Serious Plots 7: Why so srs?

[ChaoticHarmony]

Cyclopean Ruins

The Scorpion notices the rubies right after he freezes the puddles. Realizing that he won't have time to simply dodge them, the Scorpion quickly swings his pincers, knocking several rubies away from him and into others. This opening allows him to dash away, but only barely. "Daaaaaaamn, you boys are really stepping up! I'm gonna have to stay on my toes if I'm gonna successfully kill you I mean I would stay on my toes if I actually had them but being a scorpion, all I have are legs and little appendages that I guess could he considered feet but definitely no toes. I wonder what it would be like to have toes, all those wiggly....."

Since Tethrik missed Armonia's cue, he ends up crashing into Tethrik by mistake. "Agh!" Picking himself off of the ground, Armonia rubs his head, shaking it at Tethrik. "Yea.....great teamwork buddy..."

[bc56]

Cyclopean Ruins

"Let's try again. You circle left, I circle right." As he says it, Tethrik circles left. The contradiction should be obvious, but he can't tell Armonia what he really wants him to do, since the Scorpion would hear.

[ChaoticHarmony]

Cyclopean Ruins

Armonia watches Tethrik run to the left. Shrugging his shoulders at this contradiction, Armonia runs to the right. Believing Tethrik knows what he is doing, Armonia jumps at him once again when they begin to cross, daggers prepared to cut the Scorpion to ribbons.

The Scorpion races to the top of the cavern, and tenses his tail. "....wiggly digits that don't really have any use SAY what are the two of you doing? Ohohohoho more fun? Well it won't matter in a moment anyway I doubt you guys will survive this." the Scorpion's tail seems to swell slightly, slowly increasing in size.

[bc56]

Cyclopean Ruins
This time, Tethrik is ready. He catches Armonia, and immediately throws him at the Scorpion.

[ChaoticHarmony]

Cyclopean Ruins

Tethrik's incredible strength sends the lithe Armonia flying towards the Scorpion at incredible speed. The Scorpion, amazed by this and tensed by his own attack preparation, is unable to dodge out of the way. Once Armonia hits the peak of his flight, he slashes out at the Scorpion who is just within reach. The blades connect with the arachnid just as the Scorpion unleashes a torrent of icy water from his tail, dousing Armonia is frigid liquid. It is clear Armonia is frozen near solid as he plummets back toward the ground.

[bc56]

Cyclopean Ruins

Tethrik dashes to catch Armonia, conjuring flames in his hands to warm him back up.

[Murkus]

[Riverside Cavern]

Waving goodbye to Sticks, Jim conjures a little ball of light, letting Barnabas maintain it. He gingerly steps over the scraps, grip tight on his bident. Honestly while he's practiced with it, he's not sure he fully grasps how to actually use its power. Only time will tell.

[Riverside Cavern]

Michalson uses a perfectly normal, strong flashlight to peer into the gloom. The scraps of magic metal and leather just inside the entrance look uncomfortably like the remains of someone who either didn't make it very far in, or didn't make it out.

[Riverside Cavern]

Sticks will wave goodbye as well, and exchange a few words with Eschelle before she follows Michalson and Jim into the dark. Sticks will remain at the cave mouth until the trio disappears.

The featureless, raw cave walls are made of a dark and musty stone. Only one way leads forward, sloping down at a steady but not intraversible rate. The rippling floor is smooth enough in places that if one slipped, they might not be able to stop themselves tumbling down.

If they continue without stopping, Eschelle bringing up the rear or leading the way as requested, the party will come upon the source of the leather and metal scraps. A faintly humanoid figure with long, gangly limbs of rusting junk metal is lying in the passage. It lies limp and motionless, covered in a torn canvas hood and tunic that is reminiscent of Sticks own glamoured patchwork cape. The cowl hides any features of significance, but the being's hands end in long serrated claws meant for ripping and sawing.

