Riven's transparent outline kneels down by the corpse looking it over, checking to see how fresh it was. As his three fingered hand reached toward it suddenly he paused as a strange memory came over him.
He was looking at his own five fingered hand now reaching out to a different corpse. This man wore the colors of the empire, though his tabard was stained blood red now. Working efficiently he stripped the man of his weapons and armor. The rebels would find these valuable in the days to come. Something else caught his eye though in the search.
A scroll case was carried in a string round his neck. A messenger perhaps? Curiously Riven opened the case to find a unbelievable prize...the orders and plans of the entire legion assigned to this province. With these he could...they could...
Riven's memory faded away like sparks from a campfire, disappearing into motes of thought. He realized his body had been acting on its own, searching the man while he replayed the scene. What had happened? Who had he been and what were those plans?
No answers came from within, so he continued to search without.
Riven searches the body and finds 37 GP and a vial of what appears to be holy or unholy water .
Collecting the vial to identify later, Riven moves to look into 217 and then into 214.
There is nothing here except for the corpse in the corridor, already searched.
On a low black table in the center of the room, is a rose, almost all the way furled.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
As the group moves forward toward the room with the rose, Thratch, who is at the back has a pair of barbed nets fall upon him, and he is hoisted off the ground by several shadowy figures climbing along the walls.
You make out the figures as more Chameleon Women. Possibly a different crew than before.
”Ow! You ^&%#*$@!” Thratch calls out.
He struggles in the nets as he is pulled up off the ground. He quickly throws his silver raven figurine to the ground. You hear quiet chanting from up above and Thratch falls asleep in the nets.
The figures do not engage the group and immediately move to retreat from the area, laughing and cackling as they do. They scuttle quickly away from the group, heading east, with their bounty in tow.
More chanting follows, and you see blood drip to the ground before a 20 foot cloud of darkness blocks off a narrow corridor . It appears to be the same kind of cloud the group was trapped in on the previous encounter with the Chameleon Women.
”You strike at our sisters, you strike at us all!” a feminine reptilian voice yells from beyond the cloud of darkness. ”The Protocols of Antipathy are engaged, and we have drawn blood!”
"Perhaps your friend will survive the Gardens, perhaps not! Or maybe the Reptile Archive or the Gallery? Who can say? We dare you to come and find him, warm-bloods!"
You hear them move on behind the veil of darkness and the sounds quickly fade away.
And they are gone, with Thratch.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
His heartbeat skips. Too quickly they came. Too quickly they left.
Remorse, you cursed thorn...
The furnace king breaks his silence. He chooses not to fold to the internal claims of impotency, nor the rash response which would only serve to give the lesser serpents glory. He lost his charge, his friend to whom he devoted himself.
He would gain him back again, with all the devices at his disposal.
"BOY!! STAY ALIVE! WE WILL COME TO YOU!"
Vehemence's howls trail into the darkness.
He turns to Moq with an earnest urgency:
"Do you know where their true residence lies?"
Moq says, We had chased them into the Cells once, and they seem to have some sort of leadership or maybe a place of worship there. We had to pull out. As far as I know these women are everywhere and are always a pain in the ass.
Turning to the group Moq says, I know of an entrance to the gardens through the room with strange shadows that make holes in the ground... if you've been there you will understand what I'm saying.
Seeing some recognition he continues, That door leads to some dangerous vines, but getting past them isn't too tough. The gardens are uncomfortable to see and experience - though there are friendly creatures there too. I think Riven has a partial map of the area too.
Riven draws his sword and slowly advances, his eyes scanning back and forth. Despite his ability to climb the walls and go after them, to do so alone without the support of the group seemed doomed to failure.
"Alpha, track Thratch's scent. We will locate Thratch. We will neutralize the threat of the Chameleon Women. Their Protocol of Antipathy will be ended."
He scans the room for any more hiding net droppers ready to spring into action again. Meanwhile the lion does his best to try to pick up the scent of Thratch to give them a direction to follow.
"I do possess a partial map of the area said to be the gardens. We should follow the lion in case they take him to another location."
