Deleted
Roleplay posts: 0
Registered: Mar 29, 2024 0:32:50 GMT -8
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Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2018 18:27:36 GMT -8
A decrepit ruin found deep in an ancient forest. Moss has grown over the ancient stone, turning the structure green as it has been reclaimed by nature over hundreds of years. It seems completely sealed from the outside, with no obvious way in.
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Deleted
Roleplay posts: 0
Registered: Mar 29, 2024 0:32:50 GMT -8
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Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2018 19:30:02 GMT -8
Nero, ever cloaked in his dark robes with his face hidden behind a mask seemed to be a rather strange individual as the adventurers would have found out during their short trip through the woods. Often he could be heard whispering faintly to himself, a barely audible sound. In contrast, he also seemed to often fall into fits of coughing. He had introduced himself as Nero at the road, his voice was quiet and raspy. Since then he hasn't spoken apart from the whispers, instead just forging on ahead into the woods until they reached the ruins. It only took about a half day's walk from the nearest road into the woods, but it seemed Nero knew the way well as the trio arrived at the Decrepit Ruins without much hassle, "This is the place, an ancient Aelerian ruin... think of it like the tip of an iceberg, there is much more below the ground if one can find a way to break into the entrance here..." Nero said in his quiet raspy voice. He would begin to approach the mossy ruin, circling around the building and running his black leather glove along its surface, his palm glowing faintly with the aura of magic. He seemed to be looking for something. Dirk Smithson Hester Fairweather
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Hester Fairweather
Committed
Roleplay posts: 51
Age: 25
Physical Description: A young woman, fairly tall standing five foot nine inches, and weighs a hair over one hundred and forty pounds. Her eyes are a striking brown and her hair a dirty red.
She has fair features and would be considered lovely to more than a few.
Yet this simple bard has many secretes... some grim. Sometimes , she could be found staring at the distance, with an expression of sorrow and anger.
Registered: Jul 23, 2017 14:03:19 GMT -8
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Post by Hester Fairweather on Mar 12, 2018 19:42:01 GMT -8
@deadman Dirk SmithsonThe young woman moved with ease despite her pack and leather case, she did not seem to be armed at all, save for those dagger-like brown eyes, but those were sheathed now, replaced by a curious spark. She spoke casualy to the man Dirk, nothing more than bits of small talk to pass the time, but nothing of substance. " This fellow is a tad off... where did you find him?" She asked quietly as the man mumbled... not long into their half day hike... "I'll have to take your word for it Master Nero, can't say I know what an iceberg is." She admitted, striding effortlessly along the pathway. Her eyes scanned the woods for anything of interest, or suspicion, though focused on the ruins for a moment. " Seems odd someone would build this far out of the way." She said aloud following the man's steps exactly, she did not wish to fall prey to any traps... though magical ones always presented an issue, least she'd be somewhat safe from practical ones...
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Dirk Smithson
Established
Confessing
Roleplay posts: 49
Age: 32
Physical Description: Six feet and some change, heavy set, but muscular. Often wears heavy armor and uses a morningstar, but isn't overly attached to any one weapon. His face is often bruised from battle, though he's been able to keep most of his features intact.
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Clothes and Equipment: A heavy suit of armor and no weapons.
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Player's online availability : Frequent
Registered: Nov 16, 2017 20:23:26 GMT -8
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Post by Dirk Smithson on Mar 12, 2018 21:03:56 GMT -8
Dirk, driven by desperation had been forced to take on the job of Nero, the mysterious and frankly creepy spellcaster. Now, as they walked through the woods he stepped inexpertly among the roots, teetering dangerously at times. He wasn't much used to going off the beaten trail, but he had the stamina to keep up with the others despite what might be gained from his appearance. Despite his unease, however, it seemed his other travelling companion seemed as lost as he to this strange figure that led them and he shrugged at her, a movement that was enough to cause a clatter of armor.
"Heard 'bout the work at the inn." he explained to her, although conviently leaving out that he had been forced to wipe up spills for the simple crust of bread in his stomach. Dirk, too, had no weapons, however this was out of a simple lack of funds. He had no magic powers or clever hand-to-hand fighting skills to boast. Only an empty belly and an emptier wallet.
