Scars Make Us Whole

He found energy for a faint chuckle at Vai's rhetorical question, gesturing to give her the 'point' as if the had been sparring. Unfortunately, talk of Zariah never allowed for humor to remain for long, and Jigano was soon frowning thoughtfully again at her words. "What sort of tricks did she have in Northhaven?" Of course the shift between worlds might have taken or changed some of them, but it would at least provide a base for them to plan from.

Explosive gas was not something he had really wanted to contemplate, but it was invaluable information if they were going to go back down there again, and he swallowed hard at her continued description of what had happened. "It sounds as though we will need to work in tandem," he agreed, deep in thought. "Perhaps ask our fire mage to go first and ignite the initial gas, then step back to be healed by the unicorns from any damage they receive from the blast so that you can use your wind to blow the smoke away while Remi uses his earth magic to try and stifle the plants' roots and... hmm... if not Zariah, perhaps Deimos can try to use his life drain on them? And then our fire caster, either Rory or Edrei, can assist with trying to burn the plants from the top down when they are healed enough to return to the chamber?" He looked up to meet Vai's gaze again, spreading his hands in supplication. "Please, if you have suggestions for bettering this, or see flaws in it, I'd appreciate hearing it. I've seen magic being cast, and I've learned much on the theory of the different magical schools and how they progress with time and training, but you know much better than I do what the limits and strengths of a practicing mage are."

Nibbling at her lower lip as she contemplated Jigano's question, Vai relaxed back in her seat. "The Launceleyns were renowned for their illusion magic in Northaven. And all of them were soldiers, loyal to the king and his family. They were brutal, ruthless, tactical. And their magical lineage bordered on incestuous. Unfortunately, how that magic translates here in Caido is beyond me," she said apologetically. Zariah could have anything up her sleeve these days.

What she hadn't expected was a tactical explanation of their plan to go back into the Spire, Vai trying hard to keep up and nodding slowly along with Jigano's ideas. A huntress, not a tactician, working in tandem seemed to make sense to her. "No, I mean... what you say makes sense. I just hope that there is nothing else in there that will cause us problems in the meantime. That was what caused trouble when we went down there last."

"Battlemages," Jigano murmured, frowning and nibbling his lip. The news was reason for concern, but not unexpected after what he had learned from Edy already. The mention of illusion magics was news, though, and he looked up to give Vai a crooked smile and a nod of gratitude. "It's more than I had before to work with. Every little bit helps, and I appreciate it. Even if it didn't carry over strictly between worlds, knowing what they used to have and do provides a possible guide to what they may seek out again here. Illusion magic exists on Caido, and is something a mage can learn, along with the elements, creation and destruction, healing and life drain." He nodded to Vai, suspecting that she had personal experience with, or had personally witnessed, most of them in action.

He started to nod relief that she agreed with his plan, but her pertinent point brought him to a halt, and the frown returned as he gave a slow nod of acknowledgment. "That's... very true. It was the Tulmhainar's magic that caused the bugs and vines last time, I think. She had been badly hurt by those who had gone through before and was trying to protect herself. The serpent I would like to try and save seemed more of a physical guardian than a magical one, but it is possible that he might also react out of instinct... or that there might be something else entirely down there." He hesitated, then sat back, giving Vervain a tired ghost of a smile. "But how do we plan to protect ourselves from something we don't know exists? It's... difficult to say, aside from warning people that the plants might not be the only problem, and to stay wary and watch each other's backs."

Vai hummed a note of agreement. "I was an elementalist, back where I came from - I could only control the wind currents. To learn new skills here in Caido has been... refreshing, to me." She smiled and shrugged; it would have been considered a great taboo for a second-rate mage like an elementalist to be able to learn the arcane art of healing, after all. Good, she thought in an enjoyable moment of sedition.

Jigano's question waxed near philosophical, and she spread her hands and shrugged to him. "I suppose," she said, "that bringing people along who have seen this in action before might help. And having a solid objective in mind. Keep people together, keep them focused. Would that you could bring a bodyguard for each mage, too, so that they can take care of any problems while the magic users focus on their tasks."

