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Dead Man's Chest -- Spooky Pirate Fun -- COMPLETE! Nov 3/06
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<blockquote data-quote="barsoomcore" data-source="post: 2774343" data-attributes="member: 812"><p>Ana gulped and forced herself forward until she could peer in through the shattered doorway of the chapel. She could hear the surf beyond the crumbling structure, pounding on the rocky shore with incessant thunder. The sun lay low on the ocean's rim, flooding the scene with stark bloody illumination.</p><p></p><p>Behind her, Dras, Black and Quinn watched cautiously from the rubble-strewn courtyard.</p><p></p><p>Inside the chapel she saw overturned benches covered in dust, mounds of debris, and a patchwork ceiling of broken tiles. At the far end of the building stood an ancient altar, upon which grinned a skull made of heavy crystal. Ana sucked in a shaking breath and looked away from the terrible thing before its strange power overwhelmed her as the previous one had.</p><p></p><p>Even so, she had a vague glimmer in her mind.</p><p></p><p><em>Chains rattled in hollow dread. Feet shuffled, heavy and wet. Low, mossy voices moaned in unending torment.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>"Six Thousand Men will not be denied..."</em></p><p></p><p>She did not faint. Ana steadied herself against the heavy stones of the chapel, trying to slow her frantic heart. With an impatient look back at the others, she gestured them forward. Dras spoke loudly to carry her words over the crashing of the waves nearby.</p><p></p><p>"Is there a skull inside? Did it do the same thing to you?"</p><p></p><p>"Yes. Yes. It's on the table at the far end."</p><p></p><p>Black looked around the wind-blown ruins. Salt spray chilled the air.</p><p></p><p>"No sign of our friend Monsignor Domino. Perhaps we'd best move quickly."</p><p></p><p>Quinn nodded, feeling much bolstered by the fact that Ana hadn't immediately collapsed at the sight of this skull.</p><p></p><p>"I'll fetch the blasted thing. You lot stay right here."</p><p></p><p>With that, he dashed into the chapel.</p><p></p><p>The sudden screams actually drowned out the thundering surf. Quinn's three friends peered fearfully around the entrance arch.</p><p></p><p>Quinn hung thrashing in mid-air, writhing in the tenebrous grip of a nightmarish phantasm: limbs and torsos and screaming faces whirling about in a tower of ghostly bodies. The terrible thing seemed taller than the chapel that contained it, reaching upwards into black emptiness.</p><p></p><p>Ana hissed, "Xibalba," and, with a quick search through her pack, came up with a scroll of parchment. She unrolled and began reading out loud, ignoring the screams and howls from within. Dras and Black, with a look at their chanting companion, shrugged and ran into the chapel.</p><p></p><p>Debris flew about, the air deafening and violent with concussion, shrieking and a slow, unstoppable rumble like a rockslide bearing down on them. Dras and Black plunged forward, grabbing hold of their friend and heaving to pull him free.</p><p></p><p>The terrible thing clutching him would not let go, and with a sudden convulsion, hurled him straight up into the air.</p><p></p><p>Quinn's body flew upwards, bursting right through the roof tiles and soaring out of sight. Dras and Black gaped at their friend's sudden disappearance, and then started as a curtain of mist rose up in front of them. Ana stood beside them, still clutching the parchment.</p><p></p><p>"<em>Mists of Xibalba</em>. I think it will hide us from Six Thousand Men."</p><p></p><p>Black frowned.</p><p></p><p>"I'm not as worried about an army as I am about that thing over there."</p><p></p><p>He had to gesture vaguely as the great pillar of corpses was now entirely hidden by the mist. Ana shook her head.</p><p></p><p>"No, that thing IS Six Thousand Men. That's its name. It's one of the Demon Lords of Xibalba. Remember what Ah Balaam was talking about? The Demon Lords are rising. Lel-Za-Bol is another -- we already have its skull. And there's one called Dagon, that zombi back on Firewatch mentioned it."</p><p></p><p>"How many are there?"</p><p></p><p>"I remember some stories, but not very well. Some of my people live on this island; if we can find them we can perhaps talk to their elders."</p><p></p><p>Black considered. They stood now in a cylinder of mist, with nothing visible beyond the pale drifting wall only an arm's reach from them.</p><p></p><p>"Alright. Presumably Mister Domino has his own reasons for collecting these skulls. I say we beat him to it, gather them up and destroy them. We know he's around right now, so you two go on and collect the skull of, um, Several Thousand Folks, and I'll go back to the house and make sure the cart's ready for us to get out of here. Meet me there."