The snow thing roared again as the adorbaphant approached. They met in a clash of blizzarding snow and elephant trumpets. It ended with the dispelling of the elephant as it was defeated by the raging storm. The man thing again started to wards the group to be hit, rather ineffectually, by tonfa shots from Illium. As Illu helped the others with the door however, it began to swing open. There became enough of a crack to fit the party inside.
Once inside, they were met with darkness around them. Hearing the snow beast approach dangerously close to the door, Illu began trying to close it.
Carter pressed his back against the door, digging his heels into the ground and pushing back with what strength he could offer. From that vantage point he couldn't help but look out into wherever it was they'd found themselves now.
From his position, Carter could see darkness. Lots of darkness. It was so complete, he could not even tell how big the room was. He did see one thing though. He saw a small, fading light, slowly pulsing in the distance. He couldn't be sure, but it seemed like it was human shaped.
Once the others joined in to help push the door closed, it became an easy enough task...except for the Snow Thing that hit the other side and almost pushed it back open. But, the combined force of everyone was enough to just overcome it and close the door.
Now that the door was closed, Carter could make out one more shape. It was definitely humanoid, but it was only visible as a less dark shape against the darkness. It passed in front of the light, and he could tell it was a person.
**OOC: The figure is the new character. Please let him post what he does before others do things. Thank you.
The mysterious person cautiously approached the group with what could be discerned as a lantern in hand. As it got closer it held the lantern up to try and perceive the cause of the door opening in the utter darkness, only to reveal what seemed to be a young man with a well-worn, brown cloak.
"Hello?" The stranger asked with a hushed voice, nervous as to what he may find. "Is someone there? If so, friend or foe?"
Cloaked Stranger - "Oh thank goodness, I knew the Fraternity wouldn't forget about me!" The young man exclaimed. "It's good to finally see a friendly face, or I would if I could actually see your faces." Though his face was mostly hidden by the darkness and the hood of his cloak, a shy smile could still be seen on his dimly lit face.
Locke - "Anyway, my name is Locke, and as you may have already figured out, I am a part of the Fraternity of Mages. Might I learn the names of my saviors?"
**Yack moves to the side of the door, putting him out of the way should it burst open.**
Yack - "Yack."
Cassie - "I'm Cassie! **Waves a wing** Are you the maid? You don't sound like a she, but this one time I saw a woman with a really deep voice so maybe you are the maid?"
**The little harpy tries to remember if Papa ever told her what a maid is. Stuff is "made", so maybe they are mages who make things? That's probably it! Or maybe mages make them?**
"Hi! I'm Illu, peacekeeper and mage. Nice to meet you too! And, I'm sorry to say, we weren't sent by the mages. Why did they send you? And what is that thing on the ground behind you?" Illu said in a cheerful voice as he gestured to the small pulsing light. He also tried to turn on his baton, but found the light only barely bright enough to let him see the floor.
Locke wasn't sure what Illu was talking about, as until the group just entered the room, it had been completely dark. But if he looked now, he could definitely see the light shape.
Locke - "Um, pleasure to meet you all," he said with uncertainty as his ragtag band of 'rescuers' introduced themselves, though he had to bite his tongue at the remark regarding to his gender. "And no, I'm not a servant for the lord of the house that we are, er, were? Why does magic make life so confusing?"
"I digress, I'm getting off topic. My original mission was to acquire the painting that brought us here for the Fraternity, though I was never told the cursed thing was magical or a portal to another world. Not sure how long ago that was, considering I've been stuck in a pitch-black room with no no sunlight around. As for a maid, there was one who brought me straight in and left me on my own to appraise the painting. At this point, I'm not even sure anyone but that maid even knew I was at the estate!" His anger slowly rising as the possibility of him being set up came to his mind.
Taking a deep breath, Locke turned to address the cheer mage's question. "I'm afraid I haven't been able to see much of anything in here since I've been forced to ration what little lantern oil I had. I dare not attempt to open the door for sunlight, lest that monster attack my again. For the most part, all I've been able to do in here is eat the rations I had with me, sleep, and a few exercises. It's been rather maddening quite frankly, especially without people to talk to."
