knightsoflegend | bermuda triangle ♔ hopelessly weighed down by your eyes of steel

It's this way. [ with no further hesitation, zatanna follows the compass straight down the main thoroughfare, and zatara moves to follow close behind, removing his gloves to stuff in his pocket as he warily watches to either side. she makes a beeline towards what looks like a raised dais in the city center. ]

[Hook hesitates for a moment. Just a moment, but he still can't deny that he does not fancy the idea of going into a place so clearly crawling with magic. But he also doesn't let that stop him for long. He follows the two magicians in, looking wary.]

[David is right there with him, moving forward with his sword still in hand. This was such a bad fucking idea, but that may just be his magic bias showing.]

[ yeah emma's trying not to be too worried about that because luckily she has OTHER THINGS to counteract them. she pulls the gun from her belt and secures both hands on it, finger off the trigger as they enter, moving cautiously and glancing around (spot 26). ]

[Charming joins the armed and dangerous crew with his longsword out and gripped firmly in his hand. He stays near Emma by instinct but is too distracted by the overwhelming urge to keep her safe to really notice anything... anywhere (spot 3)]

[ it's emma who notices something off, even as zatanna reaches the steps and climbs up them. the more she stares at the buildings to either side of them, it more it seems difficult to pinpoint what she's looking at - sort of like trying to look at a star that shows up more clearly in ones peripheral vision. ]

[Gold stays with Zatanna and Zatara, preferring to stay close to the other two magicians, though when Zantanna makes that beeline, he continues at a door leisurely pace, which permits him to get a better look around and catch what Emma sees... Or doesn't see. (spot 22)

He falls back a pace to match his steps with Emma's, lowering his voice.] Did you notice that as well?

What do you think? Is now a good time to say "I've got a bad feeling about this"?

[ emma's eyes stay up on the buildings as she answers gold through a tight jaw. something weird is going on here, and she can't say if it's just a high concentration of magic or something similar in the area, or if they're already being screwed with. ]

[Charming turns to the both of them, but directs his question to Emma.]

Notice what? [Emma please fill in your clueless father.]

[Hook's spot check of 5 means he's hanging out with Charming in camp oblivious.]

Notice something, Swan?

[He doesn't really care about Gold noticing it too.]

The buildings. It's like they're ... out of focus, or something.

[Well now that she points it out...

Yeah he is not okay with any of this. He turns a sharper glance to Gold.]

I thought you were some sort of magic expert?

And it's my expert opinion that the buildings are out of focus. [Deadpan.] It's likely an illusion of some kind.

[ The malignant cackling sound that cracks the air following gold's comment seems to resound all around them, bouncing off the towers and nearly deafening them.

"Very astute, indeed," booms the voice, dripping sarcasm. "I see we truly have a powerful sorcerer in our midst. To speak truly, I expected you to keep better company, Zatara."

It's hard to say which of the magicians are being addressed, but both of them turn to look at the center of the dais, as all around them, giant iron walls shoot up, trapping them all within the square where it rests.

On the platform, a green flame appears, and then blazes, fading away to reveal the form of an incredibly tall man in green and gold robes, sporting a heavy golden chain at his throat, and a small golden headpiece in his black hair. His pointed beard makes him look like a sinister villain out of a cartoon - and it probably doesn't help that appearance when he steeples his fingers and says: "Zatanna Zatara, at last. There's someone here we're dying for you to meet."

With a snap, another burst of flame comes and goes - and in its wake is a lovely blonde woman, supported on either side by a hooded guard, each carrying one side of her chains. While her coloring is quite different from Zatanna's, a 16+ spot check can easily recognize that they have the same eyes. The woman is dressed in a long blue gown, an ornate silver crown on her head and a red cape hanging from her shoulders. However, there's nothing noble in her bearing: her shoulders are slumped, her head bowed, her eyes all but dead as they stare sorrowfully out at the gathered group. Her wrists are manacled together, and no less than three separate chains bind her arms - another set locking her ankles together.

"I don't suppose introductions are even necessary," sneers the sorcerer, as John stares open-mouthed and Zatanna moves forward, anger clouding her face. ] Mother! [ it's her father who reaches out to grab her arm and snatch her back from doing anything too hasty ] What have you done to her?!

[David doesn't bother looking for her eyes - he trusts that Zatanna can identify her own mother but that doesn't mean he trusts that this isn't some kind of an illusion. Magic can make you believe anything it wants you to, given the right incentive, so he simply tightens his grip on his sword before moving a step closer to the Zataras.]

Is this the part where we get the unabridged version of the evil plan? Or are you going to just cackle us to death?

[ the green-robed sorcerer with the bad mustache leers at david.

