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 Posted: Tue May 25, 2010 10:55 pm
Ian was not really sure what the air was supposed to feel like if they were getting closer to the exit, but he thought it seemed even more still as they approached the door. As far as smell went, his nasal passages still felt clouded with the reek of the late Sir Benedictus, and so were less sensitive to the subtleties of the atmosphere of the hallways.
The dead bodies in the stairwell were, however, for better or for worse, anything but subtle, least of all in the olfactory sense. The boy wrinkled his nose again as a half-rotted hand lolled from the last step onto the floor when Mister Darrow opened the door. And he was half-reaching up to cover his nose again when Abigail grabbed his hand.
By this point, the boy's palms were grubby enough that he hardly cared that her gloves were just as dirty, but she had still taken him somewhat by surprise. He looked over, giving her a decidedly bewildered look, and stammered, "Ah, the stairs go up, though, and up seems like a good way out of a dungeon. So we just have to uh. Get past. Everyone. Up the stairs." He leaned down, attempting to find a happy medium between "face too close to the corpses" and "able to see the trapdoor at the top".
He knew he was not the strongest person out there, and it seemed rather like Abigail wanted to cling to him for comfort, so he added after a moment, "Ah, Mister Darrow, if you go up the steps while I stay here with the torch, will you still be able to see alright? I can follow you a little, I think, without crowding if you need it, sir." Though Ian was a bit less than sure that he would fit on the first couple stairs alongside Sir ... Bleedin' Demised with Abigail also holding his hand. But he also could not get too close behind the librarian, for fear of burning him. It would not, in theory at least, take much light to shove the trapdoor open, though.
... If they could shove it open. Ian squeezed Abigail's hand ever so slightly, not likely realizing that he was doing so. And continued to try to ignore her little rat companion for the moment. As long as the rat didn't touch him, he figured he would be alright.
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Posted: Tue May 25, 2010 11:06 pm
The librarian took in the scene for a long, quiet moment. He had never seen so many dead people in one place before, and not in such grotesque positions. It was very clear what these men had been doing when they died, though how they died was a mystery. They were scratching at the walls, the trap door, like a cat at the door, trying to get out. The fact that there were dead rats, despite the abundance of 'food', also worried the librarian. He wasn't sure this was where he wanted to be, or where they wanted to go, but they had precious few other options.
"I'll go, check it out," he said, when Ian spoke. He looked at Abigail, smiling, "I don't think the map was upside down, or we wouldn't have found this door at all. Just stay here with Ian, okay?" He looked at her, then at the young man. "You can stay here, I'll be able to see well enough."
With the two at the door, making sure it stayed open, Tony took a deep breath and then moved toward the stairs. He carefully picked his way over the dead bodies, careful not to disturb any of them, trying to examine them for anything useful. A sword, or some kind of weapon? If they had them, they might have tried to use them against the door if they couldn't get out.
He made his way to the trap door, putting his hands on it experimentally and pushing. He felt for a latch, or a lock, to see if it opened.
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Posted: Wed May 26, 2010 1:08 pm
The door seemed to open upward: or, it seemed like it should open outward. It didn't seem to open at all. No matter how much Anthony pushed and strained, the door didn't budge -- nor, strangely, did it rattle, like it was locked. It didn't seem to be locked. It seemed like he might as well have been trying to open a door into a stone wall.
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Posted: Wed May 26, 2010 2:01 pm
Ian wasn't it any danger of being touched by Rufus, the rat was content with hiding down the front of her dress. She glanced at the red head after she grabbed his hand, her own look just as bewildered as his, but she didn't let go. Something really horrible happened in the stairwell and she was beginning to get freaked out. She was quiet while Ian talked to Mr. Darrow, she didn't have anything pertinent to add to the conversation yet. She had already suggested they not go this way, but it seemed like she was overruled. She did speak when she was spoken too. "Alright," She was relieved she was told to stay out of the stairwell, she wasn't looking forwards to traversing it. "Please be careful Mr. Darrow." The sixteen year old didn't jump when Ian squeezed her hand, instead she squeezed his hand back, taking a little bit of comfort that he seemed to be freaked out too.
