[Nexus:] The Sleeping Goblin II, I Wonder If He's Up Yet?

[Ashen Lilies]

The charcoal circle, in fact, has not disappeared, because to simply declare a charcoal circle gone with a sudden, ill-defined 'woosh' would, in fact, be godmodding. If the spirit wants to prevent his banishment, he should attempt to do so through means which can be responded to.

[Hattish Thing]

Ah. Well, it was a fierce wind that should have blown it away. Sorry. Up to you if it does or not.

[Murkus]

"I suppose not. People are always willing to pay more for special goods. People like yourself, sir," Bellan says. There's certainly plenty of people like that around. He really doesn't understand how Marty's system works, nor does he desire to.

Though Metaclock's price does surprise him a bit. "Oh my. Well, I suppose the first round can be on me." He says, offering five gold to the robot. Bellan is obviously a very generous fellow. Some people might take advantage of such a person.

[Ashen Lilies]

In that case, the wind is indeed sufficient to snuff out the charcoal lines. Phoenix frowns.
"Very well."
He whistles, lips forming The Words, Words which manifest in the air around the spirits, strange symbols similar to the one gracing Phoenix's chest. Words of sleep and calm, of peace, quiet, and complacency. Words to quell, Words to silence. Soft Words, not forceful, but strong.

[Frozen Messiah]

After some lengthy debate about the portal Carmine finally coes to a decision. "Lathe, I am going to go in to check it out. Now it doesn't look like it has any sort of pulling power and that it is a 2 way portal so I should be fine but for safeties sake." Carmine takes ut that staff of his and makes it grow so that it is resting on either side of the portal. Next he drops his bag and grabs some rope, just ordinary rope, and ties one end to the staff and the other to his waist. "Now Lathe, I want you to hold on to this rope and if you get 2 tugs pull me back if possible." Carmine gives a portion of the rope over to Lathe.

[orb_of_blood]

Now that's the way to get Lathe to follow orders. He gets confused about words such as 'please', and sentences such as 'if you would be so kind' are just too wordy for his tastes and attention span.

He takes the rope obediently. "And if something breaks it?" Because it is, after all, just a rope. Prone to snapping, burning, etc, sometimes in the most cliche movie-esque manners. And easily cut by foes.

[Hattish Thing]

The Words fly around and take their hold on The Figure. It says nothing for a few minutes. Then it speaks. What are you? You're some kind of special priest?

Metaclock speaks out. You are a good friend of Marty's Bellan. You get a price cut, Marty's orders. How did the robot know what Marty wants? Weird...Ten gold for you.

The portal floats there.

[ThirdEmperor]

"Oh, uh, thanks. Really. Thanks." Bellan probably just saved the poor dead guy from washing dishes for weeks. "Promise I'll repay the favor some time." A pause. "But, er, not to sound ungrateful or anything, but was that drink supposed to cause glowy...ness?" True enough, the stranger has started to glow, a strange silvery-blue luminescence leaking out from beneath his skin.

[Frozen Messiah]

He takes the rope obediently. "And if something breaks it?" Because it is, after all, just a rope. Prone to snapping, burning, etc, sometimes in the most cliche movie-esque manners. And easily cut by foes.

"Well that is the main problem, nothing is perfectly safe ever. Anyways if that happens I expect that you will use your judgement and to what seems best." Carmine gives a quick nod to Lathe and then turns towards the portal. "Well now or never." Carmine adjusts his hat and then runs into the portal.

[Murkus]

Metaclock speaks out. You are a good friend of Marty's Bellan. You get a price cut, Marty's orders. How did the robot know what Marty wants? Weird...Ten gold for you.

The portal floats there.

"Oh, uh, thanks. Really. Thanks." Bellan probably just saved the poor dead guy from washing dishes for weeks. "Promise I'll repay the favor some time." A pause. "But, er, not to sound ungrateful or anything, but was that drink supposed to cause glowy...ness?" True enough, the stranger has started to glow, a strange silvery-blue luminescence leaking out from beneath his skin.

"It is not necessary," says Bellan, waving off the undead stranger's hospitality. Bellan's brow rises at the blue luminescence. "I'm... not really certain."

