Closed The Golden Orb II

[Vicissitude]

Fall 25, year 124 of the third age
<Continued from here>​

Every strike, every bite against the wood of Kage's watercraft did not render the sharks the prize they desired: meat. These were beasts simply following their base instincts of hunger and survival, so once the ship started to fight back, even their animal brains began to realise the futility of this endeavor. Furthermore, every time they bit down on any surface, be it the boat itself or the treant that latched on to one of them, all they received was a mouthful of wood and other plant matter. To them, that was useless and even foul.

Their hides were dense, denser than any normal shark, that much was for certain. The wooden spikes from the boat did manage to penetrate the skin of one while the other struggled to fight off the treant, but the beast had enough natural resistance to have blunted the force enough to have prevented such implements from going all that deep. Nevertheless, it was at this point that they realized the juice of their endeavor– whatever it may be– was far from worth the squeeze. With one bleeding and the other bruised and battered by the treant it had finally managed to shake off, the pair of sharks opted to give up and search for weaker prey.

Kage was left alone to once again sail down the dark cavern. If he kept his eyes peeled, he'd see in the distance a seam of a mineral that looked like the description he'd been given for magestone. His goal was in sight– seemingly, all he'd have to do is sail over to the wall and then figure out a way to get his treants to mine out a chunk of it. Simple, surely.

꧁══════════• ༺༉ { NPCs } ༉༻•══════════꧂

: Neptari Ævergreen

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[Luke]

Kage grunted and stood up again. He noticed his back and knees pop as he did so... He really was getting too old for this shit. He saw no sign of the sharks anymore, not did he see the dragon. Assuming he was still being watched, he hoped they had patience because he felt like a child trying to make it through the water.

The spikes he had grown did not make his boat very good at moving through the water, and yet he didn't think it was a good idea to change the shape of the boat lest he have to regrow the spikes to fend off another attack.

"Get in here you big oaf," he said as he paddled ever so slowly towards the treant in the water.

"Swim damn you, SWIM," he hissed. The treant floundered. Kage could swim better than that, but he also wasn't oddly proportioned with six different limbs.

Kage had to stand on the other side of the boat to prevent it from capsizing as his treant finally clambered back inside.

With his manual laborer aboard, Kage let out a deep sigh and rested. The trip to the stone was agonizingly slow, but if nobody stopped them they would eventually get there. After that, the treant would try beating into the wall with the thin end of its oar to try trying out some of the stone. If that didn't work then Kage could try growing an aetumetal pickaxe, though the mining technique would be horrendous regardless of what tool they used. Deepcraft was not his speciality.

 

[Vicissitude]

Fall 25, year 124 of the third age
<Continued from here>​

The initial attempts by the treants simply beating the strange, prismatic stone did not bear fruit– maybe they would eventually, but it would take a mighty long time. However, the addition of the ætumetal pickaxes on top of their natural strength did allow them to actually break ground. It was an awkward process; they effectively were shredding the stone in a way most quarrymen might find appalling. Without the aid of a Terrari to bind the shattered stone and dust back together, the shards might be considered unsable; Ælheim had plenty of those, though, so he needn't be concerned. A variety of rock shards would break off and fall onto the small shore; Kage would be able to choose between them or take several, as Reykr wasn't very specific regarding how much he actually wanted. He could need as little as a few grams or several pounds of the stuff, for all Kage knew. It was a fairly heavy, dense stone, not unlike granite in that respect.

Nevertheless, as Kage or his treants collected the stone, if he were paying enough attention, he might catch the strange approach of an odd looking bat. It flew straight toward him, as if with purpose, and once it was about a foot in front of him it would squawk. A portal would open between the two, and through it, he'd see the hazy image of Ælhem's mainland from whence he'd come. He would also see the treants he'd left at the shore with the sap; evidently, they'd already been collected.

Furthermore, it appeared that Reykr had been following him the entire time in some form another, waiting for the oculærist to gather everything before ferrying him home– he didn't, after all, give Kage any method by which to return on his own. Of course, it was still up to Kage whether he stepped through the portal right away or if he for whatever reason felt he had anything else to do in this watery cave, but it appeared that his mission had been otherwise completed.

