"Be safe... We still do not fully understand this temple, though the spirits have confirmed its gory history....."
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Siegshcwert pondered at the chain and weight for long minutes. Surely breaking it as it was could prove dangerous... very dangerous.
"If we... break the chain now... the force freed would be... harmful." says the man clad in steel as he tries to enter his arms and torso through the hole and reach the chain "But if we... pull the chain until... it remains... lax... there will be no danger."
Having said that, the knight does so.
[Ooc]Idea is to pull the chain from above, as it should still have some feets if not meters left of length until we have a lax section we can safely break. Maybe even pull the section outside the hole so we can break it from the room. In any case, we will need strength to pull it and I am tempted to simply choose 20 and spend as much time as needed.[/b]
"Maybe we can try to break the door first?" suggests Ludwig. "If that doesn't work, I can summon a weapon long enough that you do not suffer any injuries?"
Siegschwert hefts his mighty blade and sets upon the door. After six or so blows the door is obviously damaged, yet the rest of the survivors watching know that brute forcing their way through will be an arduous process.
Even so Siegschwert carries on. It takes the better part of half an hour for him to hack away a space that the survivors might be able to slip through.
"I'll go in first," says Ludwig and steps inside the hole made by Sir Siegschwert.
Yuria waits for the others to go, holding her hands clasped in anticipation of what it was her poltergeist had seen. "No matter what is through that door, I will do my best to keep us all alive. Thank you for making a clear path, Sir Siegschwert." She whispers and nods her head in respect towards Siegschwert before falling in with everyone else.
Readying his machetes, Pengaal squeezes through as well.
Ludwig pushes himself through the hole, followed shortly by Pengaal.
Reaching the other side they find themselves in a long corridor, about 30 ft wide that stretches on into darkness. The first thing they notice is the remnants of some great battle that fill the corridor. Abandoned weapons, rotting corpses, and sundered armor litter the area.
You recognize at a glance that many of the bodies bear the markings of Twilight Knights.
Turning, they see the culprit behind the locked corpse. The robed body of a man, easily 10 ft tall, hangs from the door defiantly. His right shoulder and lower abdomen are penetrated by the long iron spikes they had seen on the other side, effectively holding the door shut.
Looking around wide-eyed at the carnage and then up at the impaled giant, Pengaal speaks in a whisper. "What happened here?"
Inspecting the bodies Siegschwert finds other armored figures, and while they are obviously not Twilight Knights he is not immediately sure what they are.
You recognize the other corpses as belonging to an ancient group known collectively as the King's Men. They were foot soldiers, heralding the appearance of more powerful entities such as the King.
"And who is that?" Ludwig adds, pointing at the giant with a tip of his scythe and walks a bit further down the corridor, examining the passage.
"The King's Men.... A king moved through here, or close to here.... But what would he want with such a temple... Who was this king?"
Yuria keeps lightning crackling in her hands as they walk about, looking back and forth for any further clues or signs as to what had happened here.
Ludwig finds that the passage starts transforms into a wide staircase after a little ways, descending into the mountain.
"Another question begs an answer: If the Knights held the door, as it seems they did - by the large one's sacrifice, at least - then how did those inside die? And is the crucified one kin to those who we saw in the mist?"
Absent the dead rising to answer his questions, Pengaal makes to move down the halway. His eyes dart back and forth in the torchlight as he descends the steps.
Yuria traces a hand over the figure stabbed through and into the door "The Twilight Knights were the King's enemies.... It seems he had his eyes set on this place, Champions. We should, as always, be careful. Who knows what powers the King coveted from here, what secrets he murdered to obtain. What secrets might still be here."
"We should venture deeper into the mountain," Ludwig stares into the staircase. "We will find our answers there."
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The knight heeds Ludwig's advice and advances beyond Pengaal, stopping to speak to his companion "Allow me... to be... the spearhead.... of our advance."
Having said that, Siegschwert waits for the rest to start moving before advancing further down the path and later the stairs, his bastard sword always at the ready.
