Of Mud and Portals

[tehanu3]

Kit's ears perked at the sound of someone or something approaching her. She stopped what she was doing and spun around to see what was coming. Being slightly nervous she began to back up in the direction she was headed. She tested the air with her nose; which told her everything she needed to know. Whatever was coming, it wasn't friendly. Kit took another step back, and slipped and fell on a body. She stood up and shook off the muddy water and looked down to see a winged unicorn. Kit tilted her head and sniffed the motionless body. The unicorn seemed in distress of some sort. She instinctively wanted to help. But right now she had a problem of her own. Whatever had followed her, had now surfaced. An ugly monster of some sort was staring right at her. She stood before the creature, shielding the unicorn and growled at the creature. She wasn't a fighter by nature, but when in situations like this; she was forced to be. The opponent seemed stronger than her normal self so it was no choice but to bring out her demon self. She lowered her head and bared her teeth and allowed her demon to surface. Her once blue fur began to turn black and her yellow eyes turned a glowing red.

[Sky Lily]

(( Whose turn is it? ))

[Windra]

OoC
I don't atually think we're going by turns anymore, Sky. Fire when ready!

--

"This is ... charming," Naira found herself whispering, warily eyeing the walking beasts as they drifted to and fro. It was by some miracle that they hadn't been noticed yet ... Every single one of the group had done their best to remain silent. All it took, at this point, was one slip-up ... and then all attention would be on them. Swallowing, the Reaver faced the portal and fidgeted. "So that's obviously Gaeva fighting the other influence. How are we supposed to help her?"

The idea of leaping in didn't seem savory in the slightest, but she was more than prepared to make that jump of faith if the situation called for it. After all, no day was saved by inaction!

"Do we jump in?"

They were to far from the edge of tat swampy clearing to really notice Kit. All concentration would have been primarily focused on the matter at hand ... and far too many controlled creatures were wandering about for them to notice something so small, so far away. Perhaps.

[Sky Lily]

The portal itself was a frighteningly magnificent sight. The glow of it, the size... and judging from the mud and dirt still packed at the bottom, this wasn't even the whole picture. But what were those two things, swirling within its milky spirals?

Simi's unspoken question was quickly answered by Naira, who guessed that the two shapes were Gaeva and Hethrir's souls, battling for the fate of the forest. The very thought that she was witnessing the soul of her home's guardian-- a soul now in peril-- battling a being of such darkness made her heart lurch. She almost couldn't bear to look at it anymore, and yet she couldn't bear to look away. Everything hung on saving that fragile little glow of lavender in the swirl of the portal...

And yet amidst her horror, anger flashed in the unicorn's indigo orbs. It was that horrible evil that had first dragged this trapped soul there and threatened the existence of Deep Forest. And she couldn't, just couldn't let this evil take away everything that was precious to her.

She would not stand by and lose her home for the second time.

"How are we supposed to help her?" Naira asked aloud before adding a few moments later, "Do we jump in?"

In all honesty, that was exactly what Simi thought they'd be doing. But now, staring at the warring souls beyond, she had to wonder; what would become of she and her companions if they stepped inside? Would they be left unconscious at the edge of the portal, their bodies as limp as Gaeva's, their own souls joining the silent battle?

What would that be like...?

Simi shuddered, but if it was the only way to save the Forest, she already knew in her heart of hearts that she'd go through with it.

"I'm not sure..." she murmured quietly before gesturing to the group of hooded beings below. "But at the moment, I'm more worried about them."