Then a glance at Metaclock. "Ten gold? What do you mean?"

[Dark Elf Bard]

"I'm Prism." The angel decides that she's no longer needed to look after Cellophane. Almost undoubtedly Bellan had returned with someone capable of banishing the annoying spirit. That other drow perhaps?

"Marty seems to believe that a single conversation with him has turned me into a bodyguard then. Mistaken, but no matter. What is the problem?"

W-well... I was... um... talking, not doing anything else, with Marty, and s-suddenly a zombie jumped in! A-and there was this cat guy... and the zombie was t-trying to kill us.. and then M-marty teleported me here! She seems on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

Through the door, another drow, this one with scars in a spiderweb pattern starting just below her eyes, and continuing over as much of her body as can be seen, enters.

She's wearing, instead of her normal, heavily concealing, clothing, a simple, though nice, pair of dark grey spidersilk pants, and a black shirt of the same material, as well as a fairly nice holy symbol, identifying her as a priestess of Eilistraee, and a rothe leather belt, which has a dragon-hilted rapier and a bronze harp, also in the form of a dragon, hanging from it.

T'rissylene eeps. She freaks a little and jumps behind prism, terrified to see another drow.

[orb_of_blood]

"Well that is the main problem, nothing is perfectly safe ever. Anyways if that happens I expect that you will use your judgement and to what seems best." Carmine gives a quick nod to Lathe and then turns towards the portal. "Well now or never." Carmine adjusts his hat and then runs into the portal.

He's trusting Lathe to make a good decision? Lathe who has followed Prism's orders to the letter for four hundred years, not thinking for himself at all? Lathe who was a servant for a red dragon for many years as a child? Lathe who's idea of fun was to sneak into the SG with intent of stealing everything in sight?

Uh oh... better hope that decision is not needed...

For now, however, there isn't much I can describe about what he does. Mostly it's stand there, gripping the rope tightly, ready to yank back Carmine at a moment's notice.

[Frozen Messiah]

(Are people waiting on me beacuse I was under the impression that singingnoodle would be the one to give info about where the portal goes to and what not)

[orb_of_blood]

((...I'll go poke him.))

[Hattish Thing]

Carmine steps into the portal!

Inside is a vast world...a blank landscape, completely black. Everything composed of shades of black and grey. His very skin will turn a black color, the color of ink. The Shadestorm is a scary place to be, and very few survive a long trip inside. In fact, a skeleton of a man lies about ten yards away. He or she must have been eaten alive by something. The strangest thing is a huge bubble in the middle of this place. A creature is stuck inside. No, not a creature. A giant automaton. It's obviously locked in and shut down. It looks like one of those giant robots you'd see out of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. The great things mechanical eyes show a disturbing glint of light however, this odd giant is composed of a strange purple metal. The colossal thing looks like it could bowl over cities in one huge stomp of its gigantic foot. If Carmine looks up he'll see that the sky is purple. A bright red vapor covers the ground like mist. This place was situated underneath the Forge of Might, the forge that the gods presumably used to create life. The whole real of Shadestorm is covered by thick steel walls, like a box. Theses walls hold the monster in if the shadow bubble fades. But, the walls are old, and could easily be broken with advanced Nexus technology. This place is probably an archeologists dream of finding. But, no one that came in ever got out. The portal that let Carmine in starts to get smaller, before closing! He might get out with a mad dash back, or Lathe could come in. Eithere way, Carmine wouldn't get a second chance to return to his home plane. The Shadestorm was an unforgiving place of nether energies and shadows.

[Frozen Messiah]

Carmine quickly turns around and sprints towards the portal, as he goes he drops a small trinket on the ground. Carmine dives for the portal in a hope of being able to catch it before it closes, he doesn't really want to think about the consquences at that point if he doesn't.

[orb_of_blood]

Feeling the rope go slack, Lathe panics. The human had been in there for less than thirty seconds!

The portal was closing... step in or stay here?

He pulls in the rope quickly, and gives a tremendous tug when he feels Carmine still on the line, hoping to yank him back through the portal before it closes in case he can't make it on his own.

