We need to focus on ourselves before we run off to risk our lives playing hero for people we don't even know exist or want our help, the lizards are our best connection to any hope of getting out of this world even if they don't know how yet."
Lina will take charge of the axe-picking, since she's pretty much the strongest thing with arms around.
Neri nods to Luna. "Alrighty. I'm still of a mind that we need to help the people we've already brought in here. Where would you like to start on the 'get home' front?"
"The lizard are the only place we really can start, We should try to learn more about their magic even if they don't know how to get us home they may have a legend or story about something similar and the original just got lost over the years."
"Could be. There's a good chance their history hasn't been corrupted by religion"
Neri shrugs slightly, "Or detailed only in the tomes of men going mad with old age. Religion, word of mouth, insane tomes... and voices in our head. Take your pick." he grins slightly.
"I seem to recall you staying pretty lucid in your old age, Neri..."
"More lucid... as I recall. A bit more cranky, though. It happens. It gave me time to meditate on things, too. Like how to wield a whip effectively."
The group spends a month getting things done. Lina and her smiths craft, Neri goes out and gathers herbs. Luna works on retraining.
They get the daughter's tongue regrown with a heal, and after that, the boy's. The woman's speech is rough, and she still doesn't talk much. The boy barely speaks, although he does seem to smile a lot more than he did before.
With the help of the summoned creatures, the old village has been mostly cleaned out, and they are now living in three separate houses. A modest garden has been plowed and planted, and the first crop will be coming in in a month or so. Until then, they are living off the animals (mostly 'predators').
When the month is over, the group reconvenes. The topic of discussion what next?
Might as well ask Mahb to come with us—she probably has better knowledge of the world than anything we've attempted.
To Mahb and the others, Lina poses a few ideas to the group (I put these in the discussion tab, but can also describe them IC if it's easier).
First, though, she'll consult her crystal.
Drang, we have some things we'd like to confirm with you.
First, is Neri correct in supposing you gain powers by our defeating others with similar power, like the Priests of the Clergy?
Second, do you have any way of sensing or tracking others with powers like ours? It is in your best interest, unmistakably, to help us if you do. If not from here, were you able to sense anything when we passed through the demonwall? And if not, is there anything we can do to help repair/jog your memory or help you gain such power?
If it matters, her Intimidate is only +8 (with feat retraining), but Sense Motive is +10, and before she talks to her crystal she'll focus to get her Will save up to +12 (+14 vs. Emotion-related effects).
The hot head is on the right track. We are weakened, some more than others... weakening the others will strengthen us, and taking their power does both at the same time.
No... I don't. Not my talent. None of you currently do, unless they're firing off power as hard as they can. The more you use it in a given space of time, the easier it is to sense.
Relating to the amulet, after Neri tries to identify it, and they reconvene:
"Yeah. I've got nothing. It's so far beyond what I understand, even using magic doesn't make it any better. I'm kind of hesitant to say that that guarantees one of the big guys made it, just because I don't understand it... but that magic should have been the difference between me and any of the lizardfolk. It's no wonder the shaman was willing to pay so exorbitantly... because from what I understand of magic, with that potion, I should have been able to understand just about anything mortally made. Where'd you get it, anyway?"
Once Lina has informed Neri that he's on the right track:
"Do you think that it might have more to do with the people than the gems? Id seems... more friendly than before. In some ways. DO you think that may have had to do with us converting people? Mahb and friends for one... but also all the people we couldn't save? And... the priest too, I guess?"
"I found it in one of the other houses before the explosions." Luna answered.
"Any idea what it does?" He tilts his head while he looks it over, "Or did you just take it cause it was shiny?"
What does the amulet look like, by the way?
After healing the summoner and her son, once Neri has time to talk to I'd (and remember, Neri would shift to chaotic good at this point, if there are alignment conflicts with Ids or something), Neri would ask Ptaleon if, since there were magic to make people whole, there were magic to make Mikrasa whole once more as well.
If Neri could get a chance to view the raptors using their method to trade goods (how do they do that?), he'd also check if that would work for the church trying to come in through the basin.
He would also try to learn about whether or not the raptors have steady communication with the church, or if they're more just trading at the door. Visiting the nearest raptor village could be good, but being spotted for what he is would probably be very bad.
So, the necklace is pretty obviously made by sex-drugs-and rock-n-roll? I actually don't recall this name.
