Hearing the voice shouting her name, Blayze looks up, heading out of the opening to quickly move topside with the others. She barely dared hope that any of her company had survived, but if any one could it would be Arnav.
As she exist, she sees the diminutive yet somehow still imposing Tiefling standing in a ready posture, weight perfectly balanced on the balls of her feet. The the casual observer the way she held her axe looked relaxed, but she'd seen warriors like that before, who in the blink of an eye could go from practically lounging to deathdealer. The figure she stared up at was someone she could never forget. His body warped and twisted by the unimaginable energies of Chaos itself, his proportions were unsettlingly irregular, arms that extended to a length that rivaled his full height, twisted and corded with bulges of muscle that didn’t seem to make sense, his visible skin looking like black and white stone, littered with metal, wood and even glass poking out from hi uniform and unique set of chainmail.
Yet at the sight of him the Paladin breathed a deep sigh of relief. At least one of her friends had made it. ”Arnav! Thank Lathander you’re alive! What happened?” she says quickly moving towards her friend.
Memnon lets out a sound between an sob and a sigh
"It was never truly my world, and the Syndics of the Abyss were truly epic asshats, but there were good people that lived here. I had friends. I had watched generations live, laugh, and love despite the cruelty of their culture."
The skull turns to Justin, his joking manner turned serious
"I accept conditionally. We can work the terms out later, but for now I will accompany and assist you until we reach a safe destination. Are you lot from Sigil? I would like to return there if I can."
"We are based out of Sigil, yes. Although very few of us are actually FROM there, originally."
"Conditions accepted. Once we reach the Silver Rose Offices in Sigil, or at least the Copper Cauldron next door, we can discuss a more permanent arrangement. Until then, welcome to the team, ...partner."
At the sound of Karrin's voice from above, and Blayze suddenly scampering back UP the shaft as nimbly as you please, Justin tenses, then shakes his head.
"Gonna give the mage a heart attack." He mutters.
"Karrin, Nari? Everyone still OK?" Then he hears the sound of Blayze's voice echoing down the shaft.
"Looks like we have more company. Blayze seems to think it's friendly. I hope."
At seeing Blayze and being recognized, he slowly sheathes his blade. He still wasn't used to fiend-blooded people, but if Blayze trusted these people, then he was good with them as well. He also realized that he was never truly unarmed anymore with the changes to his body. "It seems that breathing is another thing that I don't need to do any more. I still haven't got all of that damned bone dust out of my lungs." His tone is still one of disbelief over this.
He offers his hand to shake to the tiefling, but as he moves, he realizes how threatening this could be and sets his arm back down. "Sorry. Not long ago I was just a human and I'm still not used to all of the changes. I'm Arnav."
Karrin relaxes a bit knowing that the strange twisted shape in front of her was not only known to Blayze but was in the shape it was meant to be in. There were plenty of bards tales where the voice of a friend caused a hero to drop their guard only to discover that the voice was in fact coming from a monster, either shapeshifter or a horribly twisted form of their former friend. Arnav looked like the latter. Knowing that he looked as he was supposed to was a relief.
"Hello Arnav, we're about to leave this place I think, and you're welcome to come with us. More eyes and stuff, plus more hands make the load lighter or however that saying goes. As I was saying we lost a friend here, but we will bring her home with us, nobody gets left behind if we can help it. I'm sorry for your friends. This world is bad news, perhaps worse, there could be an undead god somewhere around here, and we got to, at the very least, warn the Pelor fort. They're guarding the gate back to the cage anyways so it's not as if we got to go out of our way or anything. Speaking of which," Karrin moves closer to the secret door and shouts down to the others, "You Berts see anything down there for shutting down this portal??"
Nari peered cautiously out from behind Karrin to look at the newcomer. His lack of symmetry was a bit disconcerting. She had never seen anyone quite like him. But then, that was often her experience in Sigil. No reason why a plane full of undead should have less surprises. Still, with two new people present she was feeling rather shy and was glad to let the others do the talking. She did feel some compassion when the strange man said that he used to be human. Transformations could be challenging, she knew. Even if you were changed for the better, it was still an adjustment.
Aranav will nod politely at the elven looking woman.
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Karrin moves closer to the secret door and shouts down to the others, "You Berts see anything down there for shutting down this portal??"
Justin sticks his head back next to the narrow entrance.
"Not yet. And we've been pretty thorough." He calls back up, Casting an eye on the pile of magical goodies they have collected. And the piles of gold, silver and gems.
"Very Thorough." He amends.
"Hey, Merle. And Seph, sorry. If THIS portal isn't maintained like the last one we found, then what's keeping it open? There's no magic circle, no magic gemstone,... On THIS side of the portal."
Justin's eyes get wide.
