Shards of Twilight [Closed]

[Otaku-sama]

Paradox slowly made his way to the floating rock. He felt the invisible stairs shudder a bit and Paradox increased his pace, hoping the stairs would hold. Once he reached the rock, he released a great sigh of relief. As he recovered from his little panic attack, he could feel a strange pulling force above the rock. Paradox felt a need to find the source of this force, he took a bit of incense he had in his pocket and lit it. The blue smoke floated lazily up, then suddenly draws towards a focus above the centre of the rock. Paradox walked closer and saw something wonderful.

 

Five obelisks ringed the rock in a pentagon formation. An altar with a golden goblet sat in the middle of the rock, directly below the source of the suction force. Paradox walked to retrieve the goblet, but stopped himself. If he were to walk too close to the suction, what would stop him from being sucked into the maelstrom above? Paradox summoned an orb that flitted to the goblet and floated it back to Paradox. He took a close look at it. It didn't seem to have any religious significance, but it was still embedded with several gems. Paradox tucked it in his robes and examined the obelisks.

[Naimo]

Hyena didn't bother with the catapults; all she could make of them was they were gigantic pieces of wood involving complex clogs, ropes and weights nature had no use for. Instead, she was sat like a guard dog, sneering and growling at her approaching, not-yet-attacking enemies. She was starting to feel excited as she spotted the demons, especially the animals; they would provide a perfect, perhaps lethal - in more than one way - workout. For a minute or so, she licked her claws, making them as clean and shiny as possible, so they would streak noticeably through the air and down on her enemies, like the last bright thing the demon animals would ever see.

[Saiba Aisu]

OoC: I'm unsure if Ixigio planned to make retrieving the goblet so easy, but I'll leave that up to you two to discuss.

 

===

 

Seeing that the other man had safely reached the floating slab of stone, Cerce gave a slight sigh of relief and released his control of the Air, dissolving the invisible bridge. "Paradox?" he called out, cupping his mouth. "I've removed the bridge of Air, so don't try walking back without calling me first!" Paradox gave no indication that he had heard, but then again, the man was rather strange. He seemed absorbed in the golden goblet that lay upon the altar.

 

Cerce turned back eagerly, his eyes alight with an insatiable curiosity to match the emerald's color and glow. He strode back in to the library, bending forwards and examining the cleverly-concealed vault space. The dusty gem shone innocently at him, but he knew better than to try and take it into his hand without examining it in detail first. Drawing back a few paces, Cerce focused and raised one hand with a slow flick of the wrist, conjuring an invisible snakelike tendril of Air. With a tentative motion, he inched it forwards until it hovered above the gem. A look of intense interest upon his features, the green-clan man slowly lowered it, then tapped the emerald, as if testing it.

[Tempest Dahlia]

Thx Saiba! Although it seems you didn't even have to do much...

 

Elisabeth pulled herself away from the silent man. This was the second time he ignored her advances, and she was getting quite annoyed.

What is his problem!?

 

"...Let's just keep walking."

 

She began to walk ahead, guided by the faint light that emitted from her partner's fingers. She was careful to avoid any uneven terrain: The last thing she wanted was to fall and ruin her dress and hair.

[Saiba Aisu]

OoC: No problem at all, Dahlia. I tried to keep her in character... It's good to have you back!

 

===

 

[spoiler=Avalon Post]

 

Satisfied that the odd, glittering gem wasn't dangerous, Cerce curled the tendril of Air and pulled the emerald into his palm, gazing at it interestedly before slipping into his cloak. He turned and regarded Paradox—although the other man had been equally successful in recovering the golden goblet atop the concealed altar, he was now trapped upon the floating stone where it had lain, with no way to return.

 

"Forgive me, Paradox. You can come over now!" Cerce called, striding forward and drawing upon his strength as he wove the surrounding Air once more into the invisible steps that would allow the other man to cross the gap. "I suppose I became preoccupied with this gem," he continued, patting his cloak in indication. "Did you manage to get the goblet alright?"

 

The green-clad man's tone was light, but beneath his collected, serene exterior, he was struggling to hold the bridge of Air without expending too much energy. It was just as he had thought—there something very wrong about the Air in the tower, not to mention the fact that it was stale and filled with dust, therefore making it that much harder to control. He spared a moment and looked down at the shadowy depths of the basement floor, unease spreading through him once more.

 

I may not like it, he told himself grimly as he gazed into the abyss, but Lady Niobe told us to investigate—and that's exactly what I plan to do.

 

 

 

===

 

[spoiler=Amethyst Post]

 

Cyndane drank slowly from a shimmering silver goblet, half-full with cold, clear water, and straightened herself on her seat—despite her appreciation of luxury and fine living, she simply couldn't stand the taste of wine for some reason. Not that it's without its uses, she then reasoned to herself, bringing to mind the countless times she had used alcohol as a medium to poison others successfully without detection. At that moment, Baltimer entered the Audience Chamber, pocketing a silvery key that she recognized. With an imperious gesture, she called him over, asking, "So Roland and Elisabeth are now on their way through the Catacombs?"

 

The Captain of the Amethyst Guard nodded stiffly—despite his gruff and dry appearance, Baltimer was not a man who liked to see the lives of his allies placed in danger needlessly; he had argued as much as his station allowed against sending a pair of untrained recruits on such a dangerous journey so early. "They seemed quite calm," he replied, taking his familiar place by her side, like a second shadow.

