[Nexus] Underside - The Second!

[Mina Kobold]

Temple of Dalachrech


The Kobold jumps in surprise as Charynrae speaks.

"[You understand the language of the Deep!?]"

It's relief at finding someone it can communicate with is quite obvious, especially since it's mechanical parts and steam vent make up for the Kobold's hidden face.

"[I am Nach'tt Dam't of the Linnorm tribe, or was until recently.]"

The Kobold bows awkwardly after a second of pondering, apparently assuming it to be the correct mannerism.

"[I thank you for allowing me to escape the creatures of the caves in your holy sanctuary]"

[Earl of Purple]

Temple of Dalachrech- Entrance Chamber

"[I grew up down here. I know this language better than the common tongue of the surface races, although it isn't my first language. To which creatures of the cave do you refer? There are many hereabouts, some of which are intelligent enough to follow, but most are smart enough not to.]" It's the giant spiders, they really stopped the grimlock raids. Mostly because they ate the grimlocks, apart from the few that escaped.

[Mina Kobold]

Temple of Dalachrech

The Kobolds point at the glowing beetles with a metallic hand.

"[Creatures like those and creatures which had neither eyes nor limbs]"

It's eyes linger at the beetle for a second before returning to Charynrae.

"[I hope I have not done anything wrong, would be horrible first impressions to anger the lord of Invertebrates' subjects and hence seek help from his temple.]"

The Kobold attempts to show honesty but expressing anything but a need to vent some steam is difficult when covered in armour like it is.

[Earl of Purple]

Temple of Dalachrech

"[I thought my spiders were keeping their numbers under control. Nevermind, though; the fact they are a threat to travellers shows that they can sustain a larger population of giant spiders than I had believed.]" Charynrae seems to understand about the escaping from invertebrates. Had the escapee been eaten, then the Church would have lost a potential worshipper.

[Mina Kobold]

Temple of Dalachrech

The Kobold sees to think about this statement for a few seconds, likely out of surprise.

"[I see, worship is quite different among ceiling-dwellers. Would you not care for all invertebrates as a follower of Dala'rech?]"

The Kobold inquires curiously, a sea-green lens clicking in place over one of it's eyes.

[Earl of Purple]

Temple of Dalachrech

"[Some invertebrates are meant to be prey. Whether they are eaten by larger invertebrates, mammals, reptiles or birds, it does not matter. Whilst Dalachrech does care for all invertebrates equally, His ordinary worshippers tend to prefer not to be eaten by them.]" Question is, what about His priests?

[Mina Kobold]

Temple of Dalachrech

The Kobold nods a few times.

"[I see, one dies to let the group grow stronger, much similar to the Linnorm of my tribe]"

He doesn't seem to have noticed the lack of mention of Dalachrech's priests, in fact, it seems more concerned that he might have offended one of them.

"[Not that I would compare you to it's priests at all, no no]"

It flails it's metal-lad arms in an attempt to further it's explanation, looking quite silly with several glowing parts of it's armour now turning into blurry lines of light. Or, well, looking like they do.

[Earl of Purple]

Temple of Dalachrech

"[That seems to be the basics of it, yes. Don't worry, people compare new situations to what they know; to deny that would make me less than a person. Therefore, I do not take offence at comparisons with things I am unfamiliar with. I do take offence at insulting comparisons with surfacers or animals.]" Charynrae smiles at the mechanikobold's antics, but only a slight lift of the lips to indicate her amusement.

[Morty]

[East of Underside]

Construction at the site of the future goblin colony has been going on for the last couple of months... tons of building materials were brought, caves were dug, dried and furnished, bridges were built, air vents and chimneys were drilled, foundries were set up and borders marked. People travelling through the tunnels might now run into large signs where "Khrazkaiada Colony" is marked in big, red letters. The neighboring tulles have been widened, supported and made easier to travel through. Rails have been placed in many of them to allow wagons to be pushed through.
The colony is still fairly empty, though. Families still haven't moved in and they won't until everything is safe. For now, the caves are mostly filled with soldiers and technicians. The forges deep within the colony are working around the clock and black, greasy smoke is pumped to the surface.

[Mina Kobold]

Temple of Dalachrech

The mechanikobold stops flailing and sighs in relief, it was afraid for a moment there.

"That's good... What's a surfacer?"

It looks at the beetles crawling around the surfaces in the room.

"One of those?"

[Earl of Purple]

Temple of Dalachrech

When the mechanikobold points and asks if the beetle is a surfacer, Charynrae laughs. It's a musical, melodious sound, like water flowing over bells. "[No, that's a male glowbeetle, three months old judging by how bright he is. A surfacer is somebody whose species or race dwells upon the surface of the world, as opposed to these caverns and caves. That beetle is far superior to most surfacers, believe me.]"

[Mina Kobold]

Temple of Dalachrech

The mechanikobold doesn't look like it understood any of what Charynrae said, but seems glad that it was just a laughing matter.

