Raine Ronain: "... Natalie," Raine's cadence is that of someone amending a list, a late addition in lieu of a proper greeting. Her gaze ticks from Natalie, armor and all, down to- "Mnm." It is a sharp, dry sound in turn as she stares at the beast by Natalie's boots.

Calimant JerendSiren: "I've very little experience with elementals, that's jus' not my field of expertise, but... I /could/ send the carbuncle in and try to flush it out, aye?" || The carbuncle looks at him, its face contorting into one of disgust and contempt, letting out a small hiss of dissatisfaction. "...I think that slightly answers that question, not a fan, are you...?" he tuts softly at the critter.

Natalie LafontaineBalmung peered over her shoulder at the sound of /more/ footsteps, as if preparing to ward off more unwitting travellers in the area. As recognition superceded caution, however, Natalie paid both Avianne and Raine a nod in greeting. "Oh, hey." The dragoon greeted wtih an informal tilt of her chin upward. Thereater, her focus turned upon the mask-wearer of the pair. "Found that sprite."

Raine Ronain: "Raine," she provides lifeless, her name wielded more like a cudgel. She remarks none of the carbuncle but as it approaches, there is a shift of her weight on her boots and a sidestep shortly to follow. She separates from where she'd been holding the Merchant's arm with hers and instead folds them behind her. Prim. Proper. Staring. "The corrupted sprite. Plan on taking it down together, then?"

Avianne Vorard || At the familiar sight of Natalie, Akai lets out a greeting trill, not yet unique but still recognition. Though for the stranger and the bright carbuncle only his head crest rises as if to raise a hand in salute. Avianne looks from the three to Raine and then to the carbuncle, a faint twitch of her lips suppressed. "Greetings to you Natalie." She turns her gaze to the stranger, "I do not think we have met before. She doesn't leave her place at Raine's side until Raine herself moves and she crosses up to offer her hand to the man. "I am Merchant Thodis. A friend of Natalie's." And friend there seems to hold some significance for the way she lingers on the telling.

Raine Ronain shifts and settles aside, to a spot where the carbuncle needn't be directly in her line of sight.

Natalie LafontaineBalmung: "That so far remains to be seen." The dragoon answered as she paid the man next to her only a fleeting look. "I was just here scouting things out when he showed up, same as you. I suppose a woman in full kit looking down over the river sparks a measure of curiosity." Having delayed her observations long enough, however, Natalie then turned to set her gaze upon the water below the cliff once again, scanning carefully for any abnormalities as she occasionally sniffed at the air. "I suspect some lazy mage decided to pour whatever lingering aetheric grease down the drain instead of disposing of it properly. You can practically /smell/ the corruption, if you really try." Of course, the smell wasn't so literal. Rather, had Avianne or Raine either (or both) the capacity to sense such abnormalities, one could perhaps have noted the strange imbalance near the riverbank, like a toxic aetheric sludge invisible to the naked eye.

Calimant JerendSiren: "Evenin', you lot familiar with one another, I take it...?" Calimant asks with a nonchalance to his attutde. "Charmed, and to you as well." he replies to the two, a small, gentle smile on his lips as he tips his hat lightly to the chocobo's greeting. "Th' name's Calimant Jerend, arcanist, retired veteran, friend, what-have-you..." he waves off any other number of titles to his name with an uncaring wave as his gaze trails to Raine: "Ah, m' apologies, is th' carbuncle disconcerting t' yourself? I can desummon it, as it looks like it won't be cooperatin' tonigh' anyroad."

Raine Ronain: "You made quite a stir at Bentbranch. Rumors flying. It wasn't hard to overhear mention of an errant adventurer." Confirmation, then, of the assumed, if only in part. Such heavily armored and armed individuals are not, in fact, part and parcel for the course. Calimant gives to Raine the offer and Raine only lifts a hand to bid him stop. Stop considering it or stop talking, who knows. "Well met, Calimant. I've a fondness for arcanists. Less so for their beasts. Keep it as necessary for your spells, though if you can keep it from me, that would be favorable." There's a twist there to the end of her words, a lingering warning that suggests a violence that lays dormant. She can and will punt the damnable thing into the water, voluntarily or not on its part, if it gets too close. To the edge Raine moves on silent step to join Natalie, staring down into the water.

Calimant JerendSiren shrugs and carries on: "I cannae smell a bit, m'self, but th' Carbuncle seems unwillin' t' set snout nor tail into the muck. I do swear tha' he don't bite..." he glances at the carbuncle with careful curiosity "... much."

