Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » (Closed) The End is Nigh

As they were led into the ruins, the Sorcerer and the Templar-Queen found more of the same tunes from the previous desolation. Arun-Ja wrote down what he saw, but Illumia took her time to study them, using any incantation she could to reveal what was hidden within; nothing but rage and foul magic. They both recognized that it seemed familiar somehow, but they couldn’t reveal from where as of yet.

As the two travelers continued their strange studies, Aria responds, giggling a little and trying to keep quiet. "Yes, I assume so. I can't wait to see the inferno that happens when we get to the witch if that's the case." Aria whispered back.

The paths around the monastery are a little more than gravely dirt, which wrap around it's sides heading towards the back. The paths themselves are decorated with bushes, flowers, and other things of the sort off to their sides, with what seems to be a now cracked and partly broken statue missing it's head and arms of what can only be assumed to be "Lady Auft." A large barn-like building to the right composes the warehouse at it's back, it's large wooden doors shut. And a long building similar to a bunk-house lays at the left, with many doors and windows seemingly barricaded from the inside.

Even the grounds back here are littered with a few bodies, and numerous ballista bolts impale many of the undead, looking like BBQ skewers sticking into the ground with many armored and rotting bodies at their bases, or splattered across the dirt where they landed.

"Not as badly damaged as it might have been," Rook commented as she walked beside Sir Arnold toward the barn-like structure behind the monastery. "I'm surprised it wasn't burned. You think maybe the witch sent most of her forces to Vallan?"

It was actually the first glimmer of hope Rook had seen that there was, indeed, a limit to the number of undead the sorceress commanded.

She reached out and knocked upon the large wooden doors as soon as they drew close to them.

Sir Arnold followed Rook until they were out of hearing.

"I've been commanded to keep tabs on you, Sir Pentre suspects rangers use magic to get an advantage" explained Arnold in a low voice

" Of course I've dismissed it as arduous training " smiled Arn following her about

"Still, orders are orders and I cannot loose sight of you" mused Arn

Her eyes widened just a smidgen, but she managed to put an uncertain smile upon her lips.

While certainly not part of their training, the ranger unit here did tend to allow small displays of magic to slide, choosing to simply look the other way rather than report one of their own to the heavy hand of Sir Pentre.

Rook herself had an ability to communicate with animals that went well beyond the normal ranger training. It was a skill she'd picked up from her father, but in truth, her ability had surpassed his by the time she was 8 years old. Was it magic? Even Rook wasn't sure, but she did tend to keep it hidden as well as she could when in untrusted company.

"Magic?" she said as they waited for someone to answer the knock upon the doors. "I wish that were true. Might help us against Adryn. Terrible Tron seems comfortable enough with those two though," she added, pointing back toward Arun-Ja and Illumia, more as a way to deflect the conversation from the topic of whatever magics the rangers might employ.

They didn’t really pay attention to most of the surroundings, instead focusing on the symbols and how they connected to the power of the Sorceress who wielded the darkness.

As the rest of the party does their business inside the foyer, Arun-Ja and Illumia discover something strange about their investigation...

As Rook knocked, scuffling about and whispering could be heard coming from behind the doors. After what sounds like multiple locks and make shift bars being undone, the door cracks open, with a sword blade coming to greet them first. The user's head pops out not too later, it belonging to a brown-bearded man peering out from the doorway. "Is it over? You're not some kind of weird dead are you?" His voice tense and cautious.

“Agh,” he shouted suddenly, “agh, below!!! It’s below!!!” It suddenly stops, and he nearly falls to the ground. Illuminate goes to aid him, holding him in he arms.

"At least for now," the ranger answered the sword wielder. "I'm Sarah Rook, with the Blackmarsh Rangers, and definitely not..."

“Agh, agh, below!!! It’s below!!!”

"Get back inside and lock the door!" she said immediately to the man in the doorway. Then, leaving Hobo near the door of the wooden building, she turned and sprinted back toward Arun-Ja, reaching to her quiver to draw an arrow as she ran, as if something was ready to burst forth from the ground at any moment.

"What is?! What's below?"

“Give him a moment,” Illumia advised, “this hasn’t ever happened before.” It took a while, but the Sorcerer soon regained his senses, wearily looking around at nothing. “I...what happened,” he muttered, his head pounding, “I’m...unsure. I can’t remember.”

"You said it was below... what was below?" Rook pressed, glancing between Illumia and Arun-Ja. "Something to do with the witch?"

As Rook and party bolted back towards the front, they could hear the audible slam of the door as they ran, the man taking their advice.

As they met up with the "beast wizard" and the strange woman, the templar from before came out to meet them. "What is with the yelling and claims of things being under exactly?! So help me if ye have desecrated these grounds with vile arcanery there's gonna be pain to pay!" The man says in a demanding voice.

Aria takes a moment to look at the ruckus, the feeling of worry and concern present on her face from where she stands.