More Hot Stuff
Over the ocean and through the reefs, off to Sukho we go. Makimim's landing is the first stop, then off to a vol-ca-no! Cyndre gave notice that she was booking a ship to go to Makimim's landing in Sukho, then off to a volcano where, some will know from prior conversations, a lava-man exists. A very lonely lava man. Their primary transport stopped and docked at Makamim's landing, then a smaller vessel was chartered for the trip to the particular island they needed.
Having been visiting home, Cahaya is getting on board from there. He walks toward the little charter, whistling. Badly.
Quinlan is tagging after Cyndre, with the cheerfully oblvious curiosity displayed by tourists the world over. One could totally imagine him asking a cannibal with a bone through his nose if it itches, and whether people really do taste like chicken.
Nadia wanted to swim there instead though she also wanted to be polite so she decided to go with the others on the ship. She also makes sure to introduce herself as Nadia to the people she doesn't yet know.
Once they're on the charter vessel, Cyndre explains, "The entity we're going to see is Onuapata, the Volcano that Weeps. I'm not sure what's wrong there, but he's very lonely to begin with. And, there seems to be something that's keeping him imprisoned.. Even more so than the fact he may not survive outside his volcano." There is Stuff brought along too; a large boulder and chain that some may know her to wield in battle, a suit of armor that is incredibly heavy, and then boxes of very heavy things.
Cahaya takes a seat on one of those very heavy boxes. "I have not heard of that one," he admits. "But... the archipelago is big. Are there a lot of people on his island? Any taboos we should be aware of?"
Quinlan strings a hammock up in the bow, stretching out on it. "Oh that's better," he says happily. "Sea, sun, wind. We'll do what we can, right?"
Nadia smiles as she looks around the area a little as she listens. She then looks back over to cyndre, "So he is trapped inside the volcano, but is also trapped again a second time?"
"I guess. I don't think he can live outside the volcano without some kind of help; a device, maybe. Working that one out. But before I left, he said there was a bad thing under the molten rock, and the lava would be angry. I don't know who, or what, that means aside from something unpleasant is there." Cyndre replies to Nadia. To Cahaya, "I don't know, honestly. Onuapata said that people used to visit him, but they all screamed and turned black... Sacrifices, maybe? I don't think anyone visits him anymore, so it might be uninhabited."
Cahaya grimaces. "Sounds like it. Um... we will not have ta go into the volcano itself, right?"
Quinlan notes, "You can be protected from the fire, Cahaya. But we'll play it safe anyway."
Nadia looks over to cahaya, "Well if he is trapped inside then might have to go in too. Though hopefully not all the way down to the worst part."
"I don't know." Cyndre states. "There is a path leading down, and there are stairs going back up from some solid rock at the bottom. I didn't get a measure of how far up the stairs went, but Onuapata can go as high as they do. Further and he starts to freeze."
Cahaya nods. "Alright," he says. "I think we can handle it. But later, Quin, I think I need ya ta help me find salamanders."
Quinlan smiles a bit. "Or you can talk to Cyndre here. She makes things with power in them." To Cyndre, he says, "Cahaya needs protection from fire, basically."
Cyndre smirks a bit, "You know, I have never developed a recipe for fire resistant armor? And nobody has ever asked."
Nadia smiles as she looks to cyndre, "I suspect that it probably isn't a common risk for most people, so they do not consider it. I think if more people jumped into volcanos it would be really common."
"Jus' need ta find some critter that likes fire," Cahaya says with a shrug. "But, does not matter right now. We can jus' go talk ta Onuapata."
Quinlan hrms. "You mean...like the critter we're going to see?" he asks Cahaya. "Like that?"
Cyndre nods, then asks Cahaya, "What do you need it for? I'm quite fond of, and an never burned by, fire so maybe I can help?"
Nadia looks around to everyone, "How hot do you think it will be in there? We are not jumping into lava are we?"
Cahaya glances to Cyndre, then shakes his head. "Would not work, I think," he says. "Do not worry about it. For now, let us jus' go find your god."
