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Lennys Ghost Banishing 250117
On a cold night at Arkwright Cemetery, Ember and Lenny find themselves amid a resurrected battlefield of spectral armies, under the tutelage of Lenny for Ember's first ghost banishing lesson. As ghostly warriors and elemental mages clash, William attempts to banish the spirits through a blood ritual, drawing arcane symbols on the ground. Amidst the chaos of battling specters and the encroaching vines from ghostly witches, Ember, lacking any conventional weapons, supports William by trying to free him from the vines' grasp while Lenny, ever the cheeky guide, dismisses traditional magical assistance in favor of a more mundane approach to appease the spirits.
As the night's battles intensify, with ethereal elements and ancient warriors clashing around them, Lenny suggests a different tactic to calm the unresting spirit of Karen Weissman, a mother worried for her orphaned son. Discovering that her son Jonathan leads a content life, Lenny addresses Karen's spirit, hoping to offer her peace. Meanwhile, William's ritual begins to take effect, with light twisting into tangible forms that ensnare and drag the spectral combatants back to their rest. Amidst the danger, Ember takes moments to argue and banter with Lenny, revealing the depth of their fraught but familiar relationship. The story concludes with a blend of humor, spectral intrigue, and the unlikely camaraderie formed in the face of supernatural adversity.
(Lenny's ghost banishing)
[Thu Jan 16 2025]
On the Sprawling Hillside of Arkwright Cemetery
It is night, about 36F(2C) degrees, and there are a few dark grey stormclouds in the sky. There is a waning gibbous moon.
An eerie stillness settles over the graveyard, the fog thickening like an otherworldly veil. The ground trembles, and two ghostly armies surge forth, locked in a battle that defies time. One side, draped in ethereal armor, charges with spectral weapons, while the other hurls crackling bolts of elemental magic. The air is alight with haunting energy as the spirits, long dead, resume their eternal battle, heedless of the living who are caught in their spectral warpath.
Pushing back up, Ember looks at William, nodding slightly, "Mmm. First banishing. Not really a clue what I'm doing, but you know Lenny. Ever the patient instructor."
Spectral war drums pound as cavalry specters sweep in from the flank, met by a line of phantom nature mages who attempt to pull at the soil beneath their feet. The clash shakes the ground, causing cracks to appear underfoot and sending the living stumbling as the earth heaves.
"Ah for fucks sake, I really like when the fae makes us have an orgy." Lenny laments as he looks across the graveyard to see the battle spawn seemingly out of the mist and fog. "We're basically just witnesses to an old battle this time..but we could get into some trouble." he waves over at William, "This guy's gonna do some Harry Potter shit but I'm going to teach you how I would deal with this if I had no arcanist at all."
"Oh, not these ones... Haven't seen them in forever..." William says as he watches the armies emerging, rubbing his temples slowly before moving to look at the gravestones, he himself a bit less respectful than Ember with them, simply moving past them, and finding one tall enough to settle himself behind, using it as cover "So, I ritual these things away- These things get angry because they are getting banished- So in order for me to do it- You and him" He says pointing at Lenny "Cover me"
Gaze fixed on the specters as the rise from the mists, Ember inhales, pulling her coat further around herself. "Orgies? You watch fae orgies? Is this.. does this get dangerous at any point?" Ember turns to Lenny, nudging at his arm, "I didn't bring anything, anything.. no weapons no.. I have a condom and a bottle of water. Should I run home?"
Lenny flips William off at the command and instead he moves to Ember's side to take a knee near the headstone. He tries to read it out loud, "Karen Weissman. Died..twenty ten. Mother, wife." he tips his head towards Ember, "The whole thing thats goin' on is that an unsettled spirit sort of opened a doorway for all this madness we are seeing. We're lucky, most of the time its very hostile towards us. But this battle..I've seen it before. We may have to dodge some errant blast but thats about it."
Ember follows the writing on the headstone as Lenny reads it allowed, a hand lifting to clean a part still covered by a tendril of ivy. "And Bill here is working his Hogwarts spells to do the banishing. How do we keep him safe while he does it?" Ember pulls her gaze away from the headstone, looking back to the spectral scene as it unfolds.
