Quest [Closed, Flashback] What Lies Beneath

[Crypt]

Crypt and Maras both scented the stench of the dead corpse, and the latter was starting to panic. Crypt whispered a few words to Maras, calming him down somewhat, but he was still rather unwilling to proceed forwards. Damn. This is going to be rather troublesome. Maras could probably go back to the surface - our scent still remains, and the ground has been rather soft, so the footprints can be clearly seen. Yet if I were to let him go, the Balnag may sense that he is separated from us and consume him. I cannot take that risk; Maras will remain with us as long as possible. As his mind contemplated the pros and cons of allowing Maras to go back to the Priestess, the small group reached the gargantuan cave that was the home of the dead guardian. Trying extremely hard to ignore the corpse and pungent aroma of the decomposing body, Crypt moved himself to the bookcases, flipping through each book rapidly and taking those that piqued his interest or appeared interesting, though unreadable. However, what he took was relatively few in number, as he did not want to burden himself too much with the combined weight of the tomes (as much as he wanted to). As he was moving around the cave, a thought occurred to Crypt. Neither food nor drink are present in this... residence. The guardian evidently started to death or required no sustenance. Giving Maras another pat to reassure him, he watched as Wrenmae took the staff, still untarnished and perfect. Crypt spoke in reply to Wrenmae's query. “I would suppose that we have to search for the Balnag now, although that is rather... unpleasant. The staff should allow us to gain control over the creature, and our task will be made easier. The question is, then, what should we do to the Balnag?”

[Kirvan Deepseeker]

Kirvan had assumed that that nagging feeling of uneasiness in his gut had come from his lack of direction and his feeling lost, but when Crypt voiced his theory it the young svefra was able to place his finger on it. He did feel something watching him, though it was only the bare shreds of an instinct for he did not share any of the abilities that Crypt or Wrenmae possessed. It felt as if the tunnel itself were watching them, eyes on the walls and ceiling and ground all glaring at them hungrily. Everywhere, his instinct was telling him, it was everywhere. Then that meant... oh Laviku. Not only did the Balnag know it had new food to play with, but it was right there. Pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind, he followed the young lad Wrenmae through the tunnels. Suddenly, a familiar stench hit him like an old drunk friend: the stench of the dead. It was a bit stronger than Kirvan had ever experienced it, but it was unmistakable after all the corpses he'd made over the years. He followed Wrenmae into the large open chamber that looked like the place the former guardian had made his home. The guardian's remains sat decaying and rotting in the centre of the room, right beneath a giant steel staff that seemed to thrum with power. It felt of magic, of unsurity but deadly power, so when Wrenmae walked up and took hold of it Kirvan did not protest. Let magicians handle their own objects and do not risk getting involved. That was the tool which would control a giant being of the sea, so what horrible power it held Kirvan wanted little to do with. The rest of the cavern was more... normally furnished for lack of a better word. Bottles and a desk and chair and bookshelves, the kind of things a normal person would have. The books held some interest to Kirvan actually, and as he followed Crypt over to the shelves - the Drykas grabbing books with the mannerisms of a hoarder - he began carefully looking through them to see if any piqued his interest that he deemed worth taking. What? The Deepseekers were scavengers, there was no way he would pass up an opportunity like this to gain more knowledge. Sadly, a lot of the books were either unreadable or were about magical practices - which held no interest for Kirvan - but before he returned to the main cavern he noticed a small tome about the Suvan Sea, what looked to be a sort of encyclopedia for mainlanders. A lot of the knowledge within was probably commonplace among the svefra, but Kirvan took the book nonetheless for the chance at learning more about the Sea Father's domain. The conversation between Crypt and Wrenmae pulled Kirvan out of his thoughts, and the immediacy of the impending result was made clearly aware in his mind. They were really going to take on the Balnag. Crypt posed a good question, what were they going to do to the creature? It was Laviku's domain, and by extension of the sea the Balnag was his ward. He wished the god would indicate what he wanted done. "For now," Kirvan said aloud, "I suggest we simply subdue it, calm it back to its previous state, at least for now. If K'Mavia or one of the gods bid we end it, then we should do so, but until then I am unsure of whether we should kill something that we have yet to even see."

