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Things Best Undisturbed (0bserver, private)

Started by Whim, November 16, 2017, 11:22:11 AM

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Whim

@0bserver

Cathghar's Fall was a sad pile of stones in the Wester Highlands. From what Kai could piece together it was the castle of an old witch king. Then its crumbly walls housed a quaint hamlet, later reduced to a collection of rotting shacks. In the early morning, at least, it offered a scenic view of the rolling green hillsides and scrubby forest. Kai had signed onto an expedition with the Manticore Company to explore the old ruin. The Mage-Knight spent most of his time hauling supplies and breaking up rubble with a hammer... its hard to be taken seriously when you're a donkey-man. Kai wasn't in it for the money. He'd bought a map from a river pirate, who stole it from a hedge-witch, detailing the catacombs beneath the castle. It kept the donkey-man going as he toiled. Once the Manticores' wizard removed the spells sealing the tunnels (he scoffed at Kai's offer to help), there'd be a clear path to a hidden library. Within it, supposedly, was the Ouroboros of Hoarheim. It was supposed to grant wishes.

"I'll be taking a break. Lunch." Kai grunted to the wizard.

"Bet you're used to tea and fancy talk, ain't ya mule-boy? Before ya go that mead over there might be worth something. Its old. Best haul it up."

The mage-knight grumbled. He'd drop it off, double back, and find the the library...

***

Kai thanked the gods the catacombs had a floor of earth, rather than stone, so his hooves didn't echo. Otherwise the catacombs proved nightmarish. Tree-roots wormed their way down from the ceiling, indistinguishable in the torchlight from the legs of some giant cave spider. The rough-hewn walls were painted with daemonic hieroglyphs. One room housed a bone-filled pit. Another housed a white, bare tree with numerous cages and gibbets suspended from the branches. The donkey-man wished he had a free hand, between torch and map, to grip his sledgehammer.

It took almost an hour to reach the library, hidden behind the statue of a goat. It was a massive, circular chamber nearly two-stories tall and lined with musty old books. At the very center was a stone snake eating its tail, wrapped about a pedestal. The donkey-boy's heart was pounding as he approached. Finally.
Awesome avatar by Eckhart_von_Musel

Guilds:
Wyrdwood Academy of Arcane Science

Events:
The Midnight Harvest
Into the Mouth of Qokagax

Characters:
Ewan ap Rhys - once a great sorcerer, now a small boy
Anwen ferch Rhys - scholar of blood magic
Duke Blackthorn - Duke of Dawn and Dusk, Warden of Weal and Woe, and all-around evil faerie
"Kaliam" - magically conjoined apprentice wizards
Maergath - Magister of Soulshaping, necromancer, angry and hateful wizard
Narlis Thordane - Hero for hire, proud and unrepentant scumlord
Niamh Wayrest - trader in forbidden lore, purveyor of curiosities
OLIVER THE BARBARIAN - a very reluctant hero and monster-slayer
Sage Whitechalk - heir to the Whitechalk Family
Saoirse Nettlefield - Headmistress of Wyrdwood, conniving academic

0bserver

The temple, and the room that the curious donkey-man had entered, was not what it seemed to be.

On the outside, it looked like a wretched and forsaken ruin to some sort of demon-worshiping civilization that practiced human sacrifice and hung people in gibbets from a tree. But the temple was never intended to be used as place of worship. Instead, it was a tomb. A tomb for vile things to be left and buried forever. And the library itself was not a library at all, but a vault of secrets and things best left forgotten. The books were withered, chewed away at by time and the elements, and the wooden stocks seemed like they would collapse under even the slightest amount of pressure. The place was built a very long time ago, and was left to be forgotten for an equally long amount of time, it seemed. Enough for even the stony structure of the temple to be reclaimed by nature, which dug its roots between the stones, dislodging the meticulous work of ancient masons.

The curious and knowledge-thirsty donkey was not alone in this tomb of ancient secrets, however.

The secrets themselves were with him, it seemed. Having laid dormant for centuries, locked away from the world, they were slowly awakening from their slumber, as the fresh air entered the dusty and stuffy contains of the forgotten chamber. A curious mind thirsty for answers would feel their call. Kai would feel it, as he came here for a reason, and did not stumble upon the tomb by an accident. He'd feel the call deeper into the catacombs. At the end of the library section, there was a door. It was rusty and old, so much that the scriptures and locks on it have fallen into dust.

