AbyssalRoadTrip
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Abyssal Road Trip - 342 - Death
🕑 Added 2023-10-07 05:32:41 +0000 UTCAmdirlain’s PoV - Material Plane - Qil Tris - Year 4370 (Local calendar)
They had slaughtered the undead without pause for hours since the first chamber. But the trio finally halted as the latest massive colossus of merged corpses burst apart.
Tinco sighed. “I have only read of such monstrosities.”
“Mass graves,” said Amdirlain. “I saw some of them in the Necropolis.”
Dagrastûr growled and searched for a vampire who’d fled; he caught a trace and leapt towards the cavern wall. “An ill-omened place. I’ve not heard mention of it in years. The foul thing fled into here.”
Amdirlain crushed down on the urge to tell him its fate.
Digging into an aperture in the cavern wall, Dagrastûr exposed the vampire’s coffin, and Amdirlain’s aura incinerated it.
“Did you expect this many undead, Am?” asked Te.
“The conflict on the surface must have had their military neglecting the ghost caverns these last months,” replied Amdirlain. “I’m going to have to leave this to you shortly.”
“There will be many kicking themselves; they should have taken this chance. I’ll see what keeps the one I expected to join us,” said Dagrastûr.
[Combat Summary
Spectres x342,952 (x33%)
Vampires x12 (x33%)
Vampiric Thralls x2,740 (x33%)
Zombies x623,904 (x33%)
Burning bones x12,873 (x33%)
Mass graves x9 (x33%)
Total experience gained: 125,104,259
Ostimë: +62,552,129
Ontãlin: +62,552,129]
As the combat summary appeared, Tinco shivered. “I’ve never felt such a rush of experience before.”
Amdirlain caught the draw of Mana swirling inwards towards Tinco, drawn by her increased Mana pool.
“There were only three of us,” noted Dagrastûr. “Though I’ll grant you, it was a considerable amount.”
“More than considerable. Can’t you feel the Mana swirling about me?” gasped Tinco. “I’ve never experienced or expected such progress. I feel ashamed it comes from mortals being at risk and so many dead.”
[Name: Tinco
Species: Fallen
Class: Knight / Battle Wizard
Level: 62 / 62 / 62
Health: 646,684
Defence: 2,987
Magic: 1,580
Mana: 14,789,460
Melee Attack Power: 2,903
Combat Skills: Sword-Lord [G](3), Bow [G] (73). A wide range of affinities and spell lists.]
“Yeah. If you can take any classes, perhaps now is the time to meditate and do so. There are still more caverns,” advised Amdirlain.
Jumping a Mana pool capacity by millions makes an impression.
“I regained two evolved classes after I fell, but I’m unsure about some options the flames in my vision showed me. I was leaving the decision until later,” replied Tinco.
Dagrastûr grunted. “She is done with the questioning for now and is ready to join us. I shall open a Gate for her.”
The Fallen who emerged from Dagrastûr’s Gate had rough green and black scales from head to toe and didn’t wear a scrap of clothing. Her lizard-like head had a broad maw of needle teeth and seven tri-pupil eyes on either side of her head. From her back rose six wings of rippling flame, and she carried a barbed harpoon with a length of chain extending from its haft to her dominant hand. A carved notch showed in the middle of her chest scales, and the regeneration pressure kept the cloister’s crystal pendant in place. It showed an ominous, pitch-black colouration, matched by her theme’s seething anger.
Age thrummed within her theme, and Amdirlain held off trying to get information with Analysis.
I need to withdraw from this team; I think speeding up Tinco and Dagrastûr’s progress is okay, but not so for this newcomer.
“You look like her, you know,” declared the Fallen in the Celestial tongue, her words uttered without moving her maw.
Amdirlain nodded. “The Eldest had mentioned that, if you are referring to the likeness carved in the chamber’s stonework.”
Raising a clawed finger, she poked it towards Amdirlain. “It is a likeness carved into more than just the plinth’s chamber. You’d know if you had bothered to do more than come and go as you please.”