Two spectral generals lock eyes from across the battlefield as their armies collide in a chaotic whirlwind of steel and spell. One of them has a blade wreathed in fire; the other conjures a vertex of ice-cold magic around him - their collision sends a shockwave rippling through the graveyard that knocks everyone off their feet and cracks all nearby gravestones right in half.
"Try pissin' on him?" Lenny teases Ember, he lifts off his knee to stand and look across the battlefield just as a shockwave blast across the graveyard and sends him right on his ass. The wind knocked out of him. He gives a breathless, "Fuuuck." uninjured but annoyed now.
William brings out a knife from within his coat, unsheathing it and driving the blade to his palm, pressing it diagonally in order to cut himself and let the blood start to pool on it, knife going away just as quickly as it came, having already served its purpose. Then he brings pointer and middle finger to stain themselves in the blood, getting on his knees to dig the fingers on the ground, starting to draw a circle on the ground with both his own blood and the dragging dirt.
"From this? Well this one is hard..." He comments, luckily for him, already on his knees and not really falling down at the trembling caused by the colliding armies "Others are more straight forward with their attacks"
Grabbing hold of the gravestone in front of her doesn't prove much use as the shockwave splits the stone in half. Ember tumbles back from her crouch to land on her buttocks with a loud huff of breath. Ember looks aside at William, unease as she watches him work, but her words low and aimed at Lenny, "Is he using his own blood? Does it have to be? Couldn't he buy a vial off a butcher or something rather than go all emo at a time like this?"
Ember adds, belatedly elbowing Lenny, "You're repulsive."
"Have you been home since you were released?" Ember slants a glance at Lenny.
"Most of the injuries spirits cause are either psychic in nature or not really that- Impactful... More emotional" William says distractedly as he finishes the circle slowly, moving to work on making a concentric one inside of it, quite the proper shape it takes to be done on the spot and by hand "Some do magic, those really are dangerous, can take the wind out of your lungs, or use dark magic to try and stop your heart...".
But at the emo comment, William sighs "Blood is useful because it contains life force... Blood out of dead things doesn't work, and the longer it sits out of someone, the worse it is too..." Upon finishing the circles though, he begins to draw a triangle around the inner one, tangent to it, touching only in three points
A ghostly battlemage hurls a ball of fire, deflected mid-air by a phantom knight's shield, causing an explosion that sends searing heat and blinding light across the battlefield.
"No..you move some other chump into my room?" Lenny ask Ember as he clambers to his feet. He dust himself off but really he just needs a good shower and to launder his clothes at some point. "As I was trying to say, -Karen- without magic we can try to solve whatever is distressing her. We've got some clues for this one, she's a wife and mother like it says on her gravestone. So maybe she has some unfinished business there?"
Listening to William, Ember asks him, as she remains on her backside but shifts into a more comfortable position amongst the weeds, "Where did you learn--"
The blinding light which spears across the graveyard has Ember closing her eyes in response, a grimace as she pulls herself behind the split gravestone for cover. "Where did you learn to do all this shit?"@line
As Ember looks back towards Lenny, she scowls gently at him, "I should have. But no. But, let me go in your room before you do anyway, maybe, alright? I think I left something in there which isn't yours and doesn't need to be seen." As if needed, after a moment of thought, Ember volunteers, "Tampons."
Lenny wrinkles his nose at Ember and says, "Gross." its hard to tell if he's serious. "You know, before I forget about it I think I'm going to have the Temple vassal you which really just means we extend protection to you...cause you are vulnerable right now and thats a risk to me"
William wets his fingers again in the blood, not able to draw forever without getting a reload, rolling his eyes slightly at Lenny and his reasonable method, seemingly intent on keeping to his magic ways. Finishing the triangle soon enough and starting with an inversion of the same thing, in no time having drawn some six pointed star contained within the two circles, letting out a little sigh.
The explosion likely doesn't reach him, both light and heat something that a grave can block for him, main reason why he was looking for cover to begin with, and simply keeping his arts and crafts lesson on painting on dirt going on he replies "Books, lots of books... But magic? It's something that comes naturally to some humans after a certain age... With lots of practice and study but- It does"
As the ground quakes with the stomp of spectral soldiers, a coven of phantom witches weaves spells that entangle the giants in thorny vines. The living are ensnared as well, ghostly vines tearing through the earth to wrap around their limbs, attempting to drag them down.
