Court of the Fallen was created in October of 2018 by Odd, Honey, and Crooked.
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Sah grimaces as the door slams shut. It's not a surprise but the loud noise is irritating as it echoes through the house. The distant giggling and near smugness of the house has the Abandoned smirking slightly, "Someone's having fun already." It didn't bode well for the group, but it was amusing, nonetheless.
As Juniper steps up and lights the way, Sah realizes that although some interactions had been brief, he recognizes the entire team. And all of them were either amicable or in Noah's case, family. Eyes still scanning the house, Sah nods at Juniper's suggestion. "I agree. We should stick together. And the stairs seem like a decent place to start." Although if there was a threat in the lower levels, the group could become trapped on the second floor. They'd have to be careful.
Sah votes stairs and seconds that they should stick together. He still has his sword drawn and is scanning the house for any threats or movement.
Type: Grey
Electrical Sword | Using Sah's own elemental magic, this sword has the power to electrify those it hits. (Made by Deimos)
I feel the pages turning, I see the candle burning down before my eyes
Already shifting into focus as the door slammed behind them, the demigod did not have time or mind to reply to Sah's comments. Juniper, ever the politician, was already voicing her opinion. Noah took a breath as Sah agreed with her. He didn't have any opposition, except that they should just try to leave, but staying together was the best option in his mind. "Yes, stay together." He affirmed their thoughts. "Keep those lights as long as you can, Juniper." He did not take the time to look over the group before he started moving forward towards the stairs, ready to ascend them as he lifted an arrow from his quiver and nocked it.
Noah agrees they should stay together. He tells Juniper to keep her lights, and starts moving towards the stairs while nocking an arrow.
Noah has everything listed in his profile as well as:
The door slams shut and he hears giggling. Goodie. He wonders if it's simply a bored child with some kind of powers. Feline ears swivel towards the sound but he keeps his focus on the group in front of him. He doesn't know any of them very well but they all seem content on staying together. So he nods, "Yeah, sounds good." Upstairs is where the loot always is. The good loot anyway. "You should all go ahead. I'll stay in the back." Closest to the door. He draws his dagger with one hand, the other shifting to a jaguar paw as he makes his way up the stairs.
___
Locke stays with the group, at the back. He draws his dagger and now has jaguar ears, eyes, and left paw.
Locke has his dagger and the items listed in his profile!
In disguises no one knows hides the face Lies the snake and the sun in my disgrace
12-16-2021, 08:54 PM (This post was last modified: 12-16-2021, 08:54 PM by Court Official.)
key quest
Yes, yes, let's go upstairs! Such treats and surprises await - why wouldn't they, of course? You are in a very special house, after all. A house that - oop! Hold that thought!
Indeed, as the party marches their way up the stairs, one of them seems to take affront at being stepped all over. One of the steps, that is. And Sah will swear that something bites him, and indeed, when he looks down, the staircase has gripped onto his foot with wooden, splintery teeth.
Oop, looks like one of the stairs has chomped onto Sah's foot! What'cha gonna do?
Because this has plot ramifications, it (and all subsequent relic KQs) will be scaled based on level and more difficult than normal). 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. If you don't do this, they won't be taken into account!
Good, everyone agrees to stick together. Juniper nods at Noah's command, maintaining her lights as they proceed up the staircase. She would very much prefer to be able to see in here.
And then Sah stops short. Juniper turns to see what's delaying him and sees the splintered wood clamped around his leg.
Her first thought: the floor is bad. It might be a good idea not to touch it anymore. Wings fluttering, she takes to the air, hovering a few inches above the potentially aggressive floorboards. Her own safety improved, she turns to Sah's little issue.
Unsure how much she can really help here, Juniper offers Sah her dagger. "Are you hurt? Maybe we can pry your leg free with this."
Juniper keeps her lights near the party and takes flight, hovering above the floor to avoid touching it.
She offers her dagger to Sah if he wants to use it to try to cut himself free.
