(Halila is dead. But...as you now know...death isn't the end here, and can expect a new challenger to appear sometime soon...Your choice who to bring on next Culiril, it just can't be Halila again!)
With one person now dead...and another unconscious in the dark, what do you want to do?
"We need to go now!!" Sizzle growls, a little louder now. "Come on... Whatever is in there isn't who we are looking for...." The goblin adds with a hint of sadness in his voice before backing away from the darkness towards the nearest exit..
OOC: So the pictures wouldn't show up on my phone before. Not sure if there is another path forward or if the only way out is back down...
There is a ladder that goes up to the next floor, or the stairs that go back to the first floor. If you look up the ladder, it appears to be pitch black, much like the room where Halila fell.
The second body hits the floor with a sickening thud, and Esta’s breath catches in her throat.
She doesn’t move. Can’t.
For a heartbeat, the room around her fades. She’s not in this crumbling ruin anymore—she’s back in that cold, sterile morgue. The stench of blood and disinfectant thick in the air. The echo of steel on bone. The screams—cut short. Her companions, barely awake, barely aware, cut down before they had a chance to fight back. She hadn’t been fast enough then either.
Her vision snaps back to the present, the darkness still churning in the study, the voice within mocking them all. Her grip on the bow tightens, the string creaking under the strain.
“Not again,” she whispers, voice raw. She shifts behind the chair, arrow still nocked, but her hands are trembling now. Her eyes flick to the others—Zakhar, Sizzle, anyone—desperate for someone to move, to act, to do something. Her breath comes faster, shallow. The darkness still churns in the study like a living thing, swallowing sound and light alike. She stares at it, willing her mind to focus.
Magical darkness… Her thoughts scramble for something—anything—useful.It’s not just shadow. It’s deliberate. Controlled. Someone cast that. Which means…
She narrows her eyes, trying to push past the panic. Normal light won’t break it. Torches, lanterns—useless. But… magical light? Or—what was it—devil’s sight?
Her jaw clenches. She doesn’t know if anyone here has that kind of magic. But if they don’t find a way to pierce it—or drag Halila and Tyriel out—this thing will pick them off one by one.
[Insight Check: 17]
She swallows hard, forcing her voice to steady. “It’s magical darkness,” she calls out, loud enough for the others to hear. “Normal light won’t help. We need magic—or we need to pull them out. Now - this can last for about 10 minutes.”
Her arrow remains trained on the doorway, but her heart is pounding in her ears. If no-one is to act soon, she may have to make a choice.
Sizzle Fires a fire bolt into the darkness while listening to hear if anything shouts out in pain. He listens for a moment for any signs of movement of any kind before moving up the ladder. If he hears any sounds he would wait and indicate to the others that something is in the darkness...
Zakhar who had still been staring helplessly into the darkness turns to Esta when she speaks up. Magical darkness. Of course it's magical darkness, and of course he has no spells that can combat it.
"I'm sorry." He says helplessly, "I can't break that spell. Either we wait or we flee." His voice chokes on the last sentence. He barely knew these people and yet he feels not just responsible for them, but that he has some connection to them. They were all dragged here, unwillingly and confused and they were all in this together.
"If we stay here... whatever is in there will likely attack us once the spell's time runs out..." He says quietly... He wants to run, but he doesn't want to leave them. He looks back at Esta then Sizzle... he doesn't know what to do. He's no hero, he's never been a hero and at this rate he'll never be one.
With the weight of the moment bearing down, sizzle takes a shot in the dark (literally!) and it cracks against...something? Probably a wall or something, hard to tell in the magical darkness. As you ponder and attempt to decide what to do, there is a sickening crunch again as something in the darkness by Tyriel attacks them.
At the moment, it does not appear like whomever is already in the tower is going to chase you down. Not yet anyway. You probably have time to retreat and rest some before attempting to climb the tower again.
Tyriel doesn't feel the blow land, instead experiencing a strange sense of numbness. Darkness closes in, and his reaching hand twitches towards where he'd though't Halia was. He'd been clinging to life, almost managing to claw himself back out of that suffocating nothingness that sought to take him. But then its grip strengthened and he felt his soul being pulled towards the beyond.
I'm just so pathetically weak, his thoughts came slowly, broken. As if each word took an eternity to form in his mind. Curse you...brother.
