Echo: Pirate Panic?

[Rickter]

Echo I.ii
(Searing 3) Sundered Rise 3, 122nd Year, A.o.S
Continued from here

It had taken a few minutes to scale the mounds of ice that allowed them to hop about the deck, the other half still swallowed by the sheets of ice as Rickter used the thickly frozen water as support for a wall. Being at a slant the ship wouldn't have been entirely easy to scale, lucky for Rickter, he knew just the thing that would allow him to make the climb. With the aid of Seeming and the rail of the ship, Rickter pulled himself up briskly to reach the ship's wheel. The captain's quarters lingered ahead of him now and so did Callen, the bastard ghost merely walking his way up like the ice wasn't slick at all.

Disregarding that though it only took a stern march with Seeming once more, before he finally reached the cracked doorway and pushed the door further open. The wolf figured he might as well keep Seeming activated through his boots for now, seeing as how he could easily feel how off balance he felt in here. "Alright, Callen." Rickter murmured as he started to observe their surroundings. "What are we looking for here?"

"I'm not entirely sure..." It was a room that looked simple in design, a corner turned into an office, another the bedchamber, were it not for the powder of white blocking the entire span of windows, the entire room would have been lit up and organized. Something within Rickter stirred as he felt a sense of familiarity rise within him, and he began to wonder if this really was connected to Tiberius. "Look for anything unusual that sticks out."

Rickter's eyes flicked toward the workbenches that were situated on the left corner closest to him, and noted them to be to have tools for alchemy and scrivening scattered about. The wolf's eyes moved from that toward the office corner where Callen investigated, as he filed through the parchments loosely scattered on and around the desk. He couldn't help but wonder what sort of life the azure knight had led, if he were some captain of a ship back in his time. There was only one way to find out...

The wolf treaded carefully toward the office area, as Callen filed and placed every collected parchment back down on the desk. "Nothing noteworthy about any of these, only that they're mostly gibberish." The wolf glanced at the private investigator and chuffed, his eyes back on the pages to glance over the first ones that were visible. Admittedly the man was right, it was in a language that neither understood.

"Well alright then." He regarded with a casual reach for the drawer, quick to give it a gentle tug to see if it might pop out. Lo and behold even with the slight frozen moisture between the edges, the damned thing popped open after a second to reveal something inside. At least... just one thing. "What have we here?"

It was a pendant in the shape of a compass with a bird flying to the northern spike, silver-based from what the wolf could tell, and the flip of the pendant would reveal a small keyhole. Thankfully attached to the silver links of the pendant's chain was a key, that Rickter could angle and insert into the lock with relative ease. "Whoa whoa!" Callen reached out only to hover his hand over Rickter's, warning him to think before he continued with turning that key. "Remember kid about the bell?! This is that moment kid!"

"Again with the gods damn bell, McCenry?!" The wolf slightly growled in annoyance. "I'm well aware of the risks I'm taking here. I initiate a Trial, I locate the key or whatever he talked about, and then we unlock whatever secrets he's been hiding." The wolf looked back down at the key and gave it a gentle twist, hearing a latch within the compass pop to release the cap. Callen looked at the wolf with an anxious expression, but Rickter was far too interested in what they were about to discover. In inspecting the surface once more the compass design looked to be a lid, revealing beneath it a Mnemonosyte stone glowing brilliantly with color throughout the spectrum.

A musical tune started to play from the pendant and with it, a snag in Ricker's spirit that felt like something (or someone) had noticed him there. It unnerved him but Rickter swallowed hard, ready to brave whatever trial awaited him beyond this trinket. He wasn't ready for this sort of confrontation, not yet to say the least, but Rickter knew it would happen sooner or later. Either way... "I Call upon thee... Tiberius." The lorestone within the pendant radiated a brilliant light as the somber notes grew higher in pitch and pace, the sound almost prickling to Rickter's ears as he felt that light engulf him. For a moment the world around him shifted into a haze, as if he'd accidentally slipped into Slipspace somehow, he wasn't quite sure how else to describe the feeling of dislocation.

Regardless he noticed a gilded chain had ensnared his forearm now, the pendant no longer in his grip as he felt pulled through what Rickter could've only described as a dark void, before feeling the weight of the world spiral all around him when his feet hit the floor once more. Rickter stiffened to make sure he was done with whatever the fuck that relocation spell was, before inspecting his hand to notice the gilded chain had disbanded from his forearm. Yet around his wrist was still a pair of golden lines, swirling as though they were waiting to interlace with one another. "The fu-" His center of gravity was thrown completely off, as Rickter felt the entirety of the ship suddenly sway to his left.

