Quest Slither Home Now (Zharus, Mamoru)

[Kalesserimamoru]

It was times like this that the trickster wished that his skills were better, wished that he was more powerful. if he was, then he could take out the many Myrians that infested the jungles like cockroaches. Even if he didn't get them all the first time, they would appear again and he would finish them off. If the race did somehow survive and repopulate, he would just attack them again and again.


"One day....One day your reign will end."


But he wasn't more powerful, nor his skills adepts, but something had to be done. For as many Myrians as they killed, more Dhani were slaughtered. For as many snakelings that were hatched, twice as many of the Myrians were spat out. Their numbers were too many and for the time, it was their biggest advantage.


Slowly, the dhani lowered himself into the pit, allowing Agoylss to go first. There was something about the place that seemed off and unnatural. A lot of time had gone into it's creation, but for what purpose he didn't know. Mamoru followed along with Agoylss guiding their path all the way to the bottom. The two stopped and eyed the long hall before their cautiously. Mamoru hadn't been sure of what they would find beneath the surface, and he had the same thoughts as they looked down the hall.


"I agree, we could do that for ssure. but..."


Thinking it over, he wondered exactly what was down there, and so close to their nest as well. There were many possibilities, but all of them weren't bad. "Jusst imagine, what if we find ssomething worth the trip. It could be another way into the nest, or even some long forgotten weapon that could be ussed againsst the monkeysss." It was true that the trickster had a unique imagination, but that wasn't always a crook. "SStay here if you musst, I will come back for you after I look around." Without another word, Mamoru headed down the long hall feeling in the mood for an adventure.

[Traverse]

Agolyss shook her head at the Naive male and let him slither down the hallway by himself.

"If you find a long losst tunnel to Zinrah, be ssure to get me!" She called after him sarcastically, then opened the chest beneath her to remove a strand of fine Symenestran silk, rubbing it along her scales and thoughtfully pondering the shame in the fact that the Myrians had driven the spider like race out of the jungles. It would have been so much better to enslave them...

So Mamuro would be alone on his exploits, it seemed. The uniform hallway continued on, almost perfectly straight save for a few imperfections where deep seated tree roots, or perhaps seismic activity had offset the walls somewhat. After about 100 yards of hall it took a sharp turn to the right, continuing for an indeterminable length after that. The sone stairwell had boasted some carvings, but these halls held none...and were quite dull save for the fact that they were so petching pristine...odd indeed.

Just far enough down this right turn that the corner was well behind him, Mamuro would hear a strange hiss below him, his weight shifting one of the rock platforms his scales slid over. Suddenly a substantial piece of metal slid from the wall, swinging like a giant battle axe head towards his frame.

Well...perhaps there was a reason that no one had found this place and told about it.

If he managed to dodge the blade a new game would be afoot of precisely which stones would sink when he put his weight upon them...and what other traps those smooth walls held within them.

OOCFeel free to continue down the hall a ways in your next post and I'll set up another little game next time around.

[Kalesserimamoru]

Mamoru headed off alone, Agolyss wanted nothing to do with the would-be adventure. He wasn't surprised, she was a seamstress and enjoyed her silks and other soft fabrics to anything else. In a way, he was surprised that she left the nest at all. "Fair enough, jusst don't blame me if you die of boredom."


He had it right from the beginning, Zharus and Agolyss were a lot more alike than he was with either. He was sure that the crabby, male Dhani would have made the same decision that she did. They were both boring and way too careful. But if that was their choice he was fine with. If he did find something, he alone would get credit for the discovery.


The dhani continued on alone, slithering down a hall that seemed to go on forever. He got so far down that he could no longer spot Agolyss sitting on her chest while she waited for him. His march went on, and the odd, and desolate walls were mystery and cool to the touch. The carving, possible old symbols of things he couldn't yet understand. Suddenly, or perhaps finally, the long hall was cut off into another that lead only to the right. Mamoru started down this hall, a hall that was more bland and peaceful than the one before it.


"Perhapsss thisss wass a bad idea. There isss nothing to be found. Though thiss hasss to lead ssomewhere."