Dagrastûr held up a hand. “Am was in the middle of tasks to help others. Just like the endeavour we’re undertaking here. Perhaps introduce yourself and not judge another of the cloister.”
The eyes on either side of the maw blinked in a rippled motion, and the Fallen tilted her head. “Is she of the cloister? Summons us to do her bidding without having helped another first. She even holds herself like Orhêthurin as well. Poised and balanced, ready to kill.”
I offered the opportunity to help; you didn’t have to fucking take it. How did Dagrastûr present my offer?
“Name a Fallen that doesn’t carry themselves that way; even Te, the youngest of us, stays ready for battle. Introduce yourself or depart. Bring no hostility when we’re working to help mortals,” chided Dagrastûr.
“I am known as Rahka,” stated Rahka flatly, and a sense of impatience rose from Dagrastûr.
“You met her?” asked Amdirlain. "Orhêthurin, I mean."
“More often than I wanted. The air about Orhêthurin always tasted of misery to me; before, it was never clear if it was hers or that of others she had wallowed in. Now we bathe daily in the misery she created for us; she was a plague looking for hosts to infect.”
“Misery we earned, and misery you can rise from if you put in the effort. Orhêthurin is deceased and left the realm with the rest of the Anar,” corrected Dagrastûr.
“Is she?” questioned Rahka. “That is just what the whispers from the divine say, but the Titan doesn’t make his will known to the likes of us.”
“Does Orhêthurin’s semblance in the cloister stir your guilt? If the facial resemblance between Am’s True Form and Orhêthurin brought you along, I suggest you depart,” stated Dagrastûr.
Rahka growled. “You had no right to air my history.”
“Then you shouldn’t be bringing your anger into cloister activity. Am didn’t ‘summon you’ or any of us. I enquired if you’d like to take part in clearing out undead hordes that place mortals’ lives at risk,” said Dagrastûr firmly.
“Orhêthurin is back, I’m sure of it,” snapped Rahka.
Well, shit! I have a fan base already. Lucky me!!! Does she know Naamah? Then again, Naamah’s predatory vibe isn’t so rage-filled. Though still not good company for a Fallen to keep if they want to escape their state.
Dagrastûr tsked. “You are deliberately ignoring my point. And who has spread such rumours? And what does it change?”
“That is for me to know.”
Dagrastûr shook his head. “Leave, Rahka. I’d not have opened the Gate if you’d been open about your anger. You need to stop poisoning yourself with it; its real focus is your guilt, yet you’ll lash out at others.”
“I wish to hunt the undead,” muttered Rahka.
Dagrastûr reopened the Gate to Ijmti and pointed at it. “The Eldest will wish to speak with you. You should leave.”
“It’s fine if she stays to hunt. I need to take care of the mortals’ concerns. I wouldn’t want to deny her the opportunity to progress,” replied Amdirlain.
“You said you would need to tend to them, but that doesn’t change the fact that the Eldest will wish to speak to Rahka immediately. She won’t be staying even if you go; it is known there is no progress with such rage within,” advised Dagrastûr.
Rahka snarled when she stepped through and Dagrastûr closed the Gate.
“I’m surprised she listened to you; she feels older.”
Dagrastûr shook his head. “It is the Eldest’s authority that I borrowed. It is improper that I had to do so. Once I called Rahka’s attention to the issue, she should have calmed herself and apologised, or withdrawn if she couldn’t. There should never be a need for a senior cloister member to issue such an order.”
“Okay, thanks for the explanation. I had better get going, or the mortals will be short on proper places to sleep, among other issues,” said Amdirlain, and she turned to a concerned-looking Te. “Te, I’d suggest you ensure you have four evolved or base classes and hold out before taking a Prestige Class. I’d recommend trying to get over a hundred at the very least. I’ve learnt there is a single Fallen transformation allowed, and it’s level-gated from when you transformed into a Fallen. While it might seem strange to want such, its strength will let you help others now and when you regain the heavens. I hope the rest of your hunt goes well. Let me know if you need help with the Spawning Abomination, and I’ll return.”
