Apr 19 15:59:05 106 PA

From Chronicles

The sun firm in the sky over the horizon, blessing the morning to a nice start. Tirzah's cycle is parked alongside the old highway heading south where she sent word to meet. And she is standing there as well, checking the gear she's tied down to the unit in preparation for the journey. Being close to the city the road is fairly busy with other on their own trips heading out, eager to get to their destinations while the good weather and daylight persists.

Zachary's arrival is an obvious one. The tall, big wheeled ATV makes for an obvious presence as it rolls out of the gates at a moderate pace. Though it's a bit odd. It looks far cleaner than your average ATV, an unusual attention to detail placed on making sure road dust doesn't linger long on the machine. It pulls to the side where Tirzah's craft is parked and comes in to a smooth pause a modest distance away. A few moments after it stops, the side door opens and a ladder descends the slight drop, Zach himself emerging to climb down smartly. He's got some light armor on, though nothing made for heavy combat. It does, however, ahve an inset matrix of precisely ordered lines notable along the shoulders, with a few inset pits covered over with the same material that gives the armor it's dark blue color. At each hip is a sword hilt and pistol of unusual design, both given to an ornate design.

Since its been hinted that transportation would be provided, Sage simply walks to the meeting spot that Tirzah mentioned earlier. She comes in her gladiator armor with a backpack and other gear. Fortunately she has enough experience packing things that it isn't unwieldy for her to handle on her own. She'll make her way around Zach's vehicle once its parked and wander over towards Tirzah's vehicle. "Hey..." She says in a general greeting as she approaches.

Rebekkah arrives on the scene in her light suit of flying power armor, as advertised. Soaring in from the direction of the city, she slows as she comes down and folds her wings to descend the last few meters on the thrust of the jets alone. With the helmet on it might not be Rebekkah, but who else could it be, really? She carries a laser rifle in her hands but gives a little salute in greeting to the people already gathered by Tirzah.

Maxy comes walking from the direction of the city. Hard to miss her after all not everyone looks like a suit of power armor in their normal gear. She spies the ones that she is looking for and continues in that direction, "Hello and greetings," says the titan juicer as she stretches a little.

Looking up from her task with the arrival of the impressive vehicle Tirzah smiles. Then Sage comes around it and her mood gets brighter still. "Hey." She replies in return to Sage, leaving the cycle to meet Sage halfway. Then looking to Zachary as he steps out of the atv she nods. "That's a very impressive vehicle I must say." She compliments him, her hand searching out Sages in habit. Then Rebekkah touches down and Tirzah returns the salute with more of a wave. And lastly Maxy joins them and almost all are present. "Hmm, maybe Joshua had another job come up, well we'll give him until he start out I guess. Gather in everyone." She calls with a wave towards herself. "Well the weather is favoring us so I wont have us dally. Rebekkah and I will scout the path ahead while the rest travel with Zachary. The trip will be about a day and a half south on the old roads. The landmarks are pretty simple, the first being a full river the surfaces from the earth to the south east. Any questions?" She asks, looking very anxious and eager in a most positive manner.

Zachary hasn't got his helmet on yet, so he's obvious enough. Though as the powered armor arrives and Maxy, who might as well be powered armor comes in not far behind, a bit of concern touches upon him. But its light, fading as Tirzah addresses him. He nods his head once, looking back a bit towards the big ATV a moment. "One of the finest utility vehicles ever made by my trade," he states before he moves closer to Tirzah. as she asks after questions, he glances towards the others again and wonders, "Are you expecting trouble? I'm not a highly trained fighter.. and my vehicle has no weapons." His brow furrowed slightly as he asks.

Sage's hand is given freely, and she smiles at her partner. She looks around to acknowledge the newer arrivals with an inclination of her head. "Hey..." She comments, before looking to Tirzah as she begins to speak. "You could always ask me how long the weather will hold." She notes softly, but otherwise doesn't seem to have any real input. Perhaps she's already asked her questions already.

Rebekkah turns her head from side to side and answers Tirzah with a chipper little "Nope!" through her armor's speaker. While the helmet's visor makes it hard to tell exactly where she's looking, there's no mistaking it when she looks up at Maxy. Maxy thinks for a moment and then shakes her head, "Nope, no questions that I can think of for a moment."

Maxy thinks for a moment and then shakes her head, "Nope, no questions that I can think of for a moment." she looks at Zachary, "I think it is more just in case." she says and chuckles a little, "Oh and if there is any heavy lifting needed."

Tirzah raises a brow a Zachary, curious about his question herself as she considers her reply. "I'm not expecting anything we cant handle or take steps to avoid. I've contracted Bek and Maxy to help make that a confident measure. Maxy will ride with you should anything escape our attention. Our vehicles are our salvation in this so they will be held with the highest consideration." She says with a confident smile to Zachary. "Also I can lend you three my plasma thrower to boost your weaponry if need be. You may not be skilled with its use, but its not exactly and accuracy driven weapon, just hose down the area in the direction of trouble." She suggests, and walking over to her cycle she retrieves the very new looking and large gun. and hands it to Maxy, figuring she can heft the weight without difficulty.

Zachary nods, seeming to accept Tirzah's words, a glance given towards Maxy as she responds as well. "For the trip, we should be able to avoid much trouble. My ATV has been equipped with a means to hide itself when stopped." He looks at Maxy again, his brow subtly furrowed. "Though it might be a bit tighter than normal for you," he says to her. "It wasn't made for.. someone so tall use you are." Thoughtful on that as he considers Maxy's physical presence.

"Avoid trouble works for me." Sage says softly, when she hears the man speak about the hiding capability of the vehicle. "And, I guess I'll be riding in the back too." She says with a brief chuckle as she considers Maxy and then the ATV.

"Are we still waiting on someone else or is everyone ready to get started?" Bek swivels her head and looks from person to person, then draws a couple of steps back and away from everyone else, clearly ready herself.

Maxy nods, "It will be fine." she says softly, "and I promise not to accidently break you vehicle." she says and then hefts the gun, "Not sure how to use it, but I could try if that is the plan, or I can just run down whatever is attacking and punch it."

Tirzah just smirks as the others consider the logistics of the titan juicer's passage. Turning back to Sage she smiles, reaching for an embrace. "The weather will hold for the next few days." She tells Sage confidently. "But thanks for the offer, but do keep your senses keen for other disturbances the fates may hold for us." She asks warmly before disengaging to mount her cycle and ready the odd aquatic helmet she uses. Looking to Bek she smiles. "We're ready now. Lets load up and head out." She suggests, looking back to the others.

"It shouldn't be a matter of damage, the Zone Ranger series of ATVs is built strongly," Zach assures Maxy. "Come, we can see that you're settled first. And make sure that there is no issue to deal with." He moves back towards the vehicle, climbing up into the passenger space to find a good place for the large woman.

A soft chuckle comes when the large woman promises not to break the vehicle, but Sage doesn't comment on it otherwise. She gives a small smile to Maxy since she isn't trying to make fun of the large woman. Then she glances to Tirzah witha slight nod and gives a squeeze on the other woman's hand. "I will." She says softly, before taking her hand back gently from Tirzah to walk over towards the ATV to begin packing up. While she may have more leeway with the leader of the expedition, she doesn't seem inclined to take advantage of it at this moment.

Rebekkah turns around and takes a few long strides up the road before she leaps up into the air. The jets of her armor roar to life and lift her up still further and she twirls in a complete circle as she rises, getting a look around in all directions before coming to stop where she can watch the others prepare below.

Maxy nods and follows, moving to get into the vehicle and is being careful about how she does it, it might be sturdy, but when you can put holes in power armor and such with your fists, still is always good to be careful. She does take off her helmet and attaches it to her belt, "Well, ready I guess."

Slipping her helmet on Tirzah fires up her cycle in preparation for their departure. "You like the right or the left Bek?" She keys over the radio as she considers what side to take. Her cycle rising to hover at eye level with the atv's windshield. "We divert from the main road after two miles, taking a left onto a smaller probably overgrown one. We'll be able to follow it all the way to the spring." She explains to Bek.

Once he's helped Maxy settle in and Sage has entered, Zach retracts the ladder and closes the side door firmly. His own helmet is close at hand next to the pilot's chair, but he leaves it to the side as he settles down again. He turns the ATV on and primes it, preparing to follow along on the trip. "Make yourselves comfortable," he tells his passengers. "The ride may be bumpy, but I will do what I can to keep it smooth." He keys the radio on, but leaves the air to the other two. And with that, the ATV starts to roll forward slowly.

Once she's stowed her gear here she wants it, Sage will climb into the vehicle and find a spot to settle down in a spot that will allow Maxy the best chance at being comfortable. She keeps her helmet and some of her weapons close by in case they should be needed along the way. "I'm used to bumpy roads." She assures the man.

Rebekkah finds a good altitude and extends her wings, then banks into an easy circle around the vehicles below. "Okay," she answers Tirzah over the radio. "Just lead the way and I'll let you know if I see anything weird up here."

Maxy nods, "All good, and bumpy isn't a problem." she says and chuckles a bit, "Takes a bit to even make me feel it." she looks over at Sage, "How are things?" she asks making small talk, not sure how long the trip is going to be.

Tirzah nods and throttles her cycle forward ahead of the atv taking the bushy offshoot she mentioned. Keeping her sense tuned for signs of animals she smiles freely as she lets her eagerness towards the journey reclaim her. Her piloting swerves with her giddiness though she keeps it under control, just looking to be having a good time while she listens to the others over the open channel.

Zachary contrasts with a steady advance forward, smoothly applying speed as Tirzah starts to show the way. He focuses on his driving, observing the path ahead intently, watchful for any obstructions or oddities to be found along the way. Of course, he listens to what is said in the cab of the ATV, even if he doesn't yet contribute.

With the man busy driving, Sage's attention drifts to Maxy with a small smile. "Things are going fairly well." She replies softly, "I hope the person I asked to watch the museum garden can keep things in order while we're away... however long that is." She comments, "How about you?" She asks the large woman.

Rebekkah settles in for the long trip and cruises along above the ribbon of road stretched out before them. Pressing a switch on the side of her helmet, she turns on her music and pumps herself with some harsh, industrial tunes to pass the time. With the microphone off she spares everyone else the noise and keeps a watchful eye split between the horizon and the radar built into her suit.

Maxy shrugs, "Not much, trying to do this and that, working out, competing in some preseason stuff at the arena. And just looking."

It takes about an hour and a half to follow the old road to the spring Tirzah described. Kingsdale now only indicated by the plumes rising from it the the silhouettes of the tallest of the buildings. From there the road turns to follow the river that spills forth from the earth. Sporadic farms and homesteads border the river and the road, some abandoned some current, hosting their own plumes. The land continues in rolling hills and ahead mountains loom on the eastern horizon.

