[Open] Clearing the Air [Event]

[Emily]

"Well, we're dressed for the cold... But technically, Birchram here is our leader. And their choice is pretty clear. Besides, if it gets stuffy, between the two of us, it's nothing some nice cooling breezes can't help with."

"If we eliminate the cold zone first we can settle into the warmth after. Do you want to traipse through warmth only to be assaulted by cold afterwards?"

"Under normal circumstances, I would be inclined to agree that it would be best to tackle the more frigid environ first. However, as... curious of a guide they make, amongst us Birchram is currently the most... knowledgeable... pertaining to this particular facility and the peculiarities therein. So it is perhaps in our best interest to defer to its choice."

Reverie shook a little tension out of her shoulders. Her natural inclination was to defer to the people around her, assuming anyone else would have more understanding of the world than she. The knight caste were rarely consulted during decision-making, after all. Not unless there were specifically combat-related considerations. She was only here as protection, and that was all she really needed to be.

Still, she glanced at Lucius. If she was the sword arm of a larger unit, how must it feel to be the sword that arm grasped? Was there peace in having such a refined and focused purpose? Was there frustration in the limits of his station? Like her, he didn't speak, choosing to stand there and allow the others to determine their fate. There had been something there, however, something regarding the plant. She hadn't been observant enough in the moment to catch what happened.

She looked to the plant. Birchram. It waddled around as if comfortable around people. Yet it had existed alone among machines for so long. How long had it been since someone else had explored this place? Either Birchram had been alive for untold centuries, however long it had been since the Zonai were plentiful, or they weren't the only people here. And judging from its interactions thus far, it had a preference for Rito and Hylians, having approached the spear-wielder and Alyson first. Lady Purah had spoken to it briefly, but it had ignored Reverie. And it had avoided Lucius and the older Zora. Had Lucius noticed this immediately, and it had taken until now for Reverie to come to the same realisations? She made a mental note to watch it as they progressed through this place, and to be more observant in the future.

They came to the warm door. Reverie didn't know what she was supposed to expect when the door opened. She had found the area around Castle Town warm already. Akkala had the sea breeze, supplying cool airflow to the warm sunlight, which was an improvement over that. But if people more acclimated to the south expected the next room to be hot, she couldn't properly fathom what awaited the group. A room consisting of nothing but flames, perhaps?

The door opened with a sticky, grinding sound. The warm air coming from the room was extremely dry, comparable to looking into a stone oven at whatever was cooking within the enclosed space. It carried on it, however, a sickly, almost decaying smell. She couldn't quite place it before a dessicated beast, hylianoid but like nothing she had ever seen, shambled out. It had mandibles that separated its jaw at the bottom of its head, like some giant manner of insect. An exposed spinal column and ribcage connected to legs that looked more or less normal for a Hylian or Sheikah skeleton, but the arms extended well past its knees, ending in wicked hooked claws. Despite that, the beast seemed slow, near to falling over.

She activated her sword and shield. The break they had taken from the previous room had given her plenty of time to calm down, wrest control back from the bloodhaze. She could feel the looseness in her arms, in her shoulders. Letting herself go for a couple rooms had helped drain some of her aggression, and she was feeling better. But would it help against this creature?

As it came in, the skeletal insect reared back, then swung an arm at her. Good, it was slo-

When she attempted to block its blow with her shield, Reverie found herself being knocked several steps backward. The shield miraculously held, but the force of the blow was staggering. She ran in a semicircle around the creature, aimed a stab at the base of the skull, hoping to sever whatever nervous system might be stored within the strange, reddish sac there.

Her sword was deflected. Not by its arm, or the exposed bone. By the seemingly-weakest part of the creature. She hopped back, then attempted a wide swing from outside, bouncing this time off its calf. Barely a scratch. She hopped back once more, then turned to her compatriots. "Do any of you know what this is? I can't seem to damage it."