As Thratch is snatched by the Chameleon women, Tenchi sets down Wan'di's body and chases after the women, not bothering to listen to the plan. His honor would not allow him to simply let them escape with one of his travelling companions.
Tenchi and Alpha are both stopped by the darkness cloud.
As the cloud of darkness dissipates, you hear a small explosion and a cloud of dust wafts through the corridor. It appears the Chameleon Women have blown something up and caused the corridor to collapse . A pile of rubble blocks access to the white room .
You hear another explosion off in the distance, then another farther away.
Riven orders Alpha to not enter the death cloud of darkness but knowing such magic cost the one that cast it damage he looks for a blood trail left behind by the chameleon women. He'd assess the explosions as the chameleon woman somehow blocking their paths but would approach the rubble anyways assuming Alpha started to lead him there.
As soon as he confirmed which way the trail led and if it was blocked by rubble he would come up with a plan to remove the blockage. He kept his sword in hand and his cloaking up.
15+3=18
Tenchi will come staggering out of the cloud, bleeding from his eyes and shouting loudly in Gokan as the explosions go off.
"Thrice damned geisha bitc#3$! May you rot in the house of 1000 years of boiling flesh! May you draw the lot to have to eat your own bodily wastes! May you suffer in shame at your cowardice and not be permitted to commit Seppuku!"
Though he is staggering, Tenchi will straighten himself and say to the group "We should go. I wish them to no longer be in this place."
He will then sheath his blade and collect Wan'di's body.
"Then let us go to the cells and make them weep. If he is not there, we will force tidings from them."
As the cloud dissipates Vehemence follows whoever is now on point.
Were we within my realm...
The furnace king considers the withered wings which rest at his ankles. He is found again frothing with frustration. Impotence, the shackle of his family's vengeance upon him, was an ever drowning drudgery. His fangs grit as he prays to the invisible fathers for his kingship back.
However inside his turmoiled pondering a flitting candle sparks for but a moment:
...But if it were so, how would I then live? What is the worth in it?
The fiendish one marches forward with the pack, searching for the lad, searching for himself.
You survey the rubble and see that one of your paths is cut off . It looks like the rubble completely blocks the doorway into the white room, which might at least save you the ordeal of crossing it again.
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
As the halfling is snatched away, Ashlyn is quick to chase after, until the black cloud appears. She remembered that pain well, and did not wish to experience it again. "We need to find him quickly! Those women can't be trusted even a second alone with him!" The worry and panic on her face are evident.
Seeing him drop his figurine, Ashlyn recovers it. "We could use this to find him. It should go straight to him, then return. It would give us a path to follow."
We can go the other way... I'm pretty sure, Moq says, Hurry!
Moq lopes off to the west through the library.
"Please wait a moment. Blockage can be cleared, warning please stand back away from the barrier to avoid collateral damage."
Standing at the rubble barrier back to the room they had come through, Riven verified that none of his comrades were in the blast range as well as ordering Alpha to stay back. His three fingered left hand reached up to his chest plate and dug beneath it. With a tearing sound the plate opened outward revealing a hole in his chest where a heart might rest on a human. A crescendo whining hum echoed through the narrow hallway and a pressure grew in the air. Then light and sound like an explosion of thunder shot out from his open chest engulfing the barrier in a huge blast.
|
"Pause a moment, Moq. That is the first lesson of war: Never play by the enemy's rules. Let us spend a moment to at least see if we can clear the passage, for such would surely save us great time and trouble were we to conform to the path they have intentionally left us."
Aterro prepares to bend to and start clearing rubble with his enhanced strength, but as his strange friend Riven opens his own chest and starts making disquieting noises, the WarCleric steps back and gives the Warforged some room...for whatever it is he is planning.
I've worked labor jobs before, and while this maze is strange almost everything is interconnected. I'll let you all decide, but I guarantee moving a different direction is faster, Moq say dryly, Riven, what does that map have on it - does it have this area?
Dust flies everywhere as smaller bits of rubble are pulverized and the bigger pieces move 10 feet west and clear a narrow passage to the white room.
