So let's cut them down. Get yourself behind a rock before you start firing that thing. And dont go hitting any of us in the rear.
Kabal was looking forward to a fight. He was still pissed that Corvax had run off again and was just looking for something to take the blame for it. Sword and shield were at the ready and unless he heard a good reason to stop he starting making his way towards the scrawny dark elves.
Caterine does not speak for risk of being overheard, though she does strain her ears for snatches of words being spoken by the drow...
Perception:
...her well-loved whip is once more held coiled in her right hand.
This is the most annyoing thing we had to do since we came here...catching these monsters is stupid and dangerous work...hey, why don't we just let the wagon stay here until tomorrow, Shi'indira can fetch it herself then, heh.
Shut up you idiot, she will crush you like a worm if you disappoint her...she needs more akatas for the second round of tests, so come on and push!
While Kabal and Mercus got all ready and combative, they suddenly notice a band of akatas forming on the opposite edge of the hollow. It's a bit ghostly as the large cat-like predators assemble around a very big pack leader and get ready for their assault without making any noise.
The drow have no eyes or ears for them because they are still occupied with the wagon and it looks like the about 20 akatas are soon going to ambush them.
Hey, lets those akatas take care of the drow and we finish up whatevers left.
Kabal will uncharacteristically look for a place to hide and motion to Mercus to keep his head down.
Stealth -
Speaking in a very low tone and without taking eyes off the akata / drow "Aye, it would be wise to let them even the odds." moving to a spot out of sight, expecting that those with better eyes and easier to hide forms would take over the scouting. Her mind turned to a ponderance of the words said No time now, but after the threat has passed...
"And so the natural order plays out for us as one predator faces off another" Winter just looks curious as to how this is going to resolve. Clearly he has no intention of disturning the order of events.
The next thing you hear is a cry of alarm and only a split second later the clicking of hand crossbows. Watching this fight is a strange, somehow beautiful but also disturbing thing:
The muted akatas storm down the slope and their agility is more than matched by the drow soldiers. With an impressive elegance they draw their scimitars and other long curved blades and enter the fray with stoic coolness. Purple akata and black drow blood is soon spilt and while the drow display real weapon mastery, more and more akatas enter the hollow and overpower the already lost warriors.
The last of the black-skinned soldiers is surrounded by at least 20 of the blue lions and then there is one short moment during which yours and his eyes meet, before he is overwhelmed by the lions who tear him apart, while his former companions have already risen as void zombies.
"Fascinating. Disgusting but fascinating. Let us get out of sight then, and back to our harvest and the meteor proper"
Caterine follows Winter, eager to be done with this place where purple lions of death stalk in large numbers.
Gods damnit! Poor tactics. We shouldve helped the drow fight the akatas then finished off the drow. I forgot about the blasted zombies.
The big man grumbled as he fell in line behind Cat.
Bree takes the rear, walking mostly backwards, watching the akatas and the zombies as her friends make their way out.
"I see your point Kabal, however the Drow are a cunning and vicious lot, and I'd have not put it past them to somehow drop the beasts in our laps on arrival and then flee the scene, possibly even using poisons or foul magics on us to ensure we stayed on as bait. We can collect their fallen equipment later for examination... the zombies may well roam"
Caterine shakes her head at Kabal "When the drow fell there were twenty of the beasts and more arriving. Had we joined the fray we would likely be dead." it is said as a matter of fact, not as a challenge to anyone's fighting ability.
Kabal's frustration was starting to show and it was effecting his judgement. Good thing he had other, cooler heads to keep him in check. A fact of which he was well aware. This didnt mean he wouldnt growl or spit when he didnt get to let loose with steel though.
Bah!..Feckin cockamanie pile of shit I tell you...feckin drow and gods damn akatas everywhere. Y'all are right I suppose but sooner or later we gonna have to start killing or we wont have anywhere to turn to. Why the hell isnt Croat's men up here harvesting this rock anyways? Aint that why theyre here?
