dragonpiece

The Hourglass Order

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Location: Sirrahi research lab -> a Desert

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Interactions: Trypano @A Lowly Wretch, Desmond @Th3King0fChaos, Sileen@Force and Fury

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Ingrid had been serious about not going through with this if it posed too great of a risk to Nine and her siblings. Nine seemed resolved to accept what might come about from this for the sake of bettering her people. Ingrid couldn't argue with that. Ingrid had never thought too deeply on the way the world operated, she was always too focused on her social standing in the past to care. For someone who has traveled across the continent, her worldview is much more narrow than she thought. Perhaps it is time to change that.

With Seven directing Ten to prepare the transport and revealing how little time they had left, Ingrid only felt how little time there was. She wanted to talk to them more about their world and understand them even if it was superficial. She wanted to spend some time with Nine, not as a test subject but as equals. But there was little opportunity for us now.

Everyone rushed through the halls, Ingrid wasn't in the best shape so she relied on the Gift to enhance her body, using kinetic magic to help keep her going at a reasonable speed. The stairs provided a unique challenge to someone who failed oh so miserably getting on the boat earlier. Ingrid leapt through the air, clearing them ease and as she descended she drew her own momentum of falling to fuel more of her run knowing Penny might need to draw more than the rest of us only having 1 leg after all.

As they ran, Nine decided to start the explaining what exactly were they studying. To Ingrid it seemed like a simple test. The hypothesis felt like it came from someone trying to confirm a bias rather than actually test anything. Ingrid knew but was important to retest things as that is the nature of science but she couldn't help but see their professor as a dick. Some of their talks went over Ingrid's head but she got most of the information about the experiment. Seven came to a stop and they entered the room that seemed to hold their means of transporting us.

The room was a busy-looking room. Full of everything one would need to have their own laboratory, somewhat similar to Hugo's chambers. It was different and Ingrid could tell that they were researchers, there was a certain air to it. It was mystifying how much they could achieve with technology. The energies they had under their control without the Gift was astonishing. Using so many with such ease and a surprising amount of magnetism.

Nine seemed to bring up Seven's interruption to her earlier to our benefit as Seven quickly relinquished and gave an opportunity for us to grab some stuff as a reward of some sort. Ingrid believed the memories were more than enough but there was no time to talk about that. Ten had called over for the coordinates that they needed and Ingrid found that hard to answer as they she had no way of describing the school other than saying its name, an issue that would have never mattered to her if it wasn't for this one moment. Ismette seemed to be able to handle it and was the first to ask for her reward.

Temporal magic? Ingrid thought as she heard Ismette's request. More interesting to Ingrid though was this 'cure' Ismette was looking for. Ingrid wanted to know more about what was going on and if she could be any help to her so she made a quick note of it for after they get home. They seemed receptive to Ismette receiving it. It touched Ingrid that Nine would openly say that she would trust us with that kind of knowledge. Ingrid had some time to look around before Nine returned to help her pick her final selection.

Ingrid smiled at Nine, "Finished up with Desmond?" Ingrid asked, seeing if she had Nine to herself even if it was just for a few moments. Seeing that the coast was clear, Ingrid moved herself and Nine behind the shelves to get a smidgen of privacy. "Hey," Ingrid said shyly as she rubbed the back of her neck then smiled at Nine, "I know we don't have long but I wanted to thank you. I know you said that this time with us has changed you but it has changed me as well." Ingrid looked away as she tried to summarize her thoughts in an efficient way. "Before coming here I was so focused on myself. I think I always cared for people but I never allowed it to be my focus. I never took a hard look at myself or the bubble of a world I lived in. I learned so much from this time away from the academy. It was painful and scary but it has opened my eyes to many things. I only know now that there is much more for me to do before I can say I have bettered myself now." Ingrid looked into Nine's eyes, placing her hand on her cheek, "Whether you know it or not, your passion has changed me. I want to go out into the world and learn about it in a way I could never see before." Ingrid went in for a quick kiss before backing away again to continue. "I want to help you with your own mission. I can get information and interact with humans in a way that you can't right now. That is why I want Temporal magic. To send you pieces of our culture. To give you information that is needed to convince your own people. I want to help people on my side as well and sadly the only way for me is to increase my standing through skill. I…" Ingrid was cut off as they had ran out of time and had to get to the platform.

