The House of the Night - Part II - RPLOG
Participants
Date
4/6/478
Log
Fenris is waiting by the crevasse leading down to the door that leads into the House of Night. And who knows how deep that rabbit hole goes! The tiger is seated on a stone in an attitude of meditation as he waits for the inevitable, adventure hungry Freeswords.
Zuri cheers excitedly as the crevasse comes into view a short distance away, and breaks away from the group as he sprints the last few meters towards it. He stops by Fenris, offering him his best, biggest and brightest smile. "Hi there Mister Fenris! Ready to go!"
Kazel slowly follows behind the salamander, she does not feel the need to catch up quickly so she is taking her time. When she finally reaches Fenris, she moves one of her hands to rest on the hilt of one of her swords. "Greetings. This is not going to go like last time, is it?" She grins a little as if she would not mind the action anyway.
Iorek wanders down to meet his three favourite people with a grin on his face and an assortmant of blades about his person. He is wagging happily as he approaches the group "Hey everyone!"
After touching down in the quarry, Natska's fire and feathers fade away. The jaguar takes a moment then to make sure her half-mask and her jump suit are in place, then makes her way to the small group, patting over her gear to do a final check.
Cassidy rolls her shoulders as she follows at Natska's side, reaching up to adjust her ever present top hat, tail flicking back and forth. "So this is where it is. I'll have to make note of that."
Fenris shrugs his broad, shaggy shoulders. "Hard to say, Miss Silverwing," he answers the bat, and returns Zuri's smile. "I am glad to see you all here today," he says, "I remind all of you that I have no idea what we are likely to find down there. It could be more of the same, or it might be something completely different. I expect that there will be real danger, so please, be careful." He grins as Natska and Cassidy arrive. "Perfect timing as always, Ladies Solacious," he says, "I thought you might be interested in this. Come on!" The tiger takes up the rope he has prepared and slips throught the wide crevasse leading downward, talking as he goes. "Good work figuring out the first room last time," he congratulates the returning adventures, "I think I have figured out how to open that second door. It was not nearly so complicated as the first one! We will all move quickly through the Night room and onward. You are welcome to any treasure you find, but I ask that if you find any plaques like last time or anything that looks like a key that you please give them to me."
The tiger marches up to the large, ornately carved door in the wide cavern and starts touching symbols and muttering. It is really an impressive setup. The huge stone door is covered in strange glyphs and surrounded by luminous blue crystals. The door swings slowly open with a grind of stone on stone and Fenris turns to look at the group. "Any questions before we charge ahead?" he asks.
Zuri follows alongside Fenris, peering up at him. "We don't have Mister Rokarion this time around. I propose we discover everything in here so I can go brag about it." He giggles and nods. "Recover keys and thingies and give them to you, got it." He peers past the door into the next area with curiosity, having no further questions to ask.
Kazel quickly follows behind the others and dusts off her leather armor. The bat makes her way to the front of the group and peers into the room ahead. "No, not really." She shrugs, which quickly turns into a rolling of her shoulder as she prepares herself for whatever the underground building is going to throw at them this time.
Iorek nods his head "Sounds good to me boss... let's hope you don't get shut outside this time!"
Natska gives Cass' arm a squeeze, then slips down the rope and into the chamber. Her ears perk as she looks around, then watches Fenris. "You already explored here? What did you find?" she asks. "How much do you know of this place?"
Cassidy eyes the runes Fenris is touching on the door, ears flicking. "Mmm. Interesting opening mechanism." She'll have to remember that! "This looks to be an interesting place, certainly. I look forward to seeing what lies within."
Fenris leads the way into the room beyond the door. The walls are covered in bas reliefs of all sorts of strange and fantastical figures. "These three were part of a group that managed to make their way past one room," the tiger says, "But I suspect there is quite a bit more to find." The tiger runs a finger along some of the ornate, detailed reliefs on the walls. "This place is a kind of temple to the Spirits, I think," he says, "Or maybe a guarded store house. It is a place of testing, as far as I have been able to decipher and it is not dedicated to any one Spirit." The tiger leads the way to a door, directly across the room inscribed with strange glyphs. Without stopping to look at them, he heaves the sliding door aside. "Lights out please, everyone! We have to walk this bit in the dark."
