Player
I have nothing to say.
Cole
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Post by Cole on Dec 3, 2022 17:49:50 GMT -5
Cole gave the Quincy a nod, ”Fair enough; and yeah. I’ve got a whole bag of tricks. When my spell goes off, get ready to go nuts.”
The hollows kept scraping on the barrier, and Cole focused energy into the hexagonal foci, which began floating in front of him. They began to start beating on it, and the Shinigami took a nail and began scraping on the shard of metal himself. As the power gathered, Lazarus would feel a slight tug from his soul sleep in the direction of the Shinigami, unpleasant, but not painful. He began to intone something as he drew a pair of sigils on the metal, the hollows began gathering around the barrier, blotting out most of the light with their bodies as the barrier began to crack.
The shinigami smirked as the power reached its creshendo, and called out a single echoing word of power that thrummed through the enclosed space. "Elido."
The hexagonal piece of metal splintered into razor sharp fragments and harmlessly launched away from Cole. The barrier also splintered into razor sharp fragments, and shot out from where they were with tremendous force. That was less harmless. They launched right into the gathered mass of hollows trying to tear the former barrier down. It swiftly and violently eliminated the gathered hollows, leaving the six that the Quincy was warning them about.
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Post by Lazarus Jeager on Dec 4, 2022 10:53:49 GMT -5
The small healing spell he cast on himself was going to work, what would normally be a large and ugly bruise now likely nothing more than a welt in the morning, though it did little for his aching bones. He marveled at just how unique the spells Cole cast were, definitely further down the spectrum than his own, but all the same he studied them best he could, not wanting to miss how any of them were used. His time against Nezuel in battles had afforded him the experience of feeling the effects of draining spells and spells that punished the recipient for acting in retaliation. Cole gave the impression of having a different style of combat, Lazarus just couldn't quite pin down what it was at the moment.
All these thought would be cast into the depths of his mind as he sensed movement from with the forest, and a sound he very much did not want to think was real. As he turned to look back, the noise of roots snapping and breaking echoed from the wilderness, followed by a brief silence. Pulling the blade out of the ground in front of him, he'd get into a readied stance, watching and sensing for anything that might allude to danger. Unfortunately for him, tree's themselves didn't give off any spiritual signals, so when he witnessed a full on tree hurdling towards him from the depths of the forest, his immediate reaction was to curse rather loudly, his hand cast outward as reishi gathered in icy shards at his palm. Runic symbols of his peoples magic formed at each finger, and a moment later the spell would reach it's apex, scattering about the tree's to form an ice like maze for the tree to crash into on it's path to them. The large timber crashed through multiple chunks of ice and tree, though it caused the massive log to turn and shift, and ultimately it slammed against two tree's just shy of the clearing. As if to signify their attack, all six presences moved inward at the same time, however only three of them were coming from the direction of the tree. The other three were coming from the back of the shrine, probably circled around while they were busy fighting the smaller hollows.
"What the hell kind of teamwork is this, hollows rarely work together..."
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Player
I have nothing to say.
Cole
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Post by Cole on Dec 6, 2022 8:17:19 GMT -5
Fascinating, the Quincy’s spell used runes; much like some of his own research into Erilaz traditions. They weren’t scribed beforehand, but seemed to manifest as part of the spell itself; it didn’t make sense in any of the magical traditions he was aware of, but the Quincy were understandably secretive. Hell, Leonina had mentioned that some of the Quincy had been following his research while he had been alive, but it wasn’t like they had come by to talk to him. If this was a Quincy shrine, maybe he’d be able to glean some information about their style of magic.
He glanced towards the shrine, sensing half of the hollows coming from that direction, ”They don’t usually coordinate, but it’s not unheard of. Some hollows form packs, that might be what we’re looking at here. It seems more likely it’s something to do with the shrine. The reports of hollow attacks around here are centered on it.”
Cole took the moment of reprieve to dig around in his satchel, finding a few tools that would be useful to focus his spells into vicious attacks. He gestured towards where the tree had been launched from, ”But we can also work together, let’s rush the three coming from there; take them out before the other ones can flank us.”
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Post by Lazarus Jeager on Dec 6, 2022 15:50:39 GMT -5
The last remnants of the healing spell flickered and wavered, the runes fading one by one until the energy faded into the world around them. Still tender from the tree, but most of the damage had been healed up, Lazarus straightening his stance as he locked his senses onto the three hollows coming for them where the tree had originated.
"Works for me, I'll leave the kill shots to you like we have been, let's hope they aren't as fast as they are strong otherwise this be a real pain to deal with..."