[Cascade]

The men went about their inspection. The corpse was indeed an odd one, and Crypt was right to suspect that this cavern was missing the necessary sustenance for a human being to remain alive. The dead man in front of them had not starved to death, for Nuits have no need for food. His death, if it could be called that, had been the product of the own Nuit’s carelessness. As soon as Wrenmae took hold of the staff, a sense of clarity would envelope him. Aside from that, it changed its shape, but ever so slightly, its handle simply shrinking as to make it more comfortable for Wrenmae to hold. For some reason, Wrenmae knew exactly where the Balnag roamed. It continued to circle around the caverns, its watchful eyes steady on the group of men. The moment Wrenmae touched the staff, the Balnag seemed more uneasy, and Wrenmae could sense this. Wrenmae could see that the Balnag was getting ready to attack. Something deep in his mind knew that it would soon do so. They had angered it. The corpse had been a mage. This was not only made clear by his staff, but also by the books and notes that were present. Meanwhile, although he could not understand the words, Crypt had helped himself to some of the books. The books were mostly written in the ancient tongue, Nader-Canoch. The covers and pages were old and faded. They were books of magic that had come from the city of Sahova, and while they hold valuable information, Crypt would only be able to understand the hand-written notes that littered the sides of the pages. These notes could only teach him the more novice facts about Auristics and Glyphing, and if he wished to delve deeper into the books, he would have to find one who could speak the ancient language. Kirvan, on the other hand, had been able to scavenge a book that was in his own language. It was a book that held maps and sketches of the many locations of the Suvan Sea. He was familiar with most of its contents for the sea was his home, but it also held information that would have been deemed not common knowledge even for the Svefra. On its last pages was information about the larger and more dangerous sea creatures of the sea. It also held information about the Balnag, although it was information that they already knew. The cavern shook as a loud, resounding roar echoed through the walls. They were all knocked off their feet as books and bottles came crashing to the ground. The roar appeared to be coming from deeper into the cavern, from where the Balnag’s presence could be identified by Wrenmae. Maras made frightened sounds as he attempted to gallop away, but a piece of the rocky ceiling came falling to the ground right in front of him, stopping him in his tracks. All around them, rocks continued to fall, threatening to crash on their heads.

[Kirvan Deepseeker]

What are the chances that a book down here would be in Fratavan? Very slim Kirvan would have thought, yet here was a book in his native tongue, documenting the various areas and creatures of the Suvan. Leafing through the pages, Kirvan saw lots of familiar information abuout the sea: the treachery of the middle passage, the occasional severe whether in the south sea, even an entry about the very island they were on now. However, here and there, he would come across some information he had not known previously, like a few islands in the North Suvan he did not know were there or some creatures of the deep he had not heard of. There was even an entry on the Balnag, but it was short and pictureless and contained no new information that they didn't already know. There was a note attached there, but it was in some other language that he could not read. Closing the small tome and slipping it into his backpack, Kirvan was suddenly knocked of his feet by an enormous vibration that shook the whole passage, knocking bottles and books and all sorts of miscelleneous trinkets onto the ground. The Balnag's roar was quite intimidating and startling, and as he looked back the young svefra could see the horse that Crypt brought along had spooked and made a beeline for the exit. Before the animal could leave however, a giant rock fell from the cavern's roof and crashed right before the scared beast, startling it even more and sending it back in the direction from whence it came. That was not the first stone to drop though, as soon even more began to rain from the ceiling as the vibrations continued. One landed right beside Kirvan, and the proximity spurred the young svefra into action. "Not to state the obvious," he yelled, scrambling to his feet, "but run!" And the svefra did just that, running through the cavern, dancing left and right as he avoided the falling rocks that pounded the ground. He dove over a rock, tucking in his head and rolling like he'd done several times before, before unsteadily rising and continuing deeper into the tunnel towards wherever it lead. A quick thought flitted through his mind about the others, but they all seemed like capable men and probably didn't need his help.

