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 ]

[anais nighteyed]

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artwork by Midori Foo, from Book of Picturesxxx

xxxxxxxxＮａｓｒｉｎ Ａｉｄｚｉａｍ

Her eyes were on the sarcophagus when the stone slab yielded to the pair’s efforts. It came away and fell to the floor with a thunderous crash. The sound resonated throughout the chamber, a condemnation she felt in her bones. She grew tense, Sebastian’s warning still prominent in her mind. Her gaze wandered, searching their surroundings for the enemy. When she saw nothing she ventured forward, daring to take another risk.

Her steps were cautious and deliberate, as if she suspected that one careless movement would draw an attack. Placing her torch on the floor, Nasrin passed through the curtain of water and waded into the pool surrounding her quarry. Shivering, she passed a hand over the patterns and indecipherable markings engraved in the side of the structure, brushing away dust. When she peered inside, she found that the treasure lying within was not as she had predicted.

There was a lone book accompanied by several large, curious stones scattered in and about the sarcophagus. Swathed in webs, the cover was embossed with depictions of nature; tree roots furled along the spine, lush growth adorned the aging leather. She meant to trace these with her fingers, but no sooner than she took the book into her hands did the outer skin slip off and fall back into the sarcophagus, turning to dust. Nasrin let out a sigh that was heavy with disappointment, laced with anger. She perked a brow at the stones but did not try to guess at their purpose.

“A damn book,” she announced to the others, making her displeasure known. When she flipped through she could only understand a handful of words in the first few pages, and she was uninterested by the diagrams paired with the script. Seething, Nasrin was contemplating using the discovery for kindling when a shriek yanked her from her thoughts. She looked from one creature to the next, taking note of their numbers as they advanced. What incited them so? “As expected,” she mused, closing the book. She tossed it to Sebastian, eager to rid herself of it. “Tuck that in your clothes. Don’t let the water sully the pages.”

When she reached the opposite end of the pool she took up her torch again, striding toward one of the creatures. She brandished her torch, intending to frighten the beast away. It merely hissed at the flames, swaying menacingly. When she drew nearer the creature lashed out in fear and the torch flew from her hand, falling to the floor with a clatter. Seeing this opening, it came forward with an open mouth. In response Nasrin pulled her arm back, hand tightly clenched, and she promptly struck it in the face. It backpedaled, stunned by the blow; with a shout she threw herself upon the creature and a struggle ensued.

They grappled on the floor, and Nasrin fought to pin the creature on its stomach. It writhed violently in hopes of throwing her, wailing in desperation. Unbeknownst to her, one individual among its brethren had come to its aid, alerted by the cries. The blade of her knife flashed. The creature beneath her fell quiet, the other attacked. It leapt upon her, taking Nasrin by surprise. Its claws sank into her back and tore her tunic. Struggling to catch her breath, she plunged her knife into the beast’s leg.

[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 two were about to give the lid of the coffin a good heave ho to see what its resident wanted to take with them, Sebastian would speak up about their surroundings. It was clear that he was not just imagining things as, even past the constant sound of rushing water filled the room, everything seemed to have grown eerily quieter. Maybe what he said had caused a placebo effect that caused them all to concentrate past the water but it seemed everyone was on edge now. Nasrin, obviously acknowledging her blond companion but not being deterred by what he said, spoke out t everyone almost to say that they will be in for some trouble. With her word Tobias and Aiden would start back on the sarcophagus and with their combined efforts they were able to budge the large stone slab, letting gravity take care of the rest. A brown tinted dust plume would erupt upwards as new air rushed to the inside of the tomb for maybe the first time in centuries. Heeding Sebastian's warning, Elijah was taking no chances as he drew his blade and waited. Again if the situation ever got to bad to handle, he had no problem forming his own staircase from the walls and retreating. Better alive and broke than rich and dead the emerald eyed male thought. A few moments of anticipating silence would follow before Nasrin started up towards the dead mans burial spot to examine his final possessions.

“A damn book,”She would start after scuffling about everything for a few moments. She would flip through a few pages obviously upset that the place didn't reward them for the effort put in to discover the place. As if on cue though, the sound of scuffling and claws were echoing from almost every direction. Soon the fiends came into view and they were almost exactly as Sebastian had described them. They were almost something out of a child's fantasy, these creatures of bird and reptile, still they were plenty real enough as there numbers rounded off at about a dozen. Nasrin would pass the beaten up book to her blonde companion as she used the lit torch to go at the scaled and feathered creatures.

"A tale of treasure and dangers. At least part of it was true." The violet haired male thought as he decided to also be a first to make a move rather then watch the beasts move in on him. Closing the distance between him and the one that came through the window, Elijah was hoping to slay it before it could fully come in or at the very least land the first blow. He'd taken most of his things off to dry and while he still had his jacket and scarf with him, they hung loosely and the under shirts removed which usually acted to absorb some blows when ever he received them. Arcing his sword over the entire wind the long haired male caught the creature on its wing and with a quick twist of the blade in his hand, he came right back over this time catching it deeply on its torso. Unable to use its wing to recover the fiend careened backwards out of the window and into the abyss below the inverted spiral tower.


Location:Underground Spire
Mood: Bored
OOC:



╠ ◘ ✠ ◘ ╣"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!

