Difference between revisions of "In the House of the Night - Part III - RPLOG"
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<div></div><br> <br>Somewhere, it is raining and thunder and lightning crack the sky. But not here in the deep quarry. Here there is only the perpetual twilight of the glowing crystals and the eternal damp of the underground. At the appointed meeting spot, Fenris is nowhere to be found. Instead, a hulking, brutish looking sabre toothed cat stands guard. He appears to be furless, aside from a long, stiff mohawk and frowns around into the dim cavern with his arms folded across a scarred chest. The crevasse leading down to the door of the House of Night is behind the thuggish guard. But this is definitely the place.<br> <br>Kazel lands close to the agreed meeting spot and spots the guard but frowns as he is the only person around. The slowly walks up to the sabertooth and crosses her arms in front of her chest as she addresses him. "Where is Fenris? And who are you?"<br> <br>The Adventuring Ladies Solacious arrive in the midst of a hushed conversation, which Natska ends abrupty as she spots the guard on duty. She eyes him for a long moment, tilts her head to the side, and her tail curls back and forth. "Fenris?" she asks, curious.<br> <br>Iorek wanders along towards the crowd, still holding his arm a little protectively over his torso, though he seems happy enough. He approaches the group, smiling to Kazel<br> <br>Vestela is heard well before she's spotted, making little attempt to hide her arrival. Heavy footsteps and the jingle-jangle of armour echoes in the cave before the light of her torch is spotted. Soon she rounds the last corner and steps into the somewhat bigger room where they were supposed to meet. Turns out the torch was not quite a torch, more of a small ball of fire hovering in the palm of her hand. One that's quickly squelched as she approaches. She gives her paw a little shake and there's a distinct smell of singed fur wafting from her. Perhaps she doesn't have THAT much control over the elements. Or atleast fire. Silently, she finds a spot in towards the back, content to silently offer the large cat a nod and little more.<br> <br>Following the group into the quarry is the youthful plant being known as Rokarion. The young jasmine is clad in his usual heavy cloak and blase facial expression. Rokarion takes out his notebook as he eyes the rest of the group, giving the gate's guard a long look, before opening his book and busying himself with whatever the plant being does as he waits for an explanation from the sabre-toothed cat.<br> <br>Cassidy stands quietly aside Natska once the conversation has been hushed, gloved hands folded behind her back while she stares on from behind her mask. She eyes the odd 'guard' over, slowly lofting a brow. If that was Fenris, he looked down right hilarious.<br> <br>"Naw," the scarred Sabretooth says, "Fluffy ain't comin'." He jerks his head at the cavern behind him. "You the crazies goin' in there? I'm Jet. I'm just here to make sure none of the wrong people come pokin' around and I'm paid pretty good to make sure that the right guy gets the right loot from down there," he growls. He bares his teeth in what might be a grin at Natska. "I could be Fenris for a pretty thing like you," he says with a wink before turning to the group as a whole. "Listen," he grunts, "All I know is, I let you go down, and take anything you find made of wood or stone and you get to keep anything else you want and I get paid. Fluffy said the door was open, whatever that means."<br> <br>Kazel greets Iorek with a nod and shrugs at the guard, she does not really care either way. Quickly passing him and making her way into the area of the ruin once more.<br> <br>"Inconceivable..." Natska mutters quietly, under her breath. Then she grins and touches a hand to Cassidy's elbow. "Good, nobody looking over our shoulder. We get to-" she stops, then glances around. "Mmm. Never mind. Let's get going, I am eager to see what else we may find!"<br> <br>Iorek nods to Jet "A few of us have been in there before, we know what Fenris wants... though shame he's not here..." he follows along behind Kazel keeping close<br> <br>Vestela shrugs faintly. "We get to haul rock and wood out of some damp old mine like some damned miners? What gives? And our pay is whatever we happen to find down there? That's sketchy at best. Still, a job's a job I guess. This is what I get for not checking the details before heading out." the polar bear rumbles.