'Children of The Shroud' - A Dark Fantasy RP (Interest/Recruitment - CLOSED AND STARTED)

[Terratina.]

"Anyone else feel that urge to jump though?"

"Eh?" Skylar turned towards the new voice. Strange cults, false guides, a terrifying monster, bursts of light caused by the Dragon Silver, betrays, brandished weapons, it was simply too much. Back then, part of her wanted to yell out that there was no need for people to die. But, those who speak out bring the spotlight on themselves and in this particular situation, that wasn't a good thing. Especially here, within the bowels of the city. Skylar knew she wasn't a predator, that she was docile, helpless and easy prey. There were a few sheep among the wolves, however, they had already started to growl and bear their fangs. Was there only death at the end at this death race? No, the murky vortex awaited. Still, there was no need to be so hasty.

Skylar picked up a rock (or what she hoped was a rock.) and threw it into the portal of liquid shadow.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

The rock was swallowed up by the darkness, with no sound to indicate that it had hit anything solid on the other side. The hopefuls leaned forward, waiting, listening. Five seconds passed, and then everyone jerked back as the rock was hurled back out of the vortex, landing at the feet of the one who threw it. It was still fully intact, with no sign of scorching or erosion.

 

[lacktheknack]

Most people didn't seem immensely concerned that Andra had a gun pointed at them.

Typical drowned folk.

Langston looked agitated though, making Andra feel bad.

There was a sudden rush of wind, and Andra gingerly put her gun away at the behest of the "traitor" before going over to see what was going on.

"The 'ell is that?"

Well that's new.

Amidst the confused murmurs, a girl picked up a rock and tossed it into the strange portal in the water. It came launching back out, unblemished.

"...they threw it back."

Andra was torn. On the one hand, she didn't want to die, and she was likely the only one with something resembling a "normal life" back in the district. Plus, she didn't know who "they" were. But on the other hand...

Maybe they could fix you?

Maybe they'll spit-roast and eat you.

Maybe they'll leave you in the cold darkness for eternity.

Of course, maybe nothing will happen and I'll go back to fixing those blasted trousers.

Without really knowing why, Andra jumped.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

"...they threw it back."

Sparrow raised an eyebrow, a perplexed look on her face. "What is that thing?" She muttered to herself. Was there something under the sewers? Something that needed, dare she say it, magic?

Then, for no discernible reason, the scarred woman jumped into the strange hole. Sparrow's mouth was agape slightly, as if she was about to speak, but words seemed to fail her. Stepping closer to the waters edge, she peered into the hole. Nothing. No noise, no screams, nothing. 'Why are you doing this? No good can come from this, you know it!' Sparrow needed to know, she needed to know just what the hell was going on, why they were all called to this strange place.

"Sod it."

For the first time in her life, Sparrow went against her better judgement, and took a leap of faith, plunging into the hole feet first.

 

[Fappy]

Selena watched helplessly as the gathering crowd continued to point fingers at Ezrah. One of the girls had even pointed a gun at them. Selena didn't budge, however... she wouldn't let them kill him in cold blood.

"Ain't nothin' bindin' twixt us. You... are... nothin'. I sang ta the lies bouncin' round in yer skull ta get the lot've ya movin', as bait. As fodder. For whatever the Shroud has waitin' fer them its called. Woulda worked too if the dice rolled different. Ya can thank Selena fer yer lives. But now that game's done and here's another, and know this.... if I thought it'd bring me a single breath or silver, I'd paint this place red with ya, taint the meat ya soul leaves behind and scatter it about fer that beastie ta choke on."

Again, Ezrah had proven to Selena that she hadn't known him nearly as well as she thought. Had he said all these things to intimidate them or... was he serious? What kind of man was he?

"Don't be so quick to spend yer life, Selena. Not fer them, not fer me, and not fer some death cult. I nae think joy's at the end of these tunnels, and ya deserve such, hope ya find it."

Selena didn't quite know how to answer him. What could she say? She'd stuck out her neck for him... put her life on the line for him, TWICE, and she got little more than a lecture in return. Even if she did know what to say he wouldn't have stuck around long enough to hear her out, anyway. He'd brushed past her just as soon he'd finished giving her his warning.

Who does he think he is?!

