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 Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2012 3:25 pm
Unfortunately, she'd been right. The chilled air slowly permeated through her clothes, and Alana wished she had a thicker jacket. She never dealt well in the cold, and her childhood hadn't helped her dislike any. Her family had a chimney, and when they were lucky, they could use it during the freezing nights. Fire had been a blessing, and the warmth emanating from the fire was soothing. It had been especially comforting during the nights she could chance lighting a match when her father was too drunk to rage at her. It had given her strength and hope even when things looked like they would never be better. Don't go there. Pay attention to the surroundings. She inwardly scoffed at her mental reminder. What was there to pay attention to? The darkness? The lack of control in the situation? The thrice-damned cold?
Wait...what's wrong with the floor? She didn't know when it changed, but the floor was no longer rough. And was it just her, or were their footsteps now echoing softly? Where did we go now? Alana was almost starting to get used to the insanity that was the new world. Tunnels didn't have to stay tunnels, and oh look, now a winding staircase. She'd hit her shoe on the step before realizing what was in front of her. And here I thought Chicago didn't make sense. Maybe she'd ask about it once the three travelers got to their destination.
When the stairs were gone, Alana felt a slight bit of relief. It's still freezing though. "Aah!" While busy complaining mentally about the environment, she slipped on something. Fortunately for her, Traveler had caught her before she fell to the ground. "Thank you," she murmured back. She waved her arm around in the dark until she found Marfolious' arm and slid her hand down until she found his hand and clutched it. She'd gotten out of his grip with the fall, and she didn't want to leave him lost in the dark. Hopefully I won't slip again.
She wondered how much longer it would be and decided that she could brave asking Traveler. "How much further do we have?"
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Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2012 7:24 pm
Giant islands, negation of his magic, disappearing stone walls, and now a freezing cave... Just what was this place? Marfolious furrowed his brow at his current situation. This place better have some libraries somewhere, I need some damn answers... With the cave being pitch-black, he couldn't even take notes, and being on the move didn't help either. But the echoes of their footsteps were almost comforting to him, he'd spent many a day in the twisted, underground tunnel network that snaked under Nordaft as a child, and he was happy to have anything that seemed even remotely familiar here. The chill was no problem, he was fine with that, the complete darkness, however, prevented the experience from being nostalgic for him. At least as a child he had his torch with him, and it wasn't nearly this dark even if he didn't have it.
As they kept walking on, he could feel that the fall was starting to take it's toll again. The cold may not have bothered him, but it was making his aches and pain from before surface again, and his movements were slowing down. He needed to sit and rest, but now wasn't the time for that. The winding stairs proved to be a difficult task, but he was thankful for Traveler guiding them, and Alana for pulling him along. Marfolious was sure they were almost dragging him at one point. His current troubles worsened when she accidentally slipped and pulled him downwards, where he slammed his left knee into the ground. He grit his teeth, things wouldn't end well at this rate.
Marfolious shook his head, frustrated with himself. This wasn't him. He was unlucky, but he wasn't a quitter. This new place had been nothing but hard times, but he needed to adapt so it wouldn't. Even so, he frowned at the fact he had no idea where to start.
When he stood back up, he jumped a bit when he felt a hand land on the sleeve of his coat. When it found it's way to his hand and grabbed it, he relaxed a bit. Just Alana. No crazy, undead warriors this time. No one was after his blood so they could "rejuvenate the king" or something. Suddenly, he remembered something. He quickly reached into his bag and rummaged around. When he pulled out the object he was searching for, he grinned.
Rejuvenation tonic! How did I forget? Marfolious flicked the lid of the small bottle open and took drank the contents of it. He was extremely surprised to find that the tonic worked, and he felt a bit energized and warmed by it. Even if it didn't, it'd leave a tangy aftertaste in his mouth that would improve his mood, even just a little. He stretched out his neck and walked with renewed vigor. At least one thing worked today, and he was ecstatic about that. He tucked the bottle away in his bag, and felt that there were 3 more. Maybe if someone else needed a boost, they could have one. He also noted that his knee felt particularly warm, but kept walking. As they strode into the endless darkness, Alana's voice cut through the silence with a very good question. Just how much further did they have? Marfolious may have felt better, but he still needed to rest. "I'm wondering the same thing. I'm alright right now, but I'm going to need to sit down at some point."
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Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 8:24 am
After ensuring that translation had occurred, Mac turned back to Castor. Mac struggled for a word, and finally found he had no alternative: "diesel," That should be clarification enough. Offering information was something of an obligation in this case; Mac had more or less set Castor as his superior, and any relevant information he had thus required sharing.
