8758/Brave New (Magical) World

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Brave New (Magical) World
Date of Scene: 21 November 2021
Location: Citrine Ruins, Nilaa
Synopsis: Porcuwolves, Tyranosaurs, and Gem Magic, Oh my!
Cast of Characters: Amy Winston, Jonathan Sims, Martin Blackwood




Amy Winston has posed:
It seemed like a good idea at the time, stepping through that glowing orangey yellow portal created by the mystical gemstone that had previously been the centerpiece of the Bludhaven Museum of Natural History's geology collection.

There is a bright flash of light and stepping through the portal Jon and Martin find themselves on a path of glowing Citrine light. It is not a terribly long path and at the other end is another similarly glowing orangey yellow portal to the first one they entered. Beyond the path however, should one choose to stray, is a strange seemingly infinite nether void, the space between worlds. Needless to say it is probably best not to stray from the path lest one become forever lost.

Another flash of light later and our intrepid adventurers emerge into a set of ancient ruins. High above the sky isn't too different, it still looks blue though perhaps the shade seems a bit off. Beneath their feet is a manmade 'floor' of yellowish stone, large weathered blocks forming what was once likely a smooth carefully hewn surface, but one that has become rough and broken in places with age. Around the area are what could easily be mistaken for Ionic pillars. They are certainly pillars, and they greatly resemble the Ionic style, all of them in various states of smashed and broken. In the center of the clearing there is a dais or perhaps it was an alter of some sort with a concave indetation in the middle and a few remaining small shards of what must have been at one time an incredibly large citrine, much much larger than the stone Jonathan carries, set into the base. All of it has been overgrown with plants and creeping vines as nature seeks to reclaim what was once taken from it. Strange plants, unlike the sky these are clearly different from Earth. They are not in Kansas anymore, Toto.

The remaining shards of that once massive Citrine are still faintly glowing when the pair arrives, but their light begins to rapidly dim and die.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    The Archivist has to take a moment, as they arrive in this new land, to look around with very wide eyes. "Wh... where on Ea--no, /not/ on Earth." He actually has to take a moment, to /close/ his Sight so he doesn't get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of magic in the air. One does not need mystical senses to See magic here, it seems.

    He doesn't have his staff or a gun, all he has is innate magic and that citrine clutched in his good hand.

    And Martin, of course.

    That's enough to make him confident in stepping forward to examine the dais/altar, though he does sweep a glance around the rest of the area first, for anything that stands out.

    "What... /is/ this place?"

Martin Blackwood has posed:
    Martin looks around and frowns at Jon. "Jonathan Sims" Martin chides, regretting that Jon doesn't have a middle name. Even so, he mananges to get as much heat as he can into the two names of the man. "This is a terrible idea" he says. "This is exactly why Chief Carter put me on watch duty for you in the first place and now we're God knows where in the universe--if we're even in *our* universe still--with no way back because you saw a sparkling gem and thought it would be a good idea to just go on a whim."

    He's upset and, sure the place is gorgeous--if a ruin--but still the principle of the matter is that they don't have a way back and he'd rather not get stranded on an alien world without any preparation whatsoever.

Amy Winston has posed:
The sounds of various creatures can be heard in the distance, some sound like birds or the chittering of small mammals or other things. Who knows what any of them actually are though. The ruins seem to be in the middle of a forest, carved out of a low rocky hill jutting out of the otherwise tree filled scenery. It doesn't appear like anyone has been here in a very long time, years, perhaps decades, or more. In the end it is difficult to say how long, who knows what weather patterns, erosion, and other factors are like in this place, but it is definitely abandoned.

It was also likely the sight of some grand battle. The longer one looks around, bits of broken arrows can be seen, as well as gouges in the stone likely made by sword or axe. It is probable whatever function this place once served it was attacked and lost and then left to the elements to reclaim.

