RP:Enthralling Experiments: The Final Results

Part of the Dissonance Theory Arc

This is a Warrior's Guild RP.

Summary: The Warrior's Guild have their last meeting before the big Xicotl fight, so as to get all the details from Quintessa and Khitti's experiments.

Vigilanti Semper, Venturil

Karasu motions for Quintessa to lift her arm so she can complete the new sling’s fastening. “That’s the fecking pest Kasyr wants us to take out, innit? Alright, I can do that.” Murmuring in the hall causes a rounded feline ear to swivel backwards, the other pointing straight forward at Quintessa. “That weird Delishan guy and the guy with the dragon just got here, and that druid warrior woman is already inside and says the meeting is starting soon.” Her ear swivels back to point forwards as she finishes the square knot of the new sling. Standing and holding her arms out, Karasu teases, “Can you walk, or should I carry you since you’re injured?”

Quintessa allows Karasu the chance to put her arm in a sling, but when the spellblade jokingly offers to carry her she rolls her eyes at her. “Elazul’s Bite, Karasu, she injured my arm, she didn’t cut my damn legs off.” She giggles and stands from her chair, making sure to reach for her pipe before she heads toward the exit of the lab. “Come on, let’s stop kidding around- people will start to show up soon.”

Beldur would have one of the trainee's in a headlock as exits the training area. Nodding to the others before pushing the trainee out of the room. "Some have, other's might be late. I hope not." Shela would leap from his shoulder. Flying around the ceiling of the meeting room. Her size almost four feet in length now from snout to the tip of the tail. When she landed, she would pat on the table. As if demanding to attention.

Kasyr rests at the head of the conference room table, feet propped up on the table, all to better facilitate the manner in which he's balancing his seat on it's back legs. Which, in truth, is a travesty against good furniture, given it's a lovely high-backed chair being subjected to this nonsense. Still, it's something to do- given that while there is a broad array of food carts arraying each of the rooms walls, none of them seem to hold an appeal. They exist to make the process of getting through a potentially long meeting more pleasent- and to stave off whatever potential arguments might come about due to peckishness. That, and to provide Mathollak with something to do.

Mathollak  :: After becoming so disappointed by the poverty of the last meeting, Mathollak volunteered to oversee the spread for this meeting. He didn’t cook anything of course, Blackbear did. Mathollak didn’t let the power of the purse go to his head though, and he restrained his longings, greatly. Beginning from one end of a long table to the other: Fresh, fluffy, golden waffles, whipped cream, and various fruit sauces designed to be drizzled over the top. Moving along, there’s an open bar. Empty glasses stacked neatly beside pitchers filled with sparkling drinks colored warmly; pink, red, yellow, and orange. It’s all mimosas. The end of the table is covered with colorful raw fruits like bananas, oranges, apples, kiwis, strawberries, melons, resting on a bed of vibrant green foliage. There’s also a lonely, sad pitcher of fresh coffee if anybody wants that. By the time everything is set up and Blackbear leaves, Mathollak still hasn’t arrived.

Kailani arrives at the HQ with her usual company, a griffon and a blue dragon that is still very much growing. For now, Aspen is still young enough that he can ride and climb all over the griffon, Grimclaw, who does not seem to mind. While Kailani could probably instruct both to wait just outside, she does not. The blue-haired druid enters with the two of them following close behind her. While this is not the first meeting for the Warrior's Guild that Kailani has been in attendance of, her social habits have not changed. She and her beast companions remain toward the back of the meeting room and are fairly well content to keep to themselves.

Krice did arrive soon after Quintessa's bid that Karasu settle, dressed in his usual black garb with a black katana and a white katana - matching sheathes - strapped against his back. He didn't look too different from the last time they all converged on this place, save for longer hair. Possessed of keen senses, the enigmatic swordsman took up a place outside what would ultimately be the main gathering circle of those who arrived, easily capable of hearing everyone without the need to stand among them. He'd offer a nod to Kailani if she glanced his way.

Krice also observed Shela's flying - somewhat indifferently - as if his writer hadn't just woken up. Mhm.

