An Age of Mysterious Memories

Scirocco nods, and responds rather quietly, sounding like he believes me. His cadence is almost conversational, as if talking about the weather as he says, “Then you may leave this citadel alive. Do what I told you to do though, or you won’t leave it at all."

I glance over towards Teuila again, and then back towards Al’pa’ca’s vault door.

Lil whispers in my ear, hissing softly, as he gently nudges me with one of his taloned fists, "We're getting outta here, partner. We've got this!"

I blink away a tear. Chuckling, I nod at my best pal. We've got to defeat Quicksand and get into Al'pa'ca's vault ay to the ess to the ay to the pee. Friggin' heck my brain is weird. Spelling out acronyms like a highschool cheer. Anyway, Lil's right, let's do this thing. Scirocco has our backs, in more ways than one. Not all of which are good, mind you, and all of which ends with him stabbing us in them. I'm fairly positive on that last part. But for now, maybe his aid comes at a critical moment that prevents Teuila's demise, so I have to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Quicksand continues to writhe and thrash as Lil lets loose on her. She's still alive, somehow. Her scales continue to smolder and burn, and her flesh is charred and blackened in places. She's trying to build up another breath weapon charge, but hopefully she won't live long enough to use it. Sighing, I hate how that sounds, even in my head, but she's our foe, a deadly one at that, so I can't let Fakeworld moral shenanigans get in my way right now. She's going down.

Lil continues to attack Quicksand with his fangs and claws, only grazing her scales, but where her scales are ashed, tearing into her flesh like it's made of paper. I can only imagine how hard it must normally be to bite through an armored dragon's tough skin, when it's burning from being bathed in Lil's flames, of all things. Gazing at her, I take in her draconic form, analyzing it once more. She's a lot bigger than Lil is, and not nearly as agile or flexible, though she does appear to be able to move much quicker than Lil can, oddly enough. I'll have to make a note of that, if we get out of this alive.

As Lil relentlessly tears away at her body, using his heat and flame to cause damage, I begin to realize something. I'm not sure why it took me so long to figure it out. Based on the power of her breath weapon, Quicksand is probably a Bombastic, a Bellicose, or worse, and most likely, a Behemoth class dragon. She's shrunken down, fitting into the rooms and tunnels of the keep, probably far more than was obvious at first glance. Ugh, her being a Behemoth class would explain why she’s still hanging in there, despite the pain and damage she’s suffered. Based on some charts Nala showed me, dragons generally classify each other in categories based on their respective strengths and intensities and such. What did it look like again? Oh yeah.

Behemoth Bellicose Binder Blaster Bombastic Brawler Breather Bristled Brobdingnagian Brute

Agility B A D S A S B C D C

Alertness C S D S A A B C D B

BW_AOE C C D S A D SSS D SS D

BW_Power SS SS B S SS S SSS D SSS S

Cooldown C B B SSS A B S B D A

DF_Radius S A B S A B A B SSS A

Overall Size SSS S D B S S B C SSS+ A

Physical Power SSS+ SSS D C S SSS B C SSS+ S

Toughness SSS S B B S A C D SSS+ SS

Anyway, right, focus Reggie, focus. Teuila and Lil are going to town on Quicksand now, and it's my job to get that chaotic mess of spells and lightning under control so we can get to Al'pa'ca. I start by casting my will down into the room with the vault doors, hoping the various traps and wards there were damaged enough by FFS and Zorro to allow me to wipe away the magic without using any SP. I attempt to bring my pulse under control, low and quiet, as I attempt to calm my mind and heart enough to work the magic. Sticking my tongue out of one corner of my mouth, like Lil does when he's trying to focus hard on thinking, I furrow my brow, trying to remember what I planned the next step to be.

