The tabletop war between Xaviex and Magnus raged on, at least until the relative newcomer seemed to find himself at an impasse. Magnus waited patiently, crossing his forearms as he leaned forward onto the table, watching with interest as his opponent's queen made multiple back-and-forths across the board. When Xaviex got up and started to peer at the board from a lower vantage point, Magnus furrowed his brow, somewhat confused by the method. Well, everyone had their own tricks, he supposed. When he turned to the other side, Magnus couldn't help but feel amused, and dropped a comment. "You're<span style="font-style: italic">really</span>getting into the strategics, huh?" He raised one of his hands off of an elbow and rested his cheek against an open palm, waiting patiently for his turn.<br/><br/>Larteis came along, and took Magnus's attention from Xaviex's strange antics. Amusing as they were, it was nice to see someone familiar take interest in conversing as well. After Xaviex gave his own answer, Magnus reinforced it with a smile and nod. "If you'd like, you could join us as well. Take on the winner, maybe?" He turned back to the board just in time to see Xaviex finally take one of his pieces. A smile crept its way across his face. "Oh, caught me off guard. I see how we're doing this." He linked his fingers and cracked his knuckles, then focused on his wooden army, fingers hovering above the pieces on his side.<br/><br/>While considering his options, Magnus lightly chewed on his bottom lip. "Hmm..." This was quite the predicament he was in. Xaviex, while quite uncouth in how he looked over the board, certainly proved unpredictable so far. Finally deciding on a move, Magnus sent out one of his knights, leading the mighty steed into a defensive position opposite of the fallen pawn. "And praise to those who live to fight again. Your turn," He spoke with a nod, leaning back into his chair.<br/><br/>While waiting for his turn to come again, he began to notice a strange pulsing coming from one of the pouches on his belt. Concerned, he reached into it, and pulled the amulet from its resting place alongside the journal and ring. The crest-bearing necklace, hanging from its string, vibrated every few seconds. Accompanying the movement was a glow of the gems on the face, becoming more and more intense with every passing pulse. Magnus frowned, looking towards Larteis, and began to speak. But before he could get out a single word, a high-pitched ringing came from the amulet, the gems now maintaining a constant glow.<br/><br/>It began to tug itself toward the window, and while the sound brought him discomfort, Magnus looked in the direction that it was attempting to drift toward. A low rumbling noise came from the distance, the sounds of stone shifting and the ground cracking. Moments later, the floor began to violently shake, spilling the bottle on the table over and knocking aside most of the chess pieces. Magnus let go of the amulet and grabbed the table to try and steady it and himself, and a loud screech of the train's brakes activating could be heard, the vehicle slowly coming to a stop as the earthquake continued.<br/><br/>"What was that?!" Magnus half-shouted, to nobody in particular. He stood and looked for the amulet, and found it pressed against the window across the car from where he had been seated. The floating jewelry seemed dead set on getting somewhere, with or without a wearer. As he took the amulet by the string and began to pull it back, he noticed something in the distance.<br/><br/>A swirling vortex appeared in the clouds blanketing the sky, twisting open a hole that revealed the clear blue above them. From it, sunlight broke through, but it soon grew more intense than the sun itself could have produced. What was a glance of blue became blindingly bright for a moment, pillars of white light raining down from the heavens onto the ground below. Around the vortex, multiple halos began to manifest, bright rings of light that circled the pillar and shone with the subtle flicker of colour. They split into multiple smaller rings each, which moved up and down between the larger ones to rib the pillar.<br/><br/>Between the halos, runes of light formed, orbiting the pillar and moving haphazardly around it. Magnus felt an immense pulse of spiritual power, as would anyone else with any form of miracle-casting ability. He partially recognized what was happening. A summoning, meant to draw forth some being from the Otherworld, was occurring on a grander scale than anything he'd ever witnessed or even thought possible. He heard a snapping sound somewhere below his cloak, and while still staring at the pillar of light, he felt around under it until he had the source in his hand.<br/><br/>Laying in his palm, his wooden talisman rested. It split down the center, falling into two pieces and splintering further from there. He looked down at it, mouth agape. Deep within himself, a sense of overwhelming dread began to spread across him, and he watched as the talisman continued to disintegrate itself into nothing more than a pile of wood dust, the small holy power it once held entirely overwhelmed and destroyed by whatever was happening outside.