The Mountain of Shadows RP
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| Author | Topic: The Mountain of Shadows RP |
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Infiltrator
Member # 4248
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written Tuesday, September 13 2005 02:52
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First, Tuulentekija thought of drawing his sword and attacking the creature. Then he suddenly saw something that made him change his mind. Tuulentekija stared in disbelief at the uruk-hai. "This is getting ridiculous!" he then frowned and then stepped forward. "What on earth are you doing!" Cain shouted and readied a dagger for throwing. "Get out of the way!" "I see no reason to" Tuulentekija replied and waved his hand at the demon. "It's only an illusion." Immediatly after Tuulentekija had spoken the words aloud, the illusion broke and both the necromancing chamber and the uruk-creature disappeared, revealing a naturally formed cavern with it's walls covered with pale moss. There were no blood or unholy tools of necromancy old, yellowed bones scattered on the floor. Only thing that remained the same was the malignant, hostile atmosphere. "You really thought a demon was trying to attack us, eh?" Tuulentekija said and walked past a pile of mossy boulders lying where the altar had been. "Seems like a badly done trap to me!" "How did you know it was an illusion?" Filbert asked and gave Tuulentekija a confused look. "Yes, I'd like to know that too" Cain said, with suspicion in his voice. Tuulentekija stopped and turned around to point the pile of stones lying at his feet. "There was a platform here, right? The beasts other foot was floating almost two inches above it! How could you not notice that?" Tuulentekija said and glanced at others. "Even if there's a demon here, it'd still be wise to remember, that these caves were not made by the demon; they were dug by your ancient king, and trapped in case someone tried to steal his treasures. Even I, despite I didn't know about your fairy tales concerning some demon, know that!" Cain and others stared at Tuulentekija in disbelief. They seemingly weren't very happy about what he had just said. Then, after a short pause, Cain began to speak. "Tuulentekija, there's something that has been bothering me for a while" he said. "How come you knew about the treasure but not about the demon?" "The answer is simple: in Kingdom of Truth there are no such stories" Tuulentekija answered. "When I met the travelling merchant near the border, who sold me the maps of this mountain, I had no knowledge of this mountain nor about the buried treasures of your king of legend. And the merchant only told me about the treasure, not about monsters." Tuulentekija dropped his backpack to the ground, took out his lantern and lit it. Then he threw the backpack over his shoulder and started walking. "There's no point in staying, the illusion might recharge any moment. Let's go, I want to find a way out of these caves before the night falls." OoC: Oops, I posted a reply instead of editing my earlier post. Oh well, **** happens :rolleyes: [ Tuesday, September 13, 2005 02:53: Message edited by: Frozen Feet ] -------------------- Somebody PLEASE turn the heat on. Posts: 617 | Registered: Tuesday, April 13 2004 07:00 |
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Law Bringer
Member # 2984
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written Tuesday, September 13 2005 13:51
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OOC: IC some time soon. I'll sketch it out in the train, and it'll hopefully be there by tomorrow. -------------------- The Encyclopaedia Ermariana <-- Now a Wiki! "Polaris leers down from the black vault, winking hideously like an insane watching eye which strives to convey some strange message, yet recalls nothing save that it once had a message to convey." --- HP Lovecraft. "I single Aran out due to his nasty temperament, and his superior intellect." --- SupaNik Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00 |
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Law Bringer
Member # 4153
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written Tuesday, September 13 2005 19:52
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IC: Brother Sequoia slowly opened his eyes, and was disappointed to see no improvement in his vision. It was cold. Very cold... perhaps it had affected his vision. He could hear what sounded like human voices nearby. He sat up slowly, and looked around. There must be some light out here... he thought, before realizing that he couldn't be outdoors. No starlight, moonlight, or sunlight. I can't be on the surface anymore. Looking around, the first thing that caught his attention was a brightly glowing torch, currently held by an indistinct figure about two feet behind him. It looked vaguely humanoid, though the flickering torchlight could've been playing tricks on him. The druid abruptly jumped to his feet, narrowly missing a stalactite over his head, and reached for his staff, which was still loosely tied to his belt. Well, at least luck was with me in that, he thought, muttering a single syllable of magic. Instantly, the staff gave off a flash of blinding white light (which the druid deftly directed away from his own eyes), and Brother Sequoia took in the situation. Hearing familiar cries after the flash, the druid calmed down. Silently mouthing a spell, his staff switched to a soft yellow glow, casting its light around the cave, and onto Lisha and the elf. The two of them looked a bit agitated, and the elf was rubbing her eyes. However, what registered first with Sequoia was the grandeur of the cave. Ice and stone pillars seemed to support the gallery, and the light from his staff caught on both ice and what looked like crystal. Stalactites and stalagmites filled the cave, and a few passages led off in different directions. Amazing... he thought, before remembering who he had almost blinded. "You really should watch where you aim..." Lisha said sourly. "After we dragged you in here, the least you could've done would be to thank us." "This is amazing..." the druid half-muttered, still somewhat distracted by the cave. "It doesn't matter. We should get moving again." the elf said bluntly. She appeared to have recovered from the blast of light. Returning to his senses (including his sense of humility), the druid ceased his mental wandering. "I am sorry. I owe you a great deal. I would likely have frozen to death out there." A long pause ensued, wherein the elf began peering down the other passages. "No, she's right. It doesn't really matter... we need to get moving again." Lisha said, turning to examine the passages branching out of the gallery where they stood. Wonderful... a debt to repay. Sequoia thought grimly. OoC: That's it for tonight. Might add more to that tomorrow, if nobody else has. -------------------- Gamble with Gaea, and she eats your dice. I hate undead. I really, really, really, really hate undead. With a passion. Posts: 4130 | Registered: Friday, March 26 2004 08:00 |
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Infiltrator
Member # 2940
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written Wednesday, September 14 2005 03:41
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OOC: Please avoid using any more names from the LOTR. Uruk-Hai is enough; I don't want to see a Balrog or a Hobbit in the next cave, let's be creative and make our own names… ;) IC: Cain carefully followed Tuulentekija through the huge cavern. He struggled to deal with the fact that there was no necromancy chamber around him. The diary he had examined earlier clearly referred to a necromancy chamber past the workshop below, it also referred to other constructions and places he had not seen. Cain questioned himself about the power of this illusion. The diary was old, very old, so the illusion must have been activated for decades if that other party saw it too. He questioned whether there was any group of human mages powerful enough to make such a long lasting illusion without any form of maintenance. Then it struck him. What if someone or something else is maintaining these old traps? Why… Cain stopped pondering about the matter when he noticed something on the cave floor. Surface dirt, he thought. He stopped to inspect the traces; a closer examination revealed it was indeed dirt from the surface. Someone or something had been moving through the cave recently, he looked around and realized there where other bits and pieces not natural to an underground environment a clear indication that this cave was frequently used my many creatures. Filbert interrupted Cain's thoughts. "Look over there! I see light ahead." Cain confirmed what Filbert saw. There was a big gateway ahead; large enough for a row of six men to pass simultaneously, a dim light was coming from it. Apparently there was a huge chamber further on. Everyone looked somewhat nervous about going further, a place as big as that would certainly have someone or something in it. The risks were high, but so were the risks of going back to the critter infested workshops below. "What now?" Edith asked. "We go forth." Cain replied, confidently. "There is no point on turning back now, besides, if we take the chamber ahead, we may have a place to rest, eat and regain strength." The word "take" suggested the party would possibly encounter resistance; however the confidence displayed by Cain gave them some sort of assurance. The party was about to move when Cain ordered them to halt. "Edith." Cain spoke calmly. "Do you know any spell or trick to see what lies ahead of us? I know many mages have some basic knowledge of far sight or detect life." [ Wednesday, September 14, 2005 03:43: Message edited by: The_Nazgul ] -------------------- "I don't want to achieve immortality through my work, I want to achieve it through not dying." Posts: 469 | Registered: Thursday, May 1 2003 07:00 |