Wide eyes locked on Mr. Darrow watching him pick his way to the trap door. She leaned down a bit to watch him push at the door and then frowned when nothing happened. "Is it locked?" What were they going to do if the door was locked? If the map was right and this was the way out did that mean they'd be stuck in the dungeon forever? There had to be another way out, they'd just have to find it....and hope it wasn't locked too.
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Posted: Wed May 26, 2010 4:08 pm
If- If the exit on the map was blocked, then what were they supposed to do? Ian gripped the torch tightly in one hand, and fortunately remembered not to similarly strangle Abigail's gloved hand with his other. They could starve. Or, they could eat the rats to survive, and die of whatever diseases they caught doing that. Was there another way out?
He stepped aside to make room for Mister Darrow to come back down the stairs, and tried to ignore the sight and smell of the bodies.
"It wouldn't move at all?" he asked, the nervousness now obvious in his voice. Ian considered putting his torch to the door, but ... whatever was up above would come crashing down and that might make things even worse.
"Let's see the map again. There has to be another way out of here." Of course he had not had time to memorize it from the glance before, but there were so many passageways. Maybe ... this wasn't the main exit? Or there was a back way out? The thought of being trapped, and the distinct possibility that they all were troubled him deeply. Ian rarely thought about what would happen to him after he died, but being eaten by rats was hardly a pleasant place to start on that topic.
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Posted: Wed May 26, 2010 6:49 pm
Tony strained to push the door, putting his back into it, as the saying went. And literally, angling his shoulder and shoving with the strength of his back. He groaned and let out a breath, shaking his head as he pulled back. It was like the thing was painted on, for all the good Tony's efforts were doing.
"I... don't know if it's locked, but it's certainly not opening," he said, frowning. He tried to tug it, just in case he had failed to notice it opened inward, but it didn't seem to want to do that, either. Rubbing at the back of his neck, feeling like something was crawling on it, he looked back at the two kids.
His expression softened. They both looked worried, faces illuminated under the glow of the torch Ian carried. Tony offered them a reassuring smile in the gloom, heading back over to them and stumbling over a corpse. He let out a 'oops' and bumbled a bit, looking embarrassed like he would at the library after tripping on his own two feet.
Laughing at himself, a bit relieved without knowing why, he took the map from his pocket and held it under the light.
"I suppose we can head back into the main chamber and look around here for another exit? There must be more than one way out of this place." He frowned thoughtfully. He folded the map carefully when they were done looking at it and made to head back into the hall, motioning for Ian to stay close so he could look around in the gloom. Hopefully they might find another corridor, like the map only showed one but there was more, though he doubted it. The idea of heading down into the deeper part of the dungeon did not appeal to him at all.
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Posted: Wed May 26, 2010 7:10 pm
The map, as always, showed the same things: three levels and one exit. They'd ruled out the one exit.
Up did not seem to be an option.
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Posted: Thu May 27, 2010 3:24 pm
Zan frowned, her free hand reaching up to play with her pearls again. She was worried that they were going to be stuck in the dungeon forever. She watched Mr. Darrow coming down the stairs, and she couldn't help but smile and smother a chuckle as the librarian nearly tripped over a dead body. It was morbid, but slightly funny.
Letting go of Ian's hand she moved to Mr. Darrow's side, looking at the map again. The exit was useless, but maybe there was something on the lower levels? She sighed and wrapped an arm around her waist, hugging herself and making sure not to squish Rufus. "It looks like the only way to go is down." Her brows furrowed at that thought, she didn't fancy going deeper into the dungeon, but if there was an exit....well then it was their only choice.
