Quest Deep Within (Eridanus)

(This is a thread from Mizahar's fantasy role playing forum. Why don't you register today? This message is not shown when you are logged in. Come roleplay with us, it's fun!)

An inland sea created by Ivak's cataclismic fury during the Valterrian, the Suvan Sea is a major trade route and the foremost hub for piracy in Mizahar. [lore]

Deep Within (Eridanus)

Postby Cascade on September 4th, 2012, 3:48 pm

There was a crumpled up bedroll by the side of the chamber. There were no drawings around it, and it could only be assumed that this was the mad mage’s belongings. Near the bedroll were a stack of bones—human bones.

The pair stood back, heeding the Ethaefal’s warning. They scanned the chamber as well. While every inch of the chamber was laden with the strange symbols, there seemed to be a pattern to them. The more intricate looking glyphs seemed to be drawn in blood, while the more simple ones seemed to be drawn in only chalk. Eridanus would be able to sense that those drawn in blood had an aura of danger, and the simple glyphs were close to useless—practically the scribbling of a child.

There was a narrow path that was clear of the symbols. Only one person would be allowed to walk along it at a time, and it circled around the water and deeper into the chambers. The path itself had a border of the chalked glyphs, signaling that it was safe.

“Let’s go that way,” said Gianna. “We should be safe if we keep away from the symbols, right?”

Without waiting for an answer, she went ahead, and Joffrey followed behind her. They walked carefully, practically tip-toeing, and they avoided the symbols at all close.

“Ah!” cried out Gianna. There had been a random blood-drawn glyph in his path. As soon as she stepped on it, water seemed to pool out of it, spilling over to the pond in the middle of the chamber. The water got significantly higher, pooling around their ankles. Somehow, it didn’t wash away the chalk or the blood. “I guess if we step on enough of them, it’d flood the whole place…” mumbled the girl as she continued on her way. As they walked further, the more intricate glyphs appeared.

Due to more accidents, by the time they reached the end of the chamber, the water would have reached their waste. But then they found it… a wooden portal. When inspected, the portal was covered with more glyphs and powerful shields, but the shields itself were invisible to Gianna and Joffrey’s eyes.
User avatar
Cascade
The Demi-Goddess
 
Posts: 760
Words: 182001
Joined roleplay: April 1st, 2012, 3:07 am
Location: DS Of The Suvan Sea
Race: Staff account
Office
Scrapbook
Medals: 2
Featured Contributor (1) Extreme Scrapbooker (1)

Deep Within (Eridanus)

Postby Eridanus on September 5th, 2012, 7:46 am

Image
As the ethaefal inspected the room, he noticed what seemed to be the belongings of the mad mage, and more disturbing relics nearby. As he directed the sailors' gaze to focus on the glyphs elsewhere, he quickly checked the surrounding area to see if it was safe for him to approach the bedroll. If it was, he would quickly pocket a few of those bones, along with anything he could find in the bedroll so that he might use the mage's possession for negotiation should a confrontation occur.

However, the sailors seemed to figure out the pattern to the glyphs, and stepped forward. "Wait-" Eridanus called out, but it was too late for they were too enthusiastic in their exploration.

Sighing, he followed, the bad feeling in his gut increasing. His trepidation was validated when Gianna stepped on a trap, causing water to flood the room. There was a valid reason why he wished to be in front - it was a fact that he was infinitely more stable and careful than them.

However, they managed to reach their destination - a strange wooden portal - before they drowned, and Eridanus breathed a short-lived sigh of relief.

"Before you trigger anything more, Gianna, don't move, don't do anything," He warned in a more urgent voice, turning his attention to the glyphs and the shields in order to glean more information.

The first issue was the shield, and their relationships to the glyph. Drawing from his knowledge from glyphs, shields and magic in general, the scholar magically examined the djed constructs upon the wooden portal so that he could understand the functions of the glyphs, the taskings of the shield, and any possible relationships between the two.

