Yasmin shakes her head and lowers her bow slightly. "Whatever disaster happened here, it's totally destroyed the integrity of this prison," she says. "Which is kinda good? Maybe? But also potentially bad?"
"Xeros, was there anyone else here who could talk to the Warden before?"
”We guards could from outside. Inside? One of Xeros’ friends try to lower it like doors?” he talks before shaking his head. ”There’s no one else, only graves. Xeros was told to come here. But Xeros can’t do anything. Something’s... not right? No. Xeros was told to come here. Xeros came. Try key?” he continues on before walking up and tapping the pillar.
Which causes a piece to snap off with a loud snap, followed by a sloshing crash as it shatters on the floor. ”Uh-oh...” he mumbles as more cracks spread from where he tapped. Turning to Yasmin and Yelenn he simply says ”Friends should step back.”
Yasmin quickly does as instructed and steps back from the creaking structure.
Yelenn warily steps back as well, keeping her guard up as she watches the pillar.
The cracks spread and rise, each individual fracture’s sound of life filling the room until... nothing.
The entire structure remains standing and whole even as its entire surface is spiderwebbed. Which, after a few moments of watching prompts a sigh from Xeros who then promptly swats at the the pillar. At once the lower section gives away in a sharp flood, followed by the layer above it, then the next, then the next, until the entirety of pillar has flooded to its base in a shower of shards.
Xeros stands at the base unperturbed as he’s showered, after he looks over and smiles at the others. ”Guard.” is all he says before looking back at the where the pillar used to be. Sittinng by itself is one of the basins from the alcoves, unmarred, aside from the rain of broken glass is just endured. It was covered, thankfully, and now a blanket of glass covers it. Save for the base.
Potruding from it is a pointed rectangular gem, surrounded by a swirling of misty clumps of... something. At once bright white and pitch black, it actually doesn’t seem to give off any light despite its intensity.
”Warden?” Xeros calls out as he gently begins to wipe away the debris from the top of the basin. ”Warden!” he happily announces.
The front of the obsidian figure all but disintegrated in a wave of acrid smoke as it was met with the flood of glass, though the rest of the figure remains standing, no doubt helped by its armor.
Seranna and Zogith move back, giving Xeroes plenty of room to do whatever it is he was about to do. And Seranna was quite thankful she did, for not long after that the pillar before them shattered and broken glass rained down. It seemed that the gargoyle was hit by most of the debris, blocking the group from being hit, which was a blessing as it hardly seemed to affect him in the least. When Seranna looked back to the pillar she saw a strange gem and swirling lights around it. She titled her head staring at it for a moment before glancing at her friends.
“Um…at the risk of repeating myself,” As she felt this question had become a frequent one, “What…exactly am I looking at?”
”Banned... something.” Xeros mutters as he swipes the broken glass off the covering of the basin.
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"Bandersnatch?"
"That sounds familiar but, I don't think so." Yelenn responds, her usual curiosity for the arcane taking over. Walking forward she looks at the unusual gem.
”Bandersnatch? No, they were all going to be in banned... something. Xeros can’t remmeber the second word. Xeros doesn’t know how to wake her up either...” he thinks aloud before turning to the gem. ”Does Xeros’ friends know what that is?”
Taking a deep breath, the magus bends down and picks up the crystal, with only a moment of hesitation.
Yelenn feels a pleasant warmth in her hand as she reaches through the mist and grips the crystal, the mist flowing to her arm before seemingly shying away and floating on the other side. Once she removes it from its base the bright mist drains down into the basin.
”You broke it!” Xeros calls out before tilting his head. ”... or is that what you’re supposed to do?”
A moment later a heavy thump comes from within the device, causing Xeros to jump back as the top of the basin begins to disappear. The moment the tiniest of openings is made the group is able to hear very stressed breaths coming from within. Once the top is gone it’s occupant sits up and braces her arms on the edge, heaving and gasping.
A long silvery mane of white hair topped her head with long pointed ear poking out, serving as a contrast to the dark blue of her skin. When she opened her eyes the sclera was black while her irises were a vibrant silver, showing off even brighter as they reflected Yelenn’s Witchlights. Aside from a simple purple gown that tried to be modest but failed slightly due to its thinness she wore an assortment of jewelry. Sharp silver capped the end of one ear, and a few fingers had clawed rings of silver as well.