As he left her side, Selena's eyes found their way to Sparrow who looked... defeated. Had his words truly intimidated the girl? To Selena, it sounded like little more than a spoiled child having a temper tantrum. Another had addressed her as the crowd began to move once more, but she was too distracted to tell who it was that called out to her.

Selena made her way across the tunnel and leaned against the stone wall. What was she doing down here, anyway? Had someone really just lured them down here to feed their pet? No, there had to be something else to it.

Lost in thought, it wasn't until the first girl lept into the abyss that she even realized the group had been investigating the strange phenomenon, "What in the---?!" Selena gasped. Did she really just... jump into a black... hole-thing? What was it, anyway? Wary as ever, Selena slowly approached the anomaly.

"Sod it."

"Wh-what? No, wait!" Selena shouted as she stumbled forward in an attempt to stop Sparrow. She was too late. Just as soon as she'd grabbed hold of Sparrow's arm, she tumbled head-over-heels into the twisting nether right behind her. If they appeared anywhere it'd be in a pile.

 

[The Funslinger]

"Wh-what? No, wait!"

They'd jumped in. Ridiculous... the rock had come out fine, but they didn't seem to be. What was the strange portal? It was almost certainly dangerous, and while that was a very good reason not to go near it, Will couldn't bring himself to leave them to it. There was no sense being idiotic about it, though...

Had they all gone completely mad? They were doing far more than just testing the waters, they were plunging into straight into them with reckless abandon.

Langston looked at the towards the others, he had to do something. He couldn't just run and leave Andra behind- no he wouldn't do that, not again. Langston began to approach what was left of the group, stopping suddenly as felt a pull on the tail end of his coat. He reached down trying to release his coat, finding that it was trapped in a thick sticky substance, almost tangled in it. he began to trace his fingers across the length of webbing.
Well... this is odd, why didn't I notice this before?
He figured he must have backed into it when stumbling away from the hole.
"That's it, I'm going in. Someone's got to make sure they're okay," Will exclaimed. Taking a breath, he started to move towards the strange portal.

'Huh...how curious...I wonder how-'
Langston shook his head, angered by how easily he could become distracted. He jerked his coat from the web thread, leaving the web completely intact. Sturdy too- Damn it Langston, focus
"That's it, I'm going in. Someone's got to make sure they're okay," Will exclaimed. Taking a breath, he started to move towards the strange portal. "Wait, Will was it? Let's not be hasty. I... ermm, I believe I found something that could be used like a rope."

Will came skidding to a halt at the edge of the water, and turned to face the other man. Pausing to take the torch Selena had dropped, he moved to see what Langston was talking about. He raised an eyebrow at the viscous cordage the man had in his hands.

"I suppose it's better than nothing."
Langston and Will pulled down as much of the webbing as possible, quickly fashioning it into a makeshift rope. Langston handed it over to Will, not sure what to do next.

Fastening the cord tightly about his waist with a series of complex rigging knots, he offered the cord to Langston. "Hold on tight, and I might just survive this." Turning, he ran back to the water, removing his hat and holding it tight to prevent losing it. Leaping, he vanished into the shadowy portal.

Langston braced himself, leaning back and anticaipating the pull of Will's weight. Maybe this was a bad idea... would he be able to keep his footing or would he be pulled down into the blackened waters as well. Langston held his breath, waiting for the drop.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

The Children vanished in swirls of smoke once again as the Sea Dog and his ally began adapting the spider's web for their own use. Where they emerged, the slick, rounded walls of the sewers were replaced with a vaulted corridor made of old, crumbling brickwork, dark brown in colour and stained darker by centuries of soot. The putrid stench was gone as well, replaced by a thick, musty smell, and such cold; a cold that seemingly could not be touched by the torches placed sconces at regular intervals along both walls. The terminus of the void hung in the air at the exact mid-point of the space, and the Children watched from the rafters as the Sea Dog re-emerged to join his more rash companions, all nursing themselves from having fallen face first upon the hard flagstones. Silently, they watched him take in his surroundings, and the condition of his comrades, before giving two sharp tugs on the sticky, silken strand.