<br> <br>Cassidy slowly turns her head to stare at Jet at that comment. Her ear flicks and she pulls a face that goes unseen behind the porcelain before nodding at Natska. "Yes. Let's go." She pushes on, walking off at a swift pace to make it back to where they'd left off, not caring to wait up on anyone that might be deciding to take it 'slow and steady.'<br> <br>The steep crevasse is easy to negotiate, leading to a large, stone door that stands open, revealing an open, stone room. Not the shrine that those who have visited before would recognize as the antechamber of the House of Night, but rather a circular, stone chamber with a pedestal in the middle and three doors leading out, one bearing a stylized symbol for air, another for fire and a third for water. As impossible as it seems, the entrance seems to have moved beyond the first few doors! While the cavern is lit a dim blue by glowing crystals, the chamber beyond the door seems to be lit by daylight, though there are no apparent windows. | <div></div><br> <br>Somewhere, it is raining and thunder and lightning crack the sky. But not here in the deep quarry. Here there is only the perpetual twilight of the glowing crystals and the eternal damp of the underground. At the appointed meeting spot, Fenris is nowhere to be found. Instead, a hulking, brutish looking sabre toothed cat stands guard. He appears to be furless, aside from a long, stiff mohawk and frowns around into the dim cavern with his arms folded across a scarred chest. The crevasse leading down to the door of the House of Night is behind the thuggish guard. But this is definitely the place.<br> <br>Kazel lands close to the agreed meeting spot and spots the guard but frowns as he is the only person around. The slowly walks up to the sabertooth and crosses her arms in front of her chest as she addresses him. "Where is Fenris? And who are you?"<br> <br>The Adventuring Ladies Solacious arrive in the midst of a hushed conversation, which Natska ends abrupty as she spots the guard on duty. She eyes him for a long moment, tilts her head to the side, and her tail curls back and forth. "Fenris?" she asks, curious.<br> <br>Iorek wanders along towards the crowd, still holding his arm a little protectively over his torso, though he seems happy enough. He approaches the group, smiling to Kazel<br> <br>Vestela is heard well before she's spotted, making little attempt to hide her arrival. Heavy footsteps and the jingle-jangle of armour echoes in the cave before the light of her torch is spotted. Soon she rounds the last corner and steps into the somewhat bigger room where they were supposed to meet. Turns out the torch was not quite a torch, more of a small ball of fire hovering in the palm of her hand. One that's quickly squelched as she approaches. She gives her paw a little shake and there's a distinct smell of singed fur wafting from her. Perhaps she doesn't have THAT much control over the elements. Or atleast fire. Silently, she finds a spot in towards the back, content to silently offer the large cat a nod and little more.<br> <br>Following the group into the quarry is the youthful plant being known as Rokarion. The young jasmine is clad in his usual heavy cloak and blase facial expression. Rokarion takes out his notebook as he eyes the rest of the group, giving the gate's guard a long look, before opening his book and busying himself with whatever the plant being does as he waits for an explanation from the sabre-toothed cat.<br> <br>Cassidy stands quietly aside Natska once the conversation has been hushed, gloved hands folded behind her back while she stares on from behind her mask. She eyes the odd 'guard' over, slowly lofting a brow. If that was Fenris, he looked down right hilarious.<br> <br>"Naw," the scarred Sabretooth says, "Fluffy ain't comin'." He jerks his head at the cavern behind him. "You the crazies goin' in there? I'm Jet. I'm just here to make sure none of the wrong people come pokin' around and I'm paid pretty good to make sure that the right guy gets the right loot from down there," he growls. He bares his teeth in what might be a grin at Natska. "I could be Fenris for a pretty thing like you," he says with a wink before turning to the group as a whole. "Listen," he grunts, "All I know is, I let you go down, and take anything you find made of wood or stone and you get to keep anything else you want and I get paid. Fluffy said the door was open, whatever that means."<br> <br>Kazel greets Iorek with a nod and shrugs at the guard, she does not really care either way. Quickly passing him and making her way into the area of the ruin once more.