A Chance Encounter - RPLOG
Participants
Date
28/3/479
Log
It is a clear, cold morning in the city of Braevales, as to be expected from the mountainous west of Cliffside. Whether the involved beings arrived by airship or where already in Cliffside they all converged towards the city gates of Braevales where the Pathfinder's Society caravan was preparing to move towards the ruins.
A tall great bustard being and a shorter, and much younger, jasmine being can be seen talking to each other. The moment they finish the jasmine being departs a couple of minutes before the sellswords begin lining up in front of the great bustard
A small salamander slips out from amongst the beings coming out of Braevales, having spent the night in the town itself in preparation for this event. He moves to mingle with the forming mass of sellswords, offering the bustard-in-charge a big smile and an energetic wave in greeting. He peers around at the other sellswords, looking for any faces he might recognize.
William arrives a few minutes behind the salamander, making his way toward the caravan and glancing over his travelling companions. He offers a nod toward the bustard as well as the salamander, hands resting on his cane as he awaits further instruction.
Hugo walks along sedately, tapping his fine, ornate cane on the street as he walks, his overly long tail draped over his arm. The snow white lion tosses his immaculately coifed mane and stops to lean on his cane as he looks around. He certainly stands out amidst the gathering of mercenaries. He seems rather older than most of them, for a start, and his clothing does not look like it belongs to a mercenary.
From this distance the assembled sellswords get a better look at the great bustard. A tall being in an immaculate, prim attire and sporting a non-sense expression, "Greetings, Freeswords, you may address me as Alfred." the bustard says as he eyes the group, "Mister Pondleaf, your involvement in this expedition will be noted down." Alfred adds when he notices the salamander before looking at other newcomers giving the whole group a quick scan before jutting down something on a ledger he has in his hand, "As a reminder: You have signed a contract for the Pathfinder's Society. Client, Ridgewell Aeneanas. Payment, a hundred and fifty crowns per being. Job description, you are all hired to secure an underground section of an ancients city, eliminating all threats, and reporting what you find. Nothing else. Things to note, the client demands that all collateral damage to be kept to a minimum and no looting or souvenir taking should occur. The Pathfinder's Society is not responsible for your protection if you break those rules. A reminder, our client is an elder candidate, so I advice against getting on his bad side."
After his small lecture, Alfred steps aside and points at the empty cart behind him, "If you still accept this job please enter the cart. It will take you to your destination. Otherwise, you can leave. The Society will still play for your travel fees for the inconvenience."
Zuri giggles as the bustard addresses him specifically. "Thank you Alfred!" He peers around once more before bounding off towards the cart as requested. "Don't worry, I've been down this place before, it's going to be fun!" He says to a nearby mercenary with a bright smile. He slips onto the cart and sits up onto the side to get a bit of extra height. "You all brought your gear? Never know what we might find." He peers over towards Hugo, his attention drawn to the fancy-looking snow lion.
William takes a small notebook of his own from within his cloak, hobbling a bit further to climb up within the cart and have a seat. He draws a pen from within his cloak as well, jotting down the details of their mission within it, and stowing it safely away as he looks out among the other beings in the cart. He raises an eyebrow curiously at the excited salamander, nodding along with him and following his gaze to the feline with the far superior cane, Hugo.
Hugo looks disdainfully at the cart, but sighs, hanging his cane over his arm as he climbs in. He frowns and lays a handkerchief on the bench before sitting down. He folds his hands on the head of his cane and looks resolutely ahead, meeting Zuri's gaze for just a moment.
Rokarion says, "You will meet a being by the name of Mervyn once you reach your destination. He is your liaison with Mister Aeneanas, and he will guide you through the explored portion of the ruins." With that said, the bustard moves away from the cart as the caravan begins moving. %r %r The trip takes hours as the caravan trudges across the narrow pathways of the Braevales mountains. The morning has turned into an even colder afternoon as the group finally reaches their destination. The caravan stops outside what appears to be a small camp filled with archaeologists and various scholars as well as Cliffside soldiers. A short distance away is the ancients ruin, judging from the colossal wall that spans from one side of the canyon to the other. Dozens of Cliffsiders enter and exit the immense broken gates of the ruined city, one wonders how this place was not discovered before. %r %r "Disembark!" A voice comes from the the head of the caravan, signalling for the Freeswords to exit their own cart."
"You will meet a being by the name of Mervyn once you reach your destination. He is your liaison with Mister Aeneanas, and he will guide you through the explored portion of the ruins." With that said, the bustard moves away from the cart as the caravan begins moving.
