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Fireday, 9th of Arodus, 4713, aprox. 12:00 p.m.
While Armasse officially began in a weeks’ time, the pre-festival joust and archery competitions drew large crowds. Lord Huirun himself, ruler of Kenabres, as well as many other notable figures were in attendance. The crowd gathered in Clydwell Plaza quieted as the aged inquisitor took the stage, clad in shining, resplendent armor. He cleared his throat, but just as he was about to speak and call up the winners of the competitions to claim their prize, a bright light shone from the west, as if the sun were rising from the wrong direction. Hulrun’s shadow fell huge and distorted across the cathedral’s facade. A moment later, the sound of a thunderous explosion ripped through the air and earth, along with a violent tremor.
To the west, the fortress known as the Kite-the location of Kenabres's wardstone- had vanished. In its place, a brilliant plume of red fi re, lightning, and smoke erupted into the heavens. A moment later, a powerful roar accompanied a welcome sight rising from the crowd-Kenabres's greatest guardian, the ancient silver dragon Terendelev, who had until that moment been attending the opening ceremony disguised as a human woman.
Above, another form appeared, as nightmarish as the dragon was breathtaking. A humanoid shape three times the size of any man, with skin coated in fire and lightning, gripped a flaming sword and whip. The creature's identity w s immediately obvious: Khorramzadeh, the Storm King of the Worldwound, had come to Kenabres! As the ground continued to shake and disgorge demons into the streets, the dragon and the balor lord clashed above. The fight was over in a few harrowing moments, as the balor cut deep into Terendelev's body, swooping down to strike the dragon and arresting her charge. A few more blows, and the titanic duo spiraled downward toward the crowd.
The sight of the dragon smashing into the facade of the Cathedra l of St. Clydwell is one no witness would ever forget. At that moment, a titanic demon erupted at the far end of the plaza, reducing several buildings and what remained of the archery field to ruins as it smashed into this world.
The rift it created shot across the plaza, and this meant there was no escape-it opened below you r feet, angling away into darkness. Even as you fell, the dragon noticed your plight. Though she saw death standing over her, she seized this final chance to save a few more souls. After she uttered a few arcane words and stretched out a bleed ng talon, you felt her magic take hold of you, slowing your plummet into the darkness as if you were feathers falling into a pit. Yet the fall remained as inexorable, and as you drifted downward into the depths, the last thing you saw was the Storm King standing before the ancient silver dragon, his sword lashing out and cleaving full through her neck. As her severed head fell, the rift above you slammed shut, and the light of the world above was gone. The screams however, remained. Cut off far too soon as the poor souls who fell with you met their fate on the ground below.
You land hard upon broken stone in a dark cavern. Your body aches and you’re badly bruised but there are no lasting injuries. No light reaches you and the air you breathe is thick with dust and the iron tang of blood. Far above you the muted sounds of rock grinding against itself still echoes. All around you though are the moans of the dying and wounded.
Kathak first sensations when regaining consciousness are of anguish and sorrow:[i]"What... hraaaagh! The pain... the PAIN! No! Forget that! Need to think clearly... What just happened???? The wardstone... gone??? The Storm King slew Terendelev!?!? And with her last breath she saved us before we could be next! By Torag's roaring forge! I need to put myself togheter. Such a noble sacrifice cannot go unavenged! The foul creatures need to be cleansed! The city... the city FELL!!!"[/b]
It takes all of Karthak's willpower to raise as the pain from his wounds is still intense. Yet he refuses to lay down now that he fully comprehends the enormity of what he just witnessed. This could very well be the beginning of the end of the world and he cannot allow a few minor aches to stop him from trying to stop it! As his head clears the dwarf scans his surroundings trying to get a better idea of his position and of the situation he's in.
Jokum blacks out as he hits the ground, but regains consciousness quickly. His first feeling on coming to is a sense of shock, then rage. All those lives lost...the child in the archery contest, the inquisitor, that noble dragon...so much senseless destruction. Suddenly he realizes that others may have survived the fall as well, and he clambers to his feet, strings his bow, and nocks an arrow.
