Age of Ruin IC: When all your friends are dead

[The Great Skenardo]

Livina Lightfoot
LIvina lifts a finger as if to stay Rego's babbling.
"Just a sec." she says, quietly.
"Okay, Kizima? Doubles? Other plane? What?"

[Brickwall]

Kizima

"Long story short, we all have identical twins who wish for the demise of our entire world. Some of ours are here on our plane. That's about all I get. This Akim seems far too idiotic and wimpy to actually torture anyone, so I'm guessing he's being truthful about not torturing you. Now, can we get back to finding out what the hell he's hiding?"

[Ozzy_G]

Rego just looks completely and utterly baffled. What in Goramesh are you talking about? He starts to sniffle, and his eyes well up. I just wanted to go to the tomb and then come back. Why are we all arguing and stuff? Don't you people want to go and get filthy rich?

[Moechi_Vill]

Lucidae

"Riches come with danger employer Rego. Your dream... can come true with what riches you have already aquired now. I will help you. With your partners in such turmoil it would be extremely advisable to seek professional contractors."

"Scholar... tell the Mokai and halfling something that will not make them kill you so we can get over this insanity and return to civilization."

[Lycar]

'Akim' still smiles as he puts his hands on Lucindae's shoulders and gently pushes her aside.

"Thank you lady Lucidae but it is about time i drop this now useless disguise."

He adresses Livina first "My dear Livina, since you didn't think twice about delivering someone to a fate of being used as a sacrifice in a demon summoning ritual, you have no moral high ground to complain about being tortured by that person. I do not want to excuse what Orin did to you but i cannot feel sorry for you. You brought this upon yourself."

"As far as that evil-twin buisiness goes... i am Orin Stillwater too. Now from what i learned, it was the other-world Hern who turned into a worshipper of Bazal and his thirst for fame and glory into servitude of a vile demon. Also he killed our friends by exploding himself apparently. The Hern i got to know was a gloryhound too, but he was rather seeking to attain fame by deeds heroic rather then vile."

"And my twin form the other world saw fit to use torture to get informations out of you. You do the math."

He turns to Krashnix. "Sir Krashnix, please remember my conversation with Sir Kesh Senior. I meant every one word i said. For i grew up as the son of a concubine of a lesser davethran noble, Darrin Stillwater ro be more precise. And even if you two" he looks at Kizima and Lvina "may find it hard to imagine, life as a noble is not exactly the feast of decadent pleasures you might imagine."

"Perhaps you don't care about the countless people, peasants and artisans, scholars and crafters who did and still do suffer from the scourge that Vellan Zere inflicted upon us all. By summoning a demon god to forge his empire, he condemmed all of Davethra to an existance in Goramesh on earth."

He turns to Kizima with a sudden glare that more then rivals Kizima's "You may not care about my people suffering, but i do. Oh yes, i am a so-called 'noble' my blood is tainted by that of fiends and demons, but YOU of all people ough to know better then to judge people by their heritage. Or should i assume that you are an avid worshipper of Siltharis, seeing that you know his sacred language so well ?"

"Maybe you are content with living off the wealth others provide by their labours.... oh yes, you are only taking from the rich who stole their loot from the honest people... tell me Kizima, did you ever donate to anything other then the Kizima-wellbeing fund ? Did you ? It didn't even occur to you to care about having your companions raised... until you were practically pushed into it. Did you only agree to this expedition because you didn't want to appear to be a cold-hearted bitch who doesn't give a rats ass about her friends demise ?"

"I grew up seeing deceit and death and murder and torture all around me. People killing each other over petty insults, or worse, killing and torturing others beloved, only to get back at them them."

He glares at Livina again "My own mother was torn from our side and thrown into the slave pits when i was but a child because of some intrigue that was meant to hurt my sire. And someone of your ilk had a hand in it. So don't expect any sympathy for your loss of a friggin toe !"

"And did it every occour to any of you that i might not be doing this because i like running around in disguise, trying to keep my true self secret, lest i might end up on a scrifical altar ?"

"When i was a small child i had ample time to read. So i did. Old books, never really studied history in a professional sense, yet i still learned a lot. Lo and behold, the old texts told amazing stories of times in which people were not making each other's lives hell.... times and places where knights and kings served their people as leaders and protectors. Where brave knights would do battle to fiends and demons instead of serving them. Where wise scholars would keep the legends and lore of their people alive, for all to learn and benefit from them."

