Hiding nearby the lockers, Esta sees Renjin smirk and take a final blow to the ground. Even going down that guy got some arrogance. Shame, I think I would of liked him... Esta thinks to herself.
Moments go by and the battle being over, Esta hears this weird, cosmic like melody. She sneaks out from her hiding spot and goes towards Renjin to see if there is any hope that he isn't completely dead, and trying to rouse him if not. Medicine Check: 21
SUCCESS Esta manages to rouse Renjin conscious. To avoid the noise being heard and attracting those things again, Esta will drag Renjin back towards where she hid earlier, propping him up in one of the lockers. "Hang tight." Esta will whisper, and close the door to the locker and look around for something to heal him a bit.
--- OR --- FAILURE Esta, accepting that Renjin is dead, will say "I'm sorry. I'm too young to die." She will then peer in towards the chamber and see the mess that is left inside. No hope there... so Esta will scoot towards the southern passage and look to see if there is a way out.
Several things happen here as Esta heads back to check on Renjin:
* Several loud thumps sound from the cold locker, almost as if something, or someone was banging on the doors, trying to get out
* The levers outside the crematorium return to their normal positions as the flames go out, unlocking the hallway once more
* Renjin is dead, slaughtered mercilessly by the golem and the herald
* Esta can easily see though that the others' bodies begin to slowly disappear, as if being dematerialized and carried away on some cosmic wind. It is a slow process though, should Esta wish to attempt to take any of their things off their body before they disappear. (weapons, potions, etc. If removed from the corpse they will not disappear)
To Slag, Britari, Renjin:
Thank you for playing. Just kidding!!! :) (Hey my sense of humor is as bad as Morte's okay?)
How ironic, to die in the place where dead bodies are taken from across the multiverse. As your souls are released from their mortal prison, an odd, jilted cosmic melody sounds and you feel the wheels of time and fortune spin wildly, multitudes of choices and paths rush by you in a blurry montage, before everything stops suddenly, and you awake, some place cold, dark, and cramped...and you feel...different. You're still you...but not...But wherever you are, it's going to be a short life again unless you can find a way out...
(DM note: for clarity, the three of you have been reincarnated into one of your other forms. You may choose either of the other two characters to bring in now. And no, this isn't quite a video game, there may yet be a chance to see the originals again! Now let's hope Esta comes to your rescue soon... :) )
Renjin, now a nearly unrecognizable, bloody mess on the floor, feels his soul leave his body. "Oh so this is how it feels to die." He thinks. "How interesting." He looks down at his broken corpse and shakes his head. Such a fragile body. He tilts his head when Esta returns to try to rouse him, and his smile widens. "Oh? She did care! Haha. Poor thing, she'll probably feel so guilty after this. That's how humans are after all." He laughs to himself. Then he feels a tug. Ooooooh no, has the devil come to claim his soul despite his never making a contract with him?! Or perhaps it's HIM come back for revenge... or just another lecture.... The force pulls harder. Ah well, either way a new adventure awaits!
He banks his foot against the door, how the heck did he get in here? Tch its so cold! And he can't see a thing! How long has he been in here? He grits his teeth, and bangs on the door again.
"Well...that's a shame."That ever present voice says from the darkness. "I just felt a part of myself die...vanish, fade into eternity."
"Oh really?" He thinks back at the voice sarcastically.
"Nah. I'm just kidding! It was just a weird feeling. Haha!"
He rolls his eyes, "Yeah your 'fading into eternity' would have been to good to be true."He grumbles mentally.
"Hey, that's hurtful you know." The voice laughs
He ignores the voice, and gives the door another kick. "I blame you for this." He growls at the voice aloud, forgetting to only speak with his thoughts.
"Oh why do you hurt me so!"The voice says dramatically.
"GAH! Just shut up for two seconds would you!"He yells aloud again, then snaps his mouth shut. It's been so long since he'd argued with that infernal voice out loud, he'd never though just being stranded in a dark, cold, hard place would make him fall back into that old habit. Heck, he'd been pretty good at ignoring that voice too. He growls, it's amazing what a bit of isolation can do.
"Careful now! If you keep on like that whoever finds you will think your crazy!" The voice laughs.
"I hate you." He replies, this time remembering to say it mentally.
"Oh I know, you think that every day."The entity says cheerfully.
"Hey! What's going on here! Let me out or you'll be sorry!" A angry voice snarls from behind the small metal door.
Inside the small cramped space, a goblin is pulling a small well worn steel blacksmithing hammer from his belt. With the hammer in hand the goblin begins pounding on the door. The loud metal clings reverberate in the tiny box prompting him to cover his ears and place the copper inlay'd hammer back on to his belt. "Alright! Ya gunna get it!" The goblin shouts as he reaches into his pack and removes a tiny mechanical spider-like machine. After pressing a tiny button on its back, The tiny eldrich cannon comes to life. With a sharp toothed grin, The fiesty artificer pulls a highly modified light crossbow from his pack as well and points it at the door. a moment later both the goblin and the cannon begin firing arcane blasts into the metal door as they attempt to blow their way out!
"Where.... am I?" a small voice says from within one of the cold lockers. "Huh?" the childlike voice sounds confused. "This isn't what I sound like.... what is going on? This... this can't be where I'm supposed to be..."
Inside the freezing chamber, a very confused child sits up as best he can and attempts to move around in the cramped space. "What's happened to me?" He squints at the closed door and shivers... why is it so cold? How did he get here? Why can't he remember where he was before this? Well, he remembers some things... wait... wait a second. This... he didn't...