===========================================================================================================================

In the Hall of Communion, the two children in Black and Blue waited side by side, in silence. Suddenly, with no forewarning or command from them, the space above the Conduit (it was never to be call a 'shrine', despite its resemblance to one, such a title would only imbibe it with sentiment beyond its intended purpose, a construct for which their Lord Mylaviss cared not) suddenly ripped apart in a swirl of black, navy and indigo. The two Children showed no hint of surprise, despite the immediacy of the change, as a man emerged from the darkness.

The word 'man' seemed insufficient, although he most certainly was one. He was old, with long, light grey beard and hair, but their was something about his eyes, and their misty colourlessness, that suggested that he was far, far older than he looked. Even so, he held his back straight, and walked briskly down the floating steps toward the pair, his robes of white billowing behind him. Even they were strange, those robes, for their colour was pure, without a hint of fade or tarnish, and yet they did not glow, reflecting the light of the torches on the walls and the chandelier above. Rather, like his eyes, which still moved and focussed responsively despite their complete cloudiness, the robes gave off an aura of being both present, and absent at the same time. The most unusual thing of all about the man though, was worn on his hip. The blade was a queer length, too long to be a stiletto, but stopping short of the reach of a rapier. However, it was straight-edged and delicately slim like both. Upon closer inspection, the blade hung their at his side with no aid of any kid of sheath of belt, as if it were a part of the man who wielded it. It was not made of steel or any other substance from Faldus, that much was plain. Like so much else, the blade appeared to be less solid, less real, the harder you tried to focus on it, the black colour becoming inky and shapeless, it's razor's edge blurring.

The Old Man embraced to too children kindly, and smiled.

"We should make this place ready. The new hopefuls should be hear soon, they have just entered the Catacombs. When they arrive, doubtless they will be eager, for rest, nourishment, and most importantly, knowledge, as you both once were."

 

[The Funslinger]

Tugging on the rope so Langston would follow him through, Will lit his torch, which had been dimmed by the portal, from one of the torches bracketed on the walls. Glancing around as his bruised companions as he unfastened the web rope from his waist, he asked, "are you all okay?" There was no admonishment in his voice for their brash plunge into the portal. Just concern. Once the others are through, I think we should keep moving. I don't think lingering here would be a good idea." He glanced at the portal. "And I think turning back just became a lot more difficult."

 

[Rufio's Ghost]

The silken thread gradually pulled taunt. Langston exhaled deeply, relieved that he hadn't been dragged face first into the dark waters. After a short pause the rope slackened and then two sharp tugs came through from the other side. It appeared to be some sort of signal.

'I suppose he is telling us to follow? Well, what else could it mean... We probably should have discussed this a little more...'

The other travelers crept in closer, either curious about the nature of the water or about the condition of those who had already passed through. It was always difficult to know the intentions of the drowned. Langston hesitantly spoke up, responding to the question that everyone had thought but no one had asked, "Will made it down safely, I- uh... well, I believe he did at least. If anyone else plans to move forward, I can stay here and hold the rope. If-if you'd like."

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Sparrow swore as the daft woman grabbed her arm, tumbling into the hole after her. What followed was a sequence of events she'd be very reluctant to repeat.

Sparrow hit the cobbles first, her ankle giving out almost instantly as she tumbled, banging her left elbow on the hard ground as she fell backwards. Gasping in shocked pain, she squeaked loudly as the Lashani woman landed on top of her. Crushing the air from her lungs, Sparrow reached out to quickly push the woman from off her, her palms land on the woman's behind.

"Get ya fat arse off me, ya slag!" She demanded, her voice cracking.

 

[Fappy]

Darkness. All Selena could remember was darkness. Oh, and vertigo. A lot of vertigo. Before she knew it she'd appeared in a foreign space, sitting atop a small, writhing form, "OH!" She squeaked as a small hand grabbed a handful of her butt, before pushing her forward.

"Get ya fat arse off me, ya slag!"

Selena stumbled forward, catching herself on a nearby wall. Realizing the small girl had absorbed the brunt of the impact, Selena furrowed her brow and ran to her aid, "Gods, I am sorry, child! I didn't mean to hurt you! Are you okay?"

It was then that she noticed the rugged man, Will, from earlier.

"... And I think turning back just became a lot more difficult."

Glancing around, Selena looked to him, scratching her head, "Where do you think it brought us?"

