Fall From Grace [Epic Quest - Garret]

A flurry of combat made it impossible for Azix to use his body manipulation technique. Both Garret and the troubleshooter attacked the Jarl impersonator, so instead of attacking himself, Azix rushed over to Janus' side. Gillus cradled the woman in his arms as blood gushed from where his spear had pierced her stomach. When she saw Azix, Janus struggled to give him a small smile through the pain.

Gillus looked down at the woman with a worry evident on his features. "Why did you make me do that?"

Janus titled her head to stare up at the man who protected Kios with her. "I wasn't worried, Xenos can heal me." Her icy blue eyes met Azix's, "Did it work? Is he dead?" She turned her head to the side and coughed up blood, shivering as she winced in pain.

Azix looked to the limp forms of "Jarl" and Marinus, still clueless of who they really were. He gave Janus a nod as he pulled out his God's Necklace. He coated the pendant in magoi and cast Blessing of the Gods, forming a healing light around the woman. Azix made sure that the magic did not touch the bodies of the two fallen men, not wanting to restart the fight. "Yes, they are dead. Don't sacrifice yourself needlessly next time. I told you guys to stay outside." Azix was unhappy they had disobeyed him, especially with their actions resulting in an injury, but his tone wasn't harsh. Their actions spoke of the loyalty they had towards him, so he couldn't be mad.

With Janus' wounds healed, Azix looked over to Garret and sighed. "Well, this wasn't what I expected to do today. You alright?"

[190/330]

Spoiler:

Garret looked at the corpses, frowning as the death of the man named Jarl replayed in his mind. There was a look of shock on the man's face. That haunted look, as well as something else that was hard to place, pierced Garret's thoughts... It was a look of familiarity. Though he had never seen this man before, there was a nostalgia that struck the blue magician. As if those eyes were eyes Garret had seen a lot of. Replaying the scene in his mind, the blue magician knew it to be evident that the man was after Azix... But why... Has Azix done anything recently to obtain such notice... Perhaps loyalists from the late Emperor... He wondered how many such individuals there would be. Simple strikes against Azix's life was not something to worry about, but that level of skill and ability was not something that could be overlooked.

The fight between Marinus Nerva, the troubleshooter, and this man who attempted to assassinate Azix was a clear indicator of strength. Garret could only shake his head in amazement. Marinus Nerva was skilled, with his combat capabilities being nothing short of first class. Yet this man, 'Jarl', had managed to kill him. Though he had lost his own life in the process, that was only due to Garret's intervention, and the displayed performance from the would-be assassin was indeed incredible. While Azix spoke to those who interrupted the fight, Garret approached the bodies and checked for a pulse on Marinus Nerva. He is, in fact, dead... He moved over to 'Jarl', and pressed his fingers to the man's 'face'. Nothing happened, at first, but Garret felt something off. He moved his fingers and noticed a tear occur on the face that showed more skin beneath that. Frowning, he pealed at it, removing an incredibly elaborate mask that had perfectly disguised the man.

Beneath it was a face he did not recognize, but was most certainly Kou in origin. It was at this point that Azix had asked if the blue magician was okay. Garret searched the dead man's face one last time before standing up. Grunting, Garret nodded. "Yea. No problems here. Any idea why this man attacked you?" He gestured vaguely at the corpse of the man at his feet, awaiting Azix's answer with curiosity.

OOC:
Magoi/Stamina: 120/300
Omega-Tier ability training: 698+391 1089/2000

Gillus grabbed Janus' arm and helped her up, looking her over to make sure her wounds were completely healed before gripping her in a tight hug. He held her close for a few moments before he realized what he was doing and pushed her away. A rosy tint filled his cheeks, "Err...let's go get Jarl and Viri." Janus gave him an odd look, but nodded.

Jarl and Viri entered the room to see the Jarl-impersonator dead, the sight unsettling the caretaker of the Negri estate. "What's this all about?" He watched as Garret peeled the dead man's face off, revealing an entirely different person underneath. His eyes lingered on the would-be assassin for a moment before meeting Azix's gaze. Jarl couldn't imagine what had gone through Azix's mind when he had thought the attacker to be Jarl.

