Age of Ruin IC: When all your friends are dead

[Lycar]

Orin

Orin fidgets around, nervously.

"Soo... back to trying to outrun the fog then? We already lost at least a week. Isn't it already too late to have our friends raised?"

(If only... i truly hope that Sumner Senior....)

Lycar

[Moechi_Vill]

"Cleric, please roll the dice again now if it is possible or later if you must wait for going into the fog."

She turns to Orin and states blankly: "If it is too late to have your friends raised I will only make good the ten thousand your priest billed me. What is the charter of your group?"

Lucci falls quiet for a moment. "Is this an adventuring group... or is there some overarching non-materialistic ideological purpose behind raising funds to ressurect your friends?"

[The Great Skenardo]

Livina Lightfoot
Even here in the shadow of a screaming tower made of spikes, Livina has a particular set of objectives and priorities:
"Oh, hell no! Don't get him started on his quest!" she waves her hands almost pleadingly at Lucci.
"Haven't you been listening? Orin here is off to save the world. Me, I'm just settling my debts, and then I'm getting out of this game; it's too full of magic for me."

[Moechi_Vill]

Lucci smiles back at Livina. "Motley group of strangers..."

[MattKatt]

((I feel that, in order to progress the story past "mindfull bickering" I need to enact a classic internet phenomenon))

Tharok started to get angry. "I cannot belvie this. While your companion is in danger, you suggest turning from the fight? You hold not the true spirit of the warrior!"

Tharok raises his sword high and points at the monsterous building

"Come! We must save your friend from his dire fate! The spirits shall protect our every step and guide our hand to crush the enemies that stand before us!"

Grasping his sword in both hands, Tharok charges towards the gaping maw

"LERRIIIIIS JAKINOOOOOOOR!!!"

[Moechi_Vill]

Lucidae

Lucci watches the man charge into the prophesied doom of the temple with a mixure of shock and increasingly sardonic expression.
"Our new accomplice is obviously insane." she huffs. "I am not following him in there against the advice of flamejoy's god."
"Shall we plot a route back to the temple or at least out of the clouds?" I am certain we can live off the land for long enough to make it to civilization or the inquisitor's next augury."

She glances with disinterest at Akim. "Or are you going to demand that we save another life?" she looks away. "Sometimes it feels like you are trying to be someone else."

Looking over the group Lucci lets out an exasperated sigh and spreads out her arms, grasping the purple air with her slender fingers. "If you had acted on someone sensible like me Kizima would be alive and I would have fetched you today with teleport... or better yet we would have gone straight back to whatever it is you call civilization. And what do I get for that and being a bit squeamish in combat? Death threats!"

"Now if you were all heroes it would make more sense for us to charge on into whatever danger is ahead like this... Tyrok. But instead I find this party to be impotently and dangerously inefficiently attached to the middle ground represented so aptly by Sir Orin, parttime hero, parttime coward."
"Is your heart on timeshare?"
Lucci casts her hand in the air as if to cast a spell.
"I decree whatever it is you decide now goes for the future. We follow him, we act like heroes. We let the intellectually inferior to his fate and we be pragmatists with our own interests first in this world and we figure out our loyalties to each other over time."

"You fear death far too much." she adds with a low voice.
"Humans do not like fulfilling lives." she states, as if currently a teneous assumption.
~~or perhaps they are afraid of whatever awaits them in the afterlife~~

"My augury is that we will follow the man for lack of a clear alternative and dubious idealistic loyalty to his creature comforts and subsequently have our ranks decimated by what fate lies in wait." Lucci concludes spitefully and sarcastically but with some humour lilting in at the end.

"Or perhaps even something about how it is the best option to return things to normality. I might agree with you there Livina." she says to herself.
"Or a desire to locate the source of this evil and cleanse it in flames."

"Ethics and morality or listening to an experienced person with an aversion to risks unecessary to her and which she does not understand that have evolved to a point where none no longer do?" Lucci plaintively states, theatrically folding her outstretched arms and spreading her fingers out below her neck around the collarbones. "All we need to do is trust in the fire goddess and the hope that another few hours in this mist will not harm us or attract enemies."

[Ozzy_G]

While Lucci makes her speech, Tharok runs towards the tower, charging at the gaping maw. The eyes of Rego's great golden face look down at him, and the mouth closes, a twist of puzzlement on it. Suddenly, out of the ground, tentacles of earth shoot out and twist around Tharok.

