With a sudden rush of relief and adrenaline, the fire which scintillated over Ruby's flesh began to fade. Her armour, barely covering her body in the absence of her cloth attire suddenly felt cold, heavy and tiresome. Though they were victorious in their attempts to seal the jurugumo back into the prison that was its shrine, she could not help but feel as if they had sacrificed too much to do so.
"Lillith, ask him if we can return the crystal to the dais", she said with exasperated breath.
Her sister complied, and the shaman and guide nodded together in happy union. Blank limped over to the floating sphere and plucked it from the thermal magical energy which held it aloft and rubbed it against his breast as if it were a fresh apple.
"It is a shame they are bound to these strange places, it would fetch a pretty penny in Scara Brae, should we change our minds..."
With lank, foetid hair and bloodied limbs, they each made their way towards the centre of the jurugumo's shrine. Whatever foul individual had slipped into the darkness and set her free, they would never know, but with a silent prayer, Blank placed the crystal onto the centre of the platform at the heart of the warm light of the eternal candles, and bowed. They looked every bit the adventuring, daring trio they felt, but the greatest journey still remained ahead of them.
"We should rest here for a moment, to compose ourselves and staunch our wounds, before making the trip back to the camp." Ruby did not take long to return to her matriarchal state, her long, red hair feathered by her magic was now down over her breasts in a great mane of colour. She admired it with a toss whilst she waited for Lillith to finish her solemn vigil.
"We can do nothing for the souls she has taken, sister. The patron of this journey has been avenged, her husband's soul passed on, by all means, but avenged and honoured..."
Lillith looked over her shoulder, and with a half yawn, nodded.
"Come," Ruby held out her hand as a warming gesture, and they walked over to the shaman and guide gladdened, reprieved, and no longer trapped in the spider's web. They sat by the chalk circle, and tended their wounds with torn shreds of cloth from whatever clothes they had that were not blood stained or burnt, and forged their victory song in their minds in silence and contemplation.
Spoils:
Lillith - The Oni: Tainted and poisoned by the dark magic of a Greater Oni spirit, Lillith will start to perceive kami and oni and places in Akashima where the spirit world leaks into reality. This in essence is the start of a fourth aspect to her 'personality' skills; effectively, the awakening of The Spirit Warder, and is nothing more than a descriptive skill until it is developed further.
Ruby - Song Upgrade: Ruby's hair has even more feathers than ever before, and now, whenever she sings Phoenix Paean she can take on a progressively more avian form. Her hair is no longer simply red when she attempts this song, but orange and yellow and gold too. It will now staunch light wounds of the target with greater efficiency.
Blank - Unbreakable: Blank's will, resilience and stamina to physical blows have increased to a level equal to X1.2% his current level (an upgrade which will be requested in his next profile). He is now much more resilient to interrogation, and will virtually never reveal information when pressed under torture.
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Originally Posted by Ruby