Mathollak wakes up to the sound of metal nails falling out of a burning candle and onto a metal plate. Gradually, he sits up and pushes his heart-eyes eye mask up to his forehead and scans his surroundings. He’s among a pile of sleeping bodies, large and small, all stuffed into his small (but luxurious) dormitory. Begrudgingly, he makes his way over to a wash basin and scrubs himself gently with waters enchanted by herbs and spices, before finally pulling on a robe, putting on his pajamas, and making his way out to the meeting.

Karasu pulls a chair out for Quintessa, despite insistence that she doesn't need to do that, as the pair get settled in. "Meat." She says simply, her slitted eyes locking onto the delicious spread. Grabbing a kebab, she points it at Kasyr, her demeanor cranky and informal as usual. "Catch me up on this Xitocl prick. Did you see what his cronies did to her?" If addressed by the others, she'll offer a practiced, polite greeting. Taking a bit of meat off the kebab, she holds it up for Beldur to see and approve of. "Can she eat table food?" Motioning her head towards Shela.

Kasyr may have been neglecting the banquet that surrounds him, but as Karasu directs attention towards Tessa's unfortunate state- he can't help but find his attention drifting once more. That said, it's not indifference that sees him staring towards the ceiling, but a slightly sharper awareness of the sights and scents in the room. The chair grates now, somehow balanced on one of it's legs to the chagrin of whoever had brought in this lavish bit of furniture, "We'll allow for a few more moments to ensure that we're all here, et then we can begin. There's a lot to catch up on, I know. Operations which have been played out by myself, by those striving to fix the greater chaos in the land, as well as those diligently working here- where the risks were apparently never far." Karasu and Tessa are acknowledged with a nod here. "So, does anything have anything they need to bring up that's not on our itenerary, or are we good to go, enfin?"

Kailani :: If Orion were here with Kailani, the bardbarian would probably have a very keen interest in all of the food that Mathollak and Blackbear have made sure to provide. Kai tho? She is a bit less interested, at least in this immediate moment. On the way home though, she'd raid what was left over just for Orion but we'll get to that later. Kailani catches Krice's nod before the meeting gets underway and Kailani returns the greeting with a polite nod of her own. The druid is all eyes on Kasyr once the lead-warrior started speaking. Did anyone have anything to bring up that was not already on the itinerary? There was an agenda? Did Kailani miss a memo? Kai was pretty sure that Kasyr has been appraised about the tree and the lab experiments, those surely had to be on the agenda. So. Silence from the druid. Shocking.

Krice had caught a whiff of Quintessa's injury (and knew it was her) before he had even entered the hall, sensitive as his sense of smell was, which perhaps could account for his lack of surprise at her condition. He glanced her way at Kasyr's indication, simply to add an image to the words, before letting his cool stare sweep across the faces of the others. He would listen to any and all who had something to say about their adventures relating to Xicotl, otherwise returning his focus to Kasyr.

Quintessa places her pipe in her mouth, the magical trinket lighting by itself as she inhales and leaves the room above her filled with suspicious smelling smoke. Her gaze flickers to Kasyr for a moment and she exhales, shaking her head softly. “I’ll let everyone else voice any concerns before I get into the nitty-gritty. Lets just say for now there have been a lot of new developments so any questions people have I’ll do my best to answer as they come up.” With that Quintessa places her pipe between her lips again and allows her attention to drift around the room.

Karasu assumes the human did not hear her, and so, pops the snack into her mouth and shakes her head at Kasyr's question to indicate she has nothing to add

Mathollak arrives in a daze covered in plum colored silk and wearing his hair in a bun at the top of his head. He heads straight for the breakfast bar, passing a conference table full of chairs and maybe people that he doesn’t notice. And if anyone does accost him, or if anybody’s animals get agitated as he passes as they are sometimes wont to do, he stops it with a hand or a finger. “Jus gimme few minutes. Gimme few minutes.” He returns soon after with a few waffles crushed under the weight of their accessories, and two glasses of mimosa that he easily balances with one hand. He continues to ignore everyone but holds his eyes against Kasyr for an extra moment. “You…get a haircut? Lookin’ good.” Then he shares a special moment with his waffles as he folds one into a messy taco. He nearly engulfs the whole thing but for the guts that get squished out the other end and dribble down his chin and back onto the plate.