"Fear most likely. It's hard to keep a bunch of men motivated to go risk their necks when the man who has no risk to his is the one obtaining all the benefit from the toil. They won't be keen to wander about too freely without first chalking up some battle victories, and given they aren't a war mongering lot they will no doubt find it a challenge... this isn't peasants on a Riddleport street they are dealing with, and so their infamy and subtle suggestion of revenge wont help them cow those Akatas"
"Good thing we are used to victory eh? Right now though, gather what we can and stash it aside, I'd not make the same mistake and see you leave this island without a yield of your own; this time your sword is your plough, and this time you shall reap a bumper harvest"
Sebastian watched entralled as the Drow went down to the Akata's attack. Mentally taking notes of looks, cries, screams, and defiance. Such a display will be noted and remembered. He also watched the pack mentality of the Akata's. To observe them in such numbers, is a feat he thinks no one has lived to tell the tale.
But he does not linger as the group begins to move out, knowing that lingering is how those stories never end up getting told.
The last leg of your little journey to the impact site is dominated by crawling, short pauses, crouching, trying to move as silently as possible and other things Kabal always hated...but after another about 30 minutes you notice another change of environment.
While until now ash, burnt tree stumps and dusty black sand had dominated the ground and surroundings, suddenly there are dirty crystals and shards everywhere - molten sand as Sebastian explains. The temperature must have been extremely high here and all signs of life must have been exterminated as the comet hit. Even the purple vultures shy away from the deep crater which right in front of you.
However, turning around you realize that this is just the core of one gigantic crater whose slopes now slowly rise behind you. Cautiously you hide behind a yellow/white crystal the size of Kabal and peer down into the chute at the centre of the hollow.
Something is down there, you can literally feel it, but you are still too far away from the edges of the chute to make out what it is. No one of you feels safe now anymore and you feel it in your bones that your are being watched...
"Hmmm well I don't quite know what I expected, but probably not...this. If we see any more of that crystal then perhaps we can gather it up. Don't wander too close to the hole, and keep your eyes open. If nothing is obvious to us, we might leave."
Perception
Caterine's hands clench and unclench around the handle of her coiled whip anxiously. She mutters "Remind me again why we are even here..."
Perception -
Bah! My damn skin in crawling. This place looks like what I imagine hell to be and that aint saying much...i remember a vivid dream I had once about hell...there was this drow behind a podium...and feckin Corvax too...gods damnit...
Kabal was getting nervous and irritated. The one usually lead to the other for him. Then again most things lead to irritation for him.
Simultaneously Sable and Winter notice single akatas prowling down the slopes from different angles. They mainly stay behind the crystal formations and you guess there are many more of them out there... They don't seem overly aggressive, you rather notice a certain calmness that bases on an extreme self assurance...
The hole is still too far away to make any assumptions about its contents but you feel that further lingering around here will result in a battle...
Low and in a gravelly voice "So, are we leaving yet?"
"....but I can almost see...something is down there..."
Sebastian looks up and sees no sympathy in the faces of his companions. Then over Catherine's shoulder he see an Akata prowling closer. "Oh...alright then...let's be moving."
"Then it is time to leave, we have learnt a few things here, and it has been quite interesting. Let us do a quick explore of the other features of the island and then if nothing comes to hand we can begin planning our incursion against the dark elves. By now they will have grown tired of waiting for us and only left traps in their wake, but we will be wise to their underhandedness"
There is still this old lighthouse at the south-eastern tip of the island, the place where this man hurled himself down when...uh...his love died, you know. And we saw the wreck of a pirate ship on the other side of the island when we landed here.
Mercus muses, totally ignoring the akata threat and even laughing when Sebastian realized that crawling closer to the hole could be a bit dangerous.
The lighthouse then? We could hold up there for the night.
Kabal was on edge with so many threats around them and the skin crawling sensation hadnt stopped yet either.
"Then its the Lighthouse, an older structure might have some clues or logs about the Elbow. It might also still be in some sort of usable state that we can rest indoors and be less exposed. Perhaps even allow for some small comforts. Then to the Pirate Ship once we have had a chance to collect ourselves and make what use as we can from the building."
Caterine replies somewhat distantly "As you wish" obvious her thoughts are still with the risk just left behind and the unnatural feeling that suffused her in that place. She shivers and grips her arms as though a sudden chill has come over her.
This way then!
