Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » The Sacrifice

Veritably charmed by the gentleman-wizard, the northerner accepted the goblet with a gracious smile. She sniffed the contents surreptitiously and sipped. "What else can you do?" She positively chirruped.

Meanwhile, the snow-goblin was absolutely offended, it's beady eyes glaring, it's face contorted in dismayed indignation, it's eyes darting between wizard and princess in DUE incredulity. It looked to it's side of the table, scoured the empty area and dragged it's grubby fingers over the fine tablecloth. And then the creature balked soundly, noise caught somewhere between scoff and gasp. Like a little king, it settled it's stare ahead of itself, it's expression down-turned sourly.

If Ingeborg was a bit charmed by Dulirn, the wizard was just as pleased to have an appreciative audience. Urir was rarely impressed these days by his magic. If anything, his servant had become even more dour recently.

"That is but a trivial display!" he boasted. Perhaps a bit overzealous in his attempts to impress the fair ice witch, the wizard outstretched his arm toward the goblin, palm upward and muttered a short incantation. Sticky webs shot from his hand toward the sour goblin, likely entangling him to the dining chair.

Drawing nearer to the tower, Sonny began her assessment of this apparently magnetic area. At what she supposed to be the main entrance there hung a lantern, throwing odd, flickering shadows as it swung gently in the breeze. She crouched down, eyes fixed intently on the door. Someone was apparently home then. Suspicious eyes fixed on the door she darted forward, intent on getting past and to the building's side before someone opened it. Back pressed against the rough stone she glanced upwards, continuing her assessment. She could see a soft glow coming from narrow slits in the wall- windows, built in a defensive style. It was likely then that this building was fortified and was, or at least had been, owned by someone who had something important to protect.

Staying close the wall she carried on forward, moving round to the back of the building. It felt as if there were even more of those bladed stones littering the floor, and she moved carefully, the threat of twisting her ankle high. As she circled round she moved away from the stone wall, until she stood opposite a door, slightly shorter than herself, set deeply into the rocks. It must lead to a cellar or basement, she mused. Fearful again that someone should come through the door and discover her, she darted past it quickly, carrying on with her circle back around towards the front door. Finding this side of the tower to be as unremarkable as the other, she made her way back to the most intriguing part of this tower- the small back door. She began to make her way towards it, stepping down the worn stone path to the door. The feel of cobwebs brushing against her skin reassured her jumpy nerves; this seemed a fairly disused entrance. Pushing gingerly on the door she felt it give way, opening slowly with a creak that made her wince. With one last glance behind her, she stepped into the dark room.

Excited laughter merried the room with the princess dulcet amusement as the snow goblin was lashed to it's chair, a keening protestation escaping the creature. It's little hands wrestled with the thread whilst it's eyes bulged with indignity. Affront emblazoned the goblin's mien, it's stocky features agog, it's wriggling and squirming only writhing the witch's sides for humor. She clapped her hands together exuberantly, her porcelain cheeks rosy with life. "More, more," she beamed.

Inside is quiet and very dark. A smooth-walled and stoned floor tunnel leads away from the door, narrow enough that Sonny could reach out and touch both sides. It goes back at least 10', but that's all that can be seen from the dim light coming in from the opened door. Past that, she'd have to go by feel without another source of light...

--

"You are insatiable, dear Ingeborg!" Dulirn exclaimed, thoroughly enjoying her delight and downing the rest of his goblet of wine. "More, you ask?"

Urir started bringing in food while the wizard entertained Ingeborg and Garner, some kind of roasted bird with vegetables neatly arranged. There was not nearly enough time to have prepared it only since they guests arrived.

Dulirn held up a finger as if an idea had struck him, then pointed that finger toward the quiet Garner, tracing his outline then his features, as if he were drawing him in the air. The fiends features began to change, rapidly becoming more human... back to the human he had, in fact, once been.

It was an illusion only, but a fairly convincing one and Garner might be able to catch his own changed reflection in his polished goblet...

Garner sees it shortly after Dulrin casts the spell, but rather than showing any form of happiness, surprise, or...anything really he just sighs, does some math in his head based of what he has seen Dulrin do before, then promptly counts down from three with his fingers. The moment he gets to zero he immediately goes back to how he was before.

"I am grateful from the attempt, but I have already tried similar things before, from paying other wizards to brewing potions, and from what I gather, whatever I'm made of is as concrete to its form as it can get. The longest I held my previous form for was two hours...I don't mean to be rude by saying this but I would be glad if you never did it again, it's better to accept what I am now rather than just hold on to what I once was."

