Interaction with @Typical @HokumPocus

---

Chres tilted his head slightly back, rubbing his chin in thought.

“I’m not sure.” He said at length. Addressing Ferris’ concern for Sil.

“She wasn’t there for most of the time they chased us yesterday. So, probably not? The Sightless, however…. Hmmm…“

Chres furrowed his brow as another thought occurred to him. “Come to think of it, I wonder if Sightless are even able to ‘see’ Familiars… or any entity under a construct of light.”

Turning his gaze to Lynx and Octavio, Chres idly wondered how they could safely put this theory to the test.

Rain slowly began to trickle down from the sky, causing Chres to blink as a stray drop hit the back of his neck.

Rain... He thought, his mind going to Sil. Quickly he sent a few mental messages her way, urging her to focus.

Chres turned his attention back to Ferris. Motioning, with his head, for the man to follow. Chres approached a nearby alleyway, positioned away from the crowd.

“When I make stairs for myself, I know exactly where I’ll want to step.” Chres said. “I can make each step individually and as small as I need it to be. Things are different when making stairs for others.”

Chres placed his right foot firmly at the entrance of the alley. Unconsciously, he summoned the heat stored in his clothes. He felt its warmth as he channeled it down his leg. “I can’t predict how another person will move. So I have to make constructs for others larger. I'll save more energy by not joining you. But that means I have to make everything as a whole.”

Tendrils of energy emerged from Chres’s foot, giving off a dull red glow. The tendrils quickly began weaving together, forming the shape of something larger. They towered up past the nearby buildings and into a spiral ending high above the roof tops.

“You’ll have to be quick. It will take more than half of my stored heat to make this behemoth last longer than a minute. Best to move faster than that.”

More and more tendrils weaved into the construct. Steps began to take shape. There were no safety rails on the sides or supports to hold the construct up. Just a winding path of stairs. The lack of detail was necessary. Less details required less energy, and the static nature of woven constructs made supports unnecessary.

“I’ll get you as close as I dare to the tower. Once at the top, jump. I will dissipate the construct soon after. Tell Sil when you are ready to retreat. I’ll prepare a set of pole shaped constructs for you to slide down. Poles require far less energy to weave than stairs.”

Tendrils stopped to emerging from Chres’ foot. He quickly moved his foot away from the woven construct.

Looking Ferris in the eye, he spoke a single word. “Go.”

---

---

_{@Pezz570@13org@Jerkchicken@HokumPocus@Typical}

To say that things were not exactly going well for Týfurkh maybe was a little bit of an understatement, given that he was stuck at the bottom of a tower that had just collapsed internally with most, if not all of its uninvited guests surviving. Why couldn't the bell have just crushed a few of those ? That would have greatly reduced the problem of getting out here alive and with no piece lost...

Týfurkh's bleeding had stopped, allowed him to see clearly again. So far he had not dared to move anywhere, but had merely listened in on the conversation in an attempt to figure out the individual positions and the best route to go. Things had seemed as if his appearance had not been noticed, so he held some hopes of the crowd just dissolving at some point and thus potentially making things much easier for him. Also the dialogue going on between Tayla and the other person -- whom he could not identify -- was quite interesting, if not even amusing. So the same Tayla that had made such a proud standing at the top of the tower now was being ranted at ? If this just could go on forever!

Of course it didn't... and by the time Týfurkh had decided to set up one if his acoustic traps in front of and close to the exit door before making a run for it the unidentified voice mentioned 'having a guest'... He could not hear the wicked magic of elongated fingers approaching him, so they came in as a surprise that immediately triggered the urge to just run. Týfurkh tried to make an evasive maneuver, not knowing if it would actually succeed and hoping that, if it wouldn't, his huge momentum still would pull him free of any insufficient grasp. He knew where the trap was set, but the owner of the unidentified voice hopefully did not. If just he could make it out of the building he would have a lot more places to hide and run away from.

---

Karina audibly sighed in relief as she heard DB's reply to her question. There was still the issue with her being trapped in the tower and more cultists that were probably on their way since half of the city was alerted due to the sound of the bell crashing and they didn't knew where Týfurkh was, but hopefully, things would start getting right.

