Void Rift (rp) - Intermission

The Shadows mutter words as they pray, before eventually getting up and leaving, giving Alice nervous glances as they speed up their pace.

 

I nod to return the gesture before closing the portal, and cutting the link with my second in command.

I turn to the sorceress.
"Here's your messenger." I say, gesturing for the messenger to move forwards. I then fly to the back to see how big the cart is.

 

"Battle wounds happen. Have you told the Mantis Matriarch yet?"

"Wow!"
Crystal says, amazed.
"How'd they get that close?"

 

Alice goes to kneel, shifting a third eye in the back of her head to literally watch her back as she tries to reach out to Tenebrae.

"She actually came here with some of her guard. They've been demanding to know where Orchid is, and I was hoping you'd get back before it got out of hand."

"Sometimes it happens to be a super close race, other times it's a blowout. All depends on how the athletes perform."

"So, I guess I'll be talking to you a lot?" The sorceress asks the messenger.

The minecart is not much bigger than a wheelbarrow with taller walls. It would barely hold two bushels of grain as-is.

 

She can't see anyone, and the most she can reach out to is the large statue in the room.

 

Sighing, she gets closer and rests her forehead on the statue, trying to forget her worries of literally being backstabbed.

 

"Alright. Lead me to them."

"I guess so. So, now we wait for... water polo, right?"
Crystal asks, forgetting the name for a few moments.

 

Ytir runs off to where the group had slept, the Matriarch simply meditating.

"Yep. Should start in a few minutes."

 

From the size of the statue, Alice can only rest her head on the shoe of the statue, the statue itself looming above.

 

"Ritual? Ritual for what exactly?"

 

After failing, she slowly drifts off in a kneeling position as she rests against the statue, feeling dejected.

"Getting across the water, of course!" Anne says happily.

 

I run off after him.
"Hello."
I say to the Matriarch.

"Okay."
Crystal waits.

 

"Is that all?" I ask curiously knowing Anne is hiding something

 

As Alice drifts off, her dream feels radically different. She finds herself floating in a strange, twilight area, and a large pair of red eyes open in front of her as a dark being forms.

 

Her guard stops you.
"Don't interrupt her." They whisper.

About ten minutes later, the ropes dividing the pool lanes are removed and a two teams start to move into the pool and warm up.

Nervous, Alice tries to find footing of some sort.

________________________________

"I mean... pretty much. It summons a way across." She says, confused at your suspicion.

 

"Alright. Apologies, I heard there was trouble."
I whisper back.

Crystal watches, interested.

 

A platform forms under Alice, since she's dreaming.

A large, gold-black throne forms in front of Alice, a massive female Shadow wearing what appears to be silken, yet casual clothing, sitting in it with her legs crossed. Alice is hardly the size of the one of Shadow's pupils, and she seems to be comparatively much further away from the massive Shadow for the sake of conversing. The platform Alice stands on seems to be about at head height of the Shadow.

 

"Yes'm." The messenger replies. "I don't quite know what I'm here for. All I know is that I'm to negotiate somethin'."

"Good, it's quite small." I say, examining it even more.

 

"There is. Do you know where guard Orchid is?"

They tread water, passing a ball between themselves for a bit as the audience seems to reassemble.

"Yes. As initial tribute, Lucy said she'd take five gold bars and then lower the price."

It's an old, rusted metal cart with broken wheels. Not much else to say.

"Sweet Xlentia, where the hell am I?" Alice utters.

 

"You're asleep." Tenebrae says calmly.

A school of fish swim by Alice, whistling a familiar tune which Alice can't seem to pinpoint. A strange, humanoid blue hedgehog runs around in the distance, seeming to jump over pits of spikes while collecting gold rings.