Ship to Shore

Log Info

• Title: Ship to Shore
• Emitter: Mikilos
• Characters: Mikilos, Merek, Cesran, Ashes, Elyanna, Delilah, Donna
• Place: Mikilos' Mage's Magical Mansion; On the Road to Mahuikaa's dwelling
• Time: Wednesday, September 29, 2021, 11:12 PM
• Summary: The powerful Mages in Alexandria call the Valethor Gang on the road. Mikilos, Merek and Cesran get in touch with Donna, Delilah, Ashes and Elyanna. They want the help of a powerful witch, Ashes in particular, against Eclavdran. The assistance of the others would be greatly helped. Merek vouches for their intents, provides a confused and jumbled explanation of the latest events in Alexandria, and warns that Eclavdran is back. Whomever that is. The gang explains how they are wanted, and in the middle of bringing information to clear Delilah's, and by extension, their own names. Mikilos assures them, the summoning they plan to do will take place outside of Alexandria. Agreeing to support the efforts, the gang explains they'll need transport and supplies to wherever the activity will occur, but they are ready. Transmission ends.

-=-=-=-=-=-=  The Mages, In the Mage's Magic Mansion  -=-=-=-=
Mikilos      6'8"     180 Lb     Dawn Elf          Male      Tall male dawn elf, rosey blonde and handsome.
Merek        5'10"    215 Lb     Human             Male      A black-haired, dusky male with golden eyes.
Cesran       6'1"     185 Lb     Human             Male      A tall dark-skinned man.
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=

-=-=-=-=-=-=  The Valethor Gang, Out on the Road  -=-=-=-=-=-=
Ashes        5'11"    177 Lb     Hobgoblin         Female    A somber arvec in grey clothes with a skull face.
Elyanna      5'11"    153 Lb     Half-Orc          Female    A grim, Arvek-blooded woman in raven feathers.
Delilah      5'4"     106 Lb     Human             Female    A golden haired human girl in white robes.                                 
Donna        5'4"     106 Lb     Human             Female    A black-haired human girl in black robes..                          
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=

Mikilos sits in a room of pink marble, gold, and crystal, a high vaulted ceiling lit with magical lamps. Massive tables stand upon the floor, heaped high with a bounty of fine foodstuffs. Magical servants wait silently, ready to attend to the slightest whim. The elf ignores it all, focused upon a simple silver bowl filled with pure water, the reflection shifting and misty as the srcying magic searches for a link.

Cesran is all ready in the room sitting and having a glass of water. He's got a couple of books open before him as he's continuing to look for answers and research into help solving the demonic problems that seems to be plaguing the city as of late.

Merek steps into the place, following up on Mikilos's invitation and lets the man begin the magic. He wears the dark attire he often does, the hood up about the face. The man nods to the mage, a bit of motion, hardly any while he takes the time to examine the cigarette he holds within his mouth. Finally, he lights that. He still hasn't told any of them the secret which he's been keeping away at the moment.

Mikilos sighs, and stretches, maintaining focus as he murmurs. "Grab any food or drink you like. All disappears when the spell ends. Kinda wasteful, sadly."

Meanwhile, far away from where the mages and seer work their magic, a small caravan is heading along a road, from a non-descript location to a non-descript location. It is comprised of a couple wagons, piled high with loot and objects that were judged safe and removed from an underground mansion.

One consigned to history, which should be forgot, it's owner erased from it.

Riding on one of the wagons is a girl, recently returned to life.

The scrying almost latches onto her, seeking in part a person recently touched and aligned with the Grey Halls.

Instead it latches onto one of the riders following the wagons. Trailing behind is a pair of hobgoblins, one red, one grey, on matching horses that still have the tack they were supplied with in Alexandria.

Cesran nods as he doesn't look up from a rather ancient looking tomb, it's paged heavily yellowed with age. He is careful as he slowly turns the pages and gently smooth it down as he leans in to look at it. "I'll get some in a moment, it doesn't go to waste. It's conjured from the sea of mana and returns to the sea of mana when the spell ends."

The Hobkin's voice was thoughtful as she spoke to the grey fullblood beside her in the Father tongue, "- was chained by the demon to a tree in that space." <goblin-talk>

Her carmine fingers lift to brush her tresses back out of her face in the wake of an errant breeze, and the red woman looks to her countryman to continue the tale, "The villagers couldn't pass on until we set him free...."

A sigh, then, she looks at the road ahead of them, "The child was taken Beyond after. Most of the other villagers had managed to get their most grievous injuries sufficiently treated by the time we'd arrived, but for him, it was just... far too late."