This accomplished, he turned again to Skurk. ☼We should fulfill the deal we made with the preacher woman. It is a fair deal, and the task is a simple matter of religious significance. The Seal is little more than some crucifex equivalent, I think.☼ Mac was, of course, wrong, but he had no way of knowing it.
The guard, now, would have found himself staring down the barrel of Quintus' Colt, which had jumped from his coat into his hand the second the guard had begun his movement. This left the guard bending over Sam, with Quintus over both in a proper Weaver stance, the pistol's barrel less than twelve inches from the guard's head.
"No." Quintus wasn't sure how much he cared. In fact he'd gone to great lengths not to care. But on principle, he wasn't going to let the guard cut Sam down. That was it, principle. It was a good work ethic, and... there were other reasons, but not anything worth considering.
To the Caliph, Quintus said: "You're damn right." No clarification was necessary, just a confirmation of what the boy already thought. And another way to antagonize the guard... but put the blame on himself, not Sam. That was the way it always worked best, and it hadn't failed him yet.
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Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 12:12 pm
Sam regarded the two who had pulled their d...erm...weapons out. The sword against his own neck and the gun aimed at the holder of the sword, with Sam's glow highlighting all the stern anger in Wadi's face.
If the mad merchant ever had the right mind, he would be intimidated and probably cower, but as he was this was no more to him than a schoolyard fight between bullies. So he stepped around the outstretched sword and leaned against where the Caliph was sitting, all very nonchalant.
Then Sam spoke, "ganao, (you know) sinz dey like eak odda so muzh, eh coud juzt sall oo 'im." He was joking of course, but the deadpan way he said it might not have come across that way. He had no intention of selling his supposed bodyguard. Though the traveler mused for a moment on just how many of those crystals Quintus might be worth, and smiled at the thought of having many, many crystals.
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Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 12:51 pm
The cat's guard had curled his lip in a derisive sneer when Quintus pulled his gun, as if he was not afraid of the weapon - but then given his own weapons he may not even know what the gun was. There was a glaring challenge in the look Wadi gave to Quintus, a dare to escalate the situation, but Sam broke it with his flippant disregard for personal safety. The guard's eyes snapped back to the madman and there was a jerk to his arm, a brief moment in which he considered lashing out with the sword to cut the man down but he refrained. The Caliph's continued laughter was likely more a deciding factor in that than any threat by either stranger but the cat did return a hateful stare to Quintus once Sam had slipped past to lounge at the side of his master.
"Oooh," the boy purred with a wide grin. "Now that is an amusing trade," he looked Quintus over with a wry study, taking the offer seriously - or at least seeming to.
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Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 6:20 pm
The merchant decided to continue the joke, seeing as the others were still at a stand-off.
"O eh tink ehs worth sevrol a dos crysalz," He smiled and looked wistfully out of the tent, "perhap a concubien ant a crysal." Sam decided to get bolder with the joke. Though the part of him that was taking this absolutely seriously ventured as far to wonder what he would do with a concubine.
Probably just set her free at the edge of the desert, Sam was not about to own a slave having been one himself.
The fact that he was casually joking about slave trade notwithstanding.
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Posted: Sat Sep 15, 2012 2:43 pm
When the others questioned the time to their destination Traveler slowed to a gradual stop with a quietly muttered, "Ah, yes. You still need rest," obviously speaking to himself. There was a weighted silence as they shuffled in the cold waiting for the strange man to answer further. Around them they could hear running water now, a quiet coursing burble like some slow moving stream. The darkness was still an inky pitch and the cold still biting but the nature of the place had changed again. The echoes were a different tamber and the smell - it smelled of stale decay, an earthy sort of ancient rot.
"Sit," the strange man finally spoke to them. "We are safer here than most places." Then they heard the rustle of cloth and Alana felt a warm cloak drapped over her shivering shoulders.
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Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2012 3:13 pm
At the mention of sitting, Marfolious sighed in relief and laid down. "Thank God..." The tonic hadn't worked for nearly as long as it was supposed to, and his entire body began to ache again. He probably didn't have anything else in his satchel that would help right now either. With no other options, Marfolious stroked his chin and began to think. There was one glaring contradiction he needed an answer to. Just how are these islands floating? "Hrm...." The only thing that would have even a chance of holding up all the islands was magic, but he couldn't use any of his., so in an environment that negates magic, there must've been something else holding them up. Inverted gravity maybe? No, he would've been flung into the air if that was the case, as would everything else. Maybe, maybe it was all hanging from something. That was possible, right? No, it wasn't, there was a huge body of water, or maybe that island was gargantuan. Freakin' crazy place, I need books...
