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

[alchemists]

I want to help as well, the others here are suffering like I was before you all came to save me.

[ It's really not fair for just her to be freed, the other people tied up deserve freedom as well. ]

[declamando]

[Maria nods a little in agreement with the decision they seem to have come to around the circle now.]

So you can help free the others, and we can start trying to destroy this sigil. If we work together, we should be able to do both easily.

[She offers them a somewhat reassuring smile.]

[mithrarin]

Maria, you're probably the best-suited to destroy the sigil, since you actually have a shinki here. I can help cut people free. [What with actually having a weapon and being able to use it effectively right now.]

[welcome_home]

[ Nanako glances over at Dust, looking uncertain for a moment. ]

I can help with the vines, too, but the fireflies... can you kill them, too? Without getting hurt?

[ Because this, of course, is the only acceptable way to deal with the fireflies, in her opinion. There's enough people hurt in the clearing already without adding more. And her without a real weapon at the moment is leaving her at a disadvantage when it comes to any sort of fighting. Her god powers can't do her much good in here. ]

Then if Maria destroys the sigil, we should be able to take care of everything at once.

[alchemists]

Maria can you use your gear?

[ That would be the quickest way for Maria to take on the sigils. ]

Me and Nanako can handle the non-fighting part of the plan.

[declamando]

With the spell still in effect, I don't think my Gear is the best option - there's a good chance it'll end up taking me out in just a few minutes.

[The energy drain is going to make using her Gear much harder, while also limiting her ability to heal herself from the Gear discord as she goes. It's not a good combination for what's probably going to be a lengthy bit of work.]

Dust's right, I can use Uta, or Natsuru's vessel if I have to. And she should work against the fireflies as well. [She twirls the blade in her hand.]

[mithrarin]

Save the combined strength for the sigils. I can handle the fireflies, but probably not that, unless hitting them with a sword a lot counts for much. Do either of you have any magic?

[The smaller girls might not have weapons, but that doesn't mean he should assume they're helpless.]

[welcome_home]

[ Nanako frowns a little, glancing down at the sigil below them. ]

Yeah, I do, but... [ She pauses before giving a quiet sigh. ] It's really hard to use it in here. There's something wrong with this place and anytime I've tried to use it... it's never felt that hard before.

[alchemists]

It's not really suited for combat.

[ Elfnein had tried to use her power to leave behind a glowing trail of notes when she was captured but the energy drain was too much. ]

When I tried to leave behind a trail before I couldn't, I felt like passing out when I used my power.

[declamando]

[Maria nods a little at the remarks from Nanako and Elfnein.] I tried using my healing powers earlier, and even a tiny wound took far too much energy out of me. We can't rely too much on magic, especially not Elfnein when she's already been drained.

[Maria considers the sigils for a moment before pulling out the bottle of blessed water she's been keeping strapped against her thigh. It's a negative influence and possibly a curse of some kind, so...] Let me try something.

[She uncaps the bottle, and pours a little bit out onto one of the sigil lines. Where it lands, the sigil sparks slightly, and the line starts to break up a little.]

[mithrarin]

Right, but two things -- the more of those paper markings we destroyed, the easier it became to... [Exist, for him, but he doesn't think any of these girls have quite that same problem. So he settles for waving a hand generally, trusting they'll understand.] If the sigils are the same, that'll help. And I can amplify magic.

[Of course that amplification will cost Dust as well, but mentioning that seems pointless and redundant.]

Not saying we have to, but we should know all our options.

[welcome_home]

Amplify magic? [ Nanako glances over at him curiously because of that. But because she's also the kind to worry about people regardless, she also picks up on the potential problem here, too. ] Have you tried that in here? Does it make you really tired to do it?

[alchemists]

If you can amplify magic long enough for Maria to take out the sigils then we might be able to take care of everything in one go.

[ Though the draining energy part might not allow this plan to happen. ]

[declamando]

We have to destroy one first to know if it'll help, and that's going to take a while. [Maria gestures to the ground, indicating how large and deeply etched the sigils are.] And I really don't think amplifying magic is going to do anything but exhaust both of us quickly. It feels like we're leaping for what should be our last chance option - or at least a later one - first here.

[It's not a bad idea, but it's also one Maria is reluctant to jump for immediately, just in case it turns out that blasting out a sigil doesn't help, or it takes longer than they expect it to. There's too much that can go wrong.]

[mithrarin]

It wouldn't kill me. [Hurt him, sure, but he wouldn't actually let it kill him. He'd stop before that point.] I'm just making sure you all know it is an option. Better to talk about these things now rather than try to work it out in the middle of some losing clash, right?

[Even if the latter is better for drama. But now's not the time for any surprises, even welcome ones.]

[welcome_home]

[ Nanako carefully pushes herself to her feet once more, moving to circle the outside of the sigil. ]

I'm going to go start helping some of the others who still need it. Be careful, okay?

[ She gives Elfnein a worried look and a little wave before turning her attention to whoever else is still held captive by the vines and the bugs, leaving the discussions about the sigil's destruction to them. ]

[alchemists]

You to Nanako.

[ They still need to come up with a plan, though with just them it might just be safe to call a retreat and gather more people with other skills that would be useful. ]

I know it's not a good idea but retreating and gathering more people with different skills would be helpful in some ways.

[declamando]

[Maria waves to Nanako as she goes, even though they don't know each other, before turning her attention back to the other two.]

We may not have time to retreat and regroup fully, though, which is another problem. Whatever this spell is, it needs to be dismantled sooner rather than later. I can't say it wouldn't be helpful, but in circumstances like this it's risky.

[mithrarin]

[As Nanako goes, Dust gets noticeably more twitchy. In a perfect world, everyone would be right where he could keep them safe -- well, maybe not Maria, who can look after herself, but even so.]

I have to agree. I don't think we have that luxury. At best we can gather up other people who are nearby.

[alchemists]

I don't know what else to do.

[ Elfnein is trying to think of a different plan but they don't really have many options. ]

[declamando]

Gathering up people nearby is probably the best option we have. Our numbers should be some benefit, if nothing else.

[Even if all of them have their powers limited, a large number of them working together should be able to have some effect on this situation.]

[mithrarin]

And destroy the papers and seals they've been putting up, wherever we see them. I'll keep you two safe. Save any strength you have for the sigil.

[Dust may not be having the best time in general, but swinging his sword costs him nothing. Even Maria's relying on her shinki, after all.]

[alchemists]

What can I do to help gather everyone else nearby.

[ She can't make a light sign to attract people so that's a disadvantage. ]

[declamando]

Check on the others who are rescuing or being rescued. I don't think it'll be hard to gather their help - we all want this over with.

[If they burn out their strength trying to get attention, they're not going to get far with the sigil, so Maria figures more straightforward is better here.]

[mithrarin]

I'm pretty sure some other people split up to go to different areas, so we've just got whoever's nearby. [Which ought to be enough, so he's not worried.] The sigil is the obvious place to draw everyone's attention though.