Geography (Sturm)

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Geography (Sturm)

Sherry shrugged in regards to the Question and Narin seemed to be nothing but grateful and a feeling a great deal better, although getting her to a forest or a tree would probably do her a world of good. "i have no idea Claire, I'm as in the dark as you are on that one" Sherry said after shrugging.

In regards to the question of clothing however, Narin seemed to blush herself. "No thanks... It makes me feel... Weird." She said after a moment, seeming a little uncertain now that her nudity made Claire apparently feel akward around her. Although that wasn't the case, that was the way it had been said made it come across. Changing the subject quickly, Sherry seemed to come to the pairs rescue in that regard. "If I had summoned a demon for something, heaven forbid, In an evil temple, I would head up as well, because... evil temple" She said, laughing to herself for a moment at the insanity of the idea. "As for contacting everyone else, I can probably go do that if you and Narin here want to go on ahead, I doubt she's in any shape to be wandering about on her own, I mean, what would happen if the cultists caught her again?"

 

[sturm]

Re: Geography (Sturm)

Claire laughed at Sherry's joke, maybe a little louder than necessary. "Up it is, then!" Looking over to Sherry, she said, "Alright that sounds good to me, will you be able to communicate with us as well? If not then I will just leave scorch marks on the walls to mark our path for you." When Sherry mentioned that it would be bad for Nirin to get captured again Claire responded saying, "Well of course I'm not going to let those cultist creeps get their hands on her! But you take care of yourself too, we don't want to have to come back down to save you too!"

With that, Claire beckoned Nirin to come with her and they began headed up the stairs, on the lookout for trouble. She also studiously avoided talking about the dryad's lack of clothing.

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Geography (Sturm)

Narin, nodding and hugging Sherry as the redhead turned to leave, stayed pretty close to Claire as they headed up the stairs to the second level of this room. And if shit wasn't wierd enough, it only got worse. Each staircase looked like it had been painstakingly carved from granite and the floor of the next level was covered in runes and slightly raised platforms, no one part of the floor the same level as the rest, and this was intentional. The floor leveled off at a single passageway to Claire's left as stepped onto the floor. Other then the odd floor, there seemed to be a series of large stone tables, old bones litering their tops and a shining silver, or in 1 special case, Iron knife was thrust down into the stone. Claire would recognize the motifs behind each table, because each one showed a different kind of fey. Judging from the bones, of 6 tables, 4 had already been used. Nymphs, Sirens, Sylphs, and Nymphs had all been filled, the bones remaining on the table and stains that appeared to be dried blood filling in the blanks for Claire. The only two tables that hadn't been filled yet were the twi at the very center next to the passageway. The table marked for a Dryad, obviously meant for Narin, and the table marked for an angel...

How the two girls took this information was up to them, but it was a pretty important puzzle piece. Narin however was Narin, and that meant she was getting angry rather then anything else, walking slowly to each table oblivious to any traps or surprises and looking at each with a fire in her eyes as she snatched up one of the silver knives.

 

[sturm]

Re: Geography (Sturm)

After goodbyes were said, Claire and Narin headed up the surprisingly detailed steps. What they saw in the room at the top nearly made Claire sick. Not only was the floor completely asymmetrical, but the strange altars...

Six altars, four dead fey. And it looks like Narin was to be the next. And an angel after her. These cultists... To do something so terrible, to the fey of all people, the most innocent and beautiful of the races. These cultists were monsters. And they were still here somewhere.

A steel calm descended upon Claire as Narin angrily walked between the tables, taking the silver knife. Claire would see to it that they brought an end to this tragedy, this cult, and whatever trouble they had summoned.

Walking up behind Narin as she stared at one of the altars, Claire gently lay a hand on the dryad's bare shoulder. "I don't know if you knew them, but their deaths will not go unavenged. We will put a stop to this madness here and now. But please do take care to watch out for traps, we don't know what lurks here."

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Geography (Sturm)

"You're fucking right we will" Narin said, turning the blade point down and shaking with fury again, apparently mother nature was on the rag if this dryad was any indication. The passage that was available two them seemed to be a very gently sloping staircase with strange runes and motif's etched into the walls, all glowing a deep red as the sound of steady chanting seemed to emanate from them. It was the only route that would take them further up. There were still two other passages further back the way they had come, but this seemed to be the most direct route to their current goal.