That sent the wolf reeling until he caught himself against the wall, and held onto it for support before the weight of the ship shifted once more. The rocks of the boat were strong but took place at intervals, which suggested that the ship had to be afloat at sea if that were the case. He looked to the closed door of the Captain's Quarters, before noticing that his partner Callen wasn't around with him at all. "Great." He murmured. "Lesse what this is all about."

"Common" "Synskrit" "Norvaegan"
"Rickter" "Callen"

[Avamande]

Avamande floated calmly in an open void, their mind wandering freely in the space between wakefulness and dreaming. They had lost track of which was which when the sound of gulls and the scent of salt began to invade their senses. Did it matter if one was awake or asleep, when one was called? The closest they had ever been to the sea was Lake Midori, but it felt sensible for them to find themselves on it.

Sense and sight slowly reached them as they woke from the stupor that they had been in, the void in which they had hung solidifying into the wood surroundings of what seemed to be a ship at sea. Another man was in the cabin with them, a sense of familiarity immediately surging through Avamande even as they only saw his back.

"Lord Rickter," Avamande said with a slim bow, politely ignoring the Wolf's exile. After what they had seen the very night before Talon had been taken from Kalzasi, they had doubted much of what was said about the Prince's erstwhile love. "We meet again. How might I be of service?" Pausing for a moment, they examined the cabin, raising a brow upon realizing that this time it was just the two of them. "I do hope that my assistance shall suffice."

It was useless to ask what was going on, things around Rickter had gone on a similar course the first time around, and things had seemed to work out rather well by simply accepting what was before their eyes. The fact that was what before their eyes was quite impossible never occurred to them for some reason, the Hytori finding their current surroundings appropriate. Frankly, if they had somehow been granted the truth and it was revealed to them where they truly were, they wouldn't particularly mind one way or the other.

[Rickter]

Being on a ship that was actually in motion really screwed with his senses, and not in a favorable way, but it was when Rickter felt something else slip through into the room. It was an odd sensation that caused the surface of his hand to tingle, but after it passed, that something turned out to be some one that the wolf had indirectly met once before. Avamande. He appeared out of nowhere and yet looked as though he'd been standing there already, which in a roundabout way made little sense to Rickter when he tried to put his finger on it.

Regardless, the shock in his eyes fell into relief as he finally tried to move forward, and the next roll of the ship caused him to teeter toward the desk in front of the Elf. At the greeting the wolf raised an eyebrow, clearly somewhat baffled to be referred to as 'lord' in this situation. "Greetings..." He murmured while he planted his palms firmly on the desk, a knowing glance averted from Avamande before Rickter tilted his head, and then leaned into the next roll of the ship with a brief groan.

"I'm not entirely sure, mate, I'd only just gotten started when you arrived." He responded honestly with a genuine look toward the Elf, before looking back down on the surface of the desk. There was a map of Ailizane and perhaps... another map that the wolf had never seen before, the shape of the continent having never been seen on any map he'd ever known. "Not to worry, I'm actually glad to have somebody here." He admitted in regards to the final comment the man had to say, the wolf rather thankful to have somebody of some familiarity present at the least.

"Last time we did this, Tiberius said there were these... keys? I think I used one to activate whatever trial this is, it was some kind of... a-a locket of some kind that could play music. If that's the key then maybe we gotta find pieces of that?" He didn't rightly know... He didn't actually partake in those trials that night, but, he would be damned if he didn't try and figure it out in his own time here. Another roll caused he wolf to clench before he looked a touch pale, his gaze lifted from the maps back to Avamande when he loosened his shoulders once again.

"Listen I don't really know what to expect in doing this... It could get risky exploring ahead. But either way, there's gotta be more places to explore on this ship no?" He reasoned before twisting around to look for the door, a wry expression on his face as he waited for the next bow of the ship to hit. He really fucking hated sailing. Nevertheless, after he released the clench in his arms and legs, Rickter moved for the door to the Captain's Quarters.

He gave Avamande one final look of uncertainty, "You comin'?" He thought to ask before giving the knob a gentle squeeze.

"Common" "Synskrit" "Norvaegan"
"Dialogue" "Thought"

[Avamande]

Upon realizing that they were on a ship, presumably at sea, Avamande pursed their lips and then... cheated. A controlled use of Lift cushioned the space in between the deck and their feet, stabilizing them as it rolled underneath their feet. Where Rickter leaned into the tide, the Hytori simply stayed completely upright with the same flat expression on their face.

