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 Posted: Fri Apr 12, 2013 9:24 pm
Wait a second, what's that noise? Marfolious instantly leaped to his feet, pulling out his pickaxe from his satchel and holding it at the ready. He'd been near enough not-actually-dead bodies to know that when you start hearing freaky noises, you better get your guard up, and they were right beside a lot of dead bodies. "Alana, back away from the coffins. Get on the other side of the fire." He needed to keep Alana safe. Not to insult her, but she didn't seem like much of a fighter.
Now he needed to watch for two key indicators, wisps of magic entering the coffins and/or the familar-wish-it-wasn't rattle of bones. Well, the first one might not apply, this wasn't his world, so who knew? All of these bodies were probably still loud in any case, nothing back from the dead was quiet, especially at this distance. He just had to wait for the disquieted silence that hung in the air to break, and he really hoped it didn't.
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Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2013 9:41 pm
But the sound wasn't the dry rattle of bones or even the tortured moaning of undead maws. It was a quiet murmur, the breathless voice of a thousand tongues whispering in the dark. The closer they listened the louder and clearer the voices became. At first there were many all speaking a different language but as they listened the languages became the same, one by one voices dropped out till there was only one, speaking the listener's native tongue, calling to them by name.
Marfolious heard a distressed woman's call, Alana heard a voice disturbingly like her brother's, neither heard what the other did. To each the voice was for them only, calling them into the dark. The longer they listened the stronger the voice became, the more familiar, the more it tugged at them to wander away from the fire's light.
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Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 5:38 pm
Alana had heard the bitterness in Marfolious' voice, and she felt that she could actually befriend this man. She was more than a little bitter that there were people who were handed everything they could ever want and still felt the need to complain. If Marfolious felt the same, then it was more than likely that they could sympathize and connect on a lot more. Before she could continue conversing, noises started reaching her.
Marfolious commanded her to get to the other side of the fire, and she nodded. "O-okay." While on the other side, she found a long slab of wood from a broken coffin. She grabbed it and held it as a makeshift weapon, though a close look at her hands would show that she was shaking. She had no idea how strong the ancient wood was, but at the very least she could get in one good smack.
She whimpered as the murmurs became distinct. Alana. Oddly enough, it gently called her name. And slowly, she knew who it was from. The plead in his voice became understandable. No. It can't be. Could it? "O-owen?" Alana, please. Come over here. I don't think I can move. She took a tentative step away from the fire, the urge to find her brother slowly overwhelming her fear of the cold darkness. It never occurred to her that might be a trick. She was in the land of the lost - crazy things could here, right? Please, Alana. Help me. It was easy to forget Traveler's warnings.
That settled it. She took her stick, and put it into the fire. "I'm sorry," she told Marfolious, "My brother's out there, and I have to find him." She only needed the stick to light up, and fortune was on her side that the plank was dry. If she was lucky, it would at least buy her a little bit of time to find her brother before the stick became completely useless. It seemed she was unlucky since her plank wasn't lighting up. "Damnit," she muttered. She took the stupid plank out of the fire.
She looked at Marfolious. "You have a torch?" The more her brother pleaded, the more she wanted to blast it all to hell and just run towards Owen. But she needed light, and she was sure her brother would understand. Baby sister, please. I need you. Her knuckles were white as she waited impatiently for Marfolious' answer.
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Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 9:41 pm
"Owen?" Marfolious turned to look at Alana, whose expression was a mix shock and confusion. Who was Owen? Before he could begin to ponder who they were, a distraught voice cut through the darkness. Someone, help me! Please...! He instantly whipped his head around to look in the same direction Alana was. What was that...? It couldn't have been- Please! Anyone! It was.
There was someone else in here. And they needed help. But did Alana know this woman? Was Owen a girl's name? He couldn't remember. That didn't matter though, they needed to help this woman, and from what it sounded like, they couldn't afford to wait much longer. It was still freezing cold in here, and if they were injured, they wouldn't last long. Just as he was about to set out though, Alana's reason for leaving made him stop dead.
"Your... brother?" Instantly, Marfolious was on edge. That was no man calling for them out there, that was a woman. On instinct, he brought his pickaxe up. He didn't like this. In fact, he was down right disturbed. He was hearing a woman, and Alana was hearing her brother. Whatever this place was, it was toying with them, trying to lure them away from their only safespot. Traveler's words slowly drifted back from memory.
"I am afraid I may have pulled you from the frying pan into the fire, but at least this death is less certain."
