[Job] Curiosity Kills the Cat (Francois Prideheart/Lily Ambrosia/RF007)

Job Details:

From her vantage point on top of Basin Lily had a good view of the surrounding area. Behind her was Peace Village, usually so tranquil that it had earned that name, now in disarray as all those pleasant villagers were trying not to burst into a full-blown panic.

The dryad could understand their concerns: while Peace Village was behind her, in the distance there was an unearthly miasma spreading across the land, an aura encompassing not a single or even a handful of undead, but an entire host of ghasts, ghouls, wraiths, and other lifeless souls who had returned from beyond the veil.

As pleasant and friendly as Lily almost always was, this time around her expression was so dour as to almost be thunderous: her eyes narrowed as she glared at the army in the distance, which slowly but surely was approaching the village. She could see farther than most, but if she was judging their movements correctly it'd take two more days before the undead legions arrived at the village, at which point all those friendly souls living here would find a painful and swift end. Those that didn't manage to escape, at least.

"This isn't going to be easy."

She sighed. As much as she'd like to immediately head out and get to work returning all those vengeful spectres to their eternal rest she wasn't quite so stupid as to believe she could tackle an entire army by herself, even if she had Basin, Nepo, and Saku by her side. Especially an armour which was shrouded in as vile a magical cloak as this one. Even the bravest of souls would pause in the face of such an enemy, and Lily wasn't exactly the epitome of bravery.

Which was good, because it meant that Basin hadn't needed to get involved in keeping the dryad safe.

Fortunately this problem was apparently big enough that some of the adventurers amongst the stonedwellers would be helping out as well. Lily's acceptance of the job had been rather hasty, simply claiming responsibility the moment she heard that there was a host of undead which needed to be dealt with, but if she waited a little longer she'd meet the other adventurers who'd accepted this mission.

Lily had been at the village for a while already, trying to figure out more details about the situation in case there were useful pieces of information to be found. Such as why the army was marching straight for Peace Village. Unfortunately that particular question had been left unanswered, but the dryad had come across the reason why this army had formed in the first place.

Once the villagers had realised that Lily was there to help them with their predicament a little girl had timidly tried to draw her attention, and once the two of them were alone (with Basin, of course) a very conflicted and frightful girl had explained how she and her twin sister had found a cat, only to find out that the cat was possessed by a ghost which had then claimed the twin sister as its new host before disappearing, with the lifeless legion rising from an ancient battlefield soon after.

With how nervous the girl had been she'd probably expected to get scolded and blamed, but the dryad had done her best to calm the girl down and assured her that the undead would be dealt with and her sister returned safely. A bit of a tall order, given the obstacles involved, but Lily wasn't the kind of person to just tell a little girl to accept that her sister was dead and move on.

"I hope that our friends are strong: what do you think?"

Basin, the stone elemental who served as her companion and vehicle, remained motionless while the leaf-haired girl watched the slowly encroaching dark in the distance. Zirs silence spoke for itself, neither optimistic nor pessimistic: the other two souls brave enough to face an army undead would be either strong or weak, and there was no telling which until they'd arrived. Lily nodded as if Basin had said as much, caressing the mossy stone-hide of her eternal friend with a single oak-brown hand.

"They'll be here soon, and then we can think of a way to deal with this."

Another sigh escaped her.

"I'd admire their tenacity, but... No, no matter."

WC: 727
PWC: 727
TWC: 727/14,000

@Francois Prideheart @RF007

It had been a while since Rotwang's latest adventures and this latest one had come in the form of his most recent research project which involved using the genetic engineering portion of his overall medicosurgical magical arts to encode his genome with the core genes of various powerful, rare, and exotic entities such as dragons, insects, elemental beings, demons, etc. During this adventure, Rotwang also ended up delving into Take-Over magic as a means to elicit the activation of these various genetic loci to induce the manifestation of the associated phenotype traits on his base body which was intended to allow him to harness the slew of powers and abilities which were known to be inherent to each of these entities, albeit only temporarily.

Since then, Rotwang had returned to the grind of his daily life which meant involving himself either voluntarily or involuntarily in various activities. These various activities included things such as attending to his formal studies, accompanying his parents with all the routine inspections that they did of their mafia family's many business assets, going to mingle with the heirs as well as the heiresses of other families which were also ultra-rich and highly influential similar to his own, and naturally also immersing himself in the pursuit of his various interests.

The chief among these was none other than his two true loves. More specifically, these two were his ongoing and ever-burgeoning mad science research studies and his similarly long-standing and ever-increasing fascination with pop culture, history, and mythology. Of course, these relatively peaceful days that he had been enjoying to some degree came to an end in a manner that was as surreal as it was abrupt. This interruption came in the form of his iLac which was brought to him by one of his maids from its recharging station present on his smart table

Hmm...what is this memo about? Another one of those summons that are often sent to me by my parents? Is it another invite to some gala? Is it some project that my instructors have assigned to me? Whatever the case may end up being, may the Norns see fit to ensure that it will not become too tedious...as that would be...truly troublesome...

Rotwang thought thus silently as he stirred awake from beneath the veritable mountain of research notes, medical and surgical textbooks, piles upon piles of failed model designs for gadgets of various kinds, experimental chemical concoction recipes, etc. He had immersed himself deeply as always in furthering his mad science research studies since this was one of his rare days away from the usual hustle and bustle of his daily life and academic work and at some point, fallen asleep without realizing it due to his penchant for willfully ignoring his bodily needs, especially that for sleep, and that was why he now found himself amidst the rather chaotic environment which was his private lab.

After he managed to finally drag himself out from underneath this heap that he had been lying under within the confines of said private lab which he had set up to be located on the grounds of his estate which was located in the residential district of "Crocus", aka the capital city of Fiore along with all the others that were also present there. Then, as Rotwang perused the memo's contents after receiving them from one of the maids in his entourage who had come to deliver it to him, he realized that it was a memo that had been sent to him by his specific superiors at his guild, "Silver Wolf", with instructions to undertake the job mentioned therein

Hmm...Let us see here...This job entails...dealing with an army of undead which has been summoned forth by...an ancient general from Earthland's days of yore who has somehow been...reborn as a common feline...which has been recently found by a pair of sisters of whom, it has possessed one...How bothersome, indeed...to be assigned a job for which the requisite abilities and magic are not present in my repertoire...Oh well, this sort of activity cannot be helped since my research consumes a vast quantity of resources, both in materials...and in terms of funding...and that means this job will be important in replenishing my quickly dwindling stock of said resources and funding...Therefore...it would be wise to just keep an open mind to allow myself the ability to adapt to whatever challenges this new situation may end up having for me...Now then, it is about time to get ready to begin heading out to the site of this job, "Peace Village"...

Rotwang thought thus silently as he spent a few minutes contemplating the job that he had been assigned to undertake by his specific superiors at his guild, "Silver Wolf". After doing so and snapping out of his silent reverie, he proceeded with his daily morning rituals which he normally did before readying himself to handle his work for the day. Afterward, he finished his preparations by donning his physician-scientist outfit since it was his default attire ensemble of choice in most if not all situations regardless of their nature. Once that was done, he informed his retinue about his intended whereabouts for the day and headed out after making sure to equip himself properly with his various equipment pieces which were stored in the pockets of his outfit in strategically chosen and easily accessible places.

Thankfully, it did not take Rotwang too long to reach "Peace Village" where this most recent job would be taking place due to the slew of most recent, fully custom-designed, fully custom-built upgrades that he had chosen to install in his custom vehicle, namely the vintage limo that he had purchased a long time ago and refitting according to his aesthetic. Once there, he wasted no further time in heading over to meet with the remaining one of the sisters who was his client for this specific job which had been assigned to him by his guild's top brass.

"Greetings and salutations, my name is "Rotwang Frankenstein" and my allegiance lies with the "Silver Wolf" guild. The successful resolution of this job as well as all of its associated challenges has been assigned to me by my guild's superiors. Now then, who are the others assigned to collaborate with me for the successful completion of this job?"

Rotwang spoke thus in his naturally rich, baritone, and melodious voice which was laced heavily as always with his distinctively foreign accent that was unique to his family as well as all other people who hailed from "Iceberg". After announcing himself to the girl who was his client, he gave a theatrical bow to her and fell silent to wait for whatever was going to happen next.

---

OOC:

Rotwang's Appearance:



(OOC NOTE: ALL CREDIT FOR THE IMAGE DISPLAYED ABOVE GOES TO THE ARTIST, HANUSHCCKA, FOR THE FANART AND TO THE CREATORS OF THE DR. STONE SERIES OF ANIME AND MANGA FOR THE SOURCE ART.)

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WC Tallies:

• Post WC: 1120
  
  
• Total Personal WC: 1120
  

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@Francois Prideheart @Lily Ambrosia

While she waited for the others to arrive Lily considered the task before them. An entire army of undead... well, hopefully, their undead nature would compensate for the size of the army. The undead were often feared, for they defied the natural order and could survive ordeals that would leave the living at death's door, but the dryad had a different opinion. While their unnatural vitality was certainly challenging, at the same time most undead lacked the spirit and vigour of the living: their movements were rigid and limited, and their lack of true life left them reckless.

If these undead were under the direct control of the single undying general who'd possessed the poor child those weaknesses would probably stand out even more: even if this soul had willed itself back into the world of the living she doubted that it could multitask well enough to control an entire army with finesse.

"The sheer amount is going to be a problem though... Even the biggest boulders can get worn down if struck often enough."

She didn't mean to slight her companion with those words, but it was true. Basin was one of the sturdiest creatures she'd ever met, but even ze wasn't invincible. A single soldier couldn't hope to penetrate the earth guardian's stone hide, but hundreds of them, attacking over and over without pause? Maybe Basin could endure even that storm, but Lily would rather not put zirs resilience to the test like that.

Basin was less concerned about the possibility but still agreed with the underlying idea that it would be better to take the army seriously. Through the connection the earth guardian had with the dryad ze suggested that they focus on taking care of the leader, only engaging with the army insofar as that was necessary to get to their real target.

Before Lily could answer that suggestion she noticed that two people with a strong magical presence were approaching the village. One of them was riding a strange kind of vehicle she'd seen before in the bigger cities, like a metal box on wheels. The other was approaching through the skies. Both were equally noteworthy: the vehicle was probably something none of the villagers had seen before, and the one who flew in with the winds carried himself with a confidence and assertiveness which made him impossible to ignore. And that wasn't even mentioning his companion, striking with his pale appearance even as his stoic silence left Lily wondering.

Even from a distance she could hear the first man addressing the girl who'd spoken to Lily before, asking her about the quest in time for the other to overhear. With both of the mages gathered in one spot Lily figured she might as well join them, Basin turning back towards the village in silent agreement.

The girl Rotwang addressed nodded quickly in response to his introduction, having difficulty looking away from his uniquely free-spirited appearance which contrasted with his eloquent, if noticeably accented, voice. Like all the other villagers she was clearly in a bad state of mind, worry and helplessness written on her face even as she tried to answer Rotwang's question.

