The Underground Temple of Darkness

[Fenric]

This is the basement of an ancient temple to the god of Darkness (as in, the absence of light).

The entrance is in the new living quarters of the Temple of Inari. It can only be opened at night, and only by someone who can channel either shadow or darkness energy.

[Atreyu the Masked LLama]

(story already in progress, beginning in Inari's temple)

*He stops drinking from the goblet, but shoots Pxp a bizarre confused look*

*he turns to Rouk* "I came looking to see what was down here and I found these guys. They wanted more visitors for the party."

[phoenixineohp]

((Whoo hoo! Ms.E is back. I'm happy even if Phoenixineohp is still glareing daggers at you. ;) ))

Phoenixineohp sets down her drink. She seems a little relieved her spell didn't work but is still letting some worry and panic seep through her voice.
"Atreyu, we need to go." She looks around and keeps checking down the hall.
"Maybe we can come back for a visit, but we need to say bye to our new friends and get out."

[Ms_Elaneous]

Ms Elaneous looks toward the Phoenixienohp and Rouk. She whispers to Phoenixienohp, Good thinking! She turns to Atreyu. Yeah, we need to take care of something in the Temple real quick, then we can come back later!

[phoenixineohp]

Phoenixineohp sighs and drops her fire.
"Come her and grab a wing. We'll teleport. Something is comming down that hall."

[Jacklu]

Rouk's hand moves slightly towards the hilt of his sword. I don't know. Are these things evil, or just creepy? Rouk turns and looks down the hall. What? I don't see anything...

[Fenric]

The shadows suddenly seem very agitated and unhappy

{shadow-common} The dark ones from the other side are coming! You cannot let them get the orb!

[phoenixineohp]

"I don't know. Everything feels neutral...."
"Please, Atreyu, lets go."

[Ms_Elaneous]

Huh,talk to the shadows, that might have worked out better... She throws her hands up in mild frustration. Ms E faces the shadows and asks them directly, What orb? How can we help?

[Atreyu the Masked LLama]

*The llama looks back to his new friends and at his old friends who don't seem to like his new friends for some unknown reason.*
*He turns to Rouk* "That's just rude. They've done nothing but offer drinks and you *points to Ms E* "just threw it on the ground. They haven't attacked anyone or hurt anyone."

*He turns to the shadows* "okay! I won't"

*he turns to the party of adventurers* "They say that the Dark Ones are coming and they want the orb. We have to protect it!"

[Jacklu]

Rouk starts at the sound of the shadows. He draws his sword and holds it ready. I don't like the sound of that...

[Fenric]

The shadows tug on Atreyu

{ shadow-common} Please! You must help! We haven't seen the others in many days. The dark ones...

Their pleading is cut off as a black-furred fox strides into the room. mirror-Izumi shakes her head at the assemblage

What a lovely group. Why don't you just run along, now? We have plans for that orb, and it really doesn't concern you.

[Jacklu]

Rouk raises his sword. Who are you? And what do you want that orb for?

[Ms_Elaneous]

Ms E holds up her Gear-Staff in a defensive position. I second the motion. She didn't trust the shadows yet, especially since they were casting an illusion on Atreyu, but she trusted the black fox even less.

[Atreyu the Masked LLama]

*The llama growls at mIzumi* "No. You're not leaving with that orb. We're gonna protect it. All of us are going to protect it."
*He tries to look intimidating*

[phoenixineohp]

Phoenixineohp looks over to her. You can hear possibly hear her mummbling things like 'great, silly llama, lets walk into a dark underground temple, greeeaaat.."

Phoenixineohp puts up her fire again.

[Fenric]

The shadows seem very afraid of mIzumi, and they hide in the darker corners of the room. mIzumi laughs

We want to resurrect our version of Atreyu. Surely you can't deny us his company?

Several somethings are coming up the hallway behind her. They feel worse than she does.

[Atreyu the Masked LLama]

*Atreyu's intimidate check suffers a huge negative modifier as his knees buckle and his face goes pale and a scared bleat excapes his lips.* "NO! no no no no no no no no."

"DON'T LET HER GET THE ORB!" *He screams out in sheer panic and terror.*

[Jacklu]

If you want to hurt Llama, you'll have to get through me!

[Ms_Elaneous]

Ms E tosses her head towards the frightened shadows. Ok, let's call it a truce for the moment, shadows. Although you owe us one heck of an explanation later! Is there any way you guys can help us fight her and whatever the heck is coming?

[phoenixineohp]

Phoenixineohp stops mummbling. She stands and walks over to Atreyu. She places a hand on his neck, right at it's base and her hand shimmers. After a second she removes it and a mark is left in it's place. It's the same mark that was on the seal of her letters.
"Sorry, but he's taken. And I like him how he is."

Under her breath she says, "I did a detect magic. The alter has minor enchantment but the orb has alteration, divination, and evocation. Who wants to grab it quickly before we teleport the hell out of here?"

[Fenric]

mIzumi shakes her head

I am not even remotely interested in hurting any of you. Just go away, and none of you need worry about any of this.

She looks at Atreyu's reaction

This may be awkward...

The shadows huddle up near Ms. E.

We were summoned by the clerics of the god to watch over this room... but these creatures are powerful and evil. They are from an opposite dimension where everything is twisted

[Ms_Elaneous]

Mizumi, eh? Well, you're right that this is gonna be awkward. I'd demand a more thorough explanation from you, but if the Llama is that upset as it is, I'm gonna assume I wouldn't like it anyway. Ms E once again addresses the shadows. Any ideas about a way to help? And uh, sorry 'bout the overreaction with the drink earlier, but hey ya know, when you put an illusion on my good buddy and such, it does tend to lead to some distrustful feelings.

[Atreyu the Masked LLama]

*He nuzzles close to Phoenixineohp, she can feel him shaking all over, something she may have only seen in a few times he'd have nightmares* "not him, not him, we've got to stop her."

