bite back, he's already trying to Overpower the new adds, Aether lashing out to buffet the Shroms with energy and entice them to pay attention to him.

Inga has posed:
Inga turns and looks toward Testament, eyes widening slightly. Her own wound is already closing--not quite as quickly as his did. Then, a fierce grin. "Well /that/ is a nice trick!" she calls. Another bloodmage! Is he one of the Bees as well? "I do prefer the cleanness of a knife however!" she says, waving her seax lightly.

Seems the day holds more surprises, for the girl in the brightly colored outfit shifts into /a dragon/! Inga gasps as she watches the creature take flight. "Odin's bones...another dragon," she breathes, a bit awed. She's still not jaded to the multitude of wonders in the multiverse.

Inga looks back to N'raha, charging in, ready to be crushed by rocks. Inga winces, then cuts into her arm again, drawing a fresh swath of blood that rises into the air, solidifying into wicked looking spears that fly toward the Elemental.

She glances toward Testament, flashes a small grin. Comparing skills.

Testament (842) has posed:
Testament pauses at the sight of Tiki. He utterly FREEZES, in fact. But he misses her words about being servants of Grima entirely. The form of a shimmering dragon. That reminds him of his father...

...He should visit his father's grave again. It's been too long.

BUT! Right now he has a task in front of him. A corrupted elemental. He straightens, and then extends his hand out to the elemental, as if he were offering it something. But this is not a gift. At least, not one that it wants.

A skull appears in that opened hand, glowing a malevolent red, and begins to arc through the air towards the elemental, trying to bite it. Should it be able to do so, red blood magic circles will begin to spin around the elemental.

He pauses, as the raven caws! "Careful. There are mushrooms joining the fray," he cautions to the group at large.

He looks back in time to see Inga's grins, and smirks. It seems to say, 'just watch'.

Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367) has posed:
     Nasa is -- or at least was -- a Drow. So she's rather used to certain calls. 'Heretic!' is one of them. Nasa's ear perks and twitches at the sound of that Chocobokeep, and Nasa glances in his direction as he runs off. "...Huh. Did to naut think Drow would be known here." Nasa comments.

     They could, however, be talking about the blood. That could definitely be it too, as the scent of blood tinges the air, Nasa's nose twitches. She was hungry now. Ugh. Nasa begins to approach that struggling elemental as that Holy Energy continues to pulse through the brambles. As Nasa wasn't directly powering them at the moment, those holy pulses were beginning to fade.

     On the /other/ hand, Nasa was now lifting her dagger. "Purifying blade, shine thy light." Nasa murmurs, the already-holy dagger beginning to glow brighter. "...Can probably purify the Elemental if the rest are taken care of." Nasa says, darting in towards the Earth Sprite. She dashes her dagger forward attempting to stab in a break in the rocks -- attempting to strike the stone with the very tip of that holy silver dagger. "The darkness has gripped you, child of earth." Nasa says, doing her best to keep that dagger-tip pressed against the yellow crystal at the center of the elemental. "We shall free you... do not fear. We are here." Nasa says, her tone warm and almost affectionate towards the elemental. If it cares or understnds is questionable, but the effort was still there on the Guardian of the Wilds' part.

Tiki (850) has posed:
    Lady Tiki is not used to being called a heretic as Dragons are more or less feared or worshipped in her world. And so, the comment goes right over her now scaled head. She merely believes the statement to be in reference to the Dark Mages that were using blood magic.

    Tiki's green eyes may have become blood red, but the majority of her body is differing shades of green and yellow. Her great half-translucent wings work tirelessly to allow Tiki to gain altitude before she outstretches her wings to transition into a graceful glide.

    From this vantage point, the green dragon can see bits and pieces of the engagement through the trees. The dark powers that were being used on their side was distressing to her. But she did know that sometimes good tidings can come upon dark wings. She decides to let this matter be for and now and wonder to exactly where did that elemental go? However, Testament's warning alerts Tiki of a more pressing matter. She follows Nraha's lead in attacking the would be ambushers. Tiki doesn't want to set the world nor this forest a fire. So instead of using her dragon breath, she merely comes crashing down, claws first, towards the not-so-fun-guys.

Bertram Silent (826) has posed:
The Funguar focus on the Miqo'te and his painful aether-fueled swings. Each of them attempting to bash N'raha with their cap. Fortunately, there's not too many of them. Inga's spears pierce through the elemental's protective layers of earth, chipping at the corrupted core a bit more. The opening allows the skull to get a bite in on the elemental, and with every little bit of damage, little purple pieces of crystal fall to the ground, while the yellow crystals remain in place.

