[Quest] What Lies Beneath... (Evalin, Rayage)

[Paragon]

The statuette and the staff came free from the crypt without any strange occurrence. Each Nuit held their magical item, as of yet, oblivious to their powers. The candles still flickered in a myriad of colours. Reds, greens, blues, yellows. Beautiful, yet transitory. Flames born of magickal strife, and flames that would flicker and dim soon enough. The gargoyle remained motionless, and the cavern stayed silent. They had put forward their request, claiming their third party member. But could the crypt be tricked. The bag of Gold Mizas lay motionless, ready to pluck. Then, the voice came again. "Then the third must take the bag. It must not be taken by your hands. You have made your decision."

[Rayage]

The colors around them flickered and Ray could feel that with the flickering lights the magic in air was getting thinner too. The spell didn’t last long. The enchantment wasn’t supposed to he didn’t think. Its purpose was to reward the worthy treasures if they had gotten this far, which they had, and award them justly? He didn’t know, shaking his head he found himself leaning more and more on the staff. His body was getting harder to control with the fatigue. He felt stiff, almost the kind of stiff one feels when they have lost a lot of ichor, but it wasn’t quite that. It was a freer kind of stiffness, a magical one. Nuits after all were magical beings a lack of magical energy would be quite draining on them.

The statuette that he held in his hands tingled with magical energy. Though he couldn’t quite distinguish it from the vague magical feeling in the room, it was enough to make him wonder if the bird was indeed enchanted, and if so, what kind of item did he grab? His eyes looked it over, hand flipping it in his grasp. ”Interesting.” he muttered to himself. He rather liked his prize and hoped that once he got his djed back that he would be able to determine the kind of magic which was inlayed with the statue. That is if he isn’t delirious mistaking the rooms overall presence with the statues.

He looked back up at the statue awaiting its response, and then it talked only making the nuit oh so joyful. He nodded solemnly, ”Evalin,” he said, ”You move faster than I, why don’t you go get our third companion from yonder passageway?” he asked of her, making a point to lean on the staff some more, ”And make haste, yet this statue goes back to slumber.” he tried to hurry her along without interruption of any sort. The nuit saw the candles flicker again and silently hoped that she would make it back in time. Whatever was in that bag, be it gold, or something else had to be good. Evalin got a staff, which he too was curious if it had any magical properties, and the nuit got the statuette which he suspected held a magic of sorts. He wanted his plan to work, but for it to work the other would have to hurry.

[Evalin]

