Renewal

[Icicle]

Debris from the hole in the central tower were still precariously falling down, so the students made sure to stay clear of the tower. But the teachers were levitating themselves over to the hole and analyzing what had happened. One of the stones on the wall of Yves's room that had been tottering in place precariously finally fell out of place a few seconds after she sat down. The rooms around her were both empty, or their occupants were dead. Yves glared at the rock that fell. It might as well had been part of the golem.

But her reaction to the rock was interrupted by the peasant. She turned to look at him as he started to speak, observing that he was still clutching his foot. She was sure that she hadn't frozen him at all, but as sure as she was, he seemed to be fairly concerned about his foot. After hearing his question, she raised an eyebrow with a peeved expression. "I know, I know...I messed up again." She groaned and rolled her eyes as she turned back to observe the students in the courtyard again. "Of course I didn't miss on purpose, you dolt. That just...happens." She deflated as she said this, and reluctantly continued, "Sometimes my spells just fail and explode...that's why people call me mess." His response comment was more annoying than amusing. As if I needed a reminder...

But soon after thinking that, she saw teachers starting to lead a few students into the tower. Quickly thereafter, she turned around and walked around the bed to her familiar. Should I bring him along? She thought for a moment, but determined that allowing him to go running off after Foquet would be worse than forcing him to attend a meeting. So, with that thought, she commanded him to "Get up. There's bound to be a meeting after something like that. I'm obligated to go, so you're going with me." She then glanced over at what was left of the wall with hesitance and unease, and opened the door. Once her familiar was at her side, she left and walked over to the central tower with him.

...

The room that she walked into was the headmaster's workroom, which was full of 20 students and teachers, most of whom were on the verge of freaking out. Yves was thoroughly unamused by the situation and wore the most impatient and annoyed expression she could possibly pull off naturally as she found a place for herself and her familiar. Among the 20 people were 7 teachers, 2 messengers, and 11 students. Yves tried to find a spot that was at least somewhat away from Zerbst, but based on how the people positioned themselves, she was forced to stand in the same row as her. The headmaster, a teacher, and two messengers stood closest to the headmaster's desk on one side of the room, and Yves was opposite of them. The people stood in a rectangular formation, and Yves gestured for her familiar to stand away from the rectangle, over by the wall, so as to not intrude in the meeting.

The Headmaster started the meeting by seeking advice from the teachers about what to do about the stolen property. A few suggested sending the messengers to the royal palace of Tristain, but others argued that it'd be too slow because, in the time that the request would be processed by the bureaucracy, Foquet would get away. The headmaster decided that, "for the moment, it'd be best to send a group after Foquet, to surprise her, and to take the item that she stole - the Staff of Destruction - back to the university. If it were to fall into the wrong hands, it would spell disaster. Now then, who is prepared for the challenge?"

There was a pause. No one volunteered. Yves had to fight the urge to grin. Of course no one would volunteer for that. You'd have to be... A thought shot to her head and she fought the urge to look back. She gritted her teeth. Damnit, I shouldn't have brought him. What was I thinking? Kirche noticed Yves's sudden change in expression and peered over at her. Seeing her jaw locked, Kirche wondered why and, after a moment, remembered her familiar. She grinned and waited for the right moment. Yves saw the Zerbst lady grin and gritted her teeth harder. Damnit...damnit...damnit...

The headmaster, seeing that no one responded, continued, "So none of you wish to gain fame and honor by defeating Foquet?" Yves could hear her familiar's foot tapping repeatedly behind her. She tried to will him to stay still mentally, but it didn't work. He started stepping towards the group. His words immediately made blood come to her face. The headmaster grinned, seemingly unsurprised that the peasant volunteered. "Ah, it is Yves's familiar. I heard that you have already proven your prowess against golems in a duel against Guiche. That will surely come in handy against Foquet...but I am surprised that a peasant has more courage than the rest of you lot. Anyone else?" A grumble from one of the other students came shortly thereafter, "more stupidity sounds more accurate..." There were a few other comments like this before the headmaster cleared his throat quite loudly. "Anyone else?"

"I, Kirche Augusta Frederica von Anhalt-Zerbst, volunteer to return the Staff of Destruction to our University." Kirche said these words with her wand raised, and smiled proudly. Once the headmaster acknowledged her, "very well, miss Zerbst. Your military background and high-quality flame magic will surely come in handy." Yves then also raised her wand. "It goes without saying that I'll be accompanying my familiar." She said this confidently, but with reservation. Her expression stole all the annoyance away from her voice, and the grumbling in the room seemed to stop as she did. The headmaster simply nodded once she volunteered - while he didn't seem surprised, he didn't seem particularly reassured either.

He was more reassured as a short, a girl with dark-brown hair, glasses and a curved, wooden staff stepped up beside Yves and declared, "I, too, volunteer for this mission." His response was simply, "Tabitha here is a Knight of the North Parterre, and is exceptionally talented for her young age." She wore a fairly blank expression, barely reacting to his words. A few of the people of the room looked over at her with wonder, but few made comments.

...

After a bit of ceremony, the three nobles who volunteered stepped up and raised their wands as the headmaster administered responsibility unto them. "The University appreciates your hard work and dedication to your duties as nobles. Now go and accomplish your task." Before the nobles could leave, however, a green-haired lady with glasses stepped up beside the headmaster and asked, "Lord Osman, I shall serve as their guide if it is your wish." The headmaster almost immediately nodded, his eyes brightening, and replied, "That is an excellent idea, Miss Longville!" She merely bowed, then walked out of the room as the headmaster continued, "the thr- er, four of you shall follow Foquet's trail in a cart driven by Miss Longville. Whether you find Foquet or not, be back here by sundown."