Birchram was giving the thing a wide berth, and Reverie agreed that might be the best course of action. She chose to look through the doorway, and was almost glad to see a laser fix upon her. Good, something she could actually fight. Through the rock structures, red-gold sand, and strange plants, she was able to estimate five soldier constructs with curved, golden swords and sparkling shields, two captains, and some strange shape in the centre of the room. She pulled her head back around the corner just in time to avoid a plume of fire and smoke pouring through the doorway. She would hold the door while they sized up the creature still wobbling in the centre of the room.

[LuckyBlackCat]

Looking over the charred construct remains once more, Alyson considered Arcade's reassuring words. Her resolve strengthened further. He spoke sense - she of all people knew Zonaite machines tended to behave oddly when damaged. It was easy to end up projecting, her own experiences intruding on her thoughts at inconvenient times. What wasn't so easy was shutting them out.

Others around cast their votes, Arcade agreeing with her and Birchram about the warm room, the robed Zora opting for the cold one. In truth, although the hotter chamber piqued Alyson's interest, and Birchram knew more about the facility than anyone else here, she wouldn't mind either way, both rooms potentially containing long-lost knowledge and technology ripe for discovery. Yet the last few votes quickly settled the matter - the warm environment it was.

Shrugging off her coat, tying it around her waist and tucking it into itself at the back so it wouldn't trail, Alyson watched, her anticipation growing by the moment as the door rumbled open. A wave of dry, sweltering air greeted everyone - as did an unexpected odour of meat left out in the sun, followed by the room's inhabitant. Despite the soaring temperature, the sight of the creature sent a chill through Alyson's veins. She'd been prepared for more constructs, but not the towering, skeletal, insect-faced creature that stumbled out, claw-tipped arms extending almost to the ground. This was no monster she'd ever encountered before, yet it jogged something in her memory.

Reverie leapt into action at once, her sword and shield flaring bright. Good, no matter what it was, she'd make quick work of it...

Alyson gasped, the dryness in her throat not just from the arid atmosphere, when it knocked Reverie back with its elongated arm as if her armour weighed barely anything. Such an emaciated creature shouldn't be this strong. And its defenses matched its might, the sword strike bouncing right off of the fleshy encasing around its neck.

"Do any of you know what this is? I can't seem to damage it."

It hit, then, why something about the corpse-like being looked oddly familiar. The claws, the glowing eyes, the leathery dessicated flesh, the unnatural strength, brought to mind a memorable figure from the rebuilding of Gerudo Town. A semi-undead stonemason, restrained with Zonaite shackles. Yet despite the predatory stare she'd given the volunteers, the way her nostrils had kept flaring, she hadn't attempted to harm anyone, whereas recountings of the true undead who had wrecked the town matched this monster before the group. Mindless walking cadavers, their strength and toughness unparalleled, impervious to ordinary weapons.

"A... Gibdo, I think?" Before panic could set in, Alyson remembered something else. The stonemason's bindings would occasionally give off small sparks. "Electricity might work!"

Her hand went to the pouch where one shock fruit remained. She couldn't use it right now, not with Reverie in her steel armour, so close to the creature... But if she lured it away, the electric knight would be able to zap it without collateral damage, and she could use the last fruit in a pinch.

She flung the boomerang, a brisk gust sending it colliding with the Gibdo's head. "Hey stick insect! Come and catch me!" It turned, those luminous pupils fixed on her as it shambled forward. Alyson, catching the weapon once it sailed back on the zephyr and skipping to the side, instantly wondered if she'd made a mistake. Those claws could easily rip her apart if it drew too close. And other threats made their presence known - not just the glints and scarlet-eyed stares of another construct army, but a billowing jet from a flame emitter through the doorway.

She and the others who'd voted on this room may well have chosen wrong.

[El]

So a monster had led them to... a monster. How perfectly predictable.

Lucius shot Birchram a withering glare, his draconic eyes keened to as fine a blade as his own thirsting edge. Yet there was little logic in punishing the diminutive creature when the latest monstrosity had yet to be dispatched: especially one as infamously foul as a Gibdo of all things. Why was it here? For what blasphemous purpose had such a stain on Hylia's grace been preserved?