"Hello? Is anyone alive out there?" he calls. His golden eyes reflect the little light there is like a cat's as he peers intently into the darkness.
Less inclined to fear falling than most Ce-Eshna is slightly shocked at just how much the impact HURT. The taint in the air only causing her more distress. Peering through the cloud of dust she tries to locate her friends, By the light they were nearby! Please, Terendelev must have protected them too! They musn't be dead! I couldn't bare that! Nearly frantic with worry she checks the dead and dying nearest her giving what comfort she can to those she knows she cannot save.
Tess had opened her mouth to answer the young man who'd stepped on her foot, but as the city- Kenebras, my city she thought vaguely- went to hell around them, her response died in her throat. Though their fall into the chasm was slow, her arms reflexively wrapped around Sorua, holding him tightly; her head craned around as long as possible before her view of the city above was lost. By the time she crested against the broken rock on the floor below, tears were already streaming over her mismatched cheeks. What's going on?! Are Linnae and Karl okay? There were so many people...
People... The voices in the dusty cavern begin to stir the air around her. Glad for the darkness, she wipes her face furiously on her sleeve and stands up, more than a little wobbly. "Hello? Hello, who's there? Are you okay?" She gropes her way to a cavern wall or tall stalagmite, hoping to steady herself and find some sort of orientation in the maddening darkness.
Wait... Darkness.
She cuddles her fox, grateful that she'd gone for him today, and casts a simple spell in the cavern, creating four blobs of light like torches (.) As they sputter into existence, she feels a small surge of pride, but moves them around to find the position that best lights the area around them. Knowing they won't last long, she prepares to summon them again when they fizzle out.
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Pollux lies aching on the ground, staring straight up at the chasm that had closed above him. Pollux is shocked and only comes to attention when he he hears voices calling out into the darkness. As he stands, four pale lights begin glowing and he takes in his surroundings.
"Am I in hell?" he asks himself. "Its not time yet..." he then begins rubbing the silver pentagram pinned to his chest, muttering under his breath as he does so.
Xaivan awoke from his brief moment of unconsciousness to the sounds of agony, both from others and himself. He was too scared to think about the events that had just changed his life. In fact, he was too scared to even know what to do next.
As he hears a couple of voices call out he remembers what the great dragon had done, saving a precious few from the fall, himself included. Yes, hello? Hello! I'm here! How many of us did the dragon save? Xaivan stands up and grunts, realizes for the first time just how bruised the fall caused him to become. As the Dancing Lights appear, the halfling tries to take in his new surroundings.
Does anyone know where we are?
As the dust begins to settle and light fills the chamber you notice that the wall of rubble behind you contains numerous examples of how close you came to death. Here and there, bodies are mixed with the rubble-citizens of Kenabres whom the dragon could not save. A chill runs down your spine as you see the remains of friends you met only the day before. Nearby though you can see someone moving be the edge of the debris. Seems a few other's may have survived the decent into the darkness.
Tess's eyes begin to water again when she notices the crumpled, lifeless bodies in the wall; she chokes back a sob and wipes her face on her sleeve once more. She wants to look, to search out the bodies to know who is among them, but she cannot bring herself to raise her eyes to it again.
Looking now anywhere but the wall of debris, she begins to take in the survivors around her. Some look vaguely familiar, others total strangers: the young man who had stepped on her foot was here, she noted numbly, but he seemed preoccupied in prayer.
Her eyes settled on one girl- a woman now?- who had already been her savior once in life. She found her feet moving on their own, and as she flicked the lights up again in a new casting, Tess touched the arm of the sylph.
"Ce-Eshna?" her eyes watered again, unbidden. "Are you okay?"
Jokum eyes the survivors who are on their feet. A girl, a man, an old woman, a dwarf, and a halfling...hopefully I can keep them safe. He moves over to Tess, and realizes that she is the source of the strange lights. Not just a girl then, it would seem.
"Are you hurt, girl-child? Those lights were a wise move." He calls out to the rest of the visible survivors, "Everybody, get together and stay inside the light!"
He keeps his hands on his bow, ready to draw, as he moves towards the shape in the darkness. All that chaos, a demon could've ended up down here too... "Who are you? he calls. "Show yourself! Do you need help?"
