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X-PATH 2 : The Forge of F.U. (Completed 15 April 2005)
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<blockquote data-quote="Capellan" data-source="post: 2098891" data-attributes="member: 6294"><p><strong>7: Stairway to Heaven / Highway to Hell</strong></p><p></p><p>"A ... dead ... end?" Floyd wheezed, leaning forward with his hands on his knees, "I ... climbed ... all those stairs ... for a dead ... end?"</p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 9px">clang. clang. clang.</span></p><p></p><p>"There's some statues and stuff." Bev pointed out, unhelpfully. She waved a jewellery-laded hand at the octagonal chamber before them. Three statues of squat, bearded warriors glared from the left, right and opposite walls. All three stood with arms raised, an axe clenched in each hand.</p><p></p><p>"I can't believe it's a dead end." Fabio frowned.</p><p></p><p>"I think I ... already said that." Floyd straightened up with a <em>huff</em> of effort.</p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 9px">clang. clang. clang.</span></p><p></p><p>"No." Fabio's deeply furrowed brow was a sure sign he was thinking, "I <em>really</em> can't believe it's a dead end. There's a noise coming from somewhere ... sounds like hammering."</p><p></p><p>"I don't hear anything." Bev shrugged.</p><p></p><p>"That's because you never shut up and listen." Smith waved her to silence, and cocked his head to the side. Perhaps he was hoping the sound waves would trip over his upturned ear lobe and fall into his head.</p><p></p><p>"I hear something, too." Simon </p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 9px">clang. clang. clang.</span></p><p></p><p>nodded. "Sounds pretty echo-y. Hard to tell where its coming from."</p><p></p><p>"Could be a secret door." Smith mused.</p><p></p><p>"Ya think?" Any sarcasometers in the room would have exploded.</p><p></p><p>"Quiet, Beverly." Smith turned to Simon, "Go ninja it."</p><p></p><p>"Ninja!" Simon skulked into the room, sticking close to the wall. He checked floors and ceiling for lurking monsters, then slunk down low as he prowled toward the far side of the room. Twice he stopped, ears straining to try and work out where the sound was coming from. Turning back to the others, he cupped a hand to his ear and pointed to his left. Flexing his hands dramatically, he moved between two of the statues and began to run his hands over the wall, searching for signs of a secret door.</p><p></p><p>"He's pretty good at this, huh?" Floyd remarked, through a mouthful of cheeseburger.</p><p></p><p>Which is about the moment that the two statues slashed their axes down, cutting Simon to the bone.</p><p></p><p>The youngster staggered back, blood streaming down his ruined <em>Punisher</em> t-shirt. He sunk to his knees, vision clouding as blood loss dragged him inexorably toward death.</p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 9px">clang. clang. clang.</span></p><p></p><p>"The King is here for you, son." Floyd slapped invoked Elvis's benediction on Simon, hauled him to his feet, and offered him a double-chilli-cheese-hot dog, "Now go try the other wall."</p><p></p><p></p><p>* * *</p><p></p><p></p><p><span style="color: yellowgreen">"Gutsy little runt."</span> Patton remarked approvingly, then cackled as blood spattered all over the screen again, <span style="color: yellowgreen">"But not very bright, eh Johnson?"</span></p><p></p><p>"No sir." Johnson tried not to think about the long corporate lunch he'd had that day, or the way all that rich food kept wanting to rise up his gullet. "But then you said you didn't want them for their brains, sir."</p><p></p><p><span style="color: yellowgreen">"Damn right."</span> Patton nodded and pointed at the screen, where Simon was once more being hauled to his feet and pushed toward the wall, <span style="color: yellowgreen">"What I want is the kind of mentality that makes a man keep poking a sleepin' lion, just to see how long it'll take before the thing rips off his head."</span></p><p></p><p>"Well, they certainly have that, sir." Johnson agreed, "Though they seem to have worked out that it would be a good idea to break the statues arms, at least."</p><p></p><p><span style="color: yellowgreen">"That's the other thing I like about these boys. When they go pokin' lions, they do it with a <em>really big stick</em>."</span></p><p></p><p></p><p>* * *</p><p></p><p></p><p>"Putting a secret door behind the statues?" Floyd stared at the space between the statue's stone back and the wall. "Must be mighty inconvenient having to squeeze trhough that itty bitty gap all the time."</p><p></p><p>"Though probably not as inconvenient as an axe to the head, Mr Anderson."</p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 9px">clang. clang. clang.</span></p><p></p><p>"You do have a way of getting to the heart of things, Mr Smith."</p><p></p><p>"Yes. Through the ribcage."</p><p></p><p>Floyd was silent for a moment as he tried to work out whether Smith just made a joke. Finally he settled for calling out to Simon,</p><p></p><p>"How are things going back there, son?"</p><p></p><p>"Slowly." Simon's tone was aggrieved, "There's definitely a door here, and I don't think it's trapped. I'm just trying to work it open. You'll know when I do because the hammering noise will get -"</p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px"><strong>CLANG. CLANG. CLANG.</strong></span></p><p></p><p>"- louder."</p><p></p><p>The group followed Simon through the no-longer-secret door and into a huge hall, dimly lit with guttering torches. Massive, vaulted pillars run the length of the hall, throwing each side further into shadow, while the far end is dominated by a stone throne, set on a raised plinth.