Right, a QCR to number four, the lightning-cursed leg guards. Ah wonderful, yup, just great. A torrent of the highest quantity of unrestrained lightning likely in the history of Rayileklia, other than across the entire Worldstorm itself, is now headed straight for me. Come on electro-lycan form, EM-Field organ, Spiritswarm, come on. We can do this. Focus on your breathing. Take slow breaths in, slowly exhale, repeat. Let go of everything else except focusing on the task at hand. You can do this Reggie. Breathe in, breathe out. And maybe wish yourself luck for good measure. Yeah, good luck me, pft.

Spinning with the electron pull, I focus on getting the lightning angled, so that the curse's pull works like gravity on objects in orbit. Gravity pulls downward, but if you position an object correctly, it will naturally align with its orbital path, or where it wants to go. The same goes for lightning curses in this case, they pull toward their source, but also wrap around it, if positioned with their velocity angled just-so.

Using a QCR back to number five, my Glacial Greaves, just as the mass of lightning is mostly concentrated at the three-hundredth degree or so of its swing, I'm a living lightning slingshot. Or maybe a discus? Whatever. As the mass of charged particles nears the end of its arc, I shift my weight slightly, shifting my center of gravity forward. This puts me exactly where I want to be, and without the curse drawing the lightning to me, I release it, sending it forward, down into the room with the chaotic surges of mana and broken spells.

The electrical discharge causes further wild variations in the untamed spellwork, but, well, I'm me, wild variations are half of what I do. Figuratively anyway. If I can just--. Whoops. Probably shouldn’t have been cocky even in my own head. The resulting shockwave knocks me and Lil down, toppling the two of us flat onto our backsides. Zorro and FFS are diminished and separated by the concussive force. FFS gets her bearings in her normal form, and Zorro races, scampering back towards me, frightened apparently. Within moments, Al’pa’ca dissipates FFS, which sucks, but I could call them back with the staff again. Not the effect I intended, but hey, I guess it worked, minus losing one of our bigger advantages. At least the traps, or the various magics from them, are tamed now, mostly.

Glancing at Te, who'd somehow managed to plant herself against the blast, probably through raw strength, or one of her runic clips, she's hammering on Quicksand's cranium, literally. Despite how immensely powerful Te is, with every strike, her opponent seems to grow angrier and more agitated. Te's blows are clearly hurting her badly too, causing her to grimace in pain each time she strikes, and stagger from exhaustion afterwards.

Teuila manages to land a few solid hits before Quicksand grabs her in one massive, taloned hand. I might be worried for Teuila, if it weren't for the fact that Quicksand seems to be virtually on death's door. Still, I don't exactly like seeing Teuila in a dangerous or vulnerable position, but I trust her to handle this. Her and Lil. I need to start preparing for the oncoming horde.

Al’pa’ca’s attention is starting to turn our way, and I can tell he’s pondering spells to aid Quicksand out. The right spell, from this distance, I wouldn’t be able to counter, and it could turn the tide against us. Our plan isn't going exactly according to--plan. Sighing, I roll my eyes at my redundant mental narrative. Me being the first to engage Al'pa'ca' is not how this is supposed to go. Yet here we are, with Lil and Te busy, maybe I can get Al'pa'ca to charge and waste his breath weapon on me, since they're far more vulnerable if he's also got a living-sand breath like Quicksand.

That suffocating animation is no laughing matter. It's gonna suck for anyone caught inside it that doesn't have immunity from something like my neckchain of the ever-breathing. My descent towards the vault in my feline form is swift, faster than I’m used to moving under my own power at ground level. It makes sense. I based the form on Linti, Lightning Hunter, and she was the fastest amongst us in the SAP. I wonder if she considered herself a member of our inner circle by the end? Sighing, I try to clear her from my thoughts. I can’t afford to be caught up in reminiscing right now.

Smirking, albeit a bit ruefully, knowing I won't convince Al'pa'ca of all people, erm, dragons, to back down, I still announce my titles, "I am Reggie Shellcracker, a Hero of the Order of the Onyx Dawn, an archmage Aliased Schism, and I am the Void Dragon Honoris Causa! Cease your spellwork, surrender, and you may yet live."

