Editing Antiva - Bringer of Life (section)

==The Compass and an Eventful Journey==

Antinniera and Xlotl were deep in discussion over an artifact, a compass, that could show the way to Antiva. It had belonged to Antinniera’s mentor, but he had never got it to work for him. Pi tried placing it in the centre of the old star pattern and orientating it in different ways to see if there was a reaction. I couldn’t resist, when he placed it to point towards where Air was on the new star, having a little fun and blowing the compass towards the edge of the pattern. I confessed before anyone read too much into it, but it was funny to see them think they had found a way to use it. The truth was that there was no reaction, and Antinniera recalled being told that it would respond to life energy.

Xlotl pushed the compass back into the centre, floating it above the floor, which was impressive. More importantly, Xlotl appeared to find a way to connect with the compass. It was indicating that what we sought was in the direction of one of the corners of the room, but apparently it also indicated that the way we needed to go was through the double doors. I jogged ahead and stepped outside, interested to see if the air was different. There was a wall around a compound outside the temple, although it wasn’t in a great state of repair, but there were also more Saloroc and Kobolds within the compound, as I found out when a crossbow bolt slammed into my chest!

I staggered back inside, slumping against the wall to one side and warned the others. Pi was able to heal the wound, which I was grateful for, and Antinniera stepped back from the doors saying that we seemed to be surrounded. With my wound healed, though, I preferred to move like the wind and not stay still like dead air. I raised a disturbance of air around myself and jogged out, headed to one side where one group of the foes had positioned themselves. Pi tried something different, changing into a perfect imitation of one of the pale-skinned creatures. He stepped out and announced loudly that everyone should just leave and let him handle things in the temple. Neither of our approaches was particularly successful, as we both got hit by crossbow bolts!

I kept moving, and found that I was quickly swarmed by Kobolds, with one blade finding its mark. Pi was swarmed too, and a blade also found its mark despite his armour. Antinniera kept back and loosed an arrow, flooring one of the Saloroc with a powerful strike to its torso. Pi crushed a Kobold with his warhammer, which started to melt into water, and Antinniera leapt over the puddle to join the fray, having dropped her bow. I called on the air to defend me again, throwing three of the foes back and away from me, one starting to dissolve into mud where they fell. Pi smashed another one down but was stabbed again and now looked like he was struggling. One of the creatures I had forced back rose to their feet again, looking very unwell. Nothing wanted to stay dead!

Antinneria slashed with her polearm now that she was in the melee, and two more fell. I took out Calm and Storm to fight my two opponents, successfully distracting them enough to cut the throat of one… but again it seemed like it didn’t want to die! I cut it down again, and this time it stayed dead. Antinniera rushed the last crossbow holder, swinging a powerful blow that cut the Saloroc in half. The body immediately started to freeze, and Antinniera moved away, knowing that the last body to freeze exploded. Pi moved up behind the last foe and smashed it down with his warhammer. It seemed that killing them twice seemed to work whenever they refused to lie down.

I took a moment to check the air, sensing a still area nearby, but then recognised it was Xlotl. He was invisible to most eyes, but whenever he moved, I could see the air move around him. We moved up to the exit of the compound and could see some of the lay of the land around us for the first time. We were on a plateau with a track leading down to lower ground ahead of us. The ground was lower all around the temple area but fell away much more steeply to the sides away from the path. It was clear that we were on an island that was narrow but long, and we could see the far shore on both sides. It looked like the island had been a grassy forest, but all the vegetation now looked nearly dead. The trees were devoid of leaves, and there was no fresh green anywhere in sight. Beyond the water around the island, on the right side we could see hills rising, but on the left was a forested plain and a structure of some kind that punctuated the cliffs. That seemed like the best place to head for… assuming we could find a way to cross the water.

We were all sore and wounded from the fight, and we had no idea what we might yet face, so we decided to rest for the night while we had somewhere that was easy to defend. Pi volunteered to keep watch all night, which seemed strange, but it didn’t seem to bother him. He was kind enough to heal my wounds in the morning as well, so I felt quite refreshed when we eventually set off. We followed the trail, as indicated by the compass; we had discovered that the compass sometimes responded to any one of us, but not always, and it was Pi that carried it that morning. As we had noted the day before, the vegetation was dying all around us, but it looked like it had happened quite recently because the leaves had grown before withering and were still attached to the trees and shrubs. It didn’t look natural, that was for sure. I was glad to see an eagle circling high overhead, but there were no other signs or sounds of life as we moved through the forest, or what was left of it. We began to pick up a few signs as we got closer to the water level, although it was still predominantly dead.

