Re: The Sunless Realms (Pony Souls IC Thread)

Espresso Mon Nov 27, 2017 1:12 am

As the three begin to examine the shard of metal, Kabra'za immediately senses a dark magic emanating from it. It's different from the dark arts that he himself dabbles in - those at least have grounding in more conventional zebrican traditions. This is something Kabra'za doesn't recognize.

Ghreham, meanwhile, with his experience of working with various enchantments, can sense a malignant presence in the shard. It's not a soul or a spirit, per se, but it's almost like the energy imbued into the shard itself is alive - alive, and extremely dangerous. It must be the source of the cockatrice's corruption, the darkness bleeding out of the metal and mutating the cockatrice into the towering monstrosity you just fought. If Ghreham had to choose a word to describe the energy, it would be... angry. It's lashing out, corrupting anything that comes close to it, reverting them to a more primal and unbound form. A Darkness that consumes life itself.

As Umber looks over it, she immediately knows what this is. It's that. The prophecy of lords. The emanations are unmistakable. This is part of the Crown of the Dark Lord.

As the more magically inclined members of the party pour over the spike, the timberwolf looks up suddenly. It sniffs the air, its ears twitching cautiously. It stands up, and starts pacing anxiously...

Faege Tue Nov 28, 2017 4:39 am

"Oh my, isn't that fascinating." Ghreham murmurs, enthralled. He leans close, admiring the dark emanations rippling from the metal shard. "You're absolutely evil, aren't you? Corruption of the soul and mutation of the body... it's as though you change the very essence of a creature out of pure spite... Pure Darkness, bound into cast iron... If only I could make the likes of you, my name would go down in history..."

He's so distracted that he doesn't notice the timberwolf after all.

Senshuken Tue Nov 28, 2017 8:55 am

Kabra'za did the only reasonable thing that a zebra could do when they see someone holding an artifact of great dark magic that they seem to be becoming obsessed with; He gestured for his shadow to grab a hold of it by its shadow before reaching into his pocket and removing a purple powder that he quickly blew into Ghreham's face in order to assist in the matter of prying the item from his claws... and possibly prevent him from getting any solid hits in until the violent reaction that obsession can cause had passed "Okay, you've held the soul consuming artifact of darkness for long enough bird boy."

Actions:

Glancing towards the large wolf, Kabra'za tilted his head as concern appeared on his face, asking in its native tongue "What's wrong?"

Faege Tue Nov 28, 2017 9:08 pm

"H- Oi! I was looking at that, Stripes," Ghreham scowls, though he doesn't look violent.

Apparently the obsession was entirely from his fascination with enchantment rather than any malicious effect from the object.

He tries to blink the powder out of his eyes, and turns to Umber. "How about you, little lady? See anything special in the thing?"

AleneShazam Sat Dec 02, 2017 5:39 pm

"Special? Yes, very much so," Umber murmurs. "This is an evil most foul, stemming from legend and myth. This is Darkness, mortality gone rampant. There is a prophecy where I am from speaking of this artifact."

She closes her eyes for a moment and recites, "Three lords of old, each peerless in strength. They forged the world from nothingness, banished the enemy, crushed the opposition. A Fourth lurked in the shadows of the Three, a dark, forgotten king with a shattered crown. When the sun goes dim in aeons hence, the crown is united, and the Lord does rise again... This must be one of the shards of the Lord's shattered crown."

Senshuken Sun Dec 03, 2017 1:41 am

As Umber told the tale of the 'shattered crown', a shard of which seemed to be held in the grasp of his shadow, he couldn't help but blink a little as questions arose that simply didn't make sense. "Wait, if the Three Lords 'created' the world from nothingness, then where did the enemy and opposition come from? Did they create them as well just so they could have something to fight?"

A1C Bronymous Sun Dec 03, 2017 1:55 am

Haskur snorts in amusement. "Ancient stories, weighing on the mind like snow on the dunes." He waves dismissively, but continues. "But it is dark and cold. Let it not rejoin its brethren, in any case. Can it be destroyed?"