Al'pa'ca laughs loudly, and snorts. His retort is derisive as he responds, "You are no dragon. You are nothing cat, a child, a kitten. Your pathetic attempts to incite fear in me are laughable. I may be busy weaving the magic of the endless storm, but I can still crush you like the insect you are."

Hearing that, I feel somewhat better about myself. I am nothing? He has no idea how right he is. Heh. My Void Dragon Honoris Causa manifests around me as Al'pa'ca continues his insults. Alright, let's eff up his spellwork, so that he has to start taking us seriously. I risk a brief expenditure of dragonforce to call forth an actual void within my semi-tangible form, as I step towards the series of crystals and gauges and levers and valves that Al'pa'ca seems focused on.

My Void Dragon Honoris Causa surrounds me. Between my electro-lycan form, and the Spiritswarm, and whatever other weird things are going on inside me, even my Honoris Causa begins to crackle with electricity. I begin to focus my will on the various mechanisms. They're far too dangerous to simply just smash and hope for the best. They're all different types of magical energy conduits, some that are tapped into or creating artificial leylines, and I'm pretty sure most of them are active, or at least partially functional.

I begin to channel the energies of the Spiritswarm and my electro-lycan form, and carefully funnel them into the various mechanisms while my void nullifies oxygen and leyline connections and whatever else. Sparks fly, and the machinery starts to hum. I'm not sure if it's because of my intervention or just the natural workings of the mechanisms themselves, but the rage that suddenly bubbles up within Al'pa'ca at my interference is virtually palpable. Oh, right he's probably trying dragonfear on me, heh. Yeah, even if I weren’t in a voidspace right now Al’pa’ca, those signals you’re emitting wouldn’t do a dang thing to me.

That's right Al'pa'ca, see that I'm immune to it, and assume that Lil and Teuila are as well, so we have one less wrinkle to deal with later. Going straight for ninth tier magic, eh Alpackers? I don't blame you. I wouldn't have expected anything less. Well, let's see what we’re up against.

Hm, what the hell spell is he casting? Should I just counter it to be safe? Come on Reggie, focus, what runes are those? Is it better to save up your own SP, in case he has things that you know are deadly to Lil and Te, or to simply counter everything he casts until you're out of SP? The spell he's casting has the rune for psychic energy in it. Heh. Maybe if he casts it, and sees it does nothing on me, he'll decide to stop casting spells in general? Worth a shot. I think.

As Al'pa'ca's spell begins to coalesce, I take a deep breath. He's reversing while I'm advancing, which is perfect, now that he's away from whatever tampering he'd been doing with the Worldstorm, we're finally making progress on the objectives Kinzul needs us to accomplish here. Still, he's surprisingly agile for someone in the middle of casting a ninth tier magic. The name Psychic Scream leaps into my mind, a moment too late, realizing it's a psychic spell that covers a massive area.

Psychic Scream? Crap. There's a mind-shattering stun component to the spell along with psychic damage. It doesn't effect me, and Al'pa'ca can exclude his allies, but Lil, and Te--. Where's Lil? Teuila's definitely stunned, virtually drooling as she's once again grabbed by Quicksand. Apparently she'd broken free for at least a little bit. I--darn it all, friggin' adorable goblinoid womens’ names being common words and phrases. This is no time to be thinking of anyone that isn't right here in the fight. Speaking of, where the crap is Lil?

Oh Lil, my best buddy, my great pal, way to go. Being out of range when the spell landed, he was apparently trying to set something up. Now that he's returned, he sees Teuila unmoving in Quicksand's grasp. Come on buddy, finish off Quicksand, then get your arse in here with Te.

Lil's eyes widen, recognizing that his "It's-A-Secret" is in danger, and he takes a step towards Quicksand, who's now turned her attention towards him. Dang it Lil, I know you've got a lot of love for Te, but you need to finish Quicksand off quick! Yes, I heard myself, yet again. Lil's distracted, making mistakes and taking hits as he prioritizes rescuing Te in her vulnerable state.