[Jacklu]

That's enough for Rouk. He tightens his grip and charges mIzumi, swing the broad side of his sword at her so as to knock her out.

[phoenixineohp]

Phoenixineohp places a hand down on him to help calm him.
"Screw this." She uses her very powerful Telekinesis skills to try and lift the orb.

((Pm me fenric if you want details.))

[Fenric]

(( The "m" is for mirror. This is the mirror-version of Fenric's daughter-in-law. ))

mIzumi shakes her head

There's one in every crowd. GUARDS!

Four Death Knights walk into the room

I tried to be reasonable, you know.

KILL THEM ALL

The Death Knights suddenly radiate despair and doom, draw their black blades, and approach the townsfolk.

(( The ultimate undead from Krynn... not good... ))
[hr]

Rouk's sword passes through the incorporeal mIzumi's head. She laughs and reaches out to touch Rouk and drain 2 points of strength. (( At this range, she pretty much can't miss ))

[Destro_Yersul]

((Death knights? My BBEG is a deathknight. Have fun, guys.))

[Ms_Elaneous]

Ms Elaneous raises the Gear-Staff and focuses her mental energy on it... a large gear-like energy shield surrounds her and her companions. (Similar to Mage Shield but for everybody and gear-related.)

[phoenixineohp]

((Is she able to move the orb?))
((pming))

((Can I get an idea on where everyone is? So say, if a wall of stone goes up, who gets caught on what side...))

[Jacklu]

Rouk slows as the Death Knights enter the room. He stops and jumps back a short distance. Shock. Good thing I've been practicing. He rushes the first Knight.

[Atreyu the Masked LLama]

*thoughts of despair rush over Atreyu, images of the Godruped's return, Atreyu sitting in a cage, gaunt and weak, munching on a piece of steak because he's too afraid to let himself starve and finally the mocking laughter of the Godruped saying "awww....you've barely touched your elf meat. Here, maybe you'll like this bettter. Its only half elf, the other half is phoenix."*

*with a shudder, he looks up to Phoenixineohp and whispers "I'll never eat you." *then he looks at the battle and tries to draw the strength to fight*

[phoenixineohp]

Phoenixineohp looks down at him and almost breaks her concentration. Her eyes get worried and sad. Her grip on his fur tightens, not to the point where it hurts him, but where he knows she's holding on to him.

[Fenric]

The Death Knights stop at the edge of the shield and all four raise a black-gauntleted left hand. Four auras of death radiate outward, rippling through the fabric of the world.

(( Fort save DC 15 or die. If you save then take 20 hp damage. Four times. ))

[Jacklu]

Rouk reaches the first knight and swings his sword. He stops short and falls to the ground as the auras hit him. The pendant around his neck starts to glow and he slowly stands again. Blood flows from a wound on his arm that was inflicted almost a year ago. His eyes have a faint blue glow to them. He clenches his teeth and winces from the pain but presses his attack.

[Fenric]

With superhuman speed, the knight parries and ripostes an attack at Rouk. (( Any hit from a death knight's sword drains two levels ))

mIzumi teleports around to the altar and takes hold of the orb. Strange energies pour into, and through, the evil channeller and flow down the hallway in an eerie green blast.

[Atreyu the Masked LLama]

*the llama is buffeted by the death energy and drops to the ground. He is rendered unconscious and very near death, but breathing, barely*

[Ms_Elaneous]

Crud, crud, crud! (Which sounds so similar to the name of the Temple, btw. :smalltongue:) She then notices Atreyu on the ground. Wha-?! Hey! The wave of death energy barrels into her and she, too, falls to the ground. Mmnh!...

[phoenixineohp]

Phoenixnieohp grits her teeeth and kneels to the llama and in a flash they are gone.

((To her house and Peck with Asher. Healing will take place. He has agreed, not a god-mod.))

[Fenric]

mIzumi teleports back to the hallway

No time for these meddlers now, guards. We must attend the unholy Godruped! Come, now!

She hurries down the hallway to the obsidian mirror. The three unengaged guards follow. The fourth continues to duel Rouk.
[hr]
mIzumi and the three knights encounter Fenric at the bottom of the stairs. The surprised high priest is blasted by the evil priestess and brutally slashed by the knights before they proceed down the eastern hallway and back to the mirror world.

[Jacklu]

Rouk is hit by the Knights attack and staggers back. His eyes continue to glow and another old wound opens on his arm. He takes the hilt of his sword in both hands and begins to pull on it. The sword glows and separates into two swords identical to the original. He rushes the Knight again, this time swing the sword together to scissor the Knight at the waist.

[Atreyu the Masked LLama]

*From the green light, a form slowly emerges, anyone who sees it at first thinks that Atreyu has come back. It has his same shape, but the eyes behind the mask give it away. The eyes are filled with malice and the voice has a snarl behind it that Atreyu has never used. Where am I? This isn't my temple! *The form soon grows red horns and his tail morphs and becomes more demonic and prehensile.*

[phoenixineohp]

Phoenixnieohp reappears with Phoenix.
"SHOCK!"
"What the hell is going on? Why the.... oh shock..."

Phoenixineohp casts Finger of Death on the Knight Rouk is fighting.
Phoenix puts her fire up and runs after the other four to the mirror.
"Kill that llama! And the female fox!" Phoenixnieohp screams after her.

[Fenric]

(( You cast death on a death knight? Not the best plan... ))

The knight blocks one of Rouk's swords, but is badly slashed by the second and starts to fall. Before he can collapse entirely, he is healed by a massive influx of negative energy and jumps back up: attacking with even more vigour than before.

[Ms_Elaneous]

(I'm gonna have to go now. Luckily, as I'm already incapacitated, you guys can continue for awhile and I'll be unconscious/sleeping/healing once we get out of here. At least until I get back on.)