Tess stammers at the man's complimentary words. "Ah... It's nothing. Just a parlor trick-" she breaks off into a coughing fit, hoping to distract from the fact that the lights were her doing. "It's so dusty in here!"
She waves the halfling over toward where she stood with Ce-Eshna and Jokum, and tries to answer his question. "I have read about caverns under the city, and I've played in a few shallow caves outside of town before.... But I have no idea where anything leads down here." Her words end softly, slightly disappointed.
"Help, someone please, my leg. I-I think it's broken!" Near the rubble a woman lies on her back, a large stone trapping her left leg beanith it.
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Seeing that the noise is just an injured woman, Jokum lowers his bow, though it stays at the ready. "Does anyone know how to set a bone?" he calls gruffly to the others. "We have an injured woman here, and I have only field experience to guide me. Don't worry," he says, more softly, to the woman. "We'll get you out of there."
He keeps scanning the area not lit by Tess's lights for enemies, keeping a wary eye on the darkness.
Karthak moves towards the other survivors eyeing them warily:"This is no safe place that's for certain... Than, suddenly, a chill runs down Karthak's spine as he realizes the fate of the poor unfortunates left at the mercy of the demon army, so he goes on in a darker tone:"But compared with what's probably happening to the city above... we need to get back quickly and help save the citizen. The forces of the Abyss have begun a major invasion! We need to get back and drive them off or all might be lost!"
As the dwarf hears the woman's pleading for help he moves closer to her:"Check for survivors and help the wounded, but again... we need to act quickly. There's no time... people are dying as we speak!"
A few tears sting her eyes as Ce-Eshna finds bodies she was wont not to find... At least father should be safe. She looks up at Tess through the tears and works to pull herself together. Right, focus on the living, people I CAN help
She sobs a little as she speaks, "I'm fine, go see if you can help her." Standing she glances around and sees at least one person ready for battle, she follows suite nocking a cold iron arrow and moves towards the wounded woman.
"Ohhh..." A man's moans can be heard not too far off. The elf's features a ruined mess. His face torn and bloody.
What are we going to do? Save the citizens? I'm a citizen, not a hero! Xaivan exclaimed after hearing some of the things the others have said. We need to get out of here and then to somewhere safe! All I wanted to do was drink, gamble, win the archery competition maybe. Now look where I am! People are dead or dying, others are severely hurt and I can't do anything about it! I wish this never happened...
Xaivan starts to wander around the area, looking for a passage of some sort, anything that might lead him out of this dark, dusty tomb.
A large man lies to the west his elaborate clothes mark him a member of nobility. His head has a large gash, his face plastered with blood and dirt. While breathing, he is clearly unconscious.
Tess watches something change in Ce-Eshna's eyes- there would be time enough to mourn later, but now is the time for action. As the other girl moves to assist the woman, Tess nods solemnly to herself, and moves to the next sound of anguish.
He's an elven man, whose face has been raked over by something- the attack? The fall? She has never been much good with medicine, even if she had the best herbs and clean bandages, things decidedly not available to her here. In a low, soft voice, the girl begins to try to calm the man.
She tears away the part of her skirt that is the cleanest and begins to dab at the blood and arrange the skin back across the cuts.
Jokum gives the halfling a cold stare. This one...I will have to watch this one. He is a scavenger, not a wolf. Aloud, he says, "Kerp calm, fool. None of us are 'heroes;' do I look like a paladin? Make yourself useful and get that man lying unconscious all the way into the light. If he's too heavy for you, help the elf find a place to sit and start tearing up any spare fabric you can get your hands on for bandages." He pauses, breathing harder than he realized. "We can make it out of here, but we have to move together. Dwarf!" he calls. "Help me move this rock off her leg."
He bends to (gingerly) try to lift the rock off Anevia's leg.
Who is this guy to tell me what to do? Xaivan looks at the man with the funny-looking eyes. He certainly does not look like a paladin, I'll give him that. Surveying the situation, the halfling realizes that making enemies is not going to help him. This was not a card game or some alley to throw dice in.
