Gameplay thread - more to come later today.
As she started to fall, Zayva steeled herself for both the landing and what was to come. Landing in this new room, she choose to ignore the door focusing more on possible injuries. She quickly checked herself over for any injuries that required immediate attention before looking around at the others. "Anyone hurt?"
Falling down the chute, Muhoro curls himself up into a ball and rolls down. His hard, armor-like hide absorbs most of the damage, and soon he finds himself sprawled on the floor of the room below.
"Not the best ride I have taken, but certainly not the worst. I am fine Zayva, thank you. Does anyone need help?"
After a few moments pass, the obsidian door on one side of the room opens, and a bored-looking drow male, bearing a scimitar and dressed in a traveler's robe, enters the room. He glances around at all of your injuries, the wearied expression never leaving his face. "Come along now," the male sighs, turning back toward the door and beckoning with a finger over his shoulder. Beyond the door you can see nothing but a worked stone corridor.
Your collars grow warmer and you feel an irresistable compulsion to follow him.
With another worried glance at the others, Zayva took one last inventory of any obvious and hindering wounds. Silent, she stood up.
'Best get this overwith.' She moved to start following the drow staying mostly silent but still with concern for her companions.
Groaning as she coils her serpentine lower half beneath her Siri pushes herself up with all six of her arms, shaking her head in answer to Zavya and Muhoro's queries.
"It begins again..." Siri sighs, shoulders slumped and head bowed as she moves to follow the drow - though her hands are clenched into fists.
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Alec grunts as he hits the ground, but turns the momentum into an acrobatic roll to lessen the force of the blow. "Well, that was unexpected. Of course, it would be pointless to look for meaning and patterns in this place. Ah, well, let's see what they want with us this time...."
Picking himself up, he follows the others out of the room.
Muhoro silently falls into step beside Xayva and Siri
Alaria scratches at her neck, not liking the compulsions she was feeling, those not of her own. She looks over at Alec, worry on her face.
Her mind races about what other tortures they will put her through, and the others. What they are doing isn't fair, but there was nothing she could do, she had to obey the collar. She followed silently right beside Alec, holding onto his tail.
After picking himself up, Beldrek silently observes the group and notes the smell of each person. He notices the drow come in and feels a strange sensation and follows him. He takes the rear as everyone moves through the hallway.
Zayva glanced around at the others every now and then, checking on them as she followed the drow male.
You follow the stone corridor for some minutes in silence. The drow male doesn't seem particularly interested in engaging the slaves in talk. Indeed, he seems bored by the task of shepherding you around. The corridor leads to a greater hallway with many doors, all open. Yours, it seems, was the last to be opened up.
A myriad of scents from different species fill the room, as well as the pungeant smell of refuse and waste from all directions. The floor below is a metal grate, and you can hear the laboring lowing of rothe and watch them as they heave heavy loads below you.
Your path leads you up several flights of stairs. The male in front of you touches a broach on his cloak and levitates up rather than walking, which tells you that despite his bored and gormless attitude, this drow is a member of the nobility.
His feet touch ground again at the top of the three flights of stairs, and he opens a door and walks through. When the rest of you follow, you're treated to a grand view of the under-city of Chaulnazeen, spread out before you like a glittering mat of stars hugging a field of stalagmites. The stone structures are like skyscrapers, reaching high into the enormous cavern and nearly reaching the ceiling in some cases. Everywhere is the motif of spiders evident - this is truly a Lolth-infested hole of a city.
The drow didn't stop walking, and if any of you try to take in the view for more than a brief moment his compulsion magic will tug you along. He drags you along an exterior walkway that hugs the outside of what you presume to be Doctor Khan's stalagmite tower. It slopes steadily upward.
Finally, you reach a large balcony made of obsidian. A drow female surveys the city below, both hands spread on the railing. She glances over her shoulder and nods in acknowledgment when the male delivers you, bows, and exits through a door back into the building.