[Atreyu the Masked LLama]

"This place smells of that wretched mirror world of good" *He hears Pxp's cry and decides that he'd rather not mess with people right now. He unleashes a breath weapon that causes a black gas to float in the air in front of him, lingering, blocking off the entrance to his corridor and he goes through the mirror after the black fox*

(goodnight Ms. E.)

[phoenixineohp]

"SHOCK!!!" Phoenixnineohp screams as she realizes her mistake.
"UNDEAD TO DEAD!"

Phoenix runs towards the mirror and goes through it.

[Fenric]

Myobi charges down the stairs to Fenric's aid just in time to see the godruped's pointy tail go past. She ignores the evil thing and casts Heal on her fallen husband. Fenric sits up with a groan and looks around.

The death knight has more than 9 HD, and so shrugs off the Undeath to Death spell. He continues to try to kill Rouk.

[Jacklu]

Rouk rolls back from the Knight. As he comes up, blood starts to soak through his shirt as yet another wound opens up. He rushes the Knight. As he get close He jumps up and begins to spin rapidly, holding the swords out like the blades of a fan.

[phoenixineohp]

Phoenixineohp screams the spell for Control Undead.

[Fenric]

Myobi glares at the black cloud and casts a Gust of Wind to blow it all up the stairs and out of the way.

It's master gone from the plane of existance, the Death Knight cannot resist Pxp's spell and suddenly stops, awaiting further instructions. Rouk slices the immobile thing a number of times.

[Kyrian]

((Oh SHOCK!!! The Godruped is back??????!?!?!?!one!?!?!1?!?!))

[phoenixineohp]

Phoenixineohp orders him to stand still.
((Can he stand there and die or will that break the spell?))

[Jacklu]

Rouk lands and crouches. He brings the sword together in front of him and leaps upward, in an attempt to bring the sword up through the immobile Knight.

[Fenric]

(( He'll stand still long enough for Rouk to chop him to bits.))

((Edit: right on cue ))

The death knight takes tremendous damage from Rouk's swing, and collapses into an unlifeless heap on the floor.

[Jacklu]

Rouk looks around the room with glowing blue eyes in search of the next target. He breaths heavily and continues to bleed.

[phoenixineohp]

Phoenixineohp stands and starts run her hands through her hair.
"Hey, we need healers over here!" She then see's Phoenix's body go flying back though the mirror. "What the?"

Phoenix flies 10 feet down the hall and hits it hard. She stands and runs back to the mirror.
"You bastard! I'll kill you all! I'll kill you! KILL YOU!" She starts clawing at the wall and rips the mirror down, shattering it all over the floor.

[Fenric]

Myobi and Fenric stumble into the room and look around

Shock!

Where's Atreyu?

Where's Pxp?

Myobi casts Heal on Rouk, while Fenric casts Heal on Ms. Ellaneous.

(( And I've got to get going... They'll heal folks up and help carry unconscious folks to the hosiptal wing, then they go off to bed.

(( The "mirror" was just obsidian and can be shattered without substantial difficulty, as Pxp has asked about that. Feel free.

The orb is an artifact and will not leave the room ))

[Jacklu]

Rouk looks at Phoenixineohp and begins walking towards her. He stubbles and falls to his knees. The pendant around his neck slowly stops glowing and soon his eyes follow suit. He drops his weapons and clutches his side with pain. errrg, not... good...

[phoenixineohp]

"I'm over here, Atreyu is safe and at my house." She calls out to them. She then lowers her voice for Rouk. "I'm sorry about that. Good job though. They will get you all healed up..." She trails off as she watches Phoenix.

Phoenix continues to scream and jump on the little fragement of mirror. Suddenly a medium sized fireball erupts from her and she stands up. She runs her hands through her hair, tidying it and walks over to the group.
"It connected to a temple. The evil llama had lots of followers and.... gifts... waiting for him. I was unsuccessful. I'm sorry." She goes to stand next to Phoenixineohp.

[Jacklu]

Rouk nods. His sword glows and fuses back together. He sheathes it and slowly gets to his feet. He teeters a threatens to fall over.

[phoenixineohp]

((I think Fenric will help carry you to the temple and hospital.))

Phoenixineohp looks over at Phoenix.
"Are you okay?"
"Are you?"
"Good point. Lets go home."

Phoenix vanishes. Phoenixineohp takes one last look around, then vanishes.

[Jacklu]

One of the priests helps Rouk out of the room and back up to the temple hospital.

[DarkHunter]

A portal opens where the obsidian mirror once stood, and mirror-Kazuki scurries through. Once the portal has closed, he sighs in relief.

As if breaking the mirror would somehow prevent our entrance. Make it more difficult? Certainly. Prevent? Hah!

The evil fox casts a few spells to restore the broken mirror, then teleports away to the Town.

[Fenric]

With a grating noise, the stone is opened at the wrong time of day: unable to resist Krystal's weaving.

Krystal leads the way down the steps and to the room at the head of the long corridor, where she turns and waits.

[AmberVael]

Aesa follows Krystal, looking around curiously.

[Exachix]

Fox-Exachix follows, and trots to by Krystal, looking into the corridor.

[Kantur]

Kantur wanders in and looks about.

[Fenric]

Krystal points north

There's a portal to mirror-town there. It goes to the next place on the list of dungeons to loot... but it's going to be dangerous, so we'll save it for now.

Krystal turns and points south

We have to get through that rubble to get where we're going: the catacombs of this temple.

Krystal turns again and heads east.

But first, we're going to have a better look at that orb. (( Anyone remember which temple thread this started in? The description of the room is in there. :smallyuk: ))

[AmberVael]

((I have no idea))

Aesa follows Krystal, looking around curiously.

[Exachix]

((No, sorry... I'll look for it.))

Exachix hmms and follows Krystal, as Lorrian comes down to bring up the rear.