Kasyr notes the lack of additional topics, and can't help but bask in the accompanying sense of relief. They would get to be relatively on target this time, though, given Khitti was absent- it meant it fell to him to gather up the paperwork for the Operation details she'd dealt with, and begin passing them around the table, "Now, I'm sure most of you are aware of what we've been dealing with, but, given it's been a while since we last convened- a refresher may be due. For the last few years, we've been dealing with an entity known as Xicotl, a massive creature which has, purportedly, extinguished a number of historical civilizations, et quoi-ce-soit. Normal Evil Semi-Demi-Deity things. The problem is, it's been stirring recently- feeling a bit peckish, and it's activity has been ramping up. Our prior leadership had left on a ...sabbatical in order to slow it down, "Albeit without telling anyone. "But, that's just the thing- they only succeeded in slowing it down. Over the last few months, we'd been functioning off a list of targets where it was going to strike- before it eventually reaches Frostmaw- and the proper calamity hits." There's a pause, the Kensai allowing those gathered to look over the gathered paperwork, which details a number of operatives moving out to one of those villages in order to intercept Xicotl itself. The results, at least on paper, are grim. "Whilst we've spread ourselves out in order to prepare for this calamity, I know that some amongst you had been hoping to intercede, to ...act on the information that we'd been granted in the hopes that they could change the outcome." The tally of Dead Villagers from the operation is damning- a complete loss of life from the afflicted village, "It didn't work out that way. Myself, Magik, et a small contingent went to a location pre-emptively. That said, when things occured, we weren't able to prevent it. The sheer -scale- of what was happening didn't allow for us to salvage survivors, and so we instead turned our efforts to a different task. Rather then rescue, we went for Revenge- and managed a hell of a feat. We -wounded- Xicotl, severing a piece of it, which we were able to deliver to our girls at the Lab." There's a gesture over to Quintessa here, as well as a small tap on the final page of the operation report, which simply lists some details about the 'cargo' that had been brought at the end of the operation. "That said, there were some unforseen consequences from this. Whilst this -did- cause Xicotl to recoil from the area- it did not do so quietly. Interefering with the events had a rather...unforseen consequence- given that near overnight, the rest of the villages left before Frostmaw were consumed." The Kensai purses his lips, before adding, "Because of this, we no longer have a timeline on when the attack is due. In truth, it should have already happened- and the only reason I can imagine for the delay is the fact that we wounded it, but the cost was..." The Kensai leans back, his seat finally resting on all it's legs, even as he pinches his nose, "Well, We'll let Quintessa talk about our results, and you can decide about the costs.

Mathollak says, "We call it the turnip now, Daddy-o."

Kailani leans against Grimclaw while she listens. The druid still kept her words to herself, she had not additional questions and it seemed like Quintessa had more to add to this conversation. There was a lot of information being presented, but Kai was opting to focus on the more positive detail that they did in fact manage to wound their opponent. In the long term, it meant that there was still hope to finally be rid of this foe that has been plaguing them for far too long.

Quintessa chokes on her smoke in reaction to something Karasu has whispered to her, and she does her best to keep it contained while everyone shakes their heads. She too was relieved there were no new topics because frankly she did not come prepared for this. The normally diligent changeling for once hadn’t planned everything out to the letter. Dotted every “I” crossed every “T”, no, she was injured and medicated and it was enough that she was here and ready to explain whatever she could. Luckily for everyone Quintessa has a very good memory and probably didn’t need to stress these things that much anyway. When Kasyr gives the room to her she shrugs. “Costs?” She lifts her slinged arm, holding back a wince behind a cheek smile. “We have fully caught Xicotl’s attention, it seems. When Kasyr had the sample delivered- a piece of the potato itself, it sprung a trap on Khitti and myself.” She looked around the room for a moment for her mother figure, but she was not here. “Together we slew Xicolt’s lieutenants but they were able to locate and ambush us because we were in possession of this tentacle in the first place. If Xicolt is making such bold moves then that means the Feast is imminent. We have to be ready. Luckily we were able to surmise particular weak points and advantages we can use against Xicolt when we studied its appendage and we’ll be able to create tactics specifically designed to counter this giant plant-like creature in the future.” She looks to Kasyr for confirmation. “Am I missing anything? Did we already talk about that Wild magic thing or did I imagine that?”