Zuri peers at all the ornamentations that depict various fantastical creatures and spirits. He pauses next to one that clearly resembles a coiling serpent emerging from a body of water, and he smiles wide in recognition. "Oh yea! This is Mister Ser'Ther!" He brushes away a bit of grime from one of the serpent's coils. "Mm.. so this is kind of like the Church to the Creator Saints back in Firmament?" He asks as he paces back towards Fenris. He groans at the tiger's remark. "I forgot about that.. yea, no lights, at all, no fire either." The small salamander wills his bioluminescence to fade slowly until it is all but extinguished, seeming not at all pleased about it.
Kazel stops for a moment to reach out and touch one of the reliefs, cleaning it a bit. She tilts her head and ponders for a moment. "Not just elemental spirits here though, this one is related to Death, I think" The bat is not able to make a better categorization than that and leaves it at that. She continues on the way with small steps to not hit anything in the darkness that engulfs the area ahead.
Iorek looks at what Zuri was looking at with interest until the lights fade, then he follows along with the party, sticking close
"Mmph," Natska replies, frowning faintly as only half of her questions are answered. Still, he seemed to be in a hurry, and Natska was eager to see what they would find as well. She nods at the instruction, and slips her hand into Cassidy's.
Cassidy gives Natska's hand a squeeze as she glances around the dark room, letting her eyes adjust for a moment. "No light, hm? Makes sense. I do believe there was a plaque of some kind back there that said not to bring in light, wasn't there? Besides, it's the house of -night-. Hopefully that doesn't hold true for the entire place, though."
"Stay close," comes Fenris' voice in the darkness, "Don't want to lose anyone." The tiger's voice leads the way into the blackness. "Last time," he continues, "Everyone made it through this room and found treasure on the other side, along with another door. I think I have found the way to open it, but I have not explored any further on my own." After a few moments of uninterrupted walking, and feeling along, light suddenly floods the area, revealing that the group has arrived in a new room! The space is fairly open with a small, raised dias where something once sat on a pedestal, but it is empty now. In front of the party is a closed door like the first, and across the room is another door.
"Give me just a second," Fenris says, stepping up to the door and muttering as he runs his hands along the engravings, "And don't wander off! If you walk too far across the room, you can't come back and you will just have to wait here until we return."
Zuri does as he is told, and doesn't wander off very far. Instead he moves over to the pedestal to inspect it, somehow expecting more engravings to cover its surface, or line its sides. He pauses a moment, then fishes into his satchel to retrieve a notebook. With his very basic drawing skills be starts sketching the dais like Rokarion would.
Kazel remains close to Fenris, her hands on the hilts of her weapons, her eyes wander about the room however, trying to spot anything that might be out of the ordinary.
Iorek waits right were he is, not wanting to get in the way of anyone who knows what they are doing... he smiffs around at the unfamilar air in the temple around him and waits in anticipation.
"Zuri!" Natska calls, reaching for the salamander as he starts to leave the group. "Sketch it from here?" she suggests. "He said not to wander, and Fenris has an unnerving sense for traps and hidden gadgets in places like this."
Cassidy pulls out her own sketchbook, but rather than scenery, she's busy sketching a crude door and the engravings that Fenris is touching. It'd pay to be able to open this place on her own, should the need arise. "That he does. It's a most curious thing. And it gets him into ever so much trouble."
It takes only a moment before the door swings open, revealing a lit hallway beyond. Fenris turns to the others with a smile, though it turns to a frown when he sees where Zuri is. "Zuri!" he calls, "Close your eyes! Don't turn around, just walk backward slow-" Then Natska drags him back by the collar. "Or that works. There is a wall here, but it is only real once you see it and you can only see it from the far side. I don't understand it, but it caught me out once." The tiger steps forward into the next room with the others.
The next chamber seems to be a long hallway. The walls are adorned with odd interlocking triangles and it slants gradually downward. The floor is painted a rather discomforting shade of red.
Zuri gacks as he's pulled by the collar, not stuggling as he tries to keep hold of both his book and sketching chalk. He looks up at Natska and offers her a shy smile.
Kazel follows closely behind Fenris and testingly steps on the floor with one of her leather boots, not quite sure if she likes the look of this.
Iorek carefully inspects the floor and walls getting an idea of the structure and pattern before he proceeds down the corridor, trying to remain behind Kazel
Iorek Stares at the walls and floor holding up a hand to the group "Careful, i think there are traps, there are small openings in the wall and ceiling. I don't know what the trigger is."
