2048/Darkroot Interlude

Darkroot Interlude
Date of Scene:	18 April 2015
Location:	Great Painting of Ariamis <PoA>
Synopsis:	Nathan and Mizuki search the depths of Darkroot Garden for anything that will help, and find something each of their own.
Cast of Characters:	Priscilla, 168, 183

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Priscilla has posed:
    There are a number of potential leads to follow after the convention in the Archives. In the intervening time between marshalling an effort towards a major, far away target, Priscilla has seen fit to indulge a little extra research into the distantly looming problem of the Abyss by bringin a couple of trusted companions back to the nearby Darkroot Wood. With her abilities, sneaking in to find Indra again was more or less trivial, and a brief discussion was all that was needed to convince the man of the seriousness of the situation. Though unable to break his covenant with Alvina, in the interests of helping Oscar in whatever way he can, the eternally loyal eastern knight has decided to lead her to a site peripherally related to Artorias within the western forest, insisting that she only summon two people at most to avoid the feline guardian's attention.

    The western periphary is less onerous than the deeper reaches, but only marginally so. Shiva's steady stride and well memorized paths are again what keep the small company forever on the edges of the danger zones, privy only to the vague shadows and rustlings of the things that meander just out of sight, interjected only by the occasional, muffled hiss or gurgle of some unidentified creature. He is predictably silent for most of the journey, only slowing his pace as the air begins to sparkle. Like gradually entering the bounds of a snowy sky, glints of luminescent green drift down from above the treetops, slowly growing more dense as the group advances.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Mizuki is almost eager to oblige as Priscilla requests her presence today, particularly because it means that she will have a few more moments of peace in her company before everything hits the fan. No, there doesn't seem to be a debilitating likelihood that she'll die or lose her memories if her world cannot recover, but it's clear to her that she has developed at least -some- emotional investment in the outcome. Even if her friend won't die outright, it's therefore extremely important to the dream witch that things go how they hope. And hey, if she reshapes the world, won't that make her a part of this world's mythology? She grins. Certainly that would guarantee her a lifetime library pass to the archives in Anor Londo. Oh, and perhaps even a suite in the palace? She would rub her hands together in greed were she not afraid it would incite some backlash from the atmosphere.

    Though she can't help thinking that some spirit of righteousness has picked up on her impure motivation as flecks of... something begin to rain from the sky. They look like motes of light in a way that reminds her of the Garden of Creation, and a sudden wave of distracting nostalgia washes over her. She has to admit, it's mystifying; Lordran is -always- mystifying in its beauty, to her, but now that she actually has time to enjoy it whilst not being surrounded by a group of her peers is quite lovely. Or, well. With a glance to Nathan, she reminds herself that she -is- in the presence of -one- of her peers, but she's always considered the good general fairly inoffensive. Even likable! ... if she had ever had any opportunity to speak with him.

    Before her consciousness can be eclipsed by her whimsy, however, Mizuki lays a hand on the revolver within her pocket. Even holding on to her weapon seems to encourage a sort of heightened awareness and alertness, and while she would very much prefer to have Aelinos handy, summoning it into hand can be a bit... cumbersome. That's to say, it's -designed- to appear with a fairly loud flourish of feathers and light, so there's a good chance she would be spontaneously mauled were she to do so. Her firearm will have to suffice, then, comparatively inelegant though it may be.

    She seems to progress as normal afterward, though she might instinctively bunch into a tighter circle with the others present. Cohesion is a good way of warding off hostile jungle creatures, or so she hopes. It certainly seems to work for insects.

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    Nathan Hall went through here once before, but skipping to the end is a good idea here, thank goodness his summoned ghostly presence should be coming up out of the ground right about now. Is Indra still around here? Nathan will make sure to give a grateful nod towards the eastern fellow. Adjusting his cracked glasses, he now turns to Priscilla, and wordlessly follows for now.

    As with everything in Lordran, Nathan insists on giving the falling motes of lite their space, because everything in this world has a small chance of wanting to kill you, but he's not stressing out about it much. Mizuki's examination of its beauty is a bit of a contrast to his slow, stoic sweeping of his vision along the path. Indra isn't the type to speaks, Priscilla is a quiet sort by nature, and Mizuki... Well, Mizuki loves talking but Nathan knows that at the very least she also loves an atmosphere of silence. So he'll await some further information to start things off, and otherwise simply follow along, walking patiently and slowly and with all due caution and care here.

Priscilla has posed:
    After a short while walking forward, the air absolutely glitters with tiny points of falling light, dancing on the faintest drafts of air caused by the motion of the party in passing, swirling in their wake. After it grows dense enough that it can finally be seen sparkling in the thick grass, Nathan and Mizuki can hear what sounds unmistakably like tinkling glass, filtering softly down from above. Shortly after the sound becomes audible, the foliage begrudgingly parts to allow the soaring wall of a worn and eroded building to rise from the ground, caked in moss and climbing plants, but better off than the ruins they had seem previously, if only due to its sheer thickness, likely part of an old keep or fortress rather than a simple gate or shrine.