[tehanu3]

Kit was now in full evil demon mode; the only times she did this was to protect herself. But in this case, it wasn't just her; but the limp body of the unicorn behind her. Kit bowed her head low and exposed all her teeth and hissed as the creature before her stepped forward. Kit barked and got ready to attack. She was waiting for the first move. One thing she always remembered being taught when she was a young pup (or kit. which she is full grown. look in her background in the deep forest forum if you need catching up). The creature bellowed and charged. That was the sign. Kit lurched forward, meeting the creature head-on. She leaped in the air as the creature swung out with it's massive claws. She easily dodged them and landed on it's chest. The force of her landing, caused the both of them to fall back to the ground. She quickly sank her fangs deep within the creatures leather like scales. The creature howled out in pain and smacked her off. Black blood spilled from it's wound from where she inflicted it. Kit flew into the mud and quickly got up and charged again without hesitation. Before she could reach the creatures' one leg; she was swatted away by it's claws once more. But this time before she could hit the ground; the creature charged after her. The game was on!

[Gaeva Winged Unicorn]

Finally back on solid ground, or more solid than the mud they had just crossed, Meali's skin kept crawling at both the idea of being surrounded by possible hostiles, and at the sight below them. Fluffing her wings every few seconds, then stopping herself for fear of making too much noise while doing so, then repeating it again, the mare also tried to assess the situation. She came to the same conclusions as Simi and Naira, but not much further when the two whispered their thoughts. Meali jumped, but quickly concluded they could not be overheard with all the noise around them. Still freaked her out though.

Simi focused Meali's attention on the robed figures. They were definitely busy, seemed dedicated to trying to move closer to the portal...did that one just fling himself into an invisible wall? Meali looked back again, at all the workers around them and frowned, then returned her gaze to the robed ones, "Could they be controlled as well?" she whispered as softly as she could, "And whose side are they on? Because if they can't get close, I don't think we will be able to either."

So either they find a way to take out the robes and get to the portal themselves or..."...Or maybe we just need to make sure none of us can get to that portal." Meali winced at her own words, that just sounded horrible, "I mean, if the others can help my aunt by retrieving Willow's feather, then all we have to do is make sure nobody helps the other side before they can get back."

That sounded semi logical, didn't it? Meali wasn't sure, for some reason she was feeling extremely on edge, and she had a feeling it had to do with witnessing that swirling battle in the middle of the portal. Her aunt was no warrior, and the thought of her toughing it out against Hethrir... Her skin crawled again.

"Maybe it's time to let them know we're here."

OOC
Lanadyr has my permission.

[Voice of Deep Forest]

The scaled creature's surprise at finding both a large unconscious winged unicorn lying in the mud, protected by an in comparison much smaller furry being, didn't take long to turn into attack mode. Long claws and sharp teeth were used to get the vixen first, he could get to the unicorn after getting that first obstacle out of the way first. Unfortunately, Kit was proving to be a lot more adept and vicious than the creature had first given her credit for. not that it mattered a while lot, the scales on his body protected him from most of her attacks, and the pressure in his mind ensured he would not give up no matter what. Even when given gaps to move to the unconscious body, the scaly creature made it very clear he now had every intention of eliminating Kit first.

He hissed and literally threw himself at her, fully intending to tackle the fox and then proceed to rip her apart.

But what neither he nor Kit knew, was that there were two more scale creatures near by. They had been the original guides to the group that were now facing the underground problem of a large portal. Their minds had been freed and were now trying to figure out what to do. They were too scared to follow the original group, yet had nowhere else to go. So they stayed close to where Gaeva had stayed behind. When they heard the sudden noises produced by Kit and the savage creature, they were roused from their mournful gazes into the distance, and made their way back.

Upon seeing the fox battling one of their own species, the two simple minded creatures felt uncertainty. One was of their own kind, family so to speak, yet they were aware that this being was not in their right mind. And the furry one was obviously determined not to give up and surrender both herself and her newfound charge. One of the scaly, three-eyed creatures made up his mind and hissed loudly before running towards them, quickly followed by the second. They lunged for their brother, coming to Kit's aid. Unfortunately they weren't fighters, and normally used their claws for peaceful digging. No longer under mind control, they weren't nearly as vicious, nor efficient as the one attacking Kit. Still, it could give her an edge if she recognized them as her allies, and used their attempts to block the other to her advantage.

