More Bad Ideas Involving Tir
It is here, upon the highest crop of Kolvir, that there are three
steps fashioned roughly out of stone. When moonlight touches them, the
outline of an entire staircase, the analog to the eastern Great Stair
into Amber City, takes shape, spanning the great gulf to that point
above the sea where the ghost city in the sky shimmers opaquely.
From the peak, you can see the city spread out to the south, but
you'll have to take the trail down to the south. If you're inclined to
rough it, the rest of the Dragonspine Mountains extend to the north,
and rough paths lead north across the ridgeline. Last, on certain
nights when the moon is clear and bright in the sky, the three steps
lead to that place called Tir-na Nog'th.
The party has gathered at the peak of Kolvir this cold, clear night to Try Something Crazy. As such, the assembled team probably reflect this.
Liam climbs the stairs up Kolvir like a pro. Unlike what he claimed earlier, he does not have a walking stick. He stands right at the top platform and peers at the west to wait for the sun to go down. And because he's Liam, he does so with the hair fluttering in the breeze and with a backdrop of a golden sunset while perched on the top step. Then he peers up and waits for the full moon to rise. Interestingly enough, as the city materializes in all silvers and blues, he, too, begins to glow in the dark to match it. It's a little unsettling, really.
RPG: Liam declares that he has the Gift of Moonlight (TIR-GM) gift.
Taleyn is here, clutching her cloak about her, having seemingly lost some of her affinity for the cold. She beams at Liam. "Thank you so much for agreeing to guide us, my dear!" She tilts her head sideways to look at him, glowing like that. "You look like a young Artur."
Liya and Mayhem come along, Liya limping a little still, but certainly not impeded for most things. She does not like the cold, and is bundled up with her nice warm grey-fur coat. She follows along, and then hangs out waiting, curiously.
Raphaela hates the steps. What's so difficult about making an elevator? Honestly.
Privately, to Liyandra, Taleyn grins at Liya and mouths, "Thanks for coming!" She looks interested that Mayhem is here, too.
Privately, to Taleyn, Liyandra returns the grin with one of her own. "No problem."
Liam gives Taleyn a sidelong look and then he says: "I should have kept the sword." Then he watches as the entire city shimmers into existence -- towers and spires and buildings and roads and flags and ghostly people going about their business. The stairway linking Kolvir and Tir Na-Nogth appears out of nothing and he says, "You know where these stairs go? They go up."
Privately, to Liam, Taleyn meets Liam's eyes when he mentions the sword, and smiles warmly.
Myrddyn arrives at the top of the mountain, not by walking, but by flying. How he is flying is even more unusual for him, as he is being carried by what appears to be a vast...BAT.
RPG: Myrddyn declares that he owns this token:
-------------------------------------------------------------------[ dgl ]----
Author: Althea Held By: Myrddyn
Date: Thu Feb 7 16:30:00 2013 Focus: 3
Title: Spawn of Camazotz
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Created via Beast Master (ANI-BM): power-token rechargeable special token-3
Gift description:
Whether through hunting, training, breeding or simply through magic, the character is capable of making animals something more than they should be. The character can create 3-Focus tokens that reflect beasts with exotic or greater than normal capabilities. These tokens persist over time, and are effectively rechargeable items.
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Token Description
This creature is a huge bat of Ahool stock. It's wings are each over 10' long with large claws situated midway. It's body is covered by bristly gray fur.
Bred and trained to be a flying mount it has the strength and stamina to carry a human sized burden for many miles.
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RPG: Myrddyn used the following +declare targets: Atop Kolvir - Amber Countryside
Raphaela mutters "Cheating. That's cheating." she folds over her knees to catch breath and misses the sunset.
Taleyn's mouth falls open. There's a giant bat. Her cohort is riding a giant bat. Her eyes grow large and round, and then she has to close her mouth tight, lest she emit a SQUEEEEEEEE that might startle the bat. "GIANTBAT" she allows herself, then clears her throat with a ladylike cough. "May I pet him?" she asks in a purely businesslike fashion.
Mayhem stays with Liya, the 50lb cat still with big blue eyes. He's gotten stockier, but he's still seeming scrawny, with ears and paws too big for him. The bat catches Liya's attention, and Mayhem's. Liya's hand finds the cat's head, and he stays with Liya, watching the bat.
Taleyn asks Myrddyn, "Does this mean you're our Ground Support, standing by to catch us in mid-air if the worst should happen?"
Liam gives the huge bat an extremely wide berth. The widest berth. The widest berth one possibly can while standing on the ghostly stairs up to Tir. Which isn't that wide. But as wide as he can go.
Myrddyn is deposited almost gracefully, he seems unacustomed to such travel. Straigtening his robes he nods to Taleyn, "Yes, I've been assured he's well trained and won't bite. Without provocation anyway. As for support, indeed! I'm terrible at carrying others in the air. Consider him a safety net, should bad things happen."
Liam points up the stairs and goes, helpfully, "Tir?"
Raphaela is too out of breath to avoid anything. "Nice to meet you, Net. I hope you won't eat us when you catch us."
Raphaela did say it. When. Not IF.
Raphaela, pessimist.
Giant Bat-- Safety Net. Check! Taleyn rolls with that. She says to all present, "This is Liam, and he will be our guide. He knows Tir better than anyone. We are in good hands." She gestures to the stairs for all to follow Liam, stepping gingerly onto the moonlight stairs herself.
Liya smiles, waving a hand Liam's way. "Hey, Liam," she says. "We're really going up .. that?" Uhm, right then. She glances at Myrddyn, since she doesn't really know him. "Hi, I'm Liya," she says, before she starts following after Talyen.
Liam heads up the stairs to Tir like he's a pro at walking up these stairs.
Raphaela seems to ponder staying behind for a moment there. "Seriously. If this is one of those 'if you don't believe you fall through things' I'll be such a lovely...splat." she actually holds onto Taleyn's elbow for now.
The shimmering steps go up and up into air, higher and higher above Kolvir. It is VERY high. The stairway is see-through in places, and just getting up is a feat of willpower, or possibly insanity. Then suddenly the city itself is underfoot in a burst of moonlight.
Liam stands at the top of the stairs of Tir with his arms crossed. He surveys a City that is a riot of chaos. The ground is solid enough and the City reflects Amber but Lower City shacks sit next to, and on top of, expensive upper city homes and bits of Palace are mixed in with the shoppes. It's not a city that makes a whole lot of cognitive sense. And they people here, they look like Amber. But not. And Liam says: "Hrm."
At Liam's "Hrm," Taleyn echoes it with a question. "Hrm? Is this... how it's supposed to look?"
Raphaela doesn't look down, until she does and goes "Ooh, pretty." she then spots Tir and says "Looks like it's Amber reflected through a shattered mirror." she remembers broken mirrors in her house and sighs heavily.
Liya and Mayhem manage the stairs, though it takes a few gulps and significant will power. Mayhem is mostly quiet, but there are a few times where Liya has to coax the cat forward. And at the top, she pauses to look at the conglomeration of stuff juxtaposed all over itself. "Oh." A glance over at Raphaela, and then a slow nod.
Myrddyn wrangles the big bat, keeping it ready to pounce, but far away from Liam. All the while watching the chaos with fascination.
RPG: Liam challenges a difficulty of 10. Liam chooses Wits and the gift BLD-OB. Liam fails.
Liam tells the entire group, after standing and thinking about things for a few moments, "This way." And Liam heads with absolute unshakable confidence down a street full of ghost people.
Taleyn gives a little bounce of excitement. "Brilliant!" she follows, watching the ghost people as they go.
Raphaela studies the general mental state of the group, gives a little sigh and, an expert in survival, she stays in the middle of the group. Accidentally so.
Liya shrugs, one hand petting Mayhem absently. A glance over at Myrddyn and his bat, and then she simply follows along, keeping an eye on the ghost people as she watches. And the city, as fascinating and odd as it is.
Liam leads the team down one jumbled street down another one. And no matter which way he turns, he always seems to be leading the group toward the Palace. He can turn distinctively away from the Palace toward the Lower City and he will be heading toward the Palace. Every step he takes funnels him into the Palace. And the building on either side of the street start to look more and more manhandled by war. At first they looked a little scorched but after a turn the windows are broken. Another turn and they're blackened. Yet another and they are actively on fire with bodies of the dead of Amber's Army lying in puddles in the street. Soon, the sound of battle echoes in the air. Weapon on weapon action.