What a waste of air.

Admirably, the young Reneaux immediately leapt into the fray. Yet as commendable as her quick thinking was, and in spite of how nimbly her fierce swordsmanship struck and swooped, it was clear she was unaccustomed to this form of enemy. Her inexperience was a small blessing: it promised him that such abhorrent fiends were not widespread, even in this age.

As she made a strategic retreat to make use of her skills elsewhere - another wise move, Lucius quietly remarked with a small smile - her companion leapt into the void of threat she'd left behind and instead trained the gibdo's ire upon her own, far more vulnerable form. Courageous, but not clever. Nonetheless he did not need to meet the engineer's panicked eyes to know this was his cue.

Lips peeled over a disgusted scowl, Lucius flashed across the short stretch in a streak of brilliant gold that was immediately punctuated by the foulest stench of barbecued rot. His boot was upon its splintered skull, his sparking heel grinding it down into the moss-slick rock as it smoked and spluttered black bile through the cracks of ivory ash which had promptly encased it. Repulsive fiend.

But more importantly... there was rarely ever just one.

It was difficult to tell for certain, given the nature of their manufactured environment, but these heaps of insectoid filth slumbered most commonly within nests. It may have acted alone for now, but there was no guarantee the rest were not on the way. ...Assuming of course, that this gibdo wasn't simply the cursed remnant of some former humanoid that helped man this vast structure alongside the Zonai mechanisms. Such things were not unheard of.

"Be wary of more," Lucius warned, the almost angelical lilt of his usually soothing voice having taken on a deep bellow of simmering, righteous fury. With one more, HARD, brutal snap down of his boot he cracked the rest of the gibdo's carcass into sparkling ash. His perfect teeth were barred into a perfectly merciless snarl of pure abhorrence. "Under typical circumstances, these fiends spawn from fungal hives."

His attention flashed back to the doorway, his expression hardening at the plumes of fire which gushed through it. Though... there was a small quirk of a smile there, at the corner of his mouth. "Though if so, it is not just electricity which is effective against shattering their shell of invulnerability: fire is just as adequate." Briefly Lucius wondered if this next squad of robots had actually been hunting the gibdo, as perfectly prepared as they were. But such conjectures were irrelevant to the situation at hand.

Swiftly, the knight swept to the other side of the entrance, directly opposite Reverie. In terms of strategy it'd be far more effective to slice the enemies asunder, one by one, as they filtered in through this bottleneck position. Though perhaps a more aggravating lure would be needed in order to make this plan a reality, the risk would be unnecessary if they ventured forth of their own accord.

Either way he was primed for immediate action: his form void of any stirring breaths, his sidewards glare diluted and unblinking.

[Rex Draco]

The old wizard stood with his hands wrapped around his staff, his body weight leaned against the old crook. Beneath the ossien mask he could hear as the others debated over the decision, but to his earholes it sounded akin to a windy echo beneath the hollowed mask. His Cerulean eyes drifted down as his left foot crossed over his right in a stance that seemed akin to the youthful lean of a wistful adventurer trying to get some rest while he still could. The layers of leather kept his scales moist so, up until now, he had no problem maintaining consistent movement, unburdened by the altitude. His gills easily split the air between his skin and lungs, headfin swaying to the kiss of an invisible gust of wind. Though he made his protests clear, he didn't care what decision was made. In the end he would still get his way because the icy path was an inevitability.

Purah wouldn't allow them to half-ass their search.

The team seemed to have different reactions to the potted perennial. The other adventurers among them either swooned or found their acceptance of the flora's counsel madness. Lucius was among those malcontent with the shrub's presence, while Arcade regarded it with an ineffectual attempt to minimize his feelings concerning its wordless sagacity. Alyson, for all her quick-wittedness and capacity in observing the innovative Zonaite machines, she was the first to abandon her technophilia to coo at the named sprout. Reverie seemed to wrestle with their moment of tranquility and too seemed to notice the animosity Lucius reserved towards the ornamental hedge.