It took a couple of seconds for her eyes to adjust to the almost pitch black of the room. In that time all she could pick up on was the soft sound of her own breath. It unnerved her. Straining her eyes to look around, she found herself to be in a narrow tunnel, stretching back into absolute darkness. She took a few cautious steps forward, trying to test her eyesight, see how far the limited light from outside would stretch, but she knew already that it was no good. In order to go further, she would once again have to rely on her other senses.

She took a second to rummage around in her pockets before continuing forward. Though she had left the tavern in a hurry, Sonny made sure to always carry the bare necessities on her person- a selection of small weapons, some healing items and various exploratory aids. It was something from the latter category that she was looking for as she fumbled through her many pockets, fingers finally curling around a small leather pouch. She smiled to herself in the darkness, taking it from her pocket and holding it in the palm of her hand. Slipping her fingers in she grabbed a couple of the small stones stored inside, and with a final glance behind her started forward. Keeping one hand on the smooth surface of the wall (both to steady herself and prevent from somehow getting lost) she used her other free hand to gently throw the stones in front of her, one at a time. As they landed, they made a small sound that was amplified enough by the tunnel walls that Sonny could use it to work out a vague picture of what lay before her.

The creature yowled it's fright, wailed anxiously in it's spry struggles, head swiveling, shoulders bucking. Sized like a baby but with goliath-length arms, the goblin had the face of a particularly ugly toddler for the moment sputtering nonsensical meaning much like one. Ingeborg had stilled her initial laughter but her cheeks still dimpled with amusement. But soon as her eyes turned from the wriggling servant to behold the transformation of the other guest, awe replaced the youth's mirth and the boundless cerulean of her sights sparkled with excitement.

The goblin sat panting, deep breaths filling lungs weighted by magical bindings. A glum look slackened it's stubby features. Head drooping, shoulders slumping it resigned itself to it's shackled fate for now.

The tunnel turned out to be very short, only stretching a few feet beyond the light before it opened into what sounded like a small, cluttered room. Sonny had not yet gone far enough to be directly under the tower. Along the wall, she'd find occasional brackets with unlit torches. Various crates and loose books where stacked just to the left. A set of shelves to the right. An abundance of dust and spider webs cover almost everything. Further exploration would reveal two passages lead from here... one from the left wall and one from the right.

--

"Fascinating..." Dulirn muttered as the illusion dissipated so quickly. It should have easily lasted longer than a few seconds. The magic that had transformed Garner was potent indeed to resist even a temporary illusion of a return to his old self. It was almost a shame really, to use such a curiosity as a sacrifice to the fire demon.

"Of course," the wizard said to Garner, though his eyes still lingered on the fiend for another few seconds as if he were mentally dissecting him.

But then he seemed to remember himself and turned his attention back to the group as a whole. He waved his hand dismissively at the snow-goblin and the webs crumbled away. "Please, help yourselves," he invited, indicating to the feast Urir was still busy laying out, and took the seat at the head of the table for himself.

Garner lays back in his chair, he is a bit glum after seeing his previous face again, however he tries to keep positive so he begins to eat his food "So i'm curious to know how things are way out here in no mans land, it seems a bit lonely out here being so far from any nearby towns, and all you have for company is that 'Urir' fellow, of course I can't directly assume you don't visit any of the neighboring towns, I assume a wizard such as advanced as your self would find a work around to get over the long distance journey from here to the next town."

Ingeborg had watched on slightly perplexed (as if she really had no clue what it was she was supposed to look at –truly, she was the only interesting individual in the room, was she not?). The wizard's invitation wiped the tension from her beauty and as if reminded of a hunger she hadn't known in the rush of things, she leaped to nourishment, delicate grace slightly offset. Askance in favor of baser need... Then she paused, if only for the sake of propriety, the bite-sized morsel pronged and hovering infront of her plush lips. Her gaze steadied, a supped breath placed a faint smile on her face. And then she conquered the appetizer, measured and ardent in her stature. Dignity glowed in her aire.

As she got used to the darkness of the tunnel, her pace quickened and she began silently striding along the passage, arm outstretched to keep her bearings. Along the wall, she could feel the occasional cold of metal, torch brackets, evidence of past use (and current disuse) of this passage. In addition to this, she could feel the dusty covers of books and the rough wood of crates. From the number of sticky cobwebs attached to her hand she could tell that this tunnel had not been used for an age, a fact that both comforted and unnerved her.

She was pulled from her thoughts however as she came to an abrupt stop as she felt the stone bounce back at her. Apparently, she had reached the end of the tunnel; but no, she knew that couldn't be right. She had hardly covered enough distance to have reached the tower. Deciding to keep along the left side of the wall she took a couple of cautious steps forward soon finding there to be another passage- it was likely then that there were two corridors, presumably heading in different directions. Pausing to listen, she heard no signs of danger, and so decided to continue along the left passage, throwing her stones and trailing her arm as she strode along.