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Master
Member # 5977
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written Wednesday, September 14 2005 05:23
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quote:I didn't even know that. i just found it a nice name. Or I forgot it was in LOtR... Oh, well :rolleyes: [ Wednesday, September 14, 2005 05:26: Message edited by: Thralni, emperor of Riverrod ] -------------------- Thralni's almighty Avernum pages: My webpage, containing scenario's and graphics made by me (And maybe someday the homepage of the almighty chicken gods). Click here for more information on Olga's fortune teller kiosk Olga's fortune teller kiosk has been temporarily closed down, but you can contact the prophet with a PM - Was signed by the prophet of the almighty chicken gods, gods of everything that is a chicken. Work has begun on the Nephilian grammar and vocabulary guide! Posts: 3029 | Registered: Saturday, June 18 2005 07:00 |
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Lifecrafter
Member # 3320
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written Wednesday, September 14 2005 17:05
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"Well, yes. I do know both of those spells. But you'll have to give me a few minutes to go through my herbs. I need to make a potion." Says Edith confidently. "A potion? What for? Can't you just cast a spell or something?" Asks Cain with a hint of irritation in his voice. Tuulentekija whispers to Cain. "Believe me when I say that you may find her way of doing things to be much more interesting." Edith smiles at Tuulentekija. "Oh, why thank you. Glad you liked the rock-eating acid potion. Now, I just need to check my spell book quickly to be sure of the measured amounts." Edith takes out her spell book, and after a few moments, she shuts it and puts it away satisfied. "While a simple spell would suffice for most situations, it won't in this case. I can't risk any possible demons pinpointing our location based on an aurora of magic radiating from me during the spell casting. In this case, a potion must be used. Potion spells and scroll spells are much less detectable to nether creatures." Filbert grins. "Sounds interesting. Can I try making one?" They all look at him with annoyed faces and respond in unison in a loud whisper. "No!!" Edith rolls her eyes and looks at Filbert mischievously. "I don't suppose you are trained in alchemy and magic?" "No. Not really." Filbert answers. Edith gets a malicious grin on her face. "Well, just to let you know, it takes a person with lots of training and skill to do what I am doing. And I have all the necessary of both. I am not lying when I say that I have seen people blow themselves up accidentally from preparing a potion or scroll incorrectly. Not to mention the people who have accidentally melted their legs, arms, hands, and feet. And those that have done irreparable damage to their faces I have a lot of sympathy for. Especially since they have to wear masks for life and eat through a straw to get nourishment. You still want to have a go?" "No thank you." Filbert answers nervously. "I didn't think so. Now, back to my potion. I just need to add the precise amounts of a few of my herbs to this flask and mix them together." Edith sets about measuring herbs from her knapsacks and putting them in an amber-colored flask. She then puts a cork stopper in it and shakes the mixture vigorously. After a few moments of shaking, she uncorks the bottle and smells it. "Ah, it's done." "So what are you going to do with the potion? Drink it?" Asks Cain. "Well, hardly that. If I tried drinking this, I'd probably be dead inside of two minutes. No, it's used like this." Edith turns the flask upside-down and pours the contents on the ground. The dark liquid forms a pool and does nothing worth noting. Edith chants a few words and it suddenly evaporates before their eyes. Tuulentekija stares at the ground wide-eyed. "Whoa! Where did it go?!" Edith grins again. "Into the air in front of you. It has turned into an invisible gas. A mist that's odorless, colorless, and undetectable by nether magic. And without further adieu..." She makes a forward throwing motion with her right arm and stares down the passage. The sound of moving air fills the tunnel ahead of them. Then she brings both arms down and juts her hands around in front of her like she is peering into a crystal ball. "Well, do you see anything yet?! Come on, tell us!" Cain questions excitedly. "Not yet. So far, I only detect rock and light. The light appears to be coming from a phosphorus substance that's covering the rocks. There is an enormous cavern ahead of us, with tunnels leading away from it in every direction. Some of them lead further up into the mountain. That clearly means that the cavern ahead can’t the end of the line. I’ll search it now for life forms & structures. Hmmm. I detect no solid life forms. But I am getting a strange reading on traces of life. They seem to be all over the place and are definitely not coming from the moss. I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s as if the air itself is alive. I’ll search for structures now. Hmmm. I detect several primitive structures. They appear to be altars, huts, and such. Wait, what is that!!" Edith hunches over as if she's trying to get a closer view of something. "What?!! What do you see?!!" Asks Filbert nervously. "Yes, what do you see?" Says Cain. "Either my eyes are deceiving me, or there is a large stone structure in the middle of the cavern. It looks like a temple of some sort. It doesn't appear to be an illusion. I could be wrong though. That last illusion tricked us. Hmmm. That’s odd. I am suddenly picking up some force radiating from within it. It appears to be..." Edith suddenly stops speaking in mid sentence and starts making a choking noise. The others look at her and notice that the silver necklace around her neck has turned to brass and is glowing a dark orange color. Not only that, but the gold key attached to it has turned black and now pulses with a blood red light. Edith grasps her throat with her hands and tries to breathe. Tuulentekija realizes at once what is happening. "Oh my god!!! Her boon has become cursed by the evil aurora of the mountain!! We must cut it off of her at once or it will asphyxiate her!!!" Cain takes out a pair of scissors from his pack and tries to cut the necklace off. But instead of cutting it, the blades begin to melt and they suddenly break off. "What the hell?!!" Cain looks at the broken scissors in shock. "How about taking the necklace off over her head?!" Asks Filbert. Tuulentekija shakes his heads. "No, there isn't enough slack to do that. Perhaps we could unlatch the clasp in the back." When Tuulentekija touches the clasp, his fingers are burnt. "OW!!!! The damn thing's red hot to the touch!!" Filbert starts to panic. "What do we do now?!!!" Edith starts turning blue and passes out. The others stand over her trying to figure out a way to get the necklace off of her. [ Wednesday, September 14, 2005 19:30: Message edited by: Sir Sherlock Holmes ] -------------------- "Keep your wits about you, the game is afoot!!" - Sherlock Holmes Gay Christian Network The Polaris Board Posts: 935 | Registered: Friday, August 8 2003 07:00 |
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Master
Member # 1046
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written Wednesday, September 14 2005 17:15
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IC under construction - everybody else is doing it, so I'm doing it too. :\ -------------------- Polaris - Weather balloons, ninjas, and your big daddy Wise Man. What more could you want? Undead Theories - Don't Ask, Don't Tell Posts: 3323 | Registered: Thursday, April 25 2002 07:00 |
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Infiltrator
Member # 4248
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written Thursday, September 15 2005 03:00
