~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ Crystice ~ and ~ Emmra ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
._ The Ice Sorceress ~ ~ ~ The Sorceress Sisters ~ ~ ~ The Sweet Sorceress
Crystice's eyes cracked open unwillingly when she heard Tesonu's voice call for the attention of all Creatures. She half-listened as he made the announcement. It had something to do with Suria breathing fire, a hunt, and herself. She was to lead the hunt... or something. Crystice really couldn't bother with it for the time being, and decided to allow herself a bit more sleep before concerning herself with whatever was the issue. She wasn't being picked up so surely it was nothing of urgency anyways.
After an unknown amount of time, Crystice began to quickly lift herself up from her bed, feeling she had a sufficient rest. She sat up, then stepped down onto the dungeon floor and stretched a bit. Realization of her current assignment suddenly struck her, and she immediately thought to go to the Guard Room. She stopped herself, however, and instead looked over at Emmra. Surely she would be wondering where her sister went off to, and Crystice wasn't sure if she completely trusted her naive sister on her own in a dungeon full of potentially malicious and manipulative Creatures.
While Crystice had left her behind before, the circumstances were considerably different. Emmra stayed in the Library, for the most part, and everyone was gone to engage in battle. Now, she would likely wander the dungeon on her own accord, which made Crystice feel uneasy. Even with that aside, there was still the fact that Emmra's magic would prove very useful should there be any injuries. But Emmra seemed to still be asleep. Crystice thought to nudge her a bit to test the deepness of her sleep, then leave her as is if she knew Emmra would stay asleep.
Crystice carefully walked up to her sister, recalling the memory of when she and that Imp set her down. She seemed to remember it more clearly than she expected, having been rather tired herself at the time. Though she recalled laying Emmra flat on her back, it seemed as if she had rolled herself over and now slept on her left side. Crystice gave her a gentle nudge around her shoulder, adding a voice of equal softness, "Emmra...?" Her sister only seemed to let out a moan that even Crystice, as close as she was, could barely hear. Crystice shrugged, deciding it would be better to allow Emmra some more rest.
Just after Crystice finished turning around, she heard another moan. This one was considerably louder, but still relatively quiet. Following it, she heard Emmra's voice, "...Crystice?" Crystice quickly turned, "Oh, Emmra. So you are awake." "What happened?" Emmra asked before letting out a yawn, "I remember feeling really tired after casting a Heal Spell, then I laid down for a moment and then... I was dreaming." "I think you may have over-exhausted yourself." "Really? Oh, I know why!" Emmra quickly sat up, filling her voice with excitement just as fast, "It's the technique I used before I got all tired! I cast a Perfect Heal and a Consecutive Heal, and I didn't even use my staff! Isn't that great!?"
Crystice's eyes widened, actually surprised and impressed with her sister. She couldn't remember the last time she felt that way, for it had to be at least several years since Emmra amazed her. While she was not as skilled in the healing arts, she had learned enough about them as a child to be familiar with the inner workings of the various spells and various techniques that could be pulled off with each one. "Emmra... that's very good to hear... but please, keep your voice down," Crystice told her, keeping her own voice to a hushed whisper. "Oh," Emmra looked down a bit, "Sorry."
Crystice took Emmra's hand and gave her a warm smile to try and return her mood. She looked back up to Crystice then returned the smile with a giggle to follow afterwards. "But that is very good, Emmra," Crystice told her, keeping her smile, "You're becoming much better." Emmra giggled again, "Heehee! I am, aren't I? I remember when I couldn't cast magic at all without my staff. It feels so good to be helpful without being relying on it so much." "You should still carry it around with you," Crystice suggested in a more cautious voice as she put her other hand over Emmra's, "It could still prove very useful. Even if you do become very skilled, you may still have moments in which you cannot focus enough to cast a spell, and the staff will be useful then to smoothen that flow of magic." "Okay, Crystice!" Emmra replied in a cheery voice.
"Alright then," Crystice's voice suddenly lost its sisterly warmth as she let go of Emmra's hand, "We should go." Emmra suddenly reached out from the bed and wrapped her arms around Crystice's waist and slowly pulled her, startling Crystice before she began to resist with equal force. "Nooooo... don't go..." Emmra whispered in a childish voice, "Let's stay here and rest some more, then we can go and play!" Crystice let her arms hang as she sighed, "No Emmra... We can't... and I told you to stop doing that."