</p><p></p><p>Ana realised that Quinn was nowhere to be seen.</p><p></p><p>"What happened to Mister Quinn?"</p><p></p><p>Dras grimaced and looked away from the sudden horror in the island girl's eyes.</p><p></p><p>"Let's get this done if we're doing it. Will this mist move with you?"</p><p></p><p>Ana nodded. Black stood for a second, wanting to say something, but with only a nod he dashed out of the mist. Dras led Ana in the opposite direction, picking her way amongst the debris, hoping they were heading towards the altar. A few course corrections were required, but soon the dust-covered stone platform emerged from the mists surrounding them.</p><p></p><p>Both women kept their eyes averted as Dras opened the apple sack and swept the terrible relic inside. There was a clunk, a bit of a rattle, and the overpowering sense of dread that had so consumed them went away.</p><p></p><p>"Let's get out of here."</p><p></p><p>There was no more sign of Six Thousand Men, though Dras' apple sack felt cold and uneasy to the touch. The slender mulatto ignored the evil sensations and the two women ran from the ruined castle, plunging through the tall grasses towards the house.</p><p></p><p>After a few dozen yards Dras stopped, gesturing for silence from Ana. They stood still, panting, while Dras listened intently. Her dark eyes flashed at Ana and she whispered.</p><p></p><p>"Someone's out here with us. Not too far away."</p><p></p><p>"Black?"</p><p></p><p>"I don't think so."</p><p></p><p>Heavy footsteps suddenly erupted just off to their left, and with only a quick cry from Ana, the two women started off again, something crashing through the grasses behind them. The crystal skulls hung over Dras' shoulder, their weight dragging at her feet, but she managed to keep up with Ana's fleet stride. They burst from the tall grass onto the gravel driveway of the house.</p><p></p><p>Black had already gotten the wagon turned around and ready to go. He called out to the horses and twitched the reins and they started out even before Dras and Ana got to the wagon, and they had to throw themselves aboard the moving vehicle.</p><p></p><p>Both cried out at the same time. Ana because Quinn lay, weak and injured, in the bed of the wagon, and Dras because she saw behind them the massive form of Monsignor Domino emerge from the grasses and leap aboard the second wagon. She scrambled up to the board where Black sat driving the team at a full gallop. Gravel spewed as they veered out onto the road. Ahead lay a twisting canyon drive over the ridge that divided Aruba lengthwise. The sun was almost setting behind them.</p><p></p><p>"Did you disable the other wagon?"</p><p></p><p>Black shook his head.</p><p></p><p>"No time. Looks like we're in for a chase."</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="barsoomcore, post: 2774343, member: 812"] Ana gulped and forced herself forward until she could peer in through the shattered doorway of the chapel. She could hear the surf beyond the crumbling structure, pounding on the rocky shore with incessant thunder. The sun lay low on the ocean's rim, flooding the scene with stark bloody illumination. Behind her, Dras, Black and Quinn watched cautiously from the rubble-strewn courtyard. Inside the chapel she saw overturned benches covered in dust, mounds of debris, and a patchwork ceiling of broken tiles. At the far end of the building stood an ancient altar, upon which grinned a skull made of heavy crystal. Ana sucked in a shaking breath and looked away from the terrible thing before its strange power overwhelmed her as the previous one had. Even so, she had a vague glimmer in her mind. [i]Chains rattled in hollow dread. Feet shuffled, heavy and wet. Low, mossy voices moaned in unending torment. "Six Thousand Men will not be denied..."[/i] She did not faint. Ana steadied herself against the heavy stones of the chapel, trying to slow her frantic heart. With an impatient look back at the others, she gestured them forward. Dras spoke loudly to carry her words over the crashing of the waves nearby. "Is there a skull inside? Did it do the same thing to you?" "Yes. Yes. It's on the table at the far end." Black looked around the wind-blown ruins. Salt spray chilled the air. "No sign of our friend Monsignor Domino. Perhaps we'd best move quickly." Quinn nodded, feeling much bolstered by the fact that Ana hadn't immediately collapsed at the sight of this skull. "I'll fetch the blasted thing. You lot stay right here." With that, he dashed into the chapel. The sudden screams actually drowned out the thundering surf. Quinn's three friends peered fearfully around the entrance arch. Quinn hung thrashing in mid-air, writhing in the tenebrous grip of a nightmarish phantasm: limbs and torsos and screaming faces whirling about in a