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Into the Darkness (Tiffanian and Hentaispider)


Re: Into the Darkness (Tiffanian and Hentaispider)

"I don't think attacking it is a good idea" Laena replied, taking in a deep breath as her mate's spell took hold of her, making her feel much better and more prepared. "But maybe we have to... We do need to search the room. Maybe I can hit it with another gust of wind and expose whatever was under the shadow to attack? It seemed to bother it a bit the first time. What do you two think?" The whole thing made her very nervous, but maybe the other two combined could somehow break whatever was holding the orb together. If not they were probably doomed, but... They had come this far.

If the others agree to the plan she will cast Greater Gust at the orb as a pre-emptive attack when they're ready.
 
Re: Into the Darkness (Tiffanian and Hentaispider)

"I really wish we knew more about it. But your plan sounds as good as any. You push the orb, I'll pull whatever is underneath it and Garret smashes it. Sounds good?" Lily says, already forming the words of the spell in her mind while waiting for Garret to agree to the plan.

Preparing to cast Greater Manipulate on the piece of metal under the orb
 
Re: Into the Darkness (Tiffanian and Hentaispider)

Laena: HP = 71, PP = 58, EP = 38/48, Status = Pregnant, +18 Mind (Aspect of Wind) Upkeep = 1, Blessing X = 6 from Garret

Lily: HP = 52/62, PP = 88, EP = 40/62, Status = Fine, Light, +24 Resistance (Arcane Armor) Upkeep = 0, Blessing X = 6 from Garret

Garret: spent 6 EP, Blessing X = 6
Rolls
Resistance (Laena) : ???
Resistance (Lily) : ???

"I dunno... That seems like it might work, but..." Garrett said, trailing off. With both Lily and Laena in agreement, however, he ultimately nodded and carefully padded his way into the room, standing between them and the now inert shadow orb and readying himself in case anything else should happen before he was to smash the metal object. Laena and Lily, in the meantime, would be free to enact their plan without interruption, the orb itself being entirely still so long as they kept away from it.

It was up to Laena to make the first move, and when she did the effect was similar to what they had seen before. The shadow orb looked like a sphere of marble, but acted like a blob of oil, oozing oddly in a state somewhere between liquid and solid but edging toward the former. The power of her spell, heightened by Garrett's reinforcement, caused the dark fluid to be pushed back, flailing in the powerful wind. Gleaming metal was exposed beneath it, and when she sighted her target Lily enacted her own magic. The metal beneath the shadow orb was torn forward, toward them, and Garrett initially readied his power... But then stopped and caught the gleaming silver helmet that came sailing toward him instead.

The shadow orb, in the meantime, coalesced on the other side of the room, reforming after having been blow away into smaller chunks by Laena's spell. It rose into the air and began hovering towards them, spreading slowly as if making to envelope the entire chamber.
 
Re: Into the Darkness (Tiffanian and Hentaispider)

"Ooh, pretty!" Lily says, trying to see if there's more inside the pedestal while also preparing to blast the shadow orb if it got too close.

Casting Mana Leak if the orb tries to touch Lily. Otherwise, casting Manipulate if she sees something more inside the pedestal.
 
Re: Into the Darkness (Tiffanian and Hentaispider)

Everything went more or less according to plan initially, with Laena's blast of wind forced the strange viscous darkness away from its core, flapping and oozing through the air. Lily quickly took the next step, pulling the metal core towards them... only for it to shoot at Garrett, who caught the thing. Laena turned her head to look at it, arching an eyebrow. Was that... a helmet? Why would that be there? What did it mean? She didn't have long to think about it, though, before noticing that the darkness had pulled itself together once more and was slowly pushing through the air towards them, spreading out as if it were a net being cast in slow motion. The harpy quickly cast another spell, trying to keep it at bay long enough for the other two to figure out what was going on in the rest of the room and with the helmet.

Harsh Winds at it.
 
Re: Into the Darkness (Tiffanian and Hentaispider)

Laena: HP = 71, PP = 58, EP = 35/48, Status = Pregnant, +18 Mind (Aspect of Wind) Upkeep = 1, Blessing X = 6 from Garret, Harsh Winds

Lily: HP = 52/62, PP = 88, EP = 40/62, Status = Fine, Light, +24 Resistance (Arcane Armor) Upkeep = 0, Blessing X = 6 from Garret

Garret: spent 6 EP, Blessing X = 6

The shadow continued to expand, uncaring of Laena's winds or Lily's light, and a quick casting of force would cause Lily to feel that it had become impenetrable, solid. "I think it's time to go!" He said, backing towards the hole that they had blasted into the wall earlier.
 
Re: Into the Darkness (Tiffanian and Hentaispider)

Lily mutters an oath under her breath, then reluctantly follows Garrett out of the room again, her eyes fixated on the spreading darkness while the names of her spells race through her head, trying to grasp any that might be effective against such a being and coming up with nothing.
 
Re: Into the Darkness (Tiffanian and Hentaispider)

No matter what the shadow continued to ooze on towards the three of them, their attempts to forestall it utterly futile. Laena didn't need to be told twice, turning and quickly bounding her way towards the exit, her talons clacking against the stone loudly. She could only hope that it wouldn't follow them farther than last time now that they had disturbed the helmet at its core...
 