The three nobles nodded, and left the room shortly thereafter. None of them spoke, merely making their way over to the cart. Even Kirche seemed somewhat stressed, despite her charismatic expression.

...

Once the three got in the red and white cart that Miss Longville prepared, she cracked her whip and they were off. Yves sat beside her familiar on two velvet-colored seats in the back of the cart, and Tabitha and Kirche sat beside one another on the other two seats in the back of the cart. Four horses pulled the cart, and Miss Longville sat at the front of the cart, leading the horses by reigns and whip.

As the ride went on, Kirche eventually broke the silence. "I wonder...is Foquet a noble or a peasant?" The question was barely recognized by Tabitha, who continued to carefully watch the forest in silence. Yves didn't bother responding since it was Kirche who spoke, but Miss Longville offered a response didactically: "There are plenty of magic-users who aren't nobles. Most of them take up jobs as guards, laborers, or criminals, or, as in my case, some become servants..."

Kirche seemed more amused by this fact than her original question, so she talked with Miss Longville for a few minutes. When inquiring about how she became stripped of her noble title, Yves growled, "You're being incredibly rude, Kirche. Have some decency for once in your life." Kirche pouted after this, but her questions to Miss Longville stopped. Instead, she turned her attention to Hayato. "Oh yes, I almost forgot. You never took this with you." She stood and flipped her cape, then pulled the jewel-encrusted masterwork sword off from around her torso, offering it to him. "Surely you don't believe that the pile of rust on your back will work better than this masterpiece."

Yves harrumphed and looked away to distract herself. "Come on, Hayato. I insist."

...

 

[Sabatron]

He felt somewhat proud that the headmaster recognized him. That fight with Guiche was surely the best thing that has ever happened to him. While his ego was being stroked - he never took into consideration whether Yves would be fine with it or not, considering that he wanted Yves to not totally hate him. But - he needed to prove that he wasn't just some peasant who could rough up a noble kid. Taking down Foquet and being part of the party that accomplished that may garner some respect for once. As the headmaster cleared his throat, he turned to the next person who would volunteer.

Kirche. His opinion of her is somewhat warped after Yves saved his ass from being roughed up by her suitors. Preferrably, he wanted to do this with Yves and possibly a select few elites, but of course - the social climber that she was, she refused to be left out of the equasion.

He was surprised. Kirche had a military background? He chalked it up to her father or mother being high ranking military officers, as he saw Yves, of course, accompanying him. While Yves might not be happy now, she might be when he proves himself in combat against a worthy adversary. Next was a relatively unknown, stoic figure. Possibly an elite, or maybe she focuses more on the task at hand. Regardless, she was a good addition, despite being mostly silent - he appreciated an elite joining them. After the ceremony, before the nobles could leave, however, a green-haired lady with glasses stepped up beside the headmaster and asked, "Lord Osman, I shall serve as their guide if it is your wish."The headmaster almost immediately nodded, his eyes brightening, and replied, "That is an excellent idea, Miss Longville!" She merely bowed, then walked out of the room as the headmaster continued, "the thr- er, four of you shall follow Foquet's trail in a cart driven by Miss Longville. Whether you find Foquet or not, be back here by sundown."

As the three nobles left, he felt that sort of narcissistic ego bloat up - but he couldn't ignore the dull regret and guilt of dragging Yves along with him, and the fear of facing Foquet. She was no ordinary noble. No, she was more of a nightmare than anything. He just wished that he wouldn't screw this up - for both of them.
_____

As Miss Longbottom- I mean... Longville got in the cart that she prepared for them, he got in alongside the other nobles, sitting beside his esteemed mistress, with Kirche and Tabitha riding alongside them. As Ms. Longville cracked her whip, the horses began setting off. Silence filled the air, as only the light sounds of the four horses going at a decent pace was the only thing he could hear. He looked out of the cart, simply enjoying the atmosphere of the surrounding area, not being able to normally since he was confined to the walls of the Academy.

He didn't really mind that Kirche was talking, as he took the time to enjoy the quiet while it lasted. Like a meditative experience - it helped keep his mind clear, as he simply and silently stared off into the forest. His thoughts began ranging from how he can make Yves hate him less - or his slight homesickness to modern day amenities - but eventually he found himself blocking out all other sounds - and focusing on his own thoughts and emotions as the ride went by.

Eventually Kirche began addressing him, snapping him out of his 'pseudo-meditation', as he heard her and felt somewhat - irritated by her. Regardless, she was offering the other sword. The mastercrafted, jeweled sword. But he knew that this sword was sentient - and felt that whatever advice this smarmy thing might give might be more important than the dazzling sword. Besides, Yves was annoyed as it is, and shook his head. "Thanks for the offer, but no. My sword is sufficient for the task." He hopes this would earn some brownie points with the sword as well.

 

[Icicle]

"Oh yes, I almost forgot. You never took this with you." She stood and flipped her cape, then pulled the jewel-encrusted masterwork sword off from around her torso, offering it to him. "Surely you don't believe that the pile of rust on your back will work better than this masterpiece."

Yves harrumphed and looked away to distract herself. "Come on, Hayato. I insist."