Juniper
"art nouveau winged fairy" by e³°°° is licensed with CC BY-SA 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit here
Sah grimaces at the sudden pain. It's not horrible but it does sting enough to be annoying. Glancing down, he raises a brow at the stair that has decided to make a snack of him. "Really?", he mutters to the wood in exasperation. "If you didn't want to be stepped on, don't be a step. I'm assuming you can possess other things in this house?" Fingers crossed that it truly was a single entity that they were dealing with and not an entire horde.
Sah sheaths his sword and takes the offered dagger from Juniper with a cynical grin, "Thanks. I'm alright." He then bends down and tries to pry his leg free without damaging the step. The last thing he wants is to trigger a more damaging attack. Not cutting the wood seems like a decent method.
Sah puts away his sword, takes the offered dagger, and attempts to pry his leg free. He's trying to avoid actually cutting or damaging the step.
I feel the pages turning, I see the candle burning down before my eyes
The danger unfolds rather quickly, and though the damage is minimal it makes Noah want all the more for them to leave. Twisting around to see what happened, the hunter saw the teeth that grabbed at his friend. He knew he couldn't be much help other than what Sah was already doing, but everything in him yelled to grab the once-wolf and run up the stairs. But grabbing him and pulling him would only cause more damage to his trapped appendage. "We need to get off these stairs!" The demigod commanded, holding his nocked bow in one hand and grabbing the back of Sah's shirt with the other, ready to grab him and pull him out when he is free. As soon as he could feel Sah's freedom, Noah intended to take off up the stairs.
If this house eats us I swear to the gods Cordelia will kill me. He growled within himself. He had to follow Sah, though. To help keep him safe. She would at least have some understanding that way.
Noah grabs Sah's shirt and as soon as he can feel that he is free he intends to run up the stairs and pull Sah with him.
Noah has everything listed in his profile as well as:
Oh look, the house bites too, interesting. He leans on the banister for a moment, trying to see the chaos before him better. There's some stabbing and Noah is pulling Sah up the stairs, or trying to at least. Well, Locke's in the back for a reason right? Standing on the step below Sah, he braces himself and pushes, trying to heave the other man up the stairs. He's not too worried about the stairs biting him after all. He can shift and get out of it, probably. "C'mon Puppy, up you go." Nothing wrong with a little humor, right?
____
Locke tries to help Noah by pushing Sah from behind. He still has jaguar eyes and ears.
Locke has a dagger and everything else listed in his profile!
In disguises no one knows hides the face Lies the snake and the sun in my disgrace
The Fae is quick and cunning and clever, and the stairs will pose no danger to her as she reaches the upper landing. The same cannot be said for the others, however. Sah does manage to free himself, though that's mostly due to the efforts of the men in front of and behind him. All but yanked out of the stair's grip, whilst he does try not to damage the wood, there is a sound of frustrated splintering, and the Abandoned will come away with another tiny nick for his trouble.
As the party rushes to join Juniper at the top of the stairs, another step does take a snap at Locke this time, but he is able to pull his foot away before he can be caught. Lucky boy.
Giggling fills the corridor at this landing, and you'd swear that the house seems to sigh with your presence. (Is it a sigh of relief? Annoyance? Pleasure? You don't know). To the left and right, dim light pools from three open doors.
You have a choice to make:
The bedroom?
The bathroom?
The playroom?
Decide.
Because this has plot ramifications, it (and all subsequent relic KQs) will be scaled based on level and more difficult than normal). 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. If you don't do this, they won't be taken into account!
Juniper feels relieved not to be the target of any further attacks from the stairs, though part of her also feels cowardly for not sharing in the men's danger. But then she certainly doesn't want to end up as a damsel in distress; it was only smart to protect herself so she isn't a burden.
Fortunately they get to the top of the stairs without too much trouble. Looking around by the light of her own illusions, Juniper frowns a little. She has a bad feeling about this ... not that she had a particularly good feeling about anything in this house.