He let out a soft sigh when the decision was made. Fully defeated by his utter, and childish despondence, the old mage slowly sunk to the floor with his legs crossed and staff standing tall between his bent knee. From what the others may observe: the caster's age was catching up to him, especially with their break having been so fleeting. The skull he wore as a mask turned to face the group as they gathered. Many were drawn into a collective shock when they were greeted by, not only more Constructs, but a twisted amalgamation of bone, necrophage, and vermin.

When the door was opened he was nearly gagged by the thick heat that rolled from the chamber, but it could have easily been reckoned that the sight of the Gibdo caused the sorcerer's body to give way to the dry heave. Lucius made note of the possibility of hive structures, but that would mean one of two things: the Zonai were keeping the Gibdo as pets or they were into maintaining some very interesting biomes up in their little paradise. He could understand the latter. He would get bored if all he was surrounded by was the ocean...

He watched as Reverie tried to assault the Gibdo, leaving Alyson to declare the creature's weakness. These words only incited Lucius into action. He burst forth and let free a calamitous flash that rendered the Gibdo into naught but a smoldering pile of char and smoke. His cerulean eyes drifted up from the smoking corpse, towards the lingering Constructs then down towards the frolicking fern. The robed wizard looked down and reached into his cloak. Digging about for a moment he would eventually draw, from its tucked away location, a piece of jellied eel. He seemed disinterested in the combat and instead tried to bait the potted plant to open its mouth. After a moment of dangling the meat he tossed it towards the little weed, his covered fingers hiding a distinct movement as he lowered his hands back into his lap.

The concealed movement allowed him to draw the glyph into the air which rose to mix with the desert winds, causing them to pick up as he attempted to alter the weather and fill the sky with storming clouds. 

[Chaosome]

Arcade stood quietly at the door opened. One could feel the the heated air rush through even just the first crack. An arid and acrid scent wafted its way through... The bird tilted his head at that. Acrid? That was not what he would have expected. In the brief moment he had, Arcade ran through his mind the possibilities of just what lurked behind that door, his conclusion reached and confirmed as it shambled into view.

Gibdos.

One, at least, but where there was one, there were usually more. Disgusting insect like creatures from the depths of the Gerudo Desert. Shambling but sturdy, they could fight for hours and hours on end without rest. Typical physical blows were a waste... as Reverie soon learned, her blows bouncing off the creatures body without leaving so much as a mark. Disgusting as they were, Arcade still found them to be fascinating. Their resilience to typical physical blows was to be envied. Their bones, after death, were sharp and good for creating makeshift weapons, but broke easily due to their odd shapes. Their organs could be used in vitality increasing elixirs with high efficacy. Were it that mortals could perhaps dissect the creatures and harvest their chitin, it could be used for any number of inventions. That is, if it were not for one very fatal weakness...

"Electricity might work!"

Magic. Gibdos had glaring weakness to magic, especially that of fire and lighting. The latter of which this group had in abundance. As the Knight in Sparking Armour rushed forward to clash with the beast and lead the charge, Arcade idly undid the first button of his vest, plucking the topaz button all the way off. This was for two reasons. Firstly it was ungodsly hot. Secondly. "Here." the Rito reached over and placed the button onto Alyson's boomerang and gave it a little twist. Not only did this cause the button to stay connected with the boomerang, but also caused the weapon to begin harmlessly dancing with sparks of electricity. "A sturdy enough blow will cause jolt of electricity. Swift as the dashing gentleman can be, he cannot be everywhere at once." he went on to explain as he removed a second button and stepped over to Reverie's side and placed it on the cross guard of her blade. The same crackling sparks now dancing across its surface as well.

"Gibdos such as that are slow, yes, and pose little problem on their own. Numbers is where their advantage often is, as is their resistance to nigh any physical blows." Pulling his spears from his back, Arcade threw them both past Lucius and further back towards the group of constructs. "Moth Gibdos however are swifter and as the name should well imply, can fly." as he continued his explanation, the dark tipped spear slammed into one of the soldier constructs, releasing a burst of shadowy magic that caused it to sputter and smoke before exploding and collapsing to the ground. While that spear landed true and soon started its return trip, the light tipped spear seemingly went wide and stabbed into ground closer towards the center of that room.