Her raven feather cloak rises and falls with what was probably a shrug, then, "The slime proved a significant nuisance when we were brought back from Between." <goblin-talk>

Seated at the back of the cart, the dark-haired twin casts her eyes over the road behind, far past her companions on horseback and to where -- for a short while, at least -- a plume of smoke and dust had billowed up from a crack in the mountains. A *lot* has happened in that benighted mansion, and a good deal of it will take some time for the brawler to process.

In her lap, she turns over a book bound in silver, with a blue spine. Within these pages, the ladies have been told, is the key to the success of their quest. But not once has Donna cracked its pages. Nor does she mean to, it seems, until they've returned to their current home point.

The ashen Arvec listens, nodding slowly, expressionless as far as any that come are disguised by her facial markings, her skull face tattoo. Her hair stirs as a very large centipede emerges from the strands and stretches across her crown.

Chippen, her familiar, pretending to be a tiara again.

"Merek and I went to the desolation one night." She says in monotone, "the moon was strange. The distance, wasn't normal."

"We found a caravan of ghosts that were being held by a storm." In her hands she has a small black figurine, a horse that she's turning over and over. "We managed to get them free. It seemed like they had been there a long time."

"Afterwards... I could heal as many people as I wanted, a little bit, just by touching them."

Mikilos blinks, sitting up as the reflection in the water suddenly clarifies to a familiar form. Well, not that familiar. Recognized, at least. "Found her." Quickly casting another spell, a simple cantrip, the magus whispers, hoping his words find their way along the paths of magic. "Greetings. I'm sorry to disturb, but I could use some help. This is the wizard Mikilios Mithralla."

Seated on the back of the cart beside Donna is Delilah, as usual not far from her sister. Though in her case, she's been sleeping for the last few hours. It's entirely possible that the experiences leading up to this moment have left her... a bit wiped out. Perhaps very wiped out.

Then the cart goes over a bump, and Delilah half-snores, half-spits, and then sits bolt upright with a jolt. "Hunh!? Wha?!" She stops, and looks around bleary-eyed for a moment, before rubbing her eyes with her knuckles.

"Are we there yet?"

Cesran continues to read and in another book he's writing down his findings, "That's good, try not to scare them." He offers as he carefully turns the page and continues his research.

"Kind of like me?" Merek asks Cesran amusedly, while he takes the time to pick up a few things to bring with him. The man speaks to the image, "Ashlee, Donna, Elynna. It's Merek and friends, if you would listen to the voices I would probably appreciate it. Things went crazy back in Alexandros, we need you. If you want proof that it's us, I remember what the one at the Halls of the world said, we'll tell her brother together!"

"Okay." Ashlee says, staring at her horse figurine, uncertain whether it is suddenly talking to her. She slips it back into her satchel and looks around. Specifically at Elyanna, riding beside. "Are you hearing voices?"

The second message comes through. Her ears flicker a little. "Oh, it's Merek and the Magus that worked on my armour."

Speaking is not her strength, "We're not there yet, Delilah. And Hello." She's looking around, Chippen is also on alert. People reaching out to her is new.

Cesran finishes with the page that he's on and he carefully closes the book and puts the lock back on it. He starts to put his research away, "I wouldn't be scared if I heard your voice Merek, I'd be more concerned that I'd need to cast more Wish spells." He teases back as he picks up his staff and waits to see what the response is.

The red woman cocks her head a touch, ears perking at the starting awake of Delilah, but it's only after her question that she speaks, "We are still some distance your home." she supposes.

Her eyes follow those of her friend toward the figurine as the talking starts, and she dryly answers this new question with, "Always."

Ahem, "Hello, Merek.... Master Mithralla" she amends.

"Huhwa--?!" Donna jerks upright at the sound of the voice-- *voices,* a grateful sigh falling from her lips as Merek's voice joins that of the strange wizard. "We still got a ways, D... You can go back to sleep if y'want." Tucking the book into a belt pouch, Donna cranes her neck to one side, then the other, she addresses the magi.

"Sup?"

Delilah rubs her eyes once more, and shakes her head. "...No, looks like we're about halfway," she mumbles. "Wow, I was tired. I'm still tired. But I don't think I'm going to go back to sleep again just yet." She jumps up to her feet, there on the back of the cart, and has a big stretch before sitting back down again.

"So uhh," she asks, "I heard voices, I think? Nobody's panicking, so can't be bad. What's going on?"

"They want our help." Ashlee adds, looking around still, then decided that facing forward, at the twins, is the way to go.

Cesran says, "sounds good, sounds good so far..." His voice trails off as he finds a particularly engaging section in the ancient tome.

