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!
With her task done and bountiful reward laid out before, Loki does what predators often do - she seizes the one she killed in her talons and hoists the two of them into the air, above both ROUS’s and Ascended, where she finds an empty stair to feast in bloody peace.
Tsking in the back of throat at being so obviously abandoned for food, the Wraith targets the remaining two ROUS’s with her lasers again, before checking to see how Nikolai is doing with his pest problem. “You good?” she asks, preferring to let him figure it out by himself before stepping in.
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Loki fucks off with an ROUS carcass and Wessex targets the remaining two ROUS's with her Angry Eyes again.
Magic: Angry Eyes | Can shoot laser beams from her eyes. Target must be within 60ft. Deals heat damage to soft surfaces, with a 50% chance to disorient characters if the light goes in their eyes (a dex roll on her part). Can also cut through medium objects, and heat large-sized objects.
Type: Dark | Rank: Mastered
The world is new to you, and you to it. During PQ/PQ+/KQs/Drops, you roll with advantage on luck-based rolls and receive an extra name during drops. (In order to use this, make sure to note the ability at the bottom of each post)
No, I’ll be the stone
I’ll be the hunter, a tower that casts the shade
I lie awake and watch it all
Nikolai snarls under his breath when his shards miss and one of the ROUS decides that he's an acceptable climbing post. It's embarrassing and he'll likely kick himself later for missing all of his marks. But right now, the rodent is too annoying for him to focus on anything else.
"I'm good!" He calls back to Wessex. Because surely, he can do this, right? Nikolai readies his energy shards once more attempts to stab through the Rous on his leg and hopefully the others around him. The things are so ugly and if fire wasn't such a weakness, Nikolai wouldn't mind seeing them on fire.
~
Nikolai attempts to use his energy shards to kill the ROUS on his leg and any others he can.
Type: Offensive | Level: Basic
Energy Shard | Through an upgrade in the wrist, the user can propel knife-shaped bursts of energy, up to 10ft
The world is new to you, and you to it. During PQ/PQ+/KQs/Drops, you roll with advantage on luck-based rolls and receive an extra name during drops. (In order to use this, make sure to note the ability at the bottom of each post)
Down and out, and out of luck, we're spinning but the needle's stuck
The sound of the scuffle with the Rous drew Maea's attention for a moment, but when there was no sign of trouble coming her way, she left the creatures to Wessex' and the dark youth's tender graces.
Her own focus was split between maintaining the current of electricity in her palm, allowing for a steady torrent of sparks to bubble up and lick her palm like some tremendous fountain, and helping the volunteers as best she could with only one hand to spare. The going was slow but she did not try to hurry them; better the work was conducted safely and thoroughly. Chaele's mortar was put to good use as repairs proceeded on the floors of the Spire.
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Maea continues to use her upgrade as a source of light, and help the NPC's continue repair the floor of the Spire.
Type: Offensive | Level: Upgraded
Electrical Touch Upgrade | Can complete electrical circuits in the user's palm which release a current of electricity. This bolt can extend 10ft and be maintained with concentration. Can cause disorientation and muscle-malfunction.
Citizenship Ability
The world is new to you, and you to it. During PQ/PQ+/KQs/Drops, you roll with advantage on luck-based rolls and receive an extra name during drops. (In order to use this, make sure to note the ability at the bottom of each post)
Maea
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Darkeye hears the fight, but he would only be in the way in his current state - he is aware of that. He feels even more ashamed since he almost fell here, but there's no point in beating himself up over it now. He still knew which stones were good and tried to use all his knowledge to give the ground stability again. The problem was he didn't know what he looked like from below. So for the time being, he joined the volunteers and grabbed as much as he could. He tried to lift the heavy things and remembered his step sequence exactly. "If you have lanterns put them on no torches and set them up".
Darkeye helps the NPC as well as he can with the carrying. He also asks that they put up lanterns not torches.
Tethered as she is to Darkeye, Isla doesn't stray far and she does her best to step only on the stones that look the most stable. She isn't going to be much use in lugging around the heavy stuff, and it looks as though the repairs to the floor are going ahead quite nicely. So to avoid a too many chefs in the kitchen scenario, she gathers up what little cleaning supplies they have brought and gets to work there.
The bones are swept into the large hole in the middle of the ground floor, and once they are out of the way, she begins to gather the cobwebs from the nooks and crannies and corners. Quietly thankful for being able to see in the dim light, Isla wonders whether there are more creatures roaming around, other than just ROUS.
There is little to be seen beneath the hole’s shadow, even with Maea’s illuminations throughout the ground floor. Chaele dares not get too close to the edge to get a better look, so she moves toward the downward stair instead. The path is clogged with rubble and, even though there will certainly be pieces she can’t lift, there are some she can. She keeps an eye out for bigger, flatter pieces that can be reused in the floor’s construction.
The other repairs seem to be well in hand, at least. Her hands can be spared for this secondary second task, and her curiosity sated once it is done.
---
Curious about the portal below, Chaele begins to clear out the rubble leading downward.
A decent job all around, kids! Wessex all but vaporises the remaining ROUS, and Nikolai successfully scrapes the last one off his leg (barely, but we won't make that into a big deal, okay?) As for the cleaning, Isla succeeds in getting rid of dust and bones and cobwebs, and the area around the ground floor is looking very good indeed by this point.
You will be unable to completely repair the floor - that hole will take some another PQ+ further preparation to cover up completely, and while Chaele will be able to look down into the area below, it's too vast and too dark to make out many details. She, along with Darkeye and Maea, successfully create a stable walkway for them to use - as soon as it's dry, of course.
