Down the Rabbit Hole (Marcus Braeden, Xalet)

[Creeper]

Timestamp: (You can decide amongst yourselves) Time: Early Morning Location: Longhouses Who: Marcus Braeden, Xalet All was silent in the longhouse where the saviors from Syliras slumbered. Xuphim slept with ease, snoring loudly, his body recovering from his daily trainings and work. He was dreaming of two beautiful women, Ana, the woman he had just recently met, and Syo'Nea, the stunning Konti that had called him on this quest. Both were disrobed, with what his mind imagined them to look like, and both were kneeling on a bed, an arm around one another's waist, beckoning him toward them, sultry smiles on their faces. He watched them as they leaned closer to one another, their breasts now touching, their lips coming closer as Xuphim watched in awe. The two woman leaned closer still, their hands touching each other in ways Xuphim didn't know women would, as their lips finally met. It wasn't gross, disgusting, or vulgar, but a beautiful sight, a rarity it would seem, something that Xuphim would remember forever. He found himself walking toward the bed, the women in their embrace, reaching out to him, grabbing him by the waist band, and began undoing them. Just as the trousers were about to fall, he heard a loud screeching sound of metal on metal, and awoke, startled from his slumber. Marcus on the other hand, was having a dream of a different sorts, drool pooling beneath his half grinning mouth. He had been missing the sound of metal pounding on metal, the smell of the furnaces firing, the constant feel of coal dust permeating everything. He pictured him slamming his hammer down onto a white hot slab of steel, the ring of metal, the waves of heat, the perspiration on his muscles. The metal was forming perfectly into the beginnings of a beautiful blade, one that would be far beyond his skill level normally. Each stroke hit perfectly, each ring formed a symphony, the sword practically made itself. But then there was a loud THUNK that ruined the music, forcing Marcus awake. The two squires began to look around for the source of the rude interruptions. A quick searching would show that Xalet's gladius was missing, as well as the hammer that Marcus' father gave him. Xuphim would notice a slicing trail from his gear heading out the door into the early morning rays. Marcus on the other hand would detect a scent of wet fur, much to his nose's displeasure. The trail stopped cold just outside the door, and was replaced by a man's foot prints, bare foot. This trail led outside the camp northwest into the woods, and it seemed purposefully avoiding the borders of the Fog. The trail ended as it plunged into a small opening in the earth beneath the roots of one the massive bloodwoods. The entrance was just large enough for even Xuphim to squeeze through, but not with his armor on. Just how much were these items, and the honor of retrieving their stolen goods, worth to them?

[Marcus Braeden]

Disturbances within the quarters had caused the former smith to awaken from a rather nostalgic dream. One of him crafting a sword, back in the Ironworks of Syliras. It was the time before he had taken up being a student of combat, of the Syliran Knights. But that was the past, and he needed to focus on the present, which involved reclaiming the Spires.

Marcus peered around in the darkness, desperately searching for whatever had been causing the commotion. It took a few moments for his eyes to adapt the his black surroundings. While his eyes adjusted, he did hear some movement from the bed next to his. This movement was followed by a slight grunt. Xuphim must have also been awakened from whatever crazy dreams he must have been having. Probably something about Akalak things. Once his eyes were adjusted he looked around once more, his eyes not seeing anything out of the ordinary. But his nose picked up some stench. It smelt like wet fur, which didn't exactly smell like flowers. He reached over to the chest at the foot of the bed, searching through his gear. He shuffled through various things: his cloak, his armor on loan from the knights, and various toiletries. However one thing was missing, his hammer, the one passed down from his father. The blasted thing was nowhere to be found.

"What the petch?" Marcus muttered, as he stood up, putting on some clothes and grabbing his sword. He looked over at Xuphim, who sat up in his bed, also curious as to what was happening. "Hey, looks like we have a thief about. My hammer is missing, what about you? Anything missing?"

