28 - The Hungry Forest (Final Battle)

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: At the heart of the mysterious forest lies a magical trap.
When: Nov 14, evening
Where: Within the forest
Summary: Working together, and with the (reluctant) help of some menaced cultists, the rescuers have pierced the wooden wall into the heart of the forest.






The sky is clearly visible here, but it’s an evening one – it’s taken the day to work their way through this far. Those with some astronomy knowledge will also be able to tell it’s a sky on Earth, and anyone who can climb up above the treeline will see a vast, mountainous and wooded area, with the lights of roads, train tracks and small towns glittering here and there. They're clearly not in the Heavens anymore. Somehow, in their journey through the forest, the rescuers have emerged onto the Near Shore.

An icy breeze is blowing, and although the vegetation is unseasonably green and lush in this clearing, there are patches of snow visible at the foot of some of the trees, hinting that they're fairly far up the mountain.

Rescues

The clearing here at the heart of the forest is vast, and five colossal sigils are etched into the earth, each one holding an incredible amount of power. It’s on these sigils, North, South, East, West, and Center, that the trapped gods and shinki can be found. Those unlucky enough to be at the Center sigil are bound by hypnosis, each staring at a firefly spirit that hovers before their unblinking eyes. These victims are still and unresponsive, and the spirits will need to be destroyed to free them. The firefly spirits can be harmed by both physical and magical attack, though they likely won’t stay still to let themselves be easily extinguished.

The captives trapped on each of the other sigils are around the edges of the clearing, entangled in vines, brambles or whatever other limbs the trees could provide to bind them to this place. Some may also be under the effects of the hypnotic fireflies if they’ve been particularly troublesome, while others who have fought less might have only those bindings needed to prevent them fleeing. Regardless of how tightly they're restrained, all of the kidnapped gods and shinki on all of the sigils look drained, the severity depending on how long they’ve been there. Some are merely tired-looking, whereas others are barely clinging to consciousness. Whether their power is being used to feed the spell or being stored for something else to come, one thing is clear – those trapped need to be freed before anything more can be done.

Sigils

Those sigils beneath each group of trapped gods and shinki are powerful constructs, brimming with energy and meticulously maintained by the cultists up to now. It’s the same power as what blankets the entire forest, but it's focused on each of those five points. They must be the source of the spell that's caused all of this.

If the spell is to be broken, the sigils need to be broken as well, but it’s going to take more than just scuffing out the etched lines to break the magic. Attacking with shinki in their vessel forms or using blessed water to wash away the magic will be most effective, but for those who didn't bring blessed water or don't have the energy left to transform, there's one other option. The clearing is lit by traditional paper lanterns hanging from the trees all around, and any object set aflame with these lanterns can be used to burn the spell out of the ground bit by bit.

The trees and any remaining soulless shinki are still furiously opposing the rescue efforts, the surviving cultists are continuing to work on maintaining the spell, and it will take time to fully destroy the sigils. However, as the sigils deteriorate, the effects of the spell will begin to fade, and characters will find it easier to access their supernatural powers to speed the process along. Gods' and shinki's powers (that is to say, the special power they gained as a god or shinki, rather than canon powers) will be as effective as a shinki or blessed water against the sigils.

But be careful. As each sigil breaks, some of the magic escapes, but some is captured by the remaining sigils. For the spell to fully disappear, all five must be destroyed – and quickly, because there’s only a matter of time before this power becomes unstable.

Comments

[badassfreakingoverlord]

[Hey, that fishing pole is a very effective weapon! Just not against fireflies. But who's counting, huh?!]

[With more foresight than anyone could reasonably expect from minions of the Overlord, two of the ones hacking at the vines paused to prop Ross up, so the loosening bindings didn't drop him straight on the ground when they gave way.]

Hey! Wake up! This is no time to be napping! Save it for a couch!

[shiitan]

[He finally managed to lift his head and see exactly who that voice belonged to. He didn't do much with that revelation outside of hiding that look of surprise that had been more instinctual than anything else, but in his defense he was having a hard enough time trying to use the tree to prop himself up instead of Zetta's minion.]

...You're too loud. [Yeah, this was not going to be one of those touching reunions. That was probably for the best, though. Especially since he didn't have a clue where they were right then.]

[badassfreakingoverlord]

You're too quiet! How dare you fail to make a book joke?!

[Magic is difficult in here, but Zetta and his team have been using as little of it as humanly possibly to save for the big, necessary moment. Like this one: the healer minion steps forward, lifting her staff and gritting her teeth to force out the magic of a Megeheal on Ross.]

[shiitan]

[He let out a short, anemic laugh.] I did, didn't I? Guess I've still got a ways to go before I become a good vassal.

[Though it took a moment to realize that yes, his wounds were being healed, all he did was give a nod to the minion who was responsible for it. He was always a bit awkward when it came to people helping him out.]

These things... [He turned his attention back to the sigils.] They're the cause of all this, aren't they.

[badassfreakingoverlord]

[Eh, a nod is more than the minions expects, so the healer grins brightly and winks at him. Zetta makes a mental note to stop his minions from flirting with his shinki, because damn, that's just weird.]

They're the end result at least. They're what you were all kidnapped to accomplish. The stuff on the trees is what's weakening us, and the fireflies are -- well, they're their own damn problems!

[Someone had at one point been on fire.]

[shiitan]

Is that right. [His gaze hardened. The blue flame on his forehead had been calm until then, but it sprang to life in an instant upon learning what the situation was. It wasn't as drastic as last time thanks to the forest. Even so, his mana was still threatening to increase at a steady rate.

Sometimes having a 1-100 temper was helpful after all.]

Then I'll get the bugs out of the way.

