Ьȴʊє Ͻ a r a v a n (The adventure continues elsewhere!)

Where should the characters in this thread be transported to after leaving the treasure room?

Aboveground under the tree (i.e. directly to the camp).	80.0%	[ 8 ]
Underground under the tree (i.e. under the hole in the ground that opened up).	10.0%	[ 1 ]
Indifferent.	10.0%	[ 1 ]
Total Votes:			[ 10 ]

[artfreek]

¥ Sebastian Beird ¥

After Sebastian gave his opinion his attention turned to the book. They would do what they wanted with his words he was not concerned much with their actions with the water. He did, however, note the injured man pocket the vial. He leafed through the book skimming it's pages. He stopped occasionally when something caught his eye then continued when his curiosity was satisfied. As his mind was occupied it took Sebstian a moment to realize the injured couple had spoken to him and it took another to remember their words and form an answer.

“Nothing, as of yet.” He said not looking up. If they spoke to him more it was likely that he wouldn't respond. Answering questions took time, and he could answer them when he had everything figured out. He flipped to the back of the book hoping for the most recent entry. The last of the inscribed pages had some drawing of the building they were in. The outside architecture, then some of the designs on the walls with some words written beside them, most them described location. They also had drawn a fountain, that Sebastian had yet to see. That explained the noise of running water.

That was the last of the information the pages had on them. He would have to dig a little. He went back a few pages finding the entry that described the journals owner falling into the cavern. He had been in a group and they had decided to explore. That was all it talked of, but it made Sebastian a little more acquainted with the owner. He closed his eyes concentrating, he sifted through the books memories. Then he caught the ones he wished, finding himself in the same room as before, though the body was no longer present. A different set of people surrounded him, all of them gruff looking.

This person was shorter than Sebastian by a fairly significant measure. It was an odd view point, but he went with it. He would need to adjust as he was just an observer. When he was younger the lack of control unnerved him, and he would struggle against it. Now he simply watched, though at times he did wish he could change the events he saw. Sebastian physically would never move, and he would hardly be able to hear any words put to him.

He stayed behind as the other guys went to search. They were better with the labor part of the work. Miles tended to give the knowledge. They joked at him for keeping his book and called him a book worm, but they truly wouldn't get very far without them. They knew it too, and he did just enough of the labor to keep their thoughts of him being completely helpless at bay. He walked around the room, drawing in his book and simply finding himself in a state of awe. This place was unlike anything he had seen before. It hung from the ceiling for goodness sake!

Miles slipped his book into his bag and just looked. Half the things he saw he knew he wouldn't be able to capture into a drawing so he was trying his best the to ingrain the images into his mind. That way he could look back at it all on a later date and recall every possible detail. This processed ceased however at the sound of an unworldly screech that seemed to ring through the entire tower. Miles grabbed for his knife then. He had never been the greatest with fighting, but he wasn't going to not defend himself.

He stood as still as possible then only moving his head to looking around then he heard the foot steps. They were quick, running, but they were human. Then there was screaming, painful screaming mixed with the awful screech. Miles was shaking now, he was torn between running away and running to help, but truthfully he doubted his body would do either at the moment. Then Brody and Randal stumbled in and something snapped in his head. He moved towards them and watch as Randal collapsed to the floor. Brody moved back yanking the man to his feet. This was when Miles saw the blood on Randal's stomach and the creatures that came through the door. It was green standing on two legs, skin of a lizard, and the height of a man. Feathers mixed in lining outstretched wings and a long tail, making a grotesque hybrid creature. He yelled at the two men, and Brody moved pulling the man along. His feet were unsteady though and he stumbled. The creatures were moving now and a haze was creeping along the floor. Brody fell and the creatures were on him. He stared as them men were ripped into. He could hear the two men's screams and the creatures' screeches that almost seemed gleeful. He didn't see the one coming at him until was too late. It pounced and pinned him to the ground, his scream mixing with the creatures unearthly howl.

Sebastian opened his eyes. He didn't need to see the rest. He shut the book, slipping it into his coat. He shook off the fear that lingered from the memory, It wasn't his and there was no need to dwell on it. “We aren't alone here. Do not take any noise for granted. There are creatures here that can do us much harm. They are what killed this man.” he said gesturing to the skeleton. He looked around the room then searching it's edges. He did not want to be caught off guard.

[BallDrogo]

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She turned to face Sebastian as he spoke. His warning was grim, each word filling Maria with dread. A tile falling from the ceiling, pebbles being casted down a stair way, that extra step in their line or worse, feeling breathing down her neck. While they all did seem to be capable of fighting, she just felt uncomfortable being down here. Backtracking was not an option, whatever lurked these halls must have had friends roaming the entire area and judging by the lack of any other fresh looking corpses, this thing must of not eaten in quite some time and saw the group as being a feast. If she was going to die, it was either going to be of old age or in battle, not being a dessert to whatever roamed around in this area.

Turning to Nasrin, she bit her lower lip, unsure of what to say. Were they to keep on trekking and go farther into this tower in hopes of trying to find a way out? What they were doing now as playing a escalated game of cat and mouse. Seven small mice and one, giant, ferocious cat who was probably starving to be precise. The only thing it probably had to eat were the bats and those couldn’t have been filling.