"I was only grazed by a knife with the deterrent, but since it was pretty recent, the effect is still active..." Karina epxlained to DB as he mentioned he was also hit by a lot of deterrents in his fight.

"Using deterrents appears to be a common tactic for them. We should be more careful about them in the future..." Karina said, reflecting about deterrents being used not only against her, but against DB as well.

Before Karina could answer to DB's idea of her jumping and letting him catch her, a cheerful, happy, familiar voice announcing it's arrival.

"Sil?" Karina asked just as the little fairy booped her in the nose.

"If you're here... Chres is also nearby, right?" She asked, relieved to see Sil there. Truth be told, Karina was rather thankful for Sil being there. Her presence, her pranks and her happy behavior definitely helped her to calm herself down and think carefully about the situation.

"Please tell him that Týfurkh is gone! After the bell crashed, he fell down with it!" Karina said, with a tone of urgency to the happy Sil as she floated in front of her.

---

^{@Pezz570@HokumPocus@Jerkchicken@Fetzen@13org}
Ferris arched a brow. “That’s a big weakness that The Being of Many Names didn’t mention,” he said, turning to Octavio. “I suppose this means that your familiar might be better suited heading up with me. Your choice—and his,” he said, nodding at Lynx before turning back to Chres, who had started explaining his powers. Following the plan meant placing a lot of trust in Chres and his powers, but that was how working with others went. In Ferris’ line of work, putting one’s life on the line was common practice, so although he took note of it every time, he’d grown fairly accustomed to it. After all, at the end of the day, his life was in his own hands whether or not someone else was involved.

“I will,” he said as Chres got to weaving the stairs. Watching in interest as the magic that would be supporting his weight snaked into existence, Ferris waited until the stairs started to solidify before drawing in a deep breath of pungent fruit. Magic brimmed at the edge of his fingertips, and he gave it an experimental nudge, the satisfying feeling of power ebbing as he did.

“Go,” Chres said, and Ferris did, dashing up the stairs as he fully tapped into the sharp tang of vinegar, his legs carrying him up quickly and deftly. With enhanced reflexes at his disposal, a few glances and steps were enough to ascertain the distance between each of the steps. As he ran, his eyes skimmed across the side of the tower, looking for an opening. Crashing a window was too noisy, but none of the windows were open big enough to allow him to jump in. Thankfully, there were ledges under the windows, and after some more scanning, Ferris focused on a specific window, tapping into his magic for strength as he leaped out from where the staircase ended. He landed to one side of the window, his knees knocking against the stone wall as he gripped at the ledge of the window above, his feet balanced on the edge of the open window he’d wanted.

Reaching into the window, Ferris unlatched the clasp, pulling the window all the way open before slipping inside. He landed on his feet in the stone corridor, taking a moment to look around at his surroundings and see if the Sightless noticed. When the corridor remained free of footsteps, he zeroed in on what sound he could hear. Upwards there was something—a conversation—happening, though it wasn’t loud enough to suggest conflict. Other sounds were difficult to make out, prompting Ferris to turn to his vials, swabbing one to tap into the sweet, floral scent of jasmine. As soon as he willed his magic into life, the indistinct sounds in the tower opened up, footsteps and faint whispering alike suddenly distinct enough to be processed by his newfound mental acuity. While the sounds were no louder than before, they were clearer, and clarity was enough for Ferris.

Silently, he headed up towards the whispering, his feet deft and silent over the stone underfoot. Though he let everything but the floral scent ebb away, he was on high alert, prepared to tap into the two scents on his mask at a moment’s notice.

@Typical @HokumPocus @jerkchicken @fetzen @13org

---

"Sil?" The She-Person said, "If you're here... Chres is also nearby, right?"

Nearby? Sil, giggled at the thought. Didn't she know that if you can't see a person, then they no longer exist?

"Please tell him that Týfurkh is gone! After the bell crashed, he fell down with it!"

"Metal-Tree-Mouse is gone?!" Sil gasped. No! He couldn't be gone! Metal-Tree-Mouse was an endangered species afterall!