Avianne Vorard looks to the carbuncle and then to Raine and back to the arcanist. She hums and intead looks out to the river. Akai ever at her side, within reaching distance of the stranger but he seemed relaxed enough. She doesn't say anything as she peers down into the rippling water. Raine's comment giving her a faint smile for a moment before she crouches down and removes her glove to place a hand on the mossy river bank.

Raine Ronain: "May be made by tampering. May be made by nature. It happens, sometimes, areas of stagnation."

Calimant JerendSiren: "Aye, can do tha' m'self, surely." he nods in agreement with Raine's request.

Natalie LafontaineBalmung: "... I'd hoped it would be as simple as flushing the sprite out and spearing it." Natalie now admitted as she leaned for a moment to glance over the edge. "... Can't get even a slight bead on where its core is, however, and I don't quite care to try to jump in and wade about to find it."

Avianne Vorard "have you tried throwing a stone or two?" This is said with such a flat inflectino that it is either the most dry of jokes, or, it is actually a valid recommendation rom the merchant.

Raine Ronain: "Perhaps a particularly *big* stone," Raine tacks on, deathly dry in turn.

Dagaron Brando: "Off the road in the Shroud late at night. Recipe for disaster. Or, well, a recipe for -something-."

Avianne Vorard: "You also have a rather pointy stick." She addes helpfully.

Calimant JerendSiren shrugs and remarks "I wouldn't mind jus' jumping in, m'self."

Raine Ronain: "Greetings, Dagaron. Do you know Natalie, Calimant, and the Merchant Thodis?" Raine's hand ticks rightward, sweeping down across the line, "There's a corrupted sprite about and Natalie's been tasked to destroy it. I do have a special affinity for the sprites, especially within the Shroud. I could lure it out but I'll not be putting it down."

Dagaron Brando: "Mmm, we've met. A corrupted sprite, hm. That's a challenge and a half. I can't imagine the elements will be pleased even -if- it's corrupted."

Raine Ronain: "They've no great love of violence but they understand what it is to rot."

Natalie LafontaineBalmung elected to point ever-so-casually towards a fresh scratch upon her right pauldron. "... It spat the third stone I tossed back at me." Natalie chimed in again, "Though /it/ chucked it with all the velocity of a bullet." Regardless, the dragoon paid Dagaron a nod over her shoulder, but otherwise remained where she was. "Luring it out is one thing, but nullifying it is another. If all else fails, I might be able to get a clear shot at its core if it was to emerge, but that's risky in and of itself. Still, I'm no mage, either." A look now was paid between Dagaron and Calimant both. "What do you both say, hmm? If Raine lures the sprite out, do either of you think you can pacify it?"

Dagaron Brando: "Mmm, hopefully. They can be finicky and emotionally swing-y. It's indeed a challenge."

Dagaron Brando: "And it depends on what you mean by pacify it. Hold it still?"

Raine Ronain: "Good Merchant Thodis, perhaps now's a good opportunity to do some practice. Do you happen to have your spell book on you?"

Natalie LafontaineBalmung: "Tainted aether." Natalie clarified towards Dagaron, "If nothing else, I'd hope it possible to avoid slaying the sprite outright. If it can be purified of whatever rot has afflicted it, all the better."

Calimant JerendSiren: "Oh, aye I can attempt to /kill/ it, but... I dinnae much on /pacifying/ it without /killing/..." Calimant admits with a scratch on his cheek. "I'm no conjurer."

Avianne Vorard Considers the water and then turns to Akai to gather something from his bags. "Aye, I do." She turns and in her hand is a mask. "Though... what are you considering, exactly?" There's no hesitation in her tone but there is a lingering thought there somewhere.

Dagaron Brando: "Mmm, you might want to go prod the Padjal if that's the case."

Raine Ronain: "I'm considering you getting a spot of exercise." Raine motions to Natalie even as she converses and shortly ticks her attention down. "Never tried purifying a sprite."

Calimant JerendSiren: "I can admittedly attempt to mollify it some by charging the waters it's in with some good doses of levin, that aught to at least sap it of some of its fight, hopefully withou' killin' it...?" Calimant muses outloud.

Natalie LafontaineBalmung harumphed. With a gesture, she otherwise stepped back and endeavoured to usher the impromptu assembly away from the water's edge. "Let's all step back and reconvene here for a moment, hmm? I don't want to put the cart before the chocobo."

