"Iiii am prezZzent."
.:Where am I?:
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Emerging from the cage that has been your home for, well, all your existence, you take in your surroundings. The room is as spartan as they come, a cube 200 foot on each side bare of all apart from the cells the creatures were all housed in and the monotonous grey-black stone the tower seems to be comprised of. There is nary a soul in sight beyond your fellow experiments and... wait... what is that shrieking?
Out of the darkness of the open doorway, you can make out a tiny winged figure darting around erratically, heading right towards you all. After a moment, you recognize the creature. Short, pudgy body, rubbery skin, wings way too small for its bulk, scrawny limbs, and a uniquely deformed face... it is Quizzle, your unofficial 'nanny'! The poor creature seems to be running, errr... make that flying, for his life. "HELPFRIENDSESTHEGRIZZLEDGATORPEDEISAFTERQUIZZLE!" he stammers out at lightning speed as he flies into an empty cell, desperately seeking cover.
A low, sibilant growl interspersed with a sinister clacking noise issues forth from the door, some 160 feet from the cells, and you can spy a writhing, manylegged shape in the shadows.
Warped red light flickers across the earthen floor of the War Shade's cage, its composite parts swirling with the faint rustling of a speechless, settling army. Like a coruscating eye, the vortex at the center watches the plight of the shrieking homunculus with detatched interest, barely taking note - yet - of the distant, many-legged assailant coming to claim its meal. Without loyalty or malice it simply watches with the expectant hush of a crowd of bored observers, swirling with a faint scrape over its now wall-less enclosure.
The Gryphoenix, stretching his wings after being cooped up in that cage for so long, is somewhat surprised by his funny little friend flying past screaming. Looking the way he came, he notices something moveing in the shadows and crouches down, a low growl forming in his chest. He's hungry, and it looks like he's finally going to get to hunt...
The mote floats out of the cage and looks over it's surroundings. Quizzle is sustained by magic and not true life, so it's fear is not filling. But it knows what is here in the tower. that knowledge is worth protecting.
The shade inside the shell is filled with unlife. It would not provide sustenance, but could be an ally. The wisp would note the shade's reaction to the aura of desecration.
The avian was glowing with life as well as with fire. It could make a fine meal, or it could be a tool. It will hunt to feed it's belly and that would leave the soul for the dead.
"Quizzle, I will protect you in exchange for aid in getting free of this tower. Acceptible?"
A terrifying blend of cat, human and spider, stalks forth from one of the cages, and eyes the others with a predatory glare. Even Quizzle is looked upon as a prey, though the winged creature is used to the intense gaze.
It does not speak, but when it hears a growl, it snarls one back in defiance. It then summons a blade from the shadows to it's outstretched hand, and promptly disappears.
The slow shuffle and spin of broken arms and armors becomes faster, and tinged with the low sub-vocal murmer of a dozen voices. A weapon is drawn! There will be combat!? Even glutted as the undead mass of spirit and metal is, the promise of its one and only source of sustenance causes a tinge like excitement, like the apprehension the night before a battle that lays like a pall over the fitfully slumbering army. Blades bristle like raised hackles as the undead oozes towards the site of its existence-long barrier, and tentatively, so hesitantly, slips across it. Nothing holds it in place any longer, its senses alert and aware of all that is living, all that is of interest, and daggers spread around its periphery like raised hackles, deadly goosebumps, when it takes its first 'steps' into this livening aura that prepares it for the heat of war.
.:Delicious:
The wispwraith fades from sight itself and readies to attack the creature if it approaches.
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Quizzle peeks out from around the cell he chose to hide in, "Yes! Quizzle will help you if you help Quizzle!"
A sibilant, yet guttural, hiss escapes from the darkness as scythe-like appendages wrap around the edges of the doorway. Slowly but surely, the creature brings it's head into view. The beast's head is like something out of a madman's nightmare, a mangy bear head covered in patchy yellow fur and sickly green scales, it's face dotted with numerous eyes that scan the room hungrily. A caustic green goo slowly runs from it's mouth, steaming as it hits the ground. The beast's maw has far more teeth than any being should and its serrated mandibles quiver as if in anticipation.
