RP:Long Hard Road Out Of Hell

Part of the Through The Looking-Glass: Return To Wonderland Arc

This is a Devout's Guild RP.

This is a Necromancer's Guild RP.

This is a Warrior's Guild RP.

Summary: Not long after Dominic's kidnapping, Khitti, Brand, Kailani, and Quintessa set out to retrieve him from the Shadow Plane and to deal with his captors, Jessamine and James. Surprisingly, it turns out the three year old is quite capable of taking care of himself, much like his parents.

Eternal Forest, Larket

Khitti || There would be hardly any sleep for Khitti until they’d gone to the Shadow Plane, leaving her to keep the nightmares the situation brought on at bay with plenty of coffee and the adrenaline her anxiety was fueling her with. The redhead was barely with it, nearly clinging to Brand at every moment of the day when she wasn’t crying her eyes out in their room on the Tranquility, even if he had decided he still needed to attend to work things. Even now she clung to them as they rode to Larket on Brand’s tikifhlee, her own saber-toothed cat running along beside them, with Khitti’s weapons packed away in its saddlebags. She felt like a failure, a horrid mother, and a terrible wife all wrapped up into one awful package and it showed, guilt and sorrow written all over her face. She couldn’t even look anyone in the eye; this last blow from Jessamine and James Juniper had been enough to put out the usually ever-burning fire within her.

Khitti || When help would arrive, they’d get no smile, and barely even a greeting from Khitti. “Hey…” She paused, crimson brows furrowing as she tried to get her thoughts straight enough to give them a bit of info, “I’m sorry, that I didn’t get much of a chance to explain things further to the two of you. The two that have been corrupting the Shadow Plane were created by one of Kahran’s generals, to kill Brand and I. Their master might be gone… but the creations are still popping up out of nowhere. Jessamine is something akin to a death knight and James seems to be some sort of mage hunter, and both of them excel in manipulation.” Khitti sighed heavily and rubbed at her eyes. This all felt pointless. It was entirely likely that this Dominic went the route of his predecessor, so why even bother? “Any magic besides dark types are somewhat weakened in the Shadow Plane… but that doesn’t mean it’s not still useful.” Khitti would allow questions to be asked as she opened the portal, the somatic gestures needed to do so somewhat lethargic--it’s a wonder the thing even opened at all. And if there were no questions, Khitti would leave Brand’s side for once in quite some time and head through the gateway to the Shadow Plane.

Brand was keeping his feelings at bay the same way he always did: by denying they existed. This was fine! It was fine. Everything. Was. Fiiiiine. Besides, he needed to be strong for Khitti (because he’s an unironic follower of traditional gender roles for some frakking reason. Never mind the amount of trouble such prescriptiveness had caused in the past -- Brand wasn’t much of one to self-examine, unless he was admiring himself in the mirror). Once Khitti finished explaining the situation, Brand didn’t have much to add. Only: “Oh, and if you see any of us doing weird stuff like wandering all zombielike toward the baddies… assume there are mind control shenanigans and act accordingly. Friends don’t let friends get siren-songed into oblivion.” Total nonchalance. (Because dealing with mind manipulators is an easy peasy task. Right?) With that, he’d nod and follow Khitti.

Kailani arrives, as she was asked to arrive. The blue-haired druid is donned in her usual attire, which consists of hardened leather armor, a ranseur, and a couple of other miscellaneous items that are stored in bags and baubles that dangle off her belt. The druid has had perhaps one or two conversations with Khitti about the matter she is trying to brief them on....So that fact that druid is actually full of questions really is not something that should be much of a surprise. What might be more a surprise, at least to anyone but Khitti, is that the hermitish woman does not actually voice any of these questions. Why, she barely even greets the group with a verbal hello. It's more like a nod of understanding, one given to Khitti after she is done speaking, next to Brand, and...maybe Quintessa? Or maybe the druid acknowledges Quintessa's presence in a different way. See, Khitti and Brand were so quick to enter through the portal. Kailani is a bit less eager, and thus ends up matching Quintessa's entrance in stride.