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"Well" Tuulentekija said. "I don't think there are other ways of doing this. I hope we'll find an exit soon. A bit of snow or ice would make my life easier after this." Then he braced himself, kneeled beside Edith and grabbed the necklace.... --- The pain was terrible. For a moment, Tuulentekija's vision was covered by red haze. He was back at the Icy Fortress again, lying on the ground his bones broken. "You should have turned back when you had the chance!" Ashar had yelled. "You should have turned back years ago! No-one can fight the world alone!" Tuulentekija remembered how he had tried to get up, but all his attempts had been in vain. He remembered how Ashar had walked to him and sent him flying trough the central hall of the fortress, sending horrible pain trough his shattered body. "It took me too long to realize that", Ashar had continued. "My species is extinct. I'm the only one left. Do you want the same for yourself? Do you want to fight windmills, knowing you will always fail?" --- Tuulentekija pushed the memories aside and concentrated on his tedious task. It was extremely hard to resist the urge to take his hands off the molten hot necklace, to leave it be and find another way to remove it. But there is no other way Tuulentekija reminded himself, and slowly unlatched the clasp. Smoke rose from his burned hands when he finally got the charm off. "Good grief!" he heard Cain say when they saw Edith's throat... -------------------- Somebody PLEASE turn the heat on. Posts: 617 | Registered: Tuesday, April 13 2004 07:00 |
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Infiltrator
Member # 2940
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written Thursday, September 15 2005 08:20
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IC: "Good grief!" Cain said again, trying to appear empathic with the pain of his two companions, in truth, he couldn't care less. His only real worry was that now his best warriors where badly injured and the best healer had fainted, this would prove troublesome should they encounter more enemies ahead, only Filbert would be physically able to assist. Cain gave a brief look at Filbert and cursed under his breath. He knew he would have to heal them himself if he wanted a chance of finding the artifact, Filbert alone was no good to him, he would have to use his precious spores. "Seems like I will have to use my medication." Cain searched in his bag and retrieved a small pouch; he carefully opened it and turned it over the burns on Edith's neck. Small yellow spores gently dropped around her neck, nothing happened at first. Then little by little, the burnt skin started sizzling, it was not a nice sight and even less of a nice feeling, luckily for Edith she was unconscious. To Tuulentekija and Filber's surprise, Edith's burnt skin was soon replaced by a new one, only a shade of dark pink remained were the burning had occurred. Cain passed the pouch to Tuulentekija. "Your turn." He said. Tuulentekija was hesitant at first, but seeing how Edith's neck turned out he decided to pour some of the spores on his scorched hands. The effect was immediate, Tuulentekija was brave and had held his breath the first couple of seconds but he was soon screaming in pain as the sizzling effect took place, Cain reacted in time to put a cloth in the oral cavity of Tuulentekija's mask. Cain slowly retrieved the cloth and the pouch with what was left of his precious healing spores. "Any more screaming and we would've soon found out if there is anything ahead of us." He said calmly as he packed his pouch and accommodated his equipment. "What do we do with this?" Filbert asked, pointing at the burning charm on the cave floor. "Good question." Cain replied as he lifted the biggest rock he could find. He threw it over the charm with what strength he could muster, the rock split in half and the charm remained intact. "Well, I had to try." Cain said as he started kicking stones and pebbles over the charm. "If we can't destroy it we will hide it, at least from the naked eye." Filbert joined Cain in the kicking and soon the charm was totally covered by rubble, Cain threw some more stones around so the scene wouldn't look too obvious to trained eyes. Edith was slowly regaining consciousness when Tuulentekija alerted the group. "Someone is coming!" "Quick, we must hide! Tuulentekija take Edith with you behind those big boulders to your right." Cain swiftly ran to a nearby crack in the cave wall and smoothly faded into darkness. From somewhere in the darkness he spoke to Filbert. "Fool! Hide, quick!" -------------------- "I don't want to achieve immortality through my work, I want to achieve it through not dying." Posts: 469 | Registered: Thursday, May 1 2003 07:00 |
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Law Bringer
Member # 2984
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written Saturday, September 17 2005 13:41
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Off into the caves once again. The elf was in her element, feeling the tons of solid rock weigh down around her and the rough path beneath her feet. While breathing the stale air that smelled of home, Melora was silently congratulating herself for her decision. She did not believe in such nonsense as karma, but apparently her choice to stick with the group had once again paid off. Hardly delayed - the sun had not yet sunk below the reddening horizon when they entered the cavern - she now had two allies she could trust, instead of one she had never met before and another whose motivation she was still unsure of. What was it that she saw in Lisha? Was it the perceived cold pragmatism* that was so typical of her own people, the distrust that reminded her of home? But she did not want to remember her home. It was bad enough carrying at the back of her head a shadow that could awaken any time. And yet, she was entering the caverns again and relishing the feeling. The ancient atmosphere was palpable; she already felt as if she could sense the aura of the secret knowledge she had come for. Turning to see the passageways, she tried to judge which one would lead deeper by the straightest road. They had already been in the caverns for most of an hour, and whatever guardians the mountain had would soon appear to impede them. The marks of exploration had left a useful tool in finding the right path. The ancient torch holders that were set into the walls marked the way. Some of them still held unused torches. Taking another one of these and lighting it like the other one she had given to the druid, she peered down the endless halls. An itchy feeling told her there was something wrong with this place, but she could not figure out what it was. Some basic detail that she should have noticed... "Sequoia!" She suddenly called out. "Are you up to traveling again, or do you need more rest?" He seemed a bit pale still, but for one who had only briefly been freezing to death in a mountain blizzard, Sequoia looked surprisingly healthy. It would be less his ability than his will that would decide if he and Lisha would follow her into the caves. Their goals were not the same, and a time must come when they split. For now, Melora hoped that moment came later rather than sooner. OOC: *That's what she perceives, regardless of what might actually be the case. [ Monday, September 19, 2005 14:07: Message edited by: Arancaytar ] -------------------- The Encyclopaedia Ermariana <-- Now a Wiki! "Polaris leers down from the black vault, winking hideously like an insane watching eye which strives to convey some strange message, yet recalls nothing save that it once had a message to convey." --- HP Lovecraft. "I single Aran out due to his nasty temperament, and his superior intellect." --- SupaNik Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00 |
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Law Bringer
Member # 2984
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written Monday, September 19 2005 14:08
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On the other hand, *I* very much wish that the next post would come sooner rather than later. Ephesos says he's getting ready. I can't post until the weekend. Who's still in? -------------------- The Encyclopaedia Ermariana <-- Now a Wiki! "Polaris leers down from the black vault, winking hideously like an insane watching eye which strives to convey some strange message, yet recalls nothing save that it once had a message to convey." --- HP Lovecraft. "I single Aran out due to his nasty temperament, and his superior intellect." --- SupaNik Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00 |
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Law Bringer
Member # 4153
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written Monday, September 19 2005 20:06
