It wasn't often Cressida had ventured his deep into the forest, and certainly she had never come to these ruins. There was a distinct chill in the air as she followed close to their guides, but she remained steel-faced. Even if she was a little -just a little- creeped out by the menacing air, she would rather be dead then let ANYONE even suspect how she felt. Her eyes shifted as she noticed someone leaving the group. Stupid girl...we're supposed to stay close! "Hey!" She shouted to Miela, but it didn't seem she was heard. The demonic gritted her teeth. A BUNCH of pae were moving around! After a moment of thought, she followed after the before seen female. It had to be safer in a group than alone, right? She stayed back though, not wanting any conversation. Her goal was simply to be there if something were to happen. It certainly was creepy enough to believe something could happen. Especially after that spooky story the night before.
Hey...what she got there? Something shiny. A crown of some sort, like her Fae Aunts wore. But the female dropped it! Frowning, Cressida walked to the area as soon as Miela left, picking up the object. Why would she just...leave it there? What if a fae lost it and wanted it back? The demonic placed it on her head, curling around her crimson locks. It fitted quite nicely...oh! The group was moving! Not wanting to be left behind in the creepy-ville, she all but ran back
Guardian_Iris
Cressida picked up the Circlet
Posted: Sun Sep 01, 2013 12:22 am
Coronus woke up the next morning refreshed and ready to see what she would find today. On her many adventures in other universes she had been in many forest and had learned when the locals warned you about something you needed to listen. So she had used her bug spray and fallowed the others into the forest. As she came upon the mound she stopped she wanted to know more about this place why had it been left there and why if the Faeries knew were it was did they not explore it before. She heard some giggling and jumped back. Looking around she did not see anyone laughing "Odd That sounded like childern." she said to her self as she walked into the mound fallowing the others. Getting inthere she realized how old this place was. The smell was horrible lighting her lamp she started looking around she crawled into one of the empty rooms were she went strait first into some spider webs. She moved to get out of the webs but something seemed to be blocking the entrance. "Well only one to go I guess." She said. As she moved her self forward though the webs and into the small room. Coronus Sat in the room noticing how cold and silent it was in there. She heard the giggling again causing her to scramble back wards towards on of the vine filled corners. As she looked around she realized she was alone in the room. "Coronus your mind is playing tricks on you." She took some deep breaths the air might have stunk but the deep breaths did the job she was soon calm again. Her hand ended up resting on a cool cylindrical object. Moving her lamp to look in the object she noticed that it was a semi transparent pot of some sort with a black seal on its top. Something seemed to be floating inside it. She wanted to laugh well this was not something she had expected she was hoping to find a book or journals not something as creepy as this but then when was fate ever something easy to understand. Looking around the room she noticed the kids toys scattered around in the vines. She thought she could hear the giggling again. She took that as the signal to leave taking the creepy pot with her to her luck what ever was blocking her way before was gone.
Rarity had spent lots of time inside her tent, calming herself down while Big Mac attended to other things. She even managed to get a good nights rest on top of it and felt more refreshed than ever the next morning.
However, now it seemed they were on the move again, and to a mound that was supposedly haunted? Lovely. This was not her idea of fun.. where were the diamonds? The gems?! Rarity pouted but looked for Big Mac and tagged along next to him before they went off.
It wasn't long until the fairies were actually leading them into the mound. It felt dark and dank and smelled of something awkward. "I don't like this... how can I see to find gems.." she sighed. As it was quiet for a few moments, strange she thought she had heard something... giggling.. was it? Like a child? She, for once, shut her mouth to listen again. It was children's laughter! A small chill ran down her spine. "Did you hear that?!" she whispered to Big Mac, reaching out to grab his hand. So he wouldn't get lost... totally.. yeah that was it.
Suddenly, her hoof smacked against something as she walked, and she bent down and gazed at what it was. A pile of children's toys... odd. Who would leave these lying around? "Curious... I wonder if Sweetie Bell and her friends would like these..." she paused for a thought and picked one up... dainty like. "Oh second thought..maybe not.." she huffed and tossed a muddy doll and two balls into her pack.
Seruta
Guardian_Iris
Rarity is takin kids toys trollolol.