    Priscilla scarcely takes in a breath to ask before Indra gives one of his scant few answers. "I am told that the Darkroot Wood stands over the first city of humans allowed on Lordran's soil. Long before New Londo, and the burg. The sovereign city-state of Oolacile. In ancient times, it was assaulted by an outpouring of the Abyss, thwarted by Artorias himself, but too late to save its people. The city was sealed and abandoned, and the Abysswalker died soon after. This marks the place where the last survivors gathered when he ventured forth into the chasm that lies a league beneath our feet. The last humans he spoke to." Indra turns his back to the building, folding his arms and leaning against the wall, pulling back a shroud of vines to reveal a darkened doorway chiselled into its face. "Alvina cares little for humans. In word, it is her duty to guard this place as well, but in reality, no harm should come to you so long as you do not destroy it." Priscilla makes a hesitant face at the explanation, but seems anxious to get it over with, stooping a little to get through the doorframe and drawing Moonlight, illuminating the corridor with its soft glow.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    -Destroy- it? Mizuki shakes her head in protest, but it might come off a bit more subdued and slow than she hopes. Stepping into the moonlight seems to put her in something akin to a trance, and she immediately drops everything to look skyward at the source of the light. No matter how many worlds she visits, it seems, there is always a moon, each one as beautiful as the last. Her senses were already dulled and her find suffused in a sort of idyllic, quiet warmth as she stepped into this forest, but now... now she fears that she's about to traipse outside the waking world entirely. She becomes so enraptured by the confluence of atmospheric perfections that her body actually slips briefly into translucence -- a tangible reflection of just how far into her imagination she's fallen.

    She stops a moment to take a deep, deep breath, perhaps placing a hand gingerly to the stone of the ruin. In her own, distant way, she attempts to feel the past Indra had described pulsing through its atoms, to somehow use this remnant of the past as a gateway into history. For a moment, she might smile; it's a bit shameful that she isn't at least capable of that as a chronomancer, but then again, it's almost better this way. This way, she can muse on the possibilities. Hindsight can be infinite in ways that far transcend its usually limited, finite nature. Like a book, being privy only to the scenery gives her a volley of words and descriptions with which to build a mental image, but that mental image shall ever remain distinctly hers. It will not be sullied by something 'concrete' or 'true'.

    If the others have begun to ascend the steps, Mizuki would have some catching up to do. This scene has held her frozen in place for at least a full moment, give or take several seconds; she's likely being left behind! So she chances a run in those gentle heels and flowing frills of hers, feet clicking gently as they hit the aged gray of the edifice's steps.

    Lordran is a horrible, horrible snare. Quite like the pearl of a clam, or the light of an Anglerfish.

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    Nathan looks up at the strange sound, taking just a moment to stop being paranoid about local fauna coming out to murder him to examine the rather pretty lights and continue to have no apparent visible reaction to them. And when they emerge from the thicker forest area to find the still-standing structure itself, he gets back to business, looking it over. "Remarkable." He says, simply. "That this place would still be standing. I would imagine some of the resilience of Artorias must have worn off. If the ages did not bring this place down by accident, we will certainly not." He says, in that same old monotone.

    And now he's going to head on in! "We will see what is worth seeing here. I expect there will be much. Thank you again." He says, on his way in, and intends to get to work! Mizuki gave her attention to the exterior; Nathan figures if there's anything of value on there, like carvings or similar, Nathan figures Mizuki will recognize and find it. Nathan intends to immediately launch into a cursory examination of the interior, followed swiftly by an intense and respectfully close examination of everything, starting from the doorway and working out.

Priscilla has posed:
    Despite the soundness of the structure, most of its contents have been claimed by the ages. The fort has been standing for so long that not even dust or mold remains. Anything perishable has long since crumbled to dust, been turned into soil, and then given birth to the flowering plants that fill the spaces between stone slabs and tiles. The only real exceptions are the metalworks, which have somehow survived centuries without rusting or eroding. Things like tapestry hooks and fallen door locks are everpresent but difficult to see; the only obvious example are the suits of armour that can be found in seemingly random rooms, of obviously inhuman size and etched from helmet to greave in excessively ornate designs that gleam in the light cast by Priscilla's sword, now mostly blotted out by the green that has grown on them.

    The layout isn't terribly complex, as the design of the building, despite the flowery stone engravings all over the borders of the walls and the pillars that support the ceiling, is relatively uncomplicated, leading to a lengthy but uneventful tour around the inside. The only rooms immediately identifiable as anything are those that were the least decorated, being rooms with mechanisms or tools like a gatehouse and forge. Eventually, the only place left to go is up to the roof, and even up several storeys in the air, the taller trees still loom overhead, creating yet another layer of canopy invisible from the ground. What is visible is the long, crenellated bridge that leads towards an even taller tower, and the thing that is perched upon it.

