Simaal rubs his back as he strains to stand, "A bit too well hit for my taste, that was not the pleasant caress of a Danuba dancer, that's for sure. Well, are we all relatively alive? Ah good then, at least there's that. Hmm... well if the new team of lease monstrous looking party wins the field, they'll probably meld with the sphere and then I'm certain I will know. Either way, we may have minutes if they can track us here, or at least an hour before a bonding can occur." He takes out some bandages and bandages himself after finding a place to make himself comfortable. He keeps his backpack handy as if something will occur shortly. "What is this place in any case?".

The scent of pine trees never felt so sweet! Mirica looked around with both relief and sadness. The place used to be her private escape spot when life was getting a bit too overwhelming, but lately she was coming here in the moment of the greatest danger for the half-dead people. Practically a definition of a hospital. She smiled (internally) at the comparison. Well, if it is a hospital - then back to business.

First, she checked if Simaal was alive and summoned the healing spirit to heal the most horrible wounds. (Healing Spirit 5th level 6 charges 20 each). Then she could explain the things to newcomers - she realized, the lion brothers were unfamiliar with the place.

"We can return right away, should you wish so. Or we can stay here for days. In both cases, we will return precisely to the spot that we left. I would assume, inside the mythallar chamber." She touched the spirit, as her own wounds kept her dizzy and who knows when others would decide to get back, she had to be ready. (Mirica takes one charge out of 6)

"I can not say much about the battle, though. We were in that sphere first, then the wall of fire - could not see Russel, could not bring him here either. You said he was with the wizards? Figures... No, we did not know about that. Seems like the Circle of Truth was not such a bad idea after all..." She did not feel betrayed - the kenku always kept to himself. And, after all, they only wanted to know if he was in league with Larloch. Was he? Or were the wizards? They might find out later.

"It did seem like there were numerous parties there. Yet, I do not think it was our activity that summoned them. Auril - yes, she was bound to the mythallar, but others could simply follow liches activity, that siphoned mythallar's energy, or maybe watched each other. Do not think they were hiding in the ruins patiently waiting for us to arrive. Do not think it's the case when we could dispatch one group after another in a raw. The battle was ensured from the start."

"As for the "cloud"... This is some kind of magical disturbance. The result of what Larloch is doing to the world. It attacks and twists magic and magic users. Or anything that moves near them too. Can be fought, even "defeated" but ... each is a bit different. Maybe that particular one is undefeatable? We will find out when we return."

"Can not say anything about that new wizard and others with him. Never saw those people. They seemed to be fighting the liches, but so did Auril and the others. Maybe I had to take them here too?" Mirica shuddered at the idea of accidentally bringing here some enemies and shook her head. "Maybe not. But whoever they are, at the moment we can assume that at least some enemies will be dead when we return. By the way, if we are staying for a bit longer, there is the cabin down the path, where we can rest."

Should everyone decide to take a break, she would show the way. She personally, truly needed a rest.

Simaal pipes up after Mirica "Well the summoning part, that's easy to explain. Once I finished bonding all those bonded to the sphere were all aware that someone else has joined their party. I'll also know if someone else joins the sphere... Granted not sure how it would work in here, but at least that's the impression I got during the bonding."

Xemnez had frowned just a little, but to the insightful seemed reluctant to contradict his brothers claims regarding 'knowing better'. Yet not long after, both ears are up as Mirica, rather intentionally or not as golden furred leonin had been the most insistent on the gamble, defended their actions. His grateful smile proved to be a short lived one however, as conversation turned towards inevitably to the battle and grim prospects.

"I... It feels.. strange, but I do not find myself eager to tangle with the Mullet Mage and his allies, or even that of Auril at the moment. Our injuries-.." He gestures to his own patches of burnt fur. "Not to be forgotten themselves, and our collect magical gear to be reattuned as well. So at the very least, we should take a couple of hours to rest. Or no more than a day's time beyond that, should some plan come to mind that requires it. Any more and we may afford those liches or our other competition -- those that have survived at least, far too much leeway. Agreed?"

Once all appear to be mostly on the same page, he'd look and nod to Mirica, signaling for her to lead the way. As far as making use of the spirit's presence prior to then, he'd prioritize the others in mutely waiting for them to make the most of it.

Thyrius listens to Mirica studiously and accepts one of the healing charger she offer (4 left, it seems.)

"So you finished bonding..." Thyrius turns to face Simaal. "That is good. Can you somehow tell whoelse is bonded to the Mythallar? Perhaps you can go a step further and be able to say how dead or alive other bonded individuals might be?"

Then, agreeing with his brother, Thyrius adds: "If we are to stay for a couple hours, we might as well catch a good night sleep. Who knows when we'll be able to do so again. Surely, the enemies will rest and regroup as well but, with some luck, those who were defeated won't rise again in just eight or so hours and that blob of nefarious magic may have moved on by then. We may even return to find the mullets and the reds have thinned each other's band."