Raphaela uhh....s..."Say...what weapons work on ghosts?"
Taleyn's flare and she becomes keenly alert at signs of battle, looking more and more upset as they proceed. She lays a hand on her sword's hilt. She looks to Liam, eyes echoing Raphaela's question. "Yes, are we in danger here?"
Liya tests her own sense of danger, as her gaze goes from person to person, from blackened ruins to fire to - "It sure sounds like we are," she murmurs, softly.
Raphaela adds a helpful "I do wonder who they are fighting, though."
Myrddyn says, "I wouldn't be surprised at anything that happens here. The stories and rumors are vast. Besides, I've met people who've walked OUT of Tir. I mean they didn't go in, they walked /down/ the steps from nothingness."
The dream poses before Liam can even answer the questions and now the entire group is standing on the promenade heading up to the Palace. Huge black things in chitinous armor, legs akimbo, razor sharp talons, covered in blood, make thik thik thik thik noises while stabbing defenders and nobles alike. There, in front of the great Palace Gates, sitting on his black stallion with red eyes, is a huge Chaos Knight with an enormous axe and giant horns that curl into the sky. He is awash with gore and horror and his horse stands astride a pile of limbs. The Knight reaches out its hands and says: "COME. WORSHIP THE SIGN. ENJOIN THE REIGN OF CHAOS."
Taleyn draws her sword with narrowed eyes and jutting jaw. "Over. My. Dead. Body."
RPG: Raphaela challenges a difficulty of 7. Raphaela chooses Wits. Raphaela succeeds.
RPG: Liyandra challenges a difficulty of 7. Liyandra chooses Resolve and the gift SKL-SF. Liyandra succeeds.
RPG: Liam challenges a difficulty of 7. Liam chooses Grace and the gift BLD-OB. Liam succeeds.
RPG: Taleyn challenges a difficulty of 7. Taleyn chooses Resolve. Taleyn succeeds.
RPG: Myrddyn challenges a difficulty of 7. Myrddyn chooses Wits and the gifts BLD-LY, PAS-KF, and SKL-QM. Myrddyn overwhelmingly succeeds.
Oh, yes, that would qualify as danger, wouldn't it? Liya's eyes go wide as she stares for a heartbeat. She signals Mayhem to stay out of the way, and her knives come out, though she doesn't say a word.
Raphaela tilts so she can see behind others and she frowns "Such pathetic knowledge of theathrology. It would be much more effective with heads." suuure everyone is a critic. Poor Chaos knight comes all way to palace, sends Amber in chaos and STILL! A critic can find him.
Liam's eyes get really really wide as he clearly recognizes the Chaos Knight and he turns and he yells "RUN!!!!" and he does down a nearby alleyway because Liam isn't much of a hero.
The black shapes chitter and drone in a sick song that makes the explorers *want* to fall to worship! ...But somehow Liam's idea seems far better. Everyone is able to shake off the spell of the Chaos Knight, except for Myrddyn, who seemed unusually immune to begin with.
Raphaela runs "But you know...following Liam brought us here..."
Taleyn shoos everyone else to follow Liam and she takes the rear, the better to fend off ichor-beasts with chitinous shells and chittering voices. "RUN!" she yells, taking up the battle-cry.
Bugs and Chaos-horrors launch themselves after the retreating Living, their voices raised in a cacophony of terror.
Liam runs like a crazy person away from the Palace -- and now Tir will let him leave the Palace -- and plunges down city streets that ought to lead them to the Lower City. Maybe.
Raphaela doesn't have time or breathe to both run and complain and think and breathe at the same time.
RPG: Raphaela challenges a difficulty of 8. Raphaela chooses Resolve and the gift STY-LK. Raphaela succeeds.
RPG: Liam challenges a difficulty of 8. Liam chooses Wits and the gifts BLD-OB and STY-SW. Liam almost succeeds.
RPG: Liyandra challenges a difficulty of 8. Liyandra chooses Resolve and the gift SKL-SF. Liyandra succeeds.
RPG: Myrddyn challenges a difficulty of 8. Myrddyn chooses Wits and the gifts FTH-DA and SKL-DS. Myrddyn succeeds.
RPG: Taleyn challenges a difficulty of 8. Taleyn chooses Grace and the gifts SKL-GU and SKL-WS. Taleyn overwhelmingly succeeds.
Liya runs, bringing Mayhem along with.
Liam covers his head with his arms as one of the beetles catches up to him. There's a swipe and he flees, putting garbage cans and fruit stands (fruit goes flying) between him and the creature. He grabs a long pole that happens to be conveniently there and turns to fend off the beast when it raises one huge razor arm. Liam tries to dodge leaping to the left and catching the talon on the pole but it smacks Liam across the chest and sends him flying and bloody to the street.
Raphaela runs, and of course does a classic mistake of looking back. No movies in Amber to learn from trash horror flicks - one of the Liam thrown trash cans rolls under her feet and she falls over to four legs, narrowly missing a bug that would have flown straight in her face. Technically, she accidentally ducked. The bug is confused. Where's the mushy gooey feeling of torn flesh?
Bug wonders, then a pineapple smacks it out of the air.
Myrddyn walks along at a sure pace, avoiding sudden movements or 'eye' contact with the creatures. For whatever reason this causes them to totally ignore him as if he wasn't even there. The BAT twitches and jerks at the mayhem, but Myrddyn keeps a hand on it, guiding it through the chaos. He might have been splattered with bug juice, if they weren't ghost bugs.
Liam lays on the ground and bleeds. And moans a little bit. Because ow.
Taleyn has clearly missed being out in the fields of battle. She takes the rear and her sword flashes in silver streaks and arcs in the moonlight, keeping the horde at bay to cover their retreat. Artistry with a blade, yes, but points off for no fruit.
Mayhem is walking quite nicely along with Liya, honest. But as Liam goes flying and Raphaela ducks, and ... Yeah, it's - cough - chaos, alright. Liya has her knives out. The skin at the back of her neck prickles, as she runs by an intersection, jumping over a fallen fruit stand with a little wobble. Mayhem comes along with, the cat roaring with defiance and desire to play. Look, toys! But he's not allowed, difficult as it is. Liya ducks just as a razor arm of chitin skims by, narrowly missing the top of her head. "Hey, bug brain, we definitely need to cut you down to size," she says, as her knives moe quickly to take advantage of the bug's being surprised and out of position. Kerthunk, and a nice joint in the armour found, knife sliding in, and out again, allowing dream ichor to spew.
Raphaela crawls over to LIam and helps him and herself up "Lets go sweetling...Come on...."
Abruptly, the cloud of Chaos-bugs disperses, but another threat looms-- an actual cloud.
Liam is not hurt that badly. He's just being theatrical. But he lets himself be helped up with Raphaela. "We need to get out of here," Liam says. It's unclear if he means the city or this street.
Raphaela mutters "Brilliant conclusion, Watson. So what have you been doing throwing yourself around..." someone's been reading shadow literature. She runs on. Wether Liam catches up or not, it's up to him.
The cloud seems to be the advance scout for many clouds. They are wispy and fine, and signal the vanguard of a storm front. Patches of the city, and small tendrils of road, flicker in and out as they are shaded and re-lit. Treacherous going.
Liam stares up at the sky and says, "... yeah." Then he keeps up with Raphaela. Down alleys. Down streets. With buildings getting more and more and more and more... regular. The same. Identical. Ticky Tacky Houses. All in a row. Clean. Shiny. Perfect.
Myrddyn has come over to where Raph is helping Liam, when his head snaps around to see the encroching clouds, with sudden worry he says, "I forgot to ask, who needs to be caught if they fall?"
Taleyn eeps as a patch of sky appears under her foot, causing her to jump sideways. "Um, me, please," she answers.
Liam mutters to Myrddyn the worst words he could ever utter in Tir: "Conservation of Momentum through Trump."