Nasa's holy energy doesn't quite drive out the corruption, unfortunately, though it seems to assist the damage inflicted in focusing the damage on the corruption and shielding the parts of the elemental that are healthy. And, after all, people were supposed to cleanse the taint, not merely destroy the tained elementals.

As she crashes down and tears apart one of the Funguar, Tika should be able to see what the Raven sees, a tree uprooting itself to join the fray.

And of course, the elemental itself isn't done resisting. It faces one of the people bothering it, Nasa specifically, and the energy about to spill forth is palpable. Mere moments after, the earth itself shakes and a wave goes throug the earth, with enough force to knock back any who stand in its path. Nasa or otherwise.

N'raha Tia has posed:
    N'raha barely notices the incoming damage as he boils with fury, a red sheen all of his own adding to Inga's shields and wards. Cuts and dents are rent into his armor as he lashes out at the Funguars. They aren't that much though and turn into puddles of mush after a few concerted moments of attack.

    But now the real work begins. The purple is being chopped out of the Sprite and the catman howls. "KEEP HITTING IT. We gotta force that crap out of there. It's being concentrated and we can get rid of it in one swoop!"

Inga has posed:
Inga raises an eyebrow toward Testament, wondering what he'll pull out next. Inga doesn't want to accidentally bleed herself into exhaustion before this is all over, so she may have to switch things up a bit until someone needs healing. Really, most of her blood magic is healing and protection. Not exactly what most people would define as dark magic. Ah, so many are eager to buy into such stark definitions of good and evil!

"Whoa!" she calls as the earth begins to shake, grabbing onto her staff with both hands, trying to keep he balance. Miraculously, she manages to stay on her feet. Apparently, mushrooms are coming!? Well, that's a first for her. Plants are generally weak to being set on fire, right?

As the mushrooms approach, Inga turns her attention toward one of them, the runes carved along the length of her staff beginning to glow with a golden light. She raises it, points it in the direction of the fungus attack N'raha, then shouts an incantation. Fire bursts forth in an arc, /hopefully/ managing to set the mushroom on fire and NOT N'raha.

She could fix burns anyway.

Testament (842) has posed:
The elemental is marked now, and this becomes clear when, rather than Testament attacking it, the raven does. The raven swoops down... but instead of simply dive-bombing... she changes. Into a woman with powder-blue skin with lavender whorls across her body, and a pair of golden curling horns much like a ram's upon her head. She carries a giant black scythe. Which she uses to strike at the marked elemental from above.

this is good, because the shaking of the ground distracts Testament sufficiently that he can't engage immediately! He's smart enough to know to jump, though, and he jumps quite high. Teleporting higher up can also aid in keeping him aloft longer! It's gotta stop sometime, right?

With the elemental thus engaged, Testament turns his attention to the treant. It's tree versus tree then-- a wind ruffles his kilt and hair briefly. And then the treant better watch where it walks, because a large, dead tree just might erupt out of the ground underneath its feet!

Tiki (850) has posed:
    A fire burns deep within Tiki even as the Divine Dragon exercises restraint in her fire-breathing abilities. It is really only a matter of time before Tiki gets pushed hard enough to where she will have to unleash her fiery breath at their mutual foes. But the cat-like Miqo'te is doing a fine job by himself. She respectfully nods her scaly head in recognition of his abilites before craning her neck around to see a tree uprooting itself to join in the attack!

    Before Tiki can truly react to the treant, the elemental's shockwave approaches her direction. "<<Take care, the earth below moves against us!>>" declares the dragon in a booming voice as she beats her wings furiously in order to gain upward momentum. The great green dragon nearly topples over before she is able to take flight again. That was too close! Tiki surveys the battlefield from the air and decides to focus her attention on the treant. She loathes to stike a blow against such a creature, but she cannot let their efforts here be in vain. The others were getting closer and closer to purging this area of its corruption.

    And so, the Divine Dragon whispers a silent apology as she rears back and breathes a short breath of dragonfire towards the Treant. Red eyes blink as she realizes there are now -two- tree creatures fighting each other. Uh oh. Hopefully, the scary dead tree is fire-resistant.

Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367) has posed:
     Oh crap, Nasa was generating too much Emnity right now! Nasa stole aggro from the tank! ... Luckily, Nasa could probably handle herself for the most part! As that wave goes through the earth, it does exactly what it had intended to do! Nasa was sent flying backwards away, the subtle shimmer of the magical protective smells of her armor coming to bear as she hits the ground rather hard afterwards. She was light and portable. And that wasn't a good thing right now!

     She slowly begins to push herself up again, standing as she looks towards the Elemental. "...Seems as if you are to not being able to hear through the darkness." Nasa begins to lift herself up off of the ground, her wings fluttering as she begins to flit around the elemental, working at staying out of harms' way for a bit while she thinks on how to approach it next. She takes a deep breath.

     "That will do." Nasa nods slowly as she quickly slides her dagger away, holding her hands out, as that purple-and-green energy begins to gather between her hands. She shifts slowly, her hands lifting up. She waits a moment or two while Inga casts her magical fire. Because what would happen next would likely make fire rather difficult to maintain. "Cleansing Rain, wash the stain from this land."

     She releases that sphere of energy, sending the energy up into the clouds. Assuming the corruption up in the clouds is not too strong, or magic does not resist it somehow... there would be a sudden rumble. The telltale sound of rain beginning to fall is audible. It wasn't a particularly heavy storm. However... what was beginning to rain down was likely quite unpleasant for those corrupted; water droplets infused with holy energy.

     Nasa lowers her hand, pointing at the elemental. "...Apologies, Child of Earth. This will hurt." Another rumble in the clouds, thunder... and then Nasa speaks once more, "The cycle of destruction and renewal shall continue. Lightning bolt, strike!" Nasa immediately closes her eyes, covering her face with the hand not pointing at the Elemental. FLASH! A bolt of lightning flashes down from the heavens, striking the tip of Nasa's fingers. Once that flash is over, Nasa uncovers her face, squinting against the bright light of her own spell. After a moment of aiming, Nasa unleashes that lightning in a bolt, aimed towards the center of that concentrated corruption.

Bertram Silent (826) has posed:
The landslide only lasts briefly, and fortunately for Nasa this is not an arena one can fall off of. As the ground settles down, the corrupted Earth Elemental takes a beating, and the remaining Funguars fall to the combined onslaught. Inga's Fire has the unfortunate side effect of setting the withered plants aflame, though this help harm the angry treant as it comes barelling in.

Testament's dead tree grabs the burning tree, the two struggling for a brief moment, but with Testament's summon emerging the victor, forcing the treant to back off and fall. Tiki's fire further harms the walking tree. Right afterwards the holy water douses the flames, preventing it from spreading through the Twelveswood, and further drives out the corruption in the elemental. The treant is reinvigorated somewhat by the water, but at the same time freed from the corrupting influence, and heads off.

The Earth Elemental, though weakened, and with most corruption by now gone, is not giving up yet. The ground below N'raha starts to shake until a miniature mountain bursts forth from the ground, the earth hard and spiky. Hard to dodge, but not impossible.

N'raha Tia has posed:
    Oh hey, appreciation! The young Miqo'te would totally be trying to grandstand a bit more for the Dragon if he wasn't so focused on trying to beat the shit out of this rock. IT IS A ROCK. THIS IS WHAT I DO. THIS IS WHAT I TRAIN FOR.

    He can hear the treants doing battle behind him and the rush of combat is filling his body, but-
    A groundswell lashes out from underneath him, and slashing spikes of rock slice up his legs, gaouging into the cracks of his armor and pinning him in place with a howl of frustration and anger. That tail lashes again, and the miqo'te instincts are to find a place to heal or run to Bertram or chug a potion... but there's no time. He knows he's got support though.

    That axe comes around and the Marauder tears himself free of his binding. He lifts the heavy blade up high, screams something about 'death to rocks', and brings the aerther filled axe downwards into the mass of rocks and crystals.

Testament (842) has posed:
Bleh, holy water. Testament dodges back, to make sure he's out of the way of the holy rain. He's not getting under that. But in the meantime, the elemental is still marked. Thus as the raven moves back, she hovers, and fires several feathers from her wings at the thing. It's a weak attack, but that's what she can do at range.

And he pauses when he sees N'raha in trouble. But then he'd have to go into the circle of holy rain. Oh well. Testament disappears from his location with an odd, low warping sound, appearing next to N'raha. then he attempts to take hold of the Mi'quote's arm and disappear again. With any luck he should be able to warp himself out of the holy circle and N'raha out of danger. Though his skin is smoking a bit regardless.

