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ST The sandstorm still rages outside of the small stone entry house where Xar, Corve and Myrrh emerged from the Behemoth's spine and where they conducted their interrogation of the female cultist. The jaw-droppingly, pants-tighteningly beautiful female cultist...who now has a bag over her head. With her distraction having succeeded quite well...
ST Several other members of the Cult of the Shadow Serpent have arrived at the threshold of the entry house, armed and ready to deal with the intruders. Saddly for them, Carmine's little chat with her sister is finally over and, thanks to Ruby's magic, Carmine has arrived on the scene. The dust storm bothers Carmine not at all, aside from limiting her vision to a few feet. She can make out the building that Ruby told her about
ST Where Corve and the others are. And she can see the crowd of Shadow Cultists waiting for them to emerge.
Carmine Carmine has a deep scowl on her face, and is more than confused as she stalks towards the cultists out of the sand. Her temper is black and it boils out of her in a display of entropic black laced through with brilliant points of dawn light as she scythes through the cultists like the desert wind. Powerful, unceasing and deadly. In her hands, Eminence is like a shard of the void itself.
ST Carmine's attack against the first cultist has spectacular results as the big man's broadsword comes up in a flare of yellow-orange fire and smashes Eminence back with an explosion of sound and light. The darkness of Carmine's sword is nothing against the burning flame and the man smiles behind the dust storm.
ST The second cultist isn't nearly as lucky, though a quickly summoned wall of ice takes away much of the blow's force, the black sword still bites into her and she staggers back, swearing. The sorceress does a bit of quick thinking and moving, in a rush of smoke and sparks she steps between Carmine and the fourth cultist then performs a spectacular leap at the last moment...
ST ...Carmine's last two blows pass harmlessly through the immaterial body of the fourth cultist.
ST The bleeding woman steps forward, moving under Eminence and wrapping her lean arms around Carmine. Carmine feels as if suddenly she has plunged head first into the Northern Ocean as the dark anima flare of her attacker engulfs her.
Myrrh stares at the howling storm that still seems to be plauging them and decides it's time to end it. He mutters words under his breath and shapes a sharp spike of essence intending to shatter the spell around him!
ST There's a fairly complicated moment as Carmine and the Water-Woman bash each other in the face. Ice forms and shatters to bits, the Void of Eminence howls, blood flows again from the Water Witch and Carmine finds herself in the most chilling hug she can ever remember getting.
ST The sorceress takes exception to Myrrh's rather rude counterspell and her anima flares into being, a shining formation of yellow crystals appearing around her, carved in Old Realm Symbols as she starts shaping another spell....
ST The immaterial cultist hangs back, chanting.
Corve watches Carmine come out from behind the cultists with what begins as a smile, and quickly turns into a griamce. He can recognize her, but at the same time, is thoroughly perplexed. No time to think on it, however. As she engages their enemies, Corve whips out his orichalc rifle and in a smooth, flowing gesture sweeps it in a quick, horizontal arch. Three shots fired; and the bullets flit, essence-laden, through
Corve * the air, through the storm, to their targets, unerringly.
Corve His first bullet, destined for the water-witch grappling his lover, writhes through the air in a spiral path. For a moment, it seems as if it will rip through Carmine's head! But it swerves, essence guiding its path. When it connects with the water witch, it rips through her, and she nigh-erupts from the sudden, terrible impact.
ST The second and third bullets, though, are not as well-guided. They streak directly for the sorceress's heart but find themselves mired in a cloud of black smoke that resolves moments later into the bulky form of the sword-wielder. With a grunt of effort and a burst of flame, he explodes the two bullets before they explode the sorceress.
Carmine Carmine looks up with a smile as the freezing winter is replaced with blood, warm and hot and she flows to her feet graceful with a swirl, the blood clinging to her, seeming to form into a crimson dress, flecked with black.
Corve says, "Oh, he's so going to regret doing that."
Myrrh glances at Carmine's...display. "Carmine, dear, are you feeling alright?>"
Carmine Carmine smiles at myrrh, though her eyes are very angry. The confusion she felt before had abated in the cut and thrust of melee. She swished her dress of blood like it was the finest of silks with one hand and then she charged at the sorceress, an arc of void that cut through the air, its path marked by strobe flashes of gold.
ST The sudden appearance of the tall, lean form of the fourth (now third?) cultist in her path startles Carmine for a moment before she realizes that he is immaterial and she can just move past him. Nothing he can do to stop her. But the distraction was enough to let the big Fire get into position. Surrounded in billowing sheets of orange flame, he raises his sword to meet hers
ST Fire takes the blow with courage, not wincing as Carmine's void-blade tears away a bit of his soul to feed its hunger. The other blows are driven back by bursts of flame bright enough to blind anyone looking too closely at the battle. Behind him the sorceress finishes her spell and dark mist spills forth from her.