Marcus says and hurries over to the other side of the crater, keeping a good distance between him and the strange hole.
Bree grips her knives tightly, her eyes darting for place to place ceaselessly. She looks as if she might stab anything or anyone who gets too close to her as she rocks back and forth on the balls of her feet.
...this place is going to make us lose our minds. Mercus acts like he's a god damned holiday, Bree is poised up to lash out at any moment and Im on edge to the point of grinding my teeth down to their feckin nubs...good thing Winter always keeps his cool...
Kabal caught up to Mercus with a sidelong glance at Bree and her ready daggers. He couldnt blame her for that though as his hand hovered near his sword hilt constantly.
Mercus looks up to Kabal, grins and whispers
Hey big man, you look a little bit stressed, eh?
There is a nervous flicker in the boy's eyes and you clearly notice his hidden fear.
It's not far to the lighthouse, we should reach it by nightfall.
Luckily the boy is right and as by wonder you reach the old structure without meeting any more akatas in the barren wastes around the impact site.
Now, the crumbled remains of the lighthouse lie before you (apprx. 500m away), right on the edge of the most southern cliff of the island. Small groups of bushes line the old path that leads up to the once white building.
"Don't straggle, stay close, and keep well back from being forced against bushes where creatures may lie in ambush. We can stop short of the Lighthouse and watch for movement, then perhaps close in on it to see if it might be used as a fortification or perhaps source of information"
Caterine nods at Winter, happy to take instruction at this point.
Perception:
Instincts ruled and Kabal drew his curved blade and kept his shield at the ready as they progressed towards the tower.
Perception -
Winter stops and finds a good vantage point from which to view the tower. His angelic heritage allowing him to easily pierce the darkening cloak of night.
Perception
Bree, no longer feeling as if something is watching her as she did near the crater has begun to relax. She whispers to Winter, "I can go scout it out closer if you think it's clear. Test the sturdiness of the fallen debris."
The lighthouse has party collapsed and reaches only half of its former commanding height now. Winter's angelic eyes pierce through the darkness and he is relieved to see no signs of any inhabitants, but suddenly you all hear an eerie wail followed by a miserable sobbing coming out of the tower's lower section.
You others can also hear it, even though it is hardly audible against the rolling of the ocean hitting the cliffs below the lighthouse.
Kabal's brow furrowed as he heard the wail issuing from the tower and he looked to the more knowledgable members of their party.
Just what in the blazes was that? Is it crying?
"Mercus said something about a man hurling himself from the lighthouse when his love died, so I am less than comforted by that sound as it may well be from beyond the grave"
"Bree your offer is most kind, but let us all advance in numbers, and with swords gripped tight against what might be the lingering bodies of the unrested denizens of the tower"
Caterine follows with coiled whip in hand.
Beyond the grave? Ah feck! You mean like a ghost? Shiite!
Kabal's knuckles were white from his strength born grip as he got closer to the tower.
Bree appears to pale slightly at the thought of ghosts, often she has wondered exactly what has become of her parents. Wondered if ever they watched her brother and herself from beyond their graves. If Brandon was still even alive to be watched, or if he was also watching.
She nods once to Winter and continues forward with the group, not at all displeased that he didn't want her wandering out on her own.
Cautiously you move closer to the tower while Mercus whispers
Aye, I guess it was the former mayor of the island town...uh Witchlight it was called. He fell in love with some kind of supernatural being, but when the villagers found out they killed the creature and the poor man committed suicide.
You reach the outer wall of the lighthouse and press your backs against it - after a deep breath Winter risks to look over it and spots the faintly iridescent silhouette of a man standing close to the edge of the cliff.
Knowledge History / Local:
Caterine knows nothing of the tale and instead waits outside the wall for Winter's report.
"And there we have the source..." Winter remarks as he looks to the apparition.
Know Religion
"A suicide returned to haunt a place will no doubt be angry and afraid, at best we are probably limited to severing it from the negative energies that fuel it, but we are limited in our tools to do so and this will no doubt be unpleasant"
Winter picks himself up and starts moving forward, sword clasped tightly in mailed fist.
Bree curses softly under her breath "Bloody hell..." before gripping her knives tighter and scurrying after Winter.