Quintessa had tried over and over to write Khitti a return letter, but every time she tried she broke her quill in anger. The changeling wasn't the nicest person in Lithrydel, plotting assassinations and performing coups, but she never targeted children; That was for the lowest of the low. Quintessa was a -respectable- cutthroat. After three or four failed attempts had gone into the trash, the changeling decided that she'd show her support in person. The Syndicate of Shadows was now offically watching over Khitti and her family under Quintessa's orders, so she wouldn't be hard to follow. When Quintessa finally showed up she was bristling with rage, her aura spiking chaotically as she pushes through the trees. "I'm here," announces the hex blade, dressed in her combat leathers and equipped with her katana gifted to her by Lionel. Listening to the words of those gathered here she fidgets impatiently, thoughts of removing the heads from whoever had been the one's who kidnapped Khitti and Brand's son. "Don't use non-dark magic," she repeats, "We're dealing with mind controlling abilities too," Somewhat more worrisome. With a slight roll of her neck, the changeling sighs. Her first trip to the Shadow Plane was already shaping up to be a memorable one. Slowly following inside next to Kailani, the changeling steps through the portal slowly her mismatched eyes fixed ahead. "Anything else we should know about? Isn't this place filled with toxic spores or something?"

The Lake Of Echoed Screams, The Shadow Plane

Khitti || The changeling’s question had come just before Khitti decided to head through to the other side, the redhead taking a moment to shake her head, “No. Hardly anything is the way it’s supposed to be there. It’s something Kailani and I have to take care of afterward… but likely not today.” No, today would be dedicated to retrieving Dominic and getting rid of Caiburne’s creations. Once she was through the portal, Khitti opened her mouth to yell at Jessamine and James Juniper, the redhead trying to find her fighting spirit once more. She’d wanted to tell them that she wasn’t doing this again. That she knew how to make Jessamine talk. That she wanted her son back. That their end was going to come now. Khitti wanted to go full on Molly Weasley and yell ‘That’s my son, you bitch!’ to Jessamine (even if that’s not -exactly- what Mrs. Weasley said), but… Khitti didn’t get that far. Her mouth was opened, but no words came out. No words came out because she was too focused on the fact that all hell had broken loose in the area known as the Lake of Echoed Screams, but it was not of her doing. Or Brand’s, or Quintessa’s, or Kailani’s. Screams and maniacal giggling could be heard through this part of the forest, the former originating from a very much on fire human-dryad hybrid named Jessamine--she was curiously engulfed in both shadowfire --and-- the normal kind--while her partner, the human-treant James, was frozen solid in a block of shadow-ice. The latter of these noises, that giggling, was much harder to place. It seemed to be on the east side of the lake at one moment, only for it to be heard coming from the north seconds later. The source of the giggling would make its circuit around the lake and as it got closer, that strange ‘bamf’ sound that came with Khitti’s shadow-stepping could also be heard--but, of course, it wasn’t coming from Khitti herself. The culprit? It was none other than Khitti and Brand’s three year old, Dominic. Clearly, this was all a game to him and he soon set James aflame as well, so he matched the other trees. This only served to thaw the tree-dude, unfortunately, and it allowed James to soon put out the flames in Jessamine’s hair.

Khitti || Pure white snow had fallen on the corpse-covered ground, a contrast to the purple and red flames that ate away at the majority of the trees, the thick blue veins--full of Jessamine and James’ brand of corruption--that stemmed from the lake still pulsating and covering nearly everything at this point, outstretching further into the White Woods to the south. Amongst all of it, beyond Dominic’s various types of ice and fire, were deep, dark splotches, left by the child’s acidic shadow globs. Only minutes had gone by, since everyone had passed through the portal. It took only minutes for Dominic to continue his reign of toddler terror on the two that had plagued Khitti and Brand’s lives for nearly a year--how had it been so difficult for the Herzeglers to deal with Jessamine and James but so simple for their kid? Khitti would not have long to process all of this because suddenly he’d spot his beloved parents and run over to them. Okay, so it was half running, half shadow-stepping because he can’t quite control his abilities yet. “Mommy! Daddy!” Tiny, pudgy hands were outstretched to hug them, one filled with the flames of his mother, while the other held the flames of his father. “I think I’m going to die in fire again soon,” Khitti said finally. Thankfully, the flames were snuffed out before he got to them, Khitti scooping him up into her arms, “Did you have fun with your babysitters?” Dominic raised his arms up to the heavens with glee, “YES!” Meanwhile, Jessamine’s fire had been put out, and both her and James just glowered at the five of them. “I should’ve known your child would end up being a bigger freak than you are, Harbinger. I’ve had it with these games!” The dryad’s unholy chains popped up out of the ground like metal daisies, shackled themselves to Khitti’s ankles, and dragged her towards their wielder. And there goes Dominic. He’s up in the air now. Khitti had to toss him. RIP.

