While @Temperance was busy trying to get things moving and put up some kind of fighty mood, Sylpha was trying to send a message back to the people waiting for them outside. Only to be met by a UI error. Remembering the cultist's words, what he said about the portals not holding long was probably correct. Intriguing, but trying to communicate this back to rest of the "relic squad" would only incite panic. Chances are, since the ones who sent them in weren't familiar with the area, they would re-open portals in the same place they came in. Now, the question was if she should get second opinions from the rest of the squad. Before she could even make a decision, a tiny cannonball Faerin jumped in, but the other lady in blue managed to dodge it. As the Faerin was promptly saved from planting her face into an obsidian floor by @Ursa, Sylpha approached the Faerin. "Young lady, if you try to jump for that shiny round thing, you might fuse with it, and the person who fuses with it would have to jump into the big fire guy's chest and die with him." Sparing a short glance to @Ursa, she ended: "And according to this lady, that would be a waste of a good behind. If you don't do that, you will get to live to have more shiny things." Turning to @Eleanor Loan, Sylpha spoke once more: "You should fuse with it and start running to the exit. You know where we came in from, right? I do, and there are a lot of people who need us back there." All the screenshots would pay off as it taught her the route they took to get here. With everything said and done, Sylpha snapped a screenshot of the relic in @Eleanor Loan's hand and one of herself with the wall as the background before she started making for the chamber's exit, paying attention to the cultist that escorted them here. If he was going to make a move, it would be now when they needed to hurry back.
_____Alice was not happy the shiny was kept from her, but at the same time she was flustered by someone grabbing hold of her butt. Looking at the shiny object as she was told the risk and puffed her cheeks up. ”If it means not dealing with this stupid shiny obsession jumping into a fire meany is fair price!” Alice tried to get free from her capture and kept reaching for the orb. Sure she knew that it would hurt like hell, but she already had a few deaths under her belt, and if she got to hold the shiny even for a little it was worth it in her current mindset. ”I’ve already died a few times, I got eaten, crush, and my real life is just about a slow death in a hospital so dying again won’t bother me much. Sure it’s gonna hurt but if I can help others with my death after all I have done, it seems a worthy repenting.” _____Resuming her struggles against the metal grip, if she was let free and was the one to get her hands on the orb after such she held to regret as she looked at the orb. Her forest friends would forget all about her, the NPCs would also. But she would get to look back later and know her death saved so many others. Figured out how to fuse with the orb in this case before doing it and taking a shallow breath. ”Let’s go stop the big fire guy… About time I could do something that meant saving others and not killing them…” _____Alice had the resolve, the question was did they trust her to make the hardest action. Looking to them with eyes ready to face death, she was just hoping her friend Kitsy would not get herself into too much trouble, and that Momma bear would still keep the little ones safe. @Asch
It was important in situations like this one to remember the teachings of her temple and the lessons instilled in her from a young age. There were a few simple truths to life that one had to consider in scenarios of such importance... Life's incessant ceremonies leap everlasting, humans spring eternal on hope's breast, and frying pans out of fires were often far between. But most importantly: none of us was as stupid as all of us. And all of us STILL couldn't come to a decision. So she would make it for people! Yay teamwork! Summoning an orb of light, she snapped to get @Alice's attention, moving it back and forth across the floor like a little laser pointer. She didn't know what the girl had been talking about, with real lives and hospitals, but it was clear that she was coo coo in the choo choo, and admitted to having an obsession with shiny things. "Here girl! Here girl! Go fetch the pretty light!" Temperance shouted, willing the sparkle of holy energy to move out of the room and under one of the other random doors, so that Alice would run away and stop being in the way. Regardless of whether or not the girl was stupid enough to take the bait, she pointed at @Eleanor Loan who held the stone, shoving Toby in the back so that he would go stumbling towards the girl. "Let's help her piece that relic together and open a nice big portal back to where we came from, so we don't have to walk back through all that creepy shit! Blue girl is going to handle it alone by popular demand! Afterwards, you'll be free to go Toby! I recommend a bath at Pelham Springs maybe! Or a lake! River! Puddle! Literally anything that has water and could make you smell better! Yay hygiene! Are we ready everyone? D-O-T-H-I-S-O-R-E-L-S-E! THAT SPELLS TEAMWORK! WOOH!" @Asch
Beyond the Rift II It seemed the group’s general consensus revolved around having @Eleanor Loan fuse with the relic and becoming the key to stopping the fiery dread that had plagued Mount Vulpus and the mortal realm. Despite the shiny-obsessed critter pawing at the crystal, the group was able to hold @Alice back while the three fragments fused into a complete orb in the girl’s hands. As she held it close to her chest, the orb seemed to be drawn to her as it slowly levitated and entered her chest… A few seconds later, the ritual was complete and Eleanor has become the catalyst to destroying the rampaging fire elemental. The entire time, she could feel her skin and lips becoming rather dry as the goddess’ power coursed through her veins, giving her a divine radiance. If anyone had checked Eleanor’s status in their UI, they would have seen that she had a status condition called Fused, which implied the group had completed their objective. As the cultist watch the event unfolding, he was distracted by Temperance who called him Toby, which he was compelled to answer her, “My name is Ivan, not Toby.” Once it seemed like the group had gotten what they came for, Ivan gestured to him. “Alright, come on it’s time to get out of here,” he said. “I can’t make a portal in here though. So we have to go back through the creepy Field of Dust where you guys came from.” Leading the group, the cultist began to guide them out of the room and through the hallway with 100 doors then out to the Field of Dust as he called it, leaving the Temple of Cinder behind. However, something was wrong. If any of the party had the courage to look behind them, they would have seen an army of fire minions chasing after them. It seemed the seals may not have attack the group, but it certainly served its purpose in alerting the temple guards. “Shit, shit, shit, hurry, hurry, get in the portal. Acanum del torah exctis vequarion mal veneh munt Vulpus laptim!” he shouted his incantation in a panic as he waved his arms wildly to help him orient the makeshift spell. “H-hang on, this is gonna be a rough ride!!!” Ivan was the first to jump through the portal. If anyone had jump in after him, they surely would have experienced the same sensation they had when they first went through… To be continued…
