DarkheartOne/LogOneThree
It wasn't long before the Guild functionaries going along with the group showed, and in short order, Rio's ship was laden down with goods, people and supplies. With the sun peeking out over the horizon, the ship set sail for this 'Rising Island', the wind favoring travel wonderfully and conditions calm.
The trip has been amazingly uneventful. Almost dreary... but soon enough, this island comes into view. It's not very large, but there's quite a nice manor built on it, complete with a dock and an abandoned area for sailors and such to rest and check inventory. It's strange to see such a place being completely empty... but there it is, a beautiful ghost town. No attacks, no howling ghosts, no nothing. Just an easy unloading and... the manor ahead.
The head Guild surveyor looks around, then points to the manor. "Out there... they said that the place is under the manor. Could you all scout for us? We'd greatly appreciate it."
Rio steps down from the ship, clad in lamellar armor, sword on her back, and glances around. "... this... is a pretty strange town."
Deis squints his eyes, looking up from where he was peering down into the water.
"It was a resort home for some rich Dynast bastard, but he said that the place was haunted." The lead surveyor shrugs. "Hells if I know."
<Rio> Huh.
Rio looks towards the ship. "West! The ship's in your hands until I come back!"
Laranth nods, gaze intent on the mansion. "I see. Well, we'll be on our guard."
West nods. "Aye, captain!"
Dyna adjusts her glasses, also clad in lamellar, but still wearing her pointed hat. She looks the manor over, as she follows after Rio. "Breon?"
Tian follows shortly behind Rio, after ensuring that his sisters will remain safely on the ship through several minutes of private, heated deliberation. He's.. dressed in his usual monk-like attire, a coarse brown cloak over cream-colored tunic and matching trousers. He's not wearing shoes, and not carrying anything remotely resembling a weapon or armor.
Deis notices the manor. "Why would anyone need a house so big?" He looks to the others, hoping for an answer.
<Rio> Overcompensation? ^_^
<Laranth> The wealthy enjoy exercise of wealth. I can't say there's anything wrong with it.
Dyna motions for Breon to follow, idly twirling her staff between her fingers.
Breon rumbles and pads alongside Dyna, eyes glancing around warily and nose twitching.
<Tian> It's just a feeble attempt at reassuring themselves. The truly wealthy don't need massive tracts of land or huge houses.
Dyna reassuringly pets Breon on the head.
Rio laughs. "Anyway! Let's get moving."
Laranth shrugs. "Whatever caused it to be here, it's abandoned here now. Shall we?" He starts striding forward.
Dyna walks along with the group, taking in the scenery as she goes.
Deis grimaces at Laranth's answer. "Seems... a waste, more money than brains it would seem."
Rio steps forward as well, an odd gleam in her eyes. Why, you could say she -wants- trouble to happen.
The building ahead is quite lavish, if a bit unkempt; it's obviously not been tended to for months. Still, the grounds are lush, and the walkway leading to the manor is clean. Here and there, small wooden booths are set up, probably the remnants of a small market. And... the air tingles, just a little. It feels almost soothing, in a way.
Deis picks up his few belongings, and rushes to catch up with the others, looking around. "It's so empty here."
<Rio> Most people don't want to stick around places they think haunted, I guess.
<Dyna> Haunted, eh...?
<Laranth> We'll see about the haunting!
Dyna adjusts her glasses with one hand... and puts the other on Breon.
Deis pauses and blinks, taking a step back. "Ummm... we don't have to do it right away... right?"
<Tian> Why not?
<Laranth> .. is something wrong?
Breon rumbles deeply, keeping pace.
Tian is staying near the front of the group, a faint gleam in his eye.
Rio laughs and patpats Deis on the shoulder (which... will probably make him stumble forward. She's strong). "No use in making adventure wait!"
<Dyna> Wait, just a moment...
Deis does indeed stumble, staggering forward off-balance and going a bit closer to their objective, letting out comedic 'whoa, whoa, whoooa's before finally tettering to a halt.
<Rio> ... hmm?
<Laranth> What is it?
Dyna makes a slow sweep of the area with her eyes... narrowing them a bit.
Tian pauses, taking a moment to breathe.
<Dyna> ... hmm.
Laranth pauses in a ready posture, glancing around.
Dyna turns back towards the party. "I believe we're most likely to find what we're looking for inside the manor."
Rio glances back towards Dyna. "... ooh?"
<Deis> Can...you remind me what we're looking for again?
Dyna looks at Tian for a moment, her eyes lingering on his face.
<Laranth> And what makes you say that?
<Tian> Who cares? Let's just get going.
Tian makes an impatient noise, gesturing for the door.
<Dyna> Just call it a strong hunch. Seems to me like this buzz in the air is centered on it.
Dyna smiles at Tian, briefly. "And yeah, we should keep moving."
The door awaits; typical massive Realm-styled door. Almost all of the jade that was set in it has long-since been picked off, either by the Guild or looters... or maybe the leaving Dynasts themselves.
Rio chuckles, and moves towards the doors confidently, before trying to open them...
<Laranth> Shame. Looks like it was good work, once. Who should do the honors?
They creak open... before the hinges on the right door suddenly snaps, and the door itself falls inward.
<Rio> ... wow. That's old.
<Laranth> -- well! That should do it.
Laranth steps over the fallen right door to enter the building.
Tian moves inside as well, staying to Laranth's right, absorbing as much information as possible.
Dyna looks over the exterior critically, bringing her pointer finger and thumb up to her chin... then steps inside, looking things over with the critical eye of someone who knows a thing or two about architecture and decor.
Rio steps in after Laranth, pouting a bit. "Hmm... and I that wanted to be the first..."
Dyna... hits her head on a low-hanging flowerpot as she scans.
<Dyna> ... OW!
She must've missed it while observing. There are actually a number of them, dangling from the ceiling from chains. The plants... are quite alive.
Rio starts a bit, and looks at Dyna. "... ah... you ok? ^^;;"
<Dyna> ... dammit, one of these days I'll learn to watch where I'm going while I'm admiring the architecture...
Dyna rubs her forehead a little, and straightens up her hat. "Yeah, I'm fine..."
<Laranth> At least you're all right.
- Laranth looks up (well, not far up) at the plants. "How strange. Does anyone know anything about how they'd still be alive?"
<Rio> ... maybe they get enough water and sunlight?
Tian glances back briefly, shrugs once, and stops just inside the doorway. He turns on his heel, eyes scanning the room once before slipping closed, instead relying on his less trickable senses -- namely, smell and hearing. His ears almost twitch with pent-up sensitivity.