Dagaron Brando || "Kweh?"

Avianne Vorard only hums and removes her current hat only to place another upon her crown, the mask settled into place even as she draws her forest green tome from one of her many pockets and pouches. AShe moves to follow, finding her palce near Raine.

Dagaron Brando: "No, she doesn't mean you."

Raine Ronain: "And who is this very armored and very handsome beast."

Calimant JerendSiren: "Good horsebird!"

Calimant JerendSiren beams at Dagaron Brando.

Dagaron Brando: "Marvelous, my chocobo. Don't mind him. He's an ego about him."

Dagaron Brando || Preens. A completely deserved one, mind you.

Raine Ronain: "You *did* name him Marvenlous."

Avianne Vorard || Akai ruffles his feathers at Raine and eyes the other bird with a narrowed gaze but remains at Avianne's back all the same.

Dagaron Brando: "Just taking him for a patrol for a bit, wearing something different. He doesn't get out much and on occasion he does indeed like to reintegrate funguar into the soil with his kicks." Dagaron shrugs.

Raine Ronain: "Chocobo can be trained to be excellent truffle hunters," Raine offers as an aside, looking back to Akai. She lingers on the idea only a moment before she turns her attention to Natalie. "So you want to purify it instead of destroy it."

Natalie LafontaineBalmung: "So." Now that the party had reassembled a bit further away from the water, Natalie elected to glance from one figure present to the next. "As we're all now aware, there is a corrupted sprite hiding down in the riverbank. As it stands, I want to lure it out to either destroy it or somehow find a way to purify whatever taint has taken hold of it." A glance was paid briefly over to Raine in particular. "Not necessarily, I just figure pacifying it is a better alternative to staying on the Elementals' good side. I still don't understand them in the slightest, but everyone says to respect nature while in the Shroud."

Calimant JerendSiren admires the chocobos a bit, looking away again and paying attention to Natalie

Dagaron Brando: "And they're right to warn you. The greenwrath may be dormant but it's not gone. Poke the behemoth too many times and it'll wake up. Still, if you're looking to purify it, a padjal would be the ideal or a conjuror. Failing that, someone in-tune with the land from Gridania. Though it means bothering the Adders or Wailers, I'd imagine they'd like that more than having to deal with an enraged elemental because a sprite was slain. Not that you're careless."

Raine Ronain: "Woodsin is accumulated through a great many methods, violence chief among them. There are, though, those things which the Elementals do not mind being slain. Kedtraps, for example. Invasive and vicious. To kill them is no accrue no woodsin, and to offer their leaves and fresh antelope innards to the old, dead treant is to find favor." A beat, then, and she looks up to Dagaron, "It is a corrupted elemental. Natalie will not invoke the Greenwrath by destroying it. We've already had one Padjal attempt."

Dagaron Brando: "Ah. Hm. Well, that didn't go well I imagine if it was an attempt and not a success."

Calimant JerendSiren: "Aye, th' man speaks truth t' it, hmm...? Would be best to do so... Admittedly I still /sort of/ want to chance jumping in there and seeing what happens, aye?" he chuckles lightly, though his age shows on his face, he seems surprisingly youthful in his vigorous pursuit of chicanery.

Natalie LafontaineBalmung: "Think so?" Natalie inquired as she peered between Dagaron and Raine for a moment. "If that's true, then let's just slay it, unless anyone /really/ wants to try to upshow a Padjal." A look was paid briefly between the four other faces gathered, as if to verify that no one felt like being so particularly foolhardy.

Raine Ronain lifts her hands, showing them empty. She folds them behind her shortly. "I'll hold your hat, Calimant."

Avianne Vorard looks to Raine and then to the others in the group each in their turn. No matter her assurance Avianne fiddles absently with the mask which she lays over the cover of her tome, holding it to her right as she looks at Calimant. There's a little amused hum for his desire and then to Natalie with a little shake of her head. She was there to assist, nothing more."

Calimant JerendSiren smiles at Raine Ronain.

Calimant JerendSiren hands over something to Raine Ronain.

Dagaron Brando: "Mmm. I can restrain it if need be. Need to practice some skills that I don't usually do and it'd make for a good story. Though ideally, I'd rather keep my fingers if all possible." He hops off the bird, patting the armor. Kweh goes the Marvelous. Let him do it. Spirtes can be kicked into the ground right? Easy.

Raine Ronain takes hold of the hat and, without prelude, drapes the massive thing over her mane. She'll keep it safe, right there on her own head. "Fingers, fine. Toes?"

