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!
So much for any surefootedness – despite her experience in the water, Melita tripped forward, shoved headlong into the bombardment with little grace. Fangorn, resting on her shoulders, tipped along too, but his vines salvaged the lantern from plunking directly into the surface and losing the flame, grabbing hold in his grumbles and growls. For her efforts, the youth snorted a mouthful of water and managed to shake her head, withholding the laugh yearning to reverberate through her throat. Regaining her footing, and the lantern in her grasp, she followed the rest of them out into the familiar grounds.
A network of caves, the bodies resting (she was surprised, honestly, that they still remained), and the enigmas twisting and turning were all present. She lifted her lantern, intending to use it for Zeph, if he was interested in parsing them out, glancing over the glyphs she continued to fail in reading, wandering along the midst of the tunnel openings and all of their options. Her eyes pinpointed the crimson glow coming from Tunnel 4 – pondering if that was some other lava branch, or another entanglement altogether. Then she shifted towards their leader, arching a brow. “What would you like us to do?”
--
Melita offers lantern light so Zeph can read the glyphs.
we used to play outside when we were young & full of life & full of love
Are you a smug motherfucker? Yes. Do you feel even a little bit bad about it? ....yeah that's a hard no.
You glance back at the chorus of splashes, snorting a little and shaking your head. These are your tunnels; it stands to reason you would keep your footing while the others struggle. At least you all make it to the Trading Post without any real fanfare. Could be worse. You could all be on fire.
Like the poor sods who lie on the ground in front of you, very clearly dead. "Fuck." You push them gently with the tip of your boot, both wanting and not wanting to reveal recognizable faces. Melita's question draws you away; you run a hand through your hair before announcing your plan to the group. "Ah... check the tunnels. Don' go outta view'a here, though. I'm gonna look around." Ki has already scrambled to the roof of tunnel 2.
Because if your luck has held up even a little, there will be some sign of what happened here. Something written in smuggler speak, waiting to be read. Or, miracle of miracles, one of the boats you used to keep stashed away. That would be useful if the tide comes in. Holding up your lantern, you go to work, eager to find some sort of clue as to what the fuck is going on.
Zeph is looking for any sort of written clues as to what's in the tunnels, and also for the boats he kept in the Trading Post. Ki is investigating tunnel 2.
Darling, you take the high horse and I'll take the high road
Well, it isn't as if a little water is going to make the illusionist melt. Still, she grits her teeth as her foot slips, her pants suddenly waterlogged. Closing her eyes and doing her best to regain her composure, Eloise watches where the others decide to go. Pushing a strand of hair out of her eyes, Eloise makes her way towards Melita and Zephyr, plastering an easy and breezy smile on her face.
"How's about you show us some of that wisdom you were telling me about ?" She coos raising a challenging brow. The glyphs on the wall are only mostly-legible to her. Jack has been teaching her to reach them, but normally she still has to rely on him for most of the translation. Still, as a navigator, she makes use of other landmarks to help fix their location. Twitching her lips, she glances around, trying to square away what she knows to be above, with what they are currently seeing.
Still, this is Zeph's circus making her his monkey for now.
Eloise stays with Zeph and Melita
If you're too good for us, you'll be good riding solo
06-27-2020, 03:36 PM (This post was last modified: 06-27-2020, 05:44 PM by Honey.)
Ah, some good ol’ fashioned poking about. That’s the way. Sort of.
Nate throws a rock into the submerged tunnel 1 and it lands with a satisfying plunk, but nothing further occurs. Go figure.
There’s a little more excitement at least, as Sunjata calls his bats and sends them screeching down tunnel 5. They are gone for some time, during which the little trio at the other tunnels manage to make some headway.
Ki will find nothing of interest in tunnel 2 - ironic, given its encrypted message. Zephyr will be able to make out all but the submerged tunnel’s messages, however luck does not seem to be on his side today, for he can see nothing further that might indicate what was awake, according to the nearby corpses.