Linguisitic note:

AleneShazam Sun Dec 03, 2017 2:52 am

"The legends are unclear, but some tales do speak of a world before our own... only that it is alien and unknown to us" Umber mumbles. She shakes her head and urges the Hollow to take the shard from Kabra'za. "It would be unwise to destroy it, or indeed interact with it at all. The legends warn against it. I can keep it contained."

Umber's History:

Hollow's Athletics:

Senshuken Sun Dec 03, 2017 3:13 am

As the Hollow marched forward, Shadow did everything in its power in order to keep the artifact of darkness out of his undead hooves; Twists, turns and attempts to dodge were made, but even with Kabra'za himself trying to get in the way of the undead pony, it just wasn't enough.

Grumbling in protest, Kabra'za was quick to rally against Umber as he argued "Look, I'm agreeing with you that it is likely highly dangerous and needs to be treated with the upmost respect, but locking it away seems rather short sighted. After all, a piece of some ancient dark power from whom knows when surfaces within the boarders of a kingdom deeply infected by the undead curse and you're not going to consider the possibility that the two might be connected?" This was going to be a hard sell, but the zebra had talked his way through harder circumstances "At the very least, it should be examined carefully in order to better understand what it does and how best to counter it if we encounter another shard of it in the future. Even if it turns out that it has no relation to the undead curse, understanding it would help us better contain it... or possibly even dispose of it outright safely!"

Dice rolls:

AleneShazam Sun Dec 03, 2017 4:49 am

Umber takes the shard from the Hollow, gingerly slipping it into a green glass bottle. As Kabra'za speaks, though, Umber looks between the flask and the zebra. Eventually she sighs, and holds the flask up. "The shard clearly has potent mutagenic properties. It transformed a cockatrice into that beast over there. It is extremely dangerous."

She then returns the flask to the shadow. "However, you speak true. My legendarium can only go so far. You may study the shard, provided you share access to the shard with good Ghreham as well. I'm certain his knowledge will be of use in the research of such an artifact."

A1C Bronymous Sun Dec 03, 2017 12:48 pm

"Do the legends also tell of the bickering weaklings who vie for the object of dark power, simply to study it and learn its power, for the good of all? That is the true cause of the disorder and destruction." Haskur pontificates, arms crossed and ready to intervene if necessary."You are already being swayed by its corruption- take great care that you need not be more forcefully separated from it in the future." The centaur makes his point, and turns away to watch the wolf. "What do we do with this beast? Let it go, or end its pain?"

Espresso Mon Dec 04, 2017 3:17 am

"I say we let it go. It's suffered enough already, hasn't it?" Eclipse speaks up, looking around at the scattered remains of the wolf's fallen pack.

Gaunt nods in agreement. "We don't gain anything from slaying it now."

Meanwhile, Kabra'za hears the wolf mutter, Smells of death. Bad smell. Come closer. Must leave now. Little creatures, must leave now. With that it turns and bounds into the woods, quickly blending into the dense forest despite its bulk.

Faege Tue Dec 05, 2017 2:43 pm

"You speak Puppy, right, Stripes?" Ghreham mutters, glancing at the wolf. "What did it say?"

Senshuken Wed Dec 06, 2017 3:05 am

Kabra'za grunted a little at the compromise and the insults, but his attention was quickly drawn to the large wolf as it spoke again... before bounding into the trees, possibly never to be seen again. "He says that something that smells of death is coming closer and told us to leave. I'm inclined to believe his advice so lets head back to camp... sooner would be better then later."

A1C Bronymous Wed Dec 06, 2017 8:08 pm

"Or shall we ask the death to wait on your wounded, as well?" Haskur adds dourly, donning his helmet and shields again, ready to march.

AleneShazam Thu Dec 07, 2017 9:34 pm

Umber doesn't speak, but the Hollow goes to pick up one of the wounded before starting to retreat in the direction of the camp.

Faege Sat Dec 16, 2017 6:49 pm

"Hey, big guy. You can load the wounded up here."