Kasyr says to Mathollak "Right, Turnip, Shrub."

Krice listened attentively to Kasyr's recollection of the recent past's Xicotl-related events. Grim indeed. He glanced briefly at the papers outlining the operations of which the Kensai spoke, a small shake of the head portraying his disapproval - or distress - of the losses suffered during those operations. He was pleasantly surprised to hear that Xicotl had been wounded, enough that a brow twitched upward, but the consequent calamity made any delight short-lived. Quintessa's revelation that the piece of Xicotl she'd studied had homed in on her location to allow for an ambush was news worth retaining, but her lack of a plan thereafter - at least temporarily while she awaited Kasyr's reply - left him feeling a little anxious. Skilled, swift, and deadly, he was wasted here in the middle of a meeting. " Soon as I know everything you've learned about its weaknesses, if any, I'll head out to hunt the bastard." The enigma addressed Quintessa, though his gaze returned to the Kensai halfway through. His fellow swordsman would know that he didn't need to wait for everyone else to successfully deal some blows.

Karasu || listens intently to Kasyr and Quintessa's declarations. From what she understood, the beast was plant based and already susceptible to fire, which was advantageous to her, but could be costly if others susceptible to fire were to position themselves too close. "Question." Karasu addresses the table. "Are we in possession of further physical pieces of Xicotl or his lackeys we can use as a lure? It seems the creature is drawn to pieces of its own creation if I'm understanding this right; we can work smarter having it come to us instead of vice versa."

Beldur listened with interest, but hearing it was wounded peeked his interest. "Before you go hunting on your own, at least formulate a plan. If it can be injured, it can be killed. But the question now is, how was it injured? Most of the report is damages, KIA's, MIA's and so forth." Flips through a couple pages as if to prove his point. "I agree, we need a plan."

Mathollak is being brought back to life by waffles. “Dam those were good. I gotta shake that guys hand.” But first, he realizes he has a job to do, but none of the tools to do it! “...Pen…?” He whispers meekly to no one in particular, before he becomes resourceful instead. “Nevermind.” He’ll just scratch the now empty plate with his fork. It’ll be like the olde days, carving into a slab. It’s actually -cooler- than paper. He scratches extremely weak notes, but has to interject. “Uhh what? Big Daddy, What a you saying? ‘The rest of the villages before Frostmaw?’ You mean like all those exiled people up there?” That’d be a lot of dead giants. A lot of dead friends. A blossoming trade deal in the trash. “...M…A…W.” He says rapidly scraping paint off the plate. “Okay Tessie what weak points what tactics I gotta record this for the bums, you know, the guys that couldn’t make it.” he says tapping his tablet with his chisel. Karasu adds something he inadvertently missed, “Ah! That’s good, I’ll add that.” He adds ‘likes its own brand’ to the tablet of notes. “You look real familiar by the way and I promise that’s not a line.” There’s a slight pause so he just adds words of encouragement. “This is all real good stuff guys.” He might need to get another plate soon.

Kasyr isn't quite sure what he expected, but honestly, even with the slight 'nuances' that this conversation has developed, he'll still take it. "I guess, i'll go in reverse. First off. I think there's only 1 Frostmawian village- The rest were scattered through the Cenril kelay area, and towards -that- area. A lot of smaller regions." Though, if they didn't stop this, it'd -still- be a lot of dead Giants. "As for the Injury...uh. Myself and Magik combined our efforts into a spell that we -probably- shouldn't have cast. But, given the efficiency at which the Turnip eradicated the village- we didn't see any harm in reducing the area to molten glass, and scorched earth. That's the scale of what we did. There -isn't- really a trace of the village left, et that's what it took for us to sever one of it's tendrils. " It was likely a bit overkill, frankly, but- better to be safe then sorry. Especially when you're trying to get an extra helping of noodly appendage. "I'd ask Quintessa about the Pieces- however much was crated es what we have. I -had- thought about the consideration of a lure, however- given if we can force it to attack an area on our own terms, that provides us more options- et providing a lure to someone like Myself or Krice means the lure would likely stay intact for quite some time as a distraction." Here's the part where he pauses, however, his hands clapping together to gesture towards Kailani, and Quintessa, "So, you -haven't- mentioned it's magical defenses et the research results, j'pense- et I feel that's something that should be addressed. Especailly since if we -do- use it as an option, it' will be...limited I think to decisive strikes. Also, If there's been any substantial developments from Researching our guest- I'd appreciate that news." And here the attention flickers back to Kailani, "That said- before we address things like it's defenses- I believe you'd been working on -restoring- the magic of our forces to a usable state, non?"

