As the cavern collapses around them, the booming words of Mirthful's song overlapped with crashing rocks and mighty impacts, the party still finds time for looting. The Skald snatches up the grey bracelet, while Fifteen and Aegis grab the knife and the snake charm.
Thrusting the glass knife through her belt and leaving her spear where it lies embedded in the eye of a fiend, Aegis sprints towards the wooden door. She rams it with her shoulder at full speed - snapping the few splintered planks that still remain - and runs up the stairwell.
The Skald hastily places the bracelet on his wrist and follows Aegis, taking the steps two at a time. Fifteen follows, one hand clutching the bronze snake and the other steadying his bag. It weighs heavy, filled with gilded scrolls.
Dustan isn't sure if Mirthful can hear him anymore, so great is the din that fills the room and assaults the ears. But, standing in the middle of it all, filled to bursting with power, dust and wind swirling around him, the old warlock looks at Dustan.
And nods.
A great crack sounds from the ceiling above, and Dustan escapes into the stairwell.
The stairs spiral upwards, upwards, ever upwards. Their legs burn with exertion, but they do not stop. The roar of combat below still echoes in the narrow hall, and the sensation of powerful magics fade slowly as the party distances themselves. Still, they can feel the dark aura, the old magic that enthralled the fiends. They can feel it growing steadily in power. They can feel it eclipsing the other aura as Mirthful fights a losing battle.
And then, a single word. Not a Cant, but spoken as one. A name, shouted out with Mirthful's voice. His name.
Gallius!, he says.
An explosion shakes the earth, forcing the party to steady themselves against the walls of the stairwell. Another explosion, and then another. Still they climb.
And then, silence. No further explosions sound. Nor do rocks fall, or wind howl. Their feet strike the stone steps without a sound, as if their ears had been deadened. Even the two magic fields have gone.
Still they climb.
Cracks appear - narrow fissures in the steps, the walls, even floating in the air. Nothing can be seen beyond, not even darkness. Simply...nothing. Still they climb, dodging the cracks as they form.
Had they looked back, they would have seen the cracks expand and merge together. Had they stopped, they would have seen the stairwell disappear, consumed by the black.
But they do not look back. And they do not stop.
Finally, the stairway ends in a narrow landing. A ladder affixed to the wall leads up to a wooden trapdoor in the ceiling - once sturdy, but now almost rotted through. Aegis climbs the ladder and shatters the trapdoor with a few awkward swings of her mace. As the old wood collapses, she quickly covers her eyes to shield them from the layer of soil that falls through.
One by one, the party climbs the ladder and leaves the ancient library behind.
---
They stand on thick dirt and fallen leaves, surrounded by the trunks of thick trees. It is dark. It is always dark now, since the fall of the tower. In the open beneath the stars, there is enough light for one to navigate by, but not here. Branches and leaves form an unbroken canopy above their heads, and the only lights are the dim glow of moss and the warm, bright glow of Dustan's crystal.
The hatch through which they've come lies open at their feet. Beyond lies complete and utter emptiness, as if their eyes simply did not process that small square in the ground.
A void. Mirthful...Gallius, had poured out every drop of his power to hold back the fiends and their master. So much magic in such a small area, when the tower was gone and the world's foundations so fragile. He'd opened a crack, and the void had done the rest.
As they back away from the hatch, their hearing slowly returns. Only then do they notice that, while six warlocks entered the library, only four remain. Chisaiko is not there.
Only four warlocks, four treasure hunters left. Mirthful's satchel, despite containing only parchments, feels heavy in Dustan's hands. And an unpleasant realization strikes them - though the old warlock's field had vanished in an instant down there, along with all sound, the other had merely faded away. As if it had not been consumed by the void, but merely fled.
They have an enemy.
"Name":
"The Skald"
Description:
A tall, blonde-haired man, clad in a motley colored cloak.
Stats:
HP: 20/20
Defence(Resilience + 1/2 of agility): 6
Strength: 1
Agility: 2
Will: 2
Resilience: 5
Inventory
Shortspear: 1d4 damage
Leather armour: -1 damage taken from attacks. Negated by piercing strikes.
1x Bundle of Moss: Provides dim radial light
1x Heavily Cant Tome: Finger
1x Heavily Damage Cant Tome: Cloak
1x Treasure Map: Mountains
1x Treasure Map: Forest
1x Treasure Map: Citadel
Cants:
Steam
Finger
Cloak
"Name": Dustan. no, that is not his true name.
Description: A young man, barely of age with light brown hair and a loose fitting wool tunic. he seems adventurous, but more than a little headstrong.
Stats:
HP: 20/20
Defence: 4
Strength: 3
Agility: 3
Will: 1
Resilience: 3
Inventory
1x Battleaxe: 1d6 damage
1x Bow: 1d3 damage
1x Dagger: 1d3 damage
1x Orange Crystal: Provides radial light
Cants:
Mend
Finger
Cloak
"Name": Fifteen
Description: Average build and height with charcoal-coloured hair and eyes. Wears a leather vest over a linen tunic, along with a cloth cloak to shield himself from the elements.
Stats:
HP: 16/20
Defence: 5
Strength: 1
Agility: 4
Will: 2
Resilience: 3
Inventory:
1x Arming Sword: 1d4 damage
Leather armour: -1 damage taken from attacks. Negated by piercing strikes.
Gray Feather Necklace: Someone wearing this necklace weighs considerably less with than without.
1x Bundle of Moss: Provides dim radial light
5x Cant Scrolls: Lash, Hard, Glint, Pull, Lift
Snake Charm: Unknown effect.
Cants:
Crack
Finger
Cloak
"Name": Aegis
Description: A sturdy looking female with short black hair and brown eyes. Wears light leather armour.
Stats:
HP: 20/20
Defence: 7
Strength: 3
Agility: 1
Will: 0
Resilience: 6
Inventory:
1x Flanged Mace: 1d4 damage
1x Shield: +1 Defense
1x Shortspear: 1d4 damage Currently disarmed
Leather armour: -1 damage taken from attacks. Negated by piercing strikes.
Red Stone Ring: Unknown effect.
1x Bundle of Moss: Provides dim radial light
Glass Dagger: Unknown effect.
Cants:
Pull
Finger
Cloak
Author
Topic: Fireless: 5/5 (Read 10062 times)