The trees started to thin even more as we approached the shoreline, and we could see two crude-looking longboats hauled up on the beach up ahead. They were still some way off, so Xlotl went on ahead (he was still invisible) as we walked more steadily towards them. When he was much closer, he whistled to get someone’s attention, and a Saloroc popped their head up from one of the vessels. He noticed us approaching, although we were still half a mile or so away, and he shouted an alarm. Antinneria sprinted forward for some reason; had she misjudged the distance? I used the air to move quickly and keep pace until she slowed, with Pi not far behind. I suggested that perhaps we shouldn’t look too aggressive as we approached, as we wanted to avoid a fight if we could. She did not heed my words, though, and sprinted off again, this time with Pi matching her pace. I think they were just racing each other at this point and seemed to have forgotten about the boats!

Meanwhile, Xlotl spoke to the alerted Saloroc to try and calm them, but they wouldn’t trust someone they could not see, and just demanded that whoever was talking should show themselves. They were preparing a firing line of archers as we approached, although were in no particular hurry. Xlotl slid into the water, which seemed to be comfortable for him, unnoticed by the Saloroc.

Pi was winning the "race", as Antinniera stopped again to catch her breath. I waited with her and called to Pi, who obligingly slowed down. As soon as she was able, though, Antinniera ran off again. I jogged behind and again asked that people calm down as we didn’t want the sailors to think we were attacking them. Pi said that he needed to run, so I suggested that he tried running sideways to appear less threatening. Only too happy to help, Pi turned sideways and started side-stepping in the same direction. He was certainly a strange one.

When we were within four hundred yards or so, Pi called out that we were friends, although the charging warrior next to him was probably not selling that idea to the Saloroc. As we entered bow range, a brazier "fell over" in the boat, probably helped by Xlotl, and the vessel almost immediately started to catch fire! Pi said a prayer, which he assured us would aid and protect us, whilst half of the Saloroc started to push the other boat out to keep it safe.

Some of the archers had held the line, though, and a warning volley thudded into the ground ahead of Antinniera. About the same time, a cloud of steam erupted from the burning boat as if water had been sprayed onto the fire – which I also put down to Xlotl, perhaps a master of water? The Saloroc shouted for us to stay back, to which I simply replied “OK”. They did seem to be dealing with quite a lot, after all.

Antinniera shouted back: "but we need your boat"! Whilst true, this perhaps did not help to diffuse the tension. I tried asking if we had come at a bad time, but there was no answer. Pi ran forward anyway, despite the warnings, and the only thing that prevented him from being an immediate target was a sudden downpour of rain that just fell on the line of archers out of nowhere. Xlotl was certainly up to something!

Antinniera didn’t wait, though, loosing an arrow at them. It fell short, but they responded by attacking Pi, as he was the closest, and one arrow found its mark. Xlotl suddenly appeared in the moving boat, wings flapping, and air buffeted the Saloroc, knocking one into the water and leaving another clinging to the side. Pi surprised us all by changed his form into a Saloroc, calling out that his spell had worn off and that he was one of them! I suspected it was a ruse, having seen him change before, but I didn’t have long to think about it as two arrows clipped me – the Saloroc had switched targets.

Xlotl jumped off the boat again, getting punched on the way, and I was struck with another arrow. I used the air to run as fast as I could, closing down on the archers so they couldn’t keep firing at range. Pi started running… this time away from Antinniera, who now suspected him of being in league with the enemy!

Xlotl pulled another Saloroc off the boat, and both Pi and Antinniera closed up with me, ready to fight in melee. One of the Saloroc just dropped to his knees in front of Antinniera, clearly intimidated, so she put her foot on his head and pushed it into the sand, getting no resistance. Pi smashed his warhammer into one of the foes fighting me, crushing it with the force of the blow, and its body started dissolving into water.

Xlotl got back into the boat and threw one Saloroc into the side, winding him, whilst coiling around their leader to pin him. Xlotl quickly followed up, tipping one over the side and stunning another. I punched my foe, staggering him, but then a tentacle of water reached out of the puddle that had formed and grabbed my ankle. As soon as it had me, it froze and an icy chill made me shiver involuntarily.

Xlotl battered another Saloroc off the boat, whilst still constricting one. I hit my foe with another punch, knocking him senseless, but I couldn’t pull my leg free of the ice. Another tentacle reached out for my other leg, and I passed out as the chill spread up my body. Pi crushed his foe, twice because it kept twitching and he didn’t want it to come back, then grabbed my shoulders to stop me sinking into the ice.

Antinniera had joined Xlotl in the boat and grabbed a Saloroc that Xlotl had stunned. She couldn’t lift him out of the boat, though, as she slipped on the wet boards. Pi used a prayer to heal me, keeping me alive but not able to revive me. Antinniera found her feet then and hoisted the Saloroc into the water. Xlotl simply slithered over the side and plopped into the water, still gripping the Saloroc leader. It was a while before they resurfaced, with the Saloroc spluttering and gasping for air when they did. Pi could just make out the leader shouting “take the fucking boat” when he could speak again! Xlotl left him splashing in the water.