<br> <br>"Inconceivable..." Natska mutters quietly, under her breath. Then she grins and touches a hand to Cassidy's elbow. "Good, nobody looking over our shoulder. We get to-" she stops, then glances around. "Mmm. Never mind. Let's get going, I am eager to see what else we may find!"<br> <br>Iorek nods to Jet "A few of us have been in there before, we know what Fenris wants... though shame he's not here..." he follows along behind Kazel keeping close<br> <br>Vestela shrugs faintly. "We get to haul rock and wood out of some damp old mine like some damned miners? What gives? And our pay is whatever we happen to find down there? That's sketchy at best. Still, a job's a job I guess. This is what I get for not checking the details before heading out." the polar bear rumbles.<br> <br>Cassidy slowly turns her head to stare at Jet at that comment. Her ear flicks and she pulls a face that goes unseen behind the porcelain before nodding at Natska. "Yes. Let's go." She pushes on, walking off at a swift pace to make it back to where they'd left off, not caring to wait up on anyone that might be deciding to take it 'slow and steady.'<br> <br>The steep crevasse is easy to negotiate, leading to a large, stone door that stands open, revealing an open, stone room. Not the shrine that those who have visited before would recognize as the antechamber of the House of Night, but rather a circular, stone chamber with a pedestal in the middle and three doors leading out, one bearing a stylized symbol for air, another for fire and a third for water. As impossible as it seems, the entrance seems to have moved beyond the first few doors! While the cavern is lit a dim blue by glowing crystals, the chamber beyond the door seems to be lit by daylight, though there are no apparent windows. | ||
| − | Above ground, Jet watches impassively as people chatter, argue or move along. "Not my business, Snowball," he grunts to Vestela, "Don't much care either way. But you probably better get goin' if you want any of the good loot."<br> <br>Kazel is the first to step into the familiar room with the three closed doors. She first looks to the fire one, then to the water one. "I think we should try fire this time. Since we already explored air. Any objections?"<br> <br>Natska makes her way into the room, ears perked as she looks around. "Huh! Well, then, this is interesting..." she considers the room for a few moments, then looks over at Cassidy. "I'm fine with the second door, unless you are feeling particularly called to open the first?"<br> <br>Iorek looks to the polar bear as she talks, a small double take as he realises she's a bear with a slight surprised "Oh, it's not like hauling big things of stone... last time it was a little plate thing with symbols on it. That's what Fenris is looking for, helps him open this place up more se we get more treasure." he looks around the room and points at the air door "Kazel opened that with a big magic air blast and we encountered a spirit that even Fenris hadn't seen before in there... I wasn't expecting the door to be shut again... I wonder if something new is in there because the rooms seem to move..."<br> <br>Vestela lumbers into the room, following the rest. The bear squints upwards in the chamber, trying to spot where the light is coming from. Her attention is quickly drawn to the doors however. "Not particularly fond of fire but sure. Why not. Blast it with fire and let's see what happens. Just out of curiocity, what DID you find in the ways of treasure last time?" she rumbles. After speaking, she takes a moment to weave some protective magic around her. Just in case... | + | Above ground, Jet watches impassively as people chatter, argue or move along. "Not my business, Snowball," he grunts to Vestela, "Don't much care either way. But you probably better get goin' if you want any of the good loot."<br> <br>Kazel is the first to step into the familiar room with the three closed doors. She first looks to the fire one, then to the water one. "I think we should try fire this time. Since we already explored air. Any objections?"<br> <br>Natska makes her way into the room, ears perked as she looks around. "Huh! Well, then, this is interesting..." she considers the room for a few moments, then looks over at Cassidy. "I'm fine with the second door, unless you are feeling particularly called to open the first?"