[BallDrogo]

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She was right, suck on that everyone who had doubted her about her plan. Watching the pathway reveal itself, she shuffled herself inside with Fatima and looked around. Besides the lone burial tomb, there was nothing else of interest. The rest of the group was already in there, leaving Fatima and Maria as the last ones to enter.

Nasrin was already busy with the sarcophagus, which was typical of her. Through out this entire journey, she seemed self-absorbed with the idea of finding these great treasures that this tower was supposed to hold. Greed was her foil, why not just let the treasures stay where they were and not pay any attention. She had two injured people in her party and refusing to get topside was just asking for trouble. She grunted, looking at her with a glare. She moved the top off, looking at the book with disdain. Maria did chuckle a bit, all of that for a book, how foolish she must of felt.

Her laughter stopped when the reptilian beasts from Sebastian’s warning appeared. Vile looking creatures that only seemed to have one thing on their mind: Killing these tasty morsels. The crew they were with had already gone on the offensive by the looks of it

She saw one of the monsters attacking Nasrin, getting attack from behind. While she managed to recover from the attack, she was still a sitting target.

“Fatima, you don’t happen to have an extra sword in there, do you? Crossbow or something?” she asked, pointing her hand forward, projecting a thin barrier infront of Nasrin and the reptile creature, that barrier would be good for one hit. “Everyone listen up! If you have some sort of offensive weapon, form up around me!” she shouted. “Fatima! Grab Nasrin an help her over to my position, that barrier is good for one hit, so move it!” she barked. Serving as a leader for a bunch of mercenaries did prove useful in giving her that ability to form plans on the fly and in a time like this, it would mean the difference between death and survival.






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[WanderingMercenary]

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{{ϜᾳϮϊϻᾳ Ȧʅ'ᾳῳɧᾳɗϊ}}

Bounty Hunter

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indentFatima was relieved to see that Maria's plan had worked. It meant one less room to walk through before escaping this tower. And this group of people. While Fatima didn't like the feeling she got from her fellow spelunkers (save Maria), she would continue to keep such thoughts to herself. After all, they hadn't gotten out of the tower yet, and there was still one room to go, and who knew what lay in there?

indentHer question was soon answered as she helped Maria up the stairs to the next room. All it contained was a sarcophagus and a book. Almost instantly her mind became curious. What was in the book? Did she knew which book it was? She tried to see the title or any discerning marks, but Nasrin grabbed it and threw it to Sebastion. Her mouth was forming a question when the reptile beasts entered the room. Instantly she turned on her hand. She could feel the low vibrations of the lightning in her hand, coursing through her veins.

indent"All I have is a dagger," she replied, removing her arm from around Maria. She removed the dagger from its sheath just below her sword, and passed it to Maria. "Take it."

indentShe didn't way anything when Maria put the barrier between Nasrin and the beast. She drew her sword as she ran to the woman. She had no doubt that the woman could handle one of the beasts by herself, but three was too many. Once she was close enough, she slashed at the creatures wings, and grabbed one of the creatures arms. She let loose the lightning held in her hand, hoping that it was enough to subdue the creature long enough for her to get Nasrin out of there.

indent"Come on, let's go" she said, shutting off the magic and grabbing Nasrin's arm. "It's better if we stick closer together," she said out loud, more towards the other members of the group than to Nasrin. Fatima could already feel the rush of energy a battle gave her. This was, rather guiltily, what she had been waiting for all day. She knew she would enjoy every minute of the fight.

[Samantha Whitfield]

↻xxＴｈｅxxｗｏｒｌｄxxｉｓxxａxxｃｒｕｅｌxxｐｌａｃｅ ・ ・ ・

There was an awkward quiet after they had removed the sarcophagus’ lid. Everyone in the room seemed tense, anxious, or nervous. Tobias was a mix of those, and a little excited. A little part of him always enjoyed the action that was combat. However, despite the blond’s statement that ‘they’ were close, there was no immediate sign of anything.

“A damn book,” swore Nasrin.

The dark-skinned woman had gotten beside them and peered into the tomb to find their prize. She sounded quite disappointed. Tobias felt similarly; though, at least he had the jewelry from before. Still, they had gone down here and were risking their lives for a book? Tobias hated historical treasures. This was the reason he never went on these sort of adventures; they were a waste of time, always.

Well, not quite. As she had retrieved the book from its resting place, a shriek was hear from their rear. Tobias quickly turned to see their opposition. Large, bird-like creatures. Two already there, with another crawling in through one of the upside down arches. Tossing the book to Sebastian, Nasrin ran out toward them, retrieving her torch and using it to scare the monsters away. That failed.

Moments and a few blows later and Nasrin was on the beast.

The creatures were not that intimidating, then. Tobias took out his two primary weapons, one in each hand. They were long and styled daggers, each weapon with two separated blades opposite each other. Since Nasrin had already slain one with relative ease, he did not think he needed to try too seriously. Of course, while the first one had been slain simply enough, Nasrin was struggling with the second one. Maria came to her aid, projecting a thin barrier between Nasrin and the second creature. The woman then ordered everyone to form on her.

“I’d rather we finish this quickly,” he scoffed.

Tobias was not about to go along with sitting back, if only because of his nature. Besides that, he preferred to rush and keep the enemy off-balance. Fatima was soon also racing to the bandit king’s side. She revealed herself able to wield lightning, which shocked the monster into a brief stupor. While it was stunned, Fatima helped Nasrin away. Tobias took the opportunity to run past the two. As they retreated to the safety of one giant target, Tobias took advantage of the briefly stunned beast.

