faderift | Phylactery Shenanigans

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Phylactery Shenanigans

WHO: Inessa (and Garahel), open to anyone else
WHAT: Suffering various spells, some with area of effect consequences.
WHEN: Over the next several days
WHERE: All over the Gallows
NOTES: OOC notes, CW for mage torture.

Library

Inessa is at her usual spot, books piled up around her table and Garahel curled up on the floor as she reads. It's a typical day, all things considered...at least until a certain point mid-afternoon. She had just stood up, deciding it was time for tea break in her office, when a wave of fatigue overcomes her and she abruptly slumps to the ground. Garahel, in the process of awakening when he heard her stand, falls back into slumber before he can so much as bark. Anyone nearby? Potentially have a sudden nap, as well.

Communal baths

A weary Inessa sinks into the water of the Templar tower baths, feeling the need for such relaxation more than ever. She leans back against the edge and closes her eyes, letting out a sign of contentment as she soaks up to her chin in the heated water. All is quiet for a while, but peace is abruptly shattered when a cone of lightning rips through the area, the water serving as an excellent means to conduct it throughout the bath. Inessa's eyes snap open as she screams, and for a moment nothing exists in her world but pain.

Central Chapel

Checking to see that it's unoccupied, Inessa quietly enters the chapel and takes a seat. That she does so mid-day is unusual; the middle of the night or the wee hours of the morning are more likely to find her there, when she's unable to sleep. However, that need for solace has grown recently. Maybe a few moments here will give her the courage to face the rest of the day, whatever it brings.

She tries to clear her mind, on the verge of succeeding when a cloud of dark energy suddenly expands, blanketing the area. Garahel, seated on the floor by her side, barks in alarm but she barely hears him, overcome by the oppressive weight of the cloud and how it seems to sap the strength right out of her. It takes more than her own strength to fight it and she finds herself unable to move.

Rifts and the Veil office

The day is nearly done and Inessa is collecting her things, nudging Garahel with her foot. It's time to head downstairs for a meal before returning to her quarters, or at least that's the plan. When she hears a knock on her door, the Warden mage perks up and glances over the the door, raising her voice as she lifts her satchel from the back of her desk chair. "Enter." She can certainly take a minute, if it's important.

The moment the door opens, a deafening explosion rips through the office. Inessa is thrown clear off her feet, narrowly missing the chair but slamming against a bookcase as she rolls to avert it. Garahel, reacting quickly, yelps in pain as he tries to shield her from the flames. The singed mabari barks for help; maybe the person who opened the door is better off, or someone down the hall heard them?

Courtyard

Given the incidents that have been occuring, Inessa has tried her best to avoid the courtyard, especially during the busier hours. The magic leveled at her has become increasingly dangerous, after all, and getting others caught up in another blast of whatever isn't something she wants on her conscience. Nevertheless, it's not completely avoidable and during those times she's still not free from what plagues her.

At one point, she's passing through when a violent quake ripples through the area. Crying out, she slips and falls to the ground while Garahel likewise loses his footing. He growls, but that doesn't stop the ground from trembling and knocking them prone when she tries to move again. Deciding to stay put and hope it passes soon, Inessa crouches and glances around desperately just in case someone else is caught up in this as well.

At least at one point, it's not magic that can harm anyone else. She's the sole target, though that's little comfort when she's suddenly trapped in a collapsing cage of telekinetic force, unable to scream or even move as the pressure creates waves of pain throughout her body. Garahel whines loudly, hoping to draw the attention of anyone who can help.

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"Nessa!"

It doesn't more than a moment for Ciri to realize something is amiss. One moment, she is raising her hand in greeting toward her friend and the next she is sprinting toward her as Inessa's face contorts in pain. Everything is forgotten as she sprints down into the courtyard, nearly knocking another agent over and ducking under the arms of another maid carrying laundry inside. Honestly it would almost be funny if Inessa wasn't in danger but she can't even think about that as she nearly slides toward her friend, reaching for her and face twisted in worry.

"Inessa," she mumbles unsure. She's scared, so scared of hurting her more. "Nessa, hang on. I'll get help so just hang on."

