The coming of the dawn was a welcome sight for Raven. It means she had made it through another night without encountering a Trigon induced nightmare. Even though such dreams were few and far between, Raven was thankful just the same. Sticking her head out of her tent, she finds she is the first person in the camp to awaken. Taking a quick look towards the shadow cast by the trees, Raven could guess it was at least 7 am in the morning. Thus, she expected it would be another hour at most before anyone else stirred from their sleep. Seeing as she had some alone time, Raven decided to find the nearest river and engage in some morning meditation.
Stepping out of her tent for a moment, Raven doesn't get very far when she finds a dagger belt at her feet. Raven figures the Warden must have left it here for her as a present of sorts. Raven didn't think much of it at the time as hand to hand was not really her thing. But she figures she may as well put it to good use in case her magic proves ineffective. Taking the belt in hand, she wraps it around her waist and scurries off into the forest.
Raven doesn't have far to wander as she begins to hear the sound of rushing water ahead. Emerging into a small clearing, the pleasant sound of the river begins to put her mind at ease. Feeling this would be a perfect spot for her morning meditation session; Raven finds a ledge overlooking the river and begins to focus her mind.
The next hour would pass without interruption, but Raven would soon find herself at surrounded by an unknown group of men. What Raven and even the Warden's group did not release was that a group of bandits had made their camp only a few km away. A few of the bandits were out on patrol for a caravan to rob when they happened to stumble across the teenaged sorceress. Thinking they could get the drop on her and score an easy kidnap victim they quietly made their way towards her.
What the bandits didn't count on however was that even though Raven had centered her focus within her mind, she could still detect even the faintest vibrations of life energy around herself. Sensing hostile intentions from the closing interlopers, Raven immediately sprang into action.
"Well, looks like we have a live one here gents. Try and take her alive if ya can, but it won't matter if we bang her up a little." The leader of the bandit scouts says with a hearty laugh.
"You will not take me alive. In fact, you won't be doing much of anything in two seconds. Azarath Metrio Zinthos." Raven says as she unleashes a number of dark energy projectiles at the bandits.
Two of the bandits are sent flying into nearby trees, knocking them cold. The others just barely manage to dodge Raven's magical attack and begin charging at her with swords drawn. Finding that the bandits were now in too close to use her magic effectively, Raven resorts to using the dagger the Warden had provided her.
Pulling the blade from its sheath Raven manages to parry a number of the bandits' moves before locking blades with the scout leader. Soon the sound of clashing blades fills the forest as Raven tries her best to keep pace with her adversary. This proves difficult as her opponent had a stronger build and a much larger blade. This fact does not deter the young Titan however, as she managed to call on a number of the martial arts moves she had learned over the years.
Raven thus delivered a leg sweep to her opponent and sent him crashing to the ground. Before he had a chance to recover Raven used her magic to send him flying into a boulder, knocking him cold. The remaining bandits, enraged by their leader's defeat soon began charging at Raven. Before they could take two steps however, they are soon dropped by magical fire energy from behind. Raven is taken initially by surprise but soon figures out that someone from the camp must have followed her after not finding her in camp.
Her would be savior is revealed to be the Warden who had awoken only thirty minutes after Raven had left. While searching for her he too had encountered bandits in the woods. After a close fight he began hearing the sound of clashing steel and came across Raven in her current predicament. He felt like helping at first but held back so he could see what Raven could do. Satisfied with her display of power, the Warden intervened on her behave and removed the last of the bandits.
With the bandit problem taken care of, Raven and the Warden returned to the camp without so much as a word between them. A nagging voice in the back of Raven's mind began to stir however, suggesting that she might be developing feelings for her new acquaintance. The impression was mostly subtle, going only as far as a growing friendship. Raven couldn't help but wonder if the Warden could feel the same way if he ever knew what she really was.
While these events unfolded in Thedas, back on Earth Robin and Starfire had finally arrived at Progress Station after spending the last few hours flying over the Indian Ocean. In between they made one pit stop in South Africa for refueling and a good night's sleep.
Upon arrival at the station, Robin checked in with the base administrator to receive clearance to proceed to Vostok station. With clearance granted, the plane was once again refueled and given the go ahead to proceed to the Russian science station located at the other end of the icy continent.
The remaining hours of flight would pass rather quickly as the weather around the plane was calm yet very cold. The external thermometer was showing temperatures in excess of -50 below outside, which increased the chance that ice would begin to form on the wings before too long. Thankfully for Robin and Starfire, Batman had the plane specially equipped to deal with the cold extremities of Antarctica so the chances of ice forming remained low.