Calimant JerendSiren approaches Raine Ronain with a smile and hands them his hat "Thank you! Time to put things into motion, then?" Calimant looks to everyone else and smiles, dismissing the unwilling carbuncle in favor of a much more... /Daring/ familiar. His egi, which appears out of the book in a flash of levin-tinged aether, a loud rapport of a *quack* as it stands confidently at the ground of its summoner's feet.

Dagaron Brando unclasps the metal visor, reaching into his bag to place on the more common shroud-task-mask. "...-Mmmgh-..."

Avianne Vorard looks to Raine and the corner of her lips rise in a roguish grin for just a moment to see that huge hat perched on her helm. Her eyes flicker to Natalie and she foces the grin to fade into her usual warm smile.

Raine Ronain pulls down the brim of Calimant's hat over the gemstone over her mask's eyes only to lift her bowed head to stare... At a duck.

Raine Ronain: "A marked improvement over the carbuncle, and more suited to water besides."

Natalie LafontaineBalmung || Whatever the party's intentions were for dealing with the sprite, the magical anomaly itself seemed to care little. Where one moment, Natalie stood with her back to the cliffside, the next she was joined by a coalescence of moisture. As if formed out of the lingering water in the air from the nearby waterfall, the abrupt formation of aetherial liquid hovered like a minor tempest above the ground, thundering in and out of itself like a waterfall crashing upon an open river as the strange and corrupted elemental wasted no time in making its presence known. It had no direct form, no central body for anyone to lay eyes upon. In every sense, it almost might have seemed as if the party was now meant to fight a condensed cloud of mist driven by its tainted nature to cause trouble. As it set its sights upon...... the dragoon just in front of it, a sudden burst from its center mass risked sending the dragoon flying as a high-pressurized beam almost like a waterjet risked slicing into her from behind!

Natalie LafontaineBalmung twisted about with little delay, and snapped to the side as the beam of water sliced along her armour with enough force to clean the paint right off its mythril plates. As she drew her spear and readied herself, an immediate look was paid to the others. "Fuck it, better now than never."

Avianne Vorard looks back to Raine and after a moment of silent communication btween the two she slips the mask in place, hooking to the hat and secured around the back of her head with a (to the levemete) familiar easy to undo clasp. For a woman who spent so much time in the Shroud this was the first time any in the group had seen her with a mask covering her features. She focuses on the task at hand, namely that of the misty cloud that's gathered and attack Natalie.

Natalie LafontaineBalmung had only just twisted about, and already she was on the move. Wasting little time in diving back into the action, the dragoon's lance was wreathed in a pillar of fire as she charged headlong towards the mass of imbalanced water ahead. Even if she was at an elemental disadvantage, the dragonslayer had every intention of bringing the fight to the elemental itself.

Raine Ronain | It happens quickly, as combat's wont to do. One moment they're there, speaking, and the next, it's already begun. The water cleans Natalie's armor right down from the paint before a cry can go out and Raine's blades are in her hands, her tongue clicking. "Such foul language, Natalie." The chide comes as she her blades twist together to form a stave, a quick shift of her head rightward only communication aside. She taps her weapon down, aether through the dirt flaring around Avianne before she in turn joins the fray, moving to take an optimal position not so much to strike but to stop the thing's retreat into the water and to bully it to give Dagaron and his massive weapon room to strike unimpeded. (( Defense @ Avianne, Support @ Dagaron ))

Dagaron Brando clutched the small necklace resting on his chest, murring. "Stay back for now," He'd bid Marvelous, the bird -wholly- unimpressed. "Now let's see if I can do this right." The first step was to attempt to bind the thing; A hand reached out, creating rock-like ethereal chains from his palm to entrap the thing in a combative stance. Tugging the chain tight, he'd grunt. "...That'll take some getting used to," he'd murmur to himself. Drawing the axe, the weapon flaring to life, he'd swing it with one arm to try and cleave the spirit. (Support for Avi, Damage + Raine's bonus)

Avianne Vorard takes a few steps back, thought not out of the aetheric flare that Raine had called forth. Akai is given a silent hadn command that keeps him from attempting to claw at the sprite's chosen form. It wouldn't do as much good as some of his other skills. Besides, Raine wanted her to have some practice. She waits, patiently for the others to be in position. There's a moment of hesitation before runes start to gather around the merchan'ts hands and at her back. Icy blue, bright, and being writ upon the air with invisible hands. Teh aria round the spriye begins to chill, hampering its movements and drawing it to stillness while tiny ice shards formed on each droplet. (2 attack +100 on the first roll)

