Xen was already turning away from Ravgthos saying, "I am done hiding. I am who I am."
Calm clarity emanated from Xen as he left Ravgthos behind. Xen was aware that even though he had spared the man Ravgthos had presented, that man would still die one way or another, likely serving some other purpose for Ravgthos as an animated corpse. This would have bothered Xen before his trip here, not anymore though.
Xen was free from these burdens, free to choose. First he would finish learning what he could from the Golgari. Then he was either going to tie up loose ends by taking care of Oona or decide whether to further the goals of one of the guilds.
Xen found his was back to the room where he met Ravgthos and had left his satchel. Once there he looked around for his belongings to make sure they were where he had last left them...
Xen let a smile flash across his face as he collected his satchel and glanced inside to make sure all of his spells were still accounted for. Satisfied he back tracked through the stairs that had taken him down setting out for Anna. He figured either he would find Sprout's trail or another member of the Golgari would stop him when they noticed him wondering about. Either way he was going to find Anna and complete his training.
That was unexpected... thought Xen upon seeing the extra gold. When he looked up he began to hear a faint thumping noise coming from up above the steps. Curious he continued his climb up until the thumping became rhythmic and reminiscent of a heartbeat.
Strange, thought Xen. That wasn't there before...
Cautiously Xen reached the top of the stairs and peaked around the entrance way trying to find the source of the heartbeat.
How much gold was added? Or is that enough gold to equal the cost of buying the spells for joining a guild?
That's just my explanation for the gold you're going to get at the end of the quest. That will be determined when I figure your xp.
As Xen climbed, the faint sound of the heartbeat echoed through the stairwell. The sound was distant yet Xen could feel the effects of the pounding on his body. He could practically feel the heartbeats coming out of the floor where he stepped.
Xen stepped out from around the corner of the entryway into the hall. He let the tension flow from his body as the heartbeat continued to wash over him. Curious, he ventured further into the hallway extending his senses to help feel out the source of the heartbeat...
Xen did not have to extend his senses far to "see" the source of the heartbeat. As the thudding rang though the air, Xen could see pulses of green and then black washing over the walls of Svogthos. They were faint, but they were perfectly timed with the heartbeat Xen could feel and hear.
Xen couldn't help but smile as he walked forward. The beat, the life cycle. Life. Death. Green. Black. Forest. Swamp. Unity and balance. One flowing into the other...
This is the heart of the Golgari I seek...
Xen strode forward letting the growing strength of the mana guide him.
As Xen walked, the pounding of the heartbeat began to fill his senses. The sound sent shivers down his pine, the flashes of color becoming almost blinding.
Xen continued forward letting the flashes of light encompass his senses. Surrounded by the light, he came to a stop and spread his fingers wide with his arms outstretched. The shiver in his spine spread throughout his body as he began to quiver in this presence. He could feel a resonance developing, a bond forming. Tilting his head back, Xen balled his hands into fists and drew upon his own essence as he had once done during the festival. A burst of power and pain flowed through him as particles of mana sparked off of him, mingling with the presence that now surrounded him.
The process had left a hole within Xen's essence, a spot that now yearned to be filled. Reaching out to the particles of mana he had released, Xen spread his fingers once more and pulled on his mana that had mingled with the presence. All was drawn to Xen in an attempt to fill the void left vacant by his actions...
The mana flows back into Xen's fingers in a webwork of power. The very walls seem to pulse in response to Xen's will, and the spot in his essence is filled to bursting with a newfound strength. It pounds in his head and his mana and his core. As the moments tick by, the pounding... doesn't quite lessen, but becomes more natural, as though it were simply his own heartbeat. Or is Xen now part of the heartbeat of some great slumbering titan? The pounding is both inside and out. Everywhere and nowhere. It exists and yet doesn't.
Slowly, the pulse fades into the background. It's still there, just under the surface of Xen's senses; but it has become a part of him. Something as natural and unnoticed as breathing or blinking or walking.
Xen has bonded with the heart of the Golgari, and it has responded to him in kind.
Everything scares me... kitties scare me... squirrels scare me... corpses....corpses bring forth a pletora of confusing feeling which i prefer not to dwell on...:p
Xen smiles to himself and continues walking further into the tomb of the Golgari looking for Anna.
She's probably attending to one of the rot farms...