Luckily, by this point Sunjata’s bats return - two and a half of them do, anyway. They flap and shriek overhead, desperate to be released to return to their rest, though the third won’t really stand a chance. One of its wings has been burned clean off, and the stench is interesting to say the least.
Looks like there’s something scorchy in tunnel 5! What do you do?
i'm shaking, salvation i'm flying faster and faster and i...
Nothing comes from the submerged tunnel, which, really, what did he expect? Some sea monster rising up? They were here for a fiery monster, much as Nate wanted it to be anything else.
His stalking didn’t make anyone else any less successful though, the bats coming screaming back, immediately making his nose wrinkle. Then the smell hit, and his face twisted for an entirely different reason. ”I’m guessing that’s the way we wanna be going?” Nate calls into the chamber, making no attempt to move.
He was going to be bringing up the rear, with Pemota hovering around him to ensure nothing snuck up on them. And to keep as much distance as possible between himself and whatever immolated the bat.
Nate brings up the rear of the group when they move ahead into tunnel 5
i was the darkness and you were the light tear it apart and then we supercollide
but am i too late? or hearts to your spades, if i don't suit you? then what do you want from me?
Nate’s stone does little to garner any information, and his bats feel like they’ve been gone a decent amount of time that when they return in a haze, he almost visibly shudders with the frantic dance the bats make and the smell emanating from the third. He releases the other two, except for the bat with the missing wing that he reaches for with a dagger in hand. “Ek is jammer.” He rumbles quietly to the bat, ending it’s misery before he hands the creature to Haai to go and dump in the tide — imagining some creature in the ocean might be able to gather some meal from it and the cycle of life continues.
He glances toward Nate then, frowning slightly as he pulls out Flametongue from its sheath, handing the glowing sword over to Nate with a quiet nod, ensuring Haai remains by Nate as well to try and give that added protection. He ensures he’s got the brass knuckles Remi made him set in one hand, daggers in the other, and peers down the tunnel. “Let’s get started then.” A quiet sigh, a glance toward Zeph to ensure he wants to go this way, and then he’s heading down the tunnel as some sort of shield if he can, hoping the water in the brass knuckles do something against the fire if he needs it to. And he listens, using the earring in his ear for any sign of what might be up ahead.
Sunjata chooses to meat shield down tunnel 5, leaving Haai by Nate at the rear! He hands Flametongue to Nate to use and has his daggers and brass knuckles at the ready, using his earring to hear anything up ahead.
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
Type: Grey
Flooded Brass Knuckles | brass knuckles inlaid with sapphires. When something is hit with these, jets of water pour from the sapphires with shocking force. Made by Remi.
Type: Grey
hEARs | An earring that when worn, increases the sound of voices (especially whispers)
so we're not written in the stars, but i'm okay with that. i'm okay with anything
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 inevitable arrived – between flying bats (smoldered; there’d be no saving or adopting these ones) and no information derived from the rock Nate had thrown. In the end, as it had been foretold from their last trip in, tunnel five loomed in its crimson wake. Certain it was a string of impending disasters, because mostly everything was, the youth angled herself in front of Nate as well, insinuating herself somewhere in the middle of the excursion. Any other time she might’ve been irritated by not stomping along to the back or front, but she also didn’t have a clue as to where she was going.
Instead, she prepared – allowing Fangorn to hold the lantern by his vines while she put away her staff, and drew her bow from her bracelet, ensuring the quiver was still in place, ready for whatever element she required. No words were necessary, a few granted nods given to the other members of the party, and then they were off.
--
Melita puts herself somewhere in the middle, draws her bow, and heads down Tunnel 5! Fangorn is bounding along and holding the lantern by his vines.
Type: Light
Bowstring Bracelet | At first this bracelet appears only as a length of intricately braided bowstring. But with an arrow in hand, upon miming the action of knocking and drawing it, the user will feel a bow beneath their fingers, as if it was there all along.
we used to play outside when we were young & full of life & full of love
"I'll show ya anythin' ya want, soon as we're away from pryin' eyes." There's teasing in your voice, but your eyes flicker over to Nate and the 'Biter in a clear expression of yeah no not gonna risk them learning shit. Had Jack deigned to grace them with his presence you would have gladly explained every glyph. But you trust your current company as far as you can throw 'em - Mel excepted, largely because you don't know her relation to the other men.