Zachary turns off the road when the time comes and his pace keeps to that moderate speed, with moments of slowness to keep steady control over spots of more uneven terrain. The trip won't be too bad, however, the big machine made to handle off roading and his hand on the controls a steady, trained one that keeps it on course to follow Tirzah.

"I'm not sure that I'm much for watching arena matches myself, but I hope you do well when the season starts." Sage comments, "Do you have an important role on the team at all?" She has no real understanding of the sport, after all.

Rebekkah just keeps flying along overhead, not taking part in the conversation and probably not even listening. Occasionally she dips a wing and glides off to one side or the other, circles around and comes back to a place somewhere above the ATV, just keeping an eye on things.

Maxy shrugs, "Well I like Deadball matches they are one on one and I don't have to worry about some things, but playing Juicer Football is my favorite and I can fit in any role."

But rarely to trips such of these go completely uneventful. The world is a dangerous place these days with all kinds of creatures that plague the wilderness. Its clear to Rebekkah that that is still the case as a demonic blood red bird of prey swoops in before her. Just larger than a regular hawk its not hard to accept the creature could swoop by most anyone without any warning. However its cry the summons another eight such raptors from the wilderness below may be cause for some concern as they seem to have selected Rebekkah. Like Rebkkah Tirzah is also oblivious to the birds on her own, keeping attention to her area she doesn't get to notice them early or give any warning.

The birds quickly surround Bek, but most dont attack, investigating the odd metal contraption that gaces their skies. One bid does however make the move to see if they have found viable prey swooping to rake at Rebekkah with its claws.

Zachary keeps the ATV rolling steadily along on its way , his focus largely on the ground and the low horizon where Tirzah is showing the way forward. Threat from the air is hardly what he's expecting, his eyes scanning what he can see of the horizon from time to time when he spares a moment from navigation.

With the the power armor pilot and the birds being out of her danger sense range, Sage seems content to chat with Maxy and glance out at their surroundings. "Ah... have you had to fight against others like you then?" She asks, figuring the sports are more akin to fights than the sports that she's used to.

Rebekkah's return to the radio is heralded with a blast of pounding drums and screeching guitar. "I think we have trouble," she alerts everyone as the music cuts off. Pursued by a small flock of birds she drops down low over the road in front of Tirzah's bike and the ATV before jetting back up to a height above most of the trees.

Maxy smiles, "Well Juicer Football, is like football of old, but only juicers or those with comparable abilities compete. My opponents don't always like me playing cause they have to wear extra armor." She chuckles and shakes her head a bit. She blinks a bit and cocks her head to the side at the radio message.

The swoop made by Rebekkah is not apparently appreciated by the birds pursuing her as three swoop at her this time, the others still following to see if their prey turns out well, and too engrossed in the pursuit to take note of the others Bek buzzed by.

Maxy blinks a bit and cocks her head to the side, "Are we close enough?" she puts on her helmet and starts glancing around, planning on leaping out if they are and she can see something, "If not get us there." she murmers, seeming suddenly a bit more active and hyper. (does have 2 actions)

Rebekkah wheels around as she climbs, trying to ward off the birds attacks with armor plated forearms and keep the rest of the flock as far away as possible. She drops in altitude again, zooming down near the road for another pass, backwards this time, firing at the birds chasing her with the suit's laser weapons.

Zachary is startled by the sudden influx of hard music from the radio, the ATV swerving slightly before he can correct his guidance of it. He starts to crane his head a bit to glance up when Bek's PA comes down to an easy view. He applies steady breaks, the ATV skidding only slightly to a full stop, a bit of turn in it, the door side at an angle toward the path ahead. "Close enough?" Confused, he glance back at Maxy. He'd been following with a few dozen yards between Tirzah and the ATV.

As the announcement of trouble comes, Sage is fairly effecient at taking up her helmet and securing it into place. She's used to sudden feelings of danger that can be rather unexpected at times. She reaches for her rifle, in case it should be of some use when she's able to get out of the vehicle.

The sudden hornets nest harassing Rebekkah draws Tirzah's apt attention as the PA pilot flies masterfully to evade her attackers. With the next swoop Tirzah brings her cycle inline to follow Bek and the birds. then drawing on her link she conjures a large fireball and sends if careening after one of the fowl.

The Fireball being magicly guided it eventually catches up to its target singing it a fair bit. With a startled squak it breaks from the pursuit with one other bird, fleeing from the scene. The others however redouble their efforts keen to get their prize and escape before much longer.

Maxy nods, "Good enough," she says and does have this gun she was given, not sure how to use it, but worth a shot. She aims at one of the birds and figures that will work and tries to fire it, not even really waiting long as she fires at another too. (2 actions)

Rebekkah peels up into the air again and rolls into a loop that brings her back down the stretch of road once again and past the waiting ATV. She continues her efforts to beat the birds aside with her fists and arms as they dive in to claw at her, and the lasers set at her shoulders flash and loose lances of livid light at the harassers.

With the ATV stopped, Zach blinks as Maxy starts firing from within the vehicle, frozen with a moment of indecision before he picks up his helmet to slip it on. Not unfamiliar with the light armor, though it takes him a moment to get it sealed up properly. But he does and once he has, he takes another look through the window to take stock of the situation.

As Sage looks around for options, she notices there's a way to stand up through the roof. She maneuvres herself into position before deciding to slip her rifle into the mount in case she should need to duck back into the vehicle. Once that's settled, she looks around for a bird that's already shows signs of being attacked to unleash her pulses upon. Failing that, she'll just pick one of the easier ones to hit.

Following after the flock Tirzah draws another fireball sending it after the birds followed by another. The burning missiles homing in on their targets with uncanny accuracy.

The cumulating attacks on the birds from they friends of their prey do the trick before they regather for another attack on Rebekkah. Two of the birds flanking the one that were flanking the one Sage badly scorched aid it to flee. And each that Tirzah's fireballs seemingly inevitably caught up to fled with their mates as well. Loud squawking of pain and discomfort telling of their retreat for several minutes.

Maxy cocks her head to the side as it appears they might be leaving, she looks for possible targets and provided there are any will try to shoot out the door again, she reminds herself to learn how to shoot a gun.

Rebekkah swings around in a wide loop to make sure the birds are good and truly leaving and not just regrouping for another attack, then comes down and lands a dozen or so feet from the vehicles. "What were those things?" she wonders aloud, not really expecting anyone to have an answer.

Zachary watches as fire from various angles seem enough to drive off the birds. He breathes out softly then and relaxes back into the pilot's chair. "That wasn't so bad," he murmurs, more to himself than anyone else before he lifts his hands to pull the helmet off after unlocking it, laying it down close to hand once more. Then, louder, "I really don't know, I've never made a study of such creatures."

When the birds seem to disappate when a hostile reaction meets their entrance, Sage lets out a relieved breath. "I think I'll leave the rifle secured up here." She comments before climbing back down into the vehicle to get back into her seat. "In case something else comes along. Or they want a re-match."

Tirzah shakes her head to indicate her lack of insight to the nature of the creatures. "Not sure, but they weren't persistent beyond trying to be overwhelming. Are you alright?" She asks Rebakkah, noticing the two scars in the armor's plating.

Maxy cocks her head to the side a bit, "Did I not fire this thing right?" she asks and then looks around, "Anyone need anything?"

Rebekkah holds out the scarred arm and rolls her forearm over so she can inspect the damage. "I'm fine," she answers Tirzah with a quiet sigh coming through her helmet's speaker. "I hope we find what you're looking for, though. It'll be expensive to fix." She inspects the damage for a few more seconds, then lets it go and drops her hand back down to holding the front of her rifle.

"We too are fine, there were no others, fortunately," Zach notes. "We are ready to proceed when you are," he adds. He looks back towards Maxy. "Make sure the door is closed up tight before we proceed."

When Zach confirms the ATV is fine for them, Sage reaches up to her helmet before she pauses briefly. She'll wait for things to be settled down before she considers taking it off. She drops her hands back down into her lap as she waits for the trip to continue.

Tirzah nods to Bek with a grim smile. "I'm sure Caliopa can make it like new." She assures before turning her cycle to lead them in the continuation of the journey.

Maxy nods and secures the door, she sets the flamethrower down, and takes a ball out of her pocket and starts to play with it a bit as she waits for them to get going again, removing her helmet as well.

Zachary will pick up on the lead, the ATV working up from a full stop to continue on the steady journey. He relaxes fully once they're moving again, though his eyes flick upward a little more from time to time as they travel.

After taking the brief break to cool her jets, so to speak, Bek jogs forward again and takes to the sky with another powerful leap on robotic legs. She stays a little closer to the ground as the group starts moving, keeping to the channel formed by the road through the surrounding wilderness. As the trip begins once more, Sage hums softly as the earlier conversation seems to be forgotten for the time being. She glances a little more out the windows.

The trek resumes south if a bit more stoic in the wake of the attack. By the end of the day though Tirzah calls a break as they encroach upon the barely distinguishable ruins of an ancient city. The sun nearing the peaks of the western mountains she finds a suitable clearing for them and dismounts. "Not sure how you guys feel about continuing on through the evening, another encounter could be likely if we do. Either way though I could use a meal. So take a breather and I'll get the fire going." She offers, some warmth in her voice for them.

Maxy nods, "Sounds good," she says at the idea of stopping, she is always up for eating. She cocks her head to the side, still playing with the ball, "Just let me know if there is anything I can do."

Rebekkah gracefully brings herself down to the ground, folds up her wings and spins down the armor's jets. "I'd be fine with stopping for the night," she offers up, shrugging a bit within her armor. After releasing a few catches with her thumbs she eases her helmet off and lightly massages the back of her neck. She has all of her beautiful hair gathered up into a braid and coiled and pinned to the back of her head, to keep it out of the way while in the suit.

"I think I would prefer to travel during the day, when we can see properly," Zach replies over the radio. The long trip has taken a toll on the elf and he stands, carefully stretching out his back and legs with a subtle arch and a soft grunt. But other than that he's uncomplaining as he goes to the exit door and opens the hatch and climb down. "I could aid with the cooking if need be. Perhaps one of the few things I could offer." This said without the augmentation of the radio.

"We'll likely have to take turns being a look out if we stop.. but it may be safer than continuing on since there may be things that will be more difficult to spot at night." Sage comments, "I can cook... but I wouldn't mind a little help." If they're going to stop, she'll likely retrieve her rifle unless they intend to sleep within the vehicles.

Tirzah takes off her helmet to shake her hair out and smile to the rest. "You're all so helpful." She compliments as she puts the helmet down on her cycle. " I've got most of the food accounted for. Though if you insist, first pass this around." She suggests opening a package of sweet jerky and handing it to Sage after grabbing a piece. "Bek, would you and Maxy gather the wood?" She asks the pilot before turning to Sage. "We'll need one of the sealed bags of stock from your pack, and the pot." She requests with a warm smile as she recall they night they made the rich venison soup. "Sage could probably use a hand with those, and there's some dried bread as well. She suggests to Zachary. "We'll discuss the watch rotation over dinner." She concedes before collecting more wood herself.