[Deadly]

((31 or 32, I'd guess. Use the date this thread was created to guide you :)))

[Kantur]

Sounds like a plan.

((Off to dinner, back soon.))

[AmberVael]

((*pokes thread*
*waves goodbye as he runs off to get food and possibly entertainment*))

[Fenric]

(( It's 31, and I failed my "craft interesting description" check anyway. But I also should go get lunch, so we'll leave it paused for now.
- and no, I didn't spend that whole time looking. ))

[Kantur]

((Back. ))

[Fenric]

Krystal heads down the long corridor

I could have sworn this ran north last time

(( Yeah, I forgot. It's the wild-energy catacombs that run east-west. ))

We'll assume Aesa follows along, smirking at the chittering noise the shadows make.

[Exachix]

Exachix trots alongside her, and lorrian draws her bow, following right at the back.

[Fenric]

Krystal looks at Lorrian

You won't need it. The chamber ahead is inhabited... though they're more Izumi's kind of people.

It's a long corridor...

[Kantur]

Krystal, if that turns out to be like saying "What could possibly go wrong?", I'll find a way to make you wish you hadn't said it. Nothing malicious, just far too amny pranks in a small period of time I think
:smallwink:

[Fenric]

Krystal shakes her head

I didn't say nothing can go wrong: I said a bow won't do any good.

The group reaches the end of the corridor. The room ahead is dim, and seems to refuse to be lit by thr groups light sources.

(( Because, like all high-level parties, we just assume such things ))

In the center of the room is a dark stone altar, plain and rectangular. On top sits a large, smoky orb of crystal.

More interesting is a large number of red-eyed shadowy forms milling around the room. They seem somewhat agitated, but not overtly hostile.

[Kantur]

Oh joy. What's the plan, oh leading one?

[Atreyu the Masked LLama]

(ooooh, I remember this place. I miss my Godruped. I'm not lurking...I'm hard at work....I gotta go now..bye)

[Fenric]

Krystal tilts her head at Kantur

Plan?

Krystal walks into the room

{ shadow-common } Greetings again, my friends. I have come and brought some friends to pay our respects to your sanctuary and view the Orb of Night.

The shadows bow in their strange fashion

{ shadow-common } Welcome again Krystal, weaver of shadows and daughter of the shadow god.

The shadows gather around Aesa

{ shadow-common } Goddess of fate! Have you come to release us from this place at last?

(( Figure Vael will pick it up whenever he gets around. ))

[Exachix]

Lorrian shrugs to Krystal at her comment and turns to look at the shadows, keeping her bow out but holding it so it doesn't look offensive.

Fox-Exachix hmms and looks up at Krystal, and then back to shadows.

[Kantur]

Talking ain't a plan? For all I knew they'd start attacking as soon as we crossed the threshhold.

[Fenric]

Krystal's ears fold down momentarily

Oh.. yeah, I guess it counts... Plan just implies, well, planning.

Krystal walks up to the orb, pulls out her little weavegem, and starts to concentrate on it. The orb gives off shadowy um-illumination in response.

[Exachix]

Exachix shifts to Hybrid and looks at the orb, watching it intently.

[Kantur]

Kantur watches, moving slightly to get a better view of what's happening.

[AmberVael]

((Sorry guys, I got REALLY sidetracked))

Aesa raises an eyebrow.
I am afraid that I am unaware of your predicament, but that does not prevent me from freeing you if I am made aware.

[Fenric]

Krystal continues her study of the orb, relatively oblivious to everything else.

The shadows gathered around Aesa indicate the orb

{ shadow-common } The Orb binds us to this place. Until one comes who can remove it, we must remain forever to guard it.

[Exachix]

Exachix hmms and looks at Krystal.

[Kantur]

Kantur casts Tongues on himself so he can follow the conversation.

[AmberVael]

Interesting. Who is able to retrieve the orb?

[Fenric]

The shadows chatter with other, then one turns back to Aesa

{ shadow-common } We think it was supposed to have been Krystal: but something interfered. We saw a man in foolish red and gold robes... he made the world bend.

Krystal seems to be quite entranced with her study. Her gem softly pulses in time with the rising and falling un-glow of the orb.

[Kantur]

Kantur searches his mind to see if he can try and think of who it is.

[AmberVael]

Hmmm...
Aesa tries to determine if and how time, probability, and fate have been changed, and if Krystal still can take the orb.

[Fenric]

A certain foppish minister's fingerprints are all over the fates here. He bent Krystal off to the side and had her pick up a rock during the fight. He clumsily bent the orb's fate to try and keep it here. Oddly enough, there seems to be a thread of fate tying the orb to him in the future. When Aesa traces it, she sees that the Minister's line ends at the junction.

[AmberVael]

Aesa smirks, and, as she is wont to do, entirely ignores the threads of fate, brushing them aside as she reaches to pick up the orb.

[Fenric]

Aesa is stronger than either the original intent, or the minister's bumbling: she picks it up. This rather breaks Krystal's concentration.

Hey! Oh... Hi, Aesa. Huh... we couldn't budge it last time.

[AmberVael]

Yeah, well that'd have to do with a certain wretched Minister of Fate.

[Fenric]

Krystal blinks, then snarls

What all did that miserable shocking... minister do? I want to eat his heart, while it's still beating!

[Kantur]

Good ol' interference...
He pauses
Red and gold robes, 'made the world bend'...Krystal, do you think they ment Randan?

[AmberVael]

You were supposed to take the Orb, but he muddled up the fate and kept it here instead.
Interestingly, it looks like it has something to do with the end of his life.

[Fenric]

Krystal shakes her head

No, the sense-forsaken Minister of Fate.

fox-Exachix nuzzles Krystal's leg and tries to get her to calm down.

Krystal turns back to Aesa with a grin

Oh, what a pleasant idea.

(( Heading out to dinner, so this is going to be stuck for a while. Perhaps until tomorrow. ))

[AmberVael]

Aesa smirks.
The thought doesn't bother me at all.