 

[sturm]

Re: Geography (Sturm)

Claire nodded to Narin in a focused manner. She was all business now. Before heading down the path lit by runes, she wanted to poke her head down the other passages with the dryad. If they seemed short, they could investigate them, she didn't want to leave any more people around in the same situation Narin had been in. However if it looked like the paths went on for awhile, she would go on ahead to the path with the runes, because she felt time was of the essence. And if there was nothing of note in the passageways then they would head off down the runed path cautiously, at least Claire would be cautious.

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Geography (Sturm)

Heading back, Narin scowled for a moment but finally agreed to follow, not really having much choice in the matter because until she was properly healed, Claire was the stronger of the pair. The first side passage back in the coffin room, was indeed a long and annoyingly winding affair, but the other seemed to just empty out into a small round room. The only thing of note in the room at all, was a large deck of cards, about 6 inches long by 3 inches wide, that was sitting on a pedestal in the center. Claire didn't see anything overly special about them, but Narin did, pointing them out immediately. "Clair, how much do you know about people like myself... Umm... Not human" She asked quietly, "Because if it's not much... those cards, if they are what I think they are, would be very very handy..."

 

[sturm]

Re: Geography (Sturm)

Giving an apologetic look at Narin, Claire proceeded to look down both hallways. Ignoring the long, twisting one, she checked the shorter one with Narin and noticed the deck of cards.

"Yea I really don't know very much... At all... I come from a very small town." Claire blushed slightly, a little embarrassed by her lack of knowledge.

With Narin's recommendation, Claire went and picked up the cards, looking over them while the two headed back to the more interesting pathway.

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Geography (Sturm)

The Cards themselves seemed to be like a child's version of an encyclopedia, and each had a picture of something. While most were women or demons or monster girls, there were also a few extremely specific and detailed items. As they walked back to the runed path, Narin noticed her card, and reached out to touch it. As soon as her flesh made contact with the card, what had been a simply drawing, and some background information, exploded into a far more detailed account of a Dryad in general.

"Possessed of a longevity directly related to the life of their home tree, a Dryad is specifically the spirit of an oak tree. Although able to use another tree temporarily, there is no exception to their own tree and a Dryad will require increased amounts of sunlight and water as well as specific nutrients from the earth lest both the tree, and themselves, wither and fade away. Enthusiastic lovers, but quick to anger against those that threaten the balance of nature, Dryads have fears of enclosed spaces and are able to call upon plantlife for aid."

 

[sturm]

Re: Geography (Sturm)

Once Narin touched the card, Claire gasped in amazement as it filled itself out in extreme detail about Dryads. This would be a useful deck of cards indeed. As she read through the information, she stopped walking as she realized more and more how difficult it must be for the dryad to be in this temple ruin. Though she arched an eyebrow at the part about them being enthusiastic lovers, she decided to not bring that up just yet.

"Wow... You must really hate being here then, even more than most people would. How long have they kept you prisoner here? I guess we really need to get you back to your forest if we don't want you to die on us.I\ I'm sorry I didn't realize the severity of your situation sooner.

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Geography (Sturm)

"It's okay Claire, just... by the end of the day, I need to get to a tree by the end of the day." She said, looking tired. "But this is more important, lead on, we need to get this shit sorted..." She said glaring down the pathway. As they moved, they could now hear a steady chanting that seemed to be coming from up ahead, and the red glow was getting stronger...

 

[sturm]

Re: Geography (Sturm)

Claire gave squeezed Narin's hand and gave the woman a solemn look, saying, "I promise, I will get you out of here." As the chanting increased in volume, they seemed to be getting closer to the source. She wordlessly signaled they slow down, which was undoubtedly physically easier on the weakened Narin, though mentally she hoped the dryad had the willpower to be patient and not just blindly rush in on what she assumed were the cultists.

If Narin slows down, the two will slowly sneak forward until they either encounter an enemy, or get to the source of the chanting.

If Narin doesn't slow down, Claire will grab her wrist and try to make eye contact with her, pleading with her in a hushed voice to be patient, saying that the ones responsible would pay, but only if they did things with a level head.

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Geography (Sturm)

Narin nodded again, gritting her teeth as they moved carefully and quietly, narrowly avoiding a trap in the form of a pressure plate, and another set up with a trip wire before they exited the passageway and looked down. The sun was beating directly into a central chamber, and there were 7 robed men 8 feet below them all chanting around a hauntingly beautiful woman who was... Shackled as well! Now that was confusing, because Narin pointed her out and said, "That's the succubus..."

