Fantasy Project Anima

[Srion Receno]

Hearing this she glared over at her and was going to snap at her but she had already started to leave. After Rize dissapeared, she sighed and finished her meal. That was probably why she waved Crimson over. With a shrug she finished her meal and paid for them both, before she started to look for a place to relax at.

 

[From Darkness]

-- nightfall --

The people of Zebeth like their sleep. Streets were empty saves for occasional patrol. The only place still lit after dusk are the local bars. This made it easy for the group to navigate the street.

"It's easy enough to get near, but I presume they still have guards ready at the entrance," Gills sighed, eyeing the tower from their hiding spot. "Alright, you assassin, what's the plan now?"

 

[Srion Receno]

Crimson had fallowed he group when it was time to go, but she never spoke. It wasn't until she looked over the tower completely that she sighed. "I'm going to use shadows to hide us and move is faster. If you want this to work keep your mind on what needs to be found and keep in the shadows. I won't be able to keep us all hidden if any of you decide to use magic ether. I'm going to leave a clone with you, but get me and Arty under cover first" she then looked over at them then mainly the prince figuring he would have something smart to say.

 

[From Darkness]

Gills didn't say anything. He was still against leaving his sister with Crimson, but it seems that there was nothing left he could do to change that. He made a pouting face like a little kid. Norman couldn't help but giggled after seeing that. When it came down to his sister, the Prince sure was quite emotional.

"Then, stay close, Rize will, keep us, connected..." Rize scooted closer toward Gills and Norman, while Arty moved to Crimson's side. The petite girl closed her eyes, concentrating to pour out her magic. "Umbra. Torque." starting from the shadow beneath her feet, thin tendrils jutted out toward everyone's shadow. The last one connected to Crimson. She could now feel Crimson's magic flow.

"Red Fang...should initiate...teleport...you have...better control..." she muttered in more broken words. It seemed that keeping the shadows connected took all her concentration.

 

[Srion Receno]

Crimson was actually surprised that Gills was silent and not complaning. She was even going to mess with him until Rise spoke. Her attention turned to her as there shadows connected. This was a strange feeling for her and she Wasnt a fan of it, though didn't show it at all as she waited. After Rize spoke she nodded then turned to the shadows. "umbra clone" she whispered and soon a dark figure of herself mobbed beside gills and seemed to be smiling at him.

"Stay next to her, it will be easier to use my shadows with her there" she then took The princesses hand and held the other out to the top floor. "No one move until my clone moves to Rize" she glanced at them then the spot again. "Lanuae maficae umbra" the two were soon gone and a rush of cold air hit the two until they were at the top. "Are you good?" she whispered to the princess as her eyes kept focus on the group down below.

After they got there the shadow moved and touched Rize. It said nothing as it held juts hand it to there destination. It was soon taking them into the shadows in a safe part of the bottom level. With out the princess hearing Crimson whispered
"evanescet" making them all almost dissapear into the shadows like they were shadows themselves. This was something she was working on when they were asleep during the week when she couldn't. It took less energy for this then to teleport them from place to place.

 

[From Darkness]

The teleportation was done in a few seconds, but it actually took a lot of jumps in succession, which Rize could sense through their now-connected shadow. Gills felt chill for a moment when they suddenly moved into the tower, bypassing the guards stationed at the front gate. Hmm, too easy. Guess Crimson was just that good.

"Not bad, Red Fang," he commented on Crimson's shadow clone, knowing that it would be sent to the real body. Norman confirmed that this was the bottom floor. He remembered how the interior looked.

"It's somewhat nostalgic," he murmured.

"Ssh...don't you feel it's too easy?" Gills looked up. The ceiling was far above them, and there was no one in the bottom floor. The security was clearly too lax. But was it? It was, after all, the tower of Mages. He wouldn't think that it was that easy to infiltrate. What if...