Rebekkah slips her helmet back on and walks off a little ways into the wood. Between the augmented strength of the power armor and the blade of her vibrosaber it's a short and easy chore to collect plenty of firewood, and she's able to drag back a pair of fallen trees which she cuts into sections at the campsite.

"I did plan to rest in my ATV," Zach notes as he paces alongside it slowly. Working his dormant muscles lightly. Not the most comfortable accomidations, but safe. There is room enough for a few in there, though perhaps not all of us." On Tirzah's suggestion, he nods once and will look toward Sage. "Any assistance you might need, I will accommodate."

When the thought of sleeping in the vehicle comes up, Sage considers the vehicle before she glances to Tirzah. She wasn't quite sure how the sleeping arrangements would pan out on this trip. She nods faintly about the food, giving her partner and the man a quick smile. She goes about collecting the items they'll need for the preparation. "There's some preparation work that you can help with." She mentions to Zachary as she looks around for a suitable place to setup. "I want the fire here... and if we can place something suitable around it, that would be good." She settles down near the indicated spot and begins to setup for the preparation.

Piling the wood gathered into the spot indicated by Sage Tirzah draws on her link to unleash a gout of flame into it, lighting it ablaze instantly with a warm woosh of released air. Then she'll move to help Bek with the logs and get them in place as benches for the groups. "I'm fine sleeping outside." She states comfortably with a strong smile.

Rebekkah gives a glance up at the sky to make sure the weather's holding before she agrees, "I don't mind sleeping outdoors either. I didn't bring a lot of stuff, but it'll be okay." She drags the logs around as directed, and with Maxy's help it's not really work by any definition. "What is suitable? I'm not trained in fieldcraft," Zachary notes as he comes to stand beside Sage. Of course, the answer to his question comes in half part when Tirzah lights the blaze herself. His brows lift slightly and he lingers on near to Sage, waiting for her to direct him to where he might give aid while the fire itself is brought into being and well fed.

With the man's question, Sage turns to him. She purses her lips briefly as she sorts through her bag and produces a seal container with the bread and extra bits for the soup. She taps one side of the container, "This just needs to be cut up and tossed into the pot. And, we'll need a portion of bread for whoever wants some." She explains before she begins to prepare rest of the soup. There had to be some accommodations made for it being on the road and it should be mixed just so to get the best out of it.

Tirzah smiles and takes a seat on on of the logs while Sage takes over the cooking. Looking to Rebekkah she tries a smirk again. "Those were some pretty neat moves back there. I'm glad we have you along." She compliments, her expression showing some curiosity as well though. "Is that sentiment mutual?" She asks.

After the work is finished Rebekkah ducks out of her helmet again and looks down at Tirzah with a warm but somewhat confused smile. "Which sentiment?" Her brows lift up uncertainly and she glances over towards Sage and Zachary, then brings her bold azure stare back to Tirzah.

"Very well,' Zach replies when the container is displayed to him. He reaches down to take it and moves to kneel near to where Sage is starting her cooking. He's quick to open it up and start inspecting the ingredients, taking a little time for that before looking for a proper knife and cutting surface to begin. Though he does listen to what goes on about him.

With the conversation, Sage will glance briefly towards the part. She gives a faint smile and a slight shake of her head in amusement before she turns her attention back to the task at hand. She's careful about the mixture she needs for this task. When she glances towards the man, she pauses to open the bag and offer him a knife. "You can use the lid if you need to." She mentions as she pulls out a spoon to be able to stir the soup with.

Tirzah shrugs looking a bit uncertain. "When I talked to you about the trip you seemed excited for the adventure. mybe i'm being dramatic, but I'm just hoping those birds didnt overly hurt that outlook." She explains, her cheeks flushing slightly to further accent her uncertainty. "I'm glad you came, you kept your head in a deadly situation and that's remarkable." She finishes, finding a confident smile for Bek. Rebekkah blinks a couple of more times at Tirzah before she summons up a smile to match the warlock's. "Oh, that's just training, I guess. That's why you hired me, right?" She pauses, smile faltering, then adds, "I mean, I'm glad I could help. I probably would be bird food if everyone else hadn't joined in to help." Shifting her weight from foot to foot, she passes her helmet from under one arm to the other and takes a few furtive looks around the campsite.

Zachary takes the knife and does as Sage suggests. It's a bit awkward for him, used to full sized cutting boards, but he manages without great issue. he knows his trade and works at cutting up the precise needed amount of the raw materials. Though as the talk goes on he does comment, "Those were strange birds. It isn't a small thing to be able to scratch modern composite materials like that. We should be careful tonight."

Once on all the ingredients are readied and the soup properly prepared, Sage sets it near the fire to cook. Any extra tidbits are wrapped in tinfoil and a little further back from the fire to simply soak up some heat. "It shouldn't take too long now." She comments, figuring the size of it shouldn't take too long. She'll keep a close eye on it, stirring and turning the pot if necessary. "I hope everyone has a basic kit." She comments, before looking to Zachary. "And thanks for your help." She'll listen to the conversation about the birds as she isn't too familiar with them or the lore surrounding them.

Tirzah nods, happy to come to Bek's aid. "Thats what we're all here for." She agrees before looking back to Zachary and Sage as she gives the birds another thought. "Blood hawks, that's what they were, nasty and cunning in packs but they dont fight to the death, and the don't fight magic. Bek did the best thing against them, even with less numbers they wouldn't be easily detered from mundane prey." She explains.

"Blood hawks, huh," Bek repeats, shrugging a little. Obviously she's never heard of them. She looks around again, then decides to step closer and put her helmet down on the bench near Tirzah. "Hopefully they don't go out looking for food at night." Wandering over towards the ATV, she begins loosening the locks which hold the power armor closed around her body. "Quite alright. I have some items that should suffice for a kit. I did travel with a caravan briefly and it required me to purchase a few small items," Zach replies to Sage. He then looks over to Tirzah and frowns faintly. "Blood hawk? What a perfectly ghastly name," he replies. "I'm just glad they have the good sense to run off. And hopefully never return."

Nodding faintly to the man, Sage pulls out a travel cup to get ready for when the soup is ready. She glances over towards Tirzah with a mildly mischievous expression. "Are you sure that's what they're called?" She teases lightly, before she pauses. "I don't suppose putting blood before many animal names would be any less ghastly." She comments, with a faint shrug.

Tirzah shrugs, choosing not to react to Sage's tease. Instead she gives reassuring glances to Bek and Zachary. "They wont. They can sense me and don't fight magic. So long as we're close enough to be seen as together they wont take interest. Our fire will deter the more common wildlife. And many uncommon fauna share the sense and avoidance of arcane energy. That leaves the predators that hunt it, a very small percentage so rest easy. We'll keep a watch and we shouldn't have much issues."

Zachary rises up from where he's sitting to turn and head for the ATV. Climbing in, it won't take long for him to emerge, a small, simple travel kit in hand. Proper utensils held within a simple metal bowl that can service as a cup. With his simple kit in hand he returns to the fire and settles himself down slowly, undoing the clasp that holds it shut to unpack the small parts of it. The talk between the two women is, for now, left without comment from him.

Listening to the conversation, Sage smiles as the soup comes along nicely. Before long, its beginning to bubble and giving off aroma. "I have an ability that would allow me to see everything wrong me in the finest of details... but I would need to cancel it before I could raise an alarm." She mentions, adding a few last sprinkles of spice to give the soup a finishing touch. "Whenever you are ready to eat." She mentions after a moment.

Tirzah is quick to her feat to collect her bowl and spoon for the serving of the soup. "Smells wonderful." She compliments her love with a sincere smile. "As for the precautions I think a watch will be sufficient. I'll take the first or last watch. I'll need a mostly uninterrupted rest to recover the energies I've spent today." She offers with her explanation before holding her bowl out to be served.

Rebekkah eventually comes back around near the fire, leaving the Flying Titan standing back beside the ATV, slumped over like a movie version of a shutdown robot. She keeps her rifle with her though, carried on her shoulder by the strap. "That does smell good!" she exclaims as she comes up closer, breathing in the smell of the soup and smiling brightly.

"I will watch first," Zach offers. "Though I might relax for a bit before that. I prefer to keep an uninterrupted sleep schedule," he explains. He then lifts his bowl and concurs, "It does have a pleasing smell to it. The caravan that brought me to Kingsdale didn't serve a very good meal. Though it was without charge, so there is little one could complain about."

A pleased smile coes to her lips as people begin to comment on the smell of the meal. "Thank you." She says softly, as she decides to let them have their shares first before taking her's. "It doesn't matter too much for me, I can just mediate instead of sleeping." She comments.

Tirzah nods collecting a peice of bread do go with her share. "So Zachary, Bek, Maxy, Sage then me." She proposes with a satisfied smirk before returning to her seat on the log. Dipping the bread in her bowl she takes her time to let it soak up the broth before biting into it fully.

Rebekkah props her rifle up against one of the makeshift benches and opens up the small case taken from her armor's belt. She opens it and takes out a light metal cup and a spork to get her portion of Sage's soup. After she's served she takes a seat beside her weapon and begins to carefully eat. To the suggestion of taking watch she simply nods to Tirzah, accepting her spot in the order without any complaint.

Zachary takes a conservative share for himself and starts to eat quietly, nodding his head in response to Tirzah's note on the order. "That will do," he murmurs. The group has paused for the evening and around a fire they eat, with the ATV and PA set up nearby.

Maxy cocks her head to the side a little bit, "If that is what you wish, I can do it all if you want." she eats and seems to have been carrying extra for her, since her appetite seems to be voracious, "But, whatever everyone prefers."

Taking her share, Sage moves to sit near Tirzah. She keeps her bread aside for later as she begins to work on the soup. "Let's hope the night is fairly uneventful, though." She comments, before pausing briefly. "What should we use to signal that there's trouble?" She asks.

Tirzah smiles at Maxy, impressed to know a woman whose appetite and physique surpasses her own. Regardless of modifications at least. "That's generous Maxy, but hardly fair. Sharing the duty is better anyway, each of us having unique strengths to bear it with." She reminds before wiggling over even closer to Sage. "Um, I was going to keep that simple, screaming, shouting, anything that would wake us up. Perhaps and air horn?" She teases Sage with an affectionate smirk before taking up her spoon for her main course.

Rebekkah scoots forward to get a piece of the bread, moving off of the bench without actually standing up and then sliding herself back down. Those long legs come in handy sometimes. She unabashedly stares at Maxy while she finishes her soup, the golden irises of her eyes glittering with firelight and open curiosity.