Zayva glanced when she could at the city as she followed the drow. It had been so long since she had seen anything but the inside of the lab. It was hard not to be a bit in awe, even if it was the city of her captors.
'Was home anything like this?'
She could only remember bits and pieces of home. Seeing the city made her wonder what her home looked like. She remembered a few buildings, mostly though she just remembered her mother's house, and the outside of the houses that were their neighbors.
She followed the Drow as if she was on autopilot, silently keeping up with him. When she reached the balcony and saw the female, she was pulled out of her thoughts. Keeping her head down, she looked at the ground and waited.
'Best to be submissive. Less problems that way.'
Muhoro follows along, barely looking up as they exit the labs and enter the city-cavern. Keeping his head down, he keeps silent as they are led in front of the Drow female.
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Alec follows quietly, wiggling his tail gently in an attempt at reassuring Alaria. He stays on the inside edge of the ramp so as not to risk falling. When the group reaches the top, he stands with his head lowered and awaits instructions. All outward signs indicate total compliance.
well, they haven't started pitting us against each other yet...that's good...these seem like decent enough folk for the most part...why bring us all the way up here?
"Where are we going? I dont like this..." Alaria walks right behind Alec and when they enter the room with the female Drow, fear splashes her like cold water. "No drow sign right now, keep your hands still. Everything still, or she'll pick you."
She takes a cue from Zavya and lowers her head, looking at the ground. She tries not to fidget.
As the door behind you clicks shut, the drow before you lowers her head, and her shoulder-length white hair cascades over her face, concealing it. She turns to you, tucking her hair over her ear and resting her hips against the railing of the balcony. Her eyes, a darker shade of red than many of her bright-eyed kin, linger over each of you in turn, sizing you up. Her expression is grim, her mouth set in a thin line that doesn't change as she looks from one of you to another. Her arms are folded across her modest (by drow standards) chest, covered in a tightly-bound robe that resembled a kimono. "What a varied bunch you are," she comments, slowly, in undercommon. You feel a faint buzzing in your veins as the neurospider translates the language for you in your mind, allowing you to understand the unfamiliar phonemes.
"My name is Doctor Seung. I'm a partner of the holder of those collars, Doctor Khan, your lord and master." her voice contains a trace of playfulness to it as she toys with those last words. Her eyes lock with each of you in turn, and you can tell she knows you understand her. "I personally oversaw much of your...unlocked potential. I'm pleased to see your bodies returning to full strength."
Siri keeps her posture submissive, the tip of her tail twitching back and forth. The alien part of her, the vague shadow upon her thoughts cast by her abyssal mother urges her to lunge forth and fling this fragile seeming creature to the rocks below, but such animalistic urges are neither her nor sensible, best to bide her time and wait for a sliver of true hope, anything else is just asking for more pain.
Alaria keeps her head down, anger growing. "My only master is Calistria, Not this Doctor. He can never replace my devotion to my Lady. He is only a meer mortal playing god. Calistria will see me through this, and so much more." Her hands twitch, their new backwards form still settling within her, as she scratches at the collar subconsciously.
Standing there like a massive statue Beldrek remains silent. He does not offer a demeanor of submission nor does he show any sign of aggression. He remains neutral for now.
A smirk continues to tease the corners of Doctor Seung's lips as she openly admires some of you, walking back and forth in front of you like some general inspecting an army. "Not Drow," she murmurs, "but I think you'll get the job done. It just may not be..." she pauses before Beldrek. "quite as artful, perhaps. But even crude tools can make great works in the hands of the proper sculptor." her voice trails off as her eyes travel down the length of Siri's tail, languidly lifting her gaze to Alec's calculating expression, and Alaria's hidden spinnerets.
"Your past lives - wherever they were" she waves a hand dismissively over her shoulder as she turns back to the balcony's view, "are over, were over from the moment we took you. You've been sold and paid for, and now, like any asset we have purchased, we expect to get full use out of you before you break." All the softness of her voice earlier hardens for her last three words.