“Sebastian, does the book describe what this thing looks like at all and does it say any form of date?” her curiosity getting the best of her. Wait…Happens if he was real? No, they were not anywhere near that cave. They were as far away as possible. Abraxas wasn’t even real, right? He was just a monster that her grandfather had made up to scare Maria into being a good child and listening to her parents. “Whatever it is in that book, the words: Bear, scythe, snake or goat don’t make any form of appearance, do they? She asked. No, he wasn’t real, just a story that was made up…Still, it didn’t hurt to at least ask.

Looking back at Nasrin, she bit her lip again, unsure of what to suggest. They already had moved away from their camp at the mushroom and there was no heading back now. Nasrin wanted to explore this area, but with whatever was running around in this area might of had their scent. It hadn’t made it’s presence yet known, but it was there. They were being tracked, this thing had to be toying with them. It could be anywhere, just listening in on their conversation, waiting for one of them to drop off from the rest of the group. Pick off the weakest of the seven, pick off the one who fell behind. Maria found herself, the other injured one, or Talise to be ones who could easily be picked off. Maria was injured, so why not take out those who were injured first. Talise didn’t seem to have any form of offense, so why not take her out first? No one would know she was missing until it was too late.

Though, there was a possibility that this thing could be long gone, dead from not being able to be nourished. She really did hope that it was dead. She looked back at the body again, going as far as to kneel down and examine the remains. Her fingers gliding over the bones, feeling the skull and finally, touching the remains of it's clothes. Ripped apart, the chest ripped open. No one should die like that, he probably lived for a few minutes as he was being torn into like a deer. Screaming, flailing, praying to whatever god he believed in that their death would come soon. She seemed a bit unerved by the body, fearing that without any form of tatics, they would end up like their departed "friend" who now lay in front of them. She stood up now, facing Nasrin.

“Nasrin? What is the plan?” she asked, gaining up the courage to ask the question that was on her mind. She wanted to explore more, but this recent information should of swayed her idea from grabbing any treasure to getting out of here.

She refrained from voicing her opinion on the current subject. She had been quite outspoken in the past few encounters. Stay behind and rest and leave the bottle of “water” on the dead body. Whenever she spoke, she found herself opposed by other members of the group. Now, she just wanted to hear what Nasrin had to say.

Yet, another question sprung to her mind. The vial of water they found on the dead body. Did the book say anything about it? Was it actually ok to drink whatever was in the vial or were they better off putting it off?

“Did the book say anything about the water?”


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[anais nighteyed]

x

artwork by Midori Foo, from Book of Picturesxxx

xxxxxxxxＮａｓｒｉｎ Ａｉｄｚｉａｍ

Aside from Maria’s reluctance, there was little complaint. The matter was done with, and for the time being, all were placated. A smile that hinted at cordiality played at Nasrin’s mouth. Try as she might to look pleasant to the lot of them, she had an inkling this wouldn’t be the last time they bickered amongst themselves. “That settles, it then.” The axe-woman had her morals, she understood that; it was all fine and good, whatever put the wind in her banners.

But she was quietly forming her own opinions about the travelers she’d encountered, and she was realizing that she and these two women wouldn’t see eye-to-eye on every matter, especially the most important few. It was blatant that somewhere not too far down the road, their scruples would become the root of conflict. Nasrin was already wondering how she could part with them while sorting out like-minded individuals. Tobias, on the other hand, was all too keen to snatch up the bottle and tuck it away on his person for safekeeping.

She waited to hear what Sebastian had to say about the book, idly watching her torch burn. When he finally spoke, he informed them of the dangers that kept them company in the tower. Nasrin glanced at him in alarm, hoping he would put forth further explanation, but he was looking searchingly about the chamber, scouring the shadows for unseen foes. The nape of her neck prickled at this news, and she peered furtively over her shoulder. If they were being hunted, she couldn’t yet find any sign of it. “That changes things,” she remarked, reaching for her knife where it lay on the floor.

They didn’t yet know how long ago the man perished or even if his attackers were still near. Nevertheless, they had ample reason to be on guard. Maria went on to question Sebastian about the book, and Nasrin’s attention drifted to the distant stairs. There were eyes on her, but she was unresponsive and absorbed in thought. Rising to her feet, she tucked her knife away and approached the small pool nestled in the center of the basin. She dipped one hand into the cool water, rinsing dust from her brow. As she pushed her wet fingers through her hair, her gaze was still on the stairs. Maria was speaking to her.

Why was this woman looking to her for direction? “It’s not much of a plan,” Nasrin conceded, answering her after a moment of pause. “Stay sharp and give hell to anything that moves.” What more could they do? If these creatures shared the bats’ fondness of fire, that could be used to their advantage. She went back to stand beside the fallen adventurer, and she picked up the dusty remnants of one of his garments. She assumed it was a cloak, and she noted that it was more eye-appealing than her own, save for the clean tears that had probably been inflicted when the poor fellow was killed.

She cast it over the corpse. “If any among you have thoughts of turning back, do it now. As for me, I’m pressing on.” Common sense said turning back was the prudent choice, but she didn’t always act with sense. In spite of the obvious danger, she wanted to proceed.

[SnaredWolf]

The young thief thought it was strange, the way the woman reacted to him when they first saw each other, the way the group was reacting to him now; it was almost like he was a ghost. This whole time Book had been following the group threw this underground place, who knew what was waiting for them up a head. Book continued to follow the group like the lost soul he convinced himself he had turned into, in a way this was better than if they knew he was there. This way he didn’t have to pretend to be involved with them, and could slip away if he needed to.