For the first time in a long time, the voice initiates a conversation. Ok girl, we're in a painful way now. Those other two rejected their gems. We need to return them to the chamber, and we need to go get some new replacements. The voice echoes in Luna's head. You'll need to borrow a bit of the skull's power. I'll teach you how to steal a bit, but you gotta be careful how much you steal. Then we can go find new recruits. The voice says firmly, far more talkative than normal. You wanted to go home right? Well, you should have been careful what you wish for. Sometimes you get it. Wanting is usually better than having. Just remember that.
Luna answered the voice mentally. if I can go home why would I bring more people here to die with us?
Why indeed, in which case, you have nothing to lose, do you? But as I said, you may not like what you asked for, once you have it. Mortals are quite like that. The voice says coolly, with a bit of superiority. Take the stones to the chamber, and we will begin... or don't, as you choose.
How will bringing others here get me home? I don't even know what you want to begin.
If you want answers, take the gems to the chamber. That's your first step on going home. If you want to stay there afterwards, then you can. If you don't want to bring anyone back, you don't have to. Your choice. Just be sure I warned you ahead of time you won't like it once you have it.
Luna was annoyed by the lack of real answers but she didn't really have much of a choice in this world. Fine, play your games.
Luna would tell the others she was returning to her cave and would be fine alone if they wished to seek something else meantime before she did as the voice asked.
Neri seemed okay with splitting up, not really finding it surprising. Luna was a bit of a loner for the last few legs of their trip, as it was. "We'll be around if you need anything, k? Stay safe." There was an edge of concern in his voice. 'Hopefully not going through the same stuff Kong and Jacob are.' He thought in the relative direction of Id, before continuing what he was doing.
Meh, the little witch is getting what she wants. Maybe she'll quit whining so much.
Luna returns to the chamber in the mountain, and places the gems in the corresponding reliefs.
Good, now touch the skull, and close your eyes, and concentrate on the skull. Pretend it's a cup of your coffee, and you're sucking it up through a straw. Not too much, a couple of mouthfuls.
The feeling of cold enters Luna's body through her fingers, and the chill runs through her body, as if someone had danced on her grave.
Good, now, keep your eyes closed, and concentrate on your old home. But think about sneaking back there, in the shadows, as if your very life depended on not being seen... it does...
It seems like Luna concentrates for hours, or just seconds, she's not sure which, and then the distant sounds of the city fill her mind, and she feels as if she's sneaking through shadows.
Good, now open your eyes.
Luna see's herself in an alleyway, looking out at the street. A storm is going on, and there's been an accident. A bus has overturned, and people have spilled out on the street. As Luna looks at them, she sees some are already dead. Some are dying, small hour glasses float over them, the sands running out through cracks in the glass.
A man nearby, dressed in leathers and gang tats, is the first to have the last drop of sand fall from his hourglass, which then shatters and molten red light pours of. The man stands up, but his body stays behind.
A red and black shadow materializes behind him, with glowing red eyes, cackling. The man screams in agony as the thing grabs him with talons and crushes him into a small ball in his palm. The thing squeezes the ball, and the ball screams in agony, and then the creature vanishes, the cries trailing off slowly.
None of the humans rushing around seem to see the creature.
Almost at the same moment, a small girl, maybe 9, also runs out of sand. The hourglass shatters, this time gold sparks fall down over her as she stands up out of her body. A glowing creature with wings and bright white skin materializes behind her. As she looks up, the creature places a hand on her head, and the girl is pulled into a prism, frozen in glass.
The two scenes proceed to be repeated as more and more people's hourglasses fail. Luna see's two EMTs working over a woman, who's hourglass runs out. As she stands up, they give her an defibrilator hit, and the body jerks, and her spirit is sucked back in, even as a leering red and black creature materializes. It waits, as the EMTs struggle over her, and then vanishes as her hourglass begins to refill, cursing.
Hurry, the body over there, the woman. All internal damage. Take her body, nobody will be able to tell it's dead for several days. Not that we'll be here that long. The voice says, drawing Luna's attention to the body of a woman in her mid 20's who's crumpled against the curb, with no hourglass over her. Touch the body and will yourself in, before the creatures notice us. Unless you want to go for a ride with one of them.
So we are dead. She thinks this more to herself than her gem as she slowly moves to take control of the body as told trying her best to ignore the scene around her.