"Fire and electricity are quite efficacious in bringing about their demise. But they too are rather unfond of the light. Hence... a bit of precaution should more be lurking ahead." For a moment the light spear shook before suddenly a blinding white flash of light magic enveloped the room it had landed in. Soon it too soared back towards Arcade's waiting grasp...

~~~~~~

Bircham though, had no time to even notice the grouchy gaze that Lucius gave it. When the Gibdo had first started shambling towards the open door, the plant let out a noise that one could almost consider a scream of terror, but more sounded like two wet balloons being rubbed together. Its little leafy limbs flailing as it quickly reversed away from the door as fast as its wheels could carry it. Which was fast enough to cause it to bonk into the opposite wall and dizzy itself for a moment. When the room stopped spinning long enough, Birchram managed to see Lucius valiantly vanquish the vermin! The plant clapped its appendages together excitedly and bobbed its head in delight. What a hero! Sure there were still some upset constructs, but those were obviously no problem for these guys!

The plant started to wheel itself back over only to stop in its tracks when it saw? Smelled? Sensed? A little treato being wafted its way! Birchram turned its head, and then the contraption in which it was planted, Nex's way and stared at the offered food. With a happy little gasp, Brichram whisked itself over and opened its maw, catching the meat and chomping on it a bit. With a pleased swallow it wheeled closer still to the Zora and hugged his leg as best as his little leaves would let him.

[Emily]

"A... Gibdo, I think? Electricity might work!"

Reverie held her shield up to block some of the heat from her face. The fire continued spewing through the door, and there was some physically impervious creature between her and the rest of the team. What had she gotten herself into? She could have been lounging in Tarrey Town, diving into the lake or racing around on one of those automated wagons. She and Lucke could have tested their new weapons in countless duels with the knowledge they would see a threat coming from ages away.

She smiled to herself. Realistically, she would always want to be in a place like this. The thrill of discovery and fighting with newfound comrades. It would be too difficult to turn away.

But a Gibdo? She had never heard of such a thing, and it seemed everyone else was quite aware. Must be a southerner thing.

She looked on in shock as Lucius made short work of the creature. Elemental damage seemed to have excessive strengths in a situation like this. She would have made notes, but she was currently waiting for something to walk through the door, to meet its head with her blade.

The sweat beading on her forehead was beginning to threaten her eyes. She stressed over the possibility of being temporarily blinded by salt when the creatures came through. Fortunately, she was given the opportunity to look away for a moment as Lucius took her lead and stood at the other side of the doorway, using the moment to loosen a gauntlet with her teeth, letting the left slide to the ground behind her. It was followed shortly by the other, freeing up her arms and getting rid of some of the heat generation.

She was attempting to loosen her chestplate buckles with one hand when Arcade approached. She hadn't expected to see the Rito so close to danger, but he walked right up to her and fastened something on her sword hilt. "A sturdy enough blow will cause jolt of electricity. Swift as the dashing gentleman can be, he cannot be everywhere at once. Gibdos such as that are slow, yes, and pose little problem on their own. Numbers is where their advantage often is, as is their resistance to nigh any physical blows."

Reverie nodded to show both her gratitude and understanding, and allowed her chestplate to separate at the shoulders and slide to the ground, slowed between her body and the wall. The greaves were easy enough to follow, leaving her in her tunic, trousers, and boots. A wave of relief passed through her as the heat seemed to dissipate a bit. She felt the airflow through her clothing. She had considered taking the armour off after the first room, when the air pressure had threatened to knock her out of contention room after room, but had elected not to do so once the air pressure had returned. Now, she didn't know if she would make it through such heat.

The Rito continued as he tossed one of his spears into the next chamber. "Fire and electricity are quite efficacious in bringing about their demise. But they too are rather unfond of the light. Hence... a bit of precaution should more be lurking ahead."