"Hello, mister... Frankenstein? I'm Nivari! I-I hope you'll be able to save my sister! As for the others, there's two of them at the edge of the village-I can go get them-!"

Before she finished speaking Francois had joined the conversation, the ease with which he entered the scene making her reflexively stop talking to let him speak instead. Not that it mattered: soon after Francois introduced himself and his companion to Rotwang all present would feel a faint trembling. The villagers didn't seem disturbed by this, and the source of the trembling would soon become apparent as Basin and Lily joined the scene.

While Basin had learned how to move more carefully ze was still, when everything was said and done, a giant humanoid figure made of stone. Even the gentlest of steps would evoke a response from the ground, and combined with Basin's sheer size it would be impossible to ignore the earth elemental as ze walked up to Francois and Rotwang, coming to a halt several meters before them to avoid looming. On top of the stone figure's back sat a girl with oak-brown skin and leaf-green hair, raising one small hand to wave at the two mages.

"Hey! You're here for the mission as well, aren't you?" She studied both of them with vivid green eyes. "We overheard your introductions, so nice to meet you, Francois Ludwig and Rotwang!"

Shifting her weight Lily began to slide off Basin's back and onto zirs shoulder, the earth guardian smoothly moving zirs arm so when the dryad's descent reached zirs hand she could smoothly step onto the ground in front of the two human mages (and the spirit companion). As tall as her earthen companion was Lily herself quickly turned out to be shorter than all three of them.

"Nivari here has already explained the situation to me, so I can answer most questions." She smiled compassionately at the girl. "I think that it's up to the five of us to solve the problem, unless any of you know of others who're coming here?"

Lily didn't know exactly who else was part of this mission, but given that they only had a limited amount of time to work with...

"Oh, I'm Lily Ambrosia, and this here is Basin." She indicated the earth guardian behind her, who'd placed zirs hand back on the ground in front of zirs large frame and inclined zirs single-eyed head as a silent greeting. "We're from Meliora Vitae. I think it's called a Neutral Guild? Anyway, I hope we can save Nivari's sister together."

Lily Ambrosia:

Basin:

WC: 958
PWC: 1,685
TWC: 4,368/14,000

@Francois Prideheart@RF007

Rotwang had been waiting to see what else would happen in the situation at hand when he heard the young girl who was the client for this job speak up to address him, the contents of her words being her wish that he and his collaborators would be able to save her possessed sister from her dark fate

"Indeed we shall, young lady. We would not have volunteered or been assigned to undertake the performance of this job as the case may be if we did not possess the capacity to see it through to completion successfully in all aspects. Now then, regarding the ETA of the two whom you mentioned...there is no need for you to trouble yourself to bring them here...since one of them is already here...and the other should be arriving shortly..."

Rotwang spoke thus to the girl with a fully convincing display of a kind smile on his countenance despite his true nature being a mad scientist who did not care one bit about such commonly held social mores and graces. This was because he did realize the value of the impact that false, yet seemingly genuine, emotions had upon those around him and how advantageous they could be in manipulating said others. He was about to say more, but then the first of his collaborators arrived on the scene as quickly as he had predicted thanks to sensing the man out with his magic sensory.

Upon introductions being done between the two, Rotwang came to know that this one was a man named "Francois Louvre Morgan" from the "Rune Knights" which was the organization in charge of protecting Fiore from danger. The Rune Knight in question had also brought along with him some assistance in the form of a rather mysterious being whom he then introduced as being called "Ludwig". Rotwang finished observing and analyzing this first two-person team of his collaborators quickly and was about to introduce himself to them. From what he could observe of the two of them, each one seemed to have a rather noble, or even regal, bearing about them which seemed to draw the attention of the villagers. However, it was at that very point that the second of his collaborators for this job also reached their location in short order. Therefore, he simply delayed his introduction until the second collaborator also finished introducing herself and her respective companion so that he would not have to repeat himself.

As he had done with the first of his collaborators, Rotwang also ensured to take the time to observe and analyze the second of his collaborators while she spoke to the group. This one turned out to be a woman called "Lily Ambrosia" and she appeared to be a druid or perhaps an elf while her companion was introduced as being called "Basin". With that done, Rotwang spoke to both Francois and Lily as well as their respective companions in that same rich, baritone, and melodious voice of his with its innately heavy Iceberg accent being distinctively noticeable. He also ensured to emphasize his greeting to both of them by giving each of them a bow that was worthy of the finest theatrical performance

"Well now, since you two have gathered here with me and our mutual client...It seems to be my turn to introduce myself and my companion...My name is Rotwang Frankenstein and as you may have heard already, my guild affiliation is that of "Silver Wolf". It is both a great honor and a distinct pleasure to make both of your acquaintances as well as those of your respective esteemed companions as well...I greatly look forward to working with all of you to complete this job successfully...My companion is known as "F.R.E.I.A." and since her systems have come online fully at this point, here she is..."

Rotwang spoke thus to introduce himself and his female digital assistant known as "F.R.E.I.A." to his collaborators, at which point, he brought her into view of Francois, Lily, and their respective companions by extending his left forearm outward and tapping on it once with his right hand while uttering the boot-up sequence command

"Command Input: Boot-Up A.I. Assistant, UID: F.R.E.I.A."

In response, a muted blueish-white light rose out of his left forearm and within this light, the form of a fully interactive, 3D holographic female figure then rose to start hovering in midair for all to see.



(OOC NOTE: ALL CREDIT FOR THIS IMAGE AND THE SOURCE ART GOES TO THE CREATORS OF MARVEL COMICS)

Rotwang watched on as his female digital assistant known as "F.R.E.I.A." greeted him first by asking about the situation

"Greeting, Master Stein. How may I assist you today?"

To that, Rotwang nodded in acknowledgment of her greeting and then directed her to greet the rest of the job party

"We have a new job to complete today, and these are my associates for the said job...Mr. Francois Louvre Morgan from the Rune Knights...and Ms. Lily Ambrosia from the guild known as Meliora Vitae...These are their respective companions, Ludwig and Basin, who have also graciously agreed to render their aid to our cause for today. Please introduce yourself to them so that we may commence with our preparations for this job."

Then, Rotwang fell silent and watched on as F.R.E.I.A. bowed to him in acknowledgment of his instructions and looked on as she greeted Francois and Ludwig and then moved on to greeting Lily and Basin afterward while displaying perfect high society decorum each time

"Ah, but of course, Master Stein...Now then, it is both a great honor and a distinct pleasure to make both of your acquaintances as well as those of your respective esteemed companions as well...My name is F.R.E.I.A. and I am a highly advanced, artificially intelligent, and fully sentient digital life form. I have been completely custom-coded, custom-designed, and subsequently brought into my current version of existence by my master, Rotwang, here. I greatly look forward to working with all of you to complete this job successfully."

After that, Rotwang watched as F.R.E.I.A. fell silent and gave the floor back to him so that he could continue addressing the group

"Now that the requisite pleasantries have been completed, it is time to answer your queries from earlier...Mr. Morgan...This amount of superior martial force that you have brought with you today will indeed be necessary to complete this job successfully...for as is prescribed in the ancient Midian treatise, "The Art of War", it is always prudent to counter an enemy of superior quality with superior numbers of average quality, thus turning the battle at hand into one of attrition...That said, the converse is equally true...namely, it is always circumspect to counter an enemy force of superior numbers of average quality with a force of superior quality...if said force is as small as ours, of course...Therefore, the presence of your companion, Ludwig, here with us is appreciated very much as he will be of great help in our imminent battle."

Rotwang finished remarking to Francois regarding his query about the appropriateness of the presence of his companion, Ludwig, with them and turned to address Lily afterward

"Regarding your query from earlier, Ms. Ambrosia...the notification that was sent to my iLac did not mention any further collaborators for this job...Therefore, we will all need to proceed further while acting on the presupposition that we will receive no further assistance besides that rendered to us by our respective retinues and companions...Now then, since you mentioned that you had been apprised of the situation with the enemy force...would you say that my Fermi's estimate of the enemy force's ETA being around 48 hours from the present time is accurate and precise to any degree? Furthermore, what are the numbers of the enemy force? Moreover, have you been able to discern anything regarding their command structure?"

After asking Lily these questions, Rotwang fell silent to hear her answer to the group and for whatever else was going to happen in the situation next.

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OOC:

WC Tallies:

• Post WC: 1315
  
  
• Total Personal WC: 2435
  

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@Francois Prideheart @Lily Ambrosia

The girl seemed comforted by both Rotwang's and Francois's reassurances that her sister would be saved. With how young she was she probably couldn't even imagine what life would be like without her twin, so to have two eloquent mages state so confidently that they would take care of the matter at hand did make her visibly relax.

"Oh thank you! Thank you very much!

While clearly still intimidated by the powerful individuals who had come to this otherwise peaceful and unremarkable village, their virtuous nature also made surrounding villagers look more at ease, even if they kept their distance to allow the mages the space to plan their approach to the job. Even for seasoned and skilled mages such as them to deal with an actual army would require more than mere guts, that much was easily understood. The villagers couldn't do much to help, so they'd just stay out of the way, close enough that they could respond if the mages needed anything but otherwise merely hoping that the outsiders could resolve this disaster that was threatening to befall them.

Having already talked to Nivari before Lily smiled as she saw how much the confident words of her companions put the girl at ease. The Silver Wolf and the Rune Knight both looked much more competent than herself, so she imagined that as usual she'd be taking a more supportive role. Rotwang's official introduction to both of them was certainly filled with flair, the dryad tilting her head at his extravagant bow. That was one of those customs the stonedwellers had, but she was never sure whether you were supposed to return it or not given that it differed every time. She settled for a bright smile and a nod, her expression becoming more puzzled once he mentioned his companion "F.R.E.I.A." Unable to sense any other lifeform with the eloquent scientist the dryad was about to ask where F.R.E.I.A. was when Rotwang answered the question by sticking his arm out and activating some kind of magical contraption, at which point a floating, slightly transparent female figure appeared above the arm.

"Oh!"

Ignoring any established customs regarding etiquette Lily stepped forward and bent forward so she was face to face with the glowing figure, waiting for F.R.E.I.A. to turn towards her before greeting her just enthusiastically as the rest.

"Hello Freia! It's nice to meet you as well."

Raising one hand she lightly brushed it against one of the hologram's arms, both confused and amazed by the strange texture as well as, well, F.R.E.I.A.'s entire existence. She clearly wasn't a biological lifeform, and she wasn't entirely sure she understood the entire explanation, but she did appear to be alive in her own way, which was very interesting to the nature-attuned mage.

She would've put her confusion into words, asking several questions about F.R.E.I.A.'s existence, but it was clear that since they had a limited amount of time she'd have to wait for another opportunity. Rotwang certainly seemed to think so, quickly picking back up the conversation after his assistant finished her introductions. Pulling her hand back Lily straightened up (which didn't make a lot of difference, all things considered), trying to keep up as the scientist referred to some book and mentioned that since they were facing an army they'd have to respond with superior ability. At least, that's what she thought he was saying: in the wilds only the smallest lifeforms tended to create large enough groups to practise warfare.