She seemed confused as well, because the chanting was continuing and the succubus seemed to be in considerable pain herself, thrashing and cursing at the men as they attempted to complete their ritual. It was up to Claire whether they interrupted, and aided the demon, or let them finish and waited to see what would happen.

 

[sturm]

Re: Geography (Sturm)

Carefully edging past and over the traps, the two made their way closer and closer to the chanting. As they neared the room, it occurred to Claire to ask the dryad, "Hey, will you be able to...fight? I know you've been through hell already, but it will be good for me to at least know going in."

When they reached the room and were able to observe who Narin identified as the cultists and the succubus, Claire was a little confused. Apparently they weren't really in league with the succubus, as she was currently bound and appeared to be in considerable pain. Were they using her to summon something even more powerful? Well, maybe the enemy of her enemy would be her friend, but regardless, these cultists needed to be stopped.

Unless Narin was some sort of close range monster, Claire figured it best to engage the cultists from the ranged advantage of their platform (staircase?). It was time to put her new knowledge to work.

If the monks still hadn't noticed them, she would put a thin layer of ice magic down on the top few stairs, a little trap for whoever chose to rush them. Then she would attack the cultists at range with fire balls, channeling extra energy into the first one, wanting to put some punch into her sneak attack while they were all grouped together and aimed her attack towards where she hoped it would hit the most cultists. If they responded by rushing up the stairs, she would back away with Narin into the darker hallway they had just exited. She would try out this mysterious shadow magic while in there.

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Geography (Sturm)

Narin nodded, "I can, and well, but I don't think I could afford taking a real hit." She said a little nervously Claire was icing the stairs. Thankfully so far no one had noticed them. They did however immediately notice when the larger then normal fireball struck between two of the chanting men. One was almost completely consumed in the flames, the other badly burned, but now they were all looking at them from under hoods with glowing eyes, and as they held up their hands, blades of Ice formed in their grip. And they seemed pissed.

Spoiler

Trap. Success, 2 cultists slip and fall back down. 6 Remain total still standing.

Narin 13
Cultist 8
Hit, Wounded cultist down. 5 remain

Cultists 4, and 5. 15 and 18
Claire 13 and 9
Claire HP3/5 MP1/2 AP /10

Charging up the stairs towards them, Claire noticed that two had stayed behind, working furiously to unbind the succubus so they could move her and continue the ritual, but so far, she wasn't making it easy, fighting literally tooth and nail to avoid being taken and screaming in fury as she looked around with wild eyes, clearly in a panick. thankfully Claire had thought ahead, and her trap claimed 2 of the cultists, one falling down the stairs to lay there with a groan, the other falling forward and straight into Narin's lunge, which finished him instantly, it was the burned one. Twitching as he died, two beams of red energy lanced from the bottom of the staircase and struck her in the arm and leg, drawing ragged bleeding wounds. 2 men were down, 3 more were still fighting them, and the last two were trying to take the succubus away. Backing into the shadows as planned, Claire sought to draw them into closer quarters and into the shadows...

 

[sturm]

Re: Geography (Sturm)

Spoiler

Just need a little clarification on the numbers. Start:7 cultists. Fireball:1 killed, 1 wounded. Ice Trap: 1 slips back down stairs and is KO'd or at least stunned, previously wounded gets merc'd by Narin. Dealing with succubus: 2. Totals: 1 KO, 2 KIA, 2 moving prisoner. So does that just leave 2 fighting us then? Or did the the other guy survive the fireball? Just the way you wrote it out made it seem like he would be dead. It's fine if he's not, I'm just trying to make sure I know the score.

Claire felt a grim satisfaction as the fireball did some serious damage to two of the cultists, though as the group turned her way, she felt a little chilled. These guys meant business. She shuddered to think what would happen if the research team encountered these creeps. And then the battle was on.

The majority of the cultists moved towards her and Narin while two stayed behind, apparently trying to move the succubus somewhere else. That put them in a bit of a time constraint. Fortunately, her iced stairs helped thin the herd, one cultists slipping back down and seeming to incapacitate himself, the other doing a good job of getting stabbed by Narin.

Unfortunately, not everything went their way. Two red energy bolts sliced up and hit Claire in the leg, leaving some ugly gashes in her leg. "Gahh!!!" Claire cried out in pain as the lasers sliced her leg. What a strange type of magic. She thought the book had given her a lot of knowledge, but it must be only a drop in the sea of magic she was now sure existed in this world.