Azix flashed a disarming smile at Jarl, "Apparently, someone thought you were quite a handsome man to impersonate you." He gestured to Gillus to move Viri and Jarl to the next room so they could finish here. The orange magician turned back to Garret as the others left the room. Azix stared down at the Kouen features of the impersonator, not recognizing the man at all. "No idea. He doesn't seem familiar at all. Most likely a hired assassin from someone high up."

The orange magician pointed to the other fallen man, the troubleshooter. "What about this man? I don't recognize him either. It seems strange that he appeared in the middle of the attack and assisted us." Azix shook his head and began to pace, "This is a troubling situation. What if Viri and the others had been home before we arrived and gotten killed? This proves that I need to move everyone back to Kios soon."

Azix's gaze settled on Garret, "I also need to finish my magical studies. Do you think Adamus would be able to help me too?"

Garret noted the real Jarl enterring the room, and looked towards the others who were also there. He massaged his temple as the others left the room and Azix answered his question, with a comment of the assassin being unknown to the light magician. When he pointed towards the other dead man, Garret was able to confirm his identity. "Zheng Jing Zhou. I figured the man was aimed towards my life, after Yua and I had made our 'escape' from the villa. He is the intelligence agency's 'Troubleshooter', and takes care of loose ends..." Garret shook his head, moving the dead body over on its side and searching it for any papers. None were found.

He turned back to Azix. "I don't think Adamus would mind another person's company. A lot of the time he is studying, however... Either way, it doesn't hurt to ask. I do have a question about Kios, though. You mentioned something about checking the damage. If it did sustain damage, I'm assuming there is a construction group you would go to for work on it? Care to introduce me to the group? I'm looking for work." He cracked a grin on his face; what an unlikely job for a person such as he. He had very little experience with working construction, but he had a good base in engineering to understand a thing or two with how things worked.

Once they worked out the details, Garret explaining that he would be happy to go through the normal Opportunity Hall process if that would be the right thing to do, the man would stay the night before setting off in the morning. "I'll ask Adamus for you, when I meet him today, and we can talk it over while going to check on Kios tomorrow, if that sounds good with you?"

Once the discussion with setting Azix up for some time with the older magician was all completed, he would make way to the man's Inn for another round of studying those texts. Knocking on the door, Garret announced himself and waited for the Magician to answer. As usual, he began working on the texts right away.

Though the time spent away from them was short, it was refreshing. He cleared the wall he had come up against, and made some headway while asking Adamus some questions here and there. During one such session, Garret dropped a question given by Azix. "Azix sought my council, yesterday. He was wondering if you might have the time and inclination to assist him in his studies of the Rukh, as well..?"


OOC:

Magoi/Stamina: 120/300
Omega-Tier ability training: 1089+436 1525/2000

Adamus helped Iatsu work through the pages Evelyn had scribbled on while working on his own research. When Iatsu brought up Azix wishing to further his studies as well, Adamus raised a brow. He wondered how Ariella would feel about him bonding with her lover, but he was never one to deny magical knowledge to anyone.

“I would be happy to assist him, just have him stop by sometime, or bring him with you. I always appreciate teaching those with a thirst for knowledge.”

He leaned over to point out a small mistake in translation on one of the papers, suggesting a better was it could be interpreted, based on Evelyn’s personal preferences. He was impressed with how much headway the blue magician had made into Evie’s life magic study on resurrection. Perhaps if he had been able to work with her, they would have perfected the spell already. He remembered her horror at hearing about the attempt to resurrect Octavius from her friend and how they had successfully dragged him out of the Great Flow but had not been able to heal the damage to his body. Something in their spell had been off, a mistaken command or simply not enough effort and he knew the General had to have suffered greatly from the experiment. While Evie was against the entire idea of resurrection, feeling it spit in the face of Fate, she knew someone would do it one day and she would rather it be done correctly, if someone was going to attempt it.

He returned to his own tome of runes, half paying attention to the questions Iatsu was asking and answering them off-hand. Part of his mind wondered what Azix was wanting assistance on while another part was wondering where Ariella had disappeared to. She had left for Magnostadt but she should have already been on her way back. Sighing, he flipped the page, looking over another rune combination.