Ember doesn't respond to the comment about vassalling her, either not understanding it fully or trusting Lenny to know what's best. As the ground quakes and the witches weave their spells, it's with a subtle amount of panic in her voice, that Ember starts to peel and push at the vines that start to weave their way up her boats, "Is.. is this meant to happen?"
Lenny glances to the raging battle, wary of any blast headed their way but when its clear they are safe for now he goes back to mansplaining the hell out of this to Ember, "Anyways, lets figure out what Karen might be bitchy about yeah? I guess you dont' have access to Temple intel..so I'll just.." he brings his phone up, doing a search with a few thumb taps. It's only when Ember mentions something that he notices the vines at his feet, "Ah fuck. No."
Starting to draw some glyphs and runes across the edges of the triangle, William is suddenly caught off guard by the emerging vines that wrap around his arms and legs- The later being less of a bother considering he was already down on the ground, but the inability to keep working on the whole ritual with his hands resulting annoying "Fuck... If I had them all written down, I could just...".
But there's a small section that seems to be missing a rune or two, based on the look of the rest of the drawing, the thorns starting to dig into his skin and eliciting a pained groan, not seeing a way out of it and intent on continuing the ritual, he does his best effort to drag one hand towards the ground again, using the stained fingers to add what is missing even if means getting even more messed up by the vines- And, after adding it, saying "There..." Before giving in to the strength of the pulling plants, and falling straight against the dirt, held by both arms and legs
Continuing to pull at the wiry tendrils which seek to claim her, Ember sounds a little breathy as she answers Lenny, "Oh I don't know Lenny, maybe being taken for granted, maybe she really REALLY cared about some stupid ass, fuck faced man who just saw her as nothing but a warm hole once in a blue moon, and maybe she got REALLY tired of not mattering at all. And that the little things she did, not being noticed. Maybe THAT'S what Karen is pissed about."
A ghostly battlemage hurls a ball of fire, deflected mid-air by a phantom knight's shield, causing an explosion that sends searing heat and blinding light across the battlefield.
Lenny rips his foot away from a vine which takes his boot off, he has to go back and fight the fine for his boot in a tug-o-war which he eventually wins. All while Ember is giving her explanation. He grins at her then says, "Thats a good place to start." he recovers his phone where he left off and says, "Oh, nope. Her husband kicked the bucket a about a year before she did. Leaving her kid..a son orphaned at uh. Fuck twelve that hurts."
Having pulled most of the vines from her own legs and freed herself partially, Ember crawls towards the next grave where William hides, a plethora of tendrils dragging behind her, pulling still. Reaching William, Ember implores him, "Don't stop, let me.. let me try and.." Cut off with a breath of exertion, Ember begins a laborious process of trying to unwind the vines that weave up his legs. With a glance back at Lenny, Ember creases her brow slightly, "Ah that's.. that's rough. I bet her husband was a cunt to her when she was alive, still."
This time, the fireball not reaching William is actually against his best interest, bound by thorny tendrils that keep him to the ground, the fire would have been great to burn them away, but he seems to be protected against that. Though having the drawing part of the ritual done, he simply takes a deep breath, steeling himself against the pain of the thorns on his limbs and proceeding with the chanting bit.
His voice lowering incredibly, muttering some gibberish to the blood spilled on the ground, Lenny was at this point probably somewhat familiar with it, having seen it in the past, Ember likely not as much, but even as she tries to free him from his captor, he doesn't stop whatever he's whispering to himself, not even to thank her or instruct her, not even a comment.
"Just because you hate all men because you pick the worst ones, doesn't mean all men are terrible." Lenny chides Ember with a squint at her. "Anyways.." his attention keeps wandering away from what he was trying to do, which is figure out why the spirit might be so distressed. "Alright, if I really had to guess, leaving an orphaned kid would make me worried that kid ended up alright so let me see where he is today yeah?"
Ember pulls a thorn from William's leg, hissing at the vine that birthed it as if it were a sentient enemy. Watching William closely Ember slows her movements, leaving the smaller, unattached bits of greenery to decorate his lower limbs. "You said it. And I didn't pick you, I ended up stuck with you in my house as if I had an overgrown child who refused to move out and get a job." Ember retorts bitchily, pushing back to her buttocks and leaning against the side of the stone as it shields William, her gaze locked on the creepy bloody symbols he plays with in the dirt.
