Grayell rolls his neck as he walks toward the other two, slipping his blade home in it's sheath. His neck pops and he smiles, opening his eyes slowly; gazing at the two. He looks at Alec first.
Ah to be young again....
He shoots Alec a smile and a nod, it was obvious that he was indeed impressed with Alec's combat prowess. His own bones and hard years in the cold had slowed Grayell down a hair, but it was an unavoidable consequence of aging. He then looked to Serenity with a smile before looking to the path that seemed their only option.
Remind me to never upset you eh?
We got this way, obviously. I think we can manage a slower pace if that's the best they can do.
Grayell headed for the path.
Last Edit: Aug 14, 2011 11:52:00 GMT -5 by Grayell
It was an old white building, or the front of what was one. The paint had been scratched in several places, scorched, peeling from the bottom, and stained close to the door. The big wooden doors had aged tremendously, and had completely rotten. It seemed a simple push would cause them to break apart to reveal a colony of termites that had lived within them for generations.
They didn't need the doors though, as the walls on either side were taken down, crumbled across the forest floor, the back wall only partially standing itself.
Within the space of the former temple, were benches, about 8 by the look of it. Only about 3 were still up as the rest were broken or burned it seemed. An alter lay at one end of the temple, just like you'd fine in any other, just as broken and burned as the rest of the building. A few books could still be found on the pulpit though if investigated they would be incomprehensible due to age and burn damage.
Grayell took in the scene before them and starting pulling left. He glanced back to his fellow adventurers, his body on fire; sensing for anything, everything.
I'll take this side.....
He wanted to utter a warning, tell them to be cautious, but he had noticed what appeared to be some frustration in Serenity. He didn't believe in coddling women as others might, for he much preferred women of strong character and body. She was a firecracker but at the same time was a.... well she reminded him of a stream. He hadn't the words, but her presence with him felt fluid, smooth and cool. It was likely her song that still ran through his mind and her femininity, but Grayell hadn't quite gotten to wrapping his mind around it just yet.
Needless to say, he wanted to protect her as much as he was impressed with her ability to fend for herself. Their dynamic was a paradox to him and all he knew is that he was very much enamored. He hadn't faced it yet but also knew, somewhere partly repressed; that his being so taken with her was also a liability to their safety.
So he said nothing. Snapped his mouth shut. She was focused on the task at hand and wouldn't witness any sign of his confusion and likewise, his smile was held back.
Realizing that his focus had just gone entirely to shit, Grayell sighed and again concentrated on their task. He paced carefully to the left side of the building, keeping senses upon the area and trying not to let his mind slip again.
Dammit.
Alec [M:118:6:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=412&page=1#1242]"I see," said the blind man to the deaf lady.[0:Wandering the stacks.][1:Present and accounted for.]
Picking his way through crumbling mortar and shattered bricks on the opposite side, Alec starts searching the inside of the church as best he can from a distance. "There doesn't seem to be much," he says - mostly to himself - as he climbs the low, crumbling wall. He looks down at the floor, and picks a foot up. "Ash?" he mumbles under his breath.
Come in under the shadow of this red rock, and I will show you something different from either your shadow at morning, striding behind you, or your shadow at evening, rising to meet you. I shall show you fear in a handful of dust.
Serenity stood around at the front entrance for a while, studying it, then went around to look at the other side of the crumbling wall. The splashes of scorch marks in several places of the front hinted to her that the temple was attacked and didn't burn down through some kind of accident. If her instincts were right, then why was this church taken down forcefully?
The wood floor of the building was still around, barely, covered by various animal droppings, twigs, dust and brown leaves. As Grayell walked along the side of the ancient building, he might notice a strange stain of sorts on the floor between the benches and raised pulpit.
As Alec looked at the wood floor, or what was left of it, he noticed a plank that looked slightly slid back from the others, showing a dark space underneath.
Grayell was satisfied with his sweep of the side and therefore decided it was time to join the others within what once was likely a beautiful building. Buildings being beautiful was largely a lost concept on him of course as they were simply a necessity and his tribe had to move with the seasons.
He stepped onto the remnants of the floor, a scowl on his face as he looked over his surroundings. His eyes drew to the stain which indeed looked out of place. He approached the perimeter of it and crouched, investigating with his eyes first. He would only touch and smell it if he eliminated the chance of it being dangerous, possibly caustic.
