Quest [Left] Excursion - Spring SQ

[Piraen Saneka]

Piraen nodded as the man nearby spoke. At least someone else isn't having all the fun.

"Papers, mostly. I can't read what's on them. They're too worn." Pi shrugged, then sat. He picked at the corner of a page, not all that concerned with the safety of the paper. "I guess I wouldn't be able to read it if they weren't, so it probably doesn't even matter." He shrugged once more, his ego a bit sore from admitting aloud his incompetence. It wasn't an abnormal aversion to being in the dark. Pi knew everyone was bad something, and that everyone couldn't know everything. That didn't mean, however, that it didn't bug him any time an answer wasn't clear to him.

Piraen rummaged through the papers and books indignantly. His head was fixed to his hand as his fingers flipped the pages out of his way one by one. His mind wandered, choosing to think about the ex-inhabitants instead. Piraen originally thought that the large shelves in this room meant that they were were large. After a few ticks he realized that was impossible: the shelves were the only large furnishings there. Everything else was the same size as him. It appeared that, instead of their bodies being large, it was their mental capacity that was big. The previous owner of this library clearly thirsted for knowledge. I mean, if they took the time and money to put in a library, then they probably had to have liked something about learning.

Pi wondered if that thirst belonged to one person, or to multiple. Perhaps that was why the room was so large...it was communal. A room so large that all lessons could be archived in one place. Like a library... Pi couldn't recall ever coming across a public library before, his time in the floating city included. He wondered if Ravok even had one. There were very few in the world. As he understood it, most the books were destroyed by the Valterrian. Not these, though.

Just then, a thought hit the tailor."What if this was a public library?" Piraen wondered aloud, loud enough for whomever was in the next few aisles to hear. "What if we're in an underground town or city?" Piraen was no historian or anthropologist, but the idea still excited him.

His interest was sparked once again, and he began to shuffle through the pages with more fervor. If the nearby man responded, then the response would fall upon a distracted Pi; Piraen only "mhmm"ed in return. He began to flipped over a page, but it slid to the floor. In fact, when he looked to the floor he saw that many papers had done the same. He picked the papers up, set them on a flat spot on the desk, and then searched for the interloper.

After a few ticks, he found the culprit: a pillow. The tailor laughed. Apparently this researcher fell asleep on the job enough times to warrant bringing a pillow with him. Pi dug the pillow out, fluffing it in between his hands. He made a sturgeon face, appreciating the fact that the pillow still held a decent amount of fluffiness inside them. After quickly glancing around, Pi laid his head onto the pillow. It was pleasant, if one could ignore the cloud of dust and dirt that flew off of it.

Piraen wasn't one of those people, so he flinched away. Holding the pillow between both hands, Pi did a once over of the whole thing. Despite his surprise for it lasting this long, Pi thought it to be a normal pillow. He did a small shrug of disappointment before placing the pillow back down.

"What . . . ?" Piraen squinted as he caught a glimpse of something strange. As he went to put the pillow down, he thought he saw the flames burst out of the lantern. Could this be a magic pillow?! Piraen eagerly raised the pillow, watching carefully for the flames to jump once more. To his surprise, though, Pi found that the flames didn't move. Instead, they just shone through the pillow. As Pi twisted and turned the object in front of the lantern, the flame patterns and colors appeared on both sides of the fabric. It was almost as if it was made of some sort of glass.

That can't be right... Piraen jumped up, toting the pillow in one hand and the lantern in the other. He raised the lantern, his eyes eagerly searching for someone to share his discovery with. Perhaps it was just him he could see it. Perhaps the others would see something different. Either way, he just had to show somebody his shiny new toy.

[Daegron]

His daring, albeit clumsy attempt to climb, despite it's utter failure, had proven quite fruitful. The strange shell finally opened to reveal the strangest of things. As he unfolded the fabric, the unusual item made his eyes squint with excitement and surprise. He hastily put the egg case and whatever has spared from the wrapping back into his pack and started unfolding the treasure he'd found inside. There was a pair of glass lenses held together by a metal skeleton of some sort that folded neatly in the center. He moved closer to an oil lamp, to catch a better view. Despite all the years that it had spent hidden in there, the skeleton was in very good condition and the lenses seemed to be clear. He toyed a bit with this odd contraption, pulling and pushing the joints and arms, twisting a couple of screws or gears, and found that it was fairly easy to unfold. And when the assembly was complete, he raised the pair of glasses he'd just found, held them at a few inches distance from his head and tried to look through them before putting them on.