Within an instant Sil zipped over to the gaping hole in the floor. Peering down into the depths below, She shouted, "DAMN YOU BELL!" Her fist raised in anger. "You big stupid puddle y-"

A glimpse of Metal-Tree-Mouse's giant form jumped out from behind a wall below. "Oh wait, he's okay."

"Silly, She-Person." Sil said. She fluttered away from the hole and towards Man with Stick. "Metal-Tree-Mouse is just playing games with Mr. 'No Eyes' downstairs. No worries though, I'll let Chres know he's A-OK."

Casually, Sil perched herself atop the Man with Stick's head -Ooo, comfy- and sent a mental message over to Chres.

"Chres says 'Help is on the way.'" Leaning forward on her perch, she placed her hand to her mouth and whispered, "Joke's on him. I'm already here!"

Lynx

---

Lynx's front paw traced a half-circle onto the stone floor, anxiously going over what options were available for both him and Octavio. His mind was currently focused on Octavio's illusions, and seeing the man cup his chin assured him they were on the same page.

My biggest issue is getting an illusion up there, thought Octavio, less to Lynx and more to himself.

Chres' plan had been to conjure stairs using his magic and strain himself in the process, meaning that having more than one human scale them would most likely pose a risk for everyone involved. It would be possible for Octavio to circumvent the rule by summoning his illusions after scaling them from a hidden location. The problem with that particular strategy was that Ferris was the better combatant, and Lynx wasn't sure if Octavio would be able to find an area safe enough to summon under the time limit they were working with. It seemed like the only option would be to send Ferris off by himself. Unless...

"I'll accompany Ferris. Having more than one human scale your construct would be dangerous, and I don't think that Octavio will be able to find suitable shelter to summon illusions in within time. I will not be caught."

Octavio looked at him the way a child looked at a brave knight, and for a second he felt a sense of arrogance sweep him away. He was used to scampering around as someone's shadow, so this would be a good way to test Chres' theory.

At his command, Lynx shot towards the stairs in a gray blur, like a stormy cloud desperate to join its kin. He leapt ahead of the man to give him ample room and survey their surroundings. Windows with generous ledges. A feat of agility for a bipedal creature to overcome, but not something that one like him could get through without assistance. He looked at Ferris blankly, hoping he'd make quick work of the window he had chosen before the stairs had vanished entirely. Sure enough, the man unclasped it fast enough for Lynx to take a final leap in.

Ferris and him silently traversed the interior of the tower. Through his acute sense of hearing, Lynx could hear various signs of life beyond them. Nothing stood out right away, as none of the noises were violent, mundane if anything. If travelling with a rogue had taught him anything though, it was that silence was never peaceful.

---

"Well, now there's two of me," said Octavio, patting his illusion of himself on the shoulder.

With Chres prioritizing getting their party in and out of the tower, Octavio had figured giving themselves a bodyguard of sorts was necessary. Summoning any more would take some time due to the rain stifling out the light, so he had settled on only making one high quality illusion of himself. "I suppose I should save my energy in case we need it later."

@13org @JerkChicken @fetzen

---

Nieffar curled his lip into a sneer. Under his breath, Tayla heard him mutter "Too slow..."

An echoing of noise erupted in the far end of the room. Nieffar's tendrils cracked, spewing several chips of that black bark-like skin of his.

Nieffar retracted his damaged fingers back to his hand. A sickly greenish-yellow ooze pussed out from beneath the missing bits of his fingers.

A few of the cracks began to mend themselves. Tiny black vines sprouted from the wounds, weaving together and clouting the wound.

His hand began to shake. Perhaps from the pain. Perhaps from anger. Regardless, Nieffar paid his damaged hand little more than wince. Instead, he extruded the tips of the tendrils he had wrapped around Tayla's body.

The tendrils shot towards the giant man, already out the door. They wrapped around his leg and yanked backwards.

"That hurt." Nieffar growled.

---

Even though Sil's reactions and antics were incredibly adorable, even enough for Karina to almost want to drop her 'military officer' face, she had other things to worry about. She knew that by now, it was almost certain that the tower was already surrounded. Not only they had to find Týfurkh, but they also had to get away as soon as possible. There was no saying when the cultists or some of those Sightless would try to get up to where Karina was and capture or even kill them...

