Streets of Atalya Volume Two: Tentacles

[Toliudar]

Daewell

Clearly, it's a good thing you'll be getting some exercise over the next few days, Terry.

Daewell joins in the general amusement, but also gazes quizzically at Kumaru's new possession.

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Detect-o-vision on Kumaru's leather case.

[ExHunterEmerald]

"I will replace your soap with a tanglefoot bag." Terry hisses.

[PolkaBear]

Tokugal Ardolin

Tokugal gave up all hope of maintaining an atmosphere of inquiry (which was hopeless anyway) and surrendered to his smile.

[boxboy582]

Vodette

Vodette jabs Terry in the ribs with her elbow as she tries to regain her breath. She wipes a tear from her eye and walks over to Dae and puts an arm around him.

Aw, come on Terry. He just has your best interests in mind. How terrible would it be if you suddenly dropped from a heart attack? Pretty terrible. So all he is saying is that it's good that we'll have exercise coming in the next few days. Isn't that right Dae?

She gives Dae an impish wink and giggles some more.

[Mike_Lemmer]

Horacio

"Next few days? I think some of us will be having exercise tonight."

He smirks.

[PolkaBear]

Tokugal Ardolin

"Is it that tough to get to your mentor's place, Horacio?"

[Mike_Lemmer]

Horacio

"Well, that too."

[WhammeWhamme]

"Ah, yes... exercise. Yes, we wouldn't want anyone to miss out on their exercise. That would be apalling."

[Magnus_Samma]

Kumoru's expression... well, the one he had before he started laughing his ass off... would probably described best as fatalistic. If you've ever seen a man looking at the hangman's noose, that was the look Kumoru had in his eyes.

His case doesn't resonate with magic. Though, anyone giving it a once over would probably realize that it looks a lot like a musician's instrument case.

Firethena, having hitherto been observing the goings on with some interest, seems to space out a little bit. "Hmmm, exercise..."

[boxboy582]

Vodette

Vodette glanced from person to person. Everybody seemed to be talking about something else all at the same time, and she didn't have the urge to find out what was really going on.

So has anybody found anything interesting? We just found those skeletons. They're interesting but not really handy.

She glances at the remaining skeleton. Sorry, but you're not.

[Mike_Lemmer]

Horacio

Horacio frowns as he sees the look in Kumoru's eyes.

Tahlion, can you contact Kumoru privately? Ask him what's got him worried? We might need to know before we head out.

Horacio will stand next to Kumoru and turn so Tahlion bumps against him, if necessary.

"Well, Firethena and I figured out a few tricks we can use in the future. As well as a few things we should watch out for."

Horacio looks at Daewell.

"We'll want some anti-scrying, for one... But most of it can wait. For now, we should get going. On nights like this, the shadows can get too long even for neer-do-wells.

"And what's so interesting about the skeletons? They're undead fashion critics?"

Horacio glances at Firethena when she trails off. "Uh, Firethena? Thought of something?"

[WhammeWhamme]

"Handy. I'll the let the full-fledged mage go over what he discovered, rather than steal his thunder, I think."

[Toliudar]

Daewell

The wizard is a bit flustered by Vodette's proximity, but simply smiles and nods.

At Dai's words, Daewell smiles, and sets down the cube with intricate magical runes on it.

Dai is being modest - it was a team effort. Nonetheless, onwards. He is carrying a set of stakes that seem to be designed to either create or amplify summoning efforts, perhaps as a kind of equivalent of a summoning circle, and perhaps considerably more than that.

This cube seems also to be focused on conjurations, although it's significantly more complicated. There are several spells woven together in it, and it will take some time to disentangle some of the threads woven through, unless Lady Firethena can unlock its secrets...

His glance to her is an invitation that can be picked up or left.

I believe that both are possibly connected to Gaudamus' efforts to reach - or reach out to - the realms beyond our known planes. I would like to find time to more carefully examine them in my own laboratory, perhaps tomorrow, if the lady is willing. They seem not to have responded to our touch, but the rest of you may learn more. The cube in particular is quite intricate, and Horacio's familiarity with tricks and objects might come in very hand y here.

He pauses.

Unfortunately, I have relied on protections my family maintains in our mansion, and have no anti-scrying spells at my beck and call. Unless we're willing to put our visit to Horacio's mentor off for a few days, I will be unable to assist in this regard.

Daewell shrugs apologetically.