In the meantime, now that the ROUS are taken care of, the stairs can be swept and cleared of little rodent bodies. It might also be a good idea to create a railing of sorts, to act as a safety rope around the edge of the new walkway. Off you go!
Charring things to a crisp is really satisfying, you know? With a childishly pleased hum in the back of her throat, Wessex dusts her hands off, as if to say job well done and notes that Nikolai has taken care of his rodent as well. Excellent. Should probably remove the bodies though. "Better clean up this mess, huh?"
Leaning over to grab three of them by their crisped-up tails, she leaves the remaining two for Nikolai. And as the Wraith starts back down the steps again, she takes a moment to peer down and look at the rest of the group, noticing that Isla and Darkeye are… tied together? Curious, she quietly reaches out to the Overseer. Everything okay down there? What’s with the rope?
No, I’ll be the stone
I’ll be the hunter, a tower that casts the shade
I lie awake and watch it all
As the Rous on his leg dies, Nikolai relaxes. It's embarrassing how much effort that took on his part, but at least it's over. He sends Wessex a sheepish grin, "Probably." Picking up the remaining bodies, the younger Ascended continues to follow Wessex. Nikolai sends a glance back to check on the others and can't help but furrow a brow in confusion. He genuinely has no idea just what is going on back there.
As they walk, Nikolai gives into his curiosity. The walls are old and cracked, and it makes him wonder what secrets they hold. Although he doesn't see any obvious writing, he decides to activate his upgrade. Just in case something is there that they're missing.
~
Nikolai helps clear the rodent bodies and scans the walls with his optical upgrade as they walk. (Just in case).
Type: Other | Level: Basic
Optical Upgrade | Can translate written words regardless of the language. Eyes glow blue when in use. (OOC: Will translate two plot-related text per season.)
The world is new to you, and you to it. During PQ/PQ+/KQs/Drops, you roll with advantage on luck-based rolls and receive an extra name during drops. (In order to use this, make sure to note the ability at the bottom of each post)
Down and out, and out of luck, we're spinning but the needle's stuck
"I think that's as good as it gets for now," Maea said to the others after a while. Straightening up, she appraised the walkway they had created, assessing the temporary solution and the yawning pit beside it. One day it might be interesting to fill that hole in the floor with steel and glass sturdy enough to walk on... But right now, it was a safety hazard.
"Maybe some railings would be nice... I'll see what we have left to work with."
She waited until a few lanterns flickered to life before allowing her upgrade to sputter out. Then she teleported herself to the entrance, in order to sort through materials and bring back what was needed to begun create the railing.
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Maea teleports to the entrance, then bring back more material to start work on the railing.
Upgrades
Type: Other | Level: Basic
Binary Teleportation Upgrade | Can teleport up to 30ft OR to an adjacent board. Requires a 2 post cool-down between uses.
Citizenship Ability
The world is new to you, and you to it. During PQ/PQ+/KQs/Drops, you roll with advantage on luck-based rolls and receive an extra name during drops. (In order to use this, make sure to note the ability at the bottom of each post)
Maea
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Darkeye feels like a burden at the moment, it's time he showed what he can do. He grabs a few tools and starts building a railing around the hole that is sturdy enough to lean on.
Wessex and Nikolai had everything under control with the creatures, he knew he could rely on these two when it came to fighting. Still, he was nervous. He could not determine what it was. He grabbed on as best he could and hoped that he could at least help a little. He listened to what he was told and wanted to show his best side to make up for his mistake.
----
Darkeye tries to help with the construction of the railing as well as lighting the lanterns. That one had a safe place to retreat to in case something went wrong.
Hearing Wessex's voice ringing in her head, Isla peers up at her sister and smiles. He fell, she explains, so we were tethered together in case the ground gave way again. I think we're alright for now, though. How are things up there? She nods and the crispy ROUS and raises an eyebrow.
In the meantime, it looks as though the railings are making good progress and, speaking of the rope, Isla now begins to untie it from herself and Darkeye. "Things are looking much sturdier now, so maybe we can use this to tie around the railing?" she suggests, beginning to thread it through the construction so there is something for people to hold onto.
With the pests controlled and the construction of the railing well underway, Chaele convinces herself that she will only get in the way if she tries to help further. She takes a lantern from the supplies and, on her way back toward the downward stair, stops to regard Isla. “My offer still stands, to purify this place with sage and vanilla grass, if you will it.”
But whatever the reply, the shaman will first indulge her curiosity about the basement floor. She lights her lantern using the flame of another and descends as far as the wreckage will allow, parting the thick shadows with probing illumination.
---
Chaele offers a blessing for the Spire, lights a lantern, and heads downstairs.
Honestly, it's a pretty sturdy railing that comes into construction - well done Maea, Isla and Darkeye! With the floor repairs setting, a railing to help with safety and some pests cleared and cleaning done, already the ground floor of the Spire is looking much, much better.
Nikolai won't find anything of interest in the walls - not at this level, at least - and Chaele will be able to wend her way down into the basement with relative ease. This place seems quite well used; it's still full of rubble and it's hardly the most beautiful place, but given that this is the path to the portal in and out of the Grounds, it sees quite a bit of action.
Regardless, you're pretty much all done! Congratulations!
LAST ROUND! Feel free to post your characters making any last adjustments/tweaks, and head out of the Spire. Once everyone has posted in their order, Isla will close down the PQ+ with a final post.
