Seaside 2: Rising Tides

[Shadowcaller]

Temple of the Snake

Dena glances at her scry-glass. Now that was the kind of stuff she was looking for. That sort of thing that would make this entire journey worth it. As the cultists split up she hastily applies a brew to her sword and prepares herself. As one of the cultists approach her body heat should still be hidden by her cloak, which in case these creatures relied on such vision, made it perfect for an ambush. She couldn't be sure of this however so she relies on her speed instead, suddenly dashing past the snake man while attempting to cut his side with the poisoned short sword.
If the poison attempt is successful the poison will work quickly if the snakeman starts moving. Unless he's resistant to chimera spit his his vision should start to blur and he will feel it hard to think as his spirit has been poisoned. Soulless creatures are of course immune to this effect.

[goto124]

[Penguin at Shore]

"Wait a second."

Ezra makes a swift hand movement. "Okay!" He follows KC outside, his hand gently grabbing her upper arm, manoeuvring it so that they are arm-in-arm. "Time for breakfast!"

KC nudges Peyton, taking it by the flipper even while being dragged along by Ezra.

'How much food do we have left?'

[Cyber Punk]

[Penguin at Shore]

"Enough to last us for a while, my dears." Taking hand and flipper, Ezra leads all three of them to the campfire, where they prepare to eat and fist on the fishes.

((And since neither of us has much to add, like we talked about in PM, we'll close this scene.))

[Gullara]

[Temple of the Snake 2.0]

Here come the cavalry. Kirk and Dipsnig arrive near the island in Merc's airship. Ready to give a beat down or two. Currently he's loading his pistol and making sure he has some extra clips. "So we go in there, knock some heads, make some demands. Sound like a plan?"

[Morty]

[Temple of the Snake 2.0]

Dipsnig is clad in a broad-shouldered sleeveless leather vest with a dark cloth shirt underneath. There are thick leather gloves on his hands and soft shoes on his feet. The vest is equipped with a hood that obscures most of his face. He's armed to the teeth with his crossbow, knives and an assortment of little weapons. He feels distinctly uncomfortable on the airship and makes a point not to get close to the edge.

"Sure, that works. But let's go in stealthy until we have a good idea what exactly we're dealing with. We don't want to grow snakes on our heads ourselves, do we?"

[UncleWolf]

Temple of the Snake 2.0

The pair of adventurers will find themselves near the beach of the island, the only approachable area unless they're going to repel down further inland. Most of the island is dense jungle but a path can easily be seen leading from the shore towards the clearing in the center of the island. The clearing itself has a large stone snake's head projecting out of it like a cave's entrance, mouth open and fangs bared. Further back into the island than that, on another side of a thick wall of trees, rests a large glass roof built into the ground.

[Morty]

[Temple of the Snake 2.0]

"Right," Dipsnig says once they're ashore. "Let's go and find some back entrance to the place, or something along those lines. I'd really rather not stroll in through the front door." He looks around. He's been in a jungle before, so it's not new for him, at least. That jungle was civilized and inhabited, though.

[Gullara]

[Temple of the Snake 2.0]

"I agree. They're bound to be on high alert after Dena's visit. Let's stay just off the road until we get closer, though." Kirk suggests. He does one last check of his belongings before they head out. Just to make sure he's not caught unaware.

[Morty]

[Temple of the Snake 2.0]

Dipsnig will proceed to move through the jungle, around the temple. He's on lookout for any entrances other than the front one.

[Recaiden]

[Bayside]

Well, the ocean near Bayside, really. A colossal leviathan sea creature boasting both fins and tentacles hurries along close to the bottom of the sea, making for the town. As it gets closer and closer to the distant town, it starts to shrink. Doesn't want to disturb the boats and waves...not too much.

[UncleWolf]

Temple of the Snake 2.0

As the two begin to wander the island, they'll find a distinct lack of noise around them. Sure there was wind and the sea, but there weren't any birds or insects to be heard. Depending on how long they search, they won't find another soul on the surface of the island and there doesn't appear to be much in the way of another entrance. There's several holes a foot wide or so with bars covering them where air flows into, probably feeding fresh air into the complex, but apart from that there's only the main entrance and the thick glass roof to the greenhouse.

[Morty]

[Temple of the Snake 2.0]

"This is less than ideal," Dipsnig says. "Looks like we have only two real avenues of approach. The main entrance, or that glass building over there."

[Gullara]

[Temple of the Snake 2.0]

"Let's see what we can see through the glass before we decide anything else. Might help us know what's going on in there." Kirk nods toward the greenhouse. If there are no protests, he'll lead the way.

[UncleWolf]

Temple of the Snake 2.0

The glass isn't a building itself, but is instead set in the ground, providing a surface to walk on and for the sunlight to go through. Despite the thickness of it, the two will see easily into the underground chamber below as the light reveals a greenhouse within. It is filled with trees bearing fruit and other bushes and shrubs that provide more, but there are also gravel paths within and stone statues all around. No one living seems to be there at the moment.

