Ato took Vesra at her word, and seconds later as if on cue , unearthly screams and the sounds of claws scraping on stone emanate from the black hole in the room.
Veythe didn't even look. She screamed, drawing the attention of Rezivah and Kayn, "RUN!"
"Run! Get out now!" Ato echoes. At Veythe's side Vasha doesn't move. As the group looks for the entrance they climbed through, they find the hole sealed by copious amounts of rubble. Veythe starts to drag Vasha with gritted teeth. This was terrible, a mess, not good.
"Damn it, Vasha, go!" He grabs an arm and drags her toward the entrance. At the sign of the rocks he added, "It could be another illusion!"
Adrenaline fueled in her veins Veythe scoured the rocks; there! It is certainly another illusion. "Illusion!" Veythe said quickly. Between Ato and Veythe they are able to remove Vasha, racing out of the ruins with Vesra, Rezivah, and Kayn racing after them. They were out of the ruin, but now the sinkhole braved before them. Veythe hoped they got away quick enough.
The unearthly wails and screams echoing from the black chasm in the main room gripped at the hearts of the group's members, forcing them to flee the ruins and whatever hope they had of saving or seeing Ellangil again. Ellangil's cries continue to echo from the black chasm below, joined by the unearthly screams of whatever is coming for them: the conjoined cries creating a chilling and haunting chorus of death. Rushing out of the ruinous entrance and into the light, they quickly scanned their surroundings for a way out of this blasphemous sinkhole. Rubble to their left. Stone statues, some whole, some decapitated, and most with a missing arm, to their right. The lip of the sinkhole, with roots dangling down up above them. Unstable ground beneath them. And the ever growing screams of the horrors which lurked in that abyss behind them.
With only one option, forward, they moved ahead, looking for the closest place they could climb up. Vesra quick eyes and knowledge of the terrain kept them on a safe path as they traversed around the edge of the sinkhole, avoiding any pitfalls or gas pockets. Finding a rocky cliff along the south side that seems pretty stable, Vesra's form changed, turning into one of Zendikar's finest reptilian climbers: a lagac. She hissed at Vasha, who could only climb on and hold onto the scaley-skin of her questionable sister... one who had attacked her just minutes ago. Veythe quickly passed out the climbing claws she had purchased back in Affa. Putting them on, the group began their ascent up the cliff.
As they climbed, the screams seemed to burst through some barrier, ringing out across the sinkhole. Looking back, deformed abominations seeped through the ruinous, black entrance. They appeared as nulls: their faces consisted only of a mouth, though some of nulls lacked an appendage or two... What twisted the mind were the tentacles. Each of the nulls, as if some alien aberration had latched itself onto the null, had fleshy tentacles, the colors ranging from pink to purple, protruding out of their back, or making up for a lost appendage. They scampered on limb or tentacle towards the group, who only more desperately climbed higher and higher.
Reaching the top of the sinkhole's cliff, they looked back. The nulls stopped just at the edge of shadow beneath the lip, waiting like drones in a beehive for their queen. The distance too far and the shadows too dark, the group could've sworn they saw some figure briefly emerge from the ruinous entrance. As they focused peering into the void, a sickening feeling washed over the group once again for a few moments until the nulls retreated back into that black abyss.
If there was any speculation, it was now made clear: Ellangil was certainly dead, or something far worse...
Ellangil's scream caused Sear to flutter his wings in agitation. The goblin could feel the rising well of doom before Vesra shifted form and assaulted her sister. It all happened so quickly that Kayn felt like he was being swept up in some bard's tale of horror. Not sure what to do about the group's drama, he stared on as they tried to sort the situation out. He marveled at how this small group's resolve were tested so fully with the scream of a companion.
Then he heard it. Sear alerted him to the presence before the scream started. Hordes of nulls screaming in a chorus of death, and worse things. The companions scattered, fleeing the ruins as quickly as they could. Kayn unsummons Sear, and both he and his gnarlid take up the rear of the retreat. These were rogue vampires... how the group didn't think they'd be unnerving was beyond him.
Goblin tribes in the wild did similar atrocities when left to their own devices, but the creatures staring back at him were something different. They were an amalgamation of ancients and null, and if allowed he'd have wanted to study them further. He wondered if Ellangil was among them, twisted in some bizarre fashion like the nulls that scrambled out below.
