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Sovereign's Will: The Edge of War [Looking for new players]

Athena Voltspear

Location: Stritzel Estate, Kindeance

---

Athena looked at Jazdia as the elf woman approached. She sat up quickly awaiting whatever news or recommendations she had. Though Athena and Louise were in this weird post battle state, it would not do either of them good to forget they were still within enemy territory and further hostilities could still come from the manor itself. It was something that Athena would have been embarrassed to admit, but for the moment she was with Louise and Evan, she forgot the battle was still ongoing, even if she and those with her weren’t engaged. For now, what was inside was quiet, or at least quiet enough that the assault team couldn’t know what troubles might have been inside. The infiltrators were still in there, so Athena hoped they didn’t run into anything debilitating.

“Yes, I can walk.” said Athena in response to Jazdia. Athena twisted her body slightly enough so that she could face Louise better, “I’m sure. Thank you.” Athena used her right arm as a brace to lift herself up. She ached, but not as bad as she did before. Most of the pain she was feeling was mostly isolated to her left arm. Once she was fully planted on both feet, Jazdia’s blazer was presented. Spare cloth to act as a sling. Athena would have protested but Louise had already grabbed the garment and started to fasten it around Athena’s arm and shoulder. Jazdia herself didn’t seem to mind, and Athena could still see she was modest, so there were no outward protests.

“I don’t suppose you know where Evan went?” asked Athena. She heard the grass rustle as Evan stood up just moments before, no longer asking his questions. Athena tried to look where he was going, but as she was lying down, she couldn’t quite see. Jazdia only presented Athena with a look that answered the question and deterred any more. Perhaps the weight of the assignment was beyond what he expected, and he decided to wait out the rest of the raid with the two other men from Antigone’s scouting team.

“Alright, just let me grab my spear. Whatever happens from now, I’d rather have it than not.” said Athena. The spear had landed a little out of the way, but was still within sight of the camp fire Yvonne had built. Athena started to make her way there when her ears shifted. Something was happening in the manor now. A roar, shouting, the crash of heavy items and weapons. Athena turned to Jazdia and Louise.

“There is fighting in the manor. We should finish grouping up quickly.”

Sovereign's Will: The Edge of War [Looking for new players]

Solomon Sparrow

Location: Stritzel Estate, Kindeance

---

“Bears. Listen. Cedar needs to leave. He is in no shape to fight.” said Bartholomew. This was a weird position for him. It was one thing for the armor to take on Ted. Even if he was capable of being grievously wounded he would still have not batted an eye on his task. He was trained for, ready for such ordeals. He failed once which led to his current state of body, but now he could assume as much damage and risk as possible. Cedar, on the other hand, was in no such state. Even if he were in peak condition, Cedar just was not a fighter. His vines and intuition were impressive, but against something as ruthless as Ted, Cedar was nothing more than wet paper.

Bartholomew easily stopped Cedar from passing, but the weakened bear still had his sisters to back him up. Together the twins tried to push into Bartholomew, shove him out of the way. Letting go of his axe, Bartholomew braced his stance against the two. It was two of them, and Bartholomew lacked an arm. He was able to hold one of the girls back, but the other was able to slip past his left despite Bartholomew trying his best to shift if body to intercept. There were multiple methods he could have done to stop them. He would never know if they would have succeeded because he actively held himself back. These creatures were friends of Solomon’s, and it would not do right to him and the second chances he provided to make an enemy of him. But he also couldn’t let them just pursue the murderous beast, either.

Bartholomew ultimately failed to block the twins. One of them held him while the other essentially climbed on top. Being too top heavy and with nothing to grab, Bartholomew fell over. In the time it took the fiery armor to free himself, the other twin resumed lifting cedar and was already making their way up the stairs. The other joined them, quickly sprinting to catch up. They both apologized again. And just kept going without any intent to reconsider. Bartholomew stood up, picked up his axe and was ready to chase them, but stopped. Slamming the axe into the wall where it stayed embedded, Bartholomew turned to face the junction of the other hall and lab.