[Wrenmae]

A strange overwhelming force swam through the young mage's mind as he took the staff in his hand. He could sense the Balnag now, the great and powerful creature raging in the caverns beneath them. He sensed just how angry it was, the frustration of being imprisoned, the agony of being forced to wait for a day that never came. He knew where it was, he knew what it wanted, and he had the means to stop it.

The cavern shook around them, dislodging huge stones that fell to crack across the open area with deadly force. One fell and dashed the nuit apart, scattering its molding bones and completely erasing it from the world. Hissing, panicked, Wren brought the staff close to his body and sprinted to the exit behind Kirvan.

"Follow me!" He shouted back at them, still behind the Svefra and hoping the fellow would hear and turn.

Rather than following the Svefra's progress, Wrenmae dodged left and dashed deeper into the canverns. He was being led now, deeper, deeper, toward the Balnag.

Please, he thought, his mind echoing through the staff, I just want to talk. Cease your raging, cease your destruction, I am not here to imprison you without a reason.

What?

Err...yeah. I mean, we aren't are we?

No. Of course not. Completely ignore our actual reason for being here. Sure.

Oh come on. Would you like it if I kept YOU locked up?

If I was a raging super powerful sea leviathan? I'd probably deserve it.

Shut up!

You shut up!

NO YOU!

YOU!

Wrenmae snarled wordlessly, narrowly dodging another falling hunk of rock and descending ever deeper toward the lair of the creature.

He could only hope the others followed him.

[Crypt]

"Curious... curious..." Crypt muttered as he leafed through one of the few books he had taken, taking care not to tear the fragile pages of the small tome. Most of it is in an unknown language, appearing to be quite esoteric. There are quite a few notes - presumably corrections and elaborations of the content of this book - written on the sides and margins, so I should be able to learn something from this. I'll have to get these translated though, so that it'll be more useful to me. Thankfully there are diagrams scattered everywhere; I should be able to infer some information from them. The loud roar surprised him rather greatly, unsettling him as he hurridly placed the old book inside his backpack. "Oh, petch -" A small rock fell on his head, cutting him off and leaving him dazed for a few moments before he recovered from the sudden blow, though he could only stare blankly as Maras narrowly avoided death by about an inch; the gigantic fragment that had fallen from the ceiling would have crushed the vast majority of his bones. Turning his head back and forth as he watched the Svefra, Kirvan, and Wrenmae run in different directions, the latter dashing towards a tunnel that appeared to lead deeper into the system of tunnels. Crypt elected to follow Wrenmae, for he had the staff that would control the Balnag. Better to stick with the guy who has that staff - if the Balnag decides to go hunting for us, we'll have a greater chance for survival with Wren there. Followed behind by Maras, Crypt leapt forward, dodging another rock that would have bashed his brains out, keeping a steady stride as he hurridly channeled Djed from his arms into his legs, not caring how little his two legs were enhanced by the Flux; any advantage in escaping the deathtrap that was the shower of rocks and assorted matter, even slight, would be welcome.

[Cascade]

The men had split into groups and the Balnag was well aware of this. The Svefra had rushed to one side, wherein Wrenmae had decided to run right at the direction of the Balnag, and Crypt had followed the latter. The Balnag had been rushing right at Wrenmae at this point. However, when it realized that the men had unwittingly divided themselves, it suddenly changed its course. The creature knew who held the staff, after all—and the fact that they had split up was to its advantage. It knew which tunnels to take and where to turn corners, caused by the years of being trapped within the caverns. It was a fast one, and before they knew it, it had circled around Wrenmae and Crypt and was going straight at Kirvan. As it moved, destruction was left in its path. And, suddenly, it cut Kirvan off his escape route. The Svefra would see a large serpent-like creature with long spines along its back. It couldn’t be seen in its entirety, but it was a large creature. It took up the whole space of the tunnel it had emerged from, leaving no other room to run. It could even be assumed that some of the tunnels had been dug by the Balnag itself. It stopped right in front of Kirvan, its head mere meters away from the Svefra. It roared, almost pushing the Svefra off his feet. Its teeth was horrifying, each one as tall as a full grown man. And then it rushed forward, heading towards Kirvan. If Wrenmae tried, he would not be able to use the staff against the Balnag, for he was too far. However, if he ran back to Kirvan fast enough, he would most likely make it in time. The staff’s presence withheld the Balnag from attacking those near it with a radius of about ten meters, and as such, Wrenmae had to be quick to save the Svefra.

