Age of Ruin IC: When all your friends are dead

[Lycar]

Orin listens to the stranger, smiling and nodding now and then. Some small voice at the back of his head tries to get his attention, but he dismisses it for now.

"Ah yes, the fog. A quite peculiar phenomenom but apparently harmless enough. How long did you travel this mist you said ?"

"Ach, our tale isn't much to talk about. A scholar and researcher of dwarven history hired us to to help him explore this tomb. But somehow he got lost, we got attacked by a guardian golem and now there is a magic barrier blocking the way to the lower level."

Orin shrugs apologetically. The voice at the back of his head is getting louder. It's starting to give him a headache....

"You probably saw your little camp, tent and mule and everything and decided to investigate, yes ?"

(You DID see our mule, didn't you ?!) screams the voice in Orin's head...


Lycar

[Moechi_Vill]

Lucidae

"I'm Lucienne - Sir Tharok, pleased to meet you." the young woman sitting on the floor answers you insincerely.
She's blond, green irises framed by a lean human face and appears to be somewhat short even on the floor, a diminutive build, clothed in dark sturdy leather boots and dark blue socks, a wide red hat sporting a white feather and a deep maroon dress that flows neatly over her bosom and around her hips, exposing only a hint of pale flesh below her neck and an amber shirt.

The clothes must have remained hidden in her pack yesterday. She edges over to him on her shins and knees in shuffling motions, childlike hand reaching out of her ample dress to pull his fingers up and down in greeting.

[MattKatt]

Tharok shook the short womans hand gingerly I never knew women in these lands could be so...short then turned his attention back to Orin

I have been traveling for three days now, but the fog only appeared yesterday. Does it usualy turn this color in these lands? I continued my journey until I came upon this tower. I would have passed it by had it not been for your small encampment outside.

He took another look around the room.

What barrier bars your passage, my friend?

[The Great Skenardo]

Livina Lightfoot
Livina re-enters the tower but lingers in the doorway, leaning nonchalantly against the doorframe. She stays quiet as she scrutinizes the newcomer.

[Lycar]

Tharok took another look around the room.

What barrier bars your passage, my friend?

"Oh, that is hard to explain really... i recommend you try it yourself. Just pick up any of these two legths of rope and follow it ... it is quite self-explanatory really. Just hard to explain."

Orin smiles and gestures at the two ropes lying on the ground.

As soon as Tharok looks the other way, Orin tries to catch Livina's expression.

(... does she look like everything is okay or is she just ...)

Lycar

[The Great Skenardo]

Livina Lightfoot
Livina shrugs, her slim shoulders rising and falling beneath her travel-stained cloak. She taps the toe of her boot on the stone floor absently, and tries to keep her gaze away from the sticky red smear where Kizima had once lain.

[Regwon]

Krashnix

Krashnix, who has been sat on the floor deep in a meditative trance, bearly notices the stranger come in. After a few minutes he shakes his head as if clearling away cobwebs and rises to his feet. He then turns to the newcomer, one eye brow raised.

Greetings Tharok, son of Thaven of the Car San tribe. As Akim rightly pointed out I am Krashnix Dreamscape, devout follower and militant of Isana. Where exactly do you hail from? I am not familiar with the name Car San.

Spoiler

Show

Krashnix stands slightly over six foor tall. He has shoulder length dark red hair and a beard of the same colour. He is wearing a deep blue robe decorated with flame patterns and a large bird shaped of fire on the front. There is a similar design on the large shield that is strapped to his arm. A wicked looking mace hangs from his belt.

[MattKatt]

Tharok smiles at Krashnix. My tribe is far from here, in the mountains in the south-east. Vey rarely do my people travel from our home.

He turned his attention to the staircase with the rope, I fail to see how a simple set of steps could hinder a group of people such as this, picked up one end, and started to walk down the stairs.

[Lycar]

Orin smiles encouragingly at Tharok as he goes on to pick up the ropes and try the stairs himself.

As soon as he does so, however, Orin darts over to Livina and asks her in an urgent whisper. "I hope everything is all right out there ?"

Lycar

[The Great Skenardo]

Livina Lightfoot
Livina shrugs again.
"Yeah, looks okay. I mean, there's still pink mist, but..." She tilts her head in Tharok's direction.
"What about him?"

[Ozzy_G]

Tharok walks into the pink mist, straight forwards... and then out again. Somehow he has got turned around. He's now got all the rope.

[Lycar]

Orin seems to be somewhat relieved. "Well, that's good. Still, maybe it would be prudent to get our stuff inside where we can have an eye on it.. who know who or what shows up here next. About our new friend, well..."

Since Tharok reappears from the stairs just now, Orin returns his attention to him quickly.

"You see ? It is quite an amazing effect really. Unfortunately, we have to bypass it somehow you wouldn't happen to have an idea ? No ? He, so what is your area of expertise then ?"

Lycar

[The Great Skenardo]

Livina Lightfoot
"Yeah," Livina chimes in. "Our employer is down there, we think, and there's some traps and extra doors and other riddly crap like that."

[Ozzy_G]

Suddenly, the ground seems to shift, and you are all thrown on your faces. You hear a startled ee-aw from outside, and the mule runs inside. The door slams shut behind it.
The ground stops rocking after a few seconds. Everything is quiet once more.

[The Great Skenardo]

Livina Lightfoot
"..."
Livina pulls herself off the ground slowly and carefully, feeling the dark air above her head to make sure it doesn't contain spikes. Slowly, she straightens up. With the door closed, the room was abysmally dark.
"A-Anyone there?"

[Lycar]

Orin raises himself from the ground and holds his staff high.

(Fortuntaely i cast the light cantrip on my staff before exploring the stairs...)