Behind the door, in a dark room that seemed to have consumed all light around it, there was ... something. A golden totem, mounted on a stone pedestal. It was in the shape of a snake head, its maw maliciously open, showing fangs. The eyes were emeralds, glistening from a reflected light of the torch. Surrounding it was a barrier made of chains and tags attached to it. But the tags were as withered as the books. Just one touch - and they would fall into pieces. Was it a treasure? Or a warning?

Come and find out.

Whim

The serpentine idol seemed to glow in the torchlight. This must be it. Old lessons from boyhood flooded back into his head. Serpents usually stood for Medicine, wisdom, or eternity. Just about all of that sounded great. Nearing the pedestal Kai's hair stood on end. Gods fur could get itchy! Was it excitement or fear?

The donkeyman paused to regard the chains and painted paper. The calligraphy was faded and archaic; definitely magic. Theft protection perhaps? Mage-knights didnt need to learn such intricate magic. And packmules didn't need to know magic at all. There was no path but forward. Thick, hoof-tipped fingers clutched a silver medallion, meant to ward off magic, and he ducked around the barrier.

Nothing happened. The boy snorted with relief, and reached for the idol.  Lathun? Unolath? Unath? How old was this place?
Awesome avatar by Eckhart_von_Musel

Guilds:
Wyrdwood Academy of Arcane Science

Events:
The Midnight Harvest
Into the Mouth of Qokagax

Characters:
Ewan ap Rhys - once a great sorcerer, now a small boy
Anwen ferch Rhys - scholar of blood magic
Duke Blackthorn - Duke of Dawn and Dusk, Warden of Weal and Woe, and all-around evil faerie
"Kaliam" - magically conjoined apprentice wizards
Maergath - Magister of Soulshaping, necromancer, angry and hateful wizard
Narlis Thordane - Hero for hire, proud and unrepentant scumlord
Niamh Wayrest - trader in forbidden lore, purveyor of curiosities
OLIVER THE BARBARIAN - a very reluctant hero and monster-slayer
Sage Whitechalk - heir to the Whitechalk Family
Saoirse Nettlefield - Headmistress of Wyrdwood, conniving academic

0bserver

At first, nothing would happen.

The idol remained still, cold and motionless as any other forgotten relic in this place. A statue, a totem, nothing more. No immediate value in it aside from the artwork and its weight in gold. It could have been even more disappointed for the donkey-boy, as the statue itself seemed to be embedded into the stone it stood upon, making it impossible to snatch.

But as he'd pull his hand away, something would happen.

The air around the mage-knight began glowing, as if electrified. A faint, blue aura appeared around him, which any practitioner of the arcane arts would identify as one's spiritual energy signature. For a brief moment, it was made visible. Vibrant around a being imbued with magic, even if it was a curse. But then, it would shift, like dust being whisked away by a motion of wind, a tether towards the statue, which would consume the glow, until it disappeared.

And then, the eyes of the idol sparked green, opening, and gazing upon the intruder with an eerie   emerald light. The chains and ancient sealing tags behind the boy would snap and turn into dust. Whatever they were holding back, now unchained.

A deep, thundering rumble from the depths of the temple soon followed, as if a growl of an ancient beast made of stone.

The floors started moving under his feet, and the walls trembled. The shelves cracked and fell, the ancient books turned to bookworms and dust. The walls began to crumble, and small stones began falling from the roof of the temple.

Suddenly, one of the large wooden support beams that held the ceiling on itself, cracked and broke, large piece of wood falling directly on top of the donkey and the statue he seemed to collect! Other beams soon followed suit, as large stones and pieces of the cave's ceiling fell down, smashing the relics and remains of ancient knowledge into bits. It seemed the whole vault was going down!

Whim

Kai narrowed his eyes as the idol, once still, began to shimmer. The entire chamber seemed to be vibrating now. This must be it. Just had to hope the spirit within was friendly. Or reasonable. "Unath? Unolath?" he called out in a shaky voice. "I've come to, uh, make a bargain..."