The staff came free with little resistance, and Eva took a moment to look it over. It was... beautiful. From it flowed a presence that even Evalin, as green as she was with sensory magics, could feel. Grasping it firmly the woman noticed that it seemed to fit perfectly, almost as if it were made for her... Testing its weight she was satisfied that it would more than make up for what she had lost. Looking up the witch saw the power of her spell fading quickly, and upon Rayage's words she looked to the side, a short nod echoing a soft smile as she spoke, "As you say my immortal. I shall fetch him at once." Pausing a moment, Evalin cast out her arm to take the edge of her robe between her fingers, lifting it slightly in a short curtsey to the guardian of stone, "I thank you for this treasure. Please give me but a moment to return." What purpose was there in thanking a creature made of stone? No matter how Eva pondered she could not understand the suddeness of her actions. It seemed she was still susceptible to the worldly graces taught to her so long ago. Without a word more Evalin turned, tossing the ends of her cloak over her shoulder and grasping her staff. Then she moved, faster than any nuit should, faster than many humans. Charged as she was with the divine powers of Uldr Evalin dashed into the opening of the corridor, leaving behind her a faint plume of dust where her feet once rested. She was not a gifted runner, but she was nible enough to extract the scroll from her robe as she ran, feet bounding upon the stones as she undid the clasp and unfurled the large scroll in a dramatic fashion. Stopping suddenly she flipped the scroll so that it lay longways in the corridor which only just provided enough room for the large bit of parchment. She noticed that upon her staff there was a sharp edge, and so without hesitation she struck her thumb against it, summoning forth a pearl of black. Kneeling down she pressed her hand against the outer ring of the drawing, the black ichor touching the outer perimeter and activating the circle. A thundering rushing sound filled the small space and the lines of magic began to extend from the outer perimeter, filling the circle with swirling energy which began to dip downward into darkness. "Come forth and serve me oh mask of human flesh, you tainted and discarded monster. Rise and do as I command..." She whispered soft words to herself, watching as a bulge began to rise in the very center. The energies spun faster and faster, and suddenly there burst forth a hand that grasped at the edge of the circle, pulling up the larger bulge behind it that began to resolve itself into a human shape. Shoulders began to appear, one large and more lopsided than the other, followed closely by a torso and bulging legs. Wrapped about the entire form there were ribbons of the energy still linking it to the portal, chaining down its form and its power. Suddenly a face was visible amongst the flashing colors, and its eyes glared out red as blood, "Damned witch, what took you so long?" Evalin smiled and stood, grasping her staff with both hands and leaning her weight upon it, "Fret not, you are here now are you not? Come, I have a task for you, one in which you will be rewarded generously." Her smile spread into a ghoulish grin, but the Diverse paid it no mind, simply saying, "Just release your restraints and let me walk free you little shyte. I will see if it is reward for myself." Chuckling Evalin snapped her fingers, and the ribbons of power responded, shattering into a thousand pieces so that the beast of a man could step forward out of the circle. Turning Eve began a brisk pace down the hall, "Come then, we must not waste time." Both would return quickly enough, the entire exchange taking only 2 or 3 chimes. The Diverse would step into the light, and curse at the flickering colors, "Damned you dead and your magics. You cannot feel the blood upon your fist if you cast fire from behind a rock. Cowards way, that is what it is." He would spit close to Rayage's toes, causing Eva to smile slightly. Waving her hand toward the crypt Evalin spoke to the diverse, "There now, your task be to take the bag from its resting place. Do so and you will be rewarded nicely." Shuffling forward the Diverse spoke, "Why not get it your petching selves? Waste of time bringing me to a place with no fight. Petching boring is what it is." Sighing to herself, "We have taken what we can from the crypt, and now you must take your prize as well. Tis nothing more than that." The Diverse would hesitate a moment, his eyes straying to the gargoyle before snarling and reaching for the bag of gold, attempting to remove it from where it rested.

[Paragon]

The Diverse's hand plunged into the crypt like chest, gripping the bag of Mizas. The gold clanged from within the frayed cloth. The Nuits watched, frozen. Would a trap be sprung? Would the guardian of these treasures see through their trickery? But the room remained silent. The gargoyle was motionless. A staff humming with magical energy. An amber statuette of a bird, secret powers lurking within. A bag of Mizas; coin of the continent. The duo would wonder what other secrets these ruins might hold, for their hoard so far was more than they could have imagined. It seemed they had come to a junction in their delving. Rayage leaned against the wall, still weak from the intense leeching of the ancient elevator. Evalin looked upon him. Back then, in the lift, the past had confronted them both. For now, they would stay in the present. There were enough demons here for a lifetime. OOCAs we discussed a while back, would you like to end this particular segment of your ruins foray here? It seems as good a place as any, and at least you can use your new toys then

[Paragon]

Adventurer's Loot Rayage's Loot : Rayage Skill XP Reward Land Navigation +2 Auristics +1 Drawing +1 Glyphing +2 Philosophy +2 Acting +1 Hypnotism +1 Observation +4 Investigation +4 Leadership +4 Leeching +2 Lore: Breaking an Ancient Seal, Directing Djed Pathways, The Diverse, A Pursuit of Minds, A Pre-Valterrian Elevator, Buttons That Shouldn't Be Pressed, Journeymen Basics, An Initiation in Leeching, Powerless, Tricking the Guardian Items or Consequences: + 25 Gold Mizas, + Amber Bird Statuette "When djed is applied to the statuette and forced upwards, so long as the owner retains contact with the artefact, they can project an astral form of themselves upwards in a direct line for as long as they can retain focus. Higher altitudes require more and more djed. The astral form can see as the mortal form can, but can also penetrate solid walls, ignoring obstacles and blocks in its path. If the caster is interrupted, the astral form will drop back into the mortal body." Evalin's Loot : Evalin Skill XP Reward Land Navigation +2 Familiary +4 Summoning +1 Leadership +2 Investigation +2 Drawing +1 Intimidation +2 Glyphing +3 Observation +2 Reimancy +3 Lore: Breaking an Ancient Seal, Directing Djed Pathways, The Diverse, Recognising a Journeyman, A Pursuit of Minds, A Pre-Valterrian Elevator, Tricking the Guardian Items or Consequences: + 25 Gold Mizas, + Staff of Zeltana "A staff bearing the power to draw glyphing circles through will and direction alone. They will draw on the vast majority of solid surfaces, and the circles that are drawn are powerful and unbroken." I really, really enjoyed this thread, and I hope you guys did too. Enjoy your items and gold, I'll add the writeups to your SS threads. Thank you for making this quest so awesome - if you have ANY questions or concerns about this grading, don't hesitate to PM me.