Francois and his companion Ludwig were paying close attention as well, so Lily remained silent until it was clear that Rotwang had finished his explanation. Basin was the better listener between the two of them, zirs eternal silence like a hole which made others want to fill it with their own words. After all, it was much easier to express your thoughts when you only had the mountains to listen to you.

"So it's all of us then..." She pondered for a moment before nodding. "That should work, I think. You're all strong aren't you?"

Looks could be deceiving, but so far as she could tell they were each at least as strong as herself or even stronger, which was a great comfort. Rotwang's inquiry towards how much she'd already learned while waiting for them had her frowning in thought.

"48 hours is 2 full days... I think they'll be here a bit earlier than that since they don't get tired or rest. Maybe tomorrow evening? They'd be here faster if they moved quickly, but the weaker shades get even weaker when exposed to the sun.

As for how many there are... when they're all grouped together their miasma makes it hard to make out much, but I think a couple of hundred? There's a couple of strong ones in there, but most of their power is with the leader who's controlling all of them. I don't think there's much of a hierarchy other than that the leader who possessed Varsi is in charge, and the weaker ones probably wouldn't even be moving if he wasn't driving them."

While she had trouble with society and warfare she did know a thing or two about abominations, which came in useful when dealing with the undead. The dryad was clearly doing her best to contribute, the golden lily that adorned her hair swaying slightly as she folded her arms and tilted her head.

"And they're only here because their leader forced them, so if we take care of him the rest of the army should leave on their own. The dead don't like being in the world of the living, especially if they already moved on before getting dragged back here. The stronger ones may have enough will that they won't immediately go away even then, but they'll be easier to deal with."

She really didn't like the undead, and the reason she didn't treat them with utmost contempt was because she knew most of them weren't happy with their fate either. Better to sympathise and help them return to the earth than to waste time being angry at them for something they didn't want.

Regardless, next Francois and Ludwig quickly explained their abilities, clearly with the expectation that the rest of them did the same. She was visibly intrigued by Francois's admission towards being a summoner, but when Ludwig summoned his flames she quickly stepped back towards Basin, instinctively creating some distance between herself and the nature-destroying element. Once she realised what she'd done she looked rather embarrassed shaking her head and smiling at Ludwig instead.

"You can use your flames to make us stronger Ludwig? Maybe Basin could use that! Ze's already really strong, so if you make zir even stronger ze'll be able to push straight through to the leader."

Raising a hand to the side of the face she scratched her cheek while looking embarrassed again.

"Of course, I'd prefer it if we kept the destruction as small as possible... but I'm guessing that the undead are already making enough of a mess that a little bit of fire won't make much of a difference."

She was pretty sure that part of her job would be to repair the damage done to the land where the ghost army had crossed, since even from a distance she could tell that their presence wasn't doing anything good to the flora and fauna.

"Holy magic would've been good here, but I'm sure we can manage without Francois! Especially if you've got three more friends to help us out."

Given that she was already talking she figured she might as well go next in explaining her and Basin's abilities. After patting her bound partner on the arm she bent down and picked up a little pebble from the ground, which she then gently tossed into the air where it gently came to a stop.

"My magic's part of my task to cultivate life, so I can mould the earth and control the flow of water to create terrain that can better sustain life."

As she spoke the pebble slowly grew, cracks appearing on its surface and rich soil creeping out to cover the entire rock and form a small inverted pyramid which still hovered silently in the air. Forming a shallow cup with one hand the dryad gave herself several seconds to make water slowly fill her palm, which then floated into the air to moisten the soil of the floating mini-island.

"I can also shape the plants, like this!"

After the mini-island got its much-needed water it didn't take much longer before a small bud sprouted on top, which then quickly grew thicker and bigger until the entire clump of wet dirt had been taken over by a small but robust-looking tree, its roots threading the pyramid shape entirely.

"If I use more energy I can also use it to help deal with the undead, but I'm more used to healing and protecting."

Basin plucked the floating tree-island out of the air, reaching up to plant it on zirs large craggy back where the roots would quickly find itself a home while the dryad continued talking.

"I've got two more friends I can summon if needed, Nepo and Saku. Oh, and Basin is really strong!"

Basin didn't think that the others needed a demonstration of that part: ze was a large earth elemental whose footsteps made the ground tremble. Even if ze wasn't so big as to be truly gigantic they could probably imagine that getting hit by zirs huge stone fists would be bad news even for the spectres that were slowly heading for the village.

"That's about it... That leaves Rotwang and Freia?"

Lily Ambrosia:

Basin:

WC: 1,616
PWC: 3,301
TWC: 8,421/14,000

@Francois Prideheart@RF007

Rotwang and F.R.E.I.A. had been listening and watching everything that was going on around them silently, and they were amused by how Lily and Ludwig seemed to be fascinated by the unique sort of existence that F.R.E.I.A. had as a digital life form and the and the technology that allowed her to take shape in the material world. This amusement of theirs only grew when they witnessed Lily step forth and attempt to make contact with the hard-light display that F.R.E.I.A. was using to manifest herself as well. However, they did not have much time to dwell on the subject since they heard Lily answer Rotwang's query about the enemy army's composition and marching velocity which seemed to make their ETA be as soon as the next day's evening. However, Rotwang and company did seem to have fortune on their side since the enemy did not have any modicum of command structure since all the power seemed to be centralized into the undead general who had summoned said undead army forth and also possessed the younger sister of the girl who was their client for this job.

It was then that Rotwang and F.R.E.I.A. heard Francois begin to venture the suggestion that each party provide an explanation of their respective capacities to the rest of them in the interest of full disclosure and efficient strategizing in preparation for the imminent conflict with the undead army which was heading toward Peace Village along with their leader. Therefore, he and his digital assistant listened to Francois and Lily as they explained their abilities in sufficient depth for the understanding of the rest

"Ah, so you practice summoning magic among the others in your repertoire and you are also a talented duelist on top of that, Mr. Morgan? That is a most excellent revelation, indeed...Meanwhile, Mr. Ludwig...you mentioned that you are skilled in support magic as well as outright destructive spells via those flames of yours...Both of those spell types will be quite useful here as we proceed with our countermeasures against this invading force."

Rotwang spoke up, replying to Francois and Ludwig first in acknowledgment of their abilities after which point, he turned his attention to Lily who had shown proficiency in earth and water magic and also mentioned that she could perform healing and support magic

"Ah, so we do not have quite as much time as would be preferable and ideal in this situation...No matter, the time we have left should still suffice...It does also help that the lower-level undead are weak to sunlight as you mentioned since we can use the time we gain from that hindrance to our benefit...Your expertise with healing, earth, and water magic will be equally beneficial here in increasing our efficiency when it comes to dealing with these enemies of ours, Ms. Ambrosia, especially when used in tandem with Mr. Ludwig's empowering flames."

Rotwang spoke thus, replying to Lily before realizing that it was time to explain their side of the collaborative effort and what they could contribute to the war effort. So, Rotwang began to explain his abilities first by calling forth the muted green glow that was usually seen with healing magic followed by a crimson-red glow which symbolized debilitating spells in his magic, and a yellow glow which symbolized more utilitarian spells

"My specialty lies in healing magic...However, my spells have been calibrated to function equally well in combat as well...not only in terms of outright damage but also for debilitation of targets in the enemy forces that oppose us here...Furthermore, there are also spells in my repertoire that can help with more utilitarian functions such as teleporting entities and objects from point A to B, and we can use that to expedite our preparations...My magic also allows me to command snakes in various ways...Additionally, my nurse assistant can also be called here at a moment's notice from her standby position back at my base of operations in Crocus using my Bond magic pact as a catalyst if we need more firepower to aid us in our war effort."

With that said, Rotwang fell silent and allowed F.R.E.I.A. to speak her piece to explain her abilities to the group

"My immaterial existence allows me to gather the ethernano in the air to form avatars of my original body which can then be sent with each of you to help with communication and logistics purposes...That way, we can synchronize our collective efforts more easily to achieve this shared objective of ours. My other major power is data magic...which can be employed not only to analyze the enemy to discover weaknesses that may exist in addition to what is commonly known and recognized about them but also to mold the terrain and environment to our advantage in this upcoming confrontation."

Once F.R.E.I.A. was done speaking her piece, she fell silent, and Rotwang picked the conversation back up again with a suggestion of a potential strategy they could employ to confront the enemy more efficiently

"Now that we have all disclosed our respective abilities...How does this sound for a potentially viable strategy to you all? First, Mr. Ludwig could empower each of us with his flames, and once she has been buffed in this way...Ms. Ambrosia could employ her enhanced earth magic to generate a sizeable hill in the area outside the village where we are going to confront the undead army and mold it further to create a large reservoir at its peak...Second, she could use it to extend a long, wide trench to create a river path that starts from the entrance of the reservoir and cuts across the enemy army's projected path to this village...Third, she could then fill the reservoir up to full capacity with her enhanced water magic and use her enhanced earth magic to dam up the entrance to it to hold the water until the time is right...Basin and I can help guard her against any potential ambushes from the enemy forces while she proceeds with that work...and my healing magic can be combined with Mr. Ambrosia to imbue the water stored there with power against the undead in preparation for our upcoming conflict..."

Rotwang paused there to allow the first part of his suggestion to sink into the minds of his audience since it would be crucial that they understand each of their roles. Then, he resumed speaking his piece

"Fourth, Mr. Morgan and Ludwig coordinate their efforts to quickly lure the units in the enemy force to the artificial riverbank and reservoir that we will have constructed and filled up with Ms. Ambrosia's assistance and force them to cross it...Fifth, my snakes can be used to immobilize the enemy army units within the river trench to hold them in place...Sixth, Ms. Ambrosia can break the dam down to allow the stored water which has been imbued with healing magic to flood into the river trench for wiping out the enemy force in one fell swoop...Seventh, if any enemy units do manage to slip by or else manage to survive the onslaught that is brought upon them with this plan of ours somehow...Mr. Ludwig's flames can then be used to destroy them on sight...and we can each assist him in his efforts with our respective abilities if it should become necessary...Finally, Basin can then safely charge through to the enemy leader for capture and detainment purposes while we keep the stronger undead at bay, at which point, we can then work to separate the girl who is being used by this enemy undead general as a possession medium and return her to her older sister unharmed to complete this job once and for all."

After completing his suggested strategy to the group, Rotwang fell silent and waited alongside F.R.E.I.A. for whatever was going to be said or done next in the situation.

---

OOC:

WC Tallies:

• Post WC: 1306
  
  
• Total Personal WC: 3741
  

=====

@Francois Prideheart @Lily Ambrosia

Lily was intrigued by Rotwang as he explained his magical abilities once it was his turn. He claimed his magic to be primarily supportive in nature, but it sounded like he had access to a lot of different spells, and very useful ones as well. Even if most of them weren't offensive in nature she thought it a mistake to see him as anything but an accomplished and talented mage.