[Ozzy_G]

While Lucci makes her speech, Tharok runs towards the tower, charging at the gaping maw. The eyes of Rego's great golden face look down at him, and the mouth closes, a twist of puzzlement on it. Suddenly, out of the ground, tentacles of earth shoot out and twist around Tharok.

[Lycar]

(Lucidae) glances with disinterest at Akim. "Or are you going to demand that we save another life?" she looks away. "Sometimes it feels like you are trying to be someone else."

Orin just stares mutely as Tharok gets grabbed by the tentacles.

One eyelid twitches for a moment.

"Now if you were all heroes it would make more sense for us to charge on into whatever danger is ahead like this... Tyrok.

"Tharok. His name is Tharok."
Orin states that as a matter of fact but his voice carries a strange edge. Strange because it never before did.

But instead I find this party to be impotently and dangerously inefficiently attached to the middle ground represented so aptly by Sir Orin, parttime hero, parttime coward."
"Is your heart on timeshare?"
Lucci casts her hand in the air as if to cast a spell.
"I decree whatever it is you decide now goes for the future. We follow him, we act like heroes. We let the intellectually inferior to his fate and we be pragmatists with our own interests first in this world and we figure out our loyalties to each other over time."

Orin takes his eyes off Tharok and the tentacles for a moment and looks at his staff, weighting it thoughtfully. Then he ramms it into the ground in front of him. The next thing he does is retrieving the wakizashi shortsword he had been hiding along his tight all the time.

It was getting uncomfortable anyway.

"You fear death far too much." she adds with a low voice.
"Humans do not like fulfilling lives." she states, as if currently a teneous assumption.
~~or perhaps they are afraid of whatever awaits them in the afterlife~~

"Not anymore. No more fear. No more FEAR. NO MORE FEAR!" Orins voice ends in a yell. If of confidence or of madnes, it is hard to say.

Orin grimmaces and looks back at Livina "If you see Sumner, tell him: We can change our Ne'sha. He'll know what i mean. Now excuse me, i need to do something stupidly heroic."

Then he takes off, towards Tharok and the tentacles and certain doom.

Lycar

[Moechi_Vill]

"Its better then dying as a sacrifice." Lucci states.
She moves to get in range with a fireball spell.

[Ozzy_G]

Orin charges forward, and another strand of earth shoots out of the ground and wraps around him.
The giant golden face stares at the two struggling men, looking slightly confused.

[Lycar]

Orin tries to evade the wriggling tentacles but they grab him anyway.

"Let me go you daft fool! Rego Vel! Come to your senses already dammit!"

Orin struggles and tries (ineffective) to ram his shortsword into the tentacle around him.


Lycar

[Moechi_Vill]

"So it is a diplomacy game, ne?" Lucci splurges, after stopping in her tracks. She backs off a bit until she is out of range. "Let them go Rego!"

[Ozzy_G]

The great golden face opens its mouth and speaks.
Why... you... attack?

[MattKatt]

Tharok struggles in the clutches of the tentacle

"We are...here...to rescue Rego...from the evils *grunt* of this place..."

[Moechi_Vill]

Lucci watches with interest after backing off another few steps.

[The Great Skenardo]

Livina Lightfoot
Little tempted to match wits or blades with the mask, Livina simply stands, holding onto the mule tightly.

[Ozzy_G]

Rego... I Rego?
How...
The face closes its eyes. The mist thickens, the earth shudders, and Orin and Tharok are thrown to the ground as the tentacles writhe in the air. In a matter of seconds, the mist is too thick for anyone to see further than a few centimetres, and you cannot see each other. There is a loud cracking sound, and some sort of unearthly scream.

[Moechi_Vill]

Lucidae

Lucci huddles down on the ground, wrapping her arms around her head, after recasting the shield spell to cover her from above.

[Lycar]

"Gah! .... Ouch!"

Orin gets thrown to the ground and is momentarily disoriented as he tries to regain his bearings. The all-consuming fog isn't helping either.

(Ah well... seems like there is still a bit of him left in there after all... oh i hope he knows his history well...)

"Rego! Rego Vel, listen to me! Remember the story of the stout king? Listen to me:"

Orin goes on and recites the poem about the mad dwarven king in a loud and clear voice. Also he hopes to be facing in the direction of the tomb.