Brand || In a parallel universe, Brand was absolutely 100% a jock. And while -this- Brand might not be aware of such a fact -- he was a little bit too busy watching his child’s reign of terror and subsequent fall through the air to contemplate such philosophical nonsense -- he was nonetheless quick to slip into ‘sportsball mode’. As Dominic neared an unpleasant reunion with the ground, Brand lunged forward in the kind of desperate sprawl of a football player in overtime. His knees and elbows scraped over cold, hard ground… but his catch made it all worth it. Brand pulled his face out of the snow to see Dominic neatly draped across his two outstretched hands, none the worse for wear (and in fact, giggling and shouting to be thrown again).

Kailani had half a mind to attempt to amplify that magics being used to torment both this James and Jessamine, for as she understood it they both needed to die? Not that Kailani is kill happy, mind you. She just has (possibly misplaced) trust that Khitti is not and that this decision has not been made lightly. They did kidnap her child after all. Alas, Kailani misses this chance for the magics plaguing James and Jessamine fade away, leaving them free to wreck further havoc in what is an already chaotic scene. Khitti is reunited with her child, but only briefly because of Jessamine's actions. Dominic is sent flying into the air, only to be caught by dad...Good job, pops. While it might seem like the most logical course of action is to rush forward, ranseur wielded, in chase of Khitti...but to Kailani this is the more reckless choice to make in lands she's really just not familiar with. For now, she'll keep her distance and wait for the proper moment to strike. It kind of seems to Kailani like they'd be expecting and welcoming everyone to just charge right on forward.

Quintessa is impressed with Dominic's magical prowess, really, the kid had practically rescued himself. The changeling was about to gloat or mock the pair of villains for their incompetence when the wicked chains burst through the ground and thwarted the strange teenager's plans of taunting them. "Son-uv-a-" is all Quintessa manages to get out before she starts into a sprint, her lithe hand on the hilt of her sword as she chases after Khitti. "Ar-frys!" the hex blade shouts, already forgetting the Templar's advice about using non-shadow magic in this realm. Her haste spell is sluggish to take effect but it slowly speeds the changeling up, giving her a chance to bypass Khitti and slice downward at the chains that bind her, attempting to free her from her bondage.

Khitti || Kailani’s idea of staying put for the moment was a good one. While Khitti was being dragged away and Brand was catching a football--I mean, his son--Jessamine took it upon herself to summon their own creations. Clearly, Kahran’s non-blood family tree was an ever-growing, yet tiring one--emphasis on the ‘tiring’ part. Corrupted beast and humanoid alike crept out of the shadows between the blue-veined trees, the lot of them riddled with sores and strange blue mold. The sores in particular had tiny vines peeking out of them, that of which also ran throughout the creatures’ entire bodies. Spiders, like Khitti and Brand’s spider son, Francis, leapt out from the trees as unusually tall and skinny, dark-skinned human and elf-like beings--ones that were -definitely- not from Lithrydel--headed towards the Kailani. Khitti’s tikifhlee, having come through the portal with Brand’s own, was quick to dodge around the incoming danger and snatched Dominic out of Brand’s arms with its front teeth, carefully carrying the kid around by his shirt, like a mother cat carrying her cub. It’d have to keep moving, unfortunately, because where the heck was safe around here right now? Well, at least it’s well acquainted with the place it was born in.

Khitti || Meanwhile, Quintessa managed to save Khitti, despite the fact that her spell was slow to work. The redhead clawed her way to her feet, summoning up two shadowfire balls once she was upright again, both of them lobbed at Jessamine’s hair. That’ll keep her busy for a moment, anyway--and it did, because Jessamine promptly started screaming again. “You should, uh, stab her or something,” Khitti said finally to Quintessa, “I’ll be right back!” Bamf! Khitti disappeared, in much the same way Dominic had, trying to follow the maniacal cackling of her son as the sabertooth cats tried to protect him. She managed to shadow-step her way onto her cat and dug around in its saddlebag, risking the possibility of either being chomped on or tossed aside. Grabbing both Embershard and Tenbatsu Kaji in time to get bucked off, Khitti shadow-stepped her way towards Jessamine again, both swords aflame. “You remember how I said I was going to kill you? Well, it’s happening now.” Cue much stabbing and slashing from Khitti, as Jessamine tried to counter the blows with her unholy chains.