<Dyna> ... that is odd, isn't it?
Laranth looks up further, in search of a possible skylight or roof damage. "I wonder..."
Rio looks up at the roof, looking for any places the sunlight might be filtering through "Maybe..."
Dyna walks up to one of the plants... rubbing one of the leaves between her thumb and index finger... and looks around, checking for sufficient sources of light and water... but the roof's remained solid. It's impossible for them to have gotten light.
<Tian> Don't bother looking.
<Laranth> Oh?
<Dyna> Hm... follow me, I think I know where we're going.
<Rio> ... yeah?
<Dyna> That odd buzz in the air is a bit stronger in this direction...
Dyna points towards a door, a ways off from the group. In 'this direction' is a room with its door wide open. From the looks of things, it's probably a kitchen of some sort. It's as dusty as everything else.
Laranth glances in the direction of said door. Laranth approaches!
<Dyna> Be careful.
<Laranth> Don't worry about me.
Tian sticks near Laranth, though not for protection or support -- it's just easy to follow someone of his.. proportions.
Dyna follows after Tian and Laranth, keeping Breon close at her side.
Laranth reaches the doorway, and one he passes through, he gets an eyeful of a most interesting sight. The upper half of a formerly-living person's skeleton, its fingers having dug into the ground so hard to have left actual scratches in the stone floor.
Rio slips next to Dyna, weaving past the hanging plant pots. "Deis? Stick close, just in case..."
Laranth stops in his tracks, staring down at the skeleton. "... troublesome. What happened to the other half, I wonder?"
<Rio> Um?
Deis nods to Rio, moving closer and looking around, then looks at the skeleton.
Dyna winces at the sight of the skeleton. "... well, that's... unpleasant."
Unlike much of the manor, this skeleton still has some mostly-rotted flesh on it. Further into the kitchen is what's probably the pantry. The door is closed.
<Laranth> I'm not inclined to go farther until we've had a thorough look at this place.
<Rio> ... poor bastard. I'll bury the remains later.
Deis nods. "I agree with Laranth... have we checked the grounds? Maybe we'll find other clues?"
Tian glances down at the skeleton. "Like whatever ate this man's legs."
Laranth takes a few steps further in, stepping carefully around the skeleton, and looks around the room for some reason that a kitchen might contain half a dead body.
Immediate glancing-about reveals the occasional, small nick in the wall here and there; probably arrows, Laranth could determine. A few spots have the faded remnants of dried blood, and off in a corner, under a cabinet, Tian finds the end of some beast's tooth.
<Laranth> .. there was a battle here. With arrows, it looks like.
Laranth looks back at the corpse. "But was this the firer or the fired-upon?"
Tian lightly tosses it into the air and catches the piece of bone. "Pleasant."
<Rio> I'd say he was trying to resist getting dragged.
<Deis> But... what could have that kind of power? I mean a bear could... but it doesn't look like one was here...
Rio is kneeling next to the body. "I mean, just look at his fingers. Eesh."
<Tian> I don't suppose we have an errant tooth specialist among us?
Dyna looks at the body... and then at Breon. "Well, as far as you can tell... are we alone?"
Deis cocks his head. "Well... I can try if you don't mind"
Laranth nods. "Dragged by something that chose to devour him where he lay, instead. I don't like this."
<Rio> ... or he got ripped in half.
Breon sniffs at the skeleton, then sniffs a bit more, looking around. He glances towards the door for a second, but doesn't approach.
Tian tosses the tooth end over to Deis, leaning against a wall.
Rio stands, a hand on her sword. "Which is probably more disturbing, overall."
<Laranth> Either way, I don't like it.
Dyna looks at the door... and then notices the tooth fragment. "... can I see that?"
Deis looks the tooth over for a second. "Umm... it's like a meat eating fishie's tooth... but it's weird. Almost, well, like a man's tooth and a lot bigger."
As for that door, it's metal. There was a lock there, but it's been torn off.
<Laranth> ... worrisome. But I suppose we have to go on.
"Huh... oh, yes, sorry." Deis hands the tooth to Dyna. "Sorry, I got kind of preoccupied."
Laranth rests his hands lightly on his shortswords.
Rio nods, and steps towards the door carefully.
Dyna takes it, looking it over briefly... before pocketing it, preferring to be ready for what might be behind that door than to give it a thorough examination.
Rio looks at the others, and reaches for the door...
Tian steps forward, brushing Rio's hand aside and taking hold of the knob. "I'll go."
<Rio> ... don't hog all the fun >/
<Laranth> We're right behind you.
Laranth steps up.
Tian slides his gaze over to Rio, snorting derisively, before pulling the door open.
Deis swallows loudly and steels himself, stepping up behind Laranth. "I... can't let you go in alone..."
Dyna holds her staff in one hand, and keeps the other cocked back... in a rather odd looking fashion.
<Laranth> Then we'll all go.
The door screams open from months of neglect, and inside... it's lit, apparently, with some sort of small miracle set into the low ceiling. The few remaining provisions here are quite obviously no good, and... it's apparent that there was a fight in here. Four humanoid skeletons in varied states of injury... and one large, strangely fish-like man-skeleton, its skull smashed in and the broken half of a spear sticking through its ribs. To the thing's side, there is an entrance to what appears to be a cellar. The wooden doors have been shattered.
<Tian> Well, for a refreshing change of pace, everything's dead in here.
<Rio> ... well, now we know what the tooth was like, at least.
Dyna lowers her staff, peering into the room and giving it a good once-over.
Deis grimaces a little. "This is starting to sound like the scary stories Aeyria told me; before we go on, can we at least send these poor people off properly?"
<Laranth> So that... thing... killed whoever it was back there, and then it was defeated here?
<Laranth> I see. And I would not object.
<Rio> ... I'll do it.
Rio steps closer to the bodies, and stares at the fish-man...
<Rio> ... ugh. Wyld-spawn, I'll bet... um... help me carry these bodies to the lobby?
<Dyna> ... and from here, the next step is definitely into the cellar, or whatever that is... Wyld-spawn?
Laranth nods and gathers up one of the skeletons -- carefully, and with a little distaste, but easily enough.
Rio nods a bit, attention back on the fish man. "Yeah... weird though. I see these things on the southwest more often."
Deis looks to Rio. "Umm, what was it though? I've never seen anything like it."
Rio pokes the wyld-thing skeleton with her dagger, and then steps back, picking up another of the bodies to take it out.
<Rio> ... as I said, wyld-spawn, from the southwest, so unless you've been there before...
Tian grits his teeth, leaning down to pick up one of the skeletons. He's less gentle than Laranth but not careless. "Nngh."