The rogue slashed at its throat region with his primary, then continued throw with his off-handed dagger and stabbed it in the chest region. Aiming for the beasts viscera, he hoped to hit the heart and kill it quickly. Of course, any vital organ would do. It would be rather difficult to fight with the amount of pain internal bleeding would do.

To anyone who remembered his limping from before, they would be interested to see that he moved nimbly enough. Not a hint of the injury; though, it really had only been an rather bloodied abrasion.

・ ・ ・ ｅｘｐｅｃｔxxｎｏxxｓｙｍｐａｔｈｙxxｆｒｏｍxxｍｅxx↺

[Agent Of Dreams]

Aiden Hale

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Remember the past, live in the present, and fight for the future.

Yeh know what I feel like?: Tense, Ready
S'nothing that I haven't dealt with before: Cold is starting to go away, and I'm drying a little.
They're not so bad...: Mr. Daggers, The Blonde, The Dark One, Green Eye, Axe Lady, and Armor Lady

Yeah, I've been around. Yeh wan' to hear about it?
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With the help of Daggers, they managed to get the lid off the thing. Aiden heard the blond one say that, whatever was out there, it would come when they opened the thing. Well, it was open now, so time for mysterious creatures to show up. Of course, they got the lid off, but they did it a little too forcefully. The lid hit the floor with enough force to let out and echoing bang that was sure to be heard far off. Aiden smiled wryly. It seemed that he had just been part of a self fulfilling prophecy. If there was anything out there like the blonde had said, it would definitely be attracted to the sound of the lid hitting the floor. Aiden, expecting to see treasure, or at least some kind of gold, looked inside the sarcophagus, and was disappointed to see only a book, in a crumbling cover, surrounded by curiously shaped stones. Well, that was a total disappointment. It seemed that these people, along with Aiden, weren't going to get much out of this little adventure. Others voiced their disappointment, and Aiden felt the same way.

Just before Aiden was going to let out a disappointed grumble, the creatures chose to make their appearance. Aiden, used to all sorts of creatures, especially the strangest kind, which you could only find underground, was not startled by the look of these creatures. They appeared to be half bird, half lizard things. They had large wings on their backs, clawed hands and feets, beaks, and small, beady eyes. There were at least a dozen more of these creatures, all making appearances throughout the chamber, and Aiden could tell that they were going to have to fight their way out.

He readied his crossbow, pulling the string back, locking it in place, and fitting a bolt in there. The Dark One took the book and handed it off to the blond, and then attacked one of the creatures, waving her torch in its face. This seemed to have no effect, and the torch clattered to the floor. She launched herself atop one of them, managing to sin k her dagger into it, killing the thing. Another leapt onto her back, and orders were shouted by the axe woman. The one with armor darted forward and shot lighting from her hand at that one, stunning it. She pulled The Dark One to saftey, while the green eyed one killed one in front of the window, and Daggers finished off the one that had been zapped by Armor Lady.

Two advances onto Aiden, and quite suddenly, the tumult around him quieted. Not because it was gone, but because he had unconsciously tuned it out. The world seemed to move slowly as the advanced on him. He brought his crossbow up, and taking less then a second to aim, shot at the creature on the left. His bolt sailed straight and true, hitting the creature right where a heart should be. That creature fell limp to the ground, and the other dived at him. Aiden tucked into a ball, and rolled on his back. While his hands were busy pulling the string back into its locked position, he rolled, and extended his feet, which caught the creature in its stomach. He continued his roll, using his body as a fulcrum, and sent the creature spinning over top of and behind him, to smash into the wall some distance behind him. His roll completed, he came back on his feet, fitted another bolt into his crossbow, turned, aimed, and fired, all in the space of a second. His next bolt caught the creature in the top of its forehead as it turned around, pierced through the skull, and killed the creature instantly. Three bolts down, seventeen left.

With his two creatures dead, that brought the total dead to six. There were still nine left. He readied his crossbow again, put in another bolt, and looked around. The way to the stairs down was clear, but he couldn't very well leave all these people here. Not only would it be wrong, but it would be foolhardy to go out alone. Instead, he moved over closer to the axe girl, the only one who seemed to be even remotely in control of the situation. No one else seemed to be in any hurry to get out of here, nor did they seemed inclined to listen to orders that were given to them. He kept his eyes on the remaining creatures, while he said to the axe girl "Doesn't seem like anyone is listening to yeh..." They really did need to get out of here. While they seemed to be doing just fine right now, there could be more of these things out there, and being caught in this small room with a bunch of these creatures was a fast track to getting killed, in Aiden's opinion.


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[artfreek]

¥ Sebastian Beird ¥

Sebastian was surprised to find the sarcophagus empty except for stones and a book. The body that he had seen before no longer seemed to exist. He watched as Nasrin thumbed through the book, waiting for her to hand it to him. She wasn't one for books. When the screech rang out he dutifully took the book and tucked it into the folds of shirt before drawing his daggers.

