Closed [Inner Sanctum] Secrets of Smoke (GST Thread)

[Sayana]

Despite her coughing fit, Sera Grey wasn’t unconscious yet. She continued to hack blood onto the table as her arms trembled trying to support her weight as she leaned on the wooden surface. Almost ominously the fumes of the candles pervaded the darkened room. Smoke, smoke, more and more smoke. Even between coughs the mage knight’s eyes were tearing up with the thick haze. What had started as a simple exercise had now become dangerous, if not deadly.

Nivel’s conversation with the Symenestra at the door seemed to go smoothly, despite the situation. However, Sera Grey’s eyes widened as she watched the smoke seep out the open door. As she struggled, gasping for air, she managed to get out a few words between hacking coughs.

“Nivel… don’t… don’t let it out.”

In less than a chime there were some shouts from outside. Two young squires rushed into the room seeking the source of multi coloured smoke. “Lady Grey, are you al--” But the squire who had spoken suddenly felt an irritated itching at the back of his throat and tried to clear the feeling with a small cough. Then another. His companion wasn’t doing much better but at least she had the sense to try to shield her mouth with her sleeve.

More footsteps could be heard. Clearly the Symenestra was returning and with him there were several cloaked men and women. Perhaps they were from the Soothing Waters or maybe from somewhere else.

“Help… them…” The mage knight spoke breathlessly in a quiet voice as she gave a weak gesture to the young squires. More hacking and blood followed. Surprisingly she remained standing, but the coughing hadn’t lessened and she wouldn’t be strong enough to walk very far on her own without help. The mage knight was doing her best just to stay on her feet as it was. The two young squires who had just entered the room were currently in better condition but as time went on, they were likely to get worse if nothing was done. Lastly, the people approaching were not yet affected but the door was still swung wide and the fumes from the room were escaping into the hallway.

NoteSome of the events were tweaked a little to fit the outline of the plot.

[Nivel]

“What do you mean Sera?” The perplexed pycon responded to Sera Grey after she forced out a cryptic message about not letting some thing out. The pycon assumed the women was becoming delirious from her magic use and didn’t know what she was saying. It only became a little clearer when the two squires who entered the scene began to cough like Sera Grey, The one that shielded their mouth from the smoke seemed to be fairing better than the other.

Even more people arrived and with Sera Greys message she knew she had to be the one to handle things.
“The Smoke is poison!” Nivel announced to everyone “Don’t breath it in and don’t let it get out.

“You two!” Nivel pointed to the two squires “help carry Sera Grey out of here. The rest of you stay outside for your own sakes.”
Nivel almost sounded cold in how she barked her orders but she knew this wasn’t the time for pleasantries.

Nivel conjured a bit of res from her hands despite being near exhausted and stressed. She let the ball of Res float over top of her head and attracted clear are from around her into a spinning bust of air that she hoped would blow the smoke away from the ones she was hoping to save. She wouldn’t be able to maintain the magic for long but she was willing to try anything. When she got near the door she blew the smoke back into the room with what little she res she had left.

“Someone close the door!” Nivel commanded to whoever cared to listen.

“Please take Sera Grey and these two to the sacred waters, I don’t know what they were exposed to but it wasn’t good.” Nivel’s voice softened a bit in concern but was still rather blunt. She had a pounding head ache and she wanted her friend to get treatment as quickly as possible. The tiny mage wanted to collapse in a puddle but given the situation she was stiff and agonizingly alert.

Credit for Boxcode goes to Estrellir Konrath

[Sayana]

When Nivel announced that the smoke was poisoned, initially there was panic amongst any who had heard. The two young squires looked up wide eyed and began batting the smoke fruitlessly with their hands. As their own coughing increased, they started to head for the door until Nivel’s next order stopped them in their tracks. There was hesitation, but the boy reacted first. Keeping his mouth covered he rushed towards Sera Grey who had a hand on her throat attempting to soothe the terrible coughing and choking.

“M’lady we need to get out,” he spoke in a muffled voice, his sleeve still covering his mouth. He grasped the mage knight’s arm and in the next tick the girl was also at Sera Grey’s side.

Nivel’s res sucked at the clean air from below, but occasionally tendrils of coloured smoke from above also got attracted the magical substance. As the trio made their way coughing and hacking across the room, the clean air seemed to make their breathing easier as it pushed up the ominous coloured smoke away from them. Blue, red, green… Were they all equally dangerous?

However, a side effect of blowing the smoke away using reimancy, was that it stirred the air even more and there was no longer an obvious layer of clean air below and smoke above. As the trio escaped the confines of the smoky room, Nivel’s gust of air gave one last effort to contain the vile substance. The girl slammed the door shut at Nivel’s order and at last they were free of the toxic air.

In many ways it was fortunate that several able bodied men and women had showed up. They had heeded Nivel’s warning and stayed away from the door. But as Sera Grey and the two young squires made it out, they immediately came to the aid of those exposed to the poison. Someone managed to quickly pull together a make-shift stretcher and despite Sera Grey’s protests, coupled with more coughing, they managed to get the mage knight safely situated on it. The two squires were faring better but one of them had also began spitting up some blood.