A bright burst of light erupted from the doorway, stopping the fire spray for a moment, and Reverie chanced a look around the corner. A sword came down, prompting her to dodge backward. A construct with a little axe on its head came through the doorway, moving in the manner of a stumble as its sword-swipe threw it off balance. It carried a beautiful gold-hilted sword and a shield with several inlaid gems and precious stones. But it was hardly prepared for Reverie's light-sword to pierce through its body, causing it to jolt and shudder violently before various jade scales fell away and its energy-flow arms deactivated. The creation slumped to the ground and stopped moving.

But just behind it were three more just like it, more prepared for a surprise attack. Behind them, the six-eyed captain had recharged its flamespitter, and followed its soldiers into the Thundra room.

[LuckyBlackCat]

Just as Alyson had hoped, in a flash of golden light, the knight reduced the Gibdo to a heap of charred flesh and bone. Smoke rose from it, bringing a stench like a mix of spoiled meat and a moth that had drawn too close to a flame. Alyson waved the smell away from the team on a breeze, all while keeping her guard up, glancing towards the doorway. As the knight pointed out, where there was one, there'd be others.

"Got it!" Alyson replied to both this reminder and his mention of their other weakness; fire. "Well, that's one bug squished, and we'll have no trouble squishing more!" Despite the confidence she tried to project, her mind reeled. What in the gods' names were Gibdos of all creatures doing in a botany lab? Were they the corpses of workers who'd perished here, reanimated in the Upheaval? Or had they appeared during the disaster thousands of years ago that had wiped out the Zonai?

Focused as she was on the door and what lay beyond it, Arcade's approach took her by surprise. She startled and blinked as Arcade attached a small chunk of topaz to her boomerang, making sparks crackle all along it. For a second she worried the gem's effect would shock her or char the weapon, but it did neither, seemingly designed to work with various items and materials as evidenced when the Rito placed a similar one on Reverie's sword. "Hey thanks!" She gripped the boomerang tight as if it would lend her the courage that lightning, Farosh's element, symbolised.

Clouds began to form overhead, undoubtedly the work of another mage preparing a thunderbolt of their own. Alyson put on a tense grin. "Alright, between all of us, let's take 'em by literal storm!"

Arcade's spear sailed into the desert room, an explosion of light quelling the fiery stream. For a moment it appeared the attack had taken out the flame emitter's wielder, but axe-headed constructs spilled through the doorway, gathered around a captain with two rows of eyes as it readied its draconic weapon once more.

In an instant, Reverie demonstrated the power of the topaz enhancement, one stab of her sword sending electricity coursing along the nearest construct's form until it collapsed. Alyson flung her boomerang at another, a brilliant burst of sparks enveloping the automaton on impact and extinguishing its charge. Her fears began to loosen their grasp as she caught the weapon. Thanks to Arcade, shock fruits weren't her only means of fighting back on equal footing after all.

Yet now wasn't the time to grow overconfident. Two more Gibdos entered the chamber, soaring with alarming speed on ragged wings. Moth Gibdos, just like Arcade had warned. Behind them, a wingless one shambled, exactly like the one the knight had slain except for one feature it shared with its flying counterparts. Their shrivelled skin wasn't leather-brown, but stark white.

Alyson threw the boomerang upwards on a wind jet, only just managing to hit a dangling limb. One of the fliers convulsed and plummeted, shattering into chunks of burned chitin and bone on the ground. Struggling not to gag from the rot-and-scorched-insect odour, Alyson leapt aside from a noxious green spray the other Moth Gibdo spewed, which wilted the grass it struck.

Neither the knight nor Arcade had been kidding about Gibdos' strength in numbers.

[El]

'One bug squished.' The engineer's declaration quirked a wry smile across Lucius's face, its twist tinged with a cruel darkness uncharacteristic of his usual demeanour. A bug. Yes. That was exactly why he'd used his boot: he would not soil his hands with these grotesque abominations if he could help it.