"Um,... Pack it up! As much as we can carry! I'll fly it up topside! We need to leave. I'll get more bags!" He says, looking much more worried than the last time he said that, just a few moments ago. He grabs the bags of loot already packed, and drags them behind them while flying rapidly up the tunnel.
Justin pops up from behind the Altar, (Still adorned with the Mummy's severed head) and flies over the top, depositing the bags in front of the others.
"Hey All, I just had another really scary thought. So we need to get OWOW! Hello?!?" Justin says in surprise, seeing Arnav for the first time.
Justin looks at Arnav, then at Karrin who seems her usual calm self (If still sad) and to Blayze.
"Ah, hah. Blayze's friend I presume? I'm Justin. AH,..." Justin looks around.
Hamar starts carrying sacks of gold, gems, and other goods out of the tomb.
When he arrives top side and sees Arnav he grunts, "Good, we need a big one to help fight our way out of here".
"Nice sword," Karrin says to Arnav, Popping her own crystal ax on her shoulder, "Does yours communicate with you and give you strange dreams as well?"
Merle and Seph get to piling the stuff up and eady for moving.
"Come to think on it wasent there a cart just outside?" Merle
"Well I'm just glad you made it. This place is....something fro beyond my worst nightmares." Blayze.
"Arnav." he says to the newly arrived people. To Hamar, he says "Oh, I'm not planning on sitting quietly. They want any of us, they're gonna have to crack me open."
He'll turn to Karrin and Blayze, "No nightmares, no dreams. I don't sleep anymore. My blade doesn't whisper. I can just fill it up with... something and it hits harder."
At seeing Merle, he seems baffled and amazed for a moment, then nods hello.
"Um, hey all, I had a really scary thought. If we can't find anything HERE keeping this portal open like the last one, then that means that whatever is holding the portal is on the OTHER side." Justin says, pointing at the portal.
"AS I am NOT keen on going through there and getting trapped on that side, I suggest that we gather all of this spendable and magical buried treasure, and beat feet. If we want, I can send through something I conjured to try and close it from that side. But not until we are ready to leave!"
Justin looks around.
"SOund good?"
"We could just chuck some lightning bolts and fireballs through? Also who the heck is that?"
"Arnav." he says to the newly arrived people. To Hamar, he says "Oh, I'm not planning on sitting quietly. They want any of us, they're gonna have to crack me open."
He'll turn to Karrin and Blayze, "No nightmares, no dreams. I don't sleep anymore. My blade doesn't whisper. I can just fill it up with... something and it hits harder."
At seeing Merle, he seems baffled and amazed for a moment, then nods hello.
"Ummm...aren't you using the powers of the mind? Deep crystal is particularly attuned to that," she said softly, still peeking out from behind Karrin.
When Justin shares his theory, she frowns and walks over to where they are gathering up the treasure. "I have a handy haversack. I don't have much besides clothes in it right now, so I should be able to fit a fair amount of treasure in there," she volunteered.
He turns to the catperson, "I'm Arnav. I came in with Blayze."
The human woman has a point, "I'm not sure how I do it. It just sort of happens. Sometimes the crystals in me vibrate when I do it."
"Yes Merle, I'm all for that, but again, not until I'm ready to leave. the last thing we need right now is to invite more fighting with who-knows-how-many ghosties on the other side."
When Justin shares his theory, she frowns and walks over to where they are gathering up the treasure. "I have a handy haversack. I don't have much besides clothes in it right now, so I should be able to fit a fair amount of treasure in there," she volunteered.
Justin snatches the haversack with a broad smile. Then kisses her on her forehead.
"Perfect Nari! Your a lifesaver!" He cries as he dashes off and dives down the small tunnel, flying down to the chamber below. He shovels in as much of the treasure as he can fit into the magical backpack.
"I take it he's fond of treasure?" Blayze mutters as Justin dashes off.
Justin rapidly fills the bag with all sorts of goodies. Soon the bag is brimming
Nari blushed, flustered by Justin's enthusiastic reaction.
"Well, adventuring is expensive, especially the spell components I gather. And treasure is rare," she replied to Blayze's comment.
After casting a longing glance at the solid gold sarcophagus, Justin returns to the surface. The portal still hangs open on the altar, a pool of black within the black interior. Silence falls, punctuated only by the sound of Justin unwinding strips of ancient bandages off the giant mummy 's corpse. A smell of tar mixed with spices fill the air
"Ewwwwww. Why are you touching those?" The floating skull says, hovering over Justin's shoulder
"Eep!" Nari squeaked at the sight of the floating skull, scurrying back to her hiding spot behind Karrn.
"Eep!" Nari squeaked at the sight of the floating skull, scurrying back to her hiding spot behind Karrn.
Memnon swivels towards Nari at the squeaking noise, then swivels back to Justin
"You got some nice-looking co-workers" The skull says sotto voce
Blayze rolls her eyes.