The dais alter clearly once held a giant crystal, similar to the one the Archivist is carrying, one that was likely smashed judging by the few remaining fragments, which would fit with the theory of a lost battle. The fading pulses of magic in those shards pulse almost as if in time with the light from the Archivist's own crystal as their power dissipates, almost like it was once some kind of beacon that managed to draw them to this spot with the last flickers of power remaining to it.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    "I'm sorry," the Archivist says while peering down at the altar. "I can't promise it won't happen again. This... is what I /do/ now." He sounds defensive, because he is. He's been chided by pretty much everyone who's bothered to comment on his new propoensity for running toward dangerous and odd things, and it's starting to sting. He can't help it, and he sort of wishes he could.

    Very, very carefully, he touches the leftover fragments of citrine. They're stuck there in the altar, so he sighs, looks up and around. "I'm going to guess that whatever that Exodus was on the message... they wound up here. And it doesn't look like there's much left here, so... perhaps we should go take a look around? See if we can find any people or any way home?"

Martin Blackwood has posed:
    Martin frowns at Jon for another moment and then sighs. "I know. I know..." he says, his anger fading. "I just wish that the Thoth--or whoever is in charge of the Archive--" he remembers Sasha's words too well, "would've understood that recovery periods would be... appreciated.

    He approaches the alter as well and frowns. "This place looks like it was attacked..." he says, bending down to pick up a broken arrow, peering at the make of the head. He nods. "I would appreciate some non-hostile people so that we can maybe find out exactly *what* this place is. Putting 'jumped through a portal made by a large magical stone to unknown world and returned' wouldn't make the Chief happy." Oh, he is certainly going to write up a report on this for SHIELD unless asked otherwise.

Amy Winston has posed:
As the search and examination of the ruins continues, there is a rustling amidst some of the underbrush around the trees at the edges of the clearing and a low growl can be heard, as a creature that looks vaguely canine, brownish burnt orange color, more powerfully muscled than the wolves of Earth, with vicious fangs and a mane of porcupine like quills emerging from the area around their shoulder blades and upper back, emerges.

The beastial canine creature's entrance is followed by another growl and then another, as more similar creatures emerge from around the clearing, five in total. Whatever these are, they are pack hunters that have surrounded their quarry, and they look hungry, very hungry.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    The Archivist takes a step toward Martin, hesitating, staring at the dogs. "Well, /shit/," he says. No staff, no gun, but there's magic in the air, /so much,/ so maybe it will be easier to just...

    "Put up shields?" he says to Martin, and then takes another step to be right next to him, concentrates.

    It's a /lot/ easier here, the magic. Three bolts of shimmering orange energy fire at the canines in front of them, one for each of three, and presumably connect.

Martin Blackwood has posed:
    Martin has his ICER sidearm, and a standard Sigg as well, but he can *feel* the pulse of energy in the air here and he draws on that to generate a blue-green half dome around the pair of them. "One it..." he says, his eyes scanning the animals, waiting to see which of them is going to jump for them next.

    The ambient magical field of the place is enough that he has little trouble augementing the shield to be semi-permeable, if Jon can keep up the projectiles, he can protect them for as long as needed.

    "Am I the only one noticing that this place is... more... energy filled than Earth?" he asks, his eyes daring from one pocu-wolf to the next.

Amy Winston has posed:
The pack leader lunges head on even as the bolt of shimmering orange energy catches it in the shoulder, drawing blood. The beast is not slowed down for long however and things start to look pretty dicey before that greenish blue shield springs into being. The beast's claws rake across and it tries to bite at it with its jaws, but the barrier holds it at bay, for now.

The two packmates flanking it to either side don't fare quite as well, momentarily stunned from the impact and injury even as their leader charges forward. They manage to shake it off enough to launch barrages of black quills, slick with some sort of liquid or ichor at the barrier. The needle-like spikes stick into the shield, but still it manages to hold.

Meanwhile the remaining two creatures from the blind angles behind also charge the barrier, though despite their best efforts do not seem to fare much better than the Alpha, however how long this will remain the case is an open question.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    "You are /not/," the Archivist comments, angling himself around to press his back to Martin's so they're not flanked. That's how it works in the movies, right? "There's so bloody much magic here I almost went blind the first moment I stepped through the portal."

    They're going to need more than just energy bolts to kill these things, clearly, but /how/ is a fair question. Most things the Archivist can think of are liable to damage the ruins, too, and he /really/ doesn't want to damage the ruins.