All of a sudden Book could hear the screech of a bat off ahead of them, and his first reaction was to fall to the floor and get into a little ball. ~I hate bat’s, for F*sakes why bats?!~ His thought’s screamed out; of course no one could hear him. The group dealt with it, or them? Book didn’t really know he was too busy freaking out to know exactly what was going on or that they had moved on all together right after. When he finally opened his eyes and looked up he could hardly see anything, the group was gone and he was alone. “You have got to be KIDDING ME!?” He yelled jumping to his feet, looking for any sign of them.

“Erh! Wha?.... This? No…” The boy contemplated what to do or where he could go, as he nibbled at the tips of his fingers. Finally deciding, he headed off in a random direction, holding his hands up so he might feel a wall or something, hopefully not a monster. He continued to wave his arms around until he found something, it was cold, it felt like a wall, but strange. Cave walls had random cracks, and marks, but this felt like it had a pattern to it. Book instantly took his hands off whatever it was and ran off in the opposite direction, he felt an off feeling about it and it was better left alone. When he was certain he was far enough he gave the hand feeling another try, this time finding something more wall like and walked along it.

It wasn’t long before Book got the feeling something was wrong again. As he ran his hand against the wall, he came to a spot that was moist. The boy stopped immediately and removed his had from the wall, waited a few second and put his hand back. There was more and it was goopy, he had no idea what it was, but something made him want to smell it, he moved his face close and took a big whiff. “HHHACK! GOD! That smells like s**t!”…”No!” Book realised what he had been touching and flung his hand back off the wall, finding a dry spot and whipping his hand all over it, just trying to get it off, all the while making quite a bit of noise. As Book continued to whip the s**t off his hand, shadows started to shift and move down from the ceiling of the cave making a light gurgling hissing sound as it got closer to him. Book completely froze, the sound making his hair stand on end. He didn’t even want to turn and look at what it was behind him, he didn’t want to know he just wanted to run. But that wouldn’t be enough; it was getting closer as Book panicked at what he could do. Out of nowhere like his body started to move on its own, he grabbed the s**t he just whipped off on the wall and turned whipping it into whatever it was’ face. Then with his control over wind he dashed off the way he came, not thinking that there might have been more. “Oh! My! God! I’m going to DIE! I swear! If I see them again! I’m!” His rant was cut off by the sound of multiple screeches. “BAaaaATS!” Book sobbed picking up his pace. It was still too dark to see where he was going, so every now and then he would have to bounce off a wall or two sending him in any direction. But that bats where still fast and caught up to him quickly, diving down, and trying to snatch him up with their feet. Book had to quickly dough them; there must be some where he could go to lead them off, or a space small enough for just him to fit threw.

But no, Book finally came out into a huge clearing in the cave, with what looked like a tower carved out of stone in the middle. He was cursing at his luck, if anything the bats had more room out here to grab at him, but he still had hope. Book ran around the base of the tower with the bats hot on his tail, there might be a hole he could crawl through, or anything really. Eventually he found a door like opening and ran inside of it, he ran a little more, but then stopped. He didn’t hear anything now, and when he looked back to check the bats weren’t following him anymore. They were right on him, he knew they probably heard him duck in here, and the whole like door was big enough for them to easily fit threw. “Why?” Book asked doubling back down and looked out the door to the tower. He leaned his body on the side frame to look out, and that when he felt it, it was that same cold pattered wall he felt before. “Wait.. Wasn’t I just here?” “I don’t remember this being here before..” Book looked into the tower once more, was it really safe to stay here? Or to even continue going deeper into this place? Book really had no choice, he was sure he jumped and walked all over the cave by now, and hadn’t seen the group at all, this was the last place in his mind that they could have gone.

After walking through the place a bit Book could finally see a glow of light ahead, and as he walked closer he knew it was them. He huffed, Book was so tired from giving bats the run around he felt it was okay to relax and slowly head over to them. "Finally I found you!" Book sighed.

[Dayum We Roll Hard]

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Apart from Book's appearance, the stone walls were still and damp, and the chamber quiet. If anything was going to attack them at that moment, there was no sign of it. They were safe, or at least for now.

Why? There was one part of the past that had yet to remain seen: something had triggered the beasts to attack, but what? Perhaps their fallen friend would have an answer...

A map for this location is available!

[artfreek]

¥ Sebastian Beird ¥

Sebastian thought about explaining that the information didn't exactly come from from the books pages, but he decided against it. An explanation would take to long. He would just let the injured women believe that the information was on the pages. “Two legged creatures taller than a man, reptilian in stature, mostly green in color. As for the date,” He reopened the book, pulling his eyes from the rooms edge and scanning it's pages. “It was quite a while ago, seven years.”

He skimmed the pages again reading it's late owners thoughts. It spoke of treasures to be found rooms to be searched. Then something was nagging in his head. He was missing something, but he wasn't quite sure what. He stared down at the book turning a few pages before he realized what he wanted wasn't on them. He stopped then concentrating and thinking. He skimmed over the memories until he found it with a slight smile. “I've got it! Just move! Almost there. Run!” They were words yelled and not registered by Miles at the time, but they had still been stored in his thoughts. As grim as the man's circumstances had been, it was encouraging to Sebastian. There was something here worth keeping while running from monsters. If it was worth risking ones life to obtain it had to be valuable.

