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!
Sam peered at the door; the angle he was at didn't give him much more information, but the longer he looked at the little hole, the more memories came back of the first time he'd been on a search for the Prince. How the creature had been able to slip through the smallest gaps with an apparent ease - and now that he thought of it, there was a lot of slime surrounding this door.
He heard what Wessex said, but chose to focus on the door right now instead; still wanting to make a friendly approach if they could, he got as close as he could (making sure to avoid the slime around the door; he'd learnt it was not pleasant stuff) and called out softly, hoping to be heard through the door: "Prince? ....Emyr? Are you in there? It's me, Samuel, um, you might remember me - I don't want to do you any harm. We're here to help you."
--
Sam leans in close to the door (as close as he can get without touching slime) and calls out for the Prince through it.
And I broke my promise on a very sharp rock
And I was possessed by something unfriendly
Wessex’s voice rings in his head, drawi by bright eyes down to the edge of the tunnel as if Peter can see the water, can smell the fresh air. Everything is slimy here, apparently. The doors, the water. Judging by the other they’ve been following though, that’s a good sign, as much as it has Pet drawing into himself to avoid it.
Chancing a few steps down the tunnel, away from Sam, Pet calls out his response, voice loud enough to echo, but hopefully quiet enough to not draw unwanted attention. “Its not. There’s a... a hole, though.”
Sam draws his attention back to the door, a thin lipped frown on his face. “There has to be... something, a uh, a different way to open it.” Pushing hadn’t worked, but maybe sliding it would? Or maybe lifting it? Pet looks around for something to use as a lever, a slim rock, a sturdy bit of root, anything solid and not covered in slime.
Pet tells Wessex it doesn’t look like an ascended door and tries to find a level to maybe lift the door with
And I was haunted by a demon in my sleep
And that’s how I learned to survive
Apparently being around Sam has rubbed off on the Wraith; Wessex sticks her fingers in the water and the feeling is not pleasant, though not as damaging as it was previously to Sam.
From within the room comes the sound of something falling off of a shelf perhaps, or dropped from trembling fingers. "N-n-n--n--ot nn---n--n--n BLERRGHHH he-h--h---hlp." Come's the Prince's characteristic shattered response, punctuated by sounds of belching and farting.
Peter will find nothing much of use around. The tunnels are barren, save for slime and the water rushing at the end. There is only the hole at the bottom and the Prince quivering on the other side.
Welcome to the Key Quest to find the Prince.
Remember to include a summary at the bottom of your post with all action taken. If weapons/upgrades/abilities/items/shifts/etc are used, please include their desc. from your profile at the bottom of your post as well.
REMEMBER: KQs are rewarding but dangerous. They may cause death and/or permanent changes to your characters.
Your randomly assigned posting order is: Sunjata, Wessex, Samuel, Peter.
Sunjata: 300/300 HP
Wessex: 470/480 HP
Samuel: 230/250 HP
Peter: 72/72 HP
now take what i offer, straight up the nose, down the throat
it's a bearable bruise on your conscious
The statue he’s found is nothing too special, so he thinks. He doesn’t find anything of use here aside from the placard at the bottom of the warrior, inscribed with what appears to him as nothing of note. At least, nothing he can read. He’s too far away to hear the commotion further back in the tunnel where Peter and Sam are, but he is close enough to see Wessex as she dips her fingers in the slimy water.
So he abandons the statue for now, his step increasing to get a bit closer to Wessex. “The other one’s further down the left.” He informs her, before he’s hooking his thumb back toward the statue he’d just departed. “It’s a warrior with a placard at the bottom. I don’t know what it says, but there doesn’t appear to be anything else of note.” He pauses, casting a glance back to the statue of the handsome warrior, before his focus is back on Wessex and he walks past her. “I’ll go look at the other one, maybe you could read what’s at the bottom of the first one and see if it connects?” It may be something of note, after all.
And with that, he shifts into his bat shift again and dives toward where the bats had left the other statue, landing and shifting back into himself once again to inspect the second statue to the left.
Sunjata tells Wessex about the statue and asks if she can read the placard at the bottom, before he’s shifting into his bat shift to go to the second statue to inspect it and see if it has anything to do with the other statue or the Prince.
INT 1 on the second statue pleaaaaaase <3
but don't it feel good? don't you feel calmer?
i am the way and the life in the best looking truth
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.
Laser beams we're about to awesome all your dreams
Wessex’s sensors register the damage after she pulls her fingers out. Minimal in her case, but she can imagine how a prolonged exposure might be serious for them, not to mention painful for Sunjata. Engaging her self-healing, Wessex rises and listens to what the Flood says, weighing it with what she heard from Peter as he shouted down the tunnel.