[Mike_Lemmer]

Horacio

"Are those the school amplifiers you were talking about, right, Firethena?"

Horacio squints at the cube.

"I could look into that, but I could use some help on it. Yes, the three of us could pop it open in no time.

"And you may not have to wait that long, Dae. I'll see what I can rustle up tonight.

"And no putting off my mentor. I think she can help you find what you need..."

Horacio looks through the closet and points at a couple dark, shifty-looking cloaks, then looks back at his companions.

"Firethena, Gaudemus didn't keep any cursed cloaks in here, did he? We'll need 4-5 of them for the others."

Horacio looks at the others and gestures for them to take a dark cloak (if they don't have one) once Firethena gives the all clear.

[boxboy582]

Vodette

Vodette's head rears back in shock at what she just heard Horacio say. Surely she heard him wrong.

Uhhh, Horacio, cursed cloaks? Why would we need cursed cloaks? I thought cursed things were bad. Case in point: Kinslayer. He sucks.

[Toliudar]

Daewell

...souls, to be precise. And Horacio, I'd be delighted to head out to your mentor now - just wanted to give a heads up that I can't help with blocking prying eyes.

Trying on one of the cloaks, Daewell slips the hood up in an effort to pass for menacing. The fact that he's still grinning spoils the effect somewhat.

Well, I suppse that, if push comes to shove, I could just disappear entirely.

[Mike_Lemmer]

Horacio

"I'm making sure none of these are cursed, Vodette, not looking for them. And Kinslayer isn't cursed; he's just malevolent.

"Don't worry about it, Dae. Firethena will handle them for the trip there. And in case of trouble, I'd suggest you make me disappear entirely and act as bait. Two unseen swords in your vitals will ruin anyone's day."

Horacio's cloak is already suitably shady-looking.

[boxboy582]

Vodette

Vodette lets out a physical "phew" and nods her head. She grabs one of the cloaks and throws it over her shoulders. She adjusts her swords so that they sit behind the cloak. They're concealed from plain sight, but still readily available for battle.

[ExHunterEmerald]

Terry looks at Kinslayer and sags slightly. He runs a hand along the tattered remnants of his muted green cloak.
"...this isn't gonna work. Slayer, unless you feel like getting smaller, I'm gonna need to ghost along the whole way."
Had this damn cloak for ten years. I miss it already.

[WhammeWhamme]

"No that was your show.

Anyway, I need a shady cloak. Hmm..."

(rummages, finds one in backpack)

"There we go."

[Magnus_Samma]

Tahlion is silent for a moment, and then pipes up in Horacio's mind.

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It's not a catastrophe, but it's not great either. I'll wait for him to tell you, it's not my place to say.

Firethena snaps out of her reverie and looks over the objects Dai and Daewell have discovered.

"Yeah, you're right Horacio, this is exactly what I was talking about. Gaudemus wasn't that great at magic beyond blowing stuff up, so he used a lot of enhancing devices like this to improve spells he wasn't that great at, like summoning things. Now this..."

She taps the cube. "I really would have though he'd have taken this with him. This is the Allspark Cube. It contains tiny elemental fragments from every known plane in the great wheel. These fragments are called sparks. I never really knew why. It's probably one of the most powerful artifacts he had, short of Kinslayer. Basically what you do is trace the right sequence of runes on the thing with your fingers, and it will take you anywhere you want to go, or to anyone you want to see, in any of the other planes of existence. Handy, but hard to use right. Gaudemus had to do some pretty fast talking when he accidentally interrupted Pistis Sophia's shower."

She grins a little at the memory.

"I'm pretty sure he didn't have any enchanted cloaks. He wore the armor all the time, so he really didn't bother with cursing or otherwise magicking his clothes."

Bah, you're such a whiner. Here.

Kinslayer's crosshilts suddenly twist and spread, billowing outwards like bat's wings, and then folding to encircle Terry in a chilling embrace. There's barely any time for the young man to react before the sword has settled around his shoulders in a new shape, a floor-length cloak of the deepest black with a hem marred by the bloody runes, a shadowy hood covering his head and obscuring his face, and the broach holding the garment together a living eye, staring horrifically outwards from its place in front of his throat.

That work?

[Mike_Lemmer]

Horacio

Horacio thinks.

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Okay. Just making sure it isn't something we should know before we set out.

Horacio looks at the cube, grinning.

