Aluzira starts fidgeting with her dagger, resisting the urge to just grab the scroll. “May I give it a look?” She asks the group, before adding hurriedly, “The scroll I mean.”
Anakis, assuming that by "the hall with the sound" you mean the twenty foot wide hall that branches off diagonally to the right and not the narrow archway you can see down at the end of it (also on the right), the jingling noise has an otherworldly echo, as if coming from a long ways away before it whispers out from the small, dark archway ahead on the right, which you're now about fifty feet away from.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Nicolas will approach the chair, give it a quick look to see if there is any reason he shouldn’t mess with the scroll (wires, triggers, runes, anything that looks like a trap) Investigation: 7. Assuming nothing catches his eye, he will take the scroll and kneel before Aluzira to dramatically present her with the scroll. “My liege,” he says in a deep, theatrical voice.
Aluzira, completely caught of guard, turns a deeper shade of blue while desperately trying to stifle a fit of nervous laughter. After a moment she takes a deep breath letting out the last of her nerves in a small chuckle. She carefully picks up the scroll and curtsies saying, “Thank you, good Sir. I am in your debt,” before carefully opening the scroll.
The parchment is cracked and brittle, and looks as though it might crumble if not for your careful handling. As it opens, you can see the following text, beautifully written in the same artful script that adorns the archway under which you passed ten minutes ago:
Hud, my dear,
Many a long night has passed in this dark place as I await your return. I fear that some ill may have befallen you, or you would have returned to join me in defending the works of our hands from the desecrations of the hordes of the dead that rise up to engulf them. I do not share the beliefs of others that preserving our own short lives is worth abandoning our beautiful city, that we have both labored long to make glorious, to become a place inhabited only by death. I know you share with me this sentiment.
I write to you now because I fear I am losing hope, and I do not know how much longer I can last in this dark place of despair. I am placing my letter here, on this throne that you have so wonderfully carved from the living stone, and that I have sought to compliment and decorate with the skills I still possess, because I know that seeing it here in this place where the work of our two lives comes together as one, you will know it is from me and read it, hopefully before it is too late.
If you are reading this letter, then my greatest wish has come to pass, and you have returned to me at last. I am waiting for you, my love, in the narrow hallway beyond the small arch that you have carved with your immeasurable skill. You will know I am there by the tinkling of the silver bracelet I still wear and that you gave me all those many years ago when we were young, although it seems just like yesterday.
Now come to me my love. I await thee!
Eternally yours, Annote
The feeling of a presence that permeates the room grows stronger as you read the letter.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Aluzira gingerly rolls the scroll back up and places it gently on the throne before relaying what was in the message to the others. “I think, the presence, and that noise you heard Anakis are Anotte, and he’s been waiting all this time for Hud, who may have never returned...” she rubs her eyes and makes her way to the small hallway and stands just outside the little arch, trying to see if she can sense any magic.
The dim torchlight only extends part way up the hall, Aluzira, as you make your way towards the small opening, which lies in darkness in the right-hand corner at the end of the hall ahead of you. When you get within about ten feet of the archway, the ethereal jingling sound suddenly comes into sharp focus at a spot about fifty feet beyond the archway, and a cold and far-away sounding female voice comes to you from out of the darkness and says indifferently, "You are not Hud. Where is he?"
Aluzira jumps a little at the sound of the voice but remains calm fidgeting with her dagger. “I’m afraid I don’t know, I’ve only just come down here with some friends to see what was happening in this city as well as looking for treasure admittedly... Has Hud been gone long? And where did he go?” Then adds “Ah, my name is Aluzira, it’s nice to meet you.”
Anakis hides behind Aluzira and pokes a head around to look down the hall where the sound once came from. "Do you think Anotte is friendly? Is she going to hurt us if we don't have Hud with us?"
"He went to assist those who were evacuating from the city when the army of the dead returned from the lower world," says the voice. "I asked him to stay and to help me guard our work, which I could not leave behind, but he had family that he needed to help escape and said he would return once they were safely away. I know he will come back to me, and here will I wait. I do not know why he has been delayed so long. Can you please find him and tell him I am here, or at least tell me what has happened to him?"
As you look through the small archway, Anakis, you can dimly see down a long, five-foot-wide corridor, stretching into the darkness. About thirty feet along its length, there is a ten-foot-wide opening to the left, and another thirty feet on, there is another opening on the left, nearly fifteen feet wide. About ten feet past the first opening, you can see the form of a woman who appears to be of middle-age. She is daintily dressed in clothes of an archaic style.
Nicolas will move towards the arch and addresses the voice. "Do you know how long you have been waiting for him? And has anyone else come in that time?"
"It was in the reign of King Tinto, the successor of Heavenly Queen Acuna," says the voice. "Does he reign still in the city above?" She seems to have no idea of how much time has passed.
