Echos Of A Soul

The Warlock's Gambit

Her fateful 6 have been chosen. All gathered in Drifter's bar waiting patiently for Eris Morn to fill them in on their task at hand. The bar was uncomfortably silent, it was nerve-wracking. Everyone sat in silence lost in their little worlds. All heads turned when one person stood up, Eivor. Something felt off to him. Eris should have contacted them by now, but why hasn’t she? He quickly summoned his ghost, Eidolon.

"Contact Eris Morn." He spoke bluntly. His ghost lit up while trying to get in contact with her. However, there was nothing.

This caused panic to rise in Izaria. If something happened to Eris how would they save Echo? She was drawn out of her thoughts when Bastion placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Give her time, she'll get in touch with us." The exo titan spoke calmly to soothe the hunter's anxiety.

Evior on the other hand was growing frustrated. His dear friend was in danger and Eris wasn't getting in contact with them like Echo said she would. He gritted his teeth as Eris didn't answer once more.

"Evior, give her time." The exo hunter spoke. "Eris is probably putting vital information together." Rythe-1 was calm, his red eyes locking where Evior's eyes would be if it wasn't for the knight helmet covering them.

"Have faith in Moondust, she knows what she's doin." Drifter's voice drew their attention to him. He was sitting at his bar and turned to look at all of them. Storm could see the exhaustion in her best friend's eyes. His words seemed to drag everyone out of their horrid thoughts. If the Drifter trusted Eris, so should they. A pair of footsteps drew all their attention to the doorway.

"It seems you are all ready, good. I will tell you the details and how we shall rescue Echo before we head to the Dreaming City." It was Eris.

"Eris?" Storm spoke up, "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be with her?" Eris sighed softly and lifted her hand to reveal Orion, Echo's ghost.

"He couldn't get into contact with you all without raising suspicions from the Vanguard. The Commander is her brother after all and monitors her comms very closely." Orion's eye lit up at the sight of the Drifter and floated over to him. A small smile made its way to his face as he let her ghost rest in his overcoat.

"Orion is unaffected by Echo's, condition, which means our chances of being able to aid her are significantly higher." Eris walked into the middle of the bar. "If she loses this mental battle and he takes control, lethal force may be required. Orion will be able to revive her." Drifter immediately disliked the idea. Echo disliked having to be revived by Orion, she didn't enjoy the feeling.

"Drifter, it's our only shot." Eris could sense his anger. "Now, you all have those crystals she gave you, correct?" Everyone pulled out the small pieces of amethyst she gave to them. Eris smiled softly seeing that everyone had one. "Good. Those are our keys to freeing her."

Footsteps drew everyone's attention off of Eris. The hunters reached for their weapons ready to strike, but Eris simply held out her hand to stop them.

"I've asked for someone to assist me with this operation. He's going to be aiding all of you while I perform the necessary ritual." She spoke calmly as the familiar figure walked through the door.

"Crow?" Strom called out to her partner. "What are you doing here?" She walked over to him.

"Eris asked me to help her out." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Echo’s in the Dreaming City after all, she asked me to be her eyes in the sky while she keeps the ritual stable." He placed his hand on Storm's head, ruffling her hair.

"We have a pretty solid plan so don't worry too much okay?" Crow looked toward everyone and shocked them by flashing a smile similar to Echo's signature closed-eye smile. It calmed everyone's nerves.

"So, we all know Echo has sealed herself inside Riven’s chamber?" Crow began, "Our plan is for Eris to begin a ritual with a Soul Crystal. Echo will begin fending him off once more as we use the crystals she gave us to amplify Echo's power so she can force him into the Soul Crystal and seal him back away." Crow was calm, but deep down this plan depended on one key detail. Echo has to have enough strength to force him out of her mind, or this could be disastrous.

"What you're saying is we're banking on Echo to have enough strength to fend him off after she's been fighting to stay in control for about 2 and a half weeks now?" Evior spoke up. His arms folded in front of him, clearly agitated. "Echo has been telling every one of us how she's been gradually weakening and how she's running out of time."

"We are aware of her situation," Eris spoke calmly. "She has been keeping us informed as well as all of you." Eris and Crow pulled out pieces of amethyst given the them by Echo.

"Moondust I hate to break it to ya but she's weaker than ya think." Drifter fiddled with Echo's ring he tied to his jade necklace. "She's having a rough time keepin herself in control." Eris gazed over to the Drifter, an unreadable expression on her face.

"I know. Which is why we need to act now." She motioned Echo's ghost to return to her. "We have a transmat zone right in front of the chamber doors. I will cast a spell that will surround the Soul Crystal I found." All of them summoned their Ghost's ready to transmat to the location.

"All of you will need to surround Echo, you will see small circles surrounding the magic circle she is enclosed in. Stand in those circles, hold out the amethyst, and channel your light into the amethyst." Eris looked at the stone in her hand. "Call out her name and you shall begin channeling your light to her, strengthening her." She looked back to the group and they all nodded.

All of them soon transmatted to The Dreaming City. In front of them stood the doors to Riven’s former chambers, clearly sealed by Eris' hive magic. Eris undid the seal on the door and each Gaurdian went to their places. Crow stood on standby watching over both Eris and Echo's chosen. Eris began the ritual, chanting as a large green circle appeared on the ground surrounding her and the Soul Crystal.

They all held out their crystals channeling their light into the pieces of amethyst. Determination filled their minds and hearts as they prepared to free their dear friend. She came to them in her time of need, now it was time for them to be there for her. She's banking on them, this was Echo's Gambit and it was now or never.

However, not even Eris could have prepared for what happened.