Without warning the beast lets out a terrible half-roar, half-squeal and scuttles forward into the room, making a beeline towards the Gryphoenix. Quizzle shrieks as he goes back to hiding in the cell.
Patient and introspective, the War Shade simply moves out of the dirt-floored enclosure which is all it remembers. The smell of blood and rust follows it, and the tinkling scrape of broken edges skims over the stone as it moves away from the formerly shaded scene of its genesis. Ten feet further than it has ever been before, it drifts, unsure of itself, but part of its unliving attention is focused on the delicious edge of the Rakshasa's blade, invisible to living eyes but clear to its salivating sense of hunger.
.:Bloodshed?:
The unseen death dealer moves past his foe, and into a flanking position with the winged creature. He then strikes out with his blade, Shadowstrike
The Gryphoenix shriek-roars back at the other creature, tensing to pounce.
The Gryphoenix shrieks in pain and rage, then strikes back with talon and beak.
The wispwraith invisibly swoops down, passing through the gatorpede with a crackle of dark lightning.
[ooc]
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The Gryphoenix's flurry of attacks tears into the Grizzled Gatorpede. A talon strike tears a gash into the Gatorpede's hideous face and the smell of its scorched flesh wafts throughout the room.
The Wispwraith's dark lightning shocks the Gatorpede, causing its body to twitch wildly as the electricity courses through it. A few moments after the lightening connects, the beast's scales and fur begin to drain of color.
The Grizzled Gatorpede raises its head and shrieks, its formerly black eyes beginning to glow like orbs of blood lit from behind by flame. The beast launches another flurry of attacks at the Gryphoenix, letting out a guttural roar as it does so.
The Gryphoenix seems to be losing this fight, so it shrieks back in rage and attacks wildly.
Elgorbb, still invisible, makes sure to flank the beast and unleashes several devastating strikes against their foe.
As the fight, it feels the emotions. It reaches out and twists those emotions, turning the gatorpede's rage in on itself.
A trail of shattered debris slithers behind the whirling mass of broken refuse, tinkling softly against the stonework as it races to rejoin the mass of negatively charged detritus. The blood-red light that glows darkly within the whirling mass sometimes shimmers out through the metal, through the leather, through the wood, casting eerie shadows around it before being again cut off by the wash of ever rotating armament. The heat the gryphoenix gives off is palpable, and the closest thing - thus far - that the War Shade has experienced to pain. It gives a wide berth, flowing wide around to observe and putting itself in ideal charging position 15 feet away from the Grizzled beasty's fire-scorched starboard flank.
.:A living thing... such rage... but is it bred to war?:
Tendrils flex and the slow-to-start battlefield slithers itself into position, tendrils of shattered blade and jagged shield extending in an aggressive test of its own reach and capabilities.
.:Such rage... shall we taste it?:
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Elgorbb's invisible blade and maw rip into the Gatorpede, causing it to slump. It shakily rises back up, the effort causing a foul ichor to issue from its grievous wounds.
The Gryphoenix's wild, angry swings batter and rend the Gatorpede. A final blow from the fiery beasts talon connects with the Gatorpede's face and, in a flash of sickly blood, leaves the beasts jaw hanging by a few sinews of meat. The Gatorpede lets out a final, gurgling shriek before collapsing to the floor, dead.
A few moments after the Gatorpede's demise, a familiar, adorably hideous face peeks out from around the cells, "Is it dead, friendses? Is the Quizzle safe now?"
Sated by design and seeing the light flicker out of the Gatorpede, the Shade immediately loses interest. With the clatter of dropped steel it collapses in on itself and pushes through its own position, 'turning around' in fluid fashion to face the other way, and looming vaguely closer to the Homunculus. .:Dead... all dead. Killed in battle. Rent asunder. Left to fester on the field. Burning flesh and tattered hide. See it decompose?:
The spider-cat creature flickers back into view, while it's blade of shadow vanishes. It looks to Quizzle and replies in a quiet voice, yet full of ominous dread and danger "It would appear so, on both accounts."
Panting a bit, the Grypheonix considers the dead creature. Its bite had burned in a different way from fire, so the fiery monster was a bit hesitant to just eat it, but it was hungry. It took an experimental nibble, and when that didn't immediately cause pain, it started to dig in, the Gatorpede's flesh burning and blackening as the Grypheonix's intense heat continued to wash over it.