[Hattish Thing]

The portal is closing, but very quickly. In fact, Carmine wouldn't have made it if it wasn't for Lathe's strength. Carmine will be rocketed out of the portal! But....when he leaves the portal...he comes to another strange place. The portal was a two way thing. The entrance lead to the Shadowy prison, whilst the supposed way back through the portal, led to a vast desert....a veritable sea of sands. And there are footprints. The rope has been cut off. There is no portal.

[Frozen Messiah]

The portal is closing, but very quickly. In fact, Carmine wouldn't have made it if it wasn't for Lathe's strength. Carmine will be rocketed out of the portal! But....when he leaves the portal...he comes to another strange place. The portal was a two way thing. The entrance lead to the Shadowy prison, whilst the supposed way back through the portal, led to a vast desert....a veritable sea of sands. And there are footprints. The rope has been cut off. There is no portal.

Carmine stands up and brushes some sand off of his shoulders. "Damn it Carmine you should have gotten off at the last stop." He says as he scans the horizon. He pauses for a moment to untie the rope that is around his waist and leave it in the ground. "Well let's do a few tests shall we." Carmine mutters to himself as he puts down his pack and begins rumaging through it. He pulls out a lighter, a pocket watch, and a small globe.

Carmine first tries the lighter.

The Magical Items (for singingnoodle or whoever is intersted):

Spoiler

Show

The lighter is meant to be able to find the trinket that he dropped when running towards the portal, it grows brighter the closer it gets to it.

The pocket watch is meant to attune to the time of a plane, if the plane has no time it does not tick.

The orb holds one of his oldest relatives and will give hazy clues as to what he should do, and when I mean hazy I mean cryptic and when I mean cryptic I mean a fortune cookie wrote by Nostradamus cryptic

[orb_of_blood]

((Has the portal closed on Lathe's side too?))

[Hattish Thing]

Nope! It's still open! Beckoning for Lathe to enter its inky depths of dooom!

Well, the watch will do absolutely nothing. This plane of imprisonment has no time at all. This plane is used to store things. Often bad people, a kind of inter-planar jail. Who knows what the portal was doing in the shadowdepths. The trinket will be easily discovered, buried in the sand. A rather nasal, somewhat annoying voice bursts out of the gem. ...Find the key to open the chest. Stab the heart. No! Don't stab the heart! The Dutchman must always have a captain! ...Voice your worries, follow the sands. And then like magic! Footsteps appear! A path leading...somewhere. The hot sun shines down in the desert, no trees or water anywhere.

[orb_of_blood]

"...Carmine?" That was odd. He'd tugged on the rope, and for a moment it had seemed like Carmine was on the end. But then it had gone slack, cut by something, and the human was gone.

Well, that's not good. Stuck in an unknown area, with no way out, with a portal that had just swallowed somebody staring him in the face.

"...Prism?" Nope, she isn't here either, Lathe. Guess you'll have to do something for yourself.

What? Like enter a dangerous portal?

...Sure, okay.

Cautiously, he steps half-way into the portal, poking his head through to see what's on the other side, but ready to tug it back in case it started to close, or in case something dangerous was on the other side.

[Frozen Messiah]

Well, the watch will do absolutely nothing. This plane of imprisonment has no time at all. This plane is used to store things. Often bad people, a kind of inter-planar jail. Who knows what the portal was doing in the shadowdepths. The trinket will be easily discovered, buried in the sand. A rather nasal, somewhat annoying voice bursts out of the gem. ...Find the key to open the chest. Stab the heart. No! Don't stab the heart! The Dutchman must always have a captain! ...Voice your worries, follow the sands. And then like magic! Footsteps appear! A path leading...somewhere. The hot sun shines down in the desert, no trees or water anywhere.

"Already hearing voices Carmine, that is not a good sign." Carmine mutters to himself as he scratches his neck in confusion of the matter at hand. His eyes follow the footsteps as far as he can see them, not too far to be exact. "Well I can always follow the trinket back if things go bad. Already made one bad choice why not make another one." Carmine shurgs and then starts following the footsteps.

