“How......not...?”
“Hey! ......check...”
“Rain? Rain!”
“...breathing......probably...”
“How are we not dead?!”
“...already asked that.”
“...where...th...”
“Dust! Stop! Leave.......”
“......Meteor was...”
“...used.......Raiment but......enough to...”
“...my cloak is...”
“How are we not dead?!”
“Seriously? We get it.”
“...there is......where...?”
“...Empire...”
“...would you stop!?”
The voices coming to Rain as if through a badly tuned radio snapped into clarity, bringing with them the roar of the terrified city and the continuing detonations from the harbor. He gasped, sucking in a lungful of humid air as he lurched up from the broken ground, or rather, tried to. Instead, his chest crashed straight into something heavy that snorted and pulled away.
He blinked, the object swimming into focus.
Dust?
“Rain!” Vanna shouted.
“Stay still,” Mereck said, and Rain lifted his head to see the slightly-singed former innkeeper sitting beside him on the shattered cobblestones. “How’s your health?”
Rain’s jaw worked as he tried to respond. His head felt like a thousand miniature dwarves had crawled inside his skull and had been vigorously mining his brainstem for gold. He glanced at his HUD, seeing his health at about half and his mana in critical condition.
Shit.
Sitting up, the reality of his situation struck through the haze, and he reached for Winter and Detection, shoving aside the pain. “Health’s at half. Keep healing.” Detection informed him that everyone was still alive, and his mind sharpened as Winter settled in, allowing him to think.
Meteor was a fourth-tier spell, something he hadn’t thought the Adamants to have access to. They’d clearly targeted them via Divination and had likely chosen Meteor for its indirect line of attack. Barring other factors, nothing would stop them from doing it again. In fact, he was surprised they hadn’t already.
“Rain—“ Vanna began.
He cut her off, his eyes blazing with mana as he drew heavily upon his Magewell amulet. “Hang on, gotta make sure we’re safe...” Concentrating, he triggered an essence exchange, then summoned a dialog to show him his current regeneration info.
Progress Report
marker_1: WHAT?! [3061 Seedlings 28 23:56]
marker_2: how_are_we_not_dead? [3061 Seedlings 29 00:04]
Span: 8 minutes
Skills
Heat Ward: +45,262 exp, 0 -> 14 (+14)
Prismatic Intent: +1 exp
Synchronization
Endurance: 19.8 -> 25.7 (+5.9)