Vernon
Indeed, as Veitvaazva rushes forward & immediately succeeding Aazkue's attack, Tabby places her crossbow completely at the ready as the powerful man bursts towards her with intent to kill. To say she didn't flinch would be a lie — it was unnatural for her to have to react to a man *THAT* Strong with *THAT* Much speed coming straight towards her — yet remains steadfast in her plan to just distract. If anyone were to attack Vaazva directly, it would be better if she provided suppressing fire so that, even if a bit, some actual progress could be made to halt the monster.

Tabby, with her loaded bolt enchanted with the cantrip *Light* Takes aim, firing the bolt *Directly next to Vaazva's head*, intentionally missing the shot. It wouldn't matter if it connected — the man is too strong to simply get hit by it. No, instead, her plan was to *Blind* Vaazva temporarily at the least.

His eyes are wreathed in magic, right? What if, for a moment, we tried to take away that ability to see? What would happen?

_ _
The cat's *Extra Attack* Kicks in, another magical bolt loading; this one *Not* Enchanted with the same arcana as the previous, instead remaining as plain as the crossbow can make it. In the second after the bolt would whiz by Veitvaazva's head, she would make another attack onto his left *Kneecap*, using *Light* As a distraction, hoping & praying that by taking away the ability to see for a moment that she would be able to land a handicapping blow unto the man, trying to cease his advance by any means necessary. 

A voice from behind causes Tabby to *Also* Look over her shoulder, failing to stand at the ready as. .. *I know that voice.* 

The voice of the man from the plaza, who was... Looking for someone. "Wh-"—

— After the firing of the second bolt & wave of solar power, the *Shield Guardian* Suddenly rushes forward and breaks ranks to do so in an attempt to make up for Tabby's sudden confusion, readying it's fists to meet Vaazva on the field of battle. Yet, as it swings towards the man's abdomen, it is engulfed in a bright white light, same as anyone else nearby, sending its programming spinning as it attempts to correct what previously didn't need correcting in its approach. It seems that by overloading its sensors, the automatons that Tabby has surrounded herself in simply do not function correctly; trying and trying to regain any sense of sight as it swings wildly.

_ _
Tabby raises her arm in an attempt to cover her eyes from the sudden burst of the arcane, desperately wishing she could behold such a spectacle as she does so. She closes her eyes, grits her teeth, and drops her crossbow so to add more defense to her poor eyes. As the brilliant aura relieves itself from the duty of burning her eyeballs, she opens them once more — flipping down her protective goggles in the hopes that they might take some of the slack. Watching as the all-powerful Guardian ascends to the skies, reminding her of stories she had once heard not too long ago. 

The magic-wielder has only one thing to say aloud to Cumhall & the goat.

"What... The hell was that??"
Keri
He was powerless to intervene, his injuries far too great to risk, he could not lift a finger to harm them keenly aware of his own mortality.
His mind harkens back to the name he had taken Cumhall, man of myth, founder of the great Fianna and father of the greatest warrior to grace the isles, as he looked now upon the demi gods before him he wondered how much of those tales were true.
Veitvaazva still had yet reveal his hand, his strength still a mystery Cumhall would stay rooted firmly in place until...

 ```"The final embers of the Knights of Sol... Have been extinguished by the intruders before you"```

**We are all going to die, reduced to ashes upon the ground without so much as a wind to carry our remains to the wider world**

He had only one thing now on his mind; an exit strategy, perhaps if they made it back down to the ground gate, maybe they could use the VARET to escape.
He was not sure how Aazkue would react to the news, but he did not have high hopes for a diplomatic solution seeing as his entire body burst into flame.
*RUN* The word looped in his mind as he watched the exiles be whisked away, but still they remained and he would be powerless to act, his first instinct of course was to run. 
The blue root that had obscured the doorway to the second floor was uncovered. *He had to run* His prayers had been answered and an exit strategy unfolded before him but his feet felt as if they had been nailed to the ground, he could not will himself forwards, instead he looked to his companions, the 2 who remained.
*The cat will be fine, she is uninjured and has her automata, but the bandit..*
Kuouo had a broken leg, he would incapable of making haste, he cursed himself silently for caring about someone who was practically a stranger, if he just ran now he would be clear of danger and could complete his mission..

*He ran*

But he did not run forwards, he ran backwards, skidding to a stop beside Kuouo.