[Fenric]

While everyone was chatting, the shadows dispersed: leaving the room quiet and empty.

Krystal nods to Aesa, then looks around

Huh... they've gone. Well, on to the treasure!

Krystal heads back down the hallway.

[AmberVael]

Aesa grins and uses a small telekinesis spell to float the orb behind her as she follows Krystal.

[Fenric]

A brief flicker passes over the orb.

Krystal leads the way all the way back down the long hall, turning left at the end to reach the rubble blocking the catacombs.

There, she looks up at the ceiling, contemplating the best way to remove the rubble without creating more.

[AmberVael]

Aesa suddenly stops and looks at the orb while also using a divination to see just how much rubble there is- namely how long the blockage is.

[Fenric]

The orb has gone dark again, but it now gives off a feeling of awareness that it had not had before, and it seems to be watching someone.

The blockage runs about ten feet before hitting a stone footing, then another ten feet of rubble. Construction on the lot above seems to be the culprit: but the surrounding stone is quite stable and solid, showing signs of the reinforcing work done by the earth-elemental construction crew Fenric hired.

[AmberVael]

Aesa narrows her eyes at the orb, but then uses a dimension door to create portal from one side of the rubble to the other.

[Fenric]

The orb doesn't seem to notice.

Krystal shakes her head

Sometimes it is possible to think too much... why move the rubble if you can just go around it? Thanks, Aesa.

Krystal steps through

[AmberVael]

Aesa grins and goes through her portal as well.
Its really safer in a lot of ways to have just portals and no physical passages. Less chance of collapsing tunnels and the like.
It does, however, give problems with antimagic and the like.

[Fenric]

Krystal nods as she looks around.

You are in a maze of twisting passages, all alike

Krystal's quote fits well: the rough-hewn corridor twists and turns, with many branches leading off into the unknown.

Time to try it out!

Krystal begins her weave. Flitering down to the plane of Bright Metals, she searches the area for unusually high concentrations.

[Exachix]

Fox-Exachix watches Krystal carefully.

[Fenric]

Krystal opens her eyes, trembling with the effort to see the Bright Metals and the real world at the same time. Then she relaxes

I see where we need to get to, but these passages are going to make getting there a pain.

[Exachix]

Fox-Exachix grins.

"Mazes! Fun!"

He begins to looks at the maze.

[AmberVael]

Aesa grins and scribes a rune in the air.
Ted might remember this spell. It says which way is "best" to go, "best" being very unspecified.
Aesa, of course, likes the spell because it can lead her from her goal to things she wasn't expecting and yet are very interesting, and she can go to her goal later.
It is not like an immortal has reason to hurry, after all.

[Fenric]

(( I loved the maze... I forget which game. It was hopless unless you paid attention: the rooms were not actually the same. The descriptions went like

A winding maze of twisting passages, all alike
A twisting maze of winding passages, all alike
A maze of twisting passages, all alike
and so on. If you kept track of the descriptions, you could eventually map it out. ))

))

Krystal sends a Wizard Eye down the passage and tries to search out a path.

[Exachix]

((I love mazes... I keep doing some on paint and one i haven't finished.))

Fox-Exachix looks at all the 'cheating' and just runs down one way... not really minding if he gets lost.

[Fenric]

Exy wanders in the maze, it is very confusing.

Aesa gets a rather specific and strong result, leading into the maze.

Krystal runs out of range before finding anything useful, and looks at Aesa.

[AmberVael]

Aesa shrugs and goes into the maze.

[Exachix]

Fox-Exachix is just running through the maze randomly, keeping in touch with Krystal.

[Fenric]

Krystal follows Aesa

Aesa's path twists and winds, sometimes going around what at least looked like more direct routes. Krystal almost protests when they walk by a place her spell said should have held something, but decides that it can wait.

[AmberVael]

Aesa hums, moving along without hesitation or haste.

[Exachix]

Fox-Exachix tries to make his way back to Krystal now.

[Fenric]

fox-Exy finds a Minotaur. (( Atreyu's suggestion was too good to pass up ))
It snorts at him in an angry way and hefts a heavy war-axe.

Aesa feels the tug of an interesting place up ahead, even as the walls become smooth and worked, rather than the previous rough passages.

[AmberVael]

Aesa keeps going, her stride lengthening and her pace quickening, perhaps to the point where Krystal will have a hard time catching up to the tall, nordic vala.

[Fenric]

Krystal gets tired of hurrying, and shifts to a fox so it's easier to keep up with Aesa.

The walls begin to have runes on them, though the shapes are different from what Aesa uses. (( frankish rather than scandanavian ))

The magic here is very old, and makes even Aesa feel young by comparison.

[AmberVael]

Aesa raises an eyebrow and keeps going, reading the runes as she passes.

[Fenric]

The runes are in a rather awkard mixture of gaulish and pre-republic latin, and seem to be describing the exploits of some "dark hero".

[AmberVael]

Aesa is slightly interested, and follows along with the stories as she keeps going.

[Fenric]

He seems to have defeated evil beings of light, who tried to banish darkness and rest from the world and force everyone into a living hell of eternal work. He quested for a weapon to fight them... the descriptions of the quest take up half a mile of corridor. The quest was pretty standard fare, really.

[AmberVael]

Aesa decides now would be a great time to collapse and be unconcious, so she does.

[Fenric]

fox-Krystal sniffs at Aesa a few times, then looks at fox-Exachix. He just shrugs, so the two cuddle up in a furry pile near her.

[AmberVael]

Aesa doesn't seem to be recovering, nor is her player leaving.
She's just unconcious... and her life seems to be leeching away.

[Fenric]

(( You made it look too much like a standard dead-time excuse. :smallyuk: ))

Krystal looks over at feeling a strange disturbance.

