TURN TWENTY-TWO: RESURFACE AND REAPPEAR
Finish Decoding...
RuneIt is now all in front of you. The intricate, fragile carvings on the wall have revealed their secrets unto your conscious being. Although you have not been given a complete explanation of the meaning of these symbols and words, you now have a complete message formed in your head that might give way to what lies ahead on your path.
IN THE SHADOW OF THE DAY
THE HYBRID DRAGONFLY
PRINCE OF THE TWILIGHT AND THE CRYSTAL OF VOID
SHALL COME FOR TO BREATHE NEW LIFE UNTO THE WORLD
AND THE GUARDIANS SHALL RISE ONCE AGAIN
TO BREAK THE BALANCE BETWEEN SHADOW AND LIFE
MAY THE SUN SET FOR THE SACRIFICIAL LAMB
HE, THE PRISMATIC BREAKER
WHO DESTROYED HEAVEN AND HELL
IN SEARCH OF THE PATH FOR THE DRAGONFLY
AND WHO BORE THE SOUL OF A GOD
GIVING THE POWER OF IRIDESCENCE TO THE MIEDUM
WOE TO THEE, BLEEDING WITCH OF MAGIJA
FOR YOU ARE THE FORSAKEN SAVIOR
ALAS, THE DAY WILL ARRIVE, DEAR DAUGHTER
AND THE BURDEN OF ATLAS WILL FALL UNTO YOU
NO LONGER A WITCH, BUT THE MOTHER OF THE REBIRTH,
BRINGER OF THE LAST GUARDIANS TO COME
THE CLOCK SHALL HERALD THE MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT
AS ALL THE UNIVERSES WAIT FOR THE FINAL END
YOU, THE SHADOW BUTTERFLY, NO STRANGER TO THE DARKNESS
THE SWORD OF THE GUARDIANS SHALL BELONG TO YOU
AND WHEN THE HOUR OF NIGHT BRINGS TO YOU THE WORLD'S END
YOU SHALL BE THE ONE TO THE SHADOW, FOR ALL TIME AND AGE TO COME
The message ends there. There is an odd gap in the last part of the message, but it doesn't look like you can read the images any further. Perhaps the wall has been worn down due to the test of the ages.
The cavern around you creaks and groans, as if it is trying to signal something to you. The golems that you made above you wait motionless, oblivious to the motions of the cavern.
Behind you, a soft glow floods the darkness...
((I'll let you digest that information.))
Walk over to the Government Complex and see if I am allowed access - if yes, go in and take a look around. If no, look around the Magis area - probably interesting things to be found there, no doubt.
Eh AhIt would be interesting to see what sort of commotion is stirring within the Government Complex. You haven't been there much - not ever since you first registered as a citizen minor when you were six years old. Now, things seem so different. In the matter of a single day, a world power that you never knew personally just turned the entirely island upside down.
You approach the Government Complex cautiously. Outside, there are six soldiers posted in front of the door. You notice that, despite their formal posture and foreboding nature, they seem to be a bit weary now. You also haven't seen those boarding ships from the initial invasion a long measure of time. You decide that you might as well ask for access to the Complex now. As you talk to the soldier in front of the door, who politely declines your request, another soldier exits from the front revolving door and whispers to the guard. The guard seems to be somewhat distressed, but she complies nonetheless.
"The... the Empress requests your presence, Mr. Ah. Please.. step inside."The guard steps aside and allows you to enter. It seems that you will be allowed to enter after all. Might as well.
Attempt to use my human intellect alongside my lizard manipulators to gather some dryish grass and twigs in a dry, open spot. Also search for flint or similar rocks. Attempt to start a fire, using the grass as kindling.
Warren Drake((Wow, you have been getting some
really bad rolls lately. Ones all around!))
No time to wait, you're going to freeze to death if you don't act quickly. Before long, you attempt to build the energy to gather some grass and twigs up into a dry spot to build a fire. Fate and time seem to be against you, however, as a low fog and cool breeze blow up from the ocean. This makes it incredibly difficult to find some proper, dry vegetation to use as fuel for a fire. You manage to get a couple of small, dry leaves, but nothing to would significantly make a fire.
Even worse is the lack of flint. What's the point of gathering kindling if you cannot find a catalyst for the burning? You do manage to find plenty of open spots, but none that are really dry. The entire wetlands is pretty, well, moist. The entirety of the situation appears to be against you at the moment.
Your temperature is still dropping. You need to find a way to get dry, and fast. It becomes harder and harder to move your small legs. This is probably not good for a lizard as small as you right now.
Cold temperature, stage two: -2 to all speed rolls.
"I think we'll be fine for the night, if you could just show us the way to where we'll stay that would be lovely."
once shown to my room, complete the room inspection checklist, but don't be blatant about it since it's pretty rude. Try to wait on doing anything obvious until our host leaves.
Direction door opens
Number, size, and security of windows / other openings, escape routes, and/or entry points.