Liya keeps her knives, not resheathing them, but not getting rid of them either. She and Mayhem, once the bugs all vanish, just keep going, racing after Liam and Raphaela. At Myrddyn's question, she nods. "Rescue Taleyn first." And as for her and Mayhem, well, that's another question, isn't it?
Raphaela makes a face, finding this far more creepy than chaos ewness, apparently. She leaps over a cloud shadow gap to thrill ride to Amber. Good thing she always wears pants. "Yeah...Feldane can keep rest of us from dying..." she says darkly. Save the Feldane, always.
Myrddyn bends an ear to listen to Liam then nods, "Do we need to activate a trump now? I'm not sure we have time to run."
Taleyn smacks her palm into her face at Raphaela's comment. Luckily she has sheathed her sword first. "No, save Raph first, then Liya, then-- Trump? What about the bat?"
The road opens up to a strange square. First of all, it is square. A square square. A perfectly square square. And on this square are clock towers. A huge square of them with pointy towers like teeth. They all bong at the same time. BONG. BONG. BONG. BONG. And, quite out of place, not where it should be at all, in the center of this squarest square of perfect timekeeping, is the enormous building: Cymnea's Watch.
Liam stops at the entrance to the square and pulls his Amber City trump out of its deck. He says, "If the city flickers and disappears, I'm ready. We need to stay... close."
Taleyn obligingly stays close to Liam.
Raphaela stops, as if her shoes have special powers.
Raphaela yells "No no no nono! So close, look!"
Tessa comes here from the direction of the Main Concourse and Royal Way - Amber City.
Tessa has arrived.
Taleyn stares at the clock towers. "What-- what's it-- she's right! That's IT!" She looks up and says, "The clouds aren't bad yet-- if we just go now, maybe there's a chance! But I'll not ask anyone to endanger themselves! If you want down, go down *now*!"
Taleyn says, "Hi Tessa! Everybody, Tessa has ALWAYS BEEN HERE. Yep, with us ALL DAY, that Tessa! Nothing to see here, go about your business."
Raphaela flips out a notebok and a pen out of her pocket and sketches, furiously but with annoying precision of elements she finds relevant. That's her answer.
Liam looks at the big scratch on his chest -- not too bad -- and heads into Cymnea's Watch by the way everyone else is entering the ancient house.
Liya brings Mayhem over to as near to Liam as she can get, sticking close enough.
A ghostly, blue-glowing representation of Cymnea's Watch does indeed flicker before them. It shifts a bit, between the Manor House and Tower that is now, and the Tower and Square that was more anciently the way it looked. Figures move in their ghostly ways around the square but seem to take no notice of the Living.
Myrddyn sticks close to Raph, both BAT and his own escape trump at the ready.
Raphaela pages: you know what gifts i have, don't want to spam you :) if there's anything about clocks or anything specifically different on this house she'd look for it
Tessa takes up the rear, rolling her knife's hilt in her palm. She flinches at the shifting images, shuffles her feet to make sure that the ground isn't giving way step after step, and follows the crowd.
Raphaela stops in the centre of square to take her time, drawing. Talking about focus, only then, when her eyes scan everything once more, she runs to catch up with the rest.
Suddenly, out of the shadows of one of the clock towers, emerge the shapes of five men, who seem to be wearing a more ancient and simplified version of Benedict's livery-- tabards over armor. Knights? Bodyguard, perhaps? They seem to be consulting a small piece of parchment that one of them holds in his hands.
Raphaela stops, watches the men.
Taleyn blinks and stares at the figures. "Can we talk to them?" she asks Liam.
Liya hasn't been to Cymnea's watch, so she's taking it all in. While she's not drawing, she's set herself to remember, murmuring to herself as she looks. And as Raphaela stops, Liya looks as well, her head tilting a bit.
Liam stops and pulls up short. Then he shrugs at Taleyn, and says, "It's a dream? So let's try it." Then he puts on his sunniest, most Liamy smile and walks up to the dudes in livery and says, "Evening! How you doing?"
Raphaela flips, draw draw draws, sketchy portraits. Flip flip...Talking about quick sketcher...
Liya keeps Mayhem just as close, pausing to check her knives. Clean they are, so she resheathes them. And she drifts towards Liam and the dream guys he's talking to.
The men seem not to notice Liam, and Liam is fabulous and glowing. They just continue to look at the paper, and then one of them points to an item written on the paper. They nod, then go into the building called Cymnea's Watch. One of them walks right through Taleyn.
Taleyn shivers. "Brrr!"
"Follow them?" Tessa asks, still playing footsie with the untrustworthy ground.
Liya tries to see what's on the paper, truthfully, seeing if she can get close enough to do that.
"Woah," Liam says. And then seeing the Knights are gone, he says, "Well, look! The door is open! Lets do what needs to be done before Tir disappears." And he goes right on in following the Knights.
Raphaela runs to see the parchment, over their shoulder, through them whatever... She wants to draw whatever is on and also, that makes her follow them along.
Like rats following the pied piper.
Taleyn says, "Yes, let's go after them. See what they do!"
Myrddyn using bat-talk, coaxes the bat to squeeze within confines of the door, while it makes annoyed meeping sounds at the restriction.
The ghost-doors act weirdly like regular doors, except they make no sound as they open. In fact, the whole scene seems muffled by a deathly quiet. The inside of the building is more confusing than the outside, as it seems to show aspects of many, many different renovations over the centuries. Walls shift, paintings flicker into other paintings, furniture scoots around noiselessly. But the men are headed toward the back of the Great Hall, where a stone staircase leads down. Their part of the scene seems fixed in one decor, one era.
So, Tessa follows on wary feet all but dancing and skipping like a child desperate to avoid the cracks. That's how you break your mother's back, remember.
Raphaela follows, flicks, draws. Pale eyes scanning room now and then. She'll check later, now details flow into sketchbook as they impact her.
Liya and Mayhem continue along, following after the knights or bodyguards or whatever they might be, trying to see what was on the parchment they have. And also, careful to avoid anything that looks like it might dump her down into the sky. She can't help the itch at the back of her neck though.
Liam figures that he's done much, much, much crazier things in Tir than follow some ghost knights down some stairs. So he follows along because he can and figures soon the city will disappears and they will all fall to their deaths. So, fun!
Taleyn takes the opportunity to pet the bat as it squeezes in, but doesn't push her luck. She walks towards the men, following.
You paged Raphaela with 'There are symbols, but blurry, like the vision itself. But, one of the men has a SORGO badge on his tunic, as well as the Benedict livery. It was in a different place from where modern Lords wear them.'.
Raphaela also, does not pay attention to her step. She just decided that if she falls through, another, more reasonable person will catch her.
Myrddyn leads the critter along after Raph, trying to be reasonable, as much as anyone who'd actually venture into Tir is reasonable.
Liam is not a reasonable person so Raphaela might be screwed.
Raphaela walked up invisible steps. Reason can go...ping pong itself. Raphaela, also, might be thinking 'falling down from a floor level down can't actually WORSEN the fall..."
You paged Raphaela with '\The stairs go down a long way-- longer than the drop to the secret basement at Cymnea's Watch.'.
The stairs go down a long way. The men are down a few minutes before. It isn't *dark* in the stairwell... but it is *misty,* the dim cloudiness enshrouding things in lieu of darkness.
Liam goes down and down and down and down and down into the misty staircase because now he wants to see how the dream plays out. This one might be better than the replay of more chaos destroying Amber.
Raphaela sketched a cartoony plan with entry poing and now takes in angle and seems to count steps before scribbling a note or two. But her legs seem to be entirely independent from eyes and hands which are busy looking around then drawing. Practice? Walking in Amber's streets while reading a book. She looks like a thin leggy spider in leather as she goes.
Liya does pause to look back to see if there's anyone else around, before she starts down the stairs.
Tessa, still pulling up the rear, pulls out a deck of cards with a thoughtful frown.
Myrddyn decends, bringing the ever more fussy Bat along. Bat has decided it doesn't like stairs. Could do with never goiing down them again, and this is the first time and it isn't even done yet.
with Tessa at the rear, Liya doesn't stop for long. Hey, Tessa's a knight and all, she's a better rear guard, surely. So Mayhem gets coaxed to come down the stairs. He's not quite so fussy as the Bat, at least.
