Solo Why Squirrels Are The Best.

Arch visits the Hollow of Odraz.

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Known as the Celestial Seat, Nyka is a religious city in Northern Sylira. Ruled by four demigods and traversed by a large crevice, the monk-city is both mystical and dangerous. [Lore]

Why Squirrels Are The Best.

Postby Archailist on February 28th, 2014, 8:46 pm

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55th of Winter, 513.

Continued from here.

There was nothing to it. All of the strange things in the city never seemed to stop revealing themselves to the squirrel; not even when he'd long stopped wanting them to happen. Strange people clad in purple robes and beetles that were nearly the size of the squirrel, if not bigger. Monsters that hid within the depths of that blasted massive hole that split the city in two. He'd heard of other mysterious things that came from inside, the more he talked to the civilians that he managed to briefly catch on their daily walks. Talks of silver mists that guided their bodies in ways they could not know, and of whispers that emerged from the very walls. It was all too strange for the squirrel himself to piece together - but there was always one constant in the stories. The Aperture. The monks were hiding something down there. He'd known it had to be somewhere, but now he definitely knew. None of them would admit to anything though, as much as he asked them. Regular residents of Nyka knew even less, apparently left ignorant and uninformed even though they never put a word to it. Mysterious disappearances and deaths - all the works of cultists, or was there something else going on?

Did the cultists know something else? Did their attacks, their killings and kidnappings and schemes have some justification to do with whatever there could possibly be, hidden down there in the depths of the Aperture?

The mere thought was daunting enough to shake the squirrel. But he had to push his fears and his doubts aside when it came to protecting the realm. And he was going to protect it - even if it meant uncovering whatever it was that the monks held. And that meant he'd need a monk to help him. Well, that and Eric's shoulder was always a comfortable place to sit as they wandered throughout the Celestial Quarter, talking as low as they possibly could so as not to attract any unwanted attention from any other monks within earshot. Though with the distance between mouth and ear, one never would have suspected they even talked at all. "I need to go down into the Aperture. It's the only way to get to the bottom of what's going on. But I need your help. You need to come with me." The monk looked visibly aghast at the very prospect but the squirrel was quick to reassure him with some gentle caresses on the shell of his ear. If anything, it made the boy seem even more uncomfortable. "Don't worry, I'll be with you! But I need someone to come with me. I'm not nearly as well-prepared as I'd like to be for traveling down there. Especially if there are more of those Gesentke Beetles." He'd told the monk about all of those.

Though it was the squirrels turn to look surprised when he heard what the boy-monk said next.
"Why not just take a load of drugs to simulate the effect of going down there?"
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Why Squirrels Are The Best.

Postby Archailist on June 18th, 2014, 6:33 pm

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

He couldn't believe his own ears - mostly because the boy-monk was still a boy. And why a boy would know such things about drugs shocked the Pycon to his little solid core. But he didn't even know there was a drug area in the city.. and if the boy-monk said that it would help out, then who was he to really judge? He didn't know what he was going up against down there, and there were some pretty strange things he'd seen already. Just what lay at the heart of it all was anyone's guess, in the end. Though just because he wouldn't have much sway, didn't mean he didn't have any questions on it either. Though now that they were talking about the seedier, and less.. legal areas of the city, he had to lower his voice even more. He was sure that he could feel the thin little strings of clay that acted as his whiskers brushing against the inside of the boys ear, although if it caused any discomfort to Eric, the boy-squire showed no sign of it. He just continued walking along, completely casual. "So, uhm.. where would we find one of these places to purchase these items?"

The boy-monk glanced about the streets quickly.. but there were only a few citizens about the place, forming close huddles that made their bright clothes seem to melt together into a cacophony that hurt the eyes. Suddenly, the monk turned and they slid down a small alley, that quickly opened up again into another street - this one even more empty than the first, with barely three or four people occasionally wandering up and down the streets, and passing them as they went. It seemed safer to talk here.
"It's a special place. You can't let anyone see you go inside.. and you shouldn't be telling anyone else about it either. But you won't tell anyone, will you?" Of course, the squirrel shook his head. Eric was pretty much one of the only people that the squirrel could, and did, talk to. He wouldn't have anyone else to tell and he wouldn't have any reason to tell them about it either. One thing was definitely niggling at the back of his skull though, and as they descended down the streets and turned into a second alley, his curiosity once again got the best of him.