She frowned as he shook his head. She was visibly unsatisfied with his response, so she continued to tell him how awful the bar of rusted iron at his hip was, and how completely useless it was. But eventually, Yves turned back to Kirche, starting to get annoyed. "Kirche, he's desensitized to death, so give up." This seemed to strike a chord with Kirche. She harrumphed and wrapped the sword around her back again, saying, "When your toy breaks, I'll be happy to give you a real sword." She then sat in silence for the rest of the trip.

...

Eventually, the cart stopped. Miss Longueville stepped off of the cart and held her finger up to her mouth. Quietly, she warned, "There's a shack up ahead. The trail leads to it, so Foquet could be nearby." She then quietly went over to the trees, away from the path. Tabitha, Kirche, and Yves followed, although Yves stayed furthest behind as she grumbled quiet complaints about plants.

As the group got close to the shack, Miss Longueville, Kirche, and Yves hid behind a bush while Tabitha stalked over to it. "It's an old coalburning shack..." Yves squinted her eyes to try to make out details about the outside of it, but from more than 200 feet away, she couldn't make out much more than the logs it was built with.

It wasn't long before Tabitha decided to get closer. She stalked from tree to tree, crawling carefully through the underbrush all the while. When she got to the cabin, she cautiously peeked in through a window. She then waved her staff over the wall in a single, short arc, causing her wand to glow white. She did this for the other three walls as well, no longer bothering to sneak as she went around the house. Once she arrived at the front of the house, she turned back to the group and said, "It's abandoned and untrapped." Kirche and Yves let out a sigh of relief after hearing those words. They then stood up and started to walk over to the shack, which Tabitha was now entering. Once Kirche got there, she started to search through the shack with Tabitha, complaining about how dusty the place was all the while.

Yves decided to stay outside, since her "enthusiasm" for the mission was abundantly clear. Meanwhile, Kirche and Tabitha searched within the shack for the staff of destruction, or clues, and Miss Longueville decided to search the surrounding area just in case there were tracks or other clues. Yves plopped down on the narrow patio immediately outside of the door, dangling her legs, and staring out into the forest, wand in hand. I hope the staff is just lying around in there. If we can get it and leave quickly, Foquet might not have time to show up. Her eyes followed Miss Longueville as she looked around in the forest for a little while, but after a minute, she was pretty much out of sight due to the foliage and trees.

 

[Sabatron]

Hayato didn't know how to feel about Kirche. Personally, he thinks that she was trying to manipulate him - but he felt like he wanted to dedicate himself to Yves a bit more. He was more filled with empathy, and rather trying to anticipate what Foquet has in store. If she had towering golems, he needed to be prepared to face anything else. He tried to get his mind back into the mood, letting his mind relax and loosen up a bit more. He set his eyes into the foliage in the distance, using the scenery to drown his thoughts as he returned to meditating.
____

Eventually, the cart stopped. Miss Longueville stepped off of the cart and held her finger up to her mouth. Quietly, she warned, "There's a shack up ahead. The trail leads to it, so Foquet could be nearby." She then quietly went over to the trees, away from the path. While Hayato's main goal was to try and be more receptive to Yves' commands, he went a bit closer to Tabitha. While he was a city boy through and through, he would have enjoyed the nice, untouched forest - if only it wasn't for the task at hand.

Seeing as the group encroached on the shack, he joined the rest of the gang in a nearby brush, managing to fit himself in as he tried to get a better look. As Yves made out that it was a coalburning shack - it looked the part. A very old, rustic shack was around 200 meters away from them - nestled in between some vibrant looking brush and plant life. While it did look like it was straight out of an old painting, he knew that it might be hiding various traps.

Tabitha took the time to actually set forth. He watched her almost disappear for a brief moment, only to see her pop up again, stalking from tree to tree - like a true ninja. Her stealth skills were admirable, and she presumably tried checking all the walls with a spell that allows her to check if there were any living creatures inside - or if there were any traps. For a spell to sense something to classify as a trap, he wouldn't know - but apparently it was trap free. As she declared it as such - and to see her walking around as if it was devoid of life and any surprises, Hayato stood to his feet. As the two nobles approached the door, Yves seemed to stay put. He went inside, trying to help with the investigation as much as possible - thinking of a stereotypical MMO staff as his target - or something from the classic Elder Scrolls series. Hayato wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty, so he tried looking underneath tables, opening drawers despite how dusty they might have been.

Hayato wasn't getting as much progress than the rest of the ladies, but he knew he was bound to find something within. Without any possible clues where Foquet might have gone, or if she had some sort of 'secret button' or switch, or any of that cliche crap, he tried to at least find any irregularities in the design of the cabin. Protrusions on the walls, checking through a closet that might have fake, flimsy panels - anything of the sort.

Hayato rolls the 1d20 on Perception...

Will he ever find what he's looking for? Will they find Foquet? Will Yves ever be enthusiastic about forests for once in her life?

Find out next time on Dragon Ball Z!

 

[Icicle]

It wasn't long before Tabitha decided to get closer. She stalked from tree to tree, crawling carefully through the underbrush all the while. When she got to the cabin, she cautiously peeked in through a window. She then waved her staff over the wall in a single, short arc, causing her wand to glow white. She did this for the other three walls as well, no longer bothering to sneak as she went around the house. Once she arrived at the front of the house, she turned back to the group and said, "It's abandoned and untrapped." Kirche and Yves let out a sigh of relief after hearing those words. They then stood up and started to walk over to the shack, which Tabitha was now entering. Once Kirche got there, she started to search through the shack with Tabitha, complaining about how dusty the place was to Hayato all the while.

