"Blackmail?" He scoffs. "Not everyone thinks like you do. You deserve a second chance, just like everyone else." He looks at her. "If I catch you stealing anything on board, though, I will turn you in."
He ignores Carson and shouts to Patricia. "Don't bother with the head! Get the mark on his shoulder!" He then steps back and raises his knife, preparing to fend off Carson until Patricia can take the shot... hopefully she'll listen to him.
@Mazoku As she worked the stone and spoke to the two they answered again. "It taught... Gave her power... Told her what to do..." the man explained and then there's a touch of pride in the woman's voice as she continues, "She listened, but... Only so far... When it asked to be freed she betrayed it," the man nods, "Still trapped in it's tomb. Looking for a way out," the man continues and they seem to actually be showing an interest in Saphielle's work. Watching as she forms the stone. "Beware the snake... Not even Death could kill it" the man adds before they become quiet merely watching until questioned again. @moonblack Sophie listens to the plan and nods, "Alright..." she agrees and then turns and heads inside and when she comes back out, she's holding a rifle, "This will do right?" she asks, the rifle looks old and not well maintained. Probably an heirloom or something that hasn't actually been considered until now. Silfiel doesn't remember seeing it anywhere in the house previously, "Sophie then positions herself just slightly in the corn field so most of her is hidden by the tall corn, "Is this a good spot, you think?" she asks. @Auraicide Sasha nods, "Yeah it's a lock," she agrees not bothering to comment on the Djinn's obvious lack of technical knowledge, "A locked door does usually mean there's something interesting inside, but I'm not great with electronic locks," she admits. Of course that doesn't end up being a problem as Zaria simply turns the metal of the door into sand, granting access. The room beyond at first seems almost like a junkyard. Random pieces of metal, plastic and other materials all jumbled together, but a few more seconds make it clear that there is some organization here. Each seemingly random pile is centred around something in the centre. There are three piles of materials. The center of one seems to be some kind of model human skeleton made out of various pieces of metal and wires, the second pile has some kind of heavy metal block, with various pieces sticking out of it and lastly the third pile has what looks like a very large gun, made out of mostly plastic and wires. @Tjf Inal doesn't seem to entirely believe Sandor is just giving her a second chance, but she doesn't press the issue instead she looks offended when Sandor brings up what he'll do if he catches her stealing anything from the boat, "I'll have you know! I take my job here very seriously. I have no intention of jeopardizing this job," she says and then smiles, "In fact as a guest on board this ship, it is my duty to do whatever I can to make your voyage as pleasant as possible!," she suddenly announces and steps closer to him, "So, is there anything I can do to make your journey aboard our humble vessel better?" she asks taking on a suddenly cheerful and subservient persona. @GenericEditor168 Carson tries to turn to stop Patricia, but luckily Patricia decides to listen to Tlazohuitl and shifts her aim before pulling the trigger. Carson's shoulder and most of his torso are transformed into a fine mist as the gun goes off and the rest of the body collapses, rapidly beginning to decay and turn to dust. Patricia watches this occur and then lets out a sigh, "That's it then? He's actually dead?" she says sounding relieved. Tlazohuitl of course knows that this is not in fact the end of Carson. Somewhere his mind is still alive that had been animating the body. With the corpse dead the ritual magic is starting to fade completely. It would be possible to trace it back to it's source, but only until the ritual completely fades, "How did you know that would work, anyway?" Patricia asks looking at Tlazohuitl with undisguised admiration, clearly quite thankful for the help in ending a long time thorn in her side.
“Hmm... first, I am no expert on guns, but that rifle seems pretty old and I get the feeling it has not been used in a while. It's good to have it, but best not to try shooting with it unless absolutely necessary.” Silfiel pointed out. “Second, that's not a bad spot, but I'd recommend going a bit further in the corn field and crouching, or even lying down on your stomach. The tall corn will hide you while you should be able to look in between the plants in order to see what is happening. Combined with the darkness of the night it should make it hard for anyone to spot you even if they know where to look.” The elf made some suggestions based on her own expertise. Once she had made sure that Sophie was well-hidden Silfiel left her there and started searching for a place where she could hide and lie in wait for the thieves from last night.
"I have some level of experience with magic." He replies. "...Unfortunately, it's enough that I can tell you he's not actually dead. His physical body has been destroyed, but his mind is still out there, and it will probably just acquire a new host from somewhere." Tlazohuitl sits down for a moment, watching the dust spreading across the jungle floor and trying to work out the patterns to its flow, hoping to follow the energy trail back to its origin. (Would anything special be needed to trace the ritual's magic, or just a bit of focus?)