Natalie LafontaineBalmung || The barrage of attacks both corporeal and aetheric alike batter at the incorporeal sprite, rendering water into steam as it endured with the timeless patience of an ocean in the face of such adversity. With little delay otherwise, however, the sprite's form twisted and contorted about as it seemed to almost begin linking itself into a watery chain. Then, as it turned towards Dagaron, the fashioned waterlinks snapped out to try to coil around him, all so that the sprite could cleave at him from above just as he had tried to smash it apart with his axe. Was it trying to copy him? (Dagaron takes 2 DMG!)

Avianne Vorard || Perhaps the mask wasn't just for the possibility of Woodsin. As her shoulders tense and the runes about her flicker from ice blue to indigo for a moment, one might guess that she's cringed at herself as her spell work goes awry and latches, in part, onto Dagaron. She would need to make amends after this was over.

Raine Ronain | No sooner do chains start to form than Raine is shifting, a searching slice through the mist of the sprite's form turning into Raine just beside Dagaron - rather suddenly, in a flashless use of aether - as she hacks at the chains to ensure the man unimpeded. (( Attack @ Elemental, Support @ Dagaron ))

Natalie LafontaineBalmung wasted little time herself as the others acted in a swarm of attacks from all angles around her. Where Raine attacked from the side, Dagaron from up front and Avianne from afar, Natalie leapt up a dozen or so fulms into the air so that she might take up another angle herself. Indeed, she was going to attack from above. With a sudden burst of speed and a kick off the air itself, Natalie descended upon the sprite like a bullet to try to skewer straight through it in one fell swoop!

Dagaron Brando was simultaneously bapped from behind and cleaved from the front. Surprisingly, he doesn't wince or fall. A murmur of disapproval but no more than that. Fingers clench around the axe, gripping hard as he'd force his aether to mend...though this sort of aether manipulation was foreign to him. Still, it did at least give him the chance to swing at the sprite once more. Damned thing.

Avianne Vorard refocuses with a breath and new glyphs write themselves out above her tome. Aether swells around her and a wind, counter to the direction of the natural breeze, tugs at her hair. The ground below the sprite gathers hoarfrost on the plants and rather suddenly a spike of ice erupts directly under the sprite, right through what should be its center- an attempt to pin it perhaps. Meawhile Akai, with a hissing trill stamps his foot on the soft loam and around Dagaron appears a shield of interlocking aetheric plates that look something like scales. (1 attack @ sprite, Sheidl for Dag)

Natalie LafontaineBalmung || More water burst from the sprite's form as it was battered from all angles, which in turn prompted an immediate and visceral reorientation as its focus set upon Raine and it attacked with a renewed vigor. Unless avoided, a sudden burst of hot steam that burned like fire risked engulfing Raine's body like a geyser from the sprite's watery mass. Now it seemed to be copying the dragoon's heat in some convoluted attempt to force its assailants back!

Raine Ronain clears room for Natalie as she goes on high and looks to dive in. It's easy enough as she ducks down to ensure Dagaron's axe goes overhead, a sidestep clearing her of her fellows. Ever in movement, ever mobile - it avails her none as the burst of steam engulfs her. It's a piss poor mimicry but a right proper punishment, and enough to see the Wolf back, what little skin she has on display an angry red already. The snarl that rises in her throat is short, sharp, and- magical. A tinge to the sound, one that rankles through her as she grabs her stave and uses it to rise even as the air around her explodes in ice, a page from Avianne's book taken. It's perfectly spherical and perfectly jagged in how it punches into the sprite to try and freeze parts of it (to try and make it easier to hit for her fellows.)  (( Surprisingly, support to Natalie and Dagaron ))

Avianne Vorard || The attack on Raine was too much and with the flick of her wrist Akai is sent in to support the levemete, attacking with her, following her lead in combat as if they had done this many times over. Powerful talons laced with lingering aether to strike at the formless sprite. For her part, Avianne continues to work her spells, attempting to quell the sudden heat with another blanket of chill that reaches into the ever shifting mist to turn ever mocing and >>

[2025-09-28 23:36] [Emote]Avianne Vorard shifting water into a frozen target. Spreading outy from that center spike of ice and branching out like levin frozen in time or the gnarled branches of an old tree shed of its leaves. ((@support for Raine, Attack @ Sprite))