Yves decided to stay outside, since her "enthusiasm" for the mission was abundantly clear. Meanwhile, Kirche and Tabitha searched within the shack for the staff of destruction, or clues, and Miss Longueville decided to search the surrounding area just in case there were tracks or other clues. Yves plopped down on the narrow patio immediately outside of the door, dangling her legs, and staring out into the forest, wand in hand. I hope the staff is just lying around in there. If we can get it and leave quickly, Foquet might not have time to show up. Her eyes followed Miss Longueville as she looked around in the forest for a little while, but after a minute, she was pretty much out of sight due to the foliage and trees.

The inside of the cabin was a plain, incredibly dusty room which didn't seem to have been touched in years. The first important feature of the room was a small, square table with two chairs at either end and a pitcher with mold on the inside of it resting on top. The table was close to the door, and was both tilted and rotated at an angle that would make a perfectionist cringe. The next important feature was a set of drawers, upon which was another pitcher, this one without any mold in it, and a ceramic plate that was so dusty that its design couldn't be determined. The drawers were all empty, aside from the middle one, which had a single piece of fabric folded into a very neat square.

Next to the set of drawers was a large chest whose lock seemed to have been broken off ages ago. The lock was rusting on the ground, and the chest's lid was closed. The other important features of the room include a pile of wood, the likes of which was immediately next to the brick coalburning furnace, a pile of empty bottles without labels, and piles and piles of dust.

Tabitha immediately started to search the room after entering, going over to the wood pile and moving pieces around to search for hidden objects. Kirche immediately started complaining and coughing as dust started to fly, but Tabitha dealt with the problem by covering her mouth with the corner of her cape. After searching the pile of firewood, Tabitha went over and searched the drawers as Kirche complained and sat down in one of the chairs. One of the legs snapped out under her weight shortly after she sat on it, sending her tumbling to the floor. She squealed, but didn't land, instead floating inches above the floor as Tabitha held her staff out towards her, still searching the drawers. "Careful."

Kirche grumbled and left the cabin after this, saying, "Come on, let's go. There's nothing here but dust and rot." But Tabitha searched the large chest next, and found an intricate purple box which was about as tall as she was, and half as wide within. She levitated the box out and into her arms, then silently followed Kirche. Once they were outside, she said, "Staff of Destruction acquired." Yves looked over her shoulder, saw the box, and smiled. "Alight then, let's find Miss Longueville and get back to the university..." But as she looked out towards the forest, she couldn't find their escort's figure. She strained to look, trying to make out any figure in the vast forest, but she couldn't see anyone.

Tabitha recognized what Yves was doing as Kirche grumbled and twirled her wand around, walking back over to the cart. Tabitha then quickly made her way over to the cart as well. "Find her." Yves nodded and dropped down to the ground, then stepped a few feet in front of the cabin, moving in the direction that Miss Longuevill went. "Miss Longueville? Hey! Where'd you go!? We found the Staff, so we're headed back!" She looked annoyed and impatient as she continued to call out for the lady.

While this was happening, Tabitha and Kirche both made it back to the cart, and Tabitha placed the box holding the staff of destruction in the back. She then started making her way back over to Yves, telling Kirche and Hayato to "follow." But before she made it half way over to Yves, suddenly, mid-way between Yves and the rest of the group, the earth exploded in a violent shower of rocks, dirt, and sand. Yves squealed, thrown off her feet by the shockwave, and landed in an awkward, sideways roll. She covered her head with her arms to protect herself from the debris as she regained her senses in the middle of her roll. Her wand left her hand a foot before she stopped rolling, but she was able to quickly grab it and stand back up a few seconds after the shrapnel rain stopped, and once she had a second to regain her composure.

Meanwhile, immediately after the explosion, Tabitha rooted her feet into the ground and firmly declared, "Ectla." A wide, shield-like wall of wind erupted from the crook in her wooden staff, shielding herself, the horses and the cart, Kirche and Hayato from the explosion. Then, as the shrapnel rained down on them, she waved her wand in a circle and said, "Kloo, Macht, Hex!" After this, a wide cone of wind formed above the group's head, sending the debris flying harmlessly off into the trees and bushes beside them. The horses were spooked, and neighed loudly as they reared and kicked, but their training seemed to give them the courage to stay still.

Kirche stopped complaining once the explosion sounded, also rooting her feet in the ground, but she was too distracted by Tabitha's spells to make any herself. Instead, she looked around to try and find what made the explosion. As her eyes fell upon the crater between the Yves and the rest of the group, she saw the same giant earthen golem from before. She quickly shouted, "Tabitha!" and pointed at it with her wand, "What do we do about that!?" At the moment, Tabitha was still concentrating on protecting the group from the debris, but when the debris stopped, she looked over and saw the golem open it's jaws and, in a hulking, deep voice that echoed through the forest, it declared, "Abandon the Staff, or abandon your lives."

Yves, who was now standing and pointing her wand at the golem, noticed that it wasn't facing her. As a result, she hastily ran over to the back of the cottage, putting it between herself and the golem, and started to make her way back around to the group. Tabitha pointed her wand over to the golem and started analyzing it. She didn't say a word, but Kirche was more than happy to: "Let's get out of here! We can outrun it if we use the cart!" She started heading over to the cart, but couldn't get close since the horses were still rearing, and she was too scared to get close. Tabitha remained still, and Yves continued trying to sneak around to the rest of the group.

