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Striking Looks
Manipulation
Resources
Barfly
Eidetic Memory
All right, so Crystal wasn't the crazy one. It was bad enough that they had to go through this gate, at least the First Talon put a stop to this crazy idea. The image of getting jumped by the dinosaurs while studying the glyph made his mouth dry up. Once again he remembered Campanella promising them to get them out if things got dicey - unfortunately it did little to calm his nerves. He gave Phoenyx a thumbs up and followed her back into the forest.
The advice to get some defenses up seemed like a good idea. A great idea even. He focused on the Mudras of one of the few Rotes he had memorized, chanting some words of power while calling the Imago into his mind.
4 successes
As soon as he finished the last flick of his wrist, he could feel the spell taking hold and something shift. The smell of his Nimbus combined with the humidity made the impression of cruising through a bathhouse even more pronounced.
What the fuck was wrong with him? This wasn't the time for that - but it was almost funny what kind of safe places he wished himself to when the lizard part of his brain takes over. He should get his head back to the problem at hand. "So what's our plan if we do have to fight? Go for the smaller one first?" He tried very hard to sound cool and strategic - he probably even pulled it off.
Active Spells: 2/4 [2] Third Eye; [4R] Misperception
Willpower: 2/6
Mana: 5/10
Armor: 3 (Misperception)
Willpower: Mana:
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Presence
Striking LooksPuck's shoulders shrunk a bit at Phoenyx's response. The natural landscape, the threads of fate. Something was made to be watched, but rather then look for themselves or trust what Puck told them they denied him the ability to move the dream forward. The dream was clearly made to be seen and Puck had every intention of doing so.
He doesn't retreat back into the tree line as a matter of fact. Rather, he follows the natural contours of the landscape to what could pass for the seating area of the natural amphitheater. If the dinosaurs were circling the stage, he'd find a place to stand just outside their circle. Maybe sit if there was a clearly safe seating area for it.
And he'd do so with or without his travelling companions.
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Phoenyx retreats carefully back into the deeper forest. Crystal joins her after wrapping himself in protective magics. Puck moves away from the pair as they retreat, tracing the rough outline of the landscape as he searches for a place to sit.
The two dinosaur's remain on their spiralling trajectory - picking up the pace now as they close once again.
Puck is cut off from the retreating mages. A fact bought vividly to life when the two beasts recognise each other and begin bellowing out their challenges.
The Libertine doesn't find a place for sitting per se, however he does find several good vantage points from which to view the entire depression. The ground is dusty, dry, and hard. The foliage is spread out enough not to be too much of a problem.
With a honking bellow, the stegasaurus makes the first definitive move: taking its heavy stance and lashing out with its tail. If the party had not made their move, the creature would have been right next to where they stood...
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Presence (Focused)
Trained Observer
Dexterity (Lithe)
"If we can drive them away, that is easier. Fortunately cutting loose on both in the place is a lot less problematic that in the Material World." Good old Obrimos plan B. And nowadays, the results were likely to be a lot more spectacular.
The Arrow stares intently at Puck's back as he ignores her logic and wanders straight ahead.
Some people seem intent on throwing themselves on the fire... There must be something about following the threads of Fate that makes you more flippant.
She had not seen the natural arena the Acanthus could see. Phoenyx was very much thinking about what was in front of her. Vulgar was the specialty.
All she could see was a fight. It seemed Puck had been right, this time, but that didn't invalidate her caution. Of course, how he acted as a result would be far more telling of the Magus.
Cloaked Monthly Rits (in minisheet)|
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Striking Looks
Manipulation
Resources
Barfly
Eidetic Memory
"Check." One thing was certain: if it came to it, Crystal would leave his ego at the door and listen to the Arrow. He allowed himself a short moment of pettiness, where he kind of wished that Puck would be handed a reality check, but then he tried to watch what was happening with an open mind.
Apparently the dinosaurs weren't homing in on the Awakened, so what else was there? Were they called to the stump? If the lesson turned out to be 'don't spend all your time on analyzing other peoples' spells' Crystal would be severely disappointed. Duh.