“Cedar is making towards the manor. He pursues the fire bear.” he called to any who could hear him, be it Veronica or Solomon.

Solomon was not having luck finding anything intact. Not that he expected there to be much for how long the fire was left to burn. He stashed the diagram and the wet notebook away, the latter wrapped in a cloth to prevent the smell from spreading. It didn’t look like much, but perhaps the later pages of that book might reveal what else Widernia planned to do with such blood. She was definitely planning something. Orbs of blood kept through out the lab was evidence for it.

In the meantime, Matteo was finishing putting out the rest of the fire. Thin layers of sand covering the majority of the lab floor nor. Dust, debris, and sand still filled the air so visibility was still low. It didn’t matter much now, Solomon thought he found all he could and was ready to call for his undead allies to escape after the others. However, Bartholomew gave out a call of warning. It felt like something Cedar would do, but he needed to rest, recover, and just get himself out of the manor all together. Solomon looked towards Matteo and with silent understanding, both Solomon and Matteo sank into the ground. Solomon wouldn’t be able to stop Cedar, even in his weakened state. Instead, the two would catch up with Veronica and figure out what she wanted to do about the wayward bear.

Sovereign's Will: The Edge of War [Looking for new players]

Solomon Sparrow

Location: Stritzel Estate, Kindeance

---

Solomon stayed behind even as Varya blasted the emergency tunnel using one of Jazdia’s enchanted arrows. Stone bits, and timber supports crumbled as the already clouded room was filled with dust and debris. He was not concerned about escape for himself. Walls meant nothing to him now, but he wanted to make sure he could do everything he could to manage the fire and the enraged bear. Solomon knew he himself incapable of doing anything, but perhaps he could guide his undead allies.

Matteo was mostly unaffected by the blast. In fact, he seemed to have a fuller mound of sand piled by the base of his feet. Sand drifted from the pile into a whirlwind around his body as he sent another brush of earthen particles across the burning floor, quelling out another strip of the fire. Again, some of the sand returned to the air consolidating by Matteo’s feet as he prepared to put out the rest of the fire.

Bartholomew, on the other hand, was broken free shortly after the blast. Ted, the enraged bear, inconsolable in his attempt to escape, knocked down the flame armor, shattered the floor, and fled down the hall towards the others. Now free from the very same stone shackles, Bartholomew attempted to give chase. He dare not let that bear reach or harm Solomon’s friends. With his one arm, he picked up his axe and took long heavy strides after Ted.

“No you don’t.” said Bartholomew as he rounded the corner to the antechamber. He went to follow the bear up the stairs after he realized that Ted wasn’t after Cedar or the others. He stopped his pursuit when he heard the cries from Solomon’s ursine friend. For reasons Bartholomew didn’t care to learn, Cedar convinced his sisters to instead follow Ted towards the manor. Bartholomew stood at the base of the stairs, resting his axe against the ground to partially block the hall.

“The other way, friends. You must take the bear friend out the other way. He cannot fight. He cannot run. Leading him towards that beast will only cause him further harm.”

In the meantime, Solomon searched the remains of the lab while Matteo continued to accumulate sand from the various pits formed in the ground. Solomon looked for anything of value that was not destroyed in the fire. He hoped to figure out just what Widernia was hoping to achieve. He had a sneaking suspicion that whatever was affecting that one guard on the surface might have originated here. And then there was Ted. His blood spilled in fire. These experiments might be connected. If Solomon could not find anything that could explain what going on, he could at least use some of what he found as evidence. Escape wasn’t an issue for him. Bartholomew left to chase Ted, and both Matteo and Solomon had the means traversing the earth. He didn’t trust the lab to last forever after the explosion from Varya, so he made the decision now was his best opportunity.

Sovereign's Will: The Edge of War [Looking for new players]

Solomon Sparrow

Location: Stritzel Estate, Kindeance

---

Solomon slowly bowed his head in acknowledgment to Veronica. He could tell by the vampire’s voice that she was in a hurry to leave. They had Cedar and Varya was up and ready to lend his support once again despite his ordeal earlier. Widernia wasn’t in much to argue, but she also wasn’t in a condition to aide them as they demanded. Instead, Widernia offered her necklace, the items she used to tame the raging bear, Ted. As they were figuring that out, Solomon set to work on calling forth his summon.