    The source of the glittering sparks is now immediately identifiable as being shed from the wings of an utterly colossal butterfly-like creature. It possesses no actual legs or abdomen, its massive wings anchored instead to a stub of a body, steadily shimmering through shades of emerald and cerulean; what little there is of it being brightly luminescent, and trailing a lengthy train of fine tendrils. From out of its back grows some kind of ornate halo of bone that is clearly shaped into a precise and purposeful design, and from its eyeless head sprouts a growth like a pair of lances twisted around into a loose double helix. Whatever it is doing on the bridge is anyone's guess. Do butterflies really need a reason to sit on something and lazily beat their wings? It can't be absorbing sunlight though. Even this high up, there is barely any.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Thankfully, Mizuki is not so far behind that she isn't able to catch up with the rest of the group, and within the first few flights of stairs she's already right behind Indra again. As she passes by Priscilla, she would be smiling. Her eyes are brightly lit by the vivid hues of exuberance, and the expression on her face might remind her of the time when she visited Ariamis 'so long ago'. It carries within its contours an almost childlike freedom, and for the second time she may see in the girl a person far, far more carefree and immature than her facades usually demonstrate and her airs conceal. This may seem strange to the halfbreed, but Mizuki seems altogether to happy to worry, proving this as she rushes past Indra when they're near the top, hands held mirthfully to her sides. Once she's fully exposed to the night sky, she even gives a twirl.

    ... and that's when she sees it.

    There's something massive here -- something surreal. This butterfly looks like a primordial creature from a land of pure fantasy, and in her distinctly girlish state of mind she can't help wondering whether she's somehow willed this thing into existence. Is... is it even real? Is she just seeing things? She looks back as the others emerge from the ruin with widened eyes just to confirm that they, too, are able to notice it, turning back only then to see this creature in all its majesty. She is extremely glad in this moment that her health does not hinge on factors of biology -- after all, this powder it's emitting could be poisonous. It's so cruel that nature's beauty is so often corrupted by violence and mortality of that ilk, but the practical side of her (only tenuously existent though it may be) must acknowledge the possibility. Oh, how the Multiverse has changed her!

    For now, though, she remains perfectly still. She watches the butterfly with a pensive form but a face of awe. Her ambivalence here is all too clear.

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    Nathan works over every region of the structure, recording their contents -- or distinct lack thereof -- and moving cautiously, only after the others push on ahead first. He's not very good with traps. Having Priscilla here is a blessing, same for Mizuki. Nathan keeps behind one of the two whenever he can, and continues his work. But once they get out to the roof, he emerges onto the roof and then immediately turns around. "Wow. Do not look now, but that looks like local fauna. That does not happen to be /violent/ fauna, does it?" He whispers, in a perfectly tranquil monotone as he stays out of sight. "Do you think it may be guarding that region? It appears to be perched on it, at least. Are butterflies territorial?"

    He's going to wait to see how it reacts to Mizuki standing perfectly still. If nothing at all happens, he'll move on out of cover and try to bring the small trio closer to the tower that the bridge leads to, to test the creature's reaction. There's gotta be some sweet, sweet magical data and old loot around here, and if it's gonna be anywhere, it's gonna be inside an ancient tower guarded by a titanic butterfly. For now, he also preemptively initiates a [SCAN], his glasses shining brightly for a moment, though the obfuscating glare on the right lens is broken up somewhat by its fractures.

Priscilla has posed:
    Indra drifts off to the rear of the group as they break out onto the edge of the bridge, making no move to draw his weapon despite the obvious need to press forward. "It is not native to the wood, though it has lived here for some time." he states plainly. "It never leaves this place, as if it waits for something. It is one of the few things able to survive the hostility of the Darkroot under its own power. Tread any further and you will be provoking its violence, though in what form I cannot say."

    Priscilla doesn't seem too terribly pleased to hear this. "I had been hoping to go another day without encountering a unique foe in our path." Her free hand summons the Lifehunt Scythe as Nathan makes his SCAN. The Librarian might be a little relieved to find that the creature, though certainly far more deadly than any form of natural fauna, isn't on the same level as the legendary enemies he has been facing down in recent months. It appears to be emitting a great deal of magical energy on a distinctly familiar wavelength. It might take him a few moments to pin it down as being very similar to the channeler encountered in the Parish, due to the fact that there is no longer anything connected to it. The psychic link is dead, leaving it stranded without further orders.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    "Ever may we hope," Mizuki says in response to Priscilla. "I must admit, I'm loath to steal the life of a thing so beautiful, but if it strikes first then I suppose there is no helping it." She summons her sword at long last, calling the thing to appear in her left hand as she draws her revolver into her right. Her wings appear at her back, too -- she'll probably be needing them. "If it does attack us, I should like to think myself capable of handling it myself. So very, very often I am forced into conflict with foes that possess armor, or scales, but in the rare event that their flesh is so plainly exposed..." She holds her rapier straight so that it parts her facial features and elegantly reflects the light of the moon. "... Aelinos should take no issue in the chanting of their ultimate lullaby."