He turned to Phoenyx again. "So at which point do we infringe on his personally chosen freedom to act a fool and intervene?"
Active Spells: 2/4 [2] Third Eye; [4R] MisperceptionWillpower: 2/6
Mana: 5/10
Armor: 3 (Misperception)
Willpower: Mana:
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Presence
Striking LooksAs it becomes clear he is cut off from the others Puck feels... surprisingly okay with it for the moment. He was right about the dinosaurs, or at least right as long as they both lived to fight each other. Credit where it's due? He wouldn't have felt this brave about the dreams programming if Phoenyx hadn't shown the invisible walls with her spell. Now it was just looking for a clue on what to do now. The others might be looking for a portal, and Puck is definitely a bit distracted as the fight starts, but there had to be more to the realm then seers wanting to see dinosaurs. Maybe they were as juvenile as Puck? Puck doubted that.
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And then the great beasts go at one another!
The carnivore lunges in, mighty head first, ducking back and forth to avoid the whip-crack swings from the stegasaur's barbed tail. The creatures are massive: thick legged, bulky - heavy muscle and bone...
Yet they seem to dance. Whirling in a circle around the stump, the two dinosaur's crash into one another. Blood and dust fly from the disturbed earth. Vegetation is torn asunder. Always a circle, however: the stegasaurlumberingspinning a slow circle and the carnivore dancing in-and-out around around it. Dust spins in the enervated air and spreads out in puffs of air. Vegatations whirls and spins on its own before dropping back to the ground.
The sound of conflict fills the thick, viscous, air.
And Puck sees it - an Atlantean Truth about the interplay between Fate and Time, Life and Death - all laid out as a living mandala. Not a spell as, perhaps, the Libertine might have hoped, but a complex theory on how the Arcana intersect and interact with one another. Crystal senses something of this but distance, distraction, and the lay of the land obscure much of the nuance.
With a final bellow the carnivore leaps onto the stegasaur and goes for the neck. Blood signals victory, but the stegasaur manages one last swing with its hideous tail that smashes into the carnivore's head. The pair of behemoths fall to the ground, bleeding and spent - and in doing so they complete the mandala and the lesson.
A wind blows through the trees, strong enough to make the succulent branches rustle and chime.
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Presence (Focused)
Trained Observer
Dexterity (Lithe)
The Arrow stares at the scene unfolding, trying to watch for any more dangers that might jump them in the fracas. Still, the fight is fascinating, if terrible to behold - two forces of nature people would never see in the real world locked in a challenge for survival.
Existance is War.
When it seems likely that the giant beasts will move no more, she gestures to Crystal to follow, making her way around the creatures towards Puck while still giving them a wide berth.
"This still doesn't mean my caution was unwarranted," she says quietly to the Acanthus, though it is said with a small smile. She finally releases her hold on the Life Spell keeping the dinosaurs at bay. "However, I am glad we aren't picking your remains out of a tree. It was certainly impressive, but I do not see the point it was making."
Cloaked Monthly Rits (in minisheet)
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Striking Looks
Manipulation
Resources
Barfly
Eidetic Memory
The dinosaurs fought and killed each other - now what kind of fucked up lesson was this? The cynical part of Crystal just saw it as proof that nothing really mattered in the end: fight as much as you wanted, you'd probably die trying anyway. Or you could pick your battles and live to see another day. Was his interpretation of the lesson biased? Of course. But the other two would most likely get an equally biased insight out of this, so what the hell.
He just wondered what the creator of this lesson had in mind, what purpose the artifact ultimately served. He followed Phoenyx, keeping his eyes peeled for any follow-up attacks or surprises.
The Warlock listened to her judgement and shrugged. "Yeah, same here. I mean, something about the circle of life? A more pressing question would be: if the lesson is over, how do we get back out of here?" Was a portal visible nearby or did they have to find their way back to where they came from?
Active Spells: 2/4 [2] Third Eye; [4R] Misperception
Willpower: 2/6
Mana: 5/10
Armor: 3 (Misperception)
Willpower: Mana: 
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