A group of ethereal berserkers charge, only to be met by a rain of icy shards summoned by frost mancers. The temperature plummets, and living breath freezes in the air, while ice forms treacherous patches beneath the feet, threatening to send everyone sprawling upon the ground.
William slowly closes his eyes to try and focus on what he's doing, cutting out at least another one of his sense and taking it out of the equation, his mouth busy with murmuring to his neck probably, giving the volume of his voice, in some sort of likely made-up-sounding language.
But as he keeps going, the blood on the ground starts glowing slightly, lighting up weakly at first, gaining intensity moments after, the more he keeps on whispering, the brighter it gets. The man seemingly intent on continuing with this way of banishing despite Lenny's method probably going to work as well, and simply letting Ember do her best to free him while he just shuts off from the conversation between the two
It takes quite some work for Lenny to go through his phone to find the relevant information. He doesn't speak as he's looking until he's got a good summary to give outloud like he was doing some sort of formal speech, "Ok..Karen your son Jonathan is doing alright. He moved out to Los Angeles to be a computer programmer. He got married and had three kids. They seem pretty fuckin' happy to me."
He lowers his phone then argues gently to the spirit, basically just talking to air at this point, "You set him up just fine, better than my mum did. He has a good life so you can just let go and rest."
Ember shivers. She's always cold anyway, but this new temperature is an icy low. Shrugging out of her coat, shivering all the more, Ember leans forward, holding the fabric stretched taut between her hands and using it to shield both William and herself from the icy shards which rain down upon them. As Lenny speaks, Ember watches him, silent for once, features softening.
The light coming from the drawing William made keeps on rising until it becomes somewhat more of a small beam, pure white tainting the otherwise dark ambiance of the cemetery, with some hues of green and blue to be seen here and there. But moments later, the light starts twisting unnaturally, clumping in little groups and taking shape, bending like they were either alive or, well, not light, corporeal in a sense. Forming what looks like tentacles.
And even as Lenny banters with the spirit that likely let this old conflict resurface, the tendrils of his own ritualling come forward to the spectral armies, taking them hostage, wrapping around them and incapacitating every single one of the soldiers, dragging them towards the circle, pulling them back towards the ground for it to swallow them whole, to return them back where they came from
As the night's battles intensify, with ethereal elements and ancient warriors clashing around them, Lenny suggests a different tactic to calm the unresting spirit of Karen Weissman, a mother worried for her orphaned son. Discovering that her son Jonathan leads a content life, Lenny addresses Karen's spirit, hoping to offer her peace. Meanwhile, William's ritual begins to take effect, with light twisting into tangible forms that ensnare and drag the spectral combatants back to their rest. Amidst the danger, Ember takes moments to argue and banter with Lenny, revealing the depth of their fraught but familiar relationship. The story concludes with a blend of humor, spectral intrigue, and the unlikely camaraderie formed in the face of supernatural adversity.
(Lenny's ghost banishing)
[Thu Jan 16 2025]
On the Sprawling Hillside of Arkwright Cemetery
It is night, about 36F(2C) degrees, and there are a few dark grey stormclouds in the sky. There is a waning gibbous moon.
An eerie stillness settles over the graveyard, the fog thickening like an otherworldly veil. The ground trembles, and two ghostly armies surge forth, locked in a battle that defies time. One side, draped in ethereal armor, charges with spectral weapons, while the other hurls crackling bolts of elemental magic. The air is alight with haunting energy as the spirits, long dead, resume their eternal battle, heedless of the living who are caught in their spectral warpath.
Pushing back up, Ember looks at William, nodding slightly, "Mmm. First banishing. Not really a clue what I'm doing, but you know Lenny. Ever the patient instructor."
Spectral war drums pound as cavalry specters sweep in from the flank, met by a line of phantom nature mages who attempt to pull at the soil beneath their feet. The clash shakes the ground, causing cracks to appear underfoot and sending the living stumbling as the earth heaves.
