[Nexus] Random Places and Plots 5

[orb_of_blood]

[Underdark]

"Oh." Tyalla's quiet again. She must not have liked the answer very much at all.

Switching topics! She doesn't even want to think about the implications of that. And just when she thought he wasn't with anyone!

"Erm, do you know a faster way to the surface? Or will I have to lead us back through all that again? Truly, I don't think I can remember the way."

And she needs sunlight. She's already deathly pale, and her eyes and hair have begun to bleach as well.

[Eadin]

Necanth Prison- To the Graveyard/Warden

Are Cat and Freddy going to clamber up the wall? I thought they were headed to the Graveyard to feed Freddy, but I included a way out because I wanted a valid reason to put a merchant outside the cavern entrance. (Nobody likes the undead, and few people deliberately visit them.)

They're going to the graveyard alright.
Just not the pool. Water and stuff.
Also think Freddy needs ghosts, not reanimated bones.

Cat will climb the wall!
Obviously, she's good at climbing.

[Earl of Purple]

Necanth Prison- Cavern

The water is drinkable; its origin is a leak in a pipe, but there's nothing to pollute it here. Maybe a trace amount of heavy metals, but no more than in a bottle of pure spring water. One would kill themselves through drinking too much water before there's enough of those metals to cause any damage.

It's also possible for Zefir to walk along next to the stream without getting wet; it looks as though sometimes there's more water flowing along this stream, as the path of erosion is larger than the existing stream. Is Zefir going upstream or downstream?

[Zefir]

Necanth Prison- Cavern


Not sure what is the right one. I just say he is following the water where it goes to.

[Rebonack]

[Prison]

Or rather going past the Graveyard since it's on the way to wherever the Warden is lurking. That means up the wall and off into the wild unknown! Or at least as unknown can be considering that they have a map.

...

They still don't mine any ore.

Mining ore seems like a poor plan considering the terrible things lurking nearby.

And no one likes terrible things!

They're terrible.

[Dark Elf Bard]

[Underdark]

"Oh." Tyalla's quiet again. She must not have liked the answer very much at all.

Switching topics! She doesn't even want to think about the implications of that. And just when she thought he wasn't with anyone!

"Erm, do you know a faster way to the surface? Or will I have to lead us back through all that again? Truly, I don't think I can remember the way."

And she needs sunlight. She's already deathly pale, and her eyes and hair have begun to bleach as well.

Oh!

Um.. I think I can teleport us there. But you need to hold my hand.

He stretches his long, slender hand to her.

[orb_of_blood]

[Underdark]

Wordlessly, she places her hand in his, wondering why he didn't just teleport himself out of there before.

[Dark Elf Bard]

Bzzt!

Surprise!

They're standing at the cave entrance!

[Earl of Purple]

Necanth Prison- To The Warden!

Up the wall and the associated ladder is a narrow, horizontal crack. The ladder stops at it and the ceiling's not far off, so presumably the path continues down there. It's a bit cramped, and slopes steadily, though shallowly, upwards until it opens up into a larger tunnel. At the end of the tunnel is a door.

Necanth Prison- Cavern

So Zefir's going downstream, to the grate and the grimlock?

[Zefir]

Necanth Prison- Cavern

Yep thats truw. Better fight the bad before the bad fight you. But after all zefir will make a short brake on his way prepareing. These guys live in this cave for near ever, best prepare some flashbangs. they won't like them.

[Earl of Purple]

Necanth Prison- Cavern

The grimlock's blind. Flashbangs won't work as well as Zefir might think. Besides which, he doesn't know if the grimlock will be hostile. The thri-kreen wasn't, not really; it was scared and wanted to be left alone, its attacks were to discourage Zefir's curiosity.

[orb_of_blood]

[Outskirts of Beren's Hold]

You know, for such a long ways to travel, that hadn't taken Shade and Akoraun very long. From the SG to the portal in the fields to the dragon caves to here.

Hooray for magic!

And... wow. Beren's Hold, also known by just about everyone not in the Hold as the 'Hold of the Tyrant', is near breathtaking. Everything about it reflects his huge ego. The houses are stone, safe from the wrath of the dragons on the mountain above them. The castle is carved into the side of the mountain, and stretches up for miles. Rather daunting actually...

The gates, a dark black stone that is possibly obsidian, looms above them, and even Shade is teeny before them. "Open up!" He calls, his voice bouncing back off the stone eerily. "We've come to see the king!" He's not really a king, actually, but who's going to argue with someone who has control over even the dragons?

"Well, Akoraun, what do you think?"

[Dark Elf Bard]

Outside of Beren's Hold

Akoraun takes a few minutes just to stare at it.

He's never see anything this big before? Looking at it, he seems a little skeptical.

I don't know... are you sure this is safe?

[orb_of_blood]

[Outside Beren's Hold]

"Nope."

...Well, that pretty much sums it up. He doesn't seem very concerned anymore with what Akoraun thinks. He's in Laira, running won't get him anywhere. Besides, about three steps into the city, and he won't want to run.

"Actually, I'm pretty sure it's not safe at all."

The gates open slowly, and rows upon rows of stone houses stand before them. The humans mill around with vaguely happy, vacant expressions, not giving the odd pair a second glance.

"But then again, you're here, you may as well see it. You first, Akoraun."

[Dark Elf Bard]

Beren's Hold

Um... Okay.

Akoran takes three or four tentative steps into the city.

[orb_of_blood]

[Beren's Hold]

Shade walks in after him, standing directly behind in case he gets any ideas. "To the castle."