If you were dead, you'd be with one of those two creatures. And if they find you, you will be with one of them. I told you you wouldn't like being back here. Which of the two do you think would show up for you, given your life you had? The one who plays with your soul, or the one who stores you for judgement by a being that doesn't exist anymore?
As Luna touches the body, and wills herself into it, she suddenly realizes she's wet and cold. The body isn't breathing, although as she thinks about it, the body begins to breath, although she can tell that isn't working so well, there is damage to the lungs, a rib, internal damage too. But she's feeling it at one remove.
It's too late to pick from these, we have to find some before they die. Once they die, or are even seriously injured, it's too late.
As Luna gets up, she realizes all the humans are ignoring her, even as they move around her to help others.
There, see that group? Their timers are all counting down... follow them... Indeed, there's a group of four moving away from the accident, and their hourglasses are all nearly empty, despite their being rather young. They are also counting down at the same rate. Something's going to happen to all four at the same time. There may be more. We lucked out, there might be many more to choose from. And you have an hour before it happens, since you wanted to choose more carefully. Or not choose. It's your choice, girl. You can even stay here if you want, sneaking from body to body. Just don't get caught outside one. Now, I'm tired, getting you here was exhausting, and I need to rebuild to take you and the ones you choose, if you do.
And the voice is gone.
Luna follows along behind the group of four, and they walk down into an underground bar called the Flying Dutchmen, all huddled beneath their ponchos and umbrellas.
As Luna steps in, her eyes see the entire bar, without needing to adjust for the dim light. Most of the bar inhabitants have small hourglasses over their heads, and all of them are counting down at the same rate.
If I'm not dead why can I not use my own body? She didn't really expect an answer as she focuses on breathing and keep the rest of the ruined body working and headed after the group.
Johnny wasn't sure how he expected the strange girl to respond. But punching him certainly wasn't it. "Listen doll, hittin' a fella who just asked ya how he could help ain't exactly polite."
He then blinks and looks around. Wait, what was that light? Looked like...a bomb?
Luna know looked much different than the brown haired women from before, she was slightly younger with light blonde hair; she wore what looked like leather armor and was armed with two well made daggers. She was also much calmer as she spoke to them this time.
"That was you dying, both of you actually. I tried to warn the girl maybe she made it out since she still had time, anyway you both have a choice to make and I'd suggest you hurry come with me into what I can only really describe as another world or wait here for them to take your soul; before you ask I've no idea where they take you."
Knowing she was now dead didn't give her much of a reason to stay, everything she'd ever done in this world was now meaningless so she called to the gem that sent her here.
"You win, bring us back."
The white ones put you on a shelf to wait for a judge that's no longer existant. The black ones torture you for a few thousand years, slowly eating your soul.
The two don't really have much choice, as the gray light they are in vanishes.
Luna awakens first, her body stiff and awkward at first, but she finally begins to move, despite the aches and headache.
The other two won't arrive until we are out of the chamber. It was constructed so none of us can be inside it when people wake up. To prevent us from influencing those stolen away. Once we leave, it will seal up, as it did with you, and they'll appear and awaken.
Luna would leave as instructed but made sure she was close enough to guide them when they did awaken.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Slowly awareness returns. It starts off as something nagging you, as if from a great distance something was wrong, but you can't quite figure out what it was. And then finally it blooms in full awareness.
Pain rushes through your consciousness. Every muscle, every bone, every organ, every follicle. PAIN Pain so bad you can't even whimper or articulate it. Pain so strong your body can't even move or twitch.
Time passes.
What seems like centuries of pain eventually dims down, taking decades to pass, until finally the pain is bearable. Until finally you can begin to crack open a single eyelid to look around. You expect a hospital room perhaps. But instead, you find yourself looking at stone. Brown stone... with glowing quartz crystals. The quartz slowly get's brighter over a few minutes, as if the sun were rising somewhere and shining through the crystal.
As your eye swivels, you see stone around you... a cavern... and dead bodies... dead bodies everywhere... most of them are long dead, no more than skeletons with bits of rag and clothing remnants, a few stray hairs here and there. Some are more recent, with battered and rusted armor clinging to mummified husks.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
There is a wall here, it appears to be stone bars from floor to ceiling. They disappear into the natural stone, and are hard as steel. Each bar is 5 inches across, and run horizontal to the floor. They block the natural progress of the cavern.