Posted: Sun Sep 01, 2013 4:18 pm
Lira followed the others, keeping close to Kaiden as she went and stopped when the others did and looked over the items, curiously she moved toward them and looked them over carefully before stopping at the manuscripts, journals and the order, all so interesting to her and she is wanting to take them all as they all, if she could read them, would probably be a valuable source of knowledge but instead she took one of the journals and slipped it into her backpack.
Enki had been quiet through most of the trip so far. He wasn't too sure what he was expecting when he signed up for...Maybe something more about the jungle? No...Crazy Fairies with machetes. When he saw those he moved to the back...The very back. He wasn't taking any change that those crazy fairies would mistake his wings for overgrowth. He shuddered that the thought of loosing his leafy wings. No thank you.
Enki wasn't much for ghost stories but he still had a bad feeling about the area they had traveled to. The air the smell...There was something off about this area. And it was cold. He silently followed the fairies into the hole in the mound, watching as the group started to go off in different areas. He moved to the left side of the room before noting an untraveled crawlspace and frowned. His wings were so large and the crawling area was so small. He thought for a moment before pulling the tips of each of his wings under his arm pits and struggling through the crawlspace. It was a tight fit but he made it after a few minutes.
He looked around the new area spotting shelves lining the walls of the room, topped with jars. There was a table to the northern end of the room, manuscripts scattered everywhere and covered with dust and dirt, untouched by the ages. He moved to the table and began to pick up manuscripts, some fell apart in his hands. He looked them over carefully, unable to read what was upon them. These were so old. He looked around the room one last time before carefully putting the manuscripts in his bag and heading back to crawlspace to take the trip back. It was creepy enough to be down here, let alone that laughter he kept hearing. He had had enough of this place for one day.
Guardian_Iris
Enki took some old manuscripts.
Posted: Sun Sep 01, 2013 5:31 pm
Iris topaz sighed It seemed like this hike was troublesome all the bugs that had been flying around she was happy that she had used the bug spray like she had been told. As she came upon the mound she wondered what had happened in this structure. She remembered the story from the night before she noticed how spooky this place was. As she entered fallowing the others she noticed the smell and covered her nose with her hand but when she realized that it had done little to stench the smell she moved her removed her hand and looked around. Looking around she noticed a lot of this place was covered in grime and over growth and the others seemed to be everywhere it was going to be hard to find a place any or the Pae had not been. She then noticed a very over grown corner were she saw a strangle looking rock. Many of the pae seemed to have over looked it so she headed over. Looking at the rock she noticed that it was actually not a rock. Her hand pushed the grime to the side she noticed some sort of letters under the grime. It was a book she could not make out the letters but she was happy as she opened it up she saw old faded pages inside it and letters that she could not read. She pulled it from the grime leaving a odd clean spot in all the dirt and put it in her bag.
Distances didn't bother the dappled Faun or his wolf companion, so while they rested and ate lunch with the rest, they were ready to go again after the short break. While the Faun still wore a friendly smile for those around him, he'd been picking up on the unhappy feelings radiating from his spirit companion, even before she began showing physical signs of displeasure.
'I don't like this, Faroth.'
"I know," he muttered under his breath. "I've been putting up with your bad vibes for hours now."
'Don't mock me, boy,' the wolf shot back, irritation creeping into her tone, even in his head. 'There's something not right about all this. You'll see. You've gotten us in another mess, I can just see it now...'
Faroth sighed, rolling his eyes and trying to ignore the wolf's mutterings in his head, but her discomfort only grew until it was infecting the Faun's disposition as well. Glancing over the group, he only hoped his son wasn't picking up on Raina's 'bad vibes'. He knew the boy was close-by, but maybe his new friend had him distracted enough not to notice something was off with his father's wolf companion.
By the time they arrived at their destination, Raina was openly unnerved, hackles raised and regarding anything in sight with suspicion and distrust. 'Bad spirits...lots of them. We shouldn't be here,' she kept repeating in Faroth's head, growling all the while in a defensive position.
"Well, why don't you tell them to lay off?" The only answer Faroth received was another ill-tempered growl, so he rolled his eyes and focused on their fairy guides and their announcements. Exploring, eh? He had to admit, he'd grown at bit curious about the amount of truth to the ghost story from the night before. This wasn't exactly the 'survivalist training' he'd thought they'd be getting on this hike, but it certainly wasn't boring either. Maybe against his companion's 'better judgment', he headed towards the moss-covered mound. Sure, he seemed as eager as the rest to explore, and on some level he was, but he wasn't completely disconnected from Raina's senses either. He didn't like this place much more than she did, especially as he neared and the smell and nature of the place seemed to sink in all around him.