ST As the mist surrounds the three remaining cultists, the Fire speaks in a rough bass. "We will meet you again, blasphemers. My wife will not be unavenged."
Myrrh "Thank god that's over..."
Carmine "You will get to join her soon." She says, holding her dress off the desert floor with one hand.
Corve for once doesn't banter. He simply walks over towards the edge, where the storm begins, and watches Carmine.
ST It is the immaterial cultist who replies in a pleasant baritone that tickles at Carmine familiarly. "You should have returned to us, Carmine. Now you will face the wrath of the Serpent."
ST In moments all three are gone, consumed by the dark mist. The mist slowly fades away, leaving no trace of the three cultists.
Carmine blinks at the baritone, and she takes an uncertain step towards corve, almost by instinct.
Myrrh "Ok, Carmine...why are you wearing someone as a dress?"
Corve continues to watch Carmine silently, not taking a step towards her. Battle's done, for now, so the little hamster in his head has started running again.
Carmine "... I am?"
Myrrh "Well what do you think is in your hand?"
Carmine "A dress." She glanes down, and seems to look at herself. "... made of blood."
Myrrh "What happened at that talk with your sister exactly?"
ST And other things, less describable. Including darkness and maybe some evil.
Corve asks, "Yes. What did happen?"
Carmine "We ... talked." She looks down. "We argued, a little... but she did cast a spell to get me back to you."
Myrrh "...that doesn't explain why you're so...different."
Corve "Look at Eminence, Carmine." Corve's lips are thinned out, but at least he's put his gun away.
Xar`Rex continues to stare at Carmine
Carmine looks down at the sword blade in her hand, the terrible void edge. "...What...?" When she looks back up at Corve, it is with frightened and confused eyes
Corve shakes his head a little. He doesn't know. "What did you talk about, Carmine?"
Carmine "We talked about my ... changes." about you. "About the Serpent and about the Cult." She says very reluctantly.
Xar`Rex "What did you say about the Serpent and the Cult?"
Myrrh leaves Carmine and Corve to hash out their problems. This certainly ups the timetable for plan B...still, he should talk to the prisoner.
Myrrh he heads back to the prisoner. "Now keep that bag on! What's going on here?"
ST The prisoner ignores Myrrh.
Carmine "About how to kill him." She says, still staring at the sword, til it vanishes in golden light.
Corve "What's Ruby's stake in the Serpent's survival?"
Myrrh "Now listen, i'm about the only one here who's currently level headed. You don't want to know about the girl and Corve is a bit twitchy ever since you folks kidnapped his daughter."
ST The woman bursts out, her voice full of rage and grief. "I heard what my father said! You killed my mother! I won't help you! Blasphemers! Killers!"
Carmine "... She wants him dead." She says in a way that suggests she doesn't want to talk about it any more.
Xar`Rex "Your cult killed Everyone on the island that fell. Do not speak of killing!"
Corve eyes Carmine for a moment, and then reaches a hand out to her, palm up.
Carmine presses her hand to his, and looks very relieved.
Myrrh "And let's not forget your parents tried to kill US...although that last bit was very unfortunate."
Corve squeezes Carmine's hand. They can talk about this later, in private. Hopefully. He starts heading towards Myrrh and the girl, grimacing. "You're going to start cooperating," he informs her.
ST "I won't! No!"
Myrrh "Corve, I think this might require a lighter touch. Why don't you go tend to Carmine, she certainly looks like she could use it."
Corve "Lighter touch? What are you gonna do, groom her to compliance?"
Myrrh "Well if you're going to blather out all of my techniques." He smirks at Corve. It felt a bit better to joke, considering the circumstances...
Corve "What do you want to ask her?"
Myrrh "Where the monster is, where the "host" is, any special traps along the way, and how we can stop the storm."
Corve says, "Then lets see what we can do about that," as he nears the girl, sneering.
Corve squeezes Carmine's hand, and smiles at her, before he lets go. Then he leans down next to the girl and asks, in a very low voice: "Where is the 'host' of the Black Serpent's essence?"
ST "I don't know what you're talking about."
ST Her words are hollow and empty, forced from her by magic.
Corve grimaces. "Beautiful. Where does the Shadow Serpent reside?"
ST "Beneath us."
Corve "What traps and perils are there between us and the Shadow Serpent?"
ST "You must face my Father's Circle, those you met, the Scarlet Poppy and the High Priest." Corve "Where did your Father and his circle go?"
ST "To find the others, the Scarlet Poppy and the High Priest. To warn them of you."
ST "They are...where-ever they are. They are probably near the center of the city. Near the Temple."
Corve "Where is the doorway to the shadow-world?"
ST "In the lowest level of the temple, in the center of the Great Labyrinth."
Xar`Rex "Labyrinth... That does not sound fun."
Corve "I think that's all we're gonna get."
Myrrh "...wait he's in the deadland?! In the Labyrinth?! Oh dear."
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