    This is all said, of course, assuming that it will even attack them. Mizuki moves first either way, pacing gradually forward, eyes constantly fixed on her quarry. She will only strike if she is assaulted first.

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    Nathan narrows his eyes, adjusting his glasses such that the glare disappears. "Hmmm. Something related to the Duke? Unfortunate. I had hoped not to see more of creatures such as this. Mizuki, take caution, this is not quite as strong as some of the entities we have been facing in Lordran, but we do not have a group of the same large size. If this has any associations with the Duke, it may have some of the same vulnerabilities. Try for that, and watch for fauna-based sorcery."

    He looks to Indra. "Alvina. She does not want us to destroy the woods. But if this is not of these woods, will we provoke rage for clearing Darkroot of it?" If the answer is a "no" here, Nathan will continue creeping towards the bridge, and possibly over it, but only ever into observation range rather than combat range. It's a prompt for Mizuki to come along as well. "Unfortunately, I lack the psychic faculties necessary to re-establish a control mechanism. It seems that this was meant to channel control and power from Seath... I am unsure of how an alternate source might be established."

Priscilla has posed:
    Indra looks to Mizuki at her perhaps excessively poetic expression of intent of violence, before simply backing off the bridge. "I doubt very much so. Alvina would care little either way. Do as you will, in the knowledge I cannot be part of it, for what little use I could be." He glances towards the creature's massive wings at that. He isn't an archer or a sorceror. Challenging a flying opponent on a narrow bridge would be a stupid thing to do, and he is not a stupid man.

    Priscilla steps forward with a purposeful gait, vanishing into the aether mid-stride just before passing Mizuki. She has no qualms whatsoever about killing something connected in any way to Seath, and no reason to fear it after finally disposing of the fear she had held for her father. The Author gets roughly halfway across the bridge before the butterfly deigns to act, and when it does, it still manages to do so in such a silent, stately way that it almost seems as if it doesn't want to break its artistic merit. Pulses of blue light travel along the whorls of its bifurcated horn, twisting together into a single point at its tip, and then discharging as an oddly quiet blast of magic, firing with the sound of a bell rather than something more violent. The bolt's trajectory is suddenly deflected a few feet from Mizuki with a flash of cyan sparks, marking where the invisible Priscilla had hit it with her anti-magic sword. It serenely carries off into the trees, before exploding some distance away, blasting the branches off the tougher old growth. It would undoubtably be fatal were it to hit a normal person, but compared to the channeler, it seems to be lacking the raw destructive power lended out by the Duke.

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    Nathan keeps at a distance, but there's a few ways he can help. Namely, he has the means of Emerald Countermagic, a direct attack on spells. Unfortunately, Nathan is a normal person. Umm... Mostly. "Apologies, Mizuki, Priscilla." He calls out quietly from the very far end of the bridge. "I will have to assist you from a distance. I detect approximately enough energy in those blasts to kill two of me, so I need to remain out of range."

    Keeping to the back, he executes the necessary magical gesturing and maneuvers to perform EMERALD COUNTERMAGIC. He's specifically intending to target the 'horns' or associated magical organs that may be responsible for its projectile attacks, intending to directly assault the magical structures responsible for its ability to attack! Crossing his hands in front of him, a bolt of multicolored light blasts out, intended to strike the creature square on the horn and DEBUFF or DISABLE its offensive projectile strikes! And then he gets back into cover, because even if he halves its offensive power, that's still a killing capacity of approximately one Nathan.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Mizuki readies her sword to cleave a hole in space as she sees that bolt barreling her way, but she stops short when Priscilla comes to her rescue. Lifehunt effortlessly knocks the thing aside, causing a large-scale explosion a bit further off. As the trees are settling, though, and leaves cascade down to the ground, Mizuki has already begun to set the stage. She strafes away from the halfbreed with a grateful nod befoe loosing a rippling shockwave that tears apart the stitches of physics in an area behind the butterfly's left wing. She then tears another portal in front of herself so that she can more precisely (and closely) aim as she unloads a full magazine into its expanse. Rather than aiming to do mortal damage, she's more attempting to leave holes in its wings here -- to ruin its wings so that it has more difficulty flying.

    Whether or not those shots connect, both portals close immediately after so that she can come in for a sword swipe on the same wing. For good measure. "I know not what you've been waiting for," She says as she makes her pass, "but allow me to deliver it unto to you now, that you may pass without complaint into whatever afterlife awaits your kind."

    Really heavy on the prose today! Guess she does that when she feels more confident.

Priscilla has posed:
    Though powerful, these butterflies aren't trained, intelligent combatants. Failing to detect any real danger from the projectile launched by Nathan, it remains contently in place, charging up a more powerful blast on its horn for a second round on Mizuki. The emerald countermagic hits the point of coagulated energy an instant before it discharges, shattering the globe of light into a million tiny points, and sending a hairline fracture down one of the horn's spirals. Before it can do much else, Mizuki's bullets rip through its forward right wing, sending out plumes of glittering green scales at each contact, followed by an outright fountain of them as Aelinos connects the dots.