Calling upon whatever vile god has 'blessed' him, Elgorbb surrounds himself with a shimmering shield.
He blinks back out of sight, and stalks into the next room, searching.
Something was strange about the situation. "Quizzle, why are all the wards down? Did something happen? Are we free?"
The War Shade begins tinkling around the room, dragging it's trail of garbage behind it, the waste of war scampering to catch up to the mobile heap of broken weapons and armor that it helps to define. It pokes at the other cages, curious, like a cat examining new surrounds.
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Quizzles tiny frame breathes a sigh of relief at Elgorbb's words and wipes his forehead of nonexistent sweat, "Whew, Quizzle is glad he is not lunch in snappy-face's belly. Quizzle imagines the trip out would be unpleasant."
Quizzle tilts his head at the War Shade, "Errr... does it decompose? Quizzle has no idea, but Quizzle also imagines it makes bad stink, Quizzle not want to find out."
He looks to the Gryphoenix devouring the Grizzled Gatorpede and looks back at the War Shade, "Well, too late to find out now."
The Wispwraiths question sparked a reaction in Quizzle, sending him into a frenzy of wild gesticulation and hasty exposition, "Quizzle told the master to not continue summoning the demon lord! He say 'Magic circle is about right. What's the worst that could happen?' Well, THIS worst that could happen! Shiny girl appear and kill master... suck glowy ghost thing right from him and make him dead. Then shiny girl lowers force cages and you know what happens." Quizzle startles and begins rubbing his hands together nervously, "Don't take Quizzle wrong way friendses, Quizzle is glad friendses are out! But not all monsters in cages are friendses. Most want to tear apart and eat stuff. The others just want to break and kill stuff. Quizzle not think master think some experiments through."
There is a buzzing chuckle at that, "Then we leave, feeding on anything that tries to stop us. Revenge is denied us, so being free will have to do."
The Gryphoenix lifts its head from its meal long enough to shriek an enthusiastic agreement to the 'feeding' part, then continues feasting on the now-scorched corpse.
.:We are not yet hungry...: the War Shade insists, but it spins through itself once again to hover nearer the Wispwraith. .:But let us leave. Let us see more of this place. Let us see more of this world.: Spinning and scraping increases as the impatience grows, the monstrous conglomeration of parts reaching a consensus.
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Quizzle takes flight with his tiny wings and motions to the open doorway the Gatorpede stepped through, "Errrrr... you first! Quizzle not equipped for all this."
Elgorbb turns invisible and scouts the next room. Midway through the door, all visibility behind him vanishes and he is alone in a strange 'room'. The entire room seems to be made of some fleshy organic compound like muscle and a single nervelike strand connects the top and bottom of the room, surrounded by some sort of strange, pulsing field of lambent energy. As he steps forward and the room squishes, eyes begin to open up in the room and focus on the blank space he stands in. A burbling exhalation sounds through the room.
When Quizzle pauses in the doorway, the shade, eager to see more of the world outside the only 20x20 space it has ever known, hurries along as well. While corporeal it is not -quiet-, and Elgorbb will know that the spinning blender of undeath is directly behind him almost immediately upon stepping into the weird, slodgy room.
Unfamiliar with this kind of... let's call it architecture... Unfamiliar with this kind of architecture, the thing goes immediately into the middle of the room nearer the primary supporting pillar/nerve cluster.
.:What is this?:
The Gryphoenix, its belly actually full for the first time in its life (for the moment), looks up from the ravaged remains of the Gatorpede and notices its new friends starting to leave. It hurries to catch up.
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All the misfit escapees in the room, the eyes in the room look each of you over. As the War Shade poses its question, a buzzing voice resounds in the head of each monster, "This one is the psimagical construct named by the Master as Bio-Organic Construct Experiment Delta. This one fondly remembers each of you when you were fresh from the Genesis Chamber and is pleased the four of you have managed to stay sane, unlike the other creations. Might you remember this one, War Shade?"
