It's that time of year again, and rumors are once again flying about haunted places and strange creatures being sighted. The Blood Moon is shining and the world of Magesc seems slightly darker and more dangerous. Normally you count all these strange rumors as just that, strange rumors. But you overhear one conversation that perks your interest: a man, badly wounded, is talking to a woman. Apparently he found an odd place out in the wilds filled with danger and treasure.
You may rp out his conversation; talk with him or merely eavesdrop if you wish.
He doesn't know who made the place, describing it as an odd and spooky underground labyrinth filled with alcoves where the dead are laid to rest. The skeletons don't have much treasure on them, ht e fine clothes they wore to their funerals have all rotted away, but their jewelry still remains. The woman looks disgusted, stealing from the dead? He quickly shakes his head: No! He saw but didn't take those, for who knows what curses were on them. The dead keep what is theirs. But he found other treasure, deep inside the crypt. It was in a huge room that reminded him of a temple, but had three statues in it. He had seen the chests, but dare not go and look inside them: strange things were floating about in that room. Huge shadows that looked like carrion birds, and bright balls of fire with a floating skull inside of them. He hadn't wanted to explore the place any further, the Blood Moon made things too dangerous! The woman asks if he would try to go there after the Blood Moon is gone, and he shakes his head vehemently. He'd been all over that area many times before and had never seen the entrance to that place before!
To get the location, you have 2 paths you can choose: eavesdrop some more as he speaks about where it is, or ask him directly. Either way, go to The Entrance.
Suluksati hesitated at the blank rocky outcropping, stroking the soft feathers at her neck, puzzled and wary. She'd heard of the crypt's existence from others of Samael's clan: the dark cavern that had appeared, suddenly, in the mountains of the Terra expanse in the light of the blood moon, and it had seemed too familiar to not investigate.
The sun was up, revealing nothing amidst the stones, and yet it should be here – this matched the young khehora's description. Likely, though – being of the Blood Moon – it would not appear until the moon had risen. It had vanished just as quickly before.
She sat, curling her tail about her legs, and waited for Samael to join her: he was taking care of things with his children and had said that he would investigate with her.
Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2014 6:44 pm
DraconicFeline
Everything had suddenly become so challenging. Sam had always believed that any mistake could be forgiven, that creatures were innately good, that the world favored those with strong hearts and spirits. Now he just felt wrong. Wrong like everything else. A piece of the good was missing, never to be found again. He'd cast who he thought was a permanent companion from his life, but even so, everything just looked tainted now. The beautiful world was tinged with an overtone of diseased hatred, and it was a feeling Sam couldn't shake even when he looked at his children.
There was evil in the way they thoughtlessly tortured bugs or carelessly shot playful bolts of magic at the older khehora, and even they way they playfully tackled each other. Everything about them just seemed... more evil, somehow, with Levi gone... Or maybe it was because he'd ever been there at all.
In any event, it hadn't taken Sam long to decide he needed an escape. Any kind of escape. Something to get him away for not too terribly long, but it needed to be engaging enough to distract him from thoughts of his children. All of his children... The one he'd lost... Sam grunted stiffly, shaking the thought away with a flick of his head. his escape came in the form of a familiar feathered female. Different from Levi in nearly every way. Zarri and Keke were to be left under the watchful eye of the clan matrons. They'd be fine. No harm would come to them.
And he was free to join Suluksati in the midst of the Terra Expanse's mountains. "Sulu!" He called softly as he landed at her side, the sound of rocks crunching beneath his feet and wings furling in as he took up a post. "I hope you haven't been waiting too long." Even now, his voice was clipped, frost-bitten, unlike his usual demeanor. "But the females seemed pleased enough to watch over the little ones. They're old enough now that it shouldn't be much trouble, I suppose..."
She turned at the sound of Samael's wings, smiling as he alighted on the ground nearby. “Sam.” she said, with an honest smile of sympathy and relief: sympathy, as he was going through a rough time. Relief, as this... mysterious place... was too unnerving for her to handle alone, and she would freely admit that.
“Not too long...” she reassured, “Long enough to know that it is the right place. Unfortunately.” she murmured. The crypt was not something that should be allowed to appear in the lighted world... what if an Orakoi stumbled into it's cruel depths unaccompanied? It would be terrible. It had to be closed up for another year, and she would make sure of it.
She moved to stand beside him. “And one of us should deal with it, though...” she looked at him with concern, her hand hovering near his frame, its movement arrested by uncertainty – would he appreciate her touch or snap at her hand?
“Are you certain you wish to spend what little time you have for yourself fighting alongside me, Samael?”
Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2015 8:24 am
The Entrance
You've traveled deep into the wilderness, fighting some monsters, slinking by others, until at last you have arrived at the location the wounded man had described. The sun is barely above the horizon, painting the sky a blood red. To the East, the moon has risen; full and glowing with that odd amber red color. You can clearly see the entrance, it lays like a black hole on the side of a huge hill, and all around it is a flat grassy plain; no trees grow near it, nor are there any other hills nearby. The entrance is made of stone, and there were once words carved into the archway above your head.Time though has caused them to become cracked and faded and all you can make out is the word at the end: "Fallen." The stone archway holds no door and beyond lays a room that you can only see shadows in. From within comes a sudden breeze; a dusty and earthy scent fills your nose as the breeze passes you.
Go to The Hallway.
DraconicFeline
It was nice, at least, that Suluksati could smile so easily with the world as it was. Heartless, selfish, careless people all around her. For all the time Sam had known Sulu, she alone seemed to have and hold a noble, confident air. A light in this bleak existence. His bright green orbs trickled to the crypt's entrance, landing and hovering there, as if the place were a physical manifestation of his negativity. It had been many moons since he'd last seen the place. Even then it was less imposing than it was now.
Samael slouched, posture resigned as the entrance gaped before them. "You're right, of course," he agreed. As perhaps Sulu always was. Right in her concern for others. It wasn't her duty to protect anyone. But she did. He glanced toward her extended fingers, her touch hovering just an inch away. "Yes," Sam muttered at last. "I'm certain." He overlaid his hand with hers, tugging it forward to settle on his arm, as had been its originally intended path.
A flick of his tail and a beat of his wings, and Sam pushed inside, stirring up a plume of dust as he kicked forward.
As you enter the crypt, you notice that it is unnaturally silent. You can't hear the sound of the wind or bugs anymore. If you look behind you, you can still see the plains soaked in red light; but they look farther away than they should, and there's too much darkness between you and the outside. Into the room you go. It is small and narrow, more like a hallway than a room. Statues of armored figures line the walls. If you take a closer look at them, you'll notice the statues that line the right wall have no eyes. While the statues on the left wall have carvings of wings on the wall behind them.
Opposite the entry way is another archway, this one has stairs leading down beyond it. The light in this hallway is dim, and the stairs themselves vanish into the dark. A light may be needed to explore this place.
You may go down the stairs, Go to Downwards. Or you may leave Go to Quit.
Her feathers were too dense and pigmented white to show the mild blush that bloomed from the sensation of his touch. It was pleasant to be near him... pleasant enough, anyway, despite the Crypt's looming unpleasantness. “Then...” she said softly, “Let us deal with this madness, and right our world, just a little.” She followed him in, summoning a gleaming droplet of light to sear away the darkness around them. As before, the inside of the Crypt made her shiver unpleasantly. It was not a good place, here. But there was no other choice, not for these two, who had responsibilities outside themselves.
Inward they would go, into the depths of the crypt... and with luck, they would make it out to see the sun again.
Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2016 10:47 am
Downwards
Light may be created by any Orderite mage, any Kiandri, Firani, Auedaun Dovaa/Drakein, and by using items. Fire Feathers also put out light. Or you can rp your characters making a torch, that works to. If you wish to do the adventure in the dark that's fine! Just be aware that your character won't see all the details and stuff!
As the stairs go down, the air gets chillier and the scent of dust and earth gets stronger. The walls of the stairwell are covered in carvings depicting battles. Some you can tell are between certain races and others are against dragons. But all involve death and violence. Once you reach the end of the stairwell, the corridor widens and you see a large room filled with statues. Along every wall are alcoves that contain a skeletons. Some of them have rusted armor others have rotted clothing, all have a weapon of some sort lying next to them. Above each alcove is a name carved into the rock. As you wander the long corridors of the Crypt, you see every wall is covered in alcoves and statues. The statues depict all races, and you wonder who they were. If you look close enough, you notice at the bottom of the statue is a name carved into the rock. And if you look hard enough, you can find that same name above a skeleton... Someone took the dead and carved statues of them, but there are so much more skeletons than there are statues. Who did this? And why? The silent walls hold no information on who built this place. Maybe deeper inside you'll find some clues...
As you are wandering, another thing catches your eye. The glimmer of gold. Forged gold is special, it never tarnishes, nor do the precious gems set in them. Every skeleton in here has something that shines, and flickers in the light. But should you steal from the dead?
If even one of the group steals from the Dead, Go to Combat!. If everyone decides to leave the Dead in peace: Go to The Shrine.