Ingrid wasn't a crier and she held herself until Nine said her goodbyes and told Ingrid that she could call her Sileen. "It was wonderful getting to know you Sileen. I have no idea when we will be able to meet again but I will promise to never forget you." Ingird felt bitter sweet about the goodbye. She didn't know how long it would be until she could help Sileen but in any case, Ingrid knew she would never say forget her.

The portal wasn't that intimidating after all Ingrid has been through. She was ready to go through when Sileen turned her around and kissed her. Ingrid closed her eyes and let it happen. A last kiss to send her off. It was nice Ingrid thought but as Ingrid took one last look at Sileen, she could see Sileen wink at her. There was something in that wink but she couldn't tell what it could be at the time.

There was no time to ponder what the wink met as it seems the coordinates that Ismette gave put them into the desert. A very hot desert. Luckily Ingrid was dressed pretty lightly. Benedetto pointed immediately to the army of thousands marching towards a compound. Oh for the love of the Pentad Ingrid thought. From the hired hands of the Doge to now thousands of soldiers. Could things get worst? Of course they could, they be dragons now.

Ingrid looked up and saw the froabases. They already deemed us to be the prey they were looking for. With the army over there in sight, Ingrid didn't want to do anything that would garner their attention. Trypano already made a hole to hide from them. Honestly, it seemed like the most reasonable option considering not being on the army's radar sounded nice. So I guess it was time to dive into the hole. Before going into the hole she whipped up the sand around her to create a blind spot for the dragons. Ingrid went down into the hole with less flare than Desmond as she was trying to create a dust storm to cover their stealth from the dragons. Ingrid did her best not to get wet though as she had no idea if the chainsaw would blow up if dunked into the water Trypano was making. As she made it to Trypano Ingrid smiled and said, "Thanks for the hole. Hopefully, the dust storm above gets them to waste a bit of time for us to escape." Another adventure awaits them in the desert now.

The Hourglass Order

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Location: Underground Base

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Interactions: Benedetto @Force and Fury

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As much as Trypano's and Desmond's questions were frankly a better use of time, Ingrid decided that she wanted to indulge in some more light-hearted questions about their culture. Romance had always captured Ingrid's Imagination with how much it changed from place to place. Some seemed familiar, some seemed alien but in the end, it was a culture she wanted to learn about. Somehow that ended up with Ingrid hitting on Nine and Nine wanting to take a hand at teasing her. Ingrid would back off normally but this seems like a perfect distraction from all those thoughts trying to creep into her mind. The kiss happened, it was Ingrid's first. Well, that was nice. I think? It was kind of fun, crossed Ingrid's mind before the other Sirrahi seemed to have a mental explosion watching that. She knew they fed off of each other's energy but Ingrid couldn't help but chuckle to herself as they so boldly announced who they wanted to kiss.

Those bursts of energy throughout the night had finally come to an end and they had guided us to a bed chamber. It was interesting, to say the least. 1 large bed fit for the entire family line from Ingrid's point of view. She knew sharing a bed was common for the lower class but with how insanely advanced they are, Ingrid had to take its construction as a product of their culture. Ingrid thought for a moment about how she would feel sleeping with her whole family. Maybe they would have been closer. Maybe they would have actually cared about each other more than a single connection. Maybe. Ingrid lightly shook her head as she laid down, relegating those questions as wishful thinking. She made herself a target of her cousins and siblings with her RAS and let her guard down and became the 'slacker' of the family.

As the group settled down, Ingrid's mind was hostage to her thoughts like most nights except instead of beautiful theorems and visualizations there was only the death she caused. She knew she needed sleep but her essence was restless, it begged for some relief from the guilt she held. The wasted time, the cluelessness, the failure, the death sat on her chest paralyzing her thought. For what felt like hours she laid there just reliving the last day until her mind went still. I never thought I would have to kill someone like this. I knew one day I might have to defend my land or protect someone but I killed because I decided to come on this mission. I let myself get involved in killing. I didn't need to do this. My studies are going well and although my research for my family feels slow it wasn't something that felt unobtainable. So why? Ingrid felt anger well up in her chest as she berated herself. Why did you join this mission? Why did you think you could do this? Because I wanted to selfishly gain favor like a fool. I'm a fucking idiot for thinking that killing was worth whatever reward this will have. Those thoughts stung as Ingrid realized there was no promised reward. Nothing had been promised to her and even more so if this was a test then she would not be the first to receive any kind of reward.

