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Arcanis: Gonnes, Sons, and Treasure Runs (COMPLETED)
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<blockquote data-quote="talien" data-source="post: 5017757" data-attributes="member: 3285"><p><strong>Isles of the Damned: Part 5b – R’lyeh</strong></p><p></p><p>R’lyeh brought its own weather. When it appeared in the archipelago, the sunlight dimmed and the skies filled with rolling purple storm clouds that delivered a constant downpour as they approached the island. A thick, soupy fog poured off the waves, occluding the island and reducing visibility to a matter of yards.</p><p></p><p>Through the forbidding mists, hints of shapes were visible. The stony inclines of mountains, rugged and vast, lurked beneath the fog. At their peaks, crags suggested themselves like faces under a shroud. </p><p></p><p>They came upon a coastline of mingled mud, ooze, and weedy Cyclopean masonry which could be nothing less than the tangible substance of earth's supreme terror - the nightmare corpse-city of R'lyeh, that was built in measureless aeons behind history by the vast, loathsome shapes that seeped down from the dark stars. </p><p></p><p>Only as they approached did the scale become clear: the fearsome summits soared many hundreds of feet into the air and began almost at the waterline. They formed a high, unbroken wall around the island, a formidable gate around the treasures of R’lyeh.</p><p></p><p>Sebastian landed on the deck of the Naoke. “It’s difficult to tell with the fog, but about halfway up the cliff face is a hole gouged into the rock. It’s at least as big as the ship. There’s a dim red light coming from inside the cavern.”</p><p></p><p>The dark-kin whispered “<span style="font-family: 'Impact'">inlumino!</span>”</p><p></p><p>His fist glowed with a reddish light. Sebastian took to the air, and although he was no longer visible in the fog, the red light served as a beacon for his companions. </p><p></p><p>“Looks like we’ll have to climb it,” said Beldin. He dusted his hands, relishing the thought of pitting himself against a mountain, no matter how strange.</p><p></p><p>“Speak for yourself,” said Kham. He crouched and then launched himself skywards, disappearing into the mist.</p><p></p><p>Vlad, who was far less enthusiastic about climbing the mountain, exchanged glances with Beldin. “Something’s different about Kham. That Leviathan Pistol has changed him somehow.”</p><p></p><p>“And Sebastian too,” said the dwarf. “He seems…less human.”</p><p></p><p>They rowed from the Naoke to the cliffs. </p><p></p><p>They clambered slipperily up over titan oozy blocks that could have been no mortal staircase. The very sun of heaven seemed distorted when viewed through the polarizing miasma welling out from this sea-soaked perversion, and twisted menace and suspense lurked leeringly in those crazily elusive angles of carven rock where a second glance showed concavity after the first showed convexity.</p><p></p><p>“Is it just me, or do these handholds look strange?” asked Vlad.</p><p></p><p>“It’s not just you.” Beldin grunted with exertion above him. “They seem a little too well-placed to be natural. The nooks in the rock have been scratched out with stone.”</p><p></p><p>“Judging from the flecks of blood, fingernails,” added Vlad.</p><p></p><p>“Strong fingernails, then.”</p><p></p><p>They climbed on in silence, with Sebsatian’s beacon occasionally coming into focus, until they reached a zigzag path that led steeply but surely to a tunnel. </p><p></p><p>Vapur curled from the cave’s lip and a dim red light came from inside the cavern. In the shifting half-light of R’lyeh it looked like an open wound.</p><p></p><p>Sebastian and Kham landed. Sebastian looked the val up and down.</p><p></p><p>“Since when can you fly?” he asked.</p><p></p><p>“Since when can you?” asked Kham nonchalantly.</p><p></p><p>As they approached, the sanguine glow from inside the tunnel grew brighter. Ghostly groaning rattled the surrounding rocks. </p><p></p><p>The tunnel was roughly diamond-shaped, with coarse red walls. </p><p></p><p>“Looks like blood,” said Vlad.</p><p></p><p>Indeed, blood seemed to have drenched the interior long ago, which then congealed into hideous bubbles, boils, and spider web strands that stretched down from the cavern’s roof. </p><p></p><p>“There’s deep, black grooves in the rock that stretch the length of the tunnel,” said Beldin. “Almost as if something was trying to crawl its way out of here…”</p><p></p><p>“He tried hanging on, he did!” came a cackle from above. “But it didn’t work! The good lord threw him right through the mountain! What a howl he let out when the good lord done it! Scrambling and struggling!”</p><p></p><p>Beldin and Sebastian saw a swirling madcap figure: a tall, gangly man in a great cloak of multicolored patches and motley garments trimmed with yesterday’s silks, tattered grimy lace, and moth-eaten rabbit fur. </p><p></p><p>“Emperor Oswald!” said Beldin. “What are you doing here?”</p><p></p><p>“Who?” asked Kham.</p><p></p><p>“Oswald,” said Beldin. “The Beggar King of Freeport. I’d expect you to know him.”