Leaving a confused Te behind, Amdirlain shifted between planes to hover in Limbo’s chaos, only once it had washed all traces of her Power away did she move on.
Sarah was waiting near the refugees’ camp with a Mana generator humming with energy.
“Did you have to alter it at all?”
“I had to tune down its intake,” advised Sarah. “It was going to burn itself out with the demi-plane’s flows; the thin boundary to the chaos between planes is likely the cause. I’ve also got a present for you.”
With the last, Sarah pulled out a memory crystal and waved it at her.
Giving her a merry smile, Amdirlain beckoned for her to hand it over. “I’ll take all the presents I can get today.”
“Hunting undead didn’t go well?” asked Sarah.
“A mixture of the good with the bad,” said Amdirlain. “I met a baby Fallen; she was so cute and at such a low level I thought I was kidnapping a kindergartner.”
“How low a level?”
“Level five in species, and two evolved base classes. Analysis showed she’d been a Solar, and stats were high enough that she’d certainly had some prestige classes before her fall. Sword-Lord at Grandmaster rank and a bow Skill in that rank as well. I think she was using the Spellblade Power that creates a Mana reservoir in her blade,” explained Amdirlain.
The details Amdirlain shared had Sarah’s brows lifted. “That’s an awfully low level to have gotten to the cloister.”
“Her ex-boss told her how to get there, and Dagrastûr seems to be her mentor,” explained Amdirlain. “She didn’t have protections going when she came through the Gate, so it seems she had strong enough resistances to handle their Plane.”
“Wonder if he let her take a short-cut the way he did you,”
Amdirlain smiled. “Did I start a fashion trend?”
“They’re not all sunshine and lollipops,” warned Sarah.
“Yeah, that was the bad. I also met someone who wasn’t a fan of Ori, and I’m a little concerned about the company she might be keeping.”
Sarah frowned. “I hope you plan to tell me more.”
“Dagrastûr asked her if Ori’s semblance in the carving stirred her guilt,” advised Amdirlain. “She said she was convinced Ori was back, though she didn’t say why.”
“She could have gotten sucked into Balnérith’s plan and fell with her,” proposed Sarah. “Maybe she was an unwitting pawn, but I wouldn’t give her free passes if she’s pissed and not guilty. Don’t go assuming all the Fallen will be on your side. Some of them are clinging to a way to fix themselves, but others could be clinging to those people and hurting rather than helping.”
“I’ve heard their songs, and I know most are flawed. This ‘Rahka’ that Dagrastûr introduced me to was an enormous ball of hate,” said Amdirlain. “Crystal was black, which relates to her fall damaging souls from what the Eldest told me.”
“That fits in with having something to do with the Lómë’s imprisonment. Didn’t have to kill any of them, but did something that damaged and risked their souls,” stated Sarah.
“I’m going to steer well clear of her,” reassured Amdirlain. “She said she’d met Ori more times than she’d liked and claimed Ori tasted of misery, and it wasn’t clear to her if Ori wallowed in it or not.”
Sarah chuffed angrily. “Judgemental fucking cunt. I know Ori was lonely, sad, and too frequently angry, but she only smelt of misery when she had to clean up someone’s else’s clusterfuck. More often, towards the end, she smelled resigned unless I could get her to let down her guard and dance for the joy of it.”
“Is that why you suggested my path to Grandmaster in dance was feeling this music?” asked Amdirlain.
“That and to get you to relax yourself,” said Sarah. “Dance is about expression, not only perfection.”
Amdirlain nodded and bounced the memory crystal on her palm. “Shall I get busy making them more familiar places to live?”
Huffing, Sarah waved her towards the camp. “Since you’re suddenly uncomfortable with this conversation, go on, get to work.”