 

[lacktheknack]

Andra hit the floor quite hard. Completely not expecting it, she sprawled.

After a mere second of confusion, she realized that she had fallen from above, and more would follow. She rolled out othe way.

Seconds later, the small girl and the pretty lady hit the dirt.

"Get ya fat arse off me, ya slag!"

"Gods, I am sorry, child! I didn't mean to hurt you! Are you okay?"

Andra hurried over to the girl, who panted as she stood up. She looked OK, although her ribs may have taken some damage. Andra knew how to diagnose broken ribs, as they could cause a ton of issues in childbirth and it was important to know about them.

She gently pressed a few key parts of the girl's upper abdomen. The girl wasn't happy about it, although it had more to do with the action than any pain she was feeling.

"STOP TOUCHING ME."

"You'll be OK." Tough little bugger.

Suddenly, the sailor came through the portal... he was tied to a stretchy rope.

Brilliant.

"Are you all okay?"

Oh, I'd have ripped off a bunch of my skin if it wasn't already tough as armor, but other than that, we're TOTALLY fine.

"Once the others are through, I think we should keep moving. I don't think lingering here would be a good idea. And I think turning back just became a lot more difficult."

Andra felt a pang of guilt. If she hadn't jumped, maybe she wouldn't have inspired others to do so. Maybe they were all trapped now.

Hopefully not.

 

[Arrogancy]

Blaize watched as several of the others already went through the portal. He looked about, nothing but sewer as far as the eye could see, there weren't any other ways, not that he had much choice. With a deep breath, he slid his knife back into his pocket, not taking any chances, and stepped through...

And immediately fell face-first onto the floor, followed by a sharp pain in his abdomen, where the hilt of his knife and part of his hand were driven by the fall. He grunted in pain, instinctively rolling over, and looking up. They weren't in the sewers anymore, that much was obvious. The stonework was different, it smelled better, and the portal, instead of standing on the ground, was now suspended in midair.

"What the 'ell was that fer?" He asked, to no one in particular. Blaize flexed his fingers, they weren't broken, but his hand was bruised. That wasn't good, but he could still use it. Looking about, Blaize noticed that the place looked old, and a bit disused. It looked like a good place for a gang, or cult, whatever, to operate out of. It also looked like it hadn't seen much use recently. "What's this, some kinda ex-comm or somethin'?"

 

[Ruedyn]

Giles tried to think of logical explanations for this murky, black portal. It was likely alchemical in nature, perhaps something in the maps? A moment of thinking over the possibilities only served to hurt his poor, drug addled head. What especially wasn't helping were people throwing themselves into it. Who would be stupid enough to throw themselves into holes they knew nothing about?

Giles shrugged, not wanting to be left alone in the sewers with a pissed off lizard and not enough light to read his map effectively, he jumped in after the group. seemed most tumbled, but his mostly controlled leaping through the haze only ended with him landing on his chest, scraping his chin against the cobblestone. With a pretty nice view of the prostitutes arse, all things considered. Too bad there was a little kid there. And clothes. Giles rolled out of the way, lazily, stumbling to his feet after a moment.

"... Did anyone see what happened to those flowers, by the way?"

 

[Dogmatic99]

Why were they going into it, who would be mad enough to do something like that? It was enough to beggar Maggy's belief but in they went. This whole day was taking one mad turn after another and all she'd wanted was some more bread... maybe some meat... like ham or beef. Oh what she would have given for a joint of beef like the kind she could smell whenever she was outside the free houses. The very thought set her stomach to growling.

Then something in the shadows set to growling, making Maggy realise how very lonely things were getting on this end. Whatever that dark blot was and however much she may have mistrusted talk of witchcraft Maggy hated the idea of being left behind with the monsters that lived there even more. At least some of those others could handle themselves. So it came her turn to take plunge into the unknown and maybe a magical death. But at least if it killed her she would'nt have to worry about everything any more. There was a depressing look at her life right there.

But it didn't kill her! It just dumped her out awkwardly into another damn tunnel. It was beginning to feel like she'd been in these tunnels for bloody ever.

 

[Terratina.]

"Will made it down safely, I- uh... well, I believe he did at least. If anyone else plans to move forward, I can stay here and hold the rope. If-if you'd like."