The survivors move away from the scene. The secrets of the inverted mountain draws them deeper into its heart.
Moving down the stairs they decend, following the hewn tunnel as it gently turns. For a while, only their lights drive away the darkness but eventually Siegschwert notices a growing light ahead, indicating that they are coming to another room.
You hear the sound of rustling feet and grating armor coming from the room ahead.
Stopping dead in his tracks, Pengaal whirls around and beckons the others closer. "Movement ahead. Be ready." He drops his torch, draws his scimitars, and starts walking forward again.
Ludwig nods, gathers himself and follows Pengaal with his weapon ready.
"Let me bless us with Sun's vigor," whispers Ludwig before casting his Replenishment miracle.
Yuria gives a golden radiating smile at Ludwig's blessing "Praise the Sun, Ludwig. I am happy to see more light brought into this place." She ensures that she has given everyone a touch of her blessing for the day should the worst happen, looking for a mark of the sun on each of their backs as she holds her hands together.
Confirming she has Yuria spreads out her clasped hands to unveil two crackling orbs of golden yellow lightning with a small nod "I am prepared as I can be to meet.... Whatever it is ahead. I will do my best to keep us all alive. Such is my duty as a People of the Sun."
"I will reclaim what was lost here for us, Sorrel. I will ensure our glory is restored."
Slowly the survivors inch forward towards the light. They find themselves in another large room semi-rectangular room. It is about 50 ft wide and 70 ft long, and on the opposite end from where you are the room is flanked by two-large tunnels that extend into the ceiling.
More pressing are the imposing forms of two armored men wielding glowing halberds in the rooms. The tattered body of a twilight knight lying at their feet betrays their intentions, and they turn to face the group
Without saying a word Ludwig charges into one of the knight, thrusting his scythe into the joints of his armor.
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Siegschwert's eyes move from the armored men to the body at their feet. The Librarian Knight feels a wrath he hasn't experienced in years, not since the rioters tried to burn his beloved Library.
With a yell born of suppresed memories and anger, the huge man moves toward the armored soldier that Ludwig didn't attack, and mightily strikes him.
"Despoilers!... Assassins... Treacherous bastards!" he yells as he attacks.
Apparently, they are not our friends... Leaping alongside Sir Siegschwert, Pengaal skitters around the knight before closing in a flurry of knees and elbows; his machetes fending off the glowing halbard.
Yuria spins in a fluid motion as one of the two crackling balls of lightning are let off after the knight in front of Felicia as she stops in a flourish just behind the other Champion.
Another bolt of lightning, this one straight and thin, bursts to life in Yuria's hand. She throws this one at the same target with a forceful throw -
Felicia leaps to action as her companions break off to the halberded figures. She dashes along with Ludwig and smashes her shield into the imposing hulk in front of her.
As a group the survivors charge into the room brandishing blades and flanked in the glorious bursts of Yuria's spells.
Ludwig swings his scythe but finds the armor to be unyielding to the blow.
Siegschwert unleashes a blow of his own on the other Kings Man, who raises his halberd and blocks the attack in a cacophony of steel. Pengaal follows, aiming for an opening. The Kings Man, struggling with Siegschwert, only spares him a glance. In that moment Pengaal is overwhelmed by an intense pressure that causes one of his strikes to stop in midair. He is able to power through and deliver another two strikes, gouging deep scours in the armor.
Yuria fires two searing lighting attacks into the room. The first flies just past Ludwig but suddenly soars away from the intended target as the second Kings Man exhibits another wave of intense pressure. The second bolt scorches his armor but leaves him otherwise unharmed. That is, until Felicia charges forward and delivers a solid strike with her shield.
The Kings Men have weathered the surprise the charge by the survivors and now retaliate. They are slow, ponderous even, but their attacks are ferociously powerful. The first turns his halberd on Ludwig, only narrowly missing, before delivering two debilitating gut-strikes to Felicia
On the otherside of the room the Kings Man finally breaks the stalemate with Siegschwert and throws his blade aside, using the opportunity to deliver cleaving blows across the warriors head and shoulders. It then turns to Pengaal to continue its rampage only to be interrupted as the latter catches the blow in a flurry of steel. The Kings Man is thrown to the side but catches itself and is able to remain standing.