Quinlan regards Cahaya curiously, but nods. "Sure. How long's the trip, Cyndre?"
Cyndre says, "Just a couple more hours, I think."
And true to her word, it's only a couple of hours later that they arrive at the island of Cyndre's desire. Prominent on the island is the large volcano, surrounded of course by lush forests and a rather nice highway made of cold and not so cold magma leading straight from the beach to the top of the caldera. Cyndre leads the way, and she grows to her larger size to haul some of the stuff brought along after donning her armor; she carries the heaviest singular items, and leaves the rest to some help she brought along. The trip up to the top is rather uneventful. And there they are, all of them, gathered at the rim of the volcano. "Okay, the path is narrow, so watch your step."
Cyndre looks down into the volcano, and drops her wrecker in. Then does the same with the large, really heavy box. *thoom* *crackthoom* can be heard down below.
Cahaya creeps as close to the rim as he dares, glancing over. "Uh, so, what were those for?"
Quinlan - having tagged after with his crystal-tipped staff - peers after the dropped items. "Is this the equivalent of dropping by with a bouquet of flowers?"
Nadia doesn't carry anything, because she doesn't even know what any of that stuff is. Instead she goes to follow people towards the volcano. Once they get up there she looks around a little.
"One was my weapon, in case there's fighting to be done. The box had an anvil in it. I'm going to teach Onuapata how to Smith." Cyndre says, smiling. "The others are smithing tools. I'm not even sure they'll survive the heat for long, but I'll figure it out eventually."
Cahaya nods slowly. "Um, okay," he says. "That seems rather nice of you."
Quinlan nods. "Agreed, if the tools hold. Could totally be a good hobby for someone living in a volcano."
Nadia smiles as she nods in agreement, "It might help to have a hobby if he is stuck here all alone for so long too."
Cyndre nods emphatically, "Absolutely! C'mon, let's go see if he's awake yet." Cyndre starts down. And the path is, just as Cyndre promised, fairly narrow. Enough for her to make it down in her smaller form, but not so much anything other than single file is possible. It also seems stable, with the only treachery being from the volcano itself and some loose rocks along the way.
Quinlan nods, following Cyndre down. He chants softly, setting some protective spell in place as they descend.
Very carefully, Cahaya starts walking down the path as well, keeping as close to Quinlan as he dares.
Nadia also starts to chant softly as she creates a nice cool mist of water around her, to keep herself cool as they go further.
It does get pretty brutal; the heat wafting up would cause all but the hardiest of stock to waver in their step. The sort that would wear you down over time. A glowing form can be seen to come up the path, from below. "Cyndre?" it calls. "Is it you?" To which the Giantess answers, "Aye, Onuapata! Come no further than you can, but I brought friends with me!"
Quinlan reaches over to put a hand on Cahaya, sharing his warding. Once he's murmured the spell to set it in place, he nods toward Cyndre. "We're good."
Cahaya gives Quinlan a grateful smile, before looking down into the crater.
Onuapata gets closer, and it can be seen that he is fairly human-shaped, nude but not anatomically correct compared to human. He has features distinguished by lighter and darker glowing areas, and his eyes are the brightest. "Friends! Really?!" he asks with an excited tone, then becomes wary, "They're not going to burn, are they?"
Nadia continues to chant, until she is spraying water over herself, and it takes some concentration as she is also changing the tempature of the water to keep it cold, so she is very careful as she slowly follows the group. "If it gets any hotter I might need to use my ice armor..." She gives a little wave, "Hello."
"I don't think so. But don't touch Nadia; it might hurt you both if she's going to use ice." Cyndre replies to the lava-man. "In fact, maybe not touch anyone but me. I don't know how good their protection is." For her part, she gives the being a full out hug. "I've missed you, my friend. How've you been since I left?"
Quinlan nods. "Safe to talk, probably not touch. Pleased to meet you, Onupata. I'm Quinlan."