Sebastian moved to Nasrin then. “I think there may be value in this place.” He said simply giving her a short pointed look. Vague words that could be taken differently, but Nasrin would understand what he meant. He glanced back at the group then sizing them up. He hope they could hold their own if the need arised.

[Sypher-Anthem]

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XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXE l i j a h X A u r e l i s
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Why don't you let me Be
Leave me Alone
You start a fire Inside
That I could never Control
You wanna see a Reaction?

The male was apprehensiveness to follow the group but it was that or be left behind to either sit in place for their return or use the rope and scale back to the surface. The male didn't really see himself as the underground type unless of course it was his own grave. Sighing he would start off after the group and try to keep pace with them though now he was wishing he'd just hidden his pack above and came down with just his blade since if worst came to worst he'd abandon his bag to make a quick get away. Not what he'd want to do but hey money can only be made by the living. As the group approached the eroded doorway that granted entrance into the spire there seemed to be a mound of assorted junk and dirt around and as they got closer the best part about it was a revealed; a body. A skeleton to be more exact and to by how dust covered the bones and the floor was, the group was the first company this unfortunate b*****d had hosted in a while. That wasn't their problem though and the the dark haired male would scan the room as the Nasrin knelt to examine what ever the man had to his name. It was only when she called attention back to herself that the male noticed the vial and book. Hopefully the contents of the book was enough to justify them going any deeper unless the bottle water was more then it seemed.

“Within Belorner’s walls,There’s said to be some kind of healing spring. I take that rumor with a grain salt, but it’s a nice little story. I imagine this water was taken from there. I know there are a few injured among us, and I don’t think this will help this one now, in his state. Any volunteers? There’s only enough for one.” Nasrin would finish as she gave a hypothesis as to what the water could have been and a offer for the injured among them to test it. Elijah would have to hold in the laughter for now since the actual idea sounded like lunacy. 'Who would really want to drink water off a dead man's corpse especially if he died in a place like this. Magic properties or not it sounded suspicious.' The male thought as he went back to scanning the room. He honestly could understand why neither of the injured jumped to the offer, the opportunist was also against leaving the vial behind since even though slim there was a chance of profit. Good thing it seemed the group would be taking it with them for a "Rainy day". That was a good idea considering if Elijah did find himself parting ways with the group sooner then he expected, it simply meant picking the woman's pocket while she sleeps at the least. Shaking those thoughts away the male tuned back in to the conversation in time to hear Sebastian give his warning of the real killers of the man. Now that was info the emerald eyes male was in need of since the last thing he want was to be ignorant of creatures that could kill a man who was carrying magic water. Resting his hand on the hilt of his blade the male tried to prevent his mind from succumbing to the paranoia that caverns gave off. Nasrin on the other hand didn't seem to put off as she voiced her standing on what to do next and prompted all those with better sense that now was the time escape with their lives as the reward. For those with bigger pockets to fill though he assumed the option to follow was still available. Sighing deeply at his own fool hardiness, the male would smirk and step forward from the back of the group just as Sebastian voiced his opinion that there was still bounty to be had out of this ancient structure.

"Well if that's what you've gathered from simply reading that old tomb then maybe its worth sticking around for more then just the adventure." He would say with a well fashioned fools smile. He wanted to come off as the young and inattentive type. That would make it that much easier to pocket the valuables while avoiding suspicion if they did come across anything.



Location:Underground Spire
Mood: Faking innocence
OOC:Sorry it took so long



╠ ◘ ✠ ◘ ╣"Good people only exist in times of peace. In times of chaos, there is no good or evil; Just survival."╠ ◘ ✠ ◘ ╣



Come on and cut me Down
You've gone as far as I'll Go
Now you're crossing the Line
And I am letting you Know
Well here's your Reaction!

[Samantha Whitfield]

↻xxＴｈｅxxｗｏｒｌｄxxｉｓxxａxxｃｒｕｅｌxxｐｌａｃｅ ・ ・ ・

With the matter of the bottle in the past, Tobias took an interest in what was no doubt their next destination. The tower was, in fact, upside down and suspended from the roof. Part of him worried some sort of sentient vampiric race lived inside. What other explanation there could be for the building of an inverted tower he had no idea of. Among other things to find worrying, if one could call his assessments worrying, was the very fragile looking ‘bridge’ of sorts across from their position to the tower. It did not look as though it could handle even a feather upon it.

When Sebastian closed the book and spoke again after a brief respite, to Tobias, the male turned over with a somewhat curious expression. Another gut feeling from his companions? Or did that diary contain some sort of warning about the inhabitants and beasts? Secondly, just how did blondie know it was one of these unknown ‘dangerous’ creatures who killed the man? Tobias was, of course, not about to ask directly. He just felt if a beast killed this man, the bones would not have been so elegantly laid out for them to find. Either way, he took the second warning to heart and continued to keep as vigilant as possible.

After Sebastian had spoken, Maria spoke up again. She had a few questions, still; though it was all nothing important. However, he was curious what the plan from here on was. Would they decide it was too dangerous to procede and turn heel? To be honest, Tobias was not blinded by pride when it came to life. He’d much rather leave if there was an imminent threat of a terrible death awaiting further in the cavern. At the same time, even he was just a little curious of the tower and its creators. Even he was human, after all, and prone to making unfavorable decisions when it came to his well-being.