When Karina heard Sil saying that Týfurkh was ok though, she interrupted her thoughts, going closer to where Sil was.

"Did you find him? Where he is? We have no time to waste, we need to get away from here as soon as possible!" Karina asked, with an urgent tone in her voice. The second she heard Sil's voice though, Karina knew that things couldn't possibly get worse.

"What?! No eyes? A Sightless is already here..." Karina said to herself with a disheartened tone. The situation simply couldn't get worse now that a sightless had arrived, probably together with many cultists.

Trying to look down the gaping hole on the floor without being noticed, Karina arrived in the exact moment the sightless elongated fingers wrapped around Týfurkh's leg, yanking it backwards as Týfurkh tried to dodge.

"Damn it!" Karina cursed in a low tone as she tried to see if the effect of the deterrent had already passed. The way she was right now, she couldn't do anything to try and help Týfurkh...

Týfurkh

"You goddamn, freakin', mischievous, ignorant, foul beast from hell!" There hardly would not have been a curse Týfurkh would not have been willing to try out in terms of throwing it at the sightless' head. He had made it, almost. The feeling of freedom and, at least halfway, safety had already been within his grasp when these... tentacles ?... had successfully reached out for his leg and caused him to hit the floor once more, hard.

Well at least his nose wasn't bleeding again and what looked like drastically elongated fingers seemed to be injured by his magic, but apparently neither of these circumstances would come to his aid now if he would not manage to get rid of them and get out of their apparent, dramatic range. Týfurkh slammed one of his thick steel boots against the other one, trying to wedge in part of the sightless' fingers between them and to cause a lot more pain and injury.

Or should he try to bite ? As far as he knew the jaw was pretty much the strongest muscle available in a human body, but unfortunately the elongated fingers were wrapped around his leg which wasn't exactly a well reachable position for that if one's movement was limited. So, trying to do some multi-tasking, Týfurkh attempted to ge this crossbow ready while ramming his boot again and again against the sightless' extended body part. If they'd start to drag him in they'd at least also give him a chance to shoot. Even though he was pretty hopeless if this would help much at this point.

@Pezz570@13org@Typical

"Agreed, although at least for me it's not a complete hindrance. At the very least they didn't hit me with the one that works first." He said in response to Karina's comment about not getting hit with deterrents.

While he didn't immediately notice Sil, he did hear Karina speak her name and knew that the other group was close if not already at the tower. It was a bit of a minor relief as it was all but sure they weren't completely cut off from the others. Of course, there was the matter of cultists, but at least they had better numbers than just the two of them. Technically three, but he didn't know how Týfurkh was doing after the crash.

The little fairy would fly over and use his head as a rest. "Well I'm glad you finally came." was all he said as Sil told him she was their real help. He wondered how long it would take for the help to arrive. He'd then look up to where Karina was, "So what's going to happen? Also should I come and get you? Or are you going to try and jump down? Either way we should group up! We need to get out of here fast and possibly be prepared for more fighting."

As he waited for a response he took a look back towards the steps behind him. It was only a matter of time before the cultists would look upstairs for the rest of them. They needed to be ready for one or a couple of the them to be coming towards them. The man was drawing on his power as he was prepared to react to any cultists approaching them. While he normally was discrete about his usage, it was better now to use its advantages and get nullified again in the process than get nullified and lose any advantage of having his power.

---

^{@Pezz570@HokumPocus@Jerkchicken@Fetzen@13org}
Dashing up the stairs, Ferris did his best to match the innate stealth of the large-pawed feline at his side. Thankfully, there seemed to be nothing intent on stopping his ascent, and soon enough he reached the floor where the sources of the voices he’d heard earlier were. Besides Sil, there was Karina and DB, judging by the woman’s white hair and the gourds the man carried. With Lynx beside him, Ferris managed not to get attacked immediately, instead holding up his palms towards the trio as he paused by the stairwell.