Mikilos chuckles. "Scrying and Message. You've been difficult to find. Understandably. But, a demon has been causing trouble in Alexandros. Eclavdran came back. Have a plan to trap him for good, but could use the aid of a powerful witch to make sure the trap sticks."

"Really, we could use the assistance of anyone," Merek will chuckle a little bit to Cesran, then a nod to Mikilos, while he speaks, "We... Well, we saved the world recently, I got killed again, merged with the Sea of Mana, you know. The usual, Ec came back. Now he's killing kids and generally being himself. I think it is time we dealt with him for good."

"What help can we offer them from here?" Elyanna wonders, giving Ashes a curious look, though the renewed explanations from the ether makes the hobkin address her next words to the sky.

"What do you have in mind?" is the first thing the Keeper puts forth, then, "When, and where?"

The rest is too big, and too past-tense for the Silverlash to fret over, and she shuffles it back to background noise to the task at hand.

The news causes Donna's brows to draw together, a stormy expression that grows truly thunderous at the mention of kids in danger. Her eyes flick to her sister, then to the Hobkin, gauntletted hands clenching tightly on the cart's boards. "...Don't think D or I oughta go," she says after a moment of silence. "An' I *hate* sayin' that, but... we're all still wanted. Ash can probably hole up in the Temple until she can get back, Elyanna, you prolly can slip outta sight anywhere... But D an' I are just too visible, y'know?"

Blink. Slow blink. Ashlee contemplates what she is told. "I don't know any powerful witches."

Oh. Blink again. "You mean me?"

There is a flood more of confusing information. She looks over at Elyanna, mouthing 'Sea of Mana?'. Followed by a glance at Donna, then Delilah, nodding. "We're all still wanted in Alexandria." She tells the air.

Mikilos ahs. "No, the city has been very clear they support trapping the demon, they want it done well outside city limits. Exact time and location is still being worked on."

"Well, I know I'm definitely hard to not pass off as a fugitive." Delilah holds her arms up, briefly displaying the manacles still attached to her wrists, with the bit of chain hanging off one of them. "Otherwise I'm with Donna, we'de be first in line to volunteer, 'specially if its kids who this demon is targeting." She glances sideways at Donna, and perks an eyebrow upwards. "But, hey, maybe we've got what we need to solve that problem soon? Could we be that lucky, d'you think?"

Merek thinks about it a moment. After, he takes a long look at Mikilos, before shifting his focus to the image. He drops into thought again, re-emerges. "Then, it is the time to admit what I'm about to say, which must not be repeated to anyone else. The law in Alexandros won't matter, we plan to do it elsewhere it looks like. I will provide any tools you need. I am a member of the Iron Book, the anti-demon corps of the Temple."

Elyanna blinks with a certain puzzlement at Donna's observation, "I am.... not gifted with much in the way of anonymity."

There's a glance to Ashes, "Even in Blar, I would garner more than a fair amount of scrutiny."

Back to the heavens, though, "We will likely need supplies to do this thing, though I assume you have considered that."

"That's good Merek. Congratulations." Ashlee states in monotone, rocking in the saddle as her horse walks. She leans and pets along the neck. "I was only trained to fight vampires."

Stake goes in the heart. It wasn't extensive and comprehensive. She meets Elyanna's gaze, nods. It's easier to talk to her companions present than the ones afar. "I would too. Stand out."

"I can help. If you meet us, or it's on the way." She pauses, it can't hurt to share a little, "We have proof we wanted to get to the authorities. We aren't going back to Alexandria until we've figured out a safe way to."

This statement is followed by further glances at Donna and Delilah.

"...Well if law ain't gonna be a problem," Donna says, sharing a glance with her sister, than looking to the Hobkin. "I guess if there's anything as we could do? Ash I get, but... We ain't exactly big-shot demon hunters."

Mikilos glances to Merek, mildly surprised, but not overly. "Logistics are still in flux. Ideally, demon shows up, gets turned into a small gem, and dropped down a deep hole forever. But, remains a chance of something going wrong. I have gathered most of the supplies for the spell. Most of my power will be invested in that. If a fight breaks out, I won't be able to do much. If you need supplies, we still have some time, but of course want this done swiftly."

"We need anyone that can do anything. The more people, the better chance we have to win," Merek will admit to everyone, "Thank you Ashlee." The man takes a look about the place, "I will assist with supplies as well as the magic we will need," he offers. "This will of course, probably be pretty you know, dangerous. All the same, we will do what we can to protect people that can't fight."