"Fascinating!" Natska replies, then looks over at Cassidy. "How do you think they manage that?" she asks, using the present tense on puppies purpose - who knew what they'd find in here. "Illusion, obviously. Dark math as well? Some earth and air?" she starts to follow after the group, although at Iorek's warning she pause. The jaguar concentrates a moment, and wraps herself in a protective, shadowy haze.
Cassidy tilts her head to the side, humming softly. "Creating something solid... I am not sure. I've got some nice illusions and eye tricks in the castle, but nothing that can make a solid wall that you can only pass through on one side."
Fenris comes to a halt at Iorek's warning, looking around at the walls and ceiling. "I see what you mean, Iorek," he says, folding his arms and looking at the group, "How do we proceed?" He looks interested in Natska's speculation, but shakes his head. "I think they use a different set of rules than we do," he says, "Or maybe they just have a deeper understanding of the rules than we do."
Zuri observes the trap from his current location, unwilling to move on his own as he may risk setting off another random trap. "If we find the trigger we could try to jam it on, or trigger it early.
Kazel grins at Fenris as she spreads her arms. "You know, I could fly down there, and see if there is a way for me to turn it off on that side, that is assuming that it is pressure triggered, of course." The bat lets her arms drop to her sides again, while waiting for a response to her suggestion.
Iorek thinks to himself before looking around "Hang on, the first door had a clue hinting that we shouldn't bring in any light... maybe there is something around here that will help."
"Hmm. Does this one have a clue, too, then, perhaps?" Cassidy asks, turning around to look at the door they entered, eyes searching for a clue, or some warning as to what lies before them.
Natska perks her ears, then nods. She studies what she can of the triangles on the walls without entering the hallway proper, then turns to look at the door as well.
There does not seem to be any writing anywhere in the room, but as the group thinks about what to do next, there is a rumble of stone on stone and the red stone floor begins to move! There is a hiss of metal on stone and thin, shining blades start to dart in and out of the slits on the walls. "Clever little treats!" comes a gurgling voice from all about, "But clever as you are it will not spare you the teeth of Hunger!" Looks like the time for contemplation has passed!
Zuri wobbles on his feet as the floor begins to move under his feet. The salamander assumes a low stance as he notes the pattern of the blades and looks for a gap he can fit through. With more than a bit of luck on his side he manages to sprint and tumble through the hurricane of blades unscathed.
Kazel moves quickly, dodging and escaping the blades narrowly quite a few times. The lithe being is more acrobatic than it would seem! She makes it through the whole thing without any injuries until the very last blade in her path, which cuts into the back of her leather armor. From the looks of it the bat does not seem to be injured however.
Iorek dodges the blades, though it's not pretty, he's barely keephim his balance as he does. One seems to pierce through his shoulder but fortunately for him it just went through his shirt. The canine looks terrified as it happens though.
Natska tilts her head at the voice, but then the pressing issue of the flying blades takes her attention. The jaguar lets her eyes half close, and then she starts walking down the hallway at a steady, sedate pace. She makes random side steps here, twists a little there, and hesitates for a half a moment in a few spots, but she seems to be entirely unscathed as she reaches the other end of the hallway. "So. Two of the rooms so far featured things that only existed if we looked at them. I wonder if it is the same here... although I'm not about to test it." She coughs, then calls out louder. "Who is there?"
Cassidy brings a hand up to her hat, holding it on as she flits into the air, hovering for a moment as she appraises the path ahead. Once its set, she zips on through, careful to time her passing with the movement of the blades. She's able to maintain a relatively straight path, though it does come close a few times.
Though the party has managed to make their way through the spinning, stabbing blades, the portal forward is closed, and the floor is still moving steadily forward, leaving nothing but empty abyss behind.
"Hunger answers to none, little kitten," the gurgling voice chuckles wetly, "And the Thirsty Door does not open to tasty treats like you."
On an unrelated note, Fenris is missing!
Zuri keeps an eye on everyone as they navigate the trap, only relaxing once everyone makes it through relatively unscathed. He shivers as the creepy voice manifests itself again. "Ugh.. I wish Rokarion were here, he'd know what this place is all about I'm sure." He pauses and starts to count the number of beings near him. "Hey.. where's Fenris? Did he fall into the..." He blinks. "Oh by the Creators, the gap on the floor is still widening. We have to get out of here!"