But, instead of focusing on Tabitha and Kirche, the golem turned to see if Yves was still behind it. As it turned, it saw her moving from tree to tree, and immediately lunged towards her, taking a few steps and shooting it's earthen hand towards her. Tabitha seemed ready for this, so she quickly said, "Holth." A blast of wind erupted from her staff, blasting the golem's arm, but the golem didn't seem affected in the least. Yves squealed as she noticed the golem reaching out towards her, and sharply turned away from it after reaching a tree, using it as a barrier of sorts. The tree immediately snapped as the golem's hand reached it, and started to fall down towards her. Kirche only just turned her head around at this point, having previously tried calming the horses to no avail, and Tabitha started running in the same direction as Yves as the tree started falling, seemingly trying to think as she went, holding out her staff towards the golem.

 

[Sabatron]

Even as he rolls, he realizes that this isn't D&D. So it's kinda useless.

Hayato didn't know what he was looking for exactly, and Tabitha was more thorough in her search. While he did start to garner a bit more progress - Tabitha was faster, and much more efficient. He found the sleeve on his long-sleeved shirt was much more exemplary at covering his nose from what he initially thought was dust. As Kirche had her small 'nearly embarrassing' moment, he instead took the time to try and find more clues. While he was no hardcore fan of the typical crime genre of fiction, he played LA Noire - as if that accounted for anything. It made him try to find the smallest details. As Tabitha seemed to be much more efficient at finding what they were looking for since, she actually knew what she was looking for, Hayato proceeded to investigate the crookedly aligned table next to the door.

While he did lie about being a 'perfectionist' in a job resume, he wasn't much of a perfectionist. But if he knew for certain, was that either this place was tossed and turned before the owner left - or someone has been here before. It didn't make sense for everything to look so shoddy. He looked into the first important feature of the room was a small, square table with two chairs at either end and a pitcher with mold on the inside of it resting on top. What didn't make sense was why the table was at the angle it was now - crooked at such an angle that it was too noticeable. In fact, it was the reoccurring theme to all of the furniture and the other objects were. He could only deduce a number of things, but this theory made more sense in his mind. Either this was deliberately done in an attempt to seem that this place has long been abandoned.

Upon further inspection, he found a peculiar set of drawers, upon which was another pitcher, this one without any mold in it, and a ceramic plate that was so dusty that its design couldn't be determined. It was jarring to see this. If the first pitcher he found had mold in it, and the ceramic plate close by it was literally caked in 'dust', why would this one be somewhat clean? It should be as dirty as the rest, if not more. Something wasn't adding up here, and he dared to get to the bottom of it. Like a detective, he kept his eyes peeled. He started opening the drawers, and lo and behold, he found mostly nothing. But one interesting thing was this neatly folded piece of fabric folded into a very neat square. Strange seeing it in a cabin that appeared to be age old and quite abandoned.

While Tabitha was busy searching for the whereabouts of the staff, he went on about the task of trying to solidify his claim - that this place was set this way on purpose. He found another interesting and peculiar feature of this little abandoned log cabin in the middle of nowhere were a pile of wood, the likes of which was immediately next to the brick coal-burning furnace, a pile of empty bottles without labels, and piles and piles of dust. While he could nitpick every detail of these items, the piles of dust didn't really make sense for him. Why would there just be piles of dust in this peculiar place? He tried investigating the sand - and pressing his finger onto one of the stacks. What he could notice that they weren't varied - much like dust is - but they were mostly the same. While he expected fine dirt, he found less of the rocky texture but more of a grainy feel as he rolled them on his fingertips.

This was just sand. Just very, very, VERY fine sand. It seems like Miss Foquet wanted to throw Scooby Doo and the Gang Hayato and the Noblesses off from the trail. He declared his findings, directing them to the two. "Foquet was here. She definitely used sand to make this place seem like it's some abandoned cabin. We might not have detected traps here, but I'm fairly certain Foquet was just waiting for us to go in." He said, calmly. But Tabitha searched the large chest next, and found an intricate purple box which was about as tall as she was, and half as wide within. She levitated the box out and into her arms, then silently followed Kirche. Once they were outside, she said, "Staff of Destruction acquired." Now all they had to do was deliver this Staff to the university, and they'll be gravy. More or less, they saved the university from drowning in the very proverbial sea of human excrement.

But Hayato caught on to Yves, as she seemed to be rather confused as to where their escort was. He knew that she was out looking for more clues in the Forest, but it was odd. She was out of sight. As Tabitha ordered Yves to find her, Hayato stuck close to her, joining her in finding where Miss Longueville went. "Yves... we found the Staff, yet the place was deliberately arranged in such a way that it tried to look like it was abandoned. It was covered in... what I can say as really, really, REALLY fine sand, and for some reason the Staff was just sitting there, in this 'abandoned' cabin. I have a bad feeling about this..." Whether Yves listened to him or not, it didn't matter to him any, as she tried calling out for Miss Longueville. It was only at the back of his head, but he feared that the teacher might have found Foquet, or worse - seeing as how everything was eerily quiet. Apart from Yves calling out for her, only the light rustling of leaves from the trees was heard as they walked towards where she last found Miss Longueville.