“Chres helped me up. He and Octavio are just outside the tower—Sil and Lynx can confirm,” he said, then walked closer, talking as he did. “I’m Ferris. The Being sent me to join you.”

His eyes drifted to Karina, whose brief had noted a military background from the Nation of Touch, which was currently at war with the Nation of Sight. What The Being had offered her seemed relatively obvious from that fact, but at the same time it could have been more complex. His own goals were more lofty and complicated than he appeared, after all.

“I’m an Augaisionist. Paranoid, sometimes, but let’s focus on getting out first,” he said, putting his hands down as he walked over to peer into the hole the others were gathered around. His brief explanation of his magic and its side effects would have to suffice for the moment. Any biases they might have towards or against him would hopefully be deemed less important than the help he could offer at the moment.

At the bottom of the hole, which fell all the way to what may as well be the ground floor, a pale-haired man was aiming his crossbow at a Sightless, whose elongated fingers resembled worms more than they did any body part. The man seemed disheveled but still in fighting condition, as was the Sightless.

“I take it that’s Týfurkh?” Ferris asked, straightening to face the others.

---

"The deterrent is still working, so I can't make the jump by myself. I can count on you to catch me, right?" Karina said, after DB asked if he should go where she was or if she would jump to him.

"It shouldn't be that hard. I'm not that heavy." she said with a chuckle in quite an obvious statement due to her size.

The moment she was about to jump though, she saw a quite suspicious figure going up the stairs. Without a second thought, her hands almost instinctively went for her rapier but the second she saw Lynx coming up together with the man, she knew that whoever that was, was together with Octavio and Chres.

"Don't worry. Lynx's presence is enough to make it clear you're an ally." Karina said as the man held his palms towards them in a clear sign of surrender.

Karina nodded after hearing his brief explanation of his abilities and side effects before she replied to his question.

"Yes... It is. I don't know what we'll be able to do to save him though... I can't use my abilities yet due to the deterrent. Octavio and Chres are outside according to you, but even with them... We're almost completely surrounded and there is a sightless here..." Karina said as she gave a few steps back, getting ready to jump.

"DB, I'm jumping now, catch me." Karina said as she dashed forward, jumping towards DB.

@fetzen@13org@Jerkchicken@HokumPocus@Typical

---

Nieffar smirked as the man took aim with his crossbow.

"How cute." He mocked. "You think your bolts will hurt m-"

A flash of Insight cut Nieffar's words short. It foreshadowed. Warning of immediate danger.

Normally Týfurkh would not have deemed anyone trying to make a mock out of him while being threatened by a crossbow shot to be in full posession of his or her mental sanity, but honestly he wasn't so sure about Nieffar... The man had already displayed an awesome, or rather aweful ?, range of mighty abilities, so Týfurkh really couldn't be sure about not something happening.

Still he deemed a good shot to be his only chance of getting out of this damned tower in one piece, so Týfurkh tried his best to get ready as soon as possible. Loading while being halfway dragged around on the ground was difficult to say the least, especially with this humongous weapon of his, but he made progress.

But what now ? Something seemed to cut off the sightless in the midst of his words. Had something happened ? Týfurkh hoped so, since pretty much anything happening could only mean an improvement right now... With the bolt finally having been readied, his armored hand touched it gently before he started to take aim. For Nieffar's head. Týfurkh had not the slightest interest in this turning into half a kill or even just a minor injury. He wanted Nieffar to be blasted right into oblivion.

Click.

Nieffar's brow raised in alarm. He reacted quickly to the vision. He moved his damaged hand in an effort to guard his face. The vision chanced. The result the same.

No! He thought. His ordinary movements were too slow! The man was moments away from launching the bolt!

The wrist to his hand extruded, inching his damaged hand just in time to connect with the now airborne bolt.

Boom! Snap!

Pain. Lots of Pain. Nieffar couldn't help but release a cry of pain.

The Sightless found himself on his knees. The blow from the bolt tore about his wooden-like skin, snapping his left hand clean off. In its wake, it left a stump where there use to be a hand. A stump oozing with yellowish-green puss.

Tiny black vines sprouted from his stump of a wrist. Most of them weaving together in an effort to clot the flow of puss oozing out. A few stray vines sprouted outwards in an effort to regrow his lost hand.