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OoC: And with a blast of glorious light, the RP rises again! IC: The darkness was absolute outside of the torchlight, as Brother Sequoia had dimmed his staff. Nonetheless, the caverns which the three of them currently strolled through were amazing. Crystal formations, ranging from jet black to bright blue and yellow, sparkled on the walls around them, and ice pillars virtually coated the walls. Strangely enough, the druid felt somewhat at home, given how pristine the cave seemed. Hard to believe that an ancient unspeakable evil lives in here... he thought distractedly, as the passage began to grow colder. The druid simply bundled his cloak closer about him, and continued following the elf. I hope she has an idea where she's going. Nobody had spoken since they'd started walking again, which was probably for the best, at least to Brother Sequoia. Not knowing the territory, it seemed unwise to attract any more attention than lighted torches already did. --- An indeterminate time later (the druid already missed the sunlight again), the elf stopped short of a rather large metal door. She took a moment to look it up and down, and then softly pushed on the door. With a sickening creak, the door opened inward, revealing a room carved right out of the rock. It was rather impressive, at least to Brother Sequoia. Then again, he hadn't seen many smithies of that size, at least not working ones. Lisha and the elf seemed unfazed. Eager to take a look around, the druid placed his torch in a bracket by the door, and relit his staff, filling the room with a diffuse golden light. The room was revealed in its entirety, with a few anvils scattered around a spring, which had its own alcove in the wall. When the druid crossed the room to touch it, he found it was well heated. "Hot spring." he said simply. "It looks pure, and I can't feel any evil aura." He bent over to take a quick drink, and then surveyed the rest of the room. Beyond the anvils and the spring, there was a broken pedestal in the middle of the room. A large spiral staircase led up out of the room, and a perfectly rectangular passage (carved directly into the stone) stretched off in another direction. It looked like it had been burned recently, and a pair of old-looking swords lay at the entrance. Well... that's odd. he said, walking in that direction slowly, keeping his staff low to the ground. Lisha and the elf were still looking around the room, but the elf quickly noticed Sequoia's path. "Stop! I hear something beyond that passageway!" the elf whispered urgently, though Sequoia barely noticed. What had caught his attention was the thing crawling up the passageway at him. It was big. And it had way too many legs to be natural. The druid's mind was currently stuck on one thought (OoC: which can't really be repeated here), and he quickly fell speechless as the creature advanced. The thing was about three feet away before two daggers struck the beast's face (if it could be called that), and Lisha and the elf stood behind Sequoia. "Quick, Brother, snap out of it!" Lisha said loudly, barely below a yell, as she and the elf peered into the darkness. Brother Sequoia's mind had gotten stuck on some of the more unpleasant creatures he'd encountered. Once, he'd stared down a drake (which proved to be a bad idea... the drake was a sore loser when Sequoia won the staring contest), and he'd even fought off a few nasty undead (of a more unpleasant variety than Cyrus and Caecus). But this... this was an abomination. A bit of the druid's mind snapped, just as it had back in Verwey. He immediately pummeled the now thrashing beast with his staff, which glowed a rather unfriendly red, as if channeling the druid's present anger. Eventually, it stopped thrashing about. More sounds presently began echoing into the smithy from down the passage. As Lisha and the elf readied their daggers (which included plucking two from the dead... thing), the druid started shouting syllables of magic, and his staff's runes changed from a nearly blood-red to a bright silver light. The room began to shake a bit. A loud, crumbling sound echoed off the cave's walls, and a portion of the passage closed in on itself. The walls simply pinched inward with a loud crash, and the passage was sealed when the resulting rubble crumbled in front of it. Sequoia's staff faded back to the color of worn oak again, and quickly lost its glow as he stumbled once before regaining his balance. That had taken quite a bit of energy, and he felt decidedly drained. The three sat in silence for a moment, as the sounds of the creatures behind the crumbled rock faded away. Then, the elf turned to Sequoia. "That was foolish of you. If anything is in here, it knows we're here now." The druid could merely nod in agreement. Crud... she's right. Definitely could've worked that better. Still, Sequoia had renewed resolve. This mountain was not evil by default, the trip through the caverns had shown him. This meant one thing to him: something or someone had corrupted the purity of the mountain, and Sequoia was ready to challenge it. -------------------- Gamble with Gaea, and she eats your dice. I hate undead. I really, really, really, really hate undead. With a passion. Posts: 4130 | Registered: Friday, March 26 2004 08:00 |
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Guardian
Member # 2339
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written Monday, September 19 2005 20:28
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Caecus awoke as he felt a warm sensation over the part of his being that was once his heart. He was in a dark chamber, illuminated only by a golden and glowing scimitar chained to the wall. Caecus was chained to a table. But, the chain bonds were broken, and the creature examining him was struck down. The scimitar vibrated wildly as Caecus approached. "Aureas! You did try to heed my call!" Caecus said as he reached out to Aureas. A lightning bolt shot out of the chains and struck Caecus. He pulled back his hand in suprise. "These chains were specifically made to bind you, Aureas. I'm afraid I can't rescue you," Caecus deducted. Aureas vibrated and create a soft, low humming, indicating sadness. Caecus perceived a pole against a nearby wall. Upon closer inspection, Caecus discovered that it was a trident. Knowing that he can't use his runeswords while in the Tainted Lands, he took the trident. "Ahh. It's Antiquus, the first Trident," Caecus said matter-of-factly. The trident, not being alive like the Aureas Scimitar, did nothing. Caecus turned back to Aureas. "I'm afraid I shall have to come back for you later, Aureas," he said sadly. He found a small doorway and went through it. Memories suddenly hit him! He was in a land with buildings much like those in Verwey, but everything was cheerful and no-one was cursed. All the Moon-elves here were in ther original forms. There were large, multi-legged beasts roaming around. Several children were petting them, and the creatures purred and let the children ride them. There were also many cats and other household pets around. Caecus had realized where he was: the Moon-elf homelands! But then he snapped back to reality. The buildings were in ruin, and there were no traces of life, save for skeletons of Moon-elves and beasts alike. The sun here was a reddish and lifeless orb in the sky, bathing the lands in a slightly reddish light. Caecus remembered where this place was. It was a secluded valley on the oother side of the mountain where he fainted. He knew somewhere there was a passage leading to the mountain, but he could also sense the abominations that were once the friendly, multi-legged creatures upon which children once rode. But he was confident that his trident would help him defend himself. -------------------- *Blue screen error* NONEXISTANT WINDOWS ERROR Windows detects no current errors, so Windows has decided to screw around with the files until one occurs. If you never rise against your oppressor, then you've already lost. -Zephyr Tempest, your personal entertainer Posts: 1779 | Registered: Monday, December 9 2002 08:00 |
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Master
Member # 5977
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written Friday, September 23 2005 06:47
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OOC: I thought it was time for an other post. Maybe I'll get things going again. IC: "Fool! Hide, quick!" Cain whispered to Filbert in a commandinf tone. He grabbed him by his shoulder and pulled him to the boulder. Soon he saw why they started panicking so suddenly. The big gate slowly started opening. Slowly by slowly the doors opened, revealing a light on the other side. When the doors weher fully opened though, nothing happened. The party still sat at the boulder, not moving. It all looked rather sinister. Then it happened. Shouting. The sound of at leat a hundred men, marching in the caves. About five minutes long, the marching sound got louder, until it didn't become louder. The men marched past the boulder. It took them at least ten minutes before all troops passed. The shouting slowly faded and the doors started closing. "Quick! Let's go!" Cain shouted, and he started running towards the closing gates. "Cain! Are you mad!" Tuulentekija shouted. It was no use. He ran to the gates. So he's finally going to die. Poor chap. I never really like him, Filbert thought. They all started running. Cain was at the gates. They started running faster and faster... then the gates closed. Cain and Filbert on one side, the others on the other side. Edith started stumping on the big iron doors, but it was no use. "What the hell where you doing!" Filbert asked Cain, shouting. "What do you think! I was trying to get us in here..." Cain said while turning around, "In here... where..." He stopped talking. A monster, looking like it came from a bad movie, came closer. Its short stumpy black legs, a hissing sound coming from its head. A long tale. It was about three meters long, one meter high. "What is it..." Filbert asked... -------------------- Thralni's almighty Avernum pages: My webpage, containing scenario's and graphics made by me (And maybe someday the homepage of the almighty chicken gods). Click here for more information on Olga's fortune teller kiosk Olga's fortune teller kiosk has been temporarily closed down, but you can contact the prophet with a PM - Was signed by the prophet of the almighty chicken gods, gods of everything that is a chicken. Work has begun on the Nephilian grammar and vocabulary guide! Posts: 3029 | Registered: Saturday, June 18 2005 07:00 |
