A Storm to Remember (Closed)

[Saber]

As soon as Saber stepped out the door, a flash of lightning caused a terrified Saber to scramble back inside and hide behind the other girl like a frightened child.
"Welcome back!" Saber's rescuer laughed.
"H-hey, I was only startled because of the lightning!" Saber cried.
"Aww, c'mon in! I'll make sure the boys don't touch you, like I promised!"
"Stop treating me like a child!" Saber yelled.
"Okay, fine! I can do that!"
...With that said, Saber was led inside the building.

[Zandelia]

Zandelia picked herself up from the floor of the tavern room as the hail began to smash down upon them with a vengeance, growling to herself at the slight pain from the bruising she had been caused. She had barely returned to Sunberth and had found that her luck had grown worse in her arrival. She could not help but wonder if there were some gods toying with her life like so many cats with a mouse. She heard every word the others had said and they were usual, for the most part, under the strenuous circumstances. Mok’s were strange in the least, however, and she realized that he had taken the opportunity to begin feeling the full effects of the bittersweet drug know as Pulp. She shook her head as chaos ensued, forcing herself not to offer a berating to him, saving it for later perhaps.

The last thing we need is for our senses to be dulled from reality when danger is so near she thought bitterly as she forced her way through the others in pursuit of the addled barbarian.

Within the rest of the Pig’s Foot tavern the jumbled panic was no less stark, water filling the main room and reaching waist height in places. As she clattered down the stairs, trying in vain to get a grab upon Mok’s clothing, she noted how the water seemed to undulate in a decidedly unnatural manner. All such thoughts were splashed from her head though as a wild arm from a passer-by flipped her over the railing of the stairs and into the water below, her shoulder glancing off of the edge of a table first. She entered the watery domain with less grace than she was used to, flailing around until she pushed her head above the waters and whipped her head to the side to dislodge hair from her vision.

“Mok! Stop!” she managed to get out as she scanned the room, finding him exiting the tavern with a table in tow, “Petch!” she shouted as she pushed, shoved and kicked her way to the exit.

It was then, as she waded across the threshold, that she got her first taste of true bewilderment. The waters was staying in the doorway, as if it were water in a glass. She inspected it as she crossed, noting that the occurrence of two plainly magical forms of precipitation were not something to be ignored. Her mind had little time to dissect as she tried to see which way Mok had headed, noting her had made his way west and towards the bridge. She ran after him, her muscles aching but still able to outdistance any she knew of – with one possible exception. Still, the energy lent to Mok from the drug gave him the advantage of ignoring the price his exertions would take upon his body – a dangerous situation and one she wished she could prevent. She caught up with him at the armory, babbling about attacking the place for supplies.

He’s gone INSANE! her mind screamed at her, praying to Akajia with every fiber of her being that none had noticed a Crimson Edge member try an opportunistic assault upon a Sun’s Birth building as her mind raced to conjure up ways to prevent any such rumor from circulating.

“Mok! What the petch are you doing here? They’ve got archers able to bloody kill us any time they damned well choose. Stop this nonsense! I don’t feel like getting pin cushioned by the Sun’s Birth today!” she screamed at him, trying to turn him to face her, to focus his mind upon her face and voice.

Despite herself she could not resist taking a look through the door, mapping the interior for future considerations. She was not against any practical occurrences that could strengthen her band’s position after all, merely objected to the timing and overt manner in which Mok tried to do it. She found it empty and that, in itself, interested her no end. She understood why taking the stockpile to safety would be desirable, however found questions as to how it had bend ne so swiftly. Logically she could only suppose upon some hidden entrance, trickily secluded within the interior of the armory for emergency usage. Still, they had no time to investigate and little enough time to get away unscathed.

“Come on! We need to get to SAFETY! Not start a two person raid!” she shouted at him as she tried to think of a place to go and an excuse to go there on the fly, “the Slagheap! It’s large, got a lot of space and if it goes out in this weather we can at least climb the fucking thing!” she concluded as she all but had to try to forcibly drag the brute away by the forearm.

“Petch this” she growled as she gave up and instead chose to make a break for it alone, leaving Mok to decide whether to follow her. He would be picked up by the others soon enough if he didn’t at any rate.

She ran, as hard and fast as she had ever done in her career as a message runner for Tua. She let her body meld all of its strength into her legs, the rhythm and the breathing. She tired after a few minutes of ceaseless sprinting, slowing her pace as the warren of buildings that comprised the slums began to impede her progress further. It was hard work, the ground underneath muddy and far from giving hr sound purchase. She slid over many times in her journey, catching herself on walls and slapping unbidden into corners – accompanied with a multitude of curses and a gather layer of grime streaked across her clothing. As she came into the open before the lag heap she had seen it had indeed been stricken devoid of flame by the weather in some places around its base.