"At first, the armies of the dead filled these halls, and then their numbers became fewer as they dispersed into the city above or went back down into the lower world. Some others there were of the people of Ekuepool who sheltered nearby, and they would sometimes offer me assistance, and then..." she trails off. "I don't remember."
"I can see her," Anakis whispers back to Aluzira, "She's about a hundred feet down that hall, past a couple of openings. But it's weird. She doesn't look that old. I would have thought by the stories Mr. Button was telling us that she would be a really old lady?"
“I will do my best to find anything I can about Hud or where he may be,” Aluzira says in reply to Anotte before fidgeting with her dagger slowly getting used to it’s presence in the place of her flute. “I honestly don’t know about who is ruling, other than the people who sent us down. I don’t think there is a king though.” Aluzira nods in response to what Anakis says about her not looking old. “I think she may have remained in spirit even though her body could no longer continue. Hud must’ve meant very much to her,” Then asks Anotte, “If I May, and my friends if they wish, look around and see if there is anything in these halls that may help us look for Hud?”
"No king?" asks the voice. "Then the city truly is lost."
After a moment of seeming despair, the voice continues, "Thank you for your kindness and please let me know what you find. I will be waiting here. You and your friends are free to explore these halls as you wish."
The jingling sound of Annote's silver bracelet once again seems to echo from farther and farther away as if from down a long and twisting tunnel, and, Anakis, it's as if to your eyes that a veil falls across the image of Annote waiting patiently in the dark, so that although it is still visible, she appears as a transparent and distorted reflection on a pane of wavy glass.
"Woah, that's cool," Anakis whispers to no one in particular. "Wouldn't it be cool if we could do that?" She asks Aluzira. Seeing the figure has dissipated, she stops hiding behind Aluzira and stands looking around the room at each of the openings. "Well, we can look around now, cause the old lady said it was alright... but which way first? I'd say that down her hall would be the safest, cause she seemed nice and wouldn't have monsters down her way."
“Do what?” Aluzira asks Anakis, then adds with a laugh, “I can’t really see that far in the dark.” Before searching through her bag for the candle, “Um, could you light this please?” she ask holding out the unlit candle. “Ah! and I would agree about taking her tunnel first.”
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Aluzira starts fidgeting with her dagger, resisting the urge to just grab the scroll. “May I give it a look?” She asks the group, before adding hurriedly, “The scroll I mean.”
Anakis, assuming that by "the hall with the sound" you mean the twenty foot wide hall that branches off diagonally to the right and not the narrow archway you can see down at the end of it (also on the right), the jingling noise has an otherworldly echo, as if coming from a long ways away before it whispers out from the small, dark archway ahead on the right, which you're now about fifty feet away from.
Nicolas will approach the chair, give it a quick look to see if there is any reason he shouldn’t mess with the scroll (wires, triggers, runes, anything that looks like a trap) Investigation: 7. Assuming nothing catches his eye, he will take the scroll and kneel before Aluzira to dramatically present her with the scroll. “My liege,” he says in a deep, theatrical voice.
Aluzira, completely caught of guard, turns a deeper shade of blue while desperately trying to stifle a fit of nervous laughter. After a moment she takes a deep breath letting out the last of her nerves in a small chuckle. She carefully picks up the scroll and curtsies saying, “Thank you, good Sir. I am in your debt,” before carefully opening the scroll.
The parchment is cracked and brittle, and looks as though it might crumble if not for your careful handling. As it opens, you can see the following text, beautifully written in the same artful script that adorns the archway under which you passed ten minutes ago:
Hud, my dear,
Many a long night has passed in this dark place as I await your return. I fear that some ill may have befallen you, or you would have returned to join me in defending the works of our hands from the desecrations of the hordes of the dead that rise up to engulf them. I do not share the beliefs of others that preserving our own short lives is worth abandoning our beautiful city, that we have both labored long to make glorious, to become a place inhabited only by death. I know you share with me this sentiment.
I write to you now because I fear I am losing hope, and I do not know how much longer I can last in this dark place of despair. I am placing my letter here, on this throne that you have so wonderfully carved from the living stone, and that I have sought to compliment and decorate with the skills I still possess, because I know that seeing it here in this place where the work of our two lives comes together as one, you will know it is from me and read it, hopefully before it is too late.
If you are reading this letter, then my greatest wish has come to pass, and you have returned to me at last. I am waiting for you, my love, in the narrow hallway beyond the small arch that you have carved with your immeasurable skill. You will know I am there by the tinkling of the silver bracelet I still wear and that you gave me all those many years ago when we were young, although it seems just like yesterday.
Now come to me my love. I await thee!
Eternally yours, Annote
The feeling of a presence that permeates the room grows stronger as you read the letter.
