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Post by Lady Cirice Lunestre on Jan 18, 2023 22:08:29 GMT -5
Cirice makes sure to grab the door on the side she lost her eye, opposite Cyran’s eye and squeezes Gerhart’s hand as they all lock hands together.
“On three. One, two, three!” Swings open the door with Cyran and pulls Gerhart inside with them as a unit.
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Post by Ser Gerhart Stanislav on Jan 19, 2023 14:13:49 GMT -5
If none of these other plans work, Gerhart will try closing his own eyes and reaching for the door handles himself. If the door is already open, he doesn’t because that would look dumb.
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Post by Admin: Soul on Jan 20, 2023 13:51:56 GMT -5
The door itself seemed pretty inconspicuous but since Gerhart was unable to see any of it, it was obvious something tricky was at play here. Cyran and Cirice, the two with damaged eyes, each grabbed one of the door handles with one hand, holding Gerhart's hand with the other. They were going to try opening the door together as one, then pulling Gerhart through as they passed the threshold. It was a clever idea and since no one wanted to leave Gerhart behind, it was something they had to do. So as they counted down, the two elves tugged together, pulling open the wooden doors and revealing a staircase behind it. A narrow, ancient staircase ascended upwards for a few hundred feet before vanishing into darkness, none of the group able to see what was at the end of this new passage way.
Gerhart would see none of this however, as the two opened the door, he simply watched them tug something invisible, the doors still replaced with the stone wall. He knew a door was there, could even see his friends making the motions as if they opened it, but was unable to see it in any aspect. What was even more concerning was that as the two moved through the doors and into the hall with the stairs, Gerhart was left behind. His arms would be pulled forward by both Cyran and Cirice, up until they reached the wall, in which all three would suddenly feel the mans hands tugged from theirs, no matter how tightly they held on. Whatever this wall was, it was strong enough to completely repel Gerhart, allowing Cyran and Cirice to move past it and leaving the armored warrior alone in the hall.
If his friends called out or even moved back through the doors, Gerhart would be able to see and hear them, but no matter how hard they tried to pull him, the wall would just not budge. Gerhart would be able to see his friends phasing in and out of a solid wall, as if it was not there, but for him, it was as solid as the ground he was standing on.
Notes: -Answering the question before it comes up. If you injure your own eye it will count as a minor wound.
-Cirice- 0 Wounds, one blind eye (Major healing can not be used on them) -Cyran- 0 Wounds, one blind eye (Major healing can not be used on them) -Gerhart- 0 Wound, Chest and leg hit preventions used up (Minor and Major healing can not be used on them)
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Post by Cyran Fenastra-Asiliari on Jan 20, 2023 15:46:52 GMT -5
He desperately tried not to show any frustration that pulling Gerhart through didn’t work. If they couldn’t figure out an alternate way through this door, then that would only mean Gerhart’s only solution was to remove his own eye, and there was no mechanism here that would make removing it painless… Cyran may have been a killer for hire, but the idea of Gerhart going through that still made him feel sick.
There had to be some other way.
He just had to… keep looking for it.
Cyran glanced up the staircase. He couldn’t see anything up at the top, but perhaps there would be some sort of answer or puzzle up ahead. If only the blind could reveal the truth, then it was up to him and Cirice to figure out if there was some hidden meaning to this puzzle. It was worth a try- at the very least, it would give Cyran an idea of what to expect going forward in the event Gerhart had to…
He preferred not to think about it.
“Hold on. Let me look ahead real quick.” He had a lower chance of being spotted if he went and peeked at what was at the top of the stairs. Sticking to the shadows, Cyran would quickly ascend to the top of the stairs, just enough to get a peek at what waited for them ahead.[1] If there was no threat, Cyran would get a closer look, hoping to find some sort of puzzle that might help Gerhart pass through the wall before descending and reporting his findings to the others. 1. Pass Without a Trace
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Post by Admin: Soul on Jan 23, 2023 15:53:34 GMT -5
It was a big ask, one that the team did not wish upon Gerhart, so instead of making any rash decisions, Cyran decided to scout ahead, silently moving up the stair case to see what lay ahead. For a few seconds the elf continued to climb, going up and up, until it seemed like there was too much going up. Remembering the trickery of this tomb, Cyran decided to go back down a few steps, just to see, and to their dismay the truth was revealed. Only ten steps down and they were back at the bottom, with Gerhart and Cirice. This stair cases just kept going, as if under some kind of trick.