Kara + Tessa Whispering, The Rascals.

Karasu puts a hand over her mouth in an attempt to stifle her smile.

Mathollak said to Kasyr "Her name is Kailani and her name is Quintessa. Nobody named Joe Pence is here."

Kailani :: When compared to past WG meetings, this one seemed to be going fairly smoothly. So far. Mostly. Maybe. The information is presented and the gathered reacts in their way. Kailani is just soaking the entire scene is, though she does issue a light frown toward Krice. Would the gray-haired warrior try and fight this turnip on his own? If Kai was about to say something, she is completely distracted by the fact that Mathollak is using a fork to scratch notes into a plate. That. Sound. The druid tries her best to ignore it. Easily done when Kasyr goes and puts the spotlight on her, causing the woman to go momentarily wide-eyed. After clearing her throat, Kai speaks, "I very much wish to see the magic restored, for a number of reasons including being able to defeat Xicotl. A team was successful in restoring the Druid's Tree." Kai shares a pointed glance with Quintessa, for she was part of the team. "That leaves the one in Xalious." That seemed like a more than sufficient answer to Kai, who was eager to get back to being her usual reclusive self.

Quintessa nods her head in concurrence with what Kailani had brought up about the Eternal Tree, suggesting that healing it had been instrumental in providing a weapon against Xicotl. “Yes, that’s it,” Quintessa murmurs, setting her pipe on the table so she’d stop idly puffing on it. “ We noted that the thralls became weaker to natural magic after that, yours and Penelope’s magic in particular had increased effect. Besides that, elemental fire and acid seem to bypass their resistances, electricity and ice not so much.” She gives a nod to Karasu next. “And yes, we still have plenty of samples to use as bait. Xicotl sent its heavy hitters after us in response to cutting into the tentacle- if we use this knowledge against it we could perhaps prepare a trap. A preemptive strike. Like I’ve said before we cannot win a fight of attrition so we have to kill a lot of them with something big. A fire spell maybe.” She looks at Kasyr next, “I’m not sure what you used against it before but it might be time to use it again. We need something like that Genocide Spell those lizard people used, only against them and not ourselves.”

Quintessa said to Kailani "Oh... and while you are here I have something I need to give you. You don't mind staying for a little bit after the meeting right? It'll only take a moment."

Krice acknowledged Karasu's input with a glance, followed by attention directed at the animated nature of Mathollak's unusual note-taking, and then last from Kasyr to Kailani to note question and answer. Quintessa's input earned her his attention and though their history was a rocky one, he showed no animosity toward her. They were all here to kill a Big Bad, not to bitch at each other. If he thought anything of other information like overkill-sized spells and wiped out villages, he didn't express it. Having said all that he needed to say up to that point, the enigmatic swordsman held his silence after an agreeing, " Luring it to a location that we can control"--somewhere preferably barren to lessen collateral--"will allow for the best possible planning and highest chance of success."

Karasu makes a face when Mathollak addresses her. Her eyes flicker to the plate and fork combination, then back at him. "Yeah, I do get that a lot, and that better not be a line." To show her point, she takes Quintessa's hand and kisses the back of it while maintaining eye-contact with him. Taking in what Kailani says, her brows scrunch in thought. Wasn't there a leaf of the Xalious Tree left behind at the scene of a public kidnapping...? After Quintessa motions that she has finished her piece, and Krice agrees to the luring plan, Karasu adds, "The Xalious Tree -is- in rough shape, and so is the spellcasting ability of most mages in the area. Going against a demigod will require all of us to be in peak condition; we've lost too many lone wolves to this thing as it is. How soon can you start work on restoring the Xalious Tree? Nature magic and necromancy are not my fields, so I won't be able to assist there. After that's done will be the best time to set a trap for the little gremlin."