Natalie LafontaineBalmung leapt aside as the sprite unleashed a geyser of superheated steam, only to twist her lance about and focus. For a moment, Natalie might well have seemed as if she had gone as still as a statue until the very moment Raine struck at the sprite with an icy blow to keep it from moving too much. In an instant, passing like a blade through its form, Natalie dashed forth to collide head-on with the half-frozen elemental in a straightforward effort to shatter it. (Attack LB + regular attack)

Dagaron Brando was rather frustrated with the whole affair, considering nobody particularly likes to be manhandled by a sprite. Well, perhaps that and other things that irritated him? It was hard to guess and say. Still, with this support, might as well try again. Clutching that axe now with both hands, dropping that ethereal chain...and he swings once more. That's what mother always said, anyways.

[

Natalie LafontaineBalmung || Perhaps to Dagaron's surprise, it was with that final strike that the Sprite was finally sent reeling, flickering and sputtering in the air as it struggled to coalesce its aether enough to maintain its shape. With what little strength it had left, the corrupted, tainted presence endeavoured to retreat into the river on instinct to flee and recoup its strength. In the chaos, however, something faint and glimmering caught the light of the moon within its fragmented, showering form. There sat the sprite's crystal core, exposed for but a moment and vulnerable to attack. To strike true, however, would necessitate a blow both keen and powerful alike. Did someone dare to try to strike the elemental down for good?

Raine Ronain | There it is, the glimmering core of the sprite. "Core exposed!" It's a call out for the others, awareness for those that do not perceive so readily, and she sets to action. There are certain roles which people must play when it comes to battle, and Raine - Raine knows hers well. She moves to the edge in tandem with the sprite, but she is a step faster, already tapping her khopesh into the ground as aether bursts. With it, the ground rumbles, heeding her demand as readily as it would any conjurer, and up the rock wall goes to block the sprite's retreat, opening it to ready devastation. (( Support in the form of Blocking That Bitch, LB + roll, have fun ))

Natalie LafontaineBalmung certainly wasn't going to risk trying for the core herself. The dragoon's skill was in mass destruction, not precise blows. If she missed by even an ilm, Natalie was more likely to assist the sprite in escaping by knocking its core down into the river below. So, what did she do? Well, jump out of the way, of course. (Natalie is abstaining this round)

Avianne Vorard ||Seeing the sprite attempting to flee Avianne's spells flicker, adjust, and those reaching branches of ice suddenly begin to expoand and like chains they work to keep as much of the sprite's form out of the river, twisting this way and that until they become still and always out of the way of the core to leave it as exposed as possible. ((LB Support on Dag+ Support Roll to Dag))

Dagaron Brando could have done something keen; Martial-wise he had a beavy of tools at his disposal to do so. Though in this case, frustration and fury won out in the end. "-Hmph-," was about all he got out as that earthen chain lept out once more, wrapping around the core. Charged muscles tugged tightly, one arm yanking backwards to wrench the core free from the body and destabalize it. Empowered with that support, he'd slam the crystal to the dirt, axe raised aloft. Like a sledgehammer he brings the sharpened fragment of earth downward to try and shatter the core in one blow...and barring that? A second, far weighter blow.

Natalie LafontaineBalmung || That first blow already proved enough to finish the little gemstone off, but that second one seemed to add a far greater insult to injury as Dagaron's axe slammed down twice. The first cracked the crystal, spilling the elemental's life force out into the air like a vent of steam, and the second outright /shattered/ it, leaving only a trace of aetheric dust in its wake as the warrior's final strike, emboldened by two sets of magic at once, utterly obliterated the crystal once and for all. Kicking up a wave of mist in its wake, all that remained by way of evidence that a fight had transpired at all was the small crater in the earth where Dagaron's axe had smashed down and a small wall of rock that had prevented the sprite's escape. Wayward riverfarers of the Shroud could rest easy — the elemental menace that had been terrorizing the local waterbanks had been slain.

[

Raine Ronain winces away with the first slam down of his massive axe into the crystal. And then the second. Raine clicks her tongue, the rock wall crumbling with a wave of her hand as she undoes and resets her weapons to her back. Her attention ticks up to Akai shortly, a click of gratitude and a quick scratch only the beginning of her gratitude. She'll need to remember to fetch him some treats later... Just as she fetches from his bag the gil pouches. Pre-counted. Makes life easier. She underhands one to Natalie before the mist event has yet to settle, and another toward Dagaron and his newly made crater. Avianne, it seems, does not get so paid, alas. "Dagaron, I'm putting you down as having assisted Natalie with this levequest," she speaks aloud, already pulling free a parchment and piece of charcoal.