[Paragon]

Adventurer's Loot Rayage's Loot : Rayage Skill XP Reward Land Navigation +2 Auristics +1 Drawing +1 Glyphing +2 Philosophy +2 Acting +1 Hypnotism +1 Observation +4 Investigation +4 Leadership +4 Leeching +2 Lore: Breaking an Ancient Seal, Directing Djed Pathways, The Diverse, A Pursuit of Minds, A Pre-Valterrian Elevator, Buttons That Shouldn't Be Pressed, Journeymen Basics, An Initiation in Leeching, Powerless, Tricking the Guardian Items or Consequences: + 25 Gold Mizas, + Amber Bird Statuette "When djed is applied to the statuette and forced upwards, so long as the owner retains contact with the artefact, they can project an astral form of themselves upwards in a direct line for as long as they can retain focus. Higher altitudes require more and more djed. The astral form can see as the mortal form can, but can also penetrate solid walls, ignoring obstacles and blocks in its path. If the caster is interrupted, the astral form will drop back into the mortal body." Evalin's Loot : Evalin Skill XP Reward Land Navigation +2 Familiary +4 Summoning +1 Leadership +2 Investigation +2 Drawing +1 Intimidation +2 Glyphing +3 Observation +2 Reimancy +3 Lore: Breaking an Ancient Seal, Directing Djed Pathways, The Diverse, Recognising a Journeyman, A Pursuit of Minds, A Pre-Valterrian Elevator, Tricking the Guardian Items or Consequences: + 25 Gold Mizas, + Staff of Zeltana "A staff bearing the power to draw glyphing circles through will and direction alone. They will draw on the vast majority of solid surfaces, and the circles that are drawn are powerful and unbroken." I really, really enjoyed this thread, and I hope you guys did too. Enjoy your items and gold, I'll add the writeups to your SS threads. Thank you for making this quest so awesome - if you have ANY questions or concerns about this grading, don't hesitate to PM me.

[Paragon]

Adventurer's Loot Rayage's Loot : Rayage Skill XP Reward Land Navigation +2 Auristics +1 Drawing +1 Glyphing +2 Philosophy +2 Acting +1 Hypnotism +1 Observation +4 Investigation +4 Leadership +4 Leeching +2 Lore: Breaking an Ancient Seal, Directing Djed Pathways, The Diverse, A Pursuit of Minds, A Pre-Valterrian Elevator, Buttons That Shouldn't Be Pressed, Journeymen Basics, An Initiation in Leeching, Powerless, Tricking the Guardian Items or Consequences: + 25 Gold Mizas, + Amber Bird Statuette "When djed is applied to the statuette and forced upwards, so long as the owner retains contact with the artefact, they can project an astral form of themselves upwards in a direct line for as long as they can retain focus. Higher altitudes require more and more djed. The astral form can see as the mortal form can, but can also penetrate solid walls, ignoring obstacles and blocks in its path. If the caster is interrupted, the astral form will drop back into the mortal body." Evalin's Loot : Evalin Skill XP Reward Land Navigation +2 Familiary +4 Summoning +1 Leadership +2 Investigation +2 Drawing +1 Intimidation +2 Glyphing +3 Observation +2 Reimancy +3 Lore: Breaking an Ancient Seal, Directing Djed Pathways, The Diverse, Recognising a Journeyman, A Pursuit of Minds, A Pre-Valterrian Elevator, Tricking the Guardian Items or Consequences: + 25 Gold Mizas, + Staff of Zeltana "A staff bearing the power to draw glyphing circles through will and direction alone. They will draw on the vast majority of solid surfaces, and the circles that are drawn are powerful and unbroken." I really, really enjoyed this thread, and I hope you guys did too. Enjoy your items and gold, I'll add the writeups to your SS threads. Thank you for making this quest so awesome - if you have ANY questions or concerns about this grading, don't hesitate to PM me.