Emmra released her grip, returning herself within the borders of her bed. She whispered in a sorrowful voice, "I thought you said..." "I know what I said! But look... now is not the time for that. We have something to take care of." "Why?" Emmra whined. "Well..." Crystice paused for a moment, searching for the right words, "I suppose it's more that I have something to take care of. Tesonu's orders. But I'm taking you along with me because you're very useful." "Oh..." was all Emmra said in response. Crystice wanted to say much more than just that, but she didn't want to get into the real issue of leaving her alone to wander the dungeon. There was no way she would understand the potential dangers of that.
"Where are we going?" Emmra asked weakly. Crystice's answer came much more firmly, "We're going on a hunt." "A hunt..." Emmra repeated. Crystice wondered if she even knew what the word meant. A hunt was a pretty simple concept, but given Emmra's heavily sheltered life, it wouldn't be too surprising if she didn't understand. Either way... "We're hunting for..." Crystice took another pause, trying to recall what it was that Tesonu said, "...for... uh... a what...?"
It wasn't that Crystice couldn't remember, as it was what she remembered that puzzled her. She was perplexed by the name "Ire Piglet", and for a number of good reasons. She had never once heard the name before, and frankly, it sounded completely ridiculous, like some sort of fictional monster in a child's book. The fact that it was somehow poisonous and could breathe fire made it even more questionable. Tesonu certainly didn't seem sure of it himself. To top it off, the name literally meant "Angry Young Pig", which made it sound even more ridiculous. Crystice wondered if they were hunting a real beast or being sent on a wild chicken chase across the dungeon.
"Crystice?" Emmra softly whispered, catching Crystice's attention. "What? I was thinking about something..." Crystice shook her head before she began to head out, "Whatever, let's just go and get this over with." "O-Okay..." Emmra replied as she hurried after her. Crystice quickly led Emmra out of the Lair, heading for their destination in the Guard Room.
Upon entering the Hatchery, Emmra suddenly grabbed Crystice's arm as she came to an abrupt stop, "Wait... I'm hungry." Crystice sighed, "Alright, just don't eat too much now." "O-Okay...!" Emmra replied hesitantly before running off to catch chickens. "Hmm... I feel a bit hungry myself..." Crystice muttered to herself, "I might as well grab a small bite now that I'm here..." Crystice reached down and plucked a small, nearby chicken that was pecking at the magical soil of the Hatchery. She stood over by one of the pillars and began to fry it over the fire as she watched Emmra grab a third chicken. She stopped for a while, as if to think about something, then let the third chicken down. She began to gobble down the two remaining chickens shortly after.
For someone so kind and gentle, she really has the rough eating manners of a Troll.
By the time Crystice began eating her cooked chicken, Emmra had already finished her raw two and had rejoined her. She watched quietly as Crystice slowly ate her meal. At one point, she suddenly spoke up, "Oh! I just remembered something!" Crystice's eyes glanced over at Emmra with mild interest, but she retained most of her focus on eating. Emmra lifted up the front of her dress partway, showing only up to her knees. She seemed surprised to see that there was nothing abnormal there. "I scraped myself earlier, but it's all gone now... how did it heal so fast?" Emmra asked Crystice, though kept staring at her knees for a while longer before letting her dress fall back down. Crystice held up a single finger to signify her to wait until she finished eating.
After her final swallow of the meal, Crystice began to speak, "That's because of the Lair. It's blessed with magic to accelerate your natural healing rate by several times. I don't remember by exactly how much so, but it is a very drastic boost. It also helps a lot with resting, which is why you don't need to sleep for too long before you feel fully awake." "Wow, that's very interesting," Emmra replied. "I actually don't remember a lot of the specifics. It's been a very long time since I've read anything about Lair magic. And even back then, I didn't read too deeply into it. I was just doing some light research for myself on some of the more basic rooms to learn about them, since there is never an opportunity to read about them otherwise." Crystice added. "Ah, I see!" Emmra replied simply.
"Oh, I just remembered this dream I had!" Emmra added. "We need to get going," Crystice cut her off before she could say anymore, "Tell me about it on the way, but stop when we reach the Guard Room." "Ok!" Emmra replied as the two sisters began to walk out of the Hatchery, "It was about my magic. And, well, a lot of things. But I guess mostly about my magic. I was learning about all kinds of techniques and spells, and... well it just reminded me a lot of moth-" Crystice suddenly gripped Emmra's wrist very tightly, causing her to jump, "That's enough, Emmra."