"So... wait. Why would I need drugs if I'm going down into the Aperture?" He probably should have asked that one earlier but he was too busy learning about drugs. For now, the monk-boy stopped at the middle of the alley and turned his head so that he could see the squirrel currently sitting on his shoulder. He looked kinda surprised.. which surprised the squirrel as well. He was expected to know what was down in the deepest, darkest hole of the entire city?

"You don't know what happens down in the Aperture?" The squirrel shook his head and in turn, the monk shook his. "The Aperture is a place of strange creatures that protect all of Nyka. There are monsters down there, that sometimes emerge and cause harm. And the Aperture is responsible for the strange things that happen all around the city - The Mist and the Snake in the Walls..." The monk didn't actually trail off but the squirrel's concentration did. He didn't know any of those weird things but he did know one.

"Is it responsible for that weird lady that I saw covered in purple?" The nod was all he needed to know. He needed to get more than a bit drugged up, he needed to take everything in that damn place in order to be prepared for traveling down there. He might just see her again. He might just see worse - not that he could even really imagine what worse could possibly be, except for that weird apparition that seemed to be able to appear and disappear as if nothing had ever happened. That was scary enough. Visiting that in complete darkness, in a giant and endless hole. Damn, now he was having second thoughts on the whole thing.

"Yeah, why do you think everyone always gets freaked out by the Hollow of Odraz?" Well, the squirrels expression must have showed how utterly clueless he was to what the Hollow of Odraz was, because the monk-boy just kept talking after that. "It's a place in the Celestial. You'll have to go down one of the ladders to find it though. You'll know it when you see it, and I can't... well, I can't really describe what goes on inside. You'll have to figure that one out for yourself. But if you manage to stay inside for more than fifteen chimes, you'll be more than ready for whatever you might find deeper down in the Aperture." Even the boy-monk seemed to be shivering.. and the squirrel took that as his cue to get off and get running. He needed to find this Hollow, and then.. he needed to find out what was down there, that made everyone seem so afraid.
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Why Squirrels Are The Best.

Postby Archailist on June 19th, 2014, 6:12 pm

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

He'd never even noticed, until he came out of the alleyway again and begun his run, that he wasn't in the Celestial. How on earth did they manage to skip over an entire Quarter without the squirrel noticing? Well, either he'd managed to seriously space out on those few chimes or the boy-monk knew a lot more about the city than the squirrel anticipated. Then again, they were monks. He should have guessed they would know a lot about a city they practically hand-built from stone. Regardless - judging by the few buildings he could see and the monks mixed amongst the crowds of civilians that he used to bridge the gaps beneath their giant feet, he was somewhere around the East. Another surprise but the squirrel had dealt with more than enough that day anyway. There were more important things than seeing the sights - he needed to find this Hollow, wherever it was. And whenever he needed to know something about Nyka and he couldn't find Eric, he asked the monks. He didn't know why he didn't just ask the citizens, but the monks always seemed older and wiser. Maybe not older, like in Eric's case, but generally.

"Do you know where the Hollow of Odraz is?" He picked out the first monk he could amongst the flood of colourful people walking across the city, occasionally grouping together and disappearing into the many shops. He didn't look that old but he wore orange robes and had a fresh, deep scowl on his face, so he knew that he must be talking to the right person. And barely a few ticks later, he knew he was right, because the monk nodded silently. Although, he didn't reply. It was a bit weird, and awkward - just sitting there on the monks shoulder as they walked through he crowds, waiting for the monk to tell him where the Hollow was. And the monk apparently had absolutely no interest in doing such a thing. They must have walked for almost a full chime in silence before the squirrel gave an awkward cough into one paw and decided that he might as well continue. "Could you... perhaps, show me where it is?" Another nod followed, and the monk pointed of towards the near bridge that connected the Celestial to the East.