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Infiltrator
Member # 2940
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written Saturday, September 24 2005 03:00
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Cain cursed as he retrieved his saw like dagger and wondered if it would be enough to break through the huge scaled lizard. "What is it..." Filbert asked. "A mutant lizard, an overfed one." Cain slowly moved towards the left, never taking his eyes from the lizard. "Filbert," he whispered. "See that wheel behind it?" Filbert simply nodded, somewhat dumbstruck by the massive beast. "I want you to turn it; we will need Tuulentekija and Edith for this one. I will distract the lizard. I think I may be able to outrun it for a while." Cain slowly played with his dagger in his right hand trying to lure the lizard towards him. It was working. The massive beast glared hungrily at Cain. Filbert suddenly broke in worried. "I'm not sure I can turn that wheel by myself." Cain missed Filberts last words as the massive lizard charged towards him, displaying a vicious array of fangs; all seemed sharper than Cain's own dagger. Running towards the other side of the massive cave Cain manage to shout one last instruction to Filbert before disappearing behind some of the crude abandoned structures that dominated the cave. "Now Filbert, turn the wheel, turn it now…!" Cain's voice slowly faded among the echoes of the cave. -------------------- "I don't want to achieve immortality through my work, I want to achieve it through not dying." Posts: 469 | Registered: Thursday, May 1 2003 07:00 |
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Lifecrafter
Member # 3320
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written Saturday, September 24 2005 16:19
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OOC: I don't mean to protest, but after such an experience, I wouldn't expect to find Edith running around and pounding on the gate doors. She'd be too weak. I'm going to change things a little. IC: Edith opens her eyes at the sudden noise in the cave around her. She looks around and sees what looks like many soldiers running past the area where she is. She tries to yell in alarm, but finds that a hand has been placed over her mouth. Looking up she can see that it's Tuulentekija’s. Then as the soldiers disappear down the tunnel, Cain jumps up and runs after them. "Quick! Let's go!" "Cain! Are you mad!?" Tuulentekija shouts. Filbert follows Cain and, letting go of Edith, Tuulentekija chases after them. Edith sits up and watches as the doors close behind Cain and Filbert. Tuulentekija pounds on the doors and shouts to them. He receives no answer and starts pounding on the doors again. When he hears scraping and shuffling on the ground behind him, he turns around to see Edith slowly crawling along the ground towards him, wincing with pain as she goes. Rushing back to her, he helps her to her feet, and putting his arm over her shoulder, helps her to the gate doors. He sits her down on a boulder close to the doors and checks her wounds. "Do you feel ok Miss Edith? Are you in much pain?" Edith opens her mouth to speak, but when she tries, all that emits is a gurgled expulsion of air. Edith grabs her throat and winces from some obvious pain. She then whimpers softly and begins to cry. "Oh no, your voice is gone!! Your necklace must have damaged your vocal cords when it burned into you. Cain healed your wound with some magical spores he had, but it mustn't have healed you internally. Is there anything I can do to help you?" Edith looks at him sorrowfully for a few moments and then her face brightens. She takes off her pack and gets out her spell book. She pages through it and then hands it to Tuulentekija, who looks at her with confusion. "What is it that you want? Do you want me to read this?" She nods with a smile. Tuulentekija starts reading while Edith rummages through her knapsacks gathering ingredients. She then starts making a potion. A few minutes later, Tuulentekija finishes reading the spell indicated. He then puts it down and takes notice of Edith's movements. She finishes making the potion and sits it down beside her. Next, she turns her attention to her hair. She removes the pins and sits all 10 of them gently down beside her. She then pulls her hair out of its bun and allows it to hang loosely around her head. Tuulentekija notes to himself how truly beautiful Edith is, but tries to not let it show on his face. For a minute, he starts daydreaming. He tries to guess her age, but can’t come up with a conclusive number. He then thinks of a girl he once knew, but then shakes off the memory and comes back to reality. Edith starts unbuttoning her hood in the back, and in one swift movement, she wrenches it off. Unsheathing her dagger, Edith carefully cuts the leather mask off the hood with clear precision. Once it's free, she sets it down on a rock and to Tuulentekija's surprise, it makes a metallic clink on contact. Edith tosses her black hood on the ground and turns back to the mask. Picking it up again, she starts ripping off the stitches that hold the mask together with her dagger and soon, it starts to fall apart. But instead of turning to useless shreds, the black-dyed leather falls off to reveal a golden mask underneath. Tuulentekija stares in awe at the shiny item Edith holds in her hands. She then removes her onyx ring and pries the stone loose from its setting. Then she pushes it into a recessed slot on the front of the mask, and it clicks into place. With that, Edith starts putting the mask on and Tuulentekija remarks to himself how much it makes her look like a sacred warrior of some sort. She adjusts the mask and it soon covers her entire face, leaving slots for her nose, eyes, and mouth. It was obviously designed specifically to fit her face perfectly and the ornate carvings on the mask give her a definitive wild look. Edith then carefully bends down, picks up the pins, takes out a pouch, puts the pins in it, and puts it back in the one knapsack. Edith turns her attention back to Tuulentekija and points to the spell book, motioning for him to recite the spell she had shown him. He picks it up and seems to hesitate. "I hope I do this correctly. Here's goes." He starts reciting the spell and at first, absolutely nothing happens. However, as he nears the end, a cobalt blue light starts to glow from the onyx stone set in the mask. The light spreads from the stone to the entire mask and soon Edith's entire head is enveloped in a blue aurora. Her throat starts to glow with a yellow light, which soon travels towards the onyx stone. When they make contact with each other, Tuulentekija speaks the last word of the spell. A bright flash of white light shoots from onyx stone and blinds Tuulentekija, causing him to shield his eyes. As the light returns to normal, he hears Edith's voice. "Well, someone obviously has a drop of magic in his veins somewhere. You handled that like a pro." Tuulentekija blinks his eyes and looks at Edith. "You're probably wondering how it is that I can be talking to you without moving my lips. You just cast a telepathy spell on me, allowing me to talk with my mind instead of my vocal cords. This mask I am wearing is something I put aside in case I should ever lose the ability to speak, which has happened in the past. If it's removed at any time, I will lose the ability to speak telepathically again until the spell is recast. So don’t touch the mask. As for this potion…” Edith bends down and grabs the potion she had prepared a few minutes before. She uncorks it and drinks the contents. She grimaces slightly while swallowing, but soon is rewarded with a gentle yellow glow enveloping her body. Tuulentekija soon realizes it’s an energy potion and Edith is using it to recuperate more quickly. So he doesn’t even bother asking her about it. Edith packs up the flask and puts her knapsacks back on. Then, sheathing her dagger, she turns her attention to the gate doors. “Hmmm. I had better assess our chances of getting these things open. They look unusually strong.” A few minutes of investigating the doors satisfies Edith. “Yep. We’re stuck on this side. These doors are magically protected. No spell or potion of mine is strong enough to get them open. There must be a counter-weight on the other side somewhere. I hope they can find it.” Tuulentekija sits down on a boulder and stares up at Edith. “Great. That means we’re stranded. Cain better be able to get them open for all the haste he made at getting into that room. And where do you suppose all those men came from?" Edith turns to Tuulentekija and shakes her head. "I have no clue whatsoever. But what I really don't understand is HOW they got in here to begin with. Their armor didn't look familiar to me. It looked kind of ancient. If you ask me, we've either encountered another illusion, or just had a vision of something that once took place here." [ Saturday, September 24, 2005 21:43: Message edited by: Sir Sherlock Holmes ] -------------------- "Keep your wits about you, the game is afoot!!" - Sherlock Holmes Gay Christian Network The Polaris Board Posts: 935 | Registered: Friday, August 8 2003 07:00 |
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Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire!