She hears it. That sound—that final, irreversible one. The wet crack of flesh and bone silenced. She doesn’t need to see it to know what it means.
Tyriel is gone.
The breath that escapes her lips is barely audible, but it's laced with trembling fury and buried sorrow. Her arms feel brittle, her resolve splintered. She lowers the bow, just slightly, enough that she no longer feels like she’s pointing it at ghosts.
“This place isn’t worth their lives,” she mutters through gritted teeth, speaking to no one and everyone. “Not today.”
Her eyes linger on the swirling darkness where her companions fell—where Halila might still be—and the weight in her chest makes it hard to stand. She's been here before, felt this helpless. Watched others die.
Not again.
“We leave,” she says, louder now, voice cracking but clear. “While we still can. We come back stronger, prepared—and this place will answer for them.”
Her feet don’t move yet, but her jaw is set, her shoulders squared. The pain hasn’t faded—but the decision has crystallized. If anyone asks whether she's sure… they won't need to. Her face says it all.
(If the three remaining want to retreat downstairs (or even back off the tower) that is easily done. The following assumes you all wait downstairs.)
In the face of of tragedy in losing your relatively short time companions, the rest of you slip downstairs to regroup, rest some, and possibly come up with a new plan. The library on the first floor is still quiet, a gentle breeze ripples through the open archways that is pleasant and refreshing for a few minutes. But then there is a sudden, stiffer gust of wind that passes by this enormous tower, and those of you inside might swear you almost heard someone's name on the air, but as soon as it is there, it is gone.
(Mechanically, if you would like to take a short rest you may, no matter how long you actually stay downstairs)
For Halila and Tyriel (formerly):
You really don't remember what you were doing much before, but when you open your eyes you're in a strange landscape of quickly shifting terrain juxtaposed together. You find yourselves looking up at tall trees at the edge of perhaps a small forest, and just a short ways away, an even taller stone tower stands oddly at the end of long ruts in the ground.
Sizzle grins as his weapon goes off successfully... but shakes his head as it fails to help him determine if the ladder up is safe. With one last glance towards the magical darkness, the goblin descends back down to the library. Esta was right and they needed a different plan...
"What was that?!! I'm a scientist... not... not a damn soldier!" the goblin growls as he paces around the floor... His voice is filled with frustration and sadness as he continues to move around the room. "What now? Do we even know if the construct is in the building? Hell... maybe whatever the thing was in the dark is the construct? I think maybe we're in over our heads here..." Sizzle grumbles. As he paces around he tucks his wand into his belt and pulls out his hammer.... moving it around in his hand as though thinking about their next course of action.
Zakhar turns his gaze from the darkness back to Esta. She's right, and he's ashamed that he forced her to make that decision. It seems he's to much of a coward to have helped his now dead allies, and he's to much of a coward to take up the mantle of leader and bear the weight of his decisions. He closes his eyes, then nods wordlessly.
After the group retreats back down to the library. Zakhar finds a place to sit down and rest, his wounds are deep and despite the rest he would still not regain nearly all his strength. He he stares blankly at the floor as Sizzle paces. He'd been trained for this, yet this was the first time he'd witnessed death. With all the negative emotions swirling within him, all he feels is numb. He blinks when Sizzle speaks up. Heh, not a soldier eh? Well it seems Zakhar isn't much of one either despite his training.
"I think we've been over our heads since coming into this world."Zakhar responds quietly.
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Halila is dying in the darkness... (1 failure)
Esta holds their attack as well, looking at Sizzle wondering what to do!
Tyriel rushes into the darkness and...gets smacked. Hard. Clinging to hope... (1 success!)
Zakhar ??
Sizzle also stays at the ready, being a bit cautious for now!
Thlaarsh ...
Halila is dying in the darkness... (1 failure)
Esta holds their attack as well, looking at Sizzle wondering what to do!
Tyriel rushes into the darkness and...gets smacked. Hard. Clinging to hope... (1 success!)
Zakhar [holding an action just in case]
Sizzle also stays at the ready, being a bit cautious for now!
Thlaarsh ...attempts to finish off Halila: Attack 1: 14 Damage: 25 ; Attack 2: 19 Damage: 18
(Halila is dead. But...as you now know...death isn't the end here, and can expect a new challenger to appear sometime soon...Your choice who to bring on next Culiril, it just can't be Halila again!)