She reached it at full speed and jumped for her safety, her legs springing her several feet into the air under the stressful circumstances.

[Ana Sol Starris]

Location: Temple of The Unknown Travelling further, deeper downwards, the small thiefs hesitance was beginning to show as the light around them diminished. One foot in front of another, carefully, slowly, she didn't want to end up tripping down the blasted, seemingly forever ridiculous steps. Running a hand across the wall, using it as a guide for her eyes she continued on with Shroud, shutting her honey hued opticals and going completely blind. In, out, she breathed, inhaled, exhaled, the musty smell of decay and dissuse filled her nostrils, the taps against stone, light feet, heavy feet, her senses were not failing her- for the most part. As they continued on their path, Ana found it harder to breath with each each step, clearing her throat every so often, Ana and Shroud were the only living, breathing creatures in this long, descending staircase of a void. If the small woman had been alone.. She was certain she would have begun to panic, Shrouds presence was a comfort, it let her know she wasn't going crazy. Feeling her hands fall through, the first foot out of the chamber her closed eyelids were greeted with light, opening them, she would let out a long drawn out gasp at the hidden room. Awe and amazement filled her eyes, her voice as she replied to him with a rhetorical question "who knew?" Quick and observent eyes took in the room, it was not large, nor small, but its use and placement of items made it seem much bigger than it seemed, or was it smaller? Ana couldn't tell, nor did she care as she followed her companions form with wide eyes- the room was filled with books! Books and tons more of archives and arcticles! Blinking, again her attention was redirected to Shroud, there was dust all over him and Ana seemed to panic, dust, dust, DUST, MOLD, oh no! Bringing a ragged sleeve up to her face, the itch of a sneeze coming through, she inhaled, then choked and sneezed at the same time, turning around as she did so into her blouse. Sniffing, she wasn't sure she liked the room now.. Especially if there was alot of disturbed dust, with eyes watering she breathed through the cloth in hopes of lessening the effects. Still, Ana was curious and got closer to the volumes, trying to smear off the dust with her free hand, all the book did was begin crumbling. Backing away, she looked up to the ceiling, the candles, no-.. Pausing, she stared at the candles.. Who had lit them? Were they.. haunted? Magical? Ana furrowed her eyebrows in contemplation of the place, what if there was something more than just self lighting candles? Looking at Shroud, she listened to his command, watched him hold a few bottles "do you even know whats in there?" The small woman retorted to him through her sleeve, the fear of the dust still ever present in her mind as she watched him indiscriminately "for all you know it could eat youuuu.." Ana said all spookily, trying to make a point and obviously failing. Humor didn't work well with her, especially when it was Shroud in control and so she hurridly obeyed his orders, picking a few bottles up here and there, wiping the dust off as best she could and peering inside, a bottle that was made of what appeared to be stained brown glass and what appeared.. To be darker brown liquid inside, she shrugged and pocketed it. The other bottle, as she tried to look wipe the dust off again, had a worn away label, though Ana couldn't see inside the glass, she shook it near her ear and heard a faint crinkling.. Maybe whatever had been in there was all dried up? Temptation settled into her mind, she wanted to open the bottle but right now was not the time to do so, she pocketed some more random items and set about looking for an exit. Keeping close to the wall, she began to walk around the perimeter of the room, eyes glued to the ground and the walls cracks, only to halt, stopping for another sneezing fit as her nose began to drip, clearing her throat once more and to also wipe the obvious liquid flowing from her eyes, stupid, petching allergies, was all Ana could think to herself. Reaching fowards to feel along the ground, determination filling her eyes as she felt along the cracks to find an exit. Hopefully Shroud was doing the same as her, four eyes were better than two, Ana tried not to giggle at the thought and held them back. Grumbling as she was coming up with nothing, she looked up from her search at Shrouds voice, who was reading a book it seemed. Irritation splayed quite clearly for display, the small woman frowned at her companion. The book.... Ana thought to herself, annoyance turning to astonishment, it looked as if it had fared better than the ones in the shelves "magic?" She questioned as she looked around, straightening up and moving closer, interest lit up in her demeanor "who would be stupid enough to leave a magic book here..? Let alone.. Wait, would that mean.." Hypothesis' crossed her mind "do you think the mobs already got the guy?" It was a simple enough question, it was quite possible, Sunberth despised and feared magic "or do you suppose he just died in here..?..theres bones.." Her eyes glanced at some of the bones around, not sure what to make of them, jumping to action she began to investigate some of them, not minding if her throat scritched and scratched as she breathed, Anas mind was simply too focused on what she wanted to know about, she wanted to see if those were really some persons bones! Creepy as that sounded in her mind, it wouldn't hurt to look at the dryed and ancient seeming skelatal matter.. NoteI've made this one of my high priority threads for during the weekend, just bored, had an hour left before needing to sleep, hw/studying done and thus writ' this up, enjoy Wrenmae <3

