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Bright Journey	Clearly, Bright knows how to pick a day to investigate a temple to the glory of Malfeas. It's late afternoon, not that that truly matters with how deep underground this temple is. But it's dreary, drizzly, grey, and a bit chilly in Great Forks, accompanied by a thin but pervasive fog rolling down the streets. Just miserable enough to make one want to curl up by the fire with a goblet of hot mulled wine and a book, not nearly dank enough to justify cancelling a meeting as important as this over something so trivial as weather. Bright Journey is standing in the alley, cloak wrapped around her and hood up. She's not trying to sneak, but she's at least remaining quiet and splitting her time watching the alley's entrance, and watching the hole in the earth that leads to their destination. She's abandoned all pretense of being normal at this point in favor of already having her powerbow, Nightbane, in hand. Will she need it? Maybe. Probably not. But why take a chance?
Silk Moon Lotus	Silk sits on the ground playing cat's cradle with some string. She has her cloak up against the dampness in the air. Her silken robe poking out from under the cloak in places. The pattern in the cradle has gotten to a point where she stares at it for a few seconds before making her next move. She's sitting so she can see the entrance to the underground tunnel and Bright at the same time. A golden tipped staff lies on the ground next to her within easy reach. The leather of her fighting gloves can be seen though the string.
Hoarfrost	The albino witch turns the corner a few errant flakes of snow follow in her wake fall almost entirely lost in the fog and drizzle. The weather threatening to turn colder still as if by her mere presence. Bare foot she takes off her own hood and brushes out her long white hair. "Apologies for the delay. I always get turned around in the larger cities, and -ah Amethyst will be delayed a short while. " she might pass for normal if it wasn't for the lack of color about her, or the way the puddle at her feet has begone to freeze over. "You say there was a demon problem?"
Amethyst	Quiet is something that the alchemist can be, but today is not that day. There's an angry muttering in high realm that can be heard as the Dragon approaches. But before she reaches the alley proper, she takes a deep breath, her muttering stops, and she is silent for a time, 'fore finally rounding the corner and joining with her friends. Her hair is a mess, her clothes are stained by... something, and her eyes. Her eyes have the signature violet veins running through them, a sign of the hallucinogen that Amethyst makes use of. She doesn't look well, but at least she looks... mostly composed. "Evenin'."
Bright Journey	An interesting reunion, this. Each girl alone with her thoughts, no matter how close they are physically or emotionally. Bright is clearly lost in thought up until Hoarfrost and Amethyst make their way to the alley, but she looks up at the sound of voices. Despite the grey and the damp, she offers a heartfelt smile to Frost and Ammy both, levering herself upright from the wall she'd been leaning against and offering a slow wave. At Frost's comment about Amethyst being late, though, she chuckles quietly. "Oh, dear, Frost. You know you're supposed to keep that kind of detail to yourself." She has an impish, knowing little smile. "Listen, though, I haven't really had a chance to thank you for all the help you gave me. Not since I finally figured it out! I'm actually a sorcerer now, though I only know a few spells. Hopefully I'll be a bit of a help tonight trying to figure this place out." Bright pauses, eyeing Amethyst. "Er. Ammy. Are you quite all right? You look..." She sighs. "You look like you're ready to see into the higher planes. Or maybe those pink pachyderms again. I suppose I should have expected that."
Silk Moon Lotus	Silk looks over and smiles for Frosty and Ames "Thank you both for coming out. There's an odd summoning chamber below that links to Malfeas. I've no training in sorcerous workings and I could use your assistance in trying to determine who created the chamber. The creator or creators are still here in the city more than likely. They may even have a new keystone. We will not know until we get down there and look it over further. I've asked a few others to join us but I don't see them as of yet and I would rather get started." She deftly pulls her fingers from the cat's cradle and stands up while scoops up the staff from the ground in one smooth motion. Silk walks over to the wall and taps the release for the secret door. She looks around again to make sure there are no innocents around to fall in. She then looks down into the darkness and pulls out a necklace with a large blue gem on it. After a moment's concentration, it begins to glow with a soft blue light.
Hoarfrost	Hoarfrost offers a wide smile in return. Handing coming together in a silent clap "Oh excellent." though speaking in her usual soft tones the warmth in her voice is real. Sounding much like a proud school teacher "I knew you would get it, what was your final inspiration? Can I offer any more tutelage in spells?" Before she can get entirely off the rails with magic and the inter workings there of a familiar voice comes from not to far away. Followed by Amethyst. "It take it the letter was not cheery news?" moving to stand close and offer support and offering to help her into the space below if she is ready. "Of course Silk. I'm not sure I could identify them by name but I'm sure we can dispell the thing to make sure no more demons step out of it."
