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 Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2012 11:45 am
"Huh? Oh!" Linda, who was now turning a positively beautiful shade of red, laughed. "We're, uh..." she blinked a couple times. Her head felt so light. "We're not from the same place. I've never seen anything like, well, any of them. My... world..." She had been hesitant to accept the explanation of this being another world, but frankly, she wasn't seeing a better way to resolve differences as extreme as she'd encountered thus far. Having no good ways to explain, she was willing to take the nonanswer of having ended up in another world. "My world," she repeated, having paused to think the prior statement to herself, "has approximately nothing in common with what I've seen so far."
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Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2012 6:41 pm
Quintus choked, coughed once or twice, and found himself deposited by pure void in a supine position, still in the same way he'd been before being unmade and remade. It had hardly been a pleasant experience, so the less time spent dwelling on it the better. Instead he slowly climbed to his feet, examining the chamber. He couldn't make out the walls, any of them, which gave him a bit of concern. It smelled like the sea in here, and he could hear something moving, but it didn't worry him yet. Sounded more like a snake or something. A bit on the big side, but nothing that couldn't be handled or avoided. Assuming they got moving, anyway.
"Good work," he added with a chuckle. "Got us out of the desert, anyway." They were out of the desert, no question. The smell of the sea proved that much. It was too wet for a desert; seemed more like a basement than anything.
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Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2012 8:53 pm
Sam's first reaction was a mixture of awe and discomfort, mostly discomfort. As his body felt the chill of what Sam thought of as death his life gained perspective; it was good. He liked life and it had no business going anywhere just yet. So he steeled his mind against the onslaught of the cold and filled it with thoughts of joy and wonder to meet the emptiness of the void. The void's terrible beauty became a thought alone to cling to for the traveler.
But then, for a brief and fantastic moment, Sam was gone.
As something Sam experienced from regaining consciousness countless times, the void withdrew its maw so that the merchant could see the light.
"Alright then," he said, eyes closed and squeezed shut because of pounding in his ears, "no more touching dragon bones."
He surveyed his surroundings from his position on the floor, grateful that his bag had traveled with him, what wonders it might have witnessed, and the man had come along too. They were both in what appeared to Sam to be a dried out cistern, or the very least a catacomb, possibly one of the ritual areas. Possibly being ritualised upon he thought to himself as he saw the circle of candles.
The pounding receded as the adrenaline decayed in his bloodstream and he acknowledged the smell of salt. And the feel of moist. And the slow glissade in the darkness.
He replied to the man. "I still liked it better when we were dead. But better to die by the sea than of thirst in the desert."
The merchant sat up and retrieved his bag, putting it in its proper place on his back before standing up. He wished he had not given those swords away.
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Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 7:57 am
The dim candle light made it hard for them to see but the ghostly shadows that flickered along the floor, up the columns. The slithering sound was somewhere in the darkness beyond; a slow, quiet scrape and slide that inched in the void. For a time they were left to it, left to listen and wonder. Other sounds met their ears in time, a quiet thrum, a burble, a drip in the dark. There was water, salt water and the smell of rust filled the stagnant air.
This place was old, very old and long since abandoned. Phantoms of a brighter time echoed in their minds as they were left to this darkness. Children's laughter echoed between silk curtains, decadent feasts on long tables crowded the chamber, elegant balls with all the pomp and circumstance of a royal palace once graced these ancient halls. Now it was empty. Just that slithering sound to keep company with the dark.
Spectral visions of the better past faded back into forgotten dreams and left them in silence. The slithering even had gone, stopped at least for the moment. The silence hung a heavy reminder of the nothing that brought them there. And then it was broken.
"You," a strange voice called from the dark. "Who has seen the End." It came from nowhere and everywhere at once. It echoed in their minds, a thousand tongues speaking a thousand languages all in one voice. Somehow they understood through the chaos of the din. "You wake me from my slumber, my waiting," the voice almost purred as it calmed, condensed to a single, velveteen, female voice with only undertones of the thousand whispers. "Are you what I have been waiting for, all this very long time?" she only half asked as the echo of soft footsteps graced the darkness to their left.
The candles' light brightened slowly to show more of the chamber, more columns and silk drapes, more shadows and marble floor, but also a glimpse of glittering scales just at the light's edge. Deep green so dark as most would call them black, each easily the size of a shield, the scales had an unsettling quality to them, something in the ghostly reflections on their polished surface. Equally unsettling was the sheer size of the round belly or neck or tail to which they belonged. It was impossible to tell really, as they only caught a glimpse of the great serpent before a woman stepped out from the dark.
She was tall with raven hair and porcelain skin only partly covered in a delicate silk wrap, like the drapes that hung about this strange place. She had strong, angled features that somehow took nothing from her ethereal beauty but gave it a dangerous quality only emphasized by the deep violet eyes that seemed to smile at the men before her. Blood red lips curved with the smile as she looked them over coolly detached from any concern for their states.
