Chronicles of Roissha *Closed* Chapter Two: Into the Depths of Madness

[Darth Caelum]

Maverick reached the rest of the Companions after several minutes of jogging to their current position. He saw each of them doing their own thing. He saw the Assassin and Kay, apparently setting aside their Problems and having an actual discussion. While the Artificer was expecting that to happen, he did not expect them to talk out their differences before storming a Likely heavily defended system of caves.

'Huh. You learn new things everyday.' Maverick thought as he saw the pair and decided to leave them be for the moment. He did not know if the Assassin had told Kay of their....'Little Talk' from earlier, and so he was currently somewhat blind on that front. The Assassin left too quickly for Maverick to have analyzed his Reaction to his somewhat Insane Rant. so he was blind there as well.

'In any case, the Worst Scenario that could possibly come about is that they Ignore me. The Assassin would decide to have as little to do with me as possible, and Kay would follow his Example, having learnt from the Assassin of my....Instabilities. This, while being the worst thing that could happen for me, is still salvageable. Their Ignoring me would simply cut off one avenue of my Victory, and there are still many others. I will need them in the times ahead. Particularly when I must inevitably deal with my Brother. Horus is a fool. A complete Egomaniacal, Power Hungry, Jealousy Prone, Megalomaniacal, Oedipus Complex prone, Momma's Boy. But he still has access to more Resources than I currently have.

I would be a fool to Not recruit my allies to my current goal. I know what must be done once Horus dies. Father is already sick with an unknown disease when I had left and was slowly dying. Though I'm quite sure that Horus is the Culprit there. Mother would act out her Manipulative ***** persona and, well, manipulate her Son's feelings for her to keep her position of Power, all the while plotting Horus' own death. Eleanor....well, she was always a smart girl, though I'm not sure what she would do here. She is as Heartless as her mother, yet without her Insanity passed to her. If she stays out of my way, then she would live. If not, then she is simply another body to pave my way to my final Revenge. I will see them ALL Broken. All of them. Their Callousness and Ruthlessness will be their Downfall.

The Artificer crouched on the ground, looking at the nearby Caves as well and knew that his Ability to fight from a distance would be useless. Yet, he still needed to be there. The chance to capture a Water Elemental would be too rich an Opportunity to pass up. Maverick brooded silently, eyes fixed towards the Caves.

 

[Czargent Sane]

taven meets up with the group, his armor on again. he carries a sack in one hand.
"I caught fish, if any of you are hungry."
he holds up the sack as he speaks flatly.

 

[The Zango]

"I dont deserve light being shone on me" said Garrant, living up to the title of gloomy that Kay had bestowed upon him, still it wouldn't hurt to lighten up slightly.

"Besides being a thief... Among other things. Its best if the light doesn't shine on me, not good for business"

 

[Dommius]

The group moved towards the caves in their scattered packs. Talking amongst themselves or deep in thought as the mornings rays beamed down on them. A cool, gentle breeze rolled over the hills rustling the grass and a pair of birds chirp happily off in the distance. An hour or so of walking goes past as you finally near your destination a disgusting smell assaults your nose. Moving forward it becomes obvious, the scouting party that Tanan had mentioned lay mercilessly slaughtered. The bodies bloated from the sun and bits of flesh picked off by a small group of carrion birds.

However something seems off about this, the markings on the bodies are strange. Almost claw-like in nature, as if a large wild beast had killed them. But what kind of creature could do this to these well trained men? Not only that but they seem stripped of gear, and a closer look at the wounds goes to show a set of purple festering boils.

The caves lay in wait, inviting you to their dark and ominous depths and twisted tunnels. Not a sound can be be heard from within.

 

[Darth Caelum]

'Well now...this certainly can't be any good.'

Maverick looked at the bodies, deep in thought. 'Any and every kind of Natural animal would not have the capability to create this sort of Carnage. Original Hypothesis of Quest changed. The Bandits.....are not the reason for the Disturbance. Unless of course they made all this so as to suspect something else.....No, I'm simply annoyed that I was actually wrong. The Bandits wouldn't really have a reason to deceive us. Not at all.

The Artificer shook his mind away from his Brooding and took out his pistol. He knew that his effectiveness in the Darkness of the Caverns would be drastically in comparison to staying outside, in fact, he would have preferred if he simply take watch outside the Caves.

But that was not an option. For him to complete Construction Project TAU, then he HAD to take a few elementals with him. There was no negotiation for that, and the Harvest would affect the Royal Family as well.

The Group was hired to Investigate just what the hell happened within the Caves. The Elementals supplied fresh clean water to the Nobles. He was here to strike an Annoyance to them. He had no Idea just how Important this entire thing was, but sending Mercenaries hints that it is worthwhile. If the Elementals were already Dead or Harvested, then his task was done. If not, then he would harvest as many of the Elementals as he could find. Once done, he very much doubted that they would continue to supply Fresh Water to the Imperials.

He checked the Weapon for any signs of Damage and nodded, seeing everything in order.

 

[Issurru]

Who or better yet what could have done this to these men, and these boils. It had to be magic, there is no other explanation than that. No weapon that I have ever seen could have made wounds and scars like these. This is almost unthinkable that men of this calibur were so easily dispatched. Somethings amiss here, and i'm sure we're gonna be the ones to find out what it is...

"We best keep our heads about us lest we want to end up like these guards here" Isaac says in a somewhat worried tone as he quickly draws his pistol, trying to ready himself for what lies in these tunnels.