“That changes things,” Nasrin replied with a brief intermission. “It’s not much of a plan. Stay sharp and give hell to anything that moves.”

Tobias was not quite sure if the dark-skinned woman was distracted or worried about their situation, or upset at being put in the leadership role for their misfit band of travelers. Her advice was not the most rousing, but Tobias was rarely moved. Her words are rather unnecessary, Tobias thought, if only because what were the supposed to do instead? Roll over and die? Of course their party would lively defend themselve against attackers. Even pacifists did not openly great death with a smile. Right? The others looked capable enough, at least.

“I think sticking together is better,” Tobias noted, deciding to delve deeper. “I fear attempting to return might be playing into any lurking beasts’ plans.”

Not that he gave any wild beast such credit. They were, after all, simply animals; they work of instinct and nothing more. Only a human was capable of cognitive thought and planning. The beasts just did what was natural: attack the weak, those stranded, and run from the intimidating. Therefore, Tobias tried to exude an aura of confidence. Which he did, if only because he did not fear any sort of wild beast that might be lurking, as foolish as that absence was.

Speaking of foolish, he did not like how the long-haired thief among their ranks seemed so excited about this ‘adventure’, as he put it. It disgusted Tobias just a little that someone could be so naïve—like this would be a stroll through a zoo or park. Tobias might not be scared of anything, but at the same time he was wary about the realities and dangers of their situation. Still, he would be more than happy to let Elijah or any of the others be feasted on while he escaped, should it come to that. Tobias was, after all, a hedonist and a survivalist. Always enjoy what you wanted, and make sure you had a plan that involved someone else taking the falls.

His self-centred creeds.

Then, something in the peripheral caught his attention. Unlike the occasional paranoia-induced ‘shadows’ he had seen as they had made it thus far, he was sure this one was actually something and not his mind playing tricks on himself. Instantly, he produced a small, throwing knife from seemingly nowhere. It left his hand a split second later, flying straight toward Book.

“I think we have company,” he told the others, who seemed to not have noticed they were being followed just yet.

Tobias, of course, knew not if it was man or beast. On the other hand, he did not much care. Whatever it was, it clearly was trying to stay just out of sight. That made it a threat, or a fool. Either way...

・ ・ ・ ｅｘｐｅｃｔxxｎｏxxｓｙｍｐａｔｈｙxxｆｒｏｍxxｍｅxx↺

[BallDrogo]

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So, the plan was just to continue on in this oddly designed tower. She couldn’t argue with that, turning back was a death sentence and she preferred to live for another day. Still, there was this feeling she was getting going along with this group, something didn’t feel right about them. Nasrin and Maria never saw eye to eye since they first exchanged words. Nasrin wanted to travel on when they first landed? Maria rejected the idea, saying she thought it would be better to rest for a few hours. Then came the water incident. Maria just didn’t feel right in looting a dead body, she felt like it was incredibly disrespectful and brought bad luck. Now, who wasn’t to say she hadn’t take a few coins off some bandits, a ring, or maybe a cloak to stay warm, but they were marauders or bandits. They profited off robbing and killing, Maria was only taking what wasn’t theirs and usually gave it to a church, save for the cloak. She kept that. It was warm and she loved to snuggle up with it when it rained.

Next up was Sebastian who still held onto the book. While his description was frightening, it was in no way related to Abraxas, so that made Maria feel a bit relieved. There was no demon skulking around these areas, just waiting to use their bones to make chairs or thrones or something else entirely that would have been horrible. Maybe use their skulls as drinking goblets…that was just terrifying to think about. This demon drinking from Maria’s skulls while it laughed. While these fantasies they seem amazing, the creature had no care for bones, as seen by the skeleton that was still on the ground. So, it probably didn’t care that much more bones, just the squishy stuff inside Maria, like her lungs or small intestine.

So, the entry was even years old. Now, wasn’t that just lovely. This thing had a chance at still being alive and wandering around. Even though they all seemed to be armed with some sort of weapon or ability, they had no idea if this “thing” had tricks up its own sleeve. Maybe it could shapeshift and assume the identity of someone it had killed, perhaps it could camouflage itself into the background like a chameleon. It could be lurking in this very room, watching carefully, eyeing which one to take out first. Should it take out the weakest for an easy kill, or go for the strongest and most well-armed. Take out the alpha and the rest will scurry, or that is how Maria knew it. Follow the leader, but without the leader, who did they follow? Not wanting to waste any more time, she joined up with Nasrin, Elijah, the other tall member of their group and Sebastian.

Sebastian mentioned the prospect of treasure being in those halls. What did her moral code say about raiding treasure vaults? Technically, she wasn’t taking from the dead, she was taking the spoils of war. Maybe a new breast plate, maybe a nice cloak or some jewelry she could sell. Something shiny, she did like shiny. Shiny meant good, right?

“Shiny trinkets sound nice. A quality cloak for the rainy days,” she admitted. “Maybe a new breastplate or some boots,” her tone laced with greed. She couldn’t exactly say no to taking items from a vault. Who wasn’t to say that this place was the home to a conqueror, so stealing the treasurers wouldn’t be too morally corrupt. Besides, shiny, she could see herself, wearing rings and furs. That wasn’t her was it? Maybe just a cloak and ring or two would be suffice.