Kailani gives Quintessa a curious look. Something to give Kailani? "I should be able to stay. Depending on how long it runs."

Beldur sighs as the meeting progressed. Shela would slowly move to rest on his shoulders. That long tail of hers draping over him as he leaned against the wood of the table. "It sounds like our backs are against the wall in terms of magic with this thing. Even if we have powerful spells, those spells take time to cast, right? I haven't been able to get in touch with the Frost Giant nobles I aided in the past. But if I find them, we might be able to get some aid. So I'll make that my focus and let you know what they say if I meet them."

Kasyr said to Beldur, "What me and Magik did took a significant bit of time and resources that'd possibly burn out or kill most mages. And partly relied on it not knowing that it was coming."

Mathollak goes to get another plate of waffles. Actually gets two, and gives one to Kailani. His notes become diminished yet again, but presumably only one lucky bum will get the plate, and everyone else will get a transcribed version. He carves down ‘decisive strikes’ and a simple math problem. ‘Overkill = just-enough-kill?’ “Oh I see it seemed like it was resistant to magic because the trees were all icked. But actually magic works just fine against it okay let me get that down…” He scratches something akin to what he just said onto the plate and takes another bite of waffle-taco. “Somewhere barren? Then we could lure it to the Nameless Desert, hardly anything lives there. By choice at least, and it goes on forever. And then uhh…genocide spell. Okay…” Then Karasu kisses Quintessa’s hand in a way that seems vaguely threatening to him. So then he takes an entire waffle, folds it up, and sticks the whole thing in his mouth. Waffle guts go everywhere. “...Wlng…” he holds up a finger so he can swallow his food. “I can’t help with that either. Unless…nobody wants to just cut it down and grow a new one right?” He gets ready to write down the answer. Mathollak also adds after Beldur. "Oh and I'm going to see if my exile friends might've survived too." Then he looks at Beldur and glows. "We can see who's frost giant friends are better!"

Karasu stands and slams her hands on the table before Kasyr speaks. What Mathollak suggested was the verbal equivalent of treason in the Mage's Tower. "You can't cut it--!!" She catches herself and sits down, muttering an apology. Her nostrils flare as she motions for Kasyr to go ahead. Great, now Mathollak had to die.

Kasyr is doing his best to keep abreast of the notes, but his ears have, in the midst of a certain scratching nose, folded back against his head. He's got the gist of what's been said, though. "Karasu isn't wrong. Sentimentality aside, We don't actually know if cutting down would help, or just outright prevent a number of casters from properly using their art for years., decades, or more. So, that suggestion es nixed, monsieur. Go back to your waffles." There's a nod towards both Kailani and the likely still indignant demi-feline, "If we can restore it hastily, we -should- assign a team to do so, but I think at this juncture we need a team to monitor the situation." The Kensai nods, at this point, before glancing at the empty seats in the room, "We -should- also begin establishing a plan of action for an offensive. Since we're going to be working on establishing an ideal region for the conflict, ascertaining squadrons and who would be best to work together es something we need to figure out. "The War games had partly been meant for that- but so much kept happening. Always a fresh problem. "Er, but, Mathollak, before you get ahead of yourselves- Xicotl and it's forces -may- still build a resistance to magic over time. . . ." The kensai gives a sidelong look at Quintessa for confirmation here, "It's just that certain types of magic are -going- to work. Though, there are bypasses to that. Raw brute force, and magics that can simulate that...like creating an object et dropping it on forces- should work?" Stupid Brute violence as a viable solution -does- seem fairly Warriors Guild Ready, as far as options go. "Is there anything else we were able to muster from the Xicotl's remains? We have the lure, et an idea of it's vulnerabilties. Do we have anything to perhaps stave off it's attempts at converting new warriors, ou?"

Kailani: does not disagree that it should be done with haste. Though the Xalious tree is slightly more complicated than the Druid's tree. Still, Kailani does not argue, she just nods. It is something that is important and needs to be done. Kai is already giving Quintessa a look, as the changeling had played her part last time. Her mind was turning over the name -- oh look. Waffles.