Quicksand's claws dig into Lil's chest, tearing up several of his precious scales. I grimace, hardly able to focus on my own fight, falling victim to the same distraction Lil'd just succumbed to. Alright, alright, trust him Reggie, trust him. You traversed a whole world to be back together. You can trust Lil. Focus on your ow--Oof! Yeah, I shoulda seen that coming. A Psychic Scream is something that you don't want to be hit with. I'm lucky that I'm not affected by it, due to my psi-blocking aegis circlet, but I'm not sure how much longer that luck will hold up. Especially since I just took an uppercut to my Honoris Causa, and a tail whipcrack to my actual face. Ow.

Awe crap, Lil's distracted again. He's taken another step forward, and Quicksand has her jaws open wide, ready to bite down on Lil's head, or at least try. She's got his wings pinned to his torso though, and is slowly pulling him closer. But, Lil caught his breath, literally, while he was out of range for a moment. I don't think I want to watch as Quicksand's skull gets fried open from the inside now that Lil's exhaling up into her throat.

Al'pa'ca is attempting another ninth tier spell, not convinced that I'm immune to magic just yet, though he's seen me immune to both dragonfear, and psychic spells. Which, hey, fair, I'm not, but he doesn't know that, and if I can convince him I am, all the better. What spell is it this time? There are some runes in common with my Steely Body spell, but it's much more intricate. Do I dare waste SP countering a defensive spell? What'd he just grab from his hoard? It looked like--crap--a miniature adamantite ingot.

I can't afford to waste any SP on a defensive spell. No, I need to focus on the offensive side of things. Plus it's too late anyway, there goes the adamantite. Now Al'pa'ca's skin has a metallic sheen. And since it's a ninth tier spell, I'm guessing it's way, way more powerful than Steely Body and Stoneskin. Hm, let's test this. Sending a few attacks Al'pa'ca's way, he brazenly takes them head on, and by that I mean he rams his face into them to show off his complete and total invulnerability.

Well crap. Way to go Reggie. You let him become entirely invincible, an ancient dragon who can now charge his animate sand breath weapon, at his leisure. Oh, wait. Duh. Dispellation both dispels or counterspells. Heh, heh. Let's see if I can get him to accept a few blows to the face, by lining up some attacks to land. Hey Reggie. Yeah? Remember when Fenric was pinned down? Of course, wh--ah. Yup. That is always gonna be friggin' weird. Myself reminding myself of something that I don't realize why it's reminding me of it, until after the fact. How brain, how? Anyway, ugh, I have my Honoris Causa up, so Retrocognition would be a pain in the arse. I'll just have to come up with a plan on the fly.

Al'pa'ca keeps me on my toes, and I'm too distracted with dodging attacks he sends my way, and the other things rattling around in my skull to make plans. The best plan I can come up with, on the fly, is, well, I've already got my Honoris Causa up, and Al'pa'ca seems fixated on using his body, and not his breath, despite the fact that I can tell he’s charging it. I do draw out my seeming inability to affect him a bit, wondering if his invulnerability will just wear off on its own relatively soon.

If it's anything like that impenetrable cage of force that Kinzul was entrapped in, it's probably got a ten minute timer. I don't want to give him ten minutes to think up a better strategy than me though. So I'll just buy a minute or so, and hope Te recovers while Lil looks out for her. I still want to save my resources for the horde, so I'll just prep some pummeling and a quickened cast of dispellation to wipe out his invulnerability.

Quickening a maximum tier dispellation, so as to end his invulnerability is, well, quick enough of course, at least there's that. But it's expensive SP-wise. There goes a whole hundred thirty five SP. What is that, a hundred thirty nine down for the day? I did, what, four cantrip level spells to proc my runic clips twice two times, and one elemental empowerment rune, so a hundred forty down. Crap. I need to keep better track of these things. You've been a bit distracted today Reggie, plus your insides are aflame from that elemental empowerment. I know, I know, but that's really just an excuse. Give yourself a break, you went into trauma headspace at least once. That screws with your head quite a bit. Alright, alright.