Kazel turns to face the door and stares at it while frowning. "Hunger...thirsty... The door is thirsty... thirsty for blood maybe?" Looking back at the still widening gap in the floor, she realizes she has no time to think or talk with her companions about this and draws her sword. She makes a cut on the inside of her right hand and presses it onto the door, letting the blood run over it.
Iorek trying to think desperatly of some fluid to throw at the door he wishes he'd stocked an extra canteen, or at least paced himself... he ponders for a moment, using his dagger to make a small cut across his hand and touching the palm to the door with a grimace.
"Fenris?" Natska calls out, moving to try and keep as much floor beneath her as possible. The next round of taunting elicits a chuckle from her, and she grins at Cassidy. "You say that you are hunger, but Hunger and I are old friends from back in the day. I'm coming to find you and unmask you, performer."
"Thirsty door, huh. Well, given the colour of the floor and all the blades, someone probably has to- Ah! You're doing it already, good job," Cassidy says, giving a little clap. "Though I might also have suggested letting some blood drip down into the abyss. If you're already bleeding, it might be worth a try. Just to make sure we get it." Not that she was concerned about falling. She flashes a grin to Natska and tilts her head. "Maybe we should throw Fenris into the pit. When we find him, of course. It clearly demands a sacrifice of something... Greater than just a little blood. And who are we to deny it, hmmm?"
The wet gurgle of Hunger comes again. "Blood?" it chuckles, "Eh, good enough, I suppose." There is a click and a grating of stone and the door swings open and the blades and floor come to a stop.
"A little help here?" comes a call from the abyss. Or more accurately, from just this side of the abyss where Fenris hangs gracelessly from the edge of the moving floor, below the level of the blades.
"Oh yes, little Natska," the wet voice comes again, "I know you of old, though I think I know you better now than I did then. Maybe we will speak again soon."
Zuri yipes as he scrambles towards the edge of the abyss, kneeling down as he grips one of Fenris' wrists. The small salamander has no hope of pulling up the large tiger being, but he still tugs with all his might.
Kazel turns around and quickly makes her way to Fenris and Zuri. The bat goes down onto her knees and grabs Fenris by his other wrist, trying to pull him up. The bat, although lithe is still a hardened soldier and has quite the strength to pull with.
Iorek hops over and braces zuris shoulders in an effort to help the Salamander support Fenris with his left hand, his right still tender from the cut, he instead hooks his elbow into the salamanders arm to ready himself to pull
Natska perks her ears as she hears her name, turning and looking up and down the hallway with a little shiver. Her fur bristles, and she runs a finger along the spine of the tome at her belt... but instead of any probing spells or quick words, she finds herself at a loss. She watches the others help Fenris up, then moves towards the door. "Who are you?" she mutters.
"Well, if it wasn't Fenris after all, my guess would be Akros," Cassidy says with a shrug, not in the least caring that she spoke his name. "It sounds like him, certainly. The... Well, sound of his voice, the structured lines, the hunger. If this is indeed a place for all of the spirits, then perhaps the dark room was Vasht."
"Thank you," Fenris puffs as he is half hauled onto the once more stationary floor, "And I heard that, Cassidy." The gurgling voice does not come again.
Beyond the door lies a round room with a short, stone plinth in the center. Carefully set on the plinth is a wooden plaque as well as a set of seven, beautiful gemstones. Three doors lead away from this chamber, one marked with a stylized flame, one with a water droplet and one with a swirling whirlwind. "Maybe we should try to find a way out for now," Fenris suggests.
Zuri huffs and plops down after pulling up the big tiger. He peers up at him from the floor. "Yea, we should. I don't like this place..." He stands up and peers around. "I. guess we have to pick a door? Water, fire and air, clearly..."
Kazel quickly draws her hand over the legs of her her pants to get the bulk of the blood off, the wound already starting to clot. She gives a nod to Fenris and goes to examine the room ahead. After looking around the room for a moment she bends over slightly and puts on her spectacles to try to read the plague.
Iorek steps forward to read the plaque, rubbing his bleeding hand absent mindedly "This most mean something and these gemstones, no?"
Natska gives Iorek an absent, thoughtful nod as she follows towards the plinth, trying to read over everyone's shoulder and eyeing the gems as she tries to identify them. "Think the door will just open? Or are they locked?"
