Ruin's Dawn: Lightning Gem

[Cail Qy'Jihai]

Cail Qy'Jihai

Cail listened closely as the old woman seemed dejected at having to deal with their questions. The woman wanted to try and relax her nerves, but what in the world could she tell her? It seemed she would go in turn to answer everyone’s questions which seemed like a logical idea. With so many of them, the Biqaj knew that they could very easily overwhelm her. If that happened, then they would lose time. It was when the woman suddenly realized that they were not with the group from earlier that her expression changed. She appeared to be deciding what to do with that knowledge. Copper?

What did the woman need copper from especially from another building? Was there no copper where she was? Of course, it could simply be that the woman did not see any or that there truly was none. When asked if anyone else in the group had any copper, the woman felt around feeling her purse opening it to see what she had. All the while a creepy feeling ran down her spin, Cail shook her head not talking trying to focus on what she was doing.

“If I may ask, madam. What do you need copper for exactly?” Cail inquired looking up at the older woman.

She would pass the pieces of copper she had to Praetorum. Though it was not much, the five that the woman passed to him would do better than nothing at all. The Biqaj hoped that some of the others in the group would indeed have some as well. The woman jumped and turned quickly seeing the ghost with the smashed in face. A duel? Perfect the oneday Cail happened to leave her weapons at the ship while doing work for the order. It was clear that the ghost would not back down about fighting her or the woman leaving. It was the way he left the end of his statement that caused her blood to run cold.

“I am sorry sir. But I am a healer where I am from. I was recruited for such to help the people I am accompanying. Perhaps there is another way we can strike a deal to earn your assistance,” Cail countered while moving closer to Praetorum knowing if nothing else he could possibly intimidate the ghost into leaving her alone.

Biqaj Female

23 Arc old
Long Brown Hair and Eyes
5' 8" Tall

Clothing Style
Green Cloak

“Part of the healing process is sharing with other people who care.”
~ Jerry Cantrell

[Jackalope]

”You’ll never catch me alive, copper!” said the ghost.

Everyone

The crone watched the group expectantly as they registered their various responses to her proposal. Shl’drei and Natalia seemed dubious. That didn’t surprise her. They were strangers in a strange land, after all. Praetorum made a counter-offer, one that *did* both surprise and please the crone. She held out her hand, spidery fingers working eagerly at the offer of coins. ”I’ve little use for a stone club, but a purse full o’ copper nels? Of course! It’s a deal.” As to Cail’s question, the old woman grinned smugly. ”You’re new in town, that’s for sure, to ask a question like that. The copper’s for the ghosts, of course. You can hit’em with it; it can hurt them.” The crone weighed the purse, then opened it to pull out a couple nels to examine them critically.

She put a wizened tongue to them. ”Yep, that’s copper,” she agreed, replacing the coins and disappearing the purse quickly into the formless oblivion of her ragged skirts. ”Well, a deal’s a deal. You didn’t give me a lot of copper, but that’s probably fair, since in truth, I only have a little to tell you. But here goes:” She leaned towards them conspiratorially.

”There’s three of them,” she stated, ”or at least there were the last time they came. All human, all red-heads. Maybe aukari, I’m not sure. A man and two women. One of the women was older than the other two and seemed to be in charge. They weren’t heavily-armed, nor that well-equipped, to be honest, which is one of the reasons they were stymied by the door to the catacombs. They *did* carry around what looked to be the biggest war-dart I’ve ever seen, looks like an arrow as tall as *you*” she nodded to Cail. Crooked shoulders spasmed upward in a shrug. ”No idea what it was for. It’d work as a spear in a pinch, I reckon, but not a very good one. And you’d have to be a giant to actually be able to throw that monstrosity.

“As to getting in: it’s known to many in the quarter that there’s a breach in the catacombs, so that one can reach it through the sewers. And entrances to the sewers are easy enough to find and use, if you don’t mind getting dirty and stinky.