Cahaya smiles sheepishly. "Uh, you probably should not touch me either," he says. "Quin is handlin' my protection. Hello Onuapata."
Nadia smiles, "I am Nadia, it is a pleasure to meet you. We all heard you were having a problem and we wanted to see if we could help."
"Oh, it's wonderful to meet you all!" Onuapata says, smiling a literally glowing smile. He is hugged by Cyndre, and seems confused by the gesture. "I have been okay. Better now that you and your friends are here!" When he's released, he steps back, and has a coughing fit, hacking up white hot stuff that can only be more lava. He dims a bit, sad. "The bad thing is still below. The lava still gets angry. I don't know what to do, but I hope you can help me."
Quinlan nudges Cahaya. "Is there anything unnatural down there?"
Cahaya frowns, and turns to Quinlan. "It feels wrong," he says. "Makes my chest hurt, and it is not the heat."
Cyndre frowns, "You /are/ sick. Let's go down, and see if we can find what's causing this." She begins, kindly, to usher Onuapata down to the cavern below.
Nadia nods slightly as she starts to follow after cyndre, "Just incase we run into something bad, using a lot of water down here, isn't going to hurt anything is it?"
Quinlan nods and says to Cahaya, "I'll work on maintaining a ward around you and me. If there's a bad thing you're probably going to need to be free to fight. Walk with me and see how far away from me you can be before you feel heat."
Cyndre responds with a hint of worry, "As long as you don't hit Onuapata, it should be fine. If there's something bad, I rather want you to hurt /it/, so..."
Cahaya nods slowly as he starts walking down with Quinlan. "I do not know if there is a," he pauses to clear his throat, "monster down there. It is jus' bad."
Nadia nods slightly as she walks down and moves closer to quinlan as she goes. "Could be any number of strange things I suppose. How many times have you been in a volcano?"
"Me, never," says Quinlan. "My wards have survived the Black Sands of Alhambra at midday though. So at least there's some practice."
Cyndre says, "My people used to live in one, but it was obstructed and capped off. Our smiths worked close to the hot areas though. Fantastic forges could be made if you knew were to put them."
"Really should find a salamander," Cahaya says, before grimacing, and putting a hand over his chest. Instead of stepping away from Quinlan, he actually steps closer, holding onto the mage.
The intrepid group makes it down to the bottom. Make no mistake, it's really really hot here, and could easily kill someone who wasn't careful. Cyndre's weapon is here, as is the anvil. There is a peninsula of solid rock along one wall.
Quinlan frowns, letting Cahaya hang on to him worriedly. "Hard to breathe?" he asks. "The badthing?"
Onuapata points down into the lava. "The bad thing is there; not all the way down, but below the lava. Sometimes the lava gets angry and I have to go deep and hide to be safe."
Nadia tilts her head slightly as she looks towards the lava, and looks it over a bit. "Anyone have any ideas on what it might be?"
Cahaya grimaces, and goes into a brief coughing fit, much like Onuapata's, before he shakes his head. "I... do not know," he says. "It is jus'... I know I felt when a fire has burned through a forest - that is wrong, in its own way. I have never felt somethin' make lava wrong, though."
Quinlan thinks. "Why do you cough?" he asks, both Cahaya and Onupata. "What does it feel like? Dry and scratchy? Wet and heavy?"
"Guys, let me check it out. With Onuapata's help, I should be able to at least /see/ what it is. From there, we can formulate a plan." Cyndre says. She dons her fiery gauntlets, themselves bursting into flame the moment she puts them on. By all accounts, it looks like she's planning on jumping in.
Nadia nods slowly as she watches cyndre, "Alright that sounds like a plan, I guess we will wait while you go check it out."
Cahaya glances up to Quinlan once, before nodding Cyndre's way. "Good idea. Do not think any of us could do better."
Quinlan nods. "Take care and we'll stand by on asskicking duty as needed."