Pi finally hauled me out and managed to revive me, for which I was very grateful. After a moment, I stepped over and took a look at the boat that was still on the shore. It was charred but intact, but as I looked it over the Saloroc leader hauled himself into the far end out of the water. He looked very unimpressed with the whole situation. I apologised for the misunderstanding, but he made it quite clear that he just wanted us to “fuck off” with the other boat and leave him alone.

Pi, directed by Antinniera, had reached her bags. She had wisely left them before entering the water, and had kept some drafts of an unknown liquid she had found in the temple within her pack. She wondered whether they might help to heal our wounds. Pi passed me a piece of chalk, asking me to choose a hand and keep it behind my back. This was unusual, but I went along with it. He picked the wrong hand, though, and as a result decided not to drink the liquid, passing it to me instead.

I had no idea what it was, so I wasn’t about to drink it, but I asked the Saloroc if I could offer it to him by way of some compensation. He simply said “yes” and drank deeply from it! Antinniera seemed a little upset that I had given it away, but I pointed out that it was not ours in the first place. She didn’t seem happy with my logic, though.

We gathered our things and boarded the boat that the Saloroc had kindly invited us to “fuck off” in. We discussed what was happening to bodies when people were killed for a moment, although we couldn’t really work out why. Antinniera was still unsure whether Pi was friend or foe, so I described how he had saved my life, which made him a friend as far as I was concerned. I also asked why we had to be so violent all of the time – if we had done as the Saloroc had asked and just waited we might have been able to explain our position and ask for their aid.

Pi eventually decided that he wasn’t welcome, or perhaps even safe, around Antinniera and simply disappeared! I bowed my head and a sad, lamenting noise played through the ropes of the boat as I wondered whether we would see him again. Xlotl tried to pick up my mood, saying that I was more than just a messenger now, and perhaps I should try to connect with Lord Aergarnion. The very idea shocked me, but I reached out to sense the air again. It was so chaotic, though, that I couldn’t “see” beyond where we were right then, let alone reach into another Realm!

We rowed slowly around the island, those of us with arms anyway! I was relieved when, after a while, Pi reappeared. Unfortunately for him, he appeared in the water beside the boat and not in it! Just as he did so, Xlotl warned that he had seen a water creature keeping pace with the boat on the other side. Xlotl splashed into the water, taking hold of Pi to keep him from sinking in his heavy armour. At the same time, I tried speaking to the water shape in Common Elemental, hailing it and asking what its intentions were. All I got in return, though, was a little splash and the boat being bumped.

Xlotl spoke to it through the water, but it was clear that the elemental was single-minded in its obsession with the gem that Antinniera was carrying. It just said "Mine!" repeatedly, and the water started to slam into the side of the boat with more force. Pi had managed to grab hold of an oar that Antinniera was offering him, and climbed into the boat, but some of the boards were starting to crack and splinter under the assault from the water creature.

Pi didn't seem phased by his appearance in the water, and apparently had communed with Admir directly! I politely acknowledged that this was good... but we were under attack! He tried concentrating for a moment, but nothing seemed to happen and then another blow from the water smashed a hole into the side of the boat, thakfully above the water line. This was quickly followed by another strike that made it worse, and a splinter of wood drew blood from Antinniera.

Pi healed the wound, saying that "trust has to be earned", although I wasn't sure whether he was trying to earn her trust or asking her to show her worth. Xlotl was still trying to speak to the creature that was attacking, but wasn't even getting a response at this point. Pi picked up a basket that had been left in the bottom of the boat and lobbed it over the side, somehow arcing it perfectly so that it struck the centre of our attacker. It was disrupted for a moment, but quickly reformed.

It ducked under the boat, possibly because Antinniera was on the other side, emerging close to her and lashing out again. This time the water struck her directly, and almost unbalanced her. It seemed to want to knock her into the water, which made sense. Xlotl swam towards it, emerging to try and engage it but missing. Pi fell off the boat! Thankfully it seemed deliberate, as he turned into a shark and quickly swam to assist Xlotl.

Another jet of water caught Antinneria, and this time slammed her against the side of the boat. She caught her head and fell unconscious, luckily staying inside the boat for now. Shark-Pi bit the creature a couple of times, swift in this new form of his, and I knelt by Antinniera and revived her with a burst of energy.

