[Game Thread] Together Again

[Frodiddly]

As the others left to the catacombs, Turin was amazed by the splendor of the church once more, but even more amazed by the splendor of the beautiful Half-Elf. As she approached, he embraced her tightly. It felt like an eternity since he had last seen the fair lass, and he felt so happy to be with her once more.

"Mazia! Dear lass, how wonderful it is to see you once more... I've missed you very dearly as well..."

He looked at Illya, and greeted him as well. Turin got a strange feeling from the Halfling, something seemed to be bothering him.

With an attempt to halt any silence before it grew, Turin said to the pair: "Well then, what is it that you have done since our last meeting? I am sure you have kept quite busy."

 

17+5=22

[Chekken]

Turin's strange feeling was warranted: Illya was behaving in a very strange way. It was almost as if he had something on his mind, some sort of thought that was causing him to be anxious. Nevertheless, he answered Turin's question quite calmly.

"Oh, this and that. I've been doing some work for the mayor and what have you. Trying to get back on my feet, I guess. I came here as a peasant, and I'll leave her as a working man, y'know? If you ever have work for me, let me know."

Mazia was only half-listening to Illya. She seemed completely and utterly disinterested in everything he was saying. "As for me...well, I was actually hired as a temporary minister of the church. Can you believe it? I sure can't." Mazia looked somewhat anxious as well, and it was slowly building. The veins on her head were throbbing with anger. Suddenly, with the speed of a jaguar, she burst out at Illya, who was still playing his ocarina. "ILLYA! WILL YOU PUT THAT THING DOWN?!"

Illya seemed satisfied with frustrating her. With a smug grin, he walked off to bother someone else.

With Illya gone, Mazia behaved entirely differently. The crowd of people around her seemed to have dispersed. She spoke to Turin, beginning slowly, and then speeding up as if to get it out as quickly as possible. "Turin, I was...well, you see I was...wondering if perhaps you might want to...to do something after the parade. Kind of like a...well, kind of like a date." At the last word, Mazia blushed wildly and became too embarrassed to continue.

[MystOtter]

Willow glance over at Emurian, he had been quiet this entire time. She wondered what he thought about all of this. For her is was a chance to learn more and she had to do it.

"Thank you may I enter now?"

[Emurian]

,, I don't like the idea of you getting transported to another place by this device only to do its bidding, you will be going through the trial alone Willow and although I have no doubts about your capabilities as a warrior I do have my doubts about this demon. The idea of stealing a artefaqt from a powerfull foe and humiliating him is a dangerous game to play, he may seek out revenge at a later stage and trust me, demons have plenty of time to come up with some devious tortures. .

That being said, how are you supposed to humiliate him when all he desires is bedding with humans? You do know what those words hint at now don't you?''

The Paladin pauses for a moment while staring intensely at the woman standing in front of him. Softening his tones the man colours them with warmth and sincerity while continuing to speak.

,,This is your choice and yours alone Willow, I will not stand in your way if you desire to undertake this initiation ritual. All I want is that you choose what seems to be right in your eyes, just promise me that you won't give yourself to a demon. . .''

The Warrior is to be seen looking slightly away from Willow towards the ground. Partly lost in thought and partly struggling with the emotions that hes feeling at the moment hes to be seen rubbing the gem in the midsts of his armour.

,,Just be carefull.'' he mutters softly

[MystOtter]

"I already agreed and I would rather go up against a demon than Aurora and her knight. I have no clue what these consequences will be and everyone will be target. If I piss off a demon he will only be after me.

"I also have no intention with giving myself to a demon. But that could be a way for me to get close with his guard down. I have something in mind, just involves a little bit of slicing and a lot of pain to the pride."

Willow reached over and wrapped an arm around the paladin. Her voice changed from someone who was mischievous and bit overconfident, to one that was calmer and thankful for those that were close to her now. "Thank you"

[Chekken]

The device turned an eerie shade of red, slowly spinning in a clockwise circle. When it had spun around fully, something clicked from behind the wall and the section of the wall with the insignia on it suddenly rose up like a gate. It was then that Willow and Emurian could see into the Cult of Aurora.

There was a red light shining somewhere overhead, but otherwise the cult's temple looked like a living room, with chairs and a table set up in the corner of the room, and a small bar hidden against the wall. The walls were painted red, and the floor were decorated with a gold and red carpet. The cult insignia glares at you from every angle. At the far right-hand corner of the room was a series of benches and, at the head of those benches, an altar where rituals took place. There's a hallway not far away. You smell something incredibly foul. Thankfully, the smell was faint.

You hear voices speaking rhythmically somewhere down the hall. It was almost like a chant.

[Emurian]

The man jerks slightly at first as Willow touches him out of instinct. Within a instant though he seems to relax, his eyes drift back into the emerald eyes of his companion while his lips curl into a faint smile.