Aesa? Exy... wake up.

fox-Exchaix wakes up and hmms. He tries casting Heal on Aesa.

[AmberVael]

((Which is why I clarified))

Aesa, being drained by overuse of Seid, doesn't respond to the heal.
Her body does seem to catch fire and burn away into nothing though. It's probably pretty disturbing.

[Fenric]

The foxes are disturbed, gather up the orb, and curl up again; soon falling asleep.

[Exachix]

Fox-Exy's tail and front paws twitches in his sleep.

[Fenric]

fox-Krystal snuggles closer to exy and drifts into deeper sleep.

[Exachix]

Fox-Exy sighs happily in his sleep and nuzzles her as he dreams.

[Fenric]

Krystal wakes up and looks around

Wonder what happened to her? Oh well...

Krystal nuzzles Exachix.

[Exachix]

Fox-Exachix wakes and nuzzles Krystal back and hmms.

"I Wonder what happened to the minatour..."

[Fenric]

Krystal chuckles

Midnight.

Krystal shifts and stands up. She picks up the orb.

Guess we'll go this way for now.

Krystal continues in the direction they had been going earlier

[Exachix]

Exachix shifts and hmms, walking alongside her.

"Maybe."

[Fenric]

Krystal walks along, puzzling at the runes

Wonder what these say? Oh well...

Krystal smiles at Exachix

We've not been on a little adventure of our own in a while.

[Exachix]

Exachix looks at the runes then smiles to Krystal.

"No, we haven't."

[Fenric]

The corridor ends at a rune-covered door

Krystal hmms and contemplates the door.

[Exachix]

Exachix hmms at the door, contemplating not the door, but how to blow the door off it's bloody hinges.

[Fenric]

Krystal tries Knock, which doesn't work.

Worth a try...

[Exachix]

Exachix hmms and looks up and down the door.

"Always worth the try... can you work out if it has fractures or something in it?"

[Fenric]

Krystal shakes her head

No... these messy runes make it impossible. It's been here a long time, though.

[Exachix]

Exachix hmms.

"I wonder..."

He casts Tounges and tries to read the runes.

[Atreyu the Masked LLama]

(I wanna see this new "calmer" destruction spell)

[Fenric]

It reads

The Chamber of the Dark Hero

Closed will this remain until the bearer of destiny appears again:
Scion of darkness, attended by madness, followed by demons
yet a champion of good.

Let the hero knock upon the symbol with the symbol, and open the way shall be.

[Exachix]

Exachix hmms and checks it reads that, be the expedient method of reading it again, and then hmming, slightly confused by it. He looks at Krystal, relays what it says and hmms.

"What does it mean?!"

He looks it over again and hmms.

[Fenric]

Krystal puzzles over the runes as well

What's this big circle supposed to be?

[Exachix]

Exachix hmms.

"The place to 'Put the Symbol on the Symbol.'"

He hmms.

"Do you think it means Zak?" (or whatever his name is)

[Fenric]

Krystal frowns

Seems a bit complex. Maybe it's the holy symbol from the door to the temple.

Krystal traces the god of darkness' holy symbol in the circle... but nothing happens.

Or not.

[Exachix]

Exachix hmms.

"Zak would fit it actually... or would he... I don't know!"

He hmms and takes his own holy symbol... now by pure accident entangled in his other crystal, and puts the symbol on the circle.

[Fenric]

(( Hint: who was in our party when we started? ))

The door cares for neither Inari's symbol nor Exachix' crystal.

Krystal taps it with her weavegem. Nothing happens

[Exachix]

((Aesa... Kantur... and Lorrian))

Exachix's Crystal isn't happy at not being cared for and so tries to make the door burn.

Lorrian comes along and looks at it.

[Fenric]

Stone not being very flammable, the door does not burn. Continuity starts to object, but sees that the material of "the door" never was specified.

Lorrian sees a stong door covered with scrawling runes. A plain circle is in the middle of the door. Krystal has a crystal orb tucked under her arm that is about the same size.

Lorrian probably remembers that Kantur is a tiefling.

[Exachix]

Lorrian hmms, but hasn't been here for the other part of the conversation... so remembers that Kantur is our Tiefling... but probably doesn't make use of it... in fact, she looks back for Kantur.

Exachix watches his Crystal getting unhappy, and casts Calm Emotions on it, before putting both it and his symbol back around his neck.

[AmberVael]

((Unfortunately, Madness is having a few problems- reversing the timeline of an entire plane isn't so good for you))

[Fenric]

(( Yeah. ))

Krystal shifts the unwieldy orb from one arm to the other, and tries drawing an alchemical symbol for shadows... nope.

[Exachix]

((Should we just NPC kantur or not?))

Exachix hmms and casts Limited Wish trying to make it draw the right symbol... after casting he groans and leans on the wall.

[Fenric]

(( No... don't really need to. ))

Krystal gets angry and bashes the circle with the heavy Orb.

The orb, the circle, and all the runes promptly glow; then the door slides to the right into the stone.

Um... I knew that would happen...

[Exachix]

Exachix looks at Krystal slightly amusedly and slightly exaustedly.

[Fenric]

Krystal looks at Exachix

Are you allright, dear?

[Exachix]

Exachix nodds.

"I'll be ok."

[Fenric]

Krystal nods, and heads inside.

(( One of these days I'll have to quite stalling and actually decide what's in here... ))

She looks around

(( But probably not today ))

[Exachix]

((heh))

Exachix follows and looks at the blank room.

"No no no!"

A note appears in his hand... it beings to fill with text.

"Oh what..."

[Fenric]

Krystal looks over at Exy

What's that?

[Exachix]

He shows her the note, it's a bunch of error codes for the room saying things like 'items not found', he sighs and looks at her.

[Fenric]

The room does have a large dead-time flan. It gets Krystal.

[Exachix]

Exachix looks at the flan and hmms, and tries to cast Banishment. He spends a fair emount of time and effort trying to keep it back now.. but collapses with exaustion after a while and it takes him.