 

"That can only be considered a good thing," Cyndane observed coolly. "They will certainly need to be calm if they're to make it through the Catacombs in one piece." The silvery-haired woman stretched out her hand and waited three seconds before dropping it, where it was promptly caught by an inconspicuous gray-haired servant and carried away. "Baltimer," she said, resting her face upon her hand, "it's been at least two hours. Find Ërminor and dispatch him with orders to observe what progress Deus and Victor have made, if any. When he's done, he's to report to me."

 

The buxom woman's tone was slightly cold and sharp as always when dealing with her many subordinates, but Baltimer did not seem to notice, for he bowed deeply before striding from the Audience Chamber in search of the Sentinel.

 

[Vector Nightmare]

Mission Post: Cerce & Paradox

 

It could pass for unnecessary worry, initially, a trick of the mind. The whispers in the wind, the subtle groaning, as if rusty chains were pulled on slabs of metal. Quiet noises. Soon, it became more than that. The wind howled, and existence seemed to converge - an irresistible pull upwards, towards the Twilight Vortex. The whole world merging on that single spot. The tips of the five obelisks on the platform lit up, the gems glowing, radiating in unearthly brilliance. Then suddenly - it was gone. As soon as it had begun, it stopped, the noises quieted down, the orbs were their normal pale color again. And the vortex - gone. There was nothing left, only the air.

 

But along with the vortex, the enchantments holding the slab of stone suspended collapsed as well. The platform began falling down to the floor below.

 

And deep within the tower's bowels, buried too far down to be heard above - the silent growl of a creature awakening from its slumber echoed.

 

=======

 

Current location: Ruined Tower, First Floor

 

Places of Interest:

 

-Floating Stone: A piece of the floor that is suspended in mid-air. A Twilight Vortex used to hover above it, but it seems to have vanished as soon as the goblet was removed. Now it's falling down.

-Ruined Library: A chamber close to the staircase you just climbed undeniably used to serve as a library once, with all the bookshelves and bookcases aligned to the floors. However, the few manuscripts that remain are in shreds, unreadable. Scorch marks on them indicate that this place has suffered a fire. Touching a bookcase near the far wall has revealed a hidden vault, in which a gemstone was found and claimed by Cerce.

-Ruined Chamber: You cannot decipher the purpose of this room. A hole in the middle of the floor offers a view downstairs. Upon closer observation, the hole seems remarkably well-defined, artificial. Looking up, there is a similar-sized hole overhead. You also observe that it is located very close to where the center of the tower should be. There is no such hole in the ground floor. One can wonder if there was a purpose in it.

-Ruined Laboratory: The remnants of an ancient laboratory. The walls and floor bear dried stains from unknown liquids, and shards of glass litter the floor. There is a table, some shattered vials still on it, on one side. There is one, mostly intact, that is still halfway full with some strange red liquid, but Paradox took it.

 

Exits:

-Downstairs: The stairs you climbed to get here. There is no other exit except jumping from the open spaces in the walls. Which would be a bad idea.

 

-----

 

OoC: To save unnecessary time, I will tell you there is nothing more of importance in the first floor. You can freely continue exploring, of course, and you might discover some interesting things, but nothing related to the mission / plot. Also, due to a bit of a time strain, I'll make the post for Ashley and Hyena mission a bit later, as well as my long-overdue Victor reply.

[Saiba Aisu]

Cerce watched in horror as the floating stone slab upon which Paradox stood shuddered and began to wobble with an ungainly movement, evidently about to fall down to the darkness below. If the other man didn't hurry and cross the gap, he would also be swallowed by the shadows of the basement floor... if the fall didn't kill him first.

 

"Paradox!" he shouted, struggling to maintain the invisible bridge of Air as the Twilight Vortex pulsed again and the five obelisks glowed briefly. "Hurry and cross the bridge! The slab is falling!" Around them, the very Air howled and swirled with eerie shrieks, as if filled with invisible demons.

 

The green-clad man swore and drew more deeply upon his power while trying to think of an alternate solution, but still ready to cast an invisible wall of Air beneath the shuddering slab that would halt its fall and catch Paradox. Although he tried not to think about it, Cerce shuddered as he contemplated how much of an effort stopping the slab would take—the most likely scenario involved him blacking out after seconds, letting the slab fall to the basement, and with it, Paradox.

[Otaku-sama]

Paradox was startled by the sudden shaking of the stone platform and was knocked back when the obelisks suddenly lit up with the strength of the sun. When Paradox recovered from the flash, he knew that something bad was going to happen. Indeed it did. The platform he was standing on began to shake violently as its source of power vanished into nothingness. Cerce had made his stairs of wind, but Paradox had no idea where they were. He was disoriented and had no idea what to do. The only thing he could do was make a gamble and jump towards where Cerce might have made the bridge.

 

Paradox steeled his courage once again and made the jump. The worse came true. He felt no bridge make contact with him. He was now falling into the blackness of the basement of the tower and all he could do now was pray to the god of death to give him quick release.

[Saiba Aisu]

OoC: Poor Paradox is always getting in trouble, huh? The stairs were right in front of you, like before. Oh, well...

 

===

 

Cerce breathed a brief sigh of relief as he saw Paradox stand and run forwards, flying across the gap towards the invisible staircase of Air... which he missed by a huge margin before tumbling forwards through space, falling rapidly into the shadowy depths of the basement floor. Making a mental note to kick the troublesome sage later, the green-clad man released the power he had been holding in preparation for such an event, the wind rising around him in manifestation. He quickly formed a thick, square wall of Air, turned on its side to catch Paradox, doing the best he could in the short space to make it as soft as possible.