<br/><br/>Balling his hand around it, he let his arm drop and just stared at the light, equal parts mystified and terrified. Even as the train started up again, and the vehicle inched ever closer to the light, he could not even begin to imagine what the end result of such an immense miracle could have been.<br/><br/>-----<br/><br/>On the approach to Marveila, Tarkus acted very much like his usual self, silent unless spoken to and even then talking in small, short replies. It wasn't that he was in a bad mood, or at least not one worse than his usual. He was just very focused, and once the city had come into sight, he was on a one-track train of thought. Getting there, getting in, and finding out what he'd been looking for all this time was a priority above all else. Outside the walls, the group had stopped again, and as Kaya attempted to do some convincing so she wouldn't have to go in, the Jotun listened. He knew not why she was so vehemently against entering the city, but to be frank, he also didn't care. If waiting was what she preferred, then so be it, though he did have some words to offer.<br/><br/>"No," He first answered in regards to whether she<span style="font-style: italic">had</span>to enter. There was nothing necessitating it. If she wanted to wait outside, then so be it. "But I do not see why you would stay out here. You would rather rest out here, by the stables, than go inside?" Tarkus waved an arm towards said stables - filled not only with horses, but with very large, bipedal birds. Cockatrices, if he remembered right. "If a raid happens, where would you defend? Outside the wall?" It was a highly unlikely event, but growing up in a place where raids and combat were a fact of everyday life had instilled a deep appreciation for walls in him. They were strong and tall, and thus, worthy of respect.<br/><br/>Tarkus could have continued on about the potential danger of staying outside, and perhaps started to sound strangely close to a concerned parent, but he was stopped by the sudden panic among the stable animals. Looking toward them, he frowned deeply, then quickly looked for Brom. The giant cat-beast was laying flat on the ground, repeatedly making a noise that was like a deep snarl. Immediately, he knew something was wrong, and a few moments later the ground began to violently shake.<br/><br/>Tarkus stumbled, nearly falling over entirely. He managed to catch himself in a kneel, from which he drew his sword and plunged it deep into the soil, then used it to climb back to his feet. Supporting himself on it by gripping the handle tightly, he intended to wait out the shaking, until a brilliant display of light erupted from the sky behind where he stood. By the time the shaking stopped and he managed to turn around, the pillar had formed fully, a beacon in the sky that could be seen for miles around.<br/><br/>Whatever the thing was, he had no idea. But he did not doubt it was related to his search for even a moment. "We may not have to enter," He said to Kaya, pulling his sword from the ground and balancing the flat of it against a shoulder. Soon, the aforementioned screeching and whistling grew louder, as a train approaching the city became visible on the horizon.<br/><br/>-----<br/><br/>Within the city's weapon shop, Tamani continued to chat up the other ladies getting their gear worked on, still interested in trying to join the duo. It had been too long since she'd been out and about, and a journey with pleasant company and the promise of expensive reward was as tempting as it could get for her. The pair seemed like good people, and she immediately found them pleasant. If they'd have her, then she'd be more than happy to go along. However, something else decided to interrupt the conversation, beginning with a slow rattling of metal as racked weaponry began to shake. The ground rocked violently, sending furniture lurching over and weapons spilling off the walls.<br/><br/>"Shit! Get to cover!" Tamani shouted, bounding under a nearby table. Her small form curled into a ball as she rolled under it, and she grabbed the legs on a shorter side of it to keep it from falling over and remain safe beneath it. An axe on the wall above the table happened to fall loose and embed itself in the top, the loud thud making her curse again. Whatever the hell was causing this, she hoped it ended soon, as she began to doubt how many axes the dry old table wood could take before splitting. Eventually, merciful stillness returned to the shop, and Tamani slowly emerged from under the makeshift barrier.<br/><br/>The shop was turned into a mess, almost like a hurricane had washed through it. Materials and wares spilled all over, but luckily, nobody seemed hurt. She put her hands on her hips and huffed, walking toward the counter. A balled fist was knocked against it, and she spoke up again. "Oi, get those bullets ready. Don't know what the hell just happened, but it sure isn't good." While the smith got to work gathering up spilled cartridges, Tamani looked to Heran and Betrah again, immediately picking up where she left off. "So, about that offer..."