As the Gryphoenix walks in, its fiery body scorches the ground. As the skin melts and warps, it begins mending back almost instantaneously. "Ah, Gryphoenix. You seem sated on the Grizzled gatorpede. This one offers friendly advice: your comrades are not as quick to heal from your fiery form. Perhaps stay a distance away from them so you do not burn them?
The eyes in the room return to Elgorbb, "This one apalogizes to you, Elgorbb. When you entered the room cloaked in illusion, this one had to gauge your intentions. There has already been one planar experiment gone mad who journeyed through this ones domicile. That you all seem to not be hostile to each other is of no small relief."
The eyes scan the room once more, "Nineteen of you have thus far come through this room, but where is the twentieth? Where is the Wispwraith Experiment 29? This one found its glow most soothing."
The Gryphoenix tilts its head to one side, a bit surprised by the voice in its head. It screeches a bit sheepishly when the voice points out it should not get too close to the others, looking carefully to make sure it doesn't burn them.
Floating along behind and above, it answers, "I am here." Warily it floats in, avoiding being too close to the center or the eyes.
Elgorbb is slightly taken aback by the apparent politeness of the 'living room'. This was much different than the bestial creature they just put down. "I was not expecting something civil, considering what we just faced. Are you...hostile?" He says in a raspy, hallow voice.
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"No need to be ashamed, Gryphoenix. You are nothing less than what you were born as and, it seems, a great deal more."
As Elgorbb voices his question, the voice speaks again, "You speak of the Grizzled Gatorpede, yes? This one apologizes for sending it back your way. This one merely planted the idea in its head to return whence it came. Perhaps better wording was in order. The one before you is not hostile."
As the Wispwraith enters the room, the eyes all fixate on it, "Wispwraith Experiment 29, it is a pleasure for this one to behold your soothing glow once more. Tell this one, has Quizzle been feeding you well? He is a bit... forgetful at times."
"Does this mean you will let us pass unharmed?" While the spider-cat human creature is more than willing to fight, and kill, this room unnerved it slightly, so if they could avoid combat, it would.
The Gryphoenix cocks its head to one side quizzically, wondering what the voice means. It is also curious where the funny man who ordered Quizzle around is.
It pauses before answering, "I suspect that the... inconsistency of feeding has been due to the Master's wishes. In creating so many types of creature, he was interested in testing our limits. And ways that we could be controlled. A creature that hungers but does not starve has uses to someone like him."
"I am glad that my aura is pleasing to you. It brings such comfort. But I am concerned with you. It seems that you are not so mobile as we are.
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The voice pauses for a moment, "This one wishes there was a positive answer Elgorbb and Wispwraith, but there is not. We are content to let you pass unharmed, but while connected to the tower, cannot open the portal to the surface, for the Master's last command was to seal off the Stalactite Tower from the world.
This one believes that you could sever our core from the mass here in the middle of the room, but it will draw the ire of the rest of this one's flesh, which will attempt to slay all of you in self-defense. Worry not, if separated from our flesh, we will live on in the crystalline core and can serve as a guide through the tower.
It is a risky endeavor, this one admits, but if you seek freedom, there is little recourse. The rest of us will not attack until aggression is made towards this one, so make the choice at your leisure."
"You're a sort of security system then? I suppose we could come and deal with you after we've explored the rest of this tower and actually need to leave. Is there anything you can tell us about what awaits us beyond your room?" This is a fight that didn't need to happen right now, so Elgrobb figured it made more sense to come back when they actually could escape. Provided they survived that long.
The Gryphoenix's mind fills with questions as it listens.
What is a portal?
What is the surface?
What is a core?
Why would the voice want to be attacked?
How could they fight this thing if it just healed all the time?
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At Elgorbb's query, the voice buzzes again, "That is certainly one way of looking at it. The Master mainly used us as a doorkeeper, but we are more than capable of handling most threats. To your second point, there is no real point in walking all the way back here. This one can transpose our form onto any room in the facility. This ones programming prevents hostility against any being unless first attacked, however, so we would be of little use beyond this room. Regarding what awaits beyond this room, this one can only say with confidence that the other experiments and the Masters rooms wait beyond. If needed, this one can provide small rundowns on the experiments. The rooms themselves should pose no immediate danger on their own."