“From what I overheard, the other group had been down there once, but said they couldn’t find what they were looking for again. Yes, they said ‘again’. Not sure what they meant by that. But some spots in the sewer are weird, more than a little touched by the Beneath; they change; things appear and disappear, whole chambers and hallways, some say. That may or may not have been the other group’s problem. Be careful if you go down there.”

Praetorum, Cail

The ghost hissed angrily at Cail’s response, and even more so at the ithecal’s intervention.

”A proper challenge can be arranged,”

it said ominously.

”But it seems you are craven, and your champion here content to hide behind technicalities and copper. It is disappointing; you could have won yourself a way through this door. Do not think you have seen the last of me…”

And with that, the disfigured ghost withdrew, vanishing through the sealed door.

The crone clucked disapprovingly. ”Like I said: trouble. Whatever you guys decide, do it quickly. Those others will be back soon enough.” She gave them a crooked, sunken-lipped smirk. ”And don’t think for one trill that I won’t tell them as much as I told you if they make me the right offer. That said: good luck to you.” And with that, the crone hobbled off, making her way down from the hillock into the lower-lying bowels of the haunted Burho.

Yeva seemed to have disappeared, perhaps wandered off. Whatever had happened to her, Praetorum had an extra copper/stone club that he could lend to Cail or anyone else in the group, should he so wish. With Yeva, the crone, and the ghost all departed, the group found itself left to it’s own devices

Praetorum, Natalia, Shl’Drei, Cail

You all achieved your must-do objectives for this round. This will have positive results at the end of the thread.

Praetorum

One! One of you made a Sesame Street reference! Ah ha ha ha! This will have positive results at the end of the thread.

Yeva

You did not post this round! This is the second round you have missed. You are now hereby written out of this thread. Sorry.

Info & Rules

• As said earlier, if any of you miss a round, there will be (not good) consequences at the end of the thread.
• Thus far, Cail has missed one round; Yeva has missed two and is now written out of the thread.
• This style of event moderation - with objectives etc - was created by a wonderful moderator named Crimson.

Objectives

!	Message from: Must-Do Objectives
	Decide on what to do next. If you decide to take the sewer route, describe your character’s reaction to the sewer entrance Cail: Respond to Ghosty McMace-Face’s challenge.

!	Message from: Can-Do Objectives
	There are no Can-Do objectives this round.

Next modpost, 13 July

Deadline for your next round's posts is 1200 EST on 13 July. If you haven't posted by that time, I will consider you to have missed that round.

[Praetorum]

Thankfully, the old woman was happy to accept copper nels in exchange for information. Prae quickly handed over what he had, and waited patiently for the woman to tell them what she knew. 



Three redheads carrying a strange object certainly seemed like they fit the description of the Aukari Occult alright. It was confirmation that they were on the right track. And now they knew what the artifact looked like, most likely. Prae would call that a fair trade for the copper he'd paid her. 



So, it seemed they would be going through the sewers after all. A pity, but evidently necessary. It was good to know for sure that there was an entrance to the catacombs down there. But the mention of strange behavior in the sewers worried him a little. If they encountered more ghosts down there, he was now all out of copper, save for this club he had in his hand. Well. He supposed they'd worry about that when they got there. 



The ghost, thankfully, did not push things further, leaving with an ominous last word. Prae sighed internally. Yari. He turned back to the old woman as she spoke again, telling them she'd be willing to sell information to the other group as easily as she'd sold it to them. "I had a feeling," he said dryly. "Thank you for the information."


As she left, Prae turned to his companions. "Unfortunately, it looks like we're headed to the sewers, then. We should find an entrance. Cail, Shl'drei and Yeva—"


He paused. "Yeva?"


Looking around, Prae frowned in alarm as he realized that Yeva had disappeared while he was talking. "Did anyone see where she went?" There had been no signs of a struggle, no one who'd come close to them, as far as Prae could tell. Had she simply... walked off? 



He hesitated, torn. On one hand, he didn't want to leave anyone behind, especially if Yeva might be in trouble—but on the other hand, they didn't have any time to waste. The group of Aukari could be back at any moment. 