Not so innocent then, she thought and wore a grim, but pleased smile. As soon as the serpent had taught her what it knew, she had discarded her teacher and struck out on her own. The banshee couldn't find fault with the would-be queen's decision. Although it was something to keep in mind when reuniting with Ayla. Her bonds had to bind her tightly so that there was no chance of escape. Saphielle stayed silent for a few minutes as she searched for the final shatter points in the stone. Magic flowed from her core, tracing a path through her arm and into the marble. The black rock started to crack loudly as faultlines spread across its surface and insides. It became silent again for the span of an eyeblink as potential hung in the air before collapsing as myriad pieces of stone fell to reveal the rough outline of a demonic equine creature. It had curved horns adorning its head, and you could already catch a glimpse of the fiery mane and tail. The serpent had been the source of her disquiet when visiting the city. The description of it by the pair put into more context what she had found before being invited by Ayla to join her in the throne. It worried Saphielle. "I'll do what I can to protect your daughter, and take from that place. While seeing to it that the serpent is kept under watch. Ayla will be one of my dolls, just you like you are." But she did take heed of the warning, which was why she intends for others to perform the deed. She started to circle her creation, planning out her next steps. Once polished the outer surface of the marble has slight translucency that gave the finished statue a certain lifelike quality and depth. It was a wonderful material. A joy to work with. One of her chisels wobbled, floating up to the air alongside her. She clasped the tool between her hands. The runic enchantments written into the shaft began to glow as she poured her mana. Each strike would discharge the stored magic through the edge and imbue it into the material. The strength of the blow determining the power of the bound spell. Movement, tactile sensations, sight, durability, and much more. Each of her tools fulfilled a specific purpose in the creation of a doll. Saphielle couldn't spend the amount of mana required over a single day. So even with magic, she had to look forward to weeks of careful and delicate work for the pair of vessels. Only made them more worth the effort. "This one is yours." Addressing the Burning Man. "A Mare. A being of legend associated with succubi and incubi, Nyx's creatures, that fed on the lifeforce of men and woman. They were said to ride steeds as they visited their victims' dreams and turned them into nightmares. " "Let's get back to Ayla. It's for her we're all here for, after all. She was a virgin, so she hadn't had sex during her life, but what about lovers, or close friends did she have those, and what were they like?" Asking to sate her curiosity about the woman's eagerness to submit. Although becoming an undead could change things.
Sandor actually blushes for a moment, the saintly persona shaken. "I-uh, no. Just don't steal anything..."
@moonblack Sophie follows Silfiel's advice hiding deeper in the cornfield as Silfiel finds her own place to hide. Once both were hidden they waited and sure enough the same two showed up, the guy first approaches the field and begins to cut down some stalks, with the woman showing up a bit later acting as a guard. The guy asks something as the woman arrives, "Why don't we just grab a whole bunch so, we don't have to come back every damn night?" he asks and the woman glances around as she answers, "If we take too much it'll be too noticeable," she explains and the guy scoffs "What you think she hasn't noticed yet?" he counters and the woman opens her mouth to respond, but Sophie speaks up instead, "Oh I've definitely noticed," she states and the guy let's out a surprised yelp and falls backwards onto his ass before turning onto all fours and scrambling over to the woman who is now glancing about wildly, "W... Where are you?" she asks and Sophie responds again. "Watching you... With a rifle... Now tell me why you're here stealing my crops!" she yells at them and the guy yelps, "She has a gun! Screw this!" he yells and the woman cries out, "Wait no don-" before the man raises his hand and the entire area suddenly becomes shrouded in darkness, obscuring the two of them from sight. The sudden blindness seems to make Sophie panic and Silfiel hears the sound of the rifle firing in the darkness. @GenericEditor168 Patricia looks annoyed at this information, "So, he'll come back?" she asks sounding disappointed as at the same time Tlazohuitl can feel the flow of magic receding. It would be easy to follow, but he'd have to be quick. The flow is heading into the woods and it doesn't seem very far. If he doesn't follow it now, he won't have the trace, but he would still know the general direction. @Mazoku The two watch as Saphielle works and neither seem capable of showing emotion, but Saphielle gets the sensation neither of them are pleased at the prospect of Ayla becoming a doll for Saphielle, still they do answer her questions, "Back... In London... she went to school," her mother spoke, "She was bullied... for her lack of magical potential... but had a friend..." her father continues, "just the one... Her only other friend... Her books," her mother finishes. "Her friend... Learned air magic... Was taken to... Join the army" Her father adds as an afterthought. @Auraicide Sasha looks through the three piles and goes to the gun, "I mean a gun locked away is usually something of use, though I'm not sure about this... This seems... unfinished. It might be broken, could be dangerous to try and use," she says lifting the gun and examining it. It's almost the same size as her and she seems to struggle a bit to lift it, she places it down and goes over to the skeletal figure, "I really hope whatever this is is the only one of it's kind. I'd hate to find out there's more of these things out there it... Looks pretty scary," she says and then jumps back as it suddenly twitches, a hand suddenly shooting forward as if trying to grab for her. She dodges away from it and it proceeds to topple forward before starting to try and crawl after her as she backs away from it. @Tjf Inal spots the blush and smiles, "Oh... Are you sure there's nothing I could for you," she asks moving uncomfortably close to him, "I'm willing to do... anything to ensure you have a good time on this trip," she states teasingly her lips intentionally close to his own as she speaks seemingly quite amused at the idea that she's making him uncomfortable.
