Light Wins

Nobody was quite sure what to do with the relic or how to "turn it off". It's spirit was committed to performing it's function, so Tetsuko couldn't just ask it nicely to stop. Finally, Vincent had the brainstorm to check Nattradr's clothing and found his journal.

I flipped through the pages as fast as I could (which is really fast) and figured out what we needed to do. We had to "snuff out" the "fuse" which was the growing darkness. So, we decided to recreate Tetsuko's trick with the reflective surfaces in the elevator and I told Vincent to get the mirrors from the restrooms.

It worked. The light bounced around the elevator where we put the relic and it amplified (physics can suck it) and a bright beam of light shot forth, out the window and up into the sky, dispelling the darkness and clearing the clouds. I didn't realize it was supposed to be daylight. It felt good to feel the sun again.

Our job finished, Amaterasu, Tetsuko's mother, arrived to congratulate us and she healed me enough to stand on my own power. I also feel... different. Like my ichor got thicker. I'm still banged up, though. I need some rest and relaxation. I'm thinking someplace warm and sunny. Maybe Florida. Or the Bahamas. Or Cancune. Or Hawai'i. Or....

Bent, Broken, Unbowed

I still hurt all over.

I'm still not sure whether what I did was smart or really stupid.

We started to take the battle to Nattrador, the svartalfar leader. I asked him what the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow was, for confusing effect. Tetsuko and Vincent capitalized on what I'd done and smacked him good. Or, well, it should have, but he didn't take that damage, instead getting hit out of his clothes and out of Vincent's grasp.

He appeared behind me and quipped "African or European?" he thought he was so damn clever. He held me out over the edge of the building. I wasn't about to be a damsel in distress. Being the weakest one had been enough of a liability and I made sure that underestimating me was the last mistake the svartalfar made.

I retorted, "I don't know that." and I grabbed him in turn, got my heels on the edge of the building and pulled for all I was worth. We tumbled down the side of the building and I think he did that shadow-stepping trick again, which is the only thing that kept both of us from becoming street-pizza.

I think nearly every bone in my body was broken. The bastard was still alive and I'd landed ontop of him. I grabbed my dagger and cut the bastard's throat before collapsing. Then Vincent yanked me off the street with his arm wrappings and pulled me up to a landing a few stories up. He needs to learn how to handle the injured, I can't describe how much that hurt.

He bound me up and carried me on his back as he climbed up the side of the building back to the top. When we got there, Tetsuko was talking to the spirit of the relic that we were seeking. I just wish they'd take the damn thing rather than being all cautious about it. I just want to rest in a bed for a month. I made Tetsuko promise not to lecture me about this, later.