The mist clears below, as if the room were contrast-adjusted by a ghost-torch on the floor. But the scene is one of ambush. The men in Benedict's livery are being assassinated before the eyes of the Living, by black-robed figures. Two have been killed already, and the remaining three are struggling, but the beings in black seem to have done something to them-- drugged by dart, perhaps-- to take the worst of the fight out of them.
Tessa taps it in her palm twice, then absently shoves it back into her pocket. She's not yet aware of the ghastly battle.
"OOoooooooh," Liam says with tones of interested amusement as he reaches the basement. "Dinner Dream-based theater. A little bit of ancient assassinationness."
Liya's eyes widen, and her knives come out, immediately. "Can we /do/ anything?" she murmurs, her gaze and tone saying she'd like to. Though she glances at Liam, and relaxes just a touch. "This is something that really happened in the past?"
Raphaela frowns and for one reason or another...she tries to help one of the men, and by trying to take off cloak from one of the mystery figures. It's reflex.
Myrddyn notes the conflict and Liam's response, "Let's hope this isn't a resonant echo that will reach us later."
Taleyn seems profoundly disturbed by the scene. She purses her lips tightly, as she forces herself to move off the stairs so others can see. She swishes an arm angrily through an assassin.
Raphaela's fingers close on empty air, alas.
Liam nods to Myrddyn and says: "Tir shows us what it wants us to see. And it wants us to see an ancient murder."
Raphaela sure feels stupid. She steps back as figure rushes for the man, reflex as well, going through ghost of battling knight.
Liya is holding still, but it takes willpower. "Resonant echo?" she says to Mryddyn, curiously. She would be trying to kill the assassins herself, except for Liam's words arresting her motion.
Tessa finally spots the melee, grimacing. The expression says, 'I hate this place.' She's wise enough not to tempt the city, though by actually saying it!
The murders are brutal and quick. From the moves they attempt in their defense, the dead seem to have been skilled and valiant warriors-- but in this encounter, the assassins were better.
You paged Raphaela with 'The Sorgo is STILL clutching the paper, balled up in his fist.'.
Myrddyn replies to Liya, "Events can follow repitive patterns, we may be seeing this a random, or because it's significant /or/ because it's significant /and/ will forshadow a simliar attack on those who delve into this mystery."
"Tricked into a trap in the basement," Liam says and he steps over a dream puddle of blood. "Welcome to Amber."
Liya blinks and then she nods her head, absorbing the new information. "Thanks," she says to Myrddyn. "Something to watch out for. Especially in basements, I guess. Now what?"
Raphaela falls back to a wall, watching that knight being murdered with unblinking eyes. And then squinting at the man's hand. The notebook comes up, sketch, sketch. "To think all five knights entered without being suspicious and taking precaution..."
"Kind of like we did?" Liya murmurs softly.
Myrddyn adds, "If it is an echo, the more likely source of danger would be from the inheritors of the assasins, an order, cult or simply a cabal."
One of the black-robed figures takes a small stone from the folds of the robe and rubs it. Then all of the black-robed assassins vanish.
"Tir shows us what it wants us, and sometimes needs us, to see," Liam says while keeping his eyes on that small stone. "Unsolved murder, perhaps."
Liya watches, her gaze flicking from one to the other. "What happened to the parchment they had?" she asks, after a moment or two. Myrddyn gets a nod, as does Liam. "And thanks for the information. One day, all of this will be as natural to me as breathing too. I think."
Raphaela crouches "If...they are still there...undiscovered to this day...Their deaths waited too long to be revenged. This one here tried to save that parchment for us." she motions at the clutched fist.
Myrddyn nods, "That is the concern, Tir almost has a percieveable will to it. Completely random visions are unlikley."
As if bringing them back to the present, the room seems to rise, and the stairs disappear, and the travelers find themselves in the Great Hall of Cymnea's Watch, in a dream within a dream.
Tessa scratches at her cheek irritably.
Raphaela looks up at the sky.
The patchy clouds are moving in faster now. A piece of the Manor ceiling vanishes, and a piece of the floor, too.
Taleyn looks as if jarred from a reverie. "Right. Let's move out."
Big bat meeps, and shifts restlessly.
Raphaela's jaw clenches "And fast." she keeps backstepping from cloud shadow slowly.
Liya looks at the spot of the ceiling that vanished, and the floor, and she gulps. "Good plan," she says, with a nod. "This is a crazy place. I might have to come back some time."
Tessa spits on the disappearing floor, backpeddling.
Someone in Amber, thinks it's started raining!
The tiny blob of Tessa's spittle goes down, down.... dowwwwwwwwwwwn. It's a LONG way down.
Myrddyn says, "Liam, maybe now is a good time for your trump?"
Liam looks at the trump in his hand and concentrates.
Liam concentrates upon a Trump, and begins to fade away.
Liam holds out his hand to take others through.
Quinlan is by a stone bench, the others standing near him. "Guess it's a good thing a lot of people have my card," he says lightly. "What happened?"
"Stuff." Tessa says, "Visions of a past, I expect."
Myrddyn says, "Did anyone get a look at the ghost note?"
"I give it out to everyone like a party favor, Quin," Liam says brightly but not in a mean way.
Quinlan grins at Liam. "That's me, party dude. Glitter balls and phantom bands a staple, clowns on request." He looks toward Myrddyn. "Ghost note?"
Very high in the sky, the outline of a gigantic bat-shape crosses over the moon, then disappears.
Taleyn grins. "Well. We went to the Sky City, and it's a good thing we had Liam there, because it's all jumbled now! It was *crazy* up there! But after a while we saw--" She pauses and nods at what Tessa and Myrddyn said. "--Visions. And a Ghost Note. Only, it was a thing, a historical thing, that happened downstairs! A murder! Of Prince Benedict's people!"
"That doesn't strike me as the most important detail," Tessa says, "Quite possible it was a note that drew them into the ambush, or maybe a warrant or a letter for the Queen or any other number of things. Does anyone know what to make of the stone that they used to pull them out of Amber? Some manner of trump but in a different form?"
Taleyn looks wistfully after the shape crossing the moon. "Farewell, friend Bat," she sighs.
Myrddyn says, "I'm not sure the stone had that effect. It might have just been the end of the vision."
Quinlan listens, with an expression of polite confusion, and notes, "Liam? This sounds like it needs a bard's sense of story order. Can you fill in all these blanks? Please?"
"I don't have any context," Liam explains to Quinlan, "coming in in media res. Most dreams are like that -- entering in the middle and not at the beginning. We found Cymnea's Watch in Tir. We followed five Knights who were reading a note. One left and the other went into the basement. They were accosting by assassins who murdered them and then used something like a black knife, but in stone shape, to take off."
"Cibolan?" Tessa asks, "Raphaela was taking sketches, maybe she caught that and we can talk to an expert. That is if you can stomach the slavers." She spits off to the side again.
Liya listens to it all, nodding. "It's missing a lot of pieces, it feels like.
Taleyn nods. "That's about the size of it. Raph has sketches, but she had to go. And yes, it's all very incomplete and mysterious!"
Quinlan grins. "That does tend to be the way of dreams," he agrees. "Did you see the glyph?"
"I didn't get a good look," Liam says to Quinlan.
Myrddyn is letting the others summarize.
"I tried really hard," Liya says, with a shrug. Mayhem mrowls, headbutting her. She ruffles his fur and shrugs.
Taleyn shakes her head. "Quinlan, I didn't see anything that looked like that glyph."
"Thassa risks of takin' to Tir for answers. All 't ever does is give you mor' bloody questions." Tessa says, picking at her teeth.
Myrddyn says, "I don't think we got deep enough, before the clouds came."
"Tir very rarely gives any answers," Liam says. "It more often than not raises more questions. Could have been worse. Could have been Clockwork Eric."
Taleyn shivers. "Indeed."
Myrddyn says, "Yes, we did well, all things considered as to where we just went."
"I've got rats to hunt down," Tessa interjects, bowing briefly and turning to go.
Quinlan winces. "True," he agrees. "I'll come too, Tessa. But where's the backup?"
Myrddyn says, "I thought your duties were more, substantial than rat catching?"