Desmond found the Princess and acted as the general orchestrator of the mission. Penny went off on her own, gaining valuable information, and somehow stole the lantern and captured 2 ships! Benedetto saved the Princess after we failed to stop that damn atomic mage, put out the fire and made Ingrid realize that the rubble needed to be cleaned, and then saved us again after I failed to guide the shot into the Maria Nera after he literally stated he wouldn't help us again. God damn it! All I was able to do was distract the damn atomic mage and almost die twice to be saved by the person we were supposed to rescue! Just Fuck! Normally when this utterly frustrated she would get up and walk around but she didn't want to wake people up. She just had to lie there, getting more heated. She needed to put this away. She took a few deeper breaths to calm herself. Little by little she put herself in check.

Okay, Ingrid thought as she started to review her performance. Something that was drilled into her since childhood, all narrated in the voice of her disappointed father. You killed people. It was not how you imagined it to be but you chose this and you knew what was the mission. You can claim no innocence here. You were blinded by your greed for knowledge that you didn't even weigh the lives of others. You failed to live to your ideals and didn't hold yourself to the standards you set for yourself. Many were injured and 2 children died directly from your negligence. No matter the circumstances you should have been more cautious. You should have reached out to feel their metabolic energy. Anything but blow up the building as a distraction. You survived the atomic mage but that wasn't the term for success. Eliminating the enemy to keep the Princess safe was your goal. You are lucky that you get another chance and thank Benedetto that he was competent enough to make up for your failure. The children… Ingrid couldn't bring herself to think of them directly so she just skipped it to not risk her mental state again. You failed to even board the ship and had to have them hoist you onto the boat, shameful at face. You did well at getting some reaction out of the lamp. You failed to land the shot on the Maria Nera, you can only assign so much blame on Desmond who had no chance to actually guide the shot as it reached further. It was your mistake for failing to succeed in another critical moment. Once again thankfully Benedetto was strong enough to save you from what could have easily been death.

Ingrid stopped her evaluation as she believes that all things considered, the meeting of the Sirrhai is a good thing. There wasn't anything to say to herself besides 'Hey, maybe don't make out with some cute snake girl because you are fucked in the head at the moment.' That point actually stung as she realized that Nine probably also did it because she is fucked in the head at the moment. Fuck, Ingrid thought as she realized that shit was manipulative as hell to her at the moment, seems I have to apologize to Nine. I should have thought that she was just being excessively nice to make up for how she was feeling. Great job Ingrid, great job. Ingrid fell asleep quickly after that.

Sometime later, Ingrid was woken up by Nine crying, she was only half awake at the time so she isn't completely sure of what they discussed earlier but all she knew was that was apparently Nine's sister wasn't killed by us humans but by her own race. It was the Kasssseels, the person that the others had growled at earlier. Seems there was already some bad blood between the 2 groups. It was terrible that her sister was killed by them but frankly Ingrid didn't think revenge was a good option. If they have laws then revenge is rarely recognized as you get to more complex and progressive societies. Not only that, her entire family could be punished. The guilt that would be crushing. Nine seemed pretty determined to seek revenge and Ingrid could understand her wrath but she kept thinking it wouldn't turn out well.

As they made it to the weapon armory, Ingrid was quick to pick her chosen weapons. She had been quite a shot when she would test them at the mines and the production houses. She even hunted with them. Ingrid took the pistol as she wanted to have a free hand for the grenades. Ingrid looked towards Benedetto, she wanted to apologize for earlier and thank him but doing it here would feel disingenuous. At the same time, a part of Ingrid honestly thought Benedetto doesn't give a shit about that and it was better now than later. Ingrid approached him after he was already geared and prompted the conversation. "Hey Benedetto, I just wanted to say sorry. I shouldn't have placed my standards on someone I don't even know. I don't know your life. And I also wanted to say thanks, I couldn't beat the atomic mage. And no matter how weak he was to you, without your help the princess would have been taken. And even after that you still came to help when you said you wouldn't help again. You saved the mission then saved my life so thanks you, truly" Ingrid left after that. Whether Benedetto likes it or not he is getting a present from her when she gets back. Maybe a pendant? Or maybe some quality gauntlets with how much he likes to punch things.

