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!
Laser beams we're about to awesome all your dreams
As an observer, Wessex is able to sit back and ponder, going over what she’s seen and heard - both from the Prince and from the group. While she bites her tongue and thinks going into the hole as a snake maaaay not be the best move (personally, she wouldn’t be thrilled to see a snake coming in through a hole), but this isn't her task. What's clear to her is that open-ended questions aren’t cutting it. They need to direct the conversation.
So, having given Sam some time to do what he wanted to do, Wessex steps forward slightly and tries to put some puzzle pieces together, trying to think of what would make her say no one could understand and no one could help. What the shifting sound could be. “Please don't go - What if we could help you get back to what you were… before? To the person Tallulah knew and loved.”
It’s a stab in the dark, but she thinks that the Prince maybe wasn’t always this way. And that perhaps Tallulah loved him too - and maybe, just maybe that love might be the key to unlocking everything.
Gods, it was happening again; Sam's ever-present inability to talk to people was hindering any progress here. The Prince blubbered and cried and he was lost at how to stop it, how to comfort the creature. Most of all, it stung because he recognised the fear and panic in his voice; it was much like his own.
Wessex tried a new approach and he decided to see if that worked (after all, what he was doing wasn't). While Sunjata entered the door through the smaller hole, Sam desperately ran his hands over it, trying to find a way to open it - perhaps the signs of an old handle, or somewhere waiting for a key. Maybe if he could get in, could actually look the Prince in the eyes, they might have better luck.
---
Sam uses INT to try and see if there's a way to open the door.
And I broke my promise on a very sharp rock
And I was possessed by something unfriendly
Pet was not made for things like this. Wasn’t good with words, wasn’t clever enough to figure out the trick of things unless he’d been given an edge. And yet standing uselessly at the side lines made something ache in him, as he watched friends and ‘family’ both try.
Maybe he could muster up some of that too.
He hovers too close behind Sam’s shoulder, half ready to help with any hidden mechanism, and half ready to dive down and drag the long lithe coil of Sunjata-as-a-snake back out of the opening. Squirms uselessly in the meantime, waiting for the snap of action, of something happening.
Pet readies himself to either help Sam with the door or drag Sunjata back
And I was haunted by a demon in my sleep
And that’s how I learned to survive
In goesssssss Sunjata. He will see what might be called a room, if one were generous. A better description might instead be a natural hollow in the wall, where something corrosive has dwelt for a very, very long time, such that the walls have naturally degraded yielding more room. Nicnacks and books litter the floor, an old blanket, something tarnished in the corner—a pauldron, perhaps—and of course, the Prince. Huddled in the corner, drawn into himself in a way that looks anatomically impossible, he looks down at Sunjata with terrified and oozing eyes.
Wessex 's question draws the Prince's eyes toward the door, and Sunjata will see the creature begin to shake. "Y-y-y-ou...." He begins to stammer, as more and more sulfurous gas fills the little chamber. "SS-s-s-h-e is d-d-d-d-d-ead! What d-d-d-oes it mm--m-m-atter!"
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
you promised me sunshine, why's it gloomy? we'll wait 'til the night to catch the moonbeam
The biggest flaw in this plan so far is Sunjata’s inability to speak back to his group once he’s slipped into the door. And what he finds is something that, truthfully, feels a bit close to home in ways that he’d buried quite deep. Dark eyes watch the Prince, while the Attuned keeps himself low to the floor, scanning the knickknacks and books, to the way the Prince begins to shake and ooze.
He doesn’t think he has very many options, though, he does have another up his sleeve that keeps him small and still able to talk, however croaky it might come out to be. thank god for being a zoo. So the Flood shifts from snake to his navy blue macaw shift, eyes ringed in yellow that quite pointedly don’t look at the Prince when he speaks, unsure if the Prince was like him and had difficulty in speaking emotionally when being watched.
His wings tuck in tight despite being at the ready to fly should anything come his way. “Memories.” He says, for the reasons of why it matters. “We… Want to know more.” Another pause as his voice leaves him, croaky and broken up in this shift, unable to speak as he normally would. “So no one forgets.” Another pause, wings ruffling slightly. “Please let us in?”
Sunjata shifts from snake to macaw and tries to talk the Prince into opening the door and letting them learn about Tallulah to keep her memory going.
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.
Laser beams we're about to awesome all your dreams
She’s honestly surprised to hear the Prince answer, clearly stayed by something she - or they- have done instead of continuing to try and leave.
So is Tallulah the key? Love is an incredibly powerful force - Wessex knows because of the lack of it in her life. Taking another small step towards the door, the Wraith listens to Sunjata talk about ‘why it matters’ and has to hold back a shake of her head. “I died,” she answers clearly. “And while I was gone, I wanted my friends and family to live their best lives without me. Tallulah would want you to. And wouldn't you want the same for her?”
It’s all a lie; there was nothing when she died. But she isn’t above manipulating the Prince so they can succeed.
---------------------
Wessex tells the Prince that loving someone means you want the best for them even when you're gone.
From his inspection of the door, Sam could tell it wasn't going to open - calling it a door might be generous, really; the small hole at the bottom was the only way in or out, and he was not going to fit. Taking a step back, he looked it up and down and quietly told Peter and Wessex: "If we want to get in there, we will have to break it down. Let's see if we can convince him to come out instead."
Honestly, it seemed like Sunjata and Wessex might be making better progress than he was with the Prince (which did smart a little, given this was his particular mission); for the moment Sam stayed quiet and stepped back from the door, preparing to try and break it down if he had to - which, weirdly, was something he might be strong enough to do.
--
Sam tells Wessex and Pet that the door will have to be broken down if the Prince won't come out himself, then stands back for the moment.
