He had no doubt that Deimos would fight, and fiercely. Wessex, too, for all the hostility between them. Ashetta was a warrior as well, and there were no shortage of those willing to combat the demons of the dark. Whether those demons could actually be struck by physical or magical means, however? That was a question they didn’t have an answer to, though he suspected it wouldn’t be so easy. Surely the Naturals had tried to fight back before, but neither he nor Remi had found any indication in their readings last year that anyone had ever successfully harmed a Long Night monster, or forced it to retreat. He would need to do more research, and ask his guildmates to do the same, if they hadn’t already begun.
Remi’s easy acceptance of his words warmed some of the cold knot of anxiousness in his chest. The bard breathed a little more deeply, then found himself the focus of the alchemist’s attention as the younger man looked to him – to anyone, but those blind eyes pointed at him – for advice on how to proceed. It was a question that had been nagging him since ideas had begun being offered, and he nodded slowly, hoping that Remi could sense it – and sending a small pulse of acknowledgment through the Attuned bond to let him know that he was thinking about it.
The ragged stranger spoke up while he pondered, cold but taking the threat seriously, for which the bard was grateful. It sounded like he had powerful magic, and potentially very useful magic, which was more important, and despite his dislike for the man he listened closely. Illusion magic? He frowned, giving it some thought. The way they were said to take on the forms of known people could well be that, but what if they were more like the boggarts? ”Can they see through a shapeshifted creature?” he askedLoren , but his voice held curiosity rather than doubt. Then again, how much of the monsters were ‘real’ – and for how long? Something wriggled at the back of his thoughts, a memory of what used-to-be, a reminder of what he had once been—
Information continued to flow as they created a list of projects to work on. Lights and weapons, antlers and luxere, Spark birds and their summoned simulacra. The possibly-Launceleyn man was already offering to test his limits, and they would have to wait to hear back on the results of that testing before they could move forward with further assumptions. But the limit, at least, sounded like it would be at best a partial answer. ”If it works, we can still use it as a rescue method,” he suggested, looking around at Remi and those gathered warriors who had offered to patrol the streets. ”Even if you can only summon a Spark Bird for a short time, if its light has the same effect as a real one it would be enough to save people who come to the door looking for help – or to scare off any monsters that are trying to trick their way inside the Rathskeller or the Manor, if you summon it to the perch.” Unfortunately those were big ifs, and Remi’s question still lingered.
And then, of course, there was the suggestion to summon a monster in the flesh – so to speak. Jigano’s frown deepened and he reached up to rub at his temple, trying to catch hold of the almost-memory that had been tickling away there. ”Monsters that change their shape… that speak human language… that ignore animals and only attack humans.” He looked over to Remi , tilting his head. ”They sound almost like something from my world, a little. A haunting, we called it. Vengeful spirits that were tied to a particular place and that lashed out at the living. They could hurt us, but it was difficult for our weapons and magic to hurt them because they weren’t truly corporeal.” He was rambling, he knew, a meandering trail of thought that he hoped might spark some inspiration in someone else. ”I don’t know if you can summon a spirit,” he nodded to Loren. ”It’s worth a try, so long as we have safeguards in place.” And he looked to Kiada and her luxere companion, his eyes also seeking for Amalia and her antler-bound staff. ”These monsters, though, if they were trapped in the barrier with us… where do they go for the rest of the year? We know they only come out when there is no sun, moon, or stars in the sky. So wherever they are now… it’s probably in a place without light. I can think of two such places: the Underground, and the inside of the Spire.” He grimaced, looking away from those gathered as he continued speaking. ”I’ve gone soul-hunting once before in the Underground with no luck, but I’m willing to keep trying. If anyone wants to join me, you’re welcome to do so… though it might be another wild goose chase,” he acknowledged. ”I haven’t yet gone looking in the Spire, since we’ve been in it before without being attacked – not by them, at least. But I can try there, too, with Ludo's song. And I have no proof that they might be in either place, it’s just a guess.” But the Spire did seem to be at the root of so many of their problems. Still, all he could do was shrug and let others speak, hoping that something he had said might give someone else an idea, or that something that followed would give him one.
Remi’s easy acceptance of his words warmed some of the cold knot of anxiousness in his chest. The bard breathed a little more deeply, then found himself the focus of the alchemist’s attention as the younger man looked to him – to anyone, but those blind eyes pointed at him – for advice on how to proceed. It was a question that had been nagging him since ideas had begun being offered, and he nodded slowly, hoping that Remi could sense it – and sending a small pulse of acknowledgment through the Attuned bond to let him know that he was thinking about it.
The ragged stranger spoke up while he pondered, cold but taking the threat seriously, for which the bard was grateful. It sounded like he had powerful magic, and potentially very useful magic, which was more important, and despite his dislike for the man he listened closely. Illusion magic? He frowned, giving it some thought. The way they were said to take on the forms of known people could well be that, but what if they were more like the boggarts? ”Can they see through a shapeshifted creature?” he asked
Information continued to flow as they created a list of projects to work on. Lights and weapons, antlers and luxere, Spark birds and their summoned simulacra. The possibly-Launceleyn man was already offering to test his limits, and they would have to wait to hear back on the results of that testing before they could move forward with further assumptions. But the limit, at least, sounded like it would be at best a partial answer. ”If it works, we can still use it as a rescue method,” he suggested, looking around at Remi and those gathered warriors who had offered to patrol the streets. ”Even if you can only summon a Spark Bird for a short time, if its light has the same effect as a real one it would be enough to save people who come to the door looking for help – or to scare off any monsters that are trying to trick their way inside the Rathskeller or the Manor, if you summon it to the perch.” Unfortunately those were big ifs, and Remi’s question still lingered.
And then, of course, there was the suggestion to summon a monster in the flesh – so to speak. Jigano’s frown deepened and he reached up to rub at his temple, trying to catch hold of the almost-memory that had been tickling away there. ”Monsters that change their shape… that speak human language… that ignore animals and only attack humans.” He looked over to Remi , tilting his head. ”They sound almost like something from my world, a little. A haunting, we called it. Vengeful spirits that were tied to a particular place and that lashed out at the living. They could hurt us, but it was difficult for our weapons and magic to hurt them because they weren’t truly corporeal.” He was rambling, he knew, a meandering trail of thought that he hoped might spark some inspiration in someone else. ”I don’t know if you can summon a spirit,” he nodded to Loren. ”It’s worth a try, so long as we have safeguards in place.” And he looked to Kiada and her luxere companion, his eyes also seeking for Amalia and her antler-bound staff. ”These monsters, though, if they were trapped in the barrier with us… where do they go for the rest of the year? We know they only come out when there is no sun, moon, or stars in the sky. So wherever they are now… it’s probably in a place without light. I can think of two such places: the Underground, and the inside of the Spire.” He grimaced, looking away from those gathered as he continued speaking. ”I’ve gone soul-hunting once before in the Underground with no luck, but I’m willing to keep trying. If anyone wants to join me, you’re welcome to do so… though it might be another wild goose chase,” he acknowledged. ”I haven’t yet gone looking in the Spire, since we’ve been in it before without being attacked – not by them, at least. But I can try there, too, with Ludo's song. And I have no proof that they might be in either place, it’s just a guess.” But the Spire did seem to be at the root of so many of their problems. Still, all he could do was shrug and let others speak, hoping that something he had said might give someone else an idea, or that something that followed would give him one.