He couldn't turn back now however, he could already see Agolyss' smug look if he returned empty handed and with no more knowledge than he started out with. The dhani continued on further, his gaze washing over the walls and the floor for signs of..anything. Then it happened, just as a hissing sound rung into his head. There was something, a flash of sliver coming towards him. "Flamesss!" Instinct set in and Mamoru coiled his tale beneath him and with something of a spring board action, he launched himself backwards while swinging his bladed staff out towards the object.


The was a loud clash, and the effect of the sudden attack sent trembles up his wrist and into his arms. The dhani slithered back further and looked around cautiously. "Trapssss...what isss thisss place??" Now he was wary, but his curiosity was doubled. What had he stumbled onto and what else lay in wait? Something was a mist, traps were designed to catch things and keep them out. What was hidden so deep within these halls that it needed protecting? Mamoru had to know, he had to make it his own.


He flicked his tongue out into the air and tasted nothing but dry, and old dust. They truly were the first to be there in a very long time, and he was in over his head. Still he would move on, the world wasn't conquered by the weak or fearful. Taking a breath, the Dhani slithered forward and launched himself over the timed trap, barely missing the slice of the blade for a second time. Now he found himself on shaky and sinking stones. He was too heavy, too big for the pressure sensitive blocks below his scales. Again he launched himself forward and tumbled a bit further down the hall.


"Thisss had better be worth it..."


Slowly standing up, the Dhani started to shift, a long and annoying 30 seconds that it took to turn his large snake form into that of a human. Perhaps now he could better maneuver through the traps and make it to whatever was on the other side. He started down the hall again, now walking on two legs and hopefully more agile.

[Traverse]

It would take a keen eye to realize where one was going down the long and twisted hall. The deceptively smooth walls hid any number of trials for the unwary on looker, though it was hard to be caught off guard after you had nearly been sliced in half by one of those swinging blades.

The key was to put one's foot down before committing weight, the shifting tiles usually budge beneath the slightest pressure as opposed to the ones without triggers. Even further analyzing could show one the slits in the walls where other blades could slip from, and narrow holes where projectiles of an unknown nature could protrude from.

Unfortunately, no amount of care would be able to save Mamuro from the floor collapsing beneath him.

One step proved the ground solid, no subtle shifting of stone beneath his feet, but just as he felt confident enough to lift his other foot, the rock shifted and suddenly collapsed, all nearby tiles going with it. A dark chasm opened up beneath the Dhani, its bottom hidden in darkness. If there had been a chance to cling to the edge it was lost as the tiles fell away in a strange tooth like pattern, the only bits remaining being pointed, sharpening triangular appendages that would slice the hand open if one tried to commit their weight to them.

It was a short drop, long enough to wind and jar, but not enough to kill or do real damage...a curious sort of trap until one considered that there also seemed to be no way out. Smooth walls led up to the serrated points at the top, perhaps not higher than a constrictor snake form could reach, but inaccessible due to the need to have some appendages to lift one out.

There were numerous sets of bone, Dhani and humanoid alike that littered the floor, and if Mamuro shifted some in the center of his new prison, he would see a tiled pattern lay in the floor, creating a mosaic with a compass, complete with directions and...probably accurate, though it was hard to tell when one was so far below the earth. A coiled snake sat in its center, and the symbol for north pointed at a hastily carved inscription upon the wall, written in common.

It is in the stone, but not the rock; It is in the bone, but not the marrow;
It is in the Labyrinth but not the maze; It is in the living, but never the dead.

An odd place to find a riddle but...well he obviously had some time to solve it.

oocAlright, so as you might or might not have guessed, I've sort of transformed your job thread into your request to explore the ruins haha. I am horrible at riddles, but I think I did this one right. Enjoy!

[Kalesserimamoru]

If only he could take back the last several ticks of his life, the Dhani would likely already be back inside the nest and relaxing after a hard days work. But he wasn't and now found himself stuck in a trap without any way out. He had thought changing into his human form would help, but it seemed these traps were meant for Dhani and human alike.


"Petchin, stinking...ruinssss..."