[Gullara]

[Temple of the Snake 2.0]

Kirk lies down on the ground and edges closer to the edge of the glass. he just barely looks in, keeping any eye out for anyone that might spot him. Seeing none, he moves in more to get a closer look. "No one in sight." He says as he gets up into a crouch. "I don't think I'd want to try and get in through here either. Too obvious. We might be better off trying to go in through the front if we can be subtle about it."

[Morty]

[Temple of the Snake 2.0]

"It does seem like they'd expect people to come in through here," Dipsnig says. "You can't really overlook a big dome of glass. Yeah, let's try the front entrance."

[UncleWolf]

Temple of the Snake 2.0

When they get to the front entrance, they'll find it in a clearing with a marble path leading up to the cave's mouth. The entrance is in the form of a giant snake with fangs both above and below inside its gaping mouth. A keen eye will spot both the string tied between the two front fangs on the bottom and signs that someone had dug something up on the right side in the middle of the rock garden that helps surround the temple.

[Gullara]

[Temple of the Snake 2.0]

As the two approach the entrance silently, Kirk puts a hand on Dipsnig's shoulder. He nods forward and points to either end of the string. Best mind that. With the boss warned, he creeps forward, going to kneel by one end of the string and investigate what it's connected to.

[Morty]

[Temple of the Snake 2.0]

Dipsnig takes his crossbow off his back and unfolds it, covering Kirk as the drow examines the likely trap.

[UncleWolf]

Temple of the Snake 2.0

Oddly, the string doesn't seem to be attached to anything apart from the fangs. No traps, no triggers...nothing. At worst it would make someone trip.

[Gullara]

[Temple of the Snake 2.0]

"Nothing I can see, but I'd step over it anyway." Kirk says in a very low voice that even Dipsnig will find hard to hear. He stands and peers deeper into the entrance and nods for Dipsnig to follow him in. He's careful to step over the string, of course.

[Morty]

[Temple of the Snake 2.0]

Dipsnig likewise steps above it, or even around it if able. There are no visible traps attached to it, but... that just means there's something invisible somewhere.

[UncleWolf]

Temple of the Snake 2.0

Nothing happens when the pair step over the string, but several feet further in the tunnel slopes downward. The passage is long and dark, but if either of them can see through it, they'll see several small holes bunched together on both sides of the hall at about chest height on an average human.

[Lost_Deep]

A Cruise
((closed scene))

"Hey, Kate, you okay? You've been staring at the water for five minutes."

Kate shook her head. A fairly plain woman, right now the orange-haired girl is carrying a suitcase and a backpack. "Sorry! I've just never seen the ocean before. Up close, anyway. I've seen it from space, but..."

Bella laughed. "But that's a completely different mental phenomenon." Bella is also carrying a suitcase, but one much smaller than Kate's. The teenager is clearly related to Kate, but her hair is golden. "Come on!" Bella said, gesturing for Kate to follow, "Let's get to that boat!"

Kate followed. "We're plenty early," she said, "And I want to savor this. This is a lot of firsts for me. First time I've seen the ocean, first time on a boat."

"And you didn't bring a camera!" Bella said, teasing.

"Look, as far as the one thing to forget when going on a trip goes, the camera is better than a lot of things."

The pair know where they're going, the dock is laid out plainly enough. They just need to find the cruise ship...

[Gullara]

[Temple of the Snake 2.0]

It's been some time since Kirk lived underground, but his vision in the dark is as sharp as ever. No doubt Dipsnig's eyes are just as well accustomed. Kirk stops short of the holes in the wall and tries to see further down the tunnel, to see how far the holes go. He doesn't want to have to crawl beneath them for too long. It'd be a terrible place to be ambushed.

[Deathkeeper]

Continuity Cruise Lines

At the end of Dock 5 is a sterling clean cruise ship, with banners and colorful streamers. It's all very clean and polished, with plenty of smiling faces on line to board. Looks like Kate will be standing in line behind a pair of tiger-maned Khajiit on line.

[Lost_Deep]

Continuity Cruise Lines

"Wow, that's really big," Kate comments idly.

"It's not that big," Bella replies. "Is it bigger than that one space ship you were on?"

"Hm... maybe not, but I never got a good look at it."

In any case, the pair will wait patiently.

[Deathkeeper]

Continuity Cruise Lines

After they eventually reach the front of the line, they're asked for their tickets by a short, tubby little man with thick gray skin.
How much did Kate splurge on their tickets? Economy class, middle grade package, or a suite?

[Lost_Deep]

Continuity Cruise Lines

Kate, in fact, made good on Cos' offer and took a suite. She hands over the ticket(s) and waits patiently.

[Deathkeeper]

Continuity Cruise Lines

The little man rips their tickets and hands them a pair of suite passes with some directions to their room. They're free to explore the deck or go straight to their room to drop off their luggage, though given that carrying bags isn't fun the latter is probably more advisable.