How strange! There seemed to be some slight flicker in that wall straight ahead. But when he lowered the glasses, there was only blackness. With a puzzled look he brought the lenses closer to his face and looked through them. What kind of trick was that ? There seemed to be flickers of lights where if fact there was none. And stranger still, there seemed to be a haze of colours where in fact there existed only grey stone. His curiosity bested him and he decided to wear the glasses properly, only to be surprised once more by the effect.

At first his vision blurred, and it stayed that way for a few ticks till his eyes finally adjusted. Half-lights and half images were projected over anything he turned to look. The room wasn't completely dark anymore; Instead, there was a haze of colours, and they seemed to emanate from lights that stood next to each and every shelf and on the walls. Red and blue and yellow hues, coming from what appeared to be tinted lanterns. And in that ghost-light they cast, the place that was truly dead and buried for centuries, appeared to be alive. As if a transparent curtain that waved and danced on a nonexistant breeze, covered reality. He felt his eyes squint as he tried harder to discern the details. But every time he was certain about what he'd just seen, the vision fluttered away. He felt his eyes geting tired. And then it made sense. What if these glasses were making him see, as if by magic, what the place looked like in it's prime ? The shelves were standing in all their glory, filled to the brim with books and tomes and jars and all kinds of odd items that he couldn't quite understand. The ceiling was covered with drawings ? sketches ? The walls were covered with colorful baners ? Or were his eyes just creating those images, confused by the illusion ? Underneath that blurry phantasm, the grey stone reminded him of the truth. Whatever this place was, it was now dead and lost. But still, he was able to see things as they once were. A wealth of information would reveal itself.

As he marvelled at the grandeur of this library, he felt his head hurt. And in that moment he realized how hard his eyes were trying. As much as he'd like to just get lost in that wonderful imagery, he had to remove them. For now, just a bit, until his eyes felt better. Without second thoughts, he pulled them off, instantly regretting his hasty decision and wishing he could cover the dust and stone and abandonment with those pretty colours. He made a promise to himself to put them on again soon. He would need to put them on again and use them in order to describe everyone what this place was ages ago. Except for grandma, he mused and chuckled to himself. She was probably alive back then. The spectacles were a useful tool of exploration he concluded. Anything of importance should be observed through them, said the logical voice. Or was it plain curiosity ?

The train of thought was stopped by Piraen's voice.
"Underground city ? Or perhaps underground facility ?Who would need all these tomes ? And all the items lying around ? This is a place of serious research, I think..."

What items ? there was only junk there, at least that's what everyone else saw other than stone and tattered books too fragile to touch, too damaged to be of any use. They'd probably noticed him looking around like an idiot while he wore those awe inspiring glasses. What a fool ! Now he'd have to tell them what it was that he'd found. At least some of the truth, hopefully not all of it...

He looked around to see what everyone else was doing. Piraen was close, and seemed to share Daegron's enthusiasm about a ... sack that he held in the darkness ? A sack ? He was tempted to put the glasses on and see the thing for what it really was, but no. Not now. Tanen and Grandmother seemed to be in an exciting discussion abouu something old, dead and crumbled. James was ever watchful and silent, as if he was taking care of everyone.

"Where is he going ?" he thought as he caught a glimpse of t he Paladin moving even further away from the group, with a book in hand...

[Abstract]

OOCYou know, I meant to get to this the day Daegron replied. Sadly, that didn't happen. Yay. I have nothing on my plate for a while now, though... so more posts!

If Sevris followed the arrow straight, he'd end up running into a shelf, a large stone one that was actually rather intact. Instead, he'd have to wind his way around various obstacles, mostly rubble and such, though keeping in mind the arrow's direction. Hopefully he would have a good sense of direction, and not lose track.

However, when he got to the far side of the room, it would be rather obvious where he ended up. There was another entrance, similar to the one they had come in, the size of an average door frame. Behind it, if he shone his lamp, would show a room full of grey stone tables, though not all would be visible from outside.

The tick he arrived there, James would come up beside him, peering into the gloom. "Huh..." the man said, frowning at the darkness. "This looks more interesting every chime. Tanen!" The last was a shout, a call to his companion to come join them. They had to wait only a few ticks until the sound of feet approaching could be heard, and a light seen a little ways away.

Tanen and grandmother would quickly join the pair in the glow of the lanterns, waiting outside the door. "Ooh, a door," the exciteable man muttered, before turning straight to James. "Look!" he said, holding up a candle in a rusted metal candle holder. He flicked the thing, and the flame came to life. "It's magic!" He grinned widely, expecting someone to be pleased with his discovery. The old woman snorted, and Tanen's expression drooped.