Locke - "Silence is not the preferred option when alone in the dark," visibly shivering at the thought before turning to address Sly. "Truth if stranger than fiction as they say. Besides, I sincerely doubt the deal was being made by the actual owner. One of the servants was probably trying to sell it under the table under their master's name or something, that maid might have been in on it, too. Wish I actually took the time to memorize her face so I could pay her a 'visit' for putting me through this hell."
Sly - "So the brotherhood of mages wanted a painting so badly they were willing to buy it from a servant of the owner? If you say so. My name is Sly, a pleasure I'm sure."
Locke raised an eyebrow at the now introduced Sly and his conclusion.
Locke - "Not what I meant, but I suppose it's a possibility. Anyway, can we please focus on leaving? I haven't had anything to eat or drink for who knows how long, and I want out of the dark. Please!"
Carter- Sounds good to me. How about we check out the light first?
Carter gestured past Locke again to the distant source of light. If it wasn't here in his isolation it must have been a reaction to the rest of the group somehow.
At that, Illu nodded. He went over towards it keeping his baton lit for the minor illumination it provided.
As he approached, he noticed the source got bigger. Well, more accurately, it stood up. What was before just a small light, now stood as a small child seemingly composed of light itself. It smiled brightly at the group. When Illu got closer, they now noticed shadowy shapes were passing in front of the small child of light. They could also see he was holding some kind of orb.
Light boy - "Hi!" He said seemingly excited. "Are you guys here to save me from the monsters?" He asked with a tilt of his head.
Not knowing how to respond to that question, Carter instead decided to pull out his mage's machete. He hung the weapon loosely at his side, more out of lack of proficiency than anything else.
Though it was difficult to see, it was apparent that Locke seemed distressed or very annoyed at the sight of the light child.
Locke - "Um, yeah. We'll save you. Though I must ask, what monsters are you referring to? Also, why did you not provide some kind of light for the entirety I've been stuck in this room?"
Light Boy - "You alone weren't enough to scare the monsters enough to stop smothering me. As for which ones, they are everywhere. They are Shades. They get stronger by destroying light. I was able to hold them back for a time, but they overwhelmed me and I was soon exhausted. I barely managed to keep enough light for myself. If you want to help me get rid of them, come take this orb. You'll see what I mean."
He held his hands up still clasping the orb near his chest, but he was presenting it to the group.
The light boy made no attempt to stop Carter, or to force him to take the orb. He merely extended it and let it rest against his outstretched hand. As soon as the orb was touching him, two things happened. First, he felt a sudden peaceful warmth fill him along with a sense of pending revelation. Second, Carter could suddenly see things moving that were before hidden. He couldn't quite make them out though. He noticed then that the boy focused more on the orb for a moment, and suddenly he could see much clearer. The room was swarming with dark shadowy figures. As opposed to being a 3 dimensional being, they instead seemed to possess only 2 dimensions and rested flat on the surfaces. Their numbers were seemingly uncountable, but he could see outlines of them, probably from something the boy did. They swam and swarmed over everything and everyone. He could not see precisely how large the room was, but he could now see what were presumably walls, floor and ceiling all centered on where the boy stood revealed by the brief lapses in shades.
Once inside, they were met with darkness around them. Hearing the snow beast approach dangerously close to the door, Illu began trying to close it.
Acelin's Characters (since her sig won't work).
Go ahead and run, you'll only die tired.
Those who might never meet are pooled together
Once the others joined in to help push the door closed, it became an easy enough task...except for the Snow Thing that hit the other side and almost pushed it back open. But, the combined force of everyone was enough to just overcome it and close the door.
Now that the door was closed, Carter could make out one more shape. It was definitely humanoid, but it was only visible as a less dark shape against the darkness. It passed in front of the light, and he could tell it was a person.