He stepped forward with a glance back at the sarcophagus. He was waiting for a glow, it didn't seem to be coming any time soon. Sebastian stood back for a second watching the creature move and attack. When he saw Nasrin go down he started for her, but was cut off my the the lady grabbing her. To Sebastian's surprise he saw bolt of lightening jump from the women's hand to the creature effectively taking it out. He couldn't help, but be amazed by it. People's abilities never ceased to intrigue him.

The injured woman was yelling commands. Sebastian followed them if only to be closer to the sarcophagus
when the portal opened. If it would open. He was beginning to doubt. He eyed Nasrin's back not liking the look of it, but now was not the time to worry over them. They scratches were more ugly than they were fatal. They couldn't go too long without attention though.

The creature's advance stopped his observations however. He moved forward as one launched towards the group. He side stepped quickly stabbing into the beasts side. It let out a screech and turned toward him. He danced away moving and put his back to the wall. He didn't want and surprises to come up behind him. He was very aware of the beasts claws and did not want to make contact with them. As the the creature ran at him he duck right as it was on him and thrust his daggers upward. He twisted the animal to the side letting it fall on the floor as he yanked his daggers out. Another one was coming towards him he side stepped, but not early enough to avoid the the creature's claws catching his leg.

He danced backwards clutching wound, but it was coming at him again. He side stepped again this time avoiding the claws and thrusting his into it's side. The animal jerked as Sebastian pulled himself on. He clung with legs as the animal bucked and he nearly falling off. He raised his dagger in the air brought it down on the animal's head with a guttural cry. The creature collapsed beneath him and he rolled off thudding into the floor.

Sebastian heaved in two big breaths before he scrambled back to the creature and yanked out his daggers. He moved quickly to his feet chest heaving. He glanced at the sarcophagus hoping for a glow. His leg was throbbing and he doubted he could take down too many more, two at most.

In his lapse of attention one of the beast barrel down on him knocking him to the floor. He saw it's jaw open showing rows of teeth. He thrust the dagger up and it dug into the creature's neck. It let out a screech it's flailing arms grazing Sebastian's own. He shoved his second dagger into the creature's chest and it let out another wail, before he yanked the dagger free and stabbed again. It let out another cry and collapsed on Sebastian. With a grunt of effort he shove the creature off of him and retrieved his daggers.

He got to his feet and moved quickly to the group not wanting to take on another by himself. His breathing was heavy and he was trying not to limp. He took a stance at the edge of the group out of the corner of his eye he saw a glow. The ground began to shake and the building rumbled deep and low. He glanced over as more screeches fill the room brining with them more of the creatures.

Sebastian moved for the sarcophagus. They needed to get out quickly. "The sarcophagus is a portal. I'm don't know where it leads, but we have little chance of making a stand here." He said as he ran.

EDIT

[anais nighteyed]

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artwork by Midori Foo, from Book of Picturesxxx

xxxxxxxxＮａｓｒｉｎ Ａｉｄｚｉａｍ

When the thrashing form trapped beneath her finally fell still, Nasrin felt a touch of relief. She was certain she had a moment to allow it. The struggle had tired her and she knew she would have the bruises to show for it before the day was done, the ugly remnants of a fight in a forgotten tomb. But a part of the threat was snuffed out, so she didn’t mind bearing a few aches in exchange. Ready to throw herself back into the turmoil, she was turning to see how the others were faring when a great weight came upon her. She registered sharp points digging into her shoulders.

Loyalty hadn’t crossed her mind, not even once. She hadn’t anticipated that Sebastian’s murderous creatures would seek to defend their kin. When she realized that one of them was upon her, it was her natural response to drive her knife into the first part of the beast she laid eyes on, which happened to be a leg. This elicited a furious scream from her attacker, and then the onslaught ended without rhyme or reason. She heard shouts in the distance; Maria was issuing a command to Fatima, she realized.

Nasrin didn’t try to grasp what was unfolding around her. She was occupied trying to understand why the creature hadn’t made the killing blow as she had expected it to do. Out of all the oddities she had encountered that day, inverted towers included, that was the most bewildering. Moments passed before Fatima came to fend it off. When the woman grabbed her arm she staggered to her feet, wincing at the effort. Nasrin threw a suspicious glance at Maria, wondering if she had used one of her tricks to shield her.

Their response had been swift, but the damage was done. Her attacker had made its mark. The pain was dull, but she knew her discomfort would grow once she was calm. She supposed it was a fitting penance, whatever the damage. The situation didn’t seem to be in their favor, and she was about to comment on this when ground began to tremble. Following this were the screeches that told her the time to leave had arrived. Sebastian moved for the sarcophagus and she began to follow him, frowning when he said it was some sort of doorway. She sighed through her nose. Nasrin glanced over her shoulder at the creatures replacing those they’d killed, and she saw she had little choice. “It’ll have to do,” she conceded, deciding to trust him. She placed one foot on the edge before she jumped, eyes shut.

[Sypher-Anthem]

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XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXE l i j a h X A u r e l i s
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX╚═══════════════════╝

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?