"[The surface? I believed there to be many surfaces, or do I not understand the Deep well enough?]"

It may dawn on Charynrae that this creature may never have even heard of the world above Underside.

[Earl of Purple]

Temple of Dalachrech

"[You have not heard of the surface? Then you must be from a long way down. This place is close to the top, a place with no more ceilings and no higher tunnels. That place is called the 'surface', and I have never visited, but rumour holds that for part of the time, a ball of fire sits where the ceiling should be, and it lights the whole world; surfacers call it 'Day'. The rest of the time, the ball is somewhere else, and the surfacers call that 'Night'. Rumour also holds that sometimes water falls from the sky, rather than flowing from wells or falling through sink holes. As said, though, I've never been up there so I don't know how true it is.]" Charynrae grew up quite deep, where the surface was a children's story, or would have been had it not featured in so much of Drow culture. Nobody was really sure what the surface was like, though, and most didn't entirely believe in it.

[Terumitsu]

[Somewhere In The Myriad Tunnels]

It was always a sad time when an adventurer died. For every successful hero who slayed a dragon and every heroine who saved a kingdom, there was always the dozens of the fallen faceless who failed in their attempt.

The adventurer known as Ilaris suffered such an end to her career. The elf had been exploring the undersides of the Nexus before happening across a rust monster nest. Normally, this would be no more than an annoyance for a normal adventurer as gear, while expensive, could be replaced. Ilaris, however, was a being made of metal and while it was a magical substance, it was still food to the hungry beasts.

The elf's last moments were filled with shouts of pain and fear as the small horde chewed away her hands and feet, dissolving them into a palatable substance before slurping it up. It was an ignoble way to go, having one's dreams of becoming a great explorer shattered so suddenly. Her mind turned to worry momentarily about her mother and father whom she was leaving behind as well as her friends and co-workers. One heard of 'Many entering but only one leaving' in stories and gossip but it certainly never would happen to you, right? Perhaps the worst thought would be the realization that she would just become another statistic. Just another fool adventurer who didn't have what it took. It was this feeling of faceless unimportance that was even worse than the pain of being devoured alive. But what could she do? There was no help around for what might as well be miles and it wouldn't help to try and plead with the monsters as they were just dumb beasts. A very cynical voice in the back of her mind did mention that she would at least leave behind a nice magical jacket for whomever decided to clean out this section of tunnel. It might make them wonder why it was there for all of two seconds before they shrug it off and just take it as 'standard loot' as they pass by what would amount to a speed bump to them.

Perhaps it was a spot of mercy by some god but the elf thankfully did not live long enough for the rust monsters to start munching on her head, apparently simply de-animating after a significant amount of her body had been eaten. Where the soul of a failed adventurer went was always up for debate by various theologians. Many were of the line of thought that they migrated toward an afterlife that embodied the ideals that they had lived by while others said they would go be with the god they worshipped. Still others, a small but select few, thought that they simply became lost in the void of the planes, being unable to find their final resting place after suffering an unfulfilled death.

The rust monsters didn't care about any of this, however, as they were simply happy that their meal had finally stopped thrashing around.

[Recaiden]

[Somewhere in the tunnels]

Comes an explorer, currently unarmed and unarmored, carrying a small glowing crystal in one hand. They're beginning to realize how totally alien this place, and to panic just a little; she hasn't been able to see the sky in...how long? Well, if she just looks at the light and the ground, she should be okay. After all, she's here in the NEXUS to explore. What could be more foreign than this, a place bored into the surface of the Below?
A small voice at the back of her mind tells her again that the Groundside is dangerous, that she isn't prepared, but that's swiftly squashed. Can't be any worse than the air, can it? Well, truthfully, yes. At least, having no metal upon her, Alex will avoid the fate of the last adventurer to enter here, so she keeps picking her way along, studying the rough stone walls.

[Mina Kobold]

[Temple of Dalachrech]

The mechanikobold looks up as the many lenses on it's goggles focus, as if trying to penetrate the silk and stone above them.

"[A place with no ceilings... Where a ball of fire sits instead]"

Even covered in mask and armour the dreamy look is still obvious on Nach'tt's face.

((Sorry sorry sorry! I'm really sorry! Please forgive me for forgetting! >_<))

[Earl of Purple]

((Don't worry; I've done it before.))

Temple of Dalachrech

"[Hard to believe, isn't it? But I've met people who have been there, and they most certainly aren't cavern-folk like us. They completely lacked the skills to survive down here. Although I probably lack the skills to survive up there.]" Charynrae doesn't seem too bothered by the mechanikobold's actions.

[Mina Kobold]

[Temple of Dalachrech]

"[It is, I feel there is still much to learn, much to see. That I haven't even grazed the surface]"

The mechanikobold continues looking up for a while until finally looking back down at Charynrae, or less up as the case may be.

