[PurpleXVI]

Lorath, Ulik, Evon

(Ulik loses 3 HP worth of blood, 12 HP remain.)

Ulik's spell struck true, and as the blood spattered unto the Other's face, his dark eyes began to swell and redden, small rivers of his own blood coursed from the edges of his eyesockets and he screamed, stumbling backwards while clutching his face and over the edge of the tall stairs, striking one of the bottom steps with a loud, crunchy thump before splashing into the water and making no further noise.

Before Ulik could celebrate their apparent victory, however, he heard a loud crash behind him, mixed with the sound of something crystalline shattering.

Lorath's charge had gone straight through the pedestals and he had accidentially knocked over several, even as Ulik and Evon turned around to look, more of the things were wobbling uncertainly, and the elf was standing right in the middle of them. In the ruins of the broken spheres, dark, amorphous things with no apparent structure to them were starting to stir.

They moved sluggishly at first, as though waking from a long sleep, but soon became swifter. The first that appeared to have reached full wakefulness slithered across the floor and latched on to the base of a nearby, still-standing, pedestal, then began to rock it, as though attempting to tip it over. The other blobs were heading straight for it.

"What," said Evon slowly, clicking his tongue and backing away towards the stairs, "Happens if one of these symbiote things... Attaches itself to another symbiote?"


Tamora, Bas, Anne, Balth

Anne felt the pressure cease as soon as she resisted it, while the others heard a voice in their heads, it was clear and sounded surprisingly human, as well as feminine, "It is good to see you returned safely from your journey into the wilderness," said the voice, "Not all do, though I see you appear to have lost one, and gained another... You have returned at an unfortunate time, though, or possibly a fortunate one: The tribes have gathered here to determine what must be done about your kin, those who come from your world. Outsiders and those of other races have never brought us anything but problems, and most of the tribes from the deep wild are saying we should drive you out with spear and axe."

The lizardman, or possibly woman, inclined it's head and seemed to study them, "But for the time, colder minds prevail, there are those of us that argue that if we fight you, your entire world will come for us, and we cannot fight an entire world." Then the creature indicated Anne with one of it's fingers, "Your friend seems unwilling to commune with the rest of us, you can assure her that I do not intend to pry into the depths of your minds."

Everyone found that they could make their thoughts heard by all of the others simply by speaking them, but it was an odd way of communication, for all members of it heard the others as they heard their own voices, making it initially a bit disorienting.

"Politics and war are not my forte," said Balth to the three others, speaking normally rather than using the mental link, "But unless you plan to commit suicide somehow, you can count me in on whatever you end up doing."