With one person now dead...and another unconscious in the dark, what do you want to do?
(Ooooo... a choice? I'd just expected to go to the next. Hmm. Let me know when I have to decide!)
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Liivi Orav, Barbarian || Vanizi, Warlock || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard
Iromae Quinaea, Cleric || Roxana Raincrest, Rogue || Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
Death save: 14 ... lol
"We need to go now!!" Sizzle growls, a little louder now. "Come on... Whatever is in there isn't who we are looking for...." The goblin adds with a hint of sadness in his voice before backing away from the darkness towards the nearest exit..
OOC: So the pictures wouldn't show up on my phone before. Not sure if there is another path forward or if the only way out is back down...
There is a ladder that goes up to the next floor, or the stairs that go back to the first floor. If you look up the ladder, it appears to be pitch black, much like the room where Halila fell.
OOC: Does my dark vision help me at all?
(No, it is magical darkness :( )
The second body hits the floor with a sickening thud, and Esta’s breath catches in her throat.
She doesn’t move. Can’t.
For a heartbeat, the room around her fades. She’s not in this crumbling ruin anymore—she’s back in that cold, sterile morgue. The stench of blood and disinfectant thick in the air. The echo of steel on bone. The screams—cut short. Her companions, barely awake, barely aware, cut down before they had a chance to fight back. She hadn’t been fast enough then either.
Her vision snaps back to the present, the darkness still churning in the study, the voice within mocking them all. Her grip on the bow tightens, the string creaking under the strain.
“Not again,” she whispers, voice raw. She shifts behind the chair, arrow still nocked, but her hands are trembling now. Her eyes flick to the others—Zakhar, Sizzle, anyone—desperate for someone to move, to act, to do something. Her breath comes faster, shallow. The darkness still churns in the study like a living thing, swallowing sound and light alike. She stares at it, willing her mind to focus.
Magical darkness… Her thoughts scramble for something—anything—useful. It’s not just shadow. It’s deliberate. Controlled. Someone cast that. Which means…
She narrows her eyes, trying to push past the panic. Normal light won’t break it. Torches, lanterns—useless. But… magical light? Or—what was it—devil’s sight?
Her jaw clenches. She doesn’t know if anyone here has that kind of magic. But if they don’t find a way to pierce it—or drag Halila and Tyriel out—this thing will pick them off one by one.
[Insight Check: 17]
She swallows hard, forcing her voice to steady. “It’s magical darkness,” she calls out, loud enough for the others to hear. “Normal light won’t help. We need magic—or we need to pull them out. Now - this can last for about 10 minutes.”
Her arrow remains trained on the doorway, but her heart is pounding in her ears. If no-one is to act soon, she may have to make a choice.
Sizzle Fires a fire bolt into the darkness while listening to hear if anything shouts out in pain. He listens for a moment for any signs of movement of any kind before moving up the ladder. If he hears any sounds he would wait and indicate to the others that something is in the darkness...
Perception 18
Attack: 12 Damage: 14
OOC: Oh sure now I crit on a random shot into the darkness from the tip of my modified wand (magical gun for all intents and purposes)
Zakhar who had still been staring helplessly into the darkness turns to Esta when she speaks up. Magical darkness. Of course it's magical darkness, and of course he has no spells that can combat it.
"I'm sorry." He says helplessly, "I can't break that spell. Either we wait or we flee." His voice chokes on the last sentence. He barely knew these people and yet he feels not just responsible for them, but that he has some connection to them. They were all dragged here, unwillingly and confused and they were all in this together.
"If we stay here... whatever is in there will likely attack us once the spell's time runs out..." He says quietly... He wants to run, but he doesn't want to leave them. He looks back at Esta then Sizzle... he doesn't know what to do. He's no hero, he's never been a hero and at this rate he'll never be one.
With the weight of the moment bearing down, sizzle takes a shot in the dark (literally!) and it cracks against...something? Probably a wall or something, hard to tell in the magical darkness. As you ponder and attempt to decide what to do, there is a sickening crunch again as something in the darkness by Tyriel attacks them.