Information was of the utmost importance, for the shield might be beneficial or antagonistic. Or it might have malicious triggers glyphed into it in the case of its deactivation. Carelessly moving in would result in unnecessary danger, and so he would demand that the party stay their hand until he determined more about the portal.
Image
NOTICE: I am currently mostly inactive til August. As such, guild activities are temporarily halted (watch out for major revamps, changes and organizations when I'm back in full force). Any activity with Eri will be rather slow as well, but I am slowly readjusting back to "Mizahar life", so to speak, so do PM me if we have a thread that I left hanging and we'll talk.



"You must be one hardcore scholar, Eri." (Laszlo)
First winner of the prestigious Mirage's No Kill Medal.
User avatar
Eridanus
It's Peanut Butter Jelly Time!
 
Posts: 1893
Words: 1312082
Joined roleplay: October 24th, 2011, 2:03 am
Location: Sylira
Race: Ethaefal
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Scrapbook
Plotnotes
Medals: 8
Featured Character (1) Overlored (1)
One Thousand Posts! (1) One Million Words! (1)
Extreme Scrapbooker (1) 2012 Mizahar NaNo Winner (1)
2011 Mizahar NaNo Winner (1) 2011 Top NaNo Word Count (1)

Deep Within (Eridanus)

Postby Cascade on September 6th, 2012, 4:44 am

Eridanus would find that the bedroll was accessible, and he would be successful in taking some of the relics. They looked like plain human bones, with no indication as to who owned it. They were the bones of another mage, dead for centuries, and the companion of Alarous.

Gianna looked annoyed at Eridanus’s words, but she let it pass. The two sailors stood back, patiently waiting for the Ethaefal to examine the portal. The Ethaefal could see the shields clearly, and it was damaged, most likely because its creator was no longer around to maintain it. Despite this, it stood in place and did its purpose—it kept people from entering the portal.

“What if it’s meant to keep something from leaving?” asked Joffrey. Thought it was a valid thought, his companion sighed at him.

The glyphs were not interconnected with the shields, though they did have the same purpose. Similar to the previous more intricate glyphs, they would pool out more water—except that the volume would be much more dangerous, enough for all of them to drown in the chamber. However, their triggers were different from before. This time it would be triggered if a person was armed, indicating that only the unarmed may enter to the next room.
User avatar
Cascade
The Demi-Goddess
 
Posts: 760
Words: 182001
Joined roleplay: April 1st, 2012, 3:07 am
Location: DS Of The Suvan Sea
Race: Staff account
Office
Scrapbook
Medals: 2
Featured Contributor (1) Extreme Scrapbooker (1)

Deep Within (Eridanus)

Postby Eridanus on September 6th, 2012, 6:43 am

Image
The ethaefal pursed his lips as he considered the glyphs, frowning as he analyzed the intricacies of their components and attempting to reach a conclusion. As he kept his magical gaze intent on the aura of the glyphs, he began to reach out with a hand, making tiny scratches in the wood. It was a scratch-test of sorts, to see if he was able to reprogram the glyph to remove that annoying trigger.

The aura of the glyphs flickered, and his heart seemed to stop for a moment as he froze, not daring to even breathe as he waited for the aura to stabilize.

"This is too dangerous," The scholar mused as he delved further into the magical traces of the glyph's aura, realizing that there was a sort of Nader-Canoch encryption built into the programming of the glyph. He could not risk drowning them; they had to play by the rules.

"Alright, this is how it is. Whoever enters that portal cannot go in armed, or we will all drown. I will put it forth objectively, there are few in Mizahar, barring the gods and their champions, who can stand against me in combat should I have access to my long swords. Whoever stay outside may have to deal with a mad mage, while whoever within will have to enter, unarmed, and face the unknown. I'm fine with either options, what say you?"

The sailors paled as the vantha laid out their options, since either paths did not seem particularly tasteful nor desirable to them. Still, after a few moments of huddled discussions they decided they would rather much have their swords with them, even if they had to face a mad mage. Besides, there were two of them, so it might tip the balance in their favor.

"We'll stay outside," Gianna decided, with Joffrey nodding profusely. "You leave your swords with us."