[He took a step away and held out his hand. Without any warning, a rush of air blew past everyone present, and while that air left Ross, Zetta, and his rescue party unharmed, the nearby firefly spirits were sent careening off into another direction despite their frantic attempts to scatter. They all wriggled helplessly once they hit a solid surface, as if they were pinned down by some mysterious force.]

...There. [He was going to wear himself out again in no time if he pulled another stunt like that.]

[badassfreakingoverlord]

...Remind me at some point to have a talk with you about this bag of tricks I haven't seen before.

[Wind magic is common among demons, so he really shouldn't be surprised, but that's impressive not just because of execution, but also in managing it at all with the power draining in effect here.]

Save some of that power for the giant rune things, though. I'm thinking that a good run of smashing would do us all good.

[shiitan]

[It wasn't easy. It wasn't easy at all, but somehow the context in which he was using it almost fooled him into thinking so. He still had the current situation well in mind, of course. That said, he couldn't help but get a vague feeling that he'd been through worse.

But anyway. He raised his hand as if he was asking a question in the classroom.]

Are we going to get a chance to beat some people up too?

[badassfreakingoverlord]

We took down most of 'em, but there's still some stragglers. And as much as I'm reluctant to say that murder isn't the answer -- and, uh, have just murdered the hell out of a bunch of them -- they're second priority. Right now we gotta stop this giant thing from going off.

[And don't think he likes it. Zetta doesn't particularly enjoy this kind of strategic thinking or goal-based battle.]

[shiitan]

[He raised his eyebrows at the mention of murder. Had the sigils been that heavily guarded? He could only assume that was the case.]

Then let's get to work. I need to pay back what they did for me a hundredfold. [Smiiiile. How could anyone refuse that act of kindness from him? He then walked along the etched lines, though he learned very quickly that trying to smudge the lines with his shoe would do little good.]

[badassfreakingoverlord]

Hmm. They're resistant to physical manipulation... and my power is suppressed in here, so I can't just blast them away.

[There's a conclusion here that he doesn't want to reach, even as he regards both the sigil and his shinki with a frown that says he's already gotten the hint.]

[shiitan]

[Ross gave Zetta a sidelong glance. He knew what that meant. About the only solace he would take in it was the fact that his name hadn't been called already.]

If you're as great of an Overlord as you say you are, you're not going to need me to stay in my vessel for very long. ...Or was all that only posturing?

[...Honestly, it was surprising that it had taken him even this long to try taking advantage of Zetta's ego.]

[badassfreakingoverlord]

Probably not, if we do some violence to these signs and papers and crap. Clear out enough that we can use the whole magic power stuff better and it'll be quick and easy.]

[shiitan]

That sounds like work. [Not only that, but the forest was doing its best to drain his energy a second time. Time was an issue. He couldn't start throwing around his magic to make the work quicker either. So, bare hands were his only option here.

He looked at Zetta's minions next, addressing them directly.] Alright, you heard him. Let's break some stuff.

[badassfreakingoverlord]

[The minions salute in perfect form, willing and eager to take orders from Ross -- whether because Zetta is in agreement with said orders, or just because they're insubordinate, who can say? They break apart a moment later, rushing around to start smashing up everything they can find.]

[shiitan]

[Well hey, this was kind of neat. At this rate he wouldn't even need to do anything! Even if they ran totally wild, he couldn't say he was too choked up by the idea of the cultist's stomping grounds being smashed up.

But alas, in the end he wasn't going to sit back and relax. There was a faint glow enveloping his hands as he walked off to join the destruction, though Ross called no attention to it.]

[badassfreakingoverlord]

Whoa. Hey. Hold on a second.

[Zetta had a particularly sour look in his eye and a grim set to -- well, call it a jaw for lack of a better word.]

[shiitan]

Hmm? [He looked back at Zetta, but didn't turn around, even after seeing that sour look.]

What is it, book boss?

[badassfreakingoverlord]

Look! Ordinarily I'd scorn and mock any vassal of mine who was incapable of holding up after that sort of abuse, but... given the circumstances, I'm willing to ease up on that slightly.

[Zetta really isn't capable of just straight-up asking if Ross is okay.]

[shiitan]

[He turned all the way around upon hearing that.]

Really? The others are going to get jealous thanks to this special treatment I'm getting.

[Acknowledging Zetta's statement in any other way would require him to be honest about how he was processing what had happened. Not only that, but it required him to talk about it in some capacity.]

[badassfreakingoverlord]

[Look, Zetta is perfectly willing to dance around this issue and keep it at cover's length too. But still, he had an Overlord's obligation to a vassal to consider.]

Well, they're just semi-sentient extensions of my mana power. So they are different. If they don't like it, they can stop being that!

[shiitan]

[They could stop being that... His eyes fell on the mark etched on the back of his left hand.]

People who would control or capture others against their will to use for their own gain--I won't forgive them. [His gaze was cold.]

I believe what you just said. So don't give me a reason to think that what you just said about letting them stop was a lie.

[badassfreakingoverlord]

[Zetta blinks, glancing over to the minions.]

Uh, I don't actually know if that's possible, I'm kind of winging this whole 'creating minions' things from the start. But if it is possible, then I couldn't stop them to begin with.

Except for the Prinnies, but they're covered under a whole different system. If they get reborn it's because they earned it!

[shiitan]

[It would have been so easy to make one of his typically impertinent remarks about what Zetta was saying about his minions. He certainly wasn't in the habit of holding back, after all. Still, the remark never came, and neither did an expression that would have matched with it.]

Which ones are the prinnies?

[He was going to regret that question in about 5 seconds.]

[badassfreakingoverlord]

[As if summoned by the question, three patchwork penguins scramble up on their peg legs.]

We're Prinnies, dood!

Beloved mascots of the franchise, dood!

I don't have a good line, dood, the other two summed it up really well. But I'm here anyway!