Quest The Rotten Truth

[Eleazar Victor Syroin]

He hadn't been expecting Noven to show up but he wasn't going to complain about it. It had been a while since the pair had seen each other. The quick retort and weighty hand on his shoulder had Eleazar turning his head to grin at his old friend. It was nice to know that some people never changed to much, especially the ones like Noven. Same broad shouldered quick mouthed tall tan knuckle buster. Focus now back on the pit at the man's exclamation, the thief tried to not be mean and reply with 'It's a hole.'. Instead leaving the rhetorical question hanging in the air as the others of the little group gained the man's attention. Oddly it seemed he was not the only one here the Cook knew;; guess the orphanage got a little more traffic than he thought. Shrugging the coincidence off, the old man was once again brought up on his fearmongering. He had been making backhanded compliments to everyone since he had stood up, giving him a patronising answer instead of seriously considering how they were going to see in the pitch black darkness. The mock bow and snide way he introduced himself was the last straw though. Not only for Eleazar but also for the chasm it seemed as no sooner had he began speaking once again than the ground shook. Clinging to the hand on his shoulder as the crowd around them turned tail like any sensible person would, the thief caught on rather quickly that the darkness of the pit was spreading. This fact was made incredibly clear when the old man disappeared downwards. Whatever was happening Eleazar wasn't going to hang about. Holding onto Noven's wrist, he shot off after the crowd, barely getting a few steps when he realised there was noway he could physically drag the cook out of danger. Hoping that his friend had the sense not to stick about, he dropped the hold and scampered out the way with practised ease. He only slowed down when the chasm settled, peering through the darkness to see if any of the group were still above ground. Unable to see anyone with his poor night vision, the teen instead made his way carefully towards the sound of a young woman. Hopefully Noven was uninjured unlike the cocky man, Cid who was groaning from the blackness below. The voice of a commanding woman, probably the one from earlier with the rope, stating she was going down to gage the depth. Well there seemed a good way down, if a bit slippery judging from the sudden cries. Heading in that direction, a slightly dark part of the blackness seemed to launch itself off into the pit. A few ticks later a lantern flared into life, illuminating the bottom of the pit. It didn't seem as deep as he had first thought, heck if he lowered himself down carefully he wouldn't need to use a rope at all. This thought in mind he moved to the closest edge that had been illuminated to him. Crutching down, he placed his palms firmly a bit back from the edge before swinging his legs over. Well here we go. Twisting his body around to face the wall of the pit, he repositioned his hands before slipping carefully over the edge. A small bit of fear spiked through him as his body was lurched down by gravity, only to relax when his body swung freely occasionally bashing against the uneven dirt. Squinting to see if there was a clearer spot to aim to land on, the edge of the pit began to crumbled away under his hands. Panic clawing at the earth did nothing to prevent him as he fell downwards screaming as he went. “No. No! Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh- hmfft!” Luckily the teen had had enough sense to slightly bend his knees cushioning most of his impact before he collapsed backwards onto the rumble with a startled grunt. Ouch. Picking himself up out of the muck, Eleazar could already feel the bruises forming around his shoulders and his side. Shyke, well bruises were better than broken bones. Maybe the rope would have been a better option. Clutching at his left shoulder, he carefully stumbled over to 'One Eye' as Noven had nicknamed her and her little pool of light. He was definitely not going to stray far from what he could see down here. A sudden voice whispering out sugar coated threats from the darkness had him take another small step towards One Eye, snarky personality emerging to try to cover his terror. “B-Brilliant, 'ere are lives bein' 'reatened already. Eh per-perfect way tae calm every.....one's nerves. Heh?”

[Noven]

The chasm rumbled to open its maw wider, and in that moment of unexpected panic as everyone scrambled to save their own hides, the lines between reality and nightmare blurred for Noven.

Old Cid was first to fall. The cook had no time to check and see if the others had as well; he was too busy trying to keep up with Eleaz's persistent tug. Eventually the kid let go, slipping from his line of sight as the two of them scampered off in opposite directions. Long after the chasm had settled once more, Nov stood there staring at the black rend in the earth, trying to decide if he was still dreaming or not. He'd never seen anything so pitch-dark and unexplainable in his life, save maybe the ink black depths of Chai's exotic eyes.