As she staggered back to the hallway with Narin, Claire called out, hopefully loud enough for the cultists to hear her, "Fall back! If we reach the others we can get reinforcements!" She gave a pained wink to Narin, knowing there were no reinforcements to be had, but hopefully the cultists would give chase, and rapidly, in order to prevent the two from bringing more trouble their way. In the meantime, Claire and Narin made their way back into the dark passageway. If they had enough time, Claire would leave another small ice patch to give them something else to think about before turning to face the room where the cultists were coming from, but if they didn't have time then she would just turn to face the enemy, readying herself to use her shadow magic. She still wasn't sure what would happen, but she really hoped it would be good for killing these crazies, if she didn't have much success with shadows, she would switch to a lightning attack.

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Geography (Sturm)

Spoiler

Yes, there are technically 3 still fighting you, the one that fell down the stairs is prone. The second one that was damaged by the sneak attack was killed by Narin. As things currently stand. 2 dead, 1 prone, 2 dealing with the succubus, and 2 moving very quickly towards you, you may remember them as the assholes firing lazors.

Claire utilising shadow magic. All MP gone for the next 24 hours and stunned for a round.

Claire 15, +3 for being in a dark place away from sunlight, total roll 18
Cultist dee 7
Cultist dum 13

Well... They're dead

Last cultist attacking having gotten off his sorry ass and climbed back up the stairs: Nat 20
Claire 1/5 HP 0/2 MP Will not regen until having slept.

Narin tries something! 19
Cultist 18
lucky

Rounds until succubus is taken from you for something horrible. 2

Following the girls into the darkness was a terrible, and horrifying mistake for the cultists as Claire called upon a power that made Narin flinch away from her, her mouth open wide in shock and more then a little fear as the light was literally stolen from everything around them and the shadows sprung to life. Unable to move, the cultists were pulled to the ground, shrieking and crying out in fear, before spikes in the darkness formed of malice and dead energy lanced through them from every direction, leaving nothing left but the tattered remains of two men. The last cultist however had manage to drag his mildly concussed ass up the stairs and attacked.

Claire, too exhausted from using the powerful, and probably forbidden magic, was struck again, this time with a bolt of lightning that threw her bodily backwards, her nerves feeling like they were on fire as her muscles cramped. She couldn't even yell out, her body locked up so badly. But Narin had finally snapped out of the moment, and with a shout, threw the knife she had taken which landed squarely in the mans chest with a solid thud, the cultist reaching up to touch the knife and glare at her before falling forward stone dead.

Claire was going to have to take a moment to recover, the magic she had used leaving her exhausted for a moment, but thankfully they could still hear the shrieking of the succubus in the other room, and a small explosion, so... she was still there.

 

[sturm]

Re: Geography (Sturm)

As the cultists pursued them into the hallway, Claire used her knew-found knowledge to channel shadow magic, unsure of what the effects would be, only knowing she wanted to put an end to the two men before her. What happened next would terrify her in retrospect, but in the heat of the moment and with the extreme drain it placed on her magic reserves she could only focus on destroying the enemy. Shadow magic, it seemed, was the answer to their cultist problem, and would be a great thing to have in dark areas, as it seemed the power manifested itself in the darkest corners of the passageways and Claire wordlessly used it to tear apart the enemy before them.

And then it was over. Claire stood their panting, the men had been torn to shreds by the shadows, a most unfortunate way to meet one's end. Suddenly another cultist rounded the corner, and before Claire could do anything, she was drilled straight in the chest with a bolt of lightning magic. It tossed her through the air and landed hard on the stone floor and lay there unable to move. As it was, she was barely aware of Narin throwing her dagger, and the cultist falling to the floor.

The succubus. They had to get to her, stop the cultists from making off with her. "Narin... Help...me...succubus...free...help..." Claire gasped and panted, slowly dragging herself back to her feet before falling back to her knees, slowly panting. "I used too much magic... Help me stand up... please."

Well, this wasn't good. By her count, there would only be the two cultists dealing with the still-screeching succubus to deal with, but her and Narin were both extremely weak right now. Neither one of them could take much more punishment at this point. The way Claire saw it, they had two options.

Option one, they bluff their way through. If they walked out of the passageway looking fine, especially after all of the screaming the cultists had done as they were torn apart, maybe they could convince the cultists to turn over the succubus in return for not pursuing them.