"Are you to be my Champions?" the woman seemed to ask herself more than the men she was considering, as if they may not have a say in the matter.
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Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 9:30 am
"Oh. Well. That's interesting," Alex mulled with a perplexed expression that narrowed his eyes and pouted his lips slightly but it passed quickly and he shrugged it off, snatching up one of the mugs to raise to his guests, "Well, wherever you're from, welcome to Aelzwyr," he clanked his mug against Linda's then each of the others' in turn before he downed a rather large gulp. After draining half the mug, Alex nearly slammed it back on the table and wiped the foam from his mouth with the back of a hand. "Hope you like it here," he announced with a carefree grin, "Been trying to get back home three years myself. Heard a lot more tried a lot longer but," he shrugged again, "Not so bad here. Once ya get used to things. An the Order's been good to me. Give me things to do. Get to meet interesting people. Travel about. Go places most don't get to. Got to see the Queen chambers once, an tha Unicorn's temple - just came from there," he started rambling again.
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Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 8:06 pm
The cat stopped and waited for the Alice but also reminded her to follow with a repetition of his "Come, Alice, come follow" as he lead her through the busy market to a quieter corner more resembling a park than a market street. Flowers lined the cobble path and leafy trees shaded the green grass tucked up against the buildings there. The shops themselves were modest but well kept, a long row with swinging signs over open doors. All but one. The last door on the row was neither open nor well kept. The paint on its swinging sign was faded and flaking just as the door needed a new finish.
Of course it was this door to which the cat lead the strange Alice. He stopped in front of it and glanced back at the floating girl with a considering flick of his tail. "Here. There," the cat nodded to the door, "Inside is the Wizard. The man you must see. The one that can help you be what you'll be."
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Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 10:43 pm
In the spirit of camaraderie- because Rüd was always in the spirit of camaraderie- the Abwehran gladly gave cheers with the paladin and took a 'social.' Where he came from, that meant two gulps: one for you and for the crew.
As the knight's ramblings wound down, he added his own piece, "Gotta say. A place like this... Yeah, it's impressive. But space? Seeing a galaxy? And meeting all the people in it? That's something." He paused just long enough for another swig, leaving his mug awful low. "I've got a feeling I'm going to like it here if it's as diverse as you say."
It was true, too. The Nightwalker was genuinely excited to see the sorts of things this world had to offer. Unicorn Temple? Dragons? Floating islands? And everything else he had yet to learn of... This was turning out to be one shiny sterling silver lining on his cloud.
For a brief moment he was dour, remembering all the lives lost on YSS Genesis, and chugged the rest of his drink while silently offering a farewell and thanks. Then he was back to the present. Rüd wasn't one to kill the mood if he could help it. A smirk reappeared.
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Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 11:19 pm
Quintus raised an eyebrow as the woman stepped from the dark. Where had she come from? Why hadn't they heard her? The chamber was full of echoes, so either she'd been close or she'd arrived without walking - ahh. The big thing had probably carried her, then. Quintus felt the hairs on the back of his neck climbing, and he tended to agree with their analysis; there was no right answer to this question.
To his companion, he murmured, "I'm not sure I disagree anymore." He examined the woman again, glancing away occasionally to track the moves of the greater creature, firmly ignoring every noise that couldn't be visually sourced.
"What cause is to be championed? We're not - I'm no warrior," Quintus corrected, glancing at his companion. This guy could be. He didn't look it, but he could be. The ones who looked the most normal were generally the most dangerous. "I don't even know where I am."
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Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 11:35 pm
The merchant's preferences of death scattered at the sight of the woman. Her features hit Sam, a barrage of sheer and wanton desire filled his very being. His mouth drifted open for but a moment before the traveler regained what passed for his composure. The serpent in the darkness held no danger to him that he could not surpass to behold the being in front of him, and the stranger's protests beside Sam did nothing to revoke the thoughts of glory in Sam's mind. A very specific glory.
All but forgotten in that moment were the desert and the travel before and after, all that remained was the moment here and now, as he sought to lock eyes with the woman. He would be her champion if she were to but say so, but he had to remain aloof, ladies loved aloof.
"Pray," he said in a very telling way, "What is your cause?"
The merchant, with his baggy overalls and shaggy undershirt, dusted with the desert sand; with his scraggly facial hair and unkempt hair, stood before what he did not know and prepared to become a champion.
Fool.
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Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2012 11:49 am
Crimson lips curled at the corners in a puckered little smile as the woman watched both men with half closed eyes. There was something deadly, something restrained in her deep purple eyes as she looked them each over with a studying stare but she shrugged it off with a graceful motion and stepped closer, bringing with her the scent of sea air and stormy nights.