She leans against the railing and beckons all of you to join her, casually. Your collars make it impossible to refuse. She gestures out over the cityscape, pointing to a stalagmite tower so high that it connected with a stalagtite coming from the ceiling. "They say that you need never look further than next door to find your worst enemy in Chaulnazeen," she comments, her voice dry. "Our enemy...your target...may not be quite THAT close, but we are definitely neighbors. You'll never see us going next door to borrow a cup of sugar, though," she says, a smile returning to her lips.
"House Kashi. A martial house, displaying uncommon proficiency in arms in even their lowliest of males." she folds her arms across her chest again, resting her pointer finger against her chin as she talks. "They're a problem for me, and they're a problem for Doctor Khan. That means they're a problem for you.
"We're not at war with them openly - yet. To avoid retribution from the ruling houses, destruction of House Kashi must be complete the first time it is attempted, with no survivors to testify against us. Succeed at that, and it will be as if the House never existed at all." she chuckles quietly. "Much like the now-nameless former owners of the tower, in which we all stand."
"You may think you chose where to stand in that room earlier, with that nonsense about the fang and the web," she scoffs as she continues, "But it was I who handpicked you. All of you possess the potential - limited though it may be - for sabotage, for disruption, or for plunder. It is these tools, not mere force, that will set up the battlefield against House Kashi the way we need it to go. That's why we use the collars," she muses, looking off at the skyline again. "You will need your wits."
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"Very well, mistress. It will be done. May I be permitted to ask a few questions?" "What/who is our primary objective? How overt can we be? Is lethal force allowed at this time? Time limit? Most importantly, what happens if one of us is caught?" Alec gestures at his slave collar. "These make it obvious that we are not doing this of our own volition. Also, is it possible for others to control our actions through the collar? It seems to my unintelligent mind that if subtlety's necessary, it would be best for them to be removed - or at least their presence to be made less obvious."
Alec keeps his head lowered and his affect flat while speaking. No disrespect - or any emotion at all - is in his voice: he's simply gathering mission-relevant information.
Muhoro continues to remain silent, almost willing the Drow not to see him, not to mark him as anything but a dull, blunt instrument. He represses a cringe as he hears one of his new comrades speak without permission, and definitely showing too much intelligence for his own good.
Doctor Seung's eyebrow rises slightly in surprise. "What a compliant little helper you are. I should capture more of your kind, if you adapt so readily to enslavement...now, as to your questions..." she points to one finger, then the next as she addresses each of your points.
"Your job is to weaken House Kashi - but they are a formidable beast, heavily armored from multiple areas of attack. To puncture their defenses to their heart, their attention needs to be drawn elsewhere than to their own danger. Their Matron Mother, Telula Kashi, is a cunning diplomat, and she has many weaker houses in her thrall, in secret."
Her smile is wicked. "It is to their advantage that so many Houses are on their side, but we will turn it to their downfall. One by one, we will knock the support of their thrall Houses from under them, until the entire family topples."
"Your first target rests on the outskirts of Chaulnazeen's agricultural sector, to the north." she points at a higher cave, separated from the main cavern. "In that cave, House Lito tends the rothe - but that's not all they're tending. Our spies have reported that House Lito has discovered an old teleportation portal that leads to a distant country on the surface, and have covertly been providing House Kashi with top-quality slaves and trade goods captured from the lesser races on the other side. Disrupt that portal and kill any who stand in your way, but don't hunt the House to extinction. Better to leave House Kashi in bed with a weakened House than to destroy it completely."
She turns toward you all again, resting her hips against the railing. "You have a week to get it done. Marius will see that you don't get lost in the city. He's just inside, waiting for you all. Dismissed."
Alaria nods to her, not being able to do much else without using sign. She grabs back ahold of Alec's tail, scared that he might be torn away from her now that he has made himself known. She was trying to do the complete opposite.