"I'd pick air, personally. And let's not leave now! Things are just getting -interesting-." Cassidy says with a little frown behind her mask. "But air is the one I have the least speculation about, so I think it would yield the greatest amount of discovery. Therefore, we should go with air."
The Thirsty door swings shut behind the party, leaving them to make a choice. Fenris walks over and picks up the wooden plaque. It is much like the one before, very plain aside from a single, strange symbol etched in the center. The tiger turns it over once in his hands and nods. "You are welcome to the gems," he says, "And I think that Cassidy might be on the right track."
Kazel grabs the red gemstone and pockets it after inspecting it for a moment, then she turns to the others. "Well, I think it does not matter too much, but I would stay aware from fire just to be sure. Air does sound the least dangerous."
Iorek picks up the ambery yellow looking one, glaring into it with interest "Well... I was thinking because we came through the thirsty door maybe the water one... but I guess what you say makes sense about the Air door...."
Natska shoots a longing glance towards the fire door and quietly murmur-sings something under her breath, then moves her head in a short, decisive nod. "Alright. Air it is." She turns to give Cass a smile, then skips over to her fennec's side.
Cassidy collects a purple gemstone and eyes it over, humming thoughtfulliy before tucking it into a coat pocket. It may come in handy. She starts towards the air door, then, ear flicking. "If it's anything like the doors thus far, the rooms have little to do with the previous room. There was the dark once, for instance, and then the thirsty door. I would imagine these are something else entirely. Wings dedicated to elemental spirits, perhaps. Entirely guessing, I'd speculate Hephestia and Ser'ther. But air... That is a mystery. One I want to discover."
Fenris frowns at the door that closed behind the group and moves to check it, just in case. "Well," he says in surprise when the door swings open, "That is a surprise." Beyond the door is the empty cavern outside the House of Night. "This is certainly something," he says as he carefully closes the door again. He nods to Cassidy and walks up to the door marked with the sign for air and gives it a push. "It is sealed," he says, "Any ideas?"
Zuri peers back at the mysterious exit through the door that had just closed behind them. "Well, at least we can head back. That part is fixed. If the doors are sealed then I'm not sure what else we can do." He bites his lip. "Hmmm.... there doesn't appear to be anything else in this room that could be connected to opening them, unless it's another one of those things where we can't be looking at them, or there has to be perfect darkness, or something along those lines.."
Kazel peers at the door for a moment, thinking, then she shrugs. "I will be damned if this works, but the last one was pretty straightforward as well." With that she shoots a gust of raw air math at the door.
Iorek watches Kazel as she tries air magic on the door "Well.... seems better than my idea to blow on it... glad you did that first."
"Just try blowi- oh," Natska starts to suggest, She smiles and nods her head, then carefully watches the door to see how it reacts.
Cassidy folds her arms and grins, looking towards Natska. "Isn't this great? We haven't even had to do anything! They do it before I have to suggest it. It's wonderful. Having a group of sensical people to explore with makes the process so much more... Enjoyable. No one sticking their arms and limbs into mysterious holes and then getting surprised when it gets chomped off. No one trying to tackle something five times their size head on." She claps again, before adjusting her gloves.
The door swings open easily at the touch of Kazel's air magic, revealing a cavernously large room. This vault must extend under the entire quarry! It seems impossible that it could have evaded discovery for so long!
There seems to be no other exit from the high, circular room. Though there is a vent at the very top, an oculus leading, perhaps to another space.
Zuri claps excitedly as the air magic does the trick. "Yay, awesome!" He peers into the room. "Woah.. place is huge.." He doesn't step inside, however, as it might just trigger another trap. He peers up at the high ceiling, looking thoughtfully at the oculus at the top. "Hmm... "
Kazel smirks as she has already opened the second sealed door on this trip and takes a look inside, though she too does not step inside the gigantic cavern. "Well, this is quite... big."
Iorek turns around looking at the other two doors.... "Should we open these two as well just in case?" seemingly distracted from the apparently empty room
Natska grins at Cass and gives her arm a little squeeze, then moves past the group of beings and into the vast chamber, ears perked and her attention moving up towards the top of the room.
Cassidy tilts her head, eyeing the vent suspiciously before moving after Natska, albeit cautiously. "Careful. I don't think I trust this. Something seems off," she says, ears flicking. "And everything had some kind of trap so far. I wouldn't doubt this to be the same."
