The chamber is large, lit by undying embers burning in braziers spaced about the room. A faint note of spice hangs in the dry, chill air. Carved and painted columns march in rows towards a dias at the end of the vaulted room. Between the columns on elaborately woven rugs are dozens of wrapped figures, kneeling with their foreheads pressed the the ground and their arms outstretched - eternally humble servants in the hall of their Lord and Master.
On the dias, on raised stone platforms are a dozen wooden sarcophagi. The wooden boxes are a sign of the high-station of these servants, though the ornamentation (gold and gems) on these sarcophagi are reserved, even minimal, compared to the opulence in the chamber of th--
There! A movement! And... a sound? Like a muffled voice. Like several muffled voices. A soft stacatto of panic.
There it is again. That one, there in the middle - that sarcophagus jumped!
It jumps again, rocking onto its edge and thumping back down.
And more muffled shouting.
Another sarcophagus jumps and bumps.
And another.
The first one rocks onto its edge and hangs for a long moment then continues its arc, crashing to the floor, followed closely by the second and third sarcophagi. The muffled shouting becomes decidedly unmuffled, echoing around the chamber, as each of the three boxes' occupants are suddenly in open air. Covered in debris and box shrapnel, wrapped head-to-food in cloth, but in open air.
Eddie
You're pretty sure your spleen is punctured. And your, ow, pancreas. Pausing for startled moment, you think, hard. You don't know just a ton about Kesheti burial rituals, but you do know they're big on jarring up the important stuff. You know, the... important stuff. After a quick, panicked inventory, you determine that everything is, in fact, where it should be.
Wait, what is that...? On a what was a corner of the box is a small cabochon gem, glinting in light. It is blue and flecked with gold. And given the Kesheti penchant for balance, if not symmetry, there should be others!
Gavril
You hear some loud crashes to your left and some less muffled shouts.
Kragnor
You hear some loud crashes to your right and some less muffled shouts.
Malek
It was dark in the box, that was for certain. Though... not Dark. You lay for a brief moment in the wreckage of what you now see was a box - god's breath, it was a coffin - and look up. The ceiling is shrouded in darkness. Possibly even shrouded in Darkness.[/sblock]
Mataken
Your crash loosened the bindings and you're somewhat more free. Somewhat. You're on your side, wood shards stick into your back, your neck. Right in front of your face, and difficult to bring into focus is a smooth plank with a strange symbol burnt into it... it vaguely resembles Basakara's symbol. Vaguely.
As a general rule Eddie wouldn't let go so far as to defile caskets in search of wealth, but he reckoned his own casket would make a good exception. Tearing off all the rest of the sticky wrappings (excepting those few bindings protecting his modesty), Eddie does his best to pry loose any gems he can find in the wreckage of the box.
Without his trusty satchel, Eddie's briefly at a loss for how he can hold on to the loot and keep his hands free. Grabbing some of the loose bandages from the floor, he wraps the gems up in a wad of linen and securely ties the bundle to his waist using a long bandage as a makeshift belt.
Realizing that whoever did this to him might still be in the area, Eddie casts about for a weapon. A jagged chunk of wood from his coffin would make an adequate shiv in a pinch.
His next impulse is to make for the nearest exit and keep running, but until he had a better idea what he'd got himself into it'd be better to have someone watching his back. The two other fellows picking themselves up from their own wrecked coffins probably have something in common with him if they'd all ended up here, and that made them better allies than most. Revenge, Eddie knew, was one of the easiest ways to keep a group of men focused on a goal.
But there were other priorities. If three of them had been alive in those boxes, what did that say about the other nine sarcophagi? If they could quadruple their numbers before they went out looking for payback, things would go a lot smoother. Keeping his wooden dagger at the ready (just in case), Eddie pries open each of the nine remaining boxes.
Kragnor (note: not Kragor) stays very quiet. He's not in a position to defend himself. In 5 minutes, he can try to escape again and he will wait for that opportunity.
__________________ The first sign of a broken rule is when someone suggests that the way to stop it is by readying an action.
Malek brethes in deeply, as his eyes adjust to the new situation, darkness condenses around his right hand, ready to strike at a target with cold hate.
__________________
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Mataken is briefly distracted by the appearance of what seems to be the symbol of Basakara - but only briefly. He begins to free himself of his cloth constraints while slowly getting to his feet, when he notices other figures moving in the light cast from the braziers.
Not alone. Need a weapon.
Mataken reaches down and grasps the smooth plank with the mysterious symbol to use as an impromptu cudgel. He slowly edges around so that his back is to the wall and observes the other figures, trying not to draw attention to himself.
Why have the stars brought me here? And these others...must be a reason.
Silence falls like a thick blanket after the cacophany of the crashes. The air is still again. Heavy. Expectant.
Eddie
There are three latches here, simple, but sound. The gemstones on this box are white and milky, quartz perhaps? Or something else? Eddie's not sure. Another man takes up a plank and moves warily to the wall.
Gavril
Gavril can't hear much more than his own panting breath and shouts that seem swallowed by the darkness.
Kragnor
Kragnor hears a grating, shifting sound. It's hard to place the noise, specifically. A strange awareness raises the hairs on the back of Kragnor's neck.
Malek
Shadows leap to Malek's hand, a familiar bone-deep ache. From his position, Malek catches a glimpse of two men. They are similarly garbed and after extracting themselves from the ruins of what seem to be other sarcophagi, they head opposite directions from one another, one right and one left. The warlock loses sight of both.