Mamoru looked around and below him hoping for a way out, or something that lead him to find an exit. Instead what he found was a painting on the tiles and some scribbled riddle on the wall across from it. The trickster stared curiously at it and even read it twice to see if he could catch the meaning. "It'sss in the sstone, but not the rock; in the bone, but not the marrow? Iss there ssomething hidden here?" he thought to himself.


Looking around again, the dhani started to move, kicking the bones and whatever else lay at his feet. Another moment, and the trickster was on the floor flinging bones and the like around to try and find something, or more clues to help get him out of the trap. He thought of calling Agolyss for help, but didn't think she could hear him, or even if she could, she probably wouldn't have come. It was up to him to get free.


"It iss in the stsone, but not the rock; in the bone, but not the marrow.."


"It iss in the Labyrinth but not the maze; in the living, but never the dead?"


The Dhani flicked his tongue from his mouth and slowly turned from left to right, his head tilting as he looked to view the inscription in a different light. "Perhapss I am looking at thisss incorrectly. What if the ansswer is a lot more ssimple?" He stared at the tile again and remained silent for a moment before moving again. "North...it is."

OOCI noticed, and thank you. Let me know if I should add more to my post, or post again.

[Traverse]

There it was the 'N' for North pointing straight at the riddle which pointed straight back at it. If Mamuro peered at the tile long enough he could see a small chip about finger sized that would allow him to lift the tile and reveal a cylindrical metal handle beneath, and if he put most of his weight behind it, he'd hear the stone rumbling to his right as a hole appeared in the wall, a new tunnel open to him.

It was narrow, and would require him remaining in human form if he wished to fit. Unlike the above tunnel which had neatly carved and aligned, this particular tunnel was rocky and rough hewn, jagged bits of stone angling out form the walls and forcing the Dhani to carefully step his way around them or be cut every few steps on the sharp edges.

It was slow going, and though the formations of the tunnel looked quite natural, there was something exceedingly purposeful about the way the spikes stuck out at every height in an almost cohesive pattern.

But gradually, it widened, widened enough that one needn't worry where each part of their body was going and the Dhani found himself at his second dead end.

Suddenly the walls were smooth and shining, like glass that had been dipped in the night sky for paint. The room he found himself in was a perfect circle, large enough to house half a dozen Dhani at least. In the middle of the floor was a curving stairwell made from what appeared to be...blackened bones. The railings were intricate things decorated with knuckles and toes that curled around the larger leg and arm supports, the steps themselves lined with skulls, ribs and femurs intricately organized in order to create the perfect support for feet to walk upon. The staircase wound upwards into shadows that even Dhani eyes couldn't penetrate, and downward through a wide hole in the floor.

One stairwell two choices, and carved into the floor beside the one step that could take the Dhani up or down lay another message.

Simple choices, up and down
If you are Myrian, up is the way
To light and jungle and the ground above
But Dhani's seek a deeper cave
Where the dark never fades in an eternal grove
Yet what seems right may in fact be wrong
Unless what you've wanted has been different all along

It didn't seem like much of a riddle, more like a strange philosophical discussion, but at the bottom in bold was carved a much more stark series of words.

YOU CAN ONLY CHOOSE ONE

Perhaps downward led to Zinrah, perhaps it led to a dead end Mamuro couldn't escape from. Perhaps upwards led him out of the ruins...or maybe straight into the arms of the Myrians. The choice was his.

[Kalesserimamoru]

Mamoru stared at the stone long and hard, so much that he started to think he saw something there. A chip in the tile, nothing out of the ordinary, but the full square held darker edges around it's shape, as if the piece could be removed. With nothing to lose and no where else to go. The Dhani reach out and stabbed a single nail into the chip and the tile piece moved, allowing him to lift it where he found a cylindrical metal handle.


"Ah...now thisss isss more like it."


The trickster didn't wait, or even think on the fact that this too could be a trap. He pulled on the handle, digging his heels into the ground below to help him along. At first he thought it stuck, wedged and broken from the years of non use. That was until he heard a rumbling sound to his right and turned to see a hole opening in the wall. A new passage and a way out of the pit he hoped. It would be a tight fit, the dhani could see this much just by peering into the tunnel. Mamoru turned his frame as he entered, trying to make himself as small as possible as he slipped further in.