"Just organizing, and think big rats Myrddyn." Tessa explains.
steps fashioned roughly out of stone. When moonlight touches them, the
outline of an entire staircase, the analog to the eastern Great Stair
into Amber City, takes shape, spanning the great gulf to that point
above the sea where the ghost city in the sky shimmers opaquely.
From the peak, you can see the city spread out to the south, but
you'll have to take the trail down to the south. If you're inclined to
rough it, the rest of the Dragonspine Mountains extend to the north,
and rough paths lead north across the ridgeline. Last, on certain
nights when the moon is clear and bright in the sky, the three steps
lead to that place called Tir-na Nog'th.
The party has gathered at the peak of Kolvir this cold, clear night to Try Something Crazy. As such, the assembled team probably reflect this.
Liam climbs the stairs up Kolvir like a pro. Unlike what he claimed earlier, he does not have a walking stick. He stands right at the top platform and peers at the west to wait for the sun to go down. And because he's Liam, he does so with the hair fluttering in the breeze and with a backdrop of a golden sunset while perched on the top step. Then he peers up and waits for the full moon to rise. Interestingly enough, as the city materializes in all silvers and blues, he, too, begins to glow in the dark to match it. It's a little unsettling, really.
RPG: Liam declares that he has the Gift of Moonlight (TIR-GM) gift.
Taleyn is here, clutching her cloak about her, having seemingly lost some of her affinity for the cold. She beams at Liam. "Thank you so much for agreeing to guide us, my dear!" She tilts her head sideways to look at him, glowing like that. "You look like a young Artur."
Liya and Mayhem come along, Liya limping a little still, but certainly not impeded for most things. She does not like the cold, and is bundled up with her nice warm grey-fur coat. She follows along, and then hangs out waiting, curiously.
Raphaela hates the steps. What's so difficult about making an elevator? Honestly.
Privately, to Liyandra, Taleyn grins at Liya and mouths, "Thanks for coming!" She looks interested that Mayhem is here, too.
Privately, to Taleyn, Liyandra returns the grin with one of her own. "No problem."
Liam gives Taleyn a sidelong look and then he says: "I should have kept the sword." Then he watches as the entire city shimmers into existence -- towers and spires and buildings and roads and flags and ghostly people going about their business. The stairway linking Kolvir and Tir Na-Nogth appears out of nothing and he says, "You know where these stairs go? They go up."
Privately, to Liam, Taleyn meets Liam's eyes when he mentions the sword, and smiles warmly.
Myrddyn arrives at the top of the mountain, not by walking, but by flying. How he is flying is even more unusual for him, as he is being carried by what appears to be a vast...BAT.
RPG: Myrddyn declares that he owns this token:
-------------------------------------------------------------------[ dgl ]----
Author: Althea Held By: Myrddyn
Date: Thu Feb 7 16:30:00 2013 Focus: 3
Title: Spawn of Camazotz
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Created via Beast Master (ANI-BM): power-token rechargeable special token-3
Gift description:
Whether through hunting, training, breeding or simply through magic, the character is capable of making animals something more than they should be. The character can create 3-Focus tokens that reflect beasts with exotic or greater than normal capabilities. These tokens persist over time, and are effectively rechargeable items.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Token Description
This creature is a huge bat of Ahool stock. It's wings are each over 10' long with large claws situated midway. It's body is covered by bristly gray fur.
Bred and trained to be a flying mount it has the strength and stamina to carry a human sized burden for many miles.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RPG: Myrddyn used the following +declare targets: Atop Kolvir - Amber Countryside
Raphaela mutters "Cheating. That's cheating." she folds over her knees to catch breath and misses the sunset.
Taleyn's mouth falls open. There's a giant bat. Her cohort is riding a giant bat. Her eyes grow large and round, and then she has to close her mouth tight, lest she emit a SQUEEEEEEEE that might startle the bat. "GIANTBAT" she allows herself, then clears her throat with a ladylike cough. "May I pet him?" she asks in a purely businesslike fashion.
Mayhem stays with Liya, the 50lb cat still with big blue eyes. He's gotten stockier, but he's still seeming scrawny, with ears and paws too big for him. The bat catches Liya's attention, and Mayhem's. Liya's hand finds the cat's head, and he stays with Liya, watching the bat.
Taleyn asks Myrddyn, "Does this mean you're our Ground Support, standing by to catch us in mid-air if the worst should happen?"
Liam gives the huge bat an extremely wide berth. The widest berth. The widest berth one possibly can while standing on the ghostly stairs up to Tir. Which isn't that wide. But as wide as he can go.
Myrddyn is deposited almost gracefully, he seems unacustomed to such travel. Straigtening his robes he nods to Taleyn, "Yes, I've been assured he's well trained and won't bite. Without provocation anyway. As for support, indeed! I'm terrible at carrying others in the air. Consider him a safety net, should bad things happen."
Liam points up the stairs and goes, helpfully, "Tir?"
Raphaela is too out of breath to avoid anything. "Nice to meet you, Net. I hope you won't eat us when you catch us."
Raphaela did say it. When. Not IF.
Raphaela, pessimist.
Giant Bat-- Safety Net. Check! Taleyn rolls with that. She says to all present, "This is Liam, and he will be our guide. He knows Tir better than anyone. We are in good hands." She gestures to the stairs for all to follow Liam, stepping gingerly onto the moonlight stairs herself.
Liya smiles, waving a hand Liam's way. "Hey, Liam," she says. "We're really going up .. that?" Uhm, right then. She glances at Myrddyn, since she doesn't really know him. "Hi, I'm Liya," she says, before she starts following after Talyen.
Liam heads up the stairs to Tir like he's a pro at walking up these stairs.
Raphaela seems to ponder staying behind for a moment there. "Seriously. If this is one of those 'if you don't believe you fall through things' I'll be such a lovely...splat." she actually holds onto Taleyn's elbow for now.
The shimmering steps go up and up into air, higher and higher above Kolvir. It is VERY high. The stairway is see-through in places, and just getting up is a feat of willpower, or possibly insanity. Then suddenly the city itself is underfoot in a burst of moonlight.
Liam stands at the top of the stairs of Tir with his arms crossed. He surveys a City that is a riot of chaos. The ground is solid enough and the City reflects Amber but Lower City shacks sit next to, and on top of, expensive upper city homes and bits of Palace are mixed in with the shoppes. It's not a city that makes a whole lot of cognitive sense. And they people here, they look like Amber. But not. And Liam says: "Hrm."
At Liam's "Hrm," Taleyn echoes it with a question. "Hrm? Is this... how it's supposed to look?"
Raphaela doesn't look down, until she does and goes "Ooh, pretty." she then spots Tir and says "Looks like it's Amber reflected through a shattered mirror." she remembers broken mirrors in her house and sighs heavily.
Liya and Mayhem manage the stairs, though it takes a few gulps and significant will power. Mayhem is mostly quiet, but there are a few times where Liya has to coax the cat forward. And at the top, she pauses to look at the conglomeration of stuff juxtaposed all over itself. "Oh." A glance over at Raphaela, and then a slow nod.
Myrddyn wrangles the big bat, keeping it ready to pounce, but far away from Liam. All the while watching the chaos with fascination.
RPG: Liam challenges a difficulty of 10. Liam chooses Wits and the gift BLD-OB. Liam fails.
Liam tells the entire group, after standing and thinking about things for a few moments, "This way." And Liam heads with absolute unshakable confidence down a street full of ghost people.
Taleyn gives a little bounce of excitement. "Brilliant!" she follows, watching the ghost people as they go.
Raphaela studies the general mental state of the group, gives a little sigh and, an expert in survival, she stays in the middle of the group. Accidentally so.
Liya shrugs, one hand petting Mayhem absently. A glance over at Myrddyn and his bat, and then she simply follows along, keeping an eye on the ghost people as she watches. And the city, as fascinating and odd as it is.
Liam leads the team down one jumbled street down another one. And no matter which way he turns, he always seems to be leading the group toward the Palace. He can turn distinctively away from the Palace toward the Lower City and he will be heading toward the Palace. Every step he takes funnels him into the Palace. And the building on either side of the street start to look more and more manhandled by war. At first they looked a little scorched but after a turn the windows are broken. Another turn and they're blackened. Yet another and they are actively on fire with bodies of the dead of Amber's Army lying in puddles in the street. Soon, the sound of battle echoes in the air. Weapon on weapon action.
