The symbol glows purple again, and the edge of Cyouni's mouth twists up in a smirk. "Everything's ready. It's time to end this."
He raises his right fist, and black mana bursts from it in a circle, slaying all the creatures as it passes through them.
The sword's flame turns black, and Cyouni raises the blade high. "Come, avatar of death."
Black mana swirls behind him, and a spirit holding a scythe comes into being. Flame flows from the sword Cyouni holds to the blade of the spirit's scythe, and it begins to burn with the same black flame.
A look of shock appears in the mage's eyes when the sphere of destruction starts to engulf his creatures, but he has enough presence of mind to let a blast of dark energy hit Cyouni from the wurm before it crumbles.
He summons a strange aura, then another shambling mess, causing the fallen two to stand up. He casts another Ranger, and the other elves stand up as well. He then looks at Cyouni. After a moment, he hisses "What would you want to leave the ziggurat?"
Cyouni pauses. So their destination's a ziggurat. Now's a good chance to find out more information. "What do you mean?"
Cyouni calls more mana to himself, and funnels some of it into the spirit. He tosses the cloak onto the spirit, and the spirit vanishes, fading into the background. The water around the mages' feet ripples as the hidden spirit moves, sliding into an advantageous position.
Life: 13
Casting:
1x Unholy Strength on Avatar of Woe
Attaching Whispersilk Cloak to Avatar of Woe
The man's brow furrows. "You are with the Rakdos, yes? You stink of demons. Your kin have taken over the old ziggurat near here, and are performing some unholy magics around it. What would you want to leave that place?"
It's become apparent to Cyouni that these 'Rakdos' are part of an organization that worked for Lou, and he doesn't much like the sound of that.
Cyouni offers a crooked grin. "Not by choice. That's why I'm here."
Cyouni's aware that by now the conversation's drifted off topic. "Enough of that," he says, waving a hand in dismissal. "What of the leylines? What power do they hold?"
Cyouni's lips tighten as Lou's voice resounds in his head. "Thank you. That's all I needed."
The dagger in his hand twirls absently as Cyouni considers his options. He really doesn't want to have to kill the guildmage - he happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. But there's no way to keep the mage alive and still accomplish his task.
"Thank you," he repeats, as his hand comes up, "and goodbye. I'm sorry." The hand slashes downwards, and the spirit materializes behind the guildmage. Two slashes is all that it takes to end his life.
Attack with Avatar of Woe. Double-striking unblockable 8/6 coming in for 16 lethal damage.
The mage's eyes widen as Cyouni apologizes, and then go blank as the two swift blows land. He crumples into the murk with a slightly inappropriate parping sound.
There's a satisfied sound in Lou's voice in Cyouni's mind. He takes off his cloak, kneels down, and with one hand, grabs the mage's neck, and holds him up. He holds his hand out, and some silvery light comes out of the Golgari mage, accumulating in his hand. He crushes his hand, and the light disappears.
After pulling out a small potion from the mage's pocket, he drops the corpse back into the murk, and tosses the vial to Cyouni. "Come," he says, "We are out of time," and he travels into the depths of the sewers.
Cyouni catches the potion as his mana bonds dissolve.
Hurrying after Lou, he stashes the potion in his satchel. He's not going to drink an unknown potion, and right now, he doesn't have the time to identify it.
After a few more turns, Lou leads Cyouni into a huge cavern. The cavern is so huge, two games of Ravnican Blitzball could be played in it at the same time, with plenty of space for the audience. A path from the sewer entry goes down and off to the side, leading to the corner of a large, low-sloping ziggurat. At the center is some kind of altar. On each of the four corners of the ziggurat, looking much newer, are obelisks. The whole place seems to hum of power not yet released.
Lou continues down the slope towards the corner, and one of the obelisks. "This is what I need you to do. These four obelisks will hold the charge your mana has built up. The mana will then be channeled into the center, and will assist me in opening the portal home. Once you channel your mana into the obelisks, your debt to me shall be repaid. However..." He turns to look at Cyouni. "As I said before, this will hurt. A lot. But I can help. It doesn't have to hurt. I can channel some of my power into you, fortifying you, and helping ease the mana from your body. However, this will take a considerable amount of focus from myself, and therefore, you will still be in my debt, and you could come with me to Grixis..."
A hissing scream comes from the tunnel they just came out of. Cyouni can't make out the words being said. Lou's expression doesn't change, but he steps towards Cyouni. "Make your choice. Freedom, or join me on Grixis."
Cyouni glances back towards the tunnel. That'd probably make his decision more urgent.
A shrug. It'd be the same, anyways. "Freedom. I will stay bound no longer."
