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Curse of Darkness VI - The Valley of the Sun
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<blockquote data-quote="Greenfield" data-source="post: 5926896" data-attributes="member: 6669384"><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">At this point in our tale, we trade DMs again. Mr. M has finished his transitional tale, and is in fact absent from our table for a while. The Tinker now takes over.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">******* </span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"> The group loaded up what they could carry, then wisely dropped a third of it before setting out.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">The way up was indeed a difficult path. The torches that had offered such a welcoming light were somehow cold and weak to those trying to leave the underworld. And though they passed unseen by mortal eyes, the spirits of the dead were like the a river flowing down to the depths. Their passage didn't disturb so much as a dust mote, but the living felt the strength of that torrent trying to drag their own souls down to their doom.. </span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">The pull was gentle enough if you stood in one place, but became a draining drag on those who tried to ascend.</span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">"It's like the winds of Carpathia.", Nedel declared, suppressing a shiver as he felt another soul pass through him. "Far colder than they should be." Yet all knew that the cold he spoke of had naught to do with the temperature.</span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">Penn tried to strike up a merry tune, but within a few bars it became a mockery of itself, and he couldn't maintain the energy to keep playing.</span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">Yet they pressed on. The downward journey had taken them an afternoon, but after what seemed like a full day of climbing, there was no end in sight. Finally, flesh weary and spirits numbed, they found a small niche where they could huddle for a night's rest.</span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">The torch light again made rest difficult, and the lack of firewood left their camp cold. The cold flames of the torches flickered and danced in a gusting breeze that mere flesh could not feel, making the shadows dance across the walls, and granting the carvings an eerie sort of animation. </span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">Their not-rest was undisturbed, however, and in what passed for morning in this sunless place, their bodies at least were refreshed.</span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">"Never thought I'd wish for the sun.", swore the Orc softly as he shouldered his pack. It bulged with treasure, wealth that he stubbornly refused to part with. </span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">Others looked at him and considered their own burdens. "We can come back for it.", Cassius declared as he dropped half of what he carried. But all knew that they wouldn't.</span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">"Something's wrong.", Sylus said, after half an hour. "This isn't the way we came."</span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">"There aren't any side passages.", Seeburn argued. "It has to be."</span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">"No, it isn't.", the Ranger insisted. "It's wider and taller, and there's a turn ahead. There weren't any turns on the way down."</span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">Sure enough, when they raised their weary heads to look beyond where their next steps would take them, they could see the path sweeping to their left over the next hundred yards or so. Turning around, the way behind them remained straight as an arrow.</span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">Still, they had little choice. They could press ahead or turn back, and they knew that if they descended into the depths again, they'd never have the strength to climb out.</span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">Now that Sylus had pointed it out, they could see that the way ahead twisted and turned in a bewildering way, sometimes even wrapping so tightly that they were sure they'd cross their own path, but if they looked behind them the tunnel always appeared straight.</span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">Once more they reached the end of their strength, and presumably the end of their day, without reaching the end of the trail. But as they sought another nook to hide them from the flow of dead souls, they saw that the path widened considerably up ahead, and they rallied themselves for one final push.</span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">The chamber they found themselves in was definitely not one they'd passed on the road down. It stretched nearly a hundred yards wide, and the vaulting ceiling arched beyond the light of the torches.</span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">The smooth expanse of the floor was broken by a number of symbols, none of which seemed even slightly important, for all eyes were on the occupants.</span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">Three men in the white robes that marked the Order of Hades stood waiting, along with a pair that appeared to be Marcus and Apellenea.</span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">"They're here to help.", Marcus said quickly, explaining nothing. "Do you have the item?"</span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">Penn, ever suspicious, stepped forward. "I have it right here.", he said, presenting his new lyre. </span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">Marcus looked at it, then shook his head. "No, the Betrayer's Blade."</span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">"Marcus?", Sylus asked. "How is it that you're here?"</span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">"There's no time for questions.", the Cleric said dismissively.</span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">"I'm serious.", the Ranger insisted. "How are you alive, to be here?"</span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">Looking perturbed, the Jovian answered, "We fooled the assassins with Penn's potion and Euphemia's wits."</span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">"All right. Why are we here?"