<br> <br>Iorek looks to the polar bear as she talks, a small double take as he realises she's a bear with a slight surprised "Oh, it's not like hauling big things of stone... last time it was a little plate thing with symbols on it. That's what Fenris is looking for, helps him open this place up more se we get more treasure." he looks around the room and points at the air door "Kazel opened that with a big magic air blast and we encountered a spirit that even Fenris hadn't seen before in there... I wasn't expecting the door to be shut again... I wonder if something new is in there because the rooms seem to move..."<br> <br>Vestela lumbers into the room, following the rest. The bear squints upwards in the chamber, trying to spot where the light is coming from. Her attention is quickly drawn to the doors however. "Not particularly fond of fire but sure. Why not. Blast it with fire and let's see what happens. Just out of curiocity, what DID you find in the ways of treasure last time?" she rumbles. After speaking, she takes a moment to weave some protective magic around her. Just in case...<br> <br>Rokarion has been idly following the group as they walked into the temple once more. Rokarion shifted his focus towards the new room the group was in, inspecting it as he looked around, "Hmmm, I am assuming that each door is opened by its particular element then?" he says in his nonchalant voice to no one in particular.<br> <br>Cassidy doesn't wait for group census, a bit of flame being conjured and applied to the firedoor, intent on seeing if it opened like the air one had. "Sounds fine to me, Natska. Let's do it." She starts towards the door, regardless of if it opens or not. But hopefully it does!<br> <br>At the touch of the fire magic, the door marked with a flame swings open smoothly with a sound of stone grating against stone. There is a blast of heat and a lurid glow comes from beyond the portal. Behind the door is a great cavern. The area by the door is made up of cut, worked stone and extends in a narrow bridge, wide enough for two average beings to walk side by side, over an expanse of magma and flame. Despite the proximity to the molten rock, the heat is not so overwhelming as it should be. It is still uncomfortable hot, but not unbearable. |
| + | |||
| + | There are no walls along the sides of the bridge, but every few feet is a small plinth with a lit torch set in it. Across the bridge is another door, this one marked with a stylized hammer.<br> <br>Kazel takes the lead and draws one of her swords. She makes her way onto the bridge, the heat not bothering her very much thanks to her second nature as a phoenix. The bat peers down over the side of the bridge for a moment and grimasses, but continues onwards anyway.<br> <br>Natska keeps pace with Cassidy, glancing back and forth at the exposed magma. "Just like home..." she murmurs, slipping a short crystal haft into her hand. "Last time?" she asks, glancing back at the bear for a moment. "Oh, the usual. Dead people's gold, gems and treasures dedicated and sacred to the spirits. They'll probably want them back at some point but that's why you sell them instead of holding onto it."<br> <br>Iorek looks nevously into the room as he flinches at a wave of hot air near the door and looks between the others in the group "We ended up fighting a huge wind snake thing in the air door so...um, be carful." seems to be a little apprehensive about fighting something made of fire, not crossing the threshold yet.<br> <br>Vestela takes one brief look into the fiery chamber and shakes her head. "Fuck. That. How about we see what's behind the watery door instead. Can't be worse then the threat of falling to a fiery doom!" the polar bear grumbles.<br> <br>Rokarion follows the group in, pulling his cloak behind his shoulders to help the plant handle the heat before looking around the room, "You have faced a wind snake you say? Was it another protector of the place or a stray elemental?" Rokarion asked as he looked around the room, the aromatic jasmine already obviously sweating...thought with the fact that it is simple just water, one could easily mistake that for some profuse transpiration. <br> <br>"It was a spirit's... Hmm. Minion, perhaps? An elemental, I guess, but certainly not stray," Cassidy says, pressing on, unfettered by the heat. The perks of being a phoenix. "That door," she says, gesturing. "This is the forgekeeper's 'domain' I would reckon. The door of fire, the hammer on the door. The water one is most likely Ser'ther."<br> <br>As the party makes their way across the bridge, all seems quiet until they reach about half way. There is a sudden, harsh blast of superheated air! It is not enough to knock anyone from the bridge, though it does buffet everyone harshly. It also blows out most of the torches along the length of the bridge! | ||