Can't be sure about that with all the fog around him.

(Come on, come ooon.. snap out of it... maybe, if i get closer...)

He tries to cautiously make his way towards the tower.

Lycar

[Ozzy_G]

You lie blind, stumbling about in the mist for a few minutes, strange roaring sounds muffled but still audible. The ground shakes and throws you around.
Then it stops. The mist evaporates, everything is eerily silent.
Where the tower was is a broken ruin, a pile of stones. Lying face down in front of it is a naked man, unconscious.
You can see that the expanse of grassland around you contains many patches of freshly turned earth, and there are several strange humps of rock sticking out.
It seems to be about mid day, the sun is shining brightly in the clear sky, and you can see the mountains of Dar Ven far to the south-east.

[Lycar]

Orin looks around frantically as he scrambles to his feet.

"The fog? Is gone! Haha, i did it! Yes!"

Beaming brightly, he sheathes his sword again. He somehow manages to make the 'thunk' it produces as it slides home sound satisfied.

As if he just single-handedly slew a dragon or something.

"What do you say now about the power of the word? Eh? Eh?"

Finally noticing the prone figure lying in front of what used to be the tower,
(Wait a moment... stone? Wasn't that thing metal?) he quickly moves over to it.

"Rego Vel, is that you? Ha, you did it!"

Spoiler

Show

Orin will go and check out the prone figure, fully expecting to find Rego. He hopes that Rego is still alive and just k.o.ed or something.

(Guess those patches of turned earth are worth digging at too... oh well, first things first... come on Rego, be alive, pretty please ?)

Lycar

[Ozzy_G]

Orin goes and looks at the man, who is indeed Rego. He shakes him, but is unable to rouse him. He can feel the scholar's pulse though, and hear him breathing.

[The Great Skenardo]

Livina Lightfoot
With the scholar's collapse, Livina walks warily towards where the tower had stood, peering down.
"Huh. Well...I guess we got him out. Can someone get him a coat or something, please?"

[Moechi_Vill]

Lucidae

Lucci gets up from her position and watches the proceedings from a sitting position, watching Orin for a bit.
She walks up to him, looking down at the naked Rego. "You may be nasty sometimes Orin, but your courage is not civilian. I think I might be willing to follow you around on adventures and become braver like you (as my courage failed) if you keep it up."
She doesn't seem to be bothered by the nudity.

[Lycar]

Orin

"Oh well, i'd love to share my cloak with Rego, except, i don't have a cloak. And my spare clothes are in my backpack. Which is in the tent. Which is in the ground. But then again, there are a few likely places to go looking for it. Oh but where did you put Kizima's backpack? She had a bedroll in there. Better then nothing."

Orin takes another look at Rego.

(Hm. He doesn't look hurt. Nothing that a cure spell could heal anyway.)

"Well, Sir Krashnix? If you happen to posess any curative powers that might rouse master Vel from his slumber, would you kindly use them on him? In the meantime, i'll go and try to recover my belongings from their earthen embrace."

He turns to Tharok for a moment too.

"Oh and Tharok? Thank you. Thank you for helping us escape from the mad kings curse. Thank you for helping me escape from my curse. I owe you. We all owe you."

Orin bows to Tharok slightly. And then he goes over to the mule and looks for a shovel. If he finds one, he will pick a mound of earth that he hopes corresponds to the former site of 'his' tent and starts digging. He does stop to retrieve his staff on the way though.

Lycar

[The Great Skenardo]

Livina Lightfoot
Livina crosses her arms. "I left the backpack with Kizima, remember? Someone thought it'd be a good idea for her to keep her stuff. And then the ground saved us the trouble of burying her."

[Moechi_Vill]

Livina Lightfoot
Livina crosses her arms. "I left the backpack with Kizima, remember? Someone thought it'd be a good idea for her to keep her stuff. And then the ground saved us the trouble of burying her."

Lucci looks with hostility at Orin for a moment, then takes off her own dark and blue cloak and clothes him in it, tying an accessory belt from within one of her pockets to fasten it around him.
"I have covered up his body. she addresses the group. Krashnix... carry him please. Now let us stop digging in the Earth and get out of here."

[Ozzy_G]

Krashnix picks up Rego and puts him over his shoulder.

[Ozzy_G]

Now that the mist is gone, you can see your own footprints leading off to the west, or rather your three sets of footprints from walking here, then back, then here again.