The Prince is who they were there for. The statues - well, she might have to pick which one to look at later. Shaking her head, she gently declines. “I can always come back to it - sounds like the door back there has a hole. Do you have a small shift?”
Maybe Sunjata could shift, go in, and see what's going on. Open it from the inside. Heading back to the group at the door, Wessex waits to see what's going on.
--------------
Wessex asks Sunjata if he has a small shift to go into the hole in the door. She heals herself from the slime and opts to return to Sam / Pet / the door / the Prince.
Magic: Healing | Minor cuts/abrasions/bruising heal nearly instantly. More severe injuries (broken bones, muscle tears, etc) heal at 50% the speed. During PQ+/KQs, heals at basic levels, with a chance to heal at higher levels depending on injury/luck.
Type: Light | Rank: Basic
Sam blinked and leaned back, surprised to actually hear the Prince's voice again quite so soon. The poor thing sounded in just as much distress as he had been before; with an intake of breath as he tried to consider the best approach, he got close to the door again and called: "Could you at least open the door? You can't be happy like this...What would you like to do?"
He desperately, desperately wanted to solve this with compassion, with intelligence and a soft guiding hand. It would prove not just to others but to himself that the Ascended could treat those within their own ranks that were less optimal with kindness; that they had the humanity the world insisted they lacked. Listening to the Prince's response if it came, he tried to think of what he'd like to hear in the same spot.
Looking up to Wessex as she approached then across to Pet, he quietly said: "Please, just let me talk to him for a moment."
---
Sam asks the Prince what he would like and asks everyone else to stay back for a round.
And I broke my promise on a very sharp rock
And I was possessed by something unfriendly
To actually hear something on the other side of the door is a surprise Peter did not expect, his whole body stilling as he focuses on the broken words. Whatever lingers there sounds utterly wretched, but Sam doesn’t seem surprised, or worried, and Pet tries to follow his lead, crouching down and hugging his knees. Levelling a small frown at the bookmaker, Pet reaches out to get his attention before speaking. ”You're too... you’re being too complicated, I think.”
Turning to look at Wessex as she approaches again, Pet levels his next question at her. ”Is it... ascended too? Can you..?” His hand lifts, fingers tapping at his temple to indicate her mental link with them.
Pet suggests to sam that he take a simpler approach and asks if Wessex can use her telepathy on the prince
And I was haunted by a demon in my sleep
And that’s how I learned to survive
Living out our dream of being an art historian, are we Sunjata?
Healing herself and returning to the door, Wessex will see what Peter/Sam already have: a door with no mechanism to open it, and a small circular opening at the bottom.
"Ww-w--what d--d--y-o--u- -k-k-k-now a-a-a'bout it?" The Prince replies from within the door. The smell of sulfur and flatulence begins to grow.
Welcome to the Key Quest to find the Prince.
Remember to include a summary at the bottom of your post with all action taken. If weapons/upgrades/abilities/items/shifts/etc are used, please include their desc. from your profile at the bottom of your post as well.
REMEMBER: KQs are rewarding but dangerous. They may cause death and/or permanent changes to your characters.
Your randomly assigned posting order is: Sunjata, Wessex, Samuel, Peter.
Sunjata: 300/300 HP
Wessex: 480/480 HP
Samuel: 230/250 HP
Peter: 72/72 HP
The second statue connects some sort of dots, Sunjata wondering if it was a connection of the names found previously, but he doesn’t linger long — not as Wessex moved back to the door and Sunjata absolutely doesn’t want to be left alone. So he travels back to the group, scanning the slime coated door, before a thought occurs to him. His attention flickers to Wessex to answer her previous question. “I have a cobra shift that might fit, but… I can get some water if we can clean off the slime so I can try to fit through?” It’s hushed, and Sunjata goes through with it anyway.
He steps back from the group and shifts to the Pegasus of his, bright grey eyes scanning between them all briefly before he strikes the ground with a hoof, aiming to draw up some water so that they might be able to clean the door to prevent anyone from getting burned by it again.
Sunjata returns and suggests they try to clean the slime off the door if they’re to enter, so he shifts into his Pegasus shift and tries to draw some clean water up to use to clean the slime off!
Pegasus Ability | Can draw water from the ground with his hooves. No more than 1ft depth and is temporary
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.
Laser beams we're about to awesome all your dreams
True to her word earlier, Wessex shrugs and nods, indicating that Sam can take the lead with this. She has a couple of back-up ideas in case he can’t make any headway with the unfortunate-sounding creature, for for now, she sits back on her proverbial heels to wait.