"If I didn't know any better, Tanen... I'd think you were a reimancer. It's not so amazing." He paused, shaking his head. "Is everyone here? Everyone find something interesting? I'm sure Tanen here will want to do a show-and-tell, but this is probably not the best place. Lets get moving, then."

He would set off, leading them into a room half the size of the library, but felt positively small simply because of the clutter. There were tables everywhere, in the middle of the room and on the edges, with things on and underneath them. Some things looked like pieces of glass or tools, the metal lasting over the years and ages, and there were even some completely intact bottles. However, though there were some things that were unharmed, there were others that weren't. A huge table in the middle looked like a hammer had smashed into the middle, cracking it into a solid two pieces. It didn't look like anything had been on or under it, though.

The most noticeable feature, however, was the cages. There were many, many cages all over the room, mostly stored under tables but also sitting on top of them. Some had bones in them, the only remnants of their residents. They were of all sizes as well, from ones that would fit a few mice, to bird cages, to giant ones that would fit a large wolf or a small panther.

Sevris' book would tell him nothing, except while in the room there would be occasional red images of paws or snarling jaws, simply line drawings of obviously animal things. Daegron, however, if he put on his glasses... would see much more.

It would seem like he was watching a silent scene, with a lot more movement than there had been in the library. It looked like there should have been noise, but there simply wasn't... the glasses only enhanced sight, after all. All of the tables would be intact, and the open spaces covered with glass jars and constructions, as well as various pottery containers. The cages held the motion, however, full of ghostly images of animals that paced in their cages, whined or screamed, and generally made a lot of noise. Noise that Daegron wouldn't hear, however.

There was one bird that looked rather odd, a vivid shade of green that stood out even with the half-images. If Daegron got a closer look he would see that it had four legs instead of two, the extras sprouting from its chest like a human would have arms, but hanging limp. It would flap its wings a little, move every other part... but not those strange legs.

[Daegron]

It seemed that whatever the Paladin was reading, it was leading him somewhere. James, had taken an interest in his directions, and curiosity bested Daegron who followed through the ruined tables and bookshelves. It wasn't long till everyone was gathered again on the entrance to the next room.

There were tables everywhere. An impressive collection of tools or their remains along with a multitude of what appeared to be junk and garbage was scattered all over those tables. Curiously enough, there were a few items that still stood intact, despite the passing of centuries or the events that led to this facility's abandonment. The most interesting thing though, were the gages. Their rusted steel bars were standing in all their glory, defying the disintegrating touch of rust that kept eating at them. Others smaller, others larger and quite a few of them were hosting remains of whatever was locked inside. Bones, remnants of fur and teeth or claws made it clear that there were animals kept in there." What kind of research would make use of them or their remains ?" he thought, and as the rest of the team scattered around the room in search of clues, he was tempted to put his magical pair of glasses on. Surely, thye would give insight beyond what his senses or logic seemed to dictate.

He closed his eyes, thinking that perhaps the adjustment of his squinting eyes might be easier. He wore the pair and leaned forward as he stood in front of one of the largest tables. One of the biggest cages was standing on it's top, along with a peculiar collection of metallic items; these were utterly destroyed by rust. As he opened his eyes, everything became blurry. The half- light had returned and so did the images of what could have been in the distant past. He blinked, trying to get a clearer view, and leaned in closer, to examine the bony contents of the cage.

His vision cleared only to find himself face to face with the gaping snout of a rabid wolf. Terrified he stepped back, stumbling on whatever debris was lying behind him and almost fell square on the dusty ground. For a moment, the image seemed like it was materialized and alive in front of him, but later on, when calmer, he dismissed the notion knowing that it was his imagination and the sudden stress that made him think so. The wolf's paw was clawing through the bars at whatever or whomever was standing there. The beast was enraged, howling, snarling and pouncing with all it's might against the steel cage. Yet as terror receded, Daegron realized that there was no sound; just the transparent image of a large animal caged and angry. No doubt it was made furious by it's captivity and from what appeared to be sharp implements, meant to painfully prod and poke at it, lying on the table's edge. As he managed to sant up again, another vision seemed to assault him. This time, a little more aware than the last, he barely managed to avoid the immaterial hand that reached through the bars. An ape was enclosed in the cage to his left. It was running around, leaving the occasional shriek.
He turned around to marvel at the illusion once more.