The group finally listened. It only took the mangled screams of someone coming from somewhere below them. It was more than likely their companion at the bottom of the hidden pit, but worse still, was that the screams were only an illusion. A trap laid by a cruel, intelligent hunter.
Making way to the opening of the sinkhole, coagulated screams followed them. Unearthly and vile. Rezivah looked back down mid-climb and saw what she hadn't wanted to see. It was them. The monsters the ancients fought: the aberrations.They were no longer scripture, or depictions in preaches. No longer were they mythos. The beings were real and on Zendikar.
At the top of the cliff, she looked back again, fear clogging her throat, terrified to see those things scaling the wall and infecting the world like a pathogen-filled boil ready to burst, but the creatures stayed in the darkness and retreated within. Rezivah clutched her chest, attempting to slow her breathing. She, and these people, were witness to things said to have been gone or purged for millennia. Zendikar and all of its peoples were in danger. Then a sick thought came to Rezivah: These vampires.. were they victims just as their compatriot barbarion, or did they know? Rezivah almost wretched at her next dark speculation. What if Vielara knew?
Veythe breathed a sigh of relief as soon as they were free and clear. She looked to Vasha and Vesra and a part of her ached. She knew grief; she knew bitterness and self-hatred. She knew that desire to push away, to not be hurt--to keep everyone at a distance so that when they inevitably left or betrayed her it wouldn't hurt. Except, Veythe learned, it always hurt. It never stopped hurting because despite the barriers--despite everything--some part of them always wormed a little way in.
Veythe turned her head away. She pulled out her lyre and began to strum a song; the group needed to meet the elves but after this mess Veythe was certain they probably also needed some sort of calming influence, some sort of peace. The music wasn't light and airy, but more a bit somber and sad. The notes were deep and heavy, they struck cords like drums. A song that reminded her of Ellangil.
"When darkness comes," Veythe sang, her words almost drowned by the lyre, "we stand our ground. When darkness comes, we fight on the battleground. Our warring cries, our sorrowful goodbyes, that is the sound of the battleground. When darkness comes, and we fight for that light--we purge the evil, and weep through the blight. Sorrowful goodbyes, tearful reprise, we'll continue the fight, when darkness comes. We'll continue the fight, when darkness comes."
Kayn tosses the scroll case over to the vampire and says, "We can let Vielara know about your failure together, if you like. We are meeting her in a few days." His voice is drowned out by the sound of Veythe's lyre, but he can tell that Rezivah heard him. "If you wish to make this failure up, maybe help us pop open a hedron vault for her."
He still wasn't sure of her skills, but he could tell it hinged on mana. While it took years of study before he was able to feel and manipulate mana, she seemed a natural. He was curious how she would fit in to the group in the coming days. As a constant reminder of the whole group's failure, or as a constant reminder of their servitude to someone greater. Vielara's intentions were still a mystery to him. Did she send her property in to that den of evil for her to join them, or did she truly think this young vampire could destroy them on her own?
Once at the top, Vasha stared down into the pit, desperation welling up in her. It was her fault this had happened. If only she'd gone to check on Ellangil. If only she'd said something to him, not allowed him to walk away from her without a word. There were so many things she wanted to say, needed to say to him, and she'd never get that chance now. She'd ****ed up, and now she had to live with her mistake.
She slowly looked at her twin, standing next to her, the betrayal flooding back to her. Sadness was overcome by anger. Vasha shoved Vesra away. She balled her fist, pulling back for a punch, only to stop inches from Vesra's face. "Never touch me again," she growled. What Vesra had done hurt to her very core. She never in her life imagined a time where her twin could ever harm her. They'd always looked out for one another, protecting each other. But now, things had changed. Regardless of Vesra's intentions, she'd broken that bond.
Vasha walked into the forest, leaving Vesra behind. The pain, the sadness, the anger; it was all too much to bear. Vasha needed to be away from it all, needed to bottle it all up again.
As soon as they were safe on the cliff edge, Vesra's lizard form melted away to reveal a small, shaking girl. That was all the druid was, at her core. No matter how powerful Kayn thought she would become, she would never stop being a scared, little girl who needed her sister.
The druid stood stoically as Vasha moved to strike her, unflinching. She deserved it. She deserved a million punches for what she had done. But by the suns, if it meant keeping her sister safe, she would do it again.