“Warriors do not good Champions make,” she told Quintus a bit coyly. “I prefer those stronger of mind and will than back and arm,” she purred reaching out to stroke the side of Sam's face though she was watching Quintus as she said it. “Physical strength is fleeting and easily replaced. Strength of heart is something that can neither be learned nor compensated.” She spoke in a slow, almost hissing voice and leaned closer and closer to Sam with every word. Delicate fingers, cold as ice to the touch, tangled in the merchant's messy hair. Her other hand rested lightly on his chest over the heart pounding hotly in his ribs. And still she was watching Quintus, a teasing little smile on luscious lips.
“The cause is freedom,” she purred, “Your own as well as mine. For you will not leave here without my help. And all I ask in return is a key,” she finally looked at Sam for the last; turned a pleading little pout on the man that would weaken even the stoutest knees.
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Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2012 1:11 pm
Quintus' face froze for a moment, then dropped into the ultimate poker face. This was all too familiar. Well, not the circumstances, or the locations, or the people, but... god, watching this stranger play this game, it was like it was her again, gently whispering into his ear, blinding him to the rest of the world. Always convincing him she had some cause, always upholding only her own. He knew what she was doing, and he hated it, but he couldn't let it show. Not until he knew what she could do.
And here his companion had already fallen prey; Quintus knew the look on his face, too, as much as he tried to hide it. Quintus' parents had always told him "A sinner knows a sinner," and how right they had been. So now he was alone again, and he couldn't help but think that the merchant had been right: Death might be the only preferable answer. Quintus knew only that he would not play into another's hands again.
"Key?" he asked simply, beginning to pace, moving in a circle around the new arrival, hands loose at his side and head tipped down to conceal his face under the brim of his hat ever so slightly. He couldn't let her know that he knew the game, not yet, but he could try to look dangerous. It was a good start.
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Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2012 3:28 pm
Her voice was only music, her movements only fluid, and her smell quite simply amazing. He loved the colour of her eyes.
Mad Sam felt her touch and froze his body that it should not hit the floor, away from her delicate fingertips. Her cold reminded him for a moment of something that happened not too long ago, a thought that fled as her other hand touched him. He wanted to giggle. He wanted to lean into her and feel her heart beat, her flesh. He wanted wanted wanted.
He heard not her words but his hands found her waist, where they rested comfortably. When she answered his question the merchant's pupils were wide and his eyes were narrow, a look of total and full intoxication. Her pout flooded his mind so much so that he let out intoxication babble.
"Pfa, pf, pf, pfahd..."
Yes, yes, yes, yes...
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Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2012 7:18 pm
With one man already melted in her hands and the smug sort of confidence she turned on the other, Quintus did not seem likely to win this game. The woman purred and leaned into Sam as she turned under his hands, letting him hold her with her shoulders pressed against his chest, her hands resting lightly on his arms that wrapped around her. She smelled of wonder and temptation, of wild abandon and immediate gratification. She was cold in Sam's arms but silky smooth and soft and that smell made her temperature not really matter at all.
“The key to this place. This prison,” the woman answered, watching Quintus circle her like a stalking predator but not at all playing the part of the prey. “All you must do is bring me this key and I will send you home,” she promised sweetly with a tempting smile and lifted a hand toward Quintus, delicately offering for him to take it as she purred, “And give you such power for it.”
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Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2012 12:14 am
It took everything in his power not to shout, to threaten. It took everything not to shift his expression, give away his game. So like her, this woman. So manipulative. He could almost taste it. He had never seen it the first time. He wouldn't be fooled again.
"Interesting. Can you truly send us home if you're trapped here?" Why should we deliver the key to you instead of using it ourselves, he didn't ask. What is stopping you, who seems mighty here, he didn't ask. Why shouldn't I kill you, he didn't ask. His heart pounded, but its tempo was slow; he was still in control. That was important. He couldn't always shape events without, but he could never do it if he wasn't in control within. His breath was even, slow, constant, his pace relaxed and steady. He was alone, again, without friends, allies, even clear enemies. He was outnumbered and clearly outpowered; he had a Colt 1911, she had something big and snakelike. He might annoy it for a bit, but the pistol would not likely penetrate bones that big. He couldn't kill a bear with it; this was even bigger.
So he had to play her game for a while. At least long enough to get a trump card. Nothing he hadn't done before. Just ignore that likeness. She was playing to it, he felt. She couldn't know, but somehow she did, and she was playing to it, and it made him angrier. Still his face was stony, motionless, emotionless. He would not be fooled again.
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Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2012 8:57 am
Alana followed behind Traveler, watching as the crowd seemed to part for them again. It was a bit eerie but it seemed like nothing bad was going to happen so she continued to follow Traveler. She sat down in the chair he had pulled out for her and thanked him quietly, sitting with her hands in her lap. She didn't like the fact that she was socially awkward, but she had gotten used to it by now.
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