[Kirvan Deepseeker]

The young man had not heard Wrenmae's shout over the falling rocks, continuing on his incorrect path further into the tunnels, rushing away from the dangerous chamber. His legs pumped heavily as he sped away, unaware of his misdirection or the terrible threat that was fast approaching, his mind focused on getting to a safe distance. Of course, that was shattered soon enough. The tunnel he stood in began rumbling fiercely, the vibrations causing him to stumble and pause. For a moment, Kirvan had thought that the Balnag had caused another collapse to start. It was much worse. Snaking its way from some tunnel deeper down, the serpentine monster suddenly charged the svefra, bearing its massive teeth ferociously. Soon, it was right before the young man, giant maw open in a horrible roar that nearly knocked the seafarer off his feet. It smelled pungent, the stench of death a hundredfold, and the wild eyes did little to reassure Kirvan that the Balnag had recognized him as a child of the sea. The scales were blackish green, dulled by the passage of time and from the scraping against the cavern walls, and its spinal fin bristled with insane anger. There was no way past it, and even if there were it could easily just crush the little human as it tried to slip by. Only path of escape was behind him, and so Kirvan took off running, his legs moving faster than they ever had before. He did not scream, he made no sound in fact, devoting all his energy to just getting away. That seemed to signal to the great monstrosity that he was free for the taking as a horrible noise that was somewhere between a scrape and a slither followed him easily. Not daring to turn around, the svefra hurried even more, ignoring the pain in his sides and legs and feet, doing his best to outrun the creature. The pounding of his feet shook him to the bone, but he pressed on regardless, knowing thatsome aching sores would be the least of his worries were he to slow down. Alas, it was not to be. The Balnag caught up with him, snapping its massive head into his body and shooting him against the tunnel wall. It was not a small matter either; a sickening crack echoed softly through the tunnel, the impact knocking the wind out of Kirvan. He fell to the ground, dazed, disoriented, drained. He had not the energy nor strength to get back up and keep running. Now that he had stopped, his legs felt as heavy as lead and his lungs burned with his attempt to escape. His head roared with pain, his pulse pounding through his head and clouding his vision. His shoulder felt loose and detached, as if someone had pulled it away from the rest of him. The pain. So much pain. All for naught as the Balnag slowly neared him, looking straight at the son of Laviku. "Please brother," Kirvan pleaded breathlessly, a horrific warmth trickling down from the top of his head and onto his face, red getting into his eyes. The collision had torn through the skin, causing a trickle of blood to slowly seep down his face. The Balnag paid no heed to his injury nor his plea, roaring right in his face as if to prove a point, massive teeth seemingly glowing in the restricted light. Each was as large as himself, some larger, and it was clear from their condition that they were used often. So this was it. All those years he'd spent practicing, all that training, all those pirate hunts, and it wasn't enough. There was nothing particularly reality-warping about the experience as he'd heard from some people; time didn't slow sown, the tunnel didn't get any brighter, he didn't see his life flash before him. Just the sight of dozens of teeth and an angry beast. His breathing slowed, calmer now. There was no way he was satisfied with what he'd done so far, but he accepted it. He had answered the call of one of the Sea Father's faithful, he'd sworn a promise, and he failed. He failed K'Mavia, he failed the Sea Father. "Hail Laviku," Kirvan whispered, closing his eyes.

[Wrenmae]

Leaping, rolling, dodging, silver staff in hand, Wrenmae turned on his heel in a pivot so sudden, it ran him straight into the Drykas. Both sprawled out in the tunnel, but Wrenmae was fast to his feet, hissing behind clenched teeth as he sprinted up the way they came. The staff vibrated in his hand, pulsing images, notions, the Balnag’s mind overwhelming the young hypnotist. Unlike with the nuit who had owned the staff before, a bastion of careful discipline, chosen for the task of containing the Balnag…Wrenmae was neither trained nor fully understood the gravity of his task. So the Balnag’s consciousness rushed along the staff and into Wren’s mind, filling it with a sort of sea-song of anger, hatred, pain, and isolation. It had been held here for age upon age, allowed only to eat what came into its dwelling, a beast of such size and proportion but without any ability to escape its confines.