At least they're making themselves somewhat useful. It looks like - if the 'biter's poor manipulated bats are to be believed - your quarry is waiting down tunnel five. "It leads t'Kaiholo," you murmur softly for Eloise alone, concerned about the implications. "Stay sharp. Let 'em take the brunt of it. 's why they're here."
Then you fall into place behind Sunjata, nodding your assent for this course of action and gripping your lantern in preparation of whatever the fuck awaits you.
Darling, you take the high horse and I'll take the high road
"Prying eyes?" Eloise purrs with a smirk. 'I think I'd quite like to see them try and pry something outta you." Not the time for it by any means, but still the illusionist flashes Zephyr a suggestive look as she pretends not to hear what he has murmured.
'View is nice from back here, in case anyone was wondering." She chimes mischievously, her eyes happily alighting upon the four bodies striding out before her into the tunnels. They can call it naivety, annoyance, or just inexperience, Eloise hardly cares. She isn't going to race ahead into danger when her role in all of this is simply to document information useful to Jack.
Holding her telekinesis at the ready should anything fall or be thrown her way, Eloise wears her illusion magic like a cloak to help her camouflage herself against the walls.
If you're too good for us, you'll be good riding solo
Aw, ain’t that sweet? Bringing a meat shield along for the ride. Good thing you do, considering what you’re walking into.
The water dries out only a few feet into the tunnel, allowing the party to walk on dry land (even if it’s underground). And while there’s no smell of sulphur, not like the tunnel that leads to Apopo - gods is it hot in here.
The scorch marks on the cave walls grow more frequent the deeper you proceed through the tunnel, which can only need to good things. And up ahead, it looks like... light, perhaps? You’re about to find out.
You round a corner towards the light, and then it happens - something whips out at Sunjata, lashing across his left shoulder and leaving a nasty welt, his shirt smoking from the burn.
It is splayed across the entire width of the tunnel, blocking your way, veins of magma pulsing in its rubbery flesh. Its tentacles hold it in place across the cave - all but the one that snapped at your meat shield.
i'm shaking, salvation i'm flying faster and faster and i...
Nate has absolutely no idea how to use a sword effectively, but he appreciates the concern immensely, leaning in to press a kiss to Sunjata's cheek as the blade is passed over to him. If nothing else, he can swing it around and keep a healthy berth around him. Pemota keeps close to Haai, shadowing the griffin from above as they start moving.
The decision to move deeper into the tunnels feels like a mistake, but at least it's one they're united in. He doesn't need to be able to really feel the heat to know that it's hot in the tunnel, their water drenched group steaming away. The deeper they go, the more uncomfortable Nate grows, his steps lagging longer, the distance from him the the front of the group growing as the light does.
All the trepidation in the world couldn't prepare him for what waited around the bend though, the creature spanning the tunnel, so hot and bright it looks almost wet. So hot and bright he wants to reel back and leave, though he's tethered in place, watching the creature move, strike at Sunjata. It's harder seeing him hurt, rather than just the aftermath, and Nate has to force himself to keep still, staring at the creature instead of his fiance, eyes flashing as his upgrade worked, trying to find them an advantage, ready to call out whatever he sees. He's ready to move, to shift back behind around the corner for cover if he needs to.
Nate uses his upgrade to try and find a weak point in the creature, and stays ready to move back around the corner if need be.
Type: Grey
Optical Upgrade | This upgrade allows the user to identify weak structural points in biological systems (broken bones, joint pain, places were organic structures are breaking down due to disease/infection, etc)
i was the darkness and you were the light tear it apart and then we supercollide
but am i too late? or hearts to your spades, if i don't suit you? then what do you want from me?