“Nivel, thank you. You did well…” Came Sera Grey’s breathless voice beneath her ornate mask. Those holding the stretcher would give Nivel enough time for a brief response before carrying the mage knight off towards the Soothing Waters.

However, it wasn’t quite over yet. Even after closing the door to the chamber, there was still a gap at the bottom that was an inch or two wide where the smoke seeped out of the room. The candles inside continued to burn and while the situation was temporarily contained, it still needed to be properly dealt with and there were still questions unanswered.

Note :

The majority of the additional people who showed up will be helping the injured back to Soothing Waters. There might be 2 or 3 people remaining if Nivel needs additional help. And I’ll be controlling their actions.

[Nivel]

Nivel breathed a gentle sight of relief as Sera Grey was taken to where she was sure to receive treatment. The pycon had to believe in her nexus that her and the others that were exposed to the unknown poison would be okay. She couldn’t help feeling a bit of dread well up inside.

It fought back the second she realized the crisis wasn’t over yet. The pycon gathered her courage again and before anyone could convince her other wise she squeezed under the door. The smoke colourful smoke filled nearly every corner of the room and made visibility a nightmare. It didn’t seem like the pycon was affected by the poison in the slightest but she still wasn’t willing to stay long to find out if the effects were only delayed.

She charged blindly forward to the dim light she could see in the distance. The pycon finally ran into the wall and stretched her arm out until she could feel the top of the cold marble counter. She pulled herself up by retracting her arm, which was normally a simple task but was agonizing after all the magic she had been doing. She used her other arm for extra leverage and slowly walked the rest of the climb until she reached the top.

The candles that lay before her didn’t seem like they were going to flicker out anytime soon. They stood almost unnaturally strong and as she gazed on them she didn’t know how to proceed. She wanted to conjure more res and blast the flames away but her agonizing head ache was a painful reminder of how bad this would be. Nivel couldn’t waste time on indecisiveness and channeled her frustration into hard punch at the blue candle. The wax shattered and the flame was snuffed out as it tumbled to the ground. She swung her other arm like a whip that directly hit the wick of the red and broke through the rest. Nivel felt a slight sting on her hand after it hit the flame and she tried to shake it away.

The flame was out but the smoke was still there and she didn’t know how she was going to get rid of it. She leapt off the counter and sprinted for the door. After slithering under it, she needed to find another solution before the smoke speed into the city.
“Does anyone know about poison candles?” Nivel asked in a panic to the few remaining people outside the door. “More importantly how do you stop it?”

Credit for Boxcode goes to Estrellir Konrath

[Sayana]

As the pycon successfully navigated the smoky room, she would start feeling the exhaustion of magic taking its toll. It was wise to avoid using her reimancy to snuff out the blue and red candles, yet the itch of sweet whispers would gnaw at the back of her mind. Just a little more res. Surely this was a dire situation and would be reason enough to use just a little more magic. Even though the poisoned smoke seemed to affect the more biological, it still hadn’t produced any negative results on the pycon.

Once she slipped out from under the door, Nivel would soon spot a young doctor’s assistant sprinting towards the door. Upon nearing the door and seeing the gaseous fumes, the girl slowed immediately and kept a good and wary distance. Panting, she spoke in a rushed tone, “Green, was the smoke green? The healers think it’s Englehorn. Not fatal, but nasty. Lasts several bells.” Her words were clipped as she tried to get out the important facts of what she knew.

“Brought some Mandrake tonic for anyone who breathes it in.” She looked warily at the crack at the bottom of the door. Like it was some evil magic that sought to infiltrate Rak’keli’s domain. She wore a warm cloak and almost shivered at the sight despite being indoors. The others at the scene were milling around, not entirely certain of what to do at this point and muttering about who would do such a thing.

In answer to Nivel’s second question, the doctor’s assistant hesitated. “I think… I think it will become less toxic after it has been in the air for longer. Probably most dangerous right after the Englehorn has burned. Then maybe if it is slowly dissipated…” She didn’t sound confident in her words and it was more of a good guess than anything else. “Are you going to keep the area secured so no one else gets exposed?”

Notes :

Alright, we’re reaching the end of the plot I had planned. How about one more post to wrap things up? Then I’ll do a resolution post with a grade. Feel free to use any of the NPCs to help out with the aftermath.

[Nivel]

The whispers still plagued her once she got out of the smokey room and They had grown stronger then they were before. With each word Nivel felt a pull to go against her better judgment but her will was strong and kept her from making a grave mistake. She took a few calming breaths when she was out of the door to strengthen her mind and keep it on the path of clarity while she figured this situation out.