Zachary looks between Maxy and Tirzah. "Well, for me watching in the dark is a simple thing. I see everything here as clearly as day. So I will watch my period and shout an alert should anything show. It is, perhaps, one thing I am well suited for doing during this trip."

Maxy nods, "Well it is also just a fact, I can never get more than four maybe five hours of sleep at a time, and even them, I tested it once, I can go about 4 days without sleep and no signs of impairment." she grins, almost proudly as she says it and pulls something similar to a candy bar from her bag and starts to eat on that too. "I am going to have to sleep a bit apart from everyone anyway, and if I do sleep, don't be near me when I wake, my reactions can be a bit faster than my thoughts."

The other woman's tease only draws a small smile from Sage as she's content to be able to share a moment of closeness more than anything else. "An air horn would be simple and loud." She counters, before she takes a mouthful of soup. "I guess that means you'll be up for a period of time anyway." She says over to Maxy.

Tirzah shrugs, accepting Maxy's points with valid consideration. "Well there's nothing saying you have to sleep but the rest of us will still take our shifts and do our part." She offers in compromise before finishing her first bowl. She hesitates a moment before rising from Sage's side for a second helping, but quickly returns.

"You can stay up with me," Bek offers cheerfully to Maxy, lifting her head up a little and giving the giant woman a fairly excited smile. "I've never seen a Titan up close before, you know? Could I ask you some questions about it to pass the time, maybe?"

Zachary finishes his modest portion without much delay, a cloth drawn out and used to scour the inside of the thin film of what remains. Not fully, but good enough for the immediate. He does look towards Rebekkah as she interacts with Maxy, a slight frown tugging at the corners of his lips. Maxy cocks her head, and nods, "Sure, that way I don't have to worry about hurting someone who wakes me up." she says and then looks over at Bek, "Sure, I don't know much about the process that turns us into Titan Juicers, but can try."

Tirzah nods giving the pot a quick string before she returns to her seat. "Lots of soup left for breakfast." She assures everyone with a smile since they enjoyed it so much. Then making quick work of her second helping she cleans out the bowl with the remainder of her bread. "As for me though, I'm going to get some sleep." She states with a small yawn before reaching to give Sage a small squeeze. Then walking over to her cycle she pulls an inflating mattress from one of the bags and it puffs up with the pull of a valve, allowing Tirzah to rest peacefully moments later.

"And I will commence my watch," Zach says as he rises. "I'll make use of the top hatch of my ATV. Anyone who wants to rest within is welcome to." With his implements gathered together, he makes his way in that direction to get down to it.

Rebekkah frowns and blinks at Maxy, her eyes darkening to a rich ruby tone. "How can you not know about it? Weren't you there while it happened?" But she shakes her head and doesn't press the subject any further, and after finishing the rest of her soup she moves a little ways from the fire to find a place to lay down.

Maxy smiles, "Unconscious for part of it, it is not easy, and very painful." she says and then smiles towards Zach and finds a good place to lean up against and pulls her ball out again and starts tossing it into the air and catching it, looks like she is probably going to sit up most the night and not just her watch.

A quick embrace is shared with her partner, before Sage lets her head off to her own sleeping arrangements. Considering the mattress, she figures that it is mainly suitable for one person. Once she's done with her meal, she moves to collect her bag and head for the ATV. It wouldn't be the first time she's had to rest in a vehicle. While she begins to prepare for the night, she looks to the others.

Zachary will do just what he said. After securing his possessions in the ATV, he shuts, but does not lock the outer door, the ladder lowered. With the top hatch popped open, he braces himself in place, relaxing as much as he can. the elevated, 360 degree view affords him a clear line of sight to sweep in all directions. And for his few hours he will remain alert. The driving not too strenuous, though sleep tugs at him towards the end, as he comes down to alert the next in line.

Rebekkah dozes with her arms folded around herself and her back against one of the log benches near the fire until Zach comes to wake her up. She wipes the sleep from her eyes and takes a minute or two to completely wake up, but takes her rifle and starts the watch off with a few slow strolling circles around the campsite. As the night wears on, she returns to her power armor to get the folded sleeping bag from the kit on its harness and makes ready a place to sleep in between her trips around the camp. She stops to ask Maxy a couple of questions about juicing but for the most part leaves the giant gladiator alone until it's her turn to take over.

Maxy smiles and answers the questions for Rebekkah as best as she can and then takes her shift as Rebekkah goes to lay down. She walks a patrol around the camp, still tossing the ball up and down as she walks. When the time comes she moves to wake the next in line.

Once things get settled, Sage finds a comfortable position within the ATV. Unlike the others that sleep, she slips into a meditative trance as it seems to be better than sleep in a couple ways. She should be easy enough to rouse however when the time comes.

Tirzah smirks at Sage when she comes to wake her, feigning disappointment at the impersonal shaking and cooing of her name. Yawning she sits up and stretches before fully standing. "You can rest on the bed while I prepare things for everyone." She offers to Sage in the dim morning twilight. Then collecting some more wood she rekindles the fire from the still glowing embers and starts to reheat the soup again. The sun crests the eastern horizon as the soup is ready, the area filling with light and the hearty aroma. "Breaky's ready!" She calls out to rouse those that still sleep at that point, grinning widely.

Zachary will wake up on the early side, a small alarm rousing him from where he's laid down a few blankets and a pillow for himself within the passenger compartment of the ATV. Thus he'll be amid his morning refreshing when Tirzah calls out. A little tooth cleaning solution and a light comb of his hair make him presentable enough to emerge and approach the rekindled fire, his armor placed back on after removal for sleep. "Good morning," he will offer quietly.

Rebekkah rouses only when the general noise and activity around the camp are enough to let her know that the new day has begun in earnest. Climbing from her sleeping bag she stretches her limber figure with arms raised high overhead and back arched limberly, and lets slip an almost kittenish moan with the relief it gives her. Some water from her canteen splashed onto her face goes a long way towards bringing her around, but she steps over to the fire and takes a seat with a distant sleepiness still in her eyes and a yawn waiting just behind the pleasant smile on her lips.

With her vigil that doesn't look too different from when she was meditating, Sage was able to keep an eye on the area. Fortunately she never had to keep cancel the trance required to warn the others. After her shift was often, she moved back to a place where she could settle down to meditate once more. When her partner rouses her, Sage opens her eyes and smiles softly to the other woman. "If you want." She comments, offering a quick peck on the cheek before she decides to take care of her own morning hygiene instead of taking over the bed for the time being.

Tirzah accepted the peck and offered a kiss in return before continuing on with the morning prep. Once its down and everyone's up she makes her way to the small creek near by to freshen up herself. Then returning dry and refreshed she helps herself to some soup before helping to pack things up so that they can continue.

Zachary has a similarly conservative portion of the soup this morning as well, eating it quietly before he tends to cleaning his small kit. There is little for him to gather up, but he'll aid with other things that need be done before, once all is squared away, he will climb back into his ATV and prepare it for the second half of the journey.

Rebekkah is quick to gather up the few things she'd unpacked for the night and return them to the compact kit and has herself ready to go with nearly military efficiency. While the others finish their breakfast and collect their own equipment, she slips herself back into the protective shell of her Flying Titan and goes through the procedures to make sure everything is still in working order.

Enjoying the brief affection exchanged, Sage will give a small warm smile to Tirzah after they exchange kisses. Then, once she's done with her necessities and packing away things that wont be needed until another stop, she moves in to get some breakfast for herself. She eats it quickly enough as she can sense the others wish to continue the journey as soon as possible. With the meal passed, she packs away her stuff away as she helps get things sorted out.

Tirzah smiles, in high spirits as everyone seems motivated this morning. Without ado she calls for the continuation of the journey. For the remaining leg she leads them across the river by the way of an ancient but still strong bridge. The the brought turns sharply east up along side the river and into the mountains. By midday they cultivated fields are in sight with the huts and houses beyond. However as the party closes in it is clear that things are not as they should be. Several huts and houses are in shambles, others completely decimated. No one is around, no bodies or signs of death. Taking this all in Tirzah suddenly guns the throttle of her cycle, taking of up a clear path up the mountain.

Zachary waits for Maxy and Sage to get loaded before he fires up the ATV once more, having refueled it the night before from his own stores before recovering, it's ready to roll once more. When all is ready, he follows along with Tirzah, keeping to the same steady hand and modest pace that he held the day before. Not certain that the place they come to is their goal, he considers the signs of trouble thoughtfully, for now keeping to following along behind Tirzah with only a light interest for the environs.

When the trip resumes, Sage settles into the back seat of the ATV. If the others in the vehicle are willing, she'll make some small talk to pass some time. She'll likely spend some time in quiet contemplation as well. When they come upon a sign of civilization, she looks about as she considers whether this village was simply abandoned or if a different fate came to it. However, they end up moving along and that settles a small concern on her part.

From her vantage point in the sky, Bek notices the ruined farmhouses before the others but such a thing is so common in the wilderness, she doesn't comment or even think it's worth mentioning. It's not until Tirzah appears to take on a sense of urgency that she suspects that the state of things is not as it should be, and the Flying Titan soars higher up as she chases after the hovercycle. The display from her radar looms large in the armor's visor, actively scanning for any signs of movement beyond the two vehicles she knows should be there.

The party has arrived at a farming village as he sun reaches its highest point for the day. However the village has seen better days. Many of the huts and house are in shambles with others completely decimated. Apparently distraught by this discovery Tirzah has sped off at her cycle's top speed up a path into the mountains. The path leads to the mouth of a cave after about 3 miles. There Tirzah comes to a sudden stop and dismounts, dashing into the cave on foot. On either side of the cave's entrance stand lark stone statues of soldiers holding halberds. Stoically guarding the place with onyx eyes.

When Tirzah picks up speed, it catches Zach by surprise, thus he's a few moments behind speeding to follow along. He'll do what he can to keep pace, but the big ATV isn't built for speed, but where he can he'll push 100 to not lose sight of her, slowing some when the ground gets rougher. Even so, the bump factor will rise, though he'll keep the machine under firm control.

The sudden change of speed alerts Sage rather abruptly that the village in shambles may well have an impact on their visit. Whether its the village they were supposed to go to or there's danger that they are trying to outrun, its hard to tell. She braces herself against the increased impact of the bumping. "What's with the sudden rush?" She asks, more to the other people in the vehicle than anything else.

Maxy shrugs, "no clue, but I am thinking that it is not good." says the massive woman as she purposely doesn't hold on any tighter, just moves her body a little to adjust more for the bumps.

Rebekkah isn't far behind Tirzah and nimbly drops to the ground out in front of the cave and dashes inside after the warlock, her wings barely snapping closed before they catch against the cave's mouth. "Tirzah, wait!" the woman yells, voice amplified twofold by the armor's speaker and the tunnel's echo, and she rushes ahead to catch up.