There it was; another wall he had stumbled upon. The theory was fine, but there seemed to have been a missing component. He bit his lip, knowing that he wouldn't have time to look into the rest of it that day. Though he thirsted for the answer, he had promised Azix that they could look into the matter at Kios that day. What if... What if I could view a successful spell being used? Perhaps that would allow me to understand the use of the spell that much faster... Sighing, he closed the reference materials and notes, informing Adamus that he would be gone for the next few days and thanking him once more for all of his time.

Garret went back to his Inn, the room he shared with Yua, and slept without eating. When he awoke, he found his stomach aching with hunger. Yua was still gone, likely checking up on the ice in the cave to the north. After heading downstairs, Garret quickly broke his fast. His hunger sated, Garret worked his way towards the agreed upon meeting place for Azix; Opportunity Hall. When he arrived, he awaited Azix's presence. I don't want to impose... But maybe it would be best. I should have asked him long ago, either way. Garret steeled himself to changing the direction of their venture today.

OOC:

[120/300]
Omega-Tier ability training: 1753/2000

Azix frowned as he filed away the identity of the troubleshooter, watching the blue magician search the man's body, finding the situation vexing. His gaze turned back to the Jarl impersonator, wondering who the man had been for Zheng Jing Zhou to switch targets, if Garret's assumption that Zheng was after him was correct. Either way, the information still didn't answer why the enigmatic corpse was after Azix.

Azix was drawn from his contemplation when Garret mentioned Adamus, going on to explain that he was looking for employment in construction. The orange magician arched a brow at the grin on the former spy's face, but had to admit he was amused at the thought as well. Azix remembered seeing a couple of engineering books lying around at the old safehouse, so he assumed that the blue magician had some knowledge in the field.

Azix nodded, "I could certainly use the help, even if there isn't much damage. I was going to explain before we got interrupted. There's a village to the north called Trylor that is currently vacant. I hope to purchase it to expand Kios' operations a bit." The orange magician went on the explain how a beast tamer named Diego had watched over Kios for a bit, in search of a man named Jagang. Apparently, Jagang had used magic, Azix suspected plague magic with his knowledge now, to kill Trylor's villagers and turned them into undead abominations. Given it's proximity, Azix wanted to turn the vacant town into a training site for Opportunity Hall and donate whatever it produced to the schools. He had considered talking with Artemis Callum, the head of the Education Reform initiative, to propose serving meals for the schoolchildren. Of course, he also needed to see if the farmers from Kios would be willing to assist in training and helping maintain Trylor.

After discussing his goals, they made plans to visit Kios together to survey the damage. Garret even stayed the night, which Miss Viri found very exciting, bringing them snacks and cups of milk for their "slumber party". The next morning, the blue magician left to study with Adamus, mentioning that he would ask the elder magician about helping train Azix and meeting the next morning to survey Kios' damage.

---

Azix got up bright and early to head to Opportunity Hall where he would meet Garret. The Ambassador was eager to get the Kios villagers moved back, feeling guilty that he hadn't been able to get out sooner. When the blue magician had arrived Azix was chatting idly with Gilda. The Ambassador greeted Garret with a warm smile, "Good morning. Ready to go?" If the blue magician informed Azix of the change in plans, he would agree to them and follow the former spymaster to the new destination.

Garret nodded towards Azix, still silent. As they made their way beyond the city walls, he continued to brood on whether or not to broach the subject. "So I spoke to Adamus, yesterday. He said he would be willing to help in your studies..." He trailed off, looking at the surrounding environment as they continued to ride. The image of Hana flashed across his mind, followed by Jin. Closing his eyes, he shook his head and sighed. "I hate to ask this, and this may sound sudden, but there is actually something I would like to ask for your assistance with... Would you overly mind a detour?"

He was surprised when Azix had readily agreed, and so they made haste to the mountains in the north. When they arrived at the destination, a cave hidden from the distance due to the decline in the ground level, Garret motioned a stop. "I should tell you something. In my time in the Coliseum, I..." He glanced away from Azix, not wanting to embarrass himself by explaining his regret at having killed an opponent. "I made a deal with one of my opponents. He comes from a General's family from Kou. It seemed as if I had killed the man's sister in my first match..." Garret began to spin a tale of half-truths, doing his best to keep his true reasoning hidden. "Well, wanting to avoid military backlash, I agreed to do everything in my power to revive her. That is what my research under Adamus has been about; life magic. You see... You're quite busy, and I found it extremely difficult up to this point to bother you about a personal issue."