Alec [M:118:6:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=412&page=1#1242]"I see," said the blind man to the deaf lady.[0:Wandering the stacks.][1:Present and accounted for.]
Dropping to a knee, Alec peers into the blackness. Rising, he kicks the moved board away, and looks to the others. "Either of you have a torch?" he asks. "Or any kind of light source? I've found something, but reaching into black holes in the ground has never been a favored past time of mine."
Come in under the shadow of this red rock, and I will show you something different from either your shadow at morning, striding behind you, or your shadow at evening, rising to meet you. I shall show you fear in a handful of dust.
The stain that was visible seemed only part of a larger mark, Grayell's investigation forced him to move away various debris to see the whole thing. He moved in a circle, a near perfect one, and when he was done he could see a barely visible magic circle of sorts.
"Let me see, Alec."
Serenity walked over to where the professor was and peered down the dark hole. Getting down on one knee, she rolled up her sleeve and moved her forearm down the space.
"I can feel something, quite heavy as well."
She pushed the rest of the board back and slowly raised what looked like an ancient tome.
"Alec, this is your expertise I presume?"
The book was leather bound, said leather being mostly rotten through ages of being down in the hidden space, the paper seemed very delicate as well but was surprisingly legible.
Grayell didn't know a great deal about magic, he didn't even care for it. He didn't understand it and didn't want to. He knew the strength of his arm and that was enough to see him through.'
But he had shared enough stories in taverns and by fires that he felt he could make an assumption.
Umm guys? Big circle over here. Something got summoned perhaps? Or maybe that was to protect the mage? Either way, something went wrong.....
Grayell scratched his head and hid his sheepish ignorance with a simple puzzled look. He hoped they would know something he didn't.
Alec [M:118:6:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=412&page=1#1242]"I see," said the blind man to the deaf lady.[0:Wandering the stacks.][1:Present and accounted for.]
Alec's black eyes gleam, lightening to a dull, dark gray. He takes the rotten tome carefully, nearly reverently. He begins leafing through the pages, gingerly, attempting not to rip any pages. His eyes darken again as he reads further. "Blood magic," he mutters. "Oh. Oh, my."
Hearing Grayell, he glances over, and down to the barely distinguishable magic circle. "This.....this is not good. I've read about this before, but never thought anyone...." he trails off. Closing the book carefully, he tucks the tome into a pocket carefully. "There's an object - a bit of a legend, really - amongst those in the magical community. It's called a blood-stone. It requires the sacrifice of many people - numbers are...imprecise, is a way to put it, but it's believed that the more people sacrificed, the stronger the blood-stone is." He wipes a hand over his face, tugging at his chin.
"What the blood-stone does is amplify magical ability, blood magic in particular. That circle," he says, motioning at the stain at Grayell's feet, "is where the people were sacrificed."
Come in under the shadow of this red rock, and I will show you something different from either your shadow at morning, striding behind you, or your shadow at evening, rising to meet you. I shall show you fear in a handful of dust.
Grayell was puzzled as to why he didn't smell blood on the floor, it was something burned into his senses. Perhaps it had been removed in whatever bastard ceremony had been performed. If anything, his own past incidents had drilled into him a distrust of blood mages - and mages in general.
Flarbing charming. So.... some asshole is running about, juiced on blood power. Gee that sounds dandy.
She couldn't help but think of Zane and her first encounter with a real blood mage. Despite that, she still remembered why blood magic is forbidden in the first place, this exact reason being one of them. She controlled the chill she got suddenly and walked over to the circle, examining it.
"Grayell, I don't think a blood stone was made here, at least not recently, this..blood if that's what it is doesn't look fresh. It's been here for ages."
"And even so, I can still use it."
Before she could look up to see who had said it, the red ring began to glow and suddenly the ancient blood shot up to form tight rings that wrapped around her neck, ankles and wrists.
Serenity was levitated then, brought over to the left side of the building where Dean stood, in his hand a bright red stone.
"Its wonderful isn't it? Not even a complete stone and I can still resurrect ancient blood."