'I'm not going in there. If you decide to, then you're a fool.' the wolf snapped sharply in his head. Faroth rolled his eyes and snapped back, irritation starting to show in how the tension was weighing on him as well. "Guess I'm just a fool then." With that, he entered the mound, ducking below some low-hanging vines that threatened to catch on his antlers.
Once inside, he had to pause and brush a beetle off his arm, and shake a few unidentified creepy crawlies out of his hair and antlers. Charming. Making a face, he followed the group further in, soon distracted from the bugs by the other creepy things they'd found. While some headed off for more remote locations, some stayed in what he could only call the main room. Maybe it was best to stay here with the main group. There was plenty of things to investigate here anyway. Objects piled in corners, even what looked like old documents scattered about. Heading towards an area where no one else seemed to be looking, Faroth's eyes scanned the floor, lighting on some old parchments. "Hmm..." He picked up a couple of manuscripts, looking them over. No matter how long he stared, he couldn't make a bit of sense out of them, though. Frowning, he shook his head, muttering, "Eh, it's no use, I can't read this." Maybe someone else could though. He started to tuck some of the odd manuscripts under his arm, and moved along to another area noting that it was already being inspected by a pretty, young Fae woman. "Hey," he smiled congenially, covering for the ill feeling of oppression in the area. "Any luck over here?"
Antidia
Guardian Iris
Faroth took a couple of old manuscripts.
Posted: Sun Sep 01, 2013 7:23 pm
Okeanos couldn't help the roll of his eyes.
He knew that this was where the fairies stayed, and this was their home, just like the cliffs near the lagoon were the ones that he possessed, but the idea that he could not handle himself with a machete was outright preposterous.
As much as he swore he didn't much care for bugs, Okeanos obeyed and put on the stupid bug spray--he was interested in exploring and learning more about these strange places, not in becoming a bright red puss ball--but he didn't obey much else. He stayed within the path the fairies had created because it had benefited him to do so, and he kept in line because there were no significant opportunities elsewhere; Okeanos was probably not getting anywhere in this mess without a machete, which the fairies would not let him have.
Indeed, that was a stupid rule. Perhaps they would have been less irritating if he had taken the Mountainous Roads.
When Okeanos arrived at the location, he crossed his arms and blew a piece of dark blue hair out of his face, somewhat agitated with the bright demeanors that the fairies would not stop giving off. If this was a place they needed to be respectful and quiet, why so much of the brightness? Was it the relics? Was it the laughter of the small ones all around them? Okeanos could have sworn he saw small ones, on the edge of his vision, but they were gone before he could truly articulate; perhaps the images were caused by the sounds that he heard...
Intrigued by both the laughter and the stories of the odd Pae'il that once lived here and performed experiments they referred to as evil, Okeanos eagerly headed deeper into the mound. It was filled with things that crawled and things that had decayed, but none of that was of any particular concern to Okeanos. Though he did not welcome those crawling things going along his body as he crawled through some of the smaller spaces, looking for some of the odd objects that they would calm were "relics."
What were those odd, filled objects?
Okeanos neared some, looking over the strange glasses filled with liquids of all varying sorts. He did not recognize them readily, but they were most intriguing, and a smirk edged on his face. Perhaps he could find uses for these ... liquids.
Carefully, the naiad plucked up some of the bottles.
Although the fireside story had sent Jarek to bed with more than a few disturbing thoughts on his mind, his sleep had been relatively uneventful. He didn't even remember dreaming, in fact. He joined the others for breakfast with an easy smile and a friendly nod to any whose gaze he met. The fare was simple, yet filling, which sounded like it would be a good thing, given the plans for the day. He took care to spray himself down with the insect repellant before falling in behind the machete-wielding Avalon fairies.
