un: a civil serpent | video

[inferus]

( Emilia di Carlo's hair has seen better days.

It looks suspiciously nest-like, and one of her sleeves singed and torn. The further she and Wrath walk back into the village, the more she feels it: the mark of hollowed things. The withered trees and the dying river beds. ... To say they have missed out on recent developments is an understatement.

But they do not come without news of their own. )

We were able to go very deep into the volcano and discovered something in the process.

( For this rare moment, Wrath appears to be somewhat disheveled as well. His hair is out of place. There's light scratch marks upon his cheek. His suit is singed. His sleeve on the right sight has been entirely burned away, revealing a muscular arm. In his pocket, he carries with him a piece of what they found though he has little interest in mentioning that out loud just yet. He wants to understand what it is first, and so he glances at Emilia with a grim nod and then supplies further: )

At the center of the volcano, an apparent naturally made mirror is being used as a cork to hold back a mounting level of lava, a potent flow of magic, and an unimaginable number of spirits. The pressure appears to be mounting.

( ooc: vi and i had a hiatus in april, and this help explains the absence of emilia and wrath during that time. EDITED the following day when i realized i missed a detail about the volcano. it was naturally made from a large pool of dark water. )

Comments

[soloritur]

[ Marcos is very familiar with the concept of teleporting, and the limits sound just like what Clarice ran up against. She was always going on about how much harder it was than making flashlights with his hands. Following Clarice through a portal is how they ended up here to start with, and see how well that turned out.

Knowing that Wrath has that ability is a bonus, but it doesn't mean they'll be any safer once that thing goes off. ]

Okay. So that's one concern taken care of. [ It's really not... ] You really think we can stop a volcano? How...?

[valeas]

I don't know.

( And that's the truth. To speak with certainty when they were only able to observe and go no further would be foolish. ) There are discussions of how to alleviate the pressure, alongside mending the fractures and cooling its temperature. It's all guesswork, at the moment.

[soloritur]

[ It's hard to get his head around them trying to stop a force of nature, but... well, there were mutants that might be able to have that kind of power, they're just the same ones that disappeared when they were needed most.

He has no idea what Emilia is going to try to do by going back there, but it sounds like she's preparing to jump into a volcano whatever they decide. ​​]

And you think one of those might work? We don't really have a great track record with these things. [ It really doesn't help his confidence that they have the same warlords from Taravast involved. ] Do we need to start evacuating?

[valeas]

I do.

( Which isn't to say that it will work, only that she believes it can. The volcano is a magical source, and it can be met with magic in turn. The more she speaks to others, the more she sees options available to them. It is simply not without risk. )

As for evacuation... I do believe this deserves warning. My only concern is the measures that might be taken. They'll want more sacrifices. ( Which doesn't mean that they don't have the right to know they are in danger. It's just that they can't let those sacrifices happen. )

[soloritur]

[ Of course, the sacrifices. Evacuating seems like a good idea until he remembers what he faced the last time he tried to go against their mob mentality. He could try to use his powers and scare them off, but aside from preemptively setting their houses on fire, he doesn't think they'll listen. It feels like his hands are tied, but he can't do nothing.

Scrubbing his face. This is crazy. She knows that, right? ]

Let me know before you jump in, okay? [ At least he'll know what to expect. ] I trust you. I'll do whatever I can to help.

[valeas]

I'll let you know.

( At least, she plans to uphold this promise in theory. Things can happen pretty fast around these parts, and all at once. )

Have you been all right? I honestly lost track of time while we were in the volcano.

( They stepped out of it, and everything was withering. )

[soloritur]

[ He's been worried. About the curses, about Lorna and what they did in the volcano the first time around that she left out, but this doesn't seem like the right time to bring that up. ]

Yeah, I'm fine. [ In comparison. He won't complain. ] I tried looking into the dark water, but we didn't get far. This kind of takes precedence to saving their crops.

...I heard you say you were okay, but I'm sure it's all relative. [ He knows some days count as a win if you make it out alive. ] If we make it through this, I think you've earned some time off from saving the day from any major disasters.

[valeas]

Relatively speaking, I am all right, yes.

( She promises.

The exhale that leaves her is barely a laugh, but it holds some mirth. ) I think we've all earned it in some way or another, but I'm too familiar with this world now to expect it. ( Some of that mirth fades as she does the math. )

It will be a year soon enough.

[soloritur]

[ It was a poor attempt to lighten the mood, but he's encouraged that Emilia is feeling well enough to humor him. Then she hits him with that fact bomb. ]

Wow. [ How long has it been for him? He's done a pretty poor job keeping track of time since Taravast. Of how long it's been since he last held his daughter. He clears his throat, unsure of what to say. ] Talk about an eventful year.

[valeas]

( Emilia does not blame him for his reaction. It is not unlike her own, when she first completed her tally. It burns inside of her, her failure with the first beacon. The knowledge they are pawns in a game they did not consent to playing. It chips away at her, day by day. )

My plan is to ensure the year's mark does not come to pass. But that depends on the beacon we've been promised here. ( Go east, is the first thing she and Wrath were told upon waking in the mines. And east they keep, for every faint beacon they cannot wake. )

[soloritur]

[ That's one anniversary he's hoping not to pass either. With everything they're facing, it's easy to forget that the beacon is waiting for them. But it is nice to hear that she's optimistic about their ability to stop a volcano. He tries his best to latch onto that. ]

I really don't blame you. It's a shame we can't talk them into opening it early.

[valeas]

Even if they did, only one person can activate the beacon itself.

( A reminder she must give herself daily, seeing as she wants to kill Hatisse more often than not. )

[soloritur]

[ Marcos has had limited contact with Hatisse, but he distinctly remembers the last time that he and Lorna were too far back in the line to get through. ]

And she's probably not interested in us bailing on her before we stop a volcano. [ Which is a huge impossible task, but at least Emilia seems optimistic. ] Do you know where she is now? Is anyone guarding her?