Skylar jumped on that opportunity immediately, "Thank you, mister."

Steadily, she used the rope and a shiver went up her spine as she crossed from the tunnels to... more tunnels. Only that there was a pile of people next to her - the ones who had been foolish enough to jump in without a rope and the sailor. Not to mention the fact that the smell there was more musky than the stench of muck that polluted the air in the sewer tunnels. Sure enough, there was no turning back now. What did the girl have to go back to anyways? Surely not the comfortable interior of the Swyer house, hell, she probably couldn't have snuck in dolled up as a servant. That door was tightly shut to her, so why not go through the open window? Even if there were... less then desirable types here. Even if her body was starting to shiver with fear...

 

[EnigmaticSevens]

The sewer grew a mouth, a pit of shadow that parted the waters and lay beside the slick cobblestones, oblivion spreading her legs wide and beckoning her lovers come hither. Ezrah found it increasingly difficult to swallow, mouth dry, eyes wide with something halfway between panic and lust, the hairs on the nape of his neck bristling with a queer sort of current. It'd been a long time since Ezrah had known awe. The others seemed taken a back at first, but their wonder seemed to lose its edge quick enough once they'd probed enough to find no readily discernable danger. They disappeared into the gullet, one by one, or in groups, some with trepidation, some with a shrug and some... some wise enough to use a rope. Even Selena. A part of him cursed the fool blood in her that ignored sound advice, but he'd never utter those curses aloud. How could he, when he felt the same siren tugging, some mad part his brain begging him to hurtle himself into the pit along with the rest. No moth could deny the flame for very long.... Ezrah crouched beside the new born portal, let his fingers hover over the edges of the thing and gently test the borders where shadow ended and sewer began. He could feel a slight chill, but little else, and wherever this portal led, no light or sound escaped. The pale man still held the rope, and the few quick tugs said that perhaps the sailor lived, though perhaps it only meant that something clever enough to coax a greater meal waited at the end of this odd path. Then again... it wasn't as though this side of the pit was devoid of nasty, hungry things.

A hole of shadow, a simple looking thing, easy to dismiss as a one note conjurer's trick and a poor one at that, certainly not very flashy.... Ezrah wondered if such thoughts lingered through other heads, they could hold no water in his own. The Marked knew the agonizing effort that went into deceptive simplicity, how power lay in practicality, not showmanship and theatrical spectacle, even if the masses valued these first and foremost. The Marked could smell deep magic, had been conditioned to fine sensitivity to root it out should an inkling of its existence ever manifest. This... this was deep magic, and so the long search was over, and Ezrah's gut ran thick with dread. The Crone's words had given him a hunger for magic, a craving deeper than a babe's for milk. But survival was the first order of business among the Drowned, and the deeper Ezrah slunk down this path, the more he doubted he'd ever be able to trace his steps back, back to the surface, back to something resembling normalcy, maybe even simple contentment of a sort. This was deep magic, and something keen and buried deep in his flesh longed for it, but there were some who said the deep things were not wrought for mortal men, even among the Marked. After all, the High Magus was rumored to have found deep magic, and what good did it do him when the horses bucked at the sound of the headsman's whip and tore his body asunder?

The boy's doubts played second fiddle to his fingers and he cursed them in his thoughts even as he mimicked the sailor and the pale man's moment of brilliance, fashioning a length of rope from the spider silk and keeping an eye out for the silk's owner. The pale man's offer seemed genuine enough, but Ezrah was not the sort to place his fate in another man's hands so literally, certainly not a man he'd tried to feed to a giant lizard a few moments earlier. Instead, Ezrah looked to the torch sconces that lined the sewer walls, most empty, even more half rusted to oblivion, but at least one seemingly sturdy enough to bear Ezrah's weight. He tied off one end of his rope to the metal sconce and tossed the rest down the shadow pit. He pushed what sanity that remained in him out of his mind for a moment, grabbed hold of his rope and took a quick leap.

The scenery on the other side of the pit was none too impressive, though beyond a heap of bruised youngsters, it didn't seem to offer anything too deadly at the moment. Ezrah dropped to his feet with a wince, still trying to coax his bandaged leg back to full performance, he couldn't be hobbling about this place for any length of time. He spared a glance at the underside of the pit, two silken ropes now left flaccid and dangling from the void. And so we sever ourselves from the cords of mother oblivion's womb, we fey children of the shroud, Ezrah found a slight chuckle rising at the back of his throat despite himself, Now that was fuckin' poetic, Risa would've loved that....