| + | |||
| + | The room's heat, only uncomfortable a moment before suddenly becomes overwhelmingly hot! Below the bridge, the far too close magma stirs and ripples.<br> <br>Kazel flaps the large wings on her back and is quickly aloft in the air, soon she is quite high over the fiery spectacle. Even though she is very heat resistant, the bat does not want to risk anything.<br> <br>Natska raises her arm to shield her face from the sudden massive blast of heat, and then the jaguar spontaneously combusts! Or, at least, that's what it looks like at first as the feline is wrapped in flames, but soon enough it becomes clear that Natska has instead become a creature -of- flame, a phoenix in full form. With her own respite seen to, she begins focusing her magic on helping the rest of the party, spinning a cool breeze around the group and trying to lower the temperature to a more tolerable level.<br> <br>Iorek hops back at the sudden burst of heat and stares into the room in a panic. It doesn't look like he can cross the bridge anymore, so he hops around anxiously "You guys all okay?!"<br> <br>Vestela growls. "I knew it!" and leaps backwards towards the nearest stone pillar. Atleast those weren't likely to burn. Right? Right... It was already dark in the cave and as she watches one of the fellow party members go up in literal flames, the polar bear doesn't hesitate, muttering a formula of dark magic to hide her from whatever guardian might appear.<br> <br>Rokarion bites his lower lip, the apathetic expression on his face gaining a hint of annoyance as the plant began producing water on a rather rapid pace. With a long breath, he shook his head and continued on his path, mind already working some divine maths to cool down the plant and lowering his body temperature back to almost normal levels, "Apparently the Kind Flame is not in a kind mood today." he said before shaking his head, "An air elemental serving one of the spirits? Who was it? I do not recall any spirit having any affinity to air, was it a new spirit?" he commented as he kept on moving with the group across the bridge. <br> <br>Cassidy keeps herself to Natska's side, undergoing her own transformation towards her phoenix form. She, unfortunately, must remove her tailcoat for this to allow for the wings to poke out of the back of her strategically tailored dress shirt, but such sacrificies must be made in times of need. She brings her gloved hands up to adjust her bowtie all the while, ensuring she is to remain a dapper bird. A dapper flapper, even.<br> <br>Even with the torches extinguished, the cavern is still well lit by the glow of the now roiling and rippling magma. Thanks to Natska's considerate application of magic, the heat is just bearable on the bridge, even for poor Vestela without any water or air magic of her own, though a sort of dark haze forms around her, making her difficult to look at. | ||
| + | |||
| + | A rumble of harsh, masculine laughter fills the cavern. "The Kindly Flame?" a deep, male voice says, with tones of crackling flame lying below it, "You do not even know her title, mortal and you assume that this is HER realm!" There is more laughter in the echoing space. "I am FLAME UNBOUND! Face my guardian little mortals! Prove yourselves worthy!" | ||
| + | |||
| + | As the echoes of the voice die away, the magma at a far end of the cavern EXPLODES into the air as a huge form bursts from below! It appears to be some sort of beast! It has a huge, boxy head with wicked horns and black eyes and a hunched back, like a mix between a bear, a hyena and a volcano. With an air shattering roar, the monster charges toward the bridge, magma splashing around wildly! | ||
Revision as of 23:12, 10 June 2015
Participants
Date
10/6/478
Log
Somewhere, it is raining and thunder and lightning crack the sky. But not here in the deep quarry. Here there is only the perpetual twilight of the glowing crystals and the eternal damp of the underground. At the appointed meeting spot, Fenris is nowhere to be found. Instead, a hulking, brutish looking sabre toothed cat stands guard. He appears to be furless, aside from a long, stiff mohawk and frowns around into the dim cavern with his arms folded across a scarred chest. The crevasse leading down to the door of the House of Night is behind the thuggish guard. But this is definitely the place.