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Reykr, as a bat​

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[Luke]

Kage didn't think too much about his mining form because for all he knew the only one who might be watching him was the dragon who might not even be there anymore. He was patient as he leaned against the boat and he let his mind wander until he heard something flapping towards him. He nonchalantly glanced at it and disregarded it because it was just a bat.

When it stopped near him he chuckled and said, "I was wondering if you were going to have me walk all the way back home." He would turn and address the water, "it was nice meeting you, Neptari. Till next time…" before going through the portal as well, leaving his boat behind.

He stretched when he got to the other side of the portal. How nice it must be to have the ability to portal anywhere one wished. He'd had that thought about a million times over the years and yet the overt risk of death had always stopped him from acting. Perhaps he would be a little less cautious with his own life once he ascended.

"I hope all the ingredients are in good shape and what you were looking for," he'd say to Reykr, not knowing what the crazy old aelf had in store for him next, if anything.

 

[Vicissitude]

Fall 25, year 124 of the third age
<Continued from here>​

Neptari still lurked in the depths, having found the Ælf's brief struggle with the sharks to be amusing– Draoidh and the rarer Vitæ were flexible for problem solving, indeed. And while Kage had been mining away, the dragon's shadow had slowly grown as he rose to the surface, interested in witnessing the man's mining methods, though he was a bit too slow. The dragon's head emerged far enough away to avoid creating a disturbance by the wake it caused at around the same time Reykr arrived, with the bat letting out a strange screech in greeting. If that meant anything to Neptari, Kage wouldn't be able to tell.

"I should've known one of your kind wandering about my caverns like a lamb lost was your doing," the dragon spoke to the bat. It screeched again, this time sounding like a bizarre laugh.

When Kage bid him farewell, "...the pleasure was mine," he'd respond in kind, fading back into the water as Kage and the bat left through the portal.

As Kage stretched, the bat would be overcome by a bright, white glow before expanding and taking the shape of an Ælf, decrepit and ancient.

Looking over Kage and his Treants, and gesturing towards gnarled arms now unfolding from a nearby tree, "...placeth the stone and bark h're."

Provided Kage did as requested, he would move to pore over that which was given. He did this for much longer than Kage might deem necessary, squinting at the stone and bark. The man wasn't blind or otherwise sensorily deprived– surely, he was doing this to mess with the would-be Lich?

"Ev'rything is in 'rd'r, thee might not but wait; I shall art the phylactery myself," he'd proclaim after a time, snapping a tiny portal beneath the hands of the tree. The tree would drop the stone and bark within, then Reykr would place the entire bucket of sap down into it as well before closing it shut. Lastly, the ancient would disintegrate into an Ashen cloud before disappearing entirely.

❀

Fall 28, year 124 of the third age

​

In approximately three days, Kage would return home to a strange Contrivance placed atop whatever table he typically dined from; alongside the Contrivance was a note and a collection of about six vials. If any of Kage's pets had tried to touch it, they would have been placed into a magical slumber and would remain as such if not given one of the vials as the note instructed. If Kage tried to touch it, he would succeed, but immediately pass out as the phylactery glowed a brilliant jade and drank of his soul. He would remain unconscious from the shock of the abrupt Saolbind for the next week, but would wake up feeling right as rain and with all the power befitting a Lich.

phylactery

: Phylactery

Kage's Phylactery is Ensorcelled to Hex any who touch it aside from himself and Reykr with an Ascendant-tier Bane of Sopor. If Kage wishes to rouse anyone afflicted by this Hex, the vials he was given are the simplest way; if he needs more, he will need to contact Reykr.

Additional Cantrips related to the materials he gathered will apply upon the completion of relevant Cantrips; I will notify you as this happens.

꧁══════════• ༺༉ { NPCs } ༉༻•══════════꧂

: Reykr

: Neptari Ævergreen

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[Vicissitude]

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❀ Rewards ❀

Kage

+5 XP (483 wc)
+Ascended Vitæ
+Lich's Phylactery

Velho

+11 XP (1073 wc)

❀ Comments ❀

Congratulations on becoming a Lich!
Please put the relevant information given in the text box about your Phylactery on your CS.

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