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.
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.