Inga has posed:
Inga watches the results of everyone's combined assault, finally looking to Nasa. "Whatever it is you just did, I hope you can continue doing it!" she cries. That seems to cure the corruption. A blessing of sorts? Aha! That's what she should have been doing! But would it work in this foreign world? Well...the gods had spoken to her before, Inga hopes they're still watching. N'raha had said she was a goddess of the earth, correct?

So, Inga begins to pray. "Great goddess Hydealyn I have heard your voice, I hope that you can also hear mine. If you are a goddess of the good earth, help us to purge the corruption from this land. Give your warrior strength of arm and bless his blade!" she cries, then digs her knife deep into her arm, another spray of shimmering blood shoots toward N'raha--specifically, his weapon. A little anima from Gaia, and perhaps, if the gods are with them, a blessing from his Hydaelyn as well.

Tiki (850) has posed:
    Dragon-Tiki's mouth is agape and full of sharp looking teeth. But this is as close as a dragon can get to smiling in appreciation for the holy shower. It simply felt wonderful on her old bones. The flying dragon performs a loop to loop as she happily soaks in the rain. However, all good things have to come to an end as the rain was making her feel vaguely sleepy the more she was in it. And she shant lose her focus now, there was an elemental still to free.

    The elemental seems to be quite intent on smashing the cat-boy, but the one Dark Mage was already assisting him. That meant that the elemental now had Tiki's undivided attention. She rears back and sends a green fireball of dragonbreath its way. With any luck, her attack will help weaken the elemental even further.

Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367) has posed:
     As the treant flees, Nasa finds herself... rather pleased. She had hoped that the cleansing rain would help with that! Free the treant! As well as aid those poor whithered plants that had been lit on fire. Nasa takes a slow breath as she thinks on this. The earth elemental was weakened, and the corruption was mostly gone by now. It would only take a little more, she was sure.

     The cat with the axe had been pinned, at least briefly. That looked painful. Nasa takes a small breath as she rapidly decides her next course of action. She lifts her hands, eyes glowing faintly as the rain continues, subtle rumblings of thunder continuing in those clouds above. She turns her gaze towards the elemental again, beginning to flutter towards it. "...You will heal." Nasa says softly, a soft brown glow beginning to consume both of her hands. "Holy Earth, free your child from darkness." Nasa flits forward, attempting to simply rest her hands against two of the earth elemental's sections.

     And then... Nasa simply attempts to ... more or less enchant the Earth Sprite with holy energy. She worked at carefully pushing the pieces together, magic attempting to draw each of those sections back in to touch... and if pieces touch, the holy infusion would spread. Most importantly, she attempts to make the pieces touch the central crystal. To attempt to fill that core with holy energy so that between the attacks and the holy... the elemental can hopefully cleanse itself of the remaining corruption -- regardless of if it's destroyed or not in the end... the corruption being gone was /far/ more important.

     Regardless of success or not, Nasa rather quickly leaps back. Because, among other things. There was a green fireball heading towards that elemental, and being caught in a fireball was a /terrible/ idea! That and being close to an earth elemental was dangerous! Rocks hurt when they're hurled at you at high speeds.

Bertram Silent (826) has posed:
Hydaelyn's blessing is not given to all who ask for it, unfortunately. If Inga's prayers have any effect, they are channeled through N'raha. He might not be able to notice any effect regardless of presence as the matter is fortunately well in hand, and even the Mother Crystal does not have limitless energy.

Fortunately, everything else makes up for this lack of noticeable response to prayer. N'raha, the Raven, and Tiki's combined offensives shake loose the last of the corruption, making it docile enough for Nasa to get in and cleanse ot properly. It then spins around before letting go off the loose rock flying around it, the cleansed yellow crystal sinking into the ground.

Unfortunately there's still a purple, though different shade of purple than before, crystal left behind. Condensed corruption. Bertram opens his eyes, and looks around. "Well done everyone. Pray return to Mother Miounne with that corrupted crystal."

N'raha Tia has posed:
    N'raha grumps and resists the urge to pose for the group in a smug manner once the Duty is Complete. Who does that anyways? That said, he does shuffle over to pluck up the crystal and heft it in a gauntleted palm. "Twelves. Such a little thing causing so much trouble."

    He finally notices the Dragon though and stammers and falls backwards over the big mound of rock left behind the Elemental's passing. "Uwah!"

Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367) has posed:
     The earth elemental begins to sink into the ground, and Nasa's lips twitch into a small smile. Good. It was cleansed. As the elemental sank into the ground, that holy rain began to slow down until it finally stopped, though the spell itself may trigger the clouds to give off their own liquids, instead of the rain caused by Nasa's own magical powers. Nasa shifts slowly, resting her left hand on the ground as she closes her eyes. The purple crystal is ignored.

     The Hand of Growth sparks into life, her fingers resting in the center of those dead and burned plants. "Your balance was ruined. Will restore it now." Nasa says softly, lowering her head as a mixed purple-and-green energy begins to swirl around her hand. It swirls up briefly, small sparkles spreading around... before she focuses the energy ground, re-fertilizing the ground, as well as beginning to return life to those previously-burned plants. She didn't do anything as fantastical as making the plants sprout back into full bloom or anything of the sort. She simply... restored life to the plants, so that they could recover and grow on their own... or at least have a chance to. Survival of the fittest in nature, after all. She simply was giving them their chance back. Slowly, Nasa straightens up. She glances towards N'raha, watching him as he holds that crystal. "... Be sure to delivering that to Mother Miounne sooner than later. Holding such things for too long is likely to having effects in the long run." Nasa says, gradually relaxing. This land was still wounded, but a small step had been taken to heal it.

     Nasa flutters up into the sky, looking towards N'raha as he falls over. "...Yep. Is definitely a cat." Nasa says with an amused look. All he needed to do was go 'I meant to do that!' or something like that. He was probably fine. He had armor. Nasa's gaze continues towards Testament. "Apologizes. Holy magic and holy rain to heal land was to being best option. Was not intending to burn you." She says simply towards Testament. A brief bow of her head was made towards Testament, before Nasa simply opts to do something to make things nice and easy. A brief purple sphere of energy consumes Nasa, shrinking down... and Nasa is revealed as a 3 inch tall version of herself, flitting over to lazily attempt to settle upon Inga's shoulder. An easy ride back to Gridania!

Tiki (850) has posed:
    Through their combined efforts, the day is won. The green dragon known as Tiki lands on her hind legs and turns towards N'raha whom apparently only just remembered that he was fighting alongside a dragoness. She places her clawed fore-arms on the ground and looks curiously in his direction, tendrils of smoke lazily escaping from the dragon's maw.

    A bright light soon envelops the dragon and the elvish looking woman from before reappears. Tiki then groggily gets up off of all fours and casts a glance about. She then lets out a surprisingly childish giggle before clapping her hands together. "Congratulations everyone on their victory here today. Our combined efforts have resulted in a small semblance of peace returning to this land. However fleeting it proves to be matters not. We should still rejoice in our efforts."

    Tiki follows her words with a demure smile before nearly toppling over. She raises a hand up to her temple and smiles more tiredly towards the others. "Perchance we celebrate after a well-deserved rest instead? I feel exhausted."

Inga has posed:
Nasa didn't exactly choose the quickest ride, but Inga more or less gets where she needs to be. Plus, her shoulder is totally comfortable! Nice soft wool cloak, fur on the trim...totally cuddly.

Inga looks to Nasa, smiling. "That was well done," she compliments. She merely shakes her head as N'raha falls over. She sympathizes.

Inga looks to Tiki as she changes once more, eyes blinking in momentary disbelief. Such strong magics. She really needn't have come. Ah, well. At least she got out of the house. "Rejoice. Yes, alright," she says, finishing her taco. "I have...at least fifty tacos left. And mead," she offers, pulling a flask from her belt. Inga takes a sip, then hold it out to anyone who might want a swig.

The wisewoman looks to Testament then. "Another blood mage...but you are not a Chosen of the Buzzing, are you? I think somehow that I would know."

Testament (842) has posed:
There, that's dealt with. With the battle seemingly over, Testament allows the scythe to float before him and then places his hands at either end of the haft. As he brings his hands together, the weapon seems to shrink, until it disappears entirely. He blinks a little at N'raha's freakout. "What? I think she looks quite nice as a dragon." Then again he has a much different experience with dragons.

Nasa's words get a nod. "It was effective here, my own... 'allergy' to it notwithstanding," he agrees. "No harm done. I will recover." The raven alights upon Testament's shoulder and 'cawp's at him quietly, tilting her head as if to see for herself that he was all right. He also nods to Tiki's suggestion. "A good idea."

Inga asks the question... and the raised eyebrow should probably be enough to tell the answer. "No, I'm not," he confirms. "What is the buzzing?"