Most of it was true. Garret did not actually fear military retribution from the Cho family, however. Evading such a thing, or simply defeating those who came after him, was not something he would simply shy away from if that were the situation he found himself in. Even so, Garret continued with the string of half-truths. "I have the woman here, ready to bring back to life... But I've stumbled into a wall between theory and practice. I remember that time, at Lagi's Coronation Ball, where you revived a person from the brink of death... Could you try it once more?"

Garret spoke in a quiet whisper as he lead Azix through the cavern system. It was fairly dark, but not too dark to see. As they entered a more open cave, a man to his right immediately attacked Garret. Caught by surprise, Garret's only warning was the movement at the corner of his eyes. Within the following second, a variety of actions took place; first, a strike to Garret's Borg, which flared into existence. Another strike was made, but deflected with River Styx Style: Fish Swims Upstream, but before he had the chance to grab the man's collar another blow came close to landing upon him. Garret jumped backwards to avoid it with River Styx Style: Water Falls in Reverse. While he was able to avoid the slash, the jump did not seem to give him much distance, as the man stuck to him like glue. Before another slash would come down upon him, Garret struck the man with River Styx Style: Pressurized Strike. It paused the man's advance, which gave Garret the opportunity to get a better look at him. Quickly holding a hand up to Azix in order to keep him from hostile movements, Garret spoke. "...Jin Cho..? Calm yourself. We're here to perform the spell that should bring your sister back to life. This man here is going to assist in this." Garret pointed towards Azix, explaining that his part was integral in the revival of his sister.

Approaching the slab of ice, Garret saw Yua tending to it and nodded towards her. "That's enough, Yua. The ice will be no more, shortly." He took the short staff from his back and pointed it towards the ice, using State Transmutation to revert the ice to water. "Yua, I trust you to get the extra clothes." Garret had prepared for the revival weeks prior, understanding at the very beginning that if they were to do it here, in these conditions, they would need a source of heat in order to keep her from dying once more due to the cold. He turned to Azix and Jin. "If you're ready, please begin." He felt the fatigue from the past few weeks catching up to him, but shrugged it off as he leaned on his staff.



OOC:
Magoi/Stamina: 50/300
Omega-Tier Ability Training: 2525/3000

Abilities Used:

While the two magicians rode atop Azix's flying carpet Garret mentioned that he had conversed with Adamus. The orange magician was relieved to hear that Ariella's father wasn't opposed to letting him pick apart the older man's brain. Azix's smile faded as he realized that he should have asked Adamus instead of Garret, since he was dating the red magician's daughter.

Azix looked over to Iatsu, his train of thought interrupted by the blue magician's requested. There was a moment of hesitation from the orange magician before he agreed to assisting his friend. While he wanted to help the people of Kios, Iatsu had been a pillar of support and Azix felt compelled to return the favor. ""Where to?"

They traveled some time before Garret instructed the orange magician to lower the carpet near a cave hidden by a depression in the earth. Before they entered the cave, Garret signaled for them to wait before he explained why they were there. Azix arched a brow at the subtle changes in Iatsu, the hesitant pauses and the shifting of his body, but didn't mention it. If Garret was uncomfortable about the topic, then the orange magician would wait for him to speak about it in his own time. However, there was something that bothered Azix.

"I appreciate that you don't wish to add your problems to my plate, but you are my friend. We've fought together countless times, relying on each other to make it out alive." Azix placed his hand on the blue magician's shoulder speaking in a soft tone. "I've always been able to count on you to help me when I'm in need, so don't wait so long to ask next time. Give me the chance to return the favor, Garret. That's what friends are for."

Azix paused for a moment to make sure Garret understood what he had said before letting out a small sigh. What Garret was asking was theoretically possible, however, Azix had never performed a resurrection on someone who was deceased longer than a few minutes. "I did pull that Balbadd diplomat back from death, but I don't know the limitations of the power."