"We seek the fragments of a locket then? A simple enough task on paper, I suppose. I do hope that there will not be disturbances as grand as last we met however, such seems... unhealthy to repeat." While their memories of their first time meeting Tiberius were hazy, they weren't terribly keen on having a similar experience. Especially not so soon after the last.

"Exploring does seem to be the only way that we shall succeed in your quest, yes," Avamande said with a nod in response to the man's questions. The notion of not following Rickter never occurred to them to begin with, and the mage made ready to follow behind the Wolf as they began to scour the vessel for any signs of this key of which he spoke. It seemed terribly important to the man, and while they would not pretend that they understood the situation at hand, they saw no reason not to assist the Prince's love in such an endeavor.

"I must admit however, I am not terribly expert at anything nautical. Are you at all familiar with this vessel?" they asked. Rickter seemed to know more about these situations than those who were brought to assist him, and any information may be helpful. Approaching him, Avamande's eyes were then drawn to the sight of gold bands swirling about his wrists. "Lord Rickter, if I may be so bold, what is the nature of your newest accessory?" they asked, gesturing towards them.

[Rickter]

Rickter had to admit he was actually growing to like the cheeky bastard, if not wonder more about Avamande and the life he led in the Waking World. If he ever made it back to Kalzasi then he would have to track the man down, and learn what he could from him when they finally met. "Aye, that's something to hope for." Knowing his luck as of late he only hoped this would be an easy venture, after all, he wasn't entirely thrilled to be on a moving ship at all. Such hope always remained shadowed by a suspecting doubt though, and the wolf's gut told him no such thing was easy or without cost.

"I'm not sure at all. From what very little I know on the Mazes, they were charters and explorers before they became merchants. If this ship is related to Tiberius, then it has to be where we found our origins." Of course Rickter had no absolute way of really knowing this, he had hardly engaged with the actual family back in Kalzasi. But from their trade industry he knew just that little, yet it still explained nothing on Tiberius... yet. That was when Avamande pointed out the twirling bands of gold on his skin, the magical rings still crossing over one another as there had already been an interwoven chainlink formed at the base of each wrist. Another unexpected and unknown variable, but if he were to guess, it had to be related to a countdown of a sort.

"I'm gonna be really honest and say, that I don't really know at this point." He admitted with an utterly dumbfounded look as he lifted his hand from the doorknob. Both of his wrists gazed upon curiously as he tried to ascertain what they meant. When he focused on them he blinked to activate his arcane sight. His Semblance rune glowed beneath the fabric of his raiment when his eyes changed, a golden stare fell on his wrists as he looked at the aura radiating off his wrists. He perceived the hues of his natural affinity, the blues and cyans that softly radiated off his skin, and where there were the golden bands was a thin gilded aura.

Now he just needed to remember what Talon had instructed him, and perceive that aura to understand its nature better. What he soon noticed made his heart drop for a second, which the generated distress became briefly apparent to Avamande when Rickter needed to catch his breath. "It's weaving a chain," he stated the obvious as the light in his eyes dulled back to their blue hues, "between my soul and something else." He couldn't perceive what because that link he gazed into linked into another chainlink, and then another, and then another, and then another.

"I-I hate to say it but... I'm pretty sure I have a time limit here." He remarked before he lowered his wrists, and gave Avamande a look of concern. And then a loud bang bounced from the other side of the door, the outer wood splintering as Rickter visibly jumped back from it. His heart raced as he flicked his right hand downward, a twist in the wrist allowing him to grip the hilt of his blade Way to Dawn. "And something tells me we just got company!" Another bang splintered more of the wood as the pommel of a cutlass broke through, the sound of rainfall now filtering through when the weapon was wrenched from the door.

Then another bang to chip away another portion of the door, as the figure of a wrinkled living corpse poked it's head inside. Tattered pirate gear made it obvious that this entity was a part of the ship, although, there was an absurd amount of black briars entangled all over the creature. "Stay back, mate!" He warned Avamande with a gesture of his left hand, horror in his eyes as he had a sinking feeling he did not appreciate in his gut. Those vines indicated something else he didn't know of entirely, something he felt like he should know no less, and certainly something that every fiber of his being demanded to stay away from.

The wolf moved his palm toward the door next as the undead pirate sought to kick down the rest of the door, his rune of Elementalism brightening next when he started to channel aether.

"Common" "Synskrit" "Norvaegan"
"Dialogue" "Thought"

[Avamande]

"The Mazes?" Avamande asked, face placid. They knew next to nothing about where they were or what they were doing, but Rickter seemed to understand what was going on, and that was good enough for them. Perhaps it shouldn't be enough, but at the moment they couldn't think of a good enough reason to object to the surreal situation that they had been placed in. At least, it was enough until the Wolf admitted that he was in some ways just as confused as the Hytori. This was not good. This would not do at all.