”’Only,’ you say, as if that is not in and of itself a great accomplishment,” Jigano found the energy to tease his friend and old employer, her soothing presence and courage giving him fresh strength beyond even her healing magic. ”Though I have no doubt that you will continue to grow and surprise us all with what you discover.” He didn’t realize how seditious her magic had become compared to where she was from, but he would have been pleased had he known. Especially given his own penchant for rebelling against the current state. Hopefully the third one would continue to be the charm…

”Well, there will be you and I, and hopefully Deimos as well, for experienced delvers,” he agreed thoughtfully. ”Our objective is to either destroy the poisonous plants so they don’t keep killing everything that goes down there, or else to find a way to stop them from creating that poison. I would prefer the latter…” He sighed and shook his head. ”But I don’t see an easy way to do it. Or even a hard way. Nothing I’ve read has shown a way to transmute living things here on Caido.” Create, yes, but change? Perhaps if the gods had granted someone a unique form of magic, but if they had, he didn’t know who it was.

”The bodyguard idea is a good one, but then we have more people who will be affected by the poison until the plants can be dealt with,” he said slowly, following his thoughts through on the matter. ”And if you need to focus all your energy on using the wind to keep as much gas upwards as you can, that leaves only the two unicorns to heal. Though, after the initial blast our fire mage should probably refrain from causing any more sparks while others are in the chamber,” he admitted with a wry smile. ”So perhaps he or she can help guard the others while they work. And I will be there as well, to offer what protection that I may.” He was no lion, but he had been learning to fight with more than his just rapier from Ronin and Deimos and Papillion, and his animal shifts could still cause some damage. His snake form wasn’t impervious to the gas, but his scales offered more protection than skin and fur, and he could hold his breath for quite a long time. If an Attuned was to be down there, he thought he was one of the better candidates for surviving the gas. Or at least, he hoped that was the case. Either way, he could hardly ask his friends to head down into that danger and not go himself.

Vai laughed merrily, realising that she had somewhat downplayed her abilities. "Believe it or not but there were those capable of much more back where I was from. Then again, evidence of that is all around us here, in those who brought their power with them." She shrugged, falling quiet to listen as he listed off the necessities of their new mission into the belly of the Spire. She, Jigano, Deimos... yes, that would probably work. As for the plants...

"Whilst I would have agreed with you once upon a time, I have been around them enough to want them gone," she muttered. "If you think a sample can be obtained for future examination then by all means, but if we spend more time trying to save them rather than dealing with them, they'll kill us."

And he was, of course, right about the danger of having too many go down there into the Spire. Nibbling at her bottom lip, Vai conceded to his wisdom with a nod. "Well... if we ensure that we only focus on the plants this time, we can explore the Spire at our leisure once the air is clear."

Jigano could only nod at Vai's point before he went on to describe what he hoped to accomplish, and with whom. Three who had been down before, and two who had not, though Rory had gone down into the Spire basement back during the night the barrier fell, and would know some of what to expect. Only Remi would be facing the gas for the first time, and Jigano made a mental note to warn the alchemist well in advance.

"No, no samples," he agreed with a reluctant sigh. "Clearing them out as fast and thoroughly as we can should be our goal. Exploration can come later, once it's safe, as you said. That stone wall where the passage to the room beyond was... Remi might be able to help with that, but he'll probably need to rest after dealing with the plants, so that might be a task for when we're all recovered." And they would all recover, he was fiercely determined on that score.

He tilted his head at Vai with a wry, tired smile making it to his expression at last. "I'll send a note when we're ready to begin. If you can think of any clothing or items to help protect us from the gas, that would be good, too. Until then, I should let you get back to work." A work he had been remiss in assisting with, given his fugitive status, and he winced guiltily as he rose to make his farewell.

When they were recovered sounded for the best, and Vai nodded in agreement. Deal with the plants, the gas, the explosions... then they would see what the rest of the Spire had to show them. Jigano spoke about getting back to work and the witch rose to her feet, suddenly realising that she had taken far longer of a break than she had expected. Moving to scoop up Felix from the basket to hold the sleeping babe close, she smiled across at Jigano.

"I'll get on it and see what I can put together. Perhaps some masks similar to what Deimos came up with last time, but a little more effective against the poison..." How they would do that exactly was difficult to say, but it was something to think about. "Look after yourself, Jigano," she told him with a smile, before leading them out of the study so they could both get back to work.

~END