 

Crack.

 

He winced at the sound Paradox's bones made as they cracked audibly against the invisible wall. Apparently, the wall hadn't been soft enough. Instantly, he felt a greater pull at his strength as he now endeavored to hold both the man and wall in place against gravity—the fact that the Air he was manipulating was stale and clogged with dust didn't help too much, either.

 

Of course, Cerce thought viciously, struggling to hold the wall while also searching for the strength to cast a weave that would fetch Paradox back. He had to jump and miss the staircase right in front of him. Then aloud, "Paradox, I am going to kill you!" He quickly wove a hooked tendril of Air, less refined than it would have been under other circumstances, and sent it sailing down into the abyss, snatching Paradox unceremoniously around the waist before slowly hauling him back up towards the safety of the top floor like a snagged fish.

[Otaku-sama]

OoC: Better that way isn't it?

 

IC: Paradox opened his eyes. He was not in a shining paradise and he felt an enormous amount of pain from his right leg, both signs that he is still very much alive. Paradox attempted to move, but the pain in his leg kept him pinned. He looked around and saw that he was rising from the abyss on an invisible platform. Paradox sighed with relief that Cerce had caught him.

 

Paradox heard Cerce's protesting his clumsiness and once Paradox got back on solid ground Paradox stood up, leaning heavily on his staff.

 

"Thank you friend! You saved my life! I am in your debt..." Paradox thanked Cerce as he tried to gain balance on his staff. He felt around on his leg and when he got to the centre of his shin, he felt the pain. It wasn't a major injury and he could continue on a splint. Paradox summoned his orbs, which floated off and gathered stray pieces of timber and an old piece of cloth. Paradox then pulled hard on his shin and reset the bone, gasping with pain. He slumped over as the orbs assembled the splint.

 

"Urgh...Okay...I think we can keep going for now. As long as I don't continue to bleed internally..."

[Vector Nightmare]

OoC: Just as a reminder to you two, you were actually given a fair amount of time between the removal of the goblet and the collapse of the platform. That was the whole point of the shining lights, the Vortex converging unto itself etc. And Saiba, by the time the platform - and Paradox - fell, the Vortex was no longer there. Anyway, just saying you didn't have to over-complicate the situation. For now, I'll let you RP your descent, or whatever else you want to do beforehand.

 

=======

 

Mission Post: Ashley & Hyena

 

The horde approached, their shrieks and the cackling of flames piercing through the nightly pandemonium. They were met with boulders and ballista bolts, but they were hardly impended. The soldiers' composure started breaking. Some started muttering prayers, others screaming. Only the ones with the insignia of Avalon remained calm.

 

"Draw your weapons!" The field commander ordered. Immediately, steel blades were drawn, spears held at the ready. And the bloody melee began.

 

The zombies were neither powerful nor tactically astute. They simply closed the distance between them and the warriors, trying to strangle them with their bare arms. The wolfhounds, while stronger and more agile, assumed more or less the same approach. As a result, most of them were impaled by lances, cut down by swords, or slammed to the ground by shields before they could grasp their target.

 

However, the horde had four overwhelming advantages. The first was their nigh-immunity to all damage that did not dismember them outright. Having their torso impaled meant nothing - they would just continue moving forward. Slashes and cuts made no difference unless they severed limbs. The second was their numbers. For every Avalon soldier and conscript that stood behind the makeshift barricade, more than five reanimated dead, humans or wolves, marched on the other side. One-on-one, an experienced soldier would cut off the limbs of his mindless enemy before the creature could grab him. But when faced with two, three, five opponents at once...

 

The third, was fear. Panic had gotten a firm grip on all but the most veteran of soldiers. Many trembled so much they could hardly fight. Many screamed, in fright and soon in pain as their lack of composure cost them their lives. The young soldier who had muttered his prayer before screamed wildly, losing his head in front of this living hell. He grabbed his sword with both hands and charged, raising it overhead. But he slipped on the blood on one of his fallen comrades - and soon he was a mass of charred flame, screaming for release as the zombies marched over him, soon to join their ranks.

 

That was the fourth advantage. For the enemy, they did not have to wound or injure their targets. All they had to do was touch them, and black flames would corrode their skin within seconds without fail. The full-plate cumbersome armor the warriors were wearing was imperative, for without it, death was almost certain. Thankfully, whatever curse set the zombies aflame did not seem to have an effect on anything other than skin. The wolves, on the other hand, were more direct, attacking with fangs and claws - yet a wound from them was almost definitely as lethal as being burnt to death. The battle that defied all logic raged.

 

And the night had just begun.

 

=======

 

OoC: For now, you two are faced with the horde of burning zombies and skinless wolves. You can RP your enemies along the lines which I described to keep the pace up, but I will also interject with various posts - aside from a few enemies I will pick out and RP myself, you can control your battle against the general mass.

[Saiba Aisu]

Cerce sighed, too tired to make a scathing reply as he would have normally done. "I'm sorry the platform was so... solid," he replied, straightening and dusting himself off slowly in an attempt at unconcern. The truth was he was quite worried about how they were managing so far—Alicia certainly hadn't been exaggerating. For a Tower that was supposed to be deserted, they were already in considerably bad shape, with Cerce growing steadily more tired each time he drew upon his abilities, and Paradox with a crippling leg injury.