When they reached the queer structure that Nero inspected he merely nodded at what he said, not wanting to break the spellcaster's concentration. He'd trust him to handle finding secret doors or traps. He'd be content just carrying things. Hopefully there wouldn't be anything in there, but he knew he'd soon find out.
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Eric
Established
Roleplay posts: 20
Age: 23
Physical Description: Eric is a lanky man of about 5'10" in height, with pretty standard features. He has brown hair, brown eyes, fair skin, and no noteworthy features.
Clothes and Equipment: Eric wears a navy blue trench coat with light leather padding and a white shirt beneath, and wears a pair of well used boots. On his belt he keeps two bars of a strong steel.
Registered: Jan 13, 2018 8:38:14 GMT -8
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Post by Eric on Mar 12, 2018 21:44:42 GMT -8
Eric follows their guide along the path, taking in the tranquility offered by the forest. A kind of “peace before the storm.” Not all was peaceful however, the occasional coughing fit from Nero and the constant threat of being tripped up preventing that.
He arrived at the ruins behind the rest of the group, looking over their shoulders at the ruins. “Does seem strange to not have any roads near it. Maybe everything is underground.” He pauses for a bit. “Who was it again that built this place?”
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Deleted
Roleplay posts: 0
Registered: Mar 29, 2024 0:32:50 GMT -8
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Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2018 22:47:27 GMT -8
Nero silently inspected the ruins, coughing a few more times as he did so, "This place was built long ago... lands change. This could have been the heart of a civilization before nature overtook it." Suddenly he paused at a certain spot on the wall, his hand remaining in the same spot. A small flare-up of the magical light emanating from his hand and that section of mossy wall seemed to come alive, a faint magical glowing line creeping across the wall as it outlined a doorway in blue. A moment later the section of rock-slide downwards with a grinding noise as some hidden mechanism worked, opening a dark doorway into the ruin. "Marvelous..." Nero rasped, before turning to Eric, "The Aelerians built this place long ago. They were quite interesting, possessing a magical aptitude that was... quite rare for their time." Nero would turn back towards the yawning blackness that now sat open before them, it seemed to be the beginning of a dark stairway leading downwards from what little light pierced the darkness. He would hold his hand up a small orb of light materializing in his palm, illuminating a bit further down the stairs but still there was no end in sight. "Shall we?" he asked the group.
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Hester Fairweather
Committed
Roleplay posts: 51
Age: 25
Physical Description: A young woman, fairly tall standing five foot nine inches, and weighs a hair over one hundred and forty pounds. Her eyes are a striking brown and her hair a dirty red.
She has fair features and would be considered lovely to more than a few.
Yet this simple bard has many secretes... some grim. Sometimes , she could be found staring at the distance, with an expression of sorrow and anger.
Registered: Jul 23, 2017 14:03:19 GMT -8
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Post by Hester Fairweather on Mar 15, 2018 19:17:32 GMT -8
" I suppose so, but wouldn't we have seen signs of it else where Master mage?" Hester asked still keeping close to the path of the mage.
The bard's eyes lit with wonder as the decrypted mage worked his ways with the wall. " Yes, most definitely. Who were the Aelerians?" The fiery-haired bard asked waiting for the others to gather 'round the doorway. She tiptoed to see down the pathway, but due to the lack of light couldn't see much of anything. " Why was magic Rare for them ?" she added. "Seems everyone and their mother is capable of magic now, so long as they are a solid study. " She corrected.
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Dirk Smithson
Established
Confessing
Roleplay posts: 49
Age: 32
Physical Description: Six feet and some change, heavy set, but muscular. Often wears heavy armor and uses a morningstar, but isn't overly attached to any one weapon. His face is often bruised from battle, though he's been able to keep most of his features intact.
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Clothes and Equipment: A heavy suit of armor and no weapons.