A relief is carved into the northeastern wall. A picture of a man in a coat, with scrolls tucked into his belt. In one hand, he holds a hand-crossbow with an empty divot in it as if something were supposed to be in it, but isn't. In the other, a jug that looks like a jug of wine. His face has a grin on it as he stares out of the painting. His skin is covered in runes, as if he were tattoo'd from head to toe. Behind him is a room full of people who seem to be in the midst of a party, the walls of the room are covered with scrolls, books, and various bottles and tubes. Primitive looking mechanical constructs seem to be serving the guests. The entire relief looks like it has thousands of little cracks running through it.
A relief is carved into the southern wall. A warrior in a set of half-plate, the armor is wickedly spiked. He holds a spiked chain with bits of flesh and bones hanging from the spikes. He stands atop a pile of gory bodies. Behind him stands a round stone with swirls that never seem to end. A swirling black onyx rests in the chestpiece of his armor.
This open Area contains stalagmites and stalactites that have grown together. The ceiling has an extra large quartz crystal in it that illuminates the Area brightly.
A relief is carved into the western wall. A heavy browed man wearing a animal hides upon his body, which is massive enough that it takes a several hides to cover it. A wolf’s head sit’s atop his head.. A large round moonstone is centered where the wolf’s eyes should be, the head of which forms the man’s helmet. He holds a lucern hammer in both hands, and seems to be growling at the viewer. Behind him, a round white tower juts up from the stony ground.
A relief is carved into the small alcove here. A young man in a chain shirt with a lute on his back stands before a building that looks like an inn. A rapier hangs at his side. His expression is calm, and his lips are curved with a friendly smile. His outfit and equipment seem to be that of a traveller, a backpack, pouch, torch, and other equipment that would be needed to explore unexplored areas. A round blue sapphire is held in the dog's mouth.
Unlike most of the bodies in the cavern, there are a couple of semi-fresh bodies here. One is a man dressed in a grey uniform with black crosses on the lapels and a black cross medal on the breast. His body is cut up, and his uniform soaked in blood. He's missing part of the back of his skull, as if something had torn it out. A woman in a brown flight jacket also lays here, her face mutilated beyond recognition. She also appears to have been cut and stabbed repeatedly. Black bloodstains covere the stones.
A relief is carved into the wall here in the small alcove. A woman in metal armor sits atop a horse, a lance balanced on her stirrup and a shield on her opposite arm. In the center of the shield is depression in the shape of a horse, as if something were there but is no longer there. Behind her is an imposing looking fortress. The horse wears heavy metal armor similar to the armor worn by the woman. Bodies hang from the battlements of the fortress, the mouths open in cries of agony.
A relief is carved into the wall here in the alcove. A long haired woman in scale mail armor, with an oversized sword on her hip. She has a wry smile on her face that’s only visible due to the vizor on her helmet being opened. Behind her stands a round tower with what looks like winds blowing around it. Centered in her armor is a round blue gem. Birds fly overhead, and an eagle is purched on the tower, looking over her from above.
A relief is carved into the wall of this alcove. A woman in hard armor stands amongst trees, a bow in one hand, looking out. On her brow is a circlet with an oval green gem. In the background is a giant tree rising above the trees she is standing in. Forest animals peak out from hidden locations, as do lizards and geckos. Her hair is long, but tied back. Her face is stern looking, but there’s a hint of amusement on her face, especially where her lip curls ever so much.
Two reliefs are carved into the north and south walls of this cavern.
To the north]A tall broad-shouldered man in chainmail with a heavy looking warhammer held casually over his shoulder. His broad face has a welcoming smile on it, and a tool belt hangs from his hips. In the background, a large house puffs smoke and anvils can be seen. A large, scaled dragon is draped over the top of the building, with smoke puffing out of it’s nostrils. A square depression is centered on his belt buckle, as if something was previously there, but isn't anymore. The entire relief is cracked into thousands of cracks.
To the south]A man in a silk robe with a metal plate strapped over his stomach looks out from the relief. He smiles with a friendly easy smile, his long hair tied back in a pony tail. A strange multi-segmented sword hangs from his waist, and a dog with small packs on it’s back stands next to him. In the ring on his finger is a large oval orange gem. Behind him is a wagon with cargo on top, and an enclosed living area.