    Finally galvanized into action, the creature takes off, blasting its sparkling dust every which way with the downbeat of its colossal wings. It lists slightly to the side as it clears the bridge, owing to the damage already done to one of its flight appendages, but they have so much surface area that they're still sufficient for the time being. It doesn't stop rising until it is well over the height of the tower, momentarily blotting out the already faint light with its scintillating wingspan, considered a safe distance for it to charge. Rather than one blast, it launches a swift succession of smaller bolts, swerving through the air to seek Mizuki and Nathan. The latter smash against the thick stone wall the Librarian ducks behind at just the right time, pockmarking the rocks, but ultimately in no immediate danger of breaching it after taking that debuff. The vast majority spiral towards Mizuki however, converging in on her from multiple angles at once.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Mizuki literally twirls in midair to dodge the first several bolts that come flying her way, but she can only continue on in this fashion for so long before one of them hits their mark. The fourth shot grazes her side to leave a sort of magical 'burn' whilst the fifth makes more direct contact with the lower right portion of her abdomen. She bars her teeth at the butterfly and briefly conceals her revolver so that she may grip at the wounded regions. Blue flecks of light pour forth from the scars in much the same way that whimsical dust scatters from the wings of the butterfly, and for that brief moment one might think their battle was a constallation in the sky; the combination of both their sparks would surely seem to add a new layer to the sky's tapestry of stars.

    Amid that nebula, though, a new hole is drawn. A portal opens immediately in front of Mizuki, threatening to consume the sixth and seventh shots from the butterfly. If they do not change their course in time, they would be held briefly in an interstitial byway before Mizuki opens another gap via shockwave, this time behind the creature's left wing. If this is successful, those two bolts would boomerang back to the butterfly themselves, one threatening its wing while the other veers off toward its center of mass.

    Again regardless of this maneuver's success, both portals close shortly thereafter. Mizuki retrieves her gun, quickly reloading it to send several more shots in the butterfly's direction. The aim on them is a bit more arbitrary this time around.

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    Nathan remains in cover, of course, having ducked just in time to singe a few hairs. His expression is unflappable stoicness, but his internal reaction is pure panic and fear, despite the lack of true lethality. They keep him in cover, though! "I have cover, focus on your own protection." He makes sure to alert the others. There is, unfortunately, little else he can do at the moment. Trapped behind cover by the stray fire, he's SUPPRESSED and can't quite contend!

    The most he could perhaps do is whip up a quick burst of COLD and RAIN back here; the intent he has is to turn down its body temperature (butterflies are cold-blooded!) and turn up its wing weight all at once with a swift localized downpour summoned from his STORMS IN FALL magical reservoir, meant to be a generalized mobility weakening tactic that plays off of Mizuki's strikes to the wings effectively, as well as an endurance-weaking tactic! And given that it's a local-area effect, he can also do it behind cover! Hopefully Alvina doesn't mind quick localized inclement weather.

    Also hopefully Priscilla doesn't look silly when it rains.

Priscilla has posed:
    Priscilla will totally look silly when it rains. Fortunately she is invisible for the time being, and so that isn't a concern. It's a known fact that butterflies can't fly when they emerge from the chrysalis with their wings wet, and there is little difference here save for the greater volume per surface area. Whatever body temperature it has is irrelevant, but soaking its wings through has it beating them harder and harder to stay aloft, sloshing off water along with the dust. The bolts returned by Mizuki have significantly less effect on their caster than the environment, likely due to an innate resistance to the magic that powers it, but they are at least sufficient in opening up a fesh crater in the umblemished flight surface, swiftly followed by another half-dozen punctures, and blasting off a chunk of its iridescent green chitin.

    Struggling to maintain altitude, the butterfly puts the hammering of its wings to good use, whipping up the shattered motes of its defused spell from earlier into the mix of dust particles carried in the violent drafts. The points of light converge of their own accord, forming a starry sequence of glowing orbs spread out in front of the butterfly like a fan, which are cast downwards with one especially violent slam of its wings, becoming a dense shower of whistling needles of magic, slicing and stabbing into the surroundings rather than blowing it to pieces.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    'It's times like this when Mizuki really wishes that she had a shield'.

    Hadn't she thought that fairly recently? Well, it's certainly echoing in her mind now. The wall of magical spikes that comes flying at her is too wide for her to dodge -- no matter where she would run, through time or otherwise, she can't escape their curtain of pain. Needle after needle tears her clothes and cuts her flesh. She has no means by which to deflect them other than to open another portal, but she's unable to create a connecting portal by the butterfly this time. As a result, the temporary hammerspace her portals utilize to delay spatial transfers fills to its brim, and all of them come pouring out at once, likely with an increased velocity due to tension.

    The needles go at once to counter those still traveling toward Mizuki, most of them hitting one another so that both spikes fall to the ground together, inert, or otherwise explode into more particles of glitter. Those spines that survive their clash in the mystical No Man's Land may make it to the butterfly's wings, potentially leaving yet more holes in the surprisingly formidable creature's wings.