    Then again, if they /don't/ do something, they're going to be dead.

    Operating on the hope and prayer that taking out the Alpha will cause the pack to scatter, the Archivist turns so that he can face the creature, then puts out his left hand. Eyes and bracer glow orange, and then the Alpha is encased in a globe of water that just... hangs in the air around it, holding it in place. The idea is to drown the thing, killing it without causing over-much damage to the ruins.

Martin Blackwood has posed:
    Martin goes out on a limb for a moment. "This might work..." he says and concentrates. The turquoise glow around his hands and wrists flares and there is a thudding sound from not far away. "Have to... concentrate on this.." Another thud and the ground shakes, the water in the capsule Jon holds the alpha vibrates with the reverberations. Then from the tress a creature not seen on earth in over 70 million years emerges from the trees.

    The Tyranosaurus that emerges from the trees looks more like its Jurrasic Park counterpart than the real creature but the size and presence is what matters, not realism. It fixates on the wolf-like creatures and lets out an ear splitting bellow of rage and defiance.

Amy Winston has posed:
The Alpha creature is suitably surprised by the perdicament it has found itself in snarling large bubbles in its watery prison as it attempts to swim out, brackish saliva from its fangs mixing with the water around it as it thrashes about shooting quills out through the top of the water bubble as it flails.

The other beasts continue to throw themselves at the barrier, almost becoming more ferocious at the Alpha's plight and the spell begins to waver a bit under the assault. That is until a primeval draconic two legged beast seems to come crashiing out of the surrounding forest letting out a bellow of rage. This definitely gets the attention of the porcuwolves, they seem to be weighing their chances against the thing and not liking them one bit as they collectively take a tentative step back.

The porcuwolves are not the only ones whose attention the Tyrant King lizard has attracted though. There is a *fwip* sound and the fluttering of leaves as an arrow flies into the eye of the dinosaur, followed quickly by two more from an unseen archer. On the ground warriors in orange-yellow scale mail with round shields and straight bladed swords similar to a Roman gladius but with a crossguard leap from the trees in a defensive formation trying to corral the dinosaur and keep it from reaching the humans. They seem to be shouting in some strange language to one another that doesn't seem to have an Earthly counterpart.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    The Archivist cowers for a moment, every instinctual adrenaline response screaming at him that HEY THAT'S A DINOSAUR RUN. It's the roar that does it, really; he slams his hands over his ears and shouts, "/Bloody hell/ Martin!!"

    It also /completely/ ruins his ability to hold the water around the Alpha, so the bubble collapses, water rushing out in a brief flood over everyone's feet.

    Then there's people, a group of people, wearing orange-yellow scale mail, and look, it's not hard to put two and two together and figure that whoever they are, they're connected to the citrine in the Archivist's hand and the Exodus and whatever else. So he snaps, "Run off the demon... wolf... things with your bloody /dinosaur/ and keep it away from the people!" Look, he wasn't a fan of Jurassic Park, okay? He wasn't a dinosaur kid.

    <"It's alright!"> He shouts to the people, mentally as well as aloud, because he really doesn't know how else to try to communicate. <"It's an illusion! It won't hurt you!">

Martin Blackwood has posed:
    The psuedo-dinosaur (Martin really needs to brush up on his scientific readings to get the feathers on the creature correct) roars again and thrashes but the tail doesn't strike out at any of the archers or swordsman. It moves away from them, and towards the porcuwolves, snapping and gnashing its teeth even as it's filled with arrows. There is no blood from the creature: Martin's illusions can only go so far into realism. But it does move as if wounded.

    "Who... are... they...?" he asks Jon. "And can you get them to stop, please..." His teeth are gritted and sweat forms at his brow with the combined maintenances of the dinosaur and the slowly faltering shield.

Amy Winston has posed:
Those scale mail wearing soldiers seem quite set on the dinosaur not reaching the people, which is also where the wolves happen to be. Telling them its an illusion is all well and good on an intellectual level, but it's still kind of terrifying to behold.