Along the way he began to notice parts of the tomb overflowing with a green vegetation of sorts. Intrigued he opened his senses once again to the flow of mana around him...
The mana all seems to be flowing both to and from a series of overgrown stone coffins nearby. The natural magic of the vegetation has mingled with the darkness inherent in the tombs, and is stronger than either individually.
Instead of a great pulsing heartbeat of the Restless Tomb, this power is more subtle. It's more like a steadily flowing river, as opposed to the roaring waterfall of Svogthos. Xen can feel it almost physically, the rush of magic waxing and waning as Xen begins to sense it.
There is great power here. All Xen must do is reach out and find it...
Everything scares me... kitties scare me... squirrels scare me... corpses....corpses bring forth a pletora of confusing feeling which i prefer not to dwell on...:p
Xen stopped for a moment and turned to the nearest stone coffin. Then as if sliding through a stream he moved toward the coffin placing his right hand upon the vegetation that grew there. Closing his eyes he felt the flow of mana exuding from the tomb.
There in his mind's eye he felt the ebb and flow of the mana, a force that would slip through his hands if he attempted exert his will upon it. Instead he thought of Svogthos' tomb and the echo of it's heartbeat. From that he imagined the heart beating with the ebb and flow of the mana around him. He would not force the mana to bend to his will, rather coerce it to flow into that which naturally called to it.
He continued coercing the mana in this manner. First a faint and weak beat, but then a stronger beat born from a deep hunger, one that could not be satisfied by just this singular force. For Svogthos was ancient and desired the life which the mana could return to it...
The pulse of Svogthos is easy to find. It comes from inside Xen and easily mingles with the twin mana of the tombs. The flowing river of magical energy responds eagerly to the power of the Restless Tomb, as though it knows that Xen has formed a connection with the heart of the tomb.
Xen feels invigorated. The power of this tomb is strong, but Xen can feel something else just below the surface. A hunger, something willing to drain his lifeforce in exchange for the full strength of the Golgari.
Just ahead, Xen can lightly feel another source of mana. It's similar to the faint hunger of the tomb he just connected to, but less dangerous, more wild...
Everything scares me... kitties scare me... squirrels scare me... corpses....corpses bring forth a pletora of confusing feeling which i prefer not to dwell on...:p
Intrigued, Xen looks towards the new source of mana. Then with a slightly cautious yet confident manner he walked in the direction of the mana opening his senses once more...
As Xen ventures further into the Golgari stronghold, the mana intensifies. Unfortunately, so does the smell. It's horrid: rotting flesh mixed with rotting vegetation and combined with mold and compost. It gets thicker and thicker as Xen moves toward the mana's source.
The hallway he is moving through suddenly opens up into a huge underground cavern. Decaying bodies, giant mushrooms, rotten plant material, and many other awful things are combined into one giant unpleasant experience. Here and there, zombies seem to be harvesting the mold. Several paces into the place, the source of the mana whirls and spins. If Svogthos was a heartbeat and the tomb was a river, this place's mana is a whirlwind. It's whipping back and forth, spinning and twisting. It seems to cut off any other potential mana connections. It pushes out anything other than its own wild power.
Everything scares me... kitties scare me... squirrels scare me... corpses....corpses bring forth a pletora of confusing feeling which i prefer not to dwell on...:p
Xen suppressed his gag reflex as he ventured further into the rot farm. The deeper he went the harder he found to focus on his connections and the one that pushed away all others. He was immediately reminded of a leaf caught in a cyclone. Unfortunately he was the leaf in this case.
Again, resisting and trying to will the mana into submission was not likely to work. Instead he focused on the flow, feeling out the mana.
For awhile Xen allowed his senses to roam, guided by the mana around him as he sat down. He was like the leaf he imagined earlier, whipping about on the wind. He thought of how the land embodied the cycle of life and death found within nature. Two distinct concepts, at first considered opposites yet they go hand in hand. One always feeding into the other as could be seen by the decomposition providing nutrients for the plants and fungus to grow.
Xen smiled at this thinking Even a leaf can be guided in a cyclone.
Inspired Xen thought of himself as the leaf once again, nudging himself ever so slightly with the flow of energies. Nothing too noticeable, yet the effect carried him into flows that brought him closer to the eye of this cyclone.