Tirzah doesn't stop at Rebekkah's insistence, disappearing into the cave. The statues however suddenly animate at Rebekkah's pursuit, crossing their halberds to deny passage. They make no moves of aggression, they simply get in the way of the cave at the moment.

"I don't know," Zach says simply in response to Sage. "She just picked up speed.." He pulls up to view of the cave just as Tirzah darts in, reducing speed smoothly to come to a stable stop a few meters behind the hovercycle. "She went into the cave," he tells his passengers, confused at t his turn of events. He turns a bit in his chair to glance back towards Maxy and Sage. And missing the moving statues for the moment.

"Ah... then, perhaps that village is the one that we were supposed to go to..." Sage says with mild concern in her voice, wondering what may have happened to the place. She nods faintly to the man's comments about where her partner went. A thoughtful look coming to her features. "Should we get out or just sit and wait, do you think?"

Maxy opens the door and makes her way out of the ATV. She cocks her head to the side as she notices the statues have moved, "Do you want me to move them, or we just wait to see if she comes back out?"

Rebekkah huffs in frustration and whirls away from the statues, stalks a couple of steps away and then lifts her foot like she intends to give one of the sentinels a good mule-kicking for being annoying. She controls herself, huffs one more time instead and then marches over to Maxy and the ATV. "No, she's obviously supposed to be in there, hopefully nothing dangerous got in past those dummies."

About ten minutes later the halberds uncross and Tirzah emerges from the cave her helmet in her arms and looking much relieved though tears are still evident on her cheeks. In her wake two men follow her out of the cave, a large portly bearded man the nearly competes with Maxy for size if not augmentation and more average elderly man in a white robe. Not to say that the large man is young, elderly is perhaps a title that will never fit him no matter how grey his beard gets.

Troubled, Zach reaches for his helmet. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to be ready.. for whatever might come," he reasons as he carefully places it on once more, locking the seals. "If this is where we're supposed to be, it seems something has happened." And so he will sit at the controls of his ATV and wait. Not yet revising that positioning when Tirzah does finally emerge, with two people in tow. "There she is," he prompts, just in case it was missed.

When the large woman makes her way out of the ATV, Sage is soon to follow. She holds onto her helmet for the time being as there doesn't seem to be any apparent danger. She glances around, but keeps her attention mostly on the cave entrance as she figures Tirzah is likely to come back out if she went so freely into the face. When she does come out and she senses the concern of the other woman, she begins to walk towards the other woman. "What's wrong, Tirzah?" She asks, her voice showing her concern.

Maxy looks like she was starting to move towards the statues to move them, she she was told no and then turns back to face the others and eventually turns back as the statues move again and people come out. There is something about the large man that draws her attention.

Rebekkah puts herself at the far side of the landing out in front of the cave and keeps her attention focused down the road they came up, standing sentry. She glances back over her shoulder when Tirzah reemerges with the two men, but stays where she is and keeps her rifle held close in both hands.

Tirzah smiles weakly at Sage as she comes up to meet her. "Its ok Sage, everyone is safe. I just feared the worst in the village. But it looks like our trip will be extended a little further. The devastation in the village was wrought by a water elemental. Denma, the warlock we seek has left to confront the warlock who sent it." She explains to Sage and the others. "oh and excuse my manners." She apologizes turning to the men behind her. "This is Raicho, my friend and blacksmith, and Barlew, a seer." She introduces to the others.

With everyone else piled out, as Tirzah emerges Zach will climb out as well, hopping down lightly to approach as Tirzah leads the two men over. He works off his helmet as he approaches, his brow furrowed as he listens to the words shared. A soft, thoughtful frown comes to him, but for the moment he doesn't speak, looking to the others to gauge them.

A gentle nod comes as her partner explains the situation and offers a small smile before Sage gives a faint frown. "You could have said something over the radio while you were racing forward." She comments, with a mild chastising tone. "Its good to hear that everyone is alright, though." She glances to the men and offers them a nod. "Nice to meet you both." She comments, "My name is Sage." She offers before glancing to the other people in the group, "And, those are Zach, Maxy and Rebekkah." She says, indicating each in turn.

Maxy dips her head as she is given a bit of an introduction and then the massive woman nods, "Yes, communication is good, about to come in after ya." she smiles broadly and stretches a little.

Rebekkah gives a little wave as she's introduced but otherwise stays where she is and stays on watch.

Tirzah nods in agreement to Sage's reprimand. "I should have, sorry I lost my head. But we have to go, Denma sensed me nearing last night but couldn't delay. He and Kaili don't know they are going into a trap though. Barlew saw them in peril this morning. We have to catch up to them." She insists looking at everyone in turn. "The rogue warlock cannot be allowed to continue his enslavement of elementals for power." She states firmly, her yes fiery with determination.

"Zachary," said elf corrects lightly, his hands linked in holding his helmet before him. The talk seems to softly confuse him, but he nods slightly after Tirzah speaks, grasping the gist. "Then we should go quickly if we are meaning to catch up to those who have left already." It doesn't soften his worried expression, however, as he turns to start back towards his ATV, to climb in and get it ready to go.

When the her partner concedes the point, Sage gives a small forgiving smile. She gives an odd look at first when Tirzah seems to suddenly know her fellow Warlocks are going into a trap, but she nods simply when she explains how she knows. "Sometimes visions can be misleading." She comments, "But, no sense in taking any risks." She slips on her helmet and begins to walk back towards the ATV in preparation for departing once more. Its a simple matter of climbing into the vehicle once more.

Maxy nods, and cracks her neck a bit, "No worries, just point me in the right direction." she is here for muscle after all and has been itching for something to do." she smiles a bit and moves back towards the ATV and appears to be getting in and secured.

Okay, time to go! Bek's jets lift her up into the air and her armor's wings unfold in preparation of flight. She describes a slow twirl while she waits on the others to turn the vehicles around, getting a sense of the area and trying to spy a likely destination.

Tirzah nods remounting her cycle and donning her helmet. "We'll return. we'll get them back." She promises to Raicho and Barlew. In reply though Barlew looks solemn. "You will encounter a gate to water, don't tread in its path." he advises cryptically and Tirzah just nods, not sure of the meaning. Firing up her cycle she takes the lead again. "We continue on the road south to a lake." She instructs over the radio before leading the way.

Zachary will have the big vehicle turned to the right direction when Sage and Maxy near, the ladder still lowered to let them both climb in. "Make sure it's sealed up tight." he says as they do. And once it is sealed, he'll roll out, following directly after Tirzah.

Settling into the backseat, Sage listens to the comments being offered by the others. "Hopefully that warning makes more sense when we get closer..." She comments, unsure the wording that is provided with it.

Maxy nods and made sure it was all sealed uup and then smiles, "Lets go." her excitement level seems to be going up with the risk of fighting. Though she can see the lake so tauntingly close (from the air, anyhow), Bek reins in the impulse to zoom off and keeps herself hovering along at a speed to match the ATV as they set off back down the road.

As evening approaches they make it to the lake, their speed more rushed than the initial journey. Though Tirzah is considerate about the atv's and Zachary's capabilities. They pass through more ruins that border the lake and near a narrow valley.

As a ground vehicle, the Zone Ranger has some limits. But it gets through the trip solidly, Zach's handling of it focused and careful, keeping to the compromise between haste and safety carefully. The ruins get barely a glance and as the time passes his brow furrows slightly, a soft concern lingering.

As they journey along, Sage glances around a little as she tries to get a sense of where they are going. She considers the ruins, but there is little she can easily tell about them. She seems content to wait until they're some clue of when they are getting close. Maxy nods and waits till they get 4where they are going and she can get out and get to work.

Rebekkah jets off at one point in the ruins, disappearing briefly behind a tumbled building and circling around the other side to rejoin the party. As the ruins close in and force a slower progress, she comes down a little lower and keeps herself close.

Tirzah leads them on into the valley. "I can sense them now, their on the other side." She tells the others over the radio. "And I sense him he's" She pauses turning east to the head of the valley. There a massive dam looms over the valley imposingly. "A gate to water.. SHIT!" Looking back she couldnt see them crossing either way in time. but to the left looms a bluff that looked to be an island for the dam went up. "We have to get up there!" She exclaims pointing to the mount.

Zachary follows into the valley, only to skid a bit to a pause when the easy turn leads to a to so called gate of water. He peers at it with a subtle frown and wonders, "How do we do that?" he asks over the open radio. Feeling that things could get messy again, he reaches over for his helmet, taking a moment to put it back on once more.

When her partner begins to speak over the radio, Sage realizes they must be getting closed to their destination. She puts on her helmet and slips out of her seat to get into the gun turret position figuring they might get attacked since they're trying to foil a trap. She looks around the area as she takes a casual hold on the rifle in the mount. "Well, a good thing we figured out the gate of water, hm?" She isn't too comforted by Tirzah's reaction, though.

Maxy cocks her head to the side, "Well how heavy is the ATV? I might be able to carry it up there." she says and then looks out, "Or do we just want to go on foot.?"

Rebekkah looks up the valley at the giant dam, then looks the other way at the rise Tirzah points at. The babble and confusion coming over the radio doesn't help clarify things for her, but she turns and speeds down the gorge towards the the mount to get a better look at it. TICK IN 5 SECONDS.

The mount is a high near pillar like rocky elevation looming up hundreds of feet to meet level with the damn and the sides of the valley. Its walls are not overly steep but perhaps too much so for the atv to climb on its power alone. Considering this Tirzah gives the atv another look trying to devise a solution. "Alright we're going to have to work together on this. Bek fly up and observe from the dam, if we run out of time it will be up to you to let us know. Maxy and Sage, were going to push the atv up the rock. Sage and i will make it as much lighter as we can for Maxy. Zachary, let them off and get a running start at the most viable spot." She orders quickly, the urgency clear.

Zachary frowns, glancing back towards Maxy. "It has to weigh almost nine.. ten tons," he tells her. "I don't think even you can lift so much as that." Then the plan getes noted. "The ATV has no weapons.. wouldn't it just be easier to go up without it for now?" Though for the moment he keeps it in place, Sage and Maxy allowed to exit as they will. He sticking to his spot until this is clarified.

As the plans unfolds, Sage considers the options as it seems they will be walking. She dis-engages her rifle from the mount and slips it back down into the vehicle before moving down into it herself. "I'm not sure if we'll be able to lighten the load enough." Sage comments, "And, if I put everything into it, I wont be able to do anything else with my abilities." She mentions, before waiting for Maxy to exit the vehicle before she slips out herself.

Maxy gets out of the vehicle and looks at it for a moment, "Probably right, we might just want to go on foot."

"Run out of time for what?" Bek asks over the radio, sounding both confused and impatient. "If there's something we should know, you need to tell us instead of shouting for us to do things." She completes her pass around the rise and swoops down low again, closing in on the waiting ATV.