Amethyst	Amethyst nods to the group, and looks towards Bright and crosses her arms, "I'll be fine, just had to see if somethin' had any sorcerous essence to that, and I can't do that with my normal sight. Besides, I'm good at sorting what is essence and what is just hallucination." And then she heads to Frosty, "Mother's not comin'. She's staying in Elderloch. And in no uncertain terms am I to return. 'It's too dangerous'. And she still doesn't know that dad's missing..." Her expression softens a little and she leans. "First birthday I'll get to celebrate without my mom or dad. I turn 20 next month." "But we're not here to listen to me be sad and stuff, we got a portal to investigate." The Dragon says, heading through the secret door.
Bright Journey	Bright looks at Silk and nods, though she doesn't interrupt Silk's explanation. Clearly, she's content to let Silk lead this little expedition. The road ahead is dark and Silk is better prepared. She does, however, give Hoarfrost a beaming smile. "Oh, I kind of want to get into it, but if there's anything I've learned about sorcery it's trying to explain the revelations I've had is hard as the hells! I do still want to talk about it sometime but now isn't the time. I'd faceplant into a mural of Ligier or something for sure. As for spells, though, aside from Peacock Shadow Eyes," She pauses and points to her newly multicolored irises, a sure sign of the control spell she'd been working on, "...I also managed to figure out that whirlwind travel spell, and one for summoning an elemental. There's more I want to learn but we can chat about that later." Bright pauses, her excited demeanor giving way to concern as Amethyst talks about her family. She looks a bit crestfallen, and almost says something...but sometimes the most valuable social skill is the ability toi know when to say nothing at all. There will be time for that later. Bright follows, heading towards the secret door and down into the long, buried tunnel leading into the earth. It's a good thing Silk Moon Lotus brought a source of light; there's not much else in the way of light down here. The tunnel is earthen, fairly wide, and more straight than not, but it goes on for -quite- a distance. Every time it feels like the Malfean portal site should be nearby, there's even more tunnel to get through.
Bright Journey	Everyone who was here before remembers how long this tunnel was. It's frankly interminable. Of course, that's why the fairly quick pace was set, because they didn't have all day and night to travel just to get to the place. Haste, unfortunately, sometimes leads to mistakes. Fortunately for everyone, a combination of Silk's light and Amethyst's superior vision, along with Amethyst's sharp-eyed attention to detail, lets her spot a glint of something long and flat stretched across the tunnel at a mere few inches from the ground. Silk is less than a pace from it before Amethyst sees just a hint of blue light reflecting off the object...
Silk Moon Lotus	Silk drops effortlessly down into the tunnel. The gem sheds a cool blue light out but not enough to reach the the sides of the tunnel. The light vanishing into the distance. Silk stops short at Amethyst's warning. crouching down to look at the offending trap that has been setup. "I had a feeling that whomever had set this up had returned. We will need to be vigilant for more traps."
Hoarfrost	"We will need to meet up outside of demon hunting activities." The Lunar replies as she enters the secret hatch in the floor. A silvery white mist enshrouding her as she takes the form of a winter fox. Something with a better nose and a knack for the dark. Hoarfrost a bit distracted by Amethyst to be entirely focused on the task ahead, rubs against her leg. "It will still be with family." she says in the strange body speak she uses when in animal form. "You will have me and Rishi. Plus any friends you want to invite." pausing to look up only as warnings go out about possible traps.
Amethyst	Amethyst's eyes flick and her pupils narrow as the strange dragon unfolds into her true form. "Silk watch out!" Comes a desperate cry from her, and after she goes over to investigate what it is that she saw in the light. She spends a moment to mix up her own light, putting a little tablet in a vial and shaking, and soon that vial is shining brightly.
Rishi	Behind you there is a wooshing noise and then a series of light taps as something is running up the tunnel. In the uncertain light, a looming shadow unfurls, dark wings stretching out, hints of light glinting off menacing claws and glowing eyes completing the impression of a terrible monsters sneaking up behind... and then a silver ring comes into view on her forehead and Ammy has a brief moment to see Rishi before the Lunar pounces her. "It is most wonderful to be seeing you all!"
Bright Journey	...Well. That certainly broke the tension, didn't it? Bright was looking a bit grim, bow clenched in her hand, as she looked down at the thin wire stretched across the tunnel at ankle height. She looked about to speak when something behind them starts charging, full tilt, down the tunnel. Bright draws and nocks an arrow, getting ready to shoot, when... Oh. OH. Of course. If there's anyone more capable of magnificently ignoring social cues, Bright certainly wouldn't know who. Instead, she chuckles faintly, any attempt at stealth quite pointless now. A fond, exasperated smile creeps onto her face as she watches Rishi run down her lovers like a charging bull. "Well. Glad you could make it, Rishi..." She looks sidelong at Silk and gives the dark-haired girl a quirky grin.