Inessa can't move, can't speak, only twitch mid-air as the force of the spell presses down on her body. Her eyes have a desperate cast, though, as Garahel paces and whines next to Ciri. He looks up hopefully as she mentions getting help, tail wagging. Yes, please. He's not budging by Inessa's side while the spell persists, however.

"Shit, shit— Anders!"

Although she hollers back toward the Gallows proper, her crystal is in hand and visibly shaking as she tries to get a grip on everything. Her heart is racing a mile a minute and she's not even the one being attacked. Still the fact that Nessa was being attacked is enough to put her into a state of panic.

"I need you in the Courtyard!" She calls, voice fall into a full panic. "Please. There's something... fuck, I don't know— there's something hurting Inessa!"

"I'm on my way," is the prompt reply.

'Something' means at least it's probably not elemental or primal, but there are still a lot of possibilities that can do a lot of damage. He's there in minutes, bags under his eyes and hair a mess.

"Describe what you observed," he instructs as he begins to cast. It's not absolutely necessary, but being able to seemingly help tends to calm down people who care about the injured party.

Garahel barks when Anders appears, watching him hopefully as he begins to use magic. Make this go away, friend? Inessa can't comment on any of this, of course, but given the circumstances, it's safe to say she feels exactly the same. Every moment is pure agony.

She's literally bouncing by the time he arrives, her nerves on edge and breaking further down the longer she stands there unable to do anything to help her friend. She can't even reach out to her because of the magic surrounding and pressing down on her. Carefully, Ciri has to take in a deep steady breath and focus herself on actually talking and not freaking out.

"Bloody one moment she's walking around fine then it's almost as if she's hit a wall," she explains with pacing motions. "And the then damn wall decided to attack her. I can't even touch her."

Now he can see the shape of it and Anders nods, frowning. There's no dispelling a spell that's not cast there, but he tries anyway. The magic doesn't habe any effect and he swallows, switching to rejuvenation in the meantime.

"We have to wait this out. I know it's hard." That's an understatement, and he reaches out to offer Ciri a hand. "Has she explained it to you?"

The time for secrecy is past now that mages are publicly bursting into flames.

It isn't the answer she wants to hear but there's no use in getting angry. Not at Anders anyway, not when he was doing what he can to help but there was still anger directed at whomever thought they could fuck with her friend and get away with it like this. Instead, she breathes in deeply through her nose and shakily offers her hand in return.

Right, focus. She needs to ground herself. "Told me about it, yeah. I thought it was just small scale spells like making her weak or disoriented. Not shit like this."

The crushing force abruptly disappears, as though it had never been...and yet, the damage it leaves behind is undeniable. Inessa falls to the ground, gasping for air as Garahel rushes to her side. He whines as there isn't more that he can do but offer support, though at least he's not alone.

Ciri's hand gets a squeeze just before the spell finishes and Anders lets go, moving forward to kneel and channel healing into Inessa.

"It was," he says as he works. "That's all it started as. And then they, I don't know. Decided it wasn't enough? Got bored?" There's bitterness in his voice. They're toys, playthings, right back to being objects and true freedom yet again seems so many miles away.

Once the spells abruptly ends, Ciri basically throws herself onto the ground and moves to gather Inessa up in her arms to at least offer her some support. She can't help hugging her with a shudder of air, sniffling like a small child but smiling weakly.

"Thank the Maker's bloody balls, Nessa." Excuse the sloppy kiss to your forehead, Inessa. Or don't, either way she shoots a look at Anders that more or less gets all her anger across. "Do we got a way of tracking them or the phylactery down?"

The healing energy seeping into her has Inessa relaxing almost instantly, letting it take away the overwhelming pain of just a moment ago. Mental scars aren't so easily healed, though, and she trembles in Ciri's arms, flanked by Garahel wherever Anders isn't. He doesn't want to impede the healing, after all.

"...I...can't keep doing this anymore. Either I get hurt or everyone around me does, and it just never ends--" Her words end in a choked noise, as tears spring to her eyes.

Inessa gets a sympathetic look. He understands completely. Unfortunately, there's no helpful answer for either of the women.