Only about 10 feet down the left tunnel, Sonny comes to a locked wooden door. Almost at the same time, something with a lot of legs scuttles across the hand touching the wall.




---

"I suppose it can be lonely at times. Urir is not much of a conversationalist," Dulirn replied to Garner. He took another sip of his wine. "That is why it is so appreciated when visitors come calling. Urir will clean up bed chambers for you both, of course. Do you wish a separate chamber for your servant?" he asked to Ingeborg, as if it were already a forgone conclusion that they'd both be spending the night.

After meters of nothing (save for some sticky cobwebs) Sonny finally encountered something of interest: a door, spanning the width and height of the tunnel. A quick kick to the door established that it was locked, possibly requiring a great deal of force to open. She was distracted from pursuing this train of thought, however, as she felt multiple legs brush over her exposed hand. With a sharp cry of surprise, she pushed herself away from the wall, shaking her hand frantically, hoping whatever was on her had gone. Feeling no further contact she let out a shaky breath, cutting herself off as she suddenly remembered her situation. She stood frozen, listening, hoping to the gods that no one had heard her in her moment of surprise. To be discovered this far into her exploration would not only be disappointing but also dangerous- with escape so far away she would likely find herself at the mercy of whoever owned this strange tower.

"Now what?" Urir huffed in aggravation as he heard a muffled cry from below. He'd been about to bring the dessert out to the "guests", but set the tray back down. "That gnome better not be getting into our stores again...," he grumbled as he lit a torch and opened the basement door.

--

For several seconds, it seemed Sonny had escaped detection. But then, from somewhere down the unexplored right tunnel a creaky door opened. As of yet, the light of Urir's torch would not be visible, but his voice would travel far enough to be heard. "Orver! Is that you? You'd better not be helpin' yourself to Dulirn's tobacco..."

Sonny remained frozen, heart pounding in her chest as she attempted to be silent and still. After several seconds of quiet, it appeared she was safe, and the young huntress began to allow a small exhale of air to escape. This was quickly cut off as she began to hear the echo of a voice coming from the right-hand tunnel. Instantly she was back on high alert, mentally searching the surrounding space for somewhere to hide as the sound of footsteps on stone got louder.

Slowly, with light steps, she backed herself into the corner, carefully reaching to the straps attached to her legs for the daggers she kept there. Then, poised, she waited, hoping desperately that the steps would stay away, that the light she supposed the voice to be carrying would not reflect on the walls in front of her.

((For reference. Where it says 'cave-in', I replaced with the locked door. And the stairs at the bottom is really the tunnel where Sonny entered.))



"Orver?" Urir's torchlight preceded him down the tunnel and into the cluttered, dusty room. "hmph..." The flames illuminated his large brimmed hat and his large nose as he tried to peer into the shadows, but didn't spot the girl hiding there. He moved into the tunnel where Sonny had entered. "Damn gnome left the door hanging wide open..." his voice drifted back to Sonny, followed by the sound of the door closing and then a moment later of a 'click' as he locked it with a key.

Meanwhile had the winter maiden finished her meal. In lieu of eating herself she had begun feeding scraps to her snow goblin servant, taking cruel pleasure in it's unwillingness to subject to the indignancies of it's treatment, at once shaking it's head violently and then at a coo allowing the morsel into it's gape. Little purling giggles erupted from the so-proclaimed princess of the north as she fed her servant from own plate. The stubby creature meanwhile had turned red-faced (proving once and for all that goblins have red blood like everyone else and that the chalk color of it's skin was a thick pigment belonging to it's complexion) and each subsequent swallow coaxed a snort of frustration. Perhaps the only thing that could be taken away from this ludicrous show was the fact that the goblin's gaze throughout it's ordeals, remained obeisant tracing it's mistress. Not once did intentions swerve from the course of affection in spite of the little's complaints. Where one may turn murderous for a slight, the goblin was as devoted as they came, for all it's objections complying with every offense. Possibly even secretly enjoying Ingeborg's attentions...

"I'll have Urir fix up bed chambers for you. Do you wish a separate chamber for your servant?" Dulirn asked to Ingeborg, as if it were already a forgone conclusion that she'd be spending the night.

Garner snaps out of his pondering, he seems to have lost track of things going on around him

"Almost forgot about the time, it's getting rather late, I best be on my way. Hopefully the fog might of cleared by now and i can at least make it to the next town in one piece" He then promptly begins walking to the door to leave.