Focusing through the impending disaster, black energy surrounded by faint wisps of silver started to condense in his palm. A dark glow that absorbed the light around it also grew, a stark contrast to the flickering light of the flame just outside the room. The energy snaked from his hand into the ground, out of the way of his allies who were finalizing their holds on those who couldn’t walk.

“I call thee Matteo, deserted within the arid wastes. Heed my command and come forth.” Solomon spoke softly. The energy of black darkness and silver slivers sank into the ground. The stone cracked and crumbled as grains of sand started seeping through the crags. A hand emerged from the growing pile of rubble and then a head. Leathery gray skin held tightly to the skeletal frame slowly crawled out of the pit. White fabric crawled from the broken earth climbing up the figure and wrapped him completely. Once he was emerged, the man stood blankly towards Solomon. The figure was shorter than everyone else, dressed in white clothes akin to what one might wear to ward of the hot desert sun. Eyes completely white, the figure looked up at Solomon.

“W-Water. Please water…” the figure requested.

“I will give you water, but time will not allow me now. Please, I require you to smother the flames and clear a path for us to leave. I promise you water once we have returned above ground.” said Solomon. The figure looked down at the ground in disappointment. Solomon placed a hand on Matteo’s shoulder, reaffirming his promise.

“I can do it.” said the accursed wanderer. Both he and Solomon turned to face the opening of the room. Orange glow from the fire caused shadows to dance against the wall. Veronica with Widernia and the twins with Cedar ready to depart. Crumbling stone and scattering wood among the blaze was still audible as Ted continued breaking free of his stone shackles.

“Friends! You’d better leave. This beast has found his second wind, and I’m currently disarmed.” shouted Bartholomew. Though he lost his left arm, Bartholomew continued to use his other to stab at the beast with his axe. Still letting out battle cries to match Ted’s roars, Bartholomew was not ready to give up now that he had lost an arm. “I’ll hold him for as long as I can.”

Solomon turned to Veronica as she questioned whether Solomon can make a path through the fire. He placed his hand on Matteo’s back, confirming his newest called friend should be able to. Matteo took a couple steps forward. As he did so, thin lines of sand fell off of his clothing leaving behind a trail. That sand soon began to vibrate as though an unfeeling wind was stirring it. Further trails of sand started to follow from the crevice Matteo had emerged from, and even some of the dust that collected among the cravices of the wall and ceiling. Any small bits of stone, glass, and gravel started to consolidate around Matteo, forming a thin whirlwind around him.

“Stand back.” said Matteo. Thanks to the sand below the floor and the sand he himself was able to conjure, it took little time for the accursed wanderer to have accumulate a decent amount of sand. In one smooth motion, the sand traveled to the ground and smothered a bath through the fire near the closest wall directly to the exit where the party first arrived. The flaming liquid was either pushed aside, or smothered out as the sand traveled through and over the blaze. It was a path large enough for the party to pass the remaining inferno without having to cross any actual fire. After the path was created, some of the sand started to return to Matteo, condensing around his feet, ready to collect more and extinguish the remaining of the flame.

“Come, get everyone out.” said Solomon. “I’ll stay behind to make sure you get out as safely as possible.”

“Better hurry.” Said Bartholomew. He continued to wrestle more than strike Ted now, attempting his best to keep the enraged bear from freeing himself completely. It was obvious to anyone who would witness it that the flaming armor struggled with only one arm.

Sovereign's Will: The Edge of War [Looking for new players]

Athena Voltspear

Location: Stritzel Estate, Kindeance

---

Athena lay down awkwardly trying to ignore the pain in her arm. She even considered letting Evan ice it because at least then, it could be dulled more than she could ignore. She lay with her eyes closed, not sleeping, but listening to the fire. If it was not the fire, she distracted herself with Evan’s questions.