"Yeah, he was pretty fuckin' tough," Benny replied. He shrugged. "Not tough enough, though, and he was a piece of shit anyways." He said nothing more. He wasn't sure why this girl who hated him was being all nice all of a sudden. People were never nice unless they wanted something. Maybe she just wanted the D, but he didn't know and it kind of unnerved him. He also didn't have magic right now and that was unnerving him more. He went to select his weapons: things that would protect him from death. Honestly, he didn't wanna do it. He had no magic and no reason to care about some snake girl, even if it was sad that she died. He was basically a prisoner of these reptiles, they were taking away his magic while smiling at him, and he hadn't even done anything 'bad' for once. As for Penny, she was stupid. She kept putting herself and others at risk and why was it his job to save her from herself? People either fuck up and learn or they fuck up and die. If you keep helping them, they never do either and just keep being a liability for you. Benny didn't wanna live with liabilities. Why should he?

P A T H I A: THE CERULEAN ORDER [closed]

Hello, I would be interested in joining if you have the room.

The Hourglass Order

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Location: Isla d'Amato -> Penny's new whip

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Interactions: Trypano @A Lowly Wretch, Desmond @Th3King0fChaos, Penny @Force and Fury

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Ingrid was taking time to purge herself of what she saw. She was trying to put what she saw behind her for at least the mission. But the reoccurring image of the dead children kept creeping into her mind. Her conscience wouldn't let her move past it that easily. She wanted to just go home, leave this island and this ever happened but it's not like she could. The alcohol nauseated her less than the images and by the time Desmond arrived Ingrid was dry heaving trying to get a handle on herself.

Ingrid didn't even flinch when the jacket, her guard was down and it wasn't until he tossed the hat on her head that she stiffened up to look at the person who draped her. It was Desmond, not a face Ingrid wanted to see, to be honest. Well, she didn't want to see anyone but having the mission lead come to check on her just told her she was taking too much time composing herself. She listened to what he had to say and a pathetic smile crossed her face as she turned her face away before saying "I know, I know." Ingrid held back tears as she continued, "I … I'm okay. Okay enough. I have to be. I'll head out to the ship after I clean myself up a bit." Ingrid wiped away the tears and let out a sigh like she was trying to refocus. She tied the jacket together to try and cover up a bit more and it was semi-successful. Her current outfit reminds her of the enemy's seductress after succeeding to go home with the naval captain. It was… a look and Ingrid might not have minded it if she wasn't in front of actual people. Hopefully either ship Penny captured has some pants for me, mine are barely holding on. I should figure out how to fix this stuff in the future. She took some of the water out of Desmond's waterskin with kinetic magic, Ingrid wasn't too keen on getting puke lips on her classmate's waterskin. Ingrid quickly rinsed her mouth out and started to make her way out of the alley. Ingrid turned back and said ready, handing back Desmond's hat.

Ingrid tried to make her way quickly to the water where she could make her way to the ship. Her embarrassment of walking in front of so many people in such a scandalous outfit was put on hold for the next moment of rest. She swears to Eshiran that she heard some fucker whistle at her. Whatever the case, when she made it to the water she cheated an ice disk big enough for 2 if Desmond wished to hop on. The ice sheet shot towards the ship, using the waves' movements to propel the forward. It would probably be difficult to stand if you were not used to the ice but Ingrid was more than used to the ice. Ingrid's homeland is mostly ice so this was like walking to her.

As Ingrid approached the ship she just simply did a kinetic jump onto the ship. But Ingrid didn't expect the ice sheet she made to be so thin after the travel to the ship. The water must have been warmer than she expected. The Ice broke underneath her and she went up maybe a foot and then fell into the newly created hole in the ice. She decide to just climb up the side where the ladder was. As she was climbing she slipped and hit her head on one of the steps, dazing her. Hitting the water brought her back to attention. She finally decided to just make a large ice structure to put her on top of a small ice block to get on the ship. As the block grew closer and closer to her goal, the ice flipped as a big wave hit it and sent her off it into the water again. Defeated she yells to Penny and Trypano for a rope. I can't even get on a ship. How humiliating…

Avalia

Time: Evening
Location: The desert
Interactions: @FunnyGuy The Other Bandits
Mentions: @hide on mana Kuroi
Inventory: An old yellow cloak, an old set of clothes, a water skin, some smoked meats, a set of very old Metal Gauntlets, and an old Spear.