“That’s not it,” protested Amdirlain.
“Sweetie, don’t be trying to slip that innocent act through with me,” dismissed Sarah, and she waved a reproving finger. “You’re happy to talk about someone who was all judgemental on Ori, however, when I talk about expressing yourself, you want to run off to take care of work.”
“I was concerned about the danger she represented; sounded like an ancient former Celestial from her melody,” corrected Amdirlain.
Sarah fixed her with a sceptical look. “Then, as you planned, stay away from her and anyone like her. If they figure out who you are or feel like being malicious, there is no telling what trouble they’ll drag you into before you can react. You don’t have the Skill ranks or magic rating yet to obliterate them.”
“Can I get on with this now?” asked Amdirlain, waggling the crystal.
“Fine. You’re just proving my point,” advised Sarah. “I’ll gather information on the Matriarch and be in touch when we’ve got things to act on. I’ll be disrupting their propaganda while I do that.”
Ignoring her chiding, Amdirlain drew in the crystal’s information and composed the townships’ themes. She considered the balance between self-sufficiency and trade as she worked on the needed compositions. When she was done, four townships had risen beyond the tent city’s limits, with fields and co-opt factories around them. A hill had grown near one, and she set a host of mining challenges within it, each giving a chance to gather mundane and magical metals for their crafting. Near-ripe fields and orchards promised to provide crops and materials for clothing in the days ahead. Further beyond the network of towns, a vast forest rich with a variety of local fauna and flora grew in case they neglected to utilise the crops to their fullest. Those with crafting or gathering skills would find plenty to work inside its boundaries.
Crystal spires had grown between the towns to provide the opportunity to gain a selection of affinities: Earth, Water, Nature, Life, and Metal. Unlike her tuition, success wasn’t a certainty and would require meeting gruelling mental challenges for even a chance to gain any. Each spire merely provided a safe saturation of its particular energy to make it possible with hard work and effort to have a decent chance to gain them.
Near each of them grew school halls to undertake lessons similar to what Amdirlain had provided Tulne for her studies. She incorporated a memory crystal Sarah provided to educate those who wanted Artificer or Alchemist classes instead. Amdirlain’s memories had allowed her to give details for potential miners, and the survivors had enough farmers amongst them to pass on those skills.
With those changes to the refugees’ demi-plane complete, she moved on to other seeds. The numbers Roher had called out meant she’d vastly overshoot her target of level two hundred and forty-nine with her new designs. Whether she got True Song Genesis to Grandmaster in the process wasn’t sure. Reverting to the simple ones she’d first made for Osaphis’s training complex, she pushed herself to compress the creation time of each demi-plane. Phoenix’s Rapture turned the surrounding air into a furnace and kept her health topped up.
She was on her second day of work when a message came from Dagrastûr.
“Am, we believe we have found the Spawning Abomination; at least, it has emerging spectres. Did a God create this foul thing?”
“The curse originated from a pantheon. The locals had problems with genocidal wars. Their legends say they rejected their local pantheons because of their continual bloodshed. Those abominations resulted from a curse set by at least one fading pantheon.”
“Thank you for the information. I wondered how a curse would gain such power. We are gathering some of the newer members for the opportunity you presented,” replied Dagrastûr. “How do you know about those Tier 7 classes you spoke of?”
Amdirlain hedged her bets. “The locals have them. They’ve got a way to see their Class record. They get variants of Grave Delver, a class towards fighting the undead.”
“That doesn’t explain how you know about the evolution of the Fallen,” observed Dagrastûr.
“I’ve got a crazy number of levels since I became a Fallen; some options have been offered to me,” admitted Amdirlain.
Dagrastûr hummed. “I’ll leave it at that. As long as your secrets don’t hurt mortals, they are not my business. Will you be coming to fight this thing?”
“My presence would lessen the chance of others getting an achievement from it,” replied Amdirlain.
“There is an element of decay to its miasma; our resistance will lessen the challenge already.”