Laranth turns to carry the skeleton out to the lobby.
<Dyna> I suppose that's the owner of the tooth fragment.
Carrying them out won't be a problem, so long as the group makes sure to not get themselves hit over the head with one of those hanging pots.
<Tian> Check the mouth, make sure.
Tian follows after Laranth, unceremoniously depositing the skeleton on the ground. "There."
Laranth deposits the skeleton relatively carefully. "It's something, at least."
Rio rolls her eyes at Tian, and sets the skeleton down more carefully. "... careful, boy. You'd expect even your enemies to not let your body rot as it is."
Dyna steps fully into the room to examine the remains of the Wyld-spawn, specifically for a chipped tooth... which is easily found. One of its canines is chipped, and the piece matches perfectly.
Rio steps back into the kitchen to pull out the two last skeletons out. "... go ahead and see what you can find, I'll handle it here."
<Dyna> This is it, alright. The fragment matches this broken tooth.
<Laranth> All right.
Deis hmms. "I don't know if this was said, but... do you think it's deserted because of these creatures?"
Laranth heads back into the pantry to attempt a more thorough search.
Tian glances over at Rio. "Not my enemies."
<Rio> Even your enemies. Unless they want your hungry ghost hounding them.
Aside from the cellar door and a few rotting sacks of meal, there's not much more to find. Maybe a couple of cockroaches.
<Dyna> So... down the hatch?
Tian returns to the pantry, idly approaching the broken door. "Unless there's another, cleaner way."
Rio pulls the last body out. "I'll join you in a minute."
<Laranth> I think this is the only way down.
<Dyna> I'm very certain it's this way or no way at all.
Deis hmms and looks down through the broken doorway. "If, if you don't mind, I'd like to try and scout ahead, I'm small so I might not be seen if anything is down there."
<Tian> You shouldn't go alone.
<Laranth> If you're certain you're comfortable. If both of you could scout...
Rio sets the last body down and draws her sword, glancing around to make sure the others aren't watching... and then she mutters a prayer to the Unconquered Sun and for the spirits of the dead to find rest, gently moving her sword between the bodies and touching each of them. Soon, they begin to burn in a golden light... and even faster than that, nothing remains of the bodies. Rio sheathes her sword and sighs.
Deis nods to Tian. "I know, but... in this situation one has a better chance of going unnoticed than two..."
<Dyna> ... we should really make sure that we can see, down there before we do anything.
Tian shrugs out of his coat-cloak, tossing it aside without a second thought. "I can handle myself."
Breon, close to Dyan, rowls a bit and noses at Dyna's thigh.
<Dyna> Wha?
Dyna looks down at Breon, before kneeling and taking his head in her hands. "What's wrong?"
Breon makes another wuffing sound, then waits by her side.
Dyna smiles and nods at Breon, giving him a re-assuring pat on the shoulder.
Rio steps back into the room, looking somewhat solemn. "... so, anything?"
<Tian> I was just about to head in.
<Laranth> We're preparing a scout expedition.
Deis nods and takes a deep breath before slowly going down into the cellar. "Tian, are... you coming?"
<Rio> ... how'd the light down there?
Tian nods and climbs through the broken door, descending after Deis, taking a moment to let his eyes adjust.
The light is poor. There's some sort of source down below, but it can't be seen from this angle. The trip down for Deis and Tian is quick, and they make nary a sound. Which... really means little, as they don't quite see anything as they travel. It's not that dark, there's just little more than stone steps, two walls... and yet another door at the bottom. From the looks of things, there had been stones covering it, but someone shoved them aside. The door itself is etched with a curious sunburst symbol...
Deis looks to Tian. "Should we go back and tell the others, or try to go through those doors?"
<Tian> Mm. You go up and let them know, I'll work on this door.
Tian glances over at Deis, teeth gleaming in the dim light. "No point in letting the Guild take its share before we find the really good stuff."
Deis nods with a worried look. "Will you be okay, though?"
<Tian> I can handle myself.
Tian repeats the phrase with mild irritation, attention shifting to the door.
Deis nods, wincing at the irritation and makes his way back to the others.
Rio looks up as Deis returns. "... ah, found anything? Where's Tian?"
<Laranth> How is it? That was quick.
Tian grunts, falling to one knee and rubbing his temples as images and sounds flash through his mind, filling him with alien sensations. The door is forgotten as he's lost entirely in the past -- and not his past.
Deis rubs the back of his head for a moment as he recalls what he'd seen. "Well....there's not much down there, just a dull basement... well, save for a door with an etched sunburst sigil on it... and it looked like it was hidden since there are stones and such shoved aside near it. Tian stayed to look at it."
<Rio> ... sunburst...? ... huh, let's go have a look then ^_^
<Laranth> I see. Should we follow?
<Dyna> I think I should have a look at that, I'm very familiar with a wide range of symbols and runes and such.
Rio steps towards the door. "Oooh, yes." And, without further ado, she climbs down.
Deis looks back down the doorway. "I... don't know if Tian would like that, even though I think we should."
Breon patiently waits for Dyna to head on along, but does look a tad antsy.
<Dyna> Like it or not, I'm going to look.
Dyna heads down the ladder after Rio. "It's just not something I can leave well enough alone, for better or worse."
Laranth follows behind the women. "Then let's get on with it, eh?"
Tian stands up, slowly, reaching out to place the fingertips of one hand against the sunburst, forehead throbbing. He knows the sensation; his castemark wants out, to express itself fully, but he holds it back, barely managing to manipulate his anima properly.
The door, a few moments after Tian touches it, does not open so much as it melts away, opening with a faint golden glow. What follows is a rush of surprisingly fresh air, even though it bears a slightly saline sting to it. Beyond the door... is a strange, circular room built from some sort of stone. The sound of dripping water can be heard everywhere, and off in the opposite end of the room are a series of heavy, gaudily-decorated caskets, surrounded by a small pool of water. All throughout are various trinkets and such of unknown make and value. Definitely a tomb.
Rio climbs down the tunnel, although letting Deis lead the way so as to not smack her head against something. She looks fairly cheerful, all things considered. "Oi, Tian, what did... you..." ...until she's close to where the door was, at least, and then she... stares, smile melting away into a stunned expression.
Laranth reaches the bottom of the steps and tilts his head to see into the circular room better. Once he's ascertained there's no threat, he strides confidently towards the entrance -- and stops dead, almost falling forward in shock but managing to catch himself on the wall.
Dyna steps down from the latter. "... well, now this is a surprise. It ope...ned..." Dyna falls to her knees, eyes going wide as she presses her hands against her temples. She grits her teeth and stares intensely into empty space... but only for a moment. She takes her glasses off, rubbing her forehead in thought as she recovers.