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Uzul had been ready to take on all of the bandits to give Kuroi the space to slip through but they have completely stopped their pace, ensnaring them in battle. They don't seem to have enough battle sense to not challenge us. Very well, I shall not drag this out for longer than needed. An elf wielding light magic, they seem to not be ready for an actual battle. Her light magic will be akin to a beacon to any nearby monsters. I need to silence her. The same can be said about the newt over there. His lightning will produce sound and light. The orc seems to have gone through the rites and defeated a spider of some kind. He will be dangerous for Kuroi. My skin should be able to withstand his attacks in the meantime. The kitten and lizard aren't even worth fighting. They will most likely flee after I end their companions. Uzul greeted the group with an open hand, hiding the other.

The battles had started and it seems their heavier hitters have decided to mark Uzul as their query. Uzul was elated that they chose him. They are following the battle he imagined of them. It was unfortunate that I didn't properly deflect the bolts. The kitten won't be looking over here for an easy mark anymore. A shame. Uzul watched them try and flank him but it was frankly pathetic. The Dragonborn was slow but seemed assured he would cleave Uzul in half. He wasn't the worry at the moment. The speedy orc had leaped at him. Seems he is stupid or insane.

Uzul unclasped his cloak with his exposed hand, keeping eye contact with the ax-wielding newt, showing no fear or worry of his presence. From the other hand, Uzul prepared to launch his metal gauntlets at the Dragonborn. Uzul believed that the orc had killed a spider. His perception had probably raised from the spider, which is why he is comfortable leaping at me. He will be ready to adjust if I swing at my max range and then strike me leading to a critical strike from both sides. So I must keep my focus on the newt for now and trust that my experience will guide my strike when he finally drops his guard. As they closed in Uzul let his century of combat be his guide. Originally he was going to use his spear but he instinctually switched to his gauntlets right before he made his move.

Uzul crouched, briefly hiding his exposed hand. The once exposed hand was busily tensing up to throw 1 of the heavy metal gauntlet as the other hidden hand readied for the counter on the orc. The gauntlet had flown to the newt carrying the cloak with it, obscuring Uzul for but a moment. A powerful twist of his torso turned uzul the other way and he went for a high hook with the other metal gauntlet. Uzul hoped that his instincts hadn't failed him for he had to remove the obstacles between him and the princess's for he was their guide.

The Hourglass Order

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Location: Isla d'Amato

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Interactions:

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Ingrid listened to the princess's speech. Ingrid had heard so many boastful speeches of war recently that it just feels unoriginal. Spinning this to really be about the rightful ruler and painting your side as righteous was a classic. They were classic for a reason, they worked. Ingrid felt herself being moved by it slightly. Amelia's speech was reminiscent of some of the books Ingrid read as a child. Ooh! I wonder if she has read the True King of the South? Or maybe the Oriflamme Epic. Such good reads. As these warm feelings washed over Ingrid, she continued to clear the debris.

Ingrid's mind was on where Penny might be. With the sky lightening with the approaching day, Ingrid should be able to make out landmarks to look for her. Whatever the case they need to at least confirm if she is alive or not. Ingrid shuttered at the thought of what pirates might do to a captured girl. Well whatever, I need to finish clearing the debris before I can go look. There are probably more people trapped in the rubble. Ingrid took a look around, she would be here for a long time if she kept holding back. Now that she knows that the princess wasn't going to try to kill them at the moment, Ingrid could finally use her telekinesis fully.

It was mere moments after Ingrid started, A loud crack rippled in the air. It sounded like canons, Ingrid turned her head to prepare for battle but instead was met with the amplified voice of Penny! Ingrid felt a great deal of relief seeing she was alive. The 2 ships were surprising, to say the least. Where could she have gotten them Ingrid pondered for but a moment before returning to debris clearing now more at ease with one less dead teammate. I'm sure Penny is going to have a hell of a story to tell us. Ingrid went back to cleaning up the rubble.