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Player's online availability : Frequent
Registered: Nov 16, 2017 20:23:26 GMT -8
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Post by Dirk Smithson on Mar 19, 2018 18:49:00 GMT -8
At first Dirk merely stood around as Nero attempted to find whatever enchanted doorway he was searching for. After all, he wasn't hired for this, nor did he have any aptitude or knowledge that would help them. It didn't take long for him to become quite bored and he listened idly as Hester, clearly much more interested than he, asked followup questions about what the strange mage had said.
He glanced over his shoulder at Eric, who also seemed curious about the surrounding area and now he was beginning to feel perhaps a bit under-performing. Were they going to have a quiz at the end of the adventure or something? He was started back to attention by the sudden sound of shifting stone and his eyes went somewhat wide as a passage revealed itself. Unslinging his pack, he opening it to take out one of the few things he'd managed to spend a few coppers on: Torches. Striking his flint to provide a flame. Getting back to his feet he reslung the bag and, spotting a prime candidate, picked up a rather club-like branch. Following the others he cast an apprehensive look into the darkness below before deciding to take up the rear.
"Well I got the light, s'pose you two ought ta go next." he said to Nero and Eric.
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Eric
Established
Roleplay posts: 20
Age: 23
Physical Description: Eric is a lanky man of about 5'10" in height, with pretty standard features. He has brown hair, brown eyes, fair skin, and no noteworthy features.
Clothes and Equipment: Eric wears a navy blue trench coat with light leather padding and a white shirt beneath, and wears a pair of well used boots. On his belt he keeps two bars of a strong steel.
Registered: Jan 13, 2018 8:38:14 GMT -8
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Post by Eric on Mar 20, 2018 5:19:37 GMT -8
“Perhaps they simply were more skilled at magic than the commonplace mage, rather than magic being rare.” Eric suggests to the bard, looking down the passage dimly lit by both magic and torch light. There really seemed to be no end, and truth be told that was slightly intimidating.
He moves aside for the torch bearer to pass, content with letting him lead the party down. “Well, there doesn’t seem to be much more point in staying up here. Shall we head in?”
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Deleted
Roleplay posts: 0
Registered: Mar 29, 2024 0:32:50 GMT -8
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2018 9:02:04 GMT -8
Nero would head down the steps behind Hester, the blue light form his magelight mingling with the orange glow of Dirk's torch at the rear to illuminate the steps as they went. As they descended the air grew distinctly colder and the air shifted from the rich and fresh scent of the forest above to an old and musty one.
The sound of nature also soon faded leaving behind only the silence of the earth and darkness that surrounded them. The silence was so thick one could hear every sound normally obscured by louder ones, the breathing of those around oneself, their own heartbeats. Nero's breathing had a slight wheeze to it, it's laborious nature revealed by the silence of that dark dungeon.
Some time after the sunlight from up above had already disappeared, the party finally reached the bottom of the steps, the tunnel had turned in on itself a number of times by that point, indicating they had gone roughly straight downwards. Immediately they were greeted with an open archway, the remains of what seemed to be hinges rusted away along its edge. The door it once held had fallen inwards into the room, it was wood so most of it had rotted away already.
Stepping into the room, it quickly revealed itself to be a much wider hallway, wide enough for a carriage to ride through and carved from the same smooth grey stone of the stair-case. Every ten or so feet along each wall was another archway, though these were sealed by slabs of stone, with ancient runes scribed upon them. Nero would approach one of these sealed off side rooms, inspecting the runes closely, "Interesting..." he rasped to himself, before turning back towards the dark hallway that laid beyond. There was no end in sight yet, their lights not yet penetrating deep enough.
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Hester Fairweather
Committed
Roleplay posts: 51
Age: 25
Physical Description: A young woman, fairly tall standing five foot nine inches, and weighs a hair over one hundred and forty pounds. Her eyes are a striking brown and her hair a dirty red.
She has fair features and would be considered lovely to more than a few.
Yet this simple bard has many secretes... some grim. Sometimes , she could be found staring at the distance, with an expression of sorrow and anger.