Hearing a few of his comrades shouts as well as more tumbling from behind, Elijah wasted no time in pivoting himself back towards the group. Everything was moving quickly and it seemed that everyone had picked their targes as they tried to regroup on Maria. Even with them slaying the beasts in tow, the creatures seemed to be slightly more then mindless as they knew to gang up on those who were caught out of position as shown by what had happened to Nasrin. It was then that Elijah noticed that his situation was deteriorating just as quickly as hers had, since he was the farthest from the group were being pushed back on to the sarcophagus. Two in particular were posing the biggest blockade between the green eyed rogue and the group, and it was going to be a task to get by them before more of them turned their attention to him, at least uninjured. Deciding to press his luck while with a little trick he did to catch others of guard, he'd rush the first of the two winged beast blocking his path. The idea behind his magic was the more spectacular the effect the more concentration went into it. Logical, though not very convenient when mystical monsters where determined to make a dark subterranean tower your grave. Concentrating was definitely on other matters to say the least, but little things could make a big difference to something as fragile as life and Elijah was opportunistic.

Letting the beast take the first swing just so that its momentum was heading in a determined direction, Elijah through his less dominant arm out in the opposite will the earth under the creatures feet with it. The result, a monster that was off balance and wait to be cut down. Elijah finished closing the gap in that moment and with a downward stroke he severed the birds head from its reptilian like body. As expected though he wouldn't escape without injury; his killing blow taking up two big of a motion and leaving himself open. The second beast who'd been working its way to Elijah's side was now on him, and sent him flying as it brought its talons in an upward motion. Turning just enough to catch the blow on his chest, the wound opened all the way from the bottom right of his abs up to the top of his left shoulder. Luckily enough his bag would cushion his acquaintance with the ground and the wound wasn't as deep and the bleeding would have others think. Luckier still was that in the fall he hadn't dropped his sword. Raising it in defense the beast would rush itself on to it think the dark haired male defenseless. Impaled, the beast was still not dead and struggles along the blade trying to get closer Elijah, who was close to the group but still a good leap away.

"Damn things persistent. Just die already!"Elijah would say as he twisted the blade deeper in an attempt to gain enough leverage for his leg to come up. Finally shifting his foot up he would kick off the beast with most of his strength, Elijah would scramble to his feet and over to the group when he saw what could only be taken as a blessing. The sarcophagus would emit a faint glow and Sebastian speaking from the strange power he demonstrated earlier deduced that it was a portal and right now their only escape. Not taking any time going over how this could be the wrong choice, Sebastian and Nasrin were the first two to delve into the ancient coffin to wherever it lead. Elijah wasn't far behind though not even lessening his stride as he place his free hand on to the side of the sarcophagus and through his feet over and into his escape...or doom.




Location:???
Mood: Where this goes, its gotta be better than here. Right?
OOC:



╠ ◘ ✠ ◘ ╣"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!

[Dayum We Roll Hard]

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Several of the smarter birds began to direct their attack at Sebastian, of whom they believed had picked up not the book but one of their eggs. Meanwhile, others had their eyes on the other humans, of whom instinct told them could form up and protect the thief. None of the creatures seemed to be worried about the floor shaking, but the building was definitely coming down. There would be no time for anyone to run through the five floors of the building to escape through the narrow path that connected the tower back to solid ground. Besides that, there were bird creatures barring the single stairway that led downstairs, and there were more of the creatures climbing up the steps too. It was a good thing that none of them were small enough to fit inside the sarcophagus, or even smart enough to step inside it.

It was fortunate because the humans' only easy escape, the portal, was contained within that very stone box. From where it sat like a pool of water, it gave gave off a dim glowing. Minor ripples in the rift in space distorted the scene of the room beyond the door to the other world. It was a liquid sea of colour, painting an image of a room built of what appeared to be solid gold.

It would soon become clear to those who dropped through the portal that it was no illusion, no trick of the desperate mind. This sealed vault offered no more answers to their situation than the tower did, but it did house what was an equivalent to a small dragon's hoard. Gold and jewels and rare treasurers piled up to their thighs. Hanging curtains of red velvet brought warmth to the room. A crystal chandelier dangled from the ceiling. Chests brimming with valuables sat at every corner of the the chamber. There was plenty of room in the vault for the humans to dig around before the residue magic in the room would eventually coalesce and send them out of the room.

The beasts' eggs that had sat within the sarcophagus had been transported with them. If the humans dug thoroughly enough, they might come across the remains of the baby bird monsters that had been trapped in this room after the last time the portal was activated...


In addition to a handful of treasures, each character may pick up a maximum of 2.0 pts worth from the following below. Points can be combined between characters.


[Unlimited:]


Minor Healing Poultice - 0.25 pts

Obtained from a treasurer room lost in the pockets of time.

Can be used on the external body of any living organism. At most, can heal a large scrape within a few hours.


Major Healing Poultice - 0.5 pts

Obtained from a treasurer room lost in the pockets of time.

Can be used on the external body of any living organism. At most, can heal broken ribs or an injury to a limb (except a broken bone) within a few hours.


Magic Negating Dust, potency: mild - 0.5 pts

Obtained from a treasurer room lost in the pockets of time.

Sprinkle it over any object to disrupt its magical abilities for a maximum of about two hours.


Magic Negating Dust, potency: strong - 0.75 pts

Obtained from a treasurer room lost in the pockets of time.

Sprinkle it over any object to negate its magical abilities for a maximum of about two hours.


Vial of Incurable Stomach Disease - 0.75 pts

Obtained from a treasurer room lost in the pockets of time.

Induces an upset stomach upon ingestion. Wears off after about four hours.


Egg - 1.5 pts

Obtained from a treasurer room lost in the pockets of time.

Contains the spawn of the hidden inverted tower's bird creatures that had attacked the humans.