"This was a chamber where animals were kept, caged, poked and probably experimented on..." he explained to his fellows who had probably realized that the strange contraption he was wearing was giving him useful information. He went on, describing the presence of sharp instruments, vases, the occasional scribbled note and assorted tools of whatever trade was carried out in those halls. Many different animals, from simple rats and squirrels, to that rabid large wolf seemed to be agitated or downright hostile at whoever their captors were or whatever they were doing with them. Yet still, those were just blurry illusions of a reality long passed, and the deathly silence of aeons just muffled their cries. His head was clearly hurting, his eyes were pierced while desperately trying to adjust between two half-images, darting and squinting. Yet he dared not remove them, not before he could take a closer look at that strange specimen.

It was some sort of a bird of a weird and unknown origin. And as he walked closer, trying to discern any details from it's ghostly visage he came face to face with an awful truth. This oversized bird seemed to have equal parts of a predator, a chicken and a.. stork ? This definitely didn't seem natural, everything about that bird was wrong. What was truly disturbing though, was the detail that revealed a lot about this facility. The bird had some sort of arms; a pair of appendages that were hanging limp as they sprouted from the thing's chest. This was a whole new kind of sick...

" They were.... modifying...altering those animals ... experimenting with new... breeds. They've caused awkward and terrible mutations. That's what they were doing in here. he said and looked away from the thing that desperately tried to flap it's weak wings.

The huge table on the middle grabbed his attention next. The two images of it's states seemed to mingle in a haze. He tried to focus his hurting gaze. The present state was clearer. Nothing more than a stone slab, a table surface that was seemingly split in twain as if struck by an enormous hammer. It's long forgotten past state, buried by time and dust, in all it's ethereal glory was a lot different and very interesting...

[Abstract]

OOCSince I have had no reply from Pi or Sevris... I'll be continuing this. Sorry for the delay, Daegron. The rest of you... you've had all month! Really?

James turned as Daegron spoke, frowning at the man. "How can you tell?" he demanded, taking a step forward and trying to find the clues where Daegron was looking. He scowled around for a moment before he double-checked the Morpher's face. His eyebrows raised in surprise for a moment, finding the recently-found glasses.

"Those... where did you get them? Are they magic?" He demanded all of this harshly, reaching a hand forward to lightly touch the apparel, despite the fact that Daegron was still wearing them. He brought the finger back a moment later, still frowning, though it didn't seem like he'd noticed anything odd about them.

Grandmother stepped forward to look at the commotion, Tanen following behind like a faithful old puppy. Despite excitement in her eyes, she looked tired from this strange jaunt in the earth's depths. All of a sudden she let out a huge breath and fell to one knee, leaning heavily on her stick. Tanen darted forward with a cry, helping her up slowly so the old woman could stand again.

"I told you this was a bad idea..." he hissed, but the harshness was brought on more by worry than anything else. Grandmother snorted and came up with some kind of smart reply, though it was too quiet for any of the others to hear.

To interrupt their personal commotion, a sound none had been expecting came from the far door. Grandmother's head swiveled, and if any were watching closely, they would have seen her sniff a little, nostrils flaring. The first time the noise came around, they would have been talking to much for anything to truly be heard. However, the second time, when everyone had silenced and begun straining their ears... the sound was obvious.

It was a growl.

OOCHah, cliff hanger!

[Sevris]

OOCMy apologies on the lateness. Sevris eagerly followed the direction the mysterious red book was pointing to. As before he couldn't really make head nor tail of whatever he was looking at.It seemed as if they were images created from a mind on drugs, hallucinations of things you'd never see. But the arrow remained and it lead him through many obstacles filled with rubble. The lantern illuminated his view and his eyes could just make out another entrance somewhat to one they came from. An eye arched up in interest he made his way into it. He saw grey stones at first and it seemed as if the book had lead him ashtray. Then James came behind him and also peered into the room. Soon the rest of the party would following his lead and they entered a room that was large. All the while Sevris was more entranced with the book. Occasionaly walking around he would get flashes of some type of beasts paws and even snarling jaws. He was beginning to accuse the book of driving its user mad. When Grandmother fell to the ground. Tanen rushed forward to help the old lady back to her feet. Then suddenly they heard it from the other side of the room. After all was silent, a growl. Everyone's snapped forward towards the sound. Sevris immediately tossed the book in his bag and unsheathed his double-bladed weapon. "I believe we have company."

[Daegron]

The Morpher wasn't eager to start explaining the source of the marvels that he witnessed. He did not answer to James' demands even when he approached. There was no way he'd part with the magic spectacles. They were his to discover, their power his to unlock and meant for him to utilize. He sneered as James stepped enen closer, his gaze insisting on an explanation.

"We were in a library just a few chimes ago..." he answered, trying to hide his frustration. "Now we are in a room fillen with tables and junk..." he went on trying to deduct a logical explanation. "The amount of studying that the library could facilitate speaks of important research. Research of any nature, requires serious experiments." He huffed, satisfied with the perfectly logical explanation he'd just shared.