[tehanu3]

Kit yelped as she earned lacerations from the huge claws. She was tossed about like a rag doll. But her demon side would not give up even if she was on death's door step. She barked and snapped at the creature's feet driving some space. She dodged a swipe from it's claws by mere hairs. She suddenly caught sight of two more creatures. She growled out in anger. This was going to be tough. But then; she always loved challenges. Kit then was about to attack the two charging creatures, when the first one she was battling threw her against a tree. She yelped out loud and tried to get up. The wind was knocked out of her. She fell back down. This wasn't good. She would need to use her last resort. Fire. But first she needed to breathe properly. The first creature charged toward her; but was tackled down by his brethren. Kit saw this and was shocked. She didn't know what to make of it. Finally she was able to breathe and got back to her feet. She assessed the situation quickly and came to the conclusion that the two were helping her even through the first creature was beating them to a senseless pulp. Kit quickly jumped up onto the nearest tree limb and then propelled herself in the air. When she was within landing range of the first creature; she opened her mouth and released a pillar of flames.

[Lanadyr]

There was definitely a fight going on, but that's all Orb could determine as she closed in on the commotion in her naturally, painfully meandering pace, her boots in her rucksack, her feet spread out into large pads to prevent her heavy frame from sinking into the wet morass about her. She moved toward the conflict, focused on the task at hand, on helping the Forest, her new home, in any way that she could.

Fortunately, the swamp provided some cover visually, and the noise of the fight itself kept Orb's natural rattling concealed with equal effectiveness. She was able to get quite close, close enough to see two scaled, three eyed creatures and a seemingly psychotic, fire-breathing fox ably bringing the fight to a third scaled being, though this third being seemed stronger than the other three of them combined.

Orb couldn't tell who was on the side of the Forest and who wasn't at first, but the situation quickly snapped into focus when she saw the limp body of the winged unicorn behind the protective actions of the fox and her two scaly compatriots.

Orb moved herself around the fight and moved to the side of the unicorn, the creature's defenders either not noticing Orb because of their ongoing conflict or not seeing the decidedly non-scaled pile of glass marbles as their most pressing threat.

Orb stared silently at the body for a few moments, partly in awe, partly in terror. She had never seen any unicorn in person before, but the feathersaur Zeekie had told her, when she had first arrived, about how a small family of unicorns were caretakers of the Forest. Orb had to assume that, whoever this lovely creature was, she was quite important to the well-being of the Forest and everything in it.

And the fact that she was out cold didn't sit well with Orb. Not. One. Bit.

She knelt by the creature's head and pulled her rucksack to the ground before her. She began quickly and efficiently looking through her magical objects, looking for something, anything, that might aid the unicorn, but she had nothing that seemed applicable to the situation.

After a few moments of fruitless searching, she looked up from the open sack, upon the still unicorn before her. And then she noticed the horn. From what little she knew about unicorns, she knew that they were healers, of a sort, and that their power was somehow tied to their horns. Could she somehow use the horn to "jump-start" this creature's own healing abilities?

Orb had an affinity for magical objects and could intuitively use them unless they were very unusual. A unicorn's horn was just about the very definition of a "very unusual magical object." Still, Orb decided that it was at least worth a try.

She reached out and gently touched the horn. A few flickers of eldritch connection made it clear, however, that the unicorn's current situation couldn't be alleviated through a simple wound healing. The creature's very soul was dislocated from its body and, as Orb could tell through the spiritual feedback the body was still receiving, that soul was locked in a terrible, dangerous struggle, and may not have been on the winning side of it. The unicorn's situation also had something to do with the bizarre gateway in the distance, but Orb pushed that concern aside for the moment, given the more pressing matter before her.