Her heart broke when Vasha walked away, and the tears finally came. Ember went to wipe a tear away from her face, but left a small trail of blisters across her cheek instead. Thank you for trying to help, she thought to him. But right now I just need to feel sad. Ember flared up a little, clearly unhappy with that response, but he knew better than to try and throw firebolts at Vasha. Yes, we can go burn some things later. I promise.
"Let's give the elves that ******* basilisk head and get the **** out of here," she said, wiping away her tears and putting on a look of grim determination.
Grasping the case, Rezivah didn't feel the relief she had thought she would before once the letter would be given back. Her hand felt cold and empty, as did she. This melancholy spurned into anger once the goblin spoke, however. Her eyes furrowed.
"Failure?" She stared at him. "This was not just some failure. What happened down there was ******* madness! This changes the fate of all of Zendikar! So screw your little hedron-vault. Something has to be done about this!"
Music was playing now. The human was playing on a lute. She must be a bard of some kind. The notes were resonant and somber. Warm and drenched in sadness. Befitting. The fiery Kor waltzed off into the thicket, just as she did into the darkness. Her twin, now full-bodied Kor, stared in the same direction. Her frame shook as if ridden with tears. Something must've happened between the two.
Had she sent me purposely to follow the betrayers' hideout, to find this tomb, to stumble across this motley crew, to discover the abominations? Was this all part of some winding plan? I have to trust her. She hasn't betrayed me once in the many years I've known her. There must be some purpose to all that's just transpired. It isn't a coincidence. I must speak to her about this. She owes me an explanation.
"I would like to accompany you until we see Vielara. Going alone hasn't been the most luxurious thus far. If you'll have me, why don't we follow your friend? I'm sure no one wants to lose another today." She spoke as to have the remainder of the party hear her over the lute. Seeing how the other Kor behaved thus far, if they didn't follow her now, who knows what could happen to her?
"Not our vault," Kayn replied to Rezivah, "Vielara's vault. We don't plan to fail our task for her. So if you're coming, you're expected to help."
He gives Vesra a side-glance. Their focus is lost. They both worked together to get to the hole, so they needed to work together to get us back to the elves. He didn't want to get lost in this mad forest. He moves his mount closer to Vesra and says, "Remember when she killed the human without telling you? That's how she feels now... you acted without telling her. Go, talk. You can't live apart. We will follow from behind." He gives her a reassuring nod, "She knows you did the right thing. You may have saved us all, you know."
He wasn't sure of what the outcome would be, but they needed each other more when they were hurt than when they were... normal. The twins seemed to perform best as a pair. Broken apart they were like ants without a colony, wondering around aimlessly in the dark.
"You don't understand," Vesra murmured to Kayn. "I hit her, I hurt her. With what our father- I don't think she'll ever forgive me. I don't care, though. She's safe, and so are all of you. That's what matters."
She sniffed a little, but no more tears would come. Vesra lead the group through the woods, eventually taking them to the Tortured Grove. It took far longer than the first time, but she was distraught and kept making stupid mistakes.
The trek is long for the group as they move through the life bloom's thick underbrush. It's as if the very forest is fighting against them, impeding their journey. But after a few hours of cutting into the afternoon, the group finds the grove. The tortured, flayed bodies of those the elves captured are now completely engulfed in dark green vines, their veins now white instead of the blood-crimson color they were the last time the group came to this location. The basilisk's head is strapped to the gnarlid, too large for any sack to contain it, displayed casually to the outside environment.
"You're late." a concealed elf says in her sing-song voice as it soars through the breeze in Elvish. Plopping down from a branch above the group, a female elf stands before the group, one not recognizable. Her dark skin seems to blend in with the bark of the trees, and her bare feet are hardly noticed. Standing up at full height, almost matching Ellangil in height, she glares down at the group, her piercing hazel eyes having an almost hungry look to them.
"We are, sacred protector." Kayn responds in elvish. He hops off the gnarlid he's riding and produces the massive head of a basilisk. As heavy as it is, he carries it forward and drops it in front of the corpse offerings. "We have fulfilled our end of the bargain," he adds. "The basilisk that plagues your lifebloom is dead and we have brought its head." He gives a deep bow with the offering, sure to show the proper respects.
He adds no more than that, as no more was asked of him. Questions can come later, it seems. Right now, it's down to business.
She scowls at the group, looking at each of them individually. "... Aessenox told me you were a rag-tag group of inbred misfits, but the sight just doesn't do it