"Light... no... this can't be..."He feels around for his bow, then checks his clothing. "What in the cosmos is going on!!!"He lays back down and thrashes about for a few seconds, then realizes what he's doing and forces himself to lay still. This can't be happening to him. Why is he here? What did he do? Or what did HE do? The more he tries to figure out his current predicament the more panicked he becomes, and soon he's hyperventilating within the chilly container.
"No, stop it," he says, slapping himself across the cheek. "Ouch!" Why did that hurt so much?! Ugh, he needs to get out of here.
Sitting up, he crawls towards the closed door and attempts to push it open. Pressing against the cold metal, he stares at his hands for a moment in utter confusion. Then he shuts his eyes, "Get out first, worry about the rest later. I'll get answers somehow." And then he begins pushing futilely against the door, cursing how weak he feels and blaming it on the fact that he can't get any traction on the slippery metal floor... not to mention he can't stand up.
He flinches when he hears others kicking and banging around him and... wait... explosions? More yelling? Is this some sort of prison? His gut clenches... "Am I dead? Is this hell?" This isn't right... this has to be his brother's fault. Shivering again, he leans against the door and once more begins hyperventilating from pure shock.
Hopefully someone comes along to open the door before he uses up all his oxygen.
Awakening in a dark, cramped, and cold space is rather disorienting. 'How did I get here?' she wonders. Listening though, she starts to hear other sounds. 'Is that voices? Someone pounding?' She starts to knock against the surface in front of her. "Hello! Hey! How do I get out of here?" she shouts. Hopefully that will attract whoever might be out there. 'It is certainly cold in here though. But there has to be a way out.'
Deciding to not just wait, she starts to carefully feel her way about the space she is in. There must be a seam, an opening, somewhere. (Perception: 19) If she can find something, she will start to see if she can find a way to force it open.
Seeing the bodies dematerialize, it takes Esta a moment to snap out of the confusion at what she is seeing - and quickly scans the bodies for any loot of value. Hopefully, she will find some useful gear here to collect.
As the bodies vanish, Esta tries to think on what to do next. There has to be a way out from here.... wait, what's that? Esta turns back towards the far corridor, hearing noises.. coming from the lockers? She was just there a moment ago, there shouldn't be noise coming from there. Taking her time to move towards the sounds, she silently steps in range to see if she can make out what it is. Perception: 24 (crit)
Hearing the voices, she will move up to the lockers and speak softly, "Listen here, you have to keep it down. They'll get you otherwise... Don't make a scene and I'll open the door." Waiting for the acknowledgment, Esta will pry open the locker doors.
(Just for future reference, skill checks can't crit :) )
The room is lined with metal doors, all with a handle on the outside that is not locked, Esta only needs to pull on it for the door to swing open. One by one, laying on cold metal tables are some new people, very much alive. Except for one door at the corner, that one is currently locked. There isn't much else in this room as it seems it's primary function is body storage.
The goblin stops his barrage on the door as he hears someone on the other side begin to unlock it. When it slides open, small green figure quickly bursts through the opening and slams on to the floor. A moment later, a tiny Mechanical spider with what looks to be a metal wand leaps from the locker as well and lands on the ground next to the goblin. The small green figure scrambles to his feet and points his strange glowing crossbow towards the strange new people around him. "Hey! What's the big idea! Where am I? I was in the middle of some important research!... I think?!" He says as he looks around the room... slightly lowing his crossbow as he takes in the scene around him.
"The name's Sizzle... Sizzle kaboom! Like a stick of dynamite.. and I'm going to make this whole place go up like a stick of dynamite if I don't get some answer soon!' He grumbles as he continues to turn his head, looking for any kind of exit.
The goblin stands nearly 3.5 feet tall and has a small steel blacksmithing hammer with copper inlay attached to his belt and a backpack full of what sound like tools rattling around behind him as he attempts to straighten himself out after spilling from the locker. Although he has green skin, he has several reddish-rust colored scars on his arms and a tattoo on his upper left arm that looks very similar to the deep symbol / wound that had been etched into Slag's armor
Pics of tattoo / scars and also pictures of hammer
Picture of the tattoo / scar / rune on both Sizzle and Slag
Picture of Slags warhammer and Sizzle's hammer on his belt
He stops his leg mid-kick when he hears more voices, then his ears start ringing when a blast suddenly sounds from a containment area next to him. He holds his hands over his ears for several moments, sounds like he's not the only one trapped here.
"See, how could I have gotten all these other people stuck here?"The voice asks cheerfully.
"You tell me."He grumbles mentally.
Ears still ringing from the explosion, he hesitantly takes his hands off his ears just in time to hear a muffled voice speak through the metal.
"Alright, I'll be quiet." He replies, then squints when light suddenly floods the dark space he'd been trapped within. He slowly crawls out of the drawer, stretching his arms and rolling his shoulders around after he's fully out. He looks around, and looks over Esta.
"Thanks for that. Do you-" His words are cut off when the goblin starts yelling. Seriously? She just said to keep it down! He raises his hands slightly when Sizzle points the crossbow at him. Then lowers them again when it seems like he's not going to actually use it.
"Heheh. I like that one." The voice chuckles. He ignores it.
"No I have no idea what's going on. I...think I was at work before... unless I was..." He frowns, spacing off for a moment. "I...can't seem to remember exactly what I was doing."
"Don't ask me, cause I haven't the slightest idea what's happening either."The voice chimes in. He rolls his eyes, still ignoring it.
"My name is Zakhar by the way."He says, turning back to Esta. "Thanks again for getting me out of there...."
