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Post by Agrippa on Jul 6, 2021 16:58:41 GMT -8
The nod was all that it took, Agrippa closed their eyes, concentrated, and started to fade...
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Post by Krakenbox on Jul 6, 2021 17:23:21 GMT -8
As Agrippa became transparent, Rowan checked his own hands as his mind briefly drifted to Hayao Miyazaki's film that paralleled the experience of being Lost. Chihiro got to go back. He still had his Name—that meant something—but his hands didn't match the faded form of the other Freeholder. The line went off like match to a fuse of dynamic, sizzling to ash as the Unicorn walked on another Plane and Rowan... Lit up like a bonfire,
The bright gout of Fairy and the promise of Life—a beacon of hope in a wasteland. The howl from the Valley was deafening as the spirits smelled their prey, alone and limping.
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Post by Rowan on Jul 6, 2021 18:00:10 GMT -8
There was a look of resignation on Rowan's face when he realized what was happening. The hope that dared to flash across his features was stomped out as quickly as it appeared. He turned around and headed toward the nearest wall. Agrippa might as well not exist anymore, for all the good they would be now.
Placing his hand on the wall, he summoned more Glamour - it couldn't get much worse that it already was. With his will, he compressed dimension until everything was a single plane. His sight fractured from the effort, splintering into eight kaleidoscopic facets of the same. Rowan prepared to take a tentative limp forward.
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Post by Agrippa on Jul 6, 2021 20:30:48 GMT -8
Agrippa opened their eyes and nothing was as it should have been. They had felt themselves ascend yet they were not back on the surface, and everything looked...oh no
"B-but Bonnie said I could end it!"
The Unicorn bit their lip, mind racing to think of what exactly they had done wrong.
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Post by Krakenbox on Jul 6, 2021 21:25:12 GMT -8
Conclusions bubbled in Agrippa's head: Bonnie Hill was doing her best with an eldritch rite whose nuances were likely only known to masters of the occult; and Bonnie had instructed, "Make sure [the anchor] isn't messed with and carry it with them, since they can't advance without you moving it? Agrippa can pop them back if it gets too much."
The anchor must have been messed with. Or maybe cutting the line ended the ritual wrong? They didn't have the knowledge to know.
How was a mystery to them, but they knew they were supposed to: there was no way Rowan was going to complete the ritual. He would never make it with the messed up leg, even with the Arcadian Steed lifting his heels. Rowan was the perfect bait, creating enough noise for the unicorn to sprint to the Door. However, Agrippa would be slipped through the other side like a draft, and Bonnie said it it was a one way trip rather than a nice slip into the Bastion.
The Helldiver had no idea what would meet them on the other side.
If Agrippa wanted to switch to Rowan slowly making his way all the way to the graveyard so he could use his borrowed Kith ability instead, they would have to fade back to give him the mirror. They would need to somehow manage being the new distraction, and pull the ghosts to even give him a sliver of a chance.
Was that even possible? Did they even have enough time?
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Post by Agrippa on Jul 6, 2021 22:15:50 GMT -8
The helldiver gripped the mirror, still after all this time in their hands, and held it up to their chest as the details fell into place and the options dawned on them. Whatever else was true, Agrippa was not just going to leave Rowan here. Not while they still had breath and glamour. Not while they still had hope, no matter how small that might be.
Rowan just had to last long enough for them to come back... Agrippa cursed themselves under their breath and made a silent promise that should they die tonight, they were going to come back as the nicest and softest ghost the shadowlands had ever known. And there was no other option aside full survival.
Rowan was not going to die.
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Post by Krakenbox on Jul 6, 2021 22:17:34 GMT -8
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Post by The Wyrd on Jul 7, 2021 14:50:28 GMT -8
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Post by Krakenbox on Jul 7, 2021 19:51:13 GMT -8
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