</span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">"The priests of the dark way have agreed to help us. We have only until the new moon to destroy that blade. Even in that chest, it's getting stronger just by being around the living. It was forged by the dark of the moon, and if we don't rebind it, or destroy it by that time, it will be fully refreshed. That's fourteen days time, and the journey is too long to make without help."</span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">"Where are we going?", asked Penn. "We have no clue."</span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">"They're sending us to another temple, at the foot of mountains, near the Dwarven holds. From there we'll have to walk for a few more days to the 'Place of the Sun'. That is where the blade needs to be unmade."</span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">"Show me!", Penn insisted, drawing out a map. "Words are good, but we can't afford to risk getting lost or lead astray."</span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">One of the silent men in white approached. With a stick of charcoal he marked where they were at the moment, then placed an "X" higher up on the Italian boot. From there he drew a wavering line, following the path of a road that was already noted on the document. Then his line took a sharp turn off that road, and up into unknown territory, where he ended it with a circle.</span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">"All right.", agreed Sylus, committing the way to memory. "We can follow that. So what do we do now?"</span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">"Each of us stand in one of the circles.", Marcus directed, indicating one of the symbols on the floor. "The priests will do the rest."</span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">"What about him?", Penn asked, indicating their Orc companion.</span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">"Oh, we'll take care of him.", one of the priest said, breaking his silence at last.</span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">"Can I have my ring back?", the Orc asked, looking nervous.</span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">"In a moment.", Penn said. "You'll see him safely back to Jason and the others? I have your word on that?"</span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">"Of course.", replied the priest.</span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">The Half Satyr nodded, then turned to the Orc. He handed him his magic ring and whispered, "They're lying. Put it on and run for your life!"</span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">The Orc nodded his agreement, and did just that, vanishing in the blink of an eye. His running footsteps could be heard echoing on the stone.</span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">The priests were surprised, but oddly not upset.</span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">"Poor bastard.", Sylus muttered, shaking his head. "The fool ran back down the path. Ring or no ring, he'll never make it back by himself."</span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">The group was torn at this news, for while the Orc was probably an enemy spy, he had been their companion for days, and no living thing deserved to be lost in these cold depths.</span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">As the priests began the ritual chant, one thought entered Penn's mind: "If they meant to kill the Orc to power the ritual, how will that price be paid now?"</span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'">Then there was a flash of heat and light, and the world turned inside out.</span></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Greenfield, post: 5926896, member: 6669384"] [FONT=Arial]At this point in our tale, we trade DMs again. Mr. M has finished his transitional tale, and is in fact absent from our table for a while. The Tinker now takes over. ******* [/FONT][FONT=Arial] The group loaded up what they could carry, then wisely dropped a third of it before setting out. The way up was indeed a difficult path. The torches that had offered such a welcoming light were somehow cold and weak to those trying to leave the underworld. And though they passed unseen by mortal eyes, the spirits of the dead were like the a river flowing down to the depths. Their passage didn't disturb so much as a dust mote, but the living felt the strength of that torrent trying to drag their own souls down to their doom.. [/FONT] [FONT=Arial] The pull was gentle enough if you stood in one place, but became a draining drag on those who tried to ascend.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] "It's like the winds of Carpathia.", Nedel declared, suppressing a shiver as he felt another soul pass through him. "Far colder than they should be." Yet all knew that the cold he spoke of had naught to do with the temperature.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] Penn tried to strike up a merry tune, but within a few bars it became a mockery of itself, and he couldn't maintain the energy to keep playing.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] Yet they pressed on. The downward journey had taken them an afternoon, but after what seemed like a full day of climbing, there was no end in sight. Finally, flesh weary and spirits numbed, they found a small niche where they could huddle for a night's rest.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] The torch light again made rest difficult, and the lack of firewood left their camp cold. The cold flames of the torches flickered and danced in a gusting breeze that mere flesh could not feel, making the shadows dance across the walls, and granting the carvings an eerie sort of animation. [/FONT] [FONT=Arial] Their not-rest was undisturbed, however, and in what passed for morning in this sunless place, their bodies at least were refreshed.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] "Never thought I'd wish for the sun.", swore the Orc softly as he shouldered his pack. It bulged with treasure, wealth that he stubbornly refused to part with. [/FONT] [FONT=Arial] Others looked at him and considered their own burdens. "We can come back for it.", Cassius declared as he dropped half of what he carried. But all knew that they wouldn't.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] "Something's wrong.", Sylus said, after half an hour. "This isn't the way we came."[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] "There aren't any side passages.", Seeburn argued. "It has to be."[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] "No, it isn't.", the Ranger insisted. "It's wider and taller, and there's a turn ahead. There weren't any turns on the way down."