To Peter’s question, the demigod shrugs. “Not sure. I haven’t tried to. Wouldn’t want to scare it by suddenly chiming in…” Experience has taught her that not everyone appreciates the intrusion or takes the ‘first time’ well.
And when Sunjata returns, telling her that he has a cobra shift, she quietly snort-chuckles. “Alright, good to know. Maybe not the best option right now, but if you can't get water, these cuffs worked well enough for scraping the slime up above.” Fishing them out of her bag, the Wraith holds them aloft and then turns back to the Flood. “Oh, what was the other statue?” she asks, after he’s shifted to a horse. Terrible timing, of course, so the question just hangs in the air.
-----------------
Wessex agrees to let Sam try and stays in the background, chatting quietly with Peter and Sunjata.
Normally, Sam would have been irritated at advice on this, but he really was getting nowhere; already, this was going about as well as it had last time. Pet didn't speak much; for some reason, it felt like if he said it, it had to be important enough to be true. Besides, it was the case that the Prince barely said half as much as he did. Nodding and trying to rethink, he spoke through the door again.
"Tell me. Tell me about it." He tried, wondering if it would be easier to approach this if he could see where the Prince was coming from.
Not opposed to Sunjata finding a way to sneak in, but wanting to keep the Prince as calm as possible, Sam quietly cautioned: "Try and stay hidden and get a look at how he is."
---
Sam tries to speak to the Prince with simpler words and asks Sunjata to be stealthy inside the room
And I broke my promise on a very sharp rock
And I was possessed by something unfriendly
An understanding nod bobs Peters head as Wessex replies. Honestly, he hadn’t been attuned before, it would have thrown him as well. And from the sounds of it, the prince is not pleased by their presence. No sense in prodding at it, making it angry.
Conversing is all Sam’s baby, words not something that come easily to Peter anyway. He is glad that the bookmaker seems to take his advice, keeping his next question simple.
While there isn’t much more Pet can do to help negotiate with the prince, he can make himself useful in other ways. A soft grin crosses his lips as Sunjata shares another little gift, summoning water from the stone itself. Pet might not have anything quite as fancy as that, but it doesn’t mean he can’t help, using his boot to try and swish the water around and dilute the slime as much as possible.
Pet spreads the water around with his boot to try and wash away as much slime as possible from around the hole
And I was haunted by a demon in my sleep
And that’s how I learned to survive
Water rushes upwards from where Sunjata ‘s hoof strikes the ground. With Peter ‘s help the hole near the bottom of the door is cleansed (more or less). It would take a good amount of scrubbing to rid the stones of the slime altogether. Instead, the Prince gives a mournful wail as a small stream flows inwards.
“N-n—n-n-o!” The Prince bellows Welty. “ N-n—n—o-o- one c—c-a-n in-d-d—der—st—-and! “ Within there is a sound of something shifting. Not the Prince perhaps, but something large. A bookshelf perhaps. More something’s fall from an innocuous height, hitting the floor.
One might wonder how much more time there is for conversation if the door the group stands before is not the only way out.
Welcome to the Key Quest to find the Prince.
Remember to include a summary at the bottom of your post with all action taken. If weapons/upgrades/abilities/items/shifts/etc are used, please include their desc. from your profile at the bottom of your post as well.
REMEMBER: KQs are rewarding but dangerous. They may cause death and/or permanent changes to your characters.
Your randomly assigned posting order is: Sunjata, Wessex, Samuel, Peter.
Sunjata: 300/300 HP
Wessex: 480/480 HP
Samuel: 230/250 HP
Peter: 72/72 HP
may we dance until it rains, may we drink to hide our shame. we're all pretty when we die
Sunjata and Peter get the opening in the door as clean as he thinks is fine, and with Sam’s suggestion of staying quiet and the sudden falling of something within, Sunjata figures he can try his best to get within and hopefully stay small enough to figure out what’s going on. So rather than shift from Pegasus to human to nod to Sam, he simply bobs his large head, shifting and shrinking down until a black cobra takes the place of the winged equine.
A forked tongue pokes out toward his group, before he nears the opening in the door, flattening his hood and his body the best he can so that he might be able to slink through unharmed to the other side, hoping that there isn’t anything painful for him on the other side. He does his best to stay hidden, hoping that the color of his scales might blend to the shadows despite Ascended sight — if the Prince even had that.
Sunjata shifts to his spitting cobra shift and tries to fit through the opening in the door. If he does, he tries to get a look of what’s on the other side while staying as hidden as he can!
SUNJATA
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.