[Only One Available:]


Dynamic Local Map - 1.0 pts

Obtained from a treasurer room lost in the pockets of time.

An animated map that reveals terrestrial data about the area local to the current location.


Magic Map - 1.0 pts

Obtained from a treasurer room lost in the pockets of time.

An ancient map of Albrind that is only as detailed as the map on the front page. The ink dances on the page, animating the map.


Clone Bag - 1.0 pts

Obtained from a treasurer room lost in the pockets of time.

A medium sized bag good for one use on one item. Produces a clone of the item put inside of it. The clone exists for no more than four hours.


Warm Orb - 1.25 pts

Obtained from a treasurer room lost in the pockets of time.

A magical object that stays warm no matter what. A symbol is inscribed onto it, which allows its temperature to be adjusted with the correct spell. It has two temperature settings, one of which is high enough to boil water.


Acid Coating: - 1.0 pts

Obtained from a treasurer room lost in the pockets of time.

A vial of a chemical that corrodes flesh upon contact. It has the consistency of a very thick syrup so that it can be applied to metal weaponry. Good for three uses. Handle with care. Comes with a basting brush.


Key of Unlocking - 1.25 pts

Obtained from a treasurer room lost in the pockets of time.

Opens any door provided it has a key hole. Good for two uses.


Signalling Horn, Plain - 0.75 pts

Obtained from a treasurer room lost in the pockets of time.

A war horn crafted out of ivory and silver.


Signalling Horn, Jewelled - 1.0 pts

Obtained from a treasurer room lost in the pockets of time.

A war horn crafted out of ivory and silver, inlaid with precious stones.


Super Sticky Glue - 1.0 pts

Obtained from a treasurer room lost in the pockets of time.

A jar of a substance that becomes very thick and sticky upon contact with air.


Muscle Seizing Drug - 1.0 pts

Obtained from a treasurer room lost in the pockets of time.

Vial of a clear liquid. Upon ingestion, it paralyzes voluntary muscle movement from the shoulders down. Wears off after two hours.


Rope of Never Breaking - 1.25 pts

Obtained from a treasurer room lost in the pockets of time.

A sturdy length of rope that never snaps. It is about 20 feet in length. Its fibers have a slight pinkish hue to them.

[BallDrogo]

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No one in the group seemed to listen to Maria’s command. A few years of not leading a group had left her rusty, so she probably lost that tone in her voice that people respected. Though, the majority of them seemed to be aligned with Nasrin, so they recognized her as the true leader of the group and Maria just trying to take control.

Taking the dagger that Fatima handed her, Maria admired it for a bit, the steel looked like it was in good quality and she loved how the handle felt in her hand. Getting to examine Fatima’s gift to her would have to wait though as she heard a screech as one of the bird creatures charged at her, tackling Maria to the ground. She hit the ground hard, grunting in pain. The fall felt like she had upset her wound from her fall. The bird creature placed its face right into Maria’s sniffing and then letting out a battle cry, flinging spit onto Maria’s face. It’s reared it’s head back, ready to go in for the kill, but was interrupted by Maria stabbing the creature in the head over and over again. The spit was replaced by the creature’s blood splashing onto Maria’s wrist and face. It screeched with each stab until it stopped moving and went limp, falling down onto Maria. It began to bleed out all over her, her exposed skin and clothing being coated in blood. Least she won that fight and probably would make for some great war paint. She needed a bath after all of this. Dirt, mud, blood and sweat, she just wanted to was it all off and get a good night’s sleep.

She heard Sebastian speak, he talked about how the sarcophagus being a portal, it was probably best for her to escape with the rest of the group. Pushing herself up, she felt some pain as she limped towards the sarcophagus, hand on her side, bloody dagger in her hands. Her face was covered in blood, spit and sweat and that blood was on her neck, clothes and armor. Her bandana had been seriously darkened, her hair was caked with mud, she looked like a warrior who had just got done with a long and tedious battle. She could only do one thing now: Smirk. Smirk that this was almost over. Smirk that she could hopefully get out of this hellhole. She reached the sarcophagus, placing both hands, she plunged headfirst into the sarcophagus, falling into the portal, ready to be taken away from this horrid place, her eyes closed, she smiled.

When she felt herself hit the ground, she only looked up. While she expected to be surrounded by flora, she was greeted by an elaborate set up of a treasure room. Jewels, coins, treasure, everything. Her inner greed started to build up as she took a few coins and pocked them in her pants pocket, stopping when she realized she was taking too much.

Sitting down cross-legged, she waited for the rest of the merry band of travelers to join her. Elijah and Nasrin had made the first jumps, so they should have been arriving soon.




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[Samantha Whitfield]

↻xxＴｈｅxxｗｏｒｌｄxxｉｓxxａxxｃｒｕｅｌxxｐｌａｃｅ ・ ・ ・

Tobias killed one, and when another came to challenge him he baited it into attacking. Tobias continued to ignore the others as he killed that one, but when he did refocus on his surroundings he found that Nasrin and the others were by the sarcophagus. Well, some of them were. It seemed as though two were gone. And then Maria jumpt into the portal after the others, and it clicked. Or rather, it did not click.

“Tch...” he spat.