The morning hike was long, but not overly strenuous. Still, it was nice to stop for lunch after that much exercise; Jarek's stomach was growling, despite his filling breakfast. The jungle seemed particularly adept at sapping one's energy when traveling through it. It was almost a relief to reach the moss-covered mound. Almost, if not for the pervasive hostility that seemed to fill the area. Jarek looked at some of the other Pae'il's expressions before making his decision. It didn't seem that many were too eager to enter the area, and yet, they went anyway. Supposed he might do the same. It would be interesting to find out if there was any truth to the stories they'd been told the night before. Because the general creepy feeling in the area wasn't exactly proof enough.
Typical elements of any frightening location; bugs, darkness, things that brushed by you in the darkness and made your skin crawl. Wonderful. He shivered, immediately brushing down his arms and face when he reached the main chamber. Ugh, he could still feel things on him afterwards. Taking a cue from the others, he decided that maybe aiding in this search might distract him from some of the troublesome details related to it. Like the smell of the place. And the ominous darkness. And the strange noises...
In the dark, he missed an odd-shaped bump on the floor covered in dirt and grime from the ages. Until he kicked it. Cursing softly and holding up his aching foot, he glared in the general direction of the offending object, though he couldn't actually see anything until he took out his pocket lantern and bathed the floor in the soft, glowing light of the algae within. He brushed the dirt away from the object to reveal a small box. The lock was broken, so he simply turned the latch and lifted the lid to peer within. Whatever concern he might have had for what he might find was soon eased, as it was filled with parchments of some sort. While he couldn't read the script on them, the format seemed a bit on the formal side. Like...official documents of some sort maybe? Interesting. Well, maybe if he had some time, he could look at them more closely. Maybe the Avalons knew how to read it and could help?
Guardian Iris
Jarek took some of the orders from the original Order of the Light.
Posted: Sun Sep 01, 2013 7:56 pm
Having already made a new friend on this trip, Ranuin judged it a success. Anything else neat that happened on this trip now was just a bonus! He'd taken his leave from Apple Bloom today, as well as his father and Raina, to travel with some of the other hikers on the way to the mound. There were some other Faun from the Tree anyway who seemed somewhat familiar and he didn't mind getting to know them better while they walked.
The strange mound, while creepy with its connection to the story that had been told the night before, also represented something attractive to the wolf-like teen.
Adventure.
Their current destination had been reached and it seemed like most were going inside to investigate. He had no intention of doing otherwise and eagerly scrambled into the narrow passage with the others. He was smaller and nimbler than most, quickly wriggling his way through the entrance (and past a few other Pae'il) to emerge in the main chamber. Adventure meant the risk of danger and all, right? That would explain why he was so antsy. Also...it smelled kinda' bad in here. His ears folded back against his head as the teen fidgeted a bit on his paws. Hmm...maybe it wasn't so bad in some of the side rooms. Picking a direction basically at random, he headed for one of the side passages, pausing from time to time to peer at the wall, or a pile of parchment on the floor, or a bottle. Nah, weird stuff was fine and all, but it didn't interest him all that much.
He ended up in a small room whose door had been broken and barely hung from the hinges. Peering inside, he'd noted a small cot, a basin, and a small chest. Someone's living space? Well, not recently, given the level of dirt and mildew that covered some things, but once maybe. He slipped inside, looking around before the chest dominated his attention. Bracing his paws, he grabbed the lid to heft it open. Inside lay a collection of old children's toys, it seemed: a straw doll, some wooden blocks in various shapes, other knick-knacks of all kinds. Ranuin's eyes shown, his tail starting to sway. Neat! He set the lid to balance open and started pawing through a few things. Eventually, he reached towards the bottom and brought up a wooden ball. It had once been painted in a variety of colors, all now faded. Some were faded more than others, likely depending on what berries or plants the colors had been made from. He peered at the object in his hands, grinning. It wasn't the most fancy of toys, but...
A girlish giggle from behind him caused the teen to whirl around in surprise, forgetting that he might not be alone. But no one was there. His tail stilled, his ears laying flat to his head. "Uh...Apple Bloom? That you?" When he didn't receive an answer, he peered out into the corridor, then back into the room, empty except for him. He swallowed hard, hesitating only a moment before making a measured retreat into the hallway, not turning his back on the room or the corridor leading away. The ball clutched in his hands, he backed warily away, moving towards the main chamber and the noises of the others still back there.
Guardian Iris
Ranuin took a children's toy (a painted wooden ball).
