Under the Night Sky (Closed Freestyle RP)

[JoshuaDurron]

Noises, eh? Could be more interesting than this sermon. At least with the dwarf, I could talk back...

Concerning her debate partner from earlier, she found him to be stubborn, as his kind was likely to be, and his arguments unconfirmable by her own knowledge of doctrine (and irrefutable by the same token.) But she really bore the stout fellow no ill will, and had no qualms about working with him. But that quite boy, Jifael, worried her. Working with him could be more trouble than it was worth. Under normal circumstances, she'd have turned the request down flat. But she had a certain level of obligation to the church of Kalyca...

"Of course I'm in, short one. Who'd miss a chance like this?"

Especially when you consider the alternative...

[NebulaQueen]

Mina feels a bit shocked at this...she never really expected something, well, bad to happen to anybody at the Cathedral. However, she nods towards acolyte.

"Sure, I'll help," she responds.

[Mechanisto]

Nieb eyed their expressions, Mina's most closely of all. Her worry was more than obvious... and while the other's expressions varied, they shared some characteristics of concern.

some, but not all...

He took no motion, looking as stone faced as always, but resolved to follow Mina.

[Justice Augustus]

Jifael stiffened at the acolyte's request. Why do I suddenly feel like this could turn out very bad for me? I can't say no, but what use would the character I've created be if there's trouble down there. It's probably nothing, maybe Sister Marissa has fallen down some stairs and is unconscious. Maybe I can save her and she'll be so gracious she'll do anything for me. Perhaps I shall go, it will also give me a chance to scout out that area...it's always been far too suspicious to simply go there.

Jifael forced himself to laugh harmlessly at Andrew's remarks, trying to keep himself from stabbing the old man with one of his knives. "While it saddens me that I must leave such a beautiful service I will gladly aid you however I can."


Edited by: Suicidal Sprite at: 1/26/04 5:02 am

[Choark]

Andy turned his head around to gaze at Jifael from the corner of his vision. The boy certainly had a clean tounge on him. A little too polite sometimes by the looks of it all and certainly needs to learn to react a little quicker but there have always been people who felt the need to speak, politly and carefully, before doing anything. Then Andy carried on, knowing the others would obviously catch up sometime soon or they had better if they didn't want him shouting down there ear for the rest of his life.

Edited by: [url=http://pub30.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=choark>Choark</A]&nbsp; at: 1/26/04 5:15 am

[Choark]

Andy moved, not like lighting, but like a rock with a purpose, slow, steady and causing anyone stupid enough to keep in his way a knock or two. His eyebrows were locked in an tight closed postion of a thoughtful but angry man. Trouble? In his Cathedral!? He cursed these Sermons, maybe not as silently as he hoped, when he thought about what may or may not have happened.

It certainly didn't surprise anyone who knew him that when he shifted his belt from under a sawn on hanging cloth on the back of his robes, his Axe, the same a few "young pups" had seen used to cut down mighty trees, came by his side.

"Blast it where's that Jifael! Stand up man and show yourself this is no time to be dilly dallying around like a small girl in a flower field. And you others, chop chop!" He said, glaring at everyone mentioned, even the four armed fellow he hadn't met yet. His Axe swang with the word "chop" each time, as if hearing its owner.

"Is this the youth today? All of you waiting for a red carpet to show the way? Every second lost is a step not taken. Thunder upon a hill, Jifael, look lively!"

Each slow step he took he was heading in the direction of the Reliquary. Those with the pride of youth would surely be put to shame by the old mans quick reactions to the trouble.

[Mechanisto]

As Jifael spoke, anyone observant would have noticed Nieb watching him; it was incredibly passiv, neither bland nor concerned. It almost resembled a blank stare.

The unsettlingly blank expression only lasted a few seconds; Nieb then simply stood, following Mina.

[JoshuaDurron]

Kaname leaned back in the pew and watched as Andy got up to lead the way.

That old man's certainly earned the right to be a grumpy pain in the ass, but I wonder if he's ever been dead? Still, he seems to know who to keep an eye on...

Once she judged a suitable period of time had passed, letting the others get far enough ahead, she dropped herself down lightly and slipped under the pew, using that and all other available cover to make a stealthy exit from the main room, always moving at top speed as well. When she caught up to Andy and the others, which was in little enough time to be sure, she let her bright red suit give her presence away to Andy, and anyone else who spotted it, then slipped back behind pillars and through shadows, keeping an eye out for possible trouble.