Orb had only one idea as to how to help the unicorn. She wasn't even sure that the horn was capable of doing what she needed it to do, but there didn't seem to be any time to contemplate other options. Her plan of action would leave her immobile and vulnerable, though…

Orb glanced up at the fox and her two scaly companions, who were all still engaged with the other monstrous thing. Orb had to leave a clear indication that she was on their side and not a threat, but how?

Orb quickly pulled her flying broom, the closest thing she had to a weapon, from her rucksack. She snapped it in two with a decisive head-butt that knocked her hat into the mud, then planted both ends of the broom into the mud nearby, freshly pointed ends down.

Satisfied with the symbolic gesture that she had left, Orb then looked back down at the unicorn and more firmly seized her horn. Orb concentrated on the connection between the horn and her own body, which was, in the end, just another magical object. She attempted to send her own soul, weak though the artificial thing may have been, along the same paths of spiritual feedback that allowed her to know that the unicorn's soul was in dire jeopardy in the first place. In this way, she hoped to assist the unicorn's soul in fighting back against whatever was currently imperiling it.

But would it work?

[tehanu3]

Kit then landed in the mud once more. She growled out in fury as the creature wouldn't back down from her attack. She was so enraged that her very fur which was now black, began to emit smoke. She screamed out in rage and began to blast more fire at the strong beast. She made her attacks quick to conserve energy and strength. She needed it since this thing wasn't going to go down so easily anytime soon. She allowed her newfound companions to clash into their fellow creature before she charged and weaved between the two to close in on the angered one. She then quickly bit down on the creature's leg with a powerful force and began to emit fire from her clenched jaw as she held on.

[Windra]

"Maybe it's time to let them know we're here."

That was all Naira really needed to hear. Despite the exhaustion sapping all the ounces of energy left dripping in her body, the Reaver stepped forward with her hand firmly clasped about the silver hilt of her scimitar. She yanked it halfway from its sheath with a metallic shiiink! noise, bringing herself decidedly closer to one of the robed figures. Team Deep Forest was still invisible, so the advance was far less problematic than she feared it might be. But it was clear from her lack of action that the woman was hesitant.

"I'm still not really clear on who is really evil evil ... and who's just being controlled," she admitted with a whisper. Those cloaked beings were so busy flinging spells that Naira was doubtful they could hear her. "If I had enough strength to use my wind magick I'd just knock them backwards. But since that's kind of ... not happening ... "

Nemo took a deep breath. She flung the blade from its holding place, quickly spinning it so that the blunt edge was facing outwards ... and with a mighty heave, shoved roughly against the nearest of the spellmongers, aiming to spring him clear of his position.

"I am the spirit of Deeeeeeeeep Foreeeeeeeest," chimed Naira, deepening her voice and making it waver to mock that of those classical ghosts kids dress up as on Halloween. Hell, they were all invisible. Why not play it up? "Yoooooouuuu haaaaaaaaave displeaaaaaaaeeaaaassed meeeee, go baaaaaaaaaaack!"

Naira had a bit of magick left. She used it to kick up some dirt to enhance her theatrics.

"WhooooooooOOOOoooooOOOO!"

[Luxon Cobrat]

Letting them know they were there...

Naira sprang right into action, deciding that question on the spot. Entropy's thoughts took a moment to catch up with that development, but there was nothing for it now. So, she went straight to work deciding how to follow up Naira's ghost act.

The succubus quickly realized that the Reaver had already proposed a good idea. Wind magic. Naira was too drained to carry it out, but the ancient demon sorceress had magic for days. Entropy made a few gestures that nobody would see, and the movement of the air in the pit started picking up rapidly, while an eerie mist also flowed in for good measure to go along with Naira's ghost act. The wind quickly rose to a tempestuous vortex around the cloaked beings, strong enough to hopefully blow them off their feet and away from the portal.

[Sky Lily]

(( I pass for the meantime. I'll jump in again when I see the need to (: ))

[Lanadyr]

Am I in contact with her?

I can't tell.

I can feel…something…But I could be imagining it. Wishful thinking. Not exactly something I'm prone to, but with the stakes so high…

Stranger…can you hear me?