Avianne Vorard || With the core shattered all the ice that had formed shatters with it. The work of the man's rage sufficient to break apart the delicate web that had been created. Avianne almost laments the loss of the intricate and unique pattern that had been made. But, alas, the deed is done and with it Akai is clenching the ground with his talons, running deep furrows into the loam. He bumps his armored beak against Raine's mask for her attentions and once the gil is removed he moves to recenter beching Avianne. The merchant lowers her tome and tucks it away even as she moves towards Dagaron. She stays quiet for a moment before pulling her mask free, "Apologies Dagaron. I trust I didn't do much harm to you?" SHe looks about the exposed skin on him looking for evidence of her waward ice spell.

Dagaron Brando mumbles to himself. Something about frustrations or irritants. Though it seems directed at nobody but himself, despite the wounds suffered. He'd tap a finger to them, humming. "...Too slow, I'll need to ask her how she does this." However, as Raine throws the gil towards him, he catches it and underhands it right back. "One does not deserve gil for a poor performance. You needed my best, you got subpar work," He'd respond. Marvelous chuffed, the bird...rolling it's head? Seems the two had some sort of shared ego. He'd look to Avianne. "I'll be fine. I've suffered worse." His wounds seemed decent but superficial, looking worse than they actually were. "I'll tend to them and it'll be alright. It's OK."

Natalie LafontaineBalmung lowered her lance as the final blow was struck, before ultimately twisting up her lance and holstering it for the moment as she meandered her way on over towards the group. "... I'd think it was I who assisted him, all things considered." A loose gesture was paid to the small crater where once the sprite's core had lingered.

Raine Ronain: "I needed the work done, the work got done," Raine counters, and just as he had underhanded it to her, she underhands it back to him, brokering no argument over it. "Besides, seems you're still getting adjusted to the axe." Raine flicks her hand to dismiss such harsh criticism of the self even as she ticks her head toward Natalie, setting back her parchment and charcoal to a pocket. "Reminds me, Natalie, Avianne and I have a gift for you."

Dagaron Brando swats it right back. "I don't accept payment. Especially for subpar work."

Natalie LafontaineBalmung blinked in apparent surprise at hte mention of a gift. Though gil was accepted, a curious glance was paid back and forth between Avianne and Raine alike.

Dagaron Brando: "Keep it, forward it to someone else, give it to charity. I, however, will not accept it."

Avianne Vorard "I'd be willing to see to your wounds." It's an offer, honest and without the weight of guilt behind her words it would seem. "I am glad that the damaeg was not greater." And as Raine metiones the gift she turns to Akai and gathers a rather large leather bag from his barding. She holds it, waiting for Dagaron to speak on the matter of tending to his wounds.

Dagaron Brando: "No, it's alright. Part of this work and tale is to work on mending my own. I appreciate it, I do, but consider this more personal work for me to better myself for next time."

Raine Ronain | A gift Raine will, presumably, fetch shortly. For the moment, she's collecting some of those shards of the core... Even as the gil hits the ground by her. She's not picking it up. "Why don't *you* give it to charity," she counters, straightening to her boots and kicking it toward Dagaron. Her flesh is still oh-so-red there at her neck, her hands. Little wonder the crystal pieces faintly sizzle in her hands. "Putting onto me the task means more work for me. Consider it your penance."

Raine Ronain: "Take the gil and find a proper charity which to give it to."

Avianne Vorard dips her head to Dagaron's words. She'll not press the point even as Raine presses hers. Instead, Avainne appraoches Natalie with the bag.

Dagaron Brando rolled his eyes. "Fine. I'll put the gil towards something useful." Marvelous raises his head. "No, not you. You have enough greens." The chocobo leans back and...pecks the back of Dag's head. -Ouch-. "...Mmmgh..."

Natalie LafontaineBalmung eyed Raine for a moment, before turning up to observe Avianne with that same curiosity as she approached.

Raine Ronain grimaces, briefly, as Dagaron's assaulted by Marvelous. "Swear, I could hear the reverb of that strike from here," she murmurs, more joke than aught as she moves to return the core fragments, now cleansed if only for being depleted, to the river.

Dagaron Brando: "He does that a lot. It's his way of expressing himself."