[Xalet]

A half awakened Xuphim was not a pretty thing. Bits of his hair stuck out at odd angles, while others were flatted by his time with his head against the sack he used as a pillow. It didn't make things any better that the dream he had just been awakened from was the best one he had experienced during his time within the Spires. So close too! "What the fu..." his voice trailed off, half in a mumble as his squinted eyes started to open more fully. A course hand came up to scratch his bare chest idly, the feeling only recently starting to return to his body after half a restful sleep. "Eh?" Xuphim grumbled, half listening to what Marcus was saying, "No one's crazy enough to steal from me. Ha ha ha..." his halfhearted chortle stopped short as he leaned over his bedding and began to go through his pack. Beyond his weapons and armor, Xuphim didn't travel very heavily. Everything he had was gained through the Knights, and realistically there just wasn't much of it all to begin with. His brow flatted down heavily when he noticed he couldn't find his gladius. The weapon that was given to him the day he became a squire wasn't within the confines of his pack. Not anymore. If he lost that there was no telling what his Patron could do. An immediate demotion back to Page? The Akalak didn't even want to think about it. "Son of a bitch." he growled, propelling himself up from his bed. His gaze swept around the floor for a moment, moving outward to the four walls of the longhouse. It took a moment, but as he began more alert and things started to become viewed with greater clarity he noticed a fresh notch upon the ground, as if something had been dragged. Quickly pulling his uniform tunic over his head he followed it out to where the wood met the ground, and where the scrape turned into footprints. Rushing back into the longhouse he strapped his belt around his waist briefly and slid his two blades into their matching sheaths. He wouldn't even bother with his shield for now, they had to act fast. "Looks like a person's footprints outside. C'mon, can't be far. I hate thieves. I'm gonna stab the shyke out of that bastard." Teeth clenched in annoyance, Xuphim took off after the prints, noticing how it kept it's distance from the fog. Running without all of his armor on was an unusual feeling, he certainly felt faster than his typical self, but part of him couldn't help but feel slightly naked. The comfort of that metal separating him from the outside world was gone. The large man came to a sliding stop when he noticed the trail going into some dark void between the roots of bloodwood. Pausing long enough to collect himself he grunted, "Damn it all, where the Void does this even go?" The rhetorical question was followed by him pushing forth, trying to squeeze his broad body inside. That was how much the symbol of his ascension into Squirehood meant to him and Xalet.

[Creeper]

If Xalet peered into the depths of the hollow, he would see a faint heat signature moving further into the depths of the earth. Marcus' ears, tuned to the fine tings and tangs of metal, cringed at the sound of the metal scraping over stone, wondering if it was his hammer or Xalet's sword. Xalet would find the tunnel quite cramped for his large stature, and quite dark, as the heat signature disappeared. This was not a dignified position for a Knight-to-be, especially with Marcus right on his heels. Xalet would find several low hanging roots and rocks with his forehead. After many long and aggravating chimes, the tunnel opened up into a wide, glowing cavern. They were in the Undercavern, and right before them lay a frozen underground river, a sight wholly unexpected. The entire cavern was pulsating with a blue-green light, and at first it seemed as if the squires were the only living creatures around. But closer inspection would show a multitude of minute critters in a complex ecosystem. The light was being radiated by moss that lined the walls, ceilings, and stretches of the rocky floor. There were many strange insects flitting and crawling about, flighted bugs with rotating wings, long bodied carapaces with seemingly infinite legs, glowing beetles the size of Xalet's large hands. Xalet felt something stirring near his feet, and his eyes swore it was a rock, but the heat signature showed it was alive. It appeared to be a large turtle covered in moss and other vegetation. As the two took in their bearings, a flock of bats flew threw the cave, screeching loudly. In response, all of the moss in the cave grew much brighter, blindingly so, and the pair were able to see the many other offshoots from the cavern. There were several tracks leading from the tunnel they'd come through, some long and pointy like a large rodent, others slithering like a massive snake, and even a few long and padded, indicative of a hair, and all led down other tunnels. The rodent set was spaced wide, showing its size, and had two awkward streaks following it. The slithering track was wide and fat, a large creature indeed, and the moss had seemed to die where it had been. The tracks belonging to the hair were sunk deep into moss and mud, and were further apart than expected, and almost felt frantic, pursued. Only one set would lead them to their stolen goods.