"Eyyyy she is quite pretty if I do say so myself. Like a warrior princess in...well not so shining armor!"This comment catches Zakhar off guard, causing him to loose his train of thought. Though to everyone around, it looks like his face just reddens for no reason. The voice laughs in the back of his head.
He turns to look away from everyone present, opting to examine his surroundings. What the heck is this place? It looks like some kind of morgue. Why was he here? How did he get here?
"S-so. Um. Do any of you know how to get out of here?" He stutters trying to block out the entities now almost hysteric laughter.
The young man stands at about 5.6 feet tall. He has dark brown shaggy hair, part of which falls in front of his face covering his right eye. His visible left eye is a shade of golden-yellow, and his youthful face holds a look of weariness. His voice is soft, and also holds a tired tone. He wears a forest green cloak, with tan wolfskin at the collar. Underneath this he wears a loose brown tunic and dark trousers. In contrast with these rather well-warn clothes, a curved sword with an ornate handle hangs at his left hip. To Esta, it looks like an exact replica of the sword Renjin had carried.
Still shivering, the boy forces himself to breathe evenly. Was that... a voice he heard? Telling them to be quiet? He turns towards the door again, and says, "Just get me out of here." He was being quiet. It was everyone else who was banging and shouting. So she'll let him out first right?
It feels like an eternity before light finally floods the small compartment. "Oh thank God," he breaths, frowning when he once more registers what his voice sounds like. Shaking his head he turns to exit the compartment feet first. Popping out of the compartment is a 14 year old boy. His hair is white, and his eyes are bright blue and shine with otherworldly energy. He wears a lavender colored gambeson with a white fur-lined collar, and is equipped with a quiver of fine leather. He struggles for a moment as he tries to reach the floor, hanging and swinging his legs as he finds that he's slightly too short to just step out of the compartment, forcing him to drop the last few inches.
Why am I so freaking short? he frowns, turning to pull his equipment out of the compartment. He lets out a sigh of relief when he finds his bow, the silver weapon is etched with blue symbols, the most prominent of which is a scale of justice on the grip. At least that's how it should be.
Turning he looks up at the woman who just let him out of that horrible prison. He opens his mouth to thank her before freezing before he can even get a word out. ... why in the cosmos is he so small!!!! The child stands there with his mouth open for a good long moment, eyebrows twitching as if he just realized something that he finds incredibly aggravating.
Then a few broken sounds escape his throat and he shakes his head, shutting his eyes and growling for a minute before taking in the other two strangers. "Hey, don't point that thing at me!" He says, voice as commanding as a petulant lordling when the goblin directs his crossbow at him and the others.
I can't believe this. I just... His composure fails again as he clenches his fists and squeezes his eyes shut, Stupid idiot brother.
He lets out a breath, then turns to Esta, "Thank you. For letting me out."His voice comes out as a growl, clearly he's having a hard time of this, but it's not clear why.
He eyes Zakhar, squinting at him for a moment--eyes showing suspicion. He stares for a moment before looking around the room again. Obviously everyone is confused, aside from this woman, who hasn't given her name yet. Well, maybe she is confused, just not about the same things? Either way, she is the only one who wasn't locked up right? So she knows more than they do.
"I am Tyriel..." he says finally, suddenly gaining a composure that seems too mature for his age. "I have no idea how I got here, or where here is. Maybe you can fill me in?" He looks to Esta again. "Who exactly will 'get us' if we aren't quiet?"
One by one, Esta opens the lockers and letting spill the new group of people. The goblin starts going off on one, raising his voice against her instruction. Esta swiftly moves up and covers the goblins mouth once the bow was lowered, "Ssssh, for goodness sake I told you to be quiet." She stares deeply into Sizzle's eyes for what seems like a long time, ensuring he understands the command, before slowly releasing and moving away from the goblin.
She turns to face the whole group, and nods her head "You can all thank me later, though it is appreciated. My name is Esta." She scans this new group, and wonders even further what is going on. Is Esta able to find any clue as to what these all have in common? Perception: 21
---IF ESTA RECOGNIZES THESE ARE REINCARNATIONS OF THE OTHER GROUP---
Esta reels back a moment, taking it in. Can it be so? "I.... I think I've seen you but not a moment ago. But... not you. Now I am confused even further." Esta contemplates what this could mean. It dawns on her that these are linked in some spiritual way, and it almost excites her to find out how this puzzle works, if it weren't for the situation they are in. Esta turns to everyone and explains what she theorizes. She will then take the equipment picked up from before and place them on the nearest surface, "I think these rightfully belong to you all..."
"I know you are all confused, and rightly so. I do not know how you are here, but what I can tell you is how I am here and what is out there.." Esta motions to the door leading out to the hallway. "I awoke just like you did, though not in a locker but on a metal slab. We were told by some creature called Morte that we had died, and they had brought us back. We thought we were OK if we stuck together and got out, but immediately we found ourselves fighting for our very lives. The ones I woke with... well they didn't make it. I managed to hide over here and the... things.... hurting us just seemed to leave me be." As Esta speaks, she turns and you can see fresh bruising up her neck, and watch as Esta winces in pain holding her side. "Damned thing bloody took a chunk out of me, I had no choice but to hide..."
She waits for the others in the room to gather their belongings together and collect their wit, and whilst doing so she will peak out the exit door to see/listen out for anything wandering the hallway.
"OK everyone, when we are good lets try and get out. There is a passage just down this hallway, I fear it is the only way we can go but we can try scouting the hallway further down. The passage is a furnace room so if we need to go through there, lets make a plan before we do anything rash... sound good? Let's go then."