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Posted: Thu May 27, 2010 8:51 pm
(Kumo can't get to Gaia, so I'm posting this from email. ^^)
There was only one way out, though, at least as far as he could see looking at the map. Ian moved around to the other side of Mister Darrow just in case the new perspective helped him in finding one. But there appeared to be just the trapdoor, and the stairs down. Nothing more.
"I- I guess we can keep an eye open for secret passages, too," he offered, partly to try to calm himself, too. They had those in castles all the time, right?
... Of course assuming that this really was a real castle. Ian was still inclined to be skeptical, but the longer they spent down here, the more the red-haired boy felt like it might be better if they played along.
He lingered a moment, giving the bodies a troubled look. His fear of running into undead had been quelled (for the most part), but he half-wondered if some words should be said for them. For Sir Benedictus, too. Ian was rather at a loss as to what to say, though. Perhaps finding a way out could stand as some testament to their apparent struggle? And maybe if things were as Sir Benedictus had described, they could try to set things right here. In Camelot. Once they got out.
He sighed and wiped his now-free hand on his pants before fixing his glasses again, then glanced at the map before starting down a yet-untried hallway.
"Stairs down look like they're this way," Ian said, and started leading the way with his torch. "Tell me if I need to turn."
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Posted: Thu May 27, 2010 9:32 pm
Tony nodded when Abigail pointed out that they seemed to only have one option at this point: heading down. It wasn't what Tony wanted to do, but they really had no choice. They couldn't bum around here, hoping for the walls to open up, or the door to suddenly decide it was a door, and open. No, if they wanted to get out, they would have to find the way.
The dead bodies had to mean something. If they hadn't gotten out this way, perhaps it was just not the right door.
Keeping his own hopes up, he patted her on the shoulder, though he quickly withdrew his hand lest the rat touch him. He didn't know where it had gotten to, and didn't want to take any chances.
He moved to take her hand carefully, not minding the grimy glove, wanting her to stick close. Maybe he was treating her like she was six years old and couldn't cross the street alone, but he didn't think it was wholly unnecessary. It was better for all of them if they stuck together. And anyway, Ian had let go of her. Nodding in the mostly-dark, he made to follow Ian as he led the way with his torch.
Tony directed from the map, though, in the end, they didn't really need it. Everything seemed to lead in one direction. Down. Away from the trap door, and away from the Warden's Office.
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Posted: Fri May 28, 2010 4:20 pm
Zan looked up when Mr. Darrow patted her shoulder, smiling at the older man. His presence made everything seem a little bit better. The bluenette followed after Ian, pausing mid-step when she felt Mr. Darrow take her hand. Her smile grew and she squeezed his hand gently, not letting go. Rufus stayed curled up in her dress, calmer now that they were heading away from the stairwell.
She stuck close to Mr. Darrow's side, quiet in her thoughts. Finally she opened her mouth, voicing the thought that they all had, but nobody wanted to say. "What happens if we can't get out of here?" Violet eyes scanned the hallway they were heading down, keeping a look out for anything out of the ordinary. She also kept her ears open for any sounds, but the only thing she heard was the dripping of water, and the click-clacking of her heels against the stone floor.
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Posted: Fri May 28, 2010 6:37 pm
They passed the Warden's Office again, where the warden still sat forever entombed -- his last words, apparently, spoken to Anthony Darrow, and still in Anthony's pocket. What kind of man had he made?
It was dark further on in the dungeon, but the map delineated a set of stairs that would wind down to the second level, and a trapdoor from there that led to the third and deepest. The second had the most regions marked INTERROGATION; on the map of the third was written, PRISONERS OF BIRTH AND DISTINCTION.
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Posted: Fri May 28, 2010 11:23 pm
Ian declined to respond to Abigail's question, mostly because he was already pondering it, and did not yet have an answer of his own. At least none that satisfied him. They would very likely end up like Sir Benedictus, food for rats and various microbes. The boy often joked that, being a fan of video games and indoor games like chess and go, he should be kept from direct sunlight, but ... the thought of dying down here, never seeing the sky again, whether they were under Camelot or still in Destiny City somewhere, was a chilling one.
