Nettil walked as the buffet of conversation starters trailed behind her. Beginning with Zuria.
"Wait we're being invaded, that would explain a few things. But no I was stabbed by a slave myself.
Wonder what happened to the dealer, I said he'd be safe."
"Of course its an invasion, well, more like an occupation at this point. The sacking and empty destroyed buildings didn't give you a hint?" She pondered how and why Zuria was stabbed, and who the dealer was, but explaining the complexities of the seven trade zones of Holem may have driven Nettil insane.
Also, because Kes and Des had their share of answers.
"The only elf we encountered was the one who died in the escape from Liem,"
"She died, though. I don't think she'd be here.
Kes and Des explained, and at that Dalrel pipped up from behind. "She's alive. Specialized in Ice magic." He then ran a hand on an invisible line along his belly, flinching while he hobbled. "There's a large scar where a gash from the pike is. You can't miss it."
"Also... why do we need to go to the towers?" Des added, and at that Nettil sighed. "Do you want to see your friends alive? Because if they are, we need to locate them, and get off the island." She stated bluntly, realising that if she was to maintain her composure, she'd need to avoid thinking of Sal, and pushed him to the back of her mind.
They continued down the street, and past other obsticles like collapsed archways and buildings, before turning onto a now delapidated main street, seemingly empty.
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"Lucia Draken, I am one of the 'Walkers the one name Nettil hired and brought to the towers for a job before the attack started."
The Empress smiled and clapped her hands together again, her rings clinging gently.
"Nett-ill?" She tutted,
"A nettle is a plant considered plain by some, ugly by most, that will sting if you get too close, and one that requires swift treatment as a counterweight-- like a cool doc leaf...." she then smiled, apologizing for her tangent.
"Anyway, glad to see someone who knows their courtesies. Now." She held out one of the small pods, slipping the other two into one of her many pockets.
"These are called Transport Shells. They are boiled dual seeds from some exceedingly rare and exotic plant in The Beastlands. Crack one, both it and the pod it grew with will burst open, creating a small portal for a few short moments." She smiled, and stared at the strange brown seed.
"Please, your Excellence" the blond officer interjected, "It mightn't work, the portal may damage this fifty-seventh floor and I-" The wrinkled lady held her hand up swiftly. "Enough, if we hope to leave quietly, this may be our final hope." She then turned to Lucia, Alex and the others, setting the nut on the floor and pointing to a soldier. "Crush it." the young trooper reluctantly moved forward, "See, I gave the sister nut of this one to a guard after the massacre downstairs. I told him to get as far from here as possible. Now, we'll see how far he's gotten."
On the sound of a whistle, the soldier stepped on the nut, a blast of wind and light and noise crackled in through the window, this left some covering their eyes and mouths, and the small purple haired child to hide behind the Empress' dress.
A portal opened up on the floor, followed by a torrent of salt water that engulfed the soldier and quickly drenched the room ankle deep in water before the portal shut. One of the soldiers had the idea to poke a hole in large paned window, which began to drain the room of its excess water.
Gi sighed quietly, "That didn't work." she said.
"A pity" the blond officer stated, looking from the Empress' pocket and then to Zuria. "Looks like we'll need another escape route..."