It seemed like no one in the vicinity had any answers for the pycon, they were too dumbstruck by the whole ordeal. She felt like she would just have to find out later once the situation was resolved. Nivel scanned the area for things in she could use to block the smoke slowly seeping from the bottom. Before she could find anything though she spotted a young Tall Folk girl running towards her. She began interrogating the pycon almost immediately about the smoke and Nivel was more than happy to comply.
“Yes there was a green candle” The pycon quickly replied but as she listened to the healers explanation she realized that she didn’t remember snuffing a green candle out.

Nivel let out a gasp and shot towards the door “I forgot the green candle!” she cried back at them as she pushed herself under the door once more. The whispers intensified as she entered the smoky room, doing their best to try and convincer her to cast magic. There was voices coming at her from all angles and it made it hard for her to know what was left or right, up or down. She did her best to ignore them but they made her simple task all the more difficult by making her feel disoriented and lost. Her snake tales began to stir and hiss with the appearance of the whispers. They were part of her body but they started to work against her, tripping her when they could or even biting at her. She threw a punch at one of them as it attempted to sink it’s teeth into her arm and felt the impact. It didn’t seem to stop the mischievous appendage and it retaliated by sending her to the floor. She fell to the floor with a thud but quickly thrust herself up, she wasn’t going to let her own body stop her when people depended on her.

Climbing the Table was just as agonizing the second time but now she had to swat at her tails with her braids to keep them from nipping at her arms. She fell to the floor almost half way up but did it all again. When she god to the counter she was a nervous wreck but she found the Green candle and snuffed it out with a punch fuelled by her irritation. With the candle gone the whispers eased up but only a little.

She slipped out and agreed to watch the door. She couldn’t find anything to cover it so she simply played near it and weakly faced the fumes into dissipating.
“Could someone get me some Tolm root tea?” She asked to no one in particular. She just wanted to slip in two the warm fluid and not get out until her clay became slimy.

Credit for Boxcode goes to Estrellir Konrath

[Sayana]

Even as the pycon emerged for the final time from the smoky room, the young doctor’s assistant approached the crack in the door with her cloak in hand. She stuffed the crack as best she could with the fabric of the cloak and smiled softly to the pycon. Once it seemed reasonably secure, the girl let out a long exhale from the breath she had been holding.

“Thank you, for everything.” She spoke with much gratitude to the small pycon.

At Nivel’s request for Tolm tea, she couldn’t help but laugh. Perhaps it was just out of relief that the whole ordeal was over. “I’ll get you some right away, Sera.” Within a few chimes, she had returned with a cup and saucer of the hot tea, a rather comfortable size for the pycon to settle into. The warm fluid would surely ease any aches of the pycon and soothe the exhaustion and any remaining sweet whispers.

---

In the following days, the room was closed off as the smoke slowly dissipated. Investigations were conducted, but the shopkeeper at the Bazaar who had sold the candles seemed to be just as surprised as the knights were about the poisoned one. Sera Grey spent the remainder of the day at the Soothing Waters and fortunately by nightfall, her intense coughing had ceased. The two younger squires hadn’t been quite as badly affected, and despite being able to return home within a few bells, they had stuck by Sera Grey’s side. When Nivel came to visit, the mage knight would have words of praise at the pycon’s swift response.

Several days later, Sera Grey presented Nivel with a simple but beautiful gift. “I had to at least keep my hands busy while I was recovering at the Soothing Waters,” she preambled with a twinkle in her eyes. She brought forth a small emerald green scarf. Embroidered in black at one end was the symbol of the Wind Oak. On the other end was another stylized symbol of the Wind Oak but it also had two fancy swirls of air on either side of it.

“Air reimancy may be one of the most elusive elements, but I trust you grow to use it with true talent, and never let it overpower you.”

Rewards await the protectors of the land...

 

Nivel

Skills

• Running: 2
• Land Navigation: 1
• Escape Artist: 3
• Climbing: 3
• Meditation: 2
• Shielding: 1
• Reimancy: 4
• Endurance: 5
• Puppetry: 1
• Logic: 2
• Subterfuge: 1
• Rhetoric: 2
• Leadership: 3
• Observation: 1
• Pyken: 2
• Herbalism: 1
• Poison: 1

Lores

• Reimancy: Basic attraction
• Reimancy: Attraction only attracts the elements that one has power over
• Reimancy: Creating a small tornado
• Reimancy: Res degrades over time
• Reimancy: Creating a puppet of res and smoke
• Reimancy: Creating the illusion of boiling water
• Feeling of helplessness at Sera Grey's sudden choking
• Leadership: Acting quickly in an emergency
• Leadership: Quick delegation of tasks
• Green poisoned candle with Englehorn
• Englehorn: Green smoke that causes coughing and choking

Loot

• Emerald green scarf, pycon sized, with Wind Oaks embroidered at the ends and one with stylized swirls of air on either side of the tree

Shield Points

• +1 Patron
• +3 Training
• +6 Helping citizens in danger

[/tab]

Comments: Lovely thread, I very much enjoyed GSTing this. I hope you are happy with the results and the overall experience.