"Flamesss, who would go to sso much trouble. Sspikess everywhere."


He felt as if he was in some sort of game, angling his body to lean and slide under and around the spiked edges. He went up, down, legs together then a part and this continued for some time. Finally he made it to the other side only to find yet another dead end. Mamoru scratched his head and stared as he mused to himself. He could already see the faces of the others if they learned he went on a merry chase through an underground ruin for nothing at all. It truly was something, and a great way to enter into the guard's unit.


"Alright then...what now?"


Walking further he now found himself inside a huge circular room with more shiny painted walls. It was odd really, seeming as if parts of the ruin had been remodeled or newly built and the rest aged by time and weather. He had to admit, there was something about the look of the place that he liked. He chuckled softly to himself, thinking of how, if not for the trouble, the place could be his own personal hide out. Mamoru moved further in to examine his new prison and that's when he noticed a second riddle.


"I'd like to meet the mind behind all of thisss. Could be a usseful tool, if nothing elsse."


He read through the riddle and folded his arms across his chest with mild amusement appearing upon his features. "Have I wandered into ssome kind of Myrian/Dhani cult know ssince dead? That would be a sstory to tell, though I'd not want to be the one to explain it to a Queen." He cackled then, his voice deepening with the sinister thoughts roaming about his mind. Perhaps he found it all funny, or was simply buying time because he wasn't sure of what to do.

"Well..the whole point of coming here wass to get away from Myriansss. No point to running into them now. Looksss like I'm going down."

OOCWell Mamoru, it was fun rping with you while it lasted XD

[Traverse]

Down it was then.

After the first few steps, just enough to make sure that whoever passed through wouldn't get their head sliced off, a resounding click reverberated beneath Mamuro's foot and spikes similar to the ones that had prevented him from climbing out of the previous hold slid into place, interlocking and trapping him on the stairwell downward. Only one choice indeed.

The stairs were smooth, but not too slippery, and went down in a spiraling motion for quite sometime before ending in a uniform hallway much like the one's that had brought the Trickster here in the first place.

"Pleasssssssssssse" A voice slid into Mamuro's eardrums.

"Come clossser." Perhaps it was the source of all this madness, or just another prisoner like him. As he continued down the hallway an imperceptible widening began taking place, until a whole room was revealed, wide and flat, four plain columns supporting whatever great weight bore down upon the tunnels. At the center of the room was a stone platform, somewhat raised upon the ground, and atop it a carved rounded stone, which upon that lay a gleaming blade with a curved bone handle. It seemed a strange hybrid between a machete and sword, serrated metal edges, and leather wrapped around the handle to provide a grip. Upon the bone were a series of carvings and runes, complicated and black against the white bone handle.

"Sshiny isss it not? I thought ssso too."

That was when a form crept from behind one of the pillars. It was a Dhani alright...or well...used to be one. I mean surely it was alive, but the bones of its ribs stuck out neatly from its torso, the skin of its arms dangling like empty leather sacks, and his eyes were rimmed with red and wide as if having never gotten a good night's sleep.

"When I found it I thought that my troublesss were over and I could esscape this blasted cave, but then..." Slithering strangely the Dhani made his way over the plinth resting his cheek against the rock and staring at the blade, stroking its shining metal.

"I couldn't lift it..." To demonstrate the Dhani pulled at the blade, which seemed to just be resting atop the stone. The weapon didn't so much as shift even though Mamuro could see strain in the Dhani's gaze. Though he surely must have tried this thousands of times during his stay in this room.

Then those strangely hollow eyes looked up hungrily up at him. "But now you are here, if you are in fact real..." This thought seemed to sink into the Dhani's brain and he held a clawed hand to his bald head, then sniffed and tilted his head. "No...you are...and now I can finally leave." Though it seemed as if the snake was relieved by this prospect, a hooded quality took to his gaze when he looked at Mamuro. One more inscription lay for Mamuro upon the stone beneath the blade.

Two enter and only one can leave. The Blood of the loser will free the Blade.

It was just about then that the starving Dhani leapt over and across the blade, reaching his clawed hands for Mamuro's throat.