But no. Daegron's big mouth had revealed more than he should. But then, he had to let his fellows know, it was important for the mission's success for all details or information to be shared. The origin or magical properties of the glasses were irrelevant compared to how useful they might prove to be. He'd use them only to gain insight that would help the mission and it's members, and that much he had to make perfectly clear.

"I found them. Whatever they reveal to me will be shared with you in an instant. I have nothing to hide and the mission's success and my comrades' survival is of the topmost priority. Have you a reason to distrust me ?" he responded coldly staying still while James took a few ticks to examine the strange contraption, even if only by a simple touch. He wasn't expecting an answer, his question was made merely to strengthen his point. And it seemed to be enough.

He lowered the glasses down his nose, and as the visions faded into the bleak grey remnants thatthe others were limited to see. For a moment, his eyes felt better, but the headache went on, assaulting his forehead with a hammer. His teeth gritted. There was no way that he'd be intimidated by a simple migraine. There were so many things to discover.

As everyone gathered close, the stale air was disturbed by a sound. They all stood silent only to hear it again. A growl ?
Daegron growled back, and as the Paladin's steel hissed while being drawn out he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Something menacing was approaching. He had to be ready.

He whispered words that did not exist, shaped by hate and anger. He reached into himself, through flesh and blood and sinew, till he found what he would need most. His essence, his Djed, a swirling mass of blackness, the absence of colour and shape. And as his chant grew and spread into the damp air, small strands emerged athat grew into tentacles of energy, whipping madly. With his phrases he willed those strands to move and spread throughout his body, travelling through vessels of blood and avenues of lymph.

Whatever emitted those horrible growls, Daegron was ready to face with the proper shape and excited eyes. a part of him was eager for a fight, a chance to prove his worth and crush opposition. Another part of him was calculating warily, thinking of all possibilities. There was no fear as he sneered his next words

"Let it come..."

[Piraen Saneka]

Piraen held his new treasure before him, ready to show it off to Daegron. Unfortunately, something else caught his audience's attention. Pi frowned, dropping his hand to his side with the utmost of sass. He was admittedly a selfish man, and he did not like being denied attention. The tailor kept this occurrence in the back of his mind as followed Daegron.

Soon, he had followed the man into a new room. A room that, if Piraen was being honest, resembled his own apartment. The room was cluttered, with items carelessly strewn about. The one aspect that was a stark difference, though, was the cages. Pi cringed at the sight of them. He had spent the majority of his time in Ravok hiding his nature and, thus, avoiding containment. These cages were just reminders of the potential misfortune looming over his head.

Unlike many other kelvics, his deep-seeded need to serve manifested in a compulsion to serve himself. He'd be sure to let any of his owners know that, too. He'd be a rotten slave. Seeing as he wouldn't serve, Pi figured that the only logical thing that a slave owner would do would be lock him up in a cage. The tailor bent over, poking at a nearby cage. He imagined himself in a cage, and shook slightly. Containment wasn't something Pi was too keen on.

Piraen half-heartedly listened to the others. Amusement tugged the corner of his mouth up as he contemplated what Daegron was saying. I wonder what I'd look like with an extra leg...or perhaps an extra wing? Or two? I'd be like a bird-dragonfly. That'd be kind of cool, I think. Pi tilted his head as he stood up. He wondered if having extra wings meant that he'd have extra arms in his human form. Frowning, Pi decided that four arms was much less cool than four wings.

As James began to interrogate Daegron, Pi realized that he'd face the same suspicion. Wishing to avoid an inquiry, the tailor set his lantern down and silently stuffed the sack into his bag. He put the bag back on, his long fingers daintily readjusting the straps. Nearby someone fell. Most likely the old woman. Why is she here? Pi looked up, shaking his head as his assumption was affirmed. He felt no need to help her up, seeing as two very capable men were already on the job.

Besides, it seemed he may need to save the energy. Pi regarded the farthest door thoughtfully. Birds didn't growl, so he knew he wouldn't be able to talk to whatever creature stood over there. The best his combat skills got were the minimal hunting training he had. Sadly, he couldn't sew the thing to death. Piraen picked up the lantern, then looked back towards the door they had just walked through. He valued his own life over honor or exploration. If the men before him couldn't take down this thing, then Pi would run. It wasn't out of fear or cowardice; it was out of self-preservation that he would run. Actually, that he would fly. With his free hand, he began to slowly loosen the top of his jacket. Just in case, He thought. Just in case I'm the last one left.

[Gossamer]

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