Quintessa kisses Karasu’s hand back with a smile before motioning for one of the guards to come over to her, which after some confused hesitation he does. “Hey, you know that fancy shield I told you to never touch or else I’d gut you like Blackbear guts a fish? Well, hurry and go get it and don’t you dare make my friend Kai wait. Now go- Go!” And the guard rushes off to retrieve this item for her. For the remainder of the time she simply listened to the kensai, raising her brows at him when he looked to her for confirmation. “I mean, presumably. The thralls are naturally resistant to arcane magic so it might not be a good solution at all. In the end it might come down to outfighting them in an arena of our own design. We’ve been playing by Xicotl’s rules so far so let's do things on our terms this time.” It was at this point that the guard returned with the shield, a buckler made of darkwood and stained with a deep varnish. “Kailani, I feel you will be instrumental in the coming days and though I cannot join you in the fray this time I hope when you use this shield it’ll be like I’m right there with you.” Quintessa hands the druid the magical item. “I painted it with a special lacquer, making the shield as strong as steel while remaining as light as a feather. I hope you find it useful.”

Depending on your location within the lands, a rumbling sound can be heard echoing at a great distance, reverberating for a disturbing length of time. Those that are closest to Frostmaw would not only hear it the loudest, but they would feel the earth quake and roll beneath their feet. The sensation is reduced for those in the Xalious and Venturil area, but still easily noticed. If only there were a group of tough warriors to go investigate...

Kasyr said, " Merde."

Mathollak abandons his waffle. "Meeting adjourned," he says somewhat epicly, and then he goes back to his room to change.

Krice considered talk of the magical trees, in particular the Xalious Tree. His demeanor shifted a little darker than usual as a result, given recent history, but he was amenable to the conversation related to its healing. What a shame it -needed- healing in the first place. Instinctively more attuned to his surrounds than other humans were to theirs, Krice seemed jolted from the conversation by something as yet unseen, a blink to the ground sweeping upward to the entrance. The meeting might not have been over, but he turned to depart anyway. The enigmatic swordsman jogged from the group to exit, where a slightly unsettled dark-green wyvern awaited his return. She invited him to her back and beat her way into the sky, aware of her rider's haste to reach Frostmaw.

Beldur blinks as the quake happened. Shela would growl at the unnatural quake as she lifts her head. The large warrior would stand and head to the exit. Not saying anything before he left the door. Poking his head back in to the rest of the group. "Does this mean the meeting is over and we can investigate this?"

Kailani :: The timing of Quintessa gifting Kailani with this shield was apt indeed, given the ruckus that was just heard. It is not every day that the druid receives a gift and one that seems like it will be particularly useful given why everyone is meeting today. When it seems like the trembling of the earth has concluded, Kailani gives Quintessa a sincere smile, "Thank you, Quintessa. I believe I will be testing this out very soon." Mathollak had said it first. Meeting adjourned. The group had a noise they needed to leave to go investigate.

Karasu bristles as the ground beneath her trembles, her curly deep violet curls fluffing out like a cat's coat would. "Something's wrong." Pulling the dried golden leaf from her bag, preserved from when it was dropped at the center of the Frostmaw arena, Karasu feels her body go cold with realization before the floor of the stone keep cracks as a result of the quake. "Sh...!" The leg of her chair falls into a crack, sending her to the ground, from which she rises quickly. The thought of what's in store for the Xalious Tree is forced to wait, as another danger has decided to make itself more pressing for now. Turning to Beldur, she nods in confirmation. "There's no way that was a coincidence."

Kasyr looks unfathomably frustrated, if only because in a single instance- the start of their tactical discussions goes out the window faster than a twit during a Kelay Bar fight. "Right. We're going to investigate- but bring everything you can. We assume the worst. if you have forces, mobilize them, we'll gather as close tot he scene as we can safely mobilize- if you have an aerial avenue, take it- since that'll minimize forces falling into sink holes et the like." Having seen an entire village more or less consumed, this seemed prudent. "Mathollak!" He's likely half out the door already, but just in case. "Make sure to send out missives to those who weren't there. We need to gather all available and ready hands- so we can figure out our next course of action." And, just in case anyone is still there, "Our priorities are intel- and if the situation is bad, rescue, stablizing the area, and then creating an opening to go after our garden variety problem. Adjourned."