Anything that seems out of place, odd, or otherwise prone to being the source of a trap, trick, or spell.
Do mirrors/paintings/rugs/furniture/closets/walls/ceiling/floor conceal hidden entry routes / peepholes / gas vents
how far up from the ground the room is.
quality and type of lock / hinges / doorframe.
thickness of doors/walls/windows.
inventory of all sharp objects/chemicals/fire sources/loose poles/other possible improvised weapons
quality of sheets/blankets/other cloth or ropes
inventory of cloth/wood/other flammable objects
3 levels of security on the door (lock it, block the knob from turning, and block the door from opening)
tripwire/thread across other openings with a basic noise alarm (metal container with metal objects in it like rocks/coins tied to the tripwire and hanging in the air. makes loud clinking/clanging when tripwire is bumped)
displace sleeping location from the default by at least 5 feet (move the bed to the side)
then instead of going to sleep immediately, stand quietly in a dark corner, listen, and watch the light and shadows around me. Draw my combat knife and will the shadows to shift slightly, trying to see if I have some way to affect them, if I can see in the dark, and if I can step through the shadows from one dark corner of the room directly to another without passing through the area in between. Continue experimenting, but try to stay quiet and listen for anyone approaching, or for if our host plans on some kind of treachery.
Lirian and Cromwell Jackson [autoaction]Dr. Kito leads the two of you through the hallway on the right. On your way, you can see different documents and pictures put on display, mostly news reports and pictures of modern landscapes. At the very end of the hallway, there is a door on your left and a glass wall in front of you that looks out to the dense forest behind the town. The doctor passes in front of you and opens the door to the guest room.
"Here is your room. I hope that you find it comfortable and secure. Again, my daughter will be here at dawn to provide you with some food and to introduce you to the area. Thank you for helping Deon, and sleep well." He gives a small smile before leaving the door and walking briskly down the hallway. He seemed to be focused on the container that he had in his hand before.
You wait until you cannot hear his footsteps anymore before you step in the room cautiously, Cromwell following behind. You scan the entirety of the room, looking for anything obviously dangerous. After you ensure that nothing will jump out and threaten you, you go through a mental checklist of things that might be in the room. First, the description of obvious things in the room itself. After you enter the door, you can see that the entire room is painted in various shades of gray, all in a crystalized, cracked pattern. To your right, you can see that two one-person beds are placed in the corners. Between them is a table that has white, cube-shaped lamp on it. On the opposite side of the room is a large dresser with three drawers. Next to it is a large radio that has no noticeable power source. In front of you, there are two large windows that hold a view to the rest of the village.
Next, the checklist. The door appears to open into the hallway. There is only one door leading into the room, though there is another door that leads to the outside courtyard to the left of your room. Again, there are two windows that have a view out to the village. They seem to be secured in place, and there are some wooden blinds that you can use to shut out the windows if needed. There is a mirror right above the dresser that you attempt to move, but it seems to be secured onto the wall. The entire floor of the room is a light-gray carpet, and it does not seem to be movable either. The entire room appears to be on the ground, so there's not much worry on that account. The ceiling arches up into a rounded rectangle, with a glass roofing in the center.
The door is pretty well grounded in place, but there is no lock in place. The hinges seem to be working and well also. The door seems to be pretty average in terms of thickness, nothing that will stand against a focused force though. The windows appear to be a little more resilient, but you might be able to knock them out if you tried hard enough. The carpet, beds, and bedsheets would appear to be the only flammable things in the room, besides the lamp of course. There are no chemicals, ropes, or other things that you could find as possible weapons in the drawers - unless you count the lamp, if you tried using that. The blankets and sheets are comfortable and on the thinner side, which isn't really a problem since the whole facility is air conditioned.
There are some clean shirts and pants in the drawers, but other than that, the only flammable objects are the carpet, the lamp, and the beds. You manage to wrap a shirt around the knob in such a way that it is blocked from turning, and you grab another shirt to stuff in the door. Hopefully this will suffice for security until the morning. There's nothing else that you can really use for a tripwire. The whole room seems to be consisting of a simple layout. Finally, you move the bed a little way to the left, in front of the window. While moving the bed, you notice something engraved on the header of the bed. You recognize it as the Delta Cross, a half-triangle and a cross combined together that form the symbol of the Jaunatne Coalition. You think that you have seen this before somewhere else, but you don't know where...
Now, to experiment. Cromwell has already begun to nod off with his cat next to him on the bed closest to the door, which leaves you to practice on your own. You slide one of your knives into your hands and begin focusing on the shadows, further encouraged by the darkness of the unlit room. You attempt to make several different gestures, watching carefully in case the shadows begin to shift. No such luck. The shadows simply stay in place, the moonlight of the two moons softly bathing the room.