Ludwig continues his onslaught, slashing and thrusting the Kings Man, distracting him and trying to make an opening for Felicia.
Closing the distance with a springing leap, Pengaal's machetes are bared as he lands at extension and, with a wiry coiling of his waist, chops at the Kingsman's knee and gut.
After that, I'm going to full attack using the first attack as a trip attempt.
Yuria steadies her ground as she clasps her hands together and a radiating aura of crackling gold emits from her body. It washes over the other Champions surrounding her, bathing them in her healing. The feeling is quite similar to the sunlight first touching your skin as you walk outside.
She furthers this to cast her second orb after the Kings Guard just in front of her and Felicia, hoping that it would do more than glance off their armor.
"You will not fall today.... Not just yet. I will hold you all up to the test of this King!"
Felicia gasps as the wind is knocked from her body. She clenches her teeth and sucks in air before yelling loudly and throwing blows back to her attackers.
Both of Siegschwert's attacks either miss or are deflected off of the Kings Mans sculpted armor. He gets the creeping sense two are incredibly skilled fighters and will not be killed so easily, as well as the ominous realization as to the fate of the Twilight Knights that came before him.
Pengaal interrupts to strike at the Kings Mans exposed greave, sending the creature sprawling to the ground. Seizing the opportunity he falls upon him in a flurry of steel. He finds himself battling a wave of pressure again but manages to find his way through despite it.
Nearby Ludwig works on the other Kings Man with his scythe to no avail and Yuria's bolt is stopped midair by another wave of pressure. Felicia seizes the opportunity to smash her shield across the back of the warriors exposed head, causing it to stumble.
The second Kings Man pushes Pengaal away with a hasty pommel strike and stumbles to its feet.
The first turns away from Felicia and Ludwig and rushes towards Yuria once it sees her miracles take effects. A crushing halberd blow tears up the ground near the Deep Speaker and the Kings Man draws itself over her intimidatingly.
Kings Man 1 91/136
Kings Man 2 56/136
Pengaal presses the attack, taking a swipe at the knight as it's standing and then hacking brutally at it's wrists to try and divest it of it's halberd.
Ludwig uses the King Man carelessness to launch his own attack.
The Twilight Knight rushes towards Yuria, striking the enemy with great force.
Yuria crosses both of her arms against the oncoming enemy with a sigh "You thought me helpless... But I simply borrow the power of others so that I can forever guard the way of Champions. You will give me what life you have left, Kings Guard!
Champions, kill it while it focuses on me! I will withstand the blow."
Yuria glows a bright gold as her aura slowly crawls over and onto the Kings Guard. It begins funneling something from him as another of her weaving souls bursts in the air.
As the knight rushes past Felicia she takes a chance to land a quick parting blow.
She follows fast to try and protect Yuria before too much harm comes to her.
The Kings Man fighting Pengaal and Siegschwert staggers under the weight of their combined attacks, even as its aura deflects their blows. It is in its death throws, yet it fights on. Fortunately the combined defenses of the survivors staves off its attacks.
Across the room the other Kings Man shrugs off blows from Felicia and Ludwig. When Yuria starts to siphon energy from the creature she can tell something is deeply, deeply wrong. Her chest burns white hot from the energy. The Kings Man takes the opportunity created by her distraction and smashes her across the face with the hilt of its halberd, following it up with a stab that penetrates her chest. It turns to deliver a final cleaving slash to Felicia.
Kings Man 1 81/136
Kings Man 2 8/136
He... It's still standing? Spinning on his heel with a wicked flourish, Pengaal slides inside it's guard and cuts up at the seam of the Kingsman's helmet.
"Just how tough are they?!" exclaims Ludwig, delivering two more strikes to the Kings Man.