The walk down the tunnel brings warmth and heat, sweat already beginning to bleed into his shirt as he listens for anything of interest down the tunnel. He doesn’t hear anything from the end, but he does hear Zeph’s kind comment on taking the brunt of it. And while it’s not his intention (it’s certainly sky’s) he can’t help but to huff a small sigh. “I can hear you.” He rumbles, looking back toward Zeph with a raise of his brow.
But he’s moving again and the distraction costs him as the octopus’ arm swings out, lashing across his shoulder and staggering him to the side with a whole lot of Korofian curses slipping his tongue. But he doesn’t have time to wait, no, despite the pain and the scorching steam and smoke from his shoulder, he tries to lash out at the arm as it leaves him with the brass knuckles in his right hand. It’s not his dominant hand; but it’ll have to do.
And he puts every bit of motion into the movement, hissing against the pain as the skin pulls at the welt rising through a burned through shirt, staggering slightly to the side as he tries to partially shift his skin along his arms to his cobra shift’s scales. Haai steps in front of Nate, teeth bared, wings flared and a low growl leaving her throat.
Sunjata lashes out at the arm as it leaves him with the brass knuckles before staggering to the side and partially shifting his skin along his arms to scales. Haai moves to stand in front of Nate to protect him.
Type: Grey
Flooded Brass Knuckles | brass knuckles inlaid with sapphires. When something is hit with these, jets of water pour from the sapphires with shocking force. Made by Remi.
so we're not written in the stars, but i'm okay with that. i'm okay with anything
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 change was apparent by the shift on the floor, dry, and an overwhelming warmth permeating through the tunnel walls. The lantern light caught the same scorch marks before lined on the rock and stone, and she steeled herself for the inevitable, uncertain what they were about to find, but knowing well enough that their venture wasn’t going to be without hazards.
She didn’t need the lantern anymore with the radiating light, with the strike of something sizzling and searing against Sunjata just ahead of them (and her heart leapt into her throat, her jaw clenched, and she was steel once more). Her gaze swept over the surroundings, and it wasn’t difficult to pinpoint the creature as it spread itself across the width of the tunnel, completely blocking their way further.
In any other situation, the youth would’ve been completely enamored and unwilling to do anything to the creature. Instead, now, they were going to be forced to maul and mutilate. She pressed herself against a wall, attempting to tuck her frame into whatever shadows remained, to be unseen for the moment. Then the honeybee youth raised her bow, grabbing an ice arrow from the quiver on her back, placing it along the strings, pulling the thread taut and tight – and then let it fly towards the creature, intending to strike it wherever possible.
--
Melita presses against a wall (in hopes of remaining somewhat in shadow), and attempts to fire an ice arrow at the lavoctopus.
Type: Light
Bowstring Bracelet | At first this bracelet appears only as a length of intricately braided bowstring. But with an arrow in hand, upon miming the action of knocking and drawing it, the user will feel a bow beneath their fingers, as if it was there all along.
Type: Dark
Fire/Lightning/Ice Quiver | A magical quiver with two compartments. In one, it turns any arrow placed within into a flaming projectile when shot. In the other, the arrow becomes imbued with electricity. In another, it is infused with ice. (Made by Remi)
we used to play outside when we were young & full of life & full of love
Man, and usually you love octopuses. Why'd it have to choose your tunnel to invade, eh?
You are too surprised to laugh when Sunjata gets bitch-slapped by a tentacle, but the image will be funny later assuming you all survive. Thing is, you know your strengths and weaknesses pretty well. Navigating sketchy social situations, climbing through caves, drinking challenges, being an old grump: these are some of your strengths. Close combat fighting with a Rae-cursed lavoctopus? Not there on the list.
So you don't step forward. You step back, even , trying to stay out of range and let the meat shields and Melita (brave girl; you like her) engage the fiery beast. Rummaging around your bag you produce both your cloak and a throwing knife. The cloak you throw over your shoulder, just in case you need to quickly don it; the knife you hurl at the monster, aiming for where you think its eyes might be. Not in your tunnels, fukkin' 'okole.
Zeph throws a knife at the monster. He is hanging at the back of the group, like a bitch.