The tomb was vibrating now. The ceiling and bookshelves were raining dust. The donkey-boy brayed in surprise as one of the shelves began to list, but managed to catch it in time, letting go of his protective talisman. Shit shit shit! The entire room was coming down! Kai hurled the bookcase aside, taking a step toward the idol. His heart was pounding and there was no time! Thinking better of it, the donkey-man broke toward the door.

Just as the mage-knight neared the threshold he felt a sharp pain in his skull, and everything went black...
Awesome avatar by Eckhart_von_Musel

Guilds:
Wyrdwood Academy of Arcane Science

Events:
The Midnight Harvest
Into the Mouth of Qokagax

Characters:
Ewan ap Rhys - once a great sorcerer, now a small boy
Anwen ferch Rhys - scholar of blood magic
Duke Blackthorn - Duke of Dawn and Dusk, Warden of Weal and Woe, and all-around evil faerie
"Kaliam" - magically conjoined apprentice wizards
Maergath - Magister of Soulshaping, necromancer, angry and hateful wizard
Narlis Thordane - Hero for hire, proud and unrepentant scumlord
Niamh Wayrest - trader in forbidden lore, purveyor of curiosities
OLIVER THE BARBARIAN - a very reluctant hero and monster-slayer
Sage Whitechalk - heir to the Whitechalk Family
Saoirse Nettlefield - Headmistress of Wyrdwood, conniving academic

0bserver

What demons fear the most?

No, it is not the dying. Technically, demons cannot die anyway. Only be sent back to the fiery pits from whence they came. No, the true terror was isolation. To spend an eternity locked away in a forgotten tomb, feeling your powers slowly vane, until you become no more. A tiny speck of what you used to be, unable to even maintain one's own existence. With nothing else to do, except ponder the eternal questions of the universe. And when those run out - sleep. Until the end of days.

Sleep was almost akin to death. And in Unolath's case, it certainly lasted for several lifetimes. His demonic spirit remained dormant inside the statue, in an effort to conceal energy, and last longer. Days, months, years... dozens of years... Hundreds of years passed. The power slowly vaned, bit by bit. But when there was almost nothing left, something happened... A miracle. A fresh source of power. Like a beam in the dark, or a droplet of water in the hot desert. Not enough to sate, but enough to awaken.

And that awakening triggered the ancient seals that were placed to keep him buried forever. The entire structure collapsed on itself, seeking to doom both the demon inside the statue, and the one who dared touching  it. Unolath's consciousness awakened in a state of panic and fear. One chance was given to him to escape, one visitor in a thousand years... He was not going to let it waste!

The serpent statue's eyes focused on the boy, who made a run for the door. That was going to be his savior. That one had to survive, if there was any hope of escape. A source of spiritual power, a way out... A way to regaining that which was lost. But his journey was about to be cut short by a falling beam, which would smash his head into tiny bits! Unolath could not allow that to happen.

In a split second before the impact, a dark lightning crossed the room, striking the boy, his body becoming pitch-black as it wrapped around his body, like a protective layer. On top of his head, a helmet formed, which took the powerful blow, and made the difference between death and unconsciousness, before the rubble buried him underneath. The black protective shell would wrap around the donkey, like armor, shielding from harm. But if he were to remain buried for long, the lack of oxygen would finish what the support beam had started. The demon had to wake him up... or consume his energy and last himself a while longer. Soon, the donkey-boy would hear a voice inside his head. A powerful, hissing voice, but with a hint of desperation behind it.

"Wake up! Damn it, you human fool... WAKE UP!"

Whim

"Ngh... what?" Kai stirred, vaguely annoyed at the nagging tone. It some moments for his predicament to register. The collapse! His eyes fluttered open. He was surrounded by rock and stone, his lantern smashed, though somehow a green hue illuminated the corridor. The donkeyman felt one of the support beams pressing on his midsection, with several slabs of stone atop it. By some miracle there was no pain or numbness. Kai would have to wriggle free; one false move and he'd be squished!

One.

Two.

Three.