</p><p></p><p>"Hammering's coming from over there." Simon gestured to the right hand side of the hall.</p><p></p><p>"Wonder who's working so hard?" Floyd asked aloud. "Reckon we should pay 'em a visit and find out."</p><p></p><p>As soon as the Elvisite stepped forward, however, a cold voice rang out.</p><p></p><p>"Come no further. Leave now, if you wish to live."</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Capellan, post: 2098891, member: 6294"] [b]7: Stairway to Heaven / Highway to Hell[/b] "A ... dead ... end?" Floyd wheezed, leaning forward with his hands on his knees, "I ... climbed ... all those stairs ... for a dead ... end?" [size=1]clang. clang. clang.[/size] "There's some statues and stuff." Bev pointed out, unhelpfully. She waved a jewellery-laded hand at the octagonal chamber before them. Three statues of squat, bearded warriors glared from the left, right and opposite walls. All three stood with arms raised, an axe clenched in each hand. "I can't believe it's a dead end." Fabio frowned. "I think I ... already said that." Floyd straightened up with a [I]huff[/I] of effort. [size=1]clang. clang. clang.[/size] "No." Fabio's deeply furrowed brow was a sure sign he was thinking, "I [I]really[/I] can't believe it's a dead end. There's a noise coming from somewhere ... sounds like hammering." "I don't hear anything." Bev shrugged. "That's because you never shut up and listen." Smith waved her to silence, and cocked his head to the side. Perhaps he was hoping the sound waves would trip over his upturned ear lobe and fall into his head. "I hear something, too." Simon [size=1]clang. clang. clang.[/size] nodded. "Sounds pretty echo-y. Hard to tell where its coming from." "Could be a secret door." Smith mused. "Ya think?" Any sarcasometers in the room would have exploded. "Quiet, Beverly." Smith turned to Simon, "Go ninja it." "Ninja!" Simon skulked into the room, sticking close to the wall. He checked floors and ceiling for lurking monsters, then slunk down low as he prowled toward the far side of the room. Twice he stopped, ears straining to try and work out where the sound was coming from. Turning back to the others, he cupped a hand to his ear and pointed to his left. Flexing his hands dramatically, he moved between two of the statues and began to run his hands over the wall, searching for signs of a secret door. "He's pretty good at this, huh?" Floyd remarked, through a mouthful of cheeseburger. Which is about the moment that the two statues slashed their axes down, cutting Simon to the bone. The youngster staggered back, blood streaming down his ruined [I]Punisher[/I] t-shirt. He sunk to his knees, vision clouding as blood loss dragged him inexorably toward death. [size=1]clang. clang. clang.[/size] "The King is here for you, son." Floyd slapped invoked Elvis's benediction on Simon, hauled him to his feet, and offered him a double-chilli-cheese-hot dog, "Now go try the other wall." * * * [color=yellowgreen]"Gutsy little runt."[/color] Patton remarked approvingly, then cackled as blood spattered all over the screen again, [color=yellowgreen]"But not very bright, eh Johnson?"[/color] "No sir." Johnson tried not to think about the long corporate lunch he'd had that day, or the way all that rich food kept wanting to rise up his gullet. "But then you said you didn't want them for their brains, sir." [color=yellowgreen]"Damn right."[/color] Patton nodded and pointed at the screen, where Simon was once more being hauled to his feet and pushed toward the wall, [color=yellowgreen]"What I want is the kind of mentality that makes a man keep poking a sleepin' lion, just to see how long it'll take before the thing rips off his head."[/color] "Well, they certainly have that, sir." Johnson agreed, "Though they seem to have worked out that it would be a good idea to break the statues arms, at least." [color=yellowgreen]"That's the other thing I like about these boys. When they go pokin' lions, they do it with a [I]really big stick[/I]."[/color] * * * "Putting a secret door behind the statues?" Floyd stared at the space between the statue's stone back and the wall. "Must be mighty inconvenient having to squeeze trhough that itty bitty gap all the time." "Though probably not as inconvenient as an axe to the head, Mr Anderson." [size=1]clang. clang. clang.[/size] "You do have a way of getting to the heart of things, Mr Smith." "Yes. Through the ribcage." Floyd was silent for a moment as he tried to work out whether Smith just made a joke. Finally he settled for calling out to Simon, "How are things going back there, son?" "Slowly." Simon's tone was aggrieved, "There's definitely a door here, and I don't think it's trapped. I'm just trying to work it open. You'll know when I do because the hammering noise will get -" [size=4][b]CLANG. CLANG. CLANG.[/b][/size] "- louder." The group followed Simon through the no-longer-secret door and into a huge hall, dimly lit with guttering torches. Massive, vaulted pillars run the length of the hall, throwing each side further into shadow, while the far end is dominated by a stone throne, set on a raised plinth. "Hammering's coming from over there." Simon gestured to the right hand side of the hall. "Wonder who's working so hard?" Floyd asked aloud. "Reckon we should pay 'em a visit and find out." As soon as the Elvisite stepped forward, however, a cold voice rang out. "Come no further. Leave now, if you wish to live." [/QUOTE]
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