As Ingrid got deeper into the rubble of the storehouse, the injuries got more severe. The most she could do was cauterize some of the injuries. They would need medical attention from an actual doctor. Then Ingrid finally uncovered someone who had already died. Ingrid paused. She had been removing debris when she came across what looked to be one of the beams that she blew up in the previous fight. As Ingrid the shards of wood she came across the mangled corpse of a young boy, maybe 13 if Ingrid were to guess. Ingrid seemed to shut down. That momentary relief of not having to fight the princess and Penny being alive no longer mattered. The sight of the body sent her into a haze. She kept cleaning the rubble when now she overcame an injured woman trying to get into what seemed like a crushed dresser even as the rubble covered her. She screamed over something about her child. Ingrid's blood ran cold. She didn't want to see what she had done but she had to. The sight was revolting. Her stomach turned and twisted and she felt horrid.

In another show of power, Ingrid began to draw in more energy than normal. She didn't want to be here she needed space. The rubble moved quickly overhead and was stacked in the growing pile. The Injured were moved to a separate area out of the way. Ingrid broke away to take a moment in the alley to try to calm herself. It wasn't long until she was spewing the alcohol she had drunk earlier trying to make a deal with Captain Xavier Falzon. Some tears were shed over what she had done. Ingrid wasn't trying to process her thoughts, more like expel them for the moment while the mission was still going. Ingrid will be there for a few minutes.

The Hourglass Order

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Location: Isla d'Amato

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Interactions: Trypano @A Lowly Wretch, Desmond @Th3King0fChaos, Amelea, Nerio, and Ismet'ych'lahin'dichora @Force and Fury, Onarr @Bork Lazer

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Ingrid wasn't naïve enough to think Benedetto would simply take this laying down but she didn't expect a rant. Benedetto's gathering energy was threatening but his words lacked the substance to make an impact on Ingrid at the moment. He seemed to be on the edge from even some resistance to his actions like a child being questioned. Ingrid couldn't make sense if this was truly his thoughts or emotions being enhanced by the fight he was in. Something wasn't right with him so Ingrid kept her guard up around him knowing she couldn't do anything against him.

As Benedetto made his exit, Ingrid was mostly done with the conversation. She expected to be threatened as he seemed to be a bit nutty but instead he ranted. Whatever the case, Ingrid had to go get the people out of the destroyed buildings. Ingrid started with the building that she destroyed. Carefully but with haste, Ingrid removed the debris revealing the injured. This situation wasn't dissimilar to the lessons she has been taught how to remove debris if a mine ever collapsed when she was inside or to help save the minors. Ingrid was grateful for all those boring classes in evacuation and rescue her family forced her to learn. Grimace took hold of her face as she revealed one gratuitous injury one after another. I have to at least try to help especially when I'm the one who caused their misfortune. Ingrid hadn't seen any of the dead yet by the time the princess came to.

Trypano gave some basic instructions to keep the ball rolling. Ingrid couldn't trust the princess with how big her gestures were and how she referred to the pentad. Ingrid has met many nobles and they are always worried about optics. Ingrid would bet the same about a princess. The gathering energy in the princess made Ingrid suspicious of her. Ingrid wasn't sure if her teammates saw the princess take off into the sky so easily before she was captured. Ingrid decided it best to keep a side-eye on the conversation while clearing the rubble. Ingrid noticed Desmond's message but she already is suspicious of the princess.

The Hourglass Order

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Location: Isla d'Amato

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Interactions: Trypano @A Lowly Wretch, Desmond @Th3King0fChaos, Amelea, Nerio, Benedetto, and Ismet'ych'lahin'dichora @Force and Fury, Onarr @Bork Lazer

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Ingrid only caught a glimpse of the Atomic mage's escape with the princess. The bullet had failed to find its mark and she had just spent some energy incinerating Trypano's enemy. Ingrid could grit her teeth as the princess was whisked away. Wvysen had died, Onarr could be dead, and she hasn't even seen Penny or Benedetto in this fight. The shame she would have felt about failing so terribly had little time to set in before a sickening crash could be heard from the Atomic mage's direction.

The Atomic mage was cracked into by none other than Benedetto, sending the princess falling and the captor whirling. Ingrid believed that the princess would be saved by Trypano for no more reason than a basic level of trust, after all, she managed during the fight. Benedetto was loud, screaming things that she could only imagine a power-crazed child to yell. A scary occurrence as Benedetto has proven that he is much stronger than the atomic mage and completely untouchable to where Ingrid was. Just how weak am I? was all Ingrid could think. She knew she wasn't trained in actual combat but this was a difference in pure use of the gift. Ingrid was completely outclassed by the Atomic mage and was a candle in the wind compared to Benedetto.

