forum Elemental kingdoms

Started April 01, 2022 by @CaseyJ group

tune

After a while, ciana still hadn't returned. Then there was a ruckus, sounds of a fight, and Ginger's illusion flickered for a second. Ciana was still awake, the illusion came back, but she was obviously in trouble.

Ginger's head snapped toward the sounds of a scuffle. She didn't notice that for a second, she seemed to flicker with light and change appearance. But it happened so fast, none of the other people in the vicinity seemed to notice.
Ginger stood, her hand going to her belt where her hunting knife hung in its leather sheath. Not wanting to draw attention, she glanced at the boys, eyes wide. "Do you think I should check on her?" she asked, voice low. No one was staring, and only some of the other people were looking concerned at the noise.

Devon sighed and pulled his staff out, "If your not back in ten minutes we'll go after you, but no reason to tire everyone out if its just something small".

Elias gave her a thumbs up and a wink.

She shrugged. "Aight. It's probably nothin', I betcha somebody just tripped and fell." But her gut still writhed with unease as she sauntered toward the bathroom.

(not sure how the scene should play out / look when she enters the bathroom?)

Pushing the door open casually, Ginger's facade of calm dropped at the sight of a smear of blood on the floor. A tiny window for ventilation and light near the ceiling, probably only about one square foot previously, had been blasted wider; the gaping hole in the wall was easily big enough for a person to fit through. She dashed to the opening.
Another small speckling of blood colored the trampled grass outside, before vanishing into the packed dirt and cobbles of the street. "ShhhhhhhIT!" she hissed. Ginger whirled, starting back to Eli and Devon. But there might not be time… she thought. "Shit." she said again, and turned, leaping through the hole in the wall, following the footsteps before they were erased.
She scanned the surrounding thoroughfare, peering through the small crowds of chattering people. A muffled shout, a flash of pale hair around a corner across the street: Ciana! Ginger sped after the sound, intent on saving her new friend.

At her quick shout, her captors pricked her with some sort of dart, needle, or other method of delivering sedatives, and Ginger's illusion fell as ciana fell into sleep. She slumped into her captors arms as she was pulled out of Ginger's sight.

Her feet hammered across the street at a dead sprint. One hand stayed on the hilt of her fixed blade hunting knife, somewhat concealed under her coat, while the other pushed pedestrians out of the way. Shouts accompanied her passage, yelling and swearing after her. Ginger paid none of them any mind. Her new friend was in danger and she found herself itching for a brawl.
She didn't notice when the faint glow around the edges of her vision disappeared abruptly.
She whipped around the brick corner, drawing her knife. Every line of her body itched with tension, adrenaline coursed through her veins. But an empty alleyway yawned in front of her, vacant save for rodents and a stray cat.
"Son of a–" Ginger picked up her pace again, charging down the alley. But at the end, it opened to another street just like the one she'd crossed on the way here. "Son of a bitch!" she screamed. "Ciana! Ciana!" Ginger turned, banging on the doors lining the narrow alley. Three of them were restaurant kitchens, and she got sworn at some more. One was locked. She glared at it savagely, swearing to herself a stupid lock wouldn't stop her. She kicked it, the way she'd seen military do it, practicing within eyesight. She imagined pushing her foot through the wood, right next to the handle, pouring effort into the motion. A crack sounded, but the door resisted. 'one more…'
With a yell and one more kick, she got the door open. A long, dim hallway stretched before her. The dingy rugs and musty smell suggested it was a hotel or apartment.

(ok um not sure where to go from here… in my mind there's one more door in this alley she hasn't tried. its not locked, but it might be someone's place of residence. she could run down the hall but im kinda hoping Dev & Eli catch up by now so I dont have to carry all the descriptions myself😅 any other ideas for how this goes cause im open to better ideas than what I have😅)

Devon stood waiting for a few minutes, but after ten minutes had passed, he marched off in the direction the others had ran, dragging Elias along with him.

Elias, noticing Devon's change of attitude from uncaring to serious and probably pissed, changed the way he held himself, going from a playful, calm stature, to battle ready. He could tell something was off, and besides, time was ticking, they wanted to get to the ice castle before it got any colder, and Elias knew Devon did not like delays.
Electricity crackled along his fingertips as they scanned the alleyway, having followed the angry shouting, which led them to where Ginger was now.