"Ah for fucks sake, I really like when the fae makes us have an orgy." Lenny laments as he looks across the graveyard to see the battle spawn seemingly out of the mist and fog. "We're basically just witnesses to an old battle this time..but we could get into some trouble." he waves over at William, "This guy's gonna do some Harry Potter shit but I'm going to teach you how I would deal with this if I had no arcanist at all."
"Oh, not these ones... Haven't seen them in forever..." William says as he watches the armies emerging, rubbing his temples slowly before moving to look at the gravestones, he himself a bit less respectful than Ember with them, simply moving past them, and finding one tall enough to settle himself behind, using it as cover "So, I ritual these things away- These things get angry because they are getting banished- So in order for me to do it- You and him" He says pointing at Lenny "Cover me"
Gaze fixed on the specters as the rise from the mists, Ember inhales, pulling her coat further around herself. "Orgies? You watch fae orgies? Is this.. does this get dangerous at any point?" Ember turns to Lenny, nudging at his arm, "I didn't bring anything, anything.. no weapons no.. I have a condom and a bottle of water. Should I run home?"
Lenny flips William off at the command and instead he moves to Ember's side to take a knee near the headstone. He tries to read it out loud, "Karen Weissman. Died..twenty ten. Mother, wife." he tips his head towards Ember, "The whole thing thats goin' on is that an unsettled spirit sort of opened a doorway for all this madness we are seeing. We're lucky, most of the time its very hostile towards us. But this battle..I've seen it before. We may have to dodge some errant blast but thats about it."
Ember follows the writing on the headstone as Lenny reads it allowed, a hand lifting to clean a part still covered by a tendril of ivy. "And Bill here is working his Hogwarts spells to do the banishing. How do we keep him safe while he does it?" Ember pulls her gaze away from the headstone, looking back to the spectral scene as it unfolds.
Two spectral generals lock eyes from across the battlefield as their armies collide in a chaotic whirlwind of steel and spell. One of them has a blade wreathed in fire; the other conjures a vertex of ice-cold magic around him - their collision sends a shockwave rippling through the graveyard that knocks everyone off their feet and cracks all nearby gravestones right in half.
"Try pissin' on him?" Lenny teases Ember, he lifts off his knee to stand and look across the battlefield just as a shockwave blast across the graveyard and sends him right on his ass. The wind knocked out of him. He gives a breathless, "Fuuuck." uninjured but annoyed now.
William brings out a knife from within his coat, unsheathing it and driving the blade to his palm, pressing it diagonally in order to cut himself and let the blood start to pool on it, knife going away just as quickly as it came, having already served its purpose. Then he brings pointer and middle finger to stain themselves in the blood, getting on his knees to dig the fingers on the ground, starting to draw a circle on the ground with both his own blood and the dragging dirt.
"From this? Well this one is hard..." He comments, luckily for him, already on his knees and not really falling down at the trembling caused by the colliding armies "Others are more straight forward with their attacks"
Grabbing hold of the gravestone in front of her doesn't prove much use as the shockwave splits the stone in half. Ember tumbles back from her crouch to land on her buttocks with a loud huff of breath. Ember looks aside at William, unease as she watches him work, but her words low and aimed at Lenny, "Is he using his own blood? Does it have to be? Couldn't he buy a vial off a butcher or something rather than go all emo at a time like this?"
Ember adds, belatedly elbowing Lenny, "You're repulsive."
"Have you been home since you were released?" Ember slants a glance at Lenny.
"Most of the injuries spirits cause are either psychic in nature or not really that- Impactful... More emotional" William says distractedly as he finishes the circle slowly, moving to work on making a concentric one inside of it, quite the proper shape it takes to be done on the spot and by hand "Some do magic, those really are dangerous, can take the wind out of your lungs, or use dark magic to try and stop your heart...".
But at the emo comment, William sighs "Blood is useful because it contains life force... Blood out of dead things doesn't work, and the longer it sits out of someone, the worse it is too..." Upon finishing the circles though, he begins to draw a triangle around the inner one, tangent to it, touching only in three points
A ghostly battlemage hurls a ball of fire, deflected mid-air by a phantom knight's shield, causing an explosion that sends searing heat and blinding light across the battlefield.