A knife whizzed past her, throwing by the member of Nasrin’s group whose name she had not asked. Turning her head, she stared intently at where the knife had disappeared. Throwing her right hand up, her barrier came to life, covering her from her shoulders up to her head.

For once in her life, she wish she had a more offensive power. Her barriers weren't that strong and doubt they could withstand that much of a hit.


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[WanderingMercenary]

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{{ϜᾳϮϊϻᾳ Ȧʅ'ᾳῳɧᾳɗϊ}}

Bounty Hunter

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You can find me here: A strange building, under the forests of Bethryl
With the company of: The group

indentReptilian man-creatures. Fatima would rather deal with rapists than creatures of fantasy. Normally she was a fearless woman, but the journal entries unnerved her in a way that was unsettling. The small hairs on the back of her neck began to stood up, and chills almost went down her spine. But she wasn't having any of that, so she mentally stared it down. She couldn't show weakness, not now, especially since she was the one holding a decent weapon. Knives and magic only got a girl so far in combat.

indentValue? Once she heard the word, Fatima's mind instantly went to gold and other such riches. But she calmed herself from the excitement caused by the word. If there was one thing she learned in her reading of fables and old tales, was that value meant more than just riches. It could mean knowledge, or an item that transcended value. She had a feeling that the value hidden somewhere in this tower was more the latter type.

indentAs soon as she saw the black-haired man throw a knife into the darkness, Fatima drew her sword. If those creatures were still here, it would stand to reason that they knew the group was here, and were finally making their move. "Come," she said, moving toward the spot where the man had thrown his knife. "If we really want to find out what lies in this tower, then the only way is up. I will not think badly of you if you decide to climb the rope back up to the surface." Once she was done addressing the group, she proceeded forward, sword at the ready, electricity crackling at her finger tips.

[anais nighteyed]

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artwork by Midori Foo, from Book of Picturesxxx

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She waited for Sebastian to describe the creatures he’d learned about from the fallen adventurer’s book. Turning back, she began to meander away from the group, quietly retracing the path they’d taken. After a few deliberate paces she came to a halt. Beyond the reach of her torch’s dim glow she could discern very little, but she stubbornly searched for some indication that they weren’t alone. She half expected to find one of Sebastian’s creatures leering back from the shadows. In her defiant stance, Nasrin was issuing a challenge to anything that lurked in the dark, daring unseen foes to come forward.

If they were being followed, she wanted to damn well know about it. The thief didn’t want to dwell between sureness and doubt; she’d been hunted like an animal before and she didn’t have patience to spare for this. Her agitation could have easily stemmed from the deep-seated knowledge that she would always be looking over her shoulder for one reason or another. Knowing that something as simple as a moment’s peace had to be fought for - that was close to maddening, and perhaps she was bitter about it. So she liked to think that traveling and stealing a living along the way was a pleasant distraction.

She frowned and sighed through her nose, somewhat bothered by Sebastian’s report. As a girl she had often tried to catch the lizards that were wont to sun themselves on rocks, hoping to befriend one. They’d always been too quick for her eager hands. Their predicament wasn’t quite a child’s lark, and even she wouldn’t deny that it was an odd place for her mind to go, but she couldn’t help but wonder if these creatures were just as swift. Then the word value left Sebastian’s mouth, and that sweetened the grim tale he’d just delivered.

In acknowledgement she inclined her head, barely giving him a nod in answer. It was all the prompting she needed. She’d believed the place looked promising, and if Sebastian told her it had worth, she had no reason to question him. There was no retreating now, though her attention had drifted elsewhere. Behind her Elijah sounded eager to linger about the tower, and Maria was fantasizing about new armor. But Nasrin thought she had heard something in the distance. A voice, as faint as the breeze, and a light scuffling… mere whispers of danger, but she was on her guard.

Just when she was starting to suspect there was little more than dust and stone to the place, a figure began to emerge from the gloom. She tensed, but she was close enough to recognize the slight frame and the voice that belonged to it. As she realized it was only the boy she’d encountered in the woods, at the fringe of her vision she saw Tobias move. She turned her head to look at him, and no sooner than she glimpsed the knife in his hand did she spring. Leaping forward, her torch tumbled out of her hand and fell to the floor with a clatter. She seized the boy’s arm, yanking him out of harm’s way and into the light.

She wouldn’t willingly admit to it, but she’d wanted to keep the boy at a distance. A thread of superstition was to blame. It was his eyes that made her wary of him, the color of an unclouded sky. They unnerved her in a way she couldn’t pin down. Hadn’t her grandmother once warned her about blue-eyed waifs, that they were reputed to be water spirits in disguise? She couldn’t recall. Nevertheless, the boy made her wary, and she hadn’t yet decided if her sentiments toward him were unfair. Then she looked down at his hands, and she noticed they were filthy.

One corner of her mouth twitched as she tried to stifle a frown. Had he been rolling around in the mud? “There’s a pool over there, kid,” she said, promptly releasing him to gesture at the nearby basin. The flames in her torch had flickered to nothing. Nasrin retrieved it, and she touched the blackened end to Sebastian’s to relight it. Then she went to follow Fatima, who was ascending the stairs that led higher into the tower. She trailed closely behind her, aware that in all likelihood the woman, with her sword, would fare better in combat.