"...It, comes..." Rize had noticed it earlier than them. She sent the warning through their connected shadows, especially to Crimson, but it was too late. The floor suddenly lit up, revealing a magic configuration pentagram. The light brighten in an instant, swallowing the entire crew.

The same thing happened in the top level. Arty was forced to close her eyes. When she opened them, she was sitting on the ground, with her brother and Rize in front of her. The shadow clone Crimson had made had disappeared, but the connection with Rize seemed to remain at least.

...

In her place, with Crimson, was Norman. The burly man looked around in confusion.

"Huh...you? Aren't you supposed to be at the top...? Wait, where is this?" He stood up in a hurry. This was not the bottom floor, nor was it the top. The magic had jumbled up their crew, as well as their location.

 

[Srion Receno]

Crimson smirked getting the complaint, but soon felt uneasy. Her hand went to her dagger right as the light hit them, making her close her eyes right away. When they were, where ever they were crimson rubbed her eyes, the light was always a pain when using shadow magic. Hearing Norman she looked over confused then around as she slowly stood up. What the hell was happening? She looked at him then forward again. "In not sure...but we need to go find them" crimson looked back at him then started to walk forward. Her body was calm though her mind raced, where did the others go and why was she with Norman and not Arty? Was Arty alright?

 

[From Darkness]

"Red Fang," a small voice came through the shadow. Rize's shadow connection was still maintained, although the sound was faint. Seems that she wasn't lying when she said she wasn't good at it. "They, got us. There was, trap. Where, you? The Prince, and Princess, with me."

Norman managed to remember the interior. It was similar to the one in his memories when he was climbing up the tower. "Hey, most likely we're in the middle of the tower," he strode closer to Crimson. Thankfully he brought his handy battle axe with him. He pulled it out and got it ready. "That door, if we opened it we should be in the spiral stairway. There's only one way to go up and down the tower, so as long as we go in one direction, we should be able to meet up."

 

[Srion Receno]

Hearing Rize she looked around to try and figure it out. The voice was really quiet, but it got the message though. When she heard Norman she turned to him with a small nod. "We will go up then" she looked to him then sent the message back to Rize. "Keep them safe and find the spiral stairs and go up. We will meet you at the top, right now we are at the middle" she said this as she tom her dagger out and got ready for anything they find on there way up.

 

[From Darkness]

"Un," Rize ended the conversation with a small nod. The connection was still left intact, allowing Crimson to call her anytime she needed to, but it seemed that they had concentrated to find the staircase for now.

"Hmm..." Norman slowly opened the large wooden door, revealing a large hall. The ceiling leading from the door's entrance stopped halfway. In the center of the hall, the ceiling and the floor opened up, with a spiral staircase going through. The right side led upward, while the left side descended to lower floors. The hall itself was circular, and the room they were in was just among the other numerous doors present.

"I clearly had seen this before, but never took enough time to explore. Back then our group just keep going up to the Master's quarter," Norman said. "Should we go? The entrance to the staircase is this way."

 

[Srion Receno]

Crimson fallowed Norman quietly as they went through the door. The hall and room were nice, but his words brought her from thinking about the building. "Yes, we are just going to go up and meet them at the top" she pointed up before heading the way he said to. "Hopefully they aren't far from us " she mumbled under her breath.

 

[From Darkness]

"Alright," Norman grinned. "I feel like old times again, hahaha! Please protect this old Norman, 'kay? I haven't fought for a long time, so if enemies started coming I would be in tro-"

His words were cut short as she jumped back in an instant. The floor's entrance to the staircase suddenly grow bright, and the entire middle part of the floor was covered in a barrier. From one of the door stepped out a person clad in black robe. The back of the robe was emblazoned with a drawing of a lion's head.

An official of the Tower.

"So this is the intruder..." It was due to some magic which resulted in his appearance being distorted, but the voice coming out from beneath the veil was definitely masculine. "It's your bad luck to choose to infiltrate this place using magic. If only you use normal method, it would've been easier for you. Well, you will meet us anyway so I guess it made no difference."