"Oh well, seems like the mule took care of itself..."

With a fatalistic sigh, Orin walks over to the door and tries to open it, fully expecting it to be stuck.

Lycar

[Moechi_Vill]

Lucidae

"Let's go downstairs!" Lucci says fatalistically and gets up on her feet, brushing down her clothes.

[MattKatt]

Tharok rises from the floor, brushing himself off. "Car den cara dar! What was that?"

He strides over to the door and tries to help Orin open it.

While doing so, he turns his head back to the others. "It looks as if someone wants us to solve your little puzzle, my friends"

[Ozzy_G]

The door opens easily, it isn't locked or anything. Outside however, the tent canvas with the bodies on is gone, as are the tents that were set up further away. The ground where they were has no grass, it's just earth. But everywhere looks exactly the same. There are a couple of small rocks and unusual flowers in the same places, they don't seem to have been disturbed. Most of the rocks on the ground have been thrown around though.

[Lycar]

Orin breathes a deep sigh of relief as the doors open before him.

(... thank the gods for small favours. So it is not my fate to be entombed alive then...)

But then he looks around and realizes that the surroundings have changed, even though the changes are subtle.

Suddenly a sense of dread overcomes him and he staggers back from the door as if struck by a blow.

"No... no.... NOOOO ! This cannot be ! This MUST NOT BE!"

"Where are the tents ? Where are the dead ? What hapened this time ?!"

Lycar

[MattKatt]

"Fear not, for perhaps there are signs of who has moved your camp"

Tharok moves past Orin and searches the ground, looking for any signs of movement.

[Regwon]

Krashnix

Hearing Orins cry Krashnix walks over the the door. Seeing the barren patches of earth outside a puzzled look comes over his face.

This is most strange. I doubt anyone removing our small camp by hand would have the inclination, let alone the ability, to scour the earth where our belongings and companion lay. Some kind of magic has been used here, but i cannot think of a reason why. It is possible the cultists have used foul sorceries to steal them away, but why would be direct their attention against the dead and not the living? This is most bizzare.

One corner of his mouth displayes the very faintest hint of a smile.

[Moechi_Vill]

Lucidae

Lucienne walks up between Krashnix and Akim as they head outside.
"We are obviously on another plane now. This is broadly called 'dimension' travel among scholars of my homeland." Lucci says with dead eyes, her voice betraying a flicker of amusement.

"Or it could be something else, but it is certain this is no longer your home so to say. Going along with my intuition I believe you will find things roughly the same albeit eerily unfamiliar."

"God must have heard the prayers of my youth and granted me adventure." Lucienne taps the dewy, mist soil of the Earth with her boot.
"Let's go adventure. Shall we?"
"I know you wish to bring your comrades back to life?" she says with concern at Akim. "But you should have listened to me long ago. You are far too unpragmatic. On the bright side, maybe Rego Vel is out here.."

[The Great Skenardo]

Livina Lightfoot
Livina bites her lip.
"Um, when I was washing my hands earlier, I noticed that the grass was writhing, even though there wasn't any wind. Did the grass just...get up and go?"
She turns to look at the others, her dark eyes showing worry.
"And what scared the mule so bad it ran into a building that smells like death? If you've even been around mules much...they don't do that."
She bites her fingernail.
"And...the ground rumbled. And the building shook. We're way out of our depth here."

[Lycar]

Orin just stares ahead for a few moments.

"... then we must leave. Cut our losses. Get away from here while we still can. Is that what you are saying? Admit defeat and move on to fight another day?"

Lycar

[The Great Skenardo]

Livina Lightfoot
Livina looks around.
"Yeah, that's pretty much what I'm saying. Except for the "fight another day part; screw this adventuring stuff." She crosses her arms and rolls her shoulders.
"When we get back? I'm retiring."

[Lycar]

"... first we need to find out when and where we are... call me paranoid but... on the other hand, working as an aide to a magus in ralm wasn't exactly a safe occupation either."

Taking a look at one of the spots where the tents used to stand, Orin goes on "If the last time by backpack got missing is any indication, we might be in for some surprises. I'd rather go into the ruins and fight cultists. At least those i can fight, however inadequatly. But against this ..". He gestures to indicate the general surroundings.

"*sigh* Done packing. Anytime you want now."

Lycar

[The Great Skenardo]

Livina Lightfoot
Livina pokes around the dirt where the tents had stood, albeit nervously.
nudging aside a few clods of dirt, she finds a few bent metal spikes with ropes.
Our tents? but what...
she tugs at the ropes for a moment, and then finds that they go directly into the ground.
She straightens up, hurriedly.
"I think something popped out of the ground, grabbed all our stuff, and just dragged it down. Don't ask me why there isn't a tunnel, but that's what it looks like...unless there was a sinkhole? but that wouldn't scare the mule mindless."
She casts one more glance around the landscape and tightens the sash on her traveling clothes, her quick brown hands working fast.
"Let's get the hell out of here."
So saying, she seizes the reins of the mule and begins walking at a brisk pace, back in the direction of the ruins.

[MattKatt]

Tharok surveys the ground for a few moments before raising up again.

"Hmm...strange...its appears as if the ground opened up and swallowed your camp whole...but only your camp. The rest of the land is undisturbed..."

"...Dor vere kal, kelish"

He chuckled lightly at his own joke before turning back to the group

"Your friend is right. It would be best if we all left this area as soon as we can"

[Lycar]

Orin

"No objections on my part. Let's go."

(Sorry Rego. If i knew a way to help you i would.)

Orin starts to walk off for the ruins briskly himself. He is not happy about how this turned out. But at least he now should have the funds to raise the one man, he believes could help him make his dream reality.

Lycar