Shrugging, he drew his swords, smashing them against the invisible shield that blocked access to the portal. The djed wall shimmered briefly, but ultimately broke from the overwhelming force that it was not equipped to handle. Handing the blades over to the sailors, he took a deep breath to calm down the growing excitement in his gut, and took a step into the unknown.
Image
NOTICE: I am currently mostly inactive til August. As such, guild activities are temporarily halted (watch out for major revamps, changes and organizations when I'm back in full force). Any activity with Eri will be rather slow as well, but I am slowly readjusting back to "Mizahar life", so to speak, so do PM me if we have a thread that I left hanging and we'll talk.



"You must be one hardcore scholar, Eri." (Laszlo)
First winner of the prestigious Mirage's No Kill Medal.
User avatar
Eridanus
It's Peanut Butter Jelly Time!
 
Posts: 1893
Words: 1312082
Joined roleplay: October 24th, 2011, 2:03 am
Location: Sylira
Race: Ethaefal
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Scrapbook
Plotnotes
Medals: 8
Featured Character (1) Overlored (1)
One Thousand Posts! (1) One Million Words! (1)
Extreme Scrapbooker (1) 2012 Mizahar NaNo Winner (1)
2011 Mizahar NaNo Winner (1) 2011 Top NaNo Word Count (1)

Deep Within (Eridanus)

Postby Cascade on September 6th, 2012, 2:54 pm

Once the portal was opened, the water that had pooled in the chamber spilled into the room as well. Gianna and Joffrey looked down, and saw that the water went from waist-deep to ankle-deep. That, at least, was a good sign. They were both excellent swimmers, but they still couldn’t breathe underwater if the chamber would be filled.

“It’s a burial chamber,” stated Joffrey as he peered into the room the Ethaefal had entered. Both he and Gianna had no choice but to look at it from the outside. They both agreed that it would be stupid to leave all the weapons behind, especially with a mad mage on their tracks.

And the mage was getting closer, so they left Eridanus to examine the other room to himself as they prepared themselves for the arrival of Alarous.

The Ethaefal was left on his own. As Joffrey had said, he had entered a burial chamber. Around a dozen tombs were neatly placed by the side. Unlike the previous chamber, there were no glyphs on the walls. This room had remained untouched for centuries, with dust and webs accumulating in every inch.

And at the end of the room was a massive pedestal. Resting on it was a longspear, its handle engrossed with intricate designs. There was something written on the pedestal itself, but they would be foreign to Eridanus.
User avatar
Cascade
The Demi-Goddess
 
Posts: 760
Words: 182001
Joined roleplay: April 1st, 2012, 3:07 am
Location: DS Of The Suvan Sea
Race: Staff account
Office
Scrapbook
Medals: 2
Featured Contributor (1) Extreme Scrapbooker (1)

Deep Within (Eridanus)

Postby Eridanus on September 7th, 2012, 2:10 am

Image
Eridanus stared around him in awe, taking in the ancient architecture and general atmosphere of the place. From the various tombs laid out neatly it was clear that this was a burial chamber, and he was instantly reminded of the dangerous encounter he had back in Alvadas in the Sealed Grounds mausoleum with the Keeper when he had to secure the bones of long dead legends.

Approaching the place cautiously, he kept his mind and senses open, both magical and mundane as he slowly and gradually approached the pedestal that stood at the middle. As he approached the weapon, he examined it from a distance, carefully trying to glean any information he could out of it - whether by physical or arcane means.

As his hands reached towards the long spear unconsciously, he soon realized what he was doing and considered briefly the possible consequences. A mysterious weapon, in a mysterious burial chamber which was hidden in a cave inhabited by a mad mage in the middle of the Suvan Sea. With an unknown language written on it.

He had some sort of feeling that things were going to occur, but he shrugged and threw caution to the wind. Perhaps this was what the sailors were after. Making up his mind, he reached forward and grabbed the spear off the pedestal.
Image
NOTICE: I am currently mostly inactive til August. As such, guild activities are temporarily halted (watch out for major revamps, changes and organizations when I'm back in full force). Any activity with Eri will be rather slow as well, but I am slowly readjusting back to "Mizahar life", so to speak, so do PM me if we have a thread that I left hanging and we'll talk.