Registered: Jul 23, 2017 14:03:19 GMT -8
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Post by Hester Fairweather on Mar 24, 2018 17:48:49 GMT -8
@deadman Eric Dirk SmithsonThe bard's breathing was level, not relaxed but a forced, focused, calm. Her rosemary and cinnamon soaps made their presence known in the confined space. Her cautious steps waited for the mage's beside her before landing. They walked in silence, her questions seemingly ignored for the time being... This mage probably didn't think any of the party bright enough to understand or care about what he was saying, that certainly put her off, but her curiosity held her tongue at bay for the moment. Hester squinted in the off light trying to see more details of the door hinges. If they were forced or simply failed would tell a lot about what this place was... or if anyone else had been there beforehand. The mage simply walked past the door... The bard peered at the slabs of stone with runes etched into them. " Tombs?" She asked the mage, not entirely expecting an answer at this point.
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Dirk Smithson
Established
Confessing
Roleplay posts: 49
Age: 32
Physical Description: Six feet and some change, heavy set, but muscular. Often wears heavy armor and uses a morningstar, but isn't overly attached to any one weapon. His face is often bruised from battle, though he's been able to keep most of his features intact.
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Clothes and Equipment: A heavy suit of armor and no weapons.
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Player's online availability : Frequent
Registered: Nov 16, 2017 20:23:26 GMT -8
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Post by Dirk Smithson on Mar 26, 2018 11:02:23 GMT -8
Descending deeper and deeper into the darkness, Dirk's sense of unease only grew in proportion to their descent. Nothing good came from caves and holes. Spiders, snakes bats, he could hardly remember finding a deep dark tomb of butterflies. Still, he wasn't necessarily afraid either. Nothing had lept at them, and he heard no creatures in the near-perfect silence other than their sounds of their own breath. When at last their path leveled out he was relieved that they could actually see their surroundings. No chance of turning a corner into a monster and most importantly there was room to fight. Swinging a blade or even a club in a switchback such as they had been in would have been nearly impossible.
Now they had room to swing and, even more importantly, not be forced to walk single-file. Glancing at Hester as he passed her following her gaze towards the rotting door and listening to her questions he came parallel to Nero, unwilling to push further into that unknown darkness without being certain it wasn't trapped or enchanted. When word of "tombs" reached his ears, however, he quickly performed a quick hand gesture, a holy symbol of Varafel meant to ward off spirits and undead.
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Eric
Established
Roleplay posts: 20
Age: 23
Physical Description: Eric is a lanky man of about 5'10" in height, with pretty standard features. He has brown hair, brown eyes, fair skin, and no noteworthy features.
Clothes and Equipment: Eric wears a navy blue trench coat with light leather padding and a white shirt beneath, and wears a pair of well used boots. On his belt he keeps two bars of a strong steel.
Registered: Jan 13, 2018 8:38:14 GMT -8
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Post by Eric on Mar 28, 2018 18:48:32 GMT -8
Eric walks down the winding stairwell, occasionally matching the rhythmic footsteps of one of the others when it fancied him. He would occasionally quickly glance back, as if afraid that some monster would spring out of the darkness, or the darkness itself would move in to consume them. Yet every time the space was empty, and the darkness was held back by the glow of the torch.
He reaches the bottom with the others, walking over the door and crushing its rotting remains with a muted crack. He looked down the hall, through the archways, and peered into the unyielding darkness. What could it contain that such efforts would be put into building this place so deep underground and in a remote area like this?
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Deleted
Roleplay posts: 0
Registered: Mar 29, 2024 0:32:50 GMT -8
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Post by Deleted on Mar 30, 2018 16:32:45 GMT -8
The door seemed to have simply rotted off its hinges, showing no signs of having been forcibly knocked down.
"Correct, these are tombs... I sense some sort of magic inside of them too. It would be unwise to disturb them."
Nero proceeded down the hallway now with great care, inching forward slowly to try and avoid walking into any traps that may be present within.
Nevertheless, several seconds into their journey the ruin seemed to come to life. It started with a single blue glowing rune at Nero's feet, similar to those inscribed on the sealing stones of the tombs. It quickly spread its light, however, and a line of glowing blue runes began to light up all along the floor down the entire hallway, beginning to light up the ruins.