[Hattish Thing]

Desert Landscape

Well, this place is just desert....as far as the eye can see. The footsteps show that someone wearing large boots was walking in here. The footsteps stretch across the desert though, and hte hot sun is blazing....It's gonna be a long walk.

Carmine.

When Carmine sticks his head inside the portal he'll see a bizarre thing. The portal opens to inside a massive creature. The pink inner flesh of its stomach dripping with slime and acid. Run?

[Frozen Messiah]

Desert Landscape

Well, this place is just desert....as far as the eye can see. The footsteps show that someone wearing large boots was walking in here. The footsteps stretch across the desert though, and hte hot sun is blazing....It's gonna be a long walk.

Carmine.

When Carmine sticks his head inside the portal he'll see a bizarre thing. The portal opens to inside a massive creature. The pink inner flesh of its stomach dripping with slime and acid. Run?

(what portal are you talking about? I think you meant that portal statement towards Lathe?)

Carmine pauses for a moment wipes his brow and then puts down his pack. "Gotta be something in here." Carmine mutters to himself as he rumages through all of the trinkets and baubles in his pack. "There we are, it's not going to keep the heat off but it is better then nothing." Camine says as he pulls out a small flask and takes a small drink from it. He then cotinues following the footsteps seeing as there is nothing better for him to do.

[orb_of_blood]

((Yep, I think he meant Lathe there...))

Well, unsurprisingly, acid had never been a big issue to an acid dragon.

Though Lathe was well aware it could be deadly to humans.

“If you're in there Carmine, you might wanna think about coming out.”

He doesn't move however, keeping his head through the portal, one leg resting on either side, anchoring him in two different dimensions. “Hellloooooo? Anybody?”

[Hattish Thing]

(I meant Lathe, apologies.)

Desert

Well....there's nothing. Then if he should just concentrate on the horizon he ought to be able to see...something. If he concentrates very hard on seeing past the desert he'll notice he can see outside the prison plane! In fact, he'll be looking out of a certain soul gem. He will be able to see a blurry scene unfolding outside. A woman holds the gem in her hands, and an older-looking man talks to her. He won't be able to see their faces clearly though or hear them. He must have been teleported into a planar prison. Now caught inside this gem.

The Belly of the Beast

Welp...l.nothing responds. A huge blob of acid drips down from the roof. It looked like he was i na gigantic stomach of a much bigger creature.

[Frozen Messiah]

(I meant Lathe, apologies.)

Desert

Well....there's nothing. Then if he should just concentrate on the horizon he ought to be able to see...something. If he concentrates very hard on seeing past the desert he'll notice he can see outside the prison plane! In fact, he'll be looking out of a certain soul gem. He will be able to see a blurry scene unfolding outside. A woman holds the gem in her hands, and an older-looking man talks to her. He won't be able to see their faces clearly though or hear them. He must have been teleported into a planar prison. Now caught inside this gem.

"Huh, well this is defintely some pickle it seems.Let's take a moment to consider your options Carmine." Carmine pauses and fiddles with his coin as he conintunes to walk towards the wall of the soul gem, "The magic that would be need to make something like this should be fairly strong...not to mention to make the portals to get stuck in here. So the chances are not in my favor to break out of this using force. Could be a password to get out, but if they had a lick of sense they wouldn't put it in the prison..." Carmine keeps pondering this to himself as he slowly gets closer to the walls of the planar prison.

[orb_of_blood]

Well... that was odd.

He pulls his head back through the portal, raises an eyebrow, and stares at the portal for a little while, considering his options.

“Sorry Carmine.”

I believe a crystal ball was mentioned some time ago? If so, he'll go examine it and wish he knew the smallest thing about magical artifacts.

[Lady Serpentine]

T'rissylene eeps. She freaks a little and jumps behind prism, terrified to see another drow.

"Salkin Jallil, belbau uns'aa honglath...", Lellienth mutters, glaring at T'rissylene as much as possible while the other drow is behind Prsim. "Orn dos vrine'winith ol, wael? F'sarn ghil ji nindel Usstan shlu'ta inbal natha drital xuileb foluss galla ulu flamgra l' k'lar harl bauth ussta haren, naut jalbol ulu xun xuil dos!"