Removing the God's Necklace from around his neck, Azix wrapped the chain around his hand, holding it up so Garret could see. The blue magician would most likely recognize the magical tool, as it had been the medium used to heal his wounds before. "This was a gift from the Grumptoes, a simple trinket in their eyes, but one that I greatly appreciate. The magic of this necklace is what allows me to do what you ask. Yes, I can try, but I don't hold any special knowledge that would be able to assist you in your studies."

As soon as he had finished speaking, Azix felt the urge to smack the palm of his hand against his forehead. Garret had probably asked the orange magician to attempt the resurrection not only for the assistance, but to observe the spell in action in hopes of noticing a small detail that would tear down the wall that hindered his studies. With a silent curse, Azix followed Garret into the cave, trying to memorize the path they took among the dimly lit passages.

They came to a section where the tunnel widened into an open area when suddenly a flurry of movement surprised Azix. It appeared to catch Garret off guard as well, since his Borg reacted in time to prevent a strike from reaching the magician underneath. The orange magician wasted no time finding his wand as a few attacks were traded between Iatsu and his assailant. Before the Marquis could react, however, the blue magician held up a hand to stop him. Garret recognized the man who had assaulted him and Azix gathered that it was the brother that was spoken of previously.

Azix hadn't expected to see Yua, but hid his surprise behind a smile as he gave her a small bow in greeting. Turning from the woman, he watched as Garret melted the slab of ice to reveal the corpse that had been contained within it. At the blue magician's command, Azix stepped forward, wrapping a weave of magoi around the cross-shaped pendant in his hand to activate the magic of the God's Necklace. A burst of light would wrap around the slain woman's corpse as the holy magic attempted to draw her soul back from the Great Flow. An unsuccessful attempt as they would soon learn when the light faded to reveal that she was still deceased.

The orange magician turned to Garret with a disheartened look on his face, "I'm sorry. I tried, but it seems too much time has passed. I hope you were able to learn something from my attempt." Azix took a step away from the corpse, feeling Jin Cho's eyes boring into the back of his head. The only hope for the man's sister rested in her killer. Would Garret let Jin Cho down as well?

[170/300]

Abilities:

Garret watched intently, focusing on the voice of the Rukh and upon their movements. The spell that was used was not purely life magic, which put Garret off for a brief moment before he redoubled his observational efforts. Though the magic was different, he sensed many of the principles remained the same. The magic infused the woman named Hana as Yua returned with several blankets and a towel, placing them to the side.

As he watched the practical application of the magic, Garret took note of small differences that the life magic was displaying. As the spell began to reach its apex, each step forward clicked the final parts of his study together. Things that had been jumbled, that he had been unable to decipher, became clear when he saw a visual of it in front of him. Garret could feel the power begin to coalesce, building up to its greatest degree... Before dying out, and fading away. He frowned, looking towards Azix. While he hadn't too high of hopes for the success, there was still a hidden expectation that he held. He wondered, briefly, if it would even be possible to bring her back, even with all of their research.

Jin was about to say something, taking a breath to begin, but Garret cut him off. "Thank you, Azix. I will complete the spell, now." It was not a simple spell to repeat off-the-cuff, but the spell itself was something he had been studying for some time now. The only problem he had, up to this point, was the last bits of information that completed it. He took into account the differences between the combination magic that the amulet contained, and pure life magic which he would be using. A deep breath predated a raising of the Exuro Staff as the magician began his own preparations. Carefully selecting the words, Garret bespoke the commands to the Rukh and began to feed Magoi into the spell.

A great deal of power left Garret. The man struggled to stay standing, as the strength rapidly left his body. An aura of energy filled the room, surrounding the group. The power resonated with Hana's dead body, and Garret's eyes began to blur. Though his vision was impeded, he continued on. As she was perfectly frozen decay was not an issue, but there was the matter of brain damage that had occurred during her suffocation. Though he had no ability to know of the damage, nor the ability to know what was actually happening inside her body, the wounds began to repair themselves. Garret's breathing grew ragged and he felt close to losing consciousness, but bit his lip until he drew blood to keep himself awake.