A slight frown crossed their face, the most emotion that Rickter had ever seen from the elf, as they watched the man think through the situation that they were in. Distressing. A chain woven into his very soul, to some other thing that they had no idea about, and that seemed to be pulling him away from their current quest. "Soul magic is a frightful thing, Lord Rickter. It seems that we have no recourse but to conclude our business before it completes whatever weave it wills."

Punctuating their statement was the sudden bang, the frame and hull of the ship beginning to splinter around them. With a long suffering sigh, Avamande decided to conserve their aether and let go of the cushion of flux that had kept them isolated from the rolling tide, preparing instead for what was to come. They swiftly prepared a Negation ward tasked against physical blows, but kept it in reserve for the moment, ready to Tunnel it to protect Rickter should the need arise.

With the door about to collapse, Avamande's focus switched away from the physical world to consider the state of both aether flux and Slipspace, ready to provide what aid they could to the Wolf - or simply blast apart whatever was about to intrude upon them. "As you wish, Lord Rickter."

[Rickter]

Had Rickter any real knowledge about Soul magic and what it entailed, he likely would've had a much more scholarly approach to all of this in all honesty. Messing with powers beyond him just to understand them alone was bad enough, yet the answers to Tiberius had to lie in wait within this trial set before them. Of course, now with undead 'pirates' awaiting them on the other side, Rickter already began to question the necessity behind all of this, as well as the risks worth weighing in regards to his companion's own involvement. Make no mistake he would keep Avamande safe though, as Rickter found him worthy of such protection regardless. It was when he reached his left arm out though, that the aether he cast felt a change within nature.

What should've been an expression of ice magic to decimate the intruding pirate, came out as a white hot flame from his left hand once his Eminence emblem responded on its own. In just the blink of an eye the wolf felt warmth spread throughout his entire arm, whilst the flames of Dawnfire shot forth from his palm with a fading echo of a thought deep within his mind. Luminus Pyre. As if it were a shadow of an after thought, the name faded away as a tendril of silver flames beckoned forth. The pirate and any of his shipmates behind him all cried out dryly as what frail remnants of life within them burned to cinders.

Rickter looked at his left hand in awe as the tendril consumed the first pirate, his body frantically flailing about as both it and the briars infecting it soon dissipated into ash. The rest of the crewmates behind him had similar experiences, the smoldering flames of Dawnfire eager to purge anything touched by those black thorns they saw. When it became clear that it was just Avamande and Rickter again, aboard the still moving vessel as another roll knocked through his damn stomach moments after, the wolf held off the queasiness that built in his gut when he looked cautiously over to the Hytori. "I didn't intend to do that..." He admitted a little worriedly, hopeful that something else unexpected might come along now. He'd had enough of surprises in just one visit.

"Those thorns," he pointed out as he started to draw closer to the doorway once more, "something about them felt... wrong." When he peered out he could see the deck below as the rain showered across the planks, the sails above in full mast as they flapped heavily from the winds that battered them. They were sailing in a storm? What sort of fucked up trial was this?! "I think... I think we should be fine now." He prayed rather than just hoped, as he stepped foot outside to feel the deluge wash over him. The last of the silver flames died out on the deck around him, as the ashes left behind dissolved from the spray of the deluge. If they were suppose to find pieces of the locket he'd found prior to the trial, then perhaps that meant exploration of the ship could've led to their discovery somehow.

It could also be easier and even faster if they were to split apart, though, the wolf felt adamant about keeping his charge protected during this trial. Not that he didn't believe in Avamande to say the least, but to ensure he remained safeguarded if they actually did separate, well, the wolf would definitely take a few extra countermeasures to keep the Hytori protected. "We may be able to cover more ground if we continue our search separately, but that's only if you feel the need to conserve time." He advised as he had looked down at his wrists once more, seeing only three to four links had been woven from the center of his wrists. If he had to guess he had until they probably linked all around them, which he didn't want to stick around to find out what happened then.

And when he looked about the wolf could feel something, a sensation that was akin to prickling on the skin, only it was deeper inside the wolf's own soul somehow. It pulled at him like a gentle tug, or perhaps even a breeze, eager to guide him and even his companion to where something lay in secret. Two paths were ahead of them then, as they could either scale the mast to climb high within the sails, or follow the other tug's direction down into the bow of the ship. He knew not what awaited them either way, but the wolf looked to Avamande to see what his companion had to say.