Hayato's train of thought was shattered, as the earth suddenly exploded in a violent shower of rocks, dirt, and sand. Hayato's instincts dictated that he try to shield Yves - and awkwardly doing so, as he somewhat tackled her onto the ground as the shockwave sent the both of them not into a semi roll, with his back facing away from the ground, holding Yves as he attempted to shield her from the debris. He was somewhat dazed, but he quickly regained his senses. Immediately he got off her after that brief period where the shrapnel rain stopped - seeing her wand out of the corner of his eye and swiftly reaching for it, standing to his own two feet as he handed Yves the wand.

Hayato's twitch instincts were to quickly unsheathe his sentient sword, as it slides out easily. He prepares a combat stance, two hands on the handle of his sword, as he tried to trace where the explosion came from - his eyes darting to the crater between the Yves, Hayato and the rest of the group, she saw the same giant earthen golem from before. The golem started open it's jaws and, in a hulking, deep voice that echoed through the forest, it declared, "Abandon the Staff, or abandon your lives."

Hayato noticed Yves attempt to make her way back to the group, hastily running over to the back of the cottage, putting it between herself and the golem, and started to make her way back around to the group. He immediately followed suit.

But, instead of focusing on Tabitha and Kirche, the golem turned to see if Yves was still behind it. As it turned, it saw her moving from tree to tree, and immediately lunged towards her, taking a few steps and shooting it's earthen hand towards her..Tabitha seemed ready for this, so she quickly said, "Holth."A blast of wind erupted from her staff, blasting the golem's arm, but the golem didn't seem affected in the least. Yves squealed as she noticed the golem reaching out towards her, and sharply turned away from it after reaching a tree, using it as a barrier of sorts. The tree immediately snapped as the golem's hand reached it, and started to fall down towards her. Kirche only just turned her head around at this point, having previously tried calming the horses to no avail, and Tabitha started running in the same direction as Yves as the tree started falling, seemingly trying to think as she went, holding out her staff towards the golem.

Hayato sprung into action as he saw Yves about to get crushed by the tree, rushing to her as he was about to push her out of the way of the tree, hopefully saving her as he was about to tackle her out of the way.

 

[Icicle]

Tabitha recognized what Yves was doing as Kirche grumbled and twirled her wand around, walking back over to the cart. Tabitha then quickly made her way over to the cart as well. "Find her." Yves nodded and dropped down to the ground, then stepped a few feet in front of the cabin, moving in the direction that Miss Longueville went. As she walked, she was satisfied to see that her familiar was close behind her. He started talking, so Yves listened as she looked around. But she didn't bother responding to him once he was finished. "Miss Longueville? Hey! Where'd you go!? We found the Staff, so we're headed back!" But, the more she called out, the more she started to think about his words. Before long, she stopped and started looking around. With a fair bit of hesitance, Yves drew her wand and groaned, "You may be on to something, peasant..."

While this was happening, Tabitha and Kirche both made it back to the cart, and Tabitha placed the box holding the staff of destruction in the back. She then started making her way back over to Yves and her familiar, telling Kirche and Hayato to "follow." But suddenly, mid-way between Yves's group and Tabitha's, the earth exploded in a violent shower of rocks, dirt, and sand. Yves squealed as she was initially unbalanced by the shockwave, then violently tackled by her familiar. She tried to protect her face, at the very least, from whatever was going on as she landed with her familiar's weight bearing down on her lower abdomen. She coughed violently, and immediately tried to pry him off of herself as she regained some of her senses, dropping her wand in the process. She wasn't able to speak, but mentally, she was urgently yelling at him: GET OFF OF ME YOU OAF! YOU'RE CRUSHING ME!!!

The moment of being crushed didn't last too long, as the shower of rubble quickly ceased, leaving Hayato still bearing down on her. He rose once he seemed certain that it was safe, and she quickly tried to get to her feet, winded as she was. She had to gasp a few times to avoid fainting from light-headedness, and initially didn't recognize what was happening as her familiar offered her wand over. She grabbed it after a few moments, and took a few moments to try calming herself and figuring out what was happening.

Meanwhile, immediately after the explosion, Tabitha rooted her feet into the ground and firmly declared, "Ectla." A wide, shield-like wall of wind erupted from the crook in her wooden staff, shielding herself, the horses, the cart, and Kirche from the explosion. Then, as the shrapnel rained down on them, she waved her wand in a circle and said, "Kloo, Macht, Hex!" After this, a wide cone of wind formed above the group's head, sending the debris flying harmlessly off into the trees and bushes beside them. The horses were spooked, and neighed loudly as they reared and kicked, but their training seemed to give them the courage to stay still.

Kirche stopped complaining once the explosion sounded, also rooting her feet in the ground, but she was too distracted by Tabitha's spells to make any herself. Instead, she looked around to try and find what made the explosion. As her eyes fell upon the crater where the explosion happened, she saw the same giant earthen golem from back in the university. She quickly shouted, "Tabitha!" and pointed at it with her wand, "What do we do about that!?" At the moment, Tabitha was still concentrating on redirecting the debris, but when the debris stopped, she looked over and saw the golem open it's jaws and, in a hulking, deep voice that echoed through the forest, it declared, "Abandon the Staff, or abandon your lives."

Yves, who was now standing and pointing her wand at the golem, noticed that it wasn't facing her. As a result, she hastily ran over to the back of the cottage, putting it between herself and the golem, and started to make her way back around to the group, motioning for her familiar to follow. Tabitha pointed her staff over to the golem and started analyzing it. She didn't say a word, but Kirche was more than happy to: "Let's get out of here! We can outrun it if we use the cart!" She started heading over to the cart, but couldn't get close since the horses were still rearing, and she was too scared to get close. Tabitha remained still, and Yves continued trying to sneak around to the rest of the group.