 

[Dragon_of_red]

At the sight of the bodies, Trace drew his sword. Seeing no immediate danger, he slowly lowered his sword, eventually sheathing it. He walked closer to the bodies, seeing the purple boils and other marks, his eye brows were raised. 'That must be magic... Either that or they were really sick...' he thought as he examined the boils.

The boils were definitely made form Magic, a spell that Trace had seen before. It was a reasonably classed spell, that formed the dormant energy in a person's body to be released as boils. Not a very effective spell, so Trace had never bothered to learn it. He scoffed at the sight of it, whispering to himself "Amateurs". He stood back up, and took out his sword yet again, "Yup, powerful Magic nearby, you better be careful"

 

[Czargent Sane]

Taven marches up the hill. he looked down at the bodies, slowly shaking his head
"these bodies should be burned. to rid them or disease, and..."
he turns away from them, walking towards the cave opening
"respect"

-there is something I did not consider. dammit! we are heading into caves connected to underground water sources, if there were to be a leak I would be at a disadvantage because of my armor! I cant swim well with all this extra weight. but if I leave my armor here I am open to attack, and my armor could be stolen. what can I do?-

 

[The Zango]

Garrant walked wordlessly past the others that stood gawking at the bodies and knelt down beside one to examine it. He began with their faces, turning them over with two fingers on his right hand, studying their wounds and their lifeless faces with almost clinical calm, there was an air of coldness around him, even stronger than the usual one, he really didn't like what was going on here. He ran his finger along the cuts and closed his eyes, constructing a imaginary picture of what the weapons or claws were used to make these cuts, judging the depth, the length and a variety of other factors.

He didn't like what he saw

He left the bodies after a quick search of their pockets, not for money (not that he was above that but simply because he was already weighed down with the robberies loot) but for clues, however he found none and so wordlessly returned to Kinglet's side before cupping his hand over her ear and whispering into it.

"Stay behind me"

The last thing he did was reach into his cloak and produce an almost gleaming stiletto from the folds of fabric. He gripped the blade by the point and offered it to Kinglet, if they came into trouble, her knife would do very little against what he thought awaited them in the murky depths before them.

He closed his eyes as he waited for the others to proceed, even though he surmised that he would be of more use ahead of them scouting, he would not endanger himself or Kinglet for the others and so they would wait for the others to enter before them.

 

[Dommius]

Spoiler: Edited for factual accuracy

My last post I didnt realize Garrant had a glove. This one fixes that problem. Sorry BigZ!

As Garrant runs his hand across the infected wounds the leather begins to sizzle slightly, and whisps of smoke trail from his fingertips. The sizzling stops however as his hand leaves the infection.

 

[The Zango]

Spoiler: OoC @Dommius

Garrant used a leather gloved hand, does that matter? Please advise.

 

[Czargent Sane]

(gone for a few days)

 

[crewman_number_6]

Fitzgerald looked at the bodies. Some kind of deamon, possibly summoned by an enemy. Could it be Rincewind the assertivley amazing? He became cleric of evil after the sundering. If I meet him, I must take his title and his life. Fitzgerald's hair shimered as his armor," When we return we must honor the bodies of these men." Fitzgerald let Avalon graze outside the cave, knowing the steed would return when needed.

 

[Dommius]

Spoiler: OoC @Dommius

Garrant used a leather gloved hand, does that matter? Please advise.

Spoiler: OOC

@BigZ, your safe. Forgot about your gloves my bad. I'll edit my post then.

 

[The Zango]

"Interesting" murmured Garrant as he looked at his glove, the last whisps of smoke fading from the darkened leather.

He was definitely not scouting ahead now

Spoiler: OoC

Sorry about the crappyness of the post, not all of last nights booze has left me yetXD

 

[Dragon_of_red]

"Right, well none of you seem to eager to go in." Trace announced, walking away from the bodies, he raised his left hand as his right one moved to his sword. He summoned some energy and cast a spell of luminescence, having an eerie blue glow come out of his hand and light up the cave, "Anyone coming with?" he asked, the light illuminating most of the cave.

 

[Anah'ya]

Kinglet stayed behind as instructed. To say that the bodies did not bother her would have been a straight out lie, but she didn't show the concern. Whatever had happened to these men was likely to happen to anyone else within the vicinity. To argue that would be stupid.
So she scanned the area, while Garrant inspected the bodies, until her eyes were eventually drawn to the darkness staring at them from the cave entrance.

She swallowed.

"This is going to be fun...", Kinglet murmured to herself and palmed the stiletto Garrant had given her. It had warmed from her touch, and was already beginning to feel comfortable as it lay in her hand.

 

[Darth Caelum]

Maverick looked at Trace and said "Indeed, I will come with you." as he held his Pistol at his side. He briefly wondered if he should manufacture a different design for his Pistol, perhaps putting them all in a single magazine instead of a Cylindrical holding device and shrugged the thought. He would gain the necessary parts when the Mission was over. Once that happened, then he would have all the time in the world to Implement his Designs.

The Artificer brought the gun to his shoulder and cocked the pistol, stepping into the darkness as he did so.

 

[crewman_number_6]

Fitzgerald stepped forward, the last shimmering beams of light fading off his armor. "Let us go, if we die here today, we shall be honored for falling in a noble deed. We shall be mourned in the tales of others. I enter here not fearing my own death." Fitzgerald took out both his shields ready to defend his companions

 

[crewman_number_6]

Spoiler: OCC

Note that in three days I'm going to be gone for ten days