Fates [WIP]

     Kyna patted the ram on the head, and then stepped back--far back--as she let go of the polymorph spell. A weight on her mind she hadn't noticed before was lifted, and the fluffy creature flared into a fiery nightmare again. The room was hot... so hot... but the extra heat was hardly noticeable. The tiefling (gosh, he had such a nifty cloak) tugged on the iron chain and the horse-like creature followed him somewhat reluctantly back through the portal. She waved as he went, though he didn't seem to see her. She had never met such a grumpy and impatient tiefling.

     For the first time, the strange room was empty of danger. Kyna suddenly remembered her exhaustion and sank to the floor, panting. Her hands... they hurt so much. Sergio's ointment hand only helped temporarily, and clutching her staff in a battle-panic had only made things worse. Not to mention the scrapes and cuts she had obtained; her leg was a pincushion. The other one wasn't much better off, though: she was weak-kneed and her stomach felt shriveled and angry. The heat made her dizzy, but... at least she wasn't cold. She just wanted to lay here and sleep for a long time...

     "...Kyna...? Do you have enough in you to help me close this portal...? I don't know what I'm doing." A hesitant--and somewhat apologetic--voice sounded from somewhere not on the floor. 

     She lifted her head and blinked up at the strange, glittering person. Astrea gestured to the ...hole... in the ground that still radiated that intense heat. 

     "Oh, yeah of course..." she grunted, pushing herself up off the ground (though it called to her... standing was so hard...) and shuffling over to the hole. She pushed the world back into order, removing the magic that had torn it open, and then sat down with a sigh of relief on the now-only-slightly-hot floor. 

     "Sweet. I'm just gonna... check these out..." Astrea had already wandered over to the spined devil corpses they had left on the ground. He was probably trying to get a "sample" of them like he had the nightmare's fire. Not that that had worked...

     Kyna lay on the ground, still panting. She vaguely remembered the two potions of healing she had in her pack, but... it would be so much work to go digging through it... she'd just rest for another moment. And, well, they had solved the problem, so she could go home and sleep, right?

     "Well, I guess we can go back up now...? Before anything else tries to kill us..." She mumbled, half to herself.

     Astrea, barely paying attention, grunted in agreement. HK-74 nodded though, and pretty soon his... it's?... beeping little friend tossed the rope back down. Kyna dragged herself over... it took tremendous effort to pull herself up but she managed alright. It was nice and... normal-temperatured... up here, and as Astrea pulled himself out of the hole she laughed at how strange it was, how relieving a normal sewer was. She turned toward the hallway, and stopped, tilting her head at the three humans that stood in front of them.

     One of the identical females spoke. "Oh, you closed that portal all by yourself? Good job! I was interested to see how you did it!"

     Her brain was fuzzy. She was just so tired... but Kyna mumbled a dizzy "thanks", feeling her face heat with the slightest blush. Gosh, even that hurt. The trio continued to talk, and Kyna had the faintest idea that she was missing something important, though she couldn't quite make the connection. 

     "You made the portal?" She hadn't heard Astrea sound angry before, but this was probably pretty close. Why was he so upset...? Kyna closed her eyes. She felt so heavy.

     They had been looking for someone. But we had come instead. They wanted to give us a reward. A reward? Oooh! Kyna blinked her eyes open, curious. As long as this wouldn't take too long...

     With a twist of revulsion, Kyna watched as the young humans sagged in on themselves, shriveling into something much less beautiful. In the back of her mind, Kyna vaguely thought of the revenant she had talked to in the sandstone tower. Her heart stumbled to life, thundering painfully in her tired chest. Another fight, another enemy... would she have enough time to grab those potions before they attacked?

The hags waved their hands, and a variety of different treasures appeared. Her attention so easily drawn away, Kyna peered excitedly at each one as the hags' words finally reached her ears. "Take your pick!" There was a jade statue of a cat, how cute... and a staff that looked like a snake! She already had a pretty good staff, though. And then, there it was: a dark cloak. The perfect trophy. She took a step toward it, energized, but halted when she heard her metal companion speak.

     "I would inquire as to what the catch is here?" He said in his rambling, bouncing tone. Kyna looked around and saw that Astrea looked hesitant as well.

     "Oh, that we will tell you freely! You may pick your choice--for the price of one soul coin. One hundred gold pieces... for whatever you'd like!"

     "Wait a minute." Aestrea furrowed his brows, studying the hags with indignance. "You offer us a prize for fixing your portal, and yet ask us to pay for it?" He stormed towards the hallway. "I don't want whatever you have to offer me!"

     Kyna glanced after him for only a minute before returning her gaze to the treasures. So many... so cool... that was not much of a price to pay, was it? She had seen a soul coin before. It seemed heavy. But gold, she had!

     [blah blah]

     Kyna dug frantically through her bag for something that might be worth a trade. Oooh, I still have this? She grabbed the large sack of candy she had collected at a festival from quite a while ago. As she pulled it out, her hand brushed something cold, like dark metal. Strange... She pulled back, trying to remember if she had packed the phylactery. She must not have taken it out of her back after they returned from exploring the sandstone tower. Still, a shiver ran down her spine, made worse by the hags' next words as they looked directly at her.

     "We know you have something of great value with you."

[etc, etc. something about something of great importance to self, souls, what a soul coin is, etc. Hugs Sam close to her, as she feels like they're talking about him.]

     She adjusted her cloak... it had slipped down her shoulder after laying on the floor earlier. She should have-- wait. Her cloak! Kyna quickly pulled the thing over her head and folded it up, offering it out to the dark hags. It was her original cloak, the one she had brought from home and worn for years. It was old and dirty and pretty boring... but it had sentimental value, right? She could trade it in for a new cloak...

     The hags whispered among themselves before accepting the old cloak. "Yes, this indeed has much value. So many memories and emotions here... this is a worthy trade." As it disappeared in a puff of smoke (quite literally), Kyna felt a weight taken from her... but not a burden lifted. It felt like a piece of her had been taken away. She opened her mouth, thinking thoughts of regret, but before she even form thoughts into words the trade was done: the new cloak in her arms. She hesitantly put it on, and examined herself. 

     No way...

     She had seen a cloak like this before. Years ago, a strange traveler and his magical wares... it had been hot then, too: a long journey through harsh desert. She had been in love with this cloak then. The one with the wings. She hadn't had enough gold back then, but now here it was! The cloak with the wings. She could feel the magic in it--and knew a dream was about to come true. She would finally be able to fly.

     A fair trade indeed: Memories for a dream.

[teammates both trade 100 gold for a soul coin for ammunition and dimension door spell. You opened a portal. I want you to teach me how to do that. And what should we get for it? A memory, perhaps? Or your arm... it is quite lovely and beauti- 100 gold. (gets soul coin) nng, you guys couldn;t have just taken the gold? soul coin moans/wails. Is heavy. Kyna does not regret avoiding soul coin. hags disappear, and they find Sergio & go home).