Let's assume, for the sake of argument, for the sake of wishful thinking, that you can.

My name is Orb. I'm trying to help you.

If our present connection works the way I think it works, I can grant you a bit of strength, but only a bit. My own soul is a pitifully weak artificial construct, and there is simply not much strength to grant. But there is something else, something much more useful, that I hope beyond all hope that I can give you.

I am an amorphous being. I know intimately what it is to exist without a native shape. You are now separated from your physical form, equally shapeless, but without the experiences that I possess.

Reach out. Reach into my experiences as you take my strength. Learn how truly versatile you have become. Learn how to turn that versatility into your greatest advantage. You might not be able to outfight that which threatens you, but you can still outsmart, outmaneuver, and outclass it.

It's time to get creative.

[tehanu3]

no matter how hard the creature swatted her; she clung onto it's leg and increased the flame coming out of her mouth. She wouldn't let go. But then the creature was knocked down by it's fellow beings, making it fall on her by accident. Kit instinctively let go with a yelp as the heavy being landed on her. Sure she was a full grown fox; but the creature that struggled to get back up was heavy! She yowled and barked as she clawed at the ground to get out from under it. Her two new comrades were too busy with trying to fight their brother; so Kit had to get herself unstuck. She growled out in frustration before she pushed herself to the max with her strength and was able to slip out from under the angered creature. But only at a hefty price. Kit had broken her right hind leg. It was a mere fracture; but nonetheless it was still costly in her situation. It just cut her effectiveness in agility in so many ways. She would be an easier target to catch now. She was forced against her will to use her reserves on strength and energy. Hopefully she wouldn't drain herself again into unconsciousness. Kit then limped behind the two friendly creatures to use them as shield's and got ready for some more fire.

[Lanadyr]

Did it work?

Orb released the unicorn's horn. The experience was...disorienting, to say the least. Jarring would perhaps be a better word. She felt as if she was communicating with and communing with someone, but...could it have just been herself, or some sort of bizarre reflection of herself? There was hardly any sense of basic identity in whatever magic-infused, hyperdimensional space she had found herself in. A space that only existed for a short period of time, perhaps only in her own mind...

She shook her head a bit. She had taken the opportunity that presented itself. If she did not make contact with the unicorn, it wasn't for a lack of an attempt. There was little reason to ruminate further on the matter.

Though there was another matter that made itself immediately apparent.

Orb stood and turned to face the massive portal in the distance that she had only noticed briefly before. She could clearly make out the connection between that portal and the soul that belonged to the limp body lying nearby. A bad connection, some sort of imprisonment.

She knew that this terrible thing, this terrible magical object, needed to be shut down.

Using the horn was difficult enough...

Another long shot, and an unfathomably dangerous one at that, judging by the creatures and the robed figures spread throughout the area. But it was the only thing that she could do to help, and she knew that she needed to help.

Still the beneficiary of the cover being provided by the fire-breathing fox and her other allies, Orb visually traced one of the many running channels of dirty water from near the portal to near her own location. Satisfied that the path between the two points was unbroken, she walked to the point closest to her as quickly as her heavy form would allow, abandoning her rucksack and all of her equipment near the unicorn as she did so. As she walked, her form became thinner and thinner, eventually slipping out of her dress as she became a very tall, very deformed funhouse-mirror version of a humanoid. This form, upon reaching its destination, further straightened and collapsed in on itself, smoothing into a snakelike form, and slid easily into the channel.

She quickly hid herself beneath the modest layer of muddy water and watery mud at the bottom of the channel. Thus concealed, Orb slithered her way through the claw-formed waterway, towards the portal that she hoped that she was capable of controlling, with as much speed as she could manage.

