Unlurking Sentinel

As a plan formulated in Cicivexa's little mind, and as Nuparu reasonably had no answer to his question, he found that he needed to test the new foe's resistances himself. Cicivexa casts Fire Bolt on the Silver Scorpion, dealing 5d6+5d4+14 fire damage, with a 28% chance to deal 2x damage, and giving Cicivexa Astra for 1 turn (boosting the power of his next Fire spell by 10%). However, due to his Enochian flaw, he'll deal 0.5x less damage this turn (and also last turn, but I forgot to mention it, sorry).

"Perhaps not my ice." Cicivexa flicked his staff towards the Kofo-Jaga, hoping to chill its joints. And even if it didn't work, he needed the magic boost for his more dangerous spells. Speaking of... "Nuparu, how would you assume this NEW scorpion handles heat?" Cicivexa casts Blizzard (((5d4+24)*0.75) Damage, 14 Initiative Reduction on Target, provides user Umbra for 3 turns) on the Kofo-Jaga, with a 24% chance to deal a critical hit for 2x damage.

"Hold." Cicivexa extended his arm to his side, gripping his Stardust Rod, as if to halt the rest of the party. "It's Cutter's Cry all over again... prepare yourselves for vilekin." The glowing yellow sparks that replaced his eyes glinted in the shadow.

Ice bursted from the tip of Cicivexa's scepter, and it found no target. Neither did his fire. By the time it was fired, it was too late. The Makuta and the Gorgon were gone, and yet, he kept flinging spells for about half a minute straight before his rage mellowed. The shadow covering his face abated, and he regained his composure. "...I knew that monster was trouble. The moment I laid my eyes on her, I knew she meant nothing but manipulation, and massacre. And I was right." And yet at the same time, his judgement of her ability was far off. He knew voidsent were incredibly dangerous, but he was prepared for them. He wasn't prepared for gods. Just like his previous encounter with the Gorgon, he realized just how out-of-his-league this whole thing was for him. This isn't a job for a Black Mage, it's a job for a freaking Warrior of Light! But he couldn't let anyone think him too weak for the task. Makuta was right. Destruction was all he could do, and if there was something he couldn't destroy? He'd just have to learn how. He once again began to project a shadow over his face, to perhaps hide any weakness he might display. "Come on. Maybe one of these Toa stones can counter this Medusa's gaze. Either the rock stone or the earth stone, and the earth stone's just that way."

Cicivexa knew not to trust the dark being. He had only proposed diplomacy to see if it could read his true intentions. He didn't expect to read that much, however. He drew his Stardust Rod instinctively, as shadow consumed his face, leaving only two, glowing yellow eyes to pierce the darkness. "No fear of my power, huh? Death wish, I presume." But while he had begun casting, he saw Dackly and Cell taking well to this foul monster's temptations. "Do not listen to it! It might've taken control over the matoran! We cannot trust a word it says!"

Cicivexa stepped forward, towards the glowing eyes. "If you have no reason to hide, then why remain in the shadows? Show yourself, and we shall consider your plea." Cicivexa's arms were crossed, making it hard to grasp either of his rods if he wanted to attack quickly. He trusted that the delay wouldn't be too long to outweigh the element of surprise, however. As soon as this 'Makuta' revealed itself, he would bombard it with frozen death.

"Don't worry yourself too hard", Cicivexa put out, "just uphold your end of the deal and take us down as far as you do know. If anything does go wrong, know that everyone else here is almost as strong as me, perhaps stronger." He then leaned in towards the two matoran, before speaking in hushed tones. "And given a good opportunity, I can reduce any beast to naught but boiling slag, as easy as I can breathe."

"Glad to have someone to back me up for once." Hinabe takes a Lightning tome and the Light affinity.

"Now then, what do you all think we should do first? I propose we go for the Rock Stone first; I've braved a desert ruin or two before. However, I'm also willing to try the Earth and Air Stones." He was expecting the Air Stone to be at an altitude unreachable without flight, perhaps surrounded by an impassible storm, but the forest wasn't the worst spot for it, he supposed. Certainly easier to get to without an airship, at least.

"Hmm..." Cicivexa crossed his arms as he ran over the options in his mind. "Coming from my experience, and from the names alone, Water and Air seem like the hardest." He didn't yet know what his party members were capable of, but these both sounded like they would require more specialized equipment, that he himself wasn't in possession of at the moment. "Could you elaborate on the difference between the Rock and Earth Stones' locations? Actually, knowing the circumstances of all of the stones' hiding places would be helpful."

Cicivexa is visibly shocked by his transformation, even underneath the mask. "Navin wasn't kidding, then. The rules are different. I wouldn't be surprised if magic simply doesn't work." "...Erm, excuse me.", he said before attempting to summon a Manaward barrier, with hopes to disprove his hypothesis. +2 INT

"Hey, can you calm down and think about this? Neither of us would want this to escalate any further, trust me."