Zayva looked up as she let the pull of the collar lead her to the railing. Once again she couldn't help but look at the city. She stayed silent as Doctor Seung spoke, pointing at the distant stalagmite tower.
'Is that were we are going? Are we to slaughter them all? She did say no survivors...'
Her answer was given not long after, as it seemed they would be heading elsewhere first. Hopefully it would not be a massacre where they where to go. It was some place outside the city. And this time it seemed to be more a crippling mission. They only had to kill those in their way. Not all of them.
'I get to go even further from the lab?' The thought excited her a little. Made her almost forget that she might have to kill in mass. 'With people?'
While it seemed there would likely be death where they went, perhaps it would not be too much. They had been told to just cripple this new house, not destroy it totally. So that likely meant that this would not be a slaughter? She tried not to dwell on those and let the thoughts of being able to see more of the world outside the lab push away those death-related thoughts.
When she heard herself dismissed, she gave a respective bow. "Yes, mistress." Turning she headed inside, ready to see more. She would deal with the darker thoughts when she had too.
Muhoro waits until the others have started to leave, then follows quietly behind.
Alaria just stares at Alec. She looks at him and then the door, then him, then the door. And she begins to walk over, still holding Alecs tail.
Siri keeps her head bowed until they are dismissed and even then waits until she has fled the balcony before she even dares think of the escape opportunity the portal might present,
As she passes through into the tower her posture transforms utterly, from cowed to imperious and she elevates herself so she towers over the male drow, Marius channeling the drow matriarchs she has encountered,
"Your Mistress instructs that you take us to be equipped for our mission and then lead us through the city to our appointed task. The better we are armed the better we shall serve. Your scimitar looks to be a fine weapon, might you consider lending it to us to? You know you can etain it as the magic of our collars binds us to your will, and surely your interests are in improving the odds of our success, both for your house, and for yourself - I have experienced the punishments your ladies meet out and know well that they lay their blame far and wide..."
Leaning forward to display an amount of cleavage that would have made her stomach churn back home she adds,
"I would take good care of it, I promise you. We should work together to make life easier and to advance our goals, befriend us Marius and you shall have a hidden blade, not always useful to be sure, but when used at just the right moment..."
You see Marius' eyes glaze over slightly at your impressive bosom. His mouth appears to go dry and he immediately regains his discipline. "Yes, Doctor Seung did instruct I arm you. I'm not giving you my scimitar, but...ahh..." his voice trails off as he glances at you again and becomes briefly captivated. He swallows, but then his eyes narrow and become calculating once more as he remembers your offer. You remember that although males of the species are less intimidating than females, they remain drow, and dangerous. He thinks briefly, appearing to be in control of himself again once more as he glances at the rest of you. "I might be able to help you out another way."
He goes to a nearby drawer and opens it. Inside, you see a felt pad with horizontal holes cut for holding rings and other jewelry. He withdraws a ring, handing it to you with an evil smile. "You'll like this. Doctor Seung didn't specifically tell me to equip you with these, but they will be useful on your mission, and it also prevents me from having to babysit you through the city." He appears quite satisfied with himself for thinking of the idea.
When you take the ring, uncertainly, he gestures to the window. "Stand before that window, hold up your hand with the ring on, and think the command word: Chaon, while pointing at...that building" he says, gesturing at a nearby building of comparable height with a smirk.
Assuming you do, rope will immediately spring forth from two ends of the ring. The rope that came out on the end of the ring closer to you attaches to the ceiling just above your head. The end that came out of the ring on the opposite side fires itself across the intervening space, attaching itself to the rooftop.
Marius keeps his self-satisfied grin as he explains. "There's a pastime among drow males in Chaulnazeen called 'ziplining.' The ring's magic will make you weightless as you slide from one end of the rope to the other. Just be careful of the landing - you can't control the speed. Speaking the command word again retracts the ropes. This way, you can move around the city far faster than walking." he pauses, considering something. "The Matron Mothers have been talking about cracking down on ziplining though. Too many broken windows. I doubt they'd look the other way if they saw a bunch of slaves doing it. Don't let them catch up to you."