</p><p></p><p>“He tried to go against the good lord, and look where it got him!” shouted Oswald. “Ripped and chucked!”</p><p></p><p>Kham gave the odd man another look. “That’s not Oswald. That’s the blind old fool we met in Altheria. Kept rhyming and giving us riddles.”</p><p></p><p>Sebastian crossed his arms. “That looks like Oswald to me.”</p><p></p><p>“He looks like the blind guy to me,” said Vlad.</p><p></p><p>“Hey now!” said Oswald. “How’d yet get here, then? My map…ye found my map. Praise the sea and stars!”</p><p></p><p>“And just who are you, exactly?”</p><p></p><p>“I go by many names, but Harry will do if ye please. Old Harry’s worth more to ye than gold while ye stand on this rock!”</p><p></p><p>“And what of your blindness?” asked Vlad.</p><p></p><p>Harry shook his head. “Crazy is catching!” he chuckled. “I’ll help ye however I can, so long as ye guarantee me a berth in yer boat on the way home. Nothing fancy, ye understand, just a hammock to swing me old bones!”</p><p></p><p>Beldin shrugged. “I think we can offer you that much.”</p><p></p><p>“Good, good!” Harry peered into the tunnel. “I know these caverns like the veins in me hand!”</p><p></p><p>They journeyed onward, Harry in the lead. The walls started to get narrower and narrower, and the congealed blood drippings became as thick as cobwebs. They resorted to hacking their way through the tunnel.</p><p></p><p>Finally, the passageway became too tight to fit. Harry moved ahead, cackling and scrambling on all fours like a greased weasel. </p><p></p><p>“He left a lot of his wine in this rock, Leviathan did! And burns like brine, so the rock don’t want it! SO it keeps squeezing, squeezing, squeezing, til it turns into dust and blows away.” Harry jabbed a thumb in the direction they had come. “That’s the smoke ye see coming from the grand hole back there.”</p><p></p><p>“That’s great, Harry, but how do we fit through here?” asked Vlad.</p><p></p><p>“Surely, a bunch of hearties like yerselves have something stashed about ye that can get ye through this muddle!”</p><p></p><p>Sebastian began rummaging through one of his belt pouches. He pulled out the Leviathan Spyglass.</p><p></p><p>Harry’s eyes went wide. “Ye been nicking from the dead ones!”</p><p></p><p>Sebastian nodded. “This Spyglass has the power of transformation and the ability to open a gate anywhere. So let’s see if it will do the job here.” He opened the Spyglass as if to peer into the murky tunnel, one telescoping piece at a time.</p><p></p><p>As he did so, a three-ringed portal opened up ahead with a WHOOP-WHOOP-WHOOP.</p><p></p><p>Sebastian snapped the Leviathan Spyglass shut, and the three rings disappeared. Before them was a hollowed out tunnel, with great chunks of bloody stone simply missing.</p><p></p><p>The dark-kin stared down at the Spyglass with a rapturous gaze. </p><p></p><p>“Powerful trinkets ye have there,” said Harry, subdued. “Each one’s got a power of its own; they lets ye act a bit like the good lord, gives ye one of his powers.”</p><p></p><p>“Powerful indeed,” Sebastian said breathlessly.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="talien, post: 5017757, member: 3285"] [b]Isles of the Damned: Part 5b – R’lyeh[/b] R’lyeh brought its own weather. When it appeared in the archipelago, the sunlight dimmed and the skies filled with rolling purple storm clouds that delivered a constant downpour as they approached the island. A thick, soupy fog poured off the waves, occluding the island and reducing visibility to a matter of yards. Through the forbidding mists, hints of shapes were visible. The stony inclines of mountains, rugged and vast, lurked beneath the fog. At their peaks, crags suggested themselves like faces under a shroud. They came upon a coastline of mingled mud, ooze, and weedy Cyclopean masonry which could be nothing less than the tangible substance of earth's supreme terror - the nightmare corpse-city of R'lyeh, that was built in measureless aeons behind history by the vast, loathsome shapes that seeped down from the dark stars. Only as they approached did the scale become clear: the fearsome summits soared many hundreds of feet into the air and began almost at the waterline. They formed a high, unbroken wall around the island, a formidable gate around the treasures of R’lyeh. Sebastian landed on the deck of the Naoke. “It’s difficult to tell with the fog, but about halfway up the cliff face is a hole gouged into the rock. It’s at least as big as the ship. There’s a dim red light coming from inside the cavern.” The dark-kin whispered “[FONT="Impact"]inlumino![/FONT]” His fist glowed with a reddish light. Sebastian took to the air, and although he was no longer visible in the fog, the red light served as a beacon for his companions. “Looks like we’ll have to climb it,” said Beldin. He dusted his hands, relishing the thought of pitting himself against a mountain, no matter how strange. “Speak for yourself,” said Kham. He crouched and then launched himself skywards, disappearing into the mist. Vlad, who was far less enthusiastic about climbing the mountain, exchanged glances with Beldin. “Something’s different about Kham. That Leviathan Pistol has changed him somehow.” “And Sebastian too,” said the