Re: Into the Darkness (Tiffanian and Hentaispider)

Laena: HP = 71, PP = 58, EP = 34/48, Status = Pregnant, +18 Mind (Aspect of Wind) Upkeep = 1, Blessing X = 6 from Garret, Harsh Winds

Lily: HP = 52/62, PP = 88, EP = 40/62, Status = Fine, Light, +24 Resistance (Arcane Armor) Upkeep = 0, Blessing X = 6 from Garret

Garret: spent 6 EP, Blessing X = 6

Hurrying in a clump through the hole they had blasted earlier, the trio found the shadow still spreading across the chamber as they proceeded back down a narrow tunnel and into a natural cave. "It's... Getting closer," Garret muttered, still clutching the helmet that had once been at the heart of the spreading darkness. They could move faster than it could, but that would require the ability to keep moving consistently. The paths available remained as they'd been before, left where the chamber was wider but they would move against the current on the stream, right where the chamber narrowed and the underground waterway flowed faster, or across and into the pure unknown where they might not even find a way out.
 
Re: Into the Darkness (Tiffanian and Hentaispider)

"Keep going." Lily says, glancing back to see how close the cloud was and then stopping and turning, murmuring the words of a spell and fervently wishing it wouldn't bring the entire ceiling down on her...

Casting Shape Earth to cause a small cave-in, hopefully between herself and the shadow
 
Re: Into the Darkness (Tiffanian and Hentaispider)

Laena looked over her shoulder, and to her horror the darkness was still advancing towards them even beyond the limits of the room. "What is that helmet!?" she asked, wondering if maybe there were some clue in it as to how to stop the spread of the darkness... In the meantime, though, they came to the river, and she shouted "let's cross, maybe it won't follow us!" as she carried on in her odd running gait, not bothering to check if Lily's efforts had stopped the creeping shadow. Running water was supposed to stop evil spirits, right? Or was that something else? Whatever the case, she wasn't in a position to think deeply about it.
 
Re: Into the Darkness (Tiffanian and Hentaispider)

Laena: HP = 71, PP = 58, EP = 33/48, Status = Pregnant, +18 Mind (Aspect of Wind) Upkeep = 1, Blessing X = 6 from Garret, Harsh Winds

Lily: HP = 52/62, PP = 88, EP = 34/62, Status = Fine, Light, +24 Resistance (Arcane Armor) Upkeep = 0, Blessing X = 6 from Garret

Garret: spent 6 EP, Blessing X = 6

"What we came here for!" Garrett replied, though he had hardly glanced at it in the short moments they'd had with it since retrieving it. Lily turned, causing the doorway they had opened to seal behind them, the stone crumbling down and creaking dangerously. Whether or not it would hold for long without collapsing was hard to say, and whether or not it would keep the dark at bay impossible.

For now, however, Garrett simply nodded to Laena's suggestion that they proceed across the underground river, having no better suggestions. Unless Lily had any better ideas, they would be able to quickly rush across the chill water and to another section of cave, this seemingly purely natural as the tunnel ahead of the four way intersection narrowed to a tight channel. Garrett paused just long enough to put the helmet in his pack, letting Lily or Laena move ahead if they wished to go first, but taking the lead if neither of them went first before he could.

The cave was unpleasant, with a low ceiling and tight walls and lots of mud. For Lily, who could easily keep herself clean with magic and had the grace - assisted with some light shapeshifting - to move through the rocks with ease, it wasn't so bad. For Laena, the tight corridors were undeniably uncomfortable, the harpy used to moving air and wide open spaces in which she could fly. Mud clung to her feathers obstinately, and she had to be careful not to hurt herself on the slippery rocks they had to walk across. Garrett had the worst of it, however, often banging his head on hanging rocks or slipping and hurting his knee or elbow, and had to fight to keep his curses quiet.

The darkness did not seem to be following them, at least as far as any of them could tell. The path they took sloped upwards slightly with irregular steep rises, forcing them to climb, and eventually let out onto a flatter area with a pool in the middle. Water ran down into it, a stream running down from another even more narrow upward sloping corridor opposite where they had come through. A wider passage sat to the right of it at a much kinder slope, but no water came down from the path. The three had to decide whether they wanted to look around, and which direction they wanted to take to try and get out.
 
Re: Into the Darkness (Tiffanian and Hentaispider)

Opting to let the others go first, Lily brings up the rear. At first she finds herself constantly glancing behind her to make sure the darkness isn't still spreading, but then she is forced to focus on the tunnel itself and keeping the light where it would let everyone see despite the narrowing passage, though even so she has easier time than the others. After what seems like a long time, they come to a small chamber, and the sidhe uses the short break to clean everyone of mud. "Which way do we go? As much as I'd like to get to the surface as fast as possible, if that passage gets any more narrow we might get stuck in it."
 