[Exachix]

Exachix wakes after a long rest, gets a message, and casts Repulse vermin Followed by Teleport.

He comes back and sits in a corner, resting.

[Fenric]

The flan slimily explodes into gelatinous dead-time bits. Krystal splutters and glowers, changing into a fox and shaking vigorously.

Then she looks around the room.

The square room is about twenty-five feet on a side, with a ten foot ceiling. The three walls are carved with runes and pictures depicting the exploits of some hero or other against strange beings with circles drawn around them.

Directly in the center is a large stone sarcophagus, carved with runes and set with many gems..

[AmberVael]

Aesa reappears.
Sorry about that. I just had to conserve energy for a while.

[Fenric]

Krystal nods

No trouble - the only thing in here was a dead-time flan, and there's just not much to be done about those.

Krystal peers at the sarcophagus.

Either the guy was a half-giant, or this thing is more than a bit oversized.

[Exachix]

Fox-Exachix wakes and trots over to Krystal, before curling up beside her.

[Kantur]

I think I'm hoping for oversized...

[Fenric]

Krystal chuckles at Kantur

I think he's kinda dead. We're supposed to get something from here... though the gems on the thing are a good start.

Krystal continues to examine the rectangular structure for any clues.

[AmberVael]

Aesa hums and uses her rune of 'where is best,' though she modifies it to give a very general course of action that is best.

[Kantur]

Maybe, but I've tended to find undead annoying to deal with...And large undead tend to be worse than normal-sized undead...

[Fenric]

The rune suggests that shadow power should be channelled into the orb.

Interestingly, there is the echo of a hint that this is among the worst possible things to do.

Krystal continues poking at the gems, a little distracted by sparklies.

[AmberVael]

Aesa raises an eyebrow and attempts to follow a few of the most common paths of fate leading from channeling shadow power into the orb.
She specifically looks for what will happen to the minister of fate...

[Kantur]

Kantur draws a dagger from his belt
Would this help pry some of them off?

[Exachix]

Fox-Exachix watches krystal.

[Fenric]

Krystal grins and takes the dagger, prying at a particularly sparkly diamond.

Aesa sees the sarcophagus opening and the group gathered around it. Most every fate has a number of interesting things inside with only minor variations.

The fate leading to the minister hits an odd distortion that is somewhat painful to even look at through the eyes of divination: it is not so much a shield as an active disruption.

[Exachix]

Exachix looks at the dagger, then at the gem she's trying to take out.

[Kantur]

Kantur pulls another out of his bag of holding and starts on some of the other gems, grinning across at Krystal
Amateur. I thought anyone with an obsession with shiny things'd bring the right equipment to take them :smalltongue:

[Exachix]

Exachix shifts to hybrid.

((Food time))#

((Back))

Lorrian smiles to Kantur and lets him remove gems.

Exachix hmms and thinks.

[Fenric]

Krystal sighs

Well.. I guess I am a bit of an amateur at this.

She then tries weaving a bit of shadow to push the gem out: It pops out with a snap and goes into her shirt.

Not exactly what I had in mind, but it'll do.

(( Food sounds like a good idea. brb. ))

[Kantur]

I didn't mean it like that...I was just teasing.

Though it looks like you are the right tool for the job.

[Exachix]

Exachix smiles and puts his hands on two gems, before casting Teleport object to put them into two respective pockets, hopefully. He grins to them both.

Lorrian rolls her eyes and looks at Kantur's gems.

[Fenric]

(( They're not enchantd, just nice decorations held in with cement. Once the fated one [Krystal] got in here, security doesn't really matter anymore. ))

Krystal pops gems out, at bit more cautiously now, and hums a happy tune.n

[Exachix]

Exachix smiles and watches Krystal, content with the two gems he has.

[Kantur]

I prefer it when someone else's done this part and put in it a badly locked chest...

[Fenric]

Krystal nods

That's easier, true: but you get gems at the end all the same. And this way you build up a good appetite for the expensive dinner you can afford afterwards.

She continues her cheerful looting.

[Exachix]

Exachix frowns.

"Damn... I'm lazier than the lot of you. I just like to do something easy for them and hope we get gems from that." He grins.

Lorrian shakes her head.

[Kantur]

Hmm, that's true...I haven't had an expensive dinner for a while...

[Fenric]

Finally, though, the size of the gems really is outweighed by the effort.

Krystal contemplates the structure itself.

Now, how to open it?

She tries tapping on it with the orb, but that doesn't work this time.

[Exachix]

Exachix hmms and looks over it, before casting Knock.

[Kantur]

Knock spell maybe?

He looks across at Exachix and grins.

Great minds...

((Off to get food))

[Fenric]

Knock doesn't work, Dispell doesn't help, it resists both pry-bar and sledgehammer. Shatter does nothing but reduce the remaining small gems to dust.

Krystal stamps her foot and glares at the stubborn thing.

[Exachix]

Exachix sighs and casts Firestorm by the lid, making sure it doesn't spread too far, just enough to open the lid, not damaging the insides.

[Fenric]

A cool aura eminates from the sepulchure and counters the flames.

Krystal arches her eyebrows

Proactive defenses? We may wish to be a bit more cautious...

[Exachix]

Exachix sighs and casts Shatter on the lid.

"Come on!"

[Fenric]

Krystal grumbles and tries a divination of her own. She sees an image of the orb filled with shadowy power.

Oh.... I get it...

(( Hmm... dead-timed Aesa is the only one who knows that there will be a bad side-effect to this. ))

[Exachix]

Exachix looks at Krystal, frowning slightly.

"What's the matter."

[Fenric]

Krystal chuckles

The orb is a big, badly made, shadow-specific weavegem. The crypt thing is held shut with shadow magic: this will unlock it.

[Exachix]

Exachix sighs.