Firing off a few freeform spiritual and physical frozen-fist-style subzero ice punches, along with my breath weapons, and swipes of my Honoris Causa's claws, they all strike ol' Alpackers here directly. I try not to giggle when I end up surprising the hell out of him. His invulnerability ends just as the blows are landing, while he's leaning into them to take them on the chin. Like Jarrah once said, subtle spellcasting metamagical rigor or whatever-the-crap he called it. Al'pa'ca didn't even see me dispelling his buffed up buff. Each hit cracks his nose, and causes him to flinch. It's not nearly enough though, not even a start really. He's a lot tougher than that. Despite the fact that Al'pa'ca's not used to taking a beating, or even the idea that someone might want to hit him, and keep hitting him, he's mostly fine. Sadly, a bit of pummeling's not gonna cut it.

I can sense he's charging his breath weapon, so I'd like him to direct it all at me. To do that, I pull a Reggie Shellcracker special. I annoy him as I quip, "You know, you can't keep this up forever. Sooner or later, one of us will probably tire. Here's a spoiler, ain't gonna be me, 'cause I can do this all day."

He growls at me, snarling, "And I shall prevail over a child such as you, whelp."

Trying to piss him off, I retort, "Blah blah blah. We've heard this all before. You're not the first ancient that I’ve defeated. Not the first. Not even the third, and you're already getting predictable. Let's get on with it. Or are you gonna waste all our time, hoping that we die of old age? Another spoiler? I've got as much longevity as you do, probably even more."

Al'pa'ca spits a bit of blood, and chuckles, "You're right. It's not a race to the end of our lifespans, but to the moment I rend your skull from your torso. So let's get on with it. We will fight, and you will perish."

Glancing behind me, grinning, noticing Teuila's recovered from her psychically stunned daze, I almost give up the cat in the bag? The ghost? The goat in the moat? What the hell's the phrase for accidentally spilling a secret? Whatever. I nearly let on that I was just buying time with my not-so-witty repartee, as Te and Lil work together to put an end to Quicksand.

Frustratingly, Quicksand had apparently taken a moment to regain her senses, and is now back in the fight. She's got a nasty wound where Te'd been battering her skull with her hammer, and her face looks more than half cooked off. I'm honestly surprised at how resilient she is. Of course, she might have magic items on her person--age? Dragon--age? Whatever. She might have some boosts from something or other. That, and I’m almost certain now that she’s a Behemoth class dragon, just forced to be far, far smaller than her actual size. Plus, the ones closer to the center of Terrorzin's domain are going to be more and more powerful than whatever we've faced thus far. Annoyingly enough.

Being a complete doofus, I try to keep Al'pa'ca distracted a bit longer, by snarking a nit-pick, "Y'know, I don't think my skull is connected to my torso anyway, technically it's only partially attached, or however it is the spinal column works, with all the little vertebrae. So, no matter what, if you try to pull my head off of my torso specifically, you're still gonna fail."

The ire and fury in his face as I get pedantic with him would be priceless if this weren't so serious. He roars, and his animate sand breath explodes outward. At the same time, Teuila and Lil's combined might is finally too much for Quicksand. She'd managed to fend them off a few times, but in the end, she falls. It stings my eyes a bit, and isn't the most pleasant experience, as it weathers my flesh, but I do manage to clock him a good one with my Honoris Causa's claws, while he's got his sand breath seeking out direct paths to my true body within the manifested form. To say he's beginning to get pissed off that none of his abilities are working on me? That's more than an understatement, heh.

Al'pa'ca's breath ends, and the room begins to fill with the sand. As his sandstorm clears, and the air settles once more, Al'pa'ca's not even winded. But my attacks on him weren't meant to be the heroic victory. I'm just the distraction. I giggle and wink at him as Lil and Te approach him. Teuila's got her hammer held high, and Lil's jaw’s gaping, his tusks gleaming in the dim light, his eyes narrowed in a menacing manner. I roll my eyes at my SAP, but however they want to take him on is their business.