[NebulaQueen]

Feeling a bit...well, embarrassed by the old man's enthusiam, Mina quickly scrambled to catch up to him, followed by Nieb.

[KingOfDoma]

<span style="font-family:century gothic; color:maroon;">Finn just sighed and followed the rest, calmly.

The rest of these folks need to stop drinking coffee...</span>

[Justice Augustus]

Jifael stood up, seemingly straigthening his robe while he was checking all his knives were in their places, along with his toolkit that he always kept, just in case an opportunity to use it appeared. He then followed the others.

[Uncle Pervy]

The way to the Reliquary takes the group through some of the less travelled halls of Orbonne Cathedral. These dusty corridors seldom see much passage beyond acolytes trying to take a shortcut; a quiet reminder of how the faith has slowly lost influence over the past centuries.

Soon, they come to the stairs down to the Reliquary. Softly glowly magical lights provide the illumination as they descend. Those who would have researched such know that there are several spells in place over the reliquary, preventing those without the knowledge of the proper words from gaining access; a major stumbling block for Jifael. However, the party does find that the door hangs open as they reach the bottome of the stairway.

Within, they can see several pedestals, bearing closed boxes and curiosities covered with sheets that seem to have gathered quite a lot of dust over time. At a glance from outside, there is no sign of Sister Marissa.

[Choark]

Andy grumbled and his bottom lip momentarily stuck out as he scanned the room. Sniffing the air he got a good idea of how under used this area was.

"Come on!" He said as he pressed forward, his left hand falling down to his Axe tapping along the handle. "When looking around for Sister Marissa don't just look for a person, look for signs. This place is dusty so check for it moving around in the air or see what's disturbed."

With that he walked forward, seeing if these key words he was meant to know still had an influence on getting in.

[Uncle Pervy]

Looking about, Andrew could see several things.

First he did note some footprints in the dust. They seem to have gone by several of the podiums, as if checking them. Then, they procede to the rear of the Reliquary.

There, he sees something he is fairly certain should not be there. A doorway leading further in. In all his years, he had never heard of another room or passageway in the Reliquary. True, the topic didn't often come up. But you don't go around Orbonne Cathedral without learning a few bits about things like this.

Also, he would note an absence of noise.

[Choark]

Andy stopped the tapping and looked at the door. "Jumping at my own shadow..." He mumbled to himself. Then he spoke, much more loudly, so everyone could hear, and unforantly anyone in the other room.

"Yes. You can check around properly. I saw some footprints around in the dust, check to see how many people it makes and check where the people looked. Also scan around where they look see whats nearby, and continue to look around. We won't open this door till we know the Sister can't be found here." Then as an after thought he added onto the end. "Be careful as well."

Edited by: [url=http://pub30.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=choark>Choark</A]&nbsp; at: 1/26/04 6:56 pm

[Choark]

Andy rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand as he stared at the door, thinking. He wasn't too surprised that this Cathedral might have hidden doors as one or two in old forgotten places had saved him and his friends lives when they had been a bit more active in the world. However the footprints made him think someone had been looking for it, which meant they would of known it was there and that wasn't a good thought.

Also a hidden door in a place that only a few go to, well that certainly spelled Trouble, with the capital t. The lack of other noises around the room was also unsettling.

Holding onto his Axe the old man walked to and tapped this new door with his handle, not a banging 'thud' so anyone inside could hear but a 'rap-a-tap-tap' to hear the sound the door made. Too many doors with too many traps had made Andy cauious.

[Justice Augustus]

"Is something wrong brother? You do remember the layout of this area don't you?" Jifael said while glancing around, seeing if there was anything small he could swipe now and anything large he could come back for later.

[Choark]

"Tell me, boy, have you ever heard of an inner chamber in the Reliquary?" He asked while tapping the door. Andy assummed everyone else was actually looking around the place and being helpful.

[Justice Augustus]

"Well no, but in balance I've never heard of there not being one. Then again this area is beyond my usual sphere within the cathedral.Is there anything I could do to help?"

[Uncle Pervy]

The doorway that should not be there was already open, with yawning darkness beyond. However, testing the frame reveals nothing in the way of traps or the like.