 

The only things they had uncovered within the Tower were the dusty emerald in his cloak, the mysterious golden goblet that had lain upon the concealed altar, and an old flask of a reddish-tinged potion. Since none of these items was directly helpful at the moment, Cerce found himself wishing briefly that they hadn't expended so much energy obtaining them—but what was done was done. He turned to Paradox, picking up his staff from the ground and patting it free of dust. "Can you walk?" he asked concernedly, frowning at the other man's wounded leg.

 

We've come this far, Cerce decided, looking down into the shadows of the abyss. I'm not about to turn back now!

[Naimo]

Hyena's attention had been drawn to the skinless wolves. They were in a fight of their own, circling each other in a perfect parallel circle. She was now against three skinless wolves ... three chances of being bitten, thrice as many chances of dying. Not that this phased Hyena in the slightest; after all, having spent two years mostly in the wild, she had endured worse. Like the time she could have been killed after a run-in with a pack of wolves, and that pack had had twice as many members as the three enemies she was currently confronting.

 

Both sides growled in perfect harmony; the only difference was Hyena drooling slightly as she did so. She was taking in their scents - that reeking smell of wolves and demons was far from appetising, yet it gave Hyena an advantage; she figured she would have to change this into a small tag, perhaps hide-and-seek, game if she was to gain a good upper hand.

 

They came to a brief standstill, during which tension mingled with the wind, ruffling their fur slightly and blowing into their eyes before the wolves pounced and the fight began.

[encapturer]

"Graagh!" Ashley was already in a battle with two flaming corpses. While one had its arm cut off by her earlier, the other just joined in, almost catching Ashley by surprise from the corner of her eye. While they moved slow, Ashley figured that due to their sheer numbers, they need to be defeated as quickly as possible, to make sure they don't get overwhelmed. Ashley maneuvered around a moment backing up a bit to move closer to a spear that was left

 

I've got you

 

The second corpse approached Ashley from her side. She stuck her sword into the ground at her feet and unsheathed her dagger, pointing it towards the corpse. In just a moment, it changed into the spear she picked up earlier, and with Ashley using it with both hands, easily impaled it in its chest. It was still moving down the spear, of course, so Ashley swung it a bit to her left, causing the corpse to lose balance and fall onto the ground.

 

Knowing that there wasn't much time until that corpse picks itself up, Ashley picked up her sword, and turned around. The mysterious flames from first corpse she was fighting were practically in her face; she had to step back to make sure her face didn't touch the flames from its body. The corpse found itself off balance due to Ashley's sudden movement, an opportunity she would have to be insane not to take. She then swung her sword low cutting the right leg of her opponent, causing it to fall to the ground, with the body falling soon after. She followed up by slicing off the remaining limbs, leaving the enemy helpless on the ground.

 

Ashley heard the spear she used before knocking against her greaves, a sign that the impaled corpse was getting up. She grabbed that end, and looked at the corpse; it was using its hands to crawl on the ground towards her. This position made it highly vulnerable, so Ashley merely walked up to it and began hacking at it until it was no longer a threat. She then turned around once more to survey the battlefield; while she now had an idea how to easily deal with the flaming corpses, there were still the clawed corpses and the animals to deal with. She noticed Hyena fending off a small pack of those beasts as her eyes swept the battlefield, but she had no time to assist. Two more corpses were coming straight at her.

 

Ashley understood why all the soldiers were pessimistic about the situation now, but there had to be *something* they could do. The idea of using her power in rapid succession crossed her mind, though it was dismissed as quickly as she thought of it. It was unknown, it was ominous, and it killed her parents. For now, she was stuck with conventional combat. Ashley raised her sword once again and slowly approached her targets. This was going to be a long night, after all.

[Naimo]

The smallest of the three wolves leapt with startlingly quick reflexes, perhaps slightly inferior to Hyena's as she rolled out of the way, dodging what would have otherwise been a bite to her nose. She easily got back onto her all fours, a grin suddenly appearing as she went straight in. The smallest wolf was first in again, and claws clashed; streaks of silver and burning smoke slashed through the air in a perfect x shape, though no blood was drawn from either the human or the demons, both having struck and flinched at the same time.

 

That grin was still fixed upon Hyena's face as the two animals withdrew, making a small no man's land in between them. A short cackle escaped Hyena's lips, as she mentally, somehow, squeezed humour out of this solemn situation. She could tell the wolves had been irritated slightly, though not much.

 

And so the tag game began.

[Saiba Aisu]

"Come on then," Cerce said, starting to stride back down the stairs to the ground floor. Although his features were arranged in their usual serene, unruffled state and his back was painfully straight, the dark-haired man was growing steadily more tired—however, he had not yet reached the limit of his abilities, meaning that for the sake of the mission, they had to continue exploring the Tower and do their best to prevent any future Geists or similar dark creatures from being created.

 

"Paradox?" he asked of the other man, who was leaning upon his makeshift crutch. "That torch that we had earlier... Could you use one of your spirits to summon it? We'll need light down there."

 

As they reached the ground floor in between the uppermost level and the basement area, he felt once again the customary unease that accompanied the shadowy depths below and its swirling, stale air. Tightening his grip on his staff and opening himself to his abilities, Cerce took hold of the slightly purer Air from above, gathering it around his hands, amply prepared to attack or defend as necessary, waiting for one of Paradox's ethereal servants to fetch the torch to light their way.

[Otaku-sama]

Paradox managed a slow hobble with the help of his splint, keeping his weight off his legs. As he limped down the stairs, he could feel the bone in his shin begin to undo the setting. Soon, he'd have to painfully reset it again. After a minute, he and Cerce were at the the threshold of the basement. A quiet breeze blew into the basement ominously.