Raphaela uhh....s..."Say...what weapons work on ghosts?"
Taleyn's flare and she becomes keenly alert at signs of battle, looking more and more upset as they proceed. She lays a hand on her sword's hilt. She looks to Liam, eyes echoing Raphaela's question. "Yes, are we in danger here?"
Liya tests her own sense of danger, as her gaze goes from person to person, from blackened ruins to fire to - "It sure sounds like we are," she murmurs, softly.
Raphaela adds a helpful "I do wonder who they are fighting, though."
Myrddyn says, "I wouldn't be surprised at anything that happens here. The stories and rumors are vast. Besides, I've met people who've walked OUT of Tir. I mean they didn't go in, they walked /down/ the steps from nothingness."
The dream poses before Liam can even answer the questions and now the entire group is standing on the promenade heading up to the Palace. Huge black things in chitinous armor, legs akimbo, razor sharp talons, covered in blood, make thik thik thik thik noises while stabbing defenders and nobles alike. There, in front of the great Palace Gates, sitting on his black stallion with red eyes, is a huge Chaos Knight with an enormous axe and giant horns that curl into the sky. He is awash with gore and horror and his horse stands astride a pile of limbs. The Knight reaches out its hands and says: "COME. WORSHIP THE SIGN. ENJOIN THE REIGN OF CHAOS."
Taleyn draws her sword with narrowed eyes and jutting jaw. "Over. My. Dead. Body."
RPG: Raphaela challenges a difficulty of 7. Raphaela chooses Wits. Raphaela succeeds.
RPG: Liyandra challenges a difficulty of 7. Liyandra chooses Resolve and the gift SKL-SF. Liyandra succeeds.
RPG: Liam challenges a difficulty of 7. Liam chooses Grace and the gift BLD-OB. Liam succeeds.
RPG: Taleyn challenges a difficulty of 7. Taleyn chooses Resolve. Taleyn succeeds.
RPG: Myrddyn challenges a difficulty of 7. Myrddyn chooses Wits and the gifts BLD-LY, PAS-KF, and SKL-QM. Myrddyn overwhelmingly succeeds.
Oh, yes, that would qualify as danger, wouldn't it? Liya's eyes go wide as she stares for a heartbeat. She signals Mayhem to stay out of the way, and her knives come out, though she doesn't say a word.
Raphaela tilts so she can see behind others and she frowns "Such pathetic knowledge of theathrology. It would be much more effective with heads." suuure everyone is a critic. Poor Chaos knight comes all way to palace, sends Amber in chaos and STILL! A critic can find him.
Liam's eyes get really really wide as he clearly recognizes the Chaos Knight and he turns and he yells "RUN!!!!" and he does down a nearby alleyway because Liam isn't much of a hero.
The black shapes chitter and drone in a sick song that makes the explorers *want* to fall to worship! ...But somehow Liam's idea seems far better. Everyone is able to shake off the spell of the Chaos Knight, except for Myrddyn, who seemed unusually immune to begin with.
Raphaela runs "But you know...following Liam brought us here..."
Taleyn shoos everyone else to follow Liam and she takes the rear, the better to fend off ichor-beasts with chitinous shells and chittering voices. "RUN!" she yells, taking up the battle-cry.
Bugs and Chaos-horrors launch themselves after the retreating Living, their voices raised in a cacophony of terror.
Liam runs like a crazy person away from the Palace -- and now Tir will let him leave the Palace -- and plunges down city streets that ought to lead them to the Lower City. Maybe.
Raphaela doesn't have time or breathe to both run and complain and think and breathe at the same time.
RPG: Raphaela challenges a difficulty of 8. Raphaela chooses Resolve and the gift STY-LK. Raphaela succeeds.
RPG: Liam challenges a difficulty of 8. Liam chooses Wits and the gifts BLD-OB and STY-SW. Liam almost succeeds.
RPG: Liyandra challenges a difficulty of 8. Liyandra chooses Resolve and the gift SKL-SF. Liyandra succeeds.
RPG: Myrddyn challenges a difficulty of 8. Myrddyn chooses Wits and the gifts FTH-DA and SKL-DS. Myrddyn succeeds.
RPG: Taleyn challenges a difficulty of 8. Taleyn chooses Grace and the gifts SKL-GU and SKL-WS. Taleyn overwhelmingly succeeds.
Liya runs, bringing Mayhem along with.
Liam covers his head with his arms as one of the beetles catches up to him. There's a swipe and he flees, putting garbage cans and fruit stands (fruit goes flying) between him and the creature. He grabs a long pole that happens to be conveniently there and turns to fend off the beast when it raises one huge razor arm. Liam tries to dodge leaping to the left and catching the talon on the pole but it smacks Liam across the chest and sends him flying and bloody to the street.
Raphaela runs, and of course does a classic mistake of looking back. No movies in Amber to learn from trash horror flicks - one of the Liam thrown trash cans rolls under her feet and she falls over to four legs, narrowly missing a bug that would have flown straight in her face. Technically, she accidentally ducked. The bug is confused. Where's the mushy gooey feeling of torn flesh?
Bug wonders, then a pineapple smacks it out of the air.
Myrddyn walks along at a sure pace, avoiding sudden movements or 'eye' contact with the creatures. For whatever reason this causes them to totally ignore him as if he wasn't even there. The BAT twitches and jerks at the mayhem, but Myrddyn keeps a hand on it, guiding it through the chaos. He might have been splattered with bug juice, if they weren't ghost bugs.
Liam lays on the ground and bleeds. And moans a little bit. Because ow.
Taleyn has clearly missed being out in the fields of battle. She takes the rear and her sword flashes in silver streaks and arcs in the moonlight, keeping the horde at bay to cover their retreat. Artistry with a blade, yes, but points off for no fruit.
Mayhem is walking quite nicely along with Liya, honest. But as Liam goes flying and Raphaela ducks, and ... Yeah, it's - cough - chaos, alright. Liya has her knives out. The skin at the back of her neck prickles, as she runs by an intersection, jumping over a fallen fruit stand with a little wobble. Mayhem comes along with, the cat roaring with defiance and desire to play. Look, toys! But he's not allowed, difficult as it is. Liya ducks just as a razor arm of chitin skims by, narrowly missing the top of her head. "Hey, bug brain, we definitely need to cut you down to size," she says, as her knives moe quickly to take advantage of the bug's being surprised and out of position. Kerthunk, and a nice joint in the armour found, knife sliding in, and out again, allowing dream ichor to spew.
Raphaela crawls over to LIam and helps him and herself up "Lets go sweetling...Come on...."
Abruptly, the cloud of Chaos-bugs disperses, but another threat looms-- an actual cloud.
Liam is not hurt that badly. He's just being theatrical. But he lets himself be helped up with Raphaela. "We need to get out of here," Liam says. It's unclear if he means the city or this street.
Raphaela mutters "Brilliant conclusion, Watson. So what have you been doing throwing yourself around..." someone's been reading shadow literature. She runs on. Wether Liam catches up or not, it's up to him.
The cloud seems to be the advance scout for many clouds. They are wispy and fine, and signal the vanguard of a storm front. Patches of the city, and small tendrils of road, flicker in and out as they are shaded and re-lit. Treacherous going.
Liam stares up at the sky and says, "... yeah." Then he keeps up with Raphaela. Down alleys. Down streets. With buildings getting more and more and more and more... regular. The same. Identical. Ticky Tacky Houses. All in a row. Clean. Shiny. Perfect.
Myrddyn has come over to where Raph is helping Liam, when his head snaps around to see the encroching clouds, with sudden worry he says, "I forgot to ask, who needs to be caught if they fall?"
Taleyn eeps as a patch of sky appears under her foot, causing her to jump sideways. "Um, me, please," she answers.
Liam mutters to Myrddyn the worst words he could ever utter in Tir: "Conservation of Momentum through Trump."