The others were apparently leaving the scene, and while Tobias was arrogant enough to take these things on, he was not stupid. There were more of them than him, and he was not in the business of killing wild animals for fun. One of the reptilian beasts cawwed at him, trying to intimidate him probably. His response was a throwing knife directing into the creature’s tiny cranium. It keeled over with a dying caw.

Tobias shuffled quickly to the sarcophagus. Though disappointed with the bravery level of his companions, he did not bring it up. He peered into the sarcophagus, seeing that its innards were now filled with what looked like a portal. Not that he had seen one before, but if people jumpt in and it consumed them, he had to hope it was the case. Besides, the scene painted upon its ripples was enticing to the thief; gold and treasures seemed to glitter back at him. But, it might be a maw straight to the underworld. He hoped against that, as he mantled the tomb and dove in.

Seconds later, he came out the otherside of the portal. The room was a treasure trove, literally. Tobias didn’t even register Maria’s presence to his side—or the current lack of Elijah’s or Nasrin’s. Instead, his eyes lit up like a young child on his birthday. Gold all around, and gilded goblets, and jewels! But there were also some less valuable but more interesting things. Unlike Maria, he greedily stuffed his rucksack with a few pounds of coin and jewels to add to the jewelry from the tower.

Then, he examined a few of the artefacts. There was a pretty orb, hot to the touch as he exhaled to cool his hand. It was interesting, but not immediately useful. There was also some rope, which he felt was out of place and tossed to the side. A few potions or poisons as well, but he could not be sure their purpose. There were also eggs. He might have thought them dragonic, if not for the reptile-birds from the tower. What Tobias did pick up was a map. It was interesting, because it seemed to be a map of this room. But when he turned to continue walking, his eye caught motion. He rotated, and the map adjusted. A magick map of the local area? He pocketed it quickly and suspicously. He did not want anyone to know he had such an interesting item. He also grabbed a random two vials—one minor healing, and one of incurable stomach disease—without much thought.

Then, he turned back to the portal entrance and Maria. She was sitting there, cross-legged, without a word. He cracked a ‘friendly’ smile and waltzed back to the entrance to await the arrival of the others.

“Don’t want any of this treasure, do ya, huh?” he asked, curious.

After all, who could resist a basic human urge to acquire riches?

・ ・ ・ ｅｘｐｅｃｔxxｎｏxxｓｙｍｐａｔｈｙxxｆｒｏｍxxｍｅxx↺

[anais nighteyed]

x

artwork by Midori Foo, from Book of Picturesxxx

xxxxxxxxＮａｓｒｉｎ Ａｉｄｚｉａｍ

She fell through what she could only describe as a fickle doorway. The room she dropped into glittered and gleamed, splendor at the end of a long excursion. Her surprise was uncontained and she made no attempt to mask it. She was surrounded by more gold than she had ever laid eyes on; treasure was piled in dunes that were nearly as high as her waist. That was certainly enough to leave her dazed by the amassed wealth around them, though only for a moment.

She wore a strange look on her face. The irony of the situation was not lost on Nasrin, but she wasn’t inclined to share it aloud. She strained to remember the first time she’d held a gold piece, reaching back to the time and place. Her brow furrowed with the effort. It hadn’t been long ago. Nasrin frowned, brushing her hands over the treasure pooled about her legs. As a girl she’d imagined all she could do with one gold piece, all ambition. Years later, even during her service to a family in the Zarafir District, coppers and silvers were all she knew. She didn’t know what to think of the gold around her.

“Do you suppose the western king has a room like this?” she mused. Distracted from the wounds sustained in the fight above, she spied a bundle of cloth resting in the bowl of a lapis lazuli goblet. Curious, she picked it up and was suddenly aware of the object’s purpose. Despite its humble appearance, the poultice’s healing potential would be useful to her. Though she did wonder how she could have realized the object’s nature when she’d had no prior knowledge of it. Perhaps there were enchantments inlaid in the room meant to inform visitors about what it contained? She wouldn’t deny it was a clever trick, if that was the case.

She slipped the poultice into her trouser pocket with a handful of gold to keep it company. As she moved through the room, Nasrin found a bottle filled with a powder that negated magic. That made her smile, and she decided to take that as well. Her gaze wandered, and she took notice of a white barb protruding from a mound of emeralds. Brushing the gems aside, she uncovered a delicate skeleton. “Look,” she said to the others, gesturing at the discovery. She touched the tiny talons at the end of an outstretched wing, recognizing them. She was all too familiar with their sharpness. Her tunic clung to her, wet with blood.

They were the remains of one of their young. She saw no damage to its bones, so she guessed that the creature’s life hadn’t ended due to violence. Scattered throughout the room were the odd stones that had once sat in the sarcophagus, having fallen into the chamber with them. Nasrin took one of them into her hands, judging its weight. “These are eggs, then?” The aggression displayed by the creatures made sense, and she knew her injuries were well deserved. The pain in her back was worsening. “I was wondering what I’d done to incur their affection. They seemed particularly fond of you, Sebastian.”

[Agent Of Dreams]

Aiden Hale

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Remember the past, live in the present, and fight for the future.