"You must be one hardcore scholar, Eri." (Laszlo)
First winner of the prestigious Mirage's No Kill Medal.
User avatar
Eridanus
It's Peanut Butter Jelly Time!
 
Posts: 1893
Words: 1312082
Joined roleplay: October 24th, 2011, 2:03 am
Location: Sylira
Race: Ethaefal
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Scrapbook
Plotnotes
Medals: 8
Featured Character (1) Overlored (1)
One Thousand Posts! (1) One Million Words! (1)
Extreme Scrapbooker (1) 2012 Mizahar NaNo Winner (1)
2011 Mizahar NaNo Winner (1) 2011 Top NaNo Word Count (1)

Deep Within (Eridanus)

Postby Cascade on September 9th, 2012, 3:47 pm

As soon as the Ethaefal took hold of the weapon, there was an obvious surge of power that was emitted from it. On a closer look, aside from the strange marks, it looked like any other longspear. It was evidently well-crafted, but anyone who looked upon it wouldn’t really give it much thought.

Until the held their hands upon it…

Eridanus would feel that even if he didn’t have much experience with the longspear, he inexplicably had enough knowledge how to use this one. His aim would be better, and a stronger insight would lead to a better understanding of battle strategies.

And it was just fitting because the tombs behind him were stirring. The heavy stones were pushed aside and the dead rose. Animated by the unknown, the bones moved on their own accord. Each of them held their own weapon. Tattered armor and clothes hung off them, giving them the extra protection they needed—and they were coming right at Eridanus.

“Put the weapon back, mortal,” one of them said.
User avatar
Cascade
The Demi-Goddess
 
Posts: 760
Words: 182001
Joined roleplay: April 1st, 2012, 3:07 am
Location: DS Of The Suvan Sea
Race: Staff account
Office
Scrapbook
Medals: 2
Featured Contributor (1) Extreme Scrapbooker (1)

Deep Within (Eridanus)

Postby Eridanus on September 11th, 2012, 9:52 am

Image
As the scholar laid his hands on the long spear, he felt a rush of knowledge overwhelm his mind, granting millions upon millions of memories and data all relating to the usage and strategies of the weapon. Similar to Auristics or Evantia, he felt the information assault his cognitive faculties, flooding him with unfamiliar terms, styles and stances. However, unlike Evantia, this flood of knowledge was accompanied by comprehension and automatic analysis. His mind was somehow able to handle the deluge of strategies, allowing him to make optimal use of the weapon as if he were training with it for centuries to have a proficiency similar to that of his long sword.

It was a curious experience, to be certain.

It was then when the tombs behind him began to stir, and as the dead army assembled themselves before him, he scrutinized them quickly, dismissing the thought that they might be nuits. Nuit could not survive in an assortment of bones, it had to be some other foul magic at work here.

"You can't be serious..." The vantha began, with a half-amused expression as he twirled his new found weapon expertly, still amazed at how easily he handled the unfamiliar weapon. It seemed that besides the impression of information into his mind, the requisite muscle memory to wield the weapon effectively was somehow imprinted into his body as well.

"And what are you clumsy bones plan to-" He continued taunting, before his body leaped backwards in a wide arc, narrowly avoiding a downwards strike that cleaved the stone below him into two.

The skeleton that spoke had suddenly rushed forward with supernatural speed, and even with Eridanus' combat experience and reflexes he was hard-pressed to keep up with that kind of mobility.

What in the world...

Any other distractions were banished from his mind as he immediately focused on the current battle, narrow dodging again as the skeleton whirled forward in an awesome display of speed and strength, smashing its ancient flamberge against the cavern walls. The stone walls cleaved neatly again where it was struck, and the vantha winced at the thought of being hit.

Focus...