Taking it as the best reply he would get, the squirrel nodded in return and mumbled thanks, before hopping straight off his shoulder and onto the next civilian that passed by. And from there, the next and the next. Whatever reason the monk had for refusing to speak or give a verbal answer of any sort was entirely his own - the squirrel wouldn't pry. But he would certainly question it in his mind over the next few bells. For now, he needed to find that Hollow. Which meant another game of head-hopping. One head to the next became a mere stepping-stone for the squirrel as he launched himself repeatedly over the various heads, and in turn, received many yells and rude comments from various citizens that were stopped in mid-conversation.

Stranger still was when the squirrel finally reached the end of the street, turned the corner and ran straight down the small courtyard that opened up right before the bridge. And found absolutely nothing. There wasn't a single shop around the area that had a name 'Hollow of Odraz' over the top, and he couldn't see any on the opposite side of the bridge either. It seemed like the mute monk had sent him off on the wrong direction.. or the squirrel had simply misinterpreted his utterly silent directions and instead taken a wrong route. It didn't matter - Eric had said something about the Hollow being near the Celestial, so he jumped down from the shoulder he'd been occupying while searching, and instead went along the bridge by foot. He'd just about made it half-way across, and was in the middle of dancing between the uncountable amount of feet that were all trying to step on the poor squirrel at the same time, when he tripped and stumbled for a few steps. What the...

When he turned around, he saw something that he'd never noticed before. A metal band wrapped around one of the columns at the side of the bridge, which held up the banisters. And another one on the next column along. A ladder, right in the middle of the bridge. How odd?
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Why Squirrels Are The Best.

Postby Archailist on June 20th, 2014, 1:32 pm

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

In all of his time, he'd never even noticed it. But then again, the two metal rings were barely visible anyway - even to someone that was barely a few inches off the ground. When he sneaked in for a closer look, there was even more to be seen - a ladder dangled from the two rings, all the way down into the Aperture. Not all the way down, though - he could see that it ended quite abruptly on a nearby ledge and seemed to hug one of the inner faces of the cavern. And almost completely hidden by the shadows that were cast over the dark hole, was a doorway.

Now that was where the squirrel had to really stop and think, while he stood above the ladder. Why would there be a door in the Aperture? Why would there be a ladder leading down to a door in the Aperture? Was he just hallucinating again and seeing things that really weren't there - was it an illusion made by the Aperture itself? Kicking on the iron rings didn't make it disappear, though - it just sent a shudder all the way down the ladder, and a dull rattle as the dark wooden rungs clacked against one-another. Usually illusions couldn't make themselves so realistic, but then again, he'd seen a woman dressed in purple robes appear as clear as day and he wouldn't have been able to tell if she was real or whether she was an illusion unless he could have punched her in the ankle. But, if it was real, it'd carry his weight. And if it wasn't... well, he was planning on visiting the Aperture anyway. He'd just be going down there sooner, and quicker, than he'd previously planned.

Thankfully, the ladder took his weight. Although the rungs continuously swayed back and forth whenever he took a step - and because the ladder was obviously made for humans, the squirrel had trouble climbing down the thing without slipping between the deep gaps that separated each rung. Heck, he was worried that the ladder would spin under his weight and leave him dangling upside-down for a second, but apparently his weight wasn't enough compared to the weight of the ladder itself. It was as sturdy as a very old and worn ladder could possibly be. His legs still had to stretch to reach the next rung - and whenever the ladder shuddered, he nearly tumbled off altogether. He barely had one rung that he could use the entire way down the thing.

He needed to know what this was, though. The Hollow of Odraz could wait a while. Whatever a door was doing inside the Aperture and why there was a ladder leading to it, needed to be known. The monks must have known about it but he didn't see any signs to mind it, and he didn't see any monks going down it, as of yet. Citizens barely even glanced at the thing, or the squirrel once he'd set foot on it. But nobody had cried out in anger at him, so he could say that he was at least allowed on it. That should have made him feel a little better, but it didn't. Maybe he was crawling down to the home of some strange Aperture monster and he wasn't being warned about it because the city could no longer tolerate a squirrel in their walls, even if he had killed a damn cultist for them. And befouled a Myri image.