Option two, free the succubus to help them fight the cultists. Perhaps, if the chains weren't magical, Claire could perhaps use a combination of ice and fire magic to break them. Though she wondered if she could even manage low-tier magic at this point. This had its risks, they didn't know anything about the succubus, where her loyalties might lie, or if she would even help them at all. Still, girls had to stick together, right?

And of course, leaving the succubus to these cultists was not an option.

Depending on if the two could make a convincing entrance, they would try to bluff. If they were just too hobbled, Claire would go out and immediately try to hit the succubus' bindings with ice and then fire.

In slow, panting breathes, Claire relayed her ideas to Narin, adding, "And if we do decide to bluff, maybe you should be the one to speak? I'm sure seeing you and all your fury would really put fear into their hearts, or where their hearts would be if they had any." She managed a weak smile. "You're scary when you're angry."

Spoiler

I don't know if being out of MP means no intense spells, or no spells period. If Claire can still use magic, the plan is to move back out to the balcony/staircase, and if they end up trying to free the succubus, shooting a low-powered ice bolt at the chains to freeze them, and then a fire bolt, with the idea being the rapid temperature change would cause the chain to break. Like I said, I don't know if that counts as upper level or not. If it does, then I guess they will have to do a really good job bluffing.

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Geography (Sturm)

Narin, rushing over to Claire, helped her stand and gave her a shake, the feeling returning to her legs, but still requiring help to stand until someone actually saw about getting her patched up, that last spell had hurt like hell. Looking at her and nodding, she helped Claire hobble over to the platform again to see the two cultists had managed to get two of the succubus' shackles free, and were trying to undo the others so they could drag her away. Upon seeing Claire and Narin however, rather then their comrades, they stopped and looked at the pair and then each other, as if debating something.

Narin, still angry, and under orders from her friend to be as terrifying as possible looked at the pair and grinned like she was looking at food down below her. "Ooooo I'm going to enjoy eating you, I bet you taste like fertilizer, or maybe something else, I've always been curious as to what evil bitch tasted like~ Your friends are dead, and I'm still angry at you~"

Apparently scary meant quiet like a psychopath rather then her usual fuming tirade, because she had picked up her knife and was licking the blood from the blade. "Hey succubus~ Should we eat their souls or just trap them in hell forever~ hehehehehe" She said grinning even as a bolt of ice from claire smacked into one of the chains, basic magic still well within her power and making the cultists drop them. Apparently, they didn't like losing a 2 to 7 battle and figured they were out of their depth, no matter how injured Claire may be. Or Narin's supposed insanity was that unnerving. Either way, the immediately bailed ass, Straight into Sherry and Charles!

Charles, always being well, Charles, was only too happy to clothesline one as he passed around the corner, the last cultist standing backing up slowly only to be put down with a burst from his rifle. Sherry, down on the ground and seeing her friends, waved. "Look who I found~!" She said happily.

 

[sturm]

Re: Geography (Sturm)

Claire gave a wry, if tired, grin as Narin had her little "conversation" with the cultists. They definitely seemed to want to avoid further conflict with the two women, and quickly made for the door, only to be taken down by Sherry and Charles, a welcome sight indeed. "nice work narin." Claire whispered, still rather woozy from her earlier fight and the loss of magic. Putting one arm around Narin, and the other on the stair railing, Claire made her way down to the main floor where Sherry, Charles, and the succubus were.

"Is she the one they used you to summon, Narin?" She asked as they went down the stairs before giving a weak wave to Sherry and Charles. "Glad you guys could make it to the party. Took you long enough!" Laughed slightly, making it clear she was just giving them a hard time, given the size of the ruins it seemed miraculous that they had managed to show up at all. She really had no idea how Sherry did it.

With a nod of her head, Claire motioned the others toward the succubus who was still in chains. "Come on guys, lets go meet our new friend." She was very curious to find out what the cultists wanted with the succubus, and figured the best person to ask would be the woman herself. Upon reaching the succubus, Claire knelt on the ground before her, looking her in the eyes as she introduced herself, saying quietly, "Hey there, I'm Claire, are you alright? What did those cultists want with you?" She didn't just immediately release the succubus from her bonds, but if she didn't seem to be in a killing mood or otherwise want to hurt anyone in the room, then she would most likely set her free. Still, it paid to be cautious demons, though they did have a numerical advantage.