Merle pockets any of the more portable items, (Scolls, wands potions etc and follows behind)
"Eep!" Nari squeaked at the sight of the floating skull, scurrying back to her hiding spot behind Karrn.
"What the heck is that thing Justin?" Karrin asks, pointing her ax at the flying skull, "Some sort of undead?"
Arnav answers reflexively, "No, it's a construct. It's got a blue aura instead of a black one."
"Eep!" Nari squeaked at the sight of the floating skull, scurrying back to her hiding spot behind Karrn."What the heck is that thing Justin?" Karrin asks, pointing her ax at the flying skull, "Some sort of undead?"
"I'm the flying king skull, baby!" The purple skull replies cheekily
The skull zips up to Karrin
"You're a cute thang, miss silver caps! Do you have a boyfriend? How do you feel about May-December romances?"
"And you're an annoying thing Mr construct, would you like to travel back to Sigil as is, or would you like me to disassemble you? I've discovered that the more complex something is the more pieces it breaks down into. Giving Justin something to do in his off time might be fun, reassembling a thousand piece talking skull puzzle and collecting scrolls is something all the cool wizards are doing these days, but who knows, might not be so fun for you, especially if your creator gave you a sense of pain. So here's a warning: less yack or else you get a smack."
"Eep!"
The flying skull scurries back to his hiding spot behind Justin
"Eep!" Nari squeaked at the sight of the floating skull, scurrying back to her hiding spot behind Karrn.
Memnon swivels towards Nari at the squeaking noise, then swivels back to Justin
"You got some nice-looking co-workers" The skull says sotto voce
"Uh-huh."
Justin nods absentmindedly. He is totally focused on gathering the bandages and seems oblivious to almost anything else.
Hamar looks at his new companions as well as the new new companions and addresses Karrin. "I get the sense we are not departing this place yet. There is at least one more task for you and yours here. I am glad you will allow me to go with you but I am wondering, where are we going next and why. You have spoken of these portals, will the next stop allow us to close these portals so we can get back to this, Sigil you speak of?"
Nari can't help but giggle when the skull ran away from Karrin. She wasn't quite so scared now that she knew it was a construct, albeit a very scary looking one. She peered out cautiously again, listening intently to the conversation.
"And you're an annoying thing Mr construct, would you like to travel back to Sigil as is, or would you like me to disassemble you? I've discovered that the more complex something is the more pieces it breaks down into. Giving Justin something to do in his off time might be fun, reassembling a thousand piece talking skull puzzle and collecting scrolls is something all the cool wizards are doing these days, but who knows, might not be so fun for you, especially if your creator gave you a sense of pain. So here's a warning: less yack or else you get a smack."
"Eep!"
The flying skull scurries back to his hiding spot behind Justin
Justin looks up from where he was totally preoccupied with collecting the (hopefully) useful mummies bandages.
"Hm? Oh, yea. Meant to warn you about Karrin. Sorry." He says as he carefully packs away the bundle of bandages in his backpack.
The others in the room made note to Justin later that Memnon either did NOT have fire ray eyes,... or he had amazing self-control. As the Crystal skull's glare alone should have ignited the back of the wizard's coat.
"Ok,.. I think we have everything. Thanks to Nari for the spendable loot. Merle, Seph, Hamar and Blayze grabbed all of the 'important' goodies,... What?" he looks at the others, who are watching him with a look of either bewilderment, amusement, or some mix in-between.
Justin rolls his eyes.
"I'm sorry guys. Until I got to Sigil I never had to worry about funds before, alright? I'm a working wizard now. And believe it or not, all of the GOOD spell components are expensive. And magic scroll ink ain't cheap either. Now what?" He asks in confusion as he notices most of the group glancing at Nari, still hiding behind Karrin. (Unaware of course that he has repeated her earlier statement almost verbatim.)
Glancing at Memnon with a confused look, he shrugs his shoulders.
"Right, so, the question is Boss-lady,..." he says, addressing Karrin, ",... Do we explore through terh portal? O rjust fire through a buch of lightning bolts and fireballs and summons hoping to knock out whatever, or whoever is there, and MAYBE shut down whatever is holding open this portal? OR just head for Fort Pelor and hope we're long gone before whatevers on the other sides comes looking for their friends?"
"We head to Sigil and the means the Palor fort, I'm still not convinced that this portal to this secret base isn't somewhere around there, and I want them aware of it. If not we still need to research this god, we need to know what to expect, and if someone laid down magic powerful enough to erase them from the memories of even his or her most powerful servants we also want to make sure we're not making any enemies with powerful deities who want this god gone and forgotten. Or maybe we can enlist some friends? Ether way I'm not gonna have anyone jump through any dark portals today . . . unless they piss me off, and then it's not so much jump as thrown.