Trying once again, Cyran moved up the stairs, now with their eyes closed, allowing the good eye to shut and mimic the already damaged eye. Now moving up the stairs blind, Cyran was able to make out faint, smoky images, an outline of the staircase he was climbing. Only a few moments passed by as Cyran came to the top of the staircase, seeing the outline of yet another door, indicating a way forward. This door had very vague writing and images plastered across it, like it was a memorial for something. However when Cyran opened their eyes to get a better look at the door, they instead found themselves looking at an endless staircase again, a void ahead of them and their friends behind them.
It was a lot to take in, and unfortunately it did not help Gerhart's issue very much, and only really added further complication to it.
Notes:
-Cirice- 0 Wounds, one blind eye (Major healing can not be used on them) -Cyran- 0 Wounds, one blind eye (Major healing can not be used on them) -Gerhart- 0 Wound, Chest and leg hit preventions used up (Minor and Major healing can not be used on them)
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Post by Cyran Fenastra-Asiliari on Jan 23, 2023 18:04:56 GMT -5
No matter how long he walked, Cyran still couldn’t manage to get up these damn stairs. It almost seemed like an endless, torturous loop no matter how high he descended. Surely, he should have been up at surface level by now, but he was inexplicably stuck on these stairs, with no entrance in sight. The fatigue from all the ordeals they’d been through so far was beginning to catch up to him- he could feel the drag of his muscles and the ache in his chest the longer he went on, and Cyran knew he couldn’t keep this up forever.
Disheartened, he glanced below him to see how much progress he’d made, only to discover that Cirice and Gerhart were only about ten feet below, and it dawned on him that he’d done all that walking for nothing.
“Oh, dear.” He ran a hand through his hair, a headache beginning to build in the back of his skull. The situation did not yet feel helpless, but as Cyran stood there, with the realization hitting him that all that walking- all his effort- had been for naught, it was getting pretty damn close.
That was when the idea occurred to him to try closing his eye and making his way up the stairs while blinded. It might have seemed foolish and desperate; but if there was any chance for Gerhart’s sake, he would keep looking. Not when the alternative meant having to take Gerhart’s eye manually, and see that same forced smile on his face while he pretended everything was normal.
And so it was with a heavy heart that Cyran closed his remaining eye and made his way up the stairs.
To his relief, the blindness worked. He found himself making progress, until he seemed to reach some sort of door, one with images and words he couldn’t quite understand with his eyes closed, as if the true message was obscured in a thick smoke. The harder he tried to look, the more it evaded him, until in his frustration, his eyes snapped open, and he found himself back at the bottom of the stairs, with the darkness looming above him.
He turned back to Cirice and Gerhart, a troubled expression on his face. “There’s a door up there, but I can’t reach it on my own. We have to be… blind…”
An idea occurred to him.
While the other doors had required the sacrifice of an eye, during other challenges, Gerhart had been able to make out clues when he was subjected to true blindness. Not just closing his eyes, but by having his sight removed completely. Cyran practically bounded to the stairs, energized with the revelation, and filled with cautious hope, grabbing Gerhart’s hand with one of his own and Cirice’s in the other.
“Maybe you just need to surrender your sight.” He suggested, a small smile on his face. “It’s worth a try. Come with me.” He called upon the shadows, cloaking the three of them in an impenetrable, magical darkness that would rob them of their sight.[1] With any luck, this would be what would help Gerhart through the doors. Cyran pulled them both forward gently, trying to pull the others through the double doors. 1. Zone of Shadows
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Post by Admin: Soul on Jan 25, 2023 13:33:30 GMT -5
Using their mind, Cyran decided that if the group needed to truly be blind in order to move on, then he was going to fast track the process and try something new. All three of them had learned over the course of the tomb that vision, or the lack of, was vital for moving forward, as many of the rooms and traps in this tomb were specifically designed to be manipulated with the loss of eye sight. This sparked a crazy idea in the mind of the knife wielding elf. Summoning their dark magic, Cyran caused the room to fill with magical darkness, blinding not only Gerhart but anyone else who was unable to see in magical darkness as well.
For those who were blinded, their vision would first go completely dark, unable to see anything at all. However, seconds later, the faint ghostly outline of a staircase could be seen, rising upwards until it met another door. Gerhart would be able to move through the fake wall and all three of them would be able to ascend up the stairs and arrive at the final door of the dungeon. The three of them, hand in hand, would make then trek up the stairs together, now standing as one, ready to enter next room. The door would only remain for as long as they could not see, unable to pass through this final door unless their vision stayed impaired.
Notes: You are about to enter the final room. This is your last chance to prepare anything before entering.
-Cirice- 0 Wounds, one blind eye (Major healing can not be used on them) -Cyran- 0 Wounds, one blind eye (Major healing can not be used on them) -Gerhart- 0 Wound, Chest and leg hit preventions used up (Minor and Major healing can not be used on them)
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Post by Lady Cirice Lunestre on Jan 25, 2023 14:08:05 GMT -5
Cirice squeezes Cyran’s hand in hers as the runes up and down her arms begin to glow and Ur appears at her feet1. Whatever awaits them in this last room she’ll be ready for it.