Cyndre and the lava-man both jump into the lava. For a bit, her darker form can be seen just under the surface, but as she gets further away the glow obscures her. A while - long enough for someone to be able to hold their breath - passes, and she comes up on the other side. She calls over. "There's a... I dunno. A crack in the wall. It's got some sort of nasty stuff coming out of it."
Nadia thinks about that for a moment, "So some stuff is tainting the lava? Would sealing the crack solve the problem? Maybe you can get a sample of it, and we can figure out what it is as well?"
Cahaya glances to Nadia, and asks in a raspy voice, "How do you suggest we carry it? Do we have anythin' ta carry somethin' so hot?"
Quinlan mmms. "Earth magic would seal the crack if it's a natural thing. But I don't know that's what it is. Could you tell what it was coming through?"
Cyndre is helped back to the shore the others are on by Onuapata. Once she climbs back on land, she shakes her head mildly. She's /coated/ in lava. "No idea. It was discoloring it, and I don't know if it's mundane or magical. The crack is fairly small, so I'm not even sure what's at the other end.. But I might be able to widen it... There's a.. fault line? all the way above the lava. If we can make a bridge from here to there," she points to the spot above this 'crack', "I'd have the running start I need."
Onuapata asks, pensive. "W-wider? Is that wise?"
Nadia nods slightly as she considers that as well. "If it is something we can't get rid of, it might cause serious problems if it spills in and fills everything."
Quinlan eyes the rock around them. "If that's what you want to do, I think we can do it," he says. "Bit slower cos I have to maintain wards..."
"But where did it come from?" Cahaya asks. "I do not think most things can jus' change lava - they get burned."
Cyndre explains, "I'm thinking if we widened it enough to pass through, we might be able to track it to the source and eliminate it. If not, well... then I'm going to need a plan to relocate Onuapata."
Nadia thinks for a moment, "That is true if we can get rid of the source then the other bits might eventually get burned away from the lava."
Quinlan blinks, his train of thought derailed as he sniffs the overheated air. He turns toward Cyndre, nose twitching in an almost animal way. "Fwaugh! No, Onupata's right, Cyndre, if what I'm smelling is where you've been. You reek Chaos! Seriously. You are going to *want* a bath. And we want to fix that crack, not widen it."
Cahaya blinks, and turns to look at Quinlan. "So, how do ya do that? And is it jus' coming from further in the mountain?"
Onuapata frowns, as she casts a glance back to the other wall. "I've seen chaos rot the land right out from under me, Quinlan. It was only after we found the source that we were able to return things to normal. Now if you know a way to seal the crack so the chaos can't just eat through it, I'm all ears."
Cyndre frowns, as she casts a glance back to the other wall. "I've seen chaos rot the land right out from under me, Quinlan. It was only after we found the source that we were able to return things to normal. Now if you know a way to seal the crack so the chaos can't just eat through it, I'm all ears."
Nadia looks around at everyone, "I do not know much about chaos, and things like that. So I am willing to listen to whoever thinks they have more experience."
Quinlan grins at Cahaya. "Pick a power, and it tells you more about the others. In its own biased little way." To Cyndre, he says, "Wish I did. Does this seem to be a source? I'm afraid I'm not a tracker."
Cahaya tilts his head to the side. "Do ya know a tracker, Quin?" he asks. "That could help."
Cyndre shakes her head, "No, it doesn't. I think if Nadia can use some of her water magic, we might be able to make a stable enough bridge for me to run across. My ball and chain over there is rather good at breaking things, so I should be able to widen the crack enough to go into. I'm hoping we can find the source by following the decay caused by the chaos taint."
Quinlan hisses slowly. "Like digging out a very, very contagious cavity," he says. "I can manipulate the earth if needed."
Nadia looks over to Quinlan, "Well if you can make a hole, without us having to just like smash a gaint hole into the wall, it overall that would probably be a better approach."
Onuapata offers, "I can help build a path to walk."
Cahaya just stays quiet, standing near QUinlan.
Quinlan nods. "I can dig with my hands, move earth like clay or sand. I can dig you a hole, yeah. I'm really not crazy about, you know, digging *toward* chaos...I'll trust you."