Rio snaps out of it finally, also leaning against a wall and rubbing her forehead, blinking her eyes and looking into the room beyond. "..."
<Laranth> .. where are we?
Breon, still making his way downstairs, tries to (gently) work his way to Dyna's side and nudge her, not sure what's going on.
Tian pauses at the doorway, not seeming to notice the others behind him, just.. standing there with eyes closed.
<Dyna> ... Breon.
<Rio> ... why...
<Laranth> What are we -- why -- nnnn, what?
<Rio> ... why do I feel as... as if I knew this place?
<Dyna> ... I think we're all going to start finding the answers we've been looking for.
<Laranth> I'm not sure we're going to like them.
- Deis gazes at the door for a moment, a heavy sigh escaping him before he shakes himself loose of its imagined sway on his person. "Why... does this seem familiar..."
<Dyna> I can't speak for the rest of you, but I knew that when I started.
Rio licks her suddenly dry lips, and steps forward... freezing just besides Tian, staring into the chamber. "... what is this..."
Dyna stands up, bracing herself against Breon's shoulder and taking a deep breath before walking onward, peering over Tian's shoulder into the room ahead.
<Laranth> I... we have to go in, don't we? There isn't really any choice.
Dyna nods. "No turning back."
<Tian> No matter how much we may want to..
<Rio> ... I don't think I want to turn back either way.
Rio ... steps towards the chamber.
<Laranth> If I have to do it, I'll do it as if I want to.
Dyna follows after Rio, tightening her grip on her staff.
Laranth shakes his head briskly, as if clearing out cobwebs, and starts walking towards the door.
Tian inhales sharply, rubs his temples, and follows Laranth.
The water drips here and there, making for some sort of weird background music at the group moves on inside. The apparent tombs await, as does all the strange things within, undisturbed objects oddly free of dust. The air smells clean and fresh, almost as if the place hadn't been sealed in ages.
Dyna takes a nice, long, slow look around the tomb... noting the trinkets and such littering the floor, as well as the crypts themselves.
Laranth stands just inside the entrance, breathing and looking around to get a feeling for the place.
<Dyna> Odd... I can't place these trinkets...
<Dyna> ... or whatever they are.
<Rio> ... they look like they belong to the First Age.
<Dyna> ... really.
<Laranth> They must be someone's grave-goods. -- First Age? Somehow I'm not surprised.
Dyna kneels down, touching the floor... and forcefully taps the end of her staff against it, several times.
Rio crouches, and picks one of said trinkets up.
Tian scans the room, smiling faintly. "And what a fortune we could make off of them."
The floor seems to be solid stone. Breon idly paws at the point where Dyna tapped her staff, then looks at her curiously.
<Laranth> If they're really First Age, they're priceless.
Deis walks over to Breon and Dyna, looking to them both and then where she tapped "Something wrong?
<Dyna> ... it's travelling down into the floor.
<Tian> No, I mean, these are the fenceable kind. They have buyers and markets and..
Tian shivers in excitement.
<Dyna> I don't know why, yet. But it is.
Laranth quirks an eyebrow, but he looks to let it go. He walks further into the room to get a better look at the sarcophagi before he processes what Dyna's saying. "What's in the floor?"
Deis scratches his head a bit, looking at Tian. "Umm... isn't it wrong to take what might be someone's grave belongings?"
<Tian> No.
Tian paces around the room, making sure to note every last detail.
<Dyna> The energy... the essence. That buzz in the air.
Rio looks towards the roof of the building as she glances around.
<Laranth> Oh. Do you think it's going anywhere in particular?
<Dyna> Wherever it's going, it's coming out of the water around the island, and then flowing back into the mansion... and then down through the floor, here. I've been following it.
<Laranth> Should we be worried?
<Dyna> ... Probably. There may be more of those fish things, or maybe something else. When essence flows like this, it attracts unusual things.
<Laranth> I see. I'll be on my guard.
The tombs are quite gaudy, covered in brilliant, almost clashing, alternating sections of jade, with tiny amounts of what appears to be gold leaf here and there. There are five of them.
<Dyna> ... while I'd normally suggest that we show proper respect in a place of burial... I highly recommend opening those tombs. We may find another way down, inside them... but first, let me look at them.
<Rio> ... mmm...
Rio steps towards one of the tombs, staring down at it.
Tian stops halfway through his circuit, standing in front of another tomb.
Laranth steps towards an edge of the room to let Dyna work.
Dyna makes her way over the the tombs... and begins looking them over with the critical eye of a scholar of archaeology, gently running her gloved fingers over the jewel-and-metal encrusted surface... trying to find any trace of writing or symbols upon them.
<Dyna> ... this... this isn't writing at all!
<Dyna> It's like somebody just wanted to make it look like writing, to confuse people!
<Rio> ... huh?
<Laranth> ... how strange. Why would they do that?
<Tian> Hey, Laranth, would you come over here?
<Dyna> ... maybe because these aren't tombs at all.
<Laranth> A decoy? That'd make sense -- er?
Laranth glances towards Tian. "What?"
Tian waves the big Northerner over, but doesn't offer an explanation.
<Rio> ... they... aren't?
<Dyna> They went through a lot of trouble, whatever their purpose was. Before I'd had many linguistics classes, I would've thought this was some variant of Old Realm that I wasn't familiar with.
<Tian> ... Actually, nevermind, stay there.
<Dyna> ... we need to get these things open.
<Laranth> I could try, if you'd like.
<Rio> Heh!
Rio cracks her nuckles. "Leave it to me!"
<Laranth> ... if you'd prefer!
<Dyna> Go for it.
Dyna steps away from the tombs.
Tian stays over on the other side of the room, sitting on the tomb lid and watching the three.
Rio steps towards the tomb closest to her, caresses the lid for a moment... and then she grins, grabs the lid in her hands, and pushes hard.
It takes a bit of doing, but the lid comes up and off, landing onto the stone edge of the pool surrounding the tombs with a heavy thud.
Rio dusts off her hands, grinning a bit.
Dyna waits a moment... to see if anything decides to jump out of the "tomb" or anything like that.
Inside... gods, that whiff of tomb air hits those nearby like a fist in the nose. There's a half-ruined skeleton in there, victimized by age. Nothing else is within the tomb, aside from some tattered, decayed cloth.
<Dyna> ... Guh! I forgot how bad that stuff can smell... I'd only read about it, up until now...
<Laranth> Nnn... lovely. Nothing interesting?
