In truth, his being anywhere in the recent future depended a great deal on his ability to talk his way out of the boiling water he currently found himself in. Tomorrow he would help his friend, he decided. And the day after... well, that would determine how many of his plans for the future would be undertaken, and how many would need to be left in the hands of others. Not for long, though. Not so long as he trusted his friends to shake the walls of Launceleyn Manor to get him back if they needed to. And why did it feel so strange and bright to have friends who he trusted to do that for him?
Friends who trusted him, and who were willing to follow him into danger, though not all of his previous ventures had gone well. He nodded at the question, exhaling slowly as he grasped after the distraction that had been occupying his thoughts of late. "In a chamber beyond the one we found, Amalia and I - and Roana and Lucas," he acknowledged the others with a tilt of his head, "came across a giant serpent that seemed almost to be made of stone, though he was very much alive, and an ancient creature. I was able to speak to him through the Attuned mental link. He was guarding what I would guess was a portal. At least, it matches the descriptions of the ones we found in Safrin's book. Portals not between worlds, but between places on this world," he clarified, raising a brow at Deimos to underscore the importance of it.
"Potentially, a way for others who might be hostile to reach us... or for us to find allies and safer places to live. But either way, it's currently useless with all the poison gas down there. A stone wall was blocking the entrance to that chamber, and the Tulmhainar said she had been using her power to protect the serpent from the gas... though with her passing, those protections likely won't last much longer. She said..." He hesitated, then offered his friend a wry smile. "She said that magic could be used to kill the plants and end their poison. Powerful magic, of wind and earth and either fire or life drain. Vai and Remi have already agreed to join me. I may not be much use in killing the plants, but I can at least try and protect the mages from anything that tries to attack them, like the bugs."
Friends who trusted him, and who were willing to follow him into danger, though not all of his previous ventures had gone well. He nodded at the question, exhaling slowly as he grasped after the distraction that had been occupying his thoughts of late. "In a chamber beyond the one we found, Amalia and I - and Roana and Lucas," he acknowledged the others with a tilt of his head, "came across a giant serpent that seemed almost to be made of stone, though he was very much alive, and an ancient creature. I was able to speak to him through the Attuned mental link. He was guarding what I would guess was a portal. At least, it matches the descriptions of the ones we found in Safrin's book. Portals not between worlds, but between places on this world," he clarified, raising a brow at Deimos to underscore the importance of it.
"Potentially, a way for others who might be hostile to reach us... or for us to find allies and safer places to live. But either way, it's currently useless with all the poison gas down there. A stone wall was blocking the entrance to that chamber, and the Tulmhainar said she had been using her power to protect the serpent from the gas... though with her passing, those protections likely won't last much longer. She said..." He hesitated, then offered his friend a wry smile. "She said that magic could be used to kill the plants and end their poison. Powerful magic, of wind and earth and either fire or life drain. Vai and Remi have already agreed to join me. I may not be much use in killing the plants, but I can at least try and protect the mages from anything that tries to attack them, like the bugs."