Slowly but surely he found himself drifting into the eye. It was here that he sought the connection with the land...
Xen connects with the eye of the cyclone, and suddenly his magical senses can feel nothing but calm. The harmony of the two opposing forces lays at the center of the whirling power. Life leads to death which nourishes new life, a never ending cycle that Xen can now harness. The hurricane of the place's power might roar all around him, but Xen has found the peace at its center.
Before Xen can do much else, he hears hurried footsteps.
Behind him, someone approaches, breathing hard. "I'm glad I found you," Anna's voice pants. "Something has happened. House Shimia was attacked. It's gone; completely destroyed. I don't know if there were any survivors, but last I heard some kind of battle is happening in the ruins. We don't know if the culprits were engaged or if someone else is attacking the other houses. The Houses will need all the help they can get. You'd better go."
She reaches into her pocket, and draws out an amulet and a few slips of paper. "Take this amulet. It shows that you've connected with us, made our power part of you, and we have responded in kind. And these vouchers are for you to purchase spells that harness your new power. Normally I would give you a selection of our personal spells to choose from, but there's no time for that right now."
OOC: Xen gains 3 experience, 1x casting of Golgari Signet, and vouchers that let Xen add 3 points worth of spells to his satchel, drawn from spells in his standard sets. Quest concluded. You can do an RP post here before I lock this down if you want, or can move straight to a shop to buy new spells and onto the Rubble of Shimia thread.
Everything scares me... kitties scare me... squirrels scare me... corpses....corpses bring forth a pletora of confusing feeling which i prefer not to dwell on...:p
Xen rose up slowly, startled by Anna's news. His first thought was worry that Oona may have struck back so soon. But he knew he shouldn't jump to conclusions.
First things first, I need more information... and power. She said she doesn't know anything beyond what she just told me.
Xen glanced at the vouchers he had been handed.
These will help, but I'll need more spells than these can acquire. That means drawing on my savings. Once I have the gold in hand I should acquire a few spells from the local shops before returning to Estark. Frankie should have whatever else I may need...
Xen looked back at Anna and sighed. "There never seems to be enough time to reflect on the things we've learned..." His voice sounded colder than it had before.
He grabbed his belongings and turned to leave. He paused for a moment before saying fair well.
Calm clarity emanated from Xen as he left Ravgthos behind. Xen was aware that even though he had spared the man Ravgthos had presented, that man would still die one way or another, likely serving some other purpose for Ravgthos as an animated corpse. This would have bothered Xen before his trip here, not anymore though.
Xen was free from these burdens, free to choose. First he would finish learning what he could from the Golgari. Then he was either going to tie up loose ends by taking care of Oona or decide whether to further the goals of one of the guilds.
Xen found his was back to the room where he met Ravgthos and had left his satchel. Once there he looked around for his belongings to make sure they were where he had last left them...
As Xen made his way up the steps, he could hear the sound of a heartbeat.
Strange, thought Xen. That wasn't there before...
Cautiously Xen reached the top of the stairs and peaked around the entrance way trying to find the source of the heartbeat.
As Xen climbed, the faint sound of the heartbeat echoed through the stairwell. The sound was distant yet Xen could feel the effects of the pounding on his body. He could practically feel the heartbeats coming out of the floor where he stepped.
Green. Black.
Green. Black.
Green. Black.
Green. Black.
The beat echoed on as Xen searched, beckoning his attention.
This is the heart of the Golgari I seek...
Xen strode forward letting the growing strength of the mana guide him.
The process had left a hole within Xen's essence, a spot that now yearned to be filled. Reaching out to the particles of mana he had released, Xen spread his fingers once more and pulled on his mana that had mingled with the presence. All was drawn to Xen in an attempt to fill the void left vacant by his actions...
Slowly, the pulse fades into the background. It's still there, just under the surface of Xen's senses; but it has become a part of him. Something as natural and unnoticed as breathing or blinking or walking.
Xen has bonded with the heart of the Golgari, and it has responded to him in kind.
OOC: Xen gains 4x casting of Svogthos, the Restless Tomb.
{Magic: The RPG}
She's probably attending to one of the rot farms...
Along the way he began to notice parts of the tomb overflowing with a green vegetation of sorts. Intrigued he opened his senses once again to the flow of mana around him...