"They don't work that way. They're one-sided leashes, made for tracking mages rather than the reverse. We've been scouring the library for clues, Julius included, but there's nothing official on where our phylacteries were stored. Let alone what happened with them after war broke out, if they were moved or the guard was simply increased."

Or abandoned, and found by another group altogether. "We've nothing yet as far as I know."

She feels useless in the moment, wrapping her arms tighter around Inessa's once the woman relaxes and letting out a shaky sound. Too often she's reminded of their time in Weisshaupt and this is no different, no less unnerving and very easily putting her into a venomous mindset.

"Just tell me what I can do," she says finally. Her gaze fixed upwards on Anders, green eyes dark. "I'll help, and do what I can to find these bastards."

Inessa just rests against Ciri, needing that support as much as she does Garahel's gentle nuzzles. Anders' efforts are meant with a grateful nod, but that weariness is soul-deep and any resolve she has is steadily eroding. If Crushing Prison doesn't happen again, there's still the risk of another fireball or entropic cloud or....

"...I should leave. I don't want anyone to come to harm because of me. Even if it's what they want, I can't let that happen...."

"And go where, with what support when this happens again? No."

They've had a conversation similar to this one before and his voice is more stern this time even as the healing continues.

"What, exactly, is the point of sacrificing yourself for nothing? There's nothing noble to it. There's no gain from it. You go off on your own and you're dead. You go off with people you care about and you're hurting them too. Not only that, if the problem literally walks away, the mages leave, it will be out of sight and out of mind and a lower priority. Stay put. Avoid people as much as possible, but leaving will literally help no one."

It's not an order. Yet. But he's not going to see one of the Wardens or one of the mages martyr themselves for absolutely no productive result and he doesn't think Ciri's going to stand by and let Inessa do this either.

Anders' speech is rough but... he's right. The entire time he talks, Ciri keeps her focus on Inessa with a soft smile to try and help ease some of the tension out of the current situation. Ciri doesn't really know what it's like to feel the way they feel currently, afraid of hurting others and unsure how their powers will react from day to day.

"You know I'd just drag you back here by your ankles," she says lightly. Carefully, she reaches down and takes one of Inessa's hand into her own and squeezes. "I won't let anyone break you down, okay? I promised you back at Weisshaupt that I wouldn't let anyone hurt you and I'll say it again but I'm going to bloody well do everything in my power to figure this out."

The stern words sink in a little more as the healing energy does, soothing her ravaged body. Garahel's soft whine and intense stare and Ciri mentioning Weisshaupt -where it all began for them- wear her down as well, and her slight hand curls around Ciri's own. She draws in a deep breath and nods, still frazzled but realizing it and knowing she should trust in those friends that weren't just trapped in a cage of telekinetic force.

"I...you're right, it would be futile. I'm just so tired. Every day this happens, every night I relive it and dread the next day. This isn't living." Her gaze slides to Anders, sympathetic as well as apologetic. They keep meeting like this, and he's undergoing the same torture. "I won't go anywhere. You keep healing me; the least I can do is return the favor when you need it."

Her gaze slides over to Ciri and she manages a weak squeeze in return. "I know better than to fight that stubbornness. I just hope you get the chance sooner than later." They're all being broken down, and that state of affairs can't last forever. "If I'm going to hole up in our room for the duration, we should probably move anything flammable. And...wards, maybe?" Her head's clearing but it's still fuzzy and this isn't the first attack of the day, so her problem-solving skills aren't at their best.

The second opinion is welcome. He's too tired and worn thin to be gentle right now, but Ciri's words are a perfect complement to his and Inessa hears them.

"I'm bound to need healing soon enough," he says with a shake of his head. She's right. Anders can only take so much. Each attack drives his reserves lower, and even if he wanted to take some time to sleep in and try to regain his strength the attacks are relentless and he's not going to let his cats or Lady get caught in something.

"Wards should protect others. I don't think they'll help us, the spells aren't being cast here, but I can't even say that for certain." He's never managed to get anything defensive cast when being hit because there's no forewarning. "Definitely keep buckets of water in case. I don't know that there's a pattern to who is bursting into flames and not, but it could change just as quickly as the more severe attacks started."

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Phylactery Shenanigans

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