Steadying herself, her breathing is still ragged as she begins to look around, finally noticing the other people around her. ”What... is going on?” she asks in perfect Common, her voice husky.
"Umm..." Yasmin hesitates, then takes the plunge. "We were visiting this place, and discovered it's suffered some kind of disaster. Something damaged this place and many things are... broken. Xeros here said you might... know more about what has happened here?"
The woman focuses on Yasmin as she answers, her breathing steadying. ”Disaster? No, we’ve all been in suspended animation.” She starts before turning to Xeros. ”Captain of the Guard, what is the status of the prisoner and this installation?”
Xeros promptly sits at attention to answer. ”Prisoner is still in his cell, we checked. Everyone else is... sleeping. Not a prison, just a grave.”
As he talks the Warden’s face switches from focus to confusion to concern. ”What do you mean sleeping? Where is everyone? I need to check on them! I need-“ her breathing picking back up in panic she tries to scramble out of the basin before her eyes go heavy and she promptly collapses, the bright dark and white wisps floating where she had a been. After a delay the wisps float back down, easily passing though her flesh, which elicits a loud gasp of air as she tries to sit back up. ”What was that?! Who did that?!”
"What was... what? You just collapsed for a moment there. Something big hit the prison, or exploded, there's a lot of damage. Are you sure you're all right?" says Yasmin with a look of concern.
”I just collapsed?” she repeated before her eyes started to dart back and forth, obviously trying to contain her panic. ”Yes, these containers constantly renew the body against any physical wounds or degradation. Was the receptacle-the gem at the base, was it damaged or glowing weirdly?”
"It didn't look damaged - but I'm not sure what to look for," admits Yasmin. "Yelenn? Can you hold it up for her to see?"
The Warden quickly begins looking for who might be “Yelenn” before spying the gem in the Magus’ hand. ”It should be unblemished, and had a slight brightness within it without giving off any light.”
"Definitely had the unusual brightness, white and black contrasts," says Yasmin.
The Warden purses her lips. ”And it wasn’t leaking anything?”
"Well... there was a sort of fragmentary mist around the whole statue-like form that surrounded this thing before we reached the crystal? If that's what you mean?" says Yasmin.
Yelenn steps forward presenting the Warden with the crystal, intrigued by what they'd just witnessed.
The Warden leans over as much as she is able, peering at the gem. ”It looks fine to me.” she thinks aloud.
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Most of what had happened after they entered the room and the pillar cracked was a blur to the serpentine Mylyna. Adrenaline had her about to leap to Xeros' and pull him from the imminent collapse when it just...stopped? As they found the crystal and it suddenly released some glowing mist she was startled, and when the "statue" cracked open and began to gasp she quickly slithered up behind Xeros for protection.
When she got a first look at the Warden Mylyna was somewhat entranced. The Warden was rather exotic looking and the fact that she was still alive, or was she? was surprising. As the Warden gasped and went unconscious as the black particles moved through her Mylyna realized those thins were very bad. "Quickly, get the Warden out of there, the black things are poison!" She slithered forward to try and help the Warden out of her precarious position and tried to extend a loop of coils for the Warden to grasp onto and help pull her out with.
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As the statue collapsed Xeros put a comforting arm inbetween the Lamae and statue.
~~~
”Huh? What? What is poison?! What are you doing?! Unhand me Lamyrian!” the Warden lets out as Mylyna wraps her coils around her.
Xeros stood still, looking between Mylyna and the Warden, conflicted on who precisely to help. ”Is okay, Warden. Mylyna is Good Friend.” he offers, which elicits a look of exasperation from the Warden who simply brings her hand to her temple. ”Of course she is...”
Setting the Warden down gently Mylyna looked at her curiously as she asked, "Lamyrian?" She was bery puzzled at the title, she'd never heard it before, "I'm a Lamae...do you mean the Lamia Matriarchs?" Mylyna uncoiled from around the Warden and slithered back as she said, "Poison," and pointed to where she had seen the black and white wisps that had fallen through her should be.
The Warden retains some semblance of calm as Mylyna sets her down. ”Lamyrian. Those of the Lamyros race... wait, are you not a Matriarch? You have the lower body of one.”