Instead of a great pulsing heartbeat of the Restless Tomb, this power is more subtle. It's more like a steadily flowing river, as opposed to the roaring waterfall of Svogthos. Xen can feel it almost physically, the rush of magic waxing and waning as Xen begins to sense it.
There is great power here. All Xen must do is reach out and find it...
{Magic: The RPG}
There in his mind's eye he felt the ebb and flow of the mana, a force that would slip through his hands if he attempted exert his will upon it. Instead he thought of Svogthos' tomb and the echo of it's heartbeat. From that he imagined the heart beating with the ebb and flow of the mana around him. He would not force the mana to bend to his will, rather coerce it to flow into that which naturally called to it.
He continued coercing the mana in this manner. First a faint and weak beat, but then a stronger beat born from a deep hunger, one that could not be satisfied by just this singular force. For Svogthos was ancient and desired the life which the mana could return to it...
Xen feels invigorated. The power of this tomb is strong, but Xen can feel something else just below the surface. A hunger, something willing to drain his lifeforce in exchange for the full strength of the Golgari.
OOC: Xen gains 4x casting of Overgrown Tomb.
Just ahead, Xen can lightly feel another source of mana. It's similar to the faint hunger of the tomb he just connected to, but less dangerous, more wild...
{Magic: The RPG}
The hallway he is moving through suddenly opens up into a huge underground cavern. Decaying bodies, giant mushrooms, rotten plant material, and many other awful things are combined into one giant unpleasant experience. Here and there, zombies seem to be harvesting the mold. Several paces into the place, the source of the mana whirls and spins. If Svogthos was a heartbeat and the tomb was a river, this place's mana is a whirlwind. It's whipping back and forth, spinning and twisting. It seems to cut off any other potential mana connections. It pushes out anything other than its own wild power.
{Magic: The RPG}
Again, resisting and trying to will the mana into submission was not likely to work. Instead he focused on the flow, feeling out the mana.
For awhile Xen allowed his senses to roam, guided by the mana around him as he sat down. He was like the leaf he imagined earlier, whipping about on the wind. He thought of how the land embodied the cycle of life and death found within nature. Two distinct concepts, at first considered opposites yet they go hand in hand. One always feeding into the other as could be seen by the decomposition providing nutrients for the plants and fungus to grow.
Xen smiled at this thinking Even a leaf can be guided in a cyclone.
Inspired Xen thought of himself as the leaf once again, nudging himself ever so slightly with the flow of energies. Nothing too noticeable, yet the effect carried him into flows that brought him closer to the eye of this cyclone.
Slowly but surely he found himself drifting into the eye. It was here that he sought the connection with the land...
OOC: Xen gains 4x casting of Golgari Rot Farm.
Before Xen can do much else, he hears hurried footsteps.
Behind him, someone approaches, breathing hard. "I'm glad I found you," Anna's voice pants. "Something has happened. House Shimia was attacked. It's gone; completely destroyed. I don't know if there were any survivors, but last I heard some kind of battle is happening in the ruins. We don't know if the culprits were engaged or if someone else is attacking the other houses. The Houses will need all the help they can get. You'd better go."
She reaches into her pocket, and draws out an amulet and a few slips of paper. "Take this amulet. It shows that you've connected with us, made our power part of you, and we have responded in kind. And these vouchers are for you to purchase spells that harness your new power. Normally I would give you a selection of our personal spells to choose from, but there's no time for that right now."
OOC: Xen gains 3 experience, 1x casting of Golgari Signet, and vouchers that let Xen add 3 points worth of spells to his satchel, drawn from spells in his standard sets. Quest concluded. You can do an RP post here before I lock this down if you want, or can move straight to a shop to buy new spells and onto the Rubble of Shimia thread.
{Magic: The RPG}
First things first, I need more information... and power. She said she doesn't know anything beyond what she just told me.
Xen glanced at the vouchers he had been handed.
These will help, but I'll need more spells than these can acquire. That means drawing on my savings. Once I have the gold in hand I should acquire a few spells from the local shops before returning to Estark. Frankie should have whatever else I may need...
Xen looked back at Anna and sighed. "There never seems to be enough time to reflect on the things we've learned..." His voice sounded colder than it had before.
He grabbed his belongings and turned to leave. He paused for a moment before saying fair well.
With that he was on his way...