"Trust me, now that I understand what is going on, I'll wait a moment or four before reaching for my rod. Now then, if you'll excuse me, I shall locate where it is I will be staying. Goodbye." And with that, he left towards the exit of the ballroom, all the while attempting to avoid Dackly's gaze.

Cicivexa found that he had no response to Dackly's display of power. He simply stood there, silent, stewing in both resentment and regret. The fact that the gorgon hadn't killed him where he stood both assuaged his suspicions as to her intent and made him look all the worse in comparison, but that much he knew he had to accept. Overly contentious and trigger happy, that was certainly his fault, but outright ineffective? That didn't sit well with him in the slightest. Still, continuing to push the issue now could only ruin his already soiled reputation, and he couldn't risk angering Dackly in his current state, so this would have to be resolved another time. "So then, Navin, where do I... get started on the whole 'saving worlds' thing?"

"No, but I doubt that those trinkets would've worked on your cinder remains. What you saw was only me getting warmed up, no pun intended." He recognized "Soft" as a slang term for a Gold Needle, a common cure for petrification. This made him an ilm more suspicious of the gorgon's origins, but he was also slightly relieved that someone here could stand on a similar level as him, vernacular-wise. "Not to mention, your petrification didn't seem to be too effective in the heat of combat", he remarked while looking at the very same petrified blizzard spell.

...And the pride then shifted to pouty-faced indignance. "Excuse me, Ms. Gorgon, but I do believe that the "Popoto" here would at least have left you on Thal's doorstep if Navin hadn't intervened."

A grim countenance shone from underneath Cicivexa's brimmed hat. "Had you not appeared and successfully bested me in combat... I imagine that the others would currently be ashes in the wind. Uh, thanks for stopping me on that front." The grim countenance then shifted to a more neutral stance. "When I saw what I thought was a Voidsent conducting a dread ritual, I knew that my Aetheryte travel had been redirected for a higher reason, even if I was wrong as to what that reason was." The neutral stance then, again, shifted to one of pride. "I suppose my deeds have been recognized by the Twelve, have they not?"

"...My apologies, then. I had not thought your purpose was so noble." He then turned his head towards Dackly, before turning it away again. He still did not trust her completely, but the others were clearly neither brainwashed, nor cultists. "My name is Cicivexa Vivivexa. I am an Adventurer by trade, and a Black Mage by profession. Long ago, people of my kind made many fell dealings with Voidsent, and having had to clean up after a couple of their mistakes has made me a bit more... I would have prefered to say say "receptive" to such threats, but it seems that I have instead made a mess of things."

The small mage had managed to stand back up, and was still on guard, but the jumpsuit man in front of him had left him open to using his words. "Alright, first, you c-can explain what that... thing is," pointing towards the gorgon, "And why a cauldron filled with blood is being prepared."

The Manawall had further prevented any physical harm to the wizard, but it hadn't prevented made the wind any less knocked out of him. So much so that it took a moment to even speak, much less begin to stand up. It completely threw of his hold on the Astral Cycle as well, unfortunately (or rather, fortunately for the others). "Y-... You are being deceived... am I wrong? Th-that voidsent... and those who summoned it... have deceived you..."

The jumpsuit-clad man's display of both athletic and swift magical ability shocked the small wizard, who had never seen such dynamic use of the latter before. "B-begone, foul cult! Your dark m-machinations end here!" Except that the jumpsuited man most certainly did not look like a cultist of any sort... perhaps he was possessed? Or deceived? Still, hesitation briefly came over the mage... but only for a moment. Hesitation gets you killed in his profession, and he had just managed to get into a groove. Still, he expected immediate retaliation, and quickly put up a protective barrier. (Cast Manaward). He then flicked his rod again, and another Fire Blast was launched, this time twice as strong as the last, but he intended to miss the jumpsuited man with this one, instead attempting to launch it behind him. (Cast Fire Blast, still targeting Gozer, Dackly, Solomon, and the Crackpot)

With the next flick, he threw a large fireball centered around the gorgon, hoping to catch some of the dark artifacts with it. (casts Fire Blast on Dackly, Gozer, Solomon, and the Blood Cauldron).

...And with a flick of his arm, the dark energy dissipated, and a jagged emanation of ice was summoned towards the Gorgon. (Cast Blizzard on the gorgon) And with the same flicking motion, the small wizard brought the rod back towards himself, as more dark energy consumed it.

It was at this point that the small wizard took notice of the man, and the gorgon, and the blood cauldron and assorted dark ritual effects, for what is somehow the first time, and instinctively drew his rod from his back, preparing for combat. A Voidsent, here? Did this man recently summon it, or was it sealed in an artifact and accidentally released? Glowing lines formed a large magic circle around his feet. The former seems more likely, given the surroundings. Oh, why couldn't I have noticed this sooner? I could have prevented the summoning... Dark purple energy formed around the head of his rod...

He followed this woman to the main room of the ballroom.