She had heard about the situation in Caelum, but honestly it seemed foolhardy. Talks of the Void had become recurring, to the point that she couldn’t help but think that they may have been validity to them. The topic was barely spoken of within Fiore, both within the public space and the political theatre; the idea of even acknowledging the presence of the Void within the latter space being a sore place of contention. Fiore was still struggling as it was dealing with the combined fallout of Astrid’s political policies and the conclusion of the Talaz Lagaar civil war, a conflict that had significantly drained the nation’s coffers, made worst by the reallocation committed by the young Senator. The last thing that anyone wanted to admit was that there was a new threat emerging in the form of the Void.

So, Astrid’s presence felt much like that of an unexplained outlier. Her notoriety certainly had become noteworthy within many a circle within Fiore, but in a foreign nation she was just another figure, sold by her having maintained a low profile even before crossing through the border. She travelled light, effectively a wanderer, the tricks of the trade she would normally be at her disposal instead being reserved, the last thing that she were interested in doing drawing unwanted attention.

After all, she could not hope to achieve the intended success if it were realized that she were a political figure. Even those within the Senate knew nothing of her presence within Caelum, this trip having taken place within the middle of the extended recess, interrupted only by the emergency session that she had called for barely a week before. For all any of them knew, she was engaged in some bedroom fun with her primary ally within the Senate, Lady Tsara.

And under most circumstances, that would be exactly it.

But the allure of the Void was something that she certainly could not scoff at, nor risk it being true. The tale of what was occurring had come to her through private channels that stressed the urgency of her arrival if she sought to take full advantage of the situation. It should not have come as any surprise that she were not the only individual here; a small assortment of figures, some native to the lands, many foreigners like her, having converged upon Caelum for one reason or another. Likely some out of pursuit of fame, hoping to make a name for themselves. Others maybe out of a sense of pride, the hero sickness that so many young adventurers and Mages seemed to have been afflicted by. Or perhaps they came with their own motivations like Astrid herself, seeking out proof of the Void’s existence, or if not more, a way to benefit from it.

There may have been opportunities to determine exactly what those motivations were, enough time having passed before the amassment was broken up into smaller expedition groups. But that took time, the logistics proving to be a nightmare, which lent to plenty of time for the people there to interact with one another, establish some superficial sense of comradery, develop trust before they inevitably descended into a threat that for many was above their heads. All save for Astrid, whom spent more time to herself; there was no point in entertaining the idea of friendships or anything like that in this kind of environment, especially knowing that many of them were certain to suffer some sort of tragic fate.

No point in getting acquainted with inevitable corpses.

After what seemed like hours, the groups were finally given orders and sent off: some deploying earlier than others, the number of people dwindling down a few by few until eventually there only remained the auxiliary presence in the makeshift base camp, along with Astrid and the few others that at this point had come to make up her expedition team.

If it could even have been considered a team.

Some foreign creature, a fairy she seemed to recall one of the auxiliary members describing it as, along with two young boys, several years at the minimum younger than she, and based on their excitability, neither as informed, mindful, or anywhere close to prepared for what may have been encountered. The irony of her final point was not lost upon her; even Astrid unsure as to what would be encountered either, but unlike the two children she had been tasked with babysitting, at least she were capable of surviving on her own.

The others? Well, it was fair to say that Astrid were more interested in what the fairy said as to the promise of treasures and relics. A reward of that sort was the minimum that could have been offered, and begrudgingly, within her mind came to the realization that as frustrating as it would be, there was a benefit to having the two alive.

The success of this expedition was unlikely to be much influenced based upon their survival or not, but it may have been at least a deciding factor in that delicate balance between inconveniencing and difficult. She preferred the idea of handling the former as opposed to the latter.

And besides, if push came to shove, there were more than enough ways to deal with the children if they turned out to be unruly…

Just what those methods may have been were for her own devious mind, her attention divided between her own warped imagination and listening to the fairy speak, her eyes opening with full attentiveness as the order to move had been greenlit. With the cavern secure enough to enter, she sauntered forward in its direction, expectant that the trio would follow behind.

Or not.

Wasn’t outside the realm to believe that they wouldn’t chicken out then and there. But, if they had any spines, she half-expected to hear the sound of rushing footsteps coming behind her as they hoped to keep up.

She led their little expedition, not by choice, but seeming to be out of purely the nature of natural hierarchy. What was she, if not an adult woman in the company of two children essentially and a juvenile Magic creature that likely had as little insight or intelligent thought as the duo. The only thing that she could have remarked towards them were of comments she happened to overhear as she walked along, a pair of attempted introductions, both giving names that would be likely forgotten, sprinkled within a general lack of information that was worthwhile.

Except for one thing. Blue Pegasus. The guild that Astrid had, at best, a mixed relationship with, viewing it and its members in a far worse light than that of their guild leader, and her ally sworn by blood, Alisa Vollan. Though, that greater sentiment may have since become a bit warmer in recent memory, what with Astrid having reversed much of the original legislature that she had first pushed while as a Senator, effectively erasing the plight that Alisa and her members had suffered under.

That wasn’t to say that such political shifting would erase the memory seared into the minds and memories of many a Blue Pegasus members, of her having walked through the doors of Blue Pegasus and having applied lost, unforgivable Magic upon them, to the point of it being her possessing them. Quite a few who felt that firsthand, but the two with her, she didn’t much recall seeing any children during her presentation. No doubt that they had been present then, their reaction to Astrid would not be anything close to as warm as they had made them be.