Touching the back of his neck, he whispered, "Wysar, grant me strength," as the tattoo flared into life. Evantia activated with a flourish, expanding the divine aura around him as he chose to take in the movements of that single skeleton, as the rest did not seem to be moving at all. They were somewhat staring at the current battle vacantly, seemingly content to watch the current one-on-one.

The skeleton's intent was revealed, and that allowed Eridanus a little more time to anticipate movements, though it only bought him a little more time due to his opponent's almost minimal thought-to-reflex ratio. It was decisive and lethal, moving with an unnatural grace that betrayed its shambling state.

Steel clashed on steel as the vantha parried and fought with the skeleton, neither side gaining ground. The skeleton was somehow boosted by its ridiculous speed and power, while Eridanus had to rely on a vast combination of previous experience, body conditioning, granted knowledge from the spear and Evantia to barely keep up.

Calling djed from his body, he activated the astral spark within his soul, flux strands jumping like electricity throughout his nerves as he attempted to imagine the flux strands in his body like water, flowing to areas where he needed them most.

This integration of magic granted him that extra speed and strength needed to narrowly turn the tides of the battle, and their lethal dance of sword and spear was ended brutally with a powerful jab through the skeleton's chest. A normal jab might have caused the spear to lodge itself into the bone torso, but in a magnificent battle of this magnitude had stakes many leagues higher.

The spear smashed through the chest, the force of the impact distributing itself outwards as a minor shockwave spiraled away from the strike. A large gaping hole was created from the strike, the kinetic energy from the attack continuing to shatter the rest of the skeleton's bones, and the undead collapsed onto the floor in a heap, the flamberge clattering to the stone ground messily.

"Who's next?" Eridanus declared, gasping as he surveyed the motionless army.
Image
NOTICE: I am currently mostly inactive til August. As such, guild activities are temporarily halted (watch out for major revamps, changes and organizations when I'm back in full force). Any activity with Eri will be rather slow as well, but I am slowly readjusting back to "Mizahar life", so to speak, so do PM me if we have a thread that I left hanging and we'll talk.



"You must be one hardcore scholar, Eri." (Laszlo)
First winner of the prestigious Mirage's No Kill Medal.
User avatar
Eridanus
It's Peanut Butter Jelly Time!
 
Posts: 1893
Words: 1312082
Joined roleplay: October 24th, 2011, 2:03 am
Location: Sylira
Race: Ethaefal
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Scrapbook
Plotnotes
Medals: 8
Featured Character (1) Overlored (1)
One Thousand Posts! (1) One Million Words! (1)
Extreme Scrapbooker (1) 2012 Mizahar NaNo Winner (1)
2011 Mizahar NaNo Winner (1) 2011 Top NaNo Word Count (1)

Deep Within (Eridanus)

Postby Cascade on September 11th, 2012, 2:34 pm

The remaining undead did not seem unfazed by the turn of events. Even if the first one had been shattered almost too easily, they continued to move forward, weapons brandished offensively. It appeared that they had been made for only one purpose—to keep the strange spear within the burial chamber’s wall.

From the other chamber, there was a howl of pain and a loud shriek which accompanied it. Gianna’s words were mangled, but it was clear that she was in a panic. Across the undead, Eridanus would be able to get a glimpse of Joffrey, seemingly in agony.

Then there was the loud laughter of the mad mage as he threw around magic that the two couldn’t deal with.

“Eridanus!” screamed Gianna. “Help us!”

However, Eridanus was currently occupied—the two closest undead attacked him simultaneously.
User avatar
Cascade
The Demi-Goddess
 
Posts: 760
Words: 182001
Joined roleplay: April 1st, 2012, 3:07 am
Location: DS Of The Suvan Sea
Race: Staff account
Office
Scrapbook
Medals: 2
Featured Contributor (1) Extreme Scrapbooker (1)

Deep Within (Eridanus)

Postby Eridanus on September 12th, 2012, 6:28 am

Image
Evantia flared in warning as the aura encompassed the intention of the closest two skeletons, and despite being temporarily distracted by the plea for help the ethaefal was in a state of clarity that allowed him to dodge again. Fending off the attacks with the spear, he leaped backwards acrobatically in an attempt to clear as much ground as he could.