[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] Sure enough, when they raised their weary heads to look beyond where their next steps would take them, they could see the path sweeping to their left over the next hundred yards or so. Turning around, the way behind them remained straight as an arrow.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] Still, they had little choice. They could press ahead or turn back, and they knew that if they descended into the depths again, they'd never have the strength to climb out.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] Now that Sylus had pointed it out, they could see that the way ahead twisted and turned in a bewildering way, sometimes even wrapping so tightly that they were sure they'd cross their own path, but if they looked behind them the tunnel always appeared straight.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] Once more they reached the end of their strength, and presumably the end of their day, without reaching the end of the trail. But as they sought another nook to hide them from the flow of dead souls, they saw that the path widened considerably up ahead, and they rallied themselves for one final push.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] The chamber they found themselves in was definitely not one they'd passed on the road down. It stretched nearly a hundred yards wide, and the vaulting ceiling arched beyond the light of the torches.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] The smooth expanse of the floor was broken by a number of symbols, none of which seemed even slightly important, for all eyes were on the occupants.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] Three men in the white robes that marked the Order of Hades stood waiting, along with a pair that appeared to be Marcus and Apellenea.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] "They're here to help.", Marcus said quickly, explaining nothing. "Do you have the item?"[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] Penn, ever suspicious, stepped forward. "I have it right here.", he said, presenting his new lyre. [/FONT] [FONT=Arial] Marcus looked at it, then shook his head. "No, the Betrayer's Blade."[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] "Marcus?", Sylus asked. "How is it that you're here?"[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] "There's no time for questions.", the Cleric said dismissively.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] "I'm serious.", the Ranger insisted. "How are you alive, to be here?"[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] Looking perturbed, the Jovian answered, "We fooled the assassins with Penn's potion and Euphemia's wits."[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] "All right. Why are we here?"[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] "The priests of the dark way have agreed to help us. We have only until the new moon to destroy that blade. Even in that chest, it's getting stronger just by being around the living. It was forged by the dark of the moon, and if we don't rebind it, or destroy it by that time, it will be fully refreshed. That's fourteen days time, and the journey is too long to make without help."[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] "Where are we going?", asked Penn. "We have no clue."[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] "They're sending us to another temple, at the foot of mountains, near the Dwarven holds. From there we'll have to walk for a few more days to the 'Place of the Sun'. That is where the blade needs to be unmade."[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] "Show me!", Penn insisted, drawing out a map. "Words are good, but we can't afford to risk getting lost or lead astray."[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] One of the silent men in white approached. With a stick of charcoal he marked where they were at the moment, then placed an "X" higher up on the Italian boot. From there he drew a wavering line, following the path of a road that was already noted on the document. Then his line took a sharp turn off that road, and up into unknown territory, where he ended it with a circle.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] "All right.", agreed Sylus, committing the way to memory. "We can follow that. So what do we do now?"[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] "Each of us stand in one of the circles.", Marcus directed, indicating one of the symbols on the floor. "The priests will do the rest."[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] "What about him?", Penn asked, indicating their Orc companion.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] "Oh, we'll take care of him.", one of the priest said, breaking his silence at last.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] "Can I have my ring back?", the Orc asked, looking nervous.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] "In a moment.", Penn said. "You'll see him safely back to Jason and the others? I have your word on that?"[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] "Of course.", replied the priest.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] The Half Satyr nodded, then turned to the Orc. He handed him his magic ring and whispered, "They're lying. Put it on and run for your life!"[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] The Orc nodded his agreement, and did just that, vanishing in the blink of an eye. His running footsteps could be heard echoing on the stone.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] The priests were surprised, but oddly not upset.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] "Poor bastard.", Sylus muttered, shaking his head. "The fool ran back down the path. Ring or no ring, he'll never make it back by himself."[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] The group was torn at this news, for while the Orc was probably an enemy spy, he had been their companion for days, and no living thing deserved to be lost in these cold depths.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] As the priests began the ritual chant, one thought entered Penn's mind: "If they meant to kill the Orc to power the ritual, how will that price be paid now?"[/FONT] [FONT=Arial] Then there was a flash of heat and light, and the world turned inside out.[/FONT] [/QUOTE]
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Curse of Darkness VI - The Valley of the Sun
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