The two of them had stopped just when Crystice took hold of her sister, and they stood quietly by some of the Traps just outside the Guard Room. "Crystice?" Emmra whispered in a confused tone before she began trying to regain the freedom of her hand, "Let go! That hurts!" "Emmra..." Crystice spoke in a cold whisper, getting her sister to quiet down, "...Don't ever talk about them. I don't want to hear about them, and I don't want you telling anyone else about them. Alright?" Emmra struggled to find the right words, but all she could say was, "W-Why?" Crystice turned and gave her sister a fierce glare and spoke firmly, "I don't want to hear it, Emmra. Do not talk about them, and that is final. Understand?" Emmra stared back at her with innocent, frightened eyes before she looked down and muttered, "...Yes, sister."
Crystice said no words towards her sister and entered the Guard Room, with Emmra slowly following. The first thing Crystice saw was Suria as she bounced upon the map table. Crystice pointed towards the ground as she shouted at the Demon Spawn, "Suria, get down from there this instant!" Suria, however, seemed very reluctant to obey. Crystice gave another firm point and, with a hand on her hip, gave another strict command, "Now!" This time, however, the Demon Spawn complied, if still remaining a bit resistant. Crystice stepped up towards the map, paying little mind to the other occupants of the room. She studied the damaged and clawed but still legible map. She repeated Tesonu's words in her mind as she searched for possible locations to search during their hunt.
After finishing, she turned back towards the rest of the volunteer hunters. "Alright..." she started to say, but then paused when she realized something. Everyone in the Guard Room, save for Suria and obviously Emmra, were completely unknown to her. She knew not their faces nor their name, and she certainly received no briefing from Tesonu about them either... not that she should always rely on search. They could have been new recruits, in which case, they would be completely oblivious to the fact that she was Crystice, the one currently in charge of the hunt. She definitely needed to change that.
"I don't recognize most of you here... certainly not from the last battle. You must be new recruits. I am Crystice, and this..." Crystice opened a hand to Emmra briefly, "...is my sister, Emmra. I've already decided where we should go and search. We're looking for cold places, according to Tesonu. We should check all rooms wide in width and length as the torches probably can't keep them as warm as the rest of the dungeon, relatively speaking. Places with unreinforced walls, like down in the new Treasury beyond the Trap Room, are probably quite cold due to the lack of torches altogether. The Trap Room itself is likely very cold as all the metal from the Traps will absorb any heat. The Workshop may also be an option for that reason, but there's a lot of fires there so I'm not sure. There's also the Graveyard, and I think the Prison might be a choice. It's naturally a bit cold there due to its magic, simply to make it less comfortable for prisoners. The Lair and Hatchery aren't likely, due to the extra fires. And that should cover just about everything."
Emmra was, meanwhile, sitting by the entrance and a bit away from the other creatures. She wasn't really paying much attention to them, for she actually had many thoughts of her own that concerned her. She looked very detached from the situation and events surrounding her, instead appearing very gloomy. So much that she appeared to be ready to break into tears any second.
I know Crystice doesn't want to talk about mother or father, but I don't know why. She used to love them so very much. But then one day, I just saw her arguing with father... and then it seemed like... she stopped loving them. She was talking earlier towards me like how she did to father... does... does that mean she will stop loving me one day? If I upset her so much, will she just abandon me again, like she did with father? And leave me all alone like she did before? If... if that's it... then I... I...
~ ~ ~ Crystice ~ and ~ Emmra's ~ ~ ~
Summary
Crystice/Emmra
Health: 100%, 100% [+12% by Lair Sleep]
Level: 5, 4
Experience: 53/60, 39/45
Gold in Hand: 0, 0
Gold in Lair: 842, 650
Equipment: None/Wizard Staff
Location: Guard Room, by Table Map/Guard Room, By Entrance and Away from the Others
Status: Awaiting Possible Responses/Sorrow, Thinking
Efficiency: 100%/89%
Summery: Crystice and Emmra woke up to Tesonu but rested a bit longer, talked a lot, went to the Hatchery, ate, went to the Guard Room, and Crystice introduced themselves after discussing locations to go for hunting.