[KQ] Through and through

With eyes only for the ascended, Astra and Loren disappear into the blue light, unimpeded by the guardian.

Adam

Hallucinate a shady grove where Judas went to die

Unfurl the black velvet altar cloth

Okay, well he had no idea what the hell was being discussed anymore. Adam looked between everyone there, pretty sure at this point he was in the middle of something he didn't understand. Maybe if the snake only had an issue with Wessex, they could all just go and tell her what was there when they came back...? Though from what he knew of the Queen, that didn't seem very likely.

Loren at least seemed to have a plan. Somewhat resenting the comment about having a 'better chance', Adam put his gun back in it's holster then followed the Lanceleyn, waving 'bye' at Wessex and Jigano, wanting to go where the adventure was and the confusing massive snakes weren't. "Sorry, uh...maybe if you run real fast you can make it?" He yelled back before he tried to jump through, whistling for Coffee to follow him.

--
Adam puts away his gun then tries to go through the portal with Coffee.

Draw a white chalk Baphomet

Mistreat your Altar Boys long enough

And this is what you get

Adam and Coffee too enter the blue column of light without opposition.

dont know where the lights are taking us
but something in the night is dangerous

What, exactly does Jigano think he needs to negotiate? She had waited to attack and the snake had said its piece: No Ascended. Which means, to Wessex, that anyone else may pass. Roana went through easily. Loren and Adam have now gone through. What negotiation is needed, could be done, when the answer is unacceptable? When he chooses a barely sentient (yet clever) creature over people?

But Jigano has only ever lived in a world where he is absolutely right, and when he retells this story, it will probably be that way too. Because as far as any of them know - she hasn’t attacked anything yet. Just moved around. As for his loyalty, well, Wessex had never counted on him to be loyal.

As soon as Adam disappears, Wessex lets a biopulse loose towards Jigano (and perhaps the snake, if it’s close enough) without making any indication of an attack. She watches for a reaction and if he’s visibly affected, she then tries to hit him on the side of the head and render him unconscious.
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Wessex attacks Jigano (and possibly the snake) with a biopulse. If it’s successful and he’s visibly affected, she tries to hit his head and knock him unconscious. If he isn’t affected, she does nothing.

Loren's logic was sound and Jigano nodded as the Launceleyn made to enter the portal. Adam's departure was surprising enough, though, that Jigano paused to assess the shift, turning to look at Wessex with the trademark raised brow, wondering if she would be willing to give him some space to try and work on building a better bridge now--

The pulse was unfamiliar on Caido, though the effects were similar to magic he had known on his world. He was left staggered by it, shaking his head, and as if that were not enough to warn him, her attack a moment later removed any doubt about where the initial offense had originated. He raised an arm defensively, grunting as he tried to deflect her blow but some got through anyways, enough to knock him back a few steps.

"What the hell, Wessex?" he snarled, confused at her sudden turn but not enough to stand still and let her hit him again so easily. He retreated back towards the snake, surreptitiously Healing himself as he took up a defensive position and watching her with narrowed eyes.

---

Jigano tries to Heal himself with Upgraded Healing Magic as he retreats towards the snake/portal and prepares to defend himself if Wessex attacks again.

key quest

Indeed the bio pulse is effected against Jigano, as is the Queen's strike to his head. Only it isn't enough to knock the Sage unconscious.

Caring absolutely not one bit about what might have cause this fight, the guardian curls around the base of the well keeping itself between Wessex and the light that it protects.

---

You have 24 hours to reply. Your randomly drawn initiative order is: Wessex, Jigano. Please include a summary at the bottom of your posts.

WESSEX attacks JIGANO and HITS (twice)
JIGANO HEALS himself

Snake Guardian: 123 HP

Wessex: 110HP
Jigano: 277HP

dont know where the lights are taking us
but something in the night is dangerous

“The portal will be open for everyone regardless of race.” she replies, advancing a few small steps. Jigano gave up the right to decide what kind of people, to place limitations based on his personal bias when he abdicated the throne. Realistically, Wessex knows that after this debacle her reign is likely to be over - but she will have done the job (both jobs) well enough. She has nothing left to lose except her freedom.

She aims another biopulse towards the snake, calm and collected without adrenaline to flood her system. “If the snake will not let Ascended pass and will not leave, there is nothing to negotiate.” His job here is done, unless he chooses to continue to protect the snake, choosing a reptile over people, in which case Wessex will have no choice but to fight the bard, too.

--------------------
Wessex sends a biopulse towards the snake.

Wessex had already chosen to fight the bard when she attacked him without provocation. "Thirty seconds - less than that - is hardly time to even try to negotiate," he pointed out, voice remarkably steady, he thought, given the frustration that snarled through his chest and pressed at the edges of his ribcage. "Much less with something that needed our help, not our impatience and violence. You don't give people a chance to work things out without jumping straight to violence." It had been the same way before the Spire had opened, he remembered, when he had perched on Rory's shoulder and Wessex had heard 'no' and immediately stormed off without asking what reasons the leatherworker had.

Near as he could tell, she didn't care about reasons, only getting her way, and at the first hint that others disagreed? Deception and violence.