With that said the shadowy figures of the hollows would come into view, charging through the forest with a tenacity that might send a weaker entity fleeing. A flourish of the blade in his hand and it would begin to drip a murky greyish blue liquid, the tip of the arrow on his bow dripping the same mysterious substance. Charging forward to make first contact, Lazarus would be met with an outstretched fist, swung wide to try and intercept him. Rather than take the strike head on, his body shifted to the side, legs coming up off the ground as his feet planted themselves on the two largest knuckles of the gorilla like hollow attacking him. It stood nearly twice his height, the other two hollows similar in appearance. Using the fist as a launch pad, he'd allow the force to rocket him towards the hollow to the right, his blade carving a nasty wound into the arm as he flew past. His hand game up to shoot an arrow into a tree as he passed it, though there appeared to be a line of reishi from the arrow which wrapped around his hand and arm. Using the tree, the Quincy would swing back around as quickly as he had passed, dragging the blade across the other arm, his feet touching solid ground again as skidded to a halt a few paces in front of the original attacker. The wounded hollow appeared to waver in it's movements, it's wounds not healing as the substance from his blade worked it's way into the creatures system.
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Player
I have nothing to say.
Cole
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Post by Cole on Dec 7, 2022 22:14:08 GMT -5
Cole nodded, ”Works for me.”
He wouldn’t have particularly minded if Lazarus ended up killing a hollow or two; taking on more individual risk to ensure he didn’t finish one of the beasts was more than he would have expected from a stranger. But there wasn’t really time to express that, so no sense throwing a wrench in what was working already. The man was fast, clearly skilled with the weapons of his race, and already on the move.
The Shinigami followed a shunpo behind, pulling a zippo out of his pouch and engulfing the hollow staggered by the Quincy’s assault in a purifying flame. It let out a roar of agony as it dissipated under their combined attack. He stretched his free hand towards the other two hollows and sprinkled a powder into the air, motes of light flitted around the masks of the remaining hollows, and it appeared to distract them, slowing their movements and creating an opening for his impromptu battle buddy.
He glanced back towards the shrine, the other hollows had begun to pick up the pace when their compatriots had been assaulted, but they were still far enough away that they wouldn’t be a problem unless they started launching projectiles. So Cole watched for projectiles.
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Post by Lazarus Jeager on Dec 8, 2022 14:38:47 GMT -5
Had it not been for the dazing effect Cole had manifested upon the hollows Lazarus might have had to dodge more attacks, thankfully the opening gave him a moment to assess and readjust for the next flurry of blows. He'd use his agility and pin point accuracy to fire two shots into the knees of the hollow closest to him as he past, firing a small bead of lightning at the other hollow while heading back towards the shrine, confident that Cole would be able to finish them off in a matter of moments.
"I'll intercept our friends in the back, take care of the stragglers here."
A combination of a small reishi platform and hirenkyaku would have in in the air in no time, eyes sweeping the area to get a visual of the remaining hollows in question. In what he could only assume was some sick form of a joke by a higher deity he was met with the sight of multiple fully grown tree's being uprooted. His shoulder sagged a bit at the sight, but quickly returned to normal as the first of the three hollows in the back of the shrine decided to launch the offending object sky high in his direction.
"Oh for the love of-, stop with the trees damn it!"
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Player
I have nothing to say.
Cole
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Post by Cole on Dec 8, 2022 21:53:43 GMT -5
Moved in as the two hollows were crippled further after his malediction, enough that he had plenty of time to gather energy through the zippo, utter a short incantation, and manifest a beam of concentrated heat through the heads of the two apes. Easy peasy. Maybe it would have been rough if all six had converged on them at once, but the two v three shouldn’t have been an issue. And the Quincy was already ready to start the next match.
Cole glanced behind, then up when he didn’t see the Quincy on the ground. He took a few quick flash steps himself, walking on the air of the mortal world with ease. The Shinigami moved next to Lazarus as the trees started soaring towards them, ”Eh, they can keep it up with the trees. It’s not like it’s that hard to dodge them when they’re only coming from one direction.”
He moved a few feet out of the path of the projectile, and gave the Quincy a small smirk as it sailed between them, ”Besides, our projectiles are much better.”
And with that, Lazarus would feel another slight tug from his soul sleep as Cole began to gather energy for a new incantation.
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Post by Lazarus Jeager on Dec 10, 2022 2:10:36 GMT -5
The sensation bothered him, reminiscent of someone who pulled at your hair or ear without warning, and he wanted to better understand what was happening when Cole prepared his spell. A sidestep of his own would allow him to avoid another tree as it spun end over end and landed somewhere amidst it's kin in the forest behind them, Lazarus now switching to a more direct reiatsu tracking to lock in on the three hollow below. Turning his gaze to Cole, he frowned slightly as he lifted his hand bow and fired two arrows off in the direction of the hollows.
