From Coral, Captain Naar Kalaman's band of Celestials pushed to the Prodigal Lava Brother's haven in a lone volcano due South of the West. Drifter had been earlier briefed by Knife of the Ocean and Naar Kalaman about the current issues that the Prodigal Lava Brother has been experiencing with thanks to some geomantic instabilities and the threatening collapse of the entire Western Region. As Twilight it falls on his hands to finish what the rogue Akasha had started.
They soon reached the Brother, a being composed mostly of brimstone and coughing out smoke. To Drifter he appeared rather out of the usual condition, although he had never heard much about the Volcano Gods. Naar Kalaman and Knife of the Ocean conversed with Prodigal Lava Brother for awhile and Drifter chanced some issues or two concerning the volcano's current condition.
"For some reason these bordermarches of Wyld infestation causes me my sullen condition, Lawgivers." Prodigal Lava Brother said.
"Knife here shall take a dive down there to check on the root of this problem." Naar Kalaman said. "Drifter over here shall see what he can do to aid you."
"Yes, please. Come this way."
The Celestials were led to the top of the volcano, Akira Silvering now with them once again and flying around in her brand-new parrot form squawking how much of a bastard Naar Kalaman is. At the top of the volcano, Knife of the Ocean prepared himself and took the plunge into the lava, disappearing with a sickening plop, followed by a hiss of sulphur.
"He is not going to be hurt?" Prodigal Lava Brother asked.
"Oh, he is well, I am sure of it." Naar Kalaman said. "He has been waiting for this day for quite a long time already."
Long hours passed in silence and boredom, forcing the impatient Akira Silverwing to scour the nearby islets for anything she can scavenge. Every now and then she returned with a shoulder pouch filled with all sorts of shells and little trinkets, then flying off towards a different direction. It was not long before Knife of the Ocean contacted them once again through the enchanted tattoos.
"Apparently there is something here!" Knife of the Ocean said. "It's big, it's round, it's spiky, and it keeps moving in a sort of pattern!"
"Anything else you can tell us besides that?" Drifter asked, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
"I'm getting to that." Knife said. "My little knowledge of geomantic training tells me that essence flows from all over converge to this weird spiky ball. That's what causes the spikes to move in a pattern. And no, not all of them apparently move. And, oh - wait."
"What's wrong?" Naar Kalaman asked.
"Necrotic Essence!"
"What?!" Drifter cried.
"Apparently this thing seems to take in Fire Essence and through the jade plates therein it is regulated and transformed to Wood Essence, which somehow brings the nature and life around these parts. But there's also a strain of Necrotic Essence seeping in this thing and mixing in with the rest of the Essence flows!"
"Where's it coming from?" Naar Kalaman asked.
"Due north-northwest."
Drifter drew out a map. "That's... somewhere around the Skullstone Archipelago."
"The Shadowlands..." Naar Kalaman said. "Well, something has to be done about that. Can you heave that thing up here?"
There was a short pause.
"You mean this thing." Knife said, as if in slight disbelief. "It's gonna take me three days to do that."
"Very well, we shall stay here until you get that up here." Naar Kalaman said.
"Akira's gonna be soooooo bored." Drifter said, rolling his eyes.
Three days did pass and eventually Knife of the Ocean managed to surface, carrying the geomantic device with him. It appeared just as he had described - large, round, and spiky. Here and there the spikes moved at certain grooves, as Essence flowed through it and got regulated inside the device. It was composed primarily of magical materials, jade at most.
"Here it is." Knife said, turning over to Drifter. "Think you can handle it?"
"Natch." Drifter said. "This'll be a piece of cake. Give me one day and it'll be all good and done."
"I shall offer my assistance in whichever way I can." Naar Kalaman said.
So Drifter and Naar Kalaman set to work, arranging certain machineries inside the device, recalibrating the configurations, and avoiding the moving essence spikes. His vast training and study in Magitech Engineering in the past year proved fruitful as he managed to complete the task within a day, all while the bored Akira Silvering managed to accidentally discover a mystical additive made out of her scavenged goods that enabled one to experience coolness despite any weather condition.
"Now that settles it." Drifter said, as the working essence node churned at full power. "The Necrotic Essence has not been neutralized yet but it should stop the excessive flows for the meantime as the essence is now properly being regulated. We should return this in the meantime until we can figure out a way to stop the Necrotic Essence."
