SOUL FORGE (CLOSED)

"If ye go right ye take us t'th old study rooms," the spartoi beside Eyrth said, "If ye go left, we go t' the foridden rooms only for th' eyes of the White Lady's. Strong magic there." Emee's eyes stayed trained on the left side of the hallway and his little furry form shivered in fear. "Ery.."

The Spartoi ignored the housesprite and looked to Eryth with a grim expression on his white face. "I guide ye, but ye must make th' decision. Right or left, Guardian?"

**************************************

The shadow snake screamed a dying his and then dissipated as if it were never there, leaving the hallway clear and a bit brighter from the torch gripped tightly in the Spartoi captain. His eyes were a little wide with surprise, but a hint of a smile flickered over his face as Alex cheered. "Ye do well, m'lady. More will come soon if Lady has not yet shielded us or remnants roam th' halls."

Stepping further into the hallway the Spartoi started leading them into the darkness until they came up on a three way split. One branch to the right, that had a bitter cold draft coming from it, another to the left that looked like just another corridor and one directly in front of them that lead up a set of crumbling stairs to a mold spotted wooden door. "Right take ye t'th old study rooms, left t'th rotunda, an' straight ahead take ye t'th next level up."
 
"If they're forbidden, we should probably steer clear. Don't want to upset anything we don't know about, right? Just... keep an eye on our backs."
 
"We're here to rescue the survivors..." Alex said. She looked at the Spartoi. "You're more familiar with this place than I am, where do you think the survivors would most likely be?"
If this were a video game, she would have blindly picked a hallway, but they had a job to do here. Lady wouldn't be able to hold off those Shadows forever...
 
Lady looked up into the cold red eyes and shivered. The shadows knew...they always knew how to make things so much harder. It was like they could see right into the soul and pull out what hurt the most. Now, he was standing there in front of her, black hair framing his pale face and glad in his obsidian armor. A deep gouge was arching across the raven insignia emblazoned across the breastplate. A testament to their last encounter. A smirk spread across his face, as he stepped closer with a casual bounce. "I remember that same face," he said, a cold amusement to his voice, "It's the look you made when you struck me on the field."

Lady gripped Sperest tightly in her left hand, but held her ground as he approached, his armor clinking just a little with each step. "Do not speak as if you are him," she seethed.

The Guardian snorted and shook his head. "I am him," he said, "I have his memories and so many of them are shared with you. They're...quite delicious."

She kept her defensive stance, though he drew nearer and bile started to rise in her throat. This manifestation was here to distract her from the real task, but turning her back to either issue would get her killed with in seconds and her shield would fail, flooding the catacombs again.

"If you have his memory, then you know exactly what I am capable of," she said, her eyes flickering to the long sword at his waist. Even now she could feel the aura from the blade, the dark heat that radiated, matching Sperest's glow. Iravanis had limitless fuel now and it would be even more difficult to match.

"That's why I am here to offer you a choice. A last chance," he said, "Join us and be with him. Forever. With limitless power, derived from all the souls of Otherworld. You are still welcome among the shadows...Al-."

She didn't let the shadow say her name. It didn't deserve to the knowledge. Instead she launched forward with Sperest's tip pointed straight at his heart. Iravanis flashed out, drawn just as fast from it sheath and the two blades met with enough force to make the entire courtyard tremble with the power.

*****************
"T'the study rooms," the Spartoi nodded to Eyrth. The dragon men, made quick work, sharing the little flame from the lamp, using torn cloth from a banner nearby. Fire was no matter for their hard, ivory skin and the cloth was perfectly fine to burn wrapped around their hands. The Spartoi behind them split off to go the forbidden rooms, and another stayed to guard the tunnel. "If ye hear me call, ye run."

Emee gave a shudder as their Spartoi partner guided them away from the forbidden rooms and into the study rooms. Soon the smell of blood tinged the air and the Spartoi held up the lamp a little higher, revealing a long bloody trail slicked across the walls, leading deeper into the catacombs. "Smells fresh," he grimaced. They turned a corner, following a trail and immediately the Spartoi jumped back. There was a hallway full of shadow, writhing and roiling at a door near the end. A blood seal was painted haphazardly on the door and screams could be heard coming from inside as half formed claws scraped over the wood.

As soon as they turned the corner, the roiling mass turned its attention to them and began to take form. Compiling itself from the bubbling puddle, into a groteque beast with malformed claws and a dragon-like maw. The Spartoi captain drew his sword and looked to Eyrth. "Ye time 't fight has come Guardian, only ye can attack."