Whether worried about her own safety, or trying to save the hull of the boat, Antinniera decided that she should start climbing the mast! She did well, to be honest, getting about ten feet up using the ropes for grip. Xlotl, though, bit the creature and hurt it badly, manging to wrap coils around and constrain it. It just wanted to take the stone to his Lord, but Xlotl convinced it that the stone was being protected (having a chunk bitten out of you and a snake coiled around you can be very convincing). When Xlotl released it, the creature sank into the water and we never saw it again. Pi returned to a human form, joining us in the boat, and we continued rowing without any additional interruptions.

We soon approached the structure we had seen from the island. The dock appeared run down and abandoned, and we softly crashed into the jetty so that we could scramble out. I tied the boat to the jetty, although it was looking a little worse for wear now, and we searching the structure for anything of use. We did find some more of the potions the Saloroc had used, so we shared them between us. There were also some live insects that Xlotl and I were able to catch and eat, giving a brief sense of normality before we had to move on.

Pi told us that the compass was directing us up a path that led away from the jetty up the slope. We had only gone a couple of hundred yards, though, we we saw what looked like a pile of bodies on the path up ahead. Antinniera ran off the path suddenly, calling out that she had "found it". She had seen one of the worms that had emerged in the temple and grabbed the other half of the stone. It was ready for her, though, and bit into her leg as it rose from the earth. Antinniera passed out from the pain, and the worm dragged part of her leg into the soil.

Pi and I rushed over; he focused on healing her first, but then we both pulled until we were able to rip her leg free. We had to do this a second time, though, as the worm latched on to her again! Antinniera started stabbing at the ground madly, which just led to her being bitten again, even though we were shouting at her to get back on the path. She seemed to have this objectionable habit of refusing to listen to others or do what they suggested! Pi even tried to carry her back, but couldn't get hold of her as she was focused on stabbing into the earth again and again. At one point she did seem to connect with something, but that just encouraged her to keep doing it!

Xlotl had joined us by this point, and used his mind to blast the earth, which I certainly felt, and gave me a headache for a minute or so. A few minutes passed after this without incident, giving us hope that the threat had passed. Antinniera still didn't get back to the path like we had suggested, though! We continued, leaving her for a few moments, and found that there had been a battle up ahead. The pale-skinned tall creatures, Saloroc, and Kobolds had fought, and bodies of all of them were lying dead on and around the path.

Antinniera was finally taking the hint and moving up to join us as I reached this scene. The air itself seemed dead here, so I decided to walk around where the bodies laid... but doing so meant that I was attacked by one of the worms! It was my turn to pass out in pain, although Antinniera was able to pull my leg out. This time it left a hole, though, perhaps because it had already let go and was moving on to another target.

Xlotl attacked the earth with his mind again, then seemed happy with the result. Once he had done this, he made a flask of potion appear from nowhere and it moved towards Pi, who was happy to take it.

I was revived by Pi. Sespite his strange nature, I appreciated his help and attention; it felt as if I could grow to like him and his wild naivety. He helped me back to the path, and this time we were able to walk on for hours without being disturbed. Towards the end of the day we reached an actual forest with green leaves! This sign of life was uplifting, but it did make the path harder to follow.

We made camp for the night, with Pi again keeping watch. He woke us early in the morning, warning that something was moving nearby. I sensed some good air at last, so I went to investigate. Pi woke Antinniera as well, and she tried to climb the tree to reach Xlotl. She ended up falling before she could reach him, though. Pi shouted something loudly, but that didn't wake Xlotl either.

Meanwhile I spotted someone moving through the trees, so I started to greet them but suddenly found a sword was at my throat! A voice whispered that they had come for the sword, and from the look of the hand they were more of the pale-skinned pointy-eared people. I realised they meant the black sword that Antinniera had picked up, so I sent a warning to Xlotl with my mind and called for Antinniera to bring the sword over to me quickly.

I tried to use a burst of air to push him away so that I could escape, but his sword barely waivered and it bit into my neck as I turned and ran. These people meant business! I suggested to Antinniera that this fight wasn't one we could win, so she should consider just giving them the sword. She wasn't keen on the idea, though, which wasn't really a surprise. One appeared right next to her, ordering her to stop as they held their sword out... but then they just dropped dead! Having said that, they then slowly climbed to their feet and stood staring into the air. Maybe they weren't dead, then? It wasn't clear.

Despite this turn of fate, we were hopelessly outmatched. Thankfully Antinniera changed her mind and placed the sword down. One of them picked it up, used it to kill their companion that was just staring into space, then slashed the air with it to open a way to another Realm, and they stepped through quickly to leave us. It was a strange encounter, but I suppose it was inevitable that they would come for the artifact at some point.

We took some time to heal the wounds some of us had sustained, and then set out to follow the compass again. We actually had a day of travel that didn't involve any more fighting, which was nice! We reached a line of hills and the compass led us to turn and follow them but staying witin the forest. When the light began to fade we rested again, and this time managed a good night's sleep.