"Oh believe me," Delilah interjects, "We'd also like to deal with our current problem swiftly. The less time we have to spend with a buncha people looking to chop my head off and put my sister and our friends in jail for keeping it attached to my shoulders past my due date, the better. But," she glances sideways at the book Donna is holding, "I think we need just a bit of time to get done reading a book first." She pauses, and shrugs, "Or at least skimming the important bits. That's how I'd do it anyway. Donna'll read the whole thing though." She glances up and looks towards the two following the wagon, "Not... quire sure which way Elyanna and Ashes handle books. Especially ones that promise to be nail-biters at the end."

"Chippen eats the scrolls then whispers the spells to me when I'm asleep." Ashlee says. A moment passes, "I can read books. I've done research in the library."

She is very interested in the content of that blue and silver one. Twenty years, more, an assassin would be quite engaging.

"Donna and Elyanna fight effectively, and Delilah is a better mage than I am." The golden twin's assessment of the situation gets her nodding, "We want to sort that out. If you're bringing all the supplies and it's outside Alexandria, I think we can help. I can help."

The highborn Hobblood considers the returns with a thoughtful rumble in her throat.

Troubling, but, she glances to her sisters in arms before the question gets a response, "I can read quite well, thank you, though they provide no real benefit to me so far as my magic, if that is what you mean."

She dips her head with a half bow from the saddle at Ashes's gracious appraisal of her martial talents, then looks up to the sky for the next chime in from the distant aether.

At all this, Donna glances at her sister again, and sighs, closing her eyes. "...D... Whadda you think? Put our stuff on hold for a day? I mean... It'll be dangerous sure, but like... It's a demon. An' if we can help, I'm thinking maybe we ought."

Mikilos frowns mildly. "I think I'd like to hear more about this book. Sound like something important."

"I can come and assist with the book when you all work on that," Merek will offer, while he thinks about it. "It can be exchange of the service. I might have an idea on making sure you get to the city, within the law properly. After the Geas of the trial, I became a student of what law I could find to try and work around a lot of things."

"Well, I mean, if it's a demon then sure, and we've risked worse be--" Delilah stops mid-sentence. "Hunh, what? Wait a sec? Merek, you got a geas?" Her eyes narrow, as she sits upright once more. "What kind of geas? What does it require you to do?"

Ashlee squeezes her horse with her thighs, "You have what?"

Wait. Let him explain. Perhaps it is not as bad as she imagines.

"The book magically chronicles the person who did the murder Delilah was framed for." That's probably safe to say, hopefully there are no strange ears in the woods beside the road. "It's a long story."

"I don't think it will help with your demon. We haven't had a chance to go through it."

"Ah, well while I was bleeding from the eyes for learning an ancient magic, the law decided to take me in nethecite chains to stand trial," Merek will note. "I didn't give any of you up. I met with the knight that wanted to execute Delilah. We talked for a while. When you present the proof, I will have my own things to say. I am beholden to the Law of Alexandros, I wouldn't really be here if you weren't safe. I will explain that in time, which means that as long as your goal is to bring proof that Delilah didn't do the crime, and it looks like you have proof, that will mean that I can assist you. I also know a way that will allow you all to enter the city legally, the problem is. I am confident that your friend isn't acting in the interest of the law. From what he said when I spoke with him, I am confident that he has broken laws. Which means that it isn't the law you need to worry about, it's getting by the guards of the Captain."

Mikilos knows at least part of the tale. "I still find the geas flawed. Too many loopholes and ill conceived laws."

"Okay..." Ashlee says, listening to Merek's explanation. One that likely would make a lot more sense with a lot more context. It reminds her of his lecturer days, although the careful precision of the Seer has been replaced with a more wild, all encompassing net of explanations.

One might get swept up in it, if the gaps were not so large that falling between the lines was easy.

"So... it sounds like... yes?" The Mourner glances at her companions, seeking any negation or refusal. There appears to be agreement in principle, "We'll help, and you'll find us and arrange for us to get there, when you decide a when and where."

There's the slightest of inflections on her monotone words, "Right?"

Merek will think about it a moment, before he answers with a lot more thought, "Yes. That shouldn't present an issue. I'll be by when I can, I can assure you only to not worry. For the time being, I will let you get back to what you were doing and have Mikilos turn off the spell. No one should be able to tell where you are, he's managed it as safe as possible. Be well."

Mikilos nods.... not that the ladies can see it. "Yes. Now that I know you're willing, can finish up the logistics and get things finalized. Will check back later in case anything comes up, roughly this time of day, and let you know the details as they become certain. Thank you." With that, the wizard let the spell fade away.