DraconicFeline
The last time he'd been here, Sam had been in the company of his eldest son. And of course, Sulu had accompanied him that time as well. Inside the Crypt, time might have stood still. It hardly seemed different at all. Not the entrance way, carved from stone with its faded messages. Not the passage to the stairs, what with its statues and depictions. Even the air felt the same. Cold, yet stuffy, and scented by the thousands of decayed corpses that inhabited the area.
It wasn't pleasant then, and it wasn't pleasant now.
But at least last time- "Do you remember when we were here last?" Sam rumbled as he moved toward the stairway and headed down, taking two or sometimes three steps at a time. "My son was just a child, and he wanted to touch everything. You know I thought he was strange? I thought there was something wrong with him. He was so young. I didn't have any right to think that about him. Not when there are others..." His magic swept out, brushing against century-old skeletons and all their artifacts, digging deep into the earth and its crevices. So many dead warriors here. "Others that are so much worse."
His magic drew at a the shape of pendant, pushed to the dirt some several paces ahead of them. A second later, it snapped into Samael's claws. Gaudy gold laid with heavy ruby stones. Levi would've loved it. And he didn't doubt his children would've appreciated it this time as well. Even before it reached him, the wisps of smokey spirits made their appearance, hovering in glowing orbs nearby.
As your hand pulls the jewelry off, the skeleton's skull suddenly turns towards you and lights flicker in its eye's. A bony hand grabs your greedy hand to take back it's treasure and a ball of light suddenly flickers to life above the skeleton and launches itself at you. All about you comes rustling sounds and you see the skulls of nearby skeletons turn to face you as several more balls of glowing blue fire float towards you, vague images of skulls burning inside of them.
You must face the 3 Will-o-Wisps! Treat this as a normal Hunt vs 3 Will-o-Wisps: lvl 18, luk 10, they do not drop anything upon dying.
If you lose, you must flee! The Will-o-Wisps chase you out of the Adventure: Go to Quit. If you win, Go to Awakened Dead
Summoning a light was second nature to Suluksati – the magicked light appeared in her claw without her even thinking about it, illuminating the crypt in pale, flickering light. “I do remember...” she said, softly. The little skulled khehora had, indeed, touched everything, been everywhere. The crypt had both suited him and not – it was a place for a nekkhora, but not for a child. “Were you not curious as an Orakoi?” she asked him, oddly calm. She knew she should be wary – this was a dark place, where ancient shadows lurked – but with Samael... she was not. “It's so easy to forget that we used to be like them – into everything, onto everything, putting everything in our mouths...” She watched as he uncovered the pendant, letting the light hover nearby. The jewel scintillated in many shades of red, throwing sanguine glows on the walls. “My sister and I... We used to place our snouts into everything. Drove our caretakers to the edge, I do believe...” she trailed off – not because she hadn't spoken of her sister for so long, or because the wounds of betrayal still smarted, though both were true. But because, of course, Samael had awakened spirits – dangerous spirits that had to be dealt with.
Suluksati wasted no time in summoning a sputtering, sparking bolt of blinding light to bear on them, dissolving away the shadows that made them up like a hungry beast as she swiped at them with a claw...
As your hand pulls the jewelry off, the skeleton's skull suddenly turns towards you and lights flicker in its eye's. A bony hand grabs your greedy hand to take back it's treasure and a ball of light suddenly flickers to life above the skeleton and launches itself at you. All about you comes rustling sounds and you see the skulls of nearby skeletons turn to face you as several more balls of glowing blue fire float towards you, vague images of skulls burning inside of them.
You must face the 3 Will-o-Wisps! Treat this as a normal Hunt vs 3 Will-o-Wisps: lvl 18, luk 10, they do not drop anything upon dying.
If you lose, you must flee! The Will-o-Wisps chase you out of the Adventure: Go to Quit. If you win, Go to Awakened Dead
DraconicFeline
They.... They lost to a will-o-wisp. XP
He supposed, as an Orakoi, he had been like that.
It wasn't the reason Samael had assumed something to be wrong with his adopted son, but he wasn't about to point out his flaws- thinking a child was disgusting and incompatible with the world- more than he already had. So he agreed with her by way of a quiet inclination of his head. Into everything, touching everything, putting everything in his mouth. That part seemed harmless enough.
Malta mentioned a sister. It wasn't his place to pry on such a matter, but it did bring Sam's own sibling to mind. His brother had a mate and children and seemed so happy. A bitter, unasked for jealousy threatened to rear its head. So Sam grit his teeth and with a harsh snap of magic, created pillars from the ceiling that drove down on any of the remaining spirits that Sulu's own powers hadn't effectively reached.
Which might have been a better plan if the creatures weren't purely ethereal.
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