"Elabram!"

Upon his invocation, the door behind him creaked open once more, and from inside came out a suit of armor. Its movement was mechanical, as if there was no one inside. Certainly, the movement itself was caused by magic. The robed figure pointed toward Crimson and Norman, causing the armor to rush at them, sword pointing upward ready to strike them down.

 

[Srion Receno]

Crimson listened to Norman with a small smile. He had a way of lifting her up even in situations like that. Her smile was quick to fade as she seen light, thankfully she was able to jump back before anything happened. Seeing the figure she sighed, so they were definitely spotted. Crimson smirked slightly hearing him. To bad it Wasnt his lucky day since he was going up against her. His voice was nice though. When the armor came our she pulled out her dagger and moved out of its way. Thankfully she had gotten the use of the dagger and could made her bosh fade at will. "Norman who would how like? Im sure a big strong guy like you can take one of them" she smiled slightly are him.

 

[From Darkness]

Norman had taken a defensive stance, but for a moment his existence faded into the shadow, causing the armor's sword to just pass through as if he was air. It was clearly unexpected for all of them except for Crimson. The robed figure had even stopped moving.

"W-what did you just d- got it. Then I'll smack this thing!" Norman regained his composure quite fast. Being a bandit taught him to accept things as they were, there was no point in questioning what had happened. With a swift swing of his battle axe, the armor was thrown down to the ground, separated into pieces. As expected, there was no one inside.

"Tch," the robed figure snapped his finger. He wasn't defeated yet. The door behind him exploded, and from within the dusts came dozens of moving armors similar to the one earlier. "Sorry, it seems that I can't afford to hold back. Kill those two!"

The wave of metals rushed toward Crimson and Norman, clanking and clamoring all the way.

 

[Srion Receno]

Crimson watched the sword go down and soon have Norman a taste of not being there. There reactions were priceless, but sadly didn't last long. She nodded as her attention shifted to the man in robes. It wasn't nice to hide from someone your fighting. With a small smirk she took a step closer to the man only to cover her face as the door exploded. That was a bit unexpected, but can be delt with.

"There was no fun in holding back. You would of been a boring kill if you did" she smirked as she moved out of the way of a sword as her dagger clashed with another. The sword was pushed aside and her hand grabbed it's head quickly and powerfully slamming it down into the ground before going for the cloaked figure a smirk still on her face.

 

[From Darkness]

The figure slowly retreated as Crimson cleared waves after waves of armors. They didn't seem to slow her in the slightest, while Norman just proceeded to crush any incoming armor with sheer strength. The old bartender might be out of fight for a long time, but his skill was still sharp it seemed.

"Fool! You've just stepped into my trap!"

The robed figure had been chanting a spell in low voice, which was obscured by his veil. Thanks to that, the moment an armor moved away from Crimson's sight, he had a direct line of fire toward her. He held his palm forward, and a magic pentagram appeared on it. A fireball was shot in high speed, aiming at Crimson's face.

 

[Srion Receno]

Crimson was actually enjoying this! Here she had thought it wouldn't be fin until they got to the target, but here they were fighting. She had just taken out another when she heard the man shout. Looking over she smirked slightly. Though her daggers power didn't work on this, the fire ball was aimed high enough. She completely dropped to the floor letting it pass over her before she jumped up and quickly threw glass throwing needles at the man. The front of her shirt did get a bit burnt, but it want that big of a deal for the moment.

 

[From Darkness]

This woman was fast. Too fast! Before the robed figure could cast another spell, he had been struck with needles. They didn't hit anything vital, but the pain was still unbearable. He jumped back and fall down on the floor. The armors quickly gathered around their master in an attempt to protect him.

"Wh-who the hell are you! You're not ordinary intruders, are you?!" He yelled. She should be overwhelmed by his moving armors, so how could she took care of them so easily? Not to mention her companion was hacking away on the armor as if they were harmless dolls.