tower of ghostly bodies. The terrible thing seemed taller than the chapel that contained it, reaching upwards into black emptiness. Ana hissed, "Xibalba," and, with a quick search through her pack, came up with a scroll of parchment. She unrolled and began reading out loud, ignoring the screams and howls from within. Dras and Black, with a look at their chanting companion, shrugged and ran into the chapel. Debris flew about, the air deafening and violent with concussion, shrieking and a slow, unstoppable rumble like a rockslide bearing down on them. Dras and Black plunged forward, grabbing hold of their friend and heaving to pull him free. The terrible thing clutching him would not let go, and with a sudden convulsion, hurled him straight up into the air. Quinn's body flew upwards, bursting right through the roof tiles and soaring out of sight. Dras and Black gaped at their friend's sudden disappearance, and then started as a curtain of mist rose up in front of them. Ana stood beside them, still clutching the parchment. "[i]Mists of Xibalba[/i]. I think it will hide us from Six Thousand Men." Black frowned. "I'm not as worried about an army as I am about that thing over there." He had to gesture vaguely as the great pillar of corpses was now entirely hidden by the mist. Ana shook her head. "No, that thing IS Six Thousand Men. That's its name. It's one of the Demon Lords of Xibalba. Remember what Ah Balaam was talking about? The Demon Lords are rising. Lel-Za-Bol is another -- we already have its skull. And there's one called Dagon, that zombi back on Firewatch mentioned it." "How many are there?" "I remember some stories, but not very well. Some of my people live on this island; if we can find them we can perhaps talk to their elders." Black considered. They stood now in a cylinder of mist, with nothing visible beyond the pale drifting wall only an arm's reach from them. "Alright. Presumably Mister Domino has his own reasons for collecting these skulls. I say we beat him to it, gather them up and destroy them. We know he's around right now, so you two go on and collect the skull of, um, Several Thousand Folks, and I'll go back to the house and make sure the cart's ready for us to get out of here. Meet me there." Ana realised that Quinn was nowhere to be seen. "What happened to Mister Quinn?" Dras grimaced and looked away from the sudden horror in the island girl's eyes. "Let's get this done if we're doing it. Will this mist move with you?" Ana nodded. Black stood for a second, wanting to say something, but with only a nod he dashed out of the mist. Dras led Ana in the opposite direction, picking her way amongst the debris, hoping they were heading towards the altar. A few course corrections were required, but soon the dust-covered stone platform emerged from the mists surrounding them. Both women kept their eyes averted as Dras opened the apple sack and swept the terrible relic inside. There was a clunk, a bit of a rattle, and the overpowering sense of dread that had so consumed them went away. "Let's get out of here." There was no more sign of Six Thousand Men, though Dras' apple sack felt cold and uneasy to the touch. The slender mulatto ignored the evil sensations and the two women ran from the ruined castle, plunging through the tall grasses towards the house. After a few dozen yards Dras stopped, gesturing for silence from Ana. They stood still, panting, while Dras listened intently. Her dark eyes flashed at Ana and she whispered. "Someone's out here with us. Not too far away." "Black?" "I don't think so." Heavy footsteps suddenly erupted just off to their left, and with only a quick cry from Ana, the two women started off again, something crashing through the grasses behind them. The crystal skulls hung over Dras' shoulder, their weight dragging at her feet, but she managed to keep up with Ana's fleet stride. They burst from the tall grass onto the gravel driveway of the house. Black had already gotten the wagon turned around and ready to go. He called out to the horses and twitched the reins and they started out even before Dras and Ana got to the wagon, and they had to throw themselves aboard the moving vehicle. Both cried out at the same time. Ana because Quinn lay, weak and injured, in the bed of the wagon, and Dras because she saw behind them the massive form of Monsignor Domino emerge from the grasses and leap aboard the second wagon. She scrambled up to the board where Black sat driving the team at a full gallop. Gravel spewed as they veered out onto the road. Ahead lay a twisting canyon drive over the ridge that divided Aruba lengthwise. The sun was almost setting behind them. "Did you disable the other wagon?" Black shook his head. "No time. Looks like we're in for a chase." [/QUOTE]
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