Aluzira gingerly rolls the scroll back up and places it gently on the throne before relaying what was in the message to the others. “I think, the presence, and that noise you heard Anakis are Anotte, and he’s been waiting all this time for Hud, who may have never returned...” she rubs her eyes and makes her way to the small hallway and stands just outside the little arch, trying to see if she can sense any magic.
Stealth: 13
Arcana: 8
The dim torchlight only extends part way up the hall, Aluzira, as you make your way towards the small opening, which lies in darkness in the right-hand corner at the end of the hall ahead of you. When you get within about ten feet of the archway, the ethereal jingling sound suddenly comes into sharp focus at a spot about fifty feet beyond the archway, and a cold and far-away sounding female voice comes to you from out of the darkness and says indifferently, "You are not Hud. Where is he?"
Aluzira jumps a little at the sound of the voice but remains calm fidgeting with her dagger. “I’m afraid I don’t know, I’ve only just come down here with some friends to see what was happening in this city as well as looking for treasure admittedly... Has Hud been gone long? And where did he go?” Then adds “Ah, my name is Aluzira, it’s nice to meet you.”
Anakis hides behind Aluzira and pokes a head around to look down the hall where the sound once came from. "Do you think Anotte is friendly? Is she going to hurt us if we don't have Hud with us?"
“I think so, and she doesn’t seem to have any ill intentions. I think she just really misses Hud.” Aluzira replies to Anakis in a whisper.
"He went to assist those who were evacuating from the city when the army of the dead returned from the lower world," says the voice. "I asked him to stay and to help me guard our work, which I could not leave behind, but he had family that he needed to help escape and said he would return once they were safely away. I know he will come back to me, and here will I wait. I do not know why he has been delayed so long. Can you please find him and tell him I am here, or at least tell me what has happened to him?"
As you look through the small archway, Anakis, you can dimly see down a long, five-foot-wide corridor, stretching into the darkness. About thirty feet along its length, there is a ten-foot-wide opening to the left, and another thirty feet on, there is another opening on the left, nearly fifteen feet wide. About ten feet past the first opening, you can see the form of a woman who appears to be of middle-age. She is daintily dressed in clothes of an archaic style.
Nicolas will move towards the arch and addresses the voice. "Do you know how long you have been waiting for him? And has anyone else come in that time?"
"It was in the reign of King Tinto, the successor of Heavenly Queen Acuna," says the voice. "Does he reign still in the city above?" She seems to have no idea of how much time has passed.
"At first, the armies of the dead filled these halls, and then their numbers became fewer as they dispersed into the city above or went back down into the lower world. Some others there were of the people of Ekuepool who sheltered nearby, and they would sometimes offer me assistance, and then..." she trails off. "I don't remember."
"I can see her," Anakis whispers back to Aluzira, "She's about a hundred feet down that hall, past a couple of openings. But it's weird. She doesn't look that old. I would have thought by the stories Mr. Button was telling us that she would be a really old lady?"
“I will do my best to find anything I can about Hud or where he may be,” Aluzira says in reply to Anotte before fidgeting with her dagger slowly getting used to it’s presence in the place of her flute. “I honestly don’t know about who is ruling, other than the people who sent us down. I don’t think there is a king though.” Aluzira nods in response to what Anakis says about her not looking old. “I think she may have remained in spirit even though her body could no longer continue. Hud must’ve meant very much to her,” Then asks Anotte, “If I May, and my friends if they wish, look around and see if there is anything in these halls that may help us look for Hud?”
(OOC - Would Aluzira not have replaced her flute during our downtime?)
Anakis nods as Aluzira responds about Anotte, but keeps a watchful eye on the figure deep in the darkness.
(No, she was totally out of coin lol, and they only covered the expense of food and lodging.)
"No king?" asks the voice. "Then the city truly is lost."
After a moment of seeming despair, the voice continues, "Thank you for your kindness and please let me know what you find. I will be waiting here. You and your friends are free to explore these halls as you wish."
The jingling sound of Annote's silver bracelet once again seems to echo from farther and farther away as if from down a long and twisting tunnel, and, Anakis, it's as if to your eyes that a veil falls across the image of Annote waiting patiently in the dark, so that although it is still visible, she appears as a transparent and distorted reflection on a pane of wavy glass.
"Woah, that's cool," Anakis whispers to no one in particular. "Wouldn't it be cool if we could do that?" She asks Aluzira. Seeing the figure has dissipated, she stops hiding behind Aluzira and stands looking around the room at each of the openings. "Well, we can look around now, cause the old lady said it was alright... but which way first? I'd say that down her hall would be the safest, cause she seemed nice and wouldn't have monsters down her way."
“Do what?” Aluzira asks Anakis, then adds with a laugh, “I can’t really see that far in the dark.” Before searching through her bag for the candle, “Um, could you light this please?” she ask holding out the unlit candle. “Ah! and I would agree about taking her tunnel first.”