Tian catches the scent from the other side of the room, taking a moment to pinch his nose shut and mentally rail at whatever gave him those heightened senses.
Dyna peers into the tomb, covering her nose and mouth with her gloved hand... and then moves away. "This doesn't make any sense... try another one?"
Tian slips off the lid and turns around, facing his selected tomb. "I'll get this one." Despite his calm words, he.. doesn't look too beefy.
Rio waves her hand in front of her face for a few moments, before... glancing at Tian curiously.
Breon obviously caught a whiff too, as the big cat paws at his nose and sneezes a few times.
<Laranth> ... if you're certain..
Tian rolls out his shoulders, inhaling and exhaling slowly, controlling his breathing. The world dims around him as his senses focus forward, picking out the ideal point of leverage and the direction it should go in. The words of his companions fade slowly until all that he can hear is the sound of blood rushing through his veins. At that moment, he leans forward, gracefully hooking the fingers of one hand under the lid and flipping upward. And up and over the tomb lid goes! It hits the edge of the pool as well...
Rio raises an eyebrow.
... and inside is another skeleton, more decayed cloth, and nasty crypt air. Also, it seems that the tomb lid shattered one of the stones that's supposed to be holding the water in the pool around the tombs. Why isn't said water, you know, flowing out, if that's the case?
Rio opens her mouth to comment and... then stares in the direction of the water. "... uh?"
<Dyna> ...?
Dyna kneels down, looking at the broken edge of stone.
Tian glances over at the water as his senses return. "Hm. Unexpected."
Laranth kneels down to get a closer look at the pool. "There is something terribly wrong here."
<Dyna> ...
Dyna pokes at the water with her staff. It looks like real water. It's just not leaving its enclosure. Upon being poked, it acts like real water, even rippling outward. It just seems to really like the pool, and isn't leaving it.
<Dyna> ... keep opening them.
<Rio> ... yeah.
Tian looks over at Laranth and Rio. "We'll each get one, then?"
<Laranth> Very well.
Laranth moves into position next to a sarcophagus.
Rio, somewhat annoyed at how Tian just showed her up, slips towards another of the tombs, an invisible trail of Essence running through her hands. She slips a hand under the lid... and flicks it up, almost nonchallantly.
Dyna looks at Rio... and blinks.
Tian just grins at Rio's attempt at one-upsmanship, shifting backwards in front of his sarcophagus, breathing in deeply. He actually kicks upward, catching the edge of the sarcophagus on his bare toes, and exerts force to send it flying.
The lid absolutely smacks into the wall behind the tomb, and breaks into three chunks that fall back down to join the other lids.
Laranth closes his eyes and drops into a more balanced posture -- definitely the posture of a martial artist, for those who might study the arts. As he reaches to get a grip on the lid of the sarcophagus, he moves quickly but systematically, and he begins to work off the lid with the poise of someone who uses size less for brute strength and more for just leverage. Once the sarcophagus lid has begun to be eased off, he lifts it with a single smooth motion. Laranth does not seem inclined either towards grandstanding or towards flinging.
... and the other two are flung off and away as well. More loud noises, more clanking, more nasty grave smell. Nothing of note...
Laranth opens his eyes as soon as the lid is out of his hand, not leaving a balanced, ready stance. His hands are back on his shortswords.
Tian glances over at Laranth, still in his own stance. His eyes evaluate the man's poise, his grace and the positioning of his feet.
... and then, without much warning, there's an audible click, and the water in the pool suddenly rushes out. What's strange is that the tombs seem to be practically floating in the air otherwise. Even the chunks of lid refuse to go down towards... whatever's down there.
<Rio> --huh?
Breon crouches with a snarl, ready to pounce.
Dyna steps back... assuming the same odd looking fighting stance she did earlier.
<Laranth> .. yes. Very bad.
<Tian> An Immaculate martial artist? Interesting.
Tian watches the water drain dispassionately.
Rio ... steps towards the pool and looks down.
It's actually decently lit down below. More water over stone, but this water seems to be flowing at a steady speed. It's hard to see anything else at their position. It doesn't look too terrible deep. Maybe three or four inches.
<Dyna> Well, we can follow the essence again.
<Rio> ... well, I'm up for it!
<Laranth> Certainly.
<Tian> Why not?
Laranth looks back at Tian. "Well-spotted. As for you... Nexian, I think? I've heard things about an 'Ebon Hand.'"
Breon glances up at Dyna, waiting for her to move.
Tian grins slightly. "Good eyes."
Dyna walks over to the edge, looking down to judge the distance of the drop. Roughly eight or so feet, from the looks of it.
Rio steps next to Dyna, glancing down.
Tian walks over to the edge and over it without much thought, falling with a 'whoosh'.
<Dyna> ... hm.
Dyna walks over to Breon, and hops onto his back like he was a horse. "Down there, Breon." Breon wuffs, and leaps on down without a second thought. He lands with a bit of a splash, then sniffs about carefully.
Rio shrughs, and hops down as well
Tian is already down there when the tiger lands, glancing around curiously.
<Dyna> Good boy, Breon... good boy.
Laranth walks to the ledge and leaps, landing in a crouch and rising to his feet once he's stable.
Dyna pats Breon on the side, dismounting the massive tiger and looking around.
The area seems to be circular, like the previous floor. However, there is a long wall dividing one half of the room from the other, with about two or so feet of space on either end for someone to pass through. The water around your feet flows in a vaguely circular pattern, clockwise. Otherwise, aside from the illimunation that seems to come from the ceiling itself, there's nothing else to be seen.
<Rio> ... hmm...
<Laranth> .. there's the matter of the other side, of course.
Dyna nods. "Let's take a look."
<Rio> Lets
Laranth heads towards the gap on the right side, glancing over the opening before stepping through.
Tian moves to the left side, stepping through, though he doesn't check first.
Laranth manages to see what's on the other side before it sees him, and can freely withdraw if he so chose. Tian, not paying caution a lick of attention, has the danger sense in his head go off. Mainly because he is about ten feet from massive beast, nearly at tall as the ceeling, with a bulbous body and four trunk-like spider-limbs studded with eye-knobs.
Every single eye turns and locks onto Tian... and the thing emits an ear-piercing roar.
<Tian> ... Hi.
Laranth withdraws, especially when he hears the roar. "-- what?!"
Rio starts, hand going for her sword
<Dyna> Breon, ready!
Breon's fur bristles, and the beast charges along without a second thought... although he slips on a surprisingly smooth stone and breaks his stride.