Member # 919
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written Saturday, September 24 2005 20:52
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Lisha shook her head in frustration. So much for stealth. Even if the din hadn't been enough to wake the dead, the tremors it had surely sent through the stone would be enough to throw them from their sepulchers. She shuddered, for once, out of disgust with a tinge of fear rather than the cold. There is that, Lisha thought, wryly appreciative. At least it's warmer in here. Melora was already slinking up the steps, Sequoia following boldly and a little sheepishly after. Lisha went to the pile of stones and nudged the rubble with a her toe. Whatever would have come from that direction, short of the demon himself, would have to find another way. "Lisha!" She turned at the sound of the druid's voice and hurried to catch up. Melora, she saw, was in her element; had she not known to look for the dark face, the shining eyes, she'd never have suspected the elf's presence. Tightening her grip on her dagger, she drew closer to the druid. Her previous encounters with the elf has not gone as well as she would have hoped; here, she knew, if her companion chose to turn on her, she'd be hard-pressed to keep her life. And if she were wrong, if it had been the demon that had put such a look in Melora's eyes as she drove her blade into the bladesman's body... well, at this point it was almsot too late to worry about that. Melora halted. Lisha raised her blade cautiously. "There is some kind of charm ahead." Lisha's eyes became slits as she concentrated on her surroundings. She, too, felt the power radiating from some point nearby. But whoever had created the charm, if that's what it was, was no master. "It's some kind of weak trap." "No..." Sequoia, too, had adopted a look of intense concentration. He opened his moouth to speak, but was cut short by Lisha. "What else would recharge itself, Melora, but a trap?" Sequoia started. "Recharge?" "An illusion?" "Maybe," Lisha said. She placed a hand on the druid's back and propelled him lightly forward; Melora took the hint and continued upward. Several moments later she signalled them to stop, and crept onto the landing alone. A loud, harsh bark of laughter startled Lisha. The druid jumped. "What is it?" "An uruk-hai!" Lisha frowned. She passed the druid and slid into the room, but her caution was wasted; Melora stood with her back turned, idly waving a dagger at a monstrous demon. The silent beast flickered, then dissappeared, and Lisha laughed with Sequoia, who'd come up in time to see its last desperate flail. Melora tossed her head, merriment in her eyes. She searched half-heartedly for runes, but found none. The basis point was hidden. Not, she thought, that it matters. She turned away, muttering something about human mages. Their attention turned quickly to their surroundings. They seemed to be in a huge natural cavern, its walls dripping with pale moss. Past the torchlight, however, they could see nothing; the darkness closed them in from all directions. Melora was entirely adapted, Lisha saw, but Sequoia was obviously not, and staring into the all-consuming blackness of the cave, she found it easy to sympathize. Melora took a few steps forward. "This seems the only way-" "Recharged by what?" "What?" They turned to look at Sequoia. "The illusion was recharging, you said. What was recharging it, and why did it need to in the first place?" "It was a simple charm. Any mage worth his robes could maintain it." "But from where, and why? Remote maintainance is no easy task. There's likely to be someone, or something, nearby. And why is it recharging? What set it off? I think we are not the first to pass-" "Shh!" All fell silent. Lisha cocked her head, listening. Melora moved further into the darkness silently, then paused. "Men." "Shouting." The druid's brow furrowed, and he closed his eyes. The faint echo of human voices raised in thunderous unison entered his ears and quickened his heart. "What-" "Shh." The two women moved deeper into the cavern, edging toward a moss-covered wall. The shouting remained faint, indistinguishable, but indisputably present. "Soldiers?" "Let's see. They'll never be able to catch us, anyway, if we can find those stairs; large groups of what are probably armored men cannot move nearly as fast as the three of us. At least-" "I can run if I must," Sequoia interrupted, annoyed. "Then let us waste no time." The three continued into the cave, staying inconspicuous by the wall, making as little sound as possible. Melora cupped her hand in front of the sputtering torch, keeping its glow on them, ready to kill the light before the men came close enough to hear distinctly. EDIT: Forgot a few words. [ Saturday, September 24, 2005 20:53: Message edited by: Lady Davida ] -------------------- And though the musicians would die, the music would live on in the imaginations of all who heard it. -The Last Pendragon Polaris = joy. In case of emergency, break glass. Posts: 3351 | Registered: Saturday, April 6 2002 08:00 |
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Law Bringer
Member # 2984
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written Sunday, September 25 2005 10:23
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OOC: Which way did we come - are we on the trail of the other party now? I don't like that soldiers thing one bit - where would they come from? IC: "What are you doing?" Lisha hissed nervously, as she noticed Melora preparing a spell. "A precaution. Whatever is approaching might be able to sense our warmth." As she finished, she added, "this will feel a bit chilly." An understatement. An icy mist seemed to rise from the ground, enveloping the three in a freezing cloud. Not quite cold enough to harm, but definitely enough to cause discomfort. "This should render us invisible to most night-seeing eyes." Having time to speak again, Melora whispered to the druid. "Traps are recharged by focal crystals. They draw energy from their surroundings and feed it back into the trap. "I could feel its pull as it was recharging. Someone has recently set it off." The steps were growing louder, but they were still very faint. The whispers continued. "Someone is ahead of us." "I want to know who? Our companions are gone or in Verwey. The archer entered the caverns far below us," Melora responded. "The wolf-friends?" "Unlikely." "The assassin," Lisha remembered. "He returned to the village. He might have picked up others and continued onwards. With our stay in Verwey, they would be about... half a day ahead of us." Melora was silent. We must be there first. But what were they looking for? Not the same as her, surely. It had taken her many decades to even learn of the mythical hall's existence, let alone its location. But if they found it first, this would not make a bit of difference. Dumb bloody luck... The tramp had grown louder. Melora did not dare whisper now. Sound behaves oddly in caverns, and if the soldiers were not human, there was no telling how sharp their ears were. She motioned to her companions for utter silence. She struck out the light. She could see well enough without it, and if the soldiers could, it made no difference anyway. But she was not prepared for what happened next. The marching and shouting sounds increased in volume, then remained constant. The soldiers were passing. But there was nothing to see. -------------------- The Encyclopaedia Ermariana <-- Now a Wiki! "Polaris leers down from the black vault, winking hideously like an insane watching eye which strives to convey some strange message, yet recalls nothing save that it once had a message to convey." --- HP Lovecraft. "I single Aran out due to his nasty temperament, and his superior intellect." --- SupaNik Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00 |
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Infiltrator
Member # 2940
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written Sunday, September 25 2005 17:01
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IC: Cain stopped for a breather; the massive lizard was faster than he thought, it had followed him in and out of some of the old structures he used as cover and made quite a mess out of some of them. Now however, he had found a much larger and solid structure, an old temple of some sort, he easily managed to slip inside through a small crack in the wall. The lizard was having a hard time trying to smash a hole through it with its massive tail. Cain regained his composure, lit his torch and briefly inspected the building he had just entered. The walls were deteriorated but thick; they would hold the tail beating a minute or so. The brief inspection confirmed the place was old, but it had been recently inhabited. His mind trailed back to the stampede of men back in the cave entrance, he suddenly realized the strangeness of the whole event. Humans, is it possible? He thought. He inspected the room; there was nothing to indicate the presence of humans, no traces of food or bed, in fact, there was no particular odor at all. The only thing that suggested the room had been used recently where the human shaped footprints and the relatively new tools lying around. Crack. The wall had just given Cain an alert. The constant beating of the lizard's tail had started to shake the thick walls around Cain. But they would not give in. Not just yet. Cain decided to move further into the temple, just in case the wall decided to fall over him. In the meantime he thought of what Edith had said before passing out, the traces of weak life all over the place as if the very air was alive, but Cain saw nothing. The only living creature around was outside, slamming the temple walls with its huge tail. Many questions passed thought Cain's mind in that brief period of time. Were the troops they passed on the cave entrance the living things Edith felt? Were they weak human souls trapped here only to scare intruders? Maybe they were soldiers of the kingdom, dead guardians of the treasure, souls imprisoned forever by Orloki's mighty power. Yes, it could be, he thought as he remembered Edith's words about the presence of a powerful altar in the very temple he was hiding in. But why couldn't he feel it? Was someone hiding it from him? Crack. This time the sound of a cracking wall was followed by the sound of rubble falling on the cave floor. Not much time left, Cain thought as he continued walking deep into the halls of the temple. He remembered the diary; he remembered the entries that referred to a temple and an altar. The previous one had turned out to be an illusion, was another illusion? No, it couldn't be. Edith saw it with magical eyes, these structures are indeed here and so the altar must be in here somewhere too. If he could find it and destroy it, maybe, just maybe, all the illusions and imprisoned souls nearby would leave. It would make all much easier. Crumble. From the distance Cain could hear the walls collapsing. The lizard had breached the temple. "Damn it Filbert, what is taking you so long!" Cain shouted, as he could hear the hissing of the ferocious lizard closing on him. Without thinking it further Cain stopped on his tracks, removed his backpack and retrieved the sack with the basilisk head. "This better work." He said to himself as he lifted the fetid basilisk head before him. It took only a few seconds for the lizard to find him, the creature stared at Cain briefly and then charged. "Ahh!" Cain shouted in rage as he threw the useless basilisk head at the restless lizard. The lizard made quick work of the thrown head devouring it completely. Cain on the other hand, made a quick run to the main hall of the old temple; nothing could prepare him for what he saw next… -------------------- "I don't want to achieve immortality through my work, I want to achieve it through not dying." Posts: 469 | Registered: Thursday, May 1 2003 07:00 |