[Wrenmae]

Page by page he turned, one glyph followed by another. From cover to end they spun like complicated mandalas, always wordless and yet speaking volumes of untold power. Yes, these were the real deal, some look into the ravings of a mind that spoke only with magic. These dwelling rivers of lines and symbols could only point to one thing...a mage, of course. So then, what was this Temple of the Unknown? Had it existed as a refuge to the spellcasters? Some place of healing or worship? He paused. Worship of some God of magic? Ana was speaking and moving, examining bones now in a frantic quest to prove some wild theory. Brushing more dust from the cover, Shroud turned and pulled out his blade, the sound against the sheath a clear ring of metal in the small room. "Look at the dust, look at the room, you fool," He snarled, striding to where she was feverishly taking bones from the shelves and burying his fist into the decaying books, releasing them from their shape in a cloud of dust. "This room hasn't be disturbed in a long, long time...but we aren't here to play connect-the-bone, we're here to find another way out." He jerked his head back the way they came, "Going up there is a fool's errand. So you can either help me find an exit or take your chances on the upper level." He sheathed the weapon, knocking over the chairs around the table, his thin fingers searching the ground for the cut shape of a door, some architectural mention of something more. He swept decaying matter off the shelves, feverishly looking, searching. He paused. The table? Moving over to the stone table, he set his feet against the stone and pushed, surrounded by the debris of what he'd left behind. Grunting, he threw his weight against the slab and pushed as hard as he could, straining his wiry muscles for movement. There had to be something else here, the entrance was too cunningly hidden, the staircase too long, the flickering candles of their own accord. There was something else...just hidden.

[Xavior Silhouette]

Xavior's hidden pupils shrunk as the glow of a flame lit the cavern. The orange, amber glow flickered across the walls and faces of many filthy people of hardened souls who were out to survive. Xavior didn't turn to look at Roka, instead his eyes were drawn to a man's face. It seemed to be the type of person that blended in well and not easy to remember. Though, Xavior would recall the face if he encountered the man again in the future. He analysed the situation as his eyes could see the glint of a blade near the man's fingers. The pack on his back shuffled as a small body shifted within it. A cat's head soon poked from the top of the sack and looked over Xavior's shoulders, curious about the rats that shifted around near their feet. It was quite the pickle, outnumbered, he stood strong as the man openly threatened Roka and Xavior both. "Should I use hypnotism?" Xavior questioned himself, "No, it is bad enough I'm already in the form that most fear." Xavior ears perked as he heard the man speak more, they didn't trust the strangers, rightfully so too. "I am nothing but a penniless traveler." Xavior spoke to the man and the group, "I was told by someone to follow the rats to safety, from what I'm unsure." Did the sound of water as it fell from the hole grow louder? "I followed the rats and another beggar toward the coast. Then I ran into the man behind me. He and I sought shelter in here. Though I suppose we were more safe above ground. Forgive me for my humor, but hostility was not what I expected to meet down here. We're here for similar reasons as yourselves." Xavior's tone didn't sound hostile in the slightest. Despite the growled tone, he adapted a nonchalant, calm, and even friendly voice and posture in his body. Slowly he moved for his crossbow and observed the man's movements, he wanted to un-arm himself in a show of submission to the situation. His heart pounded in his chest, this was much more activity than he expected when he first fell to the shores of Mizahar. "I'm just taking this off, you all can have it if you'd like. I beg you instead of killing us, accept us, we mean no harm." Xavior's mouth curled into a genuine smile, some of the sharp pointed teeth were exposed as he began to slide the strap of his crossbow over his head.