Where Mylyna pointed there was nothing, save an empty basin.
"No....Not poison. In fact I think it's what revived her." Yelenn says, following a flash of dark insight. Uttering a brief incantation, her eyes glowing blue as she stares at the crystal, the strange most and the basin.
The Warden looks to Yelenn with a curious look on her face, mouthing ”Poison?” as she does.
"Necromancy, that's what I thought." Yelenn looks up from the gem, her piercing gaze locking eyes with the warden. "The gems, those chambers that kept people alive for however long you've been in here, the swirling most that revived you.....It all runs on souls doesn't it?"
”In a sense.” The Warden plainly replies to Yelenn, ”Mine housed my soul, just like each receptacle housed another. The process separated our soul and body while refreshing both so neither decayed nor passed on, neither alive nor dead nor veering towards undeath. Ready to be revived as needed. Semi-eternal slumber was considered, but too many risks arose. Namely what would happen to a mortal mind aware and dreaming near-indefinitely. We had no way of knowing exactly how long we would be down here, and I haven’t the faintest idea of how long it’s been. It feels like just a few minutes ago I went to sleep.”
Her eyes drift to side for a moment, obviously in thought, before refocusing on Yelenn. ”A swirling mist? You were able to see it? Fascinating.”
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Mylyna considered the Warden's question carefully. Most of it made no sense to her her and it took some effort to figure it out. Finally she smiled and, not noticing the tension that seemed to be building about the suspended animation thing, she bounced her torso up and down excitedly and said, "Oh, I know the answer Warden!" She gestured to her own hersel as she said, "My sisters and I are born of the Mothers, the Ma-tree-archs, they raise us, train us in pleasure, and sell us to people to please them!" She bounced again as she reared back and "sat" on her coils causing things to jiggle enticingly as they always did.
"When we are old enough we become someone's property and pleasure him or her as they demand." She frowned slightly and then continued, "We are highly valued, very espansive, and are to corupt our Owners and their Friends and I was very happy!" She glared up at the place around them and the island beyond it, "Then my Master went and got us stuck on this island! I lost my clothes, my nest, and all the good food!" Her tail alshed temperamentally as she said pugnaciously, "So I ate him before the first day was out."
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Necromancy, stasis devices, guardians held in suspended animation for untold ages, and bodies and souls stored separately like an arrow stored beside its bow. Nothing about this situation was natural, with every piece of information that was revealed Seranna felt more ill at ease. Whether or not this was a place of evil was not for her to decide, but it was clear that it was a corrupted, terrible place. Small wonder the accursed were sent here to this island to die, it was already a breeding ground for blasphemies.
Mylyna acted as though she was trying to lighten the mood, but she spoke of her history, and as Seranna listened on she felt a great weight upon her heart. Mylyna’s birth, her purpose was horrific, she was raised to be a plaything for another, a tool of dual purpose. She would serve her master and corrupt them for the sake of her creator’s sinister goals. To think that a union of flesh meant little more to her than this…The noblewoman suddenly felt very ill. She leaned against Zogith to steady herself. She had to stay focused, this was hardly the time to play the role of the weak kneed noble.
“We think it is safe to say we’ve all lost a great deal. All the more reason to guard what we have jealously. We are not the only people on this island or even on this property. I had hoped the Warden could assure us that the facility is safe, but…it seems she’s just as much in the dark as we are.” She said before turning her head and smiling faintly at the Warden, “No disrespect Warden.”
The Warden blankly stared at the Lamae as she explained her story, trying to focus on the woman’s face though the bosom with area and momentum to give her a concussion kept catching her gaze. She made sure to to stay a few feet away from the excited snake woman for her own well being. [b]”Well, that’s... certainly interesting, thank you for sharing your story, Miss Mylyna.
”None taken,” The Warden promptly offers. ”Given my state I certainly wasn’t able to stay updated on the status of this installation and-wait, did you say Island?”
Seranna and Zogith exchanged glances. The duo communicating silently with one another about something. Their faces unreadable as they rapidly exchanged thoughts. Whatever was being said, it ended abruptly when the Warden addressed Seranna. The noble quirked a brow at her question. She certainly didn’t like its implication.