    Unfortunately, though, her portal would inevitably collapse afterwards. Yet more spikes fly past Mizuki, and thousands upon thousands of cyan flecks rain from her cheeks, her legs, and her arms. She musters what energy she has left by the end of this to attempt a traipse through time. If she's successful, she pops out beside the butterfly, quickly using her right hand to cloak her entire body in a speeding field. She uses this increased speed to turn her body into a twister of steel, continually coming about for revolution after revolution, each strike aimed at the fibers the join its upper right and lower left wings to its body. This thing has made her desperate, so she's pulling out all the stops to tear this thing's wings off.

    Afterwards, she would continue making jumps through time so that she may remain behind it and out of its field of view. She can't take many more hits after that nonsense.

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    Nathan remains in cover! Christ, this suppression is hell. He remains firmly hunkered down behind his rock and refuses to go out when the creature starts matching him rain for rain. The lessened mobility is noted, but Nathan can see with some SCANning that the core temperature is not messing with it. That's pointless to do, it seems, and Nathan needs to redirect his focus. He focuses more on the MOBILITY and THRUST sapping efforts, swapping his environmental effects from COLD AND RAIN to GUSTS AND MORE RAIN, trying to mess with the local air pressure, dynamics, and humidity, while making the wings even more wet.

    Aside from that, he's just keeping in cover! This is Mizuki's show, not his, and he's gonna let her deal with it as she can. All he can do is try to help with a little backup!

Priscilla has posed:
    The wall of magical arrows that is unleashed by Mizuki's extradimensional storage reaching its snapping point accomplishes the intended effect. Most of the salvo directly in front of her is wiped out in a spray of mutually annihilated spell cohesion, showering the bridge in geysers of ghostly sparks. The handful that make it through riddle the butterfly with about as many holes as Mizuki had received, causing it to begin the slow, steady process of falling. It turns towards Mizuki as she races in at it from a new angle, seemingly missing nothing in terms of spatial perception, but its horn is knocked off course by the sudden gust from Nathan, causing it to fire a searing beam of energy off into the forest canopy where it slices open a long scar through the old trees, opening a commeasurate lane of illumination onto the fortress beneath. Dust and shredded fibers fly this way and that as the Author slices away at the rapidly dwindling shreds of the creature's once majestic wings, accelerating its descent until it finally drops in complete freefall, plummeting towards the bridge where it is suddenly arrested with a sickening crack three meters from the stones. Viscous, blue-green slime erupts from every crack in its carapace, ejecting its delicate internals in a slurry of insect goo, spilling over the crenellations. Finally, its bulk is shifted, and then tossed over the edge, leaving Priscilla standing directly underneath it with a blood covered scythe, looking like a wet cat; that is until she releases a blast of bone-chilling wind that sucks the moisture out of her surroundings near instantly. Then she just looks poofy. She glances towards Nathan, Mizuki, and even Indra as he moves out of cover, staring at them with an intense, wordlessly communicated intent.

    "Let us never speak of this again."

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Coming out of a final time jump, Mizuki narrowly avoids being coated in goo and viscera. She has to literally pause the incoming gunk in midair to prevent it from getting to her before he can move, and her ability to do so grants her no small quantity of relief. It seems having her form sullied would have been as grievous an offense as death itself, so as if to clear away any remaining psychological baggage she dusts the skirt of her dress after she has sheathed her weapons. At the culmination of it all, she heaves a sigh, shortly resurrecting her confident smile as though she had all the energy in the world. In case you were wondering, she does not.

    Only after she's attended to herself does she notice a decidedly perturbed Priscilla. She opens her mouth to comment, but she's pre-empted by a rather strongly intoned (for her) request that her present condition be purged from their minds. Now, while she can't swear to forget, she most certainly -can- promise to safeguard her friend's shame. After all, barely escaped having her hair dyed by insect blood just moments ago! She can sort of sympathize. So great is her magnanimity, even, that she stifles any giggles she might have pent up entirely. Her lips are zipped! Though those lips might be turned up in a grin. But after that ordeal they -all- deserve that much.

    She glances back to Nathan meaningfully. Yes, even you.

    When she's had time to gather her faculties, she replies, "Yes, I believe that would be best. But! We didn't come here just to have that harrowing experience. Let's continue our small sojourn through the past, shall we?" A right chipper reaction to have after brutally dissecting a relatively beautiful creature, but ah, she can't be sullen and reflective over -every- confrontation. That would drive anyone mad, even her! ... or, well, in her case it just makes her mad-er. Probably the same story for Priscilla and Nathan, too, earnestly -- we're all mad, here!

    She leads the charge once she's finished, stepping along the bridge and onward to the tower apart. Phew! It'll... it'll take her a bit before she calms down again. And when she does, she hopes she doesn't collapse from fatigue; her equivalent of adrenaline may very well be the only thing holding her upright at the moment.