[ChaoticHarmony]

Cyclopean Ruins

The Scorpion drops down as well, landing perfectly on his stand at the same moment Tethrik catches Armonia, ice slowly melting from his body as Tethrik's flames heat him up.
"WOW what a BLAST! Literally hohoho. I can't believe that guy is still ALIVE! Though just barely. Anyway, CONGRATS! You managed to hit me, and thus pass my trial, good luck against the other guys, they aren't as fun as me!" With a gleeful jump, the Scorpion dives into the stone stand with splash, turning it into a vortex of water, which slowly begins to suck up all of the puddles in the room. Soon the room resembles the main cavern, inky blackness with faint light. The vortex in the middle wavers, then its shape changes, until it resolidifies into a stone tablet, exactly the same as the one in the previous room. Instead of the bottom middle being black though, the exact center stone square is black.

[bc56]

Cyclopean Ruins

"Help me gather those rubies. They're worth a fortune." Tethrik begins scooping up the scattered rubies and placing them back in his pouch, once Armonia is warmed up.

[ChaoticHarmony]

Cyclopean Ruins

"O-o-oh s-s-s-sure, n-n-n-no p-p-p-problem." Armonia says, his entire body shivering from the cold wet mess that he currently is. "R-r-right d-d-d-down to b-b-business th-th-th-then." He begins slowly picking up the rubies scattered across the ground. Armonia slowly shakes his head while picking them up. "G-g-gods Tethrik.....w-why k-k-k-keep s-s-s-such a f-f-fortune on you? T-t-this is why I o-o-only c-c-carry a s-s-s-single gold p-p-p-p-piece on m-m-me." Armonia hands Tethrik the rubies he picked up, then rubs his arms to try to get some warmth into them.

[bc56]

Cyclopean Ruins

"Where I come from, they are not valuable at all, like your silver pieces." Tethrik looks quizzically at Armonia. He's seen Armonia throw at least five coins, so he couldn't be always carrying only one.

[ChaoticHarmony]

Cyclopean Ruins

"It's g-g-gold, not s-s-silver, and i-i-i-it's only one so th-th-th-the singular w-w-will suffice. Why d-d-do you h-h-h-have them if they aren't w-w-w-worth anyth-th-th-thing?" Armonia asks, a puzzled look also coming across his face.

[bc56]

Cyclopean Ruins

"Where I come from, they aren't worth much. Here, however, they are very valuable." Once all the rubies are collected, Tethrik moves to the tablet. "How do you suppose this works?"

[ChaoticHarmony]

Cyclopean Ruins
Armonia walks over to the tablet next to Tethrik. "Well, it looks the same as before.....maybe it works the same?" Armonia reaches out and moves the bottom right stone up to the empty space. As it moves, the cavern once again is filled with the sound of moving water. When it settles, the sound fades away. Nothing appears to have changed in the room Armonia and Tethrik currently stand in

[bc56]

Cyclopean Ruins

Tethrik checks the first room to see if anything changed.

[ChaoticHarmony]

Cyclopean Ruins

When Tethrik leaves the room, Armonia notices the bottom center stone changes to black, matching the exact center stone. When he tries to move the changed stone to the empty space, he finds he cannot move it.

Tethrik will see that the first room is unchanged, but the tablet will exactly match the one in Armonia's room.

[bc56]

Cyclopean Ruins

Tethrik shifts one of the squares with lines on it to the open space.

[ChaoticHarmony]

Cyclopean Ruins

Tethrik moves what appears to be the only moveable piece, the middle right stone, back down to the bottom right.

Simultaneously, the middle right stone on Armonia's tablet moves down to the bottom right.

In both rooms, the sound of rushing water once again fills the caverns, but again, there is no discernable differences when the stone finishes moving.

Spoiler

Show

Key:
R= line hits right side
L= line hits left side
U= line hits top side
D= line hits bottom side
F= fish room
C= crab room
S= scorpion room
O= Empty room
Blue text= moveable piece
Black text = immovable piece

{DL} {FLR} {DL}

{UR} {SDR} { }

{CUL} {OUD} {UD}

[Deathkeeper]

[Riverside Ruins]

Jim carefully pokes at the corpse with his bident.
"It looks like a sentry or somethin' he made out of the same metal techniques he makes the rest of his stuff out of." he muses.

[bc56]

Cyclopean Ruins

Tethrik slides all the moveable tiles clockwise until the crab is adjacent the scorpion.

[ChaoticHarmony]

The sounds of rushing water once again flood the room, this time not ceasing until the last stone slides in place.