"Alright whatever it is you're doing with your spells, I don't like that tugging sensation, you aren't using me as a source of energy or some kind of conduit for your spells are you?"
One arrow a piece for the hollows, each individual arrow hitting the same spot on both of them, right in between the leg and hip to try and immobilize. The third hollow had decided it wanted to try this whole tree routine again, but before it could get the massive log over it's shoulders Lazarus would point a single finger in it's direction. The beam of electricity that fired from his finger was a bit more concentrated then his last one, piercing both wrists on the hollow as it dropped the tree on it's own head as a result.
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Player
I have nothing to say.
Cole
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Post by Cole on Dec 10, 2022 8:55:35 GMT -5
Cole finished his incantation quickly and a beam of dark energy followed one of his attacks, disintegrating the hollow as it struck the mask. He looked to the Quincy and shook his head, ”No, I’m not stealing your energy. My reiatsu signature is just weird and no one knows why.”
He gave a small shrug, and Cole focused his energy again, and the pulling feeling would redouble, ”You ever been around someone when someone around you gathered a lot of energy? How there’s that feeling of pressure? Like a massive weight has been placed on you?”
The Shinigami shot another beam of dark energy at the one that had dropped the tree on itself, like the first, it dissolved without much fanfare, ”Mine, for whatever reason, feels like the opposite. Rather than a sensation that tries to force you to the ground, it feels more like a vacuum that tries to pull things in.”
He launched a final beam of dark energy and the last hollow met the same fate as its compatriots, immediately, the pulling sensation ended as Cole stopped focusing his energy for the spell. For the moment, it seemed like they had a reprieve from any of the masked beasts, ”Shall we go figure out why this shrine is attracting hollows?”
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Post by Lazarus Jeager on Dec 11, 2022 22:10:57 GMT -5
He wondered if this is how that Quincy Vance felt when others were around him, something he might have to bring up in conversation next time they crossed paths. With the crisis of hollows averted Lazarus would sigh in relief, the reishi weapons dissipating into the air around him before scatting past the point of being seen.
"Let's get down to the bottom of it before more show up, or anyone else looking to investigate a skirmish in the middle of no where..."
The platform under his feet would begin to descend towards the ground, the Quincy hopping off when he was just a few feet above the ground. He didn't bother to wait for confirmation that Cole was with him or not, through their brief time together Lazarus could assume the Shinigami wanted to know what was going on with this shrine just as much as he did. The interior was much the same as before, nothing out of place or shaken up in the ruckus from outside, an ordinary shrine from the untrained eye. A brisk walk around the walls with his knuckles knocking every other step, his heels making a strong impact on the floor as he walked, all things done to try and find some hidden room or cellar that might be locked away. This investigation would bear fruit in the sound of a hollow knock just behind one of the staircases leading to the upper levels, however when he looked about the area there was no mechanism to activate.
"Hmmmm, they never really went over anything like this back home, probably an invention of their own making. Got any ideas as to how they'd open it Cole?"
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Player
I have nothing to say.
Cole
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Post by Cole on Dec 12, 2022 18:26:54 GMT -5
Cole nodded, following Lazarus into the shrine, inspecting sigils and symbolism throughout the building. It’s not like he would have had much success making sense of any if it, Quincy were notoriously reclusive; attempted genocide from the ruling faction would do that to anyone. He glanced over to where his Quincy companion was knocking on a wall, ”Well, I mean…this surely seems like an insurmountable problem. If only one of us was a spirit that could simply walk through the wall.”
The Shinigami feigned shocked realization, ”...wait a minute.”
With a friendly smirk to Lazarus, Cole strode towards the disguised door. In mid-stride, a half second too late to react, a word bubbled up from the chaotic tumult of murmuring from his zanpakuto, ’Trap!’ Cole had just enough time to start building up his reiatsu before he was blasted back from the door by a violent force of energy. Even with the defensive barrier he was able to quickly conjure, he was slammed into the opposite wall with enough force to send a shower of dust down from the ceiling of the building. If he hadn’t had that warning from his blade, that might have broken some bones, maybe snapped his neck if he was particularly unlucky.
He groaned as he pushed himself up off the ground, ”Motherfucker. Ow...okay, well, the maker clearly didn’t want spiritual beings cheating.”
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Post by Lazarus Jeager on Dec 12, 2022 19:26:33 GMT -5
From a normally stoic or irritated individual, the rolling thunder of laughter that escaped him might appear out of character, however the unfortunate event that had just happened to Cole was by far the funniest thing he'd seen in some time. The laughter would be followed up by a smattering of claps as he mock applauded the Shinigami for his attempt, though it would make sense that whoever built this place would provide counter measures to thieves and the like.