With that, Esta pulls her hood back up, and the others will watch as she blends almost perfectly with the environment, and starts to move out.
Before she can even find any signs of a way out, there is a voice outside. "Hey! I'm in here, let me out!" she says loudly, pounding on whatever is in front of her. But she quiets as the voice suggests keeping it down. 'Ok, someone's going to get me out. I'll just be patient.' When she does get out, she is perhaps even more surprised. 'I have no idea where this is! How in the world did I end up here?' she wonders.
The young woman is about 5-and-a-half feet tall, with unkempt white hair. Her eyes are a dark grey, which is a sharp contrast to her pale skin. She's dressed in a loose-fitting white top, sleeveless, with a dark leather coat draped around her. She has a bright yellow ribbon around her neck as a choker. The tattered material stands out against her otherwise black-and-white seeming appearance. As she stands, it seems almost as though her hair moves about from a light breeze, even though there isn't one at the moment.
She listens to the others that introduce themselves, and then to Esta motions out and talks about her experience, she shakes her head at the tale of the others losing their lives and this woman fleeing. Though based on her cloak and how she disappears so easily, she thinks she understands how she was the survivor."I'm Halila by the way," she says softly as she quickly moves to follow after Esta. "I presume we'll try to find a way to sneak out of here?"She pauses a moment as her earlier thoughts come to mind. "Where are we anyhow?"
(If you are trying to be more quiet as you move through the halls now, make a stealth check)
Heading down the southern end of the hallway, the doorway to your right (west) looks into the autopsy room, where the herald has resumed his work on the golem.
“Who is responsible for this?” Tyriel asks when Esta explains what happened to her previous companions. He almost says something else, but between him remembering his current predicament and Esta moving off down the hallway, he drops it.
Frowning he follows after the woman with the magic cloak, she’s wounded…
“Wait ,” he said abruptly, quickly catching up to her. When he’s within reach he touches her arm. For a brief moment his eyes light up and he glows with divine energy. Light around his shoulders teases the appearance of otherworldly wings, but the vision quickly fades as he releases the power. (healing hands on esta: 5) Light pools from his soul, collecting onto the hand touching Esta’s arm and flowing towards her wound.
It’s not much, but hopefully it helps her in the long run. And, Tyriel feels his debt to her is at least partially repaid. He looks oddly satisfied for a moment before turning his attention to his surroundings. Right, they need to sneak…
Stealth: 9 (ugh)
Unfortunately he feels rather clumsy right now. This whole experience has left him rather out of sorts.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Sizzle Stealth! 10
Sizzle lets out a small snort before lowing his crossbow. He follows behind Esta since she seems to be the one that knows most about what is going on. The goblin attempts to move as quietly as possible while keeping his crossbow at the ready. The tiny Spider-like turret sits on the large pack on the goblins back, ready to blast anything that approaches.
The young man nods as Esta and Halila introduce themselves. Then he tilts his head slightly and sighs, he can't do much to help Esta with her wounds as he's no healer. However, he can make an effort to be quiet. Esta's explanation only really raises more questions for him. Questions which thankfully help drown out the laughter echoing in the back of his skull, laughter that for some reason intensifies significantly when the snobby little kid slides out of his locker.
Zakhar eyes Tyriel with his one visible golden eye, the kid seems like a little brat but he can't help but feel sorry for him. This must be a lot for someone of that age.
"Don't feel sorry for that one!"The voice chortles, "He'll get over it eventually HAHAHA! This IS his new reality after all."
Zakhar sighs again, "This is all of our new realities...."He trails off and his jaw tightens. No, no. He's not going to argue. Not happening.
He eye's Tyriel again when the young boy suddenly starts to glow and heals Esta's wounds a bit. Hmm. Well it seems the kid has had some experience. He carries weapons and the ability to heal. How did he get tied up in a soldier's life while so young? Zakhar unconsciously places the palm of his hand over his right eye. Hmm, well some are forced into the world before they are ready. He certainly was.
"Oh boo hoo. You need to get over yourself. Sweet Chaos what am I supposed to do with you? Why did I get stuck with such a boring kid? Uuuuuuuggggh."
Zakhar scowls, quickly pulling his hand away from his face as he quietly follows Esta, Tyriel, and Halila. "Why did I get stuck with an insufferable jerk in my head? It's not like I asked for you--" He cut's that thought off. Stop acknowledging it.
"Oh what would you do without me."
Zakhar hisses through his teeth, and tries to focus on something else. What happened to him and these others? Why them specifically? Esta seems like an ordinary person. Someone he'd see walking down the streets of his home and never question her origins. Aside from his white hair, Tyriel appears to be another human though that show of seemingly divine healing power says there's more to that kid. Halila would stand out in a crowd...well to anyone who pays attention anyways. Her appearance is unusual, mostly due to her floating hair, though she does have an interesting clothing choice. The goblin....well frankly that one unnerves him. Most people in the Outlands don't pay much attention to a race's typical pull towards one alignment or the other, but something in him can never shake the possibility of one of these monster types randomly deciding to go on a murder spree. Sure, there are some that he'd trust with his life, but those ones...well they are all on the mellower side. Sizzle here seems like a catastrophe waiting to happen.
Zakhar shakes his head. He really needs to try not to judge people by appearance....or even personality. Heaven knows where he would have ended up if everyone treated him that way.
Hiding nearby the lockers, Esta sees Renjin smirk and take a final blow to the ground. Even going down that guy got some arrogance. Shame, I think I would of liked him... Esta thinks to herself.