"No..you move some other chump into my room?" Lenny ask Ember as he clambers to his feet. He dust himself off but really he just needs a good shower and to launder his clothes at some point. "As I was trying to say, -Karen- without magic we can try to solve whatever is distressing her. We've got some clues for this one, she's a wife and mother like it says on her gravestone. So maybe she has some unfinished business there?"
Listening to William, Ember asks him, as she remains on her backside but shifts into a more comfortable position amongst the weeds, "Where did you learn--"
The blinding light which spears across the graveyard has Ember closing her eyes in response, a grimace as she pulls herself behind the split gravestone for cover. "Where did you learn to do all this shit?"@line
As Ember looks back towards Lenny, she scowls gently at him, "I should have. But no. But, let me go in your room before you do anyway, maybe, alright? I think I left something in there which isn't yours and doesn't need to be seen." As if needed, after a moment of thought, Ember volunteers, "Tampons."
Lenny wrinkles his nose at Ember and says, "Gross." its hard to tell if he's serious. "You know, before I forget about it I think I'm going to have the Temple vassal you which really just means we extend protection to you...cause you are vulnerable right now and thats a risk to me"
William wets his fingers again in the blood, not able to draw forever without getting a reload, rolling his eyes slightly at Lenny and his reasonable method, seemingly intent on keeping to his magic ways. Finishing the triangle soon enough and starting with an inversion of the same thing, in no time having drawn some six pointed star contained within the two circles, letting out a little sigh.
The explosion likely doesn't reach him, both light and heat something that a grave can block for him, main reason why he was looking for cover to begin with, and simply keeping his arts and crafts lesson on painting on dirt going on he replies "Books, lots of books... But magic? It's something that comes naturally to some humans after a certain age... With lots of practice and study but- It does"
As the ground quakes with the stomp of spectral soldiers, a coven of phantom witches weaves spells that entangle the giants in thorny vines. The living are ensnared as well, ghostly vines tearing through the earth to wrap around their limbs, attempting to drag them down.
Ember doesn't respond to the comment about vassalling her, either not understanding it fully or trusting Lenny to know what's best. As the ground quakes and the witches weave their spells, it's with a subtle amount of panic in her voice, that Ember starts to peel and push at the vines that start to weave their way up her boats, "Is.. is this meant to happen?"
Lenny glances to the raging battle, wary of any blast headed their way but when its clear they are safe for now he goes back to mansplaining the hell out of this to Ember, "Anyways, lets figure out what Karen might be bitchy about yeah? I guess you dont' have access to Temple intel..so I'll just.." he brings his phone up, doing a search with a few thumb taps. It's only when Ember mentions something that he notices the vines at his feet, "Ah fuck. No."
Starting to draw some glyphs and runes across the edges of the triangle, William is suddenly caught off guard by the emerging vines that wrap around his arms and legs- The later being less of a bother considering he was already down on the ground, but the inability to keep working on the whole ritual with his hands resulting annoying "Fuck... If I had them all written down, I could just...".
But there's a small section that seems to be missing a rune or two, based on the look of the rest of the drawing, the thorns starting to dig into his skin and eliciting a pained groan, not seeing a way out of it and intent on continuing the ritual, he does his best effort to drag one hand towards the ground again, using the stained fingers to add what is missing even if means getting even more messed up by the vines- And, after adding it, saying "There..." Before giving in to the strength of the pulling plants, and falling straight against the dirt, held by both arms and legs
Continuing to pull at the wiry tendrils which seek to claim her, Ember sounds a little breathy as she answers Lenny, "Oh I don't know Lenny, maybe being taken for granted, maybe she really REALLY cared about some stupid ass, fuck faced man who just saw her as nothing but a warm hole once in a blue moon, and maybe she got REALLY tired of not mattering at all. And that the little things she did, not being noticed. Maybe THAT'S what Karen is pissed about."
A ghostly battlemage hurls a ball of fire, deflected mid-air by a phantom knight's shield, causing an explosion that sends searing heat and blinding light across the battlefield.
Lenny rips his foot away from a vine which takes his boot off, he has to go back and fight the fine for his boot in a tug-o-war which he eventually wins. All while Ember is giving her explanation. He grins at her then says, "Thats a good place to start." he recovers his phone where he left off and says, "Oh, nope. Her husband kicked the bucket a about a year before she did. Leaving her kid..a son orphaned at uh. Fuck twelve that hurts."