A wave of rage washed over Nieffar. It was going to take time to regrow that hand.

"You two, take out the-" Smit started.

"Silence!" Nieffar shouted. The growth for his right fingers were at his current limits. He needed more leeway.

Baring his teeth, Nieffar loosen his tendrils grip upon Tayla. He growled, "Tend to the disgrace. I'll handle this one myself."

Two clansmen dragged the wounded Tayla out from the capture of Nieffar's tendrils. As they did, he adjusted the growth on his fingers. Straightening the coils, used to hold Tayla, while extruding the tips of the tendrils that held the giant man.

The tendrils snaked up the man's leg and beneath the folds of his armor.

"You little piece of filth..." Nieffar hissed, his tendrils snaking their way up towards the man's waist. "Allow me to ask a personal question, yes?"

The tendrils extended further under the man's belly. Their tips becoming razor sharp as they approached their destination. "Do you prefer peeing standing-" The growth stopped at the man's crotch. "-or sitting?"

Týfurkh remained silent, but his breathing was accelerating rapidly. He simply did not know anything reasonable to say at this point, but only stared at the tendrils that searched and found their way through the gaps in his armor, entering his very private area...

Should he continue to try to defend himself now or should he just give in, anxiously awaiting what might happen next and if Nieffar would truly pull through with his plan ? The possibility that the sightless' question might have been an honest one not even crossed Týfurkh's mind briefly. He expected it to happen and did not know what would come next.

"Toss us the crossbow." Nieffar growled,

_{@13org@Typical@Pezz570}

The figure got closer and closer as the sound of his steps got more audible. Sure, whoever was climbing up as trying to be discrete, but it didn't go unnoticed to the man. Thanks to the presence of Sil and her message from Chres, that help was arriving soon, he wasn't as worried about who was coming. Whoever was climbing up could be a friend it would be a bad idea to hit whoever came up. While his attention was mostly focused on the stairwell, his gaze redirected itself upwards. It was Karina's voice as she told him she couldn't do the jump without her powers. "Well that's a damn shame. While I don't quite remember what your ability is, there's no doubt it would've come in handy in whatever we're going to face. Anyway, if the deterrent still persists and we got the time, we can check you out and see if we can alleviate the effect. Oh right, what did you even get hit with?" He said to her looking up.

Her attention would focus to the stairs and he'd look too. A strange man he never seen before and that lynx. It was the familiar and traveling companion of that stylish man from the first night in town. It felt like a quaint memory as so much has happened in such a short period. He was curious to know about how the other group fared in their investigation of the anti-cult group. Of course, this would be best done once they got out of the tower. The man would speak introducing himself as Ferris and his magic type. He really didn't ruminate on the Ferris and his magic. Regrouping and figuring out their next set of actions was more pressing for him. Ferris saw down to the floor and asked if it was Týfurkh. Both Karina and him answered in the affirmative. Before he could ask what they were going to do next, he heard footsteps and Karina's voice. She was jumping down now.

"On it!" He said to her.

The moment she gave the command, he ran towards the wall. In one very well practiced motion he partially ran up the wall and then used it to vault off. His body was lightened with the magic he was channeling earlier in anticipation of an enemy. Instead it was being used to fuel a very graceful, floating jump. It was his way of ensuring there'd be no room for error with her jump. He would grab her mid-fall into a carry using both arms as they would float downwards to safety. He didn't want any room for error in It wasn't too bad but he was compensating for the extra weight by using more of his energy to keep them from plummeting too fast.

"You know, I'm kinda glad it's you I'm catching and not Týfurkh. Although I'm not entirely sure which would be less awkward." He said trying to overcome the awkwardness that came over him as he realized that perhaps this was a bit too dashing. At the very least it didn't last that long as once they hit the floor he lowered his hold allowing her to stand on her own feet rather than being carried in his arms. "Right, so what are we to do now? Týfurkh is either captured or gonna be captured, but we're outmatched with the number of cultists here. That Sightless isn't helping either too." He asked with some urgency in his voice.