With the water falling away from it, the Alpha is freed once more to lunge forward and slam against the barrier again, or that's what would have happened if an arrow wasn't suddenly sticking out of the back of its skull. A moment later a young woman with hair done in corn rows pulled back into braids drops from concealment in the top of one of the nearby trees. She is wearing that same orangey yellow citrine color, though no armor, instead opting for freedom of movement in a sort of croptop vest and short leggings. In her hand is a bow in hand, with a quiver of arrows slung across her back, and a shortsword on her belt. She shouts something at the armored men and then looks back towards the pair behind the barrier, saying something to them in that same strange language that would surely fascinate a scholar of ancient dead Earth languages could they understand it.

The dinosaur's path becomes unblocked, though the men are still looking at the female archer like she may be crazy, and that combined with another well placed arrow is enough to convince the remaining creatures to beat a swift retreat back into the forest from whence they came.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    <"Alright,"> The Archivist says, again aloud and mentally. He holds up his hand, showing off the citrine crystal quite clearly, and walks toward the female archer. <"Martin, get rid of the illusion. Ahh... hello. I am Jonathan Sims, the Archivist. This is my husband, Martin Blackwood. We are from another world, called Earth. We mean you no harm."> Again, this is how it goes in movies, right?

    Look, Martin's the 'senior agent' and all, but Jon's the one who has telepathy. And the gem in his hand. And he's smiling, trying to come off as non-threatening as possible. Honestly, he's /terribly/ curious. People! Maybe people who knew ancient Archivists! Or know of them!

Martin Blackwood has posed:
    Martin allows the Rex another earth shaking bellow before it dissappears in a corruscation of turquoise motes of light that fade from view a moment later. He lets out a breath and drops his arms, causing the barrier around them to falter and fade as well.

    He watches as Jon tries his best at, what he imagines as, First Contact Protocol. Human looking or not, nothing says these beings are human. He waits pensively to see what the result at diplomatic negotiations comes to be.

Amy Winston has posed:
With the monsters gone, the scale mail wearing soldier fan out around the clearing, taking up positions not unlike those of the previous pack of creatures, surrounding the stranges. Perhaps strange to the eyes of an outsider, they seem to defer completely to the young woman as if she is the one in charge.

The Archivist is eyed suspiciously, speaking telepathically directly into the minds of others may be able to make him understood, but it isn't exactly /normal/ here either. She begins to speak but when it becomes clear her words are not likely to be understood, she stops and instead reaches into one pocket to pull out a small citrine of circular cut that comes to a point underneath and tosses it to the Archivist.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    The Archivist flinches at the last bellow and glares at Martin. "Having fun?" he asks, acid in his tone.

    Then there's a citrine coming toward him. He awkwardly transfers the one he's holding into his right hand and catches the other one, fumbling with it for a moment but managing--barely--to keep it from falling to the ground.

    It /zaps/ him, sending yellow light at his forehead, and he winces. "Ah! That..." He blinks rapidly, then tosses the stone to Martin.

    "Ah... I presume this should let you hear me without all the, ahh, mental business? Sorry for being rude, I just didn't know how else to... communicate."

Martin Blackwood has posed:
    Martin gives Jon a wince. "Sorry. Been wanting to use that one for *years* and this was the first opportunity..." He watches the encircling soldiers and then frowns as a gem is tossed at Jon. "Is that... some sort of communication device?" he asks his husband.

    And then it's being tossed his way and he catches it a moment before it sends the information on their language into him. "Ow!" he says staring first at the gem then at Jon for not warning him. "Alright..." he says. "Hopefully that will make things easier." He tosses the gem back at the leading woman.

Amy Winston has posed:
The gem is easily plucked out of the air and pocketed again, "So you are from 'Earth'." She repeats as if noting their use of the word rather than 'First Home'. "That explains your outfits, but not why you are here in Nilaa, or why you are carrying an Archival Citrine."

Martin is given a long appraising look as well, almost like she is searching for something but doesn't find it. "You don't have a stone." She says. The way she says it is like she was very much expecting him to have some sort of stone, but then that seems to be the way that most magic works here.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    "Ahh... yes. This... Archival Citrine, was on display in a museum. A, ahh... place where people show off treasures they've looted from graves and ruined cities." Ohhh, does the Archivist have /opinions./ "But I think..."