But the doctor's gaze wasn't nearly as foreboding as the darkness he now peered into. For some reason, thinking of her gave Nov second thoughts about climbing down into what was, for all they knew, the mouth of hell. He watched as One Eye's head and shoulders disappeared beneath the crack, then the others as well, one by one, until only he and Clam Girl were left.

Even Eleazar had decided to follow, choosing not to use the rope and climb down from the ledge instead. Noven barely had time to mentally chastise his friend before the scrawny lad lost his grip along the way and fell screaming to the bottom. "Eleaz!" Nov called out in alarm as he craned his neck to see if the kid was dead already. "Petch, not two ticks in..."

He glanced up at Clam Girl as he gripped the rope and started making his way down. "I'll go first, Nellie. If you're daft enough like the rest of us to come, I'll give you a shout when I've reached the bottom and you can use the rope after. That way one of us might be able to catch you if you fall, like we weren't able to do for the stupid sod down there who just nearly killed himself. " Nov tugged on the rope one more time to make sure it was secure, then grinned up at Nellie in what he hoped was a look of reassurance, rather than the almost painful nervousness now wracking his body.

"See you in hell." And down he went without further ado.

As Noven lowered himself length by length, he took slow, steady breaths, refusing to look down. He wasn't great with heights to begin with and the still-healing wound across his stomach did him no favors either. But Kechaiya's reinforced stitches held, minor aches and pains aside, and he ran out of rope sooner than he'd thought. There was a tick's worth of hesitation, then Nov let go and landed on the ground with a grunt. He hit the bottom boots first, the impact jarring his knees a bit, but otherwise had made it undamaged.

"Alright, Nellie," he called upwards as he unwound the rope from his hands. "You can come down now."

The cook took a brief moment to check on the others. Everyone seemed fine, barring the injured old man and slightly banged up thief. One Eye's lantern light only reached so far inside the pit, but Nov felt grateful the blonde had been so prepared. He watched the fire flicker every now and then, making the light dance along the walls, before he returned his attentions to any signs of their final member's descent.

[Amora Jade]

Congratulations, you've been awarded!

 

Nellie

Please update your ledger to reflect the season change, once you have just send me a pm and I'll release your grade for you!

 

Zandelia

Skills

• Tactics +1
• Leadership +1
• Climbing +1

Lores

• The Rotten Mansion: Mysteriously Fallen
• Tactics: Properly Anchoring a Rope

I really wasn't sure exactly what to award for the action of tieing the rope for a safe decent down, but tactics seemed like the most logical to me. If you think something fits better please let me know!

 

Shai

Skills

• Observation +2
• Larceny +1
• Interrogation +2
• Acrobatics +1

Lores

• The Rotten Mansion: Mysteriously Fallen
• Larceny: Cutting a Coin Purse

Earnings/Expenses

• +2gm 3cm: Stolen

Using every opportunity you can to gain mizas! Hehe I love it ^^

 

Eleazar

Skills

• Observation +2

Lores

• The Rotten Mansion: Mysteriously Fallen
• "One Eye" : Noven's Nickname for the Woman with the Rope

I saw you put a spot to deduct your seasonal expenses but also realized that if you were to do it your ledger would go negative, just be sure to get your job threads turned in asap! (I know you know, just a reminder)

 

Noven

Skills

• Climbing +1
• Leadership +1
• Planning +1

Lores

• The Rotten Mansion: Mysteriously Fallen
• Note to Self: Watch Out For the Hooded Woman
• Leadership: Dirtecting for Safety

I really wish this wasn't abandoned, I would have loved to see where the group went with it- and I would have loved to give you all more than I did.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to send me a private message! Also, please remember to edit your post requesting the grade as "Graded."

With love,
Miss Jade

[Kynier]

Grades!

Nellie
Skill Rewards

• Brawling +1
• Observation +2

Lores Learned

• Sunberth Location: The Rotten Mansion
• The Rotten Mansion: Mysteriously Fallen
• Cid: Likes to search through the rubble

If you have an questions or concerns about your grade please feel free to PM me.