Thankfully the group was afforded a scant few more moments before the rest of the horde piled on in: an opportunity their Rito friend in particular wasted no time in seizing. He'd become a lot more talkative recently, Lucius noted - a stark contrast to his earlier reticence. Had he simply needed time to become more comfortable with the group...? A shy intellectual who first required calculations to safely take his first few steps? But the answer to that was of no consequence, the aid he supplied by dismantling his own clothing was a great boon to Alyson's and Reverie's combat efficiency. Topaz buttons! Very clever. The Sword quietly applauded his resourcefulness - and foresight.

Reverie herself had been in the process of removing her armour, when her sword was gifted its upgrade. Under normal circumstances Lucius wouldn't have approved, but there was merit in her decision: no protection was worth its cost, if the cost was higher than its worth. Her relief at shedding its weight - and insulation - was tangible. Indeed, they should adapt where necessary. Better now rather than fainting in the middle of combat and losing your head.

Yet, that was as much breathing time as they were given.

Another blink later and a construct collapsed in smoking, sparking debris at the foot of the doorway. Almost immediately afterwards it was piled upon by the shattered remnants of another.

The Reneaux had swiftly disposed of the first soldier, but as soon as the rest of the group whizzed on through, Lucius promptly impaled a second: like a spring-loaded trap simultaneously firing off its electrified harpoons. 'Unfortunately' they could not catch them all. And while he was sure their adversaries relished in the small victory, rush through as they did by way of overwhelming numbers and blind arrogance... the Knight smirked. Good. Now not only did they have them surrounded on all sides, but they'd been successfully lured inside a far more practical environment.

Alyson was panicking at her latest undead predicament, but admirably was handling it far better than most recruits would've. She took to her weapon's newest enchantment like a fish who'd hopped stream and needed just a few beats to adjust to the shift in current. And though her slight figure convulsed with the effort not to gag - understandable - she remained quick on her feet. One of the two Moth Gibdos descended into its overdue demise.

Well done.

As the sorcery of storm clouds brewed and crackled overhead - a hopefully friendly endeavour - Lucius flashed out of existence, leaving Reverie at the rear of the doorway. Yet he had not vanished: he'd simply moved.

Skimming across the moss-sodden earth, whirled a beaming arc of electricity. At its epicentre: a slender dagger of a blade. Ribbons of crackling light swirled from its determined path, sizzling budding foliage and avoiding stomach-churning screeches of stone by the skin of Lucius's teeth. Precise and fierce, it flung itself. Yet while it may have been misleading in its true size, the threat it posed could not be exaggerated enough.

Spinning below and through the levitating base of the last soldier construct, the blade thrummed to an abrupt halt directly underneath the captain instead. It barely had the time to glance downwards and register what was happening - absorbed as it was in the power of its roaring flame emitter - before the dagger pierced upwards, snapping vertical. A warped wail. An explosion. Expanding in a flashfire boom of thunder and lightning, the dagger immediately swelled in size and power to that of an enormous claymore. Fried circuitry aside, the captain's jade frame simply couldn't contain the sheer volume which had abruptly filled it, stretching until it burst into shattered shards, beaming an eruption of blinding light in every direction.

From the fading illumination a white-gloved hand extended, snapping out to seize the handle of the draconic head before it could kiss the floor alongside the clattering scrap. A tool wielding a tool. It was an uncomfortable but necessary action. With no wielder of his own through which to channel his true power, Lucius needed to carefully manage his energy reserves. 

Without hesitation, the knight promptly turned the still roaring fires upon the remaining construct - a far weaker soldier. To his pleased surprise it went up in flames, the heat no doubt overloading and melting its logic systems as it then proceeded to flail and whirl around the room in blind panic. Hmn.

Enemy Database Updated: Constructs are flammable.

It was out of range now and the brave but increasingly cornered engineer was collecting too much trouble to safely tackle alone. So up and aside the pillar of flame whipped, as Lucius steered it towards the second Moth Gibdo. Seared asunder were its wings, as it crumpled to the floor in a ball of crackling fire.

One regular Gibdo and (enflamed) construct soldier remained. At least, of those which were in this room.