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Master
Member # 5977
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written Monday, September 26 2005 07:11
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In the meantime, Filbert struggled to get the huge gates open. He ran to the small house where thew wheel to open the gates stood. He opened the door... What the hell... ,he thought, when the huge door opened before he could touch it. A rather large sort of goblin, bigger then the average, slightly glowing (Now thing of the glowing goblins in Backwater Calls). They stared at each other. Suddenly, the gobling jumped to Filbert, who was hit by the glowing fist of the goblin. he fell on the floor. He grabbed his bronze dagger and quickly stood up. The goblin once again jumped and hit him. Filbert again fell, but landed on a something, was it a rock? he felt with his hand, and he knew what it was... It was his wand. he took the wand, pointed it at the goblin, and fired a nice glowing bolt of fire. He hit the goblin. it stayed on the ground. Dead. Filbert moved him over to the small house and found the wheel. It was rather small for such a huge gate. He turned it, and slowly by slowly, the huge gates once again opened. "Damn it Filbert, what is taking you so long!", Cain shouted from far. Filbert, not even remembering Edith and Tuulentekija were still on the other side of the gate, immediatly ran to where the shouting came from, his wand in his hand, the dagger in the other. He ran. Eventually he came to what looked like a temple. A huge hole was beaten out of the wall. Pity. The wall was rather nice, before the small cracks of the multiple beating against it, started to form and the lovely fresco's were obscured. Suddenly, he heard shouting, it sounded like shouting of a crowd when finding something they was worth slaughtering, like finding some goblin in his home town. His home town... he wished he was there. When the shouting became louder, he decided to go and carefully look what was going on. Nothing prepared him for what he saw... OOC: I want somebody else to think of something eventful to happen this time. :P -------------------- Thralni's almighty Avernum pages: My webpage, containing scenario's and graphics made by me (And maybe someday the homepage of the almighty chicken gods). Click here for more information on Olga's fortune teller kiosk Olga's fortune teller kiosk has been temporarily closed down, but you can contact the prophet with a PM - Was signed by the prophet of the almighty chicken gods, gods of everything that is a chicken. Work has begun on the Nephilian grammar and vocabulary guide! Posts: 3029 | Registered: Saturday, June 18 2005 07:00 |
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Guardian
Member # 2339
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written Monday, September 26 2005 14:09
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Caecus had walked only a few steps when he was hit by a vision. He actually saw through the eyes of his corpse, and through all the material that covered it. What he saw suprised him. He heard a voice, his voice from when he was alive, when he was Aerdiu, spoke to him. "While you wre gone, many people have violated your resting place," it said plainly. He felt an unknown force pulling him towards a temple he did not recognize. Someone has built a temple over my grave? Caecus thought. He sprinted towards the spot to which his old spell was directing him. "Damn it Filbert, what is taking you so long!" yelled a voice just inside Caecus' range of hearing. Shortly afterwards, Caecus heard a crash in the distance. But he couldn't move. Something had grabbed him. He perceived what had grabbed him, and his heart would've jumped if he still had it. It has hideous, tall, covered in short, black fur and had eight legs, two of which had grabbed Caecus. Its red eyes were staring at Caecus and it's freakish mockery of a mouth was drooling a corrosive saliva. -------------------- *Blue screen error* NONEXISTANT WINDOWS ERROR Windows detects no current errors, so Windows has decided to screw around with the files until one occurs. If you never rise against your oppressor, then you've already lost. -Zephyr Tempest, your personal entertainer Posts: 1779 | Registered: Monday, December 9 2002 08:00 |
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Lifecrafter
Member # 3320
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written Saturday, October 1 2005 20:08
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OOC: Well, someone has to breathe some life back into it. IC: After sitting for a while outside the gate doors, Tuulentekija starts getting impatient. He stands up and starts to pace up and down the passage. "Are you absolutely sure that there is positively NO WAY that you can get these doors open? I mean, come on. I saw what that corrosive acid did to the stone door down there in the foundry room. Can't you try using on it these doors?" Edith shakes her head and conveys her thoughts to him. "No. This door is completely immune to my acid potions. I'd prefer to not waste my spell energy on trying to produce a deadly acid potion only to have it prove useless." Tuulentekija blinks at her. "What's a deadly acid potion? You mean you can create an acid potion that's stronger than the one that you already did?" Edith stands up and shuffles around uncomfortably. "Well, yes. A deadly acid potion is the strongest form of acid spray that I can conjure up using my herbs and spell book. It will normally eat through just about anything. However, it does have its limits. And this door meets the criteria of most of the limits." Tuulentekija starts pacing more impatiently. "What's taking them so long? They must have been sidetracked by something. This suspense is driving me crazy. I mean, it's bad enough that we are stuck out here. Yet, on top of that, we have no idea what is going on in there. I can't even hear anything through these damn doors." Edith stops shuffling around and goes rigid. She then swings around suddenly and runs to the door with the look of someone who has just thought of something important. "But of COURSE!! Why didn't I think of it before?! You may have just hit on something." Tuulentekija stops pacing and runs up to join her. "What?!! What did I hit on?!" Edith smiles and starts looking at the doors carefully. "You said that you couldn't hear through the doors." He looks at her skeptically. "Yeah, so what." Edith rolls her eyes and tries to convey her thoughts clearly. "Don't you see? Not only are these doors impermeable to acid, but they are also soundproof. And yet, they are made of metal. Surely you would hear SOMETHING from the other side as metal is a perfect conductor or sound. What kind of metal absorbs both sound and magic? None that I've ever come across. That means that this wasn't meant to be a regular door of entry, but a door of protection." Tuulentekija gets a baffled look. "I'm sorry, but I still don't follow." Edith starts getting annoyed. "Let me try to explain in a different way. Suppose you were King Albert. Now try to think about the lengths you would go to to try and safeguard your treasure vaults and whatever other valuables you had in a manmade fortress hewn out of the rock. Surely, you would want specially constructed doors at strategic points in the tunnels to provide an impenetrable defense against looters and invading armies. This MUST be one of those sets of doors." Tuulentekija thinks it over for a moment or two and then counters. "But if that is true, then how is it opened from this side if it’s impossible to convey your presence to the people on the other side?" Edith sighs. "Well, that's one of the problems. But I am coming to the belief that this door was once a non-magical one. See those two hinges midway up on both doors, and the dents in the metal below them? I bet there was once a set of steel knockers on the doors used to send signals to the people on the other side to let them know they should open the doors." "Where are the knockers now? I don't see any signs of them on the ground anywhere. They didn’t fall off from old age." Edith investigates the ground in front of the doors. "Hmmm. They must have been removed by someone or something to render the doors impassible from this side. The addition of the defense spells to make them indestructible further backs up that theory. Maybe they were no longer to be used from this side and only in an emergency would they be used from the other side. At any rate, as far as we are concerned, there is nothing we can do to open them. But that is the least of our troubles at the moment." Tuulentekija gives Edith a questioning glance. "What do you mean the least of our troubles?" Edith gets a worried look on her face. "Well, I didn't want to bring it up, but I don't think those doors opened up on their own to convey a vision from the past. I believe someone, or worse, some THING opened those doors because they knew we were coming. In which case, Cain and Filbert are trapped in there with it. Fortunately, I do feel there is something we can do." He gives her a slightly excited look. "And that is?" Edith turns around and looks down the tunnel from which they had come. "If Cain and Filbert are indisposed and unable to open the door, there is a possible way for us to get to them. We could try going back to the foundry room and giving the ramp a try again. While I was scanning for structures, I noticed a tunnel descending from the inside of the temple. The tunnel was large and curved and I'm positive that it and the ramp are one in the same." Tuulentekija gives her a slightly fearful look. "I... uh... am not sure if we should, uh... you know, take that ramp after coming across those creatures. Could be too dangerous." "What do you mean? You told me they were harmless as I was running away. I feel I am a successful enough mage to give us at least some protection on the journey up the ramp. Why should we be worried about them?" Tuulentekija shifts around nervously. "Well, most of the creatures were harmless. However, there was one that I sensed as being unlike the others. Much bigger, more aggressive, and far more lethal. I was so unnerved by it that I ran out of the tunnel and straight into one of the boiling-hot springs. As you can see my foot is rather scalded and I can assure you that it IS painful. That creature had me VERY distracted." Edith then spaces out and seems to be thinking to herself. Tuulentekija strains to try and tune in on her thoughts, but he doesn't get through. Giving up, he surveys the doors closely for a minute. Turning around to ask Edith a question, he finds her to be nowhere in sight. "Miss Edith? Where did you go? DAMN!! Crazy woman!! She must have gone back through the tunnels towards the ramp! I have to stop her before she gets herself killed!!!" -------------------- "Keep your wits about you, the game is afoot!!" - Sherlock Holmes Gay Christian Network The Polaris Board Posts: 935 | Registered: Friday, August 8 2003 07:00 |
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Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire!