Cyouni's right hand comes up, and he directs a stream of mana towards the obelisk near Lou.
There's a look, almost of disappointment, crossing Lou's face at his answer. It quickly turns to triumph as Cyouni starts to channel mana into the Obelisk.
The moment the stream of mana hits the obelisk, Cyouni feels something grip his arm. He feels a searing pain rip up his left arm, across his back and chest, and out his right arm. The stream of mana becomes visible, a black stream with purple edges that strains the eyes to look at.
After a few moments that feel like an eternity, the constant searing pain disappears along the same path it started, and left out his right hand, terminating the stream. The pain is gone, leaving a dull throbbing pain from his left wrist to nearly his shoulder, and the dull pat-pat of his own blood dripping off his hand onto the stone floor.
"Get the others," Lou says, and starts to climb up the ziggurat.
Gasping in pain, Cyouni lets his arm drop to his side. He glances at his hand, grimacing at its condition. If this is what it looks like after one obelisk, he really doesn't want to see what it looks like after the fourth.
As he raises his hand to direct his mana towards the next obelisk, one thought pulses through his mind: freedom.
The ziggurat is square at the base, with an obelisk at each of the corners. Right now, you're going clockwise around the ziggurat.
Again, the pain rips through his shoulder, starting to drag up his back now, and out his hand towards the obelisk. Like the previous obelisk, some of the runes that were on Cyouni's arms now appear on its surface in the same glowing black-purple color of the mana stream.
The dull ache now covers his back. He can feel something warm trickle down it in several places, and his shirt is now starting to stick to his back.
Another obelisk, another searing pain. This time, the pain comes from his abdomen, seizing up his diaphragm, racing up his chest, and out his arm, into the obelisk. The runes shine black-purple. He can see some of his blood trickle down his chest.
Lose 2 life
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
We now return to your regularly scheduled quest.
One of the shaman's mana connections fades with a barely shown wince.
He points at Cyouni and hisses. The two huge plants charge Cyouni, nearly filling the sewer.
Actions:
Take 1 damage of mana burn
Sacrifice 1x Forest
Battlefield:
8x Forest 0x:symtap:8x:symq:
2x Swamp 0x:symtap:2x:symq:
1x Doubling Season
3x Skyshroud Ranger 0x:symtap:3x:symq:
2x Shambling Shell 0x:symtap:2x:symq: (SS)
1x Vinelasher Kudzu 1x:symtap:0x:symq: (attacking; 10x +1/+1 counters = 11/11)
1x Vinelasher Kudzu 1x:symtap:0x:symq: (attacking; 8x +1/+1 counters = 9/9)
Graveyard:
1x Vinelasher Kudzu
Exile:
3x Elvish Spirit Guide
4x Putrefy
Darkness. 3 Swamps untapped.
Actions:
Second Main:
Cast Golgari Rotwurm
Battlefield:
8x Forest 4x:symtap:4x:symq:
2x Swamp 1x:symtap:1x:symq:
1x Doubling Season
3x Skyshroud Ranger 0x:symtap:3x:symq:
2x Shambling Shell 0x:symtap:2x:symq:
1x Vinelasher Kudzu 1x:symtap:0x:symq: (attacking; 10x +1/+1 counters = 11/11)
1x Vinelasher Kudzu 1x:symtap:0x:symq: (attacking; 8x +1/+1 counters = 9/9)
Graveyard:
1x Vinelasher Kudzu
Exile:
3x Elvish Spirit Guide
4x Putrefy
He raises his right fist, and black mana bursts from it in a circle, slaying all the creatures as it passes through them.
The sword's flame turns black, and Cyouni raises the blade high. "Come, avatar of death."
Black mana swirls behind him, and a spirit holding a scythe comes into being. Flame flows from the sword Cyouni holds to the blade of the spirit's scythe, and it begins to burn with the same black flame.
Casting:
1x Damnation
1x Avatar of Woe
Attaching Fireshrieker to Avatar of Woe
Battlefield:
8x Swamp (8x :symtap:)
1x Whispersilk Cloak
1x Avatar of Woe with 1x Fireshrieker [6/5, fear, double strike] (:symq:)
Graveyard:
He summons a strange aura, then another shambling mess, causing the fallen two to stand up. He casts another Ranger, and the other elves stand up as well. He then looks at Cyouni. After a moment, he hisses "What would you want to leave the ziggurat?"
Actions:
Response to Damnation:
Sacrifice Rotwurm to itself. Lose 1 life.