Silk Moon Lotus	Silk starts melting into the shadows as she realizes that it's just Rishi being herself. She takes a deep breath and lets it out. "We should be about to just step over it. I don't see a reason to disarm it unless someone else feels that would be more prudent." She smiles at Ames for the extra light. "Thanks, that will help a lot." She steps carefully over the trigger and continues down the tunnel looking for more traps.
Hoarfrost	The white winter fox that is Hoarfrost rubs up against the pair of legs that are the hugging Rishi and Amethyst. Then deftly hops over the booby trap and onto the other side. This time staying much more focused and keeping her eyes open, and her nose searching for strange scents.
Amethyst	Ametyhst smiles at Silk and for the moment just leaves the vial by the wire so it's nicely illuminated for everyone else to get through. And then there's Rishi, who she's well familiar with trying to look scary. But Ammie isn't fooled! And instead, she bolts her Rishi too! Presumably they collide somewhere in the middle. "Yeah...I do still have you two as my family even if my parents won't be around for my birthday..." She says as she hugs. And after everyone else has jumped over, Ammie grabs her light and does so too, heading down the hallway.
Rishi	Once Rishi has let go of Ammy, she picks up Frosty and pets her a little before putting her down across the wire. "It is going to be your day of birth soon? That shall be most wondrous!" And Ammy gets another hug. "So, we are being of the thought that the owners of this place have returned, yes? If there are being new traps?"
Bright Journey	Now that everyone knows where the wire is, it's simplicity itself to avoid. Of course, questions remain. Who planted it? What does it do? Why was there no indication of traps the last time people were here? Actually, with demon spiders around, perhaps that's the answer to that last question. Clearly, though, someone else has been here in the interim and surely knows something happened. That answers one of Silk's burning questions: Is there someone in the city who actually maintains the place? The answer seems to be a resounding yes, but many more questions remain. The party has much more of a weather eye out for traps now, of course, but there doesn't seem to be any more (or is there?) on the way to the Malfean portal. Soon, though, everyone makes it there. The portal room itself is, at least on the surface, substantially unchanged from the last time anyone here saw it. The entrance leads into a large, circular room interspersed with load-bearing stone pillars. Bronze sconces are mounted here and there on the walls, lit with magical green fire without bothering with the torch a sconce would normally contain. The lighting is bright enough to shine over the artistry along all the walls; stone murals in artistic detail of some of the most powerful Yozi. The room is designed such that the focal point is in the center, with circular stone in the ceiling and floor making it clear where the exact center lies. Once, the space here held a keystone, one that was wrested from this place with clever occult knowledge. It's impossible to tell at a glance what power remains...
Amethyst	Amethyst giggles a little as she's hugged by Rishi, and she reaches to give Frosty a little scritch. But then she turns her attention to the matter at hand. And her eyes grow wide. "That's a lot of essence flowing about. This place clearly still has some strength to it, though exactly where or why isn't clear. It's all around and pretty fuzzy. Even without the keystone there's still something going on here." She concludes.
Silk Moon Lotus	Silk looks around the room and gladly notices there in no new keystone for the portal. She walks over to the murals and begins examining them, looking for hints to how they may have been created or similarities to other murals in the city.
Hoarfrost	Sniff sniff sniff! The arctic fox starts moving about the room hunting for scents but getting little more than the exotic spices of Malfeas. A portal ... focusing her essence and taking another sniff she gathers all the information a sorcerous could hope from the world around her and begins taking it apart in her mind trying to learn exactly what this place is about.
Bright Journey	Bright Journey, for her part, is frowning to herself as she starts to look around. She scratches the back of her neck in thought as she shakes her long, pink hair free of her cloak's hood. That Collar of Dawn's Cleansing Light is paying dividends now in this humidity! "Hey...Amethyst, tell me if I'm wrong, but did we really see much of the keystone before we started messing with the...the..." She frowns, thinking, then snaps her fingers. "The runes built into the stone! Of course."
Rishi	Rishi's nose changes subtly as her face takes on a slightly more feral cast, her eyes gleaming for a moment as she parts the veil of the spirits. Then, like the adorable Fox, she too scents around the room, following the smells of essence as it pools and gathers all across the room, trying to get a sense of the whole of this place.