Ghreham goes up to a sturdy looking tree, taps on it a few times, before focusing and reaching to tug on the weave of reality holding the tree together. A few seconds later, the tree crumbles into molecules of wood that coalesce back into shape - a cart large enough to carry all of the wounded.

Fabricate:

A1C Bronymous Sat Dec 16, 2017 10:07 pm

"Allow me to assist in getting a move on." Haskur mounts his shields on either side of the cart (effectively protecting them from either side), and then steps to the front, ready to pull it once they're loaded.

Senshuken Sun Dec 17, 2017 1:10 am

While the others made efforts to create a way to transport for the injured and wounded, Kabra'za silently stepped onto the makeshift cart as well in order to not only hitch a free ride, but also to focus his efforts on actually treating the various injured ponies that were on board. His interaction with the wolf earlier had given him a pretty good idea of how to treat the curse that they were suffering from, as well as his own vast knowledge of healing remedies and spells to call upon as required.

Actions:

Espresso Sun Jan 14, 2018 9:02 pm

The party quickly sets forth into the woods, with Haskur easily pulling the wounded and Kabra'za along thanks to the cart fashioned by Ghreham. When it comes to Kabra'za's efforts, it seems with the cockatrice dead, the petrification has weakened, allowing him to easily remove the remnants of the curse without much trouble. However the injuries sustained by the expedition members are harder to treat, as some of them are very severe, and will take time to naturally recover. However Kabra'za does patch them up the best he can, so that at least none of them are dying on his watch, as well as speeding up their recovery significantly. Even those with broken bones and ripped muscle will be up and walking within days.

Gaunt takes to the air, keeping watch from above, and Eclipse takes up the rear of the impromptu caravan. The forest is unsettlingly quiet, and Gaunt comments as such, remarking to the party that "Something big is coming through. Not even the birds are flying. That means whatever it is, it's scary enough to freeze them to their nests."

They backtrack about halfway when Eclipse's ears twitch, and she looks up, caution clear in her demeanor.

(Perception prompt for spotting danger)

A1C Bronymous Tue Jan 16, 2018 5:41 am

Haskur huffs. "More great beasts? Where does the forest hide them all?"

Perception: 10+7=17

AleneShazam Tue Jan 16, 2018 8:43 pm

"They do say the forest has a will of its own... perhaps it senses an intrusion in us and is simply responding in kind," Umber suggests, though she does urge the Hollow to hasten his pace. Whatever the forest is throwing against them now, she's not eager to find out.

Rolls:

Senshuken Sun Jan 21, 2018 11:29 pm

For his part, Kabra'za didn't join in on the conversation that was going on between his companions; Of course the forest had a will of its own, but rather then argue that fact with those who wouldn't appreciate it properly, he had been somewhat preoccupied with making sure those under his care would actually recover rather than be crippled or maimed for life... however short that might actually prove to be.

As the forest grew quiet through, he glanced up from his work in order to look around. Those paying close attention might have noticed that his shadow appeared to be doing the same, only in a completely different direction then its master.

Dice Rolls:

Faege Wed Jan 24, 2018 4:33 am

"Could be that it's a lot of somethings rather than a big something." Ghreham suggests, bringing three floating swords to bear while flying higher up to see what he can spot from a higher vantage point.

Perception:

Souls Counter:

Espresso Sat Jan 27, 2018 6:42 pm

While Kabra'za and Haskur are preoccupied with tending to the patients and pulling the cart respectively, Umber and the Hollow catch inklings of some kind of commotion a distance away in the forest, and a vibration can be felt underfoot. When Ghreham takes to the skies, though, he catches a glimpse of a chilling sight: in the distance an army appears to be on the move, a mass of shambling hollows at least several dozen strong making their way through the forest, though only parts of the pack of Hollows are visible from above the canopy.

As it stands they're still a safe distance, roughly half a kilometer away, but the fight with the cockatrice must have disturbed them or some such because they're migrating towards the general direction of the party, though not specifically *at* the party. It might be wise to start picking up the pace, though.

Sponsored content