[Aerika]

The small kelvic was confused by the sudden energy of the winged man, even more so when he pulled her into an empty room, surrounded by darkness and the noises of the ice pounding on the roof above. Aerika stood back up, standing there awkwardly staring at the roof, never flinching, but listening to the hail. She has heard of horrible storms before, but never before has she heard one that was so angry with her. Perhaps it was more angry that everyone was hiding from it, but with its initial fury, it was here for blood before hand. Now the child has fought many things, seen much blood, and for someone not even a year old, she had seen and done more murdering than most have in their entire lives. This storm however, it has killed several in few minutes, it has destroyed much within seconds, how long will it last and what will it do? She began to think, with a storm that has so much power and no way to defeat it, your only option is to run away. Where would a safe place would be? Somewhere that wouldn't be easily destroyed, and a place not many people would desire to go to. Only one place came to mind, a place that has seen its fair share of blood, and its name rang through the hall just as she began to think of it; the Blood Pits. Aerika looked at the dark winged man, her eyes showed no concern, yet she face was excited and terrified at the same time. She looked him, not able to see his eyes, but spoke anyways, "We should try to get to the Blood Pits." The travel would be long, but if they were able to time it in between the worsts of the storm, they might be able to make it.

[Shadowfang]

Shadowfang cast a sideways glance at the tiny girl as she spoke her suggestion. He did not want to go to the Blood Pits, he wanted to stay here, under his table, where it was dry and safe. Then, he looked at the room's doorway. There was water leaking into the room! Tendrils of the magic floodwaters were trickling across the floor towards the two beings. A glance out the broken window proved that the street below were a dryer place to be. Now armed with this new information, he decided that the Blood Pits sounded like a good place to be. 

It was still hailing heavily outside, he'd need to protect his wings. Looking around the room, he searched for anything that he could use ad a shield, until he noticed that the answer was right above his head. He stood, lifted the table, and took it to the window. He used the table leg to try and clear out the rest of the glass on the window and tried to push the table through. No good, the legs would not let it pass through the narrow window. Suddenly angry at the table, he turned it upside down, stood on it, and began slamming his hand against one of the legs, wiggling it around. After a great deal of effort he was able to break two of the legs off. Now he was able to push the table through the window quite easily, legs first, then rotated it to push the table top through. It fell to the ground two floors below with a clatter that was muffled by the shower of ice. Without looking at the girl, he pointed a thumb at his back and ordered her "On."

He jumped out the window and spread his wings to slow their decent. The hail slammed against his body and his wings almost felt as if they were about to tear. He landed and grabbed the legs of the table on the ground and pulled it so that it rested in his head with the legs still in his grip. It served the purpose of a heavy wooden umbrella. Hail clattered on top of the sturdy wooden table, but the two were generally protected from the worst of the storm. As long as his lightweight, albeit annoying navigator pointed the way, they'd reach the Blood Pits in no time.

When they entered the arena, the stench of blood and death long lingering assaulted Shadowfang's nose. Now that they were out of the hail, however; he felt much safer, especially without floodwater looking around his feet. He dropped the table and looked around the place, examining its contents.

[Aerika]

Aerika's face lit up with excitement, never before had this man offered the girl to jump on his back. She rushed forward to grab on and started rubbing her face against his wings again when he suddenly jumped out the window. The hail pelted her, making her yelp here and there from the sudden pain, but then she felt something heavier hit her back and everything got darker. She opened her eyes to find the winged-man holding a table over the two of them, and running through the streets, using the table as a giant shield from the ice that fell from the heavens. Aerika began to laugh from all of the excitement and started pointing down roads, surely leading them down certain roads that they probably didn't need to actually take, but still reaching their destination. Once they arrived at the Pits, Aerika jumped off to allow him to shake out and stretch, also to allow her to go in first and enjoy the memories and sweet smell. It has been a while since she has been to the pits, but she still loved the color and smell of fresh blood. She noticed that there was water, but nowhere near as bad as the Tavern currently was, probably because the Pits were on a hill and the entrance being on the side just making water push to the sides and down the hill. A great relief, but still, they weren't out of the storm yet, and from a feeling in her gut, it was only going to get worse.

[Twister]

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Experience Award

Wrenmae

Grade :

Experience: N/A

Lores: Hypnotism: Sending a Crowd into Mass Hysteria, Sunberth: The Temple's Hidden Study, Sunberth: The Djed Storm's Lethal Hail

Miscellaneous: 1 Old Book (filled with nondescript glyphs and patterns; no instructions or notes available)

Comments: Seeing as this thread was abandoned and is extremely old, I'm not sure what the plan was for the tomes or vials inside this room and therefore I can't really award them to you. I awarded what lores I could think relevant to the experience, however, and I hope they'll do you good!

Everyone else

Notes :

You're either retired, haven't logged in for over a year or have outdated Character Sheets. If you wish to get a grade out of this thread, make sure everything is up to date and send me a PM so I can produce a reward for your participation in this thread. Until then, everyone's grades are on hold.

If you've any questions or concerns about your grade, drop me a PM!
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