,,Just remember to go for the crotch should things turn bad girl. I don't like the thought of you facing this demon alone but I guess that I will have to put my faith in you. You will do just fine, now go and show him hell. ''

Standing back the Warrior watches as the device gives entry to his companion. The foul odor causes his nostrils to shift slightly out of discontent in a attempt to seal out the stench. Grunting softly out of protest he speaks.

,,Well it looks more then suitable enough to household several followers of Her. Stay clear of the altar if possible thats all I can say. I guess that our paths split from this point on, cling to your faith and lessons from the past in case of doubt Willow and you will surely make the right decisions to come through this test.''

Remaining on his place the Holy Man looks with disgust into the chamber while sucking his tooth. Emurian didn't like it one bit to send Willow into this place, he had read about the stories of the Other side and knew that there where true horrors amongst the Damned their ranks. Nonetheless he expected Willow to use her mind to overcome any obstacle if not her halberd to carve her way through it. He wondered why he kept feeling nauseous as he looked at Willow despite the reassurance that she was a capable warrior.

I shouldn't allow these emotions to cloud my mind. He thinks to himself as he tries to stand more upright to regain his posture. Putting his face straight once more the silver scaled humanoid is to be seen waiting for Willow. His fingers thrum nervously on his side as he waits for the inevitable to come.

[MystOtter]

Willow gives Emurian a slight nod before carefully headed inside. She walked proudly with her head held high and shoulders back, this warrior was not about to show any kind of weakness. At this point Willow had a adrenaline running through her veins and the faint foul scent barely bothered her. She was a girl on a mission and she moved towards the direction of the chant as she tries to make out what is being said.

 

11+4=15

[Frodiddly]

Turin practically blushed at Mazia's attempt to ask him to court her. He was overjoyed, to be sure, and graciously accepted. The words seemed to stumble out from his mouth, complete with a touch of his own nervousness.

"Ye... Yes, of course, Mazia! Nothing would honor me more than to court you, if you would have me! What would you like to do...? Perhaps a picnic by the river? Or something else?"

The Dwarf was quite excited by this new prospect. It had been some time since he had courted a woman. Many years spend in the practice of priesthood kept him away from the touch of a woman. The priesthood of Moradin did not necessarily call for celibacy, but a priest's training often kept him too busy to spend much time with other women, aside from those that were in training themselves.

[Chekken]

Mazia looked slightly dazed, but continued nonetheless. "A picnic would be perfect. I've always liked nature. Besides, I need a guinea pig to try out my crumble cakes. It's a family recipe." The young woman giggled and gave Turin a wink. "I could tell you a bit about my life back at home, too. My...other home, that is. I'm still grieving, of course. We all are. But things have been going so well here in Black Grove that it's hard not to smile!"

Some distance away, Illya was listening intently to Turin and Mazia's conversation. He was grinding his teeth rather loudly, but kept his tongue (and his ocarina) in check. He seemed to have very important business with Mazia.

----------------------------

The voices Willow heard were definitely cultists: of that much Willow was sure. The stone walls of the catacombs made the voices difficult to make out, even though they were reverberating, but she manages to hear bits and pieces of an Elven chant coming from the room near the gold-and-red hallway.

 

The voices are speaking an ancient dialect of Elven that is barely understandable to you. Some of the modern words and syllables of Elven were replaced with strange gasps and "hiccups" in this alien language. However, you could still understand the chant.

The Queen
With her hair of the golden sun and her skin of the shining moon
She who is all and none, darkness and light, evil and good
Shall bring salvation to us all
Behind her, the Immortal Judge
He who is shrouded in the ashes of the dead
Bringing the Fury of a Thousand Souls and the Nightmares of Man
Greed, Fury, Vanity and Vengeance
And all the Sins of men behind him.
There shall be a great reckoning
as the creature's fire engulfs the universe
and brings with it the cleansing light to end the piercing darkness.

 

The strange language of the chant sounds like gargling to you. However, in the back of your head, you can see Odusai standing in front of you, his three blades floating in mid-air in front of him. Suddenly, next to Odusai came a young man with spiky red hair. You make out the shape of a gun barrel being pointed at you before the chant stops and the image abruptly disappears.

[Segafriday]

The flashback was obviously from the night lassay was destroyed.
Its was difficult to shake, but it was soon drowned out by something worse.
A loud ringing filled willows ears and her vision began to fail her and
the room lurched as yet another vision assaults your senses

