[Nexus] Outside XXXII

[Earl of Purple]

Sznovf- Wizard's Tower

"Most deities don't give even this much help, you know. Be glad that I have aided you thus far. Spread the word that Sibelius the Pure, Patron Deity of Innocence, is unbound and free to work His will upon the cosmos once again." With that, the child starts to disperse. There's no build up in magical energy signifying a teleportation; He just vanishes, the magic spreading out. As it does so, the mural is repaired, the columns are repaired, three large orbs of white light begin to glow and a healing aura is spread throughout the chamber. Cassidy may feel rejuvenated, rested and healed of any injury.

The mural depicts the child Cassidy just spoke to, with a halo above His head and a white lamb by His side. He holds a branch from an acacia tree.

[Devixer]

[Sznovf - Wizard's Tower]

Cass has seen quite a bit in her time, but what happens after the kid disappears is still a bit of a shock. "You are fragging kidding me," she mutters, both in response to the event and the deity not answering her last question. She notices that she feels a lot better than she did a few minutes ago, and the many small cuts on her face and hands are healed now. She grabs her SMG again, picking up the Staff. She starts to feel like a duck with these four weapons, but she leaves the church nonetheless.

[Earl of Purple]

Sznovf- Wizard's Tower

To be fair, the main reason Sibelius didn't answer the question is because I don't know where the monkeys are building it yet.

In the storeroom, there's a chest which had something magic in but Cassidy didn't check. She could check that, or try one of the other doors or the hatch in the floor in the caravan.

[Devixer]

[Sznovf - Wizard's Tower]

Cass heads over to the chest to see if what's in the chest is anything she needs or can sell.

[Earl of Purple]

Sznovf- Wizard's Tower

Inside the chest is a pink rucksack with a flower printed on it; inside, it's much larger than it should be and there's an assault rifle magazine that explode in cold magical energy when they hit something. There's also a prosthetic arm made of wood; should Cassidy desire, she can strap it on and use it as a third arm. There's also a teddy bear which can transform into an actual bear with the right command and a whistle made of bamboo which commands serpentine creatures. Finally, right at the bottom, is a small bag of gemstones that can be used as mines.

[Devixer]

[Sznovf - Wizard's Tower]

Cass's eyes bulge a little at the sight of the rucksack's inside. That was a lot of stuff. She pockets the magazine and the gemstones. She would wear the whole bag, but it would get in the way of her Panzerfaust. Cass heads back to the main caravan, going through one of the other doors that I don't remember.

[Earl of Purple]

Sznovf- Wizard's Tower

I believe there's a door without a frame and a door made of marble in addition to the door made of mahogany I think Cassidy went through. There's also a hatch in the floor hidden by the lush green (I think) carpet. I've forgotten too.

[Devixer]

[Sznovf - Wizard's Tower]

Cass saves the hatch that she just manages to notice for last, pacing through the frameless door. She exchanges her SMG for her assault rifle, mentally counting how many bullets are left in its clip.

[Earl of Purple]

Sznovf- Wizard's Tower

Beyond the frameless door (it's more a hole in reality with a door attached to it somehow) is a corridor with three doors along each side. The floor is paved in polished black marble and the walls are pink granite inlaid with black jet, red jasper and green jade. The doors are carved from baobab wood. From the ceiling, which is also pink granite, hangs an elaborate chandelier lit magically.

[Devixer]

[Sznovf - Wizard's Tower]

Cass grumbles a little at the prospect of having to search six more rooms, all of which could lead to some other crazytown. But she walks down the corridor anyway, peeking through each door as she goes.

[Earl of Purple]

Sznovf- Wizard's Tower

Three of the doors lead to bedrooms; two are richly appointed with vast double beds and golden shackles, one is smaller, more intimate and has a single bed and a bookshelf. Another door leads to a communal bedroom, with eight single beds along its length and six corpses upon the floor. The fifth door leads to a library, filled with hundreds of books and the final door is a massive bathroom, with a large shower, a basin of water that might be a large bath or a small swimming pool and a toilet.

[Gullara]

[Ancient Temple]

Removing the rug reveals that it concealed a hatch in the floor.
"Oh hey, cool!" Irena exclaims as she notices the lampades discovery. "Let's check inside."

Opening the hatch and illuminating it with the flash light reveals that it leads to a tunnel leading right into the mountain wall. "Heh, now we're talking." Irena comments with a grin. "Want to go first?"

[Ancient Temple]

"I'm starting to think you're using me to check for danger." Nadia knows Irena actually just wants to check out her butt, though. She just chuckles and leads on. Seems she doesn't mind.

[Shadowcaller]

[Ancient Temple]

"You're the one that insisted on coming. I could technically have done this myself you know?" Irena replies before handing Nadia the flash light. As the lampade then descends into the tunnel she will notice it's so small she will have to crawl (which isn't ideal considering the clothes she's wearing).