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    'Shit', Nathan thinks internally. "Oh dear." He says, observing the creature's destructive capacity averted from Mizuki, and... Fired upon Darkroot. But Mizuki finally takes the creature down, sending it tumbling down, and then it's sent further away, to the area below. Nathan looks at Priscilla, both her wet and dry states. Whatever he thinks internally, we're not going to discuss. Nathan, at the very least, will very much pretend that he never saw what he just saw.

    He also looks to Indra, and then makes a very soft worried noise, staring off at the scar it tore in the forest -- which they totally had promised before to not disturb -- and then back to Indra. He then gives a firm nod. "Congratulations, Indra," He says. "On slaying the titanic beast after it decided to attack Darkroot for no readily apparent reason. I am sure Alvina will reward you generously for defending Darkroot very valiantly." Another firm nod. "Good job." Yes. That is definitely what happened. Come on Indra. Please don't be a snitch.

    Anyway, time to head over to the tower they were fighting their way into. He follows closely along the newly fluffy Priscilla and the newly exhausted Mizuki. "Thank you for handling the combat matters, Mizuki." He says, in a polite monotone. "I have yet to die in Lordran, and you are responsible for it staying that way."

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    "Bah," Mizuki waves an idle hand at Nathan's remark in her walk. "If you're going to thank anyone for preserving your life, thank Psyber. It's always a small miracle that I'm capable of protecting anything, really; I become so lost in my own thoughts that it's a small wonder I haven't been killed yet." Sort of true! ... but kind of unusually frank for her. "Though I should really be thanking you as well. Your conjuration of rain was a small stroke of genius, earnestly, and your counterspells saved me no small quantity of grief. I'll spare you more embarrassing extrapolation on that point, but the gratitude is mutual." She turns back briefly to flash him a smile.

Priscilla has posed:
    Indra stares at Priscilla for several, long moments, before resting his elbow on the hilt of his sword and striding across the bridge, speaking in a flat, casual tone. "I certainly hope so. It is only fitting that she should reward such a heroic soul as I." Priscilla follows in his wake looking a little huffy, but not as if she's about to really get upset. Her ire has been placated, for now, leaving her to wait by the edge as the soul of the slain butterfly floats up over the crenellations and settle into her outstretched hands. She holds onto it without absorbing it, as if still making up her mind on the matter, carrying it with her on the way.

    The warrior of the east has to slash through a thick jungle of vines and loose roots that have grown through a wedge in the stone slab that hangs over the stairs up the tower, gradually revealing its uppermost floor, now exposed to the open air after the wooden supports that once undoubtably held up a roof have faded into the mists of time. The space is relatively small, no more than a mid-sized room, but cluttered all the same. Valuable items have been sealed in lockboxes and dragged en-masse to this highest reach, as if the owners had intended to save them from a rising flood. It's doubtful whether spending the time to crack open every single one of them will be worth anything, but there is one that stands apart from the others simply due to its placement; clutched in the arms of a statue; a stone figure of a bearded man clinging to it as if it were his only comfort in the world. Eerily, the posture of the statue makes it categorically impossible for someone to have actually shoved the box in its hands. There isn't a wide enough opening to do so.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Then their party happens upon a miniature treasure trove. Mizuki has little interest in these things, but she is quickly drawn to the remains. Skeletons lay posed in a myriad of different positions, many of them hunched, others lain flat. One such body, though, is clutching a box. This earns a quirk of her brow, and should Nathan take an interest as well, she politely asks, "Would you prefer that I retrieved this box for you?" Since he seems to exhibit a... sensitivity to evidence of the deceased that she outright lacks, she supposes she can do him this favor. If he would like her to, that is.

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    Okay, there we go. That's solved. Thank goodness, Nathan doesn't want to actually piss Alvina off of anything, so this should work out fine. He follows along through the overgrown, aged tower, carefully examining the minutiae of its design, both for information and for traps, which are technically another kind of valuable information. He also looks at the lockboxes, and that one in particular.

    "Hmmm. I am confused as to how the box actually wound up in his hands. It seems..." He peers more closely, from various angles, but never touches. "This does not appear to be physically possible. They obviously did not carve it around the box either, because that is similarly impossible. Er... Yes." He nods to Mizuki, considering the only other possibility that comes to mind and suddenly wanting to get a little more distant from the statue. "Removing the box by way of your portals would be optimal."

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Mizuki sighs. "I believe the only thing there was to 'carve' this particular piece was time, Mister Hall. But that aside." She kneels beside the statue, glancing to the object in its hands. She summons her sword back into her own. For a moment she contemplates simply breaking this mass of stone, if she can, but she ultimately decides against it -- if this is indeed a hardened corpse then she does not wish to do them such a horrid disrespect. Or at least not so long as she lacks an urn within which to store their ashes. So she gingerly runs a finger along Aelinos' steel, using the residual energy her hand carries to create a miniature portal within the cage of fingers... if she can. Assuming this is possible, she opens a second, larger portal with her sword, reaches her hand inside, and retrieves the chest.

    Once she has it, she offers it to Nathan with a smile. "Here. We'll consider the atmosphere my reward for embarking on this trip, so whatever this contains may be yours."