[Dayum We Roll Hard]

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The Inverted Tower, Second Floor

Though dark and glum, the tower was not so decrepit; it was sturdy and much of it was still standing though dusty. The ceiling was tall and majestic, and too high for anyone but Book to reach with no small effort. If they paid attention, the group would hear the sound of running water. The sounds were strongest through the exterior walls of the tower, where tendrils of fresh liquid would escape from between cracks in the granite – there was water running between two layers of rock that formed the wall!

Down the centre of the room to the second floor was the waterfall that emptied into the basin on the level below it, though by the calm and quiet way that it ran, it would not have been wrong to have called it a fountain. The remains of a fight long past laid strewn across the room. They were pebbles the size of fists and dropped silver and gold coins scattered here and there like distracting pennies for poor. A jewelled headpiece of Oronian origins laid further into the room, its colours faded and marred by the grime that clung to it like soot, along with some plain gold bangles, both broken and not. A set of Belornerian style laurels laid not too far from it, its golden leaves crushed and flaking, if not torn off completely.

Beyond that, there was a decisive hole blasted out of the side of the tower, and a dark light came in from near the spot where the wall met the ceiling. Water leaked out at some parts of the hole like blood from a wound. Though intimidating a sight, it was not so serious an injury to the building that it would compromise its security. The debris from it could be seen on the floor as two giant rocks that barred the entrance of the stair case to the third level. There was no way up or down these steps without clearing out some of the rocks themselves first.

[Agent Of Dreams]

Aiden Hale

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Yeah, I've been around. Yeh wan' to hear about it?

Yeh know what I feel like?: Irritated, Wary
S'nothing that I haven't dealt with before: Soaked in cold water.
They're not so bad...: No one. But I hear people down below.

All of yeh look like you could do with a good meal.
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Finally, he was here. He had been trekking over mountains for, what, weeks? But he was in Bethryl now, and he couldn't wait to get what he needed and get back. Some might think it would be strange, being here for a plant. A flower, to be exact. Not even the flower, actually. Just the seeds. Why would anyone go over dangerous mountains to the backwater of the world where the closest thing to civilization one might find is the skeleton of an unlucky adventurer, all for some seeds. Well, to put it plainly, they tasted good. The flower, that is. He wanted the seeds to grow the flower. That way he wouldn't have to come all the way back here when he needed some more. Cook though he was, he had also been an adventurer. So, while his fellow cooks were too meager to travel the dangerous road here, he had no issues. He had come out here with his crossbow, his armor, and a small pack of some basic survival equipment.

Now, if only he could find the flower. There was a map leading to here, but unfortunately, there were no convinent pointers on the map that said "Flower here!". So, he was being forced to trudge through this forest in the hopes that he'd stumble on one. And then he had to hope he was here when they were dropping their seeds. That last part hadn't been left to chance. Much talking to travellers and the like had told him that they were spreading their seeds at this time, so he was likely to find some.

He had his crossbow out and loaded. He would be ready if any kind of ugly creature decided to jump out and try and take a piece of him with it. But so far, the trip had been uneventful. But that was about to change. One second, he was walking along a plain stretch of grassy forest floor, the next, the ground just seemed to melt away and he found himself falling. "Ooooooh Shiiiii-!" Darkness, spinning, more darkness, and then a splash as he found himself landing in a fairly deep, and really cold, current of water. For a moment, he struggled to get his bearings, flailing about the water and being pushed along by the strong current. The moment passed quickly, and he managed to push himself upright. He was cold. He was wet. And, as he looked up, he saw that he was most definitely underground. Great. Just fantastic. He needed to get out of here and get dry. Damnit, he could already feel himself starting to shiver. He found that he seemed to be on the top floor of some kind of structure. Water poured into the area that he was standing on from three sides, and he immediately recognized them as Aqueduct. Going down seeemd to be the best option, so off he went.

He came to the next floor, which just had a big waterfall in the middle. By now, his eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and he could see that there was some kind of shape in the middle of the waterfall. He could go over and investigate, but that would mean getting even more wet. And since he was already soaked to the bone and freezing, he had no desire to do so. So instead, he headed down to the next level, his crossbow at the ready (Only just realizing then that the original bolt had fallen out, and hastily fitting a new one in place.).

The next level was much the same. Water flowing from the ceiling, going out through the floor. Not much to see here. In fact, the only interesting thing here was that he heard voices. Coming from below. The noise of the falling water almost drowned it out, but he could definitely hear them. Now, he was no fool. He knew that these people (Whoever they were) could be either helpful, or dangerous. Actually, for all he knew, they could be both, but that wasn't really the point. His first instinct was not to shout for their help, but to find out more about them. That was best accomplished if he could get down to where they were. So he tried the next set of stairs.

Unfortunately, it was blocked by two pretty large sized boulders that seemed to have come from the hole blasted in the side of the structure. Way too big for him to move on his own. And it seemed to be his only way down. Well, now he really had no choice. He went back up and looked down the hole in the floor.

From his vantage point, he could only see one person. But he knew there must be more. People didn't usually have conversations with themselves. Unless they were crazy. He hoped this person wasn't crazy. That would be just a little too much trouble then he wanted at the moment. In fact, he would have prefered it if they tried to attack him rather then the one just being crazy. But he also hoped that wasn't going to happen.