 

[Srion Receno]

Her eyes watched the needles hit there mark and her old bloodlust smile came back. She definitely was enjoying this though more blood would of been nice. It only took a moment before she was walking over to him. "dose it really matter who we are, the only thing that dose is if you want to die today or not" she smiled. "Out of are way or I'll throw your lifeless bleeding corps out the window. I bet your blood will look lovely painting the road below" a light laugh came from her as she turned into shadows and reached through the armor and out to grab him. She was kinda joking about throwing him out the window, it would definitely give there plan up and alert the people out side.

 

[From Darkness]

"Guh..."

There it goes again, her mysterious ability allowed her to bypass the armors, even pulling him away from the safety of his minions. Clearly, this battle was outmatched from the beginning.

"...Be that as it may, I have no intention to be kept hostage. Even as I am, I'm still a proud guard of the Tower of Mages! Ahluda!"

His body began to shine. A magic pentagram appeared behind him. Norman recognized that from his past. The most uncomfortable thing when fighting mages.

"Red Fang! Get back! It's a suicide magic!"

From within the pentagram burst forth a jet of white flame, turning the robed figure and everything near him into ash in an instant.

 

[Srion Receno]

Hostage? She wasn't that type. Seeing the light she let go of the robed figure and flicked her hand to Norman. She was to close and wouldn't make it by just running. "Lanuae maficae umbra" she shouted bringing her right to him. Wanting to get farther she grabbed his hand and pulled him along. Finally at a safe distance she sighed "well...that was unexpected" she laughed softly. "Want to try the stairs again?" As she asked this she pointed back behind her and to the steps.

 

[From Darkness]

Norman grinned at her, and then nodded. He cast one final glance to the burning corpse of the guardian mage, and then led the way into the staircase. The barrier had fell down at the same time as its caster's death.

"They're always like that. Each time we killed one magician, we have to run immediately unless we want to get caught in the crossfire. It was damn tiring," he grunted. It was a story from back then, when he infiltrated the Tower, although his way back then was more brute force than this. "Come to think of it, that lady I saved would be an old woman right now, huh? I wonder who she ended up marrying to. Back then I just left without giving it much thought."

 

[Srion Receno]

Crimson smiled back before fallowing him. She looked over at the ash and shrugged slightly. guess that's one way to go. Thinking this she moved beside him as he spoke. " Probably" she nodded at the age question and just let him talk as she kept her eyes open. Really she didn't want to run into any of the others protecting this place, the suicide spells seem like they would cause a lot of trouble. "Hopefully we meet with the others soon. It's not good to be separated like this" she sighed softly as she put her blade back, from having it out just in case.

 

[From Darkness]

"...and then Geoffrey was the one who kept on urging us. Keep going he said, just a bit more he said, but dang this staircase is loooong as heck," Norman was still droning on about the past, although it was partly triggered by nostalgia. It was still the same staircase he had climbed thirty years ago. Thankfully they hadn't met any resistance on the way. The floors were unexpectedly quiet.

"Student-mages returned to their chambers at night. The ones awake are mostly prefects or guardians, like the one earlier. Not a lot, though. I think they are overconfident. Always like that, these mages," he laughed. "I bet they didn't expect you to be able to kill that armor guy!"

Climbing...climbing...the staircase kept on going with no end in sight. Each floors still looked the same as always, and Norman soon lost count of how high they had gone through.

"Err...how much floor is this again from that place? Is this the tenth? Or eleventh?" He looked at Crimson.

 

[Srion Receno]

Crimson listened to Norman as he spoke. It helped to pass the time as they walked and walked up these steps. It was strange how they just kept going. Hearing his question she shrugged "no idea...but it seems like everything looks the same" she sighed softly before looking to a door. "Maybe we should find a window and check to see how far up we are and how much more it there to go" she looked back to him with a tip of her head.