“We’re almost out. After this, let’s all go have a nice meal, okay? Put this whole terrifying place behind us.” 1 Summon minor minion
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Post by Ser Gerhart Stanislav on Jan 25, 2023 15:44:59 GMT -5
It's hard to see underneath his gloves, but the white knuckle tension Gerhart had been holding fades as he relaxes after realizing he no longer had to stab out his own eye. As ready as he was to do it for the others, obviously not shoving a knife into your eye is a good thing. A breath escapes his chest as they reach the door, he could feel the end of this place getting closer.
He takes one last deep breath before exhaling slowly. There was nothing he could do to bolster them or himself other than settling these nerves for whatever was on the other side. Gerhart looked between Cyran and Cirice, or at least the vague spaces he figured they occupied given which hand he was holding.
"I know this is cliche and stuff, but just promise me if it comes down to it, you two escape. If it gets bad I will make sure you two can escape....I know you're gonna say we're all gonna get outta here and not to talk like this, but...just say you promise so I'll shut up and feel better about it." Even in darkness somehow his dumb and sideways boyish smile can be seen in all of its sheepish glory.
Gerhart was ready to step through the door ahead of the others once they were ready.
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Post by Cyran Fenastra-Asiliari on Jan 25, 2023 20:28:55 GMT -5
It was a small mercy that the trick of blinding Gerhart with magical darkness worked, letting him through the door and up the same stairs Cyran had taken earlier. After everything they’d been through here, they seemed to have finally reached the end of the line, if the markings on the door were any indication.
This was the Sultan’s final resting place.
Even though they couldn’t see it in the magical darkness they’d created for themselves, Cyran smiled at Cirice’s request, only for that fondness to immediately settle somewhere between fear and cold dread at Gerhart’s.
“I can’t promise a thing like that, Gerhart.” Cyran muttered, unable to bring himself to make such an oath even to placate Gerhart. He knew the kid was self-sacrificing, but he still couldn’t bear to let Gerhart throw himself into harm’s way out of this sense of nobility for the both of them. If anyone were to be a distraction here, it should be the one who’d lived enough centuries that their death wouldn’t matter.
Not that Cyran had any intention of throwing himself to the pyre here.
For once in his life, Cyran had things to live for… people depending on him to get out of here. He would fight tooth and nail to escape from this place, but if it came down to it, it should be him, who’d lived a full life, over the kids who’d barely had a chance to experience theirs.
If Gerhart had been able to see in that moment, he would have noticed a humorless smile play on Cyran’s face, barely a wry twist of his lips. “Guess that means we’ll all just have to pick up the slack if we want to make it to dinner, don’t we?”
Before Gerhart could offer anything in protest, Cyran pulled him and Cirice into a one-armed hug on either side of him, the kind of embarrassing embrace only a father could offer. When he pulled away, he linked Gerhart and Cirice’s hands together in the darkness. If they were going to encounter something in there, then Cyran, who was still in the best fighting shape out of any of them, should move first. He unsheathed the gorgon-blood scimitar, pushing the doors open so they could enter the room.
The second they were inside, he’d drop the darkness surrounding them- the less time they spent in the dark, the less time they could be ambushed.
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Post by Admin: Soul on Jan 26, 2023 15:13:24 GMT -5
The trio pushed through the unseen door, using their magical lack of vision to navigate the rest of the way, Cyran pushing the door open and leading the team into the final room. As they entered the room, the elf ended his magical darkness spell, allowing the full view of the room to be displayed before each of the three. A large, square, stone chamber sat before the group, one with no other doors and windows, much like many of the other chambers in this tomb. The room was old and weathered, piles of sand randomly dotting the stone floor as the group took in everything they saw. The room was decorated from floor to ceiling with paintings, murals and various different types of artwork depicting a long and detailed history. On the floor was a large rectangular Zeinavian rug that extended from the doorway they now stood in all the way to the other side of the room, where a stone chair sat, flanked by two large statues. Sitting in the chair was a mummy, a very ornate and highly decorated body wrapped up like most Zeinavian corpses. This one however was wearing various items of jewelry, most notably a pendent indicating that they were once a Sultan. The room itself was illuminated by four large golden braziers, two on either side of the room, flanking the rug that split the room in half. Massive fires were currently burning in the golden dishes, making this the brightest room the trio had seen since entering this tomb. Silence drifted over the room for a second, each of the three taking in everything they where seeing, as an eerie sensation fell over the room. Just as they were starting to formulate a plan, the mummy sitting in the chair suddenly sprang to life. Slow at first, the corpse rose from its seat and turned to face the trio, its face currently wrapped with bandages and adorned with jewelry. The now animated corpse cracked its neck, and rushed the group, moving insanely fast for a dead body. It moved in a straight line, running directly at the team of tomb delvers still standing at the mouth of the room. Notes: Sultan's Tomb
-Cirice- 0 Wounds, one blind eye (Major healing can not be used on them) -Cyran- 0 Wounds, one blind eye (Major healing can not be used on them) -Gerhart- 0 Wound, Chest and leg hit preventions used up (Minor and Major healing can not be used on them)
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Post by Ser Gerhart Stanislav on Jan 26, 2023 16:56:22 GMT -5
"Not even gonna give us a chance to say how cool and spooky this place is before you come after us? Weak."[1]
Gerhart drew his swords quickly, getting ready to meet the sultan head on. They didn't have a lot of time to sit and debate about who is going to do what, Gerhart just knew he was best taking the attention of the mummy while the others flanked in from the sides.