If the two still want to crawl through the tunnel, they will notice it's quite short and that they will eventually end up in a much larger tunnel. If Nadia checks around with the flashlight it appears as if they have ended up in a mining shaft of some kind. It looks like it has been abandoned for quite some time though, perhaps even longer then the temple.

The mine splits in two though and by the looks of it it's going out in various directions, creating a maze of tunnels.

"Oh geez, we'll never find anything here."

[Gullara]

[Ancient Temple]

"Ugh, we'd probably just get lost. Let's go back then." Nadia rubs her scratched up knees. This was a waste of time.

[Shadowcaller]

[Ancient Temple]

"Yeah... I bet it was just some sort of escape tunnel that they used anyway." Irena replies before they make their way back to the ritual room. "Well, that was a waste of time. Guess we should continue checking out the floor, but I'm beginning to doubt there is much more we can find here."

[Gullara]

[Ancient Temple]

"Maybe not, but we'd better look just in case. The last thing we want is to miss something. Come on, let's check the other two rooms on this side first." Nadia says, and starts to head there.

[Shadowcaller]

[Ancient Temple]

"You're the boss, even if I'm supposed to be your mistress." That Nadia never remembers. *shakes head*

Heading to the first room they will find that it once seems to have been a library. Whoever lived here must have been taking the books with them once they left this place. Now only dust, spiderwebs and empty bookcases remain in this room.

The second room appears to have been an office of some sort, there is a large desk, a bed, a wardrobe and another one of those chests. They will be disappointed if they open it however as unlike the first, it's completely empty and so is the desk.

If Nadia happen to look outside the window of the room however she might notice the fact a bunch of old overgrown tombstones right outside. It appears to be the graveyard of this place.
"Nothing here it seems." Nadia says as she attempts to wave away some dust which was thrown in the air once they opened the chest.

[Gullara]

[Ancient Temple]

"I guess not." Nadia walks around the room and decides to look out the window. A graveyard? She stands there for a moment, thinking. "Do you think we could get out there to take a look?" She gestures outside.

[Shadowcaller]

[Ancient Temple]

Irena shrugs, "I guess. I'm starting to get really hungry though and the only thing I can eat out around here is you." She teases the lampade with an amused smile. At least her humor doesn't seem to be effected.

[Gullara]

[Ancient Temple]

Nadia giggles a little. "So you're saying not bringing food was actually a great idea." She gives Irena a wink and then heads out of the room, aiming to go downstairs and out to the graveyard.

[Shadowcaller]

[Ancient Temple]

"Sure you aren't still drunk?" Irena asks, returning the look the lampade gave her.

Descending the stairs and walking around the building, they soon find themselves looking at a small graveyard. While most of the tombstones are cracked and overgrown there is one which makes itself out. It's larger then the others with an angel sitting on the top of it and seem to have been taken care of recently, the moss and weed around it have been removed by someone.

And there Nadia can read a faded description.

Here lies Adriane Taylor, beloved daughter and faithful.
May she rest in peace.
1540-1563

It appears someone have tended to it recently as there is a bouquet of flowers a candle which been knocked down (presumably by the storm) and a little ornate box placed on top of the grave. They can't be much more then a few days old.

[Gullara]

[Ancient Temple]

Upon reading the headstone, Nadia sighs and looks down at her feet. She was really hoping that they wouldn't find her buried here. Then something occurs to her. She looks up at the tombstone again. "There's no way that someone wasn't here not that long ago."

[Lex-Kat]

{Melody's Island- Tent City}

Derek sees Melody but decides to avoid the mob of people, he would love a private place to have a chat with Melody but he doesn't see that happening right now. So he checks the cottage and breathes a sigh of relief to see Jezebelle there. He had been worried it would be her blood on the bloody knife. He quickly makes his way to her.

"Jezebelle I need to talk to you and Melody somewhere private as soon as we can."

He seems a bit flustered and obviously upset about something. He doesn't want to bring up the bloody knife in front of the kids, he hides the wrapped up knife behind his back.

Jezebelle takes the hint and nods toward the Barn. You should wait in the barn, for things to settle down. I'll let Melody know when she comes back.

She kneels down to the children. Go find the other children, and take them to see Miss Turtle.

((Not asking you to RP it, Happy. Just getting the children out of the murder mystery. Though you can, if wish.))

[McBish]

{Melody's Island- Tent City>>Barn}

Derek nods to Jezebelle and heads to the barn where he paces back and forth.

[Shadowcaller]

[Ancient Temple]

"Could be that thief or he creepy guy." Irena suggests jokingly. "Maybe there's something in the box?"

[Gullara]

[Ancient Temple]

"Yeah, maybe." Nadia steps closer to the tombstone. After some hesitation, she reaches out to take the box and open it.

