EVERYONE
Both seeress and Watcher remain behind as Alice reaches out for the arrivals. Those who work closely to the priestess are of shy disposition and prefer to preserve the area and its secrets from outsiders. Soon enough, Alice is alone to meet the strangers. At least the native face of Arduniel is there to make things smoother.
ZYARA/MOSS
The situation is no easier, though. The weight and eeriness of the fallen city still staggers the heroes. Zyara's sentiments are not unjustified. On the contrary, as she utters words of concern, the alien heaviness of this place falls entirely upon her. Even in the silence of the monastery, there was the constant noise of toiling people. In here, though, all that covers the area is the whisper of canopies under the wind, as small creatures dance around in an almost mocking tone. In the distance, musical intonations are brought on by the wind - ocarinas, flutes, shepherd's instruments - something she can
recognize. But the melodies are so detached, so frugally strange that she can't find it natural. Everything in here seems to evoke an ancient potency, as if nature itself decided to answer to old musical rituals, answering in exceeding growth - terrifying growth - over the land.
Moss has a similar understanding. In fact, the entire area grows so strong that it reminds him of his former home, lost to him in ages forgotten to all but him. As he glances from his perch, he realizes how much the woods have grown around. He also captures an overview of the entire city - the second one since his arrival - sounds of laughter and joy reaching his ears from the distant floral arches of the eastern causeway, moans of love and languid rest from the southern camp, juvenile banter from the banks of the river and the edges of the sunken city. Suddenly, all seems to blossom around them, as if a mortal trap had been laid to the heroes and, slowly but surely, began to spread open. In fact, he sees from a distance as a bunch of gigantic figures - ten in total - leave a huge pavilion from south, climbing the path towards the castle through the Central Plaza. Far bigger than humans, the grey, thick-furred creatures come, armed to the teeth and follow by the delicate steps of a few elves...
ARANEL
Aranel feels the pull of strange things around her. As she approached the statue, it was almost as if the piece tried to reach out for her, grasping her with wanting fingers, ready to pull something from her slim figure. She steps back just in time, and sees that, despite the 'statue's failure', something has changed in it. The piece looks a bit more like Aranel now, almost as if her face had been imprinted upon the stone and, from the raw lines, something had been sculpted at her image.
Around her, the elf feels the world stir a bit, as if awakened. It might have something to do with the statue, but it also might be just a coincidence. Still, at that very moment, the owls tremble at their perches and the winds blow a bit stronger.
DAXIO/ARDUNIEL/ALICE
Both Daxio and Arduniel scrutinize the confinement between the old walls, allowing their magical senses to do the job for them. They see the lay lines of the protective incantations, and as Aranel pulls back from the statue, they also sense a small, yet powerful, magic trap placed at the thing. In fact, the trap is by far the most powerful spell in place. It was designed to be triggered by the presence of distinctive magical signatures - namely, those of unique nature and draconic making. Once triggered, the statue would then try to steal at least part of the powers behind the magical signatures - possibly for later harvesting. Quite sophisticated and, as most of the other spells, divine in nature.
As most of the others... but not all.
In fact, both men recognize a clear, deliberate design around the ruined watch towers. Yet another trigger - and a cruel one, at that. The walls still hold within the spirits of those who died defending them. Should a certain sort of enemies enter the area - fey enemies - the trigger would spring out, bringing gods know what sorts of horrors forth, to surround the poor victims. No divine spell could have done this, both men understand. Necromancy is at play - powerful, evil, necromancy.
Something not entirely strange to demonic sorcerers and their allies, one might add... The sudden arrival of the attractive half-demoness isn't so strange, after all...
[I'll let you guys roll for the discovery of mutually hidden magical effects if you want to. You now have a more accurate description of spells placed around the courtyard. Also, I took the liberty of working on one of those rustic pencil maps, to give you an idea about the city. As usual, you can travel wherever you want, within and without the city. Now that we have our cast perfectly settled, I'd like to intensify play. Take you time, roleplay, and be mindful of details, hehehe. I'll add further explanations about everything through gameplay, instead of boring you all with wall texts - this lesson I learned from the other games, for sure. Any background knowledge is available - just ask me or create at your own leisure! I hope you'll enjoy!]
CITY MAP
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1F_AoQ7vBXmDZvXEERwfE9qljK5tle6DzmrbytTJV_v4/edit
[MENTION=24380]Neurotic[/MENTION] [MENTION=6801311]KahlessNestor[/MENTION] [MENTION=4936]Shayuri[/MENTION] [MENTION=87106]MetaVoid[/MENTION] [MENTION=6847138]Charlotte of Oz[/MENTION]