He chewed his lip a little and tried not to think about it, but it was difficult - not much else to think about, with the tunnel walls looking pretty uniformly like dirty stone.
When they reached the bottom of the stairs, though, on the second level, he stopped and held the torch to help the other two pick their way down the moldy cobbles, then leaned forward to peer at the map again.
"'Prisoners of birth and distinction'," he read aloud, brow furrowing momentarily. "Wait, prisoners of distinction would be like traitors, wouldn't it?" The boy raised his eyes to peer at the librarian and the girl holding his hand. "Do you think there's a chance that any of them might still be alive?" he then inquired, half doubting it himself. After having seen a few episodes of various police procedural on television, Ian knew that there were ways to determine from a body how long the victim had been dead, but he had never quite caught exactly how that was ascertained. But the men in the stairwell and Sir Benedictus had not been dusty skeletons, at least - far more recent than that, because they were still... fleshy.
Ian pursed his lips tightly and swallowed, and tried once again about something else. But once again, there was little else to think about, even on this second floor. He could see his torch light reflecting off of something dull-metallic in a room adjoining the stairwell landing where they were now, but the object did not look friendly by what he could see - like some sort of torture device. For "interrogation", as the map indicated.
There was just ... the sound of water dripping.
It was something Ian had tuned out for the most part, but he became aware of it again. It was still not clear where it was coming from, but perhaps it might be a good idea to find it.
The boy turned back to his companions and asked, "Hey, do you think the water might lead to a way out? I mean, if water is getting in, maybe there is weaker stone or something. Or maybe even a space big enough to crawl through." He had no idea where else to go, since the only marked exit on the map was out of the question, and he was not sure they could count on secret passageways.
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Posted: Fri May 28, 2010 11:46 pm
Tony didn't answer the question, either. He looked at Abigail and squeezed her hand reassuringly, but didn't say anything on the matter of dying. He glanced at her and smiled, then looked away quickly. He had no intention of dying down here, either, and did not want to consider it. Being afraid would just slow them down.
And he felt like he had to be brave, if not for his own sake then for theirs.
He offered the map to Ian when he made to look at it, glad for the break. He wasn't the most active of guys, and really regretted not spending more time at the gym. He shook his head slowly when he spoke.
"Well, yes and no," Tony said thoughtfully, "it certainly could mean traitors to the crown, if they are of the court or noble birth, but, uh, it could also mean... like, nobles from other kingdoms, or higher ranked captives from war with rival nations. That kind of thing. But, either way, I don't know if they would have been involved in this apparent uprising with the guards. We could always... look..."
He frowned as he was saying it. Why would he want to go visit prisoners? He just wanted to get out.
"The water must be coming in from some place above us, but if there is a flow of it it would have to drain some where. We could go down to find it, or up to try and dig our way out. At the moment, the less dangerous attempt might just be to look down and see if there's anything to be found. Then we can come back up and try and find the source of the water coming in?"
He cleared his throat, not sure of his decision, looking at the map again before walking toward the marked trap door. They had already come down one level, after all: one more wouldn't hurt. Right?
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Posted: Sat May 29, 2010 11:24 pm
The boy focused on Mister Darrow while the librarian explained, but his gaze trailed off to the side every few moments; he at once both wanted to take in the scenery of this second floor, but also was not comfortable with the very likely presence of additional torture implements. Just seeing them tended to make him hurt, as Ian knew he was prone to overthinking things ... like how exactly chairs covered in spikes were meant to function. Or he was, perhaps, too empathetic.
And so when the man with the map suggested trying the bottom level first, the red-haired boy was inclined to agree. He nodded and leaned down to catch the handle of the trapdoor, planning to lift it up and hand off the weight of it to Mister Darrow since he only had one free hand. And it would be easier to cast some torchlight down there, as well.
"That sounds alright, sir," he said. "Help me open this up, and I can light the way."
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