Quickly, Xaivan starts to find articles of clothing that could be used as bandages from some of the corpses. They can no longer use their clothes but they might be useful to prevent one.
Seeing Tess has this one in hand, Ce-Eshna moves to help Jokum. She grabs the rock and gives it a good heave.
Kneeling after she looks around, sniffing at the air trying to determine if there is a breeze that may indicate a passage out. Moving out of the light she silently begins searching for the outer wall, keeping a close eye out for anything unpleasant.
Karthak moves near the wounded woman and "Well, no, you don't look like a paladin. I know their kind. And I would be glad to have one with us right now. But unfortunately I don't think Torag blessed us in that way, and so we'll make do with what he gave us. Now, please, let me help this woman" so saying Karthak examines the wound taking care to notice how to remove the stone without causing damage (or as little as possible)
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A small light sparks into being in Pollux's hand, emanating from a rock he picked up once his prayer was over. With his free hand he involuntarily wraps his fingers around his symbol and finds himself breathing heavily. After calming himself and glancing at the wounded that were being tended to, he finds a wall and begins to walk a perimeter around the cavern, cautiously.
Jokum watches the silent man go with some concern. "Don't stray far," he warns. "Caverns can be treacherous."
Turning to Ce'Eshna, he sees her full face for the first time. Not that old a woman. Not old at all, actually. "You look like you know how to handle that bow. Can you keep an eye out while I tend to this man?"
He then goes to haul Hargus Gwerm into the center of Tess's light. Borrowing some of the bandages Xavian made with a muttered "Thank you," he sets about tending the head wound.
I'm handy with a bow myself. Much better with that than tending to the wounded, I assure you. Xavian eyes the man once more. I probably won that archery competition, not that it'll ever matter now.
With that the halfling will go back to finding more cloth to make bandages from, figuring that they'll need more.
While curing the woman Karthak nods and raises his voice to be heard by Pollux:"I have to agree with the one who's not a paladin. Don't go wandering alone down here. There's safety in numbers... and we are threading on uncharted stones... as they say. By the way, I'm Karthak of the Ironbreaker clan, an agent of Torag's justice"
"Oh gods, my LEG!" She screams desperately as the stone is lifted with the combined effort of her rescuers. Her screams seem punctuated by a sudden shifting of stone and more dust settling down from the ceiling.
After she catches her breath her voice still trembles from the pain.
"Th-thank you. Where are we? What happened to the wardstone? I saw demons and fire then everything went black."
"My eyes... He turns his head about trying to look at you as you staunch the bleeding. "They're gone aren't they? The elf appears to resigned to his blindness. Tell me true. The last thing I saw was the lash of a demon. Does the city still stand? Did we repel their attack?"
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While curing the woman Karthak nods and raises his voice to be heard by Pollux:"I have to agree with the one who's not a paladin. Don't go wandering alone down here. There's safety in numbers... and we are threading on uncharted stones... as they say. By the way, I'm Karthak of the Ironbreaker clan, an agent of Torag's justice"
"Far be it from me to contradict a dwarf on uncharted stones," he says as Karthak introduces himself, but he looks in the dwarf's direction upon realizing his rudeness for not introducing himself. "I am Pollux Wardroxan of Elidir, a called and ordained servant of the lord prince of law, Asmodeus." His eyes wander back to the walls of the cave's room and he continues to look for an exit.
As the wounded come to Pollux holds his tongue, allowing their countrymen to continue tending to them.
As you drag the limp man across the uneven stones, his head strikes one and he lets out a sharp shout. "Ouch! Watch it you bumbling oaf. I'm not a sack of roots!" He gives you a rough kick and struggles to his feet. He roughly grabs the bandages and presses them against his forehead. Care to explain what made you think you could handle me so roughly peasant."
Tess stays her hand a moment with shock as she realizes the blood she was clearing had come not just from slashed-up skin, but now-ruined eyes as well. Her stomach shudders and she swallows hard to contain it.
She takes the man's hand uncertainly, trying to imagine seeing the situation with no vision. "I will give you as much truth as I know." With an unsteady voice, she attempts to summarize the situation frankly.