Abandoning his previous thoughts, he decided to gather data on their current location. The ground was still hard, so it was probably frozen, considering the temperature. It wasn't rock though, they had somehow transitioned from a cavern into some place that smelled oddly like rotting wood. And the gurgling sound, that suggested there was a liquid in play, and it wasn't fast. But if that was the case, the sound shouldn't even exist. It should've been frozen solid. He sighed annoyedly. Maybe it wasn't water, or maybe his familiar physics also didn't make any sense here. Giving up thinking altogether, he stretched out on the ground, only to have his knee seize up painfully. He tried again and his left leg extended fully, must've been just a kink.
Marfolious remembered what happened before their break and sat up, frowning. Traveler didn't really answer Alana's question. He imagined the answer would be cryptic in any case. How the hell did he know where they were going anyways? It was too dark to see, so maybe he had inhuman olfactory abilities. "Snrk...." He stifled a laugh at the thought of the hooded man having dog ears. Asking again would probably be pointless, so he hoped that wherever they were going, they would get there soon.
Off to his side somewhere, he heard teeth chattering. Must've been Alana, Traveler didn't seem fazed at all by anything, not that Marfolious could see him. Time to share. He reached into his bag and pulled out a vial of tonic, although common sense would dictate not taking unknown liquids from strangers, he stuck out his hand in the direction of the chattering. "If you're cold, try downing this, might help a little." He shook it lightly to show that it was a liquid, and to help her figure out its location. "It tastes great, I swear." He added with a small laugh.
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Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2012 11:53 am
☼Deals with demons never end well...☼ Skurk muttered. ☼Let's just get moving. Better to be done with this as soon as possible. If death awaits us for fulfilling its task, best not to keep it waiting... and on the off-chance that it doesn't, we can be away from it sooner this way, I suppose.☼
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Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2012 12:36 pm
The Caliph laughed at Sam's counter offer then looked Quintus over with a wry consideration. Wadi had not put his blade away but had settled back to a tense stance, rather like a cat ready to pounce, as he glared daggers at the guard who likely still had his gun on him. The Caliph seemed to find it amusing though the rest of his camp was warily pretending not to watch.
"You put much value in your man," the Caliph purred at Sam. "A crystal and a concubine. A high price for just one human." It was hard to tell just how seriously the boy was taking this trade. "Three crystals maybe. Or just the concubine," he flashed a toothy grin.
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Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2012 8:03 pm
No no no, I didn't mean I want a break! Alana just wanted to know how long they'd be in the cold dark place. As uncomfortable as the marketplace was, she was at least able to see her surroundings. The woman bit the inside of her cheek to prevent herself from saying anything more. It'll prevent me from chattering loudly too.
When the group made their stop, she sat down and wrapped her arms around her knees. The man behind her had quickly let go of her hand and she assumed by the shuffling noise that he'd chosen to sit down close to her. A cloak fell over her shoulders, and as soon as it landed on her, she clutched it tightly around her body. She didn't even bother thinking about how warm it was before wrapping it around herself. All Alana cared for was feeling less cold. "Thank you," she said quietly.
Much to her shame, her teeth wouldn't stop chattering, and Marfolious offered her something. From the way he described it, it was a drink of some sort. She wryly smiled when he assured her that it tasted great. "What is it? If it's booze, then no thanks. Traveler's cloak is enough for now." Her shivering form had diminished greatly and she no longer chattered.
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Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2012 9:37 pm
Marfolious blinked (no one saw of course) and burst out laughing at her suggestion. "I assure you, miss, trying to do my job is nearly impossible to do while intoxicated. Carrying around liquor is the last thing I'd think of. This is a rejuvenation tonic, it's sort of like... Hm..." He furrowed his brow, trying to describe the tonic. "It's... kinda like an energy boost, helps you get back on your feet, that kind of thing. It does make you feel warm and tingly like booze, but you can't get drunk off'a these." He vainly attempted to examine the bottle in the dark for the ingredients. "... 'Least, I don't think so. I've downed plenty of these on the job and was fine. The stuff tastes pretty fruity if you're wondering."
He shrugged to himself in the darkness, stowing it back away in his bag and laying back down on the ground. "Option's there if you want it, I'm more than happy to share." Marfolious closed his eyes, maybe he could take a quick nap.