 

"Unfortunately, I have lost the torch when the floating rock started to fall. I assume that going back to our supplies is out of the question, so we need to improvise. X, Y, and Z produce a little light, but you might need a source of light for yourself. Maybe..."

 

Paradox took out his golden pot incense holder, which had survived the fall mostly intact. He put in the contents of a glass vial, which resembled a tiny black eye in clear jelly.

 

"The eye of newt burns with a bright flame for at least an hour per ten grams. Now, if you have a match, we can get going."

[Vector Nightmare]

GM Post

 

New Antioch, the Golden Halls. Even before the Twilight had vanquished the glory of human civilization from the face of the planet, one would be hard-pressed to find a structure as glorious as this. A massive palace structured from marble and gold, it stood proudly in the middle of the new world's metropolis. Crystal statues framed the corridors, rich scarlet carpets flowing on the floors. The palace was massive, featuring several wings structured around the main complex. Including the vast gardens, it spanned over a fifth of the city's entire size.

 

Yet despite its bulk, disproportionately few people lived within. The Golden Senate, New Antioch's original founders. Their servants and personal army. And a few trusted Sentinels, who worked behind the scenes to support the Senate.

 

Seven such Sentinels were assembled in Luce Ammath, a chamber near the back of the palace. Though the room was small, it was just as imposing as the rest of the building. Tables made of pure glass, comfortable armchairs with velvet covers, and giant windows overlooking the gardens. Lord Vale was looking through one of those windows, thoughtfully. Shadows were lurking near the walls, where the brilliance of the sun overhead did not reach. Like a dark mist, they crept along the ground. The Stigma was spreading. As soon as the last few obstacles could be removed, it would reach its climax. The Senate's plan was going smoothly.

 

"What news of the city?" He asked, without turning to face his associates. Every one of the people in the room had formidable powers, all born from the Ethereal Twilight's influence. Amongst the Senate's advisers, they were some of the most prominent ones. With the Senators preoccupied, it had fallen upon them to manage New Antioch's internal and external affairs.

 

"The Amethyst Order is moving." Countess Sonya said. Upon their entry into the Golden Halls, each of the Senate's associates had received a noble title and was purged of any last name or other title that could be recognized. They were reborn, in a sense, into the new order. But Sonya's former life of aristocracy was evident in her delicate posture as well as her musical voice. Yet despite the fact that she used to be royalty, that she had lived her life confined within the safety of her palace, never concerned about outside dangers - she was probably the deadliest of all seven. Chuckling slightly, a flowing, clear sound, she continued. "Their recruiting efforts have increased lately. They've also become bolder. According to our sources, they plan to capture Togira."

 

"Let them." Count Aaron waved a dismissive hand. "He is useless."

 

"No, there is an opportunity to be found here." Lord Shar said. Vale eyed him thoughtfully. Shar was clever. They all were intelligent, but he went beyond that. He always seemed to be one step ahead of everyone else as far as information was concerned. And he always had a plan to propose, no matter the circumstances. "Even if they capture Togira, they will not extract any information that could be useful to them no matter how hard they press him - because he knows nothing of importance. But if we make it so that he does have something to tell them - we could lure them to a trap. If we act cleverly, we could finally strike them down where it matters."

 

Vale nodded. He had considered something like that. "Alleria." He said. "Will you deal with it?"

 

"Certainly." With her kind, motherly face, Alleria was not a person one would expect to fit in such a circle. However, her powers were most useful. She could alter the memories of a person to a limited extent, changing their perception of past events. She had limitations - everyone had - but in this case, it would be trivial for her to 'entrust' Togira with some fake information, and erase any potentially useful scraps of information he might have gathered.

 

"The other side is moving as well." Fried, moving suddenly away from the corner he was standing, spoke. Lord Fried - cool, composed, with few words to spare. One of those men whose true motives, or character, were difficult to discern. "Niobe has gathered a fairly impressive force, and recruits flock to Avalon's banner. She has sent two of her newly-recruited Sentinels to deal with our trap at Akwal, and another two to investigate the ruins of Edelheim."

 

"Damn that woman." Aaron growled. "We should have dealt with her when we had the chance. She's becoming more of a nuisance with each passing day."

 

"Edelheim." Vale muttered, thinking. The ruins of the ancient tower still stood. Some members of this group were well-acquainted with the place, though if Niobe was looking for the Senate's works there, then the plan to divert her attention from the true trap in Akwal had worked perfectly. However... "Felicity, if you please. What is there to be known about Edelheim?"

 

The last woman in the chamber, Lady Felicity, closed her eyes briefly, concentration creasing her face. When she opened them again, she began speaking in a monotonous monologue, as if she was reciting some passage from a particularly boring book.

 

"The Tower of Edelheim, erected approximately three hundred years before the Twilight. Originally the home of a baron and his wife, whose names have been lost, it was abandoned when the country was raided, the baron was killed and his wife committed suicide in her grief. It was considered a pagan hideout, but the persecution never reached it. Though it is mentioned in quite a few of the later historical and mythological texts, it remained an obscure subject until after the Twilight. The infamous necromancer, Imelda the Scarred, made it her headquarters and used it as a sacrificial altar to create the Astral Domina. At that time, the Tower became known as Deathspire. The Senate besieged Edelheim, laying waste to the Tower and the surrounding countryside." She opened her eyes, looking at everyone. "I believe the group is fairly familiar with the story's conclusion." Sonya smirked, an unpleasant expression.

 

"Whatever they might salvage from that wreck is not worth our time." Aaron said. "The Astral Domina was destroyed. Besides, they will probably die there."