[Xalet]

Stumbling out into the cavern Xuphim straightened his body upward for the first time since their long, arduous trek below the surface of the plush woodland canopy above. "Damn it, how far did this bastard go? Asses should have been whipped by now." he grunted, spinning all around to get a mental layout of the Undercavern as quickly as he could. It wasn't easy, considering the overall size and complexity of the chamber they were now in. "You've got to be kidding me. All this was under our feet the whole time? This is insane." his eyes trailed to the ground just in time to see what he thought was a boulderesque rock moving by itself. Reflexively he stepped back and away. Things got even stranger as the entire room lit up in a most magnificent display of ecological brilliance. "What the void is this crap? The walls glo--oh shit!" the Akalak stumbled backward, sweeping his hand through the air as a swarm of bats passed by. Straightening his tunic shortly thereafter with a grunt, Xuphim quickly jogged over toward the tunnels that broke away from the main opening they had happened upon, "Look at all these tracks...could be anywhere now." in that moment the Akalak felt completely helpless. He was used to fighting an opponent head on, face to face. Giant bears, Ebonstryfe, even Jamoura, no matter what it was he just wanted it to keep it's feet firmly planted in front of him so he could beat the tar out of it. Now that his opponent was being annoyingly indirect it made him feel completely unsure of what to do. That was until his eyes fell upon the set of rodent tracks, complete with two drag marks following them. Certainly the Akalak was no renown hunter, in fact his hunting and tracking skills could barely be called mediocre, but it still made the most sense to him. Immediately Xuphim decided those marks had to be the lost items Marcus and he had stolen from them. "Look there, two marks, just like before. That's got to be it!" his left fist struck his right palm, a physical sensation to aid in the visual daydream he was having pulverizing whatever it was that made them thievery targets. "Let's go, maybe we can still catch up!" he said, starting onward toward that route.

[Marcus Braeden]

After chasing some sort of light source that faded in and out through a dark and damp tunnel, the pair of squires came across something, something magnificent. The moment Marcus' eyes painted picture of what was before them, he completely stopped in his tracks. A frozen river swept from one end of he cavern to another while a strange light with no artificial source lit up the cavern. Instead, the light was emitted from the mossy walls. What the...plants? Giving off light? Well this is certainly different than Syliras...and Ravok for that matter the squire thought to himself. "Well, insane is one way to put it I guess. It's definitely something else" Marcus added.

While the two were gazing around them, a cluster of bats had emerged from the far side of the room and were heading toward them. Xuphim and Marcus didn't notice them until they were almost flying into them. Marcus turned his back and crouched, covering his head while the mass flew over them. The screeches from the bats had caused the cave to light up enough to show them different paths leading to and from the cavern. "Dammit, I'll bet whatever it is, is now trying to lose us" Marcus said.

Marcus looked back at Xalet, who was now examining tracks he had just found. "You find something?" he asked his companion. Soon enough, Xuphim jumped up and was telling Marcus to follow. Looks like we got a lead Marcus thought. Marcus had no objection to Xuphim's plan, as Marcus had not gotten a glimpse of the tracks that had been left at the lodge. He would have to trust his Akalak companion.

[Cinna]

The two men would continue to follow the dubious tracks down the tunnel, and even though both were focused on the task at hand, both could not deny the beauty of the underground cavern. Even though they didn't know it, they were in the Shaiki Moss gardens, one of the treasures of The Spires. If they looked closely they could see that the moss was carefully arranged in aesthetically pleasing patterns, each stone placed artistically in place. This was a popular spot for young Jamoura to come and....have a quiet night together away from prying eyes. Both men continued down the tunnel for quite some time, both beginning to think that this was some wild goose chase and that they would have to return back to the main cavern in fear of getting lost. Why were their weapons taken in the first place? Was it just some young Jamoura playing a cruel trick? Or was it more than simple theft, were their precious weapons to be sold or melted down? It was a frustrating thought for both of them. Soon though Xuphim would notice that the tracks changed once again, rodent tracks changing into that of a man, the feet bare. Odd. As Xuphim would kneel to inspect the sudden change again, Marcus would move ahead slightly, noticing a flickering light other than the moss and bugs that glowed. The light of fire. The two Knights would continue forwards to inspect the light and round a corner opening into a large cavern, full of objects that they did not expect. Bones. Bones were found in crates and barrels, on top of many tables, and even littering the floor around the large cavern. These bones, both human and not, startled both men, each looking around frantically at the sight. A large fire pit was in the center of the room as well as a small forge off to one side, various metals could be seen next too it. However, they were not alone in the cavern. Two other men could be seen, one scrawny and naked, hunched over and fidgeting as he stared at the two Knights. The other wore patchy robes, older than the other man that was cowering next to him. His spiky hair was short with gray and his mismatched eyes looked at both men with a crazed expression. In his hands he held both weapons, a satisfied smirk on his face. "Ahh, so you have come at last."

