Chapter 3: Crow's Nest

Froak is already headed toward the interior of his building when the cry from the guard reaches his ears. He stands up straight, cheerful manner suddenly transformed into nervous watchfulness. He looks across the street to see if he can still see Verrian. When she's spotted, he waves his arms to catch her attention, and points down toward the interior of the building.

Verrian sees huge thunderhead clouds brewing to the northeast. Thunderstorms weren't all that unusual, back in Meriava. The lake has always had a tendency to breed strange weather patterns. There was never any indication that they were to be feared beyond the normal fear of thunder and lightning.

Ephwrath casts his spell with practiced ease, and can instantly sense an aura. As he turns, eventually he comes to face toward the northeast. There's a strong aura of magic, but strangely far off. In a quick moment of insight, he realizes that it's coming from outside. He moves to a window and looks outside. The sight is gorgeous and terrifying and fascinating and... familiar.

He instantly recognizes the swirling auras of magic he saw at the Meriava harbor, but where they seemed then to flow gracefully through the air and water like diaphanous, delicate silk, now they race into the sky, twining and colliding with one another with explosions of magical power. Were it possible, you would swear they were warring with one another, but it can't be possible, can it?

They build and grow, and build and grow... snaking through the clouds overhead and filling them with crackling auras of light. You can feel the pulse of power inside you, twisting your insides into knots, and again you realize that the farther from Elora you've gotten, the stronger that twisting grows.

They build and grow, and move out from the center of the lake. Out from where the island of the Shining City would be, though from here the island can't be seen through the buildings. Out toward the shore line.

Out.

Toward you.

Froak is patting his lilypad hat, speaking quietly to the rat that is presumably inside. Something's rummaging around inside there, anyway. Hard to believe it would be anything but the rat.

"I have seen storms, when the water pounds from the sky and the great lights flash and booms echo," says Froak, hurrying toward the door that would lead to the rest of the party. "But I have only seen the crazy storm one time. I do not wish to be caught in the crazy storm, not any of our friends caught in it. The storm blows through, and things... change."

He looks at Verrian with wide eyes. "I do not have the words to explain more than just... change." But the way his voice drops into a whisper when he says this last makes you wish that he did have the words. "We must stay inside. Go below ground if we can. If we hurry, we can make it back to our friends."

The wind outside knocks something over with a clatter and crash. Bits of debris and swirling dust fly past.

Froak bobs his head up and down once and opens the door. He pokes his head outside to see if there are any crazy storms, One-Eyed Crows, or assorted flying objects to worry about before he beckons Verrian forward. "Let's go. Quickly." With his hands holding his hat to keep it from flying away, he hops forward into the street and off toward the party headquarters.

Verrian and Froak

The streets are mercifully empty of spying eyes -- possibly because everyone else has already had the sense to get in out of the storm -- and Verrian and Froak are able to return to the hideout without too much trouble. There's blowing dust that gets in the eyes and down the throat, and there was a pile of toppled barrels to go around (or in Froak's case, leap over) that slowed things down for a time, but no serious obstacles to overcome. As they duck inside the building, Verrian can see the clouds growing closer, though still at least a few minutes off, even in the growing gale. They billow strangely close to the ground. Someone with more curiosity than brains might be tempted to try and reach up and touch them. They flash with apparent lightning, though there's a discomfiting lack of accompanying thunder.

As they go into the building, Froak is already calling out the names of the others, worried that they're not here. "Where are they? Where have the friends gone?"