"So it's a map and gate for the entire wheel? Interesting. But why is it a cube instead of a sphere?"

Horacio just blinks as he watches Kinslayer transform.

That's... uh, nice, kind of. Tell me if you learn how to do that, will you, Tahlion?

"Not bad, Kinslayer, but I'd tone it down just a bit. Especially the eye. There's a fine line between looking dangerous and attracting exorcists."

Once everyone is ready, Horacio walks them to the door, then turns around to give them one final set of instructions. "Okay, follow my lead. We'll want to look shady once we reach the poor side of town to discourage trouble." Horacio switches to the telepathic links Firethena or Daewell have set up. Subtly keep on the watch and tell us telepathically if anyone's following us. We'll try to mislead them rather than get into a fight.

Horacio then opens the door and leads them to his Church through a convoluted route designed to throw off trackers.

Spot: 32, Listen: 24
Spot & Listen (thru Atalya) (1d20+17=32, 1d20+19=24)

[PolkaBear]

Tokugal Ardolin

Tokugal follows along, struggling to arrange the folds of the borrowed cloak in such a way as to convey the combination of strength, insignificance, and disreputability that would seem apropriate to their destination. Not as if Kinslayer's display wouldn't attract more than its share of attention.
He was impressed at Tahlion's apparent transformation; while not as flashy as Kinslayer's cloak trick, it still displayed the sword's utility. Tokugal also felt marginally more at ease now that he was not seeing an elven courtblade strapped to the side of a non-elf.

[boxboy582]

Vodette

Vodette follows along as well. She pulls the hood of her cloak over her head so that it casts a shadow across most of her face. She also allows some of her hair to fall over her eyes so that only one eye peers out of the hood. She does her best to look "shady". She walks closely behind Terry in hopes of Kinslayers menacing look would make her look more shady by association.

[ExHunterEmerald]

Terry flails a moment, but calms when he realizes what Slayer's doing. He attempts to blow the hood from over his eyes.
"...Gah. Is it supposed to feel like you're about to sprout teeth and eat my head?"

[Mike_Lemmer]

Horacio

Horacio shakes his head.

Why does Terry keep giving him ideas?

[WhammeWhamme]

"That looks unpleasant. Also, it is disconcerting to discover the sword is a master of disguise. It's not something one usually associates with soul-eating greatswords...

...anyway, we were going to see someone?"

[Magnus_Samma]

Yes, yes it #^@&ing is.

Kinslayer closes his eye and douses the runes a little, and the party continues on their way. Horacio leads them into one of the shadier areas of Atalya, though probably less shady than they had expected. After a good hour of wandering through sidestreets he eventually leads them into a small ethnic-looking establishment. Inside an elderly man with eastern features is sitting at a desk, smoking a pipe and reading what appears to be a spellbook.

"Ah, hello," he says. "What can I do for you young ones?"

"We're here for the special," says Horacio.

The old man's eyebrows hike up, and he gestures with his pipe at the doors behind him. One is orange, one is light gray, and the third is taupe. Horacio leads the rest of the party past the taupe door into a fairly large cubical room. Painted on the three walls not occupied by the door are murals of a blindfolded angel, a demon holding its ears, and a golem of some kind with a spike driven through its face, pinning its jaw shut.

As the door clicks closed behind them, there is the telltale scrape of stone against stone as the ceiling begins to slowly descend.

Horacio knows that

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the angel hides the correct hidden door, but he also knows the ceiling doesn't exert enough pressure to hurt a mouse, so he might just let the others figure things out for themselves if he's in a playful mood.

[Sorry that took so long. >_> Worst case of writer's block EVER.]

[Mike_Lemmer]

Horacio

As they enter the room, Horacio seems to relax a little. He appears to be grinning, even as he looks up at the lowering ceiling.

But then the grin disappears as he puts on his business face. He cracks his knuckles and pops his neck. Grabbing onto a handhold on the angel, he lifts himself up, flips open a secret compartment painted over by the blindfold, flips the right switch on it, causing a set of four slots to drop open on the angel's torso. He sticks his hands in two of them and twists the handles hidden inside, then steps back and waits for the door to open. When it does, he enters and motions for the others to follow.

As much as I'd like to see Dae panic, we don't have time for pranks...

[WhammeWhamme]

"See no good? Makes sense as the key to entry here.

Is that sense of humour going to be present later?"