"Only i had to learn to keep those sentiments to myself. Yesterday you said that kind nobles are rare. And i sais, true, they tend to suffer appaling rates of attrition. I have seen so many who died for as much as voicing an opinion like 'maybe it is not such a good idea to summon yet another batch of demons' ."

"Yea, i learned to hide my true self under layer after layer of lies and stories, deceptions and..... *sigh* of course when someone like archmage Govan turns his vile gaze on you, no deception can hold."

"Suffice to say, i was given the choice to serve him in life or death. If anyone of you can blame me for choosing life, go ahead... GO AHEAD !"

Orin practically shouts those last words at Livina and Kizima alike, snarling and fists clenched.

"Neither of you has ANY RIGHT to llok down on me, or anyone else for that matter. You made your choices and you choose to live off the misery of others !"

"But when i was set forth to get that accursed artifact... when i got to see live outside of the court for the first time in my entire life.. when i met Sumner and Khorik and Hern and even Gareth.... suddenly... suddenly i realized that i wasn't alone... i found that there were others who also had that dream about this land being returned to a place where living in is not hell on earth.. no archmages killing off thousands of innocents in their proxy wars instead of facing each other to do battle like honourable people, no fear of knocks to the door in the dead of night, no more sacrifices to summon even more demonspwan into our world..."

"Sumner and Khorik, both nobles, both knights and warriors, they meant to put an end to all the suffering, to restore an empire, not made of Gothul's or any other demons vile power but of mens own courage and hope. Yes, they were prepared to help one of the archmagi, better one of them ruled then 6 of them grinding our land into ash between them...."

"And then we met Azakan.... Azakan Zere, a true son of the demon emperor himself. And he too wanted to restore our poeple to their rightful place of freedom, under no rule other then of their fellow men. But.... well, you know what happened."

"But i still have hope that people like Sumner Kesh and Khorik Nulliop, people like Hern and maybe even such unlikely heroes as Garteh Spellwirght, shopkeeper and crafter of magic trinkets might, just might make a difference in this world."

"And that is why i will do all i can to bring them back, so that they can live ! That they can live to fight Ravan, Govan and all the other monsters who tear this land and their people apart ! If all you care for is your own petty greed, fien, go ahead, use your spoils from this expedition to buy yourself a mansion and a bunch of slaves for all i care... but so help me if you should dare to put your greed above the one hope of deliverance my people might yet have ...."

He does not finish his sentence but he is clearly seething with barely suppressed rage as he shifts his glare between Kizima and Livina.

Lycar

[The Great Skenardo]

Livina Lightfoot
As Akim's speech runs its course, Livina's face switches emotion almost as often as Orin switches subjects. At the end, her expression is an odd one; incredulity, outrage, and curiosity, certainly, but partly something else.
"...They're all you've got, aren't they?" she says, at length, holding Orin's gaze.
"Your words. You throw enough of them, and a few of them should strike home, am I right? Well, screw you. Screw you with your own high horse. I don't care what you and your bodyguards are gonna do, five, ten, fifty years down the line and it's not even relevant here. We're both here just to earn the scratch to get our friends brought back. My issue was that apparently you are the double of a man I hold a personal grudge against. But you're not him. Fine; I'm not gonna kick you. But you can take your judgments and your insults and your soap box and cram them up your ass, if you can find room for them next to that stick you have up there. Now c'mon; I've wasted enough of my life listening to you talk."
She tosses the wig back at Orin, and then walks to Rego and the mule.
"I'm still going along; bringing people back is expensive."

[Brickwall]

Kizima

Kizima watches Livina go. She turns to Akim with a big grin on her face.

"Fun fact: throwing accusations at people doesn't work when they totally miss the mark." The grin fades, but at least she doesn't seem angry anymore. "I have friends who are going to need their lives and some new equipment. That's going to cost an old dwarf some trinkets. Feel free to stay out here and die, worthless as you are, but you're too pathetic to harm so long as you stay out of our way." She does an about-face and jogs a bit to catch up with Livina.

[Moechi_Vill]

Lucidae

"Everything ends. If you truly have that many friends to be raised..."
Lucci follows Rego.

[Lycar]

Orin still glares after Livina and Kizima as they walk off.

But then his expression softens and turns into a strange mix of sadness and .. pity.

He gets moving himself and as he does so, starts to recite.