Less certain because they wouldn't be crushed by a gargantuan torrent of water, but he never really told them what exactly inhabited the Nibiru.
"A torch? I've got nothing of the sort unfortunately." Marfolious had seen Alana attempt to light the old piece of wood, only to have it not catch fire. "Listen though, and listen well. I don't like this at all. You're hearing your brother? I'm hearing a woman, and no man's voice at all. I'm doubting it's your brother out there, and-" Oh God! Please! SOMEONE! Marfolious felt sick, and torn. Should they leave the security of the fire, and go against Traveler's instructions? Or try and find out what was out there?
The grip on his pickaxe tightened. "... Alright, we're going to see just what's out there." With an deep inhalation, he took a nervous step forward. His sense of humour dipped into its darker tastes, and he couldn't help but smirk grimly at the familiarity of stepping into the dark unknown. "Stick close, I've lost friends like this." The explorer cautiously stepped away from the fire, pickaxe ready.
"I don't need to lose one more."
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Posted: Fri Apr 19, 2013 11:06 am
((Because I am kind I'm going to say one of you thought to pick up a piece of the burning wood from the fire rather than wandering off into the magically pitch darkness. Y'all decide which one of you has it.)
The darkness pressed in against the sputtering light from the bit of wood they'd managed to pick from the fire to illuminate their way as they walked toward the source of the strange voice calling to them from a distance that only seemed to grow as they tried to approach it. They did not go far from the little campfire before they could no longer see its light, as if the darkness was a solid thing blocking it from view. The makeshift torch they carried cast only a small circle of light around them, just barely large enough for them both to walk comfortably in. Not that there was much comfort in it. Traveler's last words came to mind as they followed the voices. Do not listen to the whispers in the dark he had told them and now they were answering its call.
Their footsteps echoed in the depths of the dark place as they crossed a marble floor glittering with a sheer coat of frost which had dusted everything they saw by the weak light of their little flame. Occasionally they passed the legs of towering statues or intricately carved coffins set in rows and draped with the forgotten riches of lost kings. Just one of the sparkling jewels on one of the crowns nestled against the coffins could have matched a good year's income for both of them. And there was much more than just jewels, there were silks and metals, scrolls and even swords as well. All just sitting there collecting dust.
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Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2013 9:41 pm
"Jyan be damned..." Marfolious swore amusedly as he stood in front of the glittering hoard of treasure they had come across. He'd seen his fair share of the treasures the kingdoms of old had to offer, but this was surprising. It shouldn't be, considering everything that had happened, but it was. Some of it was in near-perfect condition, and if they sold all of it, they'd live like royalty for the rest of their lives. How lucky was it that they were in a need of money, and this gets thrown at them mysteriously?
Too damn lucky.
"Alana, don't touch any of this." Suspicious calls for help in the dark that didn't match up, coupled with Traveler's warnings didn't make him happy at all. Whatever the Nibiru was, Marfolious didn't like it one bit. It made him lose all feeling in his body, both from falling and frigid temperature, it made his knee bleed and tore his pants, there were way too many dead people closer than he'd like, and now this? Nope, nopenopenopenopenope. Normally, he'd press onward with this, but he had no magic, no exploration team. This time though, "We should head back. I don't have a good feeling about this." Knowing his luck, half of this treasure was cursed or something, or this entire situation was on the verge of escalating into something bad, and he didn't want to include Alana in it.
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Posted: Mon Apr 29, 2013 10:51 pm
Alana held the torch closely to her as she stood a little to the side of Marfolious. She thanked God (or would it be gods in this world?) that they hadn't needed to walk in the dark.
She wasn't sure what she was expecting to find. Oh, she desperately wanted to find her brother, though she didn't think it'd happen. She feared zombies, cannibals, or violent creatures would pounce on the two wanderers. She hadn't at all expected the treasure they'd stumbled upon.
Marfolious' words, while kind, were unnecessary. "You don't need to worry about me touching that." She'd played her fair share of games and heard enough stories to guess that something bad would happen if she touched the gold. Her brother sounded so far away, and a part of her still wanted to try to find him. Don't be stupid. If I hadn't found him by now, I probably won't by walking further on.
She pursed her lips and said, "Okay. We should be able to find the fire again..." I hope. After much inner debate, Alana tugged at his hand gently to pull him along. "Let's get going. Maybe Traveler's back and waiting for us." If he was there, he was probably going to lecture them like hell for leaving the safety of the campfire.
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