[tehanu3]

Kit planted her feet firmly into the muddy earth and released a huge pillar of flames upon the beast. She refused to cease as the creature screamed and thrashed. She had to keep going; she had to protect the limp body of the unicorn. She wasn't about to give up or give in to her weakened state. With her sheer willpower, Kit pushed herself even further than she normally would. Temporarily stopping the flames, she inhaled deeply and focused all her energy into keeping her strong. The black fur on her body began to emit black fog like flames and her eyes glowed a brighter shade of red. she growled as smoke began to escape through her clenched teeth. Kit wasn't about to be the loser of this battle. She was going to make sure of that.

[Windra]

There was a definite commotion above them. one of them could really see what was going on, but all one really had to do was listen. Somebody had stumbled onto them ... and clearly, the mind-controlled beings were not liking it one bit. Those were the noises of battle! Okay, so maybe that wasn't entirely a bad thing - it would draw attention away from the main portal. But then you had to consider that Gaeva was still up there, and there was no telling if her body was discovered.

Also, who the hell was up there? Could it be one of their own? The idea of Felix going head-to-head with the multitude of angry, confused creatures on the topside ... or any of the others (Bijou? The Twins? Juno?) made her skin crawl. And it was going to cut their precious time, because sooner or later word was going to spread that there were ghostly things by the main portal who could muck things up pretty badly for Hethrir.

I wonder how they'd react to one of their own being taken as ... hostage? It was an idea. Seeing a 'comrade' hoisted up into the air and threatened, would it keep the other creatures from attempting an attack? And it would it divert their eyes from whatever chaos was ensuing up above?

Welp, it was worth a risk.

Naira dropped the act very quickly, casting aside her wind magick in a flurry of leaves and upturned dust. Still under the cover of the invisibility cloak that concealed them all, she slipped up to the nearest hooded being. Her next maneuver was one she knew all too well from far too many experiences in the past. One arm wrapped over the top half of the robed-man's head, yanking it back painfully and letting the hood fly backwards in one motion. Her other hand drew out the scimitar and placed it on the guardian's neck so that it's sharpened edge bit a line neatly into skin, imprinting onto flesh but not going deep enough to draw blood.

"Don't struggle," she warned the formerly-hooded thing with a hiss that jumped into it's ear. "One wrong move and I'll cut your neck. That'll be one less person attending to Hethrir, savvy?" Savvy? Did she really just say that? The Reaver yanked her prisoner away from the portal, yanking him roughly backwards. In a louder, booming voice, she told the remaining guards, "Step away from the pool of light, lads, or your friend's head comes off."

Of course she wasn't really going to kill the guy, but it would serve as a supplemental word of caution. Naira still had energy in her to fight, but getting clobbered by the lot of them ... And was one hostage really going to be enough? There were seven robed figures left standing about the portal. Plus there was no guarantee of a reaction ... What if these guys were under such control that they didn't mind if one of their own lost five pounds off the top?

Entropy was nearby and playing along with the ghost act. Maybe the succubus would catch on and join the ploy ...

[forgerofsouls]

With everything happening Klinge was torn between staying with the group, and going back to Geava to help out there. And than suddenly Naira had taken a hostage! If he had hair, he'd be tearing it out. But, as it would seam, Lyrial had an idea as to what to do.

Lyrial planted her hand to the ground. The swamp was perfect for controlling plant life, or at least the water inside them, and at least the roots. A simple spell, one that would not break her invisibility. Over at the mess that was a fox and two creatures vs the mind controlled creature roots of the trees suddenly shot out of the ground wrapping themselves around the mind-controlled beast, subduing it without hurting it. The creature would not be able to break free from the roots.

Klinge sighed, a wave of relief comign over him. Now to watch how things pan out with the hostage. Instinctively his hand went to his sword's hilt...

[Voice of Deep Forest]

OOC
I'm so so sorry for the delay. I'm going to start wrapping this up so the plot can end and we can move on!