 

"I think we should not rush to conclusions." Shar interjected politely. "You are all aware, I believe, that there was a Twilight Vortex within Edelheim?" When everyone nodded, he continued. "It was an artificial one, a very well-crafted one, so we believed that Imelda had used it to hide the Astral Domina. However, when we managed to temporarily dismantle it, we discovered nothing of the sort. We reestablished it, placing a seal as a trap so that unnecessary intruders would meet their doom before they could do anything unpredictable in the case they removed it. And as we had thought would happen, these two have removed it."

 

"They will not find anything that we couldn't find, and they will be killed by the trap we created either way." Aaron shrugged.

 

"Oh, those were my thoughts as well." Shar continued, nodding towards Aaron's direction. "But as Lady Felicity explained, Edelheim has a rich history dating way before the Twilight. I retained some interest in it after the siege, researching what I could find. Not an easy task, but..." He pulled out a piece of manuscript, evidently at least a hundred years old if not more, and handed it to Vale, who took it and started reading, narrowing his eyes.

 

At last, he handed the piece back to Shar.

 

"Sonya." Vale said. "I am afraid I will have to burden you with visiting that place once more. Kill those two intruders, without fail."

 

"It will be my pleasure." She replied.

 

=======

 

Mission Post: Cerce & Paradox

 

When they would descend to the lower level, Cerce and Paradox would find the narrow, spiraling staircase disconcerting. Other than the stale, murky sensation, other scents mingled in with the air the lower they climbed. The scent of blood.

 

And then, they would find themselves in a massive chamber. The stone walls and floor, and even the low ceiling, used to be gray and black once - but now they were a dark crimson, every inch of them stained with dried blood. Though most of it was old, years old - so much had been spilled that the terrible stench had forever settled into the sealed area. And in the middle of it all - a grotesque scene. There as a rotting wooden cross, and something that was once a woman was pinned on it - but was now nothing more than a decayed carcass, the remnants of its face still locked in the middle of a scream. Only traces of its skin were left at places, concealing the bones which were also covered in dried blood.

 

Though not many knew the exact truth, or the place where it had occurred, the story was rather well-known. The Necromancer, Imelda the Scarred, who had risen to power following the Twilight, using her powers to reanimate the corpses of the slain, creating an army of her own. She had murdered thousands upon thousands before the then newly-established Senate took matters into its hands, sending its own army to destroy her. Even the Senate's army was on the losing end of the fight, though, until she was betrayed by one of her followers and apprentices. As punishment, the Senate skinned her alive and crucified her, binding her with their powers to ensure that she would stay alive for as long as possible before razing the sanctuary she had chosen for herself to the ground. Much speculation had arisen towards the location of said sanctuary, but with so many places that would fit the bill in the world after the Twilight's disastrous effect, they had no real factual basis.

 

Looking at that years-old corpse, though, feeling the immeasurable blood that has been spilled over these rocks, sensing the malevolence of the magic woven here even after all this time - yes, one could almost certainly conclude that this chamber was the tomb of the dreaded Necromancer, and that the myths revolving around her life and death - they were more than myths.

 

Current location: Ruined Tower, Basement Floor 1

 

Places of Interest:

-Chamber: Though large, the room you are in is largely empty. Four large granite statues, each depicting an armored warrior brandishing a different weapon - a mace, a war hammer, a morning star, and a battle axe - stand at each corner. In the middle stands the crucified, rotten corpse of a woman. Other than the vermin eating away at the cross, having long exhausted what was left of the body, there is no sign of life in here. Everything is covered in dried blood.

 

Exits:

-Upstairs: The stairs you followed to get down here. There is no other exit apparent for now. Maybe going back up would be a decent notion.

 

-----

 

OoC: You two can freely RP your actions and reactions up to this point, but once you reach it don't take any drastic initiatives until my next GM post.

 

=======

 

Mission Post: Ashley & Hyena

 

All along the front line, the battle had been joined. With practiced proficiency, soldiers banded together in groups of four and five, guarding their allies' flanks and back from the charging horde. The numbers of the undead lessened slowly but steadily, Avalon's forces gaining ground. Narth rushed to where Ashley and Hyena were fighting with a group of the zombies and wolves, striking down one of the hounds that was attacking Hyena with a swift, flowing motion of his sword.

 

"Great work!" He yelled at them, backing away from the mob quickly. "You're doing well. If we can just keep this up - ah."

 

Those were the last words that escaped his lips before his voice failed him, his eyes barely widening in surprise before the final rasp came. A bloodied arm exploded from the soldier's chest like a spear that had impaled him from behind, before being drawn back just as quickly, casually removing the man's heart through the thick plate armor. Screams resonated around the besieged camp.

 

"They are here! They came again!" A soldier yelled, dropping his weapons while running like a madman towards the questionable safety of the tents. He did not get far before a female figure, claw-like fingers like a vulture's, cut him down, tearing his body apart with a single slash. Her eyes and mouth were stitched shut. The third kind of enemies the guard had mentioned - and the most dangerous one. And just as Narth's already lifeless corpse collapsed, another one came into view in front of Ashley and Hyena. Even the zombies and wolves seemed to hesitate as she appeared, stepping back. For a split second, her sealed eyes locked with Ashley's - and then she jumped with incredible speed, attempting to behead the female warrior with a quick motion of her clawed hand.

 

-----

 

OoC: I'll be controlling those enemies, so the usual rules apply - no auto-hitting, turn-by-turn battle etc. You can still RP the other enemies, as they are still around.