"Given the giggling ... I suspect we might find whatever drives this house in the playroom," Juniper says. "Though whether we want to approach it ... Well, it might be better to face it head-on rather than risk too much exploring."
Still, Juniper waits for the group's decision before making any moves.
Juniper maintains her lights and continues to hover above the floor without touching it.
She suggests that they try the playroom, but as before, she'll stick with the group if the others come to a different decision.
Juniper
"art nouveau winged fairy" by e³°°° is licensed with CC BY-SA 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit here
Sah hardly feels the prick as he gets free, though he does send the stairs a small, "Sorry", for the damage. All but shoved up the stairs by Noah and Locke results in him throwing a "Thank you", over his shoulder at the two men as he redraws his sword. The words are genuine but the look he sends Locke for that comment is positively scathing.
Juniper's argument is sound and Sah gives her a nod, "Agreed. Given how playful this house has been, a playroom is our best bet." Still keeping his sword drawn and ready in one hand, he offers the dagger back to Juniper, "Thanks."
Sah redraws his sword, agrees with the playroom, and offers Juniper her dagger back.
Type: Grey
Electrical Sword | Using Sah's own elemental magic, this sword has the power to electrify those it hits. (Made by Deimos)
I feel the pages turning, I see the candle burning down before my eyes
After hauling Sah up the stairs with the help of Locke, Noah composed himself enough to regroup. Giggling flitted through the house again, and it was a sound that made the demigod's hair stand on end. He couldn't quite place the feeling, but it was obvious to him that the intentions of this place were not pure. The house had already attempted to eat one of them, after all. Lifting his nocked bow back up, Noah listened as Sah and Juniper made their plans verbal. He looked briefly to Locke, but nodded his head to the others as an indication to move forward. With how dark it was, however, Noah voiced it as well, "I will go with you where you choose at this point."
Noah agrees to go wherever the group wants.
Noah has everything listed in his profile as well as:
The stairs snaps at him but misses and he turns to stick his tongue out at it. Then, he turns back to Sah and gives him a little wink. The landing reveals three rooms and he studies them for a moment. The playroom seems the most obvious choice and everyone else seems to agree. Good. He was going there either way. Locke nods back to Noah but doesn't speak. He stays towards the back of the group, dagger in one hand, claws on the other. He's hoping it won't come to combat but better safe than shanked. His feline ears twitch, trying to pick up any little sounds as they move.
-
Locke goes with the group and tries to listen for things with his jaguar ears. (He has a dagger in one hand and the other partially shifted into jaguar claws)
In disguises no one knows hides the face Lies the snake and the sun in my disgrace
Well look at you clever cloggses out here, heading straight for the source. It's too bad this house has been watching you, listening to you, and it's not so keen for you to get where you're going.
The first smash catches Juniper - it looks like a small oil lamp that has launched itself off the walls, but as it shatters against the Fae's shoulder and wing (and oof, she will feel that one tomorrow), it hits the floor and seems to reform. All jagged glass and an eerie flame, it scuttles along the corridor, preventing your progress forward.
That's nothing, though, compared to what hits Sah.
The whole house seems to groan and growl, and the Abandoned might hear it just before the assault hits him from above. A cast iron chandelier, its spokes and decorations like spider legs, its candles burning like a dozen eyes, drops directly on top of him.
He has no chance to move. No chance to dodge. (That NAT 1, though). And it's on him, crushing him and piercing his flesh. He's not going anywhere for the time being.
Angry Lamp 60/60
Spider Chandelier 100/100
Because this has plot ramifications, it (and all subsequent relic KQs) will be scaled based on level and more difficult than normal). 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. If you don't do this, they won't be taken into account!
Your randomly assigned post order is:
Juniper 14/26 Sah 126/150 (PINNED BY CHANDELIER, CANNOT ACT FOR THIS ROUND) Noah 60/60 Locke 54/54