Cahaya has disconnected.
"Nadia, can you help Onuapata with the bridge? We still need to get over there... Quin, once we do, it'll be your show." Cyndre says.
Cyndre adds, "I don't relish the idea of using Imeacht for that, either. I always get hurt doing it."
Quinlan nods. "Er. Imeacht?"
Nadia nods her head slightly as she chants softly, as she starts to form ice over the lava, to try and cool it enough to see if it will reform into rock, atleast for a short time.
Onuapata dives back into the lava, and assists the process. Some of the lava raises up, so it forms a clear path for Nadia and raised above the lava to help keep people from the whole screaming and dying part.
Cyndre points at the wrecking ball, "Imeacht Chun Raice. It means 'to rack and ruin'."
Quinlan blinks at it. "Uh. Good name. *Good* name."
Nadia continues to chant softly as she creates more water and ice, "By the look of it, I am sure it is very effective at that."
Cyndre laughs warmly. "Thanks. You keep that up and I might have to keep you around; you're fantastic for my ego." She winks.
Once on the other side, Quinlan looks to Cyndre for direction as to where, and then starts digging downward. Watching him, you'd think the volcano-hardened stone were soft clay, and quite light clay at that. He scoops it out in large handfuls, the stome smoothly shaped by his hands as it's removed.
The area pointed to is a thin crack that runs from under the lava and up another twenty feet. Quinlan's effort goes quickly, and as he gets further in he starts to come upon tainted, decayed rock. It starts to fall away, too quickly. Rock starts to cave in, fall. Rumbling noises are heard.
Cyndre cries out, "Quinlan, look out!" and reaches out to grab the man, and throw him bodily across the lava to the much safer area.
...that being the solid ground they came down to originally.
Nadia looks around as she notices the rumbling, and makes sure she is clear of any falling rocks, or lava. "Be careful."
Quinlan is pretty easy to toss even if you aren't a giant; gangly scrawny mageling that he is. There's a surprised 'whoa!' as he's airborne, and a thump and roll when he lands. Getting to his feet, he says, "What's up?"
It becomes clear, as the area crumbles away to a crevace and lava churns around the work-zone. Cyndre is seen for a moment as Quinlan gets up, and then is washed away by a surge of lava breaking through the new opening even with that big boulder to anchor her.
Nadia makes sure she stays well away from any lava that might be coming out of the wall, or any where else for that matter. "You okay?"
Quinlan starts heading up the stairs, as much to get a better vantage as to get away from the lava. "Nadia! Best retreat a bit. Chaos is *seriously* funky stuff! Cyndre! Where are you?"
The lava is flowing out of the volcano, and into the crack that has grown... well, as wide as it's going to get, it seems. It splashes and churns right now, and neither Cyndre or Onuapata can be seen at this time. Chances are likely that Cyndre, and maybe even Onuapata, were washed into the crack with the rest of it.
Nadia stands back as she watches the lava pouring into the crack, "That does not look good." She quickly looks around to make sure the rest of the place looks stable.
Quinlan yells, "Get out of here! I'm ...going to be really stupid and try something. Get Cahaya out of here!"
Nadia quickly starts to run back out as she calls back loudly, "If you are announcing that it is a stupid idea, you should probably not do it!"
Quinlan runs back down to the bottom of the stairs. "Yeah and I don't leave people behind. *Soldiers* do that. Get *out* of here. I gotta make sure those two whatevertheyares are coming out of this. And first I'm gonna *find* 'em."
Nadia doesn't stop running because she doesn't know what crazy thing might happen though she still yells down to him, "The lava isn't going to hurt them, if you wait for the flow to stop they can probably just swim back to the surface.
Privately, to Quinlan, Onuapata would appear to be hiding, where it is currently safe for him. He is deep in the laval pool, well below the crack in the wall.
Privately, to Quinlan, Cyndre cannot be sensed at this time. Perhaps she is too far away, or the chaos taint is mucking up the works.