 

=======

 

Character Post: Victor

 

-----

 

OoC: Broken, sorry for the inexcusable delay, but at first there was a misunderstanding with Saiba about getting some NPC to us, and then I got too busy setting things up in Avalon.

 

-----

 

Victor had put himself hard at work, smashing the hammer against the high-quality steel lying on the anvil. Working on a dagger was much more difficult than working on a larger sword, but it also took less time. The heat from the fires filled the room unpleasantly.

 

"You can leave if you want." He told Deus, wiping the sweat off his forehead. "This will take me a while until I build the base frame. Can't rush it if it's meant to work properly." He eyed the steel that would soon become a weapon doubtfully, as if unsure of whether it'd work as intended either way.

 

Victor had grasped the basic concept of the illusions, and was now trying his best to induce the item he was creating with that concept. The problem was that an illusion was an insubstantial, vague idea. 'Kill that man'. 'Shine if close to a person'. 'Do not rust'. Those were concepts Victor had worked on, creating the items from scratch, and he had brought the final products along. A sword whose cuts would be more effective on the person it was made to be used against. A dagger that would emit a faint glow, if another human being was nearby. A pair of iron knuckles that would never rust. Material concepts could be worked, with time and effort. But enhancing illusions, of all things... it was certainly the first time Victor was trying something like that.

[encapturer]

Ashley dispatched the two enemies that closed in on her with methodically, disabling them with her sword and spear in a similar fashion as before. If the battle continued like this, everyone would at least survive this day, and they could work on finding a way out. Narth seemed optimistic about it as well, as he continued, fighting.

 

"Look out!" Ashley tried yelling over Narth's voice, but it was too late. She had spotted a clawed monstrosity, the enemies that supposedly were created from women. Its claws easily pierced through the armor Narth was wearing, killing him almost instantly.

 

Ashley quickly went through her paired items in her mind as she watched her next foe rise. Her sword and armor could both be swapped out, but her spear still has some time before it was safe to do so. She knew she didn't have much to work with right now, but these creatures had to go down, now. Fortunately, the lesser ones seemed to back away as these powerhouses entered the battlefield, but Ashley figured that she would still need to watch out for them, in case they did decide to attack.

 

The clawed female suddenly lept toward Ashley, giving her only moments to devise a counter. For now, Ashley dropper her sword to her left and weilded her spear with both hands at the blunt end. Impaling this monster would do no good, so Ashley went to unbalance it instead, giving her a moment's opening, hopefully. She moved her right foot back some, made sure she had some decent traction, and raised the weapon to about her stomach. The spearhead pointed in front of her and to the left, due to how she was standing. As it came into range, Ashley swung the spear to her right, betting on the fact that these creatures are fast, but still dumb, and not too heavy to move.

[Otaku-sama]

As Paradox walked down the stairs, a foul odour managed to penetrate his face cloth, attacking his nostrils with the smell of rotting flesh. Paradox feared the worst as he continued to walked down the staircase, guided by the dim blue light of his orbs. When he reached the bottom and the stench was at its most powerful. His orbs quickly spread out of illuminate a small area. What they showed was horrific. Blood covered the walls like a grisly paint. In the centre of the room, a rotting corpse of a woman hung from a cross, with vermin all over it, stripping the body of its flesh.

 

"By the gods..." was all Paradox was able to utter in such a grotesque scene.

[Saiba Aisu]

As the bloody confines of the shadowy basement floor came into view, Cerce closed his eyes briefly and wished with all his heart that he and Paradox had never made the choice to descend the final flight of stairs—but it was too late, the image of the rotting, skinless corpse tied to the cross had already been burned into his mind. Around him, the Air swirled sluggishly, trailing with darkness that had not seen the light of day in many years.

 

Hatred and sorrow breed here, the green-clad man thought sadly, extending his awareness of the Air around them, searching for any clues that would indicate what kind of horrible thing had happened here. What many people failed to understand was that the earth was alive, too—even as an Aeromancer, Cerce knew that. Wherever people committed significant deeds, that place was charged with negative or positive energy, encouraging acts of the same nature to be performed again and again—he knew from experience that it was a difficult cycle to break, and something was telling him that this place had had a dark history for far longer than the woman had been crucified.

 

Although he tilted his head and focused, all he could hear were the terrified and repeated death-screams of countless people overlaid with a cruel female laugh; although those echoes had long faded and ceased to be, their memory lived on, but only just, borne on the trapped Air.

 

"Something terrible happened here long ago," Cerce said quietly, more to himself than Paradox, tightening his grip on his staff his voice remarkably calm. The very Air resonated with the wrongness and horrors of this place. The sooner they explored this last floor and left, the better.

[Vector Nightmare]

OoC: When you engage in battle with NPC enemies (not fodder enemies and the like), "Mission Post" will change to "Battle Post", so that it is clear that the battle is going on turn-by-turn mode and can only RP your own character and his responses.

 

-----

 

Battle Post: Cerce & Paradox

 

Unfortunately, the two men had hardly more than a few seconds to take in the horror of the scene. Almost immediately, a loud rumbling noise echoed within the dungeon. Behind them, the ceiling above the stairs they had climbed down collapsed, ruining the only escape from the room - though thankfully the apparent trap was restricted only to the stairs, not forcing the roof down on their heads.