dwarf. “He seems…less human.” They rowed from the Naoke to the cliffs. They clambered slipperily up over titan oozy blocks that could have been no mortal staircase. The very sun of heaven seemed distorted when viewed through the polarizing miasma welling out from this sea-soaked perversion, and twisted menace and suspense lurked leeringly in those crazily elusive angles of carven rock where a second glance showed concavity after the first showed convexity. “Is it just me, or do these handholds look strange?” asked Vlad. “It’s not just you.” Beldin grunted with exertion above him. “They seem a little too well-placed to be natural. The nooks in the rock have been scratched out with stone.” “Judging from the flecks of blood, fingernails,” added Vlad. “Strong fingernails, then.” They climbed on in silence, with Sebsatian’s beacon occasionally coming into focus, until they reached a zigzag path that led steeply but surely to a tunnel. Vapur curled from the cave’s lip and a dim red light came from inside the cavern. In the shifting half-light of R’lyeh it looked like an open wound. Sebastian and Kham landed. Sebastian looked the val up and down. “Since when can you fly?” he asked. “Since when can you?” asked Kham nonchalantly. As they approached, the sanguine glow from inside the tunnel grew brighter. Ghostly groaning rattled the surrounding rocks. The tunnel was roughly diamond-shaped, with coarse red walls. “Looks like blood,” said Vlad. Indeed, blood seemed to have drenched the interior long ago, which then congealed into hideous bubbles, boils, and spider web strands that stretched down from the cavern’s roof. “There’s deep, black grooves in the rock that stretch the length of the tunnel,” said Beldin. “Almost as if something was trying to crawl its way out of here…” “He tried hanging on, he did!” came a cackle from above. “But it didn’t work! The good lord threw him right through the mountain! What a howl he let out when the good lord done it! Scrambling and struggling!” Beldin and Sebastian saw a swirling madcap figure: a tall, gangly man in a great cloak of multicolored patches and motley garments trimmed with yesterday’s silks, tattered grimy lace, and moth-eaten rabbit fur. “Emperor Oswald!” said Beldin. “What are you doing here?” “Who?” asked Kham. “Oswald,” said Beldin. “The Beggar King of Freeport. I’d expect you to know him.” “He tried to go against the good lord, and look where it got him!” shouted Oswald. “Ripped and chucked!” Kham gave the odd man another look. “That’s not Oswald. That’s the blind old fool we met in Altheria. Kept rhyming and giving us riddles.” Sebastian crossed his arms. “That looks like Oswald to me.” “He looks like the blind guy to me,” said Vlad. “Hey now!” said Oswald. “How’d yet get here, then? My map…ye found my map. Praise the sea and stars!” “And just who are you, exactly?” “I go by many names, but Harry will do if ye please. Old Harry’s worth more to ye than gold while ye stand on this rock!” “And what of your blindness?” asked Vlad. Harry shook his head. “Crazy is catching!” he chuckled. “I’ll help ye however I can, so long as ye guarantee me a berth in yer boat on the way home. Nothing fancy, ye understand, just a hammock to swing me old bones!” Beldin shrugged. “I think we can offer you that much.” “Good, good!” Harry peered into the tunnel. “I know these caverns like the veins in me hand!” They journeyed onward, Harry in the lead. The walls started to get narrower and narrower, and the congealed blood drippings became as thick as cobwebs. They resorted to hacking their way through the tunnel. Finally, the passageway became too tight to fit. Harry moved ahead, cackling and scrambling on all fours like a greased weasel. “He left a lot of his wine in this rock, Leviathan did! And burns like brine, so the rock don’t want it! SO it keeps squeezing, squeezing, squeezing, til it turns into dust and blows away.” Harry jabbed a thumb in the direction they had come. “That’s the smoke ye see coming from the grand hole back there.” “That’s great, Harry, but how do we fit through here?” asked Vlad. “Surely, a bunch of hearties like yerselves have something stashed about ye that can get ye through this muddle!” Sebastian began rummaging through one of his belt pouches. He pulled out the Leviathan Spyglass. Harry’s eyes went wide. “Ye been nicking from the dead ones!” Sebastian nodded. “This Spyglass has the power of transformation and the ability to open a gate anywhere. So let’s see if it will do the job here.” He opened the Spyglass as if to peer into the murky tunnel, one telescoping piece at a time. As he did so, a three-ringed portal opened up ahead with a WHOOP-WHOOP-WHOOP. Sebastian snapped the Leviathan Spyglass shut, and the three rings disappeared. Before them was a hollowed out tunnel, with great chunks of bloody stone simply missing. The dark-kin stared down at the Spyglass with a rapturous gaze. “Powerful trinkets ye have there,” said Harry, subdued. “Each one’s got a power of its own; they lets ye act a bit like the good lord, gives ye one of his powers.” “Powerful indeed,” Sebastian said breathlessly. [/QUOTE]
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