Laranth streaks forward with speed and grace atypical of a man his size, drawing his shortswords from their sheaths as he runs. He closes rapidly with the demon-thing, carrying his momentum through into a pair of slashes directed at the creature's eye-limbs.
The first strike glances off of one of the surprisingly solid eye-knobs, but the second tears into the limb, spewing foul-smelling yellowish ick everywhere. The thing snarls, but seems rather focused on Tian...
Dyna holds her staff out in front of her with one hand, and raises her arm above her head, open palm towards the ceiling... she begins to chant in Old Realm as a powerful golden aura begins to emanate from her body... bits of the aura seem to break of into tiny motes of light which form themselves into text, and if you speak old realm... it's spelling out the incantation. The glowing text swirls about her body, circling around her limbs.
The beast, still locked onto Tian, lets out a vicious roar as it shoots its forelimbs at Tian, like twin pistons, aiming to cut his adventuring days short.
Tian takes a step forward, torso blurring into an indistinct shape of tan cloth and similarly-colored skin, his dark glasses leaving an inky streak through the cloud of motion. He slips past one limb, then the other, using his forward motion to charge at the beast.
Tian handily avoids the first limb but finds the second limb curving back towards him. Forsaking offensive action, he backflips, kicking the eye-stalk into the ground as he passes over it. The second limb is redirected down, and plows into the ground, spraying water everywhere. The thing's eyes stay focused on Tian the entire time, though...
Rio 's eyes fall on Dyna... and she looks forward again. "... hah. That explains it." Then, she rushes forward through the opening, drawing her sword in a swift motion. There's a blaze of golden light surrounding her blade for all of a second... a moment before she lets the blade fall vertically upon the beast, trying to tear into its skin in a swift motion before she pulls away, spins, and slashes horizontally at it.
The first sends the thing stumbling back with a roar, which lessens the force of the second strike. Nonetheless, it's hurt, and it shows, the thing oozing nasty pus-like filth into the water, where it bubbles.
Breon finally makes it around, caroming off of the wall before tearing at the thing with its claws before attempting a bite as well. His claws do little, but he comes away with a mouthful of flesh... that he promptly spits out in disgust.
Rio chuckles as the beast reels back... and dashes back in, apparently ignoring the weight of her armor and weapon, the blade spinning impossibly fast in her hands as she tears into the beast's arms, cutting them and pushing them away from her, before slashing down at it's body with a mighty chop once she has cleared those obstacles out of the way!
Deis winces and turns his head from the gory display, keeping his senses open for any other assailants; bow gripped tightly in his right hand, his left nervously fingering the feathered end of a arrow,
Its hide is turned at just the right angle, and what should have been truly shattering blows are dulled to mere glancing shots, lines of bubbling ick sent splashing into the running water below. A few eyes fix on Rio, but not before Breon gives it a go, streaking at the monster with claws out and fangs bared... and comes away with nothing, the huge cat snarling deeply as it skids to a stop not too far from the thing.
Rio snaps a curse in Seatongue and falls back as her blade (mostly) bounces off, landing in a more cautious stance.
Deis watches as Rio's assault barely phases the beast, quickly nocking an arrow, and letting it fly, aiming for one of the creatures eyes, knowing it might make matters worse but wanting to do anything to give the others an advantage.
The thin, simple arrow flicks out, smashes against the beast's tough hide... and punches right through like it's not even there, tearing out the other side of its bulbous body. The monstrosity roars in agony, and it decides to include Deis in its next assault, aiming a ragger stump-limb at him as well as one for Tian.
Deis blinks, amazed he actually managed to even scathe the creature; so enthralled at his feat, the boy doesn't even notice the hefty stump coming for his head...
Tian braces himself for the incoming assault, a wicked smile crossing his features. He glances over at Deis briefly before revising his mental plan, kicking a foot upward to spray water in some of those bulbous eyes. Then, in a blur of motion, he reaches up and grabs the stump headed towards him between both palms. Lifting the stump, he slams it back down again, sending a clearly visible ripple through the thing's limb, throwing it off balance.
Tian's quick thinking and nimble reflexes manage to stagger the already-tired beast, and it finds itself completely missing both targets. It lets loose a frustrated snarl, and drags itself back a step or two, assessing the situation.
However much the thing might want a chance to assess the situation, Laranth's not going to give it one; he springs forward from his ready stance, clearing the distance with a practiced ease. As he charges, he snaps his swords into attack position, letting him slash out in an "X" across the beast's chest without breaking his momentum.
Dyna brings the incantation to it's end as the luminescent text encircling her torso and limbs bonds itself to her skin, forming a thin layer of golden energy over her body. Some of the text forms a large, spinning circle around her feet and slowly rises to to the top of her head... causing the golden energy to dissipate into tiny golden flecks of light... and leaving behind skin made not of flesh, but bronze... the circle of text dissipates in a more spectacular fashion, shattering and dissolves like a glass ring.
<Dyna> Flesh, become metal! Thwart my enemy's blows, Invulnerable Skin of Bronze!
Torn once again, the demon crumbles to one knee, but doesn't quite fall. Instead, its remaining eyes scan all about, and take on a suitably wicked gleam. It shakily, angrily rises, ready for one more go...
Tian takes a step back himself, hands flashing into his pockets and emerging with four simple knives. Weapons gleaming in the dim light, he hurls them through the air at the creature, and they actually start to multiply. Four, eight, sixteen, thirty-two, and then there are too many to count, literally dozens of sparkling blades filling the air between him and the beast. "DIE!"
Rio takes notice of the rain of daggers for a split second, before grinning, and blurring forward after it. As the demon's getting stabbed all over its body by the hundreds of daggers, she's suddenly in front of it, sword alight in a golden light. She roars out as she CLEAVES down into the demon's head, intent in chopping the unclean thing in half and finishing the job once and for all.
A million knives, a million knives... and one brutal, sun-gleaming slash is all it takes. Its body quivers... then splits in half somewhat, just as it starts to scream... no, wait. This isn't an audible scream, it's a spiritual one. And it feels like dull, rusty razors on flesh. Very... dull... razors... on very... tender... flesh! The keening, for the most part, passes without incident. Laranth might feel a slight headache; if he bothers to check, a bit of blood's tricked from his nose. Rio... promptly feels like she's about to puke up molten copper.
Laranth straightens from his battle-crouch and resheathes his swords before wiping away blood from under his nose with the back of one hand. "... whatever that way... the rest of it was a job well done."
The beast, in the meantime, is dissolving into a bubbling mass of ick in the water, its days of existance done. Some of it flows towards a large square gap in the water, which wasn't there a few seconds ago.
<Dyna> ... I need to come up with something more useful for this kind of thing.