Amdirlain heard the offer but resisted temptation. “I wouldn’t want to spoil the opportunity for anyone feeling similar to Rahka.”
“Ahh, I understand. A trap can go both ways, and we have shown you little trust,” replied Dagrastûr before breaking the connection.
That’s not how I meant it, but okay, take it that way; it’s also a valid point.
Returning her focus to the current demi-plane’s song, Amdirlain tried to move with it only to feel self-conscious.
The lyrics of a song came to mind, and Amdirlain focused on the theme until its completion. Then she let the memory of hearing Meg Myers ‘Sorry’ run through her mind, and Amdirlain had to stand quietly and let it run its course.
Lyrics might translate differently across various worlds and cultures, but I’ve got enough songs that mean things to me.
“I need to kick the crap out of something and vent a little,” announced Amdirlain.
A quick casting had her update to Sarah on its way. “Sarah, I’ve created a few scores of demi-planes. Dagrastûr and company are assaulting the Spawning Abomination. Got any actionable information on the Matriarch so far?”
A few minutes later, Amdirlain felt the summoning from Sarah and allowed it to draw her in. When she appeared, she found herself on a mountainside overlooking a steep valley instead of the base camp’s lake. Sarah was standing nearby and looking down on the ruins nestled within it.
“What’s here?” asked Amdirlain.
“Recharge this; your arse is straining it more recently,” Sarah said and tossed her the summoning crystal.
Amdirlain sealed the fractures up and returned the crystal. “I’ll make you a better one shortly.”
“Welcome to the resting place of the Patriarch,” advised Sarah, motioning to the ruined town. “The tales about him being off meditating on life are overrated, but he’s pretty lively for a dead guy.”
Turning her attention to the ruins below, Amdirlain listened to the single undead within it. “He’s a Lich with Life Affinity and not death?”
“His daughter has the Death Affinity and life,” advised Sarah. "I got a glimpse of her. The Matriarch hasn’t helped for Analysis, but Matriarch Toliana of Lifespring pride or a variation of it does. It was certainly good for a chuckle.”
[Name: Toliana, Lifespring pride
Species: Catfolk (Variant)
Classes: Grave Commander / Grave Conqueror / Pale Necromancer / Life Bane
Level: 102 / 101 / 100 / 100
Health: 688,926
Defence: 808
Magic: 2,680
Mana: 3,159,000
Melee Attack Power: 789
Combat Skills: Sword [Ad] (12), Mana Finesse [GM] (329) - Enhanced Affinities: Death, Life and Decay, various other affinities. Multiple spell lists.
Details: Having taken over from her father, Toliana has ruled her nation for so long that it has become known as the Matriarch’s Dominion to most. It rose from the town of Lifespring under her father Malcineas’s rule and became known as the Community of Spring before its name lost meaning upon her rise to power.
On her first god’s grave expedition, she used the life force of the battalions to fuel a sacrificial Spell to destroy it. This strike occurred only after spending weeks harvesting the spectres. Fearing exposure, when her father started to move against her, she killed him and raised him as a Lich. Her possession of his phylactery enables her to maintain control. Various aspects of her nation’s infrastructure need his cooperation to maintain.]
[Grave Commander
Details: This variant of the Graver Delver Tier 7 Prestige Class combines Wizard, Commander, Soldier, and Necromancer.]
[Necromancer
Details: While its progression is identical to the Wizard Class, instead of gaining the Mana Sense Power, this evolved base Class provides Death Sight. This evolved Wizard Class is unlocked by earning the Death Affinity and learning multiple Wizard Spell lists to create undead then deepening their ‘understanding’ of Death by making at least two hundred levels of undead creatures.]
[Death Sight:
Details: The possessor gains the ability to see what event or item is binding the undead to the Material Plane. They can ‘consume’ that link at high ranks to control the undead.]
[Grave Conquer
Details: This variant of the Graver Delver Tier 7 Prestige Class combines three variations of the Necromancer Class.]