Brand || James wasn’t going to give up without a fight. The treant had been chanting a long, complex spell since the moment he’d doused the flames that threatened Jessamine, and now The Gang (TM) were about to find out just what that spell did. The ground beneath each of their feet would seem to whirl like water in a drain, a spell meant to slow their movements and dull their minds. Brand (who of course didn’t have all that many working brain cells to begin with) found that trying to process what was happening felt a bit like trying to speak past a mouthful of cotton. He blinked to try to clear the sensation away, but it persisted. And slowly, he became aware of the group of nasty looking creatures that had now surrounded him and the others. Several of them lunged at him, and he could barely even defend himself in time, much less form any sort of counterattack. He was probably going to need some help -- but his comrades-in-arms? They were probably in the same kind of trouble he was… not that he could spare the moment he’d need to check on them. Quintessa and Kailani were on their own, and Brand could only hope they were better at repelling the spells and creatures than he was.

Kailani was only of the mindset to bring about the death of two particular individuals in this scene, though the druid is not actively working toward being the one to seal their fates. That seems more of an honor to leave to Khitti. Brand also did bring up a notable point at the start of this mission, any one of them could be put into a zombie-like state due to mind control. So, corrupt or not corrupt, spider or humanoid beings will be met with non-lethal action as a result of their approach to Kailani. The druid would wield her ranseur, utilizing the non-bladed end of her polearm to stun and incapacitate the creatures attacking. A task made not so simple with the spell that James has just cast, but ah well, Kailani is set in her course of action. The druid half considers attempting to charm the spiders to her side of the fight...but in the end opts to avoid magical endeavors for now.

Quintessa skids to a halt, her heeled boots kicking up dirt and rocks as the chain whips away from her back to Jessamine. The changeling's mismatched eyes flicker up at her teacher and she gives her a once over to make sure everything was in order. "Um, sure," Quintessa says to Khitti's suggestion, her gaze turning back to Jessamine as she screams in agony. The hexblade wasn't going to give this woman a chance to recover. Bringing her katana out to her side, Quintessa utters the word "Tywyll," and the steel of her blade lit aflame with black shadow-fire. "Tân tri phlyg!" She screams, whipping her weapon around to slice in the air between her and her target, conjuring a wave of ebon flames each time she swung. A quick one-two-three, just like if she was doing katas sends a trio of flaming waves down upon Jessamine, attempting to immolate much more than her hair. This would at least give her mentor the opening she needed to retrieve her swords and press her attack.

Khitti || Well, Khitti had tried to go attack Jessamine, but… that suddenly got very difficult thanks to James and his slowing spell. Jessamine succeeded in shackling Khitti again, though only just one arm. The pull of the chains and the burn from the magic force Khitti to drop Embershard and Khitti only has a second to look around at the others. Kailani was holding her own well, and Quintessa was certainly going to be needed. Brand however? Brand was definitely going to need some help. Sacrificing her other weapon to help her husband, Khitti yanked on the chain a few times, jerking Jessamine forward and buying Khitti a moment to throw Tenbatsu Kaji at the Catalian. “Be nice!” was the only warning given to the sword as she threw it at Brand, but whether it was for him or for the sprite in the sword was unclear--after all, neither Seika nor Brand particularly cared much for one another. Regardless, the flames on the katana grew brighter, using the holy magic to propel itself towards Brand, bypassing James’ magic.

Khitti really wished she had telepathy right now. She wished she could tell Kailani to keep up the good work with incapacitating the zombified creatures--they might be able to be saved after all! She wanted to tell the tikifhlee to just leave with Dominic, if it looked like things were not going the way they should. She wished she could do something other than constantly getting all chained up! Someone, somewhere must’ve been listening, because out of nowhere, several spirits manifested amongst all the fighting. They phased in and out of existence, between this world and Lithrydel for a few moments, before becoming as corporeal as a ghost could possibly get. For the moment, they set their sights on James, a collective banshee scream used to throw him off his spellwork. It would appear that Emilia’s daughter, Lynn, had not let Khitti down.