Quinlan completely fails to bring forth anything dramatic. He casts some spell at the magma, and stands as if listening for several moments. Then with a muttered word that's probably some variant of 'crap!' he runs after Nadia. "She's either fine or dead," he calls. "Personal bet's on fine, I think I'd sense her armor at least. She's not here."
Nadia looks back down when she reaches a safer enough height from the lava, "She is probably on the other side over there."
The lava, perhaps predictably, continues to lower until it reaches some kind of equalibrium. It still churns below, but it seems to be largely flowing into the crack now, instead of out of it. The bridge could probably use some strengthening, but there does seem to be a servicable pathway above the lava within the crack.
Nadia looks around to make sure everything is stable then slowly starts to head back down, "Alright, lets go see what is on the other side." She chants softly as she tries to add some supportto the bridge and cool it off as she moves to it.
Quinlan stops too, and descends slowly to check out the area he dug out, sniffing at the air cautiously.
Nadia carefull heads across the bridge and peeks through the crack to see what is on the other side.
Nearby, There is still the scent of chaos, but visually the cavern seems to go on for some distance. There is a lava flow below the path, and the area right by the entrance seems iffy, like it might be decayed by the taint.
There is a lava flow beyond the path that seems to go on for a ways. The area right by the entrance seems questionable, as though it may be decayed by the forces that rotted the rest of the stone. Past that, the entrance seems servicable, though one will require care in traversing it.
"Still chaos here," Quinlan warns carefully. "Slow path but still here. Careful."
Nadia is very careful as she slowly moves forward, "Can you sense her at all yet?"
--[ The Choke(#6657RJ) ]-----------------------------------------[ Ember ]----
Heat, Fire, Ash, Noxious Fumes are the buzz words for this place. At
volcanic end near Suhko, it is a winding, trecherous trail that could
take one across precarious ledges, over basalt leap-stones floating in
magma, and across crusted lava that may not be as thick as it looks.
As it winds away from there, it gives way to fields of ash covering
pitfalls and pot-holes. As if that weren't enough, there is lung
searing heat, noxious fumes, and stirred up ash clouds to choke the
breath away.
...and then come the monsters...
Cyndre, Nadia, and Quinlan are here.
The Waste --> The Waste
--[ lhelp ]-------------------------------------------[ Exits: The Waste ]----
Quinlan adds a bit of wind to his fire wards, purifying the air near him. "...Charming neighborhood," he muses. "Cahaya's never going to let me live this one down."
Nadia makes sure to stay fairly close to quinlan as she looks around. She is very careful moving forward, and tries to stay and more solid rock when possible.
There is something swimming in the lava below... Something not remotely human.
Quinlan looks around. "I've got two spells going at once right now," he says. "Heat ward and air purifying. I can *try* for three but this is getting tricky. Can you take one of them, so I can see if Cyndre's in the earth anywhere near?"
Nadia tilts her head slightly as she looks over to Quinlan, "I don't know either of them, though I can get us out of the heat for a little while if you don't mind getting wet."
Quinlan nods. "I'm good with wet. You can take care of the heat for us for a bit then?"
Nadia nods as she starts to chant as she sprays water up into the air over them, letting it fall back down to try to cool them while trying to keep the tempature of the water cold.
Quinlan lets go of the fire-ward then, and instead casts his spell toward the ground, seeking for signs of others.
Privately, to Quinlan, Cyndre will be found ahead, just on the very edge of Quinlan's range of perception. He can also sense it will be a bit of a challenge to get to her from where they are. Still, a few options seem feasible.
Nadia continues to spray cool water over them, "Check for any monsters while you are at it."
"...Cyndre's that way," says Quinlan after a while, and points. "I can probably keep us warded from the heat and the air breathable, but if anything gets in our way you're going to have to handle it - I don't think I can hold what amounts to two wards *and* go spellhurling at the same time. It's going to be a tricky route and we'll probably have to swap spells around a few times."
Privately, to Quinlan, There are things in the lava; the beast below seems to be some sort of alligator like creature. There are smaller, bat-like things hanging from the ceilings and along the walls.