[Pale Necromancer
Details: This Tier 6 Prestige Class combines two evolved Necromancer classes: ‘Undead Master’ and ‘True Necromancer’]
[Life Bane
Details: This evolved base Class is a perversion of the Life Affinity. It requires the possessor to have either created or learnt high-level Life spells to extend their lifespan by drinking it from others. Then, they must have repeatedly used those spells on those slain at their command to extend their lifespan. While it provides Power, it also marks the individual as one the living shouldn’t trust.
Note: Unless you have brainwashed minions who think a weird appearance and killing anything that gets too close is a sign of your enlightened state.]
Sarah shrugged. “I guess beating a Spawning Abomination would be easy if you could turn its minions back on itself.”
“I don’t think that it’s so simple. It would be immune to the drain attacks that comprise a spectre’s attacks. Though potentially, she could tap the energy in the undead and smack it in a few different ways,” replied Amdirlain.
“Is Undead Lore proving useful to you after all?” quipped Sarah.
Amdirlain shrugged. “The Necropolis gave me a few years of hands-on practice with the undead. What do we do with daddy dearest? His soul might be bound to that corpse, but he doesn’t sound sane. Do you think Gideon is upset that the lackeys couldn’t get a clue?”
“The Life Bane Class is likely why her soldiers just butcher a bunch of people now and then,” proposed Sarah.
“She needs the juice to keep living,” agreed Amdirlain.
“Toss her in a demi-plane and throw away the key?”
“If I can get her outside her wards? Easy. But if she stays inside them, I’m going to have to scoop it up, wards and all, which would take a bunch of nearby people,” grumbled Amdirlain. “She’d likely eat everyone I put in a demi-plane prison with her.”
“These guys came up aces without their gods around, Tier 7 classes and enhanced affinities,” quipped Sarah.
Amdirlain smiled grimly. “Is it a case that life will find a way? There is one thing I’ve learnt today.”
“What’s that?”
“While it’s not precise, she’s only two classes away from being a pure Wizard type. So, she’s nearly maxed out with her magic rating for her combined levels. Most mortals should be beneath a three thousand magic rating at that peak,” stated Amdirlain.
“Most non-Dragon mortals,” countered Sarah.
Amdirlain grinned mischievously. “First creations, they’re so spoilt for the toys.”
“We’ve had to put up with everything else making a mess since then,” grumped Sarah. “Options for this mess?”
“The link to the phylactery connects the animated body to his Soul and goes straight through the wards. I’m not going to complain when the bad guys leave firewalls open. Let’s talk about the phylactery. Even with her magic strength now, she wasn’t likely to be that strong three hundred years ago, and it would be slowly decaying. Given how insane he is, we’re lucky he hasn’t decayed completely.”
“What is our first choice with it?” asked Sarah.
“A Resurrection Blessing would yank his Soul out of the phylactery,” noted Amdirlain, motioning toward the distant Silvermount. “Think we can ask a nice Solar for a solid? She’s even close at hand, planetary speaking.”
“We just allowed her boss to gain worshippers here,” laughed Sarah. “Also, the Patriarch might not react well to an agent of a Deity asking if he wants to be restored to life. A Reincarnation Spell could do it, which you could mimic.”
“A Reincarnation Spell would put him into a random living body with his memories and insanity intact. He doesn’t have the Eldritch corruption markers to clean up the memories,” countered Amdirlain.
“And? Listen to the memory’s age and ‘un-sing’ them. It might help your Resonance’s progress to go into that detail,” advised Sarah.
“I could just yank his Soul out of the phylactery, take him to Judgement, and ask him there,” observed Amdirlain. “The effect of it would calm him down and likely restore his sanity to before he began to fade.”
“I’d prefer you avoid their area of Judgement, just in case it’s a total cluster fuck,” replied Sarah.
Amdirlain winced. “I haven’t been wanting to think about that, the spawning abominations form by coalescing energy from the departed souls. It won’t be the case with all of them, only ones where they’ve reached the threshold to start one forming.”