Ginger turned at the sound of footsteps near the mouth of the alley. "Eli! Devon!" Relief flooded her at the sight of her two other friends. "I don't know who it was but someone got Ciana, I saw them drag her down this alley but I was too slow…" She stopped only to take a breath. Running around and panicking like this had not been on her agenda for today, she thought. "They could have gone anywhere, out the other end of the alley or one of these doors." She adjusted and readjusted her grip on her knife in anxiety, pacing a little as she spoke.

"Have you checked the doors?" Devon asked calmly, his expression hidden behind the mask he wore. "How long since the illusion fell?" He added, as Eli ran to the other end of the alley, looking around.

"The illusion–" Ginger held a hand in front of her face, eyes wide. "I – I don't know! I didn't even notice!" she took a breath, telling herself that there was nothing to be done about it. "Ciana can put it back up when we get her. Yes, I checked the doors, except for that one. Those three are restaurants, this one is some sort of apartment complex or something, I don't know." She gestured with a frantic energy as she spoke.

"Calm yourself, getting frantic can cloud your thoughts, we have to be rational" Devon put a hand on her shoulder gently, "lets check the last door, Elias, Stay here in case something happens…and so you dont get in the way, you cant fight for shit-"

Near the last door there was a small armband with a yellow star embroidered onto it. It seemed to have something on the inside of it, small and sewn into it.

Ginger nodded as Devon spoke, slowing her breathing. "Yeah…yeah sorry." She laughed dryly at herself. "Didn't expect to get this attached to you guys so quick…" She muttered under her breath.
A small yellow cloth near the door Eli was making his way toward caught her eye. "Hey Eli…what's that?"

Elias picked up the cloth in question and brought it over to Ginger. "Trash?"

Inside the band was a small hole, in which there was a light colored stone, shining softly. It was Ciana's source piece, looking like it had been torn off in desperation.

"Wait…" Ginger snatched it from him, bringing it close to her eyes. The small pulsing stone cast a faint glow across her face. "Hey… do you guys think it's her source piece from home? she held it out for inspection, twisting the cloth so the gem, set on the inside of the band, could be clearly seen. She could detect a subtle energy from it, like static electricity. The band of cheery yellow fabric looked like it had been a loop to fit around a wrist, but the seam had been torn; frayed threads hung dejectedly from the tear.

Devon took the gem, it glowing faintly at his touch, "definitely. I can put your illusion back up with it" He looks at Ginger, holding the Gem in the palm of his hand.

"You can do that?" she raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Well make it quick, we gotta keep looking." She bounced on the balls of her feet anxiously. She called out to Elias, who had reached the last door. "What'cha got Eli?"

"A door" Elias calls back, the wooden door seeming to challenge him. "We should burn it down"

Devon ignored him, closing his eyes he focused on redoing the illusion, the source gem in his hand glowing. Beings that he can use any of the powers as long as he has a peics of the source, doesn't mean he knows how to, but he had spent his entire life training, the gem atop staff in his other hand glowed a faint purple, and the illusion reformed, the same as it was, he opened his eyes and handed the gem to Ginger, "the illusion will hold as long as you have this"

Ginger took the gem hurriedly, settling it the bottom one of the leather pouches on her belt. She marched to the door, tried the handle to no avail. She set her jaw. "Stand back Eli." Without waiting for a response from him, or checking to see if he had indeed moved, she raised her hands. Ginger's fingernails glowed like live coals, heat radiating from her palms. It took more slightly concentration than usual to summon up the fire, she figured it was because of her distance from her home and her source stone around her neck was small and old. Or perhaps the thought of her new friend in danger effectively dispelled her concentration.
Flames flickered up from her fingertips. Ginger pressed her palms to the thin wooden door, willing it to catch. The rich aroma of burning wood filled her nostrils, smoke and steam hissing up around her hands, now embedded an inch inside the door. Flames finally began to spread outward, tracing a pattern of veins across the wood and widening. Barely any ash fell as the door was incinerated in a matter of minutes. Ginger's arms fell bonelessly to her sides, stumbling a little into Eli. "Oh… I'll be alright, just got a lil lightheaded…" She took a deep breath to steady herself, her vision clearing.

"Could be a number of things, Id wager being closer to the ice source than your own is no help" Devon said simply, stepping in front of Ginger to lead the way, if anything attacked then, he didnt want to risk her getting hurt, not that he would say it.

Elias caught Ginger, helping her not fall over, "nah its cool, like me, cool"

She gave herself a shake, steadying. To Eli she said a murmured thanks, and asked of Devon, "What do you see?" She peered around Devon, drawing her knife.

(Avhira, do you want to decide what's behind this door? im sorry you haven't had much opportunity to jump in 😅)