Raine Ronain catches Natalie's gaze only a moment, lifting a shoulder in unspoken 'what?' People give people gifts. She doesn't move to watch the process. "Violence? I see why you two are suited for each other."

Dagaron Brando || Kweh goes the Marvelous, preening. It was indeed a good strike. -Much- better than any strike Dag did during that whole exchange.

Avianne Vorard || Within the bag are a number of smaller bags, glass bottles wrapped lovingly in wool and cloth, little wooden boxes held closed with special latches carved ornately with motifs of Ishgard and Coerthas. Each item is clearly marked and tied off with a little ribbon of various colors. Labeled in the merchant's script.

Natalie LafontaineBalmung eyed the assembly of little goods in the gift bag, her head canted leftwards in consideration as she elected to pluck one of the vials up from out of the collection. After holding it up to the light for a moment to better read the label, Natalie elected to pluck it open to try to give it a sniff. Evidently, the dragoon was quite surprised by the aroma, judging by how she blinked a few times in shock, before ultimately she corked it again and dropped it back into the bag. Then, for a moment more, she stared in thought at the collection. "... I'm usually the one giving gifts." She eventually admitted, before lowering the bag as she held it delicately in both hands. "... I think this is perhaps the nicest thing anyone has given to me in years." Her expression, though as flat and straightforward as ever, seemed to waiver with a momentary overwhelm of emotion at the gift, before ultimately, Natalie swallowed and reapplied her soldierly emotional discipline. She'd have a good cry later, probably. With a clear of her throat and a small nod, Natalie tucked the bag away and peered back and forth at the pair. "Thank you." She remarked, "Sincerely. This does mean a lot to me."

Avianne Vorard: doesn't point out, nor linger on, the waver in Natalie's expression and only smiles with a gentle warmth that so often surrounds the merchant. "Full glad am I that it will be of use to you, Natalie." She moves off behind the dragoon to join Raine. "Much of it was Raine's idea."

Raine Ronain is distracting herself by ensuring the fragments properly scattered. One really only need to throw them into the river, but it is easier to attend perhaps than current other needs. Around she turns, dusting off her hands only so she can fold them behind her as she's so often wont to do. "To make the more bath more enjoyable," Raine remarks, dipping her head, barely, in acknowledgement of what exactly the gift might mean to Natalie. She doesn't dissect that, though, taking much the same route as the soldier and politely stepping past what emotions it may bring. "Besides, it's been years since I've rolled around with someone in the dirt, snapping and hair-pulling." An absent thought, that, one she bounces off of as she looks to Dagaron, "Though I've yet to consider what a good gift you might need. You seem like a man who has everything and nothing at the same time. I've never seen you with an axe. And, for the record, much of it was Avianne's craft."

Dagaron Brando unclasped his mask, removing his other visor and reattaching it...though this time flipping it up so his eyes are more visible. "Was my mother's offer and choice. Something to make stories to inscribe on her family's stone, another addition to her lineage. I use it infrequently. As you can see, I'm not practiced with it. Plus it is a martial art that resonates with the earth. Being that I mostly use levin, it's my antithesis," he'd say. "But for gifts, I need nor want nothing. Any gil you'd spend on me, put towards yourself." Kweh goes the Marvelous. Give ME the gil. I need it for things.

Avianne Vorard ignores Raine's affirmation that the work was hers. It wasn't that it was 'nothing'. The act of creating the items was of great significance to the merchant, but it was Raine's idea. Instead she shifts to Dagaron's hard line, back still to him but her voice carries a curiosity to it, "Dagaron, tell me something? How would you ask someone to show their appreciation, care, and even perhaps friendship towards you if not for gifts? Is a thing crafted out of hand but costing no gil acceptable? Or is it that you feel unworthy of such attentions that you reject them all?" Curious but not biting. Open to any answer given without reproach one might guess.

Natalie LafontaineBalmung stared at the gift bag for a moment more, still silently deconstructing her mental overwhelm as she processed the myriad of emotions she so suddenly felt. As the bag was ultimately tucked away, however, Natalie exhaled deeply then nodded twice in agreement. "Thank you, again." She affirmed, before abruptly turning about. "If you would all excuse me, however, receiving this has left me somewhat emotionally overwhelmed. I believe I'm going to excuse myself, and go find a private place to work through whatever these feelings are." After bowing her head one more time, Natalie ultimately pivoted about to take her leave. "Thank you again for the help, all of you. Dealing with that sprite would have been much more troublesome alone."