The cool air of the icy cavern did not seem to touch the blue magician at all; his body was fiery hot as more energy was poured into the spell. The blood began to flow within Yua's body, her heart beating healthily. Jin took a step forward, but Garret was not quite finished casting his spell. Yua stopped the man, shaking her head even as Hana's eyes opened. There was a blank stare of nothingness in those eyes. One which could cause a chill to crawl up the spine of an onlooker.

Just as it had with Azix's amulet, the power began to reside within Hana's body and swell. The difference between the two spells was the level of energy that was fed to them. Garret fell to his knees, and though his mouth felt dry he did not stop. All that kept him from the ground was his right hand pressing and propping him up as his staff was held firmly in his left. The Rukh flowed through the great stream; a sight that could not truly be 'seen' or 'followed', as the great stream was so vast it would take a collection of magicians, or perhaps an incredibly powerful magician beyond his ken, to follow it in its entirety. Little by little the woman's Rukh returned to her body.

As the last bits of her Rukh returned, the power did a final surge as it reintroduced the woman to the world as if she had been reincarnated with all of her memories up to the point of her death. Subsequently, Garret fell to the floor, his body unmoving.

The exhaustion had claimed his conscious.


Hana rubbed her head. Her body felt... Strange. Cold. She quickly wrapped her body in her arms, shivering until a Kou woman came to her to help her dry off. Confused, she looked around the room and saw three strangers and a familiar face. Groaning, she slumped her shoulders. "Brother... What are you doing here? No... What am I doing here?" Hana's confusion was evident, and the woman didn't recognize Garret at all, as she had never seen his face before.

Jin rushed towards her, grabbing one of the large blankets and helping wrap her in it. An incredibly stern look was plastered upon his face as he held back the emotions of joy and sadness that threatened to cause his eyes to rain his suppressed grief. Yet the strength of those emotions were not completely hidden; the elder brother, who had thought he had lost his only sister, hugged Hana tightly, refusing to let go as he rocked her slightly. "I... Never thought I would see you again. I never believed..." He closed his eyes, and remained quiet.

Yua had immediately approached Garret as he fell to the ground. Checking his vitals, she looked to Azix. "He'll be fine. He's just... Used all he had." Clearing her throat, she grabbed the Exuro Staff and placed it in a loop while slinging an arm over her shoulder. "Now, you came in on a carpet, right? He was planning on using the riches you two brought from the Imuchakk lands in order to help Kios. We might as well load it up now, right?" The question was pointed towards Azix.

"What... What do you mean? You're acting as if..." Hana recalled her final moments, and realized that there was a large gap in her memory nearing the end of her duel with the masked man in the Coliseum. Understanding that something incredible had happened to her, but still confused on the details, she pulled away slightly from Jin to search his expression. "Brother. You will tell me what happened, yes?"

Clearing his throat, the man stepped away from her and looked over towards the group who were discussing something separately. He looked at Garret's unconscious form, narrowing his eyes briefly before sighing. He spoke to Yua, with his voice being just as stern as it was when Garret had fought him in the Coliseum. "Tell your boss... His debt is forgiven." Turning back to Hana, he frowned. "Yes, I will tell you what occurred during our trip back home. Father has been worried about you."


Yua would guide Azix towards the treasure and money, which had only piled up after having claimed the dungeon.


OOC:
[exit]
Magoi/Stamina: 0/300
Omega-Tier Ability Training: 3712/3000

Ability Trained:

Azix stood with his hands clasped behind his back, watching as Garret attempted to revive Hana. The cavern filled with a swarm of purple Rukh when the blue magician issued them a complex series of commands. Life magic coursed through Hana's body, rapidly regenerating the damage she had sustained and called her magoi back from the Great Flow, tugging it back to its vessel. The effort of the spell took its toll on the blue magician who collapsed as Hana gasped for air.

Azix smiled softly at Garret and nodded at Yua when she rushed to his side to check the man's vitals. Shock momentarily flashed on the Marquis' face when she had explained Garret's intentions for his share of the treasure. While brother and sister reunited, Azix helped Yua load the treasure and Garret onto the carpet. After parting ways with the siblings, Azix and his group headed back to his house so Garret could rest.

[exit]