Those examining the prints will find three sets. One belonging to Andrew and leading to the door. One belongs to Jifael

The third belongs to what was presumably Sister Marissa. They come in from the stairs, go to several of the podiums, then into the door that Andrew was examining.

[NebulaQueen]

Mina looked around for signs Sister Marissa, but didn't notice any...until she saw the footprints. Seeing no other signs of the woman, Mina turned to Brother Andrew and asked quietly, "Can we go inside, now?"

[Justice Augustus]

"I guess these footprints must be Sister Marissa's...but that begs the question as to why she would come here alone. I suppose there's only one way to find out." Jifael looked into the darkness, cursing the guise he had to keep up.

[JoshuaDurron]

"Brilliantly deduced. May I add that I love the way we're discussing this very loudly, giving anyone listening a chance to hear us coming?"

Kaname glanced about and reached out to take one of the glowing magical spheres from the wall, and took it with her to the door. "Let's shed some light on the situation."

She glanced about through the door, aiming to follow any tracks she saw, Andy's reverence for the place be damned.

[Uncle Pervy]

Kaname finds that removing the sphere is a bit more than yanking it from the wall. She has to work it from the setting. Luckly for her, she si deftly able to do so without destroying the delicate glass sphere or ruining the setting.

Perhaps this would save her from being chewed out from some of the other priests.

[Choark]

Only the Sister had disturbed this place apart from them? Andy's slow mind shifted into a faster gear as he stood working what this could imply. The questions asked to him by the others just passed through as tried to consider all this. However he stopped before he got too caught up in his thoughts as they could have dragged on and on. For now he was assuming the lass heard the noise from this door, looked around for... something.. and investigated.

He came from his thoughts in time to see Kaname pull free one of the magical spheres. Well it would certainly help but these things can't go unpunished.

"Well, lead the way then" He said to Kaname as he stepped behind her and waited.

[JoshuaDurron]

Of course. Send the girl.

Holding her light aloft, she said, "I'd be happy too."

However, before proceeding through the door, she made sure she had a pair of shuriken in her hand, just in case. Then, with nothing else for it, she stepped lightly through the door, all senses alert for something amiss.

Edited by: [url=http://pub30.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=joshuadurron>JoshuaDurron</A] at: 1/27/04 10:29 am

[KingOfDoma]

<span style="font-family:century gothic; color:maroon;">Without provocation, without word, Finn quietly followed Kaname in, his own blunted axe detached from his back and tossed onto his shoulder.

Someone must watch the annoying one's back...</span>

[Uncle Pervy]

Serving as point and the lightbearer, Kaname descends into a natural tunnel. The carved and fitted stones of Orbonne Cathedral give way to rough cavern walls in an eyeblink, as the corridor wends its way downward.

Kaname finds it a bit suspicious that she has never heard of any such cavern running below the cathedral. Finn, on the other hand, finds it very curious. Nothing of the cathedral's histories mentioned this at all. However, he does note that the written histories don't stretch back quite as far as the cathedral has been around.

The light reveals that the the path gently wends to the right. Where it leads is beyond the light's radius. However, neither Finn or Kaname can detect anything truly threatening from what they see ahead.

[Choark]

Andy followed Finn, though gave him and Kaname there breathing space and let them both take point. Honestly he wasn't too keen on sending her down there first but she did have the light, taken from the very Cathedral itself, and he certainly wasn't going to start fighting her for it. Andy made sure he was a good ten steps behind them, allowing them to settle into the cavern and look around before he even arrived. His breathing was a little heavy, he had been walking all day and his knee's clicked with his last step. Suddenly he felt the non-needed patrol has been a bad idea.

Leaning against the wall he got his breath back, though he was hiding it as best as he could. If anyone even looked in his direction he would make sure to keep his breaths natural sounding and stand without the wall proping him.

[JoshuaDurron]

"Well, it looks like there's nothing for it but to go on. This whole excursion may be unnecessary, if the Sister just happened upon a passage no one knew about and decided to go exploring... Still..."

Kaname stood at the bend in the passage, clearly uncomfortable. She fidgitted with the shuriken in her hands for a moment, clearly hesitant to press on despite her stated conclusion that going further was the only course of action.

This place gives me the creeps... necromancers work in places like this. I should know...