This realization of her weakness was only compounded when the Greyborn had shown up again to attack Desmond and he ended it without even a scratch. She realized that the only thing she could probably do here is put out the fires before they spread to the rest of the town. She absorbed the energy out of the fires to extinguish them then transferring the heat into a wave of hot air that made its way to the forest as a small heatwave. With the fire out, Ingrid watched as Benedetto return covered in blood that was obviously not his own. Ingrid grew meek in the presence of Benedetto, especially after he described this feat as nothing.

That meekness and self-doubt were replaced with scorn when he commented on Wvysen's death. To make fun of a comrade's death, especially when you were apparently spending time with a hooker was inconceivable. This scorn built and almost came to a head until Ingrid remembered just who she would be scorning. Benedetto, a child that killed the Atomic mage without issue and could very easily do the same to her. Scorn turned to rational cowardice. Ingrid was embarrassed by how spineless she was in front of someone stronger than her.

Trypano moved to start giving commands on what to do next. Oh right, Ingrid thought, this wasn't even the end of the mission they had to still dispose of the pirate captain and acquire the artifact. Trypano's instructions were met with just a nod as Ingrid made her way and felt the energies inside of the princess. There wasn't much in her but there was enough that it made Ingrid feel uncomfortable leaving in her. Ingrid place her hand on her head and slowly started to draw out the radiation, moving her hand down her body like she was carefully removing each affected part of her. Ingrid wondered how long would she would have to stay on this mission. Her confidence was at an all-time low. She couldn't see anyone raising as much as a word against Benedetto after what he showed but she was wrong. Desmond just told him to shut the fuck up without even so much as a smile to soften it.

Ingrid was immediately concerned for Desmond's wellbeing. Benedetto didn't seem to have much stability to him. Desmond was the one to go to the brothel with him originally so maybe this is more okay? More likely this was the norm and this was too much for Desmond to not say something. Ingrid agreed with him but was scared to speak up. The cowardice she was showing made her stomach turn. This wasn't like her. The first real challenge to her morals and she crumbled. Cowardice surged into disgust for herself. She couldn't stay silent. Ingrid stood up and looked towards Benedetto, still filled with fear but now had enough disgust in herself to have her act. "You should be respectful to the dead Benedetto. If not for your enemies then at least for your allies. Speaking ill of the deceased only lowers you to that of a scoundrel and you are not that." Ingrid's words came out clear with no trepidation to be found in them. If she showed weakness in her words then she would lose morally as well.

O R I F L A M M E

I'm pretty interested. Got a character in mind as well.

The Hourglass Order

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Location: Isla d'Amato -> The Main

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Interactions: Onarr @Bork Lazer, Xavier Falzon @Force and Fury

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Ingrid was curious what the inside of The Main would look like. She had expected a smoke-filled room, scantily clad women as servers and even a brawl or two over a bad roll of the dice. But it was surprisingly calm and had an air of structure to it. With the shipping schedules and circular tables, it was more akin to a merchant house. A place that Ingrid frequented often with her father and mentors to gain experience. Ingrid had also entered alone and she remembers not getting as much respect from the merchants.

The forwardness of the pirates here had Ingrid on her feet. They knew why we entered and now she had to navigate who to make a deal with. One person after another left lackluster impressions on her for one reason or more. With each offer she deflected or denied, her trepidation grew. To have a merchant go after her you would have to do something drastic but pirates were a different thing entirely. These pirates may be professional but if they can't get what they want, she wouldn't put it past them to mug her and Onarr.

But then something good happened, someone noticed their magic. To notice their magic mean he or someone he employs could spot them. Ingrid gave him a bit of the side-eye, obviously inspecting him. His crew was large and he was interested in a cash exchange. Ingrid tried to weigh the offer but frankly, he did have some of the characteristics she was looking for. He made his proposal quick and immediate. His show of his crew felt less like a threat and more of a show of capability. He already read what kind of person Ingrid was looking for. Ingrid let out a sly grin, and turned towards him, "I think we can make a deal of some sort. How about we find a place to discuss this a bit more privately?" Ingrid pulled out the bottle given to them by Desmond to show it off, "I'll even provide the drinks." Ingrid tried to build some quick trust by offering some drinks to go with their talks.