August 27, 2016:
A Leyline has just … vanished. When Primal Force and Protectors of the Seven Spheres investigate, they find another divine problem that needs fixing.
Cape Sebastian State Park
Characters
NPCs: None.
Mentions:
Plot:
Mood Music: None.
Fade In…
There's a lot more people keeping an eye on magic. There's still not a whole lot of them, but it's an improvement. Over more or less just a few potent mages like Strange and gods like Fenris now there's the Primal Force, WAND and most recently the three champions of the Vishanti. Granted, there's a lot of overlap in those groups, but still help is help.
May gets the message from one of her psychics: People have been having strange dreams all over the Pacific Northwest and recently a leyline just vanished out of the Cape Sebastian area in Oregon.
Ley lines don't disappear. They run dry sometimes, and they flood sometimes, like rivers. But they don't vanish as if they never were. It's enough to sound alarm bells. Not 'the world is ending' alarm bells but definitely the 'something strange is going on over here' kinds of alarm bells.
The next message comes from Fenris, who is apparently already on site. Primal Force, if you're available we've got a bit of a mystery on our hands. Come to me if you can.
Where is Fenris? Well he's on a little stretch of beach in the Cape Sebastian State Park. It's not a huge state park but it's big enough and the beach here is pleasant. There's not a whiff of the Ley Line that used to run right down the coast though and it gives the area a surreal, deadened feeling. It's like being at the shore and not being able to hear the waves.
At the same time as Fenris' message goes, Zee just appears besides him. Of course she's been paying attention to what's happening in the world of magic and Leyline just vanishing ping on her radar.
Dressed in all black leather, the emerald pendulum at her left hip and diamond studded collar at her throat adding the only colour to her ensemble. "I'm here… "
Upon getting the report from one of the WAND staff psychics — a mousy woman with coke bottle glasses that everyone else panned off as a hoax — May was preparing to ask Fenris about it when his own request came thing. Well okay then. Acknowledged, Fenris. It's so normal anymore for May to abruptly leave on WAND business that no one bats an eyelash. As she goes, though, she contacts anyone and everyone she thinks can rop what they're doing and join her, and also calls ahead to the SHIELD office in Portland. She spends most of her walk to the nearest ley line explaining that yes, she will be wanting the use of a quinjet, and yes she will be there in fifteen minutes, and yes, she IS currently on the east coast. "Just have the quinjet ready."
Twenty minutes later, exactly as predicted, May is on her way to Cape Sebastian State Park via quinjet. She'll be there in, oh, a few minutes. She's never really bothered with speed limits.
"Ohmigod Damnyou would you shut up about the damned club. We can go another night. I'm sure this is important…what is with you?? Seriously dude." It sounds like a rather shocking role reversal as the Lorekeeper and his familiar arrive. Having taken seasick medicine before using a teleportation device, he's rather proud of the fact that while he might appear a little green, Ryden does not throw up upon arrival.
Damnyou is wearing lime green duck shoes and matching harness, the color matches his pet human's glitter eyeshadow and glow in the dark necklace and bracelets. Ryden's also wearing hot pink leather pants and a sheer black t shirt. His travelpack is slung over one shoulder and the Eye of Amaggoto lies on his chest uncovered.
He steps off the small round disk and tucks it into his bag before looking around for Fenris and the others.
It's just a beach, at least to a first inspection. The God-Wolf is squatting on the beach, examining the sand and letting it run through his fingers when Zee and Ryden arrive. May will be another minute yet and Fenris is sure she'll make an entrance.
"Ah, good of you to come Zee. May's on her way. Ryden." That last is a greeting to the club dressed mage. The Old Wolf looks up and quirks a brow at his… mode of dress. "Perhaps a use of that eye is in order. There's an echo of power here. I can feel it. But it's hidden."
Indeed there is. Zee, Ryden and even May when she arrives will sence something. It's maddeningly unspecific but it's the same kind of sensation you get whe nyou know the thing you're looking for is in the room you're in and you just can't see it.
Whilst Fenris plays with the sand, Zee frowns and looks around. She can sense it, whatever it is, but can't quite put her finger on it. "Nice colour combinations…" she finally says, looking at Ryden with a small smirk "… and accessories. Me, I prefer the minimalist look…" she's being cheeky and she knows it.