To the most observant, they would have noticed that none of the fairies would even go near the mound. The closest any of them got were the weed-whacker fairies clearing a path to the entrance of the old home, which had now become an overgrown mound in the jungle. They set up a little camp of their own with tiny little lawn chairs and little drinks to watch the Pae'il search the site.
Each item that they assessed was of no value to the fairies, but they knew it'd hold value to the Pae'il. So naturally, it was unimportant enough to let the Pae keep the treasures they found.
Due to the aggressive nature that the delicate faerie staff was handled, the shaft shattered. The intricate filigree that housed the gemstone turned to silver dust. The gemstone glowed a brilliant blue before releasing a pale mist that would swirl around Zaden before possessing her, causing her eyes to temporarily glow the same pale blue. She had not only unleashed the curse of the item, but amplified it by releasing the magic contained in the staff. The only remnant of the staff will be a dull globe that looks like glass.
Shicala
Zaden is now possessed by the spirit of the Faerie who committed the atrocities in this location. She will require an exorcism from a qualified Pae'il to get rid of it. Remember his motivation is to mend the rift between the Angels and Demons, and to do it, he wanted to change the minds of the children; so he experimented on children's minds. He's a psychopath and died full of guilt, regret and anger. The trigger for him to control Zaden will be any time she turns invisible, she now turns into this malevolent spectre.
The Order of the Light signet ring belonged to one of the old heroes, it is unknown how the crazy Fae obtained such a valuable and unique item, but it might be worth looking in to. This is also an item that unfortunately was cursed. Once it's on a finger, it won't come off. Wearer of this ring is subject to random visions of the past, from the point of view of the original owner and the crazy Fae.
Wolfs Heart
Twizzz will sometimes see what the crazy Fae did in this place, as well as some of the acts of the original Order of the Light. The ring can only be removed by a Pae'il with the ability to break curses. The visions will be random and likely be plot-relevant when involving the OotL.
The faerie circlet is as delicate as the modern ones, however lost a lot of luster due to antiquity. Like the signet, it is cursed. When Cressida but the circlet on, each of the small gemstones would faintly glow, but only for a few seconds.
Tartara Seabreeze
The circlet's curse is that once it's put on, it cannot be removed (except by a curse-breaker). The circlet will "whisper" to Cressida, telling her to do things. If she refuses or disobeys, it will grow tighter until she does.
The fairies do not know of the curses, so they do nothing about them being stuck on the Pae who found them. They checked each item brought to them, and let the finder keep the treasure. Really, it was all nonsense and junk to the fairies anyhow, although they considered keeping the alchemy jars for various reasons, deciding after looking in Coronus' jar and seeing a tiny pair of fairy wings. Pae magic, not fairy magic.
The journals and manuscripts were checked, and the children's toys also checked. It confused the fairies why anyone would want dirty old toys or papers, but they shrugged it off. Pae are weird sometimes. The copper pot was checked and it was noted how valuable that item was. Pats of congratulations were offered to Zecora for finding real treasure.
The orders from the original Order of the Light contain classified information regarding a war that Angels and Demons seem to not ever speak of. They pre-date the Great War by quite some years. The details contained inside however will remain a mystery unless they can be translated. (hint: there is a Pae that has that ability)
Among the jars that Okeanos brought to be checked by the fairies, was the canopic jar they were searching for. The cheers and celebratory flips and high-fives were hard to miss. They practically tossed the rest of the jars at the Naiad. This one was different from the others, in that it was an opaque clay jar with a stag carved on the lid. It was also very intricately sealed. "Three more to go" could be heard by any Pae'il within earshot.
After finding the canopic jar, the fairies did not even bother to check the rest of the items the Pae'il pulled out. If they had, they might have discovered the feather quill that Miela found was actually not from any known avian species of Telrunya, past or present.
The fairies called time, and instructed the group to follow the guides back to camp. "If you want to make it back to safety before sundown, make sure you stay on course and keep up," they were warned. "Once the sun goes down, you don't want to meet the creatures that come out."
----
Camp was business as normal; dinner served, stories shared and lights out. The next morning, breakfast was served and camp broken down. Pae'il were instructed to head back down to the paddle boat to head to the next destination: a hidden garden.
The next day, camp is set up on the edge of the rim, just as the first camp was, however the jungle will be more dense, hotter and more humid in this area. Pae'il are safe as long as they stay in the camp.