The fact that he could also command serpents stood out to the dryad. Was that a core aspect of his magic, with the other effects being a consequence of the versatile nature of serpents, or was it merely a secondary aspect? In the past it was very common for people to use various creatures of the wild as mediums for their magical feats, but these days that was much rarer.

"It sounds like you can do a lot of things Rotwang! And Freia as well: I don't really understand all of it, but if Rotwang can teleport us and Freia can create avatars of herself to communicate we could spread out and still remain in contact."

That was hardly the extent of what Rotwang and his assistant were capable of, but it was the first thing that came to Lily's mind. Working together with others was pleasant, if a bit difficult at times. Distance made communication harder, but it looked like Rotwang and Freia together completely eliminated that problem, which would be a great boon when they had to deal with a bona fide army.

Now that each of them had explained what they were capable of both Rotwang and Francois were seemingly eager to suggest ideas for how to best approach the situation. The scientist went first, unfolding an elaborate scheme which involved creating a water reservoir and a channel through which they could unleash a flood to wash most of the army away. He was clearly making use of all the information available to him, much better than Lily could have done herself. Although, admittedly, she was uncomfortable with the idea of Ludwig using his flames to empower her: even if his flames were harmless, she didn't like the idea of being on fire, even for beneficial purposes.

But that wasn't a fair complaint, so she kept quiet while Francois brought up his two main concerns with the plan: whether enchanting the water with healing properties would make it more effective against the undead, and whether Basin alone would be strong enough to take care of the leader. The dryad did know a thing or two about the undead, so she could pipe up at that point and add her two cents.

"Healing magic can be harmful to the dead, but it depends on some details... if we're talking about a corpse that has been animated by a curse healing magic could be used to stop it. But if it's more like a ghost which is sticking around in the world of the living because of a grudge healing magic won't do much."

She frowned slightly as she thought about this.

"Which for us means... it might work? I don't think the leader would be affected, but it seems the rest of the army is only here because they're called upon by the leader who possessed Varsi. That might count as a curse which can be cleansed?"

She looked at the others before shrugging a bit helplessly.

"It depends on how the connection works. If his soldiers are all happy to follow him the connection might not be a curse. If they're forced to be here against their will, however, it might be effective... but it still wouldn't be as good as holy magic. At least, my healing isn't very good for this: I use nature's bounty to restore health and life, and nature doesn't take sides.

And I think Basin would be able to deal with the leader, but we're always at our best when we're working together."

She patted Basin's large, stone-shaped hand.

"So if we're relying on Basin to handle the leader I'd have to go with zir. But since we're dealing with a spirit strong enough to summon an entire army I'd hope that all of you could help out as well: even if Basin won't be hurt we might not be able to save Varsi without help."

Basin was powerful, unbelievably tough, and all-around the best choice for taking care of a troublesome opponent... but if the general was too powerful the earth guardian might not be able to keep the general contained. If the possessed Varsi realised that she was wasting time hitting a moving mountain she might just leave, and while Basin could be fast that was mostly in straight lines, with a running start. Not exactly best suited for the chase.

Francois's suggested alternative was similar, in a way. Once again the primary plan was to use a trap prepared ahead of time to take care of most of the army, and then try to disable the possessed Varsi so she could be freed from her inhabitant. Lily was interested in the other friends Francois mentioned, leaning close to smile at their conjured images while nodding along. At the end she remained silent, pondering both the options: to either drown the army with a flood or drop them all into a pit. Either way, the base idea was to immobilise and dispose of them without engaging them directly, which Lily was all too happy to agree to.

"Maybe... we can do both plans?"

She glanced towards the miasma in the far distance, far enough away that it was little more than a fog of ominous foreboding that very slowly crept across the land, approaching their location ever so gradually.

"Basin can also shape the ground, and if Francois's friend Bartlett also helps out the two of them could create the hole, cover it up, and then remove the cover once the dead are on top of it and Rotwang's snakes have bound them so they don't escape.

And the water part... well, we don't really need a reservoir: I can store all the water in myself and then fill the hole with it once they're all inside! If I summon my friend Nepo and Francois calls Tekla they could help me store enough water that I could fill the entire hole in one go. Even if they're spectres they can't ignore that much enchanted water!"

Given that Lily was clearly the shortest of the group the idea that she could serve as a reservoir of water big enough to fill a hole meant to trap an army might sound absurd, but she was confident she could manage it. After all, her connection with water extended beyond simple control of it, drawing power from it as well.

"Freia can help time everything so everyone does their thing at the right time. But that still leaves us with the leader... Rotwang?"

She turned towards the scientist.

"If we prepared a safe spot to deal with Varsi's possessor, could you teleport her to it right before Basin and Bartlett drop the rest of the army into the pit?"

Lily Ambrosia:

Basin:

WC: 1,195
PWC: 4,496
TWC: 10,922/14,000

@Francois Prideheart@RF007

Rotwang had been patiently waiting for whatever was going to transpire in the situation at hand when he heard Francois point out the potential flaws in the plan that he had suggested earlier, specifically about his doubts regarding the efficacy of healing magic against the undead army facing them in comparison to holy magic which was the default weapon of choice. Then, he saw the Rune Knight in question bring forth some more of his companions and heard him suggest an alternative plan of his own which seemed similar to his own but also much more covert

"Hmm...indeed, you do raise valid points overall...Furthermore, those additional companions of yours should aid our cause immensely, so you have my utmost gratitude for bringing them forth, Mr. Morgan."

Rotwang spoke thus to Francois and then turned his attention to Lily who had begun to chime in with her observations and suggestions on strategy. As he listened to what she said to the group, it confirmed many of the observations that he had made regarding the nature of various undead beings throughout his ongoing and ever-burgeoning research studies, thus reassuring him that he had been on the right track with said studies. However, he could not indulge in dwelling on the issue for long since he heard Lily move the conversation over to her plan of action which seemed to be a hybrid of his plan and that which had been suggested by Francois earlier. So, he refocused his attention on the situation at hand and listened intently to what she had to say to the group

"Hmm...yes, your plan should work even better, objectively speaking...It also seems to cost far fewer resources from each of us, so there is that additional advantage inherent to it as well...Therefore, my vote for our plan of action to deal with that undead army goes to you, Ms. Ambrosia...What say you, Mr. Morgan?"

Rotwang asked Francois about his thoughts on the hybrid plan that Lily had suggested during her turn to speak on their plan of action and then, he fell silent to wait for whatever was going to occur next in the situation at hand. While he waited, however, a thought came to him regarding a blind spot in their defenses and so, he turned to some of the villagers who had been hovering nearby and called out to them

"You lot will need to assist me with a certain task that could prove crucial to the integrity of the defense of your quaint village...You see, while my companions and I are engaged in combating the main force of the enemy undead army, the enemy general may attempt to covertly deploy a small detachment toward this village to strike it down from the rear of the ranks of our defensive forces which we will be deploying shortly...Therefore, you will need to take this device of mine and quickly plant it in the exact center of your village...Once that is complete, this device will immediately generate an area-wide, impenetrable healing barrier that will be easily large enough to encompass your entire village as well as everyone and everything therein by effectively blocking off an enormous, spherical space both above ground and below it as well...Thus, we will succeed in neutralizing this potential blind spot in our defenses by preventing the enemy's secret potential approach from the rear...Moreover, the healing effect of this barrier will also help to maintain your respective health statuses in optimal condition...That said, it will only be effective if each one of you, from the young to the old and everyone in between as well as your respective possessions, remains within the limits of this barrier and does not venture outside for any reason..."

Rotwang spoke thus to the small group of villagers he had called over to him, and afterward, he gave them the barrier generator that he spoke of and instructed them to undertake this task that he gave them with all due haste. In response, they thanked him and nodded in acknowledgment of his instructions upon their receipt of the device before heading off to take care of the task that he had given them just then. Some moments later, the healing barrier was deployed over the entire village just as he had promised, and it appeared to be a giant dome of muted green healing magic that encompassed the entire village and its contents. Of course, this was only the above-ground view and if any of his companions were capable of using X-ray vision to see through the ground below the village, the barrier would be seen extending below to encompass it completely too.

Excellent, now, we can truly focus on this bothersome job at hand and direct out energies more effectively to deal with this undead army...Hmm, perhaps it will be possible for me to capture some of these undead for my necromancy research which requires more specimen variety at present...

With that done and while musing silently in this manner, Rotwang turned back to the group and resumed waiting for whatever was going to happen next.

---

OOC:

WC Tallies:

• Post WC: 850
  
  
• Total Personal WC: 4591
  

=====

@Francois Prideheart @Lily Ambrosia

It wasn't often that Lily had such competent people paying close attention to what she was saying. She took it as a good sign that they were taking her input on how healing magic worked against the undead so seriously: if they all were working together, it meant they had a much better chance of dealing with the malicious army slowly approaching the village.

They also approved of her suggestion of combining the best aspects of both of their plans, which meant they could get to work preparing for the battle ahead. Even with a solid plan and powerful allies, Lily could tell they'd have to put in their best efforts for this: the weakest ghosts weren't a concern, but even aside from the leader there were several entities within that undead host powerful enough that she could sense them from the village, despite them still being many kilometres in the distance. Their presence was like a blight upon the land, a poison that seeped deep into the earth. Even if they successfully wiped out the entire army and exorcised the leader, it'd take a long time for the land to heal from this.

Hopefully, she and her friends could do something about that.

"All right! I'll get started on a spot Rotwang can teleport the leader to then, and after that I'll call Nepo so we can prepare for the trap."

She turned around towards Basin, her movements more energetic now that they had a clear plan for how to proceed.

"Can you get started on the pit Basin? It needs to be big enough to catch the entire army, so even for you it'll take a while."

The earth elemental took a second to react, nodding slowly and then straightening up. With each movement causing a light tremor Basin moved carefully, turning around and walking out of the village one large step at a time, heading straight towards the undead army in the distance. Ze'd have to find a good spot where ze could create a large pit far enough from the village that even if some of the ghosts managed to get out of the trap the village wouldn't get involved, so once ze was clear of the village's borders ze sped up, the ground rumbling as the large giant of stone got to work.

As for Lily, before she got started on her own project she watched as Francois walked away to discuss something with his own companions, followed by Rotwang pointing out that their plan didn't involve any more direct protection for the village. The dryad nodded and watched closely as the scientist pulled something out of his many pockets and handed it over to them.

"You can cover the entire village with that?"

She asked after the villagers had left to follow Rotwang's instructions. The leaf-haired girl looked at the device Rotwang had handed to the villagers, blinking several times in surprise before watching as the device did indeed generate a barrier to cover the entirety of the settlement, feeling the regenerative magic filling the air.

"...Wow! How's that work? Sorry, I'm not very good with technology."

Her own magic allowed her to do similar things, but to cover an entire village with one device was something else. The dryad kept gazing at this feat of magitech for a bit longer before shaking her head and smiling.

"Well, I'll feel much better knowing that the village will be safe. I'll go do my part now: call me if you need anything!"