He also wants toknow something of Bertram. "What will be done with the crystal once it's turned over?"

Bertram Silent (826) has posed:
"We'll be trying to analyze it to find out more about the source of the corruption." Bertram explains his motivations, "Mother Miounne is the leader of the local branch of the Adventurer's Guild, she's easy to find and we can take it from there." He also starts walking back towards Gridania, at a steady, pleasant pace. He sneaks in a few spells at those who look wounded, simple magic designed to knit wounds closed over time.

Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367) has posed:
     And then the dragon lands! Unfortunately, while Nasa was very fae now, she did still have some of her weaknesses. Her hand reaches suddenly to grip at Inga's clothing, cringing as the bright light briefly blinds her, her eyes beginning to water as she works at recovering from the sudden bright light. It wasn't really the dragon's fault. Nasa had thrown around her own bright lights during the fight. But she wasn't prepared for the dragon's. "Yes, this land is to being in pain in many places. Still, does to take the small efforts to heal it, yes." Nasa says towards Tiki! Or well, in her vague direction. All Nasa could see was stars and brightness, as her vision clears.

     When Inga looks towards her and compliments her, Nasa gives a somewhat restrained smile, blinking rapidly as she murmurs softly, "Appreciates compliment, you did to doing well, as well." Nasa murmurs softly. Her eyes begin to open again, looking down towards where Inga had been cutting herself. "...You do to need to figure out a better way to doing that somehow." Nasa comments, seeing very vaguely. "Maybe to prepare some in advance so you do to not using blood in battle? Or does have to being fresh?" Nasa questions Inga.

     When Testament accepts her apology, Nasa simply gives a small nod of acknowledgement towards the Gear. And then, she just kind of ... settles in comfortably on Inga's shoulder, holding contently through that walk. She mostly didn't need much healing, as she'd not been attacked much. The others had managed things well, like she'd asked. It had honestly gone best-case-scenerio for Nasa! "Maybe will to have to visit more often, especially if there is to being corruption involved. Can try to help more."

N'raha Tia has posed:
    N'raha finally gets up to his feet as the dragon turns back into the nice elf lady and he... bluhs. Heretics. This is just going to keep getting weird for Eorzea, isn't it? He sighs and peels his helmet off, following after Bertram and... casting a glance over his shoulders at the others. "Come on, I'm making perch salad. Don't want to miss that!"

Tiki (850) has posed:
    Green eyes drift towards the ground and Tiki soon spies her dropped dragonstone. She gently crouches near it and holds it up in the air to examine it. A slightly puzzled expression crosses Tiki's face as she traces a finger alongside a new crack in the stone. She then tucks the golden stone away silently.

    Tiki then turns towards Testament. Did he just say she looks quite nice as a dragon, but not now? Once more Tiki looks perplexed as she tilts her head to the side. "My thanks for the kind words, it is rare for someone not of my world to compliment me on my appearance." This Dark Mage had introduced himself hadn't he? "Testament was it? I shall remember your name." That might not sound like a big deal to most people, but to a millenia old being...its quite a feat.

    The green-eyed Manakete looks inbetween the various individuals assembled before covering up a small yawn. Nasa's statement about the land brings an earnest smile to her lips. "One day peace will return to all lands." Tiki suddenly frowns at her own statement. "And I honestly hope it is within a short lifetime that we all see that day." Being a long-lived Manakete does have its drawbacks when it comes to having the patience to see things through.

    Tiki glances towards the departing Bertram and N'raha for a moment. Would the corrupted gem be safe with such a person as this guild master? Tiki decides to follow after and find out for herself. Only time would tell and time was something that Tiki had plenty of to spare.

Inga has posed:
Inga shakes her head. "Thought not. The Buzzing is...complicated. Messengers of the gods," she says, waving it off. "I only asked because you use blood much as I do....and seem to heal as I do as well," she comments.

Inga doesn't need the healing now that she's had a little time and eaten a taco, but nods her thanks to Bertram all the same.

Inga laughs softly in response to Nasa. "It is best fresh, yes. There are some things I can prepare in advance, but this? This is combat magic. Really, it works well enough," she says, shrugging gently. Doesn't want to send Nasa flying off after all!

Inga looks to Tiki. "It was quite impressive. I was certainly not expecting....tch, you'd think I'd get more used to these things," she says, shaking her head.
% A brow is raised to N'raha. "Alright..."