Serenity's neck was squeezed tightly, but loose just enough so she could gather small breaths of air. The other blood restraints though, were locked in place and wouldn't let her move a muscle.
"I suggest you both stay where you are."
Coming from the trees like a black cloud, many of the shadow monsters emerged and surrounded the building, their multitude greater than before.
Grayell's nostrils flared and a forceful rush of raw energy burst into his spine, rammed it's way into his skull and set his world on fire. His eyes had darkened and were entirely devoid of emotion - save the curling of his brow and nose. His lips had drawn back and his teeth were clenched hard enough to tear leather. His shoulders, elbows and knuckles snapped and popped, muscle and tendon writhing and ringing about bone. Feet ever so slightly turned outward, hard enough to almost tear the floor up around them. He swayed just enough to face the bastard, his entire torso enraged and turning with muscles tight enough to rival an great tree, refusing to sway in the wind.
He did not move for his sword.... but holy crap was it going to take VERY little for him to flip the flarb out and annihilate pretty much everything within his range.
His own blood stirred... just enough to hint at whatever it was that lurked was ready to be fed. NOW.
His words were hard, his jaw would ache later.
So this is it you piece of shit. You poison the old man and flarb up the god beast huh? Damn but it's gonna suck when that backfires....
Goddammit let her slip you piece of shit, my arm is gonna be elbow deep in your ass when I rip out your flarbing throat....
Alec [M:118:6:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=412&page=1#1242]"I see," said the blind man to the deaf lady.[0:Wandering the stacks.][1:Present and accounted for.]
"SEE!" Alec shouts. "I TOLD you I didn't like the doctor, and lo and be-flarbin'-hold, HE'S ABOUT TO KILL US." Bristling, he turns on the man. "So then. You poisoned the elder. And I'd bet......your god is dead already. Dead or dying, at your hands. Replaced by some very elaborate smoke and mirrors, plus a little darkness magic." He turns his head and spits. "People like you're the reason people resent magi. Anything to become more powerful, like an animal. Or worse. Please, tell me what I've got wrong."
Come in under the shadow of this red rock, and I will show you something different from either your shadow at morning, striding behind you, or your shadow at evening, rising to meet you. I shall show you fear in a handful of dust.
"Mostly, professor." he chuckled, grinning, "Come you blood beast."
The ground began to shake some, what birds remained in the forest flew from their hiding places away from the monster that was making the stir. The trees seemed to part to make way for it, the god of this forest.
It was a large thing indeed, nearly as tall as the front wall of the ancient temple and close to its length as well, from the entrance to the crumbled back wall.
On its white fur were many black, oozing patches as if it were decaying. From its head to even its long bushy tail it was infected with a black curse. The outside of its long mouth looked rotted, and its eyes were filled with a black puss, nearly blinding the creature.
When it made its slow appearance, it collapsed on the floor behind the wall of dark monsters.
"Look at it, as feeble as the old man. They're linked you know, this spirit needs a conduit to our world the strength of whom allows the beast to remain on this earth with a physical body. The old man is on the brink of his life just like this monster is. So I suppose in a way I did poison the elder."
He looked over to Serenity with a lewd look on his face, "I must admit it would be a shame to sacrifice this lovely creature, her power would make her a great ally. Yet, it would also create a powerful stone. That's what these cultists lived for, these blood mages, to create a power unlike anything the world has ever seen so that they would no long fear prosecution. I searched for this place for three long years, after the ancestors of that miserable village burned it to the ground. They were able to construct a stone before their demise, though the process was rushed. Still, its power is still something to behold, I can only imagine what a complete stone would be like."
A small voice entered Grayell's mind, "M.....m....my......n..a..me."
"This beast was their greatest ally in destroying the family of blood mages. At the time, they called him Whither Fang, though its not its true name. After I found the stone I used its power to corrupt the beast, pitiful and weak as it was already thanks to that aging old fool. I used the corruption to form these monsters you see before you, though I still have not achieved complete corruption. I need his true name you see, then I can form a forced contract with the spirit and completely corrupt him."
He stepped forward a little, only a couple of feet away from Grayell, "Now, sir, if you would so kindly tell me his true name. I know that blasted old man gave it to you. If you don't want me to WRING the life out of this woman then you will do as I ask."