And I broke my promise on a very sharp rock
And I was possessed by something unfriendly
Peter leaned in close to the door, speaking loud enough to be heard through the door. “Do you... want to come out? Or... or let us come in?” It’s late, maybe, but better to ask for permission at some point in this endeavour. Maybe it will help their odds, in some small way.
“Do you have a way?” His voice is decidedly quieter, Peter’s head dipping towards Sam as a scarred finger gestures towards the ‘door’. He knows he’s useless at anything involving strength, but if there’s some kind of trick to it, he’s willing to lend a hand.
Pet speaks to the prince trying to help them, and offers to help Sam open the door
And I was haunted by a demon in my sleep
And that’s how I learned to survive
"G-g-g--go read a b-b-b--ook." The Prince welps in response. Sunjata will see the way he draws in on himself, his gelatinous body heaving higher and higher as if he might become a single unified column.
"S-s-s-he is g-g-g-gone!" The Prince croaks toward the door, presumably answering Wessex. "A-a-and I am t-t-t--oo."
"G-g--o away! You c-c-c-ant just cc-c-come h-h-h-ere and d-d-d-em-m-mand I s-s-s-speak with y-y-y-uou." So saying, a whip of green sludge swiftly lashes out. Outside the door the group will hear a soft thud as part of the Prince strikes Sunjata, sending his avian form flying toward the wall.
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: 280/300 HP
Wessex: 480/480 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
Well, that didn’t go according to plan. He realizes it shortly after he sees the Prince shrink in on himself, sees it briefly before the sludge whip is heading his way and he squawks as it hits him. He finds the wall, a mess of feathers before he’s deciding to say fuck it as the impact has him already splotching red beneath his clothes.
He shifts back into himself, doing his best to try and keep from making a face with the smell but certainly unable to keep the wince of pain from his face. There’s a hand that rises in a form of surrender in a sense, an attempt to placate the Prince as he gets his bearings. “Wait— wait.” He winces a fraction more, trying to keep himself low. “We don’t want to demand anything from you. We just care about you.” Gods he wasn’t a good negotiator, especially not when he was in pain. “There’s a man out there, his name is Samuel. You’ve met him. He cares about you. And he has ever since he first learned about you.” He’s not sure whether what he says is true but he tries his hardest to make himself believe it. Hopefully if he does, the Prince will believe it too. “He helped us learn about you, too. Please— We only want to help you.”
Sunjata shifts back into himself and remains low, then tries pleading with the Prince into letting them help him! (In pain ofc)
but don't it feel good? don't you feel calmer?
i am the way and the life in the best looking truth
Laser beams we're about to awesome all your dreams
He’s right, of course, they can’t just come to his home and demand they speak with him.
There’s a lot of talking going on and it’s kind of like talking to a toddler. Or a wall. Adamant about the way things are and unable to see what they could be, Wessex can see why he’d want to be left alone. And now they’re crowding his space, and it’s like trying to corral a wild animal, which is often better done by luring it out.
So what does the Prince want? Tallulah.
“And we want to get you and Tallulah together again. But we can’t, because the war hasn’t been won yet.” she adds. "We're trying, though."
To Peter, she says quietly, "Do you think you could shift and ask Sunjata if there are any clues in there that would help us persuade him to come out? I don't think it's smart to crowd in there, but - " But they need more information. This round and round in circles isn't getting them anywhere.
"There was another statue down by the water, too. Never did find out what it was."
----------------
Wessex tries to dangle being reunited with Tallulah by ending the war as a way to lure the Prince out and asks Peter to Attune-speak to Sunjata.
Sam was no use in this situation; Wessex and Sunjata were making more progress than he ever had. Deciding to try and at least do something different, see if he could help in another way, he listened to what Wessex had to say and went to look at these statues. Maybe between the two of them there would be some kind of magic clue that would convince the Prince to suddenly co operate. "I'll go look at the statue. There might be...something on it."
Feeling pretty doubtful but allowing himself enough hope to start moving, he said nothing else and went on.
Heading up to the top of the corridor, he turned left and went to inspect it, seeing if there was anything obvious that could help: a name plate, a recognisable face, a phrase, something that looked like it could be manipulated.
--
Sam goes up the corridor and to the left to look at the lefthand statue. Using his INT to look on it for any names, faces, phrases, buttons, levers, etc.
And I broke my promise on a very sharp rock
And I was possessed by something unfriendly
Pet worries at his lip, but nods at Wessex. He’d rather have waited until he really needed it, would rather not have to repeat the borrowing, but it did feel like the only option. He considered the bat, if only to be small, dark, but a wave of terror choked him out, and Pet finds himself shifting into the panther instead. Sunjata? Are you alright? Gods, he’d forgotten how easy it was to speak through the bond.
Are you getting through to him? Is there... anything in the room? Even without true tone, it’s clear what he means, what help they’re trying to get.
Pet shifts into the panther and asks Sunjata if there’s anything in the room that could help them
And I was haunted by a demon in my sleep
And that’s how I learned to survive
"So--s-s-s-s-o j-j-j-j-ust b-b-b-ecause he cc-c-c-ares I have to s-s-s--tay?" The Prince belches at Sunjata. He looks slightly contrite at having lashed out at the macaw-turned-man, but still remains huddled in the corner. Ghastly and grotesque, the Prince's features are hardly recognizable he's become such an ooze against the wall.
Looking toward the door, the Prince begins to shake and warble. "S-S-S-HE IS DEAD" He roars to Wessex, and at once the chamber begins to fill with a noxious gas. How unfortunate that the only one who needs to breathe is currently covered by it. The gas begins to curl out of the small round opening at the base of the door, sliding out into the tunnel where Wessex and Peter remain.
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: 250/300 HP
Wessex: 480/480 HP
Samuel: 230/250 HP
Peter: 72/72 HP