"I'm getting sensations. I don't know if they're clues or not, but something sits likely within the crow's nest of the ship. There's also the cargo hold beneath us, I believe, where the other pull I'm feeling wants to lure us there..." Admittedly he beheld a grim look as he looked unsure, at least, he was willing to go with whatever Avamande might suggest from here. "What do you think we should do mate?"

"Common" "Synskrit" "Norvaegan"
"Dialogue" "Thought"

[Avamande]

Avamande had not been particularly concerned about Rickter's welfare, he had after all been chosen to be the bodyguard for the Prince of Kalzasi, but even they were impressed by how swiftly he dispatched the threat that had emerged. The Dawnfire granted to Arcas' chosen was a wonder to behold, and they permitted themselves the freedom to openly gawk at its destructive power. Not a single fragment of any force which dared to impede the followers of the Dawnking was left, the purifying flame consuming all in its path.

With the threat abated, the mage simply followed after the Rathari, considering but not replying to his concerns about their present situation. He, after all, knew far more about what was going on than they. Arriving on deck, they crafted a weak Negation canopy against the rain, so that the two could talk in a measure of comfort as they determined their next course of action.

"I concur, Lord Rickter, I do not think it wise to meddle with soul magic. We had best handle this as quickly as possible," they said, looking at the growing links around Rickter's wrist. While it seemed that they had a great deal of time left, they did not know how the mechanism of this particular enchantment worked, and were habitually loathe to take chances. While under ordinary circumstances that would have compelled them to stick together, these were far from ordinary.

Looking up at the mast, they could not make out any obvious threats, and made their choice. It did not take a genius to realize that Rickter was being overly protective, and it seemed by far the least dangerous of the two directions. The notion of teaching the bodyguard that not everyone required his protection at all times did flash across Avamande's mind, but, well, he was literally a bodyguard who had lost his charge. A measure of overzealous protection was perhaps to be expected.

"Should it please you, I will take the crow's nest."

[Rickter]

Avamande not only agreed but supported the idea of completing this trial swiftly, and for the most part, Rickter felt a bit better about his situation now that he had somebody at his side. Even if he was painfully unaware of what was unfolding around him, the wolf knew that time was of the essence in this case.

It seemed as though his companion had the same idea in mind also, covering more ground by splitting up and taking to seek multiple pieces at once. Whatever this key really was, Rickter wanted to assemble it as quickly as possible, so that hopefully he might unlock one of the secrets of his forbearers. "The crow's nest is it?" He looked up before realizing that the rain wasn't actually pelting him anymore, a slight grin finally tucked at the corner of his lips before he looked back over to his companion.

"Very well, the nest is yours. I know you can handle a climb like that so I'll leave you to it mate, meanwhile, I'll explore the hold below and seek another piece there." He almost felt unsure about leaving Avamande alone after what he'd just witnessed earlier, but he didn't doubt the Hytori would be able to handle himself in a tough situation. After all, fire seemed pretty effective here regardless of its source. "I'll return back up as soon as I can, watch yourself while you're up there mate."

He assured Avamande with a firm nod, hopeful and confident his ally would succeed in this endeavor. All the while, Rickter took note of the entrance to the hold below deck.

"Common" "Synskrit" "Norvaegan"
"Dialogue" "Thought"

[Avamande]

"Fare thee well, Lord Rickter. I shall do my best to return from the crow's nest swiftly, I am certain you shall find success in your own mission," Avamande said with a courteous bow to the Wolf. The sudden lack of rain was refreshing, though the droplets bouncing against the canopy of the magic ward did cause them to have to speak louder than normal. Time was indeed of the essence, and though they could see the flash of uncertainty across his face, they were glad to see that he was able to arrest it. It would not do for the man to fall back upon the habits of his profession when they had far more pertinent issues - like the magical link on his wrist slowly counting down to what neither knew.

Indeed, of the two destinations that they were splitting up to deal with, the hold seemed the more dangerous of the two. With his demigod gifted light, Rickter was by far the more capable of the two to deal with any roving skeletons that might haunt the hold, and above them Avamande could see only wind and rain. True, the storms would whip about them, but that was nothing a clever combination of Kinetics and Negation couldn't handle. A shield of Negation against the only visible impediments, and then the swift upward motion of Kinetics to bring them swiftly to the crow's nest. It didn't seem particularly distant, and if anything, they should be able to return swiftly enough to assist Rickter in the hold below.

Wrapping a long, narrow canopy above themselves, anchoring it upon their own hair and tasking it against the storm. Protected from the elements, they swiftly began to ascend, staring directly at the crow's nest with an air of determination. After all, how hard could it possibly be?