But, instead of focusing on Tabitha and Kirche, the golem turned to see if Yves was still behind it. As it turned, it saw her moving from tree to tree, and immediately lunged towards her, taking a few steps and shooting it's earthen hand towards her. Tabitha seemed ready for this, so she quickly said, "Holth." A blast of wind erupted from her staff, blasting the golem's arm, but the golem didn't seem affected in the least. Yves squealed as she noticed the golem reaching out towards her, and sharply turned away from it after reaching a tree, using it as a barrier of sorts. The tree immediately snapped as the golem's hand reached it, and started to fall down towards her. Kirche only just turned her head around at this point, having previously tried calming the horses to no avail, and Tabitha started running in the same direction as Yves as the tree started falling, seemingly trying to think as she went, holding out her staff towards the golem.

As the tree creaked and crackled, falling straight towards Yves, she looked up, just in time to see it barreling towards her. She squealed once again, terrified and unable to react. As she did, she once again felt a heavy force against her side, as she was suddenly and violently tackled by something. She squealed even louder as this happened, gripping onto her wand for dear life as she once again tumbled down. But, before hitting the ground, Tabitha quickly redirected her staff to the two of them, and as it started to glow, Yves and her familiar both started to levitate over the ground and away from the golem.

By this point in time, Kirche managed to get the horses to calm down with a bit of magic. But, seeing the tree falling down, she quickly hopped away from the horses, fearing that they would rear again. As her fears were confirmed, she hissed and rose to her feet. She aimed her wand over at the golem, which was now turning and advancing towards Tabitha, and shouted, "Klu, Aith, Ver!" A huge bolt of fire shot out of her wand and slammed into the golem's face, exploding in a brilliant flash of bright red flames, and sending a wave of heat through the forest. The golem stammered a bit, but once the smoke of the explosion dissipated, the golem was once again shown to be pretty much unaffected.

Tabitha used the distraction to release her levitation spell and to bring her left hand up to her lips. She then blew a shrill tone for a few seconds, until the golem started winding up to attack her. As she finished her whistle, she lept up into the air, grabbed the staff with both hands, kicked her feet against it, and declared, "Holth." A violent shockwave then shot out from her staff, launching her backwards in an upward arc over to the cart. As she reached the apex of her jump, she released her hand from her wand and transitioned to a wide, flat stance as she started falling downwards.

But, before she got too far from the apex of her jump, a huge, blue dragon swooped down such that she landed on its back. The golem followed the jump and took a swing at the dragon, but missed it as the dragon flew upwards, out of the golem's reach. "Kirche, get the staff and run to the others!" Tabitha shouted, her voice echoing down from above the canopy.

Kirche quickly obeyed, sprinting over to the back of the cart and grabbing the large box. The golem then swung its fist down towards the cart, right where Kirche was, but she seemed to use a levitation spell to move herself barely out of the way of the impact. The horses were unharmed by the golem's attack and went sprinting around it's left foot, over past the cabin and into the forest beyond. Meanwhile, Yves hastily pushed her familiar off of herself and shouted, "STOP TACKLING ME!" in desperation. She quickly stood up and pointed her wand over at the golem, which was still following Kirche, and made an attempt at a spell: "Klu Aith Ver!"

But, instead of a fireball, a small, pitiful explosion erupted from the golem's shoulder, sending a single rock rolling off of it's body and down to the ground. The golem seemed to be aggravated by this, so it turned over to Yves and her familiar and started to charge as Kirche continued trying to get away from it as fast as she could. Seeing the golem sprinting towards her, Yves froze up again, unable to think of what to do. "U-Uhh...Klu, Aith Ver! Klu Aith Ver!" She continued trying the spell, but it had the same effect each time, causing her to focus harder and harder. Tabitha's dragon swooped down and collected Kirche as the golem charged towards Yves and Hayato, but the golem reached the other two before the dragon could make it, and slammed it's golem arm down at Yves, who was resolved to keep trying to get the spell to work until the moment of her death.

 

[Sabatron]

Hayato was sincerly trying his best to try and keep Yves out of harm's way. Even though all he did was just physically push and tackled - which, he did actually manage to keep Yves out of harm's way, although that other wizard girl did a better job at that that he did. With the difficulty of grabbing his rusted, antiquated sword and his mere experience with fighting Guiche's golems, he merely gripped the hilt, but he felt like he didn't know what to do. Fear overwhelmed him, yet he didn't run away to leave Yves to fend for herself.

Yves hastily pushed her familiar off of herself and shouted, "STOP TACKLING ME!" in desperation. She quickly stood upand pointed her wand over at the golem, which was stillfollowing Kirche, and made an attempt at a spell: "Klu Aith Ver!" But, instead of a fireball, a small, pitiful explosion erupted from the golem's shoulder, sending a single rock rolling off of it's body and down to the ground. The golem seemed to be aggravated by this, so it turned over to Yves and her familiar and started to charge as Kirche continued trying to get away from it as fast as she could. Seeing the golem sprinting towards her, Yves froze up again, unable to think of what to do. "U-Uhh...Klu, Aith Ver! Klu Aith Ver!" She continued trying the spell, but it had the same effect each time, causing her to focus harder and harder. Tabitha's dragon swooped down and collected Kirche as the golem charged towards Yves and Hayato, but the golem reached the other two before the dragon could make it, and slammed it's golem arm down at Yves, who was resolved to keep trying to get the spell to work.