"That power, it's setting my teeth on edge." she adds, looking back round and down the beach before looking in the direction of the sound of the quinjet arriving.
Melinda May sets the quinjet down in a clear patch well back from the beach's water line and approaches the others. By the time she gets to them she has a faint frown and a handheld device being held out slightly. "No anomalous electromagnetic fields. Why does it feel like that moment right before a lightning strike?"
"Hello Fenris. May." The lorekeeper smiles at the agent and Damnyou moves to nuzzles Zee's ankles and then maki happy noises at May. Ryden glances down at Zee's comment and grins. "I like colors. Besides, if you wanna be seen in that place you need some bright ones." He looks around the area for a moment on his own to see what he can tell with his own power first. Not much, which isn't really a surprise but still worth checking. He's got to learn how well and how much this Eye can help him.
The lorekeeper takes a breath to settle himself and then lifts up the Eye gingerly, touching it as little as possible and somehow managing to refrain from yelping when it opens and starts looking around. 'Okay then. Something is missing here. I can feel it and so can they. Something we can't see and we need to see it so show us.' Holding the Eye out Ryden slowly scans the area like May is doing. "Geebus this thing is creepy….what..?"
The eye emits a golden ish light that washes over the scene. Everywhere it illuminates along the sand there are footprints and things that look like petroglyphs. Polynesian petroglyphs to be specific. There's one in particular repeated over and over and over. It's a a circle with a line going straight down from it, looking a little bit like a balloon.
Fenris rises up from his crouch and frowns. "Innnnnnteresting."
As Ryden sweeps that gaze about the feeling of 'lightning about to strike' intensifies greatly. It's very, very likely that something or someone does not like the scene being revealed in this manner.
"Hello May. We're not sure yet." Zee answers the Agent, watching as Ryden 'unleashes' the eye. It's interesting to watch it in action, as far as she knows this is the first time he's used it.
"Glyphs…" the young mage breathes "always … glyphs. I don't know what it is, but it's polynesian. I've been doing some reading lately for other things I'm working on." she adds the last by way of explanation.
"Ryden, can you look it up? Do you have a book for that." If he can, he'll find it's glyph for Kapu - which means forbidden.
May studies the revealed petroglyphs as well, but polynesian is not in her list of languages. And then, she looks around more uneasily than before. "Ryden, put that pendant away." She's honestly waiting for her hair to start standing on end like she's in contact with an Ven de Graff generator, the air feels so far from normal. Doesn't stop her from pulling a weapon, though. And in deference to the weird sensation, she chooses her black silk sash whip.
"Oh I can read it, sorry." He tends to forget that most people can't read like, alllll the languages. While he's not very good at speaking in most of them, Ryden can read a great many and those he can't, all he needs to do is study it a bit. "Forbidden is the main one. Which isn't totally helpful. I mean, lots of shit is forbidden. Not sure I'd call stealing a leyline forbidden though. Not recommended, total dick move, stupid idea, sure. Forbidden? Not so much."
"Anyone else getting the feeling like something's very pissed we're doing this?" The magi frowns and gazes around some more. He nods in agreement at May's command and drops the Amulet back onto his chest. "Go back to sleep." And, like, where does whatever get off on being mad anyway? They stole a fucking leyline! It's just gone.. how did they do that? And why… He also drops his pack and kneels, unclipping the lightsaber from the side before standing again. Just in case. Maaaaybe whatever it is will go the fuck away now… Damnyou snort-qweks. Suuuuuure. it's always that easy.
"THIEF!" That rings out the moment the eye shuts. Looks like Ryden wasn't quite fast enough. The sand swirls and builds, almost like a self assembling castle but in this case it's building humanoid forms. Three of them specifically - all made of sand. Two women, one man. All of them have vaguely native features.
"Thieves! Pillagers!" Whatever these are - and they seem to be some local varaition on a sea-nymph or spirit - they're not happy. They're so not happy they don't bother with any diplomacy. The man runs right at Ryden and just sleaps at him, turning into a crashing wave of sand as he does. The other two put their hands up and blast streams of cutting sand at May and Zee.