-----
DaemonGabrielle
Shizzle has not been forgotten. There remains no way out for him, but the screeching and growling noises from outside the pit he's in grow louder, and closer each day. Hang in there, he'll be involved with the rest of the pae soon.
Posted: Mon Sep 02, 2013 7:58 am
The eeriness eventually proved too strong for Celestia, who was quick to turn around and return to the main encampment, the doll still in her hands. She was rather quiet, anxious about the feeling of the place and just wanting to leave.
Her wish was granted as there were soon shouts from all around, calling everyone to return to their feet (or hooves) and to head out for camp. Little resistance was given to it, and she joined the others in the hive heading for the camp. The doll was kept in her arms or on her lap throughout the travel and dinner for whatever reason. Only when the storytelling started did she move to set it in her satchel, realizing that perhaps it was weird to be holding onto something like that. It was nice, and it made her feel like she had company, yet it would not talk to her, question her, or fret over her.
Lira was looking around at the others that were with them and stopped on Celestia, the leader of the Faunies if she remembered correctly, if she should be meeting new Pae then maybe she could start with her own kind? And besides that they both shared the tree so if anything, if she could make friends with even just her at least that would be something right? Lira looked over at kaiden and mentioned her intent to him just so he knew where she was headed and made her way over to the other female. Lira quietly but surely and stood there for a few moments as she tried to get up the courage to speak to her but when she finally did all that came out was a squeek which just made her embarrassed and made her shy away from her "im sorry, i shouldnt of come over" she said quietly but loud enough for her to hear as she bowed to her out of respect "please forgive me for disturbing you" she said as she turned to start walking away.
o0_Daisuke_0o
If you don't mind...?
Posted: Mon Sep 02, 2013 11:55 am
Looking up, Celestia smiled softly at the faun looking down to her. If not for the slight weariness in her look and the bags forming under her eyes, nothing would appear to have been different than normal. They were not so great, however, that it could necessarily be attributed to anything more than the change in atmosphere or a possible bad night's sleep caused by the prospect of the child's lair they visited today.
Her eyes glanced away, downward, quickly however, as the poor girl's face was mutilated by a cut across her head, blood pooling down that side of her face as the skin hung limply and the brain was exposed. The vision alone brought the irony scent of blood and the stench of rotting corpses into the princess's conscience, and it took all of her effort to not real over in horrified disgust. That would probably send worry to the other.
Breath in... breath out... in through the nose... out through the mouth...
By avoiding looking at her, Celestia could at least pretend that she was simply tired. She shook her head, eyes on the ground, before slowly, carefully, with a trained precision spoke. "No... You are no bother. Do you seek out company for the night?"
Nafretiti
I always think that Lira is Lyra
Daisicle
Aged Genius
Offline
Seiana_ZI
Codebreaking Conversationalist
Offline
Posted: Mon Sep 02, 2013 12:43 pm
Did he ... find something they considered important?
As an instinct, it irritated him. Okeanos' fingers twitched as he pondered the worth of reaching out and wringing one of them out until they explained the importance and gave it back to him, because it was, after all, his discovery. A small smirk edged on his lips at the thought, finally shutting their chipper, happy voices up and maybe getting some peace and quiet around here ... or some interesting background noise; whatever got him the damn jar back was fine with him.
... It was clay.
Okeanos quirked a brow, wondering what made a clay jar worth much of anything at all. The fairies were ridiculous. He was more interested in the reagents that he found in the other jars, and so, the need to make them stop was abated as he took his own jars back. With a snort--though he noted that there were indeed three more they were looking for--Okeanos gave an off-hand, "You can keep that one," before walking back onto the path to head back.
Did he have to head back? How eerie this particular site was absolutely fascinated him in a way that some might find a little ... well, disturbing. There was a sparkle in his eye that was unmistakable as he looked around, taking in the strange site one last time. He would have to remember how he had gotten here. This site seemed like it had many more disturbing stories just under the surface ... or, at least, something was buried under the surface that was leaving so many others uncomfortable.
Okeanos snorted under his breath.
When he arrived back at camp, that was where he stayed, though he considered the night to be, overall, extremely uneventful. As he had the night before, he stayed off to the side, but now he spent his time looking over and experimenting with the jars he had been given. Perhaps he could figure out what some of these were used for...