[Xalet]

Xuphim pushed forward as fast as he could, often checking over his shoulder or spinning around entirely as they moved to ensure there was nothing creeping up behind them. They were in uncharted territory as far as the Akalak knew, not that he had developed any sort of mental map of the Spires thus far. Comping from a sprawling castle like Syliras, one would think the Spires to be a much less confusing place to travel. Except when you were underground chasing who knew what to who knew where. As Xuphim moved closer to the ground in order to study the newest form of track he was left scratching his head, "What is this crap...the tracks are...changing? Ugh, whatever. Creature, person, so long as it bleeds and can be killed I'm ok with that." he decided out loud, rising back up to his full height. That was when a strange feeling washed over him. Looking down at the mark of his Goddess that graced his hand he felt a familiar presence. Ever since that bouncy brunette Priskil had become cozy with Xalet (and by association Xuphim), the dark half noticed they had the potential to 'sense' light, as strange as it might sound. Just like smelling a familiar scent in the air, the feeling of nearby light could always be felt without any conscious effort. "There's something ahead." he narrowed his eyes, shortly afterward noticing the flickering of light. "That's it." he seethed, suddenly taking off only to stumble into a strange chamber. Just around the corner the tall Akalak found himself with the cavern filled with bones of every possible shape and size. "Holy shyke." were the first words out of his mouth, his body twisting as he tried to make sense of the layout. Of course he couldn't ignore the two individuals standing near the fire pit, their presence immediately causing Xuphim to blade his body slightly. His shoulders rolled and his neck cracked, it was his classic preparation for a fight. He could see that old gladius given to him by his Patron. What a load of trouble that thing was bringing him, but he couldn't really allow some crackpot to have it. "Yeah well, this place is a pain in the ass to navigate. Look pops, I'm not real keen on stabbing the shyke out of old folks, so things better start making sense super fast." to accent his point the burly Syliran slammed his right fist into his left palm, the sight within his eyes switching over to the predatory infravision Akalaks had access to at any given time.

[Marcus Braeden]

Marcus followed Xuphim through the winding caverns in silence, breathing heavily as they searched for their missing equipment. Hopefully if things came to combat they could manage, as Marcus had his sword, and Xuphim, well, he was an Akalak. Surely he could topple just about anyone with pure brute strength, right? Marcus glanced around as they ran throug the caverns, as if there was a lot to look at in the first place. They were surrounded by stone on both sides, covered in some sort of green moss, and had left the glowing spring behind them. Once Xuphim noticed the tracks had changed, Marcus glanced down to see for himself. "What the petch? A Kelvic perhaps?" Marcus whispered. Marcus knew very little of Kelvics except for the fact that they were animals that could turn into humans...or was it the other way around? Marcus couldn't remember, but it would certainly explain the changing footprints. Marcus picked up his pace a little bit and found himself in front of Xuphim for the time being. They continued running for what seemed like forever until Marcus found himself chasing a faint glow off in the distance. An orange hue could be seen, reflecting off the sides of the wall. "Looks like there could be a fire or something up ahead. I think we may be at the end of the line here" Marcus said as he readied his hand to draw his sword if needed. The two squires entered the lit room. A fire danced in the center of the room, and for a brief moment Marcus thought he and Xuphim were alone at another dead end, but two bodies quickly appeared. One looked like a beggar, naked and thin, with an odd twitch about him. Something about that one made Marcus feel uneasy. The other man wore simple robes. Nothing about him really set off any alarms in Marcus' head, until Marcus saw him holding the missing equipment. "So you stole our stuff eh? Well you better have a damned good reason for it" Marcus called out. trying to sound confident even though he wasn't at all. He placed his right hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to draw it at the first sign of a fight. Xuphim was ready to just jump in and take what his, and Marcus was inclined to agree with that strategy. But hopefully these negotiations would bring about some answers.

OOCSorry for the wait guys. College is busy.

[Capricious]

Marcus Braeden

Award

Skill	XP Earned	Lore Earned
Investigation	1	• Stolen: Hammer
Observation	1	• Tracking: Follow the Akalak
Tracking	1	• Lore

Xalet

Award

Skill	XP Earned	Lore Earned
Investigation	1	• Stolen: Gladius
Observation	2	• How to Identify a Track Among Many
Tracking	1	• Lore

This thread is being closed. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. On the topic of your gladius and hammer, you may assume the items were returned by the end of the thread. Once again, I apologize.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, please send me a PM and we can figure it out.