“I use a spear.” said Athena, she turned her head to see if she could see it. "I think it landed over there." She weakly waved her right hand towards the other side of the small crater Delving created with his attack. It was stuck in the ground at an angle, the blunt end out. Her hand wave was only towards the general direction. Though Athena could see it, the darkness would have made it hard for anyone else. Locating her spear reminded her that she also needed to retrieve her shield. It had taken the front of Delving’s attack. Though it messed up her arm, Athena could only imagine how much worse it would have been without it.

Pressing her right arm into the soft grass, Athena attempted to sit back up only for Louise to keep her down. Athena's arm was starting to feel like it was covered with pins and needles, and Louise was concerned about its condition. Athena looked up at Louise, posing the same question she did Evan.

“You know medicine?”

Sovereign's Will: The Edge of War [Looking for new players]

Solomon Sparrow

Location: Stritzel Estate, Kindeance

---

Bartholomew stepped ever closer, his axe ready to descend on the tripped beast lying on the floor. The fire had eaten away at the fur and skin of the bear, streams of hideous liquid fire dripped from its wounds. The enraged bear wasn’t through, though. With vigor, the beast turned and charged for one of the bear sisters. By now the two had joined up, them abandoning quelling the fire. Bartholomew wasn’t having any of that. Standing in his path, the animated armor brought his axe down right into Ted’s shoulder, a move the beast intended.

For a moment, Bartholomew gripped the beasts remaining fur in one hand, his axe in the other. All the while the bear wrested the armor, loosening his grip over his double bladed weapon. Before he lost it though, the bear sisters enacted their plan. The ground below them gave way, and both the armor and the bear sank as though it had turned into quicksand. The sudden change in terrain caught both fighters off guard it seemed. For just the moment, the two paused as they made sense of their new situation.

“Well now. This is what I’d call a cage fight.” said Bartholomew.

“Sorreh mista tin man. I don’ think I c’n free ya.”

“Ha! This is fine.”

Though whatever ritual they performed worked as intended, it seemed to have taken some toll on the girls. Lily coughed and was breathing heavily as though they had just finished a three hour run. But even so, she looked proud of her work. Having regained her breath, she even started to laugh a little.

“He's an ass! Make him feel like one for sticking you like that!” shouted Lily.

“Yeah! Beat his ugly face in! Look what he did to Lil!” followed Rose. Their work done, Bartholomew laughed himself. Pulling his axe free, he let the shaft slide through his grip, halting the axe dangerously close to the bearded edge of the blade. Meanwhile, the fire continued to spread as any remaining glass bottles shattered in the heat and the contents spreading. With no one attempting to fight the fire, it was getting steadily worse.

Now that they were trapped together, Ted gave up grappling the armor instead went to beating him. While he was able to endure several hits, new scratches, dents, and pits were being carved into his chest plate. Using his free hand, Bartholomew attempted to block some of the incoming hits, but being this close to the bear made it hard to block all of them.

“Sorreh mistah.. we gotta go-- you gunna be aright?”

“Ya aready made a fiyah.. it aright ta leaves ya?”

“Haha! The heat never bothered me anyway. Go on then. Save the good bear. Leave this beast to me.” said Bartholomew. When the window arose, Bartholomew would use his blade equipped hand to return blows against the beast. Trading attacks with each other while the fire burned around them.

"Gotit mistah!"
"Thanks agin!"

The bear sisters darted past the fire towards the next room containing the prison cells. Bartholomew stayed where he was mostly because he didn’t have much choice. Not that it mattered. His foe was trapped along with him, and the fight was not over, yet.

Near the prison cells, Solomon noticed Veronica as she ‘cleaned’ off her hands, but didn’t comment. They were on short time, in more ways than one. Solomon was a little taken aback by Widernia’s response. She held a lot of pride to be this close to death and still be defiant.

“I would listen to her. I have not known her to fail following through with her promises.” said Solomon. He packed up his supplies while he kept eye on the redhead’s recent bindings. They were holding, and it looked to be containing the bleeding well enough. He stood up, dusting off some of the debris from his legs.