A relief is carved into the western wall of the alcove. A slim man in a breastplate that has wave patterns on it’s chest plate. In the center is a triangular blue gem. He holds a harpoon in one hand, and a coil of rope leading to it in the other hand. Behind him is a coral edifice with sharks swimming around it. He has a forbidding look on his face.
A relief is carved into the eastern wall of this alcove. A man in articulated breastplate sits astride a long lizard with flames pouring from it’s mouth. The eye of the lizard is a starburst shaped divot, as if something had been there previously but removed. The man holds an odd looking sword with flame shaped rings in the back of the blade. His hair moves as if blown by a wind, but resembles flames. Behind him a volcano rises up.
A relief is carved into the northeastern wall of this cavern. A man with scars on his face carries a heavily recurved long bow. His leather armor is studded with what looks like bone chunks. From his waist hang severed human heads. Behind him, a camouflaged wooden building can barely be seen. Feline eyes peak out from shadows around the building.
A relief is carved into the wall of this alcove. A handsome looking man in a mask, wearing leather armor stands within the relief. Behind him is a simple wooden building. His face is partially obscured by a mask, and coiled around his shoulder is a long whip with bits of metal on the whip end. Just noticeable hiding in the shadows of the building is a masked animal with an leer on it’s face. The tip of the whip has an indentation in the shape of a pentagram, as if something had been in the relief, but is no longer there.
A relief is carved into the wall of this alcove. A woman in a long dress with a leather corsette stares out of the relief. She walks with one hand on a scythe, and a raven on her shoulder. Bones outline her clothing as a motif. About her waist is cinched a heavy leather belt with a white skull stone inset for the buckle. Behind her, a house made of bones can be seen, with skeletal creatures surrounding it.
A relief is carved into the wall of this chamber. A woman in a long cloth robe stares out, her features regular and firm. She holds a walking stick in one hand, while the other cups a round rainbow colored gem. Behind her is a tall spiky tower with lightning striking behind it. At her feet a small bright eyed and bushy tailed animal curles itself, looking both smug and cute simultaneously.
There are three reliefs in this room, carved into the alcoves. All three appear to have the same asian woman, but in 3 different scenes.
Relief 1]A woman stands on one foot, the other leg bent and raised up so the heel rests against her inner thigh. She wears a flowing silk garment and holds metal fans in each hand. Her face is serene, and on her forehead rests a yellow gemstone. Behind her a simple wooden building with a sun motif on it.
Relief 2]A woman holding a short staff and wearing cloth wrapped armor stands on a building top. Her face is obscured by a mask. On her brow rests a pyramidal black stone that seems to absorb the light around it. Within the relief can be seen dozens of scorpions of various sizes.
Relief 3]A woman in full body armor sits astride a unicorn, a pair of short blades in her hands. She wears an ornate set of armor, and a helmet rides her head. On her brow is an octagonal clear gem. Behind her is a fortress with tall walls and regular crenelations.
Uggg, must've been the mob. Of all the g&*~*!n ways to go, it had to be by their hands. Johnny hissed silently as another wave of pain overtook him. Question is, alive or dead?
He forces himself to open one eye, seeing the dead bodies and...armor? around him. F*ck. Dead. Hell? Really? I know I weren't no saint, but I didn't think I did that bad. Did the best I could with what hand I was dealt. Didn't rob no old ladies or take candy from babes or nothing. Generally even managed to avoid too much violence. Mebbe shoulda paid more attention to them nuns at school.
After another moment, he forces himself to stand, almost falling back down in pain in the process. This feels worse'n that time I drank too much tequila an' woke up to a killer hangover and an empty wallet, complements of that random hook-- yup, definitely in hell.
Somehow he manages to stagger over to the wall. More out of necessity than any other reason. The decor gives him yet more evidence in support of his theory. He blinks at the carving, eyes tracing the outlines of the missing horse. What's with the medieval themed decor? Although it was the dark ages an' all, so I guess it makes sense.
He considers calling out, but decides against it, not wanting to draw the attention of any nearby demons. He then wearily and waring heads towards the most obvious exit.
Lina meets Neri and Luna outside the chamber. "Right. New recruits, Luna? Did you figure out how we travel back and forth from our world? And any chance you managed to find a gunsmith?"
By the way, you realize that you now have enough girls for a singing group called the Elles right? :)