He goes to the drawer, retrieves a ring for each of you, and hands them out. Then he pounds on a button in the stone wall, causing a portion of it to flip around and reveal your equipment.
Muhoro moves to retrieve his weapon and bracers.
Feeling more in control, he twirls his tetsubo a few times, just to work the kinks out.
Alaria raises an eyebrow at Siri's display of her body to get her desired result. "Wow... Well, if it works I guess..." She pokes Alec in the arm and points at him and then points to Siri, her eyebrows go up and she mimics the guards stance subtly.
"You have my gratitude Marius, could I prevail upon you to tell us how the power of our collars works? I assume it is not any drow who can control them? That would make our mission very difficult."
As she speaks she twists slowly forward, taking up a flimsy barely opaque shirt and writhing into it before snatching up her sickles and morningstar. Finally she plucks up a silver crown made to resemble two entwined serpents and sets it upon her head with her tail.
Zayva had barely raised an eyebrow at Siri's display. But she did get a little excited when Marius gave them rings and showed them how to activate them. She could fly with this! Well pseudo fly, but it was still flying in a way!
She took the time to place it on her finger before her bag of heals caught her attention. There it was. Her morning star and Crossbow where momentarily forgotten as she inspected her bag. She found her wand, her potions, and all her healing supplies.
'My healing kit!
Closing the pockets back up she pulled on her healing supply stuffed haversack onto her back, but situated around her wings. She then picked up her morningstar and crossbow. She turned to look back at the others, all death-related thoughts far from her mind.
The beast-like Oni part of his mind growled at the display Siri was making, forcing him to look away from the attractive demoness.
Beldrek walks up to where the equipment and stares down at it for a few seconds as he looks for his gear.
"Equipment. Good." he intones in an inhumanly deep voice.
He begins to stock his backpack with all his items and dons his armor. The last items he picks up is his weapons. He grabs a mighty great axe and hefts it. Satisfied, he turns his gaze to Siri and watches her display to Marius. His expression blank, he continues to observe the group in silence.
Marius smirks. "You aren't as subtle as you think, slave. Just take my advice - steer clear of your betters whenever possible. The use of slave collars is widespread in Chaulnazeen, but the risk of your collar's magic being transferred to...the wrong hands...is small."
He addresses the rest of you; his tired, bored persona beginning to resurface now that he's cleared his head somewhat by taunting you. "Was there anything else? I have more important things to attend to than to babysit you freaks."
Siri smirks, a playfully sensual expression that is all her mother's and purrs,
"Subtle is overrated, but thanks, you can leave the rest to us now we will see it done..."
Slipping the ring onto her finger she moves over to the window points it at a point near the base of the next building and speaks the command word, "Chaon."
The rope shoots out, attaching itself to both towers, and she hooks the shaft of her morningstar over it, grasping it with all six hands and then launches herself forward tail wrapping around the rope behind her to control the speed of her descent - the scales there having little worry of rope burn.
"I wouldn't worry about that," Marius says, with a knowing smile.
She bows low to Marius, showing obvious signs of respect. She looks around for her gear, finding all of her gear, she smiles feeling it with her hands. Having her possessions back, even if its only for a while, made her feel much better. She looks at Alec and the res of the group judging how they are reacting, and seeing a few reacting just like her. She smiles at each one in kind and then bows to Marius again, showing submissive gratitude.
Marius merely narrows his eyes in mistrust. An open, genuine smile of pleasure is a rather foreign gesture to a drow. You see his upper lip curl in a smirking sneer.
Just a quick question, using minor image is it possible, while not using actual speech, to mimic the general sound of a person..perhaps them yelling something from a distance? I was simply wondering if I could use minor image to make a voice sound like Dr. Seung was calling out, to make the Drow male head off in that direction (and possible further uses if this actually works)