**OOC: The figure is the new character. Please let him post what he does before others do things. Thank you.
Acelin's Characters (since her sig won't work).
"Hello?" The stranger asked with a hushed voice, nervous as to what he may find. "Is someone there? If so, friend or foe?"
Acelin's Characters (since her sig won't work).
Locke - "Anyway, my name is Locke, and as you may have already figured out, I am a part of the Fraternity of Mages. Might I learn the names of my saviors?"
Carter- Carter Dawson, healer for hire. Pleasure to etcetera...
Yack - "Yack."
Cassie - "I'm Cassie! **Waves a wing** Are you the maid? You don't sound like a she, but this one time I saw a woman with a really deep voice so maybe you are the maid?"
**The little harpy tries to remember if Papa ever told her what a maid is. Stuff is "made", so maybe they are mages who make things? That's probably it! Or maybe mages make them?**
Nervada - 98% fat free, high in fiber.
Eizen - Collected
Yack - Walking
Miko Wydberg
Tanya
Locke wasn't sure what Illu was talking about, as until the group just entered the room, it had been completely dark. But if he looked now, he could definitely see the light shape.
Acelin's Characters (since her sig won't work).
"I digress, I'm getting off topic. My original mission was to acquire the painting that brought us here for the Fraternity, though I was never told the cursed thing was magical or a portal to another world. Not sure how long ago that was, considering I've been stuck in a pitch-black room with no no sunlight around. As for a maid, there was one who brought me straight in and left me on my own to appraise the painting. At this point, I'm not even sure anyone but that maid even knew I was at the estate!" His anger slowly rising as the possibility of him being set up came to his mind.
Taking a deep breath, Locke turned to address the cheer mage's question. "I'm afraid I haven't been able to see much of anything in here since I've been forced to ration what little lantern oil I had. I dare not attempt to open the door for sunlight, lest that monster attack my again. For the most part, all I've been able to do in here is eat the rations I had with me, sleep, and a few exercises. It's been rather maddening quite frankly, especially without people to talk to."
Carter- Got used to talking to yourself, didn't you? Happens to me when I spend too long studying alone.
Sly - "You came to buy the painting but the owner didn't know you were here? That seems a bit unlikely."
Go ahead and run, you'll only die tired.
Those who might never meet are pooled together
Sly - "So the brotherhood of mages wanted a painting so badly they were willing to buy it from a servant of the owner? If you say so. My name is Sly, a pleasure I'm sure."
Go ahead and run, you'll only die tired.
Those who might never meet are pooled together
Locke - "Not what I meant, but I suppose it's a possibility. Anyway, can we please focus on leaving? I haven't had anything to eat or drink for who knows how long, and I want out of the dark. Please!"
Carter gestured past Locke again to the distant source of light. If it wasn't here in his isolation it must have been a reaction to the rest of the group somehow.
As he approached, he noticed the source got bigger. Well, more accurately, it stood up. What was before just a small light, now stood as a small child seemingly composed of light itself. It smiled brightly at the group. When Illu got closer, they now noticed shadowy shapes were passing in front of the small child of light. They could also see he was holding some kind of orb.
Light boy - "Hi!" He said seemingly excited. "Are you guys here to save me from the monsters?" He asked with a tilt of his head.
Acelin's Characters (since her sig won't work).
Locke - "Um, yeah. We'll save you. Though I must ask, what monsters are you referring to? Also, why did you not provide some kind of light for the entirety I've been stuck in this room?"
Light Boy - "You alone weren't enough to scare the monsters enough to stop smothering me. As for which ones, they are everywhere. They are Shades. They get stronger by destroying light. I was able to hold them back for a time, but they overwhelmed me and I was soon exhausted. I barely managed to keep enough light for myself. If you want to help me get rid of them, come take this orb. You'll see what I mean."
He held his hands up still clasping the orb near his chest, but he was presenting it to the group.
Acelin's Characters (since her sig won't work).
The mage moved forward, extending his free hand to touch the orb but not take it.
Acelin's Characters (since her sig won't work).