After two more hours of cross continental flight, the Titans finally caught sight of the Russian science station. Though they were barely able to see it through the polar night, Robin could make out the lights of the power station below. Turning on the radio Robin raises the commander of Vostok Station.
"This is Flight T-130 calling Vostok Station. Requesting clearance to land."
"You have clearance T-130. Welcome to Antarctica Titans."
Receiving confirmation from the Russian administrator acknowledges the reply with a thank you and begins to make his final approach to the rudimentary runway that acted as a connector to other stations in Antarctica. The landing procedure takes only a few minutes and soon the plane's engines begin to power down. Before stepping out of the vehicle, Robin ensures he is dressed in his best winter clothes, which Batman had altered to cope with the temperatures of Antarctica.
Stepping out of the plane, Star and Robin are greeted by the base administrator Major Konstantin Kazakov. The Major had served in the Russian and Soviet militaries for a number of years but soon became involved with international scientific research because of his brother Leonid, who served as the chief researcher at Vostok Station.
"Welcome Americans to hell on Earth." Konstantin says with a hearty laugh.
"Um thanks for the welcome Major. Though my friend here isn't an American, she isn't even from Earth." Robin says while motioning towards Starfire.
"Ah, so we have another outer space visitor like your Superman. Well let me welcome you to Earth on behalf of the people of Russia my dear." Konstantin says while giving Star a large bear hug.
"Do all people from your nation exchange greeting in this way?" Star says with a wide smile on her face while returning the favor.
"Not all of them but this something we are known for. Russia is represented by the bear after all."
"Um Major, all of this is great and all but I think we should turn our attention to more serious matters. I assume you have already been briefed about our situation?" Robin interjects, turning the conversation towards the Titan's mission.
"Yes we have received all the outlines from Bruce Wayne. Basically you need to reach Mt. Erebus with the help of the science team stationed here. Well before we get started on that, let's get those supplies unloaded."
"At once." Robin says, jumping at the chance to get the mission to rescue Raven moving along.
The unloading of the plane would last for the next half hour as all kinds of supplies were removed from the cargo hold. The majority of them were provisions and extra gear needed to survive in the harsh Antarctic environment. Also included was a mobile communication post that was directly connected with the Watchtower in orbit. If the Titans should run into trouble, the JLA could send support personal on a moment's notice. Robin felt a bit thankful that this piece had been included as he knew how hellish the temperatures in Antarctica could get based on his research of the area. Also, given the elevation and lack of oxygen on the plateau Vostok sat on, Robin knew he would be in for a rough process of acclimatization.
What he was more worried about was Starfire however, as he had no idea how the conditions would react with her alien physiology. Seeing the look of worry on Robin's face, Starfire would manage to alleviate these fears by mentioning that Tamaraneans can not only survive extreme cold but they could move through the vacuum of space with relative ease. With his fears assuaged, Robin returns to the task of unloading the expedition's equipment along with Konstantin and his fellow base staff.
Once all the equipment had been unloaded, Robin set about establishing the communications post within an unused portion of the staff barracks. This way the Titans would not interfere with the scientists work within the meteorology building next door.
"So Major, do you think you could have a few of your personnel looking after the communications post while Star and I head for the coast?"
"Of course. It would be no problem Comrade Robin. But before you head for Ross Island you might want to stop over at McMurdo Station. They are the closest facility to the area. It is beyond me why you did not go there instead of staying with us." Kazakov says with a small chuckle.
"I knew there was something missing from my planning." Robin says with a facepalm as McMurdo Station had not even registered during his research of Antarctic facilities.
"Do not let it get to you Comrade. We have already radioed ahead to the commander at McMurdo. He has already been apprised of your situation and will be ready to receive you when you fully acclimatize. So for now, just settle in and try to enjoy yourself." The Major says with a smile.
"I..I will try." Robin says with a weak smile before upchucking all over the ground causing both the Major and Star to chuckle slightly.
Back in Thedas, the Warden and his company have pulled up their camp and are already back on the road. After a number of bandit encounters spread over two days, they finally arrive at the shores of Lake Calenhad. Towering above everything in the middle of the lake was the Circle of Magi tower, home of all the mages currently living in Ferelden. To Raven, it reminded her somewhat of Titans Tower back home as the imposing T shaped edified looks almost as grand. Raven however, became wary of the tower as she began to sense a strong demonic aura emanating from it.
Raven decided to keep any observations about the dark energy coming from the tower to herself for the time being. She was sure that whoever was still alive within would be able to fill in the details for the Warden. Their progress forward was only momentarily disrupted as the Warden became embroiled in a rather humorous conversation with a Templar guard at the docks. With clearance to head across, the Warden was ready to begin the first large part of his ongoing adventure.