 

And even worse, just as the path back was blocked, another, deeper, more ominous sound was heard. The eyes of the four granite warriors opened slowly, emitting a blazing crimson light. And slowly, as if drawn by invisible strings, each one of them began walking forward, each step echoing against the solid rock. Though few had encountered one throughout their whole lives, mostly everyone would recognize one of these creatures on sight. Golems, masses of a natural element afflicted by the Twilight's influence. In theory, they were not capable of much, but once one shaped them into a desired form, such as that of the four warriors that slowly closed in on Cerce and Paradox, and manipulated them through his own powers - they could become fearsome weapons.

 

---

 

OoC: You have 4 Golems closing in on you. As you enter the chamber, you are in front of the now ruined staircase, in the center of one wall. The chamber is roughly square in shape. To your direct left, the warrior with the axe. To your direct right, the one with the mace. On the other side of the room, to the left, the warrior with the axe. To the right, the one with the hammer. As you can understand, the two on the far side are still far away from you. Since they are fairly slow, you have the initiative.

 

=======

 

Battle Post: Ashley

 

The spear struck the female zombie's flesh with a thud, as if it had hit rock. Despite this apparent lack of damage, though, Ashley did manage to throw the creature off-balance. However, recovering almost instantly, she dropped on all fours, emitting a muffled growl-like sound from her tied lips. In a split second, two more were on either side of Ashley in the same stance - apparently, those beasts had some way to communicate between themselves. Instantly, all three jumped again, in a simple, but fast and coordinated attack.

[Otaku-sama]

Paradox flinched when the staircase behind him was turned to rubble by a trap apparently triggered by him. Paradox looked down and saw the near invisible metal thread caught on his foot. He didn't have any time to chastise himself for being careless as the stone statues surrounding the room came to life.

 

"The gods do not favour us today my friend. Considering the situation, we will need to work together in battle. You are exhausted, but able to move freely. I have a broken leg, but I still have my three servants ready to fight. You will have to do most of the close up fighting, I'm afraid."

 

Paradox drew out his swords from his back, which the orbs took control of. They flew out and began to attack the golem with the mace to their right, hacking at its joints. The golem took very little damage, damaging the swords more than the golem. The orbs, realizing that the golem is too hard to attack with swords, they withdrew, floating around Paradox in a meagre defense.

 

"Well...May the gods give us deliverance or a quick death..."

[Saiba Aisu]

"Come on, Paradox!" Cerce said, springing away from the slowly advancing creatures, staff in hand, green eyes flashing in a catlike manner. "Think. They must have a weak point of some kind—if we can discover it and exploit it, we may have a chance!" Despite his brave words, the dark-haired man watched with dismay as Paradox's spirits animated his three swords and briefly attempted to hack one of the approaching Golems to pieces, though they met little success.

 

Well, Cerce berated himself, drawing upon the stale, dark Air around them, ready to weave it at a moment's notice. What did you expect? They are made of stone, after all... What he did not want to admit to himself was that this meant the creatures would more than likely be immune to most conventional Air-based attacks, as well—their resilient bodies meant that crushing attacks, like the club of Air he had used before on Rafael, would have no little effect. And of course, slashing attacks like the Devil Wind he had used to destroy the Geists that had attacked them earlier were out of the question.

 

As he took a pace backwards for each one the approaching Golems took, Cerce found himself wishing desperately that they were made of flesh and blood—the Devil Wind could cut through the most resilient of living surfaces, but it was next to useless against stone. As his booted heel struck the rubble from where the ceiling leading back upstairs had collapsed upon them, he briefly considered a variety of options—perhaps he could cast a shield of Air that would momentarily repel the Golems' attacks while he lifted the rubble out of the way and tried to form an escape path; no, maybe he should try to bind the creatures in place like he had done with Ashley? With growing despair, he briefly considered each idea before discarding it—all of them involved trying to hold off or immobilize the huge creatures, which would be far too draining.

 

There's got to be a way to defeat them, he told himself stubbornly, refusing to die so easily. All I have to do is think clearly...! Then, aloud, "Paradox! The Golems are slow creatures. I can't think of a way to defeat them at the moment, but we should be able to keep away from them for a little while!" The green-clad man turned back to the approaching Golem and sprang aside lightly, running past it, hugging the wall, trying to buy more time.

 

I just hope that I can come up with something by then.

[Vector Nightmare]

Battle Post: Cerce & Paradox

 

While Cerce hightailed it close to the wall to avoid the incoming animated Golem, the monstrous stone warrior turned to follow - however, as the Sentinel had predicted, it was too slow in its advance. It swung its axe in a wider arc than would have seemed possible with those cumbersome arms, but it still came short of hitting Cerce. Unfazed, it followed up with a direct punch that came much closer, but ended up smashing the wall right behind where Cerce had been standing a second ago instead. The solid rock that formed the walls of the underground structure shattered, sending several shards flying to every direction. However, as the Golem rose again, it could be observed that the wall was not the only thing to have received damage. The surface of the Golem's hand had a deep crack on it, running almost up to the elbow.

 

The reason, of course, was rather clear. The Golems were made out of natural stone, exposed to the power of the Twilight. Such stone would not break or crack from mere impacts, especially after specifically shaped - but it still retained the original properties of the material. Like everything else in the room, those Golems were coated in dried blood from head to toe, indicating that huge amounts of blood had been spilled on them in the past. Through the years that had passed since this place was abandoned, the blood worked as a corrosive catalyst to the stone, softening it, weakening it. As it appeared, strong impacts could damage these Golems - strong enough, and they might be capable of destroying them. Generating such impacts, of course, was another issue entirely.

 

In the meantime, the other three Golems advanced slowly towards Paradox, who had lost most of his mobility.