"A massive demon created a rift in the city, right under where we stood. With her last breath, the great silver dragon Terendelev was able to keep us from falling to our doom, but the ground closed up after swallowing us. We are now beneath the city, in a chasm I am not familiar with... and we do not know what happens overhead."
She glances around the room at those who have survived. "I am Tess Squires, a daughter of Kenabres. There are 5 others with me who have managed not to sustain great injury, as well as yourself, a woman with a broken leg, and a previously-unconscious nobleman. We will find a way to get us all out of here, but may I ask your name?"
Although Jokum stiffens slightly at hearing Pollux declare himself a servant of Asmodeus, he makes no comment. Responding to Gwerm, he says flatly, "You were unconscious and out of our light. I brought you in. Also, now you are not unconscious."
He pointedly turns away from the nobleman and addresses the others. "I am called Jokum, of the Breakbone clan from southern Sargavia-that-was. Well-met, Karthak, Pollux, Tess. And I am glad to hear," he adds for Xavian's benefit, "that we can all handle ourselves if the need for battle arises. We know not what else has fallen down here." Looking around, he stares off at an angle, as though looking at something unseen far above the cavern. "I can still faintly feel the sun. Not on my skin, it's just--an instinct I have. Once we are prepared, we should start trying to find a way out. We can make a map if necessary as we go."
Karthak finishes bandaging the woman's leg:"And done. I can't do more without resorting to the power of Torag himself. Do you think you can wal now? As for what happened... the girl has the right of it: we are under Kenabres, saved by Terendelev's mercy. As we speak the city is under siege by a demonic horde and might have fallen already. We need to get back quickly and join the fighting! And the wardstone... the wardstone failed us..." Karthak pronunces the last words in a dark tone, wanting to convey the gravity of the situation to all involved. Then he considers what the young man calling himself Pollux just said:An Asmodite? Law is all well and good, but his patron has other habits I would not esitate to call despicable... better to keep an eye on him, in case the apple didn't fall far from the tree...
Not wanting to stray too far Ce-Eshna moves back into the twilight just outside that shed by the magic. Her bow at the ready she remains concealed as best she can, trying to watch over the group.
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Pollux begins stepping back toward the group, eyes forward, fixed on the spot where the spider lies dormant. "Stay the wounded. There is a fairly large spider of some sort directly ahead of me. It has not budged nor made any move against me, but I am in no mood to tempt death twice this day." Pollux says, his free hand grabbing for his spear and his other hand clenching the stone tighter, to the point where sparkling dust begins to fall from the bottom of it.
He notices Ce-Eshna and acknowledges her with a silent nod. He then points his spear toward the direction of the spider, still moving carefully away from it.
Xaivan. Xaivan Slingblade. I'd say it's nice to meet you but I don't believe the circumstances of our acquaintance would deem that appropriate currently. Xaivan doesn't seem quite so standoffish once people begin to talk a little more freely.
Upon the announcement that the group has a visitor the halfling gets a little nervous. A spider? You sure its not another demon? Xaivan readies his bow toward the darkness, scanning the area in front of them in an attempt to see the potential enemy. What is it waiting for?
"If you have a bow, get an arrow on it," Jokum growls, following his own advice. He doesn't make any threatening moves yet, though. "And if you don't have a bow, get a hand on your blade. This thing hasn't moved towards us yet, but it might...what's more, we need to consider our food situation. I have a few trail rations, but it's not enough to cover this group even for one day. That spider could do in a pinch, if it's even remotely edible..." He moves in front of the wounded, covering them with his body as best he can as he studies the spider.
Ce-Eshna catches the warning about possible danger. Drawing an flask out of her pack she begins preparing a it with a scrap of cloth, drawing a tindertwig she makes it ready. Hissing quietly at the people who say they can see it she whipsers, "How far? I'll light it up!"
At the mention of the huge spider Karthak fixes his gaze on the spot it's supposed to be.
"A spider? Whatever. We need to move: those who can should arm themselves and follow me. Staying here is not an option, and fighting togheter gives us much better chances than fighting alone. Let's kill this thing people!"