Khitti || “~You might want to kill the tree now~”, Seika said to Brand when the sword finally reached him. Once again, Brand had someone else’s voice in his head and he probably wasn’t going to be too happy about it. “~Those ghosts aren’t going to last forever~”. A few ghosts broke off from the group, some going to help Kailani knock the rest of the corrupted zombie out, while others came to aid Khitti and Quintessa. They clawed at Jessamine, ripped out the singed vines that entwined throughout her hair and along her body, the dryad screaming throughout the whole attack. “Quintessa… go help Kailani. Do -not- kill them.“ Khitti’s words were awfully stern, but she didn’t even look at the girl. Instead, she pulled on the chain again, dragging Jessamine to her as the ghosts continued their onslaught. Just like before when Brand was in need of rescuing, Khitti grabbed Jessamine by the throat, “I should’ve did this a long time ago.” Shadowflames were summoned up again in her free hand, the purple fire eating away at Jessamine’s plant-like flesh on her chest. Without hesitation, Khitti did to her just as she’d done to another pain in the ass from the Shadow Plane: she ripped out her viney little heart and set it on fire! Yeah, sorry, Kailani. You may have misjudged Khitti a little. This chick had it coming though.

Brand had a voice in his head again. Joy. At least he knew the source of this one, though -- and thus knew it would be temporary. And even if it wasn’t, there were more important things to worry about right now. Like cutting down James Juniper. It took some time -- especially since he was still fighting off the slowing magic -- but eventually and with the help of Tenbatsu Kaji, he was able to cut himself a path to the treant. They stood face to face; their eyes locked. Brand was startled to find some sort of sadness in the treant’s eyes -- regret, perhaps, but Brand would never know for sure. With Khitti’s holy sword in hand, Brand sliced through the treant’s core, and the light in its eyes went dim. It seemed too easy, especially after the hell the treant had wrought on the Herzegler pair. It crossed Brand’s mind that this might be more magic frakkery, and the real James might still be plotting things somewhere. But the ash and dust of the treant’s corpse seemed real enough, and for now Brand would have to be content with that.

Kailani :: Had Kailani misjudged Khitti? In the heat of the moment this was not something that the druid was going to spend much time dwelling over, it was a little too late for that. Any distraction was a misstep and Kailani could not afford one of those at the moment. The goal was really to fend off as many opponents as she could in support of Khitti and Brand so that they could slay the two bad guys they had set out here to defeat and bring the KhittiBrand minion back to safety. Quintessa's help would be grateful, so long as the changeling's goals would align with the druids goals of not harming the creatures potentially under mind control...At least until the death of James and Jessamine, eh? It is likely that Kailani will consider the manner in which Khitti opted to kill Jessamine, but that would likely take place in solitude and once they have actually made it back to their homelands.

Quintessa stumbles a step back as she feels something bearing down upon her psyche, the mind-affecting magic she was warned about taking hold while the hex blade was distracted with her attack. A pale hand is brought up to the changeling's head as she tries to shake the spell away, but she can't break its influence. Stunned and immobilized, the shadow elf-like creatures tear into Quintessa, knocking her to the ground as razor-sharp claws rend her flank. She cries out in pain but the sensation gives her a moment of clarity. The spell over her mind breaks and instantly the changeling brings her hand up to cast a defensive spell, "Cragen iâ!" Around the changeling materializes a dome of ice, slicing one of the attacking creatures in half as it lunges at her. Quintessa quickly pins the squirming upper half down and finishes it of with her dagger, waiting until it stopped moving before looking up at the surrounding enemies. They beat and cracked her shield incessantly, weakening it little by little until Lynn's ghosts arrived. The corrupted creatures surrounding her were all momentarily distracted by them long enough for Quintessa to reach out and cast her shatter-point spell. "Egwyl!" As the hex blade calls out her word of power, her hand touches her ice-shell and it explodes outward in large chucks, knocking all the surrounding foes to the ground. Quintessa hurries to her feet, discarding her dagger so she can pluck her katana from the ground and retreat. When Khitti tells Quintessa to help Kailani but not to kill anyone, she rolls her eyes in exasperation. "Now you tell me..." Could Quintessa even fight non-lethally? Still, the changeling does as she's told and joins the half-elf, bashing an enemy on the druid's flank with the hilt of her sword before squaring up back-to-back. Seriously, how was this going to work? Flipping the blade around like a pacifist samurai she once read about, Quintessa fends the creatures off by whacking them with the false blade, all the while trying to ignore the stinging in her back wound.