Member # 919
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written Saturday, October 1 2005 21:26
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"How could-" "Shhh." Lisha shivered uncontrollably. Her body was becoming numb, and she almost wished the elf would break her cold spell. But the sound of marching came as close to terrifying her as anything ever had. She liked to see her enemy, or at least have the ability, but she could see absolutely nothing. Periodic shouts rose from the air around them, and her heart skipped a beat each time. Drawing nearer to Sequoia, both hands on separate hilts, Lisha stared desperately into the darkness. If the invisible army noticed and attacked them, what could she do? She had to have some kind of target to be an effective fighter. Even Melora appeared somewhat confused and worried. Would the uruk-hai's creator have the necessary power to make an illusion convincing enough that she could feel the stone quivering beneath her feet, the air vibrating with the tramping feet and the martial shouts? Even if this was but an illusion, its creator was worth consideration. Only a very powerful mage could've made this; why would it be patrolling an unoccupied cave? And if it were more than an illusion, she was as helpless as Lisha. So the three stood in silence, motionless, absorbed in their own thoughts as the din passed. Finally the marching was distant once more, and they resumed breathing. Melora looked after the sounds. "We'll follow them." "No!" The others looked at Lisha. "We don't know what they were. It is non of our concern. Why should we follow them?" "If it's... if it's an army, they won't be marching down the way we came up. There must be another way out." Lisha nodded slowly at Melora. "There must. But then where-" "Come, we've already lost time." Melora started after them, and Sequoia and Lisha followed. They walked for some time, always keeping the shouting within earshot. Still shaking, regardless of the anullment of the spell, Lisha hung backa bit. There must be some way to- "Stop." Lisha and Melora stopped. "What's that?" Both shifted their focus from the marching and listened. The slap of leather on stone reached them after a second. "To the wall!" Melora and Lisha followed Sequoia from the center of the cave, and all three waited, tense. Presently a human shape broke the darkness and came near them, running, not noticing their still forms. As the form got closer, they shot each other looks and moved slightly apart, ready wherever it passed. It chanced to pass closest to Brother Sequoia, who smiled slightly and stepped firmly into her way. A feminine cry of surprise drew them in upon the woman as she lay on the ground, frantically chanting a spell. Lisha jumped on her and slapped her face. The woman gasped and fell silent, struggling against Lisha's immobile grasp. "Who are you, and what are you doing here?" OOC: Yes, Edith. So tired... EDIT: Italics. [ Saturday, October 01, 2005 21:27: Message edited by: Lady Davida ] -------------------- And though the musicians would die, the music would live on in the imaginations of all who heard it. -The Last Pendragon Polaris = joy. In case of emergency, break glass. Posts: 3351 | Registered: Saturday, April 6 2002 08:00 |
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Law Bringer
Member # 4153
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written Sunday, October 2 2005 21:14
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OoC: At last, a post. Sorry for the delay, I've just been horribly sick and tired lately. IC: After the invisible army had passed by, it was very reassuring to see a solid person again. It was also reassuring to be able to stop her so easily. When she hit the ground, her difficulty in casting a spell put her out of the category of "dangerous mage," at least in Sequoia's mind. Casting a dull light from his staff, Sequoia studied the woman who was struggling against Lisha. She looked vaguely familiar, perhaps a woman from the village. Then again, she could've been a woman from any village, as her black cloak didn't particularly stand out as recognizable. On the other hand, the gold mask covering most of her face seemed a bit... unique. Sequoia looked at her eyes for a moment. "She is not dangerous, and is untainted by this mountain. You can let go of her, Lisha." The woman looked up at Sequoia for a minute, and appeared confused but grateful. "My name is Edith. I'm not here alone, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't attack the man I was traveling with." An odd thought struck the druid. Her face isn't moving the right way. The mask should've moved a bit when she spoke. Oh well... no stranger than anything else we've seen so far. As if on cue, a man in dark green robes appeared further down the hallway, immediately noticing the group. He drew a sword from within his robes, and began charging down the passage. However, Edith quickly motioned to him, and he stopped charging. He finished approaching the group silently. "Why are you here?" he inquired quickly. "Probably the same reason as you." Lisha countered. An awkward silence followed. "Fair enough," the man eventually said. "I am Tuulentekija. Perhaps you can help us." Tuulentekija quickly explained how their group had been separated, and Edith confirmed the story. "Fine, but there's one problem," the druid began. "That passage you spoke of, that led to the treasure room... we filled it in. We had to, after we saw the abominations which were inside that chamber." "Actually," the elf muttered. "We didn't have to. Our friend here just had a bit of a lapse in foresight." Brother Sequoia fell silent, acknowledging his blunder. The elf continued speaking levelly. "I do not know if we can help you. But all the same, show us these doors." Perhaps the druid had imagined it, but he could've sworn that he'd seen a strange glint in the elf's eyes at that moment. Interesting... "I do not see how it would be possible, but perhaps you will see something we haven't." Edith said, turning back the way she and Tuulentekija had come. The other three followed quietly. You know, there is no way I'm going to remember his name... Sequoia thought, musing again on how Edith's voice sounded unnaturally clear through the mask. OoC: I hope that works. [ Monday, October 03, 2005 16:17: Message edited by: Ephesos ] -------------------- Gamble with Gaea, and she eats your dice. I hate undead. I really, really, really, really hate undead. With a passion. Posts: 4130 | Registered: Friday, March 26 2004 08:00 |
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Lifecrafter
Member # 3320
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written Monday, October 3 2005 15:02
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OOC: Just for future reference, Edith is unable unable to speak vocally. She is now mute from the injuries to her throat. She has to speak through telepathy. So there's no way she could have been muttering a spell. She won't be able to cast anything vocally for a while, unless someone reads the spell for her. So let's please reflect that in the posts. If anything, the others should be startled by her when she speaks through telepathy. Also, she is wearing a gold mask on her face, so please remember that as well in your posts. -------------------- "Keep your wits about you, the game is afoot!!" - Sherlock Holmes Gay Christian Network The Polaris Board Posts: 935 | Registered: Friday, August 8 2003 07:00 |