"Understood." Knife said. "Three more days as I return this thing back."
"THERE'S NOTHING TO DO HERE!" Akira Silvering yelled exasperatedly.
They soon reached the Brother, a being composed mostly of brimstone and coughing out smoke. To Drifter he appeared rather out of the usual condition, although he had never heard much about the Volcano Gods. Naar Kalaman and Knife of the Ocean conversed with Prodigal Lava Brother for awhile and Drifter chanced some issues or two concerning the volcano's current condition.
"For some reason these bordermarches of Wyld infestation causes me my sullen condition, Lawgivers." Prodigal Lava Brother said.
"Knife here shall take a dive down there to check on the root of this problem." Naar Kalaman said. "Drifter over here shall see what he can do to aid you."
"Yes, please. Come this way."
The Celestials were led to the top of the volcano, Akira Silvering now with them once again and flying around in her brand-new parrot form squawking how much of a bastard Naar Kalaman is. At the top of the volcano, Knife of the Ocean prepared himself and took the plunge into the lava, disappearing with a sickening plop, followed by a hiss of sulphur.
"He is not going to be hurt?" Prodigal Lava Brother asked.
"Oh, he is well, I am sure of it." Naar Kalaman said. "He has been waiting for this day for quite a long time already."
Long hours passed in silence and boredom, forcing the impatient Akira Silverwing to scour the nearby islets for anything she can scavenge. Every now and then she returned with a shoulder pouch filled with all sorts of shells and little trinkets, then flying off towards a different direction. It was not long before Knife of the Ocean contacted them once again through the enchanted tattoos.
"Apparently there is something here!" Knife of the Ocean said. "It's big, it's round, it's spiky, and it keeps moving in a sort of pattern!"
"Anything else you can tell us besides that?" Drifter asked, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
"I'm getting to that." Knife said. "My little knowledge of geomantic training tells me that essence flows from all over converge to this weird spiky ball. That's what causes the spikes to move in a pattern. And no, not all of them apparently move. And, oh - wait."
"What's wrong?" Naar Kalaman asked.
"Necrotic Essence!"
"What?!" Drifter cried.
"Apparently this thing seems to take in Fire Essence and through the jade plates therein it is regulated and transformed to Wood Essence, which somehow brings the nature and life around these parts. But there's also a strain of Necrotic Essence seeping in this thing and mixing in with the rest of the Essence flows!"
"Where's it coming from?" Naar Kalaman asked.
"Due north-northwest."
Drifter drew out a map. "That's... somewhere around the Skullstone Archipelago."
"The Shadowlands..." Naar Kalaman said. "Well, something has to be done about that. Can you heave that thing up here?"
There was a short pause.
"You mean this thing." Knife said, as if in slight disbelief. "It's gonna take me three days to do that."
"Very well, we shall stay here until you get that up here." Naar Kalaman said.
"Akira's gonna be soooooo bored." Drifter said, rolling his eyes.
*****
Three days did pass and eventually Knife of the Ocean managed to surface, carrying the geomantic device with him. It appeared just as he had described - large, round, and spiky. Here and there the spikes moved at certain grooves, as Essence flowed through it and got regulated inside the device. It was composed primarily of magical materials, jade at most.
"Here it is." Knife said, turning over to Drifter. "Think you can handle it?"
"Natch." Drifter said. "This'll be a piece of cake. Give me one day and it'll be all good and done."
"I shall offer my assistance in whichever way I can." Naar Kalaman said.
So Drifter and Naar Kalaman set to work, arranging certain machineries inside the device, recalibrating the configurations, and avoiding the moving essence spikes. His vast training and study in Magitech Engineering in the past year proved fruitful as he managed to complete the task within a day, all while the bored Akira Silvering managed to accidentally discover a mystical additive made out of her scavenged goods that enabled one to experience coolness despite any weather condition.
"Now that settles it." Drifter said, as the working essence node churned at full power. "The Necrotic Essence has not been neutralized yet but it should stop the excessive flows for the meantime as the essence is now properly being regulated. We should return this in the meantime until we can figure out a way to stop the Necrotic Essence."
"Understood." Knife said. "Three more days as I return this thing back."
"THERE'S NOTHING TO DO HERE!" Akira Silvering yelled exasperatedly.
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