Yeh know what I feel like?: Good cheer, Happy.
S'nothing that I haven't dealt with before: Cold is starting to go away, and I'm drying a little.
They're not so bad...: Mr. Daggers, The Dark One, The Blonde, Axe Lady, and Green Eye

Yeah, I've been around. Yeh wan' to hear about it?
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Just when Aiden thought things couldn't get any better, what with everyone seemingly quite happy to stay here and die at the hands of these bird-reptile creatures, and the building itself shaking violently as though it was about to collapse, something happened with the sarcophagus. The first to notice was the blond man, who, as soon as he saw it made his way over, stating that it was a portal. The first one through, though, was the dark woman. Next up was the Green Eyed man, and then the Axe Lady, and finally, Mr. Daggers took the plunge. Aiden, seeing no other way out then this portal, went over to it and climbed up on the edge. Looking around, He said (More to himself then to anyone else) "Dak always said go into the unknown with a smile..." With said smile on his face, he took the jump straight through the portal.

It was rather like falling through a sheet of warm water, and for a moment, that's exactly what he thought had happened. It lasted only for a second, though, and the next he found his senses, he realized that he was, in fact, dry (Well, no more wet then he had been before, at least), and what was even better, seemed to be sprawled on a large mound of gold coins. In fact, all around him, he could see nothing but gems, coins, crowns and rings, to name a few things. Chests filled to the brim with more precious items stood in corners, and there were even more curious items lying about. He wanted to have a look at those things.

First and foremost, though, Aiden took his small pack, which was filled only with a few things he could do without, and emptied it. The coins looked strange to him, though they were of the usual bronze, silver, and gold variety. They might not be good to use as currency. Instead, he saw one chest that was filled with a variety of gems. He went to this and filled his pack full of them. Gems were always good for trade, no matter where one got them from. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Daggers filling his pack up with anything he could get his hands on. This brought a feint smile to his face. Perhaps they had just a little in common.

Once his bag was full, he went to examine the other objects. There was a strange map of the whole Continent, with ink that danced on the page. He passed that over, saw two horns, one with gems in it and the other, while still beautiful, had none. Something else caught his eye, a curious orb with a strange marking on it. He touched it, and found that it was warmer then the temperature of the room. Interesting. He took it with him as he went to examine the other objects. Nothing else really caught his eyes. His hands passed over a bottle, and, the strangest thing happened. Though he had never seen the liquid that swirled within it before, he knew that it was a powerful potion to cure wounds. He took this, and saw a smaller bottle, placed his hand on it, and found that it was merely a less powerful version of the other one. This he took as well. With his need for treasure fulfilled, he sat down on another pile of gold with his bag close at hand.

Close to his right hand, he saw a gold hilted dagger, beautiful as well as deadly. He picked it up, and immediately decided to use it to get back at Daggers throwing one of his at him earlier. He flicked it around with his fingers so that he was holding it by the blade, caught sight of Daggers, his back to him, and called. "Hey, Daggers! Found something for yeh!" And with that, he tossed it. Not with the accuracy Daggers himself had shown, but with enough that it whizzed close to his head and impacted the wall directly in front of him. Aiden chuckled to himself, not caring that the other man might get offended by his actions. They had just stumbled upon a treasure trove the likes of which none of them, save Aiden most likely, had ever seen. If they didn't feel like laughing about their good fortune, then that was their problem.


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[WanderingMercenary]

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{{ϜᾳϮϊϻᾳ Ȧʅ'ᾳῳɧᾳɗϊ}}

Bounty Hunter

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indentWith Nasrin safe and behind her, Fatima stood her ground close to the sarcophagus. She held her sword out, swiping it at the creatures clinging to the wall. She bared her teeth, ready to hiss back as soon as one did so. It was then that she heard the rumbling. She didn't know if it was an earthquake or the building falling, but she knew that it was trouble. She waited until everyone was gone, and then jumped into the sarcophagus. She hoped Sebastian was right about the portal.

indentA moment later, Fatima landed in a pile of coins. At first she was confused, and then she realized that Sebastian had been right. The sarcophagus was a portal, leading straight into a literal treasure room. She couldn't help but smirk as she ran a hand through the coins. She never figured that there would be actual treasure. She was expecting a treasure for the mind rather than the body. She sat up, sheathing her sword, then picked up one of the coins. While it was silver, it wasn't the same as the ones in her money bag back on her horse. She didn't recognize the print. She grabbed a few of the coins, and a couple of the gems for good measure. While the coins might not be usable as currency, they might lend some clues as to the origins of the tower.

indentShe stood up, and looked around the room. It seemed everybody was safe and sound, for the most part. Some of the group had suffered injuries, but they didn't seem severe. She decided to look around the room, and see if there was anything else besides coins and gems. She almost tripped on a length of rope. She almost continued on her way, but she noticed the odd color. It was pinkish. She picked it up, and tested its strength with her hands. It was nice and strong. Good rope always came in handy. She coiled it and slung it over her shoulder. She decided she wouldn't keep it for herself, but would give it to Maria instead.

indentShe didn't have to travel very far when she came across a few vials. One was filled with a clear liquid, and the others had the color of some healing poultices she had seen used in the north. She picked up the clear vial and two of the poultices, and put them in the same bag as the coins. There didn't seem to be anything else that struck her fancy. She made her way to Maria, and crouched in front of her.

indent"Here, I found this for you,"she said, handing Maria the rope. "I noticed you didn't have any. My father always taught me that a good adventurer should always have a good length of rope, for whatever occasion. Rope has saved my life a couple of times, and it should save yours if you decide to keep traveling the open roads."