Priscilla has posed:
    The lockbox slips out of the statue's hands as Mizuki's portal opens within its palms, briefly illuminating its face. It looks . . . familiar somehow . . .

    The box itself is actually lighter than its size would suggest in Nathan's arms. There's a significant weight inside of it, but it doesn't feel well centralized. The metal banding is also exceptionally warm.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    ... and once she has handed the box over, Mizuki briefly looks back to the statue. It reminds her of someone. Someone... hm. Oh, that's right: the blacksmith. It... couldn't be the same person, could it? She certainly hopes not, but it has been a fairly long time since they've been to the parish, so it's easily possible that something could have happened to them in the intervening period. She glances to Nathan for a moment and opens her mouth to indicate the familiarity of feature, but in the end... she hesitates. Instead she simply attempts an exchange of glances with Priscilla to see if she had the same idea. Either way, there isn't much to be said.

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    Nathan is uneasy about the situation inherently, so he rather would like to avoid seeing the face. Mizuki knowing is enough, and he wants no part of that, it messes with his head. Instead he's going to focus on the lockbox. If he can jimmy the ancient thing open, he will. If he can't, Violent Opening of Closed Portals should apply here. It's got an opening, sort of! If necessary, he'll press his palm to the thing and punch it open, and the spell will prevent damage to its contents! Nathan focuses on that, over anything like the features of that statue that sits in the corner of his eye.

Priscilla has posed:
    Priscilla doesn't seem to be especially bothered by the thing that is eating at Mizuki. There is no look of nervous comprehension on her face. She has no reason to believe the statue actually is Andre, considering both the age of this place and the fact that pilgrims had been going in and out of his forge last she checked relatively recently. She instead appears much more focused on trying to discern whether he had a brother, or whether he has been hiding something else.

    The lockbox isn't terribly hard to open. It's the kind meant to be a secure case rather than a private safe, and so a little brute force is sufficient. Indra peers over Nathan's shoulder at the revelation of only two things inside of it. A hollow cube of intricately woven gold and silver, inside of which silently burns a brilliant white flame; a clear opposite to the Dark Ember found in Ariamis; and a simple bronze ring with the silhouette of a wolf engraved on it. Though it is caked in dust, Nathan can probably recognize it as the one worn by the Artorias that had worked with the Union not long ago.

Nathan Hall (168) has posed:
    Nathan recognizes the ring, certainly. With perfect memory, how can you not? He takes the ring itself, while the cube and its spiritual contents seem more suited for Mizuki or Priscilla to examine. He'll do a quick [SCAN], meant only to ensure that it isn't going to blow his hand off for being someone besides Artorias. And then he does what any sensible adventure ought to do when faced with an unknown ring of potentially magical nature. He slams that shit on his finger, obviously. Well, no, more like he slips it over delicately, carefully, but the same basic idea here.

    Presumably he'll scavenge the other materials later, for additional useful information and loot, but for now, let's see what this does.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Mizuki peers over Nathan's shoulder and into the box as it clicks open. She quirks her brow at what he finds inside. It certainly isn't anything of any obvious value, but... well, he's likely figuring out just what, if anything, it's capable of right now. She continues to watch as he slips the thing on his finger, but as she recalls the earlier fight... and the soul Priscilla had found... an idea pops into mind. "Ah, Priscilla." She turns to face her, "Might you be able to use that soul for something? To... make something, perhaps?" She presses her balled fist to her chin. "The more I fight, the more I feel that I have an incredibly troublesome deficiency where physical endurance is concerned. I have considered keeping a shield for when my revolver would not be useful. Would you be able to craft such a thing and empower it with the butterfly's soul?"

    A quirky idea, but maybe not entirely out of the question? Guess we'll see.

Priscilla has posed:
    The ring is a little big on Nathan's finger, even though it clearly came from Artorias' early days before he had grown to the enormous size Nathan had last seen him. The effect is strangely understated. There is no immediate knowledge of what exactly it is or does, and the only way he knows that it has accepted him at all is that a faint haze suddenly drifts off of him, as if a layer of liquid had just been evaporated off of his skin. All he can feel is that he has inherited some small, fleeting glimpse of the previous owner's character. Some aspect of their soul. He probably doesn't really know why, but a kind of quiet resolution is suddenly present in his heart; a sort of confidence in his comportment, as if the idea that battle should shake him suddenly seems just a little strange. It takes an astonishing kind of stoicness for that ring to accept any bearer to begin with. Now it will be made manifest, under the right conditions.

    Priscilla seems a little caught off guard at Mizuki's request, turning her head towards her at the exact same time as Indra, before the two of them look to each other for just a moment. "If thou hast taken such a liking to this soul then I will assume it some aspect of thine uncanny intuition. I wouldst not normally suspect one such as this to readily maketh a shield, but . . . I shalt see to the best of mine ability. As for this . . ." Indra picks up the silence. "Andre will trade you everything but his hammer arm for it. Do with it as you will."