Liya keeps her knives, not resheathing them, but not getting rid of them either. She and Mayhem, once the bugs all vanish, just keep going, racing after Liam and Raphaela. At Myrddyn's question, she nods. "Rescue Taleyn first." And as for her and Mayhem, well, that's another question, isn't it?
Raphaela makes a face, finding this far more creepy than chaos ewness, apparently. She leaps over a cloud shadow gap to thrill ride to Amber. Good thing she always wears pants. "Yeah...Feldane can keep rest of us from dying..." she says darkly. Save the Feldane, always.
Myrddyn bends an ear to listen to Liam then nods, "Do we need to activate a trump now? I'm not sure we have time to run."
Taleyn smacks her palm into her face at Raphaela's comment. Luckily she has sheathed her sword first. "No, save Raph first, then Liya, then-- Trump? What about the bat?"
The road opens up to a strange square. First of all, it is square. A square square. A perfectly square square. And on this square are clock towers. A huge square of them with pointy towers like teeth. They all bong at the same time. BONG. BONG. BONG. BONG. And, quite out of place, not where it should be at all, in the center of this squarest square of perfect timekeeping, is the enormous building: Cymnea's Watch.
Liam stops at the entrance to the square and pulls his Amber City trump out of its deck. He says, "If the city flickers and disappears, I'm ready. We need to stay... close."
Taleyn obligingly stays close to Liam.
Raphaela stops, as if her shoes have special powers.
Raphaela yells "No no no nono! So close, look!"
Tessa comes here from the direction of the Main Concourse and Royal Way - Amber City.
Tessa has arrived.
Taleyn stares at the clock towers. "What-- what's it-- she's right! That's IT!" She looks up and says, "The clouds aren't bad yet-- if we just go now, maybe there's a chance! But I'll not ask anyone to endanger themselves! If you want down, go down *now*!"
Taleyn says, "Hi Tessa! Everybody, Tessa has ALWAYS BEEN HERE. Yep, with us ALL DAY, that Tessa! Nothing to see here, go about your business."
Raphaela flips out a notebok and a pen out of her pocket and sketches, furiously but with annoying precision of elements she finds relevant. That's her answer.
Liam looks at the big scratch on his chest -- not too bad -- and heads into Cymnea's Watch by the way everyone else is entering the ancient house.
Liya brings Mayhem over to as near to Liam as she can get, sticking close enough.
A ghostly, blue-glowing representation of Cymnea's Watch does indeed flicker before them. It shifts a bit, between the Manor House and Tower that is now, and the Tower and Square that was more anciently the way it looked. Figures move in their ghostly ways around the square but seem to take no notice of the Living.
Myrddyn sticks close to Raph, both BAT and his own escape trump at the ready.
Raphaela pages: you know what gifts i have, don't want to spam you :) if there's anything about clocks or anything specifically different on this house she'd look for it
Tessa takes up the rear, rolling her knife's hilt in her palm. She flinches at the shifting images, shuffles her feet to make sure that the ground isn't giving way step after step, and follows the crowd.
Raphaela stops in the centre of square to take her time, drawing. Talking about focus, only then, when her eyes scan everything once more, she runs to catch up with the rest.
Suddenly, out of the shadows of one of the clock towers, emerge the shapes of five men, who seem to be wearing a more ancient and simplified version of Benedict's livery-- tabards over armor. Knights? Bodyguard, perhaps? They seem to be consulting a small piece of parchment that one of them holds in his hands.
Raphaela stops, watches the men.
Taleyn blinks and stares at the figures. "Can we talk to them?" she asks Liam.
Liya hasn't been to Cymnea's watch, so she's taking it all in. While she's not drawing, she's set herself to remember, murmuring to herself as she looks. And as Raphaela stops, Liya looks as well, her head tilting a bit.
Liam stops and pulls up short. Then he shrugs at Taleyn, and says, "It's a dream? So let's try it." Then he puts on his sunniest, most Liamy smile and walks up to the dudes in livery and says, "Evening! How you doing?"
Raphaela flips, draw draw draws, sketchy portraits. Flip flip...Talking about quick sketcher...
Liya keeps Mayhem just as close, pausing to check her knives. Clean they are, so she resheathes them. And she drifts towards Liam and the dream guys he's talking to.
The men seem not to notice Liam, and Liam is fabulous and glowing. They just continue to look at the paper, and then one of them points to an item written on the paper. They nod, then go into the building called Cymnea's Watch. One of them walks right through Taleyn.
Taleyn shivers. "Brrr!"
"Follow them?" Tessa asks, still playing footsie with the untrustworthy ground.
Liya tries to see what's on the paper, truthfully, seeing if she can get close enough to do that.
"Woah," Liam says. And then seeing the Knights are gone, he says, "Well, look! The door is open! Lets do what needs to be done before Tir disappears." And he goes right on in following the Knights.
Raphaela runs to see the parchment, over their shoulder, through them whatever... She wants to draw whatever is on and also, that makes her follow them along.
Like rats following the pied piper.
Taleyn says, "Yes, let's go after them. See what they do!"
Myrddyn using bat-talk, coaxes the bat to squeeze within confines of the door, while it makes annoyed meeping sounds at the restriction.
The ghost-doors act weirdly like regular doors, except they make no sound as they open. In fact, the whole scene seems muffled by a deathly quiet. The inside of the building is more confusing than the outside, as it seems to show aspects of many, many different renovations over the centuries. Walls shift, paintings flicker into other paintings, furniture scoots around noiselessly. But the men are headed toward the back of the Great Hall, where a stone staircase leads down. Their part of the scene seems fixed in one decor, one era.
So, Tessa follows on wary feet all but dancing and skipping like a child desperate to avoid the cracks. That's how you break your mother's back, remember.
Raphaela follows, flicks, draws. Pale eyes scanning room now and then. She'll check later, now details flow into sketchbook as they impact her.
Liya and Mayhem continue along, following after the knights or bodyguards or whatever they might be, trying to see what was on the parchment they have. And also, careful to avoid anything that looks like it might dump her down into the sky. She can't help the itch at the back of her neck though.
Liam figures that he's done much, much, much crazier things in Tir than follow some ghost knights down some stairs. So he follows along because he can and figures soon the city will disappears and they will all fall to their deaths. So, fun!
Taleyn takes the opportunity to pet the bat as it squeezes in, but doesn't push her luck. She walks towards the men, following.
You paged Raphaela with 'There are symbols, but blurry, like the vision itself. But, one of the men has a SORGO badge on his tunic, as well as the Benedict livery. It was in a different place from where modern Lords wear them.'.
Raphaela also, does not pay attention to her step. She just decided that if she falls through, another, more reasonable person will catch her.
Myrddyn leads the critter along after Raph, trying to be reasonable, as much as anyone who'd actually venture into Tir is reasonable.
Liam is not a reasonable person so Raphaela might be screwed.
Raphaela walked up invisible steps. Reason can go...ping pong itself. Raphaela, also, might be thinking 'falling down from a floor level down can't actually WORSEN the fall..."
You paged Raphaela with '\The stairs go down a long way-- longer than the drop to the secret basement at Cymnea's Watch.'.
The stairs go down a long way. The men are down a few minutes before. It isn't *dark* in the stairwell... but it is *misty,* the dim cloudiness enshrouding things in lieu of darkness.
Liam goes down and down and down and down and down into the misty staircase because now he wants to see how the dream plays out. This one might be better than the replay of more chaos destroying Amber.
Raphaela sketched a cartoony plan with entry poing and now takes in angle and seems to count steps before scribbling a note or two. But her legs seem to be entirely independent from eyes and hands which are busy looking around then drawing. Practice? Walking in Amber's streets while reading a book. She looks like a thin leggy spider in leather as she goes.
Liya does pause to look back to see if there's anyone else around, before she starts down the stairs.
Tessa, still pulling up the rear, pulls out a deck of cards with a thoughtful frown.
Myrddyn decends, bringing the ever more fussy Bat along. Bat has decided it doesn't like stairs. Could do with never goiing down them again, and this is the first time and it isn't even done yet.
with Tessa at the rear, Liya doesn't stop for long. Hey, Tessa's a knight and all, she's a better rear guard, surely. So Mayhem gets coaxed to come down the stairs. He's not quite so fussy as the Bat, at least.