******************

The Spartoi captain considered the Guardian's comment and looked to the pathways. "We might try 'th forbidden rooms. Th' women try t' find things t' fight there in 'th old rooms."

Barking an order in some strange language, the Spartoi went in search of wood, finding another torch, then the teams split off into the different tunnels, the Captain taking the one to the left with Alex. "We meet at th' exit when we th' women."

They trekked deeper into the catacombs and walls became progressively older looking with faint blue runes glimmer on every available surface. "This very old place, old like th' Forge itself." Even the air felt heavier there. It wasn't until they passed by a second of the wall that Coreaxe began to glow from its sheath making red tinge combined with the torch.
 
Eryth was near the front of the group the whole time, bouncing along anxiously, right until the blood trail across the walls. He slowed, observing every detail and letting the lead man go ahead of him until he suddenly jumped back at the corner.

He was ready for this. This was no undead, but a rolling black blob with no resemblance to the countless victims he had attended to in his time back home. A dragon shaped maw even, a fantastic beast for him to slay. Immediately, he took point, dropping Corbin down into a ready position as it suddenly grew to its full length. The spear tip glowed an icy gold colour, tiny sparks falling to the ground like snow from the end.

He didn't wait for some sort of response from the creature, lunging forwards with speedy steps as he tried to plow the tip of the polearm directly into its open mouth, aiming for the weak roof that lead to where the brain should be.

The creature hissed as Corbin slashed through it. The light from the torch and the pole arm made the writhing creature recoil in pain before forming into something different, a beast that took up the entire hallway in front him with black,, oozing fur and gnashing teeth. "Your name Guardian..." it growled, "I desire your name."

His name. It wanted his name, no doubt so it could screw with him later. No response was the only smart one. He took a breath, aiming for the beast again as the speartip flashed a bright gold, hopefully freezing the beast in place for him to make a killing blow.

The beast shuddered, fighting against Corbin's light but its movement came to a grinding halt, mouth open with razor teeth bared and red eyes glaring.

Corbin suddenly shortened, wordlessly communicating with Eryth what he was to do. With a mighty swing over his head, and a grunt of effort, he brought Corbin's beak down into the skull of the beast.
 
Last edited:
Alex felt her shoulders tense up at the strange atmosphere in the cavernous halls. She wondered what kind of purpose the runes on the wall served. Were they seals like the blood seal? She shuddered at the thought of what those seals might be hiding, a memory of the Baku flashing through her mind.
It was then that she noticed Coraxe acting up. Her stomach made an unpleasant lurch. Honestly, she'd much rather ignore the dagger than have to deal with whatever it might conjure... but she couldn't.
"Wait!" she called out to her Spartoi guide. Her tone bordered on resigned. She took Coraxe out of its sheath and showed him the pommel, then jerked her head towards the rune filled wall. "Do you know what those are for?" she asked.
 
((@Pawnige is a bit more adept writer now, got some good practice in with a deerbutt. Maybe there could be a way to revive this stuff still. Personally, I would attempt to abandon most stuff set up so far aside from Ery and Lady's stuff they've done. (And the little cute thing I forget the name of.)

Had a dream about Ery recently and can't get him off my mind. Don't feel like you need to respond or anything, just thought that you might be missing this as much as me.))

His curved beak struck true with a sickening feel of crunching, cracking bone. The beast stopped. It was no longer frozen by magic, but with a cold steel spike stuck deep into the flesh of his brain. It was no longer in any shape to do more than drool and heave it's heavy body with each shallow breath. Eryth felt like he was going to be sick. Black tarish blood was starting to seep out around the spike, and he only just noticed that it had splatter across his face. He pulled and pulled back at his weapon, trying to wrench it free.

It finally moved with a dry, brittle pop. A crack spread across the mass like broken ice in slow motion, and then further. Across the air, into the walls, along the roof. He pulled his weapon one last time, a louder, even more brittle crack reverberating against the walls as everything around him started to break and collapse. He leapt forwards, scrambling over and past the body and just barely making it past the cracks before the roof caved in behind him. Dust and sound filled the air, darkness consumed him, and he was alone. He coughed and coughed, crawling in the dust and trying to clear his eyes and face of the thick, musty, stale dirt that had exploded out from the collapse until he felt like he couldn't cough any more.

Wether the tunnel was always dark or if the sudden shift in the ceiling had blown out all the lights, he didn't know, but it was dark now and that was all that mattered. "Guys? Hello? Anyone... Anyone there?" He called out, voice growing quieter with every shout. He tried to control himself, tried to not let the panic set in. The only thing worse than seeing such a monster as that, was seeing nothing at all when he desperately needed to.
 
Back
Top