"Yeva..." he muttered, looking around fruitlessly for her again. "I hope you know what you're doing." He closed his eyes. She was Forged and Marked—at the very least, she wouldn't be helpless. "We have to move fast. There's an entrance to the sewers over there," Prae said, pointing at a nearby house. He'd detected earlier that it connected with the larger series of tunnels—and even if that entrance turned out to be barred, Prae could find others.

Before long, they were standing in front of what was little more than a hole in the ground, with a rickety looking ladder going down into the darkness. Already, he could smell the sewer stench wafting up through the hole. Sighing, Prae looked at it somewhat skeptically. That ladder was not going to hold his weight—he'd probably have to fly down with defiance. "Shall we?"

[Shl'Drei]

Shl'drei had nothing to give, but he listened intently to the Crone. Aukari probably? Immortals could this get any more dangerous… he stood puzzled, but he too shivered in the presence of the disfigured ghost who faded away with a warning? Threat? He couldn't tell. It made him anxious but he swallowed it and looked back to where Yeva once stood. She was just-

"Should we look," but Praetorum seemed to have steeled himself and he was right- time was of the essence. He goped she'd be okay, but he couldn't bring himself to think too deeply on it lest he enter a never ending spiral.

He said his thanks with a nod as the Crone walked off, but flinched at the foul smelling area they'd have to tread through. It was filthy and toe deep gunk clung to the walls and walkways. He wasn't specifically deterred having worked with animals, but it was still unpleasant. "If we have to, we should do it before I get cold feet." He jested weakly.

Though as he lowered himself into the gunk, something dawned on Shl'drei. "If the paths move and change, doesn't that mean something is down here making it happen?" He chewed his lip but halted immediately, the strong scent enough to coat his tongue. He gagged but pulled himself together as quickly as possible. "That and the Aukari are carrying around a massive war dart… what are we supposed to do about that?"

He reached up and above to Natalie, and called to her should she choose to take his help getting down. Once everyone was down, he looked back up at the opening. "Should we mark it with," he paused as his thoughts caught up. "Nevermind. If the other group comes in behind us they'd know we'd come down this way as well."

[Natalia Gregorios]

Saun 35, Arc 721

Natalia was getting ready to hand over additional nels when Praetorum and the crone struck something of a bargain.

What she described of the people involved certainly sounded like what they were looking for. Scrunching her nose up at the mention of sewers, the young woman really didn’t like the sound of it, but she was committed to the cause.

The fact that ghosts could be hurt by copper was useful, although she wasn’t sure how much she had in her coin purse. Safe in the pocket of her cloak, she gently wrapped her hand around the small pouch, assuring it was still there.

Some of the other information made her uneasy. Shifting rooms and passageways. Natalia didn’t like the sound of it. How did you combat something like that? Sounded like a navigation nightmare. Looking at the young man and woman with the group, she was curious what they were thinking about the information being given.

Standing there, the Ithecal looked around, prompting her to do the same. It appeared that the redhead that had been with them had vanished, although she wasn’t sure where she had vanished to. Odd. Praetorum seemed worried about her, and she assumed from their previous banter that they knew each other. Hopefully, the young woman would be alright.

Adding her thoughts to mix, she answered the young man's partial question. "I think we have to trust she knows what she's doing and move on. This appears to be a very time-sensitive issue."

Following the Ithecal, one could smell the entrance to the sewers before they arrived there. Sighing softly, Natalia scrunched her nose again, but didn’t allow it to detour her. The hole in the ground with ladder was simple enough to figure out and standing there gawking wasn’t getting them any closer to being done with the matter. Nodding to Praetorum, she briefly commented. “I have a few more copper nels, should we need them. I’m happy to give them to you?” He seemed to have a firm grasp on what was going on, so it seemed prudent to say something.

Speaking to no one in particular, she gave a bit of a sigh, peering into the hole. “Anyone have any thoughts about what we do when we get down there?”

Grabbing the ladder, the young woman began to descend slowly, testing the ladder every step of the way to assure its sturdiness. Eyes and ears open, she wasn’t sure what she would find at the bottom of the ladder but whatever it was, it smelled awful.