"Not various reckless destruction magic?"

[Fenric]

Krystal chuckles

Not the ones you were trying, no. You could probably blow it apart with a suitably enhanced shadow-shatter, but that might damage whatever's inside.

[Exachix]

Exachix sighs.

"And you're a weaver... I'm obselite!"

Lorrian chuckles.

[Kantur]

It's an interesting feeling first time you have it. Being surrounded by casters made me used to it.
He teases both of them

[Fenric]

Krystal grins and whispers several suggestions into Exachix' ear for which he will never be obsolete.

Then she steps back.

Besides all that: fire is plenty useful, and something I'm pretty weak at. Maybe next time we'll be somewhere where that will work out better.

(( Or you'll all keep following the catacombs and get to a *really* funky place. We'll see... ))

[Exachix]

Exachix blushes slightly and smiles.

"Heh. Well, first, this sarcophacus."

Lorrian chuckles.

"I'm no caster."

[Kantur]

Really? You did a good job of enchanting me...

[AmberVael]

Aesa looks up, having thought it out.
Krystal... I believe I know a way to open it.

[Exachix]

Lorrian laughs and hugs Kantur.

Exachix looks at Aesa in the look that says 'and I wasted those spells which I may not get back and you knew!!!'.

[Kantur]

Kantur smiles and hugs her back

[Fenric]

(( Hooray for stalling! ))

Krystal looks at Aesa

What is it, Aesa?

[AmberVael]

Well, channeling shadow magic into the orb will indeed open it... but it probably means the death of the Minister of Fate- and possibly something far worse.
The Fate around it and the minister has been twisted and distorted so much that many things could possibly happen, a lot of them wiith poor endings.

[Fenric]

Krystal frowns

Him again? Fine... how do we spoil his plans, then?

[Exachix]

Exy hmms.

"Any way to open it without the orb?"

[AmberVael]

I'm not entirely sure that they are his plans. It could be an unnatural distortion caused by us both fiddling with it too much.
However... I could attempt to disjoin his fate and the fate of the orb- causing absolutely nothing to happen to either of them when something happens to the other.
It is one of my specialties.

[Fenric]

Krystal nods, still looking disgruntled.

Takes care of the immediate problem, though i have an itching desire to go shred him just a bit.

[AmberVael]

Honestly I'd rather not kill him, because it means he would be dead permanently- or so his fate leads me to believe. Only a few people deserve that.
Aesa jaw tenses as she thinks of the few entities she'd be entirely willing to do that to.
Anyways...
She holds out a hand for the orb.

[Fenric]

Krystal hands Aesa the Orb, and watches with curiosity.

Yeah... I suppose that isn't so nice. Can we just hurt him some instead?

[AmberVael]

Perhaps.
If he deserves it, which he probably does, but may not.
Aesa begins scribing runes around the orb, being very careful not to use any energies associated with shadow magic.

[Exachix]

Exachix hmms and thinks, a faint smile growing.

[Fenric]

Krystal watches and hmms. The orb doesn't react to the non-shadow energies.

[AmberVael]

Aesa taps her lips as she reaches the final sequence of runes, deciding how she wanted to do this.
She finally nods to herself, and attempts to make it so that for the minister, the orb and its fate do not exist, thus freeing his line of fate from it.

[Exachix]

Exachix watches as Lorrian unhugs Kantur and hmms.

[Fenric]

The orb seems to be severed rather completely from the minister. A fate-magic around the orb fizzles and dies as the connection is destroyed.

Krystal notices the energy, though she can't identify it.

Something just disjoined there.

[AmberVael]

That would be the entire purpose of what I just did.
She holds the orb out to Krystal.

[Fenric]

The orb seems to be severed rather completely from the minister. A fate-magic around the orb fizzles and dies as the connection is destroyed.

Krystal notices the energy, though she can't identify it.

Something just disjoined there.

[Exachix]

Exachix watches, thinking.

[Fenric]

Krystal takes the orb and reachs through it to the shadows.

Swirling patterns appear in the orb, and Krystal's eyes glow red. Soon the heavy stone lid slides to the side with the grating noise of heavy stone on stone. The lid comes free and falls to the floor with a tremendous crash, breaking into many pieces.

Krystal blinks and gasps as she finishes: colorless now, and incorporeal; the orb floats with her.

Dang! It's a little different using an item specifically tuned to one's specialty.

[AmberVael]

Aesa comes closer, eyeing the contents interestedly.

[Exachix]

Exachix frowns.

"are you Ok?"

[Fenric]

Krystal looks at herself, then chuckles. She drifts over to the sarcophagus as well, flying being more convenient for seeing the contents.

Got a bit carried away, I suppose. Yes: I'm fine.

Inside is a body: not quite a half giant, but no small man either. He has a helmet and suit of chainmail with a breastplate, all of some shimmering greyish-black metal. The breastplate has the obsidian disk symbol of the god of darkness. There is a very large, scabbarded sword on a belt around his waist. There are a few jars and boxes near his feet, and a large book near his right hand.

The body is remarkably well preserved, though it shows the signs of many a battle fought in life. Krystal floats around, not particularly impressed overall, until she notices that the head is not resting quite right. She sends a whisp of energy to it, and lets out a small yip as it rolls freely to the side, revealing a perfectly sphere-section indententation.

I guess we know how he died, then.

[Exachix]

Exachix looks over it and hmms.

[Kantur]

Small pox?
He asks with a grin

[AmberVael]

Aesa eyes it professionally, then reaches for the book.

[Fenric]

The book is the Gospel of Night: the holy book of the God of Darkness. It will raise the shadowcaster level of anyone who spends 48 hours studying it by 1 (or to 1, if they don't have any shadowcaster levels).

Krystal hmms and causes the orb to float down and come to rest in the indentation. The patterns within begin to swirl again, and a previously unremarkable section of wall across from the entrance sinks in and slides to the right.