The mist clears below, as if the room were contrast-adjusted by a ghost-torch on the floor. But the scene is one of ambush. The men in Benedict's livery are being assassinated before the eyes of the Living, by black-robed figures. Two have been killed already, and the remaining three are struggling, but the beings in black seem to have done something to them-- drugged by dart, perhaps-- to take the worst of the fight out of them.
Tessa taps it in her palm twice, then absently shoves it back into her pocket. She's not yet aware of the ghastly battle.
"OOoooooooh," Liam says with tones of interested amusement as he reaches the basement. "Dinner Dream-based theater. A little bit of ancient assassinationness."
Liya's eyes widen, and her knives come out, immediately. "Can we /do/ anything?" she murmurs, her gaze and tone saying she'd like to. Though she glances at Liam, and relaxes just a touch. "This is something that really happened in the past?"
Raphaela frowns and for one reason or another...she tries to help one of the men, and by trying to take off cloak from one of the mystery figures. It's reflex.
Myrddyn notes the conflict and Liam's response, "Let's hope this isn't a resonant echo that will reach us later."
Taleyn seems profoundly disturbed by the scene. She purses her lips tightly, as she forces herself to move off the stairs so others can see. She swishes an arm angrily through an assassin.
Raphaela's fingers close on empty air, alas.
Liam nods to Myrddyn and says: "Tir shows us what it wants us to see. And it wants us to see an ancient murder."
Raphaela sure feels stupid. She steps back as figure rushes for the man, reflex as well, going through ghost of battling knight.
Liya is holding still, but it takes willpower. "Resonant echo?" she says to Mryddyn, curiously. She would be trying to kill the assassins herself, except for Liam's words arresting her motion.
Tessa finally spots the melee, grimacing. The expression says, 'I hate this place.' She's wise enough not to tempt the city, though by actually saying it!
The murders are brutal and quick. From the moves they attempt in their defense, the dead seem to have been skilled and valiant warriors-- but in this encounter, the assassins were better.
You paged Raphaela with 'The Sorgo is STILL clutching the paper, balled up in his fist.'.
Myrddyn replies to Liya, "Events can follow repitive patterns, we may be seeing this a random, or because it's significant /or/ because it's significant /and/ will forshadow a simliar attack on those who delve into this mystery."
"Tricked into a trap in the basement," Liam says and he steps over a dream puddle of blood. "Welcome to Amber."
Liya blinks and then she nods her head, absorbing the new information. "Thanks," she says to Myrddyn. "Something to watch out for. Especially in basements, I guess. Now what?"
Raphaela falls back to a wall, watching that knight being murdered with unblinking eyes. And then squinting at the man's hand. The notebook comes up, sketch, sketch. "To think all five knights entered without being suspicious and taking precaution..."
"Kind of like we did?" Liya murmurs softly.
Myrddyn adds, "If it is an echo, the more likely source of danger would be from the inheritors of the assasins, an order, cult or simply a cabal."
One of the black-robed figures takes a small stone from the folds of the robe and rubs it. Then all of the black-robed assassins vanish.
"Tir shows us what it wants us, and sometimes needs us, to see," Liam says while keeping his eyes on that small stone. "Unsolved murder, perhaps."
Liya watches, her gaze flicking from one to the other. "What happened to the parchment they had?" she asks, after a moment or two. Myrddyn gets a nod, as does Liam. "And thanks for the information. One day, all of this will be as natural to me as breathing too. I think."
Raphaela crouches "If...they are still there...undiscovered to this day...Their deaths waited too long to be revenged. This one here tried to save that parchment for us." she motions at the clutched fist.
Myrddyn nods, "That is the concern, Tir almost has a percieveable will to it. Completely random visions are unlikley."
As if bringing them back to the present, the room seems to rise, and the stairs disappear, and the travelers find themselves in the Great Hall of Cymnea's Watch, in a dream within a dream.
Tessa scratches at her cheek irritably.
Raphaela looks up at the sky.
The patchy clouds are moving in faster now. A piece of the Manor ceiling vanishes, and a piece of the floor, too.
Taleyn looks as if jarred from a reverie. "Right. Let's move out."
Big bat meeps, and shifts restlessly.
Raphaela's jaw clenches "And fast." she keeps backstepping from cloud shadow slowly.
Liya looks at the spot of the ceiling that vanished, and the floor, and she gulps. "Good plan," she says, with a nod. "This is a crazy place. I might have to come back some time."
Tessa spits on the disappearing floor, backpeddling.
Someone in Amber, thinks it's started raining!
The tiny blob of Tessa's spittle goes down, down.... dowwwwwwwwwwwn. It's a LONG way down.
Myrddyn says, "Liam, maybe now is a good time for your trump?"
Liam looks at the trump in his hand and concentrates.
Liam concentrates upon a Trump, and begins to fade away.
Liam holds out his hand to take others through.
Quinlan is by a stone bench, the others standing near him. "Guess it's a good thing a lot of people have my card," he says lightly. "What happened?"
"Stuff." Tessa says, "Visions of a past, I expect."
Myrddyn says, "Did anyone get a look at the ghost note?"
"I give it out to everyone like a party favor, Quin," Liam says brightly but not in a mean way.
Quinlan grins at Liam. "That's me, party dude. Glitter balls and phantom bands a staple, clowns on request." He looks toward Myrddyn. "Ghost note?"
Very high in the sky, the outline of a gigantic bat-shape crosses over the moon, then disappears.
Taleyn grins. "Well. We went to the Sky City, and it's a good thing we had Liam there, because it's all jumbled now! It was *crazy* up there! But after a while we saw--" She pauses and nods at what Tessa and Myrddyn said. "--Visions. And a Ghost Note. Only, it was a thing, a historical thing, that happened downstairs! A murder! Of Prince Benedict's people!"
"That doesn't strike me as the most important detail," Tessa says, "Quite possible it was a note that drew them into the ambush, or maybe a warrant or a letter for the Queen or any other number of things. Does anyone know what to make of the stone that they used to pull them out of Amber? Some manner of trump but in a different form?"
Taleyn looks wistfully after the shape crossing the moon. "Farewell, friend Bat," she sighs.
Myrddyn says, "I'm not sure the stone had that effect. It might have just been the end of the vision."
Quinlan listens, with an expression of polite confusion, and notes, "Liam? This sounds like it needs a bard's sense of story order. Can you fill in all these blanks? Please?"
"I don't have any context," Liam explains to Quinlan, "coming in in media res. Most dreams are like that -- entering in the middle and not at the beginning. We found Cymnea's Watch in Tir. We followed five Knights who were reading a note. One left and the other went into the basement. They were accosting by assassins who murdered them and then used something like a black knife, but in stone shape, to take off."
"Cibolan?" Tessa asks, "Raphaela was taking sketches, maybe she caught that and we can talk to an expert. That is if you can stomach the slavers." She spits off to the side again.
Liya listens to it all, nodding. "It's missing a lot of pieces, it feels like.
Taleyn nods. "That's about the size of it. Raph has sketches, but she had to go. And yes, it's all very incomplete and mysterious!"
Quinlan grins. "That does tend to be the way of dreams," he agrees. "Did you see the glyph?"
"I didn't get a good look," Liam says to Quinlan.
Myrddyn is letting the others summarize.
"I tried really hard," Liya says, with a shrug. Mayhem mrowls, headbutting her. She ruffles his fur and shrugs.
Taleyn shakes her head. "Quinlan, I didn't see anything that looked like that glyph."
"Thassa risks of takin' to Tir for answers. All 't ever does is give you mor' bloody questions." Tessa says, picking at her teeth.
Myrddyn says, "I don't think we got deep enough, before the clouds came."
"Tir very rarely gives any answers," Liam says. "It more often than not raises more questions. Could have been worse. Could have been Clockwork Eric."
Taleyn shivers. "Indeed."
Myrddyn says, "Yes, we did well, all things considered as to where we just went."
"I've got rats to hunt down," Tessa interjects, bowing briefly and turning to go.
Quinlan winces. "True," he agrees. "I'll come too, Tessa. But where's the backup?"
Myrddyn says, "I thought your duties were more, substantial than rat catching?"
"Just organizing, and think big rats Myrddyn." Tessa explains.