A breeze blows around the room. There is a whistling, moaning sound. Probably the wind blowing over the oculus in whatever space lies above it. You could almost imagine that it was an indistinct voice asking, 'Whooooooooo?' On closer inspection, the room, while vast and empty is not bare. There are faint carvings in the walls, worn by centuries. They seem to be reliefs of tall, bipedal creatures speaking with some sort of serpent or riding a serpent or surrounded by serpents. Someone seems to have a strange snake fixation.
Zuri walks inside after Natska and Cassidy lead the way. He breaks off slightly to the side, peering up at the oculus and shivering. "Well, we could try to fly up there.. hm..." He looks around again, his eyes coming to rest on the various serpentine depictions present in the room. "Oooor.. " He bites his lip, looking thoughtful. "This is supposed to be a place that's all about the spirits, isn't it? So maybe this is all related to Ser'Ther somehow? I mean, he is a big serpent thing. Unless there are other, more serpent-y spirits..."
Kazel follows after the small salamander and walks up to one of the relief's. She pushes up her spectacles and studies them, letting her thin fingers run over the surface in addition to just looking. She tilts her head and listens for something for a moment before speaking. "You know, I expected something more air themed."
Iorek remains near the door keeping a lookout, not sure what he'd gain from the murials the smarter folk won't get quicker.
Natska lets her head tilt to the side and her ear flicks. "Did you hear...?" she trails off, then shakes her head. "Ser'ther is very much a snake, but he's not an air one. And this seems to be a place of trials, not though, not... well, not explicitly worship." She clears her throat, then calls out. "We are supplicants, seeking passage."
Cassidy closes her eyes and thinks for a moment. "Mmmmh." She approaches the vent, murming something softly on a conjured up breeze that she sends along up the opening. "I am here to learn." She is not even conident she'll get a reply, but anything was worth a try in this odd place.
At the mention of Ser'Ther's name there is a blast of wind from the oculus and a howl of rage as something drops to the ground, raising dust and grit from the floor. The thing is indistinct and thrashing wildly, but it is very obviously angry.
Zuri yipes as his thought process is interrupted by a terrifying noise, instinctively hopping away from its source even before turning around to see what it was. He blinks as he tries to make out the.. whatever it is. He draws both his weapons but doesn't charge in, unsure if this is yet another test, trap, or an actual aggressive thing to fight.
Kazel also follows her instincts, drawing her swords and sprinting over to the thing, coming to an halt about three meters away from it. She stares at it trying to figure out just what it is. The bat's ears are perked up and her eyes narrowed as she takes her fighting stance.
Iorek draws his blades, moving closer from the doors but still keeping about 5 paces distence to he can see what's going on without getting in anyones way "What is it?!"
Natska raises her hands, palms out towards the thing, and tries to calm it down with a steady demeanor and calm tone. "The water serpent is not here. Please, tell us who you serve. We are here to learn."
Cassidy steps back from the center as the thing drops down in front of her, ears flicking. She doesn't draw arms, however, falling back to Natska's side. "Yes, we are not here to fight, and we are not here with him. We came to see you. Or, perhaps, who you are associated with."
The thing seems to be a huge snake of some kind, though its body is translucent. Its eyes blaze with a mad, blue light and it opens its fanged maw wide and shrieks! "Aaaaaariaaaaa!" it screams, striking toward Zuri!
Zuri lets out a scream as the thing charges at him, but somewhere in the back of his mind the instinct to leap to the side, tumbling as he his the dirt and narrowly avoids the attack. He leaps up into a crouch and retaliates by trusting both daggers forward in front of him. A gust of searing wind begins to billow forth towards the creature. He grunts in exertion, the small effect taking it out of him before he can build it up to a full whirlwind.
Kazel spots an opening as the beast charges Zuri and charges the creature herself. Once she gets close enough, she takes a leap at the thing and tries to sink both her blades into the creature with the help of the power of her jump.
Iorek leaps at the creatures back, driving down with both his swords trying to stab into the beast "You leave Zuri alone dammit!"
Natska says, "Aria!" Natska calls... then frowns, going silent as the battle starts. Unwilling to commit to the fight just yet, Natska instead focuses her air magic, trying to see if she could get some measure of control over the animate air."
Cassidy folds her hands behind her back, remaining at Natska's side and watching the conflict unfold. After claiming to be here to avoid confrontation, she was reluctant to get into the fight herself and end up offending something.