Mataken
Mataken backs up, passing box after box until his movement is checked against the cool stone of the wall.
OOC: Feel free to post more than once between my posts - act, react, I'll stop you if you need stopping. For instance:
Pangalin, make some rolls for Eddie depending on what you want to do with the first box he's at.
okaddio and WalkingDad, feel free to take more actions, use skills, abilities, whatever you like. Like, okdaddio, I'd like a perception check from you... specifically.
lotuseater and KarinsDad, if there's anything you would like to try, make an IC post to that effect and include any related rolls in the OOC portion of your post. If the questions are extensive, ask them in the OOC thread.
Last edited by Sparky; 28th October 2009 at 02:55 AM..
Keep calm, man. Slow breaths. Mataken feels better now that his back is not exposed - and he feels somewhat emboldened now that he has a weapon, of sorts. He has never had a need or use for stealth and creeping about, so he is sure that the others in the room are aware of him.
Mataken wants to be aware, too, before he moves from his position, and makes a quick but thorough glance around the room.
It's gotten quiet again. Kragnor calms his breathing and listens intently to the feint sounds around him, trying to pick up any hint of what is going on.
Eddie looks around with alarm as the other man grabs up a cudgel and retreats to the wall. Yes, it's an odd situation, but there's no immediate threat —
Oh. I get it.
Slipping his wooden shiv in his makeshift belt, Eddie raises his empty hands in a placating gesture.
"Ho there, friends. Let's not let our nerves get the best of us! I just want to see if anyone else may be trapped in these coffins as we were. We'd be foolhardy indeed to leave our fellow victims behind, not to mention merciless — don't you agree?"
Eddie slowly turns his back on the other men, careful not to make any sudden movements. Without his lockpicks he didn't have a lot of options: he could try to force the latches, but he suspected the only thing he'd break is a lot of makeshift wooden crowbars. Only one thing for it. Smashing the boxes on the floor worked before, and it'd work now. Eddie raps on the sarcophagus with his knuckles.
"If anybody's in there, brace yourself."
(OOC: Strength check to push the sarcophagus to the floor.)
Eddie
Eddie gathers himself and shoves, but the sarcophagus only moves a little. His limbs seem strangely weak and watery. Drained.
Gavril
The half-elf's voice, well-suited to shouting doesn't tire, but, ultimately, it's the panicked thrashing that sends the sarcophagus he's in crashing to the floor. The light is sudden and hurts his keen eyes. The air, so sweet. Light headed, his sharp eyes pick out others.
(1 pt of damge from the fall)
Kragnor
The words are muffled... '...anybody... there... brace...' and then the narrow confines of the box rock with an impact.
Malek
Lying still Malek listens to the others and plans carefully his reaction to this strange situation. The cold ache of the darkness wreathing his palm settles deep into the bone.
Mataken
Mataken had been watching the others, one still on the ground and one poised over another sarcophagus. Now he notices the dais itself. An altar before a wide but thin slot in the wall. A body before the altar. Prone.
Gavril calmly picks himself up off the ground, smacking off the dust and grit from the broken sarcophagus. Noticing the others in the room, he tries to hide his injury and assume an air of detached annoyance.
"Would someone mind telling me what exactly is meant by this? I'm a very important person, with very important friends. Not someone to be treated so harshly."
While still maintaining an outward demeanor of nonchalance, Gavril studies his new surroundings carefully, looking for any signs of danger, and any clues as to how he got here and where HERE is. He especially studies the others in the room. Can they be trusted? Are they dangerous? Might they be his kidnappers?
They were in the boxes, like me. Don't think there's any threat here.
Mataken leaves his spot against the wall and heads toward the person trying to push a sarcophagus to the floor. He clears his throat to announce his presence, at once realizing how silly that must have seemed, given the situation. "Um, you think there might be more in these boxes? We can check them, but look over there." Mataken points toward the prone figure in front of the altar. "We should check that next. Here let me help you."
Mataken gives the box a thump with his fist, as though to familiarize himself with its aural qualities, then attempts to push it over onto the floor.
"That is an excellent point. Here, let's give this one more heave. If it won't budge then we'll leave it and give that other guy a hand up. One... two... and PUSH!"
Eddie & Mataken Together the two men are able to shove the sarcophagus across the narrow plinth onto the floor. It splinters open and a short, lean and stocky figure lies within.
Gavril
No one seems particularly impressed with the young half-elf's declared eminence as each of them moves about and takes separate stock of the situation.
Here seems to be a temple. Though it's not quite right. Columns march up and down the length of the room, with braziers for light, but... the light. There are no windows along the center aisle, high, where the tallest columns raise the ceiling higher than their neighbors.
Of the people, Gavril can make no assessment, though they do appear to be 'garbed' similarly, which is to say, swaddled in burial bindings.
Kragnor
There is a thump and then a sense of moving, a moment of stomach clenching weightlessness followed by a loud crash and pain. The impact loosens the wrappings, somewhat. Icetalon answers Kragnor's summons immediately. If the spirit is unsettled or anxious in any way, it's ancient, inscrutable features do not give it away.
(2 pts of damge from the fall)
Malek
None of the others appears to be demon-blooded. The imperious one's fine features and build mark him as a half-elf - his demeanor is strange, given the low regard in which elves and half-elves are held in Keshet. The two men standing near the plinth appear sturdily-built humans and there is another at their feet that Malek cannot see.
OOC: If you have not, now is a good time to describe your characters.
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