Nero immediately jumped into action, his hands glowing with magic as he quickly stepped back immediately, ready to counter whatever magical trap he had unknowingly activated.
There was a distant sound in the hallway of stone grinding, sounding much like the same mechanism that had let them into the tomb. The hallway curved slightly, however, obscuring the origin of the sound. There didn't seem to be any immediate threat, though there would be a new feeling of dread as the ruins seemed to have been awakened and alerted to the party's presence.
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Hester Fairweather
Committed
Roleplay posts: 51
Age: 25
Physical Description: A young woman, fairly tall standing five foot nine inches, and weighs a hair over one hundred and forty pounds. Her eyes are a striking brown and her hair a dirty red.
She has fair features and would be considered lovely to more than a few.
Yet this simple bard has many secretes... some grim. Sometimes , she could be found staring at the distance, with an expression of sorrow and anger.
Registered: Jul 23, 2017 14:03:19 GMT -8
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Post by Hester Fairweather on Apr 8, 2018 20:52:09 GMT -8
@deadman Eric @skeltor24 Tombs, wonderful, tombs always held---- The mage activated the ruins, lighting the whole decrepit place with blue light---- traps... Garret! Raising her hands to a defensive 'hanging guard' pose, a long sword flashed into the bard's hands. Her eyes wide as she strained to see any threat that might attack them. " What did you step on mage?! " She hissed holding her ground despite the sinking feeling that now poured down upon them.
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Dirk Smithson
Established
Confessing
Roleplay posts: 49
Age: 32
Physical Description: Six feet and some change, heavy set, but muscular. Often wears heavy armor and uses a morningstar, but isn't overly attached to any one weapon. His face is often bruised from battle, though he's been able to keep most of his features intact.
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Clothes and Equipment: A heavy suit of armor and no weapons.
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Player's online availability : Frequent
Registered: Nov 16, 2017 20:23:26 GMT -8
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Post by Dirk Smithson on Apr 11, 2018 22:13:04 GMT -8
Maybe spelunking wasn't so bad. If they could just get what they needed, get out and get paid, Dirk was sure he could get used to- The flash of blue light, arcing along the stones as if lightning made words, and the sound of distant grinding stone changed his opinion just as rapidly. Nope, he didn't want to be here anymore. Staggering backwards he hefted his makeshift club and, extending his arm as far as it would go with his torch he hoped the few inches of advancing light might give them some clue as to their current predicament. No luck it seemed, as things fell silent once more, leaving them with nothing but anxiety.
Glancing at Hester he couldn't help but agree with her sentiments, but was secretly relieved it wasn't him who did it first and drew her ire.
"Uh, gimme tha plan now? It was off 'fore we stepped on it, might be it'll turn off if we wait fer a bit." he suggested, although had little hope that would be the case. It seemed avoiding danger in conditions like these just wasn't going to happen after all.
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Eric
Established
Roleplay posts: 20
Age: 23
Physical Description: Eric is a lanky man of about 5'10" in height, with pretty standard features. He has brown hair, brown eyes, fair skin, and no noteworthy features.
Clothes and Equipment: Eric wears a navy blue trench coat with light leather padding and a white shirt beneath, and wears a pair of well used boots. On his belt he keeps two bars of a strong steel.
Registered: Jan 13, 2018 8:38:14 GMT -8
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Post by Eric on Apr 14, 2018 21:13:12 GMT -8
Eric blinked as the magic runes suddenly lit up the room and instinctively stepped back. Upon hearing the sound of stone scraping on stone he pulled out one of his blocks of steel, morphing it into a rather ordinary longsword. He looked down the hall, peering into the darkness to see what might be the origin of the ominous sound. "I don't suppose that's anything good." He mutters to himself while glancing at the resident mage in the room, waiting to see what his answer would be to Hester's question.