"[I thank you for your hospitality, but I believe the creatures below will have gone by now and I cannot wait to continue on and learn more from these higher tunnels and surfaces]"

The mechanikobold gives a short bow before slowly moving toward the entrance to the cocoon.

[Earl of Purple]

Temple of Dalachrech

"[If you are sure you don't wish to learn more about Dalachrech, then feel free to leave. I will not stop you, nor will the spiders.]" Speaking of spiders, several are down there now, probably eating the various creatures that chased the kobold when he found the Temple.

[Mina Kobold]

Temple of Dalachrech

"[I do wish to learn more but I burn to learn other things first, perhaps I will pass by again one day when I have seen more.]"

The mechanikobold reply and exit the cocoon with a wave.

"[Till we meet again, Charynrae of Dalachrech]"

It then begins curiously descending towards the spiders, trusting the Drider's word but nervous that the spiders will ignore it.

Nach'tt is pretty sure an armoured Kobold with many mechanisms on it's armour would taste quite foul, though.

[Earl of Purple]

Temple of Dalachrech- Underneath

The spider's won't attack. They're either full, or feeding. One small, male spider is approaching a larger female with a six-foot-long worm; it's a bribe so she won't eat him after (or even during) mating. She doesn't seem very receptive of his gift, but they know two-legs, whether two-leg metal-tails, two-leg no-eyes, half-spiders and other such beings aren't prey unless Charynrae says they are.

[Gullara]

[House Irumocuri]

Knock knock knock

A certain sharply dressed drow returns and rings the doorbell/knocks. He's holding something behind his back.

I'm not entirely sure what his intentions are coming here, but you can bet it has something to do with Mina.

Oh, and he's missing his glasses for some reason, but that's hardly matters.

[Darklord Bright]

[House Irumocuri]

There are muffled voices inside, and a little shuffling before the doors open, creaking inwardly as Cyreanne peers around the corner of the frame. Lord Irumocuri, standing between seven and eight feet tall, looms at the other end of the main hall, with Jasper approaching from in front of him.

"Ah, you were the drow from the party we held, are you not?" says Jasper as he approaches, adjusting the tie of his white suit, wearing his usual smarmy smirk.

"What business do you have in the halls of the great Irumocuri Family, if I might ask?"

Cyreanne still watches curiously from behind the open door, hiding herself slightly from view.

[Gullara]

[House Irumocuri]

A couple things worth noting. While Kirk would still register as a demon, it's not as pronounced anymore. Technically he is a demon now, but it's a subtle thing to notice. Also he smells faintly of rum. Fine dwarvish rum, but rum none the less. Finally his suit looks just a bit out of order. A contrast to his usually impeccable appearance. Oh, and his eyes are a bit bloodshot.

With the formalities out of the way... "I am. Kirk Locke to be precise. I was hoping to be able to see Mina. If it's not too much trouble that is?" There's something forced about Kirk. It's in his tone of voice, his smile, the way he stands.

He's still holding his hand behind his back.

[Darklord Bright]

[House Irumocuri]

Noticing his odd demeanor, Jasper gets suspicious. His expression does not truly change, it simply hardens.

"What business do you have with my sister, Mr. Locke?" he says, keeping his eyes focussed on the Drow's. Though he keeps up his polite facade, there's an air of tense readiness about him.

[Gullara]

[House Irumocuri]

Kirk's smile actually falters somewhat. "I simply wanted to meet with her again. I had been meaning to for a while now, but... hadn't been able to until now."

And the hand is still behind his back. What is he hiding anyway. I bet it's a knife, or a gun. I bet as soon as he sees Mina he's going to shoot her. The bastard.

[Darklord Bright]

[House Irumocuri]

Jasper indicates to Kirk's hidden hand. Who knows what he was hiding back there, indeed! And he was a Drow, they are known to do this sort of thing. One minute everything is peachy, the next you were being dangled upside down by one foot into a den of giant spiders. With a knife in your back, too, if you were lucky.

"Come now, friend. Keeping secrets from the house is poor manners, is it not?"

[Gullara]

[House Irumocuri]

"Ah, yes it is, I suppose." Kirk looks reluctant, but he does reveal what he's been hiding. Oh the horror. It's... it's...

A bouquet of flowers. Tiger lilies to be precise. They're really quite pretty.

The drow stands there, looking as awkward as a teenage boy asking a girl out for the first time. Or more accurately, a teenage boy confronting said girl's family.

[Darklord Bright]

[House Irumocuri]

This actually manages to catch Jasper off guard. Even Lord Irumocuri himself seems to be surprised, though he's currently distracted by what is probably some sort of magical item.

"I.. see." Jasper straightens his tie, regaining composure. "Well, I suppose, in light of this new information, I might be able to allow you to see her. Still, this is a surprise."

Most didn't want anything to do with Mina, let alone wanted to give her flowers.

[Gullara]

[House Irumocuri]

"Tha-" The drow clears his throat. "Thank you. It's appreciated." He seems to compose himself, if only slightly.