With a quick wave she ran out of the village as well, once she reached the edge she stepped behind a building and disappeared, using her magic to travel through the roots of the forests that surround the village instead of relying on her own feet. The trap for the leader wouldn't have to be as big as the pit meant to capture the army, but she would need lots of space to prepare it still.

Keeping her distance from Basin's work she eventually resurfaced in a spot with fewer trees, far enough off to the side that it shouldn't be visible from the open area in which her companion was preparing their big trap. More importantly, it was far enough away that even as the ghost army approached the leader shouldn't be able to sense this location until it was time for Rotwang to move the possessed Varsi here.

"Don't worry everyone, we'll put everything back to how it was once we're done here. Just help us out for the moment, please?"

The trees around her didn't answer, but the dryad didn't need words from them. Spreading her arms before her she began to channel her magic even as her toes grew longer and dug into the ground, extending into full-fledged roots that interwove with those of the native trees while in front of her a large patch of land slowly grew wetter: water was pulled to the surface where it formed puddles, which slowly spread with the ground turning darker and muddier.

They might still not be fully knowledgeable about what the leader was capable of, but Lily was pretty confident that even an ancient general would be hindered if they were suddenly dropped in the middle of a deep marsh.

Lily Ambrosia:

Basin:

WC: 880
PWC: 5,376
TWC: 13,628/14,000

@Francois Prideheart@RF007

Rotwang had been waiting for whatever was going to happen next in the situation when he noticed Francois had also agreed to their group going with Lily's plan for combating the undead army and its ancient general of a leader.

"Very good, then, Mr. Morgan. We are all in accord on this matter...It seems to be time for each of us to prepare in our respective ways for this confrontation..."

Rotwang spoke thus to Francois and then watched on as the man began to make his part of the preparations for the group's imminent conflict with the undead army that was drawing ever closer to the village with the passage of more time. These preparations seemed to involve him talking with Ludwig about their strategy and what it would require for them to successfully carry it out per its design.

At the end of said Rune Knight's preparations, thanks to his enhanced cyborg senses, Rotwang then overheard Ludwig mumbling to himself as he was looking up at the giant, half-concealed sphere of concentrated defensive healing magic that the device he gave to the villagers to plant in the center of the village had cast over it. Therefore, he teleported over to where Ludwig and Francois were located with an excited look on his face that made him look like the true mad scientist that he was underneath that veneer of social acceptability



With that look on his face at getting the chance to explain the workings of his gadget to Ludwig, Rotwang began to remark to the ancient being in question, with the excitement on his face being quite evident in his voice tone as well

"Indeed, it is a rather quaint gadget...That said, Mr. Ludwig, it will serve the purpose for which it has been brought out adequately, namely the defense of the village from any unforeseen ambush attack from the rear of our defensive lines...Furthermore, this device's barrier function is not only defensive in warding off the mass of weaker undead minions with its densely concentrated healing-type ethernano, but it can also heal those who stay within its confines, thus enabling us to protect these villagers much more efficiently without having to cast healing spells ourselves in the aftermath of this battle since it is designed and programmed to automatically draw in ambient ethernano and convert it into healing-type ethernano...For, as that old aphorism goes...an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure..."

With that said, Rotwang fell silent as he noticed Lily inquiring about the device he had just given to the villagers and its exact mechanics thanks to his enhanced senses, so he excused himself from Francois and Ludwig to teleport back over to where he had left her, now with another similar cartoonish mad scientist expression on his face, again due to him getting the chance to explain the workings of his gadget to yet another of his colleagues on this job, this being to Lily



With this look playing on his face, Rotwang began to respond to her as well, with the excitement on his face being quite evident in his voice tone yet again

"Indeed, Ms. Ambrosia, this device can cover this entire village quite easily, both from above and from below as well...Thus, even if our undead foes decide to tunnel underneath the earth or fly through the air in their attempt to infiltrate this village, their efforts will be thwarted successfully since the barrier is comprised of ultra-concentrated healing-type ethernano...Now then, regarding its actual mechanics...that device has been designed with a four-step protocol built-in which allows it to draw in ambient ethernano, collect and store it within itself while hyper-compressing it as well, then change it into healing-type ethernano...and finally emit this specially calibrated ethernano outwards to encompass the target, which in this case, is this village which is our client's residence."

Once he had finished explaining all that to Lily, Rotwang fell silent once more as Lily excused herself after expressing her satisfaction with the village's defense in his hands and watched her head off to make her preparations for the battle ahead. For his part, Rotwang had the task of ensuring that the enemy general and the young girl whom he was possessing could be teleported to the designated exorcism location as safely and swiftly as possible while his A.I. assistant, F.R.E.I.A., had the task of timing everything for each party involved in the defense of the village against the undead army.

Perhaps it would be wise to send out F.R.E.I.A. now to look over each of my companions to ensure she can time us properly...

Rotwang mused silently in this manner and afterward, he instructed F.R.E.I.A. to use her ability to be transported by the ethernano in the environment so that she could send an avatar of herself to Francois and Lily

"F.R.E.I.A., it is now time...Please duplicate yourself twice and send a copy to Mr. Morgan and Ms. Ambrosia so that you can connect each of us for this imminent operation against the undead army."

To that, Rotwang noticed as F.R.E.I.A. bowed and acknowledged his instructions after which point, she proceeded to carry out said instructions

"Understood, Master Stein, I shall undertake that right away...Commencing avatar creation now...Avatar creation complete...Commencing deployment of avatars to designated locations and individuals now...Deployment complete."

Thus, Rotwang watched on as F.R.E.I.A. created two avatars of herself and deployed one to where he sensed Francois and Ludwig were located and then deployed the other to where Lily and Basin were situated at present.

---

OOC:

WC Tallies:

• Post WC: 922
  
  
• Total Personal WC: 5513
  

=====

@Francois Prideheart @Lily Ambrosia

Given how polite and eloquent Rotwang had been so far, the very image of a refined gentleman, Lily was somewhat surprised at how much his expression shifted once he was given the opportunity to talk about his own creation. The dryad blinked even as she listened, trying her best to keep up even as the technical aspects of the scientist's work flew over her head like an eagle. Terms such as protocol and calibration meant little to her, but what she did understand did sound very impressive, if also a tad worrisome. If it absorbed ambient ethernano it could end up being harmful to the environment if left alone for too long.

She didn't voice her concerns, as they could really use the barrier to keep the village safe, but she hoped that once the undead army was dealt with and the general exorcised Rotwang would quickly remove the barrier. He'd probably want the device back.

Better for her to focus on her own task, the creation of the marsh. To turn one biome into another took quite a lot of effort, even for someone who specialised in such tasks. Various minute adjustments had to be made on a large scale so the  new marsh would linger for long enough, and then she also had to make sure she could return the land to its former state afterwards without upsetting the ecosystem. Things she'd done before, but which required her full focus every time.

Fortunately, her prior experience did mean that she was very good at it. Where before there had been trees and undergrowth an area at least a hundred meters in diameter was now submerged in water over a metre deep, the plants also having been adjusted to suit the new terrain. Even if Varsi's movements were vastly enhanced by the possession she wouldn't be able to move easily in this enchanted marsh, and at Lily's direction, the plants would also bind and ensnare to further immobilise her. The dryad doubted that would be enough to completely incapacitate the possessed girl, but it should give herself and her companions plenty of opportunity to exorcise the undead general.

As F.R.E.I.A.'s copy joined her Lily would quickly explain her plan, to have Rotwang teleport Varsi into the middle of the enchanted marsh where they could keep her from escaping while figuring out how to exorcise her possessor. Her magic would also ensure that her allies wouldn't be hindered by the marsh.

In the meantime, Basin had already gotten started on the giant hole when Bartlett arrived. Lily's guardian would greet zirs kin with a simple nod, indicating the area where ze had already begun to remove all the plant life so ze could safely hollow out the land and create a pit big enough to capture an entire army. A task for which earth elementals were perfectly suited, thanks to their ability to mould the land and immunity to concepts such as tedium and boredom. Of course, creating a hole big enough for an entire army would still take some time, especially since Basin would want to avoid harming the surroundings.

It was fortunate, then, that they had many hours to finish the job, and neither ze nor Bartlett needed rest.

---

Faster than Lily had expected, before dawn of the next day, the undead army already reached the designated battleground. Once Basin and Bartlett had finished digging the pit and covering it up with a layer of earth which could be collapsed once the enemy was in position Lily had also arrived to make the area look as it had before, growing new plants and carefully sculpting the terrain with her magic. She'd finished creating the marsh before, seeping her magic deep into the soil so it would last long enough and wouldn't be as noticeable from a distance.

Now Basin was waiting at the edge of the hidden trap, opposite from where the unnatural host would enter it. Lily was in her usual position on top of the earth elemental's back, eyes closed and focusing on containing the massive amount of energy she'd been accumulating inside herself in preparation for when she'd fill the trap with magic-infused water. On her shoulder sat a little water creature, the friend she'd mentioned who could help her store enough water for this part of the plan. Nepo wasn't any fonder of undead than the dryad, so he was all too eager to assist in returning an entire host of risen souls back to the afterlife.

Lily frowned in discomfort as she felt the vile miasma spreading ahead of the army, withering the wildlife and rendering the soil cursed and barren. It was nauseating, and if she hadn't been so focused on her own task she might've already launched some attacks from a distance to begin whittling them down. Instead, she just remained in place, patting Nepo's head as inside her it felt like an ocean's worth of magic was trying to break out of its small container. Even with all her efforts some of the magic had seeped into her own form: her foliage-like hair was now as long as she was tall, with various plants interwoven into the strands and vines crawling across her limbs.

Still, she should have enough to fill the pit, and while it wouldn't eliminate the entire army it should at least wipe out the weaklings and leave only the stronger undead, who'd then first have to climb out of the deep pit with magic-infused water pressing down on them.

Hopefully, that would be enough that the general and his strongest servants could be exorcised the usual way.

STRATEGY:

Lily Ambrosia:

Basin:

Nepo:

WC: 941
PWC: 6,317
TWC: 17,884/14,000

@Francois Prideheart@RF007

Rotwang had been waiting for whatever was going to happen next when the original F.R.E.I.A whom he had kept beside him while sending the copies to Francois and Lily now conveyed their intended actions to him and asked him to be ready with his teleport spell for when Varsi, the young girl who was possessed by the undead general, would come into range for their trap so that he could quickly transport her to the enchanted marsh for her upcoming exorcism.

"Understood. My teleport spell is now ready and waiting for our target to come within its effect range...I see the trap is also completed at this point, so it seems that we are prepared for the enemy army..."

Rotwang spoke thus conveying his readiness status to both Francois and Lily while also remarking about the trap that Lily's Basin and Francois' Bartlett had constructed by then. After that, time passed and dawn came at last, and with it, the unmistakable battle cries of the undead army and its various constituent units filled the air and drove away the fauna which would normally be out and about by this time of the day in the surrounding area. Soon after that, the army in question came within sight range as it headed quickly in the direction of the trap, not knowing what fate awaited all of them for their wanton invasion of the village. So, Rotwang advised Francois and Lily as well as their companions to hide so that they could avoid being detected prematurely by the enemy forces, and once the army was right over the trap area, he alerted Lily and Basin via F.R.E.I.A

"The army is within range. Please trigger the trap now. Also, whenever you are ready to perform the exorcism, please give me a signal through F.R.E.I.A. so that I can cast my teleport spell upon the target per our plan."