@Typical @HokumPocus @jerkchicken @fetzen @13org @Elevation

---

A Lynx without his Octavapus? “That’s cute.” Sil said. Idly she imagined Lynx tenfold his size, devouring an eight-armed Octavapus in one fell swoop. ‘Whoooop whoop whoop whoop whoop!’ the Octavapus chirped merrily as the giant Lynx gobbled him up.

Sil smiled, bemused, barely making note of Man with Stick as he adjusted his posture ever so slightly. Reclining onto her back - His head was just too comfy! - Sil sighed happily.

She hung her head backwards, catching an upside-down view of Lynx. Her head lazily dangled off the side of Man with Stick’s own head, much like a child’s head would when lying down on a bench that was much too small.

“Silly, silly Lynx.” She said. “When did you get so downside-up?” She vaguely felt Man with Stick’s posture adjust yet again as Ms. ‘Clouds For Hair’ blabbed about something unimportant.

Sil stretched her arms past her head and released she yawn. “You know, it feels good to be helpful! I bet Chres would be pro-“ - Man with Stick’s body lurched forward suddenly - “-ouuuaaaaAAAAAHHHH” Sil cried out, her words turning into a scream as her body slid backwards off her newly found couch. She made a loud ‘Ooph’, landing head first on the floor.

Sil groaned audibility. She wince as she rubbed her head until suddenly remembering that she couldn’t feel pain.

Sil got back to her feet and brushed herself off. What was the saying? Pain makes you saunter? But what if you had wings?

“Hmmmm” Sil hummed aloud as she pondered the concept of pain. Slowly her wings began to flutter, gently lifting her off the ground.

What exactly was pain anyway? Half of Sil suspected pain to be a myth. The other half was convinced it was some type of food. Meanwhile, her third half thought that maybe she would be better off thinking about something else. Her other two halves nodded in agreement.

“Hey Lynx,” Sil started, a thought occurring to her. “When you eat an Octavapus, do you think it comes out as Octavapoo?”

Sil fluttered happily atop Lynx’s snout. “Also, why are you and Silly Eyes here again?”

Týfurkh bared his teeth, presenting Nieffar with the most angry grin he could probably muster. Should he really hand him over the crossbow ? What if he didn't ? It was the only really useful weapon left to him that could make an impact, but on the other hand he would have to reload it first again and the sightless would certainly not let that happen.

The giant growled, then tossed the crossbow right into the sightless ugly face. Hopefully something would start to bleed, even if it was just a little and wouldn't last longer than half a minute!

And now ? Would his enemy proceed with his plan to... get him rid off... his manlyhood ?

"And now ? Still thinking about what to do, you idiot ?" Týfurkh tried to provoke helplessly. He had not yet noticed that some of his own people were still around.

---

While DB's question regarding what was the deterrent she was hit with was a bit suspicious to Karina, making her raise an eyebrow before replying, he was still part of her 'team' for now and was indeed helping her.

"They tried everything on me since the last time we met. Ended up figuring out which one worked. The cultists seem to use deterrents quite a lot so I would start being careful about those from now on. Their tactics seem to, most of the times be based in overwhelming their opponents with numbers and using deterrents. The effects should stop after some minutes." Karina said, avoiding saying exactly what was the deterrent it was used.

DB's moments were graceful and precise as he used his magic, running up a wall and using vaulting off it, grabbing Karina as they floated down to the stairs again. Karina did notice that, when they landed, DB seemed to be a bit embarrassed by carrying her in his arms as he caught her. Even though Karina was still a woman, she saw that act just as two soldiers helping each other in a mission so she didn't think too much of it.

"Don't worry too much about it. I am sure that even if it was Týfurkh you would find a way to make it work." she said, nodding towards him as she thanked for his help.

"The sightless by itself is already an incredibly dangerous opponent... The number of cultists only make things worse... We cannot enter in direct combat with them. Not only we are already exhausted and some of us can't use their powers, but there are much more cultists here than we can deal with, the sightless makes things even worse..." Karina said after DB asked what they were supposed to do now.

"We won't be able to do anything by ourselves. We should at least regroup with Chres and Octavio first, then we might try doing something." Karina said, looking both to Ferris and DB.

