Shadows of the Ancient Empire

[Sir Kerag]

Kerag sat against one of the walls, focusing on his breathing, slowly letting his nerves cool. He assessed his injuries, noting how durable the Oktai armor was, and winced as he felt a warm stinging sensation from the caster's magic. He reached into his pouch, pulling a minor health potion out. He popped the cork and drained the contents, his burp echoing throughout the hall.

The orc stood already feeling better. Kerag popped his neck and walked to the large door, reaching for the handle to open it and enter the next room.

[Alec]

"Right," he says, hopes raised expertly, then dashed with a professionalism nigh unheard of. "Shelf. Looking. Stuff. Right." Getting up heavily, he walks over to the shelf and starts shuffling things around, looking for anything worth having.

[Margrett]

The next room looked to be a hallway lined with a series of vaults, like a bank. Most of them were busted open, empty, though some were half-open....maybe there was something inside. There was one door at the end, and two more ruined ones.




Margrett laughed softly as he turned away, looking around with a suspiciously loud clanking noise.

Well...maybe if you keep looking you'll find something you like.

Her voice was right behind him now. She raised an eyebrow.

You're just going to give up?

[Sir Kerag]

Kerag entered the hallway, glancing into the empty vaults before he stopped at the nearest half-open vault. The orc strapped the axe to his back and grabbed it with both hands, pulling it open. He peered inside as soon as he could.

[Alec]

Noting how close her voice sounds, Alec shoots a look over his shoulder, mumbles something to the effect of "onesecond" and then, his brain catching up with eyes, spins on his heel to face her. Giving her a quick once over, he meets her eye. Raising an eyebrow, he places his hands over hers on her hips, and pulls her in. "Hel-lo, what's this then?"

[Margrett]

Kerag opened the safe and saw a large bag, filled to the brim with gold coins. They were probably too heavy to carry all of them, but he could grab a couple.

Suddenly, behind him in the room with the statue, he heard a familiar sound...whispers.




Margrett smiled, putting her hand on his chest.

I'm curious. And when I get curious I don't stop, darling.

She put her other hand on the back of his head and brought him into a kiss, short but sweet. When she pulled away, she looked up into his eyes and smirked.

Nothing yet.

A little roughly, she pushed him back onto the bed and leaned over him, one hand on the bed and the other on his chest.

Let's see what I can do, hmm?

(Fading now...)

[Sir Kerag]

Kerag's greed was getting the better of him as he scooped gold coins into his possession, that is, until he heard the whispers from the last room. A shiver went up and down his spine, knowing the implications. He carried what gold he could without slowing him down too much, out the vault and running towards the end of the hall and the door at the end, intending to open it and enter the next area.

[Alec]

This has been, Alec thinks to himself, falling to the bed, a rather good day. Visit an Aylied ruin, find a book, hell, possibly set to ground the foundations of a second reich in the Aylied Empire. Grinning as he allows himself to be pushed back onto the bed, the rare introspection continues. Not to mention finding out just what colors my new eyes can turn. Yup, he thinks once more, a pretty good day.

[Margrett]

As he neared the door it seemed that the Thing spotted him. He opened it and as he stepped into the next room he saw it behind him, barreling down the hallway, a blue of darkness and slippery black. He shut and slammed the door behind him, barring it with a metal bar next to the door. The creature slammed against it, hissing and screeching....then seemed to retreat. The gold he got away with was worth about $100.

This room now was large, seemingly some sort of nexus between the other rooms. There was a map along one wall and dozens of doors leading away in various states of repair. But most startling were the ghosts. Blue, translucent images of elves in fancy dress, walking along the room, in one door and out the other. Kerag saw a few of them multiple times, in the same groups or with the same individuals. It looked as though they didn't see him, simply moved along their path.



(Fade to black, time lapse.)
Margrett took a deep breath and nuzzled her face into the crook of Alec's neck. She looked at Alec playfully a moment before speaking.

I didn't think they'd go purple, metal man.

[Alec]

Panting a bit, Alec chuckles. "Hey, I didn't either. Just as new to me, y'know." His eyes fade to a dull, matte purple, then slowly darken to black, gaining a subtle, shimmering luster. "I'm sure there are other shades, but maybe later, hmm? We've got to get back to sacking this place, haven't we?"

[Margrett]

Margrett nodded, giving him a quick kiss, getting into a sitting position.

You're right. Kerag's still out there.

She chuckled, rubbing her arm.

Now I feel sort of bad.

[Alec]

"So do I," he says, then shakes his head and laughs. "I was all for it, and I did enjoy myself. But," he says, hauling himself out of the dusty bed and getting dressed quickly, "as you said, Kerag is out there, and we may not be responsible, per se, for the man, but I'd be remiss were he to die in our company." Pulling his shirt on, he smooths the collar down, and rolls his shoulders. "Right. Onward, shall we?"

[Sir Kerag]

Kerag whipped around, watching the door hold against the thing. He shook his head and sighed.

"I have a feeling that's not the last I'll be seeing of the bloody creature."

The orc snarled at the blue ghost elves, thinking himself surrounded for a moment, realizing their incorporeal nature. Kerag walked across the room to examine the map on the wall, grumbling something about knife-ears as they continued to distract him.

[Margrett]

She nods, sitting a moment. She looked up at him, and spoke a little quietly.

You do know if we ever do anything again it's still not going to mean anything.

She rolled her eyes and got up, dressing herself.

As crazy as that sounds.





Kerag couldn't read the map, but there were some pretty plain pictures of what each room contained. He had just passed the museum, the bridge, the vaults, and now stood at what appeared to be the crossroads. One functional door, he noticed, headed towards a bunch of beds in a large room, and that headed right towards where they'd entered. But before he could get to that room, he had to pass a room marked with an ancient holy symbol that he didn't recognize.

[Alec]

"We went over this, didn't we?" Alec asks, folding his arms over his chest. "I do believe we did, and I believe I already told you, I don't have problem with that."