With that said, Rotwang fell silent and hid himself as well while waiting, biding his time until his turn to act according to their plan came at last.

---

OOC:

WC Tallies:

• Post WC: 343
  
  
• Total Personal WC: 5856
  

=====

@Francois Prideheart @Lily Ambrosia

Here in the midst of the wilds it would be difficult to sense the presence of either Lily or Basin, as their own nature made them blend in with the trees and the soil as if they were a part of them. Dryad and elemental stood silently as they waited for the undead army to advance, feeling the vile miasma that enveloped the unholy legion like an aura spread across the landscape. Smaller plants quickly wilted and decayed, fauna quickly fled, and even the larger trees grew weaker as their leafs turned brown and lifeless, their bark withering and falling off in flakes to expose the vulnerable wooden body underneath.

Even if they successfully got rid of all the undead, restoring this region would take some time. Lily's eyes, normally alight with curiosity and geniality, narrowed as emotions she rarely felt stirred deep inside: anger, disgust, and hatred. She knew that the majority of these spectres had been called here by the general, and possibility didn't even want to be here, but their very presence was a violation of the natural order, made worse by the miasma which would go so far as to eradicate what lived to bolster that which was already dead.

So when F.R.E.I.A. gave the message that all the undead were in the trap zone and it was time to activate their carefully prepared plan the dryad didn't hesitate, and neither did her partner. The foremost members of the aberrant legion had already gotten close enough to spot the earth elemental, but before they could react a tremor travelled through the ground, quickly followed by another. Small cracks formed throughout the cover Basin and Bartlett had placed over the hole, quickly growing in size and splitting into yet more cracks until the entire area was covered in a web. Within seconds the trap was revealed, the soil heaving and tearing apart to fall into the deep hole which had taken nearly a full day to create, along with the undead army and the flora Basin had planted on top of the trap to keep the army from noticing anything amiss.

Even if these beings were not fully corporeal, they were still bound by gravity: they were reflections of their former selves, and their spectral nature did not allow them to shake off the shackles which had bound them in life. As the trap was sprung and the hole revealed the undead fell in along with the rubble, letting loose distorted and warped cries of surprise and alarm. While they couldn't defy gravity the fall didn't hurt them either, and even as Lily watched from atop Basin's back the spectres were already recovering.

Which was why she didn't waste a single second in following up.

All the magic she'd been gathering throughout the night was released as she cast her own magic, the rumbling of the earth followed by an overwhelming sound of rushing water.

"Roar of Gaia!"

A massive torrent of water formed in front of Lily, aimed straight into the large hole. All other sounds were momentarily drowned out by a thunderous roar as the enchanted waters slammed into the trapped army like a hammer, sending spectres flying. After the original impact the sound lessened a little, but Lily was far from done: more and more water was summoned to be launched straight into the pit, where the water level was quickly rising. The spectres, still acting on their memories, quickly panicked as it rose to their knees, their waist, their chest, and finally passed over their heads.

The dryad wasn't stopping until she'd filled the pit entirely, and the undead army was drowned at the bottom. So focused was she on her task that she didn't even react to Ludwig's embers, her usual fear of fire ignored in favour of using the boost to her magical strength to intensify the force with which she was bombarding the undead with her wrathful water cannon.

The undead, already thrown into chaos by the pit, were now completely helpless in the fact of such unrelenting assault, which also left them easy pickings for the Francois's summons. Individual soldiers quickly got pierced and perforated by Tekla's water spears as they tried to slog through the mud towards the edges, entire squadrons got crushed underneath Bartlett's boulders, and as Ludwig released his magic in a majestic pillar of flames, spectral forms were reduced to nothing, ectoplasm evaporating while large quantities of water were instantly turned into steam, momentarily revealing the bottom before Lily filled the hole Ludwig had created.

The army inside the trap was quickly falling apart and getting whittled down: they couldn't actually drown, no longer having real lungs or the need for air, but Lily's enchanted waters still trapped them at the bottom of the pit, and with Tekla, Bartlett, and Ludwig raining hell upon them only the strongest spectres were still hanging on, if only barely.

However, the fight wasn't over yet. F.R.E.I.A. would probably notice it first, alongside her master: several powerful magical auras were quickly approaching the village he'd guarded with his barrier, moving in a wide berth around the trap and the mages responsible for the quick and decisive defeat of most of the army. Whether the general had told them to annihilate the village while the mages were busy, or they'd decided on their own was unimportant: if left alone they would eventually break through the barrier.

Lily Ambrosia:

Basin:

Nepo:

WC: 906
PWC: 7,223
TWC: 20,130/14,000

@Francois Prideheart@RF007

Rotwang had been waiting patiently for whatever was going to happen next in the situation at hand with F.R.E.I.A hovering by his side, at the ready to relay any important strategic intelligence to him as and when necessary when he heard her bring him the report from Francois regarding the rather suspicious absence of the enemy general. Therefore, he relayed his positive confirmation of having received the strategic intelligence in question back to Francois through F.R.E.I.A.

"Understood...Receipt of intelligence confirmed successfully...Perhaps this turn of events indicates that the enemy general has determined that their noticeable presence alongside his minions is an unnecessary commitment of his time and resources which could be better spent elsewhere...That, in turn, could mean that this enemy general is confident that the village and its populace could not muster up any means of defense against his undead horde...Alternatively, the general's absence could also be because he anticipated this ambush by us and our forces and did not want to expend any further resources in creating more of this main force...Either way, that is rather fortuitous for us since this means we do not have to hold back for fear of injuring his vessel with this trap activation...Now returning to observation of the enemy and their progress towards the trap zone."

With that response given to Francois, Rotwang returned to surveying the scene that was unfolding before him at present, and before too much longer, the enemy army finally made its presence known by walking right into the concealed trap that he, Francois, and Lily had laid for them earlier to eliminate as many of the weaker enemies in the opposing army as possible. Consequently, he gave the cue to F.R.E.I.A. who then relayed his signal to Lily and her companion, Basin, to set off the trap in question which managed to catch the entirety of the horde of weaker enemies in its earthen clutches successfully upon activation.

Excellent...the plan is progressing smoothly thus far...Now for the second wave of our ambush upon the enemy...

Rotwang thought thus silently as he observed what was going on in the trap area as well as what his allies, Lily and Francois were doing there through the eyes of his A.I. assistant, F.R.E.I.A., and he also began recording this battle data for future reference surreptitiously. As he beheld the scene unfold, he noticed and recorded how Francois' companion, Ludwig, used his “Silent Flame Magic - Fox Pyre” spell to imbue him, Francois, Lily, Basin, and F.R.E.I.A. with enhanced operational capacity for the battle with the undead army which was going to come shortly afterward. Then, he shifted his attention quickly to studying and recording how Lily's "Roar of Gaia" spell flooded the trap hole with a massive torrent of water which had been magically imbued with strength against the undead, thus sending them all scattering everywhere and raising a deafening din of terrible screeching within the confines of the deep and dark trap hole before succumbing to being trapped helplessly under all that hydro-static pressure.

Next, Rotwang shifted his attention back to Francois and his companions to further witness and record their response to the spectral army which was now mostly trapped in the flooded pit. As he observed them, he noticed how another of Francois' companions, a mermaid named "Tekla", hurled her unique, aquatic-themed spell called “Archaic Ocean Script - Chord of Spite” at the enemy undead, destroying some more of those among the enemy undead who may have been fortunate enough to escape Lily's wrath earlier somehow. After that, he looked on and recorded the efforts by yet another of Francois' companions, this being the stone golem named "Bartlett", who quickly employed his “Ancient Stone Formation - Boulder Field” to add some earth-attribute offensive supernatural arts to the volley of annihilation that was being hurled without pause or hesitation at the enemy undead army, thus crushing even more of them with the sheer weight of the boulders formed by this spell. Finally, he turned his attention back to Ludwig who was the last to sling offensive spells at the trapped undead legions, and quickly recorded his "Silent Flame Magic - Pillar Flare" as it added fire-attribute offensive supernatural arts to the ongoing travails being faced by the already harried enemy undead, causing the army to be whittled down till merely ashes and fragments of broken limbs remained at the bottom of the water-flooded pit trap to signify the thoroughly routed remnants of the once imposing enemy army therein

Phase 2 of this village's defense has been completed successfully...Now then, it remains to be seen if my suspicion about the enemy general and his paltry remaining forces will turn out to be true or false...Regardless, the necessary preparations to forestall any ambush by the enemy have already been made, so...

Rotwang turned his attention away from his allies, Francois and Lily, and their various respective companions who seemed to have the situation at the trap zone under control, and quickly focused his senses toward the village which had his potent area-wide healing barrier still in effect. Naturally, he and F.R.E.I.A. both noticed the presence of several more powerful enemy magical signatures along with some more moderately powerful ones approaching the village while giving the trap zone a wide berth, no doubt to avoid the same sordid fate that had befallen their undead brethren earlier

Master Stein...I have confirmed the quickly moving presence of several more powerful enemy magical signatures along with some more moderately powerful ones approaching the village while giving the trap zone a wide berth, no doubt to avoid the same sordid fate that had befallen their undead brethren earlier...What are your orders?

Rotwang heard F.R.E.I.A. report to him in a tactical whisper about the approaching enemy battalion, thus positively confirming the sensory data he had received through each of the enhanced multi-modular sensor banks that were installed in his true cyborg body. In response, he nodded and quickly remarked after pondering the issue for a few minutes

Order Royal Goblin Battalions 1, 4, and 5 to stand ready at the warp gate to either sortie out or send their attacks through it on my command...Then, you will begin monitoring the enemy's progress and vitals and mine as well simultaneously while I engage the enemy after letting the barrier weaken them adequately.

Rotwang replied thus to F.R.E.I.A. in a tactical whisper about the plan of action that they were both going to follow to confront the enemy battalion approaching the village from the rear. Then, while F.R.E.I.A. set about completing the first of the two tasks that he had given her, he turned his attention to the enemy battalion of undead to collect and analyze all possible battle data about the units therein as quickly as possible so that he could prepare to face them if necessary. As he was doing so, he also monitored the area-wide healing barrier that he had placed around the entire village to protect everything and everyone inside it from harm. Then, as he witnessed and recorded the scene unfolding for future reference, he noted that some among the enemy battalion were capable of flight and attempted to fly high into the air to pierce the barrier by entering from above it but failed miserably at this since the healing barrier exterminated the existence of each such aerial unit thoroughly upon contact with them, causing their audible and dreadful shrieks to echo in the air as their forms disintegrated to nothing rapidly and steadily. Similarly, he noted that others among the enemy battalion were burrowing types that tried to circumvent the seemingly dome-shaped barrier by tunneling underneath it but ended up failing just as spectacularly as their airborne comrades since they did not anticipate the fact that the healing barrier was a sphere and not a dome, causing the audible disconcerting cries of agony and pain of each of these burrowing units to issue forth from the holes they had dug into the ground all around the village as their forms disintegrated to nothing in an equally rapid and steady manner.