Or perhaps they had made mention of it? Admittedly Astrid did not give too much thought to it, her focus instead having shifted to overcoming the invasive smell that was lingering throughout the air, even with its own pungent taste to it. It was sickening. And it was only made worse the further they ventured in, the trio once behind her now quickly picking up and even overtaking her in their descent deeper in, a thick liquid soaking their feet as they continued to slog their way through.

It was miserable.

Everything about this was awful.

The smell was putrid. The taste that seemed to cake the air was so acidic that she found herself deliberately tearing into the inside of her mouth, drawing blood if only for the sake of having something else to taste than the alternative.

That she was venturing through this hell with the promise of something relating to the Void at the end of this, under no other circumstances would she ever find herself willing to travel through something as revolting as a foreign sewer. She dreaded this experience. She recalled a saying that her father once said, that adversity would build character and make a person better for it. With each step she knew that it was all the more shit, her father’s words and this kind of environment.

It had left her so frustrated, so jaded even, that her focus had almost been completely averted, had it not been for the Sonar within her head going off. Three figures in total, not too far out, indicative of if nothing else them having gone the correct way. Or at least a way that promised some sign of life, and perhaps a clue towards the Void. She said nothing at first, continuing to walk forward as small talk was made between the others, Astrid contributing nothing herself, just instead keeping intent focus on who may have been before them.

Finally, whatever she had picked up had been also discovered by the rest of the troupe, it appearing to be a trio of small creatures, kobolds. Ugly things that she had seldom ever interacted with; things that she would not have put past that the Blue Pegasus mages were far more aware of, whether through their own experiences or those of their guildmates. Either way, they certainly were beyond Astrid’s own expertise.

Alerted, she stood back while one of the Blue Pegasus mages rushed forward, taking to combat in a leadership sort of manner, a role that none had genuinely taken for themselves, not even Astrid. It was interesting to her, if nothing else, seeing one of the children take the initiative, to the point that she had become more interested in the spectacle than that of the actual fight that were now taking place. An explosion burst above, one of the grates slumping down as a massive splash threw water in all directions, where the other Blue Pegasus wizard had disappeared to being unclear. She assumed that in likelihood he would have been close towards his companion.

He probably wasn’t dead, if nothing else.

More interesting to her though were the creatures and how they seemed to have responded to the ambush going on. One found themselves directly in the throws of the one who charged, another was taken back by the suddenness, while the third seemed to be somewhere between the two in terms of awareness. That somewhat-preparedness did little to help either of them as a web shot out from her wrist, taking hold of one of the other two kobold, ensnaring it within. A quick pull and down went both of the kobolds, both of them landing in the water with another large explosion of water. Astrid looked, seeing the sewage water nearly rise to their heads. If it were a little deeper, then no doubt it would be drowning conditions for them.

She said nothing, but looked at the two creatures with a look of disdain and disgust even, holding out her hand down towards the kobolds as a blast of Eldritch Dragon Slayer Magic rippled out, creating a massive explosion outwards, causing much of the foundation and ground within the sewer to give way, effectively creating a crater within the water. The kobolds, assuming not outright killed in the blast, would almost certainly have been pushed back by the force to the base of the sewer, their bodies smashing against what she assumed to have been concrete or some other hard substance. If conscious, their bodies would be tattered, in agony, now having descended within an artificial hole as water poured down upon them like that of a waterfall crushing down upon them.

Astrid took a step back, feeling the ground beneath her feet crack slightly as small bits of concrete lent down into the hole, rubble to bury what may have still lived within that drowned crater.

It did not account for the third one, the one engaged in combat with the Blue Pegasus children, but as far as she was concerned, she had had given them a significant boon. Three versus two was hardly a fair fight to put children through. Even with whatever reservations she may have had towards them, she figured a two versus one could at least go their way.

---
Synopsis:

Used Spider Pull (Target) on one of the Kobolds, snagging it and pulling it and another Kobold into the water. Used Eldritch Dragon's Mind Blast to blast them with kinetic force that creates a crater in the floor, blasting the two Kobolds into it, potentially dead, potentially unconscious, potentially with broken bodies, all while water fills in, the pressure causing them to remain underneath, inevitably drowning as time goes on.

One Kobold remains fighting Vesper, and potentially Briar Caidth.

Mana: 11,250/11,530

Passive Effects:
Major Sonar Detection: Astrid can can use sonar to detect the movements of anyone within a 50-meter range and sense their location.

• via Aberration
  

Name: String Pull (Target)
Rank: A
Mana Cost: 200
Requirements: Arachnida
Type: Supplementary
Element: Arcane
Range: 20 meters
Cooldown: 4
Duration: Instant
Effect: The user shoots a strand of web from their wrists and connects it to a second point. The user can then pull the target at spell speed towards themselves. If it is an object, it must weigh less than twice the weight of the user. If it is a character, their strength must be more than the target and the target will be pulled at spell speed. This can be negated if the user uses mana equivalent to the mana cost of the spell to break free. If they fail, they are pulled towards the user keeping a distance of 3 meters between the user and the target.


Name: Eldritch Dragon's Mind Blast
Rank: A
Mana Cost: 200 [80]
Requirements: Eldritch Dragon Slayer Magic
Type: Offensive [Enhancement: Damage Over Time, Armor Piercing, Overcharge - Offensive]
Element: Arcane
Range: 20 Meters [50 Meters | +10 Sage Monarch's Sunglasses, +20 Magus Passive]
Cooldown: 4 Posts [2 Posts]
Duration: Instant
Effect: The user pushes their palm forward towards a target to release an invisible blast. The blast expands outward in a cone, reaching a maximum height and width of 10 meters at the conclusion of the spell. It causes 1 S-Rank worth of damage on impact and knocks the target back for the remainder of the range.