“Yes, unfortunately, the lab is on fire. I have a couple allies I can call. But the one we need requires sand. I don’t know if there is enough time for him to conjure as much as we need.”

Sovereign's Will: The Edge of War [Looking for new players]

Athena Voltspear

Location: Kindeance

---

Athena turned to look at Evan more appropriately as he lay on the grass. He posed another question involving her fire. If he wanted to learn how to conjure it for himself, Athena had no idea how to teach him. Much of how just just realized on her own she could do it, she wasn’t sure how she could convey such a method to others.

“No one has asked before, and I wouldn’t know where to begin.” Athena said. Watching as Evan lay in the grass, and the warmth of the fire, Athena felt tired. Her arm in pain, she wasn’t sure if she could properly rest. As though Louise could tell, she came over after the fire started growing. Offering herself as a pillow. Athena was hesitant but ultimately decided to lie down anyway. She winced as she initially used her bad arm to lower herself, but recovered to the other until she was also flat against the ground.

Sovereign's Will: The Edge of War [Looking for new players]

Athena Voltspear

Location: Kindeance

---

Athena watched as Louise started to make a fire of her own. It was small and would likely burn out quickly in a few short minutes, but the light and warmth was welcome. Athena could tell Evan meant well with his words, but if he didn't know what medicine was, Athena didn't feel comfortable about Evan doing any sort of procedure. Some of what he said made sense regardless, but in his explanations he didn’t sound confident in what he was saying. It was though he knew what to do in theory but not so much in practice. Athena could not get over the idea of using ice, even finely controlled ice, would be a good idea.

“No no. I think I can hold out until someone more qualified can help. There is a doctor among us right? I know Lord Thernous has some healing abilities as well.” said Athena, "The bleeding has almost stopped, and my arm isn't broken."

Sovereign's Will: The Edge of War [Looking for new players]

Solomon Sparrow & Athena Voltspear

Location: Kindeance

---

Athena stared at Evan as he spoke about his own power. He looked human, but maybe there was more to him that pointed otherwise. Still, being able to control ice on instinct was such a marvelous feat on its own. Athena could see there was a lot of potential in that power. He still looked young, so there was room for him to grow and develop it into a formidable threat, offensively and defensively.

“I, uh, you know medicine?” Athena asked as Evan sat down next to her. She wasn’t too sure, but Evan looked more injured than initially let on. Still he offered to lend some aid towards Athena’s arm. Beyond the pain, the yokai didn’t actually look at the damage it had sustained. Clear bands were indented into her skin from where the leather was torn from the sleeve into the wounds cut in by her shield. It looked worse than if felt. It was like an oddly tingled pain, almost numb.

Before Athena answered Evan’s offer, Louise spoke up, still working with the medicine kit the wind knight had on hand. Athena looked at her arm again. Any blood that was there was a mixed in with the dirt, and the leather looked to minimize how much blood she was actually losing. A majority of it had dried, where light would only glisten around the wound itself. Athena looked back up at Louise, “It’s mostly my arm. It doesn’t look to be bleeding terribly.”



Underground in the basement lab, the fire was continuously growing. Heat was building and the smoke filling every nook and cranny it could across the ceiling. All the while, Bartholomew was continuing his assault. A clean hit, the enraged bear seemed to lose a lot of momentum, charging forwards towards the exit.

“Trying to flee are we? I’m not done yet. Ha haa!” said Bartholomew as he lifted his axe up once again, holding it close across his chest. He walked through the burning liquids, past Rose as she lay tossed aside from Ted’s grapple. He walked past Lily attempting to put out that very fire. Though he lacked eyes, one could tell Bartholomew remained focused on his foe. “Is that all you have? I’ve fought men with more spirit than that.” Bartholomew’s axe rose high ready for another downward swing.