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Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2012 9:36 am
"Alcohol might be a more effective tonic here," Traveler spoke up casually from a small distance, having moved away from the others. "Magic does not behave predictably in this. . . place." He hesitated to name or really even categorize where they were. Around them the chill lingered, biting their lungs with every breath. The sound of slow moving water teased with the echo of occasional drips in the darkness. The stale smell of decay hung heavy and stirred as Traveler moved in the shadows. There was a hollow crack, a grating tear of rotted cloth, the pungent smell of old death and then silence again before a shuffling sound approached them.
They felt more than heard Traveler pass between them before something scraped on the ground nearby. There was another shuffle then a snap, like fingers snapping, and a flash of light. The spark blinded them briefly, their eyes having become used to the dark, but in a short time it caught the dry tinder gathered before them and grew to a warm fire. Their eyes adjusted and they could see - at least within the small circle of light cast by the flames.
The fire looked to be built from rotted wood and cloth. They were close enough to the source to see where it had come from - one of many long hollows that lined the wall of this massive catacomb. A shattered coffin had provided the wood for their fire and the corpse inside had given its clothes for the tinder. Countless other corpses laid tucked in their own hollowed spaces, some in coffins, some not, some intact, some distrubed, none of them new. From the looks of it this place was ancient, probably hadn't been used in centuries, possibly forgotten by whatever civilization had built it - if the civilization even still existed.
The burbling water was outside the light of the fire and the wall they could see reached into shadow both in width and height but at least that gave them a sense of scale. The place was huge and they very small within it. As if to make them feel smaller they could see the feet and legs of a massive stone statue standing against the wall at the edge of the fire's light. It was dressed in armor and carried a long sword, like some ancient knight guarding the rest of fallen friends.
A thin sheen of ice sparkled on everything around them and the fire's burning crackle echoed in the surrounding dark, drowning out the sounds of hidden water beyond but at least they could see each other now. Traveler had given his cloak to Alana but remained mostly covered as he sat across the fire from them, almost idly sorting through a satchel he'd carried on his shoulder, hiden under the cloak till now. His clothes were simple, plain, could have fit into many places, many times - a deep brown half sleeved shirt and matching pants that almost resembled scrubs. He wore no shoes though and both feet and arms were wrapped in old bandages. The tips of his fingers and toes were tinted dark with what looked to be stains of ink and his neck was wrapped in a long black scarf that draped down his back to the floor. The pale lower half of his face they'd already seen under the cloak but got little else without it. His eyes were wrapped in the same bandages that covered his hands and feet, hiding the upper half of his face. Black hair with bright red tips hung over and tucked under the bandages to further cover him but Traveler didn't seem at all bothered by the fact that he was, effectively, blindfolded.
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Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2012 6:54 pm
Sam thought a moment, "Wat if, fe de cryzal and ze con-kubine, I drow en de bohk?"
While three crystals sounded great, part of him wanted to see if he couldn't just try for a concubine and a crystal, call it stubbornness. The seriousness, however, was not there in his mind but it had taken over his voice. He was bargaining like he meant it. Somewhere in his vast mind gears were turning, to what end even he didn't know.
But it was mostly to get back to a crystal for the book.
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Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2012 8:49 pm
Alana had been fairly sure that they were in a cave of some sort. That explained the dampness, the sound of water, the dark, and even the cold. It could even explain the smell of death somewhat.
When the fire was lit (thank God for that) she focused on the heat. She scooted closer to the fire and stared at it while she warmed up. The flames were beautiful. It was a small comfort that she would enjoy to the fullest of its abilities.
Finally when she decided to look at her surroundings, she saw corpses. A lot of them to be exact and in various states of disturbance. A part of her felt shocked that she was likely in a catacomb, but another part of her kept her steady. Goodie. Who knew dealing with the dead and dying would prepare me for this? As a paramedic, she had dealt with corpses before, but never ones as old as these.
The huge stone statue was odd, and it did nothing to help her figure out where they were. But her thoughts quickly changed as soon as she saw Traveler. What happened to his eyes? If he was blind, she would be amazed by his coordination skills. Instead of asking about his eyes, she chose to bring up a different subject: where the hell they were going.
"Traveler," she asked, "where are we going? And please," she added, "don't be vague." If she left it up to him, he'd probably say something cryptic again. The answer probably didn't matter since this place wasn't earth, but it would have been nice to get a straight answer.
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