" Courage

We know what now hangs in the balance.
We understand what is happening.
Our clock is striking the hour of courage.
And our courage will never desert us.
We do not fear to be struck dead,
Nor feel bitter at losing our homes.
But we will defend our davethran speech;
And guard you, great davethran tongue.
Free and untarnished, we will carry you through
And save you from bondage, for our children, forever. "

And he continues, softly "It rhymes in the original dwarven. Just took the liberty to change it to fit my sentiment, but what this ancient dwarven warrior wrote down before he marched off to do battle to the fiends enslaving his people sums up my own feelings very well.[/COLOR]"

"You are wrong Livina. I do not only have my words. I also have my dreams and hopes. As wretched as my existance may be, i still have something to live for."

"Do you ?"

Orin accelerates his steps until he is with Rego and he puts his arm around Rego's shoulder and smiles at him.

"Don't worry master Vel, i gave you my word to accompany you on your expedition and i intend to uphold it. I'll be happy to help you fulfill your dream. And if by doing so, i happen to help fulfill my own, where's the harm ?"

Lycar

[Ozzy_G]

Rego looks incredibly relieved. So we're all going to the tomb now? He starts to perk up, and wipes his eyes.
You plod on through the rain, as fog starts to gather. It isn't long before you can only see 30 foot ahead of you maximum.
Damn, how are we supposed to find the damn thing in this fog? curses Rego.
Then suddenly, a squat tower rears up out of the mist. It's design is strange and exotic, and it appears to be made entirely of iron, yet isn't rusty.
Above the door are letters in a strange alphabet.
This is it! shouts Rego excitedly. See, the letters say "Here lies King Re'zuk'net 7th South-East Protectorate". Now we just have to get in.

[Brickwall]

Kizima

Kizima stretches and cracks her knuckles. Without a word, she goes about crawling around the door space, searching for anything obvious...traps and locking mechanisms alike.

[Moechi_Vill]

Lucidae

"Mind if I keep your clothes for pillow, cushion and bedroll miss Livina?" Lucci asks the halfling. She is in the process of stripping down to the shift she was in earlier. Once the other clothes are off she'll put on her old set over the sacrificial white as underwear. Then she'll settle down on the ground with Livina's old clothes as pillow and comfort unless she wants them back. Lucci tries to get some rest, hoping that the Mokai will fail her duty for the time being.

[The Great Skenardo]

Livina Lightfoot
"Don't you dare patronize me, you ass." Livina snaps at Orin's question on the road.
***

Looking up at the iron tower, Livina gives a low impressed whistle.
"For some reason, I was expecting it to be all underground," she remarks to no one at all. With a shrug, she begins helping Kizima search about the threshold for tricks and traps and triggers.
"Hey, Rego?" she calls, "any...historical accounts of people going into dwarf tombs before?"
She halts, though, as Lucci asks her question and turns to face her with rather a pained expression on her face.
"Uh, not the blouse. That set isn't actually travel clothes, see. I guess you can use the trousers, if you want..."

[Moechi_Vill]

Lucidae

"Sure. Thanks... !"
Lucci goes to sleep on a patch of grass or a rock really close to the rest of the party with the trousers as a pillow.

[Lycar]

Orin looks over the inscriptions himself, reading them, then looking around a bit to see if he can find more inscriptions.

Lycar

[Brickwall]

Kizima

Kizima lets out a sigh as she gives the front door a glance.

"Front door's trapped. From the inside, too. And miss teleporty here can't help us, since we'll have to deal with it on the way out, too, plus I can't be sure what else is on there. I'll have to slip some tools under there to work at the pressure mechanism. This is the kind of thing I hate dealing with, but I suppose I'm not rushing to get done before guards come back. I should have it out of our way, since it's conveniently elevated for me. While I'm working, someone else figure out that Dwarven." She points to the inscriptions, then kneels down and pulls a box out of her backpack, one far too long to have fit in there without being noticed. She opens it and pulls out some oddly shaped instruments, lies prone, and goes to work.

[The Great Skenardo]

Livina Lightfoot
If Livina has learned anything, it's that too many cooks get horrible broth burns when it comes to disabling traps. She instead occupies herself by pacing around the edge of the tower, appraising it with a steeplejack's eye.

[Regwon]

Krashnix

During the entire incident Krashnix remains silent, occasionally chuckling to himself. Once they reach the tower he lets Kizima scurry around the door while he utters an incantation. Once Kizima is finished he walks up to the door and gently touches it, then beings to study the inscription.