This is turning out exactly as my calculations had indicated it would...Most excellent, indeed...The data that is being collected from this encounter will be quite useful for my future experiments in necromancy too...Now then, that just leaves...those 3 Demons of War...and their elite minions as well...Therefore, the most optimal strategy to employ here would be...Ah, yes, that will suffice quite well for this purpose...Additionally, this opportunity will allow me to field test some more of my recently developed magic...

Rotwang thought silently as he observed the enemy battalion be whittled down to the mere 6 units that he noted being left after the failed onslaught upon the village. Then, with his plan in mind, he began by activating his "Ophiomancy Art – Parasitic Snake" spell which charged his body with mana to rapidly create a large, long, sentient yet nonliving, parasitic snakeskin comprised of smaller snakeskin constructs which he used to silently attack 1 of the 3 Demons of War from its blind spot as an opening gambit on his part. Thanks to the ample distraction provided by the healing barrier's debilitating influence upon this target of his spell, Rotwang was able to afflict the Demon of War in question with the effect of his spell successfully. Consequently, the snakeskin construct managed to burrow into the Demon's body through its mouth and hijacked control of its body to transfer it to Rotwang who proceeded to command it through the psychosomatic influence of his spell to turn on its comrades and all the elite underlings too, causing it to decimate its elite minion and those of the other Demons as well before getting killed off by the combined efforts of the remaining 2 Demons of War.



Thus, Rotwang managed to complete his part of the task and repaired the healing barrier while also strengthening it to arrest the movements of the other two Demons of War so that Francois and Lily could take each of the Demons out upon arrival.

"SitRep: 1 of 3 Demons of War as well as the 3 elite minions following it have been exterminated successfully...Requesting assistance to eliminate the remaining 2 Demons of War."

Rotwang relayed his progress to both Francois and Lily through F.R.E.I.A. to inform them of the current situation near the village and to summon them to his side whenever they were ready to enter the fray against the few remaining enemies in the battalion attacking the village.

---

OOC:

WC Tallies:

• Post WC: 1755
  
  
• Total Personal WC: 7611
  

=====

@Francois Prideheart @Lily Ambrosia

Even as her companions caught wind of the unholy elite who'd decided to separate from the main army and move towards the village independently Lily was still focused on unleashing her full might upon the host trapped at the bottom of the pit, converting more and more magic into enchanted waters which shot forward with power and speed equivalent to cannon fire. By this point the hole was already mostly filled, the dryad's continued aquatic barrage mixing with the newly formed lake to ensure that all the undead caught within the trap would never again see the light of day, forever buried at the bottom until their spectral forms dissipated and their souls were returned to whatever afterlife they'd forcibly been pulled back from.

Basin, not playing a role in Lily's assault, was paying more attention to the rest of the operation, and as such also realised that there were more enemies to deal with, the more dangerous and powerful members of the general's legion having wisely avoided the trap. Whether their decision to head straight for the village was also intelligent or not was less certain, but at the very least it meant they were still at large, in contrast to the many weaker spectres who never even got close enough to see the village, much less invade it.

Ze wouldn't interrupt Lily's efforts to take down the main force, leaving it up to the others to respond to the elite ghosts first while the dryad finished her efforts. Unsurprisingly Rotwang was the first to react, his role as coordinator granting him the position and ability to foresee the incoming assault on the village and respond to it in a timely manner. His banner, wisely constructed in advance, successfully deflected initial attempts from the undead to invade the settlement and even wiped out the weaker members of the elite force as its regenerative properties proved to be harmful to the vile shades and the miasma they carried with them.

This left only the strongest of the elite, powerful enough that even Rotwang's barrier wouldn't be able to eliminate them or keep them at bay forever. Souls of fallen warriors so twisted and corrupted by time and the dreadful realms they'd been condemned to that they could barely be considered people any longer: malice and torment had replaced whatever personalities they might have had during their lives, and even as their general forced them to serve him once again they carried their prisons with them. The healing barrier that had destroyed lesser spectres would fall to their vile presence eventually, if not dealt with before then.

Fortunately, both Rotwang and Francois jumped into action before it came to that, along with the numerous companions Francois brought with them. With F.R.E.I.A. having a distinctly supportive role Rotwang tackled one of the demons by himself, but quickly showed how his lack of companions wouldn't keep him from his task. Basin was somewhat concerned about the strange magic the scientist used, creating some kind of parasite which could even seize control of such twisted a being as demon and have it wreak havoc amongst its own allies before getting brought down by the remaining demons. The earth elemental wasn't the most social of types, but ze could also sometimes perceive things that were less obvious to zirs more naive and trusting partner.

Rotwang was undoubtedly an ally during this mission, but Basin didn't believe that his charming introduction accurately reflected his true nature. Not that ze thought it necessary to bring attention to this suspicion: Rotwang had successfully taken care of one of the demons along with the lesser spectres, so the elemental had no reason for complaint if ze was even inclined towards voicing zirs opinion.

As for Francois, he successfully showed how even as a summoner he was still capable of standing his ground if needed: his companions dealt with the other spectres surrounding the second demon while the mage himself challenged the twisted fiend head-on, enchantments and skill allowing him to meet and surpass a monster which, if judged by raw power alone, would have been his superior.

Still, even with the others doing their part, the danger had not yet passed: one of the demons was still left free to act, and the hellish aura each demon carried with them had left the surroundings torn and blasted, flames eating away at the flora while the ground took on a morbid and nauseating mixture of purple and red.

Lily abruptly stopped filling the pitfall when Basin turned around, the earth elemental wordlessly making it clear that it was time to focus on the next enemy. Zirs connection with the dryad didn't require verbal communication, so even as the stone behemoth started moving zirs leaf-clad friend was already preparing for the next battle, her otherwise kind eyes narrow as she focused on the demon in the distance. She'd expended all the magic she'd managed to accumulate before the main army arrived, but that meant she had still to tap into her usual reserves.

The last of the demons had wisely moved away from the others, still seeking to penetrate Rotwang's barrier to wreak havoc upon the villagers safely contained within. Given how effective the scientist's defensive measure had been at not just deflecting the lesser spectres but destroying them the demon knew better than to be reckless, but there were plenty of ways to deal with a barrier which didn't risk harming the self. Fiendish flames struck the barrier again and again, each tongue clinging and clawing as if possessing a malevolent will that sought to feast upon the souls of the villagers. Their vile nature was betrayed by their unnatural shapes and colours: jagged like barbed blades, black and crimson like shadow and blood.

As a silver lining, even as the demon was slowly weakening the barrier it was too distracted to notice the new threat approaching it. With each step Basin took ze moved faster, and unlike before ze was making no effort at being gentle: each step shook the earth and left a deep imprint as the sound of rock upon dirt filled the air, becoming louder and louder as the earth elemental gathered momentum like a boulder rolling downhill.

Trees that otherwise might have been crushed by Basin's unstoppable advance were quickly moved aside by Lily's magic, the dryad's hands glowing green as she made the flora in front of her partner part before zir before returning to their original spot behind zir.

'Heavy Momentum.'

While Lily's magic did prevent Basin from crashing into anything on the path towards the demon the elemental's approach was impossible to ignore for long: it would have been like ignoring an avalanche bearing down on you, with the ground underneath you trembling even as the roar of crashing stones announced the arrival of the rockslide which would turn your bones to dust and your flesh to paste. The demon had already turned away from the barrier to face the elemental when ze came into range, claws flexed and malicious gaze fixed upon the approaching figure.

Basin, however, didn't slow down. The moment ze felt that ze had entered the demon's malicious aura ze accelerated even further, magic now bolstering zir to close the remaining distance within mere moments.

'Rolling Boulder.'

Where the demon might have expected a confrontation instead it found itself on the receiving end of Basin's relentless charge: all the momentum Basin had accumulated while running towards the fiend now came crashing down on it, the unholy substance it was formed of yielding before Basin's stone body. The demon's strength was undeniable, but it wasn't built to resist such a charge and was sent flying.

"Rock Spike!"

While the demon was still airborne Lily, riding upon Basin's back, raised her hands towards it and the glow around her hands changed from green to brown. A petrified spike shot out from her hands to strike one of the demon's shoulders. The fiend snarled as its already uncontrolled flight was now send into a full-blown tumble, preventing it from correcting itself before smashing into Rotwang's barrier. The snarl turned into a hate-filled screech as the barrier's magic ate away at its not-flesh, the cursed creature quickly pushing itself away and falling towards the ground.

Even after tackling the demon Basin had yet to slow down. At the same time that the demon reached the ground, the elemental was already upon it, one stone fist now raised towards the heavens.

'Crushing Blow.'

The demon rolled out of the way mere moments before Basin's fist struck the spot where it had fallen. The impact caused cracks to spread in every direction and caused the demon to stumble as it tried to get back up, dirt and dust thrown into the air. As the elemental lifted zirs fist it left a small crater in the ground, the stone giant barely pausing as ze turned towards zirs opponent.

"Entangle!"

Upon Lily's command, numerous vines burst from the ground around Basin and quickly spread out in every direction. Curling and twisting the vines seized hold of anything other than Basin, Lily, or Nepo (riding Lily's shoulder). The demon pushed itself upright and inhaled before releasing a wave of hellish flames in response, searing the vines and causing them to fall apart before they could seize hold of it.

Now that it was no longer getting ragdolled by Basin the demon took its turn attacking the elemental. Running forward across the burning and charred remains of the vines it brandished its sharp claws, a wicked grin on its face as it closed the gap almost as quickly as Basin had charged it before. However, the moment it was about to dig its claws into the elemental's stone body...

'Stoneskin.'

Basin's entire body was covered in a brown glow which shaped itself into a layer of translucent stone, bolstering Basin's already immense resilience even further. The demon's claws were capable of crushing even boulders if needed, but against the elemental's defences found themselves inadequate. While they did pierce the magical stone they barely scarred the elemental's body, and when it tried to pull back its claws for another attack found that they were embedded within the stone that formed Basin's body.

'Rock Barrage.'

"Raging Torrent!"

The surface of Basin's body began to form spikes of stone at the same time that Lily shifted from plant magic to water magic. Each spike was immediately shot from Basin's body once it finished forming, subjecting the fiend to a barrage of petrified stakes while it tried to wrench its claws free. Its desire to remove its claws was granted when a blast of water crashed into it and launched it backwards even as the stone spikes kept flying.

Flailing and tumbling the demon once again smashed into Rotwang's barrier, now pinned against it by the high-pressure stream Lily was blasting it with and finding more and more stone spikes drilled into its not-flesh. The assault only lasted several seconds, but once it came to an end and the demon was allowed a moment of respite its back was already torn open by the barrier and numerous stab wounds were causing its front to bleed profusely while the stone spikes fell to the ground and shattered.