[NebulaQueen]

Before heading into the tunnel, Mina adjusted her fiddle, so she could perform one of her song spells in a pinch should the situation call for it. Then, looking to make sure that Nieb was still close by, she maneuvered herself into the passageway, trying not to get in anybody's way.

As she made her way past Brother Andrew, she merely nodded in response, before moving along once more. I hope he'll be okay she thought, before turning her attention to more pressing issues once more.

[Uncle Pervy]

Kaname's ears could just catch what sounded like faintly flowing water ahead.

[JoshuaDurron]

"There's a river or stream ahead. I can hear running water. Anyone know of any underground water sources in the area?"

[KingOfDoma]

<span style="font-family:century gothic; color:maroon;">"Not I," admitted Finn. "This is my first visit to the Reliquary. Indeed, there may be marvels here that many of the faithful do not even know to know about..."</span>

[Justice Augustus]

Jifael used the light source to quickly scan all of his surroundings, looking for dust, cobwebs, or even architectural sign of how old this place was. While he knew a little he was no expert, but he certainly knew how to spot places where treasure might be hidden, or a door concealed, and it was for this that he was really looking. Remembering to keep a slightly stupid look of awe on his face to cover his true intent, he stayed towards the back of the group, eyes shifting all over the place.

[Uncle Pervy]

There was not much in the way of cobwebs here. But, there was a fair deal of dust in the Reliquary, and the stones themselves seemed to be quite old. It was hard for him to tell, given there was little to weather the stones within this sanctum.

As he moves into the corridor, he can see that the walls appear to have been formed by nature. There doesn't seem to be much dust at all; curious given how much was in the prior chamber. There is the occasional loose stone.

The sound of flowing water gets louder as the feet they travel become yards. Then, the walls seem to give away to open darkness, as the sound becomes louder. The path becomes a natural bridge, comes from below. The light does not reach down far enough to illuminate the water. But, roof of the cavern is still only a few feet above their heads.

Kaname, leading the way, can see the bridge leads to a continuation of the corridor.

[JoshuaDurron]

"Liking this less and less. Dwarf, you're from underground. Any idea where we're headed?"

As she walked, she absently mused about where exactly they might be, and what, if any, purpose connecting this part of the citadel to the rest had.

And, of course, she kept her eyes out for anything that might give an indication of what might have happened to Sister Marissa. Particularly more footprints, which she had been looking for ever since they entered this part of the Reliquary.

[KingOfDoma]

<span style="font-family:century gothic; color:maroon;">"Hmmm... not sure. In fact, if I continue to be referred to as my race, and not my name, or at least Brother, I may just lead us into a bottomless pit..."

Finn gave Kaname a knowing look, one that seemed like it would be returning often...</span>

[Choark]

Andy gave Finn a pat on the shoulder, partly to calm Finn, partly because the only other thing he could think of was giving Kaname a smack across the head with his Axe. "Lets try to keep this nice shall we? We're not going to be in each others company for too long so lets all try to be friendly. Hmmm?" Playing the peace maker, how much has changed Andy thought. But the last thing he needed was for this group to stab each other before they found the sister.

He looked down, down to the blackness where there was probably water. He had a feeling before this day was done he would be traverling all the way to the depths of this cavern. He was also finding it hard to believe the Sister had heard "Noises" from all the way in here.

"Maybe a specture?" He mumbled to himself, thinking of what could lead the sister here without disturbing anything. "Certainly there would of been better times to explore when nobody knew she would be missing."

Edited by: [url=http://pub30.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=choark>Choark</A]&nbsp; at: 1/30/04 8:18 am

[Uncle Pervy]

The party continues across the bridge, making their observations as they go. The air is quiet, save for the noise of the water below. Those who have spent time at the Cathedral may ponder whether or not the flow beneath them feeds the well.

Nieb wanders a bit to close to the edge as he crosses, his foot falling upon a rock that breaks off and plummets into the chasm. For a moment, Nieb very nearly follows it over, before shifting his weight and throwing himself back on the ground. Rather than falling into the chasm, he merely falls rather painfully on his bottom.

Those pressing on to the tunnel ahead see that it opens up to a small chamber; hardly more than a yard wider than the previous corridor. However, they can also see that the walls there seem to be much smoother, and the angles of something not formed by nature hang tantalizingly at the edge of Kaname's light.

Edited by: Uncle Pervy&nbsp; at: 2/1/04 3:47 pm