Spoiler

Show

Casts comprehend languages then tries to read the door

[Ozzy_G]

While Kizima works, prodding and probing carefully under the door with her tools, Livina walks around the tower. It has no windows, and its wall seems to be a continuous piece of metal, which would make climbing straight up impossible. As far as she can see, there's no way in on the conical roof either though. There is no other door than the front one.
Kizima works for a few minutes, but since the closed door means she cannot insert her tools vertically, as she can only fit them through the small 2 cm gap, she doesn't seem to be able to disable the pressure plate.

[The Great Skenardo]

Livina Lightfoot
Livina completes her circuit of the tower.
"Damn. Tight as a casket. Any luck, Kizima?"

[Brickwall]

Kizima

Kizima utters a few words in her snakelike tongue, ones that even sound foul without translation. She stands up for a bit and dusts herself off.

"Piece of junk! With our luck setting this thing off will turn the tower into a horrible monstrous engine of destruction! I can try and work around the system by threading my tools in on wires and working there, but it will take a long time. I'd rather do that, but if anyone feels impetuous enough to go bursting in there, do feel free to stop me. Just warn me first so I can get a head start."

With that, Kizima sets about using some spare pieces of wire to wrap around some instruments, bending them in various shapes and slowly threading them through the door.

[The Great Skenardo]

Livina Lightfoot
The Mokai woman shrugs. "No real rush. With our shortcut, we should be in and out in a day or two, yeah?" She wanders off and locates a flat stone at the edge of the mists and takes a seat. Rummaging around in her now bulging pack, she retrieves a small flute and tries a few notes on it.

[Ozzy_G]

Rego licks his lips nervously at Livina's suggestion. Um, do we want to use that short-cut again? I mean, you nearly died, and this time the cultists will be expecting us, won't they?

Ignoring the chatter of her companions, Kizima carefully threads her bits of wire into the slits in the floor around the pressure pad. Meanwhile, Krashnix, Orin and Rego study the words on the door. It takes a while, and a lot of is quite boring, but basically it seems that this Dwarf, Re'zuk'net, was born the youngest son of a noble family, but his older brothers were all "devoured by daemons of lust that they could not control," whatever that means, leaving him as the heir to being in charge of this area. While the words extol the great achievements of his reign, from what you can tell all he did was put down a few little rebellions by human peasant-slaves, and build a fancy temple to someone called "Zurascan the Putrescant", which is a rather odd title for a God, but maybe that's normal for Dwarven Gods. The Dwarven word for God it seems also is the word for Daemon, which is a bit confusing. It seems that what Re'zuk'net really liked was scholarship, and that he spent most of his reign, as well as huge amounts of money, working to death thousands of slaves, to construct a great underground chamber that would power the summoning of the "towers of eternity" whatever those are. Unfortunately, he died before he could finish it, and his son (who seems to be the writer, and you get the impression thought his dad was a boring old geezer who wasted his life reading books when he could have been partying) buried him in it, and built this tomb over it in the traditional manner.

Eventually, Kizima feels a give, as her wires push the small lever out from under the plate. Stepping on it now should hopefully not do anything at all.

All that has to be done now is open the door.

[The Great Skenardo]

Livina
Livina tips her flute towards Rego and winks, "Sure, but there's fewer of them now, and they're scared of us." she says.

[Brickwall]

Kizima

Once again getting up and brishing herself off, Kizima switches out her tools and gets to work on the locks.

[Ozzy_G]

It doesn't take long for Kizima to move the segments of the lock insides around with her tools, until there is a click, and then the doors swing silently inside. It's rather odd how quiet they are, no creak at all.
Inside is... a large, empty room.
As your eyes adjust, you see that in the middle of the room, there is a circular hole, with a spiral staircase going down.

[The Great Skenardo]

Livina Lightfoot
Livina jumps up from her seat as the door clicks open.
"Nice lock-work, Kizima!"
She hastily stows her flute away and wanders to the threshold.
Stepping lightly over the disabled pressure-plate, Livina circles the room once, just looking around.

[Ozzy_G]

Livina walks around the room... and bumps into something.
Nok sava frek grun, says a voice.
Krashnix, Lucci and Orin recognise this as Dwarven.

Spoiler

Show

It means "Please don't do that again."

She can't see anything at all. But whatever it was felt pretty hard.

[Brickwall]

Kizima

Kizima goes into the room as well, and jumps when she hears the voice.

"Livina, please tell me you've just caught a cold or something, and that was you."

[The Great Skenardo]

Livina Lightfoot
Livina rubs her shoulder and looks around nervously as she backs away.
"Ooo-kay. That sounded like "Begone or I'll fill your bones with molten lead." Maybe we should come back later? "