>Focus. Remember why we're doing this. Can we localize anything that might be Semitur herself? Remember the dragon heart that Razorclaw told us she carried with her - maybe it's power might stand out among all this darkness?
>That's a clever idea. You toy with the idea of studying this blanketing darkness more, to see if you can glean some information about Semitur from it, but you dismiss that idea almost as quickly as it forms. You're wise to Semitur's tricks, and you have the fortitude and the wherewithal to work your way around them. It would help if you could put some distance between yourself and the Fire Champion, but let's see what you can come up with first.
>You hear the sound of wings beating, and fire crackling.
>Turning your mind down again, you focus your attention on the terminal, near the closest entrance to the plane. If everyone that could flee the plane did, Semitur's almost certainly slipped into that crowd, as Razorclaw and Kenyu said she's done in the past. And you do sense a surge of magic from just near the door, but it is the sensation of magic you associate with the mikos. A large globe of magic hurls itself through the door and up into the air. At a point in the air about 20 feet above you and 40 feet away from you, the globe erupts in a burst of power, revealing a massive bird that is of no species native to earth. It is easily eight foot tall, the feathers on its chest resemble body armor, and its long trailing tail ends in a pair of barbed hooks. It also has three stones embedded in its head, each of which flashes with magical power.
>You hear the sound of a child crying.
>Something about that sight gives you pause, puts you on your guard. Its stance in the air is one of aggression. Thus, you are surprised, but not caught unawares when the monstrous bird opens its beak and discharges a narrow beam of brilliant energy at you and Lily.