As Mirica leads the group along a slim forest trail towards a rather meek looking log cabin, Toc expounds upons Mirica's explanations. "Of the magical disturbance, we have met them twice before. Once in the ruins of Myth Drannor, where lies another Mythallar. The thing seemed to have formed ...naturally and was moving about the ruins. At the time the Mythallar there was being...drawn upon and there were many broken weave threads. We destroyed it but...using magic against them caused wild and strange ripples that left permanent changes to those nearby. Fianna grew antlers, and someone else could only blow bubbles when they wished to speak. Though not all were bad. We encountered another one on our way here....during a particularly energetic magical exchange with a raiding party of frost giants. The thing formed seemingly as a result of a great deal of magic being used. As Mirica said, they seem to be able to be destroyed with magical weapons. As for Mullet-wizard, we've not met him or his allies before. As for Russel...I must concur with Mirica that though I'm disappointed, I'm not entirely surprised. He has always been reticent with his knowledge, saying little ever, and even in combat has seemed....less than inclined to fully join the fights we've found ourselves in. I am pleased that his betrayal is not to Larloch himself." 

The group steps through the wooden door into the small cabin only to find its inside space is considerably larger and more luxurious than should be possible based on its exterior.  A long wooden table set with all manner of delicious and piping hot food seems to be set for dinner, while hallways, rooms, and stairs lead to a myriad of other locations within the house. Large windows look out onto the forest even though no such grandiose features were visible from the outside. 

Toc moves over to the table where he puts down his staff on the bench and sits, pulling up a bunch of grapes, shoving them into his mouth.  "I must say, I'm rather concerned about what could be happening back there. We've essentially given up our...say....in the outcome until we return. Hopefully Simaal can indeed sense if anything changes. But likewise, you don't hear me complaining about taking a rest. We shall be able to return fully prepared to take on whomever is left. My only real regret is the loss of the shield guardian. It was a potent magical aid for one such as myself. Surely I would have been in much worse shape had I not been shielded by it. Sadly, I believe it to have been entirely destroyed. Anyway, we should discuss if there are any specific preparations we wish to make upon our return, so that Mirica and I may prepare accordingly."

Simaal figures he would probably know if someone else tried to take the last bond spot. He also knows that the other 4 that are already taken have not currently been liberated. That is to say, all four of the other creatures bonded to the sphere are still alive. 

(Everyone can feel free to take a long rest and do other stuff.)

Jezun speaks up before they take their rest. “Toc are you okay? Mirica I’m glad you aren’t dead, that was scary. So is there any way to spy on that room from here? It would be good to know if Auril and the liches and the wizards and Russel and the other people kept fighting each other, and who won. Simaal are you worried people linked to the ball can find you? And could you find them? Can you feel them now?” He pauses, having asked enough questions. 

"I do not think it is possible." Actually, Mirica never even thought about the possibility, for the place being a completely separate and very private plane of existence. But she was not that versed in the theory of magic either. "But if we are supposed to feel the connection even here... You, me and Toc should know then if Russel is still alive. Simaal can tell the same about Auril and some others - do hope he can identify them - who managed to bond with that mythallar. I wonder how they did it without killing each other there and then... Anyway, we should be able to sense at least something and the rest might be deducted."

Wounded and tired Mirica still took just a hot tea and an apple - something that was very desired in the ever frozen lands - and went outside to sit on the porch enjoying another treasure - the sunlight. She could hear and answer to others but just now fully realized how weary the everlasting night was on her. "Feels like it does make sense to wait longer. If you have questions that could help us, I might get the answers should the Morninglord wish to help up. Do you think we need the divine protection again tomorrow?"

Thyrius was sad to hear Toc's comments on Russel: "The failure is ours, then. If the bird's detachment from the group was so obvious for so long, a betrayal should have been sniffed out earlier." He looks at his brother before turning back to Toc: "Back home, our Pride does not respond well to traitors. Xem here will be the first one to denounce disloyalty, as a leader should."

In terms of strategy, Thyrius will have to think a bit more. For now, he offers this: "It is clear our enemies are expert spell-slingers. We are at a disadvantage when they can nullify almost all magical efforts Toc and Mirica can throw at them. I am not sure what can be done about that. Hopefully Shock won't reform too quickly and we'll have one less lich to worry about, and the invulnerable one at that. What we could consider is a way to keep them and the owl-goat grounded so that Jesun, Xem, and I can stab them effectively. Perhaps we can trap them within a barrier, like they did with so many of us? Cage the lions with a lich inside, then let us loose once we are ready to hunt another... they did teleport around, though."

He then makes a more poignant point: "The timing of our return will be very important. Should we rest for a full night, I suggest we return to the fight immediately after. With some luck, their fight will last a while longer such that they wouldn't catch enough of a rest themselves by the time we return. That said, those creatures sure looked like they have transcended the concept of resting."

Seeing others start to eat, Thyrius is reminded that he should probably take a bit at something too. Despite the vast offering, the black cat grabs nothing but an apple, munching at it slowly and in an uninterested manner. There is no joy in the act.

