The Four Temples of Dothaven are a tribute to the elemnts. Air, earth, fire, and firstly, water. Despite their tranquil names, their innards are gauntlets of traps and trick passages. A network of tunnels runs throughout the, massive, mazelike passages designed especially for the Malufel.
Castle Dothaven
Dothaven Quarters
Seven Suns Inn
Dothaven Temples
Temples' archive
This time Felina doesn't slow as she approaches the temples. Her senses are peeled for danger, of course, but...she remains at an impressive run. Not all of her speed, just to save endurance, but...her clawed feet tap over the first bridge quite quickly, ready to trace the same path through the temples as before.
This time, there is nothing to stop her. The traps are disarmed, and even though the Malufel's energy signature looms near at all times, the beast does not appear. It is as if the temples themselves know her intentions.
Felina appreciates this, in a way. The glass room is tricky to get through, but walking on control panels serves as enough bridge. She's into the earth temple before long, breath quick and painful but manageable. She's focussed on speed...has to keep up as much strenght as possible intact for Momo, and the longer she's in these temples, the less she's going to be left with.
When she gets into the earth temple, long jumps to semi-convenien
tly placed ledges get her to the door to the fire temple. She's more cautious when she looks down at the dragon, checking its status.
The dragon is there and awake. Smoke trickles from its nostrils, but it doesn't seem to be in any particular mood... much of the bottom of the temple is in ruins, and the ever-vigilant imps are hard at work cleaning it up.
One imp rings a tinkle bell at the sight of Felina, and, oddly enough, all the others begin to immediately construct a stone ladder leading up to her. They work like little red blurs.
Felina blinks, surprised as it begins to take shape. Wow. Well...that's nice. She thinks.
The ladder's made within moments, and the imps clear out. Even the dragon seems low-key, simply sitting back, and allowing her passage. Based on the sounds from inside the hall, the traps in there aren't functioning either.
Felina smiles a little at the imps as she takes a few careful hopes down the ladder, and takes off at a run down the formerly booby-trapped hallway. This is such a grossly different experience than last time...easier in dozens of ways, yet with a far more sinister reason. She gets to the bolted door and this time has enough energy to spin it open faster and with more strength than she could have managed with her hands alone, and hurries into the air temple, sealing the door behind her.
Inside the Mad Holly area, the first and only person present is the elemental Aliema, who is lying about 87% naked next to a pond, laughing her head off.
Oh, good. Hopefully she's just happy and lucid. Felina sighs inwardly, slowing her step as she approaches the elemental. "Miss Aliema?"
She looks up to Felina, her prismatic eyes perfectly glazed. "Oh, hello again. I didn't think I would see you two again."
"Just one of me this time. I was wondering whether I could have access to your weapons again?"
Aliema chuckles. "I'm a pacifist. I don't have any weapons. Want to join me? I'm bonding."
"I mean, the ones stored in the room with the teleportation devices. And maybe some other time...in a bit of a hurry." Felina smiles, but she's inwardly twitching. In a big hurry, actually.
The elemental just shrugs. "You can have my everything if you want it. Just make sure that you get a bra and fill it with something if you borrow my clothes. I don't want people to think I've lost my boobs."
Felina licks her fangs. Nice. "Ehm...I'll just show myself that way, then. Thank you." She bows a little, though making a point to root through some seldom-used supplies and take out clear, filtering mask for her mouth and nose. She's far too susceptible to drugs...can feel the beginnings ofit, actually. She bows to Aliema, and starts off in the direction they'd gone before.
Aliema just laughs, gazing at herself in the pond. She is a wind elemental, after all; whimsy is part of the gig.
The opening is in the same place it was before, and there is nothing separating Felina from the weapons hold. On another whim, though, Aliema gets up and pulls her skirt on, trotting after Felina. She hopes that Felina remembers that whole 'you can't take the weapons out' thing.
She does, actually...unfortuntely. Once Felina's in the room, she picks up a sword and just...examines it. Looks for the distinct energy patterns, tries to isolate exactly what it is that makes it work against the Malufel.
Aliema has only one arm poking through her shirt sleeve when she reaches the room, still struggling with the other. "Hey. What are you up to?"
"That bit that started out as blueness on Momo's hand is outright turning her into a creature like the Malufel. It's too resistant to everything I try to reverse it...I need to figure out how to manipulate whatever it is that makes the Malufel so resiliant. These weapons have to hold that answer."
"Oh. Well... have you ever used a time manipulation spell before, Felina?" Aliema is finally properly dressed, but still a little bit hazy from the Holly. Had Felina come five minutes later, Aliema would still be laying there counting her breasts and having to start over because she forgot that kwep wasn't a number.
Felina pauses...shakes her head. "No, I was never taught to. My mentor considered it dangerous magic and didn't think I was ready for it, though I can counter a few of the spells."
"Well. That's what the fields around the weapons are. Time distortion spells. Weren't you listening when I taught you everything?" She reaches down, points at the rune on Felina's hand. "The Malufel is a god. The best way to hurt a god is to mess with his power base..."
Felina examines the rune thoughtfully a few moments, then back to the sword. "So I've got a lot to learn, very fast, to have any shot at sparing Momo."
"Maybe you should have brought her here, and just stabbed her with one of the weapons?" Aliema shrugs her shoulders, looking over the vast racks. "Time distortion isn't exactly a mortal killer."
Felina shakes her head. "She's getting too strong...if it slowed me down significantly, I may not have been able to keep her under control enough to get her here." In retrospect, she should have. But, whatever it takes to get her through the day. She frowns a little. Screwed up again. Turns her attention back to the weapons. "How exactly do these distort time? What's the nature of the spell? Do they just make it unstable, or...what?"
"It's an odd effect. I have only seen it once, and can't really tell you what it does even then. If you swing the sword, you might see a fly in its wake that hasn't gotten there yet, though."
Felina examines the sword a few more mometns and then, senses alert, draws back a hand and swings it into a deft, practiced motion.
In the blurred wake of the sword, Aliema's figure can quite clearly be seen. If anything, it seems to accelerate the flow of time within its short field.
Aliema steps over, curious, into the exact spot the blur had showed her seconds earlier. "What are you looking at now?"
Felina glances to Aliema, then back at the sword. "Deja vu." She's found the energy threads...now to see whether she can analyze them quantitatively enough to duplicate them. Understanding them would be better, but...there's not really time, mimicking them will hopefully do in this pinch. She sets the sword down, picks up a polearm. She's able to pick out the spells without trouble this time. Takes up a third...doesn't let herself look until she's predicted exactly how everything should fit together. Looks. She's right. She sets it down. "Okay. I think I've got what I need. Thanks."
Aliema chuckles, watching in perfect amusement. "That's a good trick, Felina. Take the transporter again, and be quick!"
Felina smiles, nods. "I'll do that. Thank you again, Miss Aliema." Gets in the proper transporter, and hits that magical blue button that takes her to the Dothaven quarters.
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