Moments go by and the battle being over, Esta hears this weird, cosmic like melody. She sneaks out from her hiding spot and goes towards Renjin to see if there is any hope that he isn't completely dead, and trying to rouse him if not.
Medicine Check: 21
SUCCESS
Esta manages to rouse Renjin conscious. To avoid the noise being heard and attracting those things again, Esta will drag Renjin back towards where she hid earlier, propping him up in one of the lockers. "Hang tight." Esta will whisper, and close the door to the locker and look around for something to heal him a bit.
--- OR ---
FAILURE
Esta, accepting that Renjin is dead, will say "I'm sorry. I'm too young to die." She will then peer in towards the chamber and see the mess that is left inside. No hope there... so Esta will scoot towards the southern passage and look to see if there is a way out.
Several things happen here as Esta heads back to check on Renjin:
* Several loud thumps sound from the cold locker, almost as if something, or someone was banging on the doors, trying to get out
* The levers outside the crematorium return to their normal positions as the flames go out, unlocking the hallway once more
* Renjin is dead, slaughtered mercilessly by the golem and the herald
* Esta can easily see though that the others' bodies begin to slowly disappear, as if being dematerialized and carried away on some cosmic wind. It is a slow process though, should Esta wish to attempt to take any of their things off their body before they disappear. (weapons, potions, etc. If removed from the corpse they will not disappear)
To Slag, Britari, Renjin:
Thank you for playing. Just kidding!!! :) (Hey my sense of humor is as bad as Morte's okay?)
How ironic, to die in the place where dead bodies are taken from across the multiverse. As your souls are released from their mortal prison, an odd, jilted cosmic melody sounds and you feel the wheels of time and fortune spin wildly, multitudes of choices and paths rush by you in a blurry montage, before everything stops suddenly, and you awake, some place cold, dark, and cramped...and you feel...different. You're still you...but not...But wherever you are, it's going to be a short life again unless you can find a way out...
(DM note: for clarity, the three of you have been reincarnated into one of your other forms. You may choose either of the other two characters to bring in now. And no, this isn't quite a video game, there may yet be a chance to see the originals again! Now let's hope Esta comes to your rescue soon... :) )
Renjin, now a nearly unrecognizable, bloody mess on the floor, feels his soul leave his body. "Oh so this is how it feels to die." He thinks. "How interesting." He looks down at his broken corpse and shakes his head. Such a fragile body. He tilts his head when Esta returns to try to rouse him, and his smile widens. "Oh? She did care! Haha. Poor thing, she'll probably feel so guilty after this. That's how humans are after all." He laughs to himself. Then he feels a tug. Ooooooh no, has the devil come to claim his soul despite his never making a contract with him?! Or perhaps it's HIM come back for revenge... or just another lecture.... The force pulls harder. Ah well, either way a new adventure awaits!
He banks his foot against the door, how the heck did he get in here? Tch its so cold! And he can't see a thing! How long has he been in here? He grits his teeth, and bangs on the door again.
"Well...that's a shame." That ever present voice says from the darkness. "I just felt a part of myself die...vanish, fade into eternity."
"Oh really?" He thinks back at the voice sarcastically.
"Nah. I'm just kidding! It was just a weird feeling. Haha!"
He rolls his eyes, "Yeah your 'fading into eternity' would have been to good to be true." He grumbles mentally.
"Hey, that's hurtful you know." The voice laughs
He ignores the voice, and gives the door another kick. "I blame you for this." He growls at the voice aloud, forgetting to only speak with his thoughts.
"Oh why do you hurt me so!" The voice says dramatically.
"GAH! Just shut up for two seconds would you!" He yells aloud again, then snaps his mouth shut. It's been so long since he'd argued with that infernal voice out loud, he'd never though just being stranded in a dark, cold, hard place would make him fall back into that old habit. Heck, he'd been pretty good at ignoring that voice too. He growls, it's amazing what a bit of isolation can do.
"Careful now! If you keep on like that whoever finds you will think your crazy!" The voice laughs.
"I hate you." He replies, this time remembering to say it mentally.
"Oh I know, you think that every day." The entity says cheerfully.
He kicks the door again.
"Hey! What's going on here! Let me out or you'll be sorry!" A angry voice snarls from behind the small metal door.
Inside the small cramped space, a goblin is pulling a small well worn steel blacksmithing hammer from his belt. With the hammer in hand the goblin begins pounding on the door. The loud metal clings reverberate in the tiny box prompting him to cover his ears and place the copper inlay'd hammer back on to his belt. "Alright! Ya gunna get it!" The goblin shouts as he reaches into his pack and removes a tiny mechanical spider-like machine. After pressing a tiny button on its back, The tiny eldrich cannon comes to life. With a sharp toothed grin, The fiesty artificer pulls a highly modified light crossbow from his pack as well and points it at the door. a moment later both the goblin and the cannon begin firing arcane blasts into the metal door as they attempt to blow their way out!
"Where.... am I?" a small voice says from within one of the cold lockers. "Huh?" the childlike voice sounds confused. "This isn't what I sound like.... what is going on? This... this can't be where I'm supposed to be..."
Inside the freezing chamber, a very confused child sits up as best he can and attempts to move around in the cramped space. "What's happened to me?" He squints at the closed door and shivers... why is it so cold? How did he get here? Why can't he remember where he was before this? Well, he remembers some things... wait... wait a second. This... he didn't...