"Evil plan? Oh no, you have us all wrong, young sir." he turns back to motion to zatanna's mother. "You might say in some ways that it is we who need your help." and he turns a somewhat creepy smile back at zee. "Or rather - hers."

zatanna glares from where her father has her locked in his grip. ]

Whatever you want from me you're not getting. You're going to let my mother free.

[ "Free," he muses, taking a step towards the edge of the dais and looking around at the gathered. "What an interesting choice of words. Considering your mother elected to be where she is - to do all of her people a great service. It is, in fact, the magic locked in her beautiful skull that enables us to remain cloistered here, away from a world we have no place in." he turns back to survey sindella with an exaggerated forlorn expression. "But soon, she'll be unable to continue sustaining that magic. You see, Zatanna, your mother was born with a very special magical condition - something we've termed a medulla jewel that helps her body channel quantities of magic most could never hope to achieve." there's a certain fondness in his tone as he wistfully steals a glance back at the zataras. "But even that has its limits. And by the end of today, she will have reached hers. That's precisely why we need you." ]

Edited 2013-06-18 03:05 (UTC)

[Well. Those who bet this wasn't a trap were going to be paying up shortly. (wis 18)]

So you faked the distress call to lure her here. [And he was hoping this wasn't going to turn into a conflict.] I bet you weren't anticipating her coming with an entourage.

[Charming may not know much about magic, but he certainly knows what a threat sounds like. He doesn't know Zatanna well, but the mission Wynn sent them on certainly didn't involve giving her up to the first magic whack job who came their way.

He positions himself in front of her, sword grasped in both hands in front of him.]

She's not going anywhere. [He does a fair job of putting on a serious business face (intimidate 15).]

She most certainly is not. [ behind charming, zatara moves to his daughter's side.

the sorcerer's face seems to falter a bit at charming's threat... but then he works up a smile again.

"You're right about one thing: we weren't expecting dear Zatanna to bring so many friends. However, that works out just as well for us. This island needs guardians, after all, and it's only so often that ships and planes come close enough for us to draw in more future sentinels. It's so much nicer when they just waltz right in." his grin spreads maliciously across his face. "And I think Zatanna will agree of her own accord to take her mother's place before midnight... because if she waits until her mother's medulla jewel is tapped out - Sindella will die." ]

Edited 2013-06-18 03:18 (UTC)

That's not gonna happen.

[ not because emma doesn't believe that it's truly running out and that the others will let it, but because emma's determined to find another way. she looks to zatanna, alarmed that she might be considering this. ]

Don't do this. We'll find another way to save her, don't go with them.

[Meanwhile, Charming turns to Zatara because it's time to have dad talk.]

What do you know about them? Your daughter won't leave without her mother. We have to find a way to bring them both home.

[Hook's hand goes to his sword.]

How about one of you takes her place, then? If it's so important to you.

[ zatanna's expression falls at the implication of her mother's quickly faltering lifespan, and zatara's eyes scan the ground wildly as he considers charming's question. ] I--

It's been so long since we met, and she told me so little. [ his brow furrows as he struggles desperately to remember anything useful.

in the meantime, the sorcerer sneers at hook's question. "Because only our dear Zatanna inherited the medulla jewel - you might call it a genetic anomaly, passed from mother to child. One that can save our people. Any of us would gladly make the same sacrifice, but I'm afraid we have no option but Zatanna." He places the butt of his staff to the ground with a clang. "So I'm afraid I can't let any of you follow through on your vows to take her away." he flourishes the scepter suddenly, and bellows out several words in an unidentifiable language...

and everrrrrrryone has to make a will save. those who get UNDER a 14 have fallen THRALL to the magi! until further notice, they will obey all orders issued by the magi, regardless of personal feelings, etc. those with a 15+ manage to resist the spell like the smooth mothafuckas they are, aww shit.

and as the spell settles on them all, the sorcerer gives his first order, gesturing at Zatanna: "Seize her!" ]

[And Hook with his whopping will save of 10 moves quickly, turning and reaching for Zatanna (atk 14, grapple check...5 if that hits) with his hand and hook. Too bad the hook has no opposable thumbs, huh.]

[Francesca knows he's cast a spell, but she can barely feel it reverberate off her before it merely dissipates, leaving her unaffected (Spell Resistance 30). For such powerful Magi, something is definitely off. But she also sees how easily he's enthralled Hook, and she'd like to finish this before someone's forced to do something they'll regret.

Sneaking around the back of the group (Hide 30, Move Silently 32), she waits until she's in the mage's blind-spot to draw her sword and plunge it into the man's back and through his heart (attack 32, damage 34).]

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