Khitti || Both Jessamine and James seemingly went the Khitti route of things and had themselves a lovely fiery death--though perhaps not quite to the extent Khitti did. With those two gone, any of the remaining conscious baddies become quite docile. And the unconscious ones? They’d be very much the same once they awoke. They certainly weren’t back to normal, however. The blue veins that covered everything in the vicinity and beyond were no longer pulsating as they had been, but they remained just as the viney sores and blue mold on the Shadow Plane denizens remained. Lynn’s ghosts faded away; their time had finally come and now they travelled on to the void that awaited everyone after death.

Khitti just stared at the ashes in her hands for a few minutes once the fighting had subsided. She couldn’t quite break that kick of ripping out hearts, apparently, and she wondered if it was something she should attempt to get help with. But, that didn’t matter right now. Khitti’s train of thought was derailed but the hysterical giggling of one Catalian child that has not stopped giggling this entire time. How does he have all of this energy? Why can’t Khitti’s writer have some of it? That aside, Khitti tossed the ashes into the lake, retrieved Embershard from the ground, and headed over to where everyone else was, leaving Jessamine’s body to be reclaimed by the Shadow Plane eventually.

Khitti || “We’re going to have to come back, Kailani. I don’t think any of us are in any state to attempt to heal this place now… and I need to find a couple of treants. One of which likely still needs healing,” Khitti said, frowning. The Prophet Emeritus had not made an appearance, despite threats made by Jessamine and James some time ago. Where had he gone…? And where the hell was Cirice now for that matter? Surely they hadn’t stayed in Helshade after the incident with James and Brand. “We’ll do it properly this time, because I’m getting too damned old for all of these constant surprises.” RIP. Khitti was starting to sound like Brand now.

Brand rejoined the others, winded from the prolonged battle and more than a little wounded. “Let’s never do that again,” he said, and handed Tenbatsu Kaji back to its owner. He was intentionally vague about what exactly ‘that’ was -- the fighting? The trip to the Shadow Plane? Murdering tree-people? -- but he totally meant joining forces with Seika and dealing with the spirit’s voice inside his head. He’d had enough of mind-intrusion for one lifetime, that was for damn sure. “I think we’re done, though? We can heal up once we get back home. The Tranquility’s healer will be around to help; I asked him in advance.”

Kailani :: Since none of the creatures that were summoned were back to their normal state, at least as far as Kailani could ascertain given this was her first visit here, the druid did not see reason to linger in the area for long. Not that she could conjure up a way out of here. Instead a nod was given to Khitti immediately after the redhead highlights that they would be returning. Brand and Quintessa were also given a nod, this one...because yay, they survived. And everyone seemed to be in mostly one piece, not that the healer was going to fret over it too much, especially not here. By the sounds of it, they'd already made their own plans for their healing needs. Blue eyes are quick to return to Khitti, expectantly awaiting the redhead to take them home.

Quintessa was out of breath by the end of the encounter and she couldn't even find the energy to return the blade to its sheath as she follows after the half-elf. "I should... really stop... smoking..." she puffs, slinging her katana over her shoulder as she congregates with Brand, Khitti, and Dominic. Quintessa thinks she heard something about a healer, and as sticky crimson fluid dripped from her back she considered going to the Tranquility with them. "I'll probably take you up on that." Mismatched eyes fell upon the child and she gave him a pointed smile. "And you. Big sister Tessa is going to have to show you a few tricks later." She glances at Khitti before she adds, "Maybe when you are a little older." The hex blade knew talent when she saw it.

Khitti could almost sense the anticipation both Brand and Kailani had to get the heck out of this place. She wished the Shadow Plane did not have a tendency to freak people out or severely traumatize them, as it would make coming back a whole hell of a lot easier. Khitti would nod at Kailani, then eyed both Brand and Quintessa with a smirk. At this point, she was so damned tired she just kinda shrugged at the three and opened a portal to go back to somewhere that was potentially worse than the Shadow Plane: Larket. Ew.