"Light... no... this can't be..." He feels around for his bow, then checks his clothing. "What in the cosmos is going on!!!" He lays back down and thrashes about for a few seconds, then realizes what he's doing and forces himself to lay still. This can't be happening to him. Why is he here? What did he do? Or what did HE do? The more he tries to figure out his current predicament the more panicked he becomes, and soon he's hyperventilating within the chilly container.
"No, stop it," he says, slapping himself across the cheek. "Ouch!" Why did that hurt so much?! Ugh, he needs to get out of here.
Sitting up, he crawls towards the closed door and attempts to push it open. Pressing against the cold metal, he stares at his hands for a moment in utter confusion. Then he shuts his eyes, "Get out first, worry about the rest later. I'll get answers somehow." And then he begins pushing futilely against the door, cursing how weak he feels and blaming it on the fact that he can't get any traction on the slippery metal floor... not to mention he can't stand up.
He flinches when he hears others kicking and banging around him and... wait... explosions? More yelling? Is this some sort of prison? His gut clenches... "Am I dead? Is this hell?" This isn't right... this has to be his brother's fault. Shivering again, he leans against the door and once more begins hyperventilating from pure shock.
Hopefully someone comes along to open the door before he uses up all his oxygen.
Awakening in a dark, cramped, and cold space is rather disorienting. 'How did I get here?' she wonders. Listening though, she starts to hear other sounds. 'Is that voices? Someone pounding?' She starts to knock against the surface in front of her. "Hello! Hey! How do I get out of here?" she shouts. Hopefully that will attract whoever might be out there. 'It is certainly cold in here though. But there has to be a way out.'
Deciding to not just wait, she starts to carefully feel her way about the space she is in. There must be a seam, an opening, somewhere. (Perception: 19) If she can find something, she will start to see if she can find a way to force it open.
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 || Satina Cindermark, Fighter || Meira Dheran, Rogue
Seeing the bodies dematerialize, it takes Esta a moment to snap out of the confusion at what she is seeing - and quickly scans the bodies for any loot of value. Hopefully, she will find some useful gear here to collect.
As the bodies vanish, Esta tries to think on what to do next. There has to be a way out from here.... wait, what's that? Esta turns back towards the far corridor, hearing noises.. coming from the lockers? She was just there a moment ago, there shouldn't be noise coming from there. Taking her time to move towards the sounds, she silently steps in range to see if she can make out what it is.
Perception: 24 (crit)
Hearing the voices, she will move up to the lockers and speak softly, "Listen here, you have to keep it down. They'll get you otherwise... Don't make a scene and I'll open the door." Waiting for the acknowledgment, Esta will pry open the locker doors.
(Just for future reference, skill checks can't crit :) )
The room is lined with metal doors, all with a handle on the outside that is not locked, Esta only needs to pull on it for the door to swing open. One by one, laying on cold metal tables are some new people, very much alive. Except for one door at the corner, that one is currently locked. There isn't much else in this room as it seems it's primary function is body storage.
The goblin stops his barrage on the door as he hears someone on the other side begin to unlock it. When it slides open, small green figure quickly bursts through the opening and slams on to the floor. A moment later, a tiny Mechanical spider with what looks to be a metal wand leaps from the locker as well and lands on the ground next to the goblin. The small green figure scrambles to his feet and points his strange glowing crossbow towards the strange new people around him. "Hey! What's the big idea! Where am I? I was in the middle of some important research!... I think?!" He says as he looks around the room... slightly lowing his crossbow as he takes in the scene around him.
"The name's Sizzle... Sizzle kaboom! Like a stick of dynamite.. and I'm going to make this whole place go up like a stick of dynamite if I don't get some answer soon!' He grumbles as he continues to turn his head, looking for any kind of exit.
The goblin stands nearly 3.5 feet tall and has a small steel blacksmithing hammer with copper inlay attached to his belt and a backpack full of what sound like tools rattling around behind him as he attempts to straighten himself out after spilling from the locker. Although he has green skin, he has several reddish-rust colored scars on his arms and a tattoo on his upper left arm that looks very similar to the deep symbol / wound that had been etched into Slag's armor
Pics of tattoo / scars and also pictures of hammer
Picture of the tattoo / scar / rune on both Sizzle and Slag
Picture of Slags warhammer and Sizzle's hammer on his belt
(love the pictures btw!!!)
He stops his leg mid-kick when he hears more voices, then his ears start ringing when a blast suddenly sounds from a containment area next to him. He holds his hands over his ears for several moments, sounds like he's not the only one trapped here.
"See, how could I have gotten all these other people stuck here?" The voice asks cheerfully.
"You tell me." He grumbles mentally.
Ears still ringing from the explosion, he hesitantly takes his hands off his ears just in time to hear a muffled voice speak through the metal.
"Alright, I'll be quiet." He replies, then squints when light suddenly floods the dark space he'd been trapped within. He slowly crawls out of the drawer, stretching his arms and rolling his shoulders around after he's fully out. He looks around, and looks over Esta.
"Thanks for that. Do you-" His words are cut off when the goblin starts yelling. Seriously? She just said to keep it down! He raises his hands slightly when Sizzle points the crossbow at him. Then lowers them again when it seems like he's not going to actually use it.
"Heheh. I like that one." The voice chuckles. He ignores it.
"No I have no idea what's going on. I...think I was at work before... unless I was..." He frowns, spacing off for a moment. "I...can't seem to remember exactly what I was doing."
"Don't ask me, cause I haven't the slightest idea what's happening either." The voice chimes in. He rolls his eyes, still ignoring it.
"My name is Zakhar by the way." He says, turning back to Esta. "Thanks again for getting me out of there...."