Thankfully, Lil did the smart thing after finishing off Quicksand, and ripped open her chest for me, and dragged her corpse to the vault entrance. Now, I can prep for the horde, while also siphoning as much of her dragonforce as possible, to help keep myself topped off for the expenditures I've had today. Thanks buddy. Not that you can hear me right now.

As I'm preparing for the horde, Al'pa'ca tries a different tact, "If you leave me the female, and your young pet red, you may live."

Shaking my head, I respond, "Nope. Al’pa’ca, I’m not here to bargain, for my life or otherwise. Even if I wanted to, they’re not objects for me to own and decide on their fate, much less you."

Lil adds, "Yeah! They're not a bargaining chip. I mean, I'm not a bargaining chip. Err, I mean, we're not bargaining chips!"

Teuila probably shouldn't be bursting out laughing right now, but I can't exactly blame her after Lil's outburst. Al'pa'ca seems a bit put off by her laughter too, because he looks confused as he glares at her. He's also a bit wary, given her reaction.

As Al'pa'ca's gaze shifts towards me, to ascertain if I’d given him my final answer, Teuila smirks and says, "Dragbutt’s right, We're not barganing chips. Here’s a counteroffer. Surrender, and you'll live. Or, keep fighting, and you'll die."

Al'pa'ca’s attention returns to Teuila as laughs and responds, "I am the mighty Al'pa'ca, and you're a human. A weak, pitiful human. You and your young red are no threat to me. This cat-child, this kitten, is hardly a challenge. You will die, and I will claim your corpses and artifacts for my hoard."

Now it's my turn to burst out laughing. First of all, hearing him pronounce his own name is effing hilarious. Secondly, Teuila ain't a human Alpackers. I'll let him find that out on his own, as she ignites her Honoris Causa. I mean, she's actually not a dragon either, she's an otter, but, heh-- never mind, not important right now. Focus Reggie. Focus.

Te's Honoris Causa manifests fully, and her eyes begin to glow as her dragonforce begins to coalesce. As her draconic energies flare, her Honoris Causa takes the form of a lithe, enormous, luminescent, lunar dragon. Teuila's eyes are the most radiant they've ever been, and she's glowing with an inner light. She's absolutely stunning. Lil's staring in awe, and even Al'pa'ca, an ancient dragon, is momentarily agape at her transcendent beauty. Or at least a beauty I find to be transcendent. Or maybe the audacity that yet another humanoid has a draconic spirit projection on par with ancient dragons, heh.

Taking advantage of the brief window, Teuila strikes, launching Mjolnir at the stunned ancient, catching him square in the jaw. With a resounding crack, the hammer's blow forces Al'pa'ca's head to twist to one side. He staggers backwards a bit, and Teuila catches her returning hammer in one hand. Her hammer continues to glow brightly as she advances towards the stunned dragon.

Al'pa'ca growls and begins to cast another spell. It doesn't look like he's attempting a ninth tier spell, but the runes seem familiar, and I can't quite place it. I'm pretty sure it's a utility or defensive spell, or a counterspell. Maybe he's trying to dispel Te's Honoris Causa, since it shares a fair number of runes with Dispellation. Fat chance Alpackers. It's not a spell. Dispellation won't do a dang thing to her Honoris Causa. I suppose you wouldn't know that, since only Kinzul knows how to create and bequeath Honoris Causas. You probably wouldn't have had a chance to experiment on them before.

The spell fizzles, and Al'pa'ca grunts, as Lil launches himself into the air. His wings unfurl, and he's suddenly soaring over the ancient, breathing fire on him. Lil hasn't done a lot of aerial combat, and isn't the best at it, but he's decent. Plus, even his opening flame is still enough to singe, distract, and anger Al'pa'ca. That anger is enough though, impressively, annoyingly, Al’pa’ca has more ninth tier spells available, almost like me, able to just cast whatever within a large pool of resources. He starts to stop time.