"Good morning." Says a plain passerby dreamily, hardly even seeing them as she meanders up the road, towing a equally tranquil dog. "Hasn't Andaress sent us such a beautiful day?"

"Stunning." Answers Shade flatly, not bothering to mention that it was near evening, and the day was horribly dreary. Then to Akoraun, "move."

[Dark Elf Bard]

Beren's Hold
Hi!

Akoraun offers the woman a smile. How are-

But then he's poked by Shade.

Um... Shade? Can we leave soon? This is sort of scary.

[Zefir]

Necanth Prison- Cavern

The grimlock's blind. Flashbangs won't work as well as Zefir might think. Besides which, he doesn't know if the grimlock will be hostile. The thri-kreen wasn't, not really; it was scared and wanted to be left alone, its attacks were to discourage Zefir's curiosity.

Necanth Prison- Cavern

As said he can't know. but a flashbang has also a bang maybe a blind one is more effected by it then anyone else. You know beeing blind makes the other senses better. But also easier to hit.^^

[orb_of_blood]

Beren's Hold

"Oh, with any luck I'll be walking outta here shortly with Ophelia. You however, well, if Nixa doesn't come than you could be staying quite a while indeed."

Seeing as Akoraun didn't seem to moving, he attempts to give him a small shove forwards.

[Dark Elf Bard]

What? You said this was an important mission! A fun one! I WANT TO LEAVE! LET ME GO! Akoraun is shoved forward and lands on his face in the dirt. Owww.... Akoraun cries a little bit.

But It's not from tears.

He's seething with rage. This so-called brother tricked him!

You LIAR! Akoraun pounces forward an attempts to kick Shade in the shin, and then aim a punch to the groin.

[Earl of Purple]

Necanth Prison- Cavern

The way I see it, a human's primary sense for receiving information is sight. Its second is sound. That's why blindness and deafness are so much more disabling than being unable to taste or smell. A grimlock isn't a human, and lacks the sense of sight; its primary sense for receiving information is sound, and its second is smell. A flashbang disables humans by screwing up their two most important senses, but on a grimlock it would only affect their primary sense, so it's like temporarily blinding somebody but leaving them their sense of hearing, though a grimlock may well be deafened for longer than a human.

[orb_of_blood]

[Beren's Hold]

"I didn't lie. It is an important mission, and after a few days here, you'll be having fun. If that's what Beren does, anyways, and it usually is."

Shade doesn't grab at the kid, or slash at him, or really do anything other than side-step the flailing attack and look disapprovingly at Akoraun.

"Really? You attack me, and then what? You powerful enough to even survive Laira, let alone find your way back? You probably couldn't even escape this particular Hold."

[Dark Elf Bard]

SHUT UP! Akoraun growls and shakily takes out his small dirk and attempts a clumsy throw. Tears running down his cheeks, the child tries to run to the gates, away from Shade, away from the Hold, away from Laira.

[orb_of_blood]

[Beren's Hold]

Again the clumsy maneuver is easy to avoid. And then the drow is off... and Shade is just standing there, shaking his head and sighing.

And so it is that Akoraun reaches the gates. They stretch up and up, the top of them and the wall surrounding the entire Hold far, far above his head. The smooth black obsidian stone has no crevices to use as hand-holds, and looks impossibly hard.

Oh, they're also closed.

[Dark Elf Bard]

Akoraun bangs several times on the gates, crying all the while. Eventually he looks up. He runs back to Shade. Let me out!!! I don't care if you're Nixa's brother! Ill hurt you if you don't let me out ad take us back!

[orb_of_blood]

[Beren's Hold]

Shade shakes his head and chuckles softly. "A meaningless threat. Now, you can stay here and try to chat with these..."

The word that comes to mind is 'sheep'. The people mill around, dazed and oblivious. None seem to notice Akoraun's tears. They pass smiling, with a few vague lines about how lovely it is in the Hold, or how gracious their king or their deity is.

"-or you could come and meet the 'king'. Who is by far a more interesting person. I guarentee you'll hate him after only a few minutes. Either way, you aren't leaving, so hurry up with the decision-making."

He turns and begins to walk away, ears pricked in case Akoraun is thinking of attacking him while his back is turned.

[Dark Elf Bard]

[Beren's Hold]

Akoraun runs at Shade with his fists flying. If Shade tries to sidestep, Akor will change directions in midair, and aim another punch to Shade's groin.

[orb_of_blood]

[Beren's Hold]

Shade doesn't even bother to sidestep this time, taking the weak flails without even so much as a grunt.

"Are you quite finished? I haven't seen Ophelia in many moons. You're wasting my time."

...In hindsight, trying to damage someone who's nerves are really messed up due to disease may not be particularly effective.

"By the way, hit me one more time and I'll bite you." A meaningless threat as saliva does not carry Lairan werecreature disease, but he's heard it did on other planets, so maybe the threat would still have it's desired effect.

[Dark Elf Bard]

[Beren's Hold]

Akoraun shrinks back from Shade.

Don't bite me! Family doesn't bite each other!

...Very smart, Akoraun.

Who's "Ophelia" anyways?

[orb_of_blood]

[Beren's Hold]

"Tell that to my family. You may just get the chance. Beren probably won't let you go until Nixa shows up. Odds are he'll stuff you in with Ophelia. She's my daughter."

The daughter of a permanently morphed werecat...

"So move, I'm not waiting around until my little sister comes and kills me. Tell you what, you start walking towards the big glittery castle, and I promise to tell Ophelia to be more or less pleasant when you meet her. Deal?"

Not that would have any effect on how she acts, but he can tell her anyways.