Bright Journey	To be sure, there's no active portal right now, open or closed. But still, the power is here, in the room. It sits and waits...or really -seethes- beneath the surface, clawing at the barriers between worlds, clamoring for release just as the Yozis it serves do. How that power is bound and stored, however, will take more time and study. The ability to see Essence flows in the room will help dramatically with this process. As Silk carefully examines the murals, her impressions from the last time are reinforced. These are cunningly crafted in a specific, artistic style. They're no slapdash job; each one is a genuine piece of artistic workmanship good enough to be displayed in a museum. That's tricky in a medium like stone bas reliefs, but it's certainly managed here. Whoever put this together did so with considerable resources and a singular purpose. Perhaps the art has a purpose beyond worship, or the style might be specific enough to be identified later. Amethyst, Rishi and Frost are all working on mjuch the same thing, all are using powers of some sort or another, and all are used to working together. The mysteries of this room are by no means unraveled yet, but it's certain that something about the room itself is designed to concentrate and store Essence, no doubt to power the portal. Or perhaps for something else as well? Hard to say as of yet, but you all are certain that there's a great deal of energy stored and ready for use. With no portal available perhaps it's backed up like a clog in a drain...or perhaps it's being tapped for a separate purpose. As for a specific location, the best that's immediately obvious is above the entire ceiling, and below the entire floor. Something about the structure of the stone...
Silk Moon Lotus	"I'm pretty sure that if I saw this style of stonework again I would recognize it. Perhaps even the artist." Silk looks over at the sorcerous trio and smiles. "Bright, you told me that each sorceror's magic is unique to them. Would it be possible to use the magic in the stones to possibly track it bak to the creator or the wielder? Hopefully it wouldn't take you to the keystone. That would be less then helpful." Silk sits down on the floor in a lotus position and begins closes her eyes. She focuses on her breathing for a moment and starts to stroke the stones on the floor, feeling the flow of the craftsmanship. Searching for hidden seems or irregularities.
Amethyst	Amethyst hmms and nods. "Do you think this might be used for sorcery workings?" She asks as she goes along and stops at one of the cracks. She begins to glow her signature violet color tinged with prismatic energy as she grabs at the stone and simply shapes it aside, her anima taking on a icy appearance as it solidifes from the earthly essence she channels.
Hoarfrost	As if standing from a sitting position Hoarfrost becomes a humanoid again stretching. Taking what she learned from her investigation with her nose. Running the possibilities through her head. Digging into a pouch and smearing a bit of moss here, a bit of something mildly luminescent there. Infusing the plant matter with sorcerous magic letting it react to the room trying to seek out where it is storing all this energy and how she might access it.
Bright Journey	Bright looks thoughtful, eyeing one of the murals--this one to Kimbery. She's not really looking at it, though--it's just where her eyes are pointed while the wheels turn behind them. She glances at the sorcerous threesome as well, with a quick grin, and asks, "I...hmm. Frost? Or...actually, all three of you. I don't think I could -track- it, precisely. Or maybe we could, with a Working. Not sure entirely. Although that makes me wonder if we could do the same with the Keystone. But I'm pretty sure we could recognize it if we saw it again. Is that right, you all? The stone itself doesn't seemed designed for use with Workings, precisely--it's pretty clearly purpose built rather than a generic workshop sort of room. Everyone in the room knows it's meant to harness and store Essence, however--not insane Manse levels, but a significant expenditure all the same. More than most portals would need, though. It feels wild and angry, still seething and active, and as several people here begin to actively follow the Essence in the room the pattern all of a sudden makes perfect clarified sense. The Essence in the room is constantly moving and shifting, yes, following what is essentially huge, circular--no, -spiral- sigils cunningly carved into the entire ceiling and floor. Some of the cracks in the stone are inlaid with the same Essence-conducting mortar as the pillars in the room, this time to focus the Essence in a pair of opposite spiral patterns...clockwise above, widdershins below. This pattern keeps the Essence moving through the very center of the room, where the portal forms, in what's essentially an endless seesaw. As for Silk's question...yes. A Working could definitely bear fruit, though care would have to be taken to keep control. Here, the Essence is readily available. The process of harnessing it will take some delicate calculations, but with the four talented sorcerers here, it's probably possible to track down someone sorcerously linked to the clever stonework here, the emotional investment and careful artistry.
Amethyst	Amethyst examines the stonework, and nods. "I think we get it, it's the spirals in the top and the bottom here." Amethyst considers, "As for tracking, I'm fairly certain I can assist with such a working. As for the essence here? I could deliberately disturb the runes, and that would hopefully unfocus the essence. But that could also maybe be dangerous."