”Yes…all of us and this instillation are on an isolated island. A supposedly cursed one at that.” She said, wincing as she really wasn’t sure she should be the one telling her this, but she had to know, right?
The Warden blinked. ”What?” She then turned to Xeros. ”Do you know what she’s talking about?”
Xeros shakes his head.
"I'm guessing that wasn't always the case?" Seranna asked with a bit of hesitation.
”No. This installation was based in the frontier of southern Hadal, so most definitely not an island. Unless they got rid of the term ‘continent’ while I was indisposed. But I don’t think they did. Does Hadal sound familiar? Are we even on Taryn?” The Warden explains.
Seranna gave the woman a slightly perturbed look when she suggested that people didn’t use the term continent anymore, “I do know the difference between a continent and an island. I’m from the island nation of Esca. We are still on Tayrn, but I’ve never heard of Hadal.”
”Well I’ve never heard of Esca so I guess we’re even there.” The Warden responds with a slight smile. ”But we’re still on Taryn so that’s good. But no knowledge of Hadal? Ugh, if those damned Liches and Witches lost that dick measuring contest I’m going to be so pissed.”
Rubbing her temples with her fingers she gives them a shake in front of her to end the habit. She then begins to look around, first at... whatever it is kneeling in front of her and smoking before her eyes slowly drift about the room and she asks "Very well then, from whence do the rest of you hail from? Maybe some civilizations I recall have survived with me." Her eyes shifted in focus as she gazed about, from the look on her face obviously she wasn't even paying much attention to her own question.
”I’m actually somewhat familiar with Hadal, or at least some of its history.” Yelenn replies. ”I've read old tales that claim Bastarache and Hadal were once connected, but the monstrous wizard overlords of Hadal brought down a cataclysm to sever the land in two ages ago to prevent the all of Hadal from being consumed, thus creating Bastarache. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but that’s the legend.”
”I know Mylyna’s matriarchs are from Shybaris on Hadal. I also know that this place was picked as the ultimate prison because it’s somewhere not even the witches of Hadal have set eyes on.”
She lets out a tired sigh. "In answer to your question, I'm originally from Loth, but as an exile, I claim nowhere as my own now."
”Huh, that sounds like something they would do,” The Warden muses as Yelenn explains.
”Xeros wonders if that was what all that ruckus was awhile back? It was very uncomfortable, everything was shaking. It woke all of us up.” Xeros adds, which earns him an arched brow from the Warden.
”Shybaris you say? I haven’t heard of it, but it’s nice to know the Lamyros have a place of their own after being wanderers for so long. And not even the Witches of Saimon gaze upon this land? Most peculiar.” the Warden continues.
After Yelenn sighs she looks at her for a moment before stepping over and placing a hand on her shoulder. ”Well I doubt I would have been freed if not for your exile, so instead of Yelenn the Exile you are now Yelenn the Wakener.”
The gesture and words bring a smile to Yelenn's lips, the magus taking a deep breath as if relieved of some unseen burden. Her expression shifts slightly, a bit less confrontational. "I...thank you."
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The Warden gives a slight smile back before removing her arm. ”Thank you.” she responds. ”I do not know how the world above has changed, or what trials you all have endured to reach this point. But one can’t help but be filled with hope down in a forgotten prison when presented with such a motley crew. Now then, kittens, Captain of the Guard, what next?”
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For a brief moment there was change. The instant the warden started to close in on Yelenn, Seranna subtly altered her posture. One hand gently glided back along the fabric of her dress. On the surface it may have looked as though her fingers were wandering idly in thought, but those standing behind her could easily have interpreted the action as reaching for a concealed weapon. Her feet moved further apart and her knees slightly bent as if she was preparing to take a posture more appropriate for confrontation. Even Zogith seemed to pick up on her ideation and slipped in front of her.
Whatever sinister intent took hold of Seranna, it passed quickly. The woman taking on a relaxed demeanor when the Warden reassured Yelenn, a faint smile dancing on her lips when the magus showed signs that the assurance helped. Leaning back on her heels she gave an overly dramatic sigh that made it difficult to believe that the melodramatic noble could have ever been of any concern to anyone at all, “We were hoping you’d be able to answer that question, but I guess things couldn’t be quite that easy…”