Hayato rushed to her, but instead of tackling her for he third time, he immediately pulled her towards him, attempting to get her away from the point of impact from the golem arm, strongly gripping her right shoulder as he hastily pulled her away. "There. I stopped tackling you." Pulling away after his snarky remark, he considered his options. Tabitha's dragon was too far - as it tried to find an entrance in the clearing, meaning that waiting for the dragon would mean the golem would have more chances of murdering them, while the golem was barreling straight towards them without pause. While he was brave, he was losing a bit of that cool, still feeling his blood pumping with adrenaline. He remembered how his sword had the magical ability to speak, and he turned his attention to the damned rusted thing. "Hey! Hey! Wake the fuck up! How the hell am I supposed to kill this thing?"

Time was of the essence, and while he waited for an answer from the sword, he saw how the golem was gaining on them. Without a word, he sprinted forward, running towards the golem and attempting to meet it head on. While he pictured himself as a fearless knight, it was more or less just a regular guy yelling like crazy, shaking his sword a few times as his exaggerated movements and strides towards the golem would cause some to laugh. If only this was a comedy sketch, and not an actual life or death situation.

He still didn't know how his runes worked, so without those powers, he might as well lay down as soon as the golem gets close enough. Mentally, he prepared himself to try and dodge, thinking that the golem would raise it's rocky fist and attempt to pummel him, as he prepared to move to the left. He still had a ways to go, and he waited for his sword to respond, as he gritted his teeth in anticipation. "Talking sword thing, if you don't want to become scrap metal you better start telling me how to use my powers...!"

 

[Icicle]

Kirche quickly obeyed, sprinting over to the back of the cart and grabbing the large box. The golem then swung its fist down towards the cart, right where Kirche was, but she seemed to use a levitation spell to move herself barely out of the way of the impact. The horses were unharmed by the golem's attack and went sprinting around it's left foot, over past the cabin and into the forest beyond. Meanwhile, Yves hastily pushed her familiar off of herself and shouted, "STOP TACKLING ME!" in desperation. She quickly stood up and pointed her wand over at the golem, which was still following Kirche, and made an attempt at a spell: "Klu Aith Ver!"

But, instead of a fireball, a small, pitiful explosion erupted from the golem's shoulder, sending a single rock rolling off of it's body and down to the ground. The golem seemed to be aggravated by this, so it turned over to Yves and her familiar and started to charge as Kirche continued trying to get away from it as fast as she could. Seeing the golem sprinting towards her, Yves froze up again, unable to think of what to do. "U-Uhh...Klu, Aith Ver! Klu Aith Ver!" She continued trying the spell, but it had the same effect each time, causing her to focus harder and harder. Tabitha's dragon swooped down and collected Kirche as the golem charged towards Yves and Hayato, Yves attempting to cast fireball the entire time.

Right as the golem was pulling it's arm back to slam her into the dirt, Yves was violently and suddenly pulled backwards by a hand on her right shoulder. This threw off her aim right as she was casting another spell, causing a nearby tree to explode, cracking it's trunk in half. After hearing Hayato's remark, the golem's fist crashed into the ground where she previously was like a meteor. She felt knocked back by the shockwave - if it weren't for Hayato, she'd have tumbled to the ground. Immediately after, he started screaming at his sword and running directly away from the golem, dragging Yves along. A few seconds after he started this, Derfflinger finally responded: "Hayato! Just calm yourself! Killing it isn't a concern right now - it's a powerful golem, so it's going to regenerate unless you can instantly destroy half of it."

After hearing this, Hayato let go of Yves and ran straight back towards the golem. Yves didn't bother running any further, instead turning to face the golem as well. She raised her wand, but from above, she heard Kirche's and Tabitha's voices telling her to get ready to jump on to the dragon. Yves looked up, saw the dragon diving for her, and prepared herself as best she could. When the dragon landed, she quickly jumped on, and Tabitha and Kirche helped her up. The dragon then took off again as Hayato finally reached the golem. "Wait! What!? Idiot! What are you doing!?!" Tabitha and Kirche similarly stared in shock down at Hayato as the dragon took off.

As Hayato continued his advance, his sword continued to inform him about the golem: "Focus on tricking it into attacking something that will fall on it, like a tree." Once Derfflinger was informed that Hayato's rune wasn't active, he changed topics: "Don't worry about that, it'll kick in once you initiate combat. There's a trick to it, but you'll get used to it soon enough." After saying this, the golem lunged forwards and started to viciously attack Hayato.

Meanwhile, Yves lunged for the purple box on the dragon's back. "What are you doing?" asked Tabitha. Yves finally grabbed it and flung the box open. Within, she saw a odd, bulky hunk of metal with an odd tube at the front and a bunch of strange rounded cylinders lying around beside it.

Yves quickly grabbed the staff by the end opposite of the open tube-end and shouted, "Take me down!" As Tabitha complied, Kirche stared at Yves dumbstruck, commenting, "What do you think you're doing?" Yves glared at her without posing an answer.

In seconds, the dragon was low enough for Yves to hop off. She was around 50' behind the golem when this happened, and the dragon flew back away shortly thereafter. Immediately, Yves pointed the part of the staff she was holding at the golem and started to say a spell incantation. "Klu, Aith Ver!" But nothing happened. She tried a few more times, but the staff didn't even seem to start glowing. "Why is this not working!?" She started viciously swinging it towards the golem, hoping that at least something would happen if she tried hard enough.