The trip takes hours as the caravan trudges across the narrow pathways of the Braevales mountains. The morning has turned into an even colder afternoon as the group finally reaches their destination. The caravan stops outside what appears to be a small camp filled with archaeologists and various scholars as well as Cliffside soldiers. A short distance away is the ancients ruin, judging from the colossal wall that spans from one side of the canyon to the other. Dozens of Cliffsiders enter and exit the immense broken gates of the ruined city, one wonders how this place was not discovered before.
"Disembark!" A voice comes from the the head of the caravan, signalling for the Freeswords to exit their own cart.
The salamander offers Hugo a big bright smile in return as their eyes meet, but he doesn't engage in conversation just yet. Rather, he sets about to checking his equipment. He peers up as the walls surrounding the ruins become visible in the distance, and helpfully points that out to everyone. "We're almost there!" He says, pointing excitedly. The salamander settles back down to bring out a notebook of his own. He flips past several amateurish sketches until he finds a blank page. He disembarks when prompted, and quickly dashes forward to start sketching the rough outline of the wall on his sketchbook.
William smirks as he watches Hugo set out his handkerchief, glancing back and forth between him and Zuri in hopes of getting some entertainment during the long journey through the mountains. He is sadly disappointed, but does nod in agreement at the salamander's observation, adding a quiet "We are indeed." The cat pulls his cloak tight around himself as the temperature drops further, hurriedly exiting the cart once they've arrived at the camp and waiting around for someone to follow.
Hugo descends from the cart, leaving his handkerchief behind and producing another to dust off his dark suit. He looks around, then loops his tail back over his elbow before unhooking his cane and walking along with the others. He seems wildly out of place here among all of the sellswords and archeaologists, but he walks confidently, watching the crowds with an intelligent gaze. "Will Ridgewell be joining us?" he asks, in a rich deep voice to the world at large.
"Unfortunately, no. Ridgewell is a bit busy in Cliffside with the elections and what not, but I am sure he will be thrilled to know that everyone hear was dying to see him." , a young-ish robin being, clad in robes, says as he moves towards the Freeswords. The robin smirks as he spots Zuri. "Why, hello there Zuri. Good to see that the society is sending some of their higher ups. Heard you and your girl were visting Cliffside." the robin teases before looking at the rest of the group, "Ok, then. You are the Freeswords, no? Good, we were waiting for the meat shields. Follow me, you can gawk but do not dawdle." With that the robin bounds through the gate and the city in turn.
Zuri looks up from his very incomplete sketch to look at the robin. "Mervyn!" He skips forward to walk alongside the avian, giggling at him. "Yep! Long vacation, did us both real good." He peers back at Hugo and smiles. "Yea, also I don't wanna see Mister Ridgewell hurt by the kind of stuff that could be down there. I need him alive so he can pay me!" His tail whips excitedly as he follows alongside Mervyn. "So where are you sending us this time?"
William watches the others in silence, nodding along with the robin and chuckling at his comment about freeswords. He does as he's told and starts to follow along after the avian and the salamander, ear cocked to listen to their conversation.
Hugo frowns hard at the Robin's flippant attitude, but follows along mutely. The lion reaches up and adjusts his cravat, or maybe something under his cravat. He then swaggers along behind the rest, tapping his can along.
The city have not changed much since Zuri saw it last, it was now almost fully debris free leaving nothing but the large marble buildings and the defaced statues covering the whole city, now with more beings moving about as well. Of course it becomes apparent after a couple of minutes inside this place that whoever lived in this city, they were obviously all as tall if not taller than your average heavy clan being. The trip through the city takes a good half an hour before the group reach a large open square with a magnificent building on the other side, it must have been the city hall when this place was once populated. "Ok, so the stairs to the underground levels should be inside, any questions before you enter?" the robin says as he begins walking up the stairway leading inside the building, judging from the size of each step those shorter beings will be more climbing than walking here.
Zuri nods at Mervyn's words. "No questions!" He starts stepping towards the stairway before stopping and turning around. "I assume we're the first ones in, right? Noone to rescue or anything like that?" After that question he turns back towards the stairway and starts clambering up the first step, the nimble salamander used to this sort of deal on account of his stature.
William follows the robin reluctantly, his head swivelling around as he takes in the sights of the ancient city. He looks up, scanning over the outside of the building across the square. "What sort of dangers should we expect?" he asks, not pausing for an answer as he starts his way on the stairs as well, hoping a head start will make up for his lacking mobility compared to the salamander.