The young knight came up to match the sultan, but he would stay defensive at first, not wanting to open himself up to a surprise attack. He would brace himself for the sultan to crash into him. If the mummy did attack Gerhart, he would attempt to catch on of the mummy's limbs to hold it in place.[2] If not, he was at least ready for it to come after him.
1. Challenging Mark 2. Lock Up
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Post by Cyran Fenastra-Asiliari on Jan 28, 2023 10:00:44 GMT -5
Before Cyran could issue any warning, Gerhart had already charged, grabbing the Sultan’s attention and issuing another challenge before it could reach any of them. At least he was playing it smart, not quite moving to attack him but holding the line, allowing the other two to run before the Sultan could strike them.
Cyran had no such reservations.
He was certain that this creature had more up its sleeve than they initially thought, but he came in the form Cyran was most capable of handling. Cyran dashed around Gerhart and the sultan until he was flanking them, tucking the scimitar back in his belt for now. It was good for firepower, but right now, he would play safe with Cold Steel.
He came behind the Sultan, slashing at the arm that Gerhart had grabbed.[1] Ice splintered from the cut like spiderwebs, hopefully preventing him from using the limb at all from the sheer cold spreading through his arm.
Normally, his preferred method of fighting was sticking to the shadows, but with Gerhart holding the creature’s attention, Cyran couldn’t find it in himself to retreat. Not now. He would hold this flanking position steady, ready to strike once Gerhart opened up another change for him too. And if the Sultan tried to attack him… the ghost still hovered behind him, unseen, ready to block another blow. 1. Ice Rune
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Post by Lady Cirice Lunestre on Jan 30, 2023 21:27:33 GMT -5
Before they can do much investigating the mummy moves forward to attack them and they all move to intercept. Cirice knows better than to get in the way so she sends Ur to go and attack the creature, raking at it with teeth and claws as she aims and fires an inflict wounds spell at its face.
“Fuck! Stay away from us!” 1 Inflict Wounds
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Post by Admin: Soul on Feb 3, 2023 14:38:31 GMT -5
The mummy wrapped Sultan smashed into Gerhart as the warrior rushed to meet him. The Sultan was now challenged, forced to fight Gerhart, as if it cared. But Gerhart was a skilled warrior, and fighting in close quarters like this was his specialty. While the dead body attempted to strike its enemy, it surprisingly was caught up, locked into an embrace by the warrior. He used this moment to block the mummy while Cyran and Cirice attacked from the sides, flanking the Sultan.
While all of their attacks landed, something odd happened. The steel of the knife, the ice enchantment and the spell cast by Cirice all bounced right off of the wrappings, as if they were made of steel. Cyran would feel as if they just tried to cut a solid wall, the blade moving across the surface of the mummy without even cutting the fabric containing it. Something was off about this thing, it somehow was able to completely ignore the attacks thrown its way.
The body acted on its own, as if not even aware of the other two, it focused its attention on Gerhart. Still locked up by the enemy, the mummy decided to just throw its full weight into Gerhart. The heavy body would fall into the man and then just drop, trying to use its weight to bring Gerhart down to the ground. He could leave the lock up, freeing the mummy, or be taken down with it, but either way this undead thing was not going to let Gerhart get away.
-The mummy has taken no damage this turn. -The mummy is trying to knock Gerhart and itself prone
-Cirice- 0 Wounds, one blind eye (Major healing can not be used on them) -Cyran- 0 Wounds, one blind eye (Major healing can not be used on them) -Gerhart- 0 Wound, Chest and leg hit preventions used up (Minor and Major healing can not be used on them)
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