Kazel lands close to the agreed meeting spot and spots the guard but frowns as he is the only person around. The slowly walks up to the sabertooth and crosses her arms in front of her chest as she addresses him. "Where is Fenris? And who are you?"
The Adventuring Ladies Solacious arrive in the midst of a hushed conversation, which Natska ends abrupty as she spots the guard on duty. She eyes him for a long moment, tilts her head to the side, and her tail curls back and forth. "Fenris?" she asks, curious.
Iorek wanders along towards the crowd, still holding his arm a little protectively over his torso, though he seems happy enough. He approaches the group, smiling to Kazel
Vestela is heard well before she's spotted, making little attempt to hide her arrival. Heavy footsteps and the jingle-jangle of armour echoes in the cave before the light of her torch is spotted. Soon she rounds the last corner and steps into the somewhat bigger room where they were supposed to meet. Turns out the torch was not quite a torch, more of a small ball of fire hovering in the palm of her hand. One that's quickly squelched as she approaches. She gives her paw a little shake and there's a distinct smell of singed fur wafting from her. Perhaps she doesn't have THAT much control over the elements. Or atleast fire. Silently, she finds a spot in towards the back, content to silently offer the large cat a nod and little more.
Following the group into the quarry is the youthful plant being known as Rokarion. The young jasmine is clad in his usual heavy cloak and blase facial expression. Rokarion takes out his notebook as he eyes the rest of the group, giving the gate's guard a long look, before opening his book and busying himself with whatever the plant being does as he waits for an explanation from the sabre-toothed cat.
Cassidy stands quietly aside Natska once the conversation has been hushed, gloved hands folded behind her back while she stares on from behind her mask. She eyes the odd 'guard' over, slowly lofting a brow. If that was Fenris, he looked down right hilarious.
"Naw," the scarred Sabretooth says, "Fluffy ain't comin'." He jerks his head at the cavern behind him. "You the crazies goin' in there? I'm Jet. I'm just here to make sure none of the wrong people come pokin' around and I'm paid pretty good to make sure that the right guy gets the right loot from down there," he growls. He bares his teeth in what might be a grin at Natska. "I could be Fenris for a pretty thing like you," he says with a wink before turning to the group as a whole. "Listen," he grunts, "All I know is, I let you go down, and take anything you find made of wood or stone and you get to keep anything else you want and I get paid. Fluffy said the door was open, whatever that means."
Kazel greets Iorek with a nod and shrugs at the guard, she does not really care either way. Quickly passing him and making her way into the area of the ruin once more.
"Inconceivable..." Natska mutters quietly, under her breath. Then she grins and touches a hand to Cassidy's elbow. "Good, nobody looking over our shoulder. We get to-" she stops, then glances around. "Mmm. Never mind. Let's get going, I am eager to see what else we may find!"
Iorek nods to Jet "A few of us have been in there before, we know what Fenris wants... though shame he's not here..." he follows along behind Kazel keeping close
Vestela shrugs faintly. "We get to haul rock and wood out of some damp old mine like some damned miners? What gives? And our pay is whatever we happen to find down there? That's sketchy at best. Still, a job's a job I guess. This is what I get for not checking the details before heading out." the polar bear rumbles.
Cassidy slowly turns her head to stare at Jet at that comment. Her ear flicks and she pulls a face that goes unseen behind the porcelain before nodding at Natska. "Yes. Let's go." She pushes on, walking off at a swift pace to make it back to where they'd left off, not caring to wait up on anyone that might be deciding to take it 'slow and steady.'
The steep crevasse is easy to negotiate, leading to a large, stone door that stands open, revealing an open, stone room. Not the shrine that those who have visited before would recognize as the antechamber of the House of Night, but rather a circular, stone chamber with a pedestal in the middle and three doors leading out, one bearing a stylized symbol for air, another for fire and a third for water. As impossible as it seems, the entrance seems to have moved beyond the first few doors! While the cavern is lit a dim blue by glowing crystals, the chamber beyond the door seems to be lit by daylight, though there are no apparent windows.