Toc sits back, a plate full of roast beef, mashed yams, and gravy....probably one of the hardiest meals anyone has seen him take as he stuffs his mouth while drinking down a crystal glass full of orange juice.  "I've been thinking about that.  I have two ideas.  First, I think I should fetch Tic for this battle. He is my....twin...and he will be able to assist me in countering their spells, and preventing their counter spells.  The other idea....well..." he glances at Jezun.   "Our friend here has another side to him. A wizard. He came out once when Jezun had been...psychically blasted. I suggest I try a few things, non-harmful obviously...to try and draw out his wizard personality.  Jezun....I would not consider it without your tacit approval of course." 

Jezun nods warily... "what do you have in mind? I trust you, but I don't understand this very much. But if it would help everyone then please try."

Simaal pipes up after he's finished bandaging. "Well if we have any anti-magic shells or the like, that would be most useful I would think, if those can be thrown on our warriors that may prove most useful. Additionally if the cloud thing isn't there, ensure we blast high powered magic until it appears to disrupt magic again. That said, there are other issues. I think the whole city could be moved, so if we appear there we may be in ice, or in lava for that matter. I'd personally feel better if we teleport say on he outskirts and re-enter that way. Right now I'm certainly drained, so going into combat right now would prove rather detrimental. Also unless they are waiting or setup sensors or the like, they wouldn't know we're back there in any case, for whoever survived that is. Side note, trying to fight control a druidess over the hammer creatures would have been a losing battle, but against an average person I may have a chance to turn them to our side, so I wouldn't necessarily concentrate on the hammer things and instead concentrate on the icewitch instead. Granted I think all would be able to take control of them, but she would be hardest to best I would think."

Toc looks up, "One issue I've encountered with anti-magic spheres. Some creatures can only be hurt by magical weapons and spells. If you put your warrior in an anti-magic bubble and send him into combat with such a creature, he will be fighting an unbeatable opponent." 

Then Toc looks shrewdly over at Simaal, "Simaal....you seem to have.....specific knowledge of the mental arena. Is there anything you might be able to do, to help Jezun?"

For the most part after having said his piece before, Xemnez had appeared content to let conversation flow without much input. His brother could pick up the slack well enough, and his own expertise and experience was left little more to add that the others weren't swiftly accounting for in planning. Even so, he watched with interest while absently filling his maw with dinner. "Hm... Could use more salt." He muttered at some point, and would proceed to sprinkle a pinch over a steak before carrying on with the meal. 

Simaal muches on a dried sausage and some cheese, "hmm, unfortunately I've never encountered anything that can protect the mind. If we have time, and as long as I drain my powers, I could protect folks from electricity and fire for instance, but I would need time as well to do that."

"If we are to focus on the owl-goat," Thyrius interrupts with a brief comment, "could one of you give my brother and I the ability to fly?"

It feels like it took hours, but finally Simaal seems to understand what Toc has been asking about Jezun as he says "Oh... that... well... it would be invasive, but there's a chance I could find out why you Jezun shifted, and potentially force a shift, but beyond it being invasive it's not something I've attempted before. And uhm... I think... there may be.... a chance that I may trigger another undiscovered personality... I don't believe I would be able to damage or block you out of a personality, just be able to affect a shift. If willing to take that chance we should do that before resting since it takes some time, and it will drain me."

"Nonetheless, up to you Jezun. It would also help if you kept your mind as clear as possible focusing on memories involving your shifts, and also if you try and resist, it's likely it will fail. The process will take a couple of hours and we won't know if it works or not until the end."

"Sorry Thyrius, no ability here to make you fly, or make the owl-goat not fly."

Toc shrugs, "I suppose I can enable a few of us to fly.  I will need to focus on the spell though. My apologies if the spell gets broken by some means and you fall a distance."  He smiles. 

To Simaal and Jezun he says, "It's worth a shot, why not try...Jezun seems....open to it." 

Simaal suggests the retire to one of the bedrooms in the large cabin, so that Jezun may lay down. Toc goes to watch from a corner. Simaal reaches out with his hand, and puts it upon Jezun's brow, and closes his eyes to focus. Jezun's body jumps a bit, and then is still...and then the minutes begin to tick by in silence.

....

Over all the talk about flight, Xemnez again finding himself muttering while staring at his meal. "Those winged sandals of flight..... I knew I should've taken them, but-..." From there he trailed off shaking his head and chuckling to himself. Finally he looks up to where Mirica had exited the building and answers, "If you can afford it. But by my brother's own assertions, the competition will be thinned... eh, if for a time. Nevermind the results between Mullet man and the Red Robes. Who from what I recall did not exactly strike me as sharing type. So, I would not say it would be absolutely necessary." 

With the assertion made he takes a few moments to render his plate fully bereft of any traces of its contents before speaking up once more. "Where, uhm... where were we on divining on our prize's location? Or is that more a after we rest sort of thing?" He asks, and just as soon as he receives the reminder simply nodded and rose up from his seat. "Then unless there's more to consider, point me where I may rest, and I shall see you all in whatever amounts to morning."