"Only let us have progress," Hugo says, following along with the others, though he shows no interest in trying to catch up with the others or to keep up. Anything worth doing or worth seeing will doubtless wait for him.
Mervyn shrugs as he guides the group towards the room that leads underground, "No idea. You will be the first group in as per the agreement with the Pathfinder's Society, but expect traps, and maybe if you are lucky a giant glowing jellyfish, right Zuri?" the robin teases as he guides the group down the staircase.
The architecture underground remains similar to the one above ground, but with a lot more torches and magical crystals that act as light sources, "The region you are going to explore is probably the last unexplored portion of this place, unless of course that place happens to have more stairs leading down."
Minutes later the group enter a large cavern room that have access to an ancient-made ungrounded lake. The other exit from this room is a dark hallway closed by road blocks and a number of soldiers, "Here we are, anything else before we go in? Also grab a magical crystal from the guards, you will need it to see." the robin says as he leans back onto a wall awaiting the group to get ready.
Zuri pouts at the mention of 'giant glowing jellyfish'. "That was a one time thing and won't be happening again." He continues to follow Mervyn until they pass by the underground lake, and stares at it defiantly. "One time thing!" He keeps his arms crossed until they reach the hallway, at which point his curiosity wins out and he steps towards the doorway to peer inside. "Ooh... mm.." He nods and goes to grab one of the glowy crystals, grasping it with his prehensile tail to keep both hands free. "Nothing else. Thanks Mervyn!" He steps past the door, keeping his gaze low for any tripwires or pressure plates. "Watch your step everyone."
"We can only hope to be so fortunate," William says, hobbling along after Mervyn on their way into the underground. He looks around in awe at their surroundings, peering over at the blocked hallway and starting on his way hobbling toward it, eager to grab a crystal for himself. He hold shis crystal in hand and follows cautiously after Zuri, eyes on the floor and cautiously prodding ahead with his cane, sure to let Zuri do the bulk of the pushing ahead. "My name is Will, if it's ever important," the black cat says aside to his exploring partners.
Hugo accepts an enchanted crystal for light and swaggers along with the others, holding his light up. Interestingly, he has stopped tapping his cane along on the ground and instead holds it gently in his left hand. "Jellyfish, indeed," he rumbles as he walks smoothly along, letting others blaze the way, "A pleasure, Will, and an honor Mister Pondleaf. I have heard a lot about your Explorers' Society.
The robin gestures for the rest of the Freeswords to enter as he takes a position behind them. The light exposes more and more of the hallway as the group moves inside, there does it not seem anything particularly eye catching, just old murals, benches and stalls in various states of disrepair, and the telltale signs of an abandoned city.
As the group delves deeper suddenly all of them could hear whispers from the darkness surrounding them, "Go back!", "It's dangerous.", "Escape, do not enter.", and various other haunting noises telling the group to drop their flags and run.
Suddenly, the group arrive in front of a crossroad, the road leading to the right is closed with debris leaving the road to the front and the road to the left, and of course the group could listen to the whispers around them and simply go back.
Zuri grins at Hugo. "Didn't know I was getting kinda-sorta famous already! Please, call me Zuri. We're friends here! And yea, this here is a Society job actually, hence stuffy-face Alfred up front." He pauses as the whispers commence, and peers around with a raised brow. "Uuh... am I going loopy, or can anyone else hear that?" He steps into the crossroad, stepping slowly as he checks for anything unusual. "Hm... which way to go.."
William holds a magical light up near his face, peering around into the dark. "Not the most welcoming city I've visited," the cat says, pausing as Zuri does. "The locals don't seem to have any good advice. Shall I flip a coin?" he asks, glancing between the two open paths before them.
Hugo's lips tighten at the sound of the whispers. "I hear them, Mister Pondleaf, Zuri," he says, coming to a stop at the crossroads and looking around. "Can we clear this path?" he asks, waving his cane at the fallen rubble, "I find that I have a taste for the forbidden, though I have no skill with earth magic. Failing that, I would opt to move straight ahead."
Zuri looks at the caved in passage, then shakes his head. "Nah, we're not going go that way, not any time soon. Maybe after we secure the rest of the way and get some help to clear that." He looks over at the passage leading to the left. "Well.. alright. This way then!" He stalks over that way, stepping forward one stone tile at a time while fully expecting to step on a pressure plate at any second.