Above ground, Jet watches impassively as people chatter, argue or move along. "Not my business, Snowball," he grunts to Vestela, "Don't much care either way. But you probably better get goin' if you want any of the good loot."
Kazel is the first to step into the familiar room with the three closed doors. She first looks to the fire one, then to the water one. "I think we should try fire this time. Since we already explored air. Any objections?"
Natska makes her way into the room, ears perked as she looks around. "Huh! Well, then, this is interesting..." she considers the room for a few moments, then looks over at Cassidy. "I'm fine with the second door, unless you are feeling particularly called to open the first?"
Iorek looks to the polar bear as she talks, a small double take as he realises she's a bear with a slight surprised "Oh, it's not like hauling big things of stone... last time it was a little plate thing with symbols on it. That's what Fenris is looking for, helps him open this place up more se we get more treasure." he looks around the room and points at the air door "Kazel opened that with a big magic air blast and we encountered a spirit that even Fenris hadn't seen before in there... I wasn't expecting the door to be shut again... I wonder if something new is in there because the rooms seem to move..."
Vestela lumbers into the room, following the rest. The bear squints upwards in the chamber, trying to spot where the light is coming from. Her attention is quickly drawn to the doors however. "Not particularly fond of fire but sure. Why not. Blast it with fire and let's see what happens. Just out of curiocity, what DID you find in the ways of treasure last time?" she rumbles. After speaking, she takes a moment to weave some protective magic around her. Just in case...
Rokarion has been idly following the group as they walked into the temple once more. Rokarion shifted his focus towards the new room the group was in, inspecting it as he looked around, "Hmmm, I am assuming that each door is opened by its particular element then?" he says in his nonchalant voice to no one in particular.
Cassidy doesn't wait for group census, a bit of flame being conjured and applied to the firedoor, intent on seeing if it opened like the air one had. "Sounds fine to me, Natska. Let's do it." She starts towards the door, regardless of if it opens or not. But hopefully it does!
At the touch of the fire magic, the door marked with a flame swings open smoothly with a sound of stone grating against stone. There is a blast of heat and a lurid glow comes from beyond the portal. Behind the door is a great cavern. The area by the door is made up of cut, worked stone and extends in a narrow bridge, wide enough for two average beings to walk side by side, over an expanse of magma and flame. Despite the proximity to the molten rock, the heat is not so overwhelming as it should be. It is still uncomfortable hot, but not unbearable.
There are no walls along the sides of the bridge, but every few feet is a small plinth with a lit torch set in it. Across the bridge is another door, this one marked with a stylized hammer.
Kazel takes the lead and draws one of her swords. She makes her way onto the bridge, the heat not bothering her very much thanks to her second nature as a phoenix. The bat peers down over the side of the bridge for a moment and grimasses, but continues onwards anyway.
Natska keeps pace with Cassidy, glancing back and forth at the exposed magma. "Just like home..." she murmurs, slipping a short crystal haft into her hand. "Last time?" she asks, glancing back at the bear for a moment. "Oh, the usual. Dead people's gold, gems and treasures dedicated and sacred to the spirits. They'll probably want them back at some point but that's why you sell them instead of holding onto it."
Iorek looks nevously into the room as he flinches at a wave of hot air near the door and looks between the others in the group "We ended up fighting a huge wind snake thing in the air door so...um, be carful." seems to be a little apprehensive about fighting something made of fire, not crossing the threshold yet.
Vestela takes one brief look into the fiery chamber and shakes her head. "Fuck. That. How about we see what's behind the watery door instead. Can't be worse then the threat of falling to a fiery doom!" the polar bear grumbles.