Nothing seems to change in Tethrik's room.

In the Scorpion Room however, a new doorway forms to Armonia's right. Armonia stands slightly shocked, but not that surprised, as he watched how quickly Tethrik was moving the stones. Armonia rushes into the first room with Tethrik. "Hey Tethrik, whatever you did opened up a new passage in the Scorpion room.

When Armonia runs in, Tethrik may notice that the exact center stone turns blue.

Spoiler

Show

Key:
R= line hits right side
L= line hits left side
U= line hits top side
D= line hits bottom side
F= fish room
C= crab room
S= scorpion room
O= Empty room
Blue text= moveable piece
Black text = immovable piece

{UR} {DL} {FLR}

{CUL}{SDR}{DL}

{ } {OUD} {UD}

[bc56]

Cyclopean Ruins

Tethrik follows Armonia to the new passage and goes to see what's in the room.

[ChaoticHarmony]

Cyclopean Ruins

Armonia and Tethrik follow a long tunnel, water raining down on then, its intensity increasing with every step. Soon the rain is pouring so hard, one can barely see 5 feet in front of them. Eventually, Tethrik and Armonia reach the end of the tunnel, only to discover it ends in a dead end. Yelling over the roar of the rain, Armonia says "NO GOOD, WE GOT TO TURN BACK!" Upon turning around however, Armonia and Tethrik feel a rumbling within the tunnel. "...WHAT WAS THAT?" Armonia asks, right before a large wave of water comes crashing down the tunnel.

There is no where to dodge it, and while it doesn't fill the entirety of the tunnel, there is enough water moving fast enough to knock anyone who isn't prepared for it over. After it settles, it will reach up to about Armonia's chest (approx 4.5 ft)
After it settles, Tethrik may feel something brush by his leg

[Gullara]

[Vampire's Lair]

Val, dishevelled and exhausted after some hours of hunting around, finally finds what he was looking for in Westside. He looks uncertainly at the rather elaborate home he's approaching. When he first started asking around, this isn't exactly what he was expecting. But can he expect anything from a rogue vampire? Taking a steadying breath, he walks past the columns and knocks on the front door.

[bc56]

Cyclopean Ruins

"Arrgh!" Tethrik rights himself after the wave and looks around.

[ChaoticHarmony]

"Uurf" Armonia stands back up, spirting up water that he swallowed. Seeing the sudden wariness on Tethrik's face, Armonia draws his daggers. "What, what is it?

Tethrik, if he can see through the rain, may see a soft small light begin to glow in the water about 10 ft in front of him. If he is especially perceptive, he will notice a small amount of bubbles start to form by his right side, 5 ft away.

[bc56]

Cyclopean Ruins

"Shh, lights." Tethrik approaches the light to see what it is, creating large ripples in the water behind him.

[ChaoticHarmony]

Armonia stays put, unable to see the light Tethrik is talking about. "What light?"

Tethrik approaches the light. When he is within a few inches of the light, the face of an ugly fish floats up. Its face is stretched across tightly on its skull, the scales a dingy brown. On the top of its head hangs a slimy antenna with a dim light glowing. And its closed mouth takes up the majority of its face, with long thin teeth ending in razor sharp points. It looks at Tethrik for a moment, then unleashes a bloodcurdling scream, its high pitch whine bouncing off of the walls and ceiling, magnifying it. From behind Tethrik, another creature, similar to the first, jumps out of the water at him, its jaw wide open as it attempts to bite a chunk out of his flesh.

[bc56]

Cyclopean Ruins

"Fish!" Tethrik is bitten by the second fish, and swipes at the first, trying to grab ahold of it.

[ChaoticHarmony]

Cyclopean Ruins

The fish from behind digs his fangs deep into the flesh of Tethrik's shoulderblade, flailing about after it latches on. The fish out front jumps straight for Tethrik's face, but is caught by the tail. It snaps ferociously at Tethrik but is unable to get close.

Armonia slashes at the fish on Tethrik's back, easily cutting it in half. When the carcass hits the water, a dozen more lights appear down the tunnel. "Oh.......oh ****.......Tethrik......I think we need to get moving." The lights begin to slowly move towards Tethrik and Armonia, the only exit out of the tunnel being on the opposite side of them.