Having pulled most of the vines from her own legs and freed herself partially, Ember crawls towards the next grave where William hides, a plethora of tendrils dragging behind her, pulling still. Reaching William, Ember implores him, "Don't stop, let me.. let me try and.." Cut off with a breath of exertion, Ember begins a laborious process of trying to unwind the vines that weave up his legs. With a glance back at Lenny, Ember creases her brow slightly, "Ah that's.. that's rough. I bet her husband was a cunt to her when she was alive, still."
This time, the fireball not reaching William is actually against his best interest, bound by thorny tendrils that keep him to the ground, the fire would have been great to burn them away, but he seems to be protected against that. Though having the drawing part of the ritual done, he simply takes a deep breath, steeling himself against the pain of the thorns on his limbs and proceeding with the chanting bit.
His voice lowering incredibly, muttering some gibberish to the blood spilled on the ground, Lenny was at this point probably somewhat familiar with it, having seen it in the past, Ember likely not as much, but even as she tries to free him from his captor, he doesn't stop whatever he's whispering to himself, not even to thank her or instruct her, not even a comment.
"Just because you hate all men because you pick the worst ones, doesn't mean all men are terrible." Lenny chides Ember with a squint at her. "Anyways.." his attention keeps wandering away from what he was trying to do, which is figure out why the spirit might be so distressed. "Alright, if I really had to guess, leaving an orphaned kid would make me worried that kid ended up alright so let me see where he is today yeah?"
Ember pulls a thorn from William's leg, hissing at the vine that birthed it as if it were a sentient enemy. Watching William closely Ember slows her movements, leaving the smaller, unattached bits of greenery to decorate his lower limbs. "You said it. And I didn't pick you, I ended up stuck with you in my house as if I had an overgrown child who refused to move out and get a job." Ember retorts bitchily, pushing back to her buttocks and leaning against the side of the stone as it shields William, her gaze locked on the creepy bloody symbols he plays with in the dirt.
A group of ethereal berserkers charge, only to be met by a rain of icy shards summoned by frost mancers. The temperature plummets, and living breath freezes in the air, while ice forms treacherous patches beneath the feet, threatening to send everyone sprawling upon the ground.
William slowly closes his eyes to try and focus on what he's doing, cutting out at least another one of his sense and taking it out of the equation, his mouth busy with murmuring to his neck probably, giving the volume of his voice, in some sort of likely made-up-sounding language.
But as he keeps going, the blood on the ground starts glowing slightly, lighting up weakly at first, gaining intensity moments after, the more he keeps on whispering, the brighter it gets. The man seemingly intent on continuing with this way of banishing despite Lenny's method probably going to work as well, and simply letting Ember do her best to free him while he just shuts off from the conversation between the two
It takes quite some work for Lenny to go through his phone to find the relevant information. He doesn't speak as he's looking until he's got a good summary to give outloud like he was doing some sort of formal speech, "Ok..Karen your son Jonathan is doing alright. He moved out to Los Angeles to be a computer programmer. He got married and had three kids. They seem pretty fuckin' happy to me."
He lowers his phone then argues gently to the spirit, basically just talking to air at this point, "You set him up just fine, better than my mum did. He has a good life so you can just let go and rest."
Ember shivers. She's always cold anyway, but this new temperature is an icy low. Shrugging out of her coat, shivering all the more, Ember leans forward, holding the fabric stretched taut between her hands and using it to shield both William and herself from the icy shards which rain down upon them. As Lenny speaks, Ember watches him, silent for once, features softening.
The light coming from the drawing William made keeps on rising until it becomes somewhat more of a small beam, pure white tainting the otherwise dark ambiance of the cemetery, with some hues of green and blue to be seen here and there. But moments later, the light starts twisting unnaturally, clumping in little groups and taking shape, bending like they were either alive or, well, not light, corporeal in a sense. Forming what looks like tentacles.
And even as Lenny banters with the spirit that likely let this old conflict resurface, the tendrils of his own ritualling come forward to the spectral armies, taking them hostage, wrapping around them and incapacitating every single one of the soldiers, dragging them towards the circle, pulling them back towards the ground for it to swallow them whole, to return them back where they came from