(Attacking Tyriel: swing 1: Attack: 27 Damage: 16 slashing + 19 force damage; swing 2: Attack: 26 Damage: 25 slashing + 27 force)
At the moment, it does not appear like whomever is already in the tower is going to chase you down. Not yet anyway. You probably have time to retreat and rest some before attempting to climb the tower again.
(I'm assuming Ty is dead lol)
Tyriel doesn't feel the blow land, instead experiencing a strange sense of numbness. Darkness closes in, and his reaching hand twitches towards where he'd though't Halia was. He'd been clinging to life, almost managing to claw himself back out of that suffocating nothingness that sought to take him. But then its grip strengthened and he felt his soul being pulled towards the beyond.
I'm just so pathetically weak, his thoughts came slowly, broken. As if each word took an eternity to form in his mind. Curse you...brother.
And the darkness took him.
(Sadly I think so...but...that means a new incarnation will appear soon!)
She hears it. That sound—that final, irreversible one. The wet crack of flesh and bone silenced. She doesn’t need to see it to know what it means.
Tyriel is gone.
The breath that escapes her lips is barely audible, but it's laced with trembling fury and buried sorrow. Her arms feel brittle, her resolve splintered. She lowers the bow, just slightly, enough that she no longer feels like she’s pointing it at ghosts.
“This place isn’t worth their lives,” she mutters through gritted teeth, speaking to no one and everyone. “Not today.”
Her eyes linger on the swirling darkness where her companions fell—where Halila might still be—and the weight in her chest makes it hard to stand. She's been here before, felt this helpless. Watched others die.
Not again.
“We leave,” she says, louder now, voice cracking but clear. “While we still can. We come back stronger, prepared—and this place will answer for them.”
Her feet don’t move yet, but her jaw is set, her shoulders squared. The pain hasn’t faded—but the decision has crystallized. If anyone asks whether she's sure… they won't need to. Her face says it all.
(If the three remaining want to retreat downstairs (or even back off the tower) that is easily done. The following assumes you all wait downstairs.)
In the face of of tragedy in losing your relatively short time companions, the rest of you slip downstairs to regroup, rest some, and possibly come up with a new plan. The library on the first floor is still quiet, a gentle breeze ripples through the open archways that is pleasant and refreshing for a few minutes. But then there is a sudden, stiffer gust of wind that passes by this enormous tower, and those of you inside might swear you almost heard someone's name on the air, but as soon as it is there, it is gone.
(Mechanically, if you would like to take a short rest you may, no matter how long you actually stay downstairs)
For Halila and Tyriel (formerly):
You really don't remember what you were doing much before, but when you open your eyes you're in a strange landscape of quickly shifting terrain juxtaposed together. You find yourselves looking up at tall trees at the edge of perhaps a small forest, and just a short ways away, an even taller stone tower stands oddly at the end of long ruts in the ground.
Who do we see come up off the ground?
What would you all like to do?
Sizzle grins as his weapon goes off successfully... but shakes his head as it fails to help him determine if the ladder up is safe. With one last glance towards the magical darkness, the goblin descends back down to the library. Esta was right and they needed a different plan...
"What was that?!! I'm a scientist... not... not a damn soldier!" the goblin growls as he paces around the floor... His voice is filled with frustration and sadness as he continues to move around the room. "What now? Do we even know if the construct is in the building? Hell... maybe whatever the thing was in the dark is the construct? I think maybe we're in over our heads here..." Sizzle grumbles. As he paces around he tucks his wand into his belt and pulls out his hammer.... moving it around in his hand as though thinking about their next course of action.
Zakhar turns his gaze from the darkness back to Esta. She's right, and he's ashamed that he forced her to make that decision. It seems he's to much of a coward to have helped his now dead allies, and he's to much of a coward to take up the mantle of leader and bear the weight of his decisions. He closes his eyes, then nods wordlessly.
After the group retreats back down to the library. Zakhar finds a place to sit down and rest, his wounds are deep and despite the rest he would still not regain nearly all his strength. He he stares blankly at the floor as Sizzle paces. He'd been trained for this, yet this was the first time he'd witnessed death. With all the negative emotions swirling within him, all he feels is numb. He blinks when Sizzle speaks up. Heh, not a soldier eh? Well it seems Zakhar isn't much of one either despite his training.
"I think we've been over our heads since coming into this world." Zakhar responds quietly.