Rio's grin of victory dies as she suddenly feels... rather ill as she lands. She covers her mouth with a hand and staggers away from the dissolving beast, to a wall where she... promptly leans over and coughs up blood. "--gk..."
Laranth looks, in rapid succession, at the gap in the water and then at Rio. "... are you hurt?!"
Dyna looks at the square-shaped hole in the floor for a moment... then runs to Rio's side. Her footsteps are notably heavier, now. "What happened?"
Deis would take notice, if he weren't doubled over, wretching before dropping to his knees, gagging a little
Tian grimaces and toes through the bubbling mess, looking for his knives. He doesn't seem too concerned about Rio, only sparing her a brief glance before returning to his search.
They're in there, too heavy for the water to carry them away. Just.. a tad slimy.
<Rio> ... ng... I'm... *cough* fine... that thing's... death... <Laranth> That -- the thing it did? It was rather unnerving. Will you be all right?
Dyna looks deeply concerned. Having a face made of bronze hasn't made her any less expressive. She offers a hand to Rio to help her up. "Sorry I couldn't do more to help."
Deis coughs again, standing shakily "I... is it dead finally?"
Rio wipes her mouth. "... yeah, just give me a moment..." She... smiles up at Dyna, and accepts the hand... and tilts her head to the side. "... interesting."
<Dyna> ... what?
Dyna blinks. "... oh! The skin... right, heh... does it bother you or anything?"
Tian pulls them out with clear distaste, shedding his outer tunic to clean them off. Despite being simple pieces of sharpened metal with wrapped leather strips for handles, he seems.. curiously concerned about keeping them. They go into a concealed pouch or pocket of some kind, and he glances around for whatever the thing was guarding.
Laranth seems to finally notice that Dyna is anything other than normal. He quirks an eyebrow. "Interesting trick. Are you a fighter?"
Below, in whatever area lies under this one, there is... light. And more dripping, flowing water. And... something more. A feeling, perhaps?
<Dyna> ... ah, not on your level, no. This helps even the playing field.
Dyna taps her staff against her head, lightly. It produces a metallic TINK.
<Laranth> So I see. ... in any event, if we're all ready, I'd rather not linger here.
<Dyna> Right. Well, the trail leads down this new opening... so that's the most logical choice.
<Laranth> .. I don't mean to be impolite -- I'd love to hear about your technique, but... you see the difficulties. -- Down, then?
<Dyna> Unless anyone has any objections...
Dyna motions for Breon to come to her side.
Rio shakes her head. "None, let's keep going..."
Deis shakes his head 'no'. "Yes... let's keep going, before more of those... things show."
Laranth strides off towards the new opening.
Breon rrrs, still spitting now and then, but nonetheless slinks to Dyna's side, wuffing proudly.
<Dyna> Sorry about the extra weight, I'll get rid of it as soon as it's practical.
Dyna walks to the edge of the new opening, peering down inside.
One notices, as they approach the opening, that the water itself is forming stairs. It's somewhat odd to behold, but they nonetheless look stable, as water from above is cascading down them to the room below. Anyone bothering to test one with a foot will also notice that they're surprisingly stable footing, and are not at all slippery.
<Dyna> ... well. Um... I'll be walking, then.
Laranth starts down the staircase, walking with some care despite the apparent sturdiness of the footing.
Dyna follows after Laranth, also taking care... knowing full well that she's heavier now.
Tian trails behind the group, silently, discarding his soiled outer shirt and left in only his trousers and a thin under-tunic.
And below... is absolutely breathtaking. The walls, if they are even there, are perfectly clear, and one can see the living sea around them, full-circle. The fish and other wildlife go about their business as if the tomb isn't even there. The floor itself is just as waterlogged as the rest... and in the middle of it all are five statues standing at the head of five gold foil-etched caskets.
<Dyna> ... wow.
<Dyna> It's beautiful!
<Laranth> .. spectacular. Utterly spectacular.
<Rio> ... It's... this is...
Each of the statues depicts a person, palm outstretched and etched with the symbols of the Anathema---no. Of the Sun. And... well. Strangely, various people might find various statues eerily familiar. Almost... as if they knew the person whose effigy stands there, timelessly serene.
Dyna walks slowly up to the casket marked with a half-filled circle... and looks up at the statue in silence.
Tian doesn't even bother going to the foot of the stairs, slipping off and striding towards the ringed casket, gazing up at the effigy with something like awe. "The dragon from my dreams..."
Laranth pauses for a moment, taking in the splendor of the tomb as a whole, and then he walks slowly and reverently towards the sarcophagus marked with a sunburst. He glances at the statue (depicting a tall, heavily muscled man of vaguely Southern extraction, smiling serenely) and then glances away again, frowning slightly.
<Dyna> ... this is the woman who dies in my dreams...
One of the statues is of an handsome, imposing man, dressed in ancient clothings that mark him as... a captain? He has a gentle smile on his face, despite all... but there is certain fierceness in the eyes of that statue. Rio is... staring up at it, an unreadable expression on her face.
Dyna reaches out and touches the statue. The woman pictured is a tall, stern looking woman with long hair, clad in ornate robes.
<Dyna> I dream that I'm her.
The statue that Tian is staring up at rapturously is of a gaunt, unassuming man dressed in simple peasants' clothing, seeming of no importance and lacking heroic stature. In fact, all eyes but Tian's seem to slide right past it, other things immediately more important.
Laranth is muttering to himself, heedless. "... fire. Nothing but fire. How much of it would you have burned, had it not ended?"
Dyna looks briefly at the others, then touches the casket.
<Rio> ... are you... really here...? Do you truly rest here?
<Tian> Crystalization. Stagnation. A world, frozen in time, of perfect.. perfect order.
<Laranth> I'm not -- I can't -- but... ... were I not meant to walk the path of fire, I'd never have gotten here.
Deis pauses at a statue of a tall, kind-faced robust man with a tome under his arm and a gentle smile on his face, the statue showing sings of time's effect on it. He loses himself as things flood his mind, but remains silent
<Dyna> You couldn't save them... you died alone... we died alone.
For a brief moment, the palm-symbols flicker gold... and the circular dais containing the caskets begins to steadily descend, while the caskets themselves open, almost as if accepting some unheard command. Within are little more than dust, cloth... and not even dust, in the casket before Rio.
Rio looks into the casket... and... smiles, despite herself. "... I knew it... you remained out there, didn't you..."
... but there are things. Beautiful things. Beautiful, golden, fearsome things. A gauntlet no mere man could fashion, a scabbard both plain and perfect, cannons of gold and a simple ring, a peerless staff of serpentine design, and a curious curved golden wand and a perfect shard of golden crystal.