William glances aside to Hugo, a smirk on his face as Zuri moves along to the left. "Well, the leader leads," he says with a shrug, making his way along after Zuri, crystal still held up to his face. "I suppose we'll be coming back either way.." He leans over on his cane to peer into the dark, letting Zuri move ahead slightly to clear out any pesky pressure plates while keeping his own steps as light as possible.
Hugo shrugs and points ahead with his cane. "Left it is then," he rumbles with a hint of a northern accent. He follows after Zuri, keeping an eye on the little salamander, his cane hanging in one hand and the other holding his glowing gem aloft.
The group presses on, Mervyn making a show of yawning in boredom as he just follows the group. The left path is not that different really from the rest of the place, the same architecture, with more and more murals. The ones here are more well-kept showing off the ancients fighting large beasts, debating among each other, and worshipping various spirits.
The path finally opens into a large room. Obvious on either side of the rooms are various openings that will no doubt have projectiles inside them. A number of stones on the floor are slightly upraised forming four paths across the room towards the other end. "Which one is the correct path? Do you trust your luck?" a whisper can be heard emanating from the all around.
The small 'mander steps gingerly into the room, slowly heading towards the threshold where the four paths begin. He peers at each of them, then looks around for the source of the voice. "Hm... not even a clue on which one is right? That's no fair!" He giggles. "Hrm.. okay.. this doesn't seem too hard to navigate, but who knows what's gonna happen if we pick the wrong path. Anyone have a guess how we can handle this?"
William follows after the salamander, standing just behind him and peering down each of the four paths. "I have two coins to flip," he suggests, with a shrug and a chuckle. "If I had to choose," he says, pointing down the rightmost of the paths, "I would choose this one - but my luck is awful, so perhaps we can rule it out?" He shrugs again and clears his throat, stepping back to allow the others a closer look at the paths.
Hugo raises an eyebrow at the sound of the whisper, then turns to look at Zuri. "Life does not often come with hints," he says, then strides confidently toward one of the paths, "And I always trust my luck." He does not even slow as he steps on to the middle left path.
The room vibrates as Hugo steps on one of the paths and continues moving causing the four paths to descent back into the floor, then everything goes silent again.
Zuri smiles brightly at Hugo. "Ha, I like that attitude!" He pauses to see what happens as the lion steps onto the path.. and blinks. "Huh.. was that a good thing or a bad thing?" He peers around. "Things haven't exploded yet, so I guess it was a good thing?"
William shuffles forward as the other paths descend, hurrying along after him on the remaining one. "Well, it's certainly narrowed our options down, so I suggest we commit to it either way!" Despite being obviously hurried, he isn't exactly quick about it, limping along with the aid of his cane. "I suppose confidence is key!"
"Thank you, Zuri," Hugo says, turning and giving a little nod to the Salamander, "Shall we continue?" The lion raises his crystal high to improve his view and strides forward with a confident swagger.
With all the group across the room, the beings continue on their straight path. Another couple of minutes of nothing but annoying whispers, murals, and various pieces of furniture the group stops when they reach a closed gate, with a large statue standing in front of it. The statue is almost four meters tall and it is of a knight completely covered in armour holding nothing but a mace in his hand.
Beyond belief, the statue actually begins moving slowly as his vibrating body shakes off the dust that has gathered on it throughout the generations. The statue's armoured head stares into the direction of the group as it raises its mace above its head, preparing to crush any who comes near it. "HE WHO WANTS TO USE THIS GATE, CROSS ME IF YOU DARE!" a bellowing voice comes from the statue before it goes silent and still again.
Zuri blinks as he looks up at the statue. "H-huh.." As it starts to vibrate and move he lets out a little 'eep!', stepping aside as if expecting that hammer to come smashing down right away. When it doesn't he looks up at it. "Mmm... curious mechanism. I wonder how its mechanism works.." He looks around. "Mmm.. I think I could try to run past it, I might be fast enough." He looks back at the others. "Unless you have a better idea."
William pauses, nodding at the statues warning before he continues on his unsteady hobble past the statue, as confidently as one can stride with a limp. "Well, it seems to be a recurring theme that just daring at all is enough," he says back to Zuri, walking in a perfect path to be smashed by a statue, and he keeps his eyes up and ready to jump from the path. During this, he continues speaking. "As the most crippled of the group, I have the least to risk here, anyway," he says with a smirk and a halfhearted chuckle.
The moment William enters the striking range of the statue and walks forward, the mace falls down alarmingly fast towards William. A loud crashing sound can be heard as the mace thankfully hits the floor, inches away from turning the cat into a pancake. The mace then is raised again into its former position and going still again as if waiting for William to see his next move.