Tirzah sighs shaking her head. "Maxy should be able to push it up the hill with Zachary piloting accordingly. Sage and I just need to act as buffers over any bumps or crags. And the reason why is because as soon as that water warlock or his elemental comes out of the dam he'll be able to send a tidal wave crashing over it and onto us, ending us. Alright." She states, getting a bit exasperated at the reluctance.

Once she's outside, Sage continues to listen to the plan but hopes that her own energies wont be called upon too often. "Alright, Tirzah." She comments, before moving to readying her rifle in case there should be an attack on them while the are moving.

"Oh.. right then." Zach breathes out lowly, a subtle frown worn as he glances back to note his passengers are away. "Just let me know when to go, I will be ready." He pulls the ATV into reverse just a bit, giving a bit more room for his 'run' up to the edge. Shifting it to the most powerful drive setting before he focus forward and on the path ahead. Maxy moves to get ready and push after the atv gets a good start. She puts her helmet on and cracks her knuckles, understanding more why they just don't walk, no one ever really accused her of being smart.

"Tidal wave?" Bek exclaims, finally starting to understand Tirzah's sense of urgency. "Well don't trap them on an -island-, you need to turn around and get out of there!" She swoops past with a rush of air and the noise of her jets and continues on towards the dam. "I'll try to slow them down, or something."

Tirzah looks back over the miles that make the expanse of the valley and the few hundred feet keeping them from Salvation and shakes her head. "We wouldn't make it, go Zachary." She advises. Meanwhile at the dam Bek can spot movement, a man steps out of the gargantuan structure followed by a monster appearing to be made of ice.The diverge, each heading to one side of the dam. Zachary breathes out lowly before he guns the ATV into action. Not sure just how fast Maxy can move, he keeps the pace steady, but swift. Rolling up to the bottom of the spire before putting on more power as he starts up it. The big, ridged tires will scrabble at the rock audibly as he goes, doing what they're designed to do.

With the plan being modified and her being outside of the vehicle, Sage will try to keep up with the vehicle and Maxy as best she can. But, she'll keep an eye out for spots that she can go individually should the worst happen.

Maxy does her best to keep up and help the ATV, putting her shoulders into it and her strength to pushing.

As Bek rushes closer to the dam she presents herself with a problem. She can't stop the warlock and his elemental without shooting, and if she shoots she risks bringing the dam down on her own. Too much thought makes her miss her chance on the first pass and she soars past between the pair over the top of the dam and out across the lake beyond, then climbs up high and swings around for another go.

The combined efforts of Zachary and Maxy go well most of the way up the slope. However in the last hundred feet it steepens a bit more slowing the efforts to a night crawl. Drawing on her link Tirzah focuses on the atv to add to the upward pressure with an additional 800lbs of force. At the dam Bek's pass gets noticed and the man starts running to get himself clear of the dam before he deals with the meddlers.

Zachary presses the accelerator down fully as the final leg of things comes up, carefully handling the controls to keep the ATV rock steady forward. The slightest deviation.. He breathes out heavily, a soft sweat touching his brow as he stares towards the approaching lip of the spire, keeping the acceleration high, but also considering the results at the end of the line. Ready, he hopes, to keep from going off the other side of it.

As the going gets harder for the vehicle and Maxy, Sage is likely to catch up on ground if she had begun to fall back. "Let me know if you need any extra lift." She comments, knowing that physically she wouldn't be able to provide as much as she could psychicly. Her main concentration is everyone getting to safety first rather than trying to figure out when doom may come.

Maxy puts all her back into it, the strength that lets her dead lift almost 3 tons applied towards pushing and helping, "Will do." she says, and just hopes they make it.

Rebekkah glides down towards the dam a second time, now moving straight for the warlock as he flees across the span. She jinks at the last second before impact, reaching out with her hand to try to grab the man's arm and haul him off his feet and away with her.

And Bek catches him! Wailing protests ensure as he calls out at her. "Unhand me! I command gods I'll not be ended by you!" Yeah he doesn't sound too pleased about it. Back at the bluff the others are oblivious to Bek's triumph and continue to fight against the undeniable force of gravity. But their efforts are not yet enough, as the earlier loss of momentum further impedes the efforts. Drawing more power from her link Tirzah commits even more power to the task and slowly it starts accelerating forward again.

Getting it up and over that last bit is troublesome, but Zach keeps the pedal down, so to speak and slowly it makes it over the edge, the front wheels coming down hard. He cuts the acceleration quickly, just as it starts to jump forward again, the big ATV pulling to a stop before it can go too far from the edge. Zach breathes out lowly and relaxes in the seat, eyes lifted to peer out at what's going on.

Since neither her partner nor the people nearby ask her to lend her psychic energies to the task, Sage conserves herself until the moment the need is clear. When the progress stops briefly, she glances over to see if she can figure out what's going on. However, before she gets a true impression of the situation the vehicle is moving again. Once the man stops the ATV once more, she begins to look back around to get a sense of what's going on.

Maxy takes a moment to catch her breath once they have it taken care of. She cocks her head to the side and glances around.

The safety of the dam drops away in a hurry as Bek carries the warlock out over the sheer drop of the dam's face and the valley waiting far down below. "Are you sure you want me to let you go?" she checks, mostly rhetorically, as she flies along with her captive towards where the other wait. After redoubling her own grip on the man to make sure he doesn't accidentally fall, she advises, "Hold on tight. Someone wants to talk to you, I think."

But a high level warlock is not lightly captured. In fact unknown to Rebekka he took the time to gather the needed energy from his link to the elemental plane. Releasing that energy into himself he becomes a creature of water himself and Rebekkah cant hold her grip on his liquid self. He falls to the earth below with a wet thud and appears intact though as he recovers he is clearly signaling to his elemental to stop its actions of summoning a tidal wave with him down there.

The atv and everyone safe from the possible attack Tirzah turns her attention back to Bek, wondering how it went so long without notice. Surely the rogue warlock has noticed her, not to mention Denma and Kaili on the other side of the valley. "Bek, we're safe. Any news on your end?" She asks calmly.

Zachary only sees part of the action outside, but rouses from his moment of rest to move towards the hatch on his ATV. He draws his pistol as he goes, the ornate, decorated weapon resting comfortably in his hand, even if he has a vexed look on his face as he moves. he slips down the ladder slowly, careful in doing so with one hand and his eyes scanning to gather the situation at hand to mind.

As Sage gets her bearings, she notices the power armor pilot dangling a man above a signficant fall. She figures this has to be the warlock that's part of the trap. Yet, it seems as though the warlock was easily captured. She looks around for the water elemental, seeing a shape over by the waterfall. "Do lasers hurt a water elemental?" She asks simply into the radio, as she turns her attention back to the warlock in time to see him in a different form and plummetting to the ground. She can't help but look to see what happens. "That was..." She begins, but isn't able to put words to it.

Maxy cocks her head to the side and then hmms for a moment, not much she can do right at this moment, "So we are on the island or hill, what is next?" things are a bit still far for her to start killing things.

Rebekkah dips and falls with the watery warlock for a moment, her hand grabbing through his liquid form, but she abandons that plan and moves up to a faster speed to join the others atop the spire. With or without the warlock she's accomplished her mission and put off the threat of the tidal wave.

The signaling to the elemental successful the warlock holds his ground as his slave entity moves to cover the distance between them. Before then however he is struck by some form of projectile the burst into flames around him scorching him badly as the fire puts up a valiant fight against his wet state scolding him further.

Zachary holds his pistol down and to the side in a careful, ready grip as he moves over to the side where the warlock was dropped. He comes to a pause there and glances down squinting slightly as he makes out the man below. A soft frown touches his lips as he considers the distance, yet for now he holds his fire, easing back a bit to look towards the others. "What do we do now?"

Considering the scene before them, Sage purses her lips. "Hard to say... I don't think we want to go back down, but staying up here doesn't seem to be very helpful at the moment either." She glances down towards where the man had fallen. "Might be able to hit him from up here with a little luck." She comments, easing her rifle in case they decide to try and provide some fire support from above. "Do you want us to stay up here, Tirzah?" She asks.

Maxy pulls out her ball, the one she has been playing with and seems to be considering something for a moment, "Only problem is, not sure if it would do anything at the moment." she frowns for a moment and glances around, she could always throw a boulder or something.

Tirzah considers the situation Rebekkah has gifted them with. "This is perfect! If we can take him down before the elemental gets to him its over. But just in case we should be prepared to retreat back here. How much to you weigh Maxy?" She inquires, considering the logistics.

Rebekkah swoops past and slows as she comes around, then drops to her feet on the plateau and hurries over to join the others near the edge. "I tried to bring him over here," she explains, motioning with her arm to where the rogue warlock fell, in case anyone hadn't noticed him by now. "He got away though."

"I believe my weapon has range enough to strike him from here.. just about." Though even as Zach makes that evaluation, he seems a bit reluctant to pursue it. "Is there no.. peaceful means to deal with this situation?" His brow furrowed, expression troubled.

In the valley the rogue erects a wall of ice between him and the attack that struck him. At the side of the valley a group of others can be seen approaching him, a man, a woman and several dark grey large humanoids. One of the humanoids throws another globe and it hits the wall, burning away a good percentage.

"If they truly want to kill people with a tidal wave... its possible they'll only be peaceful until they manage to try it again." Sage comments, "But, I do wonder what brought this about..." She isn't too sure about the background here. She crouches by a vantage point where she can see where the man is.

Maxy thinks a moment, "just over 600 lbs." she says and looks at Zach, "Did you see the village? Don't think peace is what this warlock has in mind." she seems ready but is a bit unsure about the distance.

Tirzah shakes her head at Zachary not looking proud to answer. "We call him a rogue warlock because his link to the elemental plane has driven him made with power. There is no known way to sever the link and through it he can summon various forms of elementals and send them to their deaths to do his bidding. He'll summon a major elemental, a near god to normal people and enslave it with deception, promising release after one more task, just one more task. When he sees that the elemental wont accept one more task, he sends it on a suicide mission. That was the case with the one that attacked our village. More so he can summon lesser elementals and draw their arcane energies back unto himself to summon more. So long as the link is there for him to abuse he will not stop, he sees himself unstoppable." She explains for everyone. "I'll stop him here and now, his enslavement of our deities will not be aloud to continue. You can help or watch as your morality dictates." She decides, taking off into the valley.

Rebekkah doesn't need a whole lot of convincing and jumps off the edge of the cliff to chase after Tirzah. She brings her rifle back up into both hands and switches its mode with a flick of her thumb as she pulls out of the fall and glides forward down the valley floor.

In the valley the battle rages and the summoning Tirzah mentions can be witnessed first hand as he calls forth a creature made of ice and after a moment it runs out past the wall and engages the grey humanoids.