"Forbidden …" Zee looks at May and nods in answer to the Agents question. She's feeling it too. "Maybe they mean the are—-" That's when the voice rings out and the young mages eyes start to glow as blue energy circles her hands. She's already drawing magic to her.
"Try not to hurt them. We don't know what's going on here …" It's all she manages to say before she spits out the words to a spell, stirring the very air around them and forming a wind shield between herself and May; and the cutting sand. It should allow May to work through it … but only time will tell.
Crap. No way a sash whip is going to help against sand. May hastily stows the silk back in her pocket as she holds one arm up to shield her face from the sand. She'd love to try and talk sense into these forms, but she can already tell that they're very unlikely to listen to reason. How to deal with animate sand, though. Water.
Squinting, she turns toward Fenris. If that weather twig is on his person where she can see it, she'll yoink it and try to use the thing to get the PNW weather to give them lots and lots of rain.
Ryden closes his eyes to protect them and the Amulet flies up to his forehead to allow him to see through it. It also emits blinding beams of light at the spirit beings in response to his 'wtf am i supposed to do to stop them if i can't hurt them?!' question. Holy shit. He did not know it could do that.
"We didn't do it! Calm down, dammit. We didn't take anything!. We're trying to find who did!" Damnyou squawks an insult and tries to take cover behind some rocks. He isn't much good against things that use sand as a weapon.
That 'weather twig' is right where it usually is. May can grab it instantly. As she does Fenris twists because a fourth sand person has formed behind them. There's a green pulse from the God-Wolf's hand and he simply glasses the figure. Which apparently doesn't kill it. It just makes it move veeeeeeeeery sloooooooooowly.
The light actually makes the sand wave miss and then just… stand up and stare. Like it's entranced. Light pretty, perhaps? The sand blasts bounce of Zee's shield but they're getting more focused. That bit of rain, or whatever May's going to do would be well timed about now.
It might be testimony to how many times Zee has fought beside May. Seeing the glance the agent gives to Fenris and where it lands, she grunts, maintaining that wind shield "Do it. I can amplify the effects… see how Rydens' light has entranced his…"
Water might be good, with careful manipulation, Zee should be able to cause light refraction. For the moment, though, she'll maintain the shield shifting her focus as she feels the sand peoples shift.
Melinda May nods to Zee and realy hopes she remembers how to control this thing. She aims the weather rod upward and mentally wills it to summon rain. Please? And not the Easy Bake Coven Witch, kthxbye. And instead of the solid downpour she'd been wanting, she tries to summon a soft but steady drizzle. The kind that one doesn't really feel until their hair is completely soaked through.
Ryden drops his lightsaber and holds up his hands in a gesture of peace towards the other spirits while directing the beam of light towards the others. It splits into many multicolored rays speeding towards the eyes of the ones facing Ryden. "Hey guys! Look at me!!!" The lorekeeper tries to draw their attention. If they can just look at the eye.. maybe they'll all calm down and they can sort this out. Or May, Zee and Fenris will have enough time to get rid of the sand.
Oh there's rain. There's rain in spades. Several spouts of water just arc up from the sea and begin to drench the area. Not precisely a soft steady drizzle but better than not enough water. The sand forms start to errode and rapidly. In seconds they're not big enough to be particularly threatening to anything.
Of course the beings making them just abandon the forms and begin to make new ones. They don't have a chane to look at Ryden though, because…
"THAT'S ENOUGH!"
Fenris voice is far, far louder than it should be and even May, the muggle, can feel the power behind it.
The fighting instantly stops. The two who were fighting May and Zee stare at Fenris. The one staring at Ryden's light doesn't seem to notice.
"Thieves." They start again.
"Not us." Fenris growls.
"Gods. The gods have come and stolen our magic."
Fenris quirks a brow and glances at the other three.
As the water spouts, Zee separates the 'threads' of blue energy that has wound its way up to her elbows. Holding the shield spell in one hand, she speaks the words of another spell and the new thread of magic arcs catching the water. Whatever the Gale Rod has wreaked, her spell will magnify it.
Fenris' voice though, actually causes her to jump … and it takes a moment for the second spell to drop. Even longer for the shield to fall - she's cautious like that.