So awful. Why did adventure have to be so gross?

[Cail Qy'Jihai]

Cail Qy'Jihai


Thread Name
Time Stamp

Cail was relieved when Prae explained that she would not have to accept the challenge. It appeared that he was familiar with the way certain laws were used in Yaralon. Needless to say, the ghost across from the woman was not too happy by either of their answers. She was no fool to take on an entity or person with no weapon on her. If he had demanded that the girl help him heal someone he knew, then the woman would have tried her best. But thankfully he disappeared though not without issuing the pair a proper threat. When it was clear that the old woman had nothing else to say, the woman turned to look at Praetorum.

“Thank you, I do not know what I would have done if he had insisted. I have never been to Yaralon therefore I do not know its customs the way you do. I hope I will be able to return the favor soon,” Cail stated and followed him after he gave her to club.

She took it gladly and followed to the opening to the sewers. It was clear none of them were too excited to go down below. Making a face, the Biqaj took a deep breath trying to ignore the smell as she watched Natalie go down first then followed by ShI’Drei. When it was finally her turn, Cail moved forward and began to make her way down into the sewers as well. With a small nod, the woman took the offered hand and got down looking around them. She made sure to move fully out of the way so that Praetorum would have room. There appeared to be two ways to go, how would they know which way to go?

“No, marks would lead them right for us. They haven’t been able to open the doors and the crone had left where she was sitting when we gave her the copper. Does anyone have a map of Yaralon? Or will we have to try this without a way to make notes on? Then I suppose I have to decide which direction to go,” Cail explained when they had all gathered together.

The last thing she wanted was to be in a tight sewer tunnel when that crazy male ghost reappeared. The Biqaj was not a fighter, that did not mean she did not know how to use a bow and arrows. While the group decided which way to go, the woman took the time to dig in her bag and see if perhaps she had something with her to write on.

Biqaj Female

23 Arc old
Long Brown Hair and Eyes
5' 8" Tall

Clothing Style
Green Cloak

“Part of the healing process is sharing with other people who care.”
~ Jerry Cantrell

[Jackalope]

One fewer to go into the sewer

For those who lacked the ithecal’s ability to Defy gravity, the descent from the streets of Ghost Burho into the sewers beneath was made by a rusty, moist-runged ladder that rattled and groaned as ominously as any ghost whenever one shifted one’s weight on it. Nerve-wracking as it was to use, though, the ladder held, and all were able to reach its foot without incident.

The descent was not far, perhaps a dozen feet, and landed one on a slick stone ledge forming the lip of a channel along which flowed the noisome waste water of Yaralon. The ledge was wide enough for one person to stand on securely, and walk along carefully. Indeed, it had probably been built for just that purpose, as had a similar ledge on the opposite side of the channel, about eight feet away, across the gurgling, creeping moat of sewage.

The sewer was dark, though not profoundly so. Just enough light came down through the manhole, and slanted in through the periodic storm drains overhead, to enable the adventurers to perceive their surroundings once their eyes had adjusted. They would notice that the sewer walls were studded with sconces for lamps, but these sported no actual lights. They might be well advised, though, to use additional light sources to traverse the ledge safely.

The smell of Yari sewage, while unmistakable, had not been strong outside the sewer entrance, yet down here the ordure stench filled the air as oppressively and comprehensively as did the subterranean darkness and the saun heat. The sewage itself moved sluggishly, yet the nauseating air seemed not to move at all. The group members quickly found themselves drenched in sweat, soon adding the smell of their own perspiration to the others assaulting their noses.

Smells, oddly enough, seemed to be the only sensations that were vivid down here. Everything else was oddly muted: sounds, colors, even the slimy textures that presented to the touch on practically every surface, all seemed attenuated and remote, lacking strength and vibrancy. This went as well for the colors and sounds the adventurers brought with them; their clothes would look duller down here than they had on the surface, and their voices, when they spoke aloud, sounded weirdly muffled and drained of warmth and affect, even though they could still hear and understand each other clearly.