Riven's blast dies with a fading hum and the light inside his chest dims as he closes the plate back.
"The way is open. The map does detail this area. I do not possess knowledge of specific rooms however beyond the route we took to get here. The white floor room is possible to cross without touching the floor to avoid the trap. Alpha please resume tracking the trail. Should this fail, Ashlyn has stated she knows the function of the raven and we will use it if the trail ends."
Riven waits for Alpha to check the white room for the trail before he makes any decisions to enter a potential deadly ambush.
Well... nevermind then, Moq says, Let's go through that room, what's the trap. Even if the lion can't smell the trail we need to move.
As the white room is mentioned, Vehemence instantly scowls and speaks in recoil:
"That is a bewitched path... We should choose another way."
Our time is wearing THIN. Remorse, touch not the boy... I implore you.
|
|
Aterro steps forward, nodding in appreciation at the destruction that has opened the way for them--as destruction so often can. "One at a time, come and climb on my back, and I will fly us across in a nonce.
And if any feet should touch the ground, let it be mine. 'Tis the nature of Torm to test the Faithful and purge the impurities as the forge smelts out pure METAL! I've not yet seen what darkness it holds, and, perhaps, the room should fear me."
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Moq looks at his shield and pauses, and pulls out his rope before saying, Can someone ride Alpha holding this rope? I'll hold the other end and stand on my shield. We used to do something similar in the wake of ocean waves when I was young! You just need to have Alpha charge and the force will yank me forward!
Moq seems excited to try this.
With reluctance, Vehemence defers to the men.
"Fine. Let Ashlyn take the first lion, and I'll take the last."
His demeanor is one of strained agitation and bubbling anxiety.
His masking of it isn't very professional, as if his years of politicking and eloquence were forgotten.
|
|
Unseen by any, Aterro rolls his eyes that the others would rather "ride a lion" than simply fly across by his power, but so be it. Torm tests us in many ways.
Aterro simply glides across, making a fortified beachhead on the other side of the white room, making sure nothing assaults the lion-riders from that side.
"Go ahead and take the lion, as much as I enjoyed the last ride, haste is preferred in this situation.: Ashlyn says, gliding over to Attero. She lets her nails graze the back of his neck keeping her eyes locked with his. Asking in a husky whisper "Can you handle me? before wrapping her arms tighter around his neck pulling herself into him, allowing him to lift her to be carried.
Moq stands squat on his shield, the rope held tight waiting for someone to order Alpha to charge.
Riven steps onto the nearest wall and begins to walk up and around the dangerous floor to the other side. "I recommend Vehemence and Tenchi ride the lion if they lack other means of transit."
"I am fine. I will just walk across."
"That will take significantly longer than riding Alpha. It is inefficient."
"There is one flaw in your plan: You assume that Lions are afraid of nothing."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"I make no assumption. My hypothesis has been tested before, the magic of the floor does not affect Alpha."
As soon as Riven reached the other side using his method of climbing across the ceiling, he set up looking around the chess room for the Chameleon women and where they took Thratch.
Tenchi focuses himself then zips across the room.
Vehemence holds and waits for the samurai to finish his trek, unless the party moves ahead as a whole. In that event, he rides the lion, holding firmly the rope given.
|
|
Aterro returns the bold stare and gently lifts the lithe sorceress with the strength of a mountain, gliding effortlessly across the room. Midway across he mumbles to her, softly, so no one else can hear.
Tenchi maintains his balance as he moves across the room.
The group makes its way across the white room. In the next room , Gibba Gognata is in the back corner writing around and screaming incoherently. One of the knights is missing from the chess board and several pieces are knocked over.
Towards the doorway leading to the rope bridges, you see an arrow on the ground, which looks like the type Thratch uses.
But, of more concern, a small fire burns at the edge of the doorway where the rope bridge had connected.
As you look out to the next room , you see that what's left of the middle bridge is dangling about 30 feet over the bottom of the pit, smoldering and smoking.
It appears the Chameleon Women used some kind of explosive on it. It looks to be at least 50 feet to reach the connecting bridges, with a 100 foot drop to the bottom.