Fenris was just about to duck through the door when the snake monster fell from the oculus and yelps in surprise as the stone door slams shut in his face!
Spurred on by Zuri's magical strike, the translucent serpent shrieks and rears back, suddenly finding that it has acquired a pair of riders in Iorek and Kazel. It shrieks again, but seems to slow a bit with Natska's attempts, though it lashes out toward her when it recovers.
Zuri blinks as he sees his two friends leap on top of the serpent, and more importantly cling onto it and revealing it as at least a partly solid object. He charges forward, twin daggers in hand, and drives them repeatedly into the air serpent's side, taking a quick step in between each attack to remain a moving target.
Kazel holds onto her weapons firmly, knowing that the more the serpent moves, the worse the wounds will get. She does however send a wave of air math in the form of a thunderbolt through her weapons and into the creature.
Iorek alternates pulling one sword out and thrusting it back in, then the other, keeping his grip while attacking the snake.
Natska lets out a cry as the wind-thing strikes her, letting the momentum drive her back a few steps. Then she plants her feet, gathers her magic, and levels a blast of directed force into the wind-snake.
Cassidy stiffens as Natska takes the hit, quickly sliding over between her and the creature and preparing a bit of magic of her own. It was made of wind, so she was going to try to apply the fundaments of air magic against it. By trying to strip it and destabilize its composition.
The monster's thrashing manages to dislodge poor Iorek, but it is probably for the best. Even as the canine skids across the ground it becomes evident that this is a very bad day to be a wind serpent. Zuri's vicious attack brings the snake up short and it rears up to strike, but never gets the chance. Between the lightning coursing through its veins, the blast of force rocking its grip on the world and powerful air magic disrupting its very foundations, it cannot sustain itself. With a high pitched keening the serpent explodes! A visible shockwave of air ripples through the room, flattening the dust of ages back against the round rooms walls.
In the stillness that follows, you could hear a pin drop. Or the sound of a stone door swinging open and Fenris tumbling in. "What did I miss?" the tiger asks, looking around worriedly.
Zuri gets caught by the blast of air in between fancy twirls, the movement of air blowing him back just enough that he flails rather ungracefully as he loses his balance and flops down onto the ground with a light 'thud'. "Ow!" comes the exaggerated protest from the salamander as he sits back up.
Kazel gets hit by the shockwave and promptly gets knocked away quite a bit and hits the ground uncharacteristically ungracefully. She is quick to jump up however and dust herself off before she goes to pick up her weapons. "Now that was an enemy after my taste. Everyone alright?"
Iorek slowly gets himself to his feet, both his swords having been dropped in the fray, he's clutching his right arm in his left, the pain is clearly visable on his face of an injury. He takes himself over to the wall and sits himself down, trying to fish out a dulling potion with his off hand.
Natska raises her arms in front of herself and braces for the shockwave, ears folding. After it passes, she pats herself down then smiles at Cassidy, then Fenris. "A servant of Aria, Fenris."
Cassidy braces her hat with her gloved hand as the gust comes before turning to look at Natska. "Are you alright? You were not injured, I hope?" She asks before looking around at the others to see if they were injured. "Nice of you to join us, Fenris!"
"Forgive me, children," comes a breathy voice from the center of the room, "I am not fully. . . Awake, yet." An indistinct figure is descending from the oculus high above as if it were walking down a long, circular staircase. "I could not contain my servant," the figure whispers, and it is hard to tell if it is male or female, though its words are easy to understand, "It is almost all I can do to speak to you. I will wake soon, but my time is not yet. What do you seek in the House of the Night?"
Fenris looks like he is about to say something to respond to Natska and Cassidy, but shuts his mouth when the Spirit appears.
Zuri shakes his head quickly, snorting as he clears the dust from his face. He stands up and turns around just in time to look at the descending figure. Half expecting it to be a trap he still keeps a grip on his weapons. He blinks at the figure's question as he considers a list of possible answers. "Er.. " He scratches his head, and turns back to look at Cassidy, Natska and Fenris.
Iorek attempts to stand by pushing himself up the wall when the being appears but gives up about 6 2 off the ground and just slides back down with a groan. "I think I'll just stay here for now" He goes back to trying to find his dulling potion, finally succeeding. He starts chewing at the cork trying to grip it.