“Let’s smack her directly right now,” proposed Sarah, eagerly bobbing her head as Amdirlain glared.
“I know you’re joking, plus I’m pretty sure the country would tear itself apart if she went up in smoke,” scolded Amdirlain, and she caused a little mushroom cloud to appear between them.
Sarah reached out and swatted the smoke cloud. “Very cute, baby dragons learn not to blow smoke signals.”
“Yes, it’s technically possible. But her magic rating is pretty high. Anything I aim at her directly will first get reduced by the wards, and then her magic capacity will overwhelm the remainder,” observed Amdirlain. “Let’s stick with the Patriarch situation. Do I take him out now? Or bring him to life and find out what the deal is?”
“You bring him back, and then what? I guess wiping his memory far enough, so he knows what was done, but is still sane?” asked Sarah.
Amdirlain wrinkled her nose in disgust. “He’s in a pretty bad state; it might not be enough.”
“It's a chance to find out what legacies are involved and potentially save many lives,” noted Sarah. “Another option, besides tossing him into a random new body through Reincarnation, Would be to make him one and transfer his Soul, like the Soul Trap would have sucked him into the phylactery. Clean out most of his memories of being a Lich, which should resolve the insanity. Analysis shows he wasn’t nuts before being a Lich, just reluctant to attack a family member.”
“Fratricide is an overrated crime,” stated Amdirlain, and she winced.
“Isa shouldn’t have told you about Ori killing her daughter; that bitch had it coming for aeons.”
“Why did she kill her?” asked Amdirlain.
“If she killed her sooner, the Anar might not have devolved so far,” replied Sarah. “Let's not get off topic. You were going to say something about the problem?”
Amdirlain paused and chewed her lip, her fingers tapping to the lich’s erratic theme.
“The last choice in our phylactery debate is to destroy it and let him go on. If I bring him back to life, I don't want to be turning around and killing him.”
Sarah huffed and gave her a sly smile. “Who says you have to? We’ve not got any information about what he was like, but he got killed when he went to stop her. The daughter could have fallen far from the tree. If she hasn’t fallen far from the tree, I’ll eat him myself.”
“Gross, let’s talk about something else while I think,” said Amdirlain, and she sat on the sparse grass to consider the valley.
Sarah smiled. “How many demi-planes did you get populated?”
“Such a subtle change of subject. Two hundred eighty-eight for just short of fifty-two billion experience and twelve True Song increases.”
“You’ve only been at it two days. That’s one every ten minutes,” Sarah said, and she frowned at Amdirlain. “How much stress does that put on your Power and body?”
“Yes.”
“That’s not an answer,” grumbled Sarah.
Amdirlain exhaled and stretched her hands to either side, raking her nails across the dirt. “What do you want me to say? I’ve stopped using the poison.”
“How much physical injury were you doing to yourself?” interrogated Sarah
“Having Phoenix’s Rapture active keeps me ahead of the damage curve, so all good. Pain Eater is just a background mutter and isn’t progressing. I want to reduce the creation time to five minutes each,” explained Amdirlain. “The problem comes down to the point that if I just end his tormented existence, I don’t know what might implode.”
“True, we won’t know unless we ask him, or her,” countered Sarah.
“Yeah, I’m just going to bring a person back to life outside his time,” grumbled Amdirlain. “I can’t see this going painlessly.”
Walking over, Sarah bent and tapped her nose. “How many million people? He went to act too late against his daughter. While it is something Ori and him have in common, that is not the issue. You and I know it will eat at you. Go with your gut and decide within seven seconds.”
“Fine, new body it is,” replied Amdirlain. ”But I won’t speak to you for a week if you yell 'it's alive!'”
“I can take naps longer than a week,” laughed Sarah. “And I said within seven seconds, you blurted that out straight away.”
Comments
Gopard
Thanks for the chapter!