Hark stood in the alleyway adjacent to the bell tower, flanked by the few town guard he was able to scrape up in the past two days. It wasn’t very hard for him to track down his fellow pact makers as trouble always seamed follow them around. Now whatever grand scheme they were attempting got them stuck up inside the towns bell tower.

Hark gave one more glance over his small troop before stepping out into the open. With the crowds of cultists growing he knew he had to make his move now or never. Just as a precaution Hark wore his royal guard armor because he knew if any sightless were around they would recognize he was someone they should at least try to behave around.

As Hark and his group moved in on the bell tower heads began to turn and watch them with suspicious eyes. Hark grabbed the nearest cultist by his shirt and pulled him in close, ”Which one of you here is in charge?” he growled. The cultist look unsure of what’s he should say for a moment before stuttering out, “N-N-Nieffar”.

Hark swallowed hard and let go of the mans shirt, pushing him away. He and the guards stopped a few meters in front of the entrance. ”Nieffar show yourself!” Hark called out gripping the hilt of his sword. He wasn’t sure how this was about to go down but as long as he could create a long enough distraction for the others to escape unnoticed he would be satisfied.

@fetzen@13org@Jerkchicken@HokumPocus@Typical@Elevation

---

The crossbow hit Nieffar square in the face, chipping away bits of his wooden-like skin. A minor annoyance. Rather than getting angry, though, Nieffar smiled. Nieffar motioned for one of his men to collect the crossbow.

"And now?" Nieffar said, repeating the giant's word. "Now we take you back home. Let's see if we can make you squeal." Sightless-to-be De'laire would enjoy breaking this one.

Absently Nieffar refocused his Insight on Pact Makers trapped above, when- ”Nieffar show yourself!”

A familar voice... Visions of the ones above faded as Nieffar's shifted the Insight's attention towards the one who spoke.

Nieffar sighed audibly, "This guy..." He said under his breath.

"Deter the giant." Nieffar said to Smit. "I'll handle the newcomer."

Smit took out a handful of dust sand and tossed it in the eyes of the giant. "Shall we knock him out?" Smit asked, as he used each of the other deterrents, one by one.

"Not quite yet." Nieffar said. "Our public perception comes first."

Nieffar turned his attention to the newcomer as he entered the room. Hark... that was the name he provided when Nieffar encountered the man earlier that day. Annoyingly, this Pact Maker had been wise enough to bring some of the public with him, the town guard The Clan had not yet turned.

"Ah, if it isn't Hark, of the King's Royal Guard." Nieffar said with a smile that did not reach his eye sockets. "I must say, I'm glad you and your men are here. These misfits here attacked and killed members of my clan." Nieffar raised the stump of an arm the giant man gifted him moments earlier. "As keepers of the town's peace, your men's assistance here would be most welcome..."

"Or-" Nieffar continued. His smile fading as he turned his eyeless gaze to the giant man on the ground. "-have you come here for other reasons? ... Reasons that would annul any prior agreements..."

---

Just after Karina mentioned how they wouldn't be able to do anything by themselves, a voice echoed through the bell tower, demanding to know which one was in charge. Carefully inspecting what was happening, Karina saw the unmistakable royal guard armor being used by the man who spoke and the others that had came with him. Before she did anything though, Karina raised a hand, in a silent gesture for DB, Ferris, Syl and Lynx be silent and wait.

"Do not do anything yet. We don't know what's exactly the situation here..." Karina said, whispering to them as she carefully watched the situation ongoing downstairs. She would only make her move if the royal guard and the other town guards were willing to fight, or at least showed themselves to be their allies, for that, she would wait for them to make their move first...

"We can either use the distraction they're creating to run or if they decide to fight... We can try and do something as well..." Karina said in a low tone, looking to the group.

"I don't know for how long the deterrent I was hit with will keep working. I am very skilled with my rapier, but..." she continued.

"We need to decide and quick. Retreating for now might be the best choice if the royal guards won't fight. If they do, we might be able to do something if we regroup with Chres and Octavio..." She finished, looking to the group as she waited for their replies.