The sewers seemed to share the haunted aspect of the burho above. From time to time, an icy sensation would waft over, interrupting the oppressive heat with intervals of unsettling cold that somehow failed to bring relief. Whenever this happened, the adventurers feeling it might hear faint, indistinct whispers, the almost-distinct outline of words and phrases teasing the edge of awareness, but never quite resolving into comprehensibility.

The tunnel they found themselves in was straight, and extended into the gloom as far as their eyes could currently see. If they remembered to take their bearings before desecending, they would know that the corridor to their right (facing the ladder) led roughly back in the direction of the catacombs. About ten feet off in that direction, there was something the size of a large cat bobbing in the channel. The water swirled lazily around it, flowing away from the catacombs, towards the left-hand side of the corridor.

Everyone

You all achieved your must-do objectives for this round! This will have positive results at the end of the thread.

Info & Rules

• As said earlier, if any of you miss a round, there will be (not good) consequences at the end of the thread.
• Thus far, Cail has missed one round; Yeva has missed two and is now written out of the thread.
• This style of event moderation - with objectives etc - was created by a wonderful moderator named Crimson.

Objectives

!

Message from: Must-Do Objectives

Let the dungeon crawl commence! You all know the drill: work out your marching order (you can only move in single file along the ledge, though you can do so fairly easily), describe what you’re doing for lighting, what sorts of hazards you’re looking out for, what weapons/equipment if any you have at the ready, etc. It sounds like Cail is making the map? Pick a corridor to head down. Then make your saving throw with disadvantage vs. Death. Okay, maybe not that last bit. Yet…

!	Message from: Can-Do Objectives
	While you’re doing the above, feel free to work in any classic table-top RPG tropes/cliches that come to mind.

Next modpost, 20 July

Deadline for your next round's posts is 1200 EST on 20 July. If you haven't posted by that time, I will consider you to have missed that round.

[Praetorum]

Prae grimaced as he landed lightly on the ledge. Almost as soon as he did, he wished he could justify flying instead, feeling the stone slick with fates only knew what under his claws. But he knew better than to waste ether on something so trivial, when there might be a battle coming up soon.

“A map would be a good idea,” Prae said. Reaching into his domain bag, Prae pulled out a book—his hone grimoire, not quite filled up—and offered it to Cail. “There should be an empty page or two in the back,“ he said. “Do you think you can lead us through? I’m not much for navigation—but I can tell you where north is at any given time, if that helps.”

This place was odd, that was for sure. It didn’t quite feel like the normal world, but Prae knew he would know if they moved into the Beyond or Emea, or even if they were moved aroundNever Lost Again ability—lets Prae know where he is at all times. He didn’t like it—who knew what would come out of the darkness?

“If I lead, none of you will be able to see anything past me,” he said, somewhat jokingly. “Shl’drei, take the front—your whip has a longer range than a dagger or a club. Cail next, then Natalia, then me. I can fly around to the front if need be. Cail and I are out of copper—Shl’drei, Natalia, if you have any, I can make more copper and stone weapons. Cail, if you’d rather I change that club into a different shape, I can do that too.” He’d make the weapons they asked for, and a spear for himself, then turn his attention to their surroundings.

“I’m going to assume none of you have brought torches,” he said somewhat dryly. “Hold still.” Reaching out, he would draw on each of their backs a hone rune of resistance, then on each of their heads—and his own—a rune of three-fold sight and four-fold focus. More than that, and he ran the risk of disorientating them, at least without practice. Three-fold sight should be enough to let them see in the dim light the runes gave off, and focus would help them, well, focus on their surroundings.

“Keep an eye out, everyone. This place is strange. And slippery.” It was so eerie, Prae almost wanted to tell the others to look out for traps, pitfalls and spikes and suchlike. Almost. “And don’t forget that ghosts can go through walls.”

With that, Prae would take his place guarding their rear, and leave the decision on where to go to Cail. Spreading out his defiance sense, Prae set part of his attention to watching for movement in the elements in front and behind them.