"Let's take a different approach at this, considering the way we can manipulate reishi I'd assume there's some trick only our kind can do..."
Lazarus would being to gather reishi at his fingertips, the edges of his nails aglow with the energy as he stepped once more to the wall in question. Dragging his fingertips across the wall, he'd trace the wall starting from the top, the lines of reishi dissipating as he investigated. After a handful of moments his fingers would stop at a point in the center of the wall, where instead of dissipating as normal the reishi would start to collect and gather, and the secret behind the wall clicked in his mind. A second later the reishi would form a key in his fingers, and with a turn of this key an audible 'click' could be heard. the wall would shift and shudder, sinking into the floor beneath to reveal the darkness behind it. Lazarus fumbled for a switch on the interior wall for a moment and what was once a dark gateway now shone with the fluorescent lights on the ceiling. He took a step in, his footfalls tender and subtle as to not trigger another possible trap.
"Bingo..."
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Player
I have nothing to say.
Cole
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Post by Cole on Dec 12, 2022 21:43:25 GMT -5
Cole rubbed his shoulder as he stood up, there was going to be a bruise there tomorrow, ”Yeah, yeah; I guess I had that coming.”
He carefully approached the secret entrance, but it seemed that whenever Lazarus opened the door he had also disabled the trap. At least the one on the entrance that was trying to repel spiritual beings. With the door open, he could sense something coming from the basement, it was strange; and he couldn’t place it. The Shinigami wracked his brain, trying to figure out where if he had encountered this sensation before. All the while, he was mentally noting down the runes and figures that made up the ward that had so effectively blasted him backwards.
The Shinigami moved up next to the Quincy, glancing up at the ceiling and the soft hum of fluorescent lights, ”Well, they're not magically lit torches, that's for sure. And they're still functional. Someone’s still payin’ the power bill.”
He considered the stairwell down, it looked like it went fairly deep, but odds are whatever was attracting the hollows had its origins down there. He gestured downward, giving Lazarus a slight shrug, ”There's something funky down there, no idea if it's dangerous. Shall we?"
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Post by Lazarus Jeager on Dec 13, 2022 0:20:22 GMT -5
While it had been fun and games a moment ago, Lazarus had a much more apprehensive look about him, staring at the pathway down with discomfort.
"I have a feeling I'm not going to like what we find..."
He took the lead on the stairs going down, keeping his mind sharp for any other traps, but from the look of things that initial one was all that had been set up. His expression turned almost sour as they traversed deeper into the underground section of the shrine, finally finding the bottom as once again they were met with darkness, though this time the light switch was just an arms reach away. Flicking the switch up, the same type of lighting met them down here, and the pit that had been growing in his stomach since he first got the sensation as the door opened now dropped even further.
What they were looking at was a lab, with a bounty of ingredients and materials to fabricate what he considered to be a weapon of terror if anyone went about using it. Clearly the Quincy that inhabited this place were on top of their work, as there were trays and beakers out, a full on chemist could have been working down here for months and still not get through the supply they had. Lazarus walked over to one of the tables nearest the staircase, and sitting on the tray was a small mountain of little white pebble like objects. The top most pieces looked slightly damaged, clearly breaking down as a result of expiration, the faint traces of bait lingering in the air around them.
"Hollow bait, and from the looks of it, enough to stock an army. I wouldn't be surprised if this much could summon the whole of Hueco Mundo's residents to the human realm if it got used. If even what's on this table got used you'd have a city trampled to bits by Gillian in a matter of minutes, who in their right mind goes about making a damn manufacturing facility for the stuff..."
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Player
I have nothing to say.
Cole
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Post by Cole on Dec 13, 2022 20:38:42 GMT -5
”Hollow bait…I’ve heard about this.”
Cole moved forward, examining the laboratory; it appeared to be a combination of chemistry and…yeah…there it was, a few of the pieces of laboratory equipment were marked with runes similar to the type he had seen Lazarus manifest when casting Quincy spells. Some descendant (or maybe ancestor) of Erliaz was clearly a key part of their magic. He hadn’t seen these particular runes before, it was some sort of language he didn’t understand, but he mentally jotted down all that he saw to experiment with later.
The Shinigami looked at the decaying mound of hollow bait, then back to the Quincy that had led him down here, ”Lazarus, you know I have to report this to Seireitei. Like you said, this much hollow bait is pretty much a WMD. You were willing to make sure that I finished off the hollows so they were purified. So you must know of the danger the removal of…”
He gestured at the mound of bait, ”...this many hollows would pose to the cycle.”
Christ, he hoped this man would listen to reason; he seemed like a decent guy, but this was beyond either of them to deal with. He didn’t want to have to fight the man; frankly, he wasn't sure he'd win.
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