"I see." Zach's response as he looks down once more. He looks decidedly uneasy, but he slowly lifts the pistol, considering the distance. Just a few hundred feet within range of the gun. Though the target itself is so far. A mix of indecision and consideration for aim will stay his hand for the moment, but he keeps the weapon lifted, sighting down the barrel carefully. Then he will squeeze t he trigger, his jaw firmly set.

As her partner elaborates on the man they came to fight, Sage will put her faith in Tirzah's judgment for the time being. While her partner may be rash at times, she's shown good motives in the past. She'll deal with the aftermath later if her decision proves to be wrong. She sights her rifle on the target below and unleashes a pulse of lasers.

Maxy shrugs a bit and then takes a deep breath and then she is off. Looks like she is going to run into the right. She lowers her head and shoulders a bit as she starts down the hill, obviously planning on just blowing through any trees or obstacles that get in her way as she goes as fast as she can.

Her cycle closing the gap quickly Tirzah soon finds herself close enough to dispense justice. Drawing from her link the forms a fireball and unleashes it at him.

Rebekkah watches Sage's laser bolts fly past her and seemingly do nothing when they strike the warlock. She changes the aim of her rifle and blasts at his protective wall of ice instead, riddling it with flashes from her weapon as she strafes past it.

The rogue looks flustered, being attacked from two sides, his wall disintegrating he summons another ice creature and sends it after the woman who keeps hurling the exploding globes at his defenses.

Zachary stalls on the trigger and starts to retract the weapon without firing. HIs expression troubled. His hands slip on the gun and it slides from his grip and he gasps, snatching out at it, almost going over the edge himself before it falls. But he manages to hold himself back, looking down with a dismayed expression as the weapon falls from sight. "No.." And that leaves him without an effective weapon, thus he shifts back from the edge slightly, wary of the lengthy tumble he almost took. And he considers his options before he touches the chest of his armor and focuses a moment. This time, when he gets up, he lifts off from the ground and starts to coast down the hill smoothly at a bit over thirty miles per hour.

Despite her likely success in hitting the target, Sage hears a sound closer to where she sits. Glancing towards the towards the man, she quickly notices the man doesn't seem to have his weapon anymore "What happened?" She asks simply. Then, he seemingly decides to take another course of action as he leaves her with the vehicle. When she turns back to the rest of the scene, she notices an ice creature moving towards her partner. Figuring Tirzah is more likely a threat to the warlock than she is, she decides to switch her focus to the ice creature and lets loose another pulse.

Maxy is running as fast as she can, trying to get herself into the fight, and wishing she could fly or have a vehicle that could.

Fully in range with the warlock now Tirzah doesnt let the summoned aide bother her as she summons one fireball and then another and unleashes them at the warlock.

Rebekkah spins around and hovers in midair in the space between the rogue warlock and the dam. She brings her rifle up and fires off a few more shots at the wall interposed between their enemy and the allies on the opposite side of the valley.

For his part, Zach will start searching out the location of his weapon. Reasonably far from the action, he devotes his attentions to the task, drifting over the slope that it tumbled down to search out the weapon. The trajectory was simple, so he runs into it not too far down the way and dips to scoop it up, rising back up slowly as he inspects the weapon carefully for damage. It seems intact, if in need of a good cleaning.

Hoping that she'll be able to do some good, Sage keeps tracking the ice creature with her laser rifle. She isn't sure right away if its doing anything, but it seems to be the main thing she can do right now. She'll try to shoot it a couple more times to see if it'll deter the creature.

The rogue is in visbly poor shape after Tirzah's attacks. Favoring one side he clutches his arm in desperation. However at that moment the major elemental enters the scene, unleashing a blast of water at Tirzah.

Maxy just keeps running down the hill, chugging along, almost wishing that she was one of the Hyperion juicers rather than a titan juicer, she is not as fast as some of the others, but if she makes it there, she will show how she more than makes up for it.

The blast however, doesn't hit Tirzah. It hits the rogue knocking him to the ground in its power. It is clear he is almost done though his minions fight on so long as he still breathes.

The ice creature that was fighting the grey creatures has finally been cut down though the one Sage is attacking from a safe distance is still going strong.

The rogue down Tirzah brings her cycle to a halt and jumps off to stand before him. "Release your slaves." She orders, another fireball forming in her hand leveled at him. Rebekkah drops to the ground and keeps her gun raised and ready, but she doesn't shoot for the moment and instead waits and watches to see how things turn.

With his weapon in hand, Zach rises up to a modest height, where he can survey the scene. He considers what goes on below him intently before he lifts his pistol again and, with more resolve to use it.. before Tirzah moves close to his intended target. The source of this. With the shot lost, he holds fire, but starts to maneuver himself through the air, drifting to the side a bit to a better position.

The warlock mutters, clearly bested and complies, shouting out the order of release. All the entities he summoned evaporating to return to their own plane. His only hope the belief that Tirzah's threatening gesture is a promise of mercy as the others close in.

Feeling rather useless, Sage runs over the options of what she can do in this situation. Yet, it seems she's trapped once more into simply shooting. "I don't suppose there's anything I could move with my mind that might help bring this to an end?" She asks, before she blinks as her target suddenly disappears. Her finger easing away from the trigger. "Never mind."

Maxy keeps running, at these speeds, not yet really noticing that things are pretty much over as she keeps heading in that direction, watching the path before her.

Tirzah lifts her hand, releasing the fireball to vaorize a near by rock. Patiently she waits for the others to all gather, to take witness to their enemy, a solution already froming in her mind as she did not possess the resolve to end him.

Rebekkah has a sudden thought and whirls to look back at the dam, but everything's all good and groovy over there too. Her posture relaxes, stance straightening and rifle lowering as things seem to be at an end. She walks over towards Tirzah and the other warlock.

Zachary approaches slowly, his approach coupled with a slow drift down until he touches the ground lightly. he slips his pistol back into his holster, relived to have not actually killed something. he keeps back a bit after his landing, some concern touching his expression as he considers the fallen warlock and Tirzah.

Maxy skids to a stop and looks like she is getting ready to punch something and then glances around, seeing nothing to punch. Her shoulders slump a bit, and she sighs as she moves to join them.

"End him Tirzah, or we will." A new voice threatens. The female warlock completes her approach on the scene accompanied by the grey (iron) golems and a man in brown robes. Tirzah shakes her head and the rogues lets his water enchantment slip away. "Mercy! I beg for a chance to learn my errors." He cries pitifully. "You beg me for mercy, you should beg those you ended, or the beings you enslaved. Beings that put their faith in you by embuing you with great power to help your race. I have no mercy for you, I just dont think its right to kill you. Silencing you will suffice." Then her body sheathing in flame she kneels down to him and presses two flaming mingers to his throat. He screams horribly, becoming unintelligible the dying out all together as Tirzah burns away his Larnyx. The taks done she rises and nods before looking back to the bluff. "Sage could you come heal this pathetic creature." She asks over the radio before considering the others and their reactions to her decision.

Hidden behind the faceplate of her helmet it's impossible to judge what Bek's reaction is. Her head is turned more towards the other warlocks who approach, however, rather than watching Tirzah deal with her captive.

Zachary is, quite frankly, shocked at what Tirzah does, his mouth falling open. The shock falling away to disgust, though that is leveled towards Tirzah, rather than the warlock she maimed. His expression firms then, but after a few silent moments he simply turns on his heel and lets the lingering flight enchantment from his armor carry him up and back towards his stranded ATV at a bit over thirty miles per hour.

It is unlikely Sage can see what truly happens from such a distance, but the cry of pain may reach her. It dies off, but the captives body doesn't fall to the ground. Her own reaction hidden by distance and her faceplate. "It may take me a bit to get down there by foot..." She replies neutrally. Whether she ends up going down on foot or getting a drive by Zachary, she'll wind up down where the others are now.

Maxy cocks her head to the side and shrugs, "Should have just let me kill him." she says softly. She glances around and makes sure aren't any other surprises.

Tirzah shakes her head. "Death is too good for him. Without his voice he cant give orders, so he cant enslave the elemental race. Should he try his inability to release them with lead them to destroy him themselves. This is just." She states before looking up to the other Warlocks. They nod considering that. "It will do, he is not nearly as large a threat now and wont see himself as unstoppable in any regards, if he survives long." The one in red robes admits. "Its good to see you again Tirzah, you've grown in many ways." She compliments and Tirzah blushes under her helmet. "It is good to see you as well Kaili and Denma."

Rebekkah moves her attention from Denma to Kaili to the golems they bring with, and takes a cautious step or two back away from them in response. "I... there are some gemstones or something? I think? That's why we're here, anyway."

Zachary will indeed go to pick up Sage. Motioning without a word for her to get in, the tall elf with his helmet in hand as he climbs in after her and starts up the ATV. The trip down is easier and perhaps a bit of the emotion in him prompts a rather exciting trip down, the pace of his descent down the hill notable, though he keeps control of the big vehicle and, as it bounces towards the bottom of the steep hill with sheer weight keeping the tires glued to the ground. Maxy just stands off to the side at this point, she was here for a reason and the reason isn't needed anymore.

It doesn't take much to convince Sage to get into the ATV as it is the faster way to get down to where the injured warlock and the others are. Since Maxy is already down there, she'll get into the front passenger seat for a change.

Tirzah smirks innocently as Bek gives some of their intention away but nods to support her as the other two look to her quizzically. "What she means is we came to ask for your help finding deposits about Kingsdale Denma. Recently we were besieged by hordes of undead and it brought rise to thoughts towards techowizardry for defense and protection of the citizens. Luckily that threat ended though I had already found people interested if seeing if such a venture could be feasible. As such I've come back to ask for your help in finding any deposits, if we an perhaps convince you our efforts and resources are worth your interest." She explains, her tone holding the utmost respect for the former mentor of hers.

Denma glances between the gathered quietly as Bek, then Tirzah speak on the original purpose of the visit. Their words given some thought as he glances towards the approaching ATV with idle curiosity. But it is fleeting and he looks back to Tirzah. "Then convince me," he replies, smiling. "The threat that brought you to this is gone. What purpose would any findings serve now?"

As the ATV gets to the bottom Zachary slows and rolls up to the scene steadily, coming to a pause at a safe distance without a skid and minimal dust. Lingering in the pilot's seat afterward, glancing back toward Sage a moment, his expression trouble. But he ends up not saying anything, his attention turning towards the window and the scene outside of the vehicle.

Maxy just stands there still. She really doesn't have too much to add, she is just along as muscle. She looks between the group and then moves off to the side to find a place to sit.

Tirzah looks back to Zachary and Sage in the ATV. "I'll need your help with this part Zachary." She says over the radio, before looking back to Denma. "Well we cant be sure on the specific designs until we know what gems we have to work with if any. But generally I hope the device can perhaps shelter or nourish those in the city who lack the resources to to gather either alone. A sanctuary in the darker parts of the underworld that's prone developing in all cities if you will." She explains. "Perhaps through that gesture those people can find resolve to hope and believe in themselves again. Which I believe is critical now after the attacks as they were hit the hardest. I don't know what you might want in return for the service but everyone here agrees with the cause, we will commit ourselves to gather what you deem fair." She promises with a confident smile.