```diff
- "Listen we don' have much time to argue this place is a sinkin' ship and i don' know wha' happened to the exiles but we can' stick around t'find out. If we stay we're dead, at his hands directly or caught in the crossfire whos t'say but that don' matter, we gotta run for that tower." -
```
He grabbed his right arm tearing it free from the socket.
```diff
- "You gotta trust me now, i don' need two arms t'run but you need two legs" -
```
He clicked through a series of menus on a digital screen concealed on the bicep, and the arm sprang open, re arranging itself, a number of the internal components simply dropped to the ground- a number of hidden tools, lockpicks and the sort - some sort of hidden weapon - and the various thrusters which allowed him to make rocket propelled strikes.
He held out the cybernetic to Kuouo.
```diff
- "Now this should attatch to your leg and basically do all the heavy liftin' for ya, it's a bit heavy an' akward but it'll be alot better than tryna run on a broken leg." -
```

To each their own, the bandit refused his help, something he thought may happen but he had at least tried, now was the time for escape.
```diff
- "Hurry up drone!" -
```
He did not wait around, scooping up his belongings and sprinting into the tower, he would look back briefly at Aazkue, he did not know what would happen to Aazkue or to the watch but, it did not matter, he had a job to do, he pushed down those feelings and made his way up the staircase to the second floor.
Jeremy
The drone whirred and beeped, taking a last glance at the gleaming star of Aazkue, and taking a scan, before trundling its way through the doorway and up the ascent.
Vernon
The cat reaches her hand up for one of her automatons to hold — seeing as the Guardian was a few paces further away by now, the Defender takes her hand, slinging her back over its shoulders and taking great care to scoop up her crossbow, additionally preparing to move onto the Second Floor.

In Tabby's ear, a soft hum — audible only to her — emanates. 

*The Abyss Watch.*

The artificer hastily pulls out the device and opens up in her palm, yet the goopy form of *Cadwynn* Does not manifest this time. It seems that — although magical — the device has two modes. One to bring forth the ""Avatar"", and one for simple-yet-effective *Paging* With no way for individual watches to respond or send information back. In this instance the latter is demonstrated.

*No... What?*

Relayed to her on said screen — in *Dwarvish* — is a very simple command. An order to return to headquarters as soon as possible. It seems that on-high has decided her expedition in provided them with more liability than the fruit it bore. *If we continue further knowing full-well that we are woefully unprepared, it could result in coming to terms with our __mortality__.* She thinks. *Even though I have my golems with me.*

She softly sighs, twiddling with the watch until she closes it. *How frustrating! How unfair!* The spellcaster sends the signal to the Defender & Guardian to move in towards the Ascent, following the lead of both Kuouo and Cumhall, although a few paces behind of course.
Anne
As the frontal gates to the greattower that was the Ascent to the Second Floor were left open, the outsiders to the Vektet would be able to, in haste, make their way into its midst. The atmosphere about them shifts from the warmth of the warmth of the Star of Individuality outside to one of a colder, distant nature — strange, ethereal, and lucid, as they found themselves stood atop a familiar cylindrical stone, engraved across its entire surface with strange runes and the like. 

A magic energy of a cold and nebulous nature fluxed about the group, as the ground beneath them begins to glow brilliantly with an azure light, one-in-the-same as the glow as the Divine Root, and the very teleportative magicks that brought them into the Vektet, in the first place. There were no stairs to rise, and, indeed, it was identical to the Ground Gate of their entry — no more than a hollow, open room, with a cylindrical stone at its center. And so, in the moment that they stepped atop the stone and activated its divine properties, the group would begin to whisk away, transported, to a location entirely foreign.

As their forms begin to lose tangibility and whisk into nothingness, only to be remanifested and located elsewhere, they each cannot shake the thought that they have, in their own ways, changed the course of the *Vektet's* Eternal society in a way that would shake it to its very foundation. Something had occurred that had never been seen before, due to their intervention — the breaking of a *Divine oath.*

*```beep...
Beep...```*
_ _

...Yet, as they were certain they would be transported to the Second Floor,
Each of their individual V.A.R.E.T devices begin to beep and glow, initiating a synchronization process without any consent. The device whirrs with a strange technological hum, its interior devices incapable of being stopped, as the small interface on the side of the satchel which contained its inner workings began to flash a multitude of colors. The teleportation process was interrupted, a 'checkpoint' formed, as each of the V.A.R.E.Ts directly interfere with the destination of the Ascent to the Second Floor's teleportation.

They find themselves not in a location entirely foreign, but again at the foot of the Vektet — on *Earth,* Familiar, yet made distant in the time that they spent within the Vektet.

**So ends the adventure of the three, only to be continued at an unknown time in the future...**

**```QUEST 1 CONCLUDED```**