When he finally reached the door, the first thing he did was inspect the markings left over it. Runes, of some sort - carved straight into the door, by the looks of things. Whoever had done it, they'd known what they were doing.. the shapes weren't random and the markings were faded with age. But not completely.. given that the squirrel could barely see anything below, and he'd gone quite deep inside, he could only imagine how far down the Aperture truly went. And yet... there were things living inside of it. Had they once made the Hollow?
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Why Squirrels Are The Best.

Postby Archailist on June 20th, 2014, 2:45 pm

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

When the squirrel touched the rock, to try and feel the runes, it seemed to move of its own accord. That just made the squirrel question all of the mysteries even more. He'd heard of things like Animation that could make creatures that moved and walked on their own, and even some that could talk - but when there were strange doors opening when touched, covered in ancient runes in the bottom of a huge cave, home to mysterious monsters.. then the squirrel really begun to question the sanity of the world and all of the inhabitants in it - especially the ones that would choose the space directly above and surrounding said massive chasm as the perfect place to build a city and worship their gods. They could have chosen a nice place at the bottom of a mountain, with plenty of room and no monsters... but no, they had to choose a place inhabited by ghosts in purple robes and giant beetles and goodness-knew-what-else that the squirrel was yet to encounter.. and most of them, he didn't want to encounter.

Still, he hadn't come this far not to explore. The chamber inside seemed quite dark, but without blocking the entrance he could see inside and just about make out the shape of a very narrow, and cramped little area. Or at least, cramped for a human - the squirrel would expect them to be forced to put their heads between their own ankles because of their size, but his opinions may have been tainted by the lack of accurate scale. When dealing with creatures that were often several times the size of the squirrel, he could be forgiven for exaggerating their true size due to his perspective. He could also see the corners and the faces, but they weren't.. for lack of a better word, conventional. Instead of spread out equally in a cube, like all rooms and normal houses, the walls were all slanted with sharp corners, like a triangular prism. And yet they were still perfectly smooth, as if they had been created by a master of masonry.. and given the extremely irregular shape and location, the squirrel had to once again question who, and what, had made such a place. And for what purpose.

He'd find out soon enough. When the door had finished pulling itself open, the squirrel carefully begun to climb into the narrow gap, that eventually ballooned out into the small chamber. Strangely, the triangle wasn't even set with a level floor - the entire odd shape was set in an odd way, so that the entire cavern seemed to taper down to the entrance.. which was also the exit. In fact, given that the squirrel was quite small when compared to the room, he had to make sure to actively move away from the hole so that he wouldn't slide down and back out of the little cove right away. And possibly straight off the edge and down into whatever horrors lay below in the Aperture. But when he did manage to get inside, and his foot gently brushed the disk of stone, it begun to pull itself closed once more. He couldn't help it - the rapidly deteriorating single light source freaked the squirrel out just a bit.

Even though the space wasn't exactly small or uncomfortable, it was still very dark and blank. Especially when the disk of solid stone sealed over the only entrance, and left a distinct claustrophobia in the squirrel as he glanced from one wall to the next.. and quickly had to begin moving again, lest he fall back to one of the corners and remain trapped there. Corners were bad.. if he kept to the center of the floor, he could be ready for anything that came from any corner. Nothing would come from any of the corners though, would they... the door was sealed with stone, there was nothing inside but the cool stone walls, and nothing could get in or out of the small, confining space. There was nothing that could harm him, nothing that could even touch him in this quite little cove. Wasn't there?
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Why Squirrels Are The Best.

Postby Archailist on June 20th, 2014, 4:53 pm

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

Now he was just getting needlessly paranoid over meaningless things. It was like the meeting with the Purple Lady all over again - but this time, he knew he needed to remain calm. Secure. Nothing was going to happen in the small, completely-dark chamber that he couldn't control. He was in complete control of his own life, and everything in it. He just needed to assert that. Still, as the chimes wore on in complete darkness and silence, the squirrel begun to slowly make his way about the tiny chamber. Of course he tried to ignore the entrance and the odd sloping of the walls in the hopes that he wouldn't end up toppling back, but he did try to explore as much of the dark space as possible. Since there was literally no light to be seen, he had only his touch to use - and that meant a lot of accidentally knocking his head against what qualified for walls in the strange chamber. He wouldn't move towards the corners but the edges were fine.