Re: Into the Darkness (Tiffanian and Hentaispider)

Laena rushed ahead in her awkward way, splashing through the river as Lily collapsed the tunnel behind them. No going back the way they came, even if they could have somehow gotten past the spreading darkness, not anymore. She didn't outpace her mate, settling into a steady middle of the pack as they moved down the cave. This part of it seemed to have been unmodified, which was actually quite a bad thing despite the fact that it tilted gently upward toward the surface. It was very tight quarters, both to either side and above, the floor slick and treacherous...

The harpy was really not having a good time of it. It was slow going, and increasingly the claustrophobia was getting to her. She tried to breathe deep and steady to counteract it, but her heart was racing, pounding in her ribcage. She was soon slathered in mud all over her wings and her feathered legs, and she found herself crouching down further than normal to get away from the ceiling. Just as she started to lose the will to press on they finally came to a slightly wider area with two paths, one steep and narrow with water running down it and the other less so and dry. There was a pool in the center, and despite the fact that Lily cleaned her off with magic Laena carefully walked towards it and sat herself down in the pool, trying desperately not to hyperventilate. "The wider one" she said quietly, hugging herself with her wings, "I can't take this... I just... wasn't made for this..."
 
Re: Into the Darkness (Tiffanian and Hentaispider)

Laena: HP = 71, PP = 58, EP = 33/48, Status = Pregnant, +18 Mind (Aspect of Wind) Upkeep = 1, Blessing X = 6 from Garret, Harsh Winds

Lily: HP = 52/62, PP = 88, EP = 34/62, Status = Fine, Light, +24 Resistance (Arcane Armor) Upkeep = 0, Blessing X = 6 from Garret

Garret: spent 6 EP, Blessing X = 6

Garret hesitated a moment, but at Laena's distressed appearance he hurried into the water, awkwardly trying to rub her shoulder. "Hey... We're going to get out of here! Soon!" He looked up at Lily, "I don't trust that narrow passage either... I think the wider one might be better." Then he looked back at Laena, and began trying to urge the harpy to stand. "C'mon, we need to move... We'll never get out of here if we just sit around here!"
 
Re: Into the Darkness (Tiffanian and Hentaispider)

Letting the others have a moment, Lily looks into the dark tunnel the others had agreed to go into with a sinking feeling. It had been necessary, but she had collapsed the only known way back to the surface. Taking a while to listen, the sidhe wets her finger, testing for a breeze before slowly starting into the wider of the two tunnels.
 
Re: Into the Darkness (Tiffanian and Hentaispider)

Laena sat there for a few more moments, letting her mate rub her shoulder. "You're right. I know you're right" she replied finally, slowly getting up and turning to wrap her wings around Garret, "but it's so hard." She felt a little bit refreshed after that, but still she took a short moment to get down in the water again and splash her face with it to cool down before getting back up and readying herself to walk. She would stay close to Garret, trying to keep a wing against him at all times for comfort.
 
Re: Into the Darkness (Tiffanian and Hentaispider)

Laena: HP = 71, PP = 58, EP = 32/48, Status = Pregnant, +18 Mind (Aspect of Wind) Upkeep = 1, Blessing X = 6 from Garret, Harsh Winds

Lily: HP = 52/62, PP = 88, EP = 34/62, Status = Fine, Light, +24 Resistance (Arcane Armor) Upkeep = 0, Blessing X = 6 from Garret

Garret: spent 6 EP, Blessing X = 6
Rolls
Perception: ??

All that Lily felt was dead air, from both tunnels, at least so long as she Laena suppress the wind magic she'd activated to defend herself earlier. That didn't necessarily mean that they were trapped down here, only that they were far from wherever this place opened out. The air didn't have the stale unpleasantness of someplace that was entirely sealed off, but there had been cracks in the wall before she'd opened it up to escape from the encroaching darkness, enough to allow for some decent airflow. And if that truly had been the only way out...

"It's not hard!" Garrett replied obstinately, "It's the easiest thing... Just one foot... Then the other. Errr... Or I guess, you prefer to hop... Well, you know what I mean! If we just keep moving, we'll be out of here soon! In the open air again!" He would let her wash herself, the pool not proving entirely pure perhaps but clean enough. Her feet were muddy and her feathers damp, with Garrett's boots and clothes much the same, but once Laena announced herself ready to move on they would do just that.

The wider tunnel on the right luckily remained wide enough for them to walk somewhat comfortably, though the wings of the other two might be problematic. It ran a short ways, sloping ever downwards but not too steeply, before leveling into another wider cavern that seemed to form a star shape of sorts. They emerged from the "top" of the star, and the two passages on the left seemed to go off a ways, while the nearer passage on the right simply ended and the farther one curved down into a steep decline. Of the two left passageways, both narrowed severely, but the nearer of the two would require that they turn sideways to even get through it. That one seemed to be sloping upwards, however, while the farther one remained level, at least in the immediate portion past their current position.
 
Re: Into the Darkness (Tiffanian and Hentaispider)

"This isn't working." Lily mutters to herself and starts gesturing. Drawing a compass in the air, she focuses on the nymph they had met earlier, figuring that she would be a safe target. "Show me the way."

Casting Find, using the nymph as the target
 
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