"More … gods?" she sighs and looks at Fenris as if to say 'more of yours?' but her gaze drops to the sigils in the sand, or where they had been and back up again "Which gods? and were they the ones who left the markings behind?"
Getting a visible flinch out of May is a feat. And Fenris just managed it with two words. Congrats. She does promptly lower the gale rod to hopefully stop the water spouts. Because if they can actually talk to these forms, she'd really prefer that. And … maybe … She takes a moment to pull her Leyline Pendulum out from under the neckline of her shirt. Maybe these protective spirits will recognize it to mean that she's trying to protect the ley lines just like they are.
Ryden had sort of been expecting Fenris to do something, so he isn't really startled. He waits til the spirits stop and then tries to take a few steps forward. His pants squeak awkwardly and he winces. "Oh sweet je-…auugh… I wish I was wearing underwear…" Damnyou peeks up from behind his rock and looks at the nearest spirit, then at Ryden, then at the spirit again. Seriously??? This has got to be the dumbest spirit he's ever come across. A blind deaf dead guy shouldn't mistake his addlepated human for a god. I mean just look at the guy…
Ryden winces and stops trying to move, finally looking up at the others. "Uh. Wait what? I'm not a god buddy. Sure would solve a lot of problems though. Bet gods don't get their juhhh…nevermind." The magi glances at Zee, then May, blushes furiously and finally just focuses on Fenris. "Why would a god steal your magic? They have their own power. Just think about it for a second, would you?" Maybe he should stop hypnotizing the one but.. It'll be fine. Probably. Besides.. it's incentive for the others to behave. Of course for all he knows some dick of a god did do it…. the spirits will only get themselves killed if they go looking for them though.
"All gods covet power and not all gods are equal." Fenris murmurs. It would take something on the level of a group of gods, though, to steal an entire ley line though.
The pendulums seem to calm the spirits a bit. As if they're some kind of police badge. Maybe they are.
"Theif-gods." One of the sand people half growls. Fenris rolls his eyes. These creatures clearly are half maddened by theft and he has to imagine the loss of power is physically painful for them. "Where did they take it."
"To the islands in the sky. To Hawaiki."
Fenris quirks a brow. "Thaaaaaat's not good."
So it's not one of Fenris' pantheon this time, Zee works that out pretty quickly. She too can imagine the pain the sand creatures are feeling at the loss of their power. She, who has experienced similar so recently. "Can we do something, in the interim, to feed them some magic, Fenris?"
She could channel some magic into the area, but without a Leyline, it would dissipate or be eaten by the beings all too quickly.
The name Hawaiki has her frowning, thinking deeply for a very long moment. "In my latest investigations, I read about that. That's a mythological place - where the original Polynesian people came from." Of course, Zee knows better than to think it mythological "Polynesian gods are stealing power? That's not good."
So not good.
May's got nothing, other than her Pendulum to help mollify the beings. "How do we get there and get the Leyline back? Can we create a new one here in the meantime?" After all, the path still exists, doesn't it?
"It might be easier to just relocate them if we can. Only until we've got this sorted out!" Ryden hastens to assure the spirits. "I know this is your home. I will do my best to find your magic and bring it back." And to the ass of whoever did it..gods or not. Look at those poor things. They're in pain and crazy. This kinda thing really pisses the lorekeeper off. Gods are not people they're friggin gods and they should have the proper care and respect for the lesser beings under them. Not run around being all selfish dicks. Maybe he can find a way to steal their power. See how they like that. He doesn't really care why they did it. Even if they desperately need power for something, this was not the way to go about getting it.
Fenris gives Ryden a look that says 'have you ever met any gods'? There's a reason human mythology is replete with stories of the gods being collossal dicks.
"I can feed them for a bit." It's not a ley line but the Earth still has ambient magic. Fenris just has to draw it to the surface. He kneels down and sinks a small crystal spike into the ground. A moment later water begins bubbling to the surface. Except it's not just water. It's the ambient Mana of the land drawn in to a single point.
"I can't do that for too long or it'll damage the land here. It's a stopgap. In the mean time, to answer your question May, the only way I know of to get to Hawaiki is through it's Axis Mundi. There's a place that connects it to this Earth. It's in Mount Kilauea." The volcano. The active volcano.