 

[JokerboyJordan]

"Will made it down safely, I- uh... well, I believe he did at least. If anyone else plans to move forward, I can stay here and hold the rope. If-if you'd like."

Even after the reassurance that the portal seemed relatively safe, Kaim continued to stare at the void's shadowed maw with no less feeling of trepidation. Sure, there seemed to be no immediate harm present on the other side, but who knows what this 'Shroud' had in store for them next? They had already been subject to their whims once before, without them caring about the safety of those that they invited (assuming that is that the beast wasn't their doing to begin with).

He watched as others braver than himself followed suit, leaping into the swirling pit with reckless abandon. Kaim didn't know what to think anymore. After all, wasn't it him that first suggested diving into the damn thing? Why would he have even suggested that? He wasn't normally the type to get himself mixed up in shit like this, running away from monsters, diving into masses of shadow...

Fuck it

After a quick run-up, Kaim made the leap, hoping to not regret it.

 

[Rufio's Ghost]

Langston let his voice trail off, his question awkwardly hanging in the air. They were all afraid, of what lay forward and of what they left behind. A bit of hesitation was understandable seeing as only a fool would rush into an aberrant swirling mass, and it seemed that all the fools already had... well maybe not all of them.

In sewer's dim lighting it was almost impossible to see the features of the boy who charged towards Langston. He watched in horror as the figure barreled past him and dove straight in to the unnamed darkness. Langston remained still, too shocked by the boy's rash actions to do anything more then let out a hushed gasp. Before he could even begin to regain his composure a small voice chirped from behind him,

"Thank you, mister."

Grabbing the rope in her hands, the young girl began lowering herself into the waters. She disappeared and after a moment the rope slackened. Langston stared into the waters holding the lose rope,

'Now, it's my turn...?'

He continued staring, a sickening nausea rising in his stomach as he considered the prospect of jumping. He walked toward the water's edge,

'I-I can't, there is absolutely no way I can do this. If I had a safe way down then perhaps I would feel comfortable, but just jumping...'

Langston snapped to attention hearing footsteps plod up behind him. He had forgotten that there was still another with him. The strange man approached, a length of makeshift rope trailing behind him. Neither one of them said a word as he threw the knotted webbing into the waters and began to his way through the portal. Langston relinquished his grip, allowing his cording to disappear through the portal, and began to test the strength of the fellow traveler's line. It seemed like it would be able to support his weight- He had found a safe way down and... and that only made him feel worse.

'Now there are no excuses. I am really doing this.'

Gripping the rope with both hands, he eased his feet into the waters. The unnatural chill that ran through his body caused his stomach to turn. He paused, taking deep breaths,

'No, no-no-no-no. Don't get sick.'

'Come on, it's all in your head. Try to be like the others. Just. Don't. Think.'

He began lowering himself into the waters, thinking only of the words he had heard earlier that day. He couldn't remember
who had said them, but he was glad they had

'The way is forward, the way is forward, the way is forward'

He passed through the darkness and into a cavernous vaulted corridor. The cold stung in his chest as he inhaled sharply,

'It can't be, can it?'

Though the style of these halls was different from those that Langston had remembered, that musty thick smell of antiquity gave it away. He had finally made it, he one step further from poverty and one step closer to home. After two horrific months among the drowned he had found his way into the catacombs.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

"They're all through. Brutus..."

As the portal closed up behind the band of potentials, the Child in the burgundy robes, perched high in the rafters along with the rest, raised his left hand and curled it into a fist. A sudden gust, coming down the hallway towards where they hid, guttered out all of the torches along the walls. For a few moments everything was plunged into total darkness, until Brutus released his fist, and from it blew a light that was no bigger than an ember, and yet contained the brightness of all the torches who's flames he had stolen in that single, tiny point. The ember floated through the air towards the potentials, coming to a halt just a few feet in front of them, letting them bathe in the light and warmth, before it travelled back down the passage way again, pausing just before an adjacent passage.