[OPEN]

[bribon]

WHO: Cornelia + Desidério + YOU!
WHAT: Closing a rift in central Antiva goes awry.
WHEN: Early Fantasy!October
WHERE: Central Antiva, and then also the Gallows + Kirkwall + Wherever
NOTES: Rifts and rift-closing accessories; content warn in your subject lines as necessary.

Comments

[amaizing]

"Did you hear him? You're supposed to keep me safe!"

Lia hisses Desidério hoping he knows what he's doing. She looks around her, looking for an escape. The hill is too steep to climb. She glances at Benedict, the first shouter and dismisses, her best bet is one of the two swordsman and one is closer.

She pulls off a shoe and throws it at a demon, hollering and hides behind Desi as best she can.

[altusimperius]

Maybe one should mind their own elderly, aesthetically-challenged business, Mobius,

but the help is as appreciated as it is needed, and Benedict gives a deep sigh through his nose as he narrowly avoids getting murdered yet again, forced as he is to stand here with his arm outstretched and connected to the rift until his anchor can build enough tension to... whatever. Pop it. Over and over.

"Keep me safe or it's not closing," he mumbles under his breath to no one in particular, glancing from side to side as he tries to remain aware of the various demons' courses and not be caught off guard.

[bribon]

Later, given a half measure to reflect on the trajectory of his life, Desidério will wonder why he didn't grab the woman by the arm and throw her into the oncoming hoard of otherworldly horrors and simply use the ensuing chaos to turn tail and book it back the way he'd come. This is above his pay grade. At the very least, it is certainly worth more than what that sniveling scoundrel Nimus is paying him for.

In the moment, however, the mental note he makes is not Fuck this, but rather more to do with the number of zeroes he's going to append to the list of expenses and damages he demands of the man. How many lunches does facing off a hoard of demons equate to?

This, reader, is ironic. Because the answer, as it turns out, is All Of Them For the Foreseeable Future. For after Desidério has successfully pincushioned the demon nearest with a ha! of something like triumph and terror both, he moves his right arm (the one without a sword on the end of it) to elbow the woman attempting to crowd in behind him. At that moment, the Rift flares in answer to Benedict's connection to it. Spits hot fade fire, arcane energies crackling and bursting as the seam struggling against being close. It lashes out, all liquid green sparks, and strikes both strangers with the crack of a thunderclap.

(This will be familiar to Benedict; he'd caught an anchor once too, albeit somewhat less by accident.)

[favoriteanalyst]

The fun part, the real luck of the draw part, is how the energies hit everyone but Benedict, probably by virtue of him already having an anchor.

This is going to be a concern. Later. It will be a concern later when there's time to think and plan and--when there's actual time. Right now it's stay-on-your-feet-soldier time.

So not now. Not with the rift going nuts, and the woman who may or may not be a Sister throwing a shoe in a most un-Sister-ly fashion, but at least she's got the spirit. (Ha.) And a swordsman by her. Which does leave the resident rift-closer needing a hand, so Mobius finds footing on the not super great terrain and pivots, circling around Benedict for frankly all their sakes. "One at a time, boys," he grits, as though the demons will listen. His shield hand spasms, almost like there's a phantom pain to what should be sensation-less. To the strangers: "Make your way this way!"

Sure, that'll put everyone in one spot, that needs protecting. But then everyone will be in one spot, protected.

[amaizing]

Lia was moving to elbow Desidério right back when the rift hit her and she now shrieks. She moves towards where Mobius led, lightning fast, despite only having one shoe. She glances at the green in her left hand. Let's just ignore that. She quickly takes off her other shoe and glancing at her companions, wields it like a sword.

"This is all your fault!" She shrieks at Desidério.

[altusimperius]

A grimace as Benedict clenches his fist, having not noticed yet that the explosion merited anything except the usual release of rift energy. Pleased that he was listened to, at least to some degree-- and moreso that Mobius is now giving instructions, so he himself can be more useful, he takes the downtime to generate a misdirection hex on the ground nearer to the Chantry sister.

The rift sputters; soon it will be ready for anchors again.