With the bouncing of the trip down, Sage doesn't get a chance to take off her helmet. When the vehicle comes to a stop, she looks over towards the man. A faint inclination of the head acknowledges his look of concern. "Thank you for the drive... and we can talk later." She says softly, before getting out of the vehicle. She moves towards the injured man, but does look at the other people around. Behind the faceplate, she makes a face at the damage that was done to the man. Yet, they had been preparing to kill him. "Lay down." She comments to the injured warlock. Checking the wound, she decides he's not likely to die while she's preparing to heal. She begins her meditative trance in preparation.

Nuh-uh, don't go wrapping her up in any causes. "Some of the gems are for me, too," Bek adds, tossing her comments past over Tirzah's shoulder but keeping herself mostly angled away from the group to keep an eye on their surroundings. "As payment, right?" pub ; doesnt think those will come out of the tray well

"The matter of my own compensation is secondary to this," Denma replies. "It will come in time, in a form of my choosing." That detail brushed aside before he considers and asks, "You seek to make use of techno-wizardry then? To make a device that produces food?" Casually making the logical leaps. His attention shifts to Rebekkah as she speaks. He considers her for a few moments before he states, "You do know that there is no guarantee that something will be found? Or that what is found will be of great value or size." He looks back to Tirzah then. "This region is not known for grand deposits of diamonds, emeralds and rubies, after all."

Zachary looks up some when he's spoken to. He sits for a few moments before he decides to heed the words and gets up from the pilot's chair. He'll come out of the ATV hopping down to the ground before he turns and approaches. But he won't speak yet and he won't look very happy.

Tirzah nods, having heard that from others as well. "Yes, I realize that and Bek and Maxy have accepted credit payment for their services in that event. But none would be found if we didnt look at all, would they?" She counters giving Denma a slight smirk. "Wasn't that one of your first lessons for me when you shooed me from your shadow to help the villagers? Nothing ventured, nothing gained?"

The defeated Warlock gives Sage a questionable look as she approaches him but makes no sound aside from labored wheezing through his exposed windpipe.

When the warlock doesn't heed her suggestion, Sage doesn't seem to be phased by it. "If you're more comfortable like that, so be it." She comments simply, placing one hand on the warlock's shoulder before she begins to concentrate. She'll grow quiet at this point and not offer anything to the conversation. She may hear what's going on, however.

Rebekkah runs out of things to add so she just walks a few more paces off, leaving Tirzah to catch up with her mentor and Sage to tend to the crippled man laying between them.

Denma nods his head once as Tirzah speaks of times before. "What have you ventured in your quest so far? There are many ways to feed the hungry.. why this way?" his attention turns towards Zachary as he approaches. "And this Zachary is?" Though he doesn't seem too uncertain on the answer he will receive.

Maxy i in the same boat and just sits there. The massive woman does pay attention though." Zachary stands quietly, looking at the fallen warlock with a furrow to his brow. Though when the aged man speaks his name, he looks towards him. "I'm a techno-wizard by trade," he confirms, glancing towards Tirzah. And he leaves it there for the moment.

Tirzah nods. considering Denma's counter for a moment. "You're right if you mean to imply we could just buy them food. It would be a much easier and feasible solution. But what about when were gone? What about our limited resources? We cant feed thousands, even a few we couldn't support for long. If we find the gems Zachary can perhaps craft a device that can convert arcane energies for this purpose without limit. And in the long run that's a very desirable goal from my point of view." Looking to Zachary she manages a weak smile, showing she can understand his feelings to what happened earlier, but hopping it wont alter his decision to support the venture.

Once her psychic energies have been focused on the task, Sage begins to come out of the trance as she is ready. "I will not hurt you. This will only help." She says softly to the injured man as she slowly reaches her hand towards the man's damaged neck. If the man allows the touch, she'll be able to close up the wound without the need for bandages or lengthy recovery times.

The warlock does not resist, though from the defeated look in his eyes he might prefer being dispatched to his current disgrace.

"Even magic has it's limits," Denma notes. "Limited by the power in each of us, gathered like a pool of possibility. There are ways beyond personal finance, of course." The elder man thoughtful as he regards Zachary.

Zachary doesn't look toward Tirzah again after the glance and he keeps his expression carefully neutral now, his tone of voice simple. Businesslike. "a device could be made to feed from Ley Lines. but it's range of use would be limited.. it would have to be in contact with the Ley Line in some way and it would cost considerably more and take a great deal more time to make than one that is powered by the individual. The magic in a Ley Line is.. raw. It has to be processed. How we do it when we draw on them is hard to translate into a mechanical matrix."

Maxy cocks her head to the side as she listens.

Tirzah nods shooting a warm smile at Sage. "Indeed there are. In fact Sage here is starting a garden to grow foods for the city, but still every effort counts does it not? We would not have come if more graspable resources met the task. The mechanics of the device as I said are still largely variable. But i do know even without it feeding from a leyline it would be more feasible to charge the device with those of us who possess arcane energies. I know many who would, if the device existed." She counters, not faltering.

When Sage hears her name, she glances over towards the conversation that Tirzah is having now that the man's injury has received some attention. She'll check the man over for other injuries in a moment, but it is a start. "Perhaps such a device would make it easier to send aid to Laramy. The Coalition is doing them no favours with their strangle hold." After that, she turns her attention back to her patient. "Does it still hurt? Are you injured any where else?" She asks, ignoring the defeated look for the time being.

Maxy cocks her head to the side a little as she listens still.

Denma considers the two before him before he speaks again. "I will help you," he decides. "However, I have needs here to attend to before that. In, perhaps, a week's time I will follow you all. In the meantime, I want you to secure records from the city on the geography of the land around the city. Any records of past surveys or digging especially. It will expedite things when I arrive."

With no further input requested, Zach turns and starts walking back towards his ATV and a modest pace. He still keeps his expression carefully schooled and neutral as he goes.

Tirzah beams a smile at Sage in response to her contribution to the debate. "Or the refugees that have come from Tolkeen." She adds to the point before giving a jubilant look back at Denma. "Thank you!" She exclaims, not holding back her appreciation as she moves to hug the well missed tutor with the air of formality passed. After which she'll hug Kaili as well. "Its so good to see you both again. Though I wish the circumstances had been better."

Like Maxy, Bek just keeps herself out of the way now and listens to the warlocks talk between themselves. Without any personal stake in what happens, her interest in what Denma has to say is cursory at best, but still she listens.

When she's satisfied that she's tended her patient as well as he'll let her, Sage stands back up and walks over towards Tirzah and the woman warlock. She finally ends up removing her helmet and hanging it from the belt on her side. "Tirzah has been rather excited about this trip." She mentions, "But, I suppose that's obvious enough."

Denma returns the embrace, a warm smile given to Tirzah. "Thank me when something is found. Otherwise, plan to confront your obstacles in ways besides this. Always have another way on hand," he says, the smile lingering. He regards sage and nods once. "It is and it is good to see. Purpose is a guiding force in life, for good or bad." He glances towards the water warlock as he says the last, though only for a moment. "If you all will excuse us, we have matters to attend to now that this crisis has passed. May your return home be safe." His eyes scan the gathered before he turns to Kaili, speaking with her in a lowered tone.

For his part, Zachary merely returns to his ATV. He'll be in a quiet mood for the rest of the day. Efficient and responsive to duties, but otherwise silent and inwardly thoughtful.

Tirzah smiles to Sage but doesn't disengage from Kaili and Denma just yet. "Wait, before you go I owe it to Sage to introduce her. She is my partner, my air. I have given her my sign to bond us. I understand your need to get back to the village and rebuild but I needed you to know. You were right to send me to Kingsdale, I've found someone to excel for there." She says with a bright smile before turning back and embracing Sage.

"Pleased to meet you." Sage comments softly, sounding more calm than she likely feels. She doesn't know much about these people aside from what's she's been told so far. She smiles softly to Tirzah and tries not to let the embrace seem too awkward due to the observers involved.

Denma turns back towards the two when Tirzah speaks, his attention moving towards Sage as she's introduced to him. He nods, showing no surprise at the news. "You were sent to learn. And that has many facets. Nor does that journey ever end. But I am happy you have found someone who means that much to you." He considers Sage again before smiling. "Farewell for now, we shall see each other again soon," he tells her before once more turning to his fellow warlock.

Zachary climbs up into the ATV and, for the time being, will wait for the trip home to begin. Eager in a few ways, though not openly so, save for his preparing his vehicle for travel at a moments notice.

Tirzah smirks at Rebekkah, her expression a bit whimsical. "Did you expect him to wave his hand and we would know where to dig? He will come next week, his word is infallible. If there are gems to be found he will find them." She explains to Bek. "Until then I'll have to go to the library and perhaps city hall. i wonder what hoops they'll have for me to jump through for those records."

When the two warlocks move off, Sage relaxes a little as she pulls back from the embrace. "He'll probably have a better chance of finding something that I would... well, in this case." She admits, before gives a thoughtful pause.

Maxy cocks her head to the side and raises a brow, "So.." she says and shrugs a bit.

"I hope you find something useful, I guess," Bek allows with a neutral shrug. Rocks and things? Puh-leeze. "Are we going to take the same road back to Kingsdale?" (repose)

Tirzah nods to Bek, her disbelief in the cause unnoticed. "I don't see why not. Should be a bit faster going on the way back given we all know what to expect now. And I don't see much reason to delay.." She pauses looking back to the silenced foe and then to Sage. "He'll survive his sentence?" She asks her with a calm but serious tone. ooc because clams are dead serious :P

Sage gives Tirzah a considering look, before nodding slightly. "He'll be able to breath and eat properly. He didn't seem to indicate anything else wrong with him... but I could fully diagnose him if you wish." She comments, "Otherwise, I'm ready to head out." She'll turn back towards the vehicle since the warlock is along the way. If there's no further need of her medical skills, she'll just head into the ATV.

Rebekkah powers up her suit's thrusters and climbs into the air again to take her position overhead and keep a watch over the other vehicles on their long trip back home.

Maxy nods, "I need to get myself a jump bike." she says, "Know how to use those." she mutters and gets back into the ATV.

Tirzah shakes her head and returns to her cycle, putting her helmet back on. "No that's alright Sage, so long as he lives with the consequences of his actions. Lets get back to the warm beds and fresh foods of home." She suggests before leading them all back.

Event wise the trip back is uneventful. Another two days brings the group back to the city proper though the revelations the trip has wrought are sure to have repercussions to be further explored.

Maxy seems rather bored most the way back, and heads off towards the Arena almost immediately upon return.