[Kalesserimamoru]

The last thing he expected to find in the depths of what he had assumed was an empty grave, was another Dhani. A sickly looking creature, someone who had stumbled upon the strange ruins before him and made it all the way to the end. However then he was stuck, and the trickster wondered how long had he been stuck here. Mamoru slowly stepped closer looking at the poor, pathetic creature and the weapon he moved to. It was a beauty, a blade that had Myrian slayer written all over it.


"Now thissss isss more like it."


The trickster watched with interest as the boney Dhani tried to lift the weapon from atop the stone. At first he thought the creature too weak, but then he thought about the many traps and tricks that he had faced coming there himself, and he knew that there had to be something to this as well. Mamoru stared closely at the Dhani, his long dark hair loose and covering half of his face. He flexed his shoulders, even seeing this sad excuse for a Dhani made him feel superior and far stronger than his would-be opponent.


"Oh you poor, sad creature...shall I kill you now and end your suffering?"


Mamoru wrinkled his features, not only did the creature look disgusting, but he smelled also. He listened to the cryptic words of the other and thought them over himself as he tried to make sense of it all. Turning his attention back to the blade upon the stone, Mamoru looked it over again, truly admiring what he had found. It wasn't Zinarh, but what a prize it was. That's when he saw it. "Flamesss!" the trickster should have guessed it would be that easy.


He lifted his eyes just as the Dhani leap across and over the blade and reached for him. He jumped back in time to literally save his neck, but the claws of the Dhani dug into his chest instead, creating finger marks on both sides. Mamoru hissed as he jumped back, the warming in his chest suddenly turning cool as blood seeped out of his wounds and dripped down his chest. This Dhani was serious, he was mad, and his only way out was to kill the other Dhani in the room with him. Jumping back again to dodge another vicious swipe, Mamoru tried to concentrate on his djed. It was hard to do when a crazed zombie, Dhani was trying to rip out his throat.


"You dare attack me? Do you know who I am?!"


He tried to focus more as he moved, finally able to focus enough to center his djed into his fist only. The crazed Dhani attacked again, and Mamoru reached out and caught him into a grapple hold. It wasn't a strong move, but was more to hold the Dhani off while he focused his djed more into something he could use. Squeezing the wrist of the Dhani to keep his claws away, Mamoru snapped his neck forward and headbutted him. The Dhani's head rolled back, and Mamoru started to push him backwards, until he too snapped his head forward and delivered a headbutt to the trickster.


This time it was Mamoru's head to roll back, and lanky Dhani used the opening to slam him against the wall and take a bite out of his shoulder. Hissing loudly, the trickster brought his fist out and around with a tight hook pounding into the side of the Dhani's head. He released his jaws from Mamoru's shoulder, and with quick thinking, Mamoru slipped down, grabbing the Dhani tightly by his waist, and lifted him up, while his own body fell down to send the creature's head smashing into the wall with a forward slam.


Rolling away and after buying himself a moment, Mamoru refocused his djed into his fist. The skin at his knuckles peeled back to reveal the bones that quickly took on pointed shapes. The tips of the four knuckle points started to grow outward into knife like blades that extended from the knuckles on each of his fist. Glaring up at the Dhani who slowly slithered up from the ground while holding his head, Mamoru hissed and dashed forward with a wicked swipe from one fist to the other.

[Traverse]

The Dhani looked up just in time to see the strange bone knives protruding out of the Trickster's fists swiping right at him, muscles quivered with anticipation as the Dhani laid back, the tips of the blades slicing along his chest and leaving shallow cuts.

"Ssso exciting now, issn't it? I've been alone ssso very long, and now I sssuddenly have sssomething to do." There was a genuine sort of emotion coming from the Dhani's voice, as if he had been so bored, so hungry, so alone that anything was probably better than this...even death. Though if that was the case why hadn't he killed himself long before?

Blood trickled down scales far too pale to be normal, and a finger stroked the wounds gingerly, licking the crimson off of his fingers and giggling with delight, while his tail curled around itself, the one large muscle preparing itself for the next attack, which was to launch himself at Mamuro's throat, tail wrapping around his torso, hands grabbing viciously for his neck.

"But you cannot have it! It isss mine, MINE!" He screamed, eyes wild and crazed.