Nadia nods slightly as she continues to walk in the direction Quinlan points. "Well lets trying avoiding any problems, and if we do run into anything I should be able to handle it without to much trouble. If not I will bring out the big guns."
Quinlan leads the way, saying quietly, "We're a long way from alone. There's things in the lava, and hanging from the ceiling. If they come for us, you take the lavathings - hose them down till the lava's just rock. I'll take the flying things, and try to throw them into walls with wind." And carefully, meantime, edge toward where the spellsense said Cyndre was.
Nadia nods slightly as she looks around, "How many creatures are we talking about here, and do you think they are hostile?"
Around the ledge, and across some stalagmites jutting up from the lava, only to shimmy down another ledge on the opposite wall, and the group finds themselves at Cyndre's location. The giantess is found prone, half washed up on solid ground, and coated in cooling magma. Additionally, there is a rock formation near her mouth that suggests she may have had to vomit some up after her ride on the lava-trail. Oh, and wouldn't you know it... trouble's on its way.
Things fall from the cieling, blotting out the light beyond them with a cloud of smoke; little embers within this cloud burn brightly as a horrible screaching reminiscent of bats is heard echoing through the cave.
Nadia is careful with her foot work as she moves around, watching each step. She uses a bit of magic to create ice picks to help her while climbing and she moves down to reach Cyndre.
Quinlan winces. "You fight them and I'll handle Cyndre?" he offers Nadia quickly. "My spells aren't the best in a fight but I'm still royal blood."
Nadia nods slowly as she turns to face the threat and cuts off the spraying of water. She closes her eyes and takes a slow deep breath before she quickly begins to chant in the arcane languages of the dragons. She quickly swings her hands around in arcane patterns and symbols as she speaks quickly, and water beings to stream out around her fingers. She then thrusts her hands into the air and screams as a clear pool of water appears above her and from it the head of a gaint dragon appears. It brusts upwards out of the water, into a long serpantine body, the entire thing made of water. It grows to nearly thirty feet long as it moves towards the monsters and opens it mouth wide as it sprays a stream of water mixed with frozen ice daggers.
The water and ice tears the bats apart, as it moves through the air. The dragon whips it tails around swating large groups of bats at once as its mouth opens wide to continue to spray and blast at others, and water sprays all throughout the area as the dragon battles them.
Quinlan pauses long enough to gape in open, unadorned astonishment and admiration at the magery brought forth, and then visibly forces himself to focus on breaking Cyndre out of her laval bodysuit and hauling her off. "C'mon, we need to get out of here..."
The trip back, once Cyndre rouses from her slumber, is not quite as difficult as the way in. Part of this is because a large number of bats were decimated by Nadia's spell. Another part is because much lava was cooled in the same spell, though that likely won't last long. And finally, because they're more familiar with the lay of the land coming in. When they arrive, Onuapata appears on the original island they all came to. "Oh /thank/ you for saving Cyndre!" he says. "I was... I was scared, or I'd have helped more."
Nadia spell continues to last for a while, shooting and eating whatever it comes across while the group makes their way back. Once back she looks over to Onuapata, "I am glad you are okay, and it is fine. Everyone is safe, and that is all that matters." She looks to Cyndre, "You are okay right?"
Quinlan grins. "I checked for you too. Good to see you're okay. How's the taint flow? Is it bothering you in the pool now? I think the flow changed."
"Other than having to pick a few pieces of rock from my mouth, I'm fine." Cyndre replies with a grin. She looks around the cavern, then focuses her attention on Onuapata. "Yes, are you feeling any better?"
Onuapata is overcome with joy, and nods. "Oh yes! I feel much better now!" he replies. "Thank you all so much for helping."
Nadia looks back out the way they just came back from. If it all flowed out it should be good for the time being, but some where out there, there is still probably a problem."
Quinlan nods. "Bigger than the three of us, definitely," he says. "But we've got the path now. We just need to put out a call."