Natska gives Cass a small, reassuring smile. "I'm fine, dearest," she replies. She starts to add more, but freezes, ears perked, at the voice. Turning to watch the spirit's descent, Natska bows, then tries to be the polite guest. "My apologies for visiting before you were prepared for guests. If we're an inconvenience, we could always return later." She pauses a moment. "We are here to learn, and are here looking for answers. What is this House of Night?"
Cassidy nods at Natska's words as she turns to look at the spirit. "Yes. We are here to learn. Though I must say, I didn't expect to meet a spirit here, personally. So yes, we'd like to know about the House of Night. And, personally, about you."
Kazel sheaths her weapons and goes to check on Iorek, she kneels down next to him and help him with his potion and then helps him to get up on his feet again. The bat is eyeing the spirit, but keeps silent for now.
The spirit shakes what ostensibly must be its head. "Not yet," it whispers, "I am not yet me. Soon I will come to the world." A vague suggestion of an arm waves at the room in general. "This is the First House of the Night," it says, "Here they come to learn of us, to hear our voices and to feel our call. Few now call to you, but we are many. Very many." The gauzy form flickers and starts to break apart. "I cannot linger," it whispers, "Would you ask anything of me, in my scant time?"
Fenris shoots a worried glance over at Iorek, but Kazel seems to have him well in hand. He looks up at the Spirit, bites his lip and then raises his voice. "Aria," he calls, "I come seeking the seal of the winds! Will you grant it to us?"
Zuri walks over to stand by Kazel and Iorek, offering the two of them a reassuring smile. "Well done you two. Are you okay Iorek? You had a bit of a nasty fall there.."
Kazel grits her teeth, she does not like this, she does not like this at all. The spirit seems to be a great threat and Fenris knows more that he tells. Her eyes narrow, holding back information gets people killed. She does not say anything however and just nods in Zuri's direction. "He will live."
Iorek drinks the potion and just tosses tie vial aside "Three of these in as many days... this is going to become a habit. I think I'm okay, but i can't move it without it hurting like crazy."
He looks over at the others talking to the spirit but can't really focus on the conversation "Remind me to not ride anymore see through snakes."
Natska shoots Fenris an inquisitive look, but then turns her attention to Aria. She certainly has many questions, but most of them will have to wait until a more opportune time it seems. "If this is the First House, where are the others?" she asks.
Cassidy folds her arms and looks at Aria, nodding. "I have a question. When will you be back?" She asks, ears flicking. "Because I am... Most curious. About you, as a spirit. And I would very much like to meet with you in the future, when you have your power."
"Yes," the spirit says, its attention on Cassidy, a sense almost of longing coming from it, "We will meet. I will call to you soon." It then looks to Natska. "The Houses of the Night will open soon, now that the First is found, only be patient," it whispers, then it flickers and has suddenly crossed the room and looms eerily over Fenris. "I sense that many of the others have touched you Seeker," the spirit says, then lays what must loosely be called a hand on the big cat's head, "But the seal of air is not here. You too will come when I call." There is a sudden gust of wind that kicks dust into the air, when it dies down, the Spirit is gone.
Zuri giggles at Iorek, nodding at him. "Remind me to teach you a few things that Fenris taught me once." He pats the labrador being as he starts to walk out, for some reason seeming very eager to get away from the spirit in the middle of the room.
Kazel is eager to get out as well and quickly heads out of the room and into the open without paying much attention to the others.
Iorek starts to look drowzy as the dulling potion again has more of an effect on him that others "Hey! I finally met a firit Spenris!" he leans heavily on Kazel as his legs start failing him "Hehe... he might not drink but he's still obcessed with spirits!" he passes out laughing at his own joke.
Natska bows her head again towards the space where the spirit had been, then snickers and looks over at Cassidy, her expression excited. "How about that, love! A new spirit. And it sounds like there will be even more of these places to explore in the future. Thank you for bringing us, Fenris, although I do want to know what a Seal of Air is and how you know to ask for it."
"I look forward to it," Cassidy says, flashing an unseen smile. A pleasantness not often given to Spirits. "Well. This was enlightening, certainly. ANd yes, Natska! A new spirit. I think I like this one... Perhaps they'll even be the one. We shall see soon enough, huh?"
Fenris gives Natska a wink, but hurries to help with Iorek. "Let's get everyone out of here," he says, "I think we have done enough exploring for today."