"Eyyyy she is quite pretty if I do say so myself. Like a warrior princess in...well not so shining armor!" This comment catches Zakhar off guard, causing him to loose his train of thought. Though to everyone around, it looks like his face just reddens for no reason. The voice laughs in the back of his head.
He turns to look away from everyone present, opting to examine his surroundings. What the heck is this place? It looks like some kind of morgue. Why was he here? How did he get here?
"S-so. Um. Do any of you know how to get out of here?" He stutters trying to block out the entities now almost hysteric laughter.
The young man stands at about 5.6 feet tall. He has dark brown shaggy hair, part of which falls in front of his face covering his right eye. His visible left eye is a shade of golden-yellow, and his youthful face holds a look of weariness. His voice is soft, and also holds a tired tone. He wears a forest green cloak, with tan wolfskin at the collar. Underneath this he wears a loose brown tunic and dark trousers. In contrast with these rather well-warn clothes, a curved sword with an ornate handle hangs at his left hip. To Esta, it looks like an exact replica of the sword Renjin had carried.
Still shivering, the boy forces himself to breathe evenly. Was that... a voice he heard? Telling them to be quiet? He turns towards the door again, and says, "Just get me out of here." He was being quiet. It was everyone else who was banging and shouting. So she'll let him out first right?
It feels like an eternity before light finally floods the small compartment. "Oh thank God," he breaths, frowning when he once more registers what his voice sounds like. Shaking his head he turns to exit the compartment feet first. Popping out of the compartment is a 14 year old boy. His hair is white, and his eyes are bright blue and shine with otherworldly energy. He wears a lavender colored gambeson with a white fur-lined collar, and is equipped with a quiver of fine leather. He struggles for a moment as he tries to reach the floor, hanging and swinging his legs as he finds that he's slightly too short to just step out of the compartment, forcing him to drop the last few inches.
Why am I so freaking short? he frowns, turning to pull his equipment out of the compartment. He lets out a sigh of relief when he finds his bow, the silver weapon is etched with blue symbols, the most prominent of which is a scale of justice on the grip. At least that's how it should be.
Turning he looks up at the woman who just let him out of that horrible prison. He opens his mouth to thank her before freezing before he can even get a word out. ... why in the cosmos is he so small!!!! The child stands there with his mouth open for a good long moment, eyebrows twitching as if he just realized something that he finds incredibly aggravating.
Then a few broken sounds escape his throat and he shakes his head, shutting his eyes and growling for a minute before taking in the other two strangers. "Hey, don't point that thing at me!" He says, voice as commanding as a petulant lordling when the goblin directs his crossbow at him and the others.
I can't believe this. I just... His composure fails again as he clenches his fists and squeezes his eyes shut, Stupid idiot brother.
He lets out a breath, then turns to Esta, "Thank you. For letting me out." His voice comes out as a growl, clearly he's having a hard time of this, but it's not clear why.
He eyes Zakhar, squinting at him for a moment--eyes showing suspicion. He stares for a moment before looking around the room again. Obviously everyone is confused, aside from this woman, who hasn't given her name yet. Well, maybe she is confused, just not about the same things? Either way, she is the only one who wasn't locked up right? So she knows more than they do.
"I am Tyriel..." he says finally, suddenly gaining a composure that seems too mature for his age. "I have no idea how I got here, or where here is. Maybe you can fill me in?" He looks to Esta again. "Who exactly will 'get us' if we aren't quiet?"
One by one, Esta opens the lockers and letting spill the new group of people. The goblin starts going off on one, raising his voice against her instruction. Esta swiftly moves up and covers the goblins mouth once the bow was lowered, "Ssssh, for goodness sake I told you to be quiet." She stares deeply into Sizzle's eyes for what seems like a long time, ensuring he understands the command, before slowly releasing and moving away from the goblin.
She turns to face the whole group, and nods her head "You can all thank me later, though it is appreciated. My name is Esta." She scans this new group, and wonders even further what is going on. Is Esta able to find any clue as to what these all have in common?
Perception: 21
---IF ESTA RECOGNIZES THESE ARE REINCARNATIONS OF THE OTHER GROUP---
Esta reels back a moment, taking it in. Can it be so? "I.... I think I've seen you but not a moment ago. But... not you. Now I am confused even further." Esta contemplates what this could mean. It dawns on her that these are linked in some spiritual way, and it almost excites her to find out how this puzzle works, if it weren't for the situation they are in. Esta turns to everyone and explains what she theorizes. She will then take the equipment picked up from before and place them on the nearest surface, "I think these rightfully belong to you all..."
"I know you are all confused, and rightly so. I do not know how you are here, but what I can tell you is how I am here and what is out there.." Esta motions to the door leading out to the hallway. "I awoke just like you did, though not in a locker but on a metal slab. We were told by some creature called Morte that we had died, and they had brought us back. We thought we were OK if we stuck together and got out, but immediately we found ourselves fighting for our very lives. The ones I woke with... well they didn't make it. I managed to hide over here and the... things.... hurting us just seemed to leave me be." As Esta speaks, she turns and you can see fresh bruising up her neck, and watch as Esta winces in pain holding her side. "Damned thing bloody took a chunk out of me, I had no choice but to hide..."
She waits for the others in the room to gather their belongings together and collect their wit, and whilst doing so she will peak out the exit door to see/listen out for anything wandering the hallway.
"OK everyone, when we are good lets try and get out. There is a passage just down this hallway, I fear it is the only way we can go but we can try scouting the hallway further down. The passage is a furnace room so if we need to go through there, lets make a plan before we do anything rash... sound good? Let's go then."