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Deleted
Roleplay posts: 0
Registered: Mar 29, 2024 0:32:50 GMT -8
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Post by Deleted on Apr 16, 2018 15:48:56 GMT -8
No immediate threat seemed to present itself in the ruins, with only the glowing runes and distant grinding happening for now. Perhaps this was a bit more unsettling than an immediate opening of a pit of spikes or darts being shot from the wall. In a way, it was a more drawn out feeling of dread versus a momentary burst of panic and adrenaline.
Nero lowered his guard for now as he carefully watched the glowing runes for a few moments longer, the magical aura in his hands dimming down as he stood up from his previous crouched position, "I do not know what I stepped on, it must be some sort of magical mechanism that detected us. I don't know what it is doing now... these runes are far too complex for me to figure it out right now. Either way, we aren't in any immediate danger, so let's continue on."
Nero would begin walking down the hall again, much more careful than he was before as he did so. They walked for ten minutes or so, yet still there was no end in sight in the tunnel. If one looked closely they would be able to see the tunnel curved slightly to the right.
Eventually, Nero would stop walking, "We seem to have a bit of a problem," he stated, looking around before approaching one of the lit up strips of runes that ran along the ground.
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Hester Fairweather
Committed
Roleplay posts: 51
Age: 25
Physical Description: A young woman, fairly tall standing five foot nine inches, and weighs a hair over one hundred and forty pounds. Her eyes are a striking brown and her hair a dirty red.
She has fair features and would be considered lovely to more than a few.
Yet this simple bard has many secretes... some grim. Sometimes , she could be found staring at the distance, with an expression of sorrow and anger.
Registered: Jul 23, 2017 14:03:19 GMT -8
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Post by Hester Fairweather on Apr 22, 2018 16:15:10 GMT -8
Seeing as no one else decided to take control of their parties situation the "bard" sighed heavily as the mage suggested they advance further into the ruins.
" Eric, keep an eye on the left side and glance upward every so often to make sure there isn't anything above us. Dirk, can you keep an eye out on the rear, I'll be sure to say something about steps or tripping hazards. I'll keep watch on the right and ahead with the mage. If you see something like a trap, say something, if it's alive, tap the next person forward or back instead of making noise. They might not notice us, keeping quiet might be a good idea. " She explained in a tone that suggested she was used to people jumping when she said jump, but there was also a gentleness to her words as if she really was 'asking' rather than ordering.
Regardless of her companions comments, she followed the mage when he said they were going further, doing exactly what she had said she would. She counted the doors as they passed, her long sword remaining in it's hanging guard, the tip skipping from doorway to doorway...
When they halted she lowered her guard slightly glancing at the mage. " What do you mean mage? What sort of problem: Like there's a detour or a group of highwaymen in front of us with a pet troll who looks hungry?"
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Dirk Smithson
Established
Confessing
Roleplay posts: 49
Age: 32
Physical Description: Six feet and some change, heavy set, but muscular. Often wears heavy armor and uses a morningstar, but isn't overly attached to any one weapon. His face is often bruised from battle, though he's been able to keep most of his features intact.
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Clothes and Equipment: A heavy suit of armor and no weapons.
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Player's online availability : Frequent
Registered: Nov 16, 2017 20:23:26 GMT -8
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Post by Dirk Smithson on Apr 23, 2018 10:55:52 GMT -8
At Hester's orders and, with a lack of any more definitive plan, Dirk resumed his position at the rear, keeping an eye over his shoulder for any stalking threats or unexpected noises. He kept his torch raised high, trying to cast as much light as possible without threatening to take their breath away. For a while his adrenaline was pumping after the expectant noises of the would-be traps. Then he was wary...and finally a little bored. The magical runes might have alerted them to some long-forgotten hazard, or have just been a light for all he knew. But, as they drew to a stop once more and the mage expressed his displeasure he glanced around, his adrenaline beginning to rise again.
"Problem?" he echoed, his eye catching the runes again. "We goin' in circles? Or going in circles but...in?" he wasn't quite sure what a "Spiral" was, but if they kept going right and not ending up at the same place that meant they were going in a smaller circle each time, right? Even so he hefted his club, looking around with furtive preparations.
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