Solomon watched the fire swell, and Rose’s answer to controlling it. In all honesty, he wasn’t surprised by her solution. In fact, it reminded the old doctor of the trick Cedar employed at Fanghorn. Still, with Bartholomew and Ted engaged by the flaming cabinets, it was going to be risky. Black energy started to condense in his palm when suddenly Ted appeared just in front of Solomon, fallen to the ground. The energy Solomon was concentrating dissipated as Solomon gave up on the summon. He saw Lily tossed aside, and the fire looked to only be getting worse.

“Lileh, Rose. You’d best get out of there. It’s getting much too dangerous, and we are losing our exits.” said Solomon taking a better look on how the situation was progressing. At the moment he heard Veronica call for him. Something must have happened. Did she or Varya fail in some way to take out Widernia? Solomon looked at the wall that separated the two sections of the lab, and then back at the bear sisters, “I’m serious, get out of there now!”

Solomon turned pitch black even in the bright light of the fire and his body clipped into the wall as though it never existed. Shortly thereafter his form reappeared again outside of the prison cells. What he saw was just as horrifying as the fight with Ted, but in its own different ways. Cedar was barely awake, strapped to a table, looking drained in more ways than one. Varya was in a cell next to him, looking a bit electrified. And then right in front was Veronica and Widernia. Blood soaked the redheaded mage’s top, and pooled around her back. Veronica was on top of her supplying air. Solomon stooped closer, lowering himself to the ground at Veronica’s height, his bones cracking.

“I see. Let me have a look.” said Solomon earnestly. It didn’t take much for Solomon to realize that Veronica was trying to save the redheaded mage. He had little reason to question her decision either. Solomon didn’t give Veronica much time to move as he started looking over Widernia’s condition. The gash across her chest seemed freshly patched in some way, almost like someone tried to peel the skin with a scalpel and stopped part way through. Noticing the partially used bottle of the healing potion provided by Yvonne answered as to why, “That potion. That’ll be the reason she lives. She’s lost a lot of blood. Any more and she might... Well, it’s still too early to tell.”

Solomon examined the injuries that remained, The major bleeding seemed to have slowed significantly. He noticed how hard Widernia was breathing. Short labored breathes. Even her skin was looking very pale almost blue. Solomon worked quickly to pull out a satchel and a roll of instruments. He felt around the mage’s chest, keeping his ear close listening. Once he was satisfied with the result, he removed some instruments and pierced the redhead’s chest. Blood and liquid exited the tube, followed by a little air. It should be enough for Widernia to resume normal breathing. Solomon then started quick patchwork of the remaining injury, stopping the bleeding, and covering the injury from further contamination.

“That would work for now, at least until we can get her out of here.” said Solomon. He looked up at the prison cells containing Cedar and Varya. He recognized the runes around the lock. If Solomon had more time, he could decipher and eventually overturn the magic they sealed, but time was quickly running out.

“Are you awake? You will be fine.” Solomon attempted to see whether Widernia was cohesive. He looked to Veronica, then back down to his patient, “We need you to unlock the cells. We’ll get you out of here to safety after that’s done.”

Sovereign's Will: The Edge of War [Looking for new players]

Athena Voltspear

Location: Kindeance

---

The night was quiet, the air cool, and the environment bloody. Athena’s head hurt and her body was sore. However, she was feeling more nimble as she got her muscles to move again. For now, the pain she was suffering from most was her arm. Taking the full brunt of Jonas’ light spear had done a number on her. Perhaps she should have considered herself lucky that she still had an arm.

Athena sat in the grass as Louise went to check on Evan. Despite collapsing, he didn’t seem terribly injured. Given the amount of power he displayed, perhaps he had just overworked himself in a short amount of time. Athena couldn’t blame him. Jonas and his false honor felt too powerful without giving it all they had. Yet, in typical Evan fashion, he posed a question. Perhaps not the best time to ask, but it was a distraction.

“Uh hmm. I really couldn’t tell you.” said Athena. She never really thought about it before. When she awakened twenty odd years ago, she just sort of understood that she had these capabilities new to her person. For one, she awoke from her slumber in a completely different form. Creating fire was just something she discovered she could do as she grew into her new identity. She really couldn’t say why is was purple either.

“Ever since I rediscovered myself, I’ve always been able to just do it.”