"So pack up, we're heading out," Karrin says as she lifts Rhiannon, "If we have to come back so be it, we'll be better supplied and better prepared. This place might be better guarded but that's a trade off I'm willing to take. Any objections?"
Hamar grins at Karrin, "I like you, you are a good leader. My last group had no leader, this may be why things went as bad for us as they did. A group with a good leader may lose some, a group with a bad or no leader will lose all.
Remember this, I wish I had taken it to heart.
It will help you as tough decisions in the future face you. It is the last thing my father said to me before he died".
That said he heads back to the front door, backpack full of goodies, new sword at his belt and scouts the courtyard for dangers.
Perception
Justin nods in agreement, or at least in acquiescence.
"Research I can do." He says, patting the scroll case containing the Powers-erased records he gathered earlier.
"Guess We'll be seeing YOU again,..." He says grimly to the dark portal as he re-shoulders his own pack.
"First thing when we get back, EVERYone gets a Handy Haversack!" He mutters to Memnon as they fall in line with the others. (Making sure that he is near the CENTER of the line this time, as their company seems to have grown exponentially this trip, despite their tragic loss.)
As Hamar scouts ahead, Justin takes this opportunity to observe their new companions, Blayze, Hamar and Arnav, and plays his old game of 'Where are they from, and What do they do now?'
With Hamar and Karrin up front, he settles into rear guard. His head is on a swivel, looking for anything coming through at the last minute. An attack while they were split up would be nasty.
Karrin frowns a bit at Harmar's words, she didn't fancy herself a good leader, she wasn't anything like Torren or Isaac, and the sooner she could pawn this responsibility off on some unsuspecting sap the better.
Blayze follows along keeping an eye out for trouble.
Hamar leading the way, sees...
..That the plaza is quiet outside the temple.
Blayze and Arnav had arrived on Ranais at Fort Pelor, as part of an adventuring party scouting from Sigil. They had a fairly decent idea of the direction they had to go
Karrin:
Karrin pauses as she reaches the door to the temple.
"Damn it," she snaps, "Anyone else getting an uneasy feeling? Something is up with that Portal. I have to have a peek."
Karrin pulls out her rope, ties it about her waist, and hands the rope to Arnav.
"One quick check before we go big guy," Karrin says, "I'm going through. Two quick tugs and pull me back or if you feel constant resistance. I need to see what's on the other side and I have darkvission so if anything is up I'll be able to see it. Anything really bad over there and I'll want back fast. Hopefully I'm not about to kick a hornet's nest."
He nods and takes a good grip. Wrapping the rope around one arm He sets his legs to anchor the rope.
Arnav braces himself as the young tiefling duskblade enters the portal. Karrin feels that weird distortion feeling that always happened when you entered a portal. Then....
Karrin:
Karrin feels enervated, like she has just finished hours of axe training, but without the happy feeling of a job well done. It feel more like how she had felt when that horrid spectre had drained her life energy, the feeling like her very soul bleaching.
Ferissirion begins to glow a brighter blue than she has ever seen it do, its crystal head casting light on the darkness. She immediately feels better
She notices a glimmer in the endless darkness far off in the yawning abyss. As she looks at it, she begins to slowly travel towards it, the rope playing out behind her. Alarmed, she stops looking, and comes to a halt. She looks back at the portal, and she begins to float/fly over towards it.
Karrin disappears into the dark portal, the rope playing out for a few seconds, then stopping. There is a about a minute and then the rope starts playing out a bit more, then it stops
Justin shakes his head.
"I've got a bad feeling about this." He mutters.
Justin doesn't bother asking Karrin if she's sure, or trying to talk her out of it. He just readies a couple of spells, then pulls out his wand of lightning for good measure. He watches her enter the portal with his forehead wrinkled in concern.
"OK, Arnav has the rope,... so Hamar, If she comes back yelling danger, or Arnav has to pull her back in, I'll cast a spell that will make your skin as hard as stone. You'll be invulnerable to physical harm for a while. Then you make sure to get between Karrin and whatever is after her." He says to the two burliest persons now in the group.
"Merle, Nari, Blayze and I are on ranged. Make whatever might be following her regret poking it's head out of that portal. Ekuur, Your support, retrieve Karrin and protect all of us from,... whatever, as best as the Flame will allow."
Justin turns to Memnon.
"How's your InterPlanar knowledge? If Karrin brings back something big and ugly as company, I would love to know what it's weaknesses are before I have time to finish my first spell. OK?"
Justin turns to Memnon.
"How's your InterPlanar knowledge? If Karrin brings back something big and ugly as company, I would love to know what it's weaknesses are before I have time to finish my first spell. OK?"
The skull wiggles in place. Justin takes this as a noncommittal shrug
"I know a lot about Demons. It was a hobby around this place. Anything else I have a reading knowledge of."
Arnav feels two sharp tugs on the rope.