If possible its gaze was even more hateful than before, spitting curses with its forked tongue so vile that the mere sound of them made any surviving vines in its vicinity wither. Lily's gaze wasn't as hateful but it was clear the dryad was not planning to show the demon any mercy, and Basin... well, the elemental was as unshakeable as a mountain.

The demon gathered its strength to either flee or fight back, but before it could do either Lily had finished her next spell, her eyes sharp as she aimed with one hand.

"Nature's Blade!"

Under normal circumstances the demon would have been able to dodge at that distance, but having already been weakened by the numerous attacks inflicted upon it by the elemental and the dryad it was too slow to react. As the concentrated water edge flew towards it the fiend tried to move to the side only for its leg and most of its arm to be cleanly separated from its body, the amputated parts flying in the other direction as the abomination fell to the ground with a roar now equally pained as hateful.

Planting the stump of its arm on the ground it tried to push itself upright, but the trembling of the ground announced the quick approach of Basin, once more raising zirs fist to put an end to the fight.

This time the demon couldn't dodge.

With all the momentum of a boulder, the fist came down upon the demon. With all of Basin's strength and weight behind it, the demon's torso was crushed, not-flesh liquifying and wraith-bones reduced to dust. Another tremor shook the earth as the demon roared and screamed, its fiendish cries causing Lily to flinch even as their foe fell apart before their eyes. Its malicious will could no longer sustain it and after a last feeble attempt at clawing at Basin's arm whatever hideous intentions had fuelled it disappeared, leaving behind a misshapen husk.

With the demon slain the remnants of its body began to emit the same thick miasma which had surrounded the undead legion, flesh and bone alike slowly fading away. Lifting zirs fist Basin stepped away to avoid exposing Lily to the miasma, the dryad at the same time reaching down to place her hand against her partner's back.

"Life Surge."

A green glow quickly flowed across Basin's form, regenerative magic removing the scars left by the demon's claws as if they'd never been. As the demon's flames had never touched either of them that left them to deal with the aftermath of the battle, as well as the fiend's unnatural presence: the barrier had kept the village safe, but the land outside of the village had been left completely ruined.

Lily knew that they still had to face the general after this, but she couldn't leave this matter alone either. Especially since the hellfire the demons had used before could keep spreading.

The fight against the demon had cost her quite a bit of magic in the end, but after quietly conferring with Basin she decided that the extra magic needed to address the flames was worth the effort. Placing her hands together the dryad concentrated, breathing slowly and deeply both to calm herself and to prepare herself for the next spell.

"Abundant Land."

A wave of nature energy washed across her surroundings, followed by another and yet another, each wave reaching further and deeper than the last. With each wave, the ground, malformed by the demon's very presence, grew healthy once more, and by the third wave plants quickly began to cover every surface. As Lily kept channelling her regenerative magic the hellscape left behind by the fiend was replaced by one of verdant overgrowth, with a dense mist emanating from the dryad's position to spread across the area and smother any hellish flames that remained. The damage left behind by Basin's more forceful attacks was also undone, the elemental once more moving with care as he helped bring Lily to the centre of it all so her healing magic could reach every part of the forest the demons had tainted.

Lily Ambrosia:

Basin:

Nepo:

WC: 2,574
PWC: 9,797
TWC: 26,790/14,000

@Francois Prideheart@RF007

Rotwang and F.R.E.I.A. looked on silently as Francois, Lily, and their respective companions each responded to his request for aid against the remaining Demons of War. While each of them confronted one of the remaining two Demons, he made sure to record the details of the battles against said enemies down to the last minutiae for future reference. Then, when he received the situation report from Francois confirming the destruction of the Demons, he remarked

"Understood...Receipt of intelligence confirmed successfully...You and your companions each have my most heartfelt gratitude for aiding me in my hour of greatest need, Mr. Morgan...The same applies to you and your companions as well, Ms. Ambrosia."

Rotwang replied to Francois to thank him for his efforts and did the same with Lily afterward before turning his focus to the aftermath and fallout from these battles against the Demons of War, namely the large swathes of forest fire that were now raging across the landscape. Once again, he made sure to record the methods that Lily used to combat the forest fires, specifically, her spell which made fresh flora retake the damaged areas by filling them with new life. Of course, to ensure that he maintained his cover as an upstanding, conscientious, and benevolent person, Rotwang decided to assist Lily in her efforts by calling forth yet another of his inventions from within the confines of his Re-Quip hammerspace as he had before with the healing barrier generator which he had installed in the village to protect it and its citizenry from the enemy's onslaught. Now, however, the device was not a barrier generator, but rather one that would allow him to control the large raincloud masses that had gathered in the skies above due to the action of the intense heat of the demonic hellfire vaporizing the mist from Lily's spell and sending it into the air above.

"Re-Quip: Cloud Seeder Grenade"

Rotwang uttered the name of the spell as he brought it out, not because he needed to, but only because he was feeling theatrical at the moment. Then, he hurled this device high into the air, targeting the rainclouds that had gathered there. Upon doing so, he activated it once it was in the exact center of the cloud masses so that the device could exert its maximum possible effect, namely the rapid dispersal throughout the cloud masses of as many silver iodide crystals as were contained in the device's payload at present time. Upon activation, the grenade quickly caused the rainclouds above to light up brightly with his magic which was filling the silver iodide crystals to allow them to draw in and concentrate the water vapor in the air to prepare for the controlled downpour of rain which was to follow soon. After several minutes, when he determined that the extent of area coverage was sufficient, Rotwang activated his next spell

"Re-Quip: Cloud Seeder Grenade - Bolstering Rain."

With that done, Rotwang snapped his fingers once to complete the spell's activation, causing the noise to echo loudly upwards so that it could be recognized by his airborne grenade, causing it to signal all the silver iodide crystals that were holding large masses of rainwater in reserve to release their payload down in a strictly controlled manner onto the fresh flora which Lily was generating over the damaged landscape to restore its condition to what it was before the battle. Consequently, a gentle rain now fell over the surrounding landscape, causing the flora to grow and spread much faster and wider than it was before. After that, Rotwang called out his next spell

"Re-Quip: Cloud Seeder Grenade - Smothering Rain."

In response, the grenade that Rotwang had hurled into the rainclouds now set some of the silver iodide crystals to release a more forceful, but still regulated downpour of rain only onto those areas of the landscape that still had the hellfire ravaging them and nowhere else, causing these fires to die out instantly upon contact with the rain despite their intense heat, not only assisting Lily in smothering these flames as well, but also preparing these remaining areas for her to grow her flora over it to restore them as well just as she was with those parts of the landscape which she was still working on at present.

"Ms. Ambrosia...I have set forth another of my devices to aid you in restoring the landscape to its former viridian glory...Hopefully, this will help take some of the strain off your shoulders...Now then, my comrades, only the general remains to be dealt with, so once your efforts to deal with the forest fire situation are complete, please signal me with the general's coordinates so that I may lock on to said enemy and his vessel to escort them to the designation purification locale."

Rotwang spoke thus after connecting with Lily and Francois again through F.R.E.I.A. and her avatars which had been given to them earlier for communication and coordination purposes. Once that was done, he fell silent and waited for whatever else was going to happen next in the situation.

---

OOC:

WC Tallies:

• Post WC: 849
  
  
• Total Personal WC: 8460
  

=====

@Francois Prideheart @Lily Ambrosia

As they still had the general to deal with Lily didn't think they had the time to completely heal the area, nor could they expend all their energy. While she was confident that if they worked together they could handle the general, the reality was that this spectre was powerful enough to call forth an entire army, as well as several demons which would otherwise require an entire ritual by themselves.

She wasn't an experienced fighter, nor a strategist, but she could tell that the boss of this fiendish legion wasn't someone they could brush aside.

Thankfully, she and Basin weren't alone in tending to the forest's needs. Focused as she was on the lands before her she hadn't noticed Rotwang's work until the first droplets hit the ground, at which point she briefly looked up to see that the scientist's device was gathering, condensing, and finally releasing the rainclouds produced by the combination of demonic hellfire and rejuvenating mists. Soon after she heard Rotwang's voice explaining what he'd done, the dryad's expression shifting into a grateful smile even if the scientist couldn't see it.

"Thank you very much Rotwang. With this we should at least be able to keep the fires from growing out of control. I'd like to keep working on this, but Varsi is still somewhere out there."

As if on cue a burst of magic in the distance alerted her and Basin, both of them looking in the distance towards where a dark dome was visible above the treetops. Much smaller than the protective barrier which covered the village... small enough that it probably wasn't meant to contain many people. Perhaps two, if that.

But more importantly, the vile nature of the dome was unmistakable. The general had revealed itself, and it looked like Francois was the general's first target.

"Can you hear me Rotwang? The general's over there with Francois!"

Worry crept into her voice as she realised what this meant. Francois was no push-over, but from the looks of it he'd have to face the general alone. A spectre strong enough to summon an entire army.

Basin, however, took the lead as ze turned and began to run towards the area which Lily had prepared in advance to deal with their adversary. The concern Lily had for Francois might be legitimate, but to just rush towards his location would do little good at this point, especially since that dome was probably meant to exclude them from the fight.

The Rune Knight would have to prove his worth by surviving his encounter with the vengeful spirit, and once he did Lily and Basin could finish this nightmarish encounter by taking the general down in the arena prepared for that specific task.

Lily chewed her lower lip as Basin moved away from the dome and towards the sunken lands. Eventually she sighed, calling into the air once again.

"Rotwang? Freia? Basin and I are heading towards the spot we prepared to deal with Varsi. She should be inside that dark dome together with Francois, so once it drops can you teleport her to us? We'll take care of things here once you do.

Oh, and could you help Francois as well? I don't think he'll die, but... you know?"

Normally she was the healer, the one who focused on keeping everyone alive, but this time her role was to help Basin deal with the general and the girl the spectre was possessing. Which meant that she could only ask the scientist to take care of the Rune Knight, as he clearly was also capable of such feats.

As before Basin slowly accelerated while running towards the marshes, until zirs stony feet began to fling around large amounts of water with every step and the forest opened up to reveal Lily's arena. Reeds and algae flourished in this territory, with wiry underwater plants silently hovering underneath the surface as if serpents waiting for the opportunity to strike. Basin was undeterred, Lily's magic ensuring that her allies could move through the marshland with minimal difficulty as the earth elemental headed for the middle of the submerged land.

Reaching the centre Basin came to a halt, motionless as a rock while Lily closed her eyes and tried to both relax and prepare herself for what was to come. Even as Basin had been running towards the arena the flashes of magic from the general's dark dome had been intense, evidence of the ferocious battle happening within. She really hoped that Francois was all right, but also that he'd managed to weaken the spectre enough that she and Basin could exorcise it without hurting Varsi.

But at the moment all she could do was wait for Rotwang and Freia to do their thing.

"Ready."

Lily Ambrosia:

Basin:

Nepo:

WC: 794
PWC: 10,591
TWC: 30,691/14,000

@Francois Prideheart@RF007