Rokarion follows the group in, pulling his cloak behind his shoulders to help the plant handle the heat before looking around the room, "You have faced a wind snake you say? Was it another protector of the place or a stray elemental?" Rokarion asked as he looked around the room, the aromatic jasmine already obviously sweating...thought with the fact that it is simple just water, one could easily mistake that for some profuse transpiration.
"It was a spirit's... Hmm. Minion, perhaps? An elemental, I guess, but certainly not stray," Cassidy says, pressing on, unfettered by the heat. The perks of being a phoenix. "That door," she says, gesturing. "This is the forgekeeper's 'domain' I would reckon. The door of fire, the hammer on the door. The water one is most likely Ser'ther."
As the party makes their way across the bridge, all seems quiet until they reach about half way. There is a sudden, harsh blast of superheated air! It is not enough to knock anyone from the bridge, though it does buffet everyone harshly. It also blows out most of the torches along the length of the bridge!
The room's heat, only uncomfortable a moment before suddenly becomes overwhelmingly hot! Below the bridge, the far too close magma stirs and ripples.
Kazel flaps the large wings on her back and is quickly aloft in the air, soon she is quite high over the fiery spectacle. Even though she is very heat resistant, the bat does not want to risk anything.
Natska raises her arm to shield her face from the sudden massive blast of heat, and then the jaguar spontaneously combusts! Or, at least, that's what it looks like at first as the feline is wrapped in flames, but soon enough it becomes clear that Natska has instead become a creature -of- flame, a phoenix in full form. With her own respite seen to, she begins focusing her magic on helping the rest of the party, spinning a cool breeze around the group and trying to lower the temperature to a more tolerable level.
Iorek hops back at the sudden burst of heat and stares into the room in a panic. It doesn't look like he can cross the bridge anymore, so he hops around anxiously "You guys all okay?!"
Vestela growls. "I knew it!" and leaps backwards towards the nearest stone pillar. Atleast those weren't likely to burn. Right? Right... It was already dark in the cave and as she watches one of the fellow party members go up in literal flames, the polar bear doesn't hesitate, muttering a formula of dark magic to hide her from whatever guardian might appear.
Rokarion bites his lower lip, the apathetic expression on his face gaining a hint of annoyance as the plant began producing water on a rather rapid pace. With a long breath, he shook his head and continued on his path, mind already working some divine maths to cool down the plant and lowering his body temperature back to almost normal levels, "Apparently the Kind Flame is not in a kind mood today." he said before shaking his head, "An air elemental serving one of the spirits? Who was it? I do not recall any spirit having any affinity to air, was it a new spirit?" he commented as he kept on moving with the group across the bridge.
Cassidy keeps herself to Natska's side, undergoing her own transformation towards her phoenix form. She, unfortunately, must remove her tailcoat for this to allow for the wings to poke out of the back of her strategically tailored dress shirt, but such sacrificies must be made in times of need. She brings her gloved hands up to adjust her bowtie all the while, ensuring she is to remain a dapper bird. A dapper flapper, even.
Even with the torches extinguished, the cavern is still well lit by the glow of the now roiling and rippling magma. Thanks to Natska's considerate application of magic, the heat is just bearable on the bridge, even for poor Vestela without any water or air magic of her own, though a sort of dark haze forms around her, making her difficult to look at.
A rumble of harsh, masculine laughter fills the cavern. "The Kindly Flame?" a deep, male voice says, with tones of crackling flame lying below it, "You do not even know her title, mortal and you assume that this is HER realm!" There is more laughter in the echoing space. "I am FLAME UNBOUND! Face my guardian little mortals! Prove yourselves worthy!"
As the echoes of the voice die away, the magma at a far end of the cavern EXPLODES into the air as a huge form bursts from below! It appears to be some sort of beast! It has a huge, boxy head with wicked horns and black eyes and a hunched back, like a mix between a bear, a hyena and a volcano. With an air shattering roar, the monster charges toward the bridge, magma splashing around wildly!