Laranth doesn't look into the casket. He looks to be staring somewhere near the floor, and his mumblings are slowly petering off into indistinct Icetongue.
Rio ... pauses, and stares at the scabbard... and her eyes widen. Almost without hesitation, she reaches out to pick it up.
Dyna looks... almost frightened... as the bronze dissolves off her skin and she reaches for the staff in the casket infront of her.
<Dyna> ... Wizard's Wrath.
Tian looks downward, eyes widening, as the gauntlet appears in front of him. Wordlessly, he leans down, hand somehow slipping into the golden glove.
Laranth looks up, suddenly awakened from his revelry, and then into the casket. "... so that's what this has all been about." He reaches in to pull out the firewand. It's a fearsome-looking device indeed, a three-foot-long plasma tongue repeater-looking gun made of something that glints just a bit differently from orichalcum.
Breon, by Dyna, offers the occasional comforting nuzzle, but is otherwise quiet... even as they descend into... a truly massive area. It appears to be some sort of a storage area; crates and such, not of modern make, line the walls, and the walkway is simply too clean to not have been swept. In the middle of the area is what appears to be a massive collection of off-white plates and folds of some metal, wrapped tightly together. And... at the bottom of their little trip... there is a boy. An unclad boy, at least in form, made of pure orichalc... and holding a broom. As soon as he sees what's going on... what serves as his eyes widen. "... Captain! Masters! You have come!"
Rio takes the scabbard out. It's... plain, at first sight. None of the gold of the other artifacts is there, and yet Rio caresses it gently... and then she... laughs, a good natured, loud laugh. "... You never did leave me completely, did you?" With that, she draws her sword, the metallic dound reberbrating across the room... and then she sheathes it within the new scabbard.
<Laranth> You were built for an executioner, but you're mine now. We'll see how you fare.
... and, as if that had completed an ancient ritual, the scabbard and weapon -glow- brightly, a golding light spreading across the room and Rio's arms.
Laranth reaches into the casket to pull out the ring, eyes still not leaving the firewand entirely. "-- Yes?"
Tian stands straight, forearm encased in the sun-metal. Distantly, almost dazedly, he inspects the back of his palm. The gauntlet itself is spectacular, with thousands of overlapping plates over his arm and fingers, united underneath by threads of adamant and pebbly red-brown leather.
Dyna lifts the staff out of the casket, looking at it with wide-eyed awe... the staff is circled with an orichalcum serpent, with rubies for eyes. Its mouth is open, as if to accept something.
Rio closes her eyes, as the scabbard slowly stops glowing... and remains as it is, curiously enough. Then she grins, and turns to the boy, pausing for a second.
The boy... practically throws himself onto Rio, hugging tightly and quite affectionately. "You live! You live! Where is the ship? Where are the crew?" He pauses... then pokes a few times at Rio's chest. "... Captain, you have breasts!"
Dyna looks at the boy... and blinks... her eyes getting wider still.
Tian then breaks out of his reverie long enough to laugh into his uncovered fist.
Rio is neatly shaken out of her dazedness! "--gwah?!"
Laranth sets his firewand down for a moment and idly slides the ring onto the ring finger of his right hand. He smiles, but he doesn't laugh.
The boy pauses a bit more, then pulls back. "... something must've happened. I cannot sense the ship, and everything feels wrong and... Captain. When did you become a woman? Oh, it can wait, you're here! What can I do for you, Captain, Masters?"
Dyna pulls a small necklace up from around her neck... revealing a round, reddish stone. She pulls it free of it's setting and looks at the serpent's open mouth for a moment... then pops it in.
<Laranth> Tell us where we are. You could say we've been away long.
Rio gulps down a reflex scream and punch to the face, before staring down at the boy. "... yes... very long."
Tian briefly glances back to the smooth back of his gauntlet's palm and frowns as he fully recognizes the wrongness inherent in it. "There should be something here."
The serpent closes it's mouth around the stone, holding it tight... and Dyna EEKS slightly at it. "... right... right. Should've expected that..."
The golden child nods, bouncing on his toes. "Of course! This is where the Captain's ship normally docks! But... we're quite below water. Have there been attacks lately?"
Dyna takes a deep breath to collect herself, and hurries over to join the others and the odd orichalcum boy.
<Tian> Quick, boy, what year is it?
Tian is still inspecting his ill-fitting glove, the words sounding odd out of a teenager.
"... but, shouldn't you---ah, of course!" He coughs. "It is Year 1438 of the revised Deliberate calendar! Ascendant Fire 13!"
Laranth smiles and shakes his head. "Forgive us, but... it has been a long time."
<Dyna> ... um, ah... boy? What's... my name?
Dyna looks terribly awkward, right now.
The golden spirit blinks. "... uh? Mn, perhaps I should---Mistress? How could I forget you, most Illuminated Swan, ma'am! Is something the matter? Are you ill?"
<Dyna> ... I'm just tired is all.
Rio pauses for a few moments, expression... growing sad. "... the Ship is gone, and has been gone for ages... we are not who we once were."
<Dyna> I just need to sit down for a moment.
<Laranth> .. yes, perhaps we should explain. You'd do best to know. It's... been some time, and we're not precisely<b> the same people.
Tian raises his armored hand, plates clanking together with a melodious storm of chimes. "I'd like to know what <b>that is, first." He's pointing to the mass of white metal.
Dyna sits down on the floor, rubbing her forehead. It doesn't look terribly dignified, but it does look like she's thinking hard.
Boy blinks once more. "I understand, Master Ten Knives... ah! Captain! I can attempt to search for your ship... Master Ten and Five Blessings made me better! While I do that, do rest. Then I'll make tea!" He sounds quite upbeat as he turns into a compact little ball and zips into the mass of... metal stuff mounted above the dock. However, his voice remains clear, almost as if he were still there.
<Dyna> ... tea sounds good.
<Dyna> I could really, really use some tea right now. <Laranth> I wouldn't object.
"This is what Master Blessings was building for the Captain's ship! Something he said that could make it turn the very sky itself!" And then the Boy's presence fades as he focuses on... something.
Rio ... blinks, and steps towards the said metal thing, looking up towards it... and then towards the rest of the group, chuckling a bit. "... so... five 'anathema' metting in a single place... fate's funny, isn't it?"
<Dyna> Yeah. I think we can safely drop all pretenses with each other, now.
<Laranth> I'm inclined to blame destiny.
Tian just snorts at Dyna's comment.
<Dyna> This is the start of what we came for.
- Back to Rising Force