As he did so, he focused on the djed within his body, materializing it as res even as the astral resource sputtered when he called it into being. In a desperate attempt to distract the mad mage outside somewhat, he fended off another blow from his opponents as he tried to pool a sufficient amount of res in his other palm.

Directing his focus outside at the mad mage briefly, he cried, "Feast your eyes on directed anger, Warmth Arc!". The muscle memories that he ingrained and associated thoroughly with the incantation and related imagery came to life, and the ball of res transmuted into flames. The fireball flickered dangerously as it wobbled unsteadily in the air towards the mad mage.

Eridanus did not have time to see if it hit, for the other skeleton had now flanked him, and he dodged one while parrying another simultaneously, having to resume his focus to the present to not get destroyed by the skeletons. They wielded heavy, powerful weapons, but the ease at which they wielded them made the weapons seem light.

One of them held a large falchion - a weapon that was meant to be wielded with both hands - with only a single frail-looking arm, while the other held an executioner's blade somewhat leisurely at the tip of its palm. It was not right; the sheer lack of mass in his opponent's form and grip should not have allowed them to so easily swing such weapons about.

Ducking into a tumble as the executioner's blade swung down, the steel screeched as it further desecrated the stone floor below him, and he wondered if they were made of normal steel at all. Could the weapons have been made from Isurian Steel? If so, it lent credence to his theory that it could have been an ancient pre-Valterrian chamber housing some sort of important object.

The spear.

Flux energies jumped energetically through his body as he gave both his body and mind a work-out, continuing in the deadly dance between the three actors as he dodged and parried, attacked and feinted, all to find that single moment that would turn the tables.

There!

Sensing a window of opportunity, he directed more djed to his legs as he leaped off in the air, simultaneously moving the flow to his arms to grant amplified strength. Exploiting that momentary opening ruthlessly, he flew into the falchion-wielding skeleton, the spear creating an opening as he literally flew through the corpse's torso like a missile, devastating the body into a pile of bones.

Tumbling as he landed, his legs swiped around as he regained ground using the quick recovery technique of the unarmed style Sanctus Peccator, swinging his torso about as he brought the spear in front of him with both hands, parrying the expected downwards swing from the sword-wielding skeleton.

Pooling res into his outside of his closed fists as he continued to parry the blow, he yelled, "Feast your eyes on directed anger, Warmth Arc!" as two spheres of res from both fists held ahead of him exploded, speeding ahead and crashing into his opponent as he basically slammed the spell point-blank into it.

The spell caused it to stumble backwards, creating a minuscule opening that only a master like him could detect and exploit. Taking advantage of that, he jabbed forward with the enchanted weapon several times, destroying the skeleton ahead of him with the spear as it collapsed, the intimidating-looking blade dropping unceremoniously to the floor.

The ethaefal was beginning to feel the beginnings of combat fatigue, but continued to keep his vigil - enhanced by adrenaline - as he kept a cautious eye on Evantia and the area around him.
Image
NOTICE: I am currently mostly inactive til August. As such, guild activities are temporarily halted (watch out for major revamps, changes and organizations when I'm back in full force). Any activity with Eri will be rather slow as well, but I am slowly readjusting back to "Mizahar life", so to speak, so do PM me if we have a thread that I left hanging and we'll talk.



"You must be one hardcore scholar, Eri." (Laszlo)
First winner of the prestigious Mirage's No Kill Medal.
User avatar
Eridanus
It's Peanut Butter Jelly Time!
 
Posts: 1893
Words: 1312082
Joined roleplay: October 24th, 2011, 2:03 am
Location: Sylira
Race: Ethaefal
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Scrapbook
Plotnotes
Medals: 8
Featured Character (1) Overlored (1)
One Thousand Posts! (1) One Million Words! (1)
Extreme Scrapbooker (1) 2012 Mizahar NaNo Winner (1)
2011 Mizahar NaNo Winner (1) 2011 Top NaNo Word Count (1)

PreviousNext

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 0 guests