"You may have to ask the person who lives there for permission to get through though. Take my advice and bring some nice scotch."
Zee focuses on Fenris as he draws the mana to the surface. Her magic works differently, but now she's seen that … she's going to practice. She can do that! Of course, she'll have to examine the crystal spike more closely. The God-Wolf might expect a visit from Oshturs Chosen.
"Of course the pathway is through an active volcano…." she sighs as Fenris elucidates "But good scotch? That I can do. I'll have Richard bring some up from Shadowcrests cellars." Heaven knows what's been laid down there.
"We're going soon, right?" A land without magic … is a problem.
"Will Richard's selection beat what Rain might have in that cellar of hers?" May will just need to ask Rain if she can buy a bottle from her cellar, because there's stuff in there that would likely make Stark weep. Well, probably either will do just fine. "The sooner we do this the better." Now that they're not being attacked, the wrongness of the area is almost palpable. Bordering on painful.
Ryden rubs the bridge of his nose. Generally he's spent most of his time avoiding gods. Because yeah, total dicks most of the time. Just because they can be. That doesn't mean they should though, dammit! He sighs. "Scotch? Well that parts easy enough. I've got loads of scotch." Seriously. He has no idea how many different kinds are stuffed into his pack but there should be some nice ones in there. "…Oh. Yeah, you definitely have some in there too, Zee." He grins for a moment but it fades as she continues.
"An active volcano!?" Ryden sighs. Damnyou makes his way back over to the Lorekeeper's side with a disappointed expression. No clubbing for them tonight obviously. And where can he hide out for the next little while? Helllllll no is he going anywhere near a volcano. Cooked goose is not on the menu! "Wait, who is Rain?" He's always interested in meeting fellow booze collectors.
Fenris snorts. "We? You're going soon, oh Chosen of Oshtur. You and May and Ryden if he doesn't vanish under the closest couch when you're not looking."
The sand creatures get a nod and they disintegrate. The spirits that animated them sink back into the shoreline. "Just do it soon. It's not good for this land to be without it's line and it's damn unusual for anyone to put forth the effort into stealing it, much less a set of gods. If the Akua really did take it to Hawaiki, something's wrong there."
"Yes, Fenris." Zee gives the God-Wolf a mock salute and grins at May "Let's take two bottles with us, it won't hurt…" It's Ryden that's a very amused look. The bookmage, Agamotto's Chosen, might want to do some research on the Volcano Goddess. Zee knows something that he might not.
"Just be sure to dress well when we go, Ryden. We want to make sure our offerings look good."
Melinda May nods to Fenris and Zee, then asides to Ryden, "The witch with the talking orange cat familiar." He's had to have encountered her before. Right? "Let's get going." She's figuring that either Zee or Ryden is going to handle transportation from here because the quinjet is just too slow for her taste right now. And with this beach lacking its ley line…
"If you don't have a change of clothes with you, Ryden, there are extra flight suits in the quinjet. THey're not stylish, but they won't chafe." As much.
Ryden frowns down at his outfit. Well, he's sure as hell not wearing these pants. Though they aren't likely to get wet there. He's had enough leather for awhile! "Uh sure. I can do that…" He knows his taste in clothing is different than most. Maybe he should ask someone…but I mean c'mon. Who dresses up to go into a volcano??? What would be appropriate for that aside from some sort of astronaught like protective suit? Hm…maybe.. nah. Those things are a bitch to move in. "We'll find something." Ryden blinks down his familiar and rolls his eyes. "Wha…no I don't have a turd in my pocket! You are so going." Damnyou makes a rude sound and speed-waddles forward taking wing and flying off into the distance. Ryden gasps and shakes a fist after him. "Sonofabitch! Just you wait until I'm out of these pants!" He flushes and then edges slowly and very squeakily towards a group of bushes. "I've got something…just hang on, but thank you. It's nice to see some people being helpful!" A fist points upward in the direction the goose flew off, middle finger extended.
Fenris snickers and opens a Way. "You guys have fun. Give the volcano my regards." Or rather the person who lives in the volcano. He figures the other can handle their own transportation and they're on the case now, as it were leaving him as often he needs free to visit the underworld and figure out why it's coming apart at the seams.
Ah the wonderful life of being a god.