You decide to try moving into the shadows instead. You position yourself on the left side of the room within the shadows and focus on the other side of the room. You feel an odd, cold aura surround you, as if the cold wind broke through the walls of this complex. You turn around and face the wall, taking a few steps forward, and... end up in the forest outside of the complex. For just a moment, you felt as if you were a cold, dark force of shadowy invincibility. Then, you landed back on the ground and in the forest next to the complex. You attempt to use that force to get back into the room, but your power won't yield again. Tired, you circle around to the front of the complex to find that the door is locked. No way in, and you can't let your host know you were out and about. You pray upon the same power to work again and step forward into the hood of the doorway, hoping that this shadow will suffice. You push your hands against the door and fall right through. Picking yourself up quickly, you scan the entrance to find that you are now back inside. You sneak quietly back to the room and open the door. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that the shirt held well as a lock, though you put it back in the door anyways. Cromwell wasn't disturbed by your antics outside.
You might as well get some rest now. Cautiously, you lie down on the bed and pull the covers over you. You position yourself in such a way that, if you need a quick escape, you can bolt out of an exit in no time at all. Before long, you drift away to the unconscious world.
You wake up in a meadow of beautiful flowers and soft grass. In the distance, a volcano blows some light smoke into the air. There is a small village and a river not too far from you.
Yeah, that would be nice, thank you. Cecil says, with a beaming smile, For now though, am I well enough to see the city? ((Assuming Cecil has never been, only heard of:)) I've heard good things about the beauty of your nation, but I've never visited, I'd love to see it for myself.
Cecil G. PalmerThe doctor is captivated by your demeanor.
"Oh, of course," he chuckles.
"You are free to go where you wish within the city. Be careful not to hurt yourself, though. Wouldn't want you coming back here so quickly, hmm? Do take care." The doctor sorts out some papers while you exit through the front entrance of the entire building. The inner room gave you no idea of what the rest of this place would look like. Now that you get to actually see it, it takes your breath away.
In front of you is the greatest collection of skyscrapers that you never had the chance to see before. Towering monoliths break through the clouds, all different shades of black and grey. To your right, the ocean churns and drags at the sandy beach. There is also a large dock that leads off to the skyscrapers. The best part of it all is that there are no streets - only waterways. Yes, it seems that the citizens of this place all travel by boat around the community. You can hear the boats creaking around the corners as they make their way around, busing the people to their workplaces and homes.
Yet again, you see the Delta Cross engraved on the sides of some of the buildings. The same symbol of the Jaunatne. Makoi, you realize, is part of the Jaunatne Coalition.
You're in the territory of Jaunatne now. This is your first taste of a civilization unknown to you.
I just removed another giant insult-ridden argument between GWG and somebody. This despite at least seven warnings and a few mutes for this very infraction. I'm tired of cleaning up after GWG, so GWG has been banned. Please adjust your games as necessary.
EDIT: "Sorry, I do not remember exactly where I received this plant. All I know is that I received it somewhere far from this place."
Jorji ConstanzaThe man sighs, retrieving the papers.
"Very well. Do you remember where you are from, maybe why you were down at the shore?"Outside, you can hear some yelling and arguing.
"A-are you serious?! I thought that the Jaze promised those scumbags would never land on shores near us! Do they really want to send us back there? Please, god no!""Shut up! You know the stakes at hand here, and we all knew that the Theyins would land on Atis soon. It was only a matter of time. We can't let them go any further.""But, I thought they said we were-""It doesn't matter what you were told. There is no safety for anyone anymore. You know what this is now? This is war. We can't lose this time. She's out of her goddamn mind, and if we don't stop her, we'll lose everything we've known.""Well? Do you have any information for us? Your name, your birthplace, why you're here? This is important for your life, sir. Please cooperate with us."
use the ice on the snow-capped mountain to create an ice path and go down
Alex RamanNo time to waste now. On the top of a mountain with no idea as to where you actually are, thanks to some woman who was spouting crazy stuff to you. You gesture your hands forward and the snow obliges, pushing forward and forming a solid path going downward. You sit at the top of this frozen mountain slide and push yourself off, drawing the snow down into an ice path as you slide down. It's not that steep of a ride, but you do have a constant fear of falling off. Hey, it beats running from mortars any day.
Eventually, you make near the bottom of the mountain. Your ears have popped several times and you have a blinding headache from using so much energy, but you should be fine otherwise. At the base of the mountain, you see a mining station feeding into the mountain. You approach cautiously from the roof the cave and look over the lip of the mountain. With only the sight of a symbol, you know where you are. Below you, on the side of a miner container, you see a circle with lines swirling into the center, and a flower blooming in the middle.
The symbol of the Theyin Empire. You are at the Kusten Mountains, in the heart of the Theyin Empire.
Author's Note: Very long update. Some old faces are going to resurface and some new names are going to pop up.
Have a good week as always,
Artemis.
Author
Topic: Roll To Medium: Awakening [Chapter VI] (Read 145792 times)