"I see." Opening her eyes and releasing another of the rune-engraved tools to the swarm orbiting around the banshee. London, she had never visited the city, but had memories of her masters during life talking about an island to the far north... Saphielle searched the fragments of her memories... a frontier. It had been long ago, so ultimately didn't matter. As for their distaste, they had no choice or input in the matter, not any longer, and could be similarly dismissed. "How lonely she must've been. Even her friends grew apart from her. So we have loneliness, inferiority, desire, shattered dreams. All of it laying the foundation for your daughter to become who she is now." Someone who ripped their heart out for power and surrounded herself with mindless puppets. Saphielle called for one of her own toys, reaching out for the soul housed in its inorganic vessel and finding it trying to shy away from the contact within the tight confines of its bindings. Pulling on the invisible chain connecting the banshee to all of her dolls, she compelled its obedience not much caring for how he silently screamed. Yes, that was much better. Unlike the pair before, this one was beautifully sculpted. Its shiny porcelain exterior reflected an ageless grace. Every one of his limbs were carefully articulated with further separate pieces for his hands and feet, both the craftsmanship unfortunately hidden by the butler's outfit he wore. "Prepare a copy of my introduction to Soulcraft. Blue binder, one of the top shelves. And bring out the things I need for a pair of letters. You'll be delivering all of them once you've finished the copy." "I assume your daughter is still fond of books." Talking to the pair of spirits. "You can leave. Amuse yourselves." As soon as her servant called that he had prepared the letters, Saphielle abandoned the task of recharging her tools, sending them back to their place with a stray thought. She was starting to feel empty and spent and needed some time to recharge. The first she was addressing to the church describing the events at the ruined city. The second would be for Ayla, updating her of the situation, and bundled together with the book. The latter's contents might help to deal with the haunting and vengeful spirit of the princess. The result of their spat would be interesting to observe. Tomorrow would be a new day.
Crap! I wasn't expecting them to have magic – or use it so recklessly! Silfiel cursed as the area was shrouded in darkness. Not wanting to risk getting shot by Sophie the elf remained in her hiding place and tried listening carefully for any sound of movement that would give away where the thieves were. Hopefully Sophie will stay where she is and not come out...
Sandor backs away, face red, with an unmistakable hardness poking up to make a tent in his robes. For a moment, his expression changes to one of lust and desire, leaning in until their lips are mere inches away, before his expression goes back, and he moves away. "I- wha- no... I think you should, um, maybe you should go."
How annoying. More things trying to make this whole journey difficult, Zaria was grown increasingly bored of all the time she had spent here, not really getting why any of these weird pieces of metal would really matter. But if it was something, they wanted, it was something she wanted. With Sasha having the gun, Zaria was left see the zombie like things advance. She just wanted to get rid of these things quickly, so she didn't waste time lifting her arm up to launch a wave of flame to shoot down the hall and wipe them all. They were biological flesh, after all. They probably weren't the best built to defending against things like this. It didn't take a lot of effort to do. Rather the bigger issue was finding a way to shield Sasha from the blast. That took more doing, for her to invoke a spell with her other arm at the same time to spawn a quick arcane shield to protect the girl, flickering with a faint blue energy to keep her guarded. For the dijiin the force of the fire blowing back against her didn't matter. If anything, it felt refreshing. The barrier died down quickly from the force of the flames, with Zaria's offensive abilities generally being much better than her defensive skillset. It might work for now, but it definitely wouldn't cut it for the scale of a blast to level the whole tower. "Well, that looks valuable enough to call it a win. Let's find where we need to go and be done with it."
Hey... Just an apology for letting this die out. I know this is very late, but yeah... Just sorry to everyone involved.