It must have been... well, he couldn't actually tell how long it'd been since he'd entered the chamber, but he was definitely feeling quite confident and happy by that time. All that changed when the whispers began. He didn't know if they were really coming from the chamber around him, but they certainly sounded like they were - even echoing around the narrow space and its odd walls, making sure he could hear even the smallest whispers that they started as. And the strange lights, that didn't light up the rest of the chamber. It gave the squirrel a very odd sense of perception.. seeing light but not seeing light. Thinking or looking at it for too long made his head hurt just a little, but he couldn't pull his attention away from it either. The whispers seemed to be coming from them, but he couldn't make them out - they were like many, unknown voices speaking complete gibberish. Since he couldn't even make out if they were from his own imagination or from the room itself, they were nothing to be concerned with.

That was, at least, until everything suddenly changed. The shapes seemed to all slam themselves together, and the numerous, tiny voices all meshed together into a single, loud voice that was very recognizable and very clear. The transformation was startling to the squirrel - all he'd done was begin wandering if he could become a knight after all, with such attachment to the unreal.. when the body of Loren Dyres appeared in front of him with harsh eyes staring down at him from above, his hands pressed onto his hips. He didn't know how the man could fit into such a cramped space, but there he was. Staring, judging. Arch couldn't even move under the weight of the powerful gaze and the booming voice that echoed around the cavern over and over, filling his head until he could no longer hear his own thoughts amongst it.
"No squirrel is worthy to become a Knight of the Order." There was so much malice and condescension in his voice, it felt like scorn itself was slamming into his head with all the force of a warhammer. He couldn't take it.

"No! No, you're LYING!" Even his own words sounded hollow and empty as they were flung into the chamber, but not even the chamber could hold them any more, because there was no chamber. There were the towers of the Mithryn Outpost to the far distance, just through the wide gates leading into the Nettle District. All around were knights, mixed amongst few civilians that were soon obscured behind more of them. All laughing. All mocking the one squirrel who dared to even think he could become a knight. Some of them laughed, and others merely shook their head in despair. The squirrel could do nothing - no matter how much he yelled at them all. "Stop! STOP IT! I can become a knight, I CAN, you just need to give me.. a chance!" He couldn't take it any more and lashed out at the nearest knight possible, but the knight wasn't there any more. He lashed at another, but nothing. Damn it all. They were taunting him, and mocking him. No matter how fast he ran at them, he couldn't touch them - it was as if something blocked his way, like he was held inside a narrow cage that he could only run around over and over...

He kept running, though. Even as they laughed at him, he ran and punched and kicked and yelled. Practically until his lungs were sore. "Stop, STOP!" The knights wouldn't even bother to listen. And above them all was Loren Dyres, laughing louder than them all. He should have been angry at them but he could only feel ashamed at himself. For even wanting to be a knight. For even trying to become one - he shouldn't have bothered. All of his doubts came rushing back in his face, and swarmed about his head until they made him dizzy and disoriented.

And then, it cleared. The visions of Loren Dyres and his knights, and all of Syliras cleared as sunlight touched them. Faint though it was. The stone that had sealed over the entrance to the small cavern rolled out of the way, and the squirrel was free to slowly slide out and onto the small rock shelf. Barely any time had passed, judging by the position of Syna's light, high above. Maybe fifteen chimes.
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Why Squirrels Are The Best.

Postby Keene Ward on January 1st, 2015, 2:36 am

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.

“It is the brain, the little gray cells on which one must rely. One must seek the truth within--not without."
- Poirot


Archailist :
Skills:
  • Socialization | +4 EXP
    Climbing | +1 EXP
    Rhetoric | +2 EXP
    Investigation | +2 EXP
    Intelligence | +1 EXP
    Persuasion | +2 EXP
Lores:
  • Hollow of Odraz: Never a Knight
    Persuasion: Asking Nicely
    Hollow of Odraz: 15 Chimes
    The Aperture: Cesspool of Creatures


Post Script :
Mmm Arch's fears revealed! Well, more like reiterated, haha! Good work! You had a good transition from the calm of darkness into the panic of the visions. :)

PM me if you have any questions!
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