He put his fingers to his lips and let out a loud whistle. If they didn't hear that, then they were probably deaf as well as crazy. Or deaf and hostile. Or just deaf and... Well, whatever. "Hey, you down there!" he called through the hole. "Think yeh can give me a hand up here?"
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[BallDrogo]

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So, it was the child from before who had been following from behind. Did this child have a death wish? Choosing to follow behind a group of armed people who were on their guard was a terrible idea. He was lucky enough that knife didn’t end up nailing him in the neck. Who wasn’t to say that blood wouldn’t attract whatever had been stalking him? That rich smell bringing it to the kid’s deceased body, they would be massacred in seconds. The really weren’t in any position of advantage, having been lined up like dominoes. One person falling can cause the other to stumble and might end up with them swinging their weapon into the person behind them. Maria didn’t want to end up getting a knife to the throat or end up being mauled, so getting out of this terrible place was the best idea. Though, slapping him was first on her list for scaring the living hell out of all of them. Nasrin was lucky to have grabbed him out of the way of the thin man’s knife, granted he was not safe from Maria’s scowl, her eyes pointing like knives at him, brow furrowed in anger. Besides, how did this kid manage remain undetected and not make a single noise till only five minutes ago. Maria made a notion to keep an eye on him, something didn’t feel right. Fatima broke her concentration, making her eyes lose that dagger shape. Wanting to protect the “leader” of the group, she made her barrier bigger, now big as a kite shield. Covering her face and chest was a bit better, two main points of attack which would render her useless and leave the others open for attack. AT least if her barrier took a hit, the other could react in time to save themselves and the others.

So, the idea was the continue going higher and higher until they eventually reached some form of an exit or find the treasure room. Maria preferred the former to the latter. Rich sounded amazing, but she just didn’t like being in this area when there was something stalking them or skulking around the area. Exhaling, she kept her barrier up, trying to ignore the pain in her side. Fight through it, don’t show any weakness in front of the group. She was already weak as it was, being forced to take the defensive and having no offensive capabilities at the current time really did just make her a shield. Perhaps she should of looked into a one handed weapon, it seemed like it would have been a better idea than wielding one huge axe that required both hands and her whole body intact she to swing.

“Hey, you down there!” called a voice from above, causing Maria to look up towards the source of it. Part of her felt uneasy about having a second human being walking around this tower? Who wasn’t to say it was a trap? Yet, happens if it wasn’t? Happens if this person knew the way out of this tower, they could be of some help.

Turning her head to Nasrin and Fatima, she could only shrug. “I think he should throw down any weapons he has first before we even think of giving him a hand,” she suggested, not wanting to hear their unexpected guest to hear them “Random person being down here with us, even more weird than that kid following us down,” Maria put her two cents in, wanting to hear what Nasrin and Fatima thought was the best course of action first.


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[anais nighteyed]

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artwork by Midori Foo, from Book of Picturesxxx

xxxxxxxxＮａｓｒｉｎ Ａｉｄｚｉａｍ

Shadows loomed, and she pressed onward at an unhurried pace. Her footfalls were light, and she made a painstaking effort to tread quietly. Though her movements were deliberate, Nasrin’s attention was scattered, and her eyes roved as she took in what she could from their dimly illuminated surroundings. Walking behind a well armed, armor-clad woman didn’t instill much comfort in her, either. Not to imply that Fatima wasn’t a good shield, but she was only going to feel a sense of security once they were out in the daylight.

She wandered into the room. Constantly she wished for an adequate light; she didn’t enjoy having a reason to fear the dark, and she would have remarked on the irony of it if not for their company. She knew anything brighter could gain unwanted notice. Only fools tempted the gods without any display of prudence, and they didn’t live long. The floor was littered with odds and ends in a state of forlorn disarray, swathed in dust. Weeping fissures marred the walls. Unsettled, she listened to the water falling from above and the sound of wind passing through the tower, like a distant sigh. She heard little else, but she wasn’t contented.

Something crumpled beneath her heel. She retreated a step, and then she knelt to inspect the object. Badly misshapen, the piece of gold gleamed weakly in her fingers, and she turned it this way and that. Lying nearby was a headdress bearing delicately wrought leaves, and she assumed her fragment was once joined to it. She tried to bend the damaged leaf back to its original shape, and then she slipped it into her pocket. She hoped this excursion would be worth her while.

A whistle broke through her thoughts. Nasrin abruptly looked back over her shoulder to throw accusing glances at the others, searching for the source of the offending noise. Then a voice came from above. Wearing a scowl, she passed a hand over her face. What were the odds of encountering another person in this place? Perhaps there was another entrance somewhere, that didn’t matter. If her luck was as bad as it seemed, this fellow had foiled their chances of going on unnoticed.

He wanted their help, apparently. But she could see boulders obstructing the stairs, so she was curious to know what manner of assistance this fellow expected. Was he injured? If he was on the floor above, she imagined that reaching him would be no easy feat. It seemed the only passage remaining to them was a suspicious opening in the wall, and she didn’t trust it. “I like your way of thinking,” she said to Maria, and then she addressed whoever was above them, raising her voice. “You have any weapons, stranger? Toss them down here. Then we’ll consider lending you a hand.”