IC
The two scaly creatures backing Kit up did their very best to make a difference, though they mostly just managed to hold their mind controlled brother at bay by using their own weight against him, as well as through sheer luck. His vicious attack on mostly the vixen was more than they could handle, but they weren't about to give up now. Their tough scales at least gave them a lot more protection than their furry companion, though it was not something they were consciously aware of. While sentient, intelligent thought was not that big in their species. Vaguely they were aware of another having entered the scene, but even if it was attacking the lavender unicorn the fox was protecting, they could not have spared the thought or time to do anything about it. They completely ignored her, as did their berserker brother.

At a certain point one of the two creatures was thrown and hit something hard. Probably a rock or something, but whatever it was, it left him dazed and confused. The other was now feeling fearful and hesitated in his next attack. All this fire being thrown about was terrifying for the swamp creature, there usually wasn't that much of it around it. He squinted all three of his eyes against a large pillar of flame that suddenly appeared on top of their mind controlled brother, and he screeched in fear. He watched as his brother threw himself on and through the mud to douse the flames, yet still hesitated to come near. Instead he watched the fox, who was looking a little different now, scarier. Flames and smoke were emanating from her? Scared the creature took a step back, away from both her and the vicious creature. What if her fire would hurt him too? His scales could only give him so much protection.

The charred creature got up again with a growl, giving no indication he was in any pain, or that he would give up any time soon. Sharp claws in front of him he threw himself towards Kit.

From the mud sprang pale roots, obeying Lyrial's spell from the far distance by the portal, and quickly twisted themselves around the charging creature, pinning it in the mud. It wriggled and howled in an attempt to free itself, its sharp claws actually cutting a few of the weaker roots, but could not free himself. The two creatures on Kit's side did not move either, and instead stared in both shock and awe at both their captured brother and the flaming fox facing him, convinced she had done the magic. Two trios of eyes looked at Kit in wonder. They did not know what to do next, and as before just stood there, hoping something good would happen.

What they did not notice was that behind them another, fourth, scaly creature was approaching, one who had not witnessed the previous fight, just heard the sounds and come to investigate. And he saw the unconscious unicorn in the mud. His orders were clear. With a leap he threw himself into view, claws at the ready to rip apart lavender hide.

**********************

Only the hooded figure closest to Naira heard her whispering voice, and stopped his actions for a moment as he wildly looked about. A hiss came from within his hood, concealing some words that sounded like a curse, and then he returned to weaving his arms about as he cast another spell. A spell that did as much nothing as before. A close look at his movements betrayed weariness, he obviously had been at it for quite a while now. Yet he showed no sign of giving up any time soon either, just like the other 7.

As he was then grabbed by Naira he let out a very audible shout, and his pasty and bald head was revealed, two small black slitted eyes trying to figure out who had grabbed him, and from where! Two other hooded beings stopped their actions at his shout and looked over, their faces still hidden. The sudden drop in noise made the remaining five also take a moment to look over at the hostage.

"Step away from the pool of light, lads, or your friend's head comes off."

At these words from Naira a couple of the still hooded beings hissed and made as if to step closer to the source of the sound.

"The spirit of the forest speaks to us!" screeched the robed man with the blade at his throat, "It is displeeeeeased!!!"

At this the other seven started to cheer loudly, throwing up their arms as if in victory even.

"I shall be sacrificed!!!" the man continued in an even louder voice, leaning forwards, closer to Naira's blade, which was received with an even louder cheer from the other six. "For the Master! My blood for the Master!!!"

And without waiting for anything more, and obviously unaware of there being others present other than the "spirit of the Deep Forest", the other seven went back to attacking the invisible shield surrounding the portal.

Until another portal appeared on the steps right behind the invisible group. Isala's portal from the mountains.

*****************

While this was going on the very center of the white portal was subtly changing. The lavender was moving faster, then slower. Its movements more calculating. The two swirls of color were no longer just dancing around each other, trying to get a stab at the other, the lavender was moving with a defensive purpose now, baiting the other. It was drawing from another's experience to survive.