Main:
Cast Bloodbond March
Cast Shambling Shell
Cast Skyshroud Ranger
Battlefield:
8x Forest 6x:symtap:2x:symq:
2x Swamp 2x:symtap:0x:symq:
1x Doubling Season
1x Bloodbond March
4x Skyshroud Ranger 0x:symtap:4x:symq: (SS)
3x Shambling Shell 0x:symtap:3x:symq: (SS)
Graveyard:
3x Vinelasher Kudzu
Exile:
3x Elvish Spirit Guide
4x Putrefy
Cyouni calls more mana to himself, and funnels some of it into the spirit. He tosses the cloak onto the spirit, and the spirit vanishes, fading into the background. The water around the mages' feet ripples as the hidden spirit moves, sliding into an advantageous position.
Casting:
1x Unholy Strength on Avatar of Woe
Attaching Whispersilk Cloak to Avatar of Woe
Battlefield:
9x Swamp (3x :symtap:)
1x Avatar of Woe with 1x Unholy Strength, 1x Fireshrieker, 1x Whispersilk Cloak [8/6, double strike, shroud, unblockable] (:symq:)
Graveyard:
Not done my turn yet. Still want my combat phase.
"So I ask you: What is the purpose of that ziggurat?"
Another pause, as Cyouni remembers the first assumption made by the mage. "Oh, and by the way, I'm not with the Rakdos."
He lowers his hands slightly at the last statement. "You're not with them? You stink of that demon they had with them."
Cyouni offers a crooked grin. "Not by choice. That's why I'm here."
Cyouni's aware that by now the conversation's drifted off topic. "Enough of that," he says, waving a hand in dismissal. "What of the leylines? What power do they hold?"
The leylines intersect at the ziggurat, giving me the nexus of power I need to complete my task! What are you waiting for?! Kill him!
The dagger in his hand twirls absently as Cyouni considers his options. He really doesn't want to have to kill the guildmage - he happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. But there's no way to keep the mage alive and still accomplish his task.
"Thank you," he repeats, as his hand comes up, "and goodbye. I'm sorry." The hand slashes downwards, and the spirit materializes behind the guildmage. Two slashes is all that it takes to end his life.
Attack with Avatar of Woe. Double-striking unblockable 8/6 coming in for 16 lethal damage.
There's a satisfied sound in Lou's voice in Cyouni's mind. He takes off his cloak, kneels down, and with one hand, grabs the mage's neck, and holds him up. He holds his hand out, and some silvery light comes out of the Golgari mage, accumulating in his hand. He crushes his hand, and the light disappears.
After pulling out a small potion from the mage's pocket, he drops the corpse back into the murk, and tosses the vial to Cyouni. "Come," he says, "We are out of time," and he travels into the depths of the sewers.
Hurrying after Lou, he stashes the potion in his satchel. He's not going to drink an unknown potion, and right now, he doesn't have the time to identify it.
Lou continues down the slope towards the corner, and one of the obelisks. "This is what I need you to do. These four obelisks will hold the charge your mana has built up. The mana will then be channeled into the center, and will assist me in opening the portal home. Once you channel your mana into the obelisks, your debt to me shall be repaid. However..." He turns to look at Cyouni. "As I said before, this will hurt. A lot. But I can help. It doesn't have to hurt. I can channel some of my power into you, fortifying you, and helping ease the mana from your body. However, this will take a considerable amount of focus from myself, and therefore, you will still be in my debt, and you could come with me to Grixis..."
A hissing scream comes from the tunnel they just came out of. Cyouni can't make out the words being said. Lou's expression doesn't change, but he steps towards Cyouni. "Make your choice. Freedom, or join me on Grixis."
A shrug. It'd be the same, anyways. "Freedom. I will stay bound no longer."
Cyouni's right hand comes up, and he directs a stream of mana towards the obelisk near Lou.
The moment the stream of mana hits the obelisk, Cyouni feels something grip his arm. He feels a searing pain rip up his left arm, across his back and chest, and out his right arm. The stream of mana becomes visible, a black stream with purple edges that strains the eyes to look at.
After a few moments that feel like an eternity, the constant searing pain disappears along the same path it started, and left out his right hand, terminating the stream. The pain is gone, leaving a dull throbbing pain from his left wrist to nearly his shoulder, and the dull pat-pat of his own blood dripping off his hand onto the stone floor.
"Get the others," Lou says, and starts to climb up the ziggurat.
Gasping in pain, Cyouni lets his arm drop to his side. He glances at his hand, grimacing at its condition. If this is what it looks like after one obelisk, he really doesn't want to see what it looks like after the fourth.
As he raises his hand to direct his mana towards the next obelisk, one thought pulses through his mind: freedom.
The dull ache now covers his back. He can feel something warm trickle down it in several places, and his shirt is now starting to stick to his back.
Cyouni presses on to the next obelisk, ignoring the pain. Again, hand up, and channel mana into the obelisk.