But ghosts, he knew, he wouldn’t be able to detect like this. So he was sure to keep an eye out as well, ready to use defiance to pull the others out of harm’s way if an enemy attacked. Or if they, or he, slipped on this slick surface.

[Natalia Gregorios]

Saun 35, Arc 721

As the group landed on the ledge, plans were formulated, and it smelled. Bad. Very bad. Listening carefully to what the Ithecal had to say as she wrinkled up her nose, Natalia nodded, noting her position in the order. It seemed logical, from her very limited viewpoint, and there would be no complaints from her.

Reaching into her pocket, the young woman drew out her coin purse and quickly separated the copper nels from the rest, handing them10 copper nels over to him. Drawing out her dagger so he could look at it, she briefly explained her experience. “I’m afraid I only have a little experience with daggers, but I’m not afraid to use it. Is it possible to make a dagger of copper?...or I suppose it just needs to be the blade?” She didn’t like the idea of having to be that close to something to protect herself but that was the only weapon Natalia had any experience with.

Praetorum then did…something…that allowed her to see better in the dark. She wasn’t averse to the more mystical teachings and ways, but it did lead to a whole slew of questions that she had no time to ask, nor did the situation they were in lend itself to a question-and-answer session. Her questions would have to wait.

The ground was slippery – with what, she didn’t want to know – and traversing the underground terrain seemed as though it would be a bit challenging. Her normal focus seemed to be enhanced, allowing her mind to settle and eyes sharp.

Her assigned position in the group allowed her a bit of freedom that the others didn’t have. The young man was leading, presumably on the look out for anything ahead of them. The other woman was tasked with making a map. The Ithecal behind her was watching out for anything and everything, leaving Natalia in the unique position to relax, just a bit. Nothing would surprise her from behind, not with Pratorum there. Presumably she’d see something coming from the front because the man would call it out. She could focus on their surroundings and try to sort out clues, if there were any.

And that was exactly what she did, looking around as they moved trying to see what she could see and note anything that seemed out of the ordinary.

[Cail Qy'Jihai]

Cail Qy'Jihai


Thread Name
Time Stamp

Cail looked at Prae when he agreed about a map and began to dig around in his bag. She was shocked to see a full book be pulled out. The woman took the book and moved to where he had free space making sure not to look at any other pages. She did not want to violate his privacy while taking some and making a small drawing of the tunnel including a mark to show the ladder out. She looked over when they were discussing where everyone would stand. With a nod the woman was happy to do whatever she could to help the group. Though she now, held a club instead of the scimitar she was used to. The Biqaj would figure out how to make it work for her advantage. With a shake of her head when the Ithecal offered to change the shape of it.

“No, you don’t have to do that. I am afraid I would not be any better with it even smaller. I normally use a scimitar for protection, but the today I was doing work for the Order and did not have my weapon on me. Seems I will be sure to not make that mistake again, I am fine to be the second in line behind ShI’drei. We had best get moving before the other group returns. They have already been down here twice. If they cannot find the old woman at the entrance they could return. I would prefer not to have to fight or bandage anyone in this filthy place,” Cail explained with a smile.

Though the sewer made her want to puke, she sucked it up so that they could make sure to move forward with their task. Thinking back to what she had said before the strange ghost had distracted her during the meeting, Cail looked back and forth for a moment. The catacombs were connected to the sewers so one way or the other they would have to follow the water. A strange form floating in the water made her head tilt as she closed the book and put it in her bag in case she was to fall. The last thing the woman wanted was for his book to be damaged because of her.

“There is something in the water. That area is also different from the other direction. It makes sense to go to the end of this area and see what it is. The woman said that the catacombs connected to the sewers. She never said they were made at the same time. But we had best be careful of whatever is ahead for sure, that doesn’t look like general waste from any race or creature I know of,” Cail stated and fell in line following behind ShI’drei while leaning her head over just enough to count how far they were going down while looking at the creature, “a cat?”

Biqaj Female

23 Arc old
Long Brown Hair and Eyes
5' 8" Tall

Clothing Style
Green Cloak

“Part of the healing process is sharing with other people who care.”
~ Jerry Cantrell