The mage-knight meant to lift the stone, gently, to slide free. Instead the rubble was tossed it aside, spraying flecks of dust, as if it were a bed-sheet. Maybe being part donkey had some advantages. The corridor he'd ran to was completely unfamiliar. Definitely not the way he'd come in, but wasn't there a voice? "H-hello? Did you get caught too?" he called out a small voice, more lost child than soon-to-be professional adventurer. Whatever waited in the dark was not human.
Awesome avatar by Eckhart_von_Musel

Guilds:
Wyrdwood Academy of Arcane Science

Events:
The Midnight Harvest
Into the Mouth of Qokagax

Characters:
Ewan ap Rhys - once a great sorcerer, now a small boy
Anwen ferch Rhys - scholar of blood magic
Duke Blackthorn - Duke of Dawn and Dusk, Warden of Weal and Woe, and all-around evil faerie
"Kaliam" - magically conjoined apprentice wizards
Maergath - Magister of Soulshaping, necromancer, angry and hateful wizard
Narlis Thordane - Hero for hire, proud and unrepentant scumlord
Niamh Wayrest - trader in forbidden lore, purveyor of curiosities
OLIVER THE BARBARIAN - a very reluctant hero and monster-slayer
Sage Whitechalk - heir to the Whitechalk Family
Saoirse Nettlefield - Headmistress of Wyrdwood, conniving academic

0bserver

The human was alive.

That was good. Because whatever little energy Unolath managed to siphon from him was wasted on trying to protect the man. Or... creature. Now that the demon was given the opportunity to see and feel his would-be rescuer, it turned out the young man was quite an interesting subject. It was not often that Unolath got to see a man with the ears and hands of a mule. Magic of some kind, no doubt. Evil magic. The serpent could not invent any reason for a person to voluntarily become such. This disfiguring trait was a weakness... One to prey upon.

Though at the moment, the serpent was quite relieved to be out of the statue... Uncharacteristically happy, even. His age-long sentence having been undone. But it'd be all for naught if his new vessel would not get outside. Soon, as the boy would speak into the darkness, he would hear a voice, whispering into his very ear.

"I? Caught? Yessss... I am. But I've been caught here long before you. It'sss been ssso long..." - the voice sounded wistful, forlorn, and sad. The demon did not need to fake that - centuries of slow death by disintegration would do that to even the strongest of souls. Unolath was a strong, proud demon... that had nearly reached his limit.

"My name issss Unolath. I am the one you ssssseek. I am the one who ssssaved you. What issss your name, child?"

Should the donkey look at his hand, he would see his flesh and fur covered by armor-like scales. His entire body locked inside something akin to a scale armor. The scales were mated dark, not reflecting but absorbing the light, if there were any. What the boy could not see was that his eyes turned bright green. The demon's sight granting him vision in the dark. Among other things. What was hard for Unolath was to contain his excitement. The movement of the air, the energy slowly creeping into him. So exhilarating. But there was something else... the weakness. A feeling the demon was too familiar with. Kai could feel it, even if there was no word about it. A jolt of rage. Barely contained. It made his skin crawl.

Whim

"You're Unolath? The serpent spirit?" Kai teetered between fear and excitement. The bristly hairs of his mane stood on end. Wasn't this supposed to be some kindly spirit that dispensed wisdom and wishes? Maybe it was the darkness, or the cloying whispers, but the voice was dangerous. Of course, the alternative was plowing fields and pulling carts forever. Kai mustered his conviction. "I hear you grant wishes and make deals? I need some help you see, I-

"Wh-what did you do!?" The donkey-boy brayed in shock, running his hand over the new scales. Was it armor? Was he more of a freak now?
Awesome avatar by Eckhart_von_Musel

Guilds:
Wyrdwood Academy of Arcane Science

Events:
The Midnight Harvest
Into the Mouth of Qokagax

Characters:
Ewan ap Rhys - once a great sorcerer, now a small boy
Anwen ferch Rhys - scholar of blood magic
Duke Blackthorn - Duke of Dawn and Dusk, Warden of Weal and Woe, and all-around evil faerie
"Kaliam" - magically conjoined apprentice wizards
Maergath - Magister of Soulshaping, necromancer, angry and hateful wizard
Narlis Thordane - Hero for hire, proud and unrepentant scumlord
Niamh Wayrest - trader in forbidden lore, purveyor of curiosities
OLIVER THE BARBARIAN - a very reluctant hero and monster-slayer
Sage Whitechalk - heir to the Whitechalk Family
Saoirse Nettlefield - Headmistress of Wyrdwood, conniving academic

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