Wrenmae knew how it felt.


Peeling down tunnels, sprinting full on, he careened around the corner to see Kirvan beneath the maw of the Balnag.


The sea serpent was fearsome, barely fitting the entire tunnel with its body; there was no doubt it had been made for the purpose of destruction and that only. A long crimson tongue had reached out to grip Kirvan by the waist, pulling the bleeding Svefra toward its cavernous maw.


“Stop!” Wrenmae cried out, brandishing the staff as he leaped to Kirvan’s side. Reeling backward, the sound of an almost roar-like hiss filled the cavern. The Balnag retreated quickly, speaking only to Wrenmae in fury, hunger, and frustration.


Gripping the staff, the force of the Balnag’s consciousness roiled through Wrenmae’s mind and threatened to knock him unconscious. He fought back as best he could, communicating in pictures rather than words. The Balnag. Wrenmae’s friends, unharmed. The Balnag swimming in the deep blue ocean, free of the island and its caverns. Again, to Wrenmae’s friends and the island remaining unharmed.


Whether the Balnag understood or not, it still retreated from the staff, snarling in livid rage. Its face haunted the young mage, the size of the monster, its destructive potential…but moreso, the feel of its touch on his own mind, the massive weight of its thoughts and feelings as it wrestled from eternity to eternity.


By its accounts, it was still young…much left to grow and develop…and worse yet, it was becoming too big for the Island and its catacombs.


If made to stay, one day it might shake the island apart


But Wren didn’t know how to kill it, or even how to put it to sleep. The staff came with no instructions, only emotions, only notions…and even those threatened to overcome him entirely.

[Eridanus]

They came upon a corpse with a number of rather interesting relics, and Eridanus silently watched as Wrenmae took the staff. There was some sort of physical transformation that happened when he did so, but also there was something even deeper than that. Something internal, something magical. The electric tinge in the air signified the presence of older, more ancient arcane workings, and he kept in mind to make sure Wrenmae does not somehow lose the staff and their hope of salvation.

On another note, he helped himself to the books as well, making use of his basic understanding of Nader-Canoch as well as his abilities in Glyphing and Auristics to try to sort out the more interesting and valuable tomes that he could bring back for study. The elementary books that Crypt took regarding Glyphing and Auristics held no interest to him, and instead he pursued the more complex and deeper books.

Then there was that sudden roar. One that personified fear that resonated throughout everyone. Even the carefree vantha felt his soul shaken and most definitely stirred.

"Be careful, everyone," He warned, though it was quite evident that everyone had these words in their mind. As the group wandered, he stuck close to Wrenmae, making sure that the man and his staff was always in plain view. If need be, he would protect the bard; he could not afford to let Wrenmae use the staff in combat and risk breaking it.

Then chaos. Utter anarchy!

Somehow they were split up, but Eridanus easily kept up with the bard, his form running, leaping and bounding acrobatically as his lithe form bounded up almost effortlessly beside the man even without delving into his arcane reserves.

Kirvan!

Throwing djed into his eyes as he turned his head sharply in the general direction of their split up group member, the vantha stared through the physical impediments in the way, seeing through the rocks and debris until he could find the aura of their comrade.

He was in mortal danger.

It seemed that Wrenmae understood that as well, and they both sprinted back towards Kirvan. Eridanus bounded in front of Wrenmae, flux energies streaking throughout his thighs, calves and ankles as they supplemented his enormous strength, and it seemed almost like he moved fast enough to leave afterimages if one were to squint slightly in the dark.

He would most obviously reach Kirvan first, through navigating the treacherous terrain with Auristics, utilizing it as a sort of sonar to prevent himself from knocking lethally into the rocks. There he would brandish his blades, buying enough time for Wrenmae to arrive and do whatever he was supposed to do with the staff.