Ah well, it wasn't like his track record was any better.

He reached for the well of new magic in him once more, feeling along the lines of force and tension in the stone around them before jerking at them sharply, trying to use his earth magic to open a small fissure in the ground beneath Wessex to drop her into. If he was successful, he'd try to shift a piece of rubble on top of it to keep her pinned

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Jigano uses Upgraded Earth Magic to try and open a small fissure in the ground beneath Wessex to fall into, and if that's successful he tries to use the magic to shift a piece of rubble on top of it to pin her there.

key quest

The bio pulse strikes the creature, the disorientation making it warble unsteadily. Its body tightens around the well as it snaps its jaws in a frantic effort to retaliate but misses. New as the magic might be, Jigano cracks open the earth beneath Wessex' feet and indeed she succumbs to gravity. The broken rubble strewn aside because of this is moved atop her.

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You have 24 hours to reply. Your randomly drawn initiative order is: Wessex, Jigano. Please include a summary at the bottom of your posts.

WESSEX attacks the SNAKE and HITS
The SNAKE attacks WESSEX and MISSES
JIGANO attacks WESSEX and HITS

Snake Guardian: 76HP

Wessex: 73HP
Jigano: 277HP

dont know where the lights are taking us
but something in the night is dangerous

Maybe the real question should be why Jigano feels the need to save everything when everything (except Ascended) must also die.

Hidden beneath the rubble, Wessex stills her mind and her body and calls on Loren’s summoning power (oh how the Launceleyns obnoxiously deliver in her times of need). He’d shown her how to use it once and she’d brought forth a Sparkbird. This time, however, she reaches for something different. Recalling the book she’d found in the Temple during LongNight, Wessex mentally turns to the page about Frost Giants and pictures the description in her head.

Doing her best to hold her concentration on her creatures, she calls for a Frost Giant to enter the room with them. Safe in the crack, hidden by the debris, it should theoretically only see Jigano and the snake.
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Hidden in the crack, Wessex uses Loren’s summoning magic drunk in this thread: like a chicken with it's head chopped off to summon a Frost Giant.

"Just... calm down. Please. Believe it or not, I didn't come here to fight you." Unable to see Wessex or what she was up to, Jigano was unaware of her use of power to even the odds. Instead he winced and reached up to touch his face where he'd been punched, feeling the remaining bruising there. With a sigh he checked the still-new well of power within him, trying to gauge how much he had left before offering his hands to the snake again.

Will you accept healing? he asked it silently through the Attuned bond, and then attempting to heal it again if it consented. Despite what Wessex seemed to think, he still hoped to find a way to negotiate passage for the Ascended, but after what he had witnessed he knew it wouldn't be possible unless the guardian could be restored to its former strength and clarity.

---

Jigano tries to determine how much magic he has left, then offers to Heal the snake if it agrees to it

key quest

Frost Giants, as Wessex has read, stand nearly 6m tall. They are brutish and hard to control creatures with low intelligence and even lower levels of patience. Usually they attack anything that moves. So it was that as one was called into existence, its eyes immediately locked upon the Sage and the snake.

You focus on the wrong tassssssk. The snake hissed to the bard. As last time, its sole focus and purpose was on guarding the portal against the ascended. Though healing might factor into that, its resolve was resolute.

With hands well able to tear a man in half, the giant stopped in the small space. It’s movement was restricted, but that only sharpened its focus. Reaching forward it closed its fingers into a fist, striking out towards Jigano and hitting him with a stunning blow. Turning towards the guardian it sneered before reaching to grab the snake’s ‘throat’ and tugging it sharply.

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You have 24 hours to reply. Your randomly drawn initiative order is: Wessex, Jigano. Please include a summary at the bottom of your posts.


The GIANT attacks JIGANO and HITS
The GIANT attacks the SNAKE and HITS.

Snake Guardian: 16HP

Wessex: 73HP
Jigano: 217HP

dont know where the lights are taking us
but something in the night is dangerous

She didn’t come here to fight the bard either, but here they are, on opposite sides again. There is nothing she can do - wants to do - but try to hold on to the image of the Frost Giant until she’s sure it’s accomplished its predetermined task. Jigano’s words go unnoticed.

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Wessex continues to focus on the Frost Giant.

The wrong task, indeed. Wessex's silence should have been a warning that she was up to something, but Jigano never would have expected the summoning of a giant into the confined space. He turned to face it as it struck down, landing a blow harder than any other he'd taken since arriving on Caido.

The bard twisted as he fell, seeing stars.

Stars, like the world beyond Safrin's eyes, where he had been shackled and felt his chest and back begin to tear.

Stars, like skies above Numeria, twinkling with the promise of distant worlds beyond his own.

Stars that glittered and gleamed on silver scales, on mountain snows, above pale clouds that reflected moonlight back to the heavens.

Stars

and wings.

The dragon rose with a deafening roar, serpentine body curled comfortably within the confined space as it circled its long, strong tail to lash at the back of the giant's knees and lunged at the summoned beast to knock it back - into the portal of light, and away from the well and its guardian.

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Jigano discovers his dragonshift and attempts to knock the giant off balance with his tail while ramming it back into the portal with a scale-armored shoulder!