With that, Esta pulls her hood back up, and the others will watch as she blends almost perfectly with the environment, and starts to move out.
Before she can even find any signs of a way out, there is a voice outside. "Hey! I'm in here, let me out!" she says loudly, pounding on whatever is in front of her. But she quiets as the voice suggests keeping it down. 'Ok, someone's going to get me out. I'll just be patient.' When she does get out, she is perhaps even more surprised. 'I have no idea where this is! How in the world did I end up here?' she wonders.
The young woman is about 5-and-a-half feet tall, with unkempt white hair. Her eyes are a dark grey, which is a sharp contrast to her pale skin. She's dressed in a loose-fitting white top, sleeveless, with a dark leather coat draped around her. She has a bright yellow ribbon around her neck as a choker. The tattered material stands out against her otherwise black-and-white seeming appearance. As she stands, it seems almost as though her hair moves about from a light breeze, even though there isn't one at the moment.
She listens to the others that introduce themselves, and then to Esta motions out and talks about her experience, she shakes her head at the tale of the others losing their lives and this woman fleeing. Though based on her cloak and how she disappears so easily, she thinks she understands how she was the survivor. "I'm Halila by the way," she says softly as she quickly moves to follow after Esta. "I presume we'll try to find a way to sneak out of here?" She pauses a moment as her earlier thoughts come to mind. "Where are we anyhow?"
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 || Satina Cindermark, Fighter || Meira Dheran, Rogue
(If you are trying to be more quiet as you move through the halls now, make a stealth check)
Heading down the southern end of the hallway, the doorway to your right (west) looks into the autopsy room, where the herald has resumed his work on the golem.
Stealth: 13
(Wow, wearing a cloak that blends me into the environment and I still get a low score haha)
“Who is responsible for this?” Tyriel asks when Esta explains what happened to her previous companions. He almost says something else, but between him remembering his current predicament and Esta moving off down the hallway, he drops it.
Frowning he follows after the woman with the magic cloak, she’s wounded…
“Wait ,” he said abruptly, quickly catching up to her. When he’s within reach he touches her arm. For a brief moment his eyes light up and he glows with divine energy. Light around his shoulders teases the appearance of otherworldly wings, but the vision quickly fades as he releases the power. (healing hands on esta: 5) Light pools from his soul, collecting onto the hand touching Esta’s arm and flowing towards her wound.
It’s not much, but hopefully it helps her in the long run. And, Tyriel feels his debt to her is at least partially repaid. He looks oddly satisfied for a moment before turning his attention to his surroundings. Right, they need to sneak…
Stealth: 9 (ugh)
Unfortunately he feels rather clumsy right now. This whole experience has left him rather out of sorts.
Healing hands: 3
Sizzle Stealth! 10
Sizzle lets out a small snort before lowing his crossbow. He follows behind Esta since she seems to be the one that knows most about what is going on. The goblin attempts to move as quietly as possible while keeping his crossbow at the ready. The tiny Spider-like turret sits on the large pack on the goblins back, ready to blast anything that approaches.
The young man nods as Esta and Halila introduce themselves. Then he tilts his head slightly and sighs, he can't do much to help Esta with her wounds as he's no healer. However, he can make an effort to be quiet. Esta's explanation only really raises more questions for him. Questions which thankfully help drown out the laughter echoing in the back of his skull, laughter that for some reason intensifies significantly when the snobby little kid slides out of his locker.
Zakhar eyes Tyriel with his one visible golden eye, the kid seems like a little brat but he can't help but feel sorry for him. This must be a lot for someone of that age.
"Don't feel sorry for that one!" The voice chortles, "He'll get over it eventually HAHAHA! This IS his new reality after all."
Zakhar sighs again, "This is all of our new realities...." He trails off and his jaw tightens. No, no. He's not going to argue. Not happening.
He eye's Tyriel again when the young boy suddenly starts to glow and heals Esta's wounds a bit. Hmm. Well it seems the kid has had some experience. He carries weapons and the ability to heal. How did he get tied up in a soldier's life while so young? Zakhar unconsciously places the palm of his hand over his right eye. Hmm, well some are forced into the world before they are ready. He certainly was.
"Oh boo hoo. You need to get over yourself. Sweet Chaos what am I supposed to do with you? Why did I get stuck with such a boring kid? Uuuuuuuggggh."
Zakhar scowls, quickly pulling his hand away from his face as he quietly follows Esta, Tyriel, and Halila. "Why did I get stuck with an insufferable jerk in my head? It's not like I asked for you--" He cut's that thought off. Stop acknowledging it.
"Oh what would you do without me."
Zakhar hisses through his teeth, and tries to focus on something else. What happened to him and these others? Why them specifically? Esta seems like an ordinary person. Someone he'd see walking down the streets of his home and never question her origins. Aside from his white hair, Tyriel appears to be another human though that show of seemingly divine healing power says there's more to that kid. Halila would stand out in a crowd...well to anyone who pays attention anyways. Her appearance is unusual, mostly due to her floating hair, though she does have an interesting clothing choice. The goblin....well frankly that one unnerves him. Most people in the Outlands don't pay much attention to a race's typical pull towards one alignment or the other, but something in him can never shake the possibility of one of these monster types randomly deciding to go on a murder spree. Sure, there are some that he'd trust with his life, but those ones...well they are all on the mellower side. Sizzle here seems like a catastrophe waiting to happen.
Zakhar shakes his head. He really needs to try not to judge people by appearance....or even personality. Heaven knows where he would have ended up if everyone treated him that way.
Stealth: 19