You see a vast empy plain, desolate and smouldering with the buring remains of what might have once been a village.
Among the charred debris stood a single woman, her features to vague to make out with any degree of accuracy.
She glared down at the few wounded and fleeing survivors from destroyed town.
She lifted a single hand into the air and the earth shook. Fire spewed from the ground
and magma blasted out of the earth in blazing gysers.
The unholy display worsened as the molten rock shot into the sky and converged into a single form, creating a dragon from hot lava.
The "magmawyrm" took on a life of its own as it threw back its head and let forth an earth-shattering roar, licks of flame
jumping from the gaps in its massive molten rock-teeth with every breath.
Just as the enearthly beast was about to unleash its wrath upon the surviving villagers, another figure appeared, a man.
His hair was shock-white and it covered most of his face.
"AURORA!!! this ends today!"the woman responded with nothing more than a cold glance in his direction an by widening her stance slightly as she turned to face him. The clouds parted as a great blue phoenix decended from on high as if to come to the man's aid. It's screams rent the air as the dragon responded in kind. The white-haired man yelled once more at Aurora "The judgment of the heavens shall be laid upon you! And so you shall be made unto DUST!!!"with a single beat of its enormous wings, the dragon launched intself in to the sky as if to chalenge the phoenix, which in turn, droped into a nose dive aimed at the unholy beast.

As the two great creatures collided in a blinding flash of light, Aurora spoke. Her voice, barely above a wisper, was surprisingly soft, yet full of rage, and she seemed to be speaking directly into willows mind: "The end... cometh not. Heedless of our yearnings for its sweet embrace"

As the light faded, so too did the vision. leaving willow back in the altar room of the cult of aurora. the voices were gone and any trace of the cultist had evapourated, as if no one was there to begin with. The dark chapel was completely empty, and the voice of Aurora still lingers in Willow's head.

(OOC: sorry for any confusion but there seems to be a misunderstanding- ognus: the demon you were ordered to find is on sister red as you were told)

[Chekken]

You open your eyes slowly, and cough the smoke out of your lungs. Your clothes reek of a strange odour that may have been incense or sage. Someone in a white gown, the same as the cultists wore, is standing over you...

[MystOtter]

As Willow listen to the elven words she mouthed each one in an attempt to add it to her memory. But all too soon Willow felt her legs weaken and she blacked out as the vision took over. It sadden and angered Willow to see the destruction of her home. It was painful knowing that it was all gone. Aurora was also a strong women, which was something Willow always aspired to be.

When the vision ended Willow became painfully aware. Her head throbbed and her halberd pressed into her back. More so than anything else she was confused on what to think. Things would be so much easier if she could the world as black and white. The warrior smiled a greeting at the other person as she stood back up.

"Hello"

[Segafriday]

The cultist removed his hood to reveal a middle aged man with short blond hair and a goatee.

he stared back at Willow before shaking his head in disbelief and helping her to her feet
as he does, Willow can feel something strange about him. "The white guard have fallen a long way since I last saw them", he chuckled.
His voice was firm but gentle, and that of an old warrior. He swiftly moved to the hallway entrance as if to see if he was followed. satisfied that no one was there, he turned back to willow. "It has taken me longer than you'd care to know to infiltrate this cult, to learn its secrets. If your just going to barge in here than for the sake of pelor you'd better be careful, if your caught here they'll quarter you on sight"he eyed her halberd and relaxed a bit. "but perhaps you'd be alright on your own"he sat in one of the chairs and leaned forward as he spoke

"Right now I'm the only one left here, the others are gone. They do that, just...dissaparate, not sure how, but no matter. your lucky I could make the sentry device let you in, hmph...I suppose Qualin was right, it does pay to know a bit about magic." The doorway opened allowing Turin and Emurian to enter. "I've been expecting you here, you see, and I'm sure you've got plenty of questions. I'll tell you as much as I can."

[Emurian]

The Warrior remained to be standing on his place for a moment as he watches Willow stepping through. Closing his eyes he leaned back against the wall eventually as Willow dissapeared out of sight. A deep sigh was uttered as he turned inwards to perceive his own emotions now that his companion was on her own. A slight smile was displayed upon his face while unraveling his concerns about her. It seems im getting quite fond of her somehow. Opening his eyes once more he allows the smile to remain while contemplating how this could be the case. In a way he felt related to the Warrior women through her interests and well placed heart. People like that where to few in number on this world the Paladin concluded. She might even have made a fine Paladin should she allow her heart to see the Truth of the Powers Above. Faith is a hard concept to grasp, but perhaps and hopefully she will find a god over time that suits her beliefs and ideals.Emurian had never been one to press his religion and faith upon others as he considered such attempts fruitless. A person should see the light through inner awareness rather then doctrines that where being proclaimed by others.

Pushing himself away from the wall again by shifting his balance the man is about to turn around to head off to Turin before he noticed a doorway opening. His curiousity couldn't help but drive him to look what stood inside while his instinctive behaviour caused him to draw his sword within a instant.

Observing Willow her stance the man could see that she was at ease and not out to fight this individual. The sight of this caused him to lower his sword somewhat while stepping through the doorway.

,,Willow who is this?, we should go get Turin if we are able to go through this together, his Powers will help us greatly to progress further into this Evil Place.''

The Warrior his voice sounded neutral once more with no signs of emotion attached to it. The sight of the stranger had set the Dragenoid back in his former behaviour to deal with things from a practical point of view.