[5a Violista]

The Agent just shakes his head. "What I offer is a kindness that few others would. Make peace with any Gods you happen to worship. May your next life be more in service of Good." And with that, he pulls the trigger. With where he aims and the bullet's power, the gun should cause an instant and painless death.

A Popular Mountainside Village

The member of the Black Society has his eyes opened!
Really wide.

Then, he closes his eyes, really fast, not wanting to see himself die. He was too scared to be able to yell out something or cry or scream as he died..he just fell in silence.

Meanwhile, Upstairs

Harley decides that right now would be the time to bail. She quickly RUNS to another room which has an open window, and squeezes her way out. She doesn't want to run into any pesky adventurers who might decide to investigate.

She climbs out the window, and hides, camouflaging herself.

[Shadowcaller]

[Ancient Temple]

Inside the box Nadia will find a scroll rolled up, if she decides to open it up and read it she will read the following written in ink:

To Adriane

I will start this simple: I’m sorry.

While I’m writing this years after what happened I still remember everything with horrible clarity, my consciousness won’t let me forget what happened to you that day. There were so many more things that could have been said and done. All of which there was never time for. So here I am writing you this letter, this way of me trying to reach closure with you and Eli. This isn’t the first letter though; I tried to write something like this twelve times but they all ended up in angst rants. But this is it, this is the final version that I will send you and I will make it short and consist. I’m writing you this to tell you all those things I could never say while you were alive and there were many of them. Put it simply, I screwed up. I failed you and the goddess so horribly that I’m sure I deserve redemption.

When I met you for the first time I thought you as nothing more than a lucky discipline that had been chosen by the goddess. But in time I got to see your strong spirit and courage, the way you carried the child with such conviction and strength. You were truly an admirable woman, pure of heart, pure of soul, only then I understood why the goddess had chosen you to carry the child. Her mistake however was letting me perform the ritual; you were the perfect surrogate, the perfect mother. You can’t take any blame for what happened. It was my entire fault that you died and the baby was born in the wrong way.

The ritual, it was flawed, I had miscalculated it and I never realized until the birth happened, none of us realized it. But the blame is of me of course, I was the one devising it after all, I was the one that promised you and the goddess it would work. I was a fool, and my mistake cost me dearly. But while the goddess have cursed my body, doomed me to eternal suffering, it’s nothing compared to the guilt I felt for killing you and the baby. If I could have, I would have resurrected you, but due to the error I committed with the ritual, that proved to be impossible. Your soul became bond to your baby the moment it left your body, leaving you an empty shell. When I was handing him to you I saw that your gaze was already empty and soulless, you were gone, doomed to wander these halls for all eternity in despair.

As for the baby himself, I will spare you the details. He’s no longer with us. But the reason I’m writing you this right now is because there is hope. I have found the right configuration of the ritual and the goddess have chosen a new surrogate who no doubt is as strong as you were and right now I’m waiting to have them both delivered to me. Her name is Nadia Rizzo, a good soul with a strong body from what I have gathered, your worthy successor. She might need some convincing considering she’s not of the faith but I pray she will be reasonable. With the help of the new ritual your Eli will be born from her and even if you are not here to see it, your baby will still live through her.

I hope this will put your spirit to rest Adriane, to know that even if you died, your son will still live, and yes, I said yours. If you had lived, I would have let you take care of him with the goddess help. Even if I had doubts about it at the start, you had proven Eli was as much yours as the goddess if not more and this woman will get the same deal. I promise you I will take care of her and not make the same terrible mistake I did with you.

You will live with me always Adriane; I will never forget you or your Eli as long as I live. I will carry your memories with me wherever I go and make sure your deaths won’t be forgotten.

-Niccaru Brightson, chapter master of the fourth tower

"What does it say?" Irena asks curiously while trying to peek at the letter.

[Devixer]

Sznovf- Wizard's Tower

Three of the doors lead to bedrooms; two are richly appointed with vast double beds and golden shackles, one is smaller, more intimate and has a single bed and a bookshelf. Another door leads to a communal bedroom, with eight single beds along its length and six corpses upon the floor. The fifth door leads to a library, filled with hundreds of books and the final door is a massive bathroom, with a large shower, a basin of water that might be a large bath or a small swimming pool and a toilet.

Most of the rooms aren't of much interest to Cass, except perhaps the smaller bedroom. The communal bedroom with all of the corpses, however, is of interest to her. She enters that room first, trying to see if one of them might be the wizard's body.

[Gullara]

[Ancient Temple]

Nadia blinks a few times and rereads part of the letter before she responds to Irena. It's hard to think that this Niccaru wasn't quite s bad as she thought, but who lies in a letter left on a grave?

Of course, there's one thing that concerns her most. "He wanted to use me for that ritual." She sounds somewhat dazed and distracted. What the heck is going on? Why do they want to use her? What's so special about her? And if he's not as bad as she thought, why the theft and attempted kidnapping? "Here, you need to read this." She hands the paper to Irena.