    He steps forward, looking at the young woman with very wide eyes. It doesn't seem odd to him, that they all look to her--but, then, he knows an awful lot of teenaged superheroes.

    "I think..." He holds out the Archival Citrine. "There was a message on this. About Archivists staying behind, after 'the Exodus.' /I'm/ the Archivist, now. I... I think maybe one of my predecessors came here." There's an odd note in his voice, somewhere between nostalgia and longing.

Martin Blackwood has posed:
    Martin gives the young woman a confused look. "I'm... sorry?" he says, uncertain of her meaning. He gives Jon a look as if the Archivist could translate the meaning of her words. Then he adds. "There was a group of..." he hesitates, uncertain of the word he wants to use. He finally gives up and sighs. "...orcs... trying to steal the Archival stone. They were being led by some..." Another pause, this one shorter, "...wizard named Carnelian. We stopped them and... ended up here."

Amy Winston has posed:
Princess Ingvie looks from one interloper to the other and back again and she holds out her hand palm up, clearly expecting the Archivist to hand over the Citrine that he holds.

Carnelian's name gets her attention, though perhaps not the reaction they were expecting. "Carnelian? A Wizard? You're kidding right? Lord Opal's son is many thing, all of them bad, but a wizard is not one of them. He can't even command the tiniest bit of his houses Blood Power."

And then her eyes are back on Martin, even more expectantly awaiting the handover of whatever it was Carnelian was after.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    "What /is/ it?" The Archivist demands, and /just/ barely manages to keep telepathic compulsion out of his voice. Wouldn't do to force the locals to answer a question so shortly after they arrived. "Sorry. I just. I'm /terribly/ curious. I could almost feel it... calling to me."

    He walks over to offer her the stone. "We are here because I was able to open a portal with this, so I... did." His eyes are still glowing yellow-orange, matching the stone. "It appears to have been linked to that dais over there." He nods in its direction. "I suppose Carnelian not being a real wizard explains the gun."

    Then he puts the stone in her hand. "As I... tried to say before, I'm Jonathan Sims, the Archivist. You are...?"

Martin Blackwood has posed:
    Martin touches at where the gunshot had grazed him. He had taken care of the wound but it did explain a lot about the man. "Good to know he's a known villain here..." he mutters and allows the Archivist to do some of the talking. His presence here has meaning after all. Martin was still trying to wrap his head about the situation of where *here* was: Nilaa didn't ring any bells.

Amy Winston has posed:
Ingvie takes the stone and places it into another one of her pockets, not only does her clothing allow for comfortable freedom of movement it also has multiple functional pockets. "I am Princess Ingvie of House Citrine and that stone is an Archival Citrine, a very old one by the look of it. They are how we record history." She pauses as if considering something. "Though what Carnelian wanted with it and how he even reached 'Earth'" She says the word like she is deliberately substituting what she'd normally call it for the word the outsiders had used. "Are both very good questions that Lady Senshe will also be interested in the answers to, I am sure." She raises a hand, signaling to the men. "Bring them, we're returning to Manipoor. Lady Senshe will decide what to do with them."

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    "You record your history into gems? Fascinating." The Archivist will follow right along, he's too fascinated by this place to /not/ follow. Besides, the people are the only real chance they have of getting home somehow. "And you said this place is called Nilaa... and it's /full/ of magic. I wonder what the Exodus is."

    He does go ahead and twist the bracer to turn off the 'Archivist' business, to just be 'Jon' again. It might make magic harder to use--but then again, here, it might not. Then Jon reaches out with his good hand to take one of Martin's. "I wonder what she meant, about you having a gem? Do you think all the magic here works like that?" His eyes are quite bright. Even without the golden glow, he's excited by the prospect. A whole new world, full of magic and danger? Definitely right up his alley.

Martin Blackwood has posed:
    Martin smiles at Jon and takes the hand. He always finds his husband's new exhuberance endearing. "Maybe... I just hope they don't imprison me for doing it without one..." he says in a hushed tone.

    He eyes the warriors ushering them and swallows. Yeah, he wasn't as excited about the prospect, but these people and this world did intrigue him. As did his husband's connection to it.