Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » The Sacrifice

((https://www.rprepository.com/community/forumthread.php?t=59909))

Dulirn sat back in his throne-like chair, tired but satisfied. Each sacrifice had strengthened the fire demon and given the wizard more power to control it. Finally, it was becoming easier to summon the creature to do his bidding. He expected he would soon be able to summon it without having a sacrifice ready. But not yet. He would need to acquire another victim.

His eyes watched the flames from the circle of candles still burning brightly, as if nothing at all had happened, and he pondered how he should go about finding the next sacrifice. There were often travelers in the forest. Luring one into a trap would be ideal. An idea struck the wizard suddenly and he got up, scanning the titles of many ancient books until his eyes landed on the one he was looking for. "Perfect," he mused to himself as he retrieved a particularly large tome and opened it right to the pages he wanted.

The spell was somewhat complex, but not above his skill level. He would create a magical fog that would enchant the forest for miles around, confusing travelers, and leading them right to his door... His crooked mouth crept into something resembling a smile at the thought.

Garner was wandering around the edge of the forest, humming to himself while occasionally stopping on the trail to pick up different flowers or mushrooms for future usage in his brews. As he got deeper into the forest he continued to pick up whatever he could find on the side of the trail before eventually stopping to take a quick break from walking.

"Walking alone in a forest like this one is no good you know.." Would say Xavier. A 6 foot 2 Tan-ish male with black hair reaching his shoulder, dark red eyes, lean and fit. Would be wearing a dark robe covering what's he wearing underneath for unknown reasons, but he's an interesting mage after all. Reading a book that had some weird handwriting on front of it with one hand, while flipping the pages magically as he read. Leaning against a tree, he didn't turned the gaze away from his book. "But hey, curiosity caught me in here as well. But I'm not the only one.." As for the forest, some people but mages would feel a rather weird scent flying around. Almost seeming like a 'magical' forest. In fact, it wasn't just a forest if it had such a scent like one that would concern some mages onto wonder in it. But it is a beautiful forest. Different kinds of flowers could be seen while wandering around, birds singing their tune, sunlight passing by the levees of the trees like tiny lazers to the ground. Quite the forest indeed.

Dulirn set his tome beside a wide, but shallow basin filled nearly to the brim with water. He waved his hands over the still surface, calling forth arcane powers until the liquid quivered, slowly revealing a forest scene. The wizard peered closely at the scene, his attention focused on an extremely odd and lanky being foraging along a forest trail.

"Ah, I haven't seen one of those in years!" Dulirn said excitedly into the basin. "Why don't we invite it for a visit?" He studied the tome again, then recited the incantation while concentrating on Garner.

As the fiend paused for a rest a fog crept steadily into the area, quickly draping the forest with a thick blanket of cold mist that would, if the spell worked as it should, obscure his path and make it difficult to go any other direction than toward his castle door.

Content with that, Durlin waved his hand over the basin again, widening the view. "More guests!" he commented as the magic let him pick out other figures within a several mile radius and he sent the magical fog to their paths as well. One in particular he now watched closer through his scrying basin... one that obviously commanded magic as well and Dulirn stiffened at the audacity of another mage coming so casually into his domain.

((Pardon my absence, been busy recently))

Garner looks around in a doubtful manner, attempting to figure out his direction while pulling out a lantern to hopefully pierce even slightly through the fog in hopes of recovering his sense of location. He proceeds forward at a slow pace, a mixed look of fear and worry across his face as he continues forward, lantern in hand. He continues walking like this for what feels like a eternity to him, mostly due to his worries making him walk at a slow pace.

His walking in a straight line through what little he can see through the fog is eventually interrupted by his arrival to Dulirn's doorstep.

((No worries! Real life needs to come before RP. ))

When the fog parted, Garner would find himself in a clearing dominated by a tower. It appeared to have once been rather grand, but has fallen into obvious disrepair. Nevertheless, there some sign of life, as a single candle burns in a lantern near the door.

He ponders to him self a bit, the last time he wandered into a random building during his travels around the lands he ended up almost being buried under debris. However upon looking behind him into the deep forest he realizes he has no choice, the fog had carried him far beyond his original path, if he tried to find his way back on his own he would most certainly get lost.

He then shuddered to himself in worry of what would await him in this tower before slowly lifting his arm and knocking a few times, to see if anyone was already there before him, as the lantern near the wood door would lead him to assume.

After several long seconds of silence, the large wooden door creaked open to reveal a short man-ish creature with a wide-brimmed hat and a large crooked nose. "Eh.. eh... what's this?"

He looked Garner Stilton up and down, but did not appear particularly frightened of the fiend's appearance. "Suppose yer here to see Dulirn," he said it as more a statement rather than a question.

"No thanks good sir, I was travelling through the forest before my path was covered by a rather odd fog which led to me being lost before I ended up here before you. If you can please give me some directions as to find my way back to the main trail or even a path to the next town then I will be on my way"

"No use, no use," the creature said miserably. "You're here now, might as well come in," he opened the door farther, showing a poorly lit entry way beyond. There was just enough candle light to see a wide staircase ahead that had been quite grand at some point in the past, but looked to have been badly neglected for decades. The carpet was so threadbare that large holes had been wore in it, furniture and an unlit chandelier were covered with thick layers of cobwebs, various pieces of dust covered parchment were strewn about the floor.

"No sense in standing around out there," the creature repeated, gesturing that Garner should come inside.

He seems noticeably at a state unease, but he does know when he is in a corner in terms of options so he decides to walk in "I'm rather curious to know, and not trying to be rude, but it doesn't look like anyone has lived here in the last thirty years, this place is covered in cobwebs and everything seems so bleak and abandon here, how do you and this Dulrin character manage to live in this place?" He says as he looks around the place.

((Hey is there going to be a spot where I can kinda just go silent until more people catch up? I feel like i'm going through things a bit too fast for a group roleplay.))

((We can keep it at one exchange a day, but I'm hoping some of our other players jump in here soon! Regardless, it's not unreasonable that characters coming from different parts of the forest would arrive at separate times, so I don't think we're ruining anything.))

If the creature noticed Garner's unease, he didn't let on. "Dulirn," he corrected as he lead Garner into the dim foyer, "not Dulrin." He glanced up the cobwebs and shrugged, "Just do. Follow me." He turned right toward the open door.

If he followed, he'd see they were heading into a room that looked only slightly more inviting than the entrance. Once a sitting room to entertain guests, the room was now dingy from lack of use and upkeep. The only saving feature was a window that allowed at least some dim light into the room. Without looking back at Garner, the short, man-ish thing pointed to the dusty furniture. "Please, have a seat," he said, his voice devoid of emotion. "Dulirn won't keep you waiting long."

Ayelle crawled from under the foliage as she sensed a huge surge of magic. She noticed a thick fog surrounding her.

“Well Well”, she mumbled under here breath... “Here I was hunting for pixy's to play with... And now this....”. She put away the pixy’s dust she won in her backpack.

She reached out with her magic to sense where the surge was coming from. “YELP”, she let out a cry, it was already all around her! But… It wasn’t effecting her… Just to make sure, she strengthened her defensive wards none the less.

She could sense the foul trick behind the magic to lure people to a specific location not too far from here…
She knew not to meddle with other people magic’s… far too dangerous she was learned from one of here mothers. But she could not resist the urge to investigate.

Slowly she sensed her way back to the source of the magic to locate it. And then packed her backpack, which in turn contained, some pixy dust, parchment and charcoal, a healing potion and small ritual stones.

“Off we go she said” and started walking.

Ayelle would soon enough spot the tower rising out of the fog, the source of the magic somewhere within.

The door stood open, the muffled voices of Garner and the other coming from just inside.

Ayelle kept herself hidden, making sure there were no spots she could be seen from, being small had its advantages she thought to herself. As she hid in the dense bush.

Her mind was racing, “what was the purpose of this magic trick? Is there a magician in need of help? Is this just an ordinary trap?” Her mother’s told her many horror stories of walking in somewhere without precautions.

But, a thought struck her, “an illusion that I control could go in and scout, they would not know the difference unless they break my ritual somehow…”

Ayelle created an illusion of a normal mundane female, the back story of the mundane she would make up on the fly, there were no risks involved on being discovered… Not unless she was in there.
Now, before her eyes stands Rimka a created illusion… Ayelle knew all too well that illusions could not grant vision, smell, hearing unless you binded yourself to the illusion using a ritual. The ritual would put Ayelle into stasis preventing hunger and thirst and would last until she cancels it or the circle would be broken.

Carefully she prepared the ritual circle with the stones out of her backpack, casting the spells to control Rimka, The stones locked into place and her mind surged… a flicker of sadness made its way back to Ayelle’s mind remembering how this spell was thought to her by her now dead mother… She quickly dismissed the thought…

“The game is on” she mused
Rinka walked to the door and peered here eye’s inside.

((OOC: you want me to create a character sheet for Rinka? Although she is an illusion?))

"Ah, great... first the damn guards, now the fog." Doren was rather irritated by that mysterious and extremely dense fog. He was already blind by an eye, and sure that humidity wasn't helping his poor bones, but at least the guards weren't following him anymore.

Nothing could be heard, it was one of those odd and sinister situations where one fear to get lost for eternity... or trip over a small rock and get off a cliff.
With his slender hands, the miserable man searched for something, a tree perhaps, but nothing.
" Curse the gods, and curse this kingdom too ! Hah, if only I knew before, I would've never sail from..." Distracted by his thoughts and cursing, the man didn't noticed what was in front of him.

With a sonorous slam of his face, he reached what looked like a tower of some sort. "Well, may a dragon bite me arse, finally some luck."

The wizard, still at his scrying basin, could not help but to watch with fascination as the elf cautiously approached his tower. Instead of coming to the door, she created the illusion and then performed her ritual. It was not a spell he had attempted himself, but still recognized what she was doing, allowing her illusion to act as her eyes and ears. "Clever, clever elf," he said. This one would prove a fine offering to the fire demon. If he could ensnare her, of course. He pondered how to entice her inside...

--

As Rinka came to the open door, she would see the dimly lit, poorly kept foyer and the two figures heading into the room to the right.

--

A lantern shines brightly to Doren's right, a beacon near the door of this run down tower. Standing next to it, looking inside the open door, was Rinka.

Garner continues looking around the place as they walk, taking notice of any detail, minimal or major, yet despite this he doesn't seem to notice Ayelle. Despite how run down the place is he seems rather interested in further details beyond that of what he is able to pick up on his own.

"So this seems like a rather desolate place to be residing, the surrounding towns are quite far from this location, and from my ingredient hunting around here, almost nothing grows around here except trees and a few mushrooms, how are you and Dulirn able to survive out here?"

((Sorry for the delay. I was hoping Ayelle or Loremongrel might post again, but they might be waiting for me, so here goes... ))

The thing turned toward Garner, but his large brimmed hat hid his eyes as he answered. "Enough passing travelers," he started, pausing awkwardly as it seemed Garner was hoping for a better answer than that. "Sometimes a merchant," he added, then gestured again to the dusty furniture.

"Sit. Sit," he ordered hastily. "I'll fetch Dulirn," but as he turned, he caught site of the girl in the doorway. "Come in, come in... sit with the other. Dulirn will see each of you."

He seems satisfied enough by the answer to sit down without any further questions, after doing so he sorta loses focus as he stares off, thinking to himself to pass the time.

He also begins talking to himself under his breath while doing so, mainly going on about his laid out schedule to himself of what he was going to do after he eventually got to the next town, mainly just setting up a stand and selling his potions to passerby and other travelers.