From being an Abandoned who had rarely left the Hollowed Grounds, to embracing the call of adventure, to dying and being reborn first as an Ascended and then as an Ancient, Maea has gone through quite the amount of changes in her life. One thing remains common, though, in her attempts to find out just where she belongs; she’s always had a craving for knowledge which has brought her to so many places and to meet so many people here in Caido. We can’t wait to see what else is in store for her!
Congratulations, Maea!
Credits
Court of the Fallen was created in October of 2018 by Odd, Honey, and Crooked.
Skinning and hosting by the epically talented Kaons, and functionality fanciness by the coding magic of Neowulf. If you ever see either of them around, make sure to show them some love!
i can't believe that you could just say that "the answers unlock this gate"
They turn to leave, and Sunjata’s first out of the tunnel. It seems steady enough, slipping through the exit of the cave tunnel they tried to slip into. And then, then all hell breaks loose – turning around just to watch as the rocks begin to fall. He’s almost tempted to rush toward them, to try and grab them and pull them out – but by then, the rocks have already fallen, Raza is down, and Sunjata looks over Melita as he goes to help Loren get Raza to her feet.
“There’s one more path.” He says quietly, turning to Melita as he picks up Flametongue from Raza just to ensure that she doesn’t have to suffer more of that spiciness on her tongue after being hit with a bunch of falling rocks. “Up to you, Melita. Do you want to test it, or come back another time?” He asks, trying to help them all get to the edge back to their broken boat – deciding that he can try and carry them out if they wanted to abandon the boat here.
Sunjata mentions the third path, and then asks Melita what she wants to do, trying to help Loren get Raza to her feet.
'cause if you knew his name, not a thing would change you'd still be wishing you were blessed
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
There was no time to think about their misfortune as further entanglements fell from the makeshift ceiling; rocks and stones clattering down, down, down, a visceral hiss expelled from her mouth as they tore into her shoulder. It could’ve been sprained, completely jilted, she wouldn’t know, and her eyes only went to Raza for a moment as the poor woman was hit twice. Her hands grabbed for her on her way down, for support, for something other than this ridiculous, treacherous wake.
It was enough to make her snarl and seethe, but with naught to pinpoint it upon.
She could hear Loren, trying to heal them, trying to instill some edge of wisdom. It was too bad the notions were long gone – as if the girl had something yet more to prove.
That she could do something. That she could be more than a series of errors and mistakes. That she could try and find some stupid path for their stupid ship.
But she didn’t want to risk those unwilling, and as she turned to Sunjata, both of them had fallen into the same path line. Her gaze wandered from the disheveled boat, and to the other tunnel yet remaining. Her defiant chin jutted forward, a set measure in her grit and mettle. “Whoever wants to stay here, they can.” She’d have no judgement cast upon them, especially Raza, who’d endured enough. “I just want to see the last tunnel.” And then they could decide if enough was enough.
So she ground along the earth, and headed for the remaining route.
--
Melita tries to help Raza up while smarting from her shoulder wound. She decides to try the last tunnel, and says those who didn't want to could remain by the boat.
Good thing for Raza you brought a healer. Loren is able to restore her practically to full health, though he'll need to take a breather before he can heal anyone else (read: one magic action per turn).
The third and final tunnel is wider than the other, possibly wide enough to drag your boat behind you. The water is knee-deep for Melita (so like, calf deep for Mr. Ganglyman Sunjata) and pleasantly warm. From deep down the tunnel, red light seems to glow.
I feel hands on me and yet can’t decipher whose they are; it doesn’t matter, I decide, as throbbings subside and my vision returns to normal. Everything goes almost back to normal. Exhaling in relief, I push back up from the ground, looking up to find both Loren with me and Sunjata and Melita together, too. “Thank you,” comes with a grateful nod as I turn to Melita. “Are you okay?” Concern is evident, but knowing that we have a healer - that kind of changes things.
“That red glow is worrisome, makes me think there’s lava.” But if all they have to do is peek in, and Melita is of the Ark, Sunjata is in the government. “I’ll stay here with the boat,” I decide and turn to Loren, “but don’t feel like you need to babysit me - that healing helped.”
-------------
Weak link Raza offers to stay with the boat while the others investigate.
As Raza recovered, Loren breathed a sigh of relief. "Any time." Moving towards Melita, he glanced back at the proprietress, giving her a wry smile. "I imagine you don't want this to be a regular occurrence, though." Once he was within reach of the redhead, he laid a hand on her uninjured shoulder to heal her properly, now that he wasn't distracted by Raza.
Nodding in agreement with her claim, he shifted his eyes to that of a honey badger, hoping it would help him pick out more details about the red glow. "I agree, the red worries me." Still, he would continue to follow Melita and Sunjata down the tunnel if they deemed it necessary.
Loren heals Melita (for real). Then he shifts his vision to that of a honey badger to try and pick out more details about the red glow. He will follow Melita and Sunjata if they go down the final tunnel.
Base Healing: Can heal 30pts of injuries per post.
Type: Light | Rank: Mastered
look at how a single candle can both
defy and define the darkness
i can't believe that you could just say that "the answers unlock this gate"
A nod is given to Raza at the mention of lava, but at least it’s something to be considered. To check before they depart and declare it a lost cause for now. Raza offers to remain with the boat, and Sunjata’s gaze flickers between Melita and Loren, nodding to them and making his way toward the tunnel – the water coming up to his calves and not particularly deep at all. But he still offers an arm for Melita should she need any help moving on.
“If it gets too hot or we do see lava, we can go grab Raza and leave.” He rumbles, giving the summoner a nod. But then his attention turns back to the tunnel, and Sunjata adjusts Flametongue in his hand, shifting to focus on the light that reflects and the warmth that’s there (subsequently the heat in his mouth as well), ears partially shifting to that of his panther form to see if he can hear anything coming from the tunnel up ahead.
Sunjata uses Flametongue to try and add more light and partially shifts his ears to the panther shift to try and hear for anything.
Type: Dark
Flametongue | Magic sword that sheds dim light like a torch and is warm to the touch; causes user to constantly have spice on the tongue as if they ate something fiery hot.
'cause if you knew his name, not a thing would change you'd still be wishing you were blessed
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
“Thank you,” accord to Loren, who attempted to mend her shoulder. Raza staying behind made sense, she could watch the dilapidated boat, stay out of harm’s way after such demonstrative rockfalls. “I’m okay,” in a way; but frustration, bizarre notions of guilt and failure, weren’t warranted in pain.
She nodded to Loren and Sunjata, both willing to still follow her into ridiculous notions – she just wanted to try, just wanted to see, if there was anything else they could do. Utterly useless, she too wandered her way through the water, lifting her lantern, striving to see anything along the sides or the ceiling (watching this time), even with the red glow ahead. “Right,” the honeybee youth responded, desperate to make something of herself, to be useful, to do something other than drift along the currents of uselessness.
--
Melita uses the lantern to see if there is anything weak along the ceiling or walls, and heads down the cave.
The third and final tunnel curves ahead to the right, making the end invisible from your vantage near the entrance. The water is pleasantly warm around your legs, and the orange light bounces off it, and the walls.
Sunjata and Loren can't see much, even with magic ears and magic eyes and a magic sword. In fact, it's Melita who notices the only sign of looming danger: pockets of steam that rise from the water in the rare, random, super-heated bursts.
Loren, of course, didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Besides of course, the strange red glow and the general unsettling nature of the tunnels. Frowning, he continued to wade forward, pressing ahead, following Melita and Sunjata around the corner. His eyes were still shifted and he strained all his sense for any sign of danger or something out of the ordinary.
If he didn't spot anything or get told anything, he'd just continue to forge ahead, despite his growing and very real misgivings. If, however, he spotted something or the other two said something, he'd stop, more than willing to turn around and abandon these tunnels.
Loren moves ahead, trying to spot anything out of the ordinary. He will stop if Sunjata or Melita tell him to.
look at how a single candle can both
defy and define the darkness
i can't believe that you could just say that "the answers unlock this gate"
Sunjata also is unaware of anything that might be up ahead, ears hearing nothing but the typical sounds of them trudging through the water, and the warmth that continues to spread. He’s almost forgotten about his shoulder, though it’s starting to clot at the very least, and he focuses on the path they take ahead.
Likewise, he’ll continue to trudge ahead unless something is said. In the meantime, however, he keeps the ears straining to try and hear anything he can, slower steps as though he’s uncertain of what they might find when the path curves away from the line of sight with Raza.
Sunjata continues on the path but will also stop if something is said! He continues to try and listen for anything.
'cause if you knew his name, not a thing would change you'd still be wishing you were blessed
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
The warmth of the water was a definite warning – the lava likely threading through somewhere. Would they be able to do something about it before danger truly loomed was another question entirely, and the youth wondered the entire time as the orange glow enlightened further along; wracking her brain for a solution, for something besides random wandering and hope.
But treachery lingered close by – her lantern light catching pockets of steam rising from the liquid. A gasp rang out over her throat, along her mouth, incapable of ceasing. “Watch out! There’s steam up ahead,” and she pointed to various pockets, uncertain if they could see, holding her lantern up higher. “Loren, could you cool it off with your magic?” With his incantations, like the ice he’d utilized before, it might be safer to tread, to see what loomed off in the distance.
--
Melita raises her lantern higher and spots the steam. She warns both of them, and asks Loren to cool it off with his water magic.
The tunnel is longer than it first seemed, curving low and lazy and deeper underground. It's a new tunnel carved by the force of magma eating into the earth, the walls shiny and slick, the water warm and inviting. And while the bottom seems to be cooled and congealed lava, the bursts of steam tell another tale.
This time it's Loren and Sunjata who notice the impending danger, though it isn't enough to save the Flood. While Loren and Melita dodge bursts of steam Sunjata is not so fortunate, losing his footing and finding himself blasted with a stream of hot, sulfuric vapors.
The red light is growing brighter. Up ahead, the entrance of the tunnel comes into view. Half obscured by a falling torrent of lava, it radiates heat and danger - but beyond you can see an open space, waiting to be explored.
What will you do?
Steam bursts below Loren, who dodges!
Steam bursts below Sunjata, who is hit!
Steam bursts below Melita, who dodges!
As the lava came into view, Loren immediately halted. However, he'd heard Melita's call and had already reached out to his magic. He grabbed all the water he could within reach, including the steam, and cooled it down to the best of his ability. He chilled it until it was uncomfortably chilly against his skin, though not debilitatingly so.
Glancing at the other two, his brow furrowed in concentration. "Unless one of you two has a way to block off that lava flow, I recommend we turn back. Maybe try the first tunnel again." His voice came out distractedly, as most of his focus was sunk into the spell.
Loren cools off the water all around them. He also recommends they turn back.
look at how a single candle can both
defy and define the darkness
i can't believe that you could just say that "the answers unlock this gate"
Things are relatively going well, until surprise, it’s not. He continues down the path, spotting the lava and hearing Melita — but it’s too late for the attuned. The steam blasts at him and he tries to shield his face, hissing against that and the sudden movement to the wounded shoulder. He stumbles back a small amount, huffing a sigh as Loren attempts to cool the air.
And he takes a moment to calm down, to get his breath, before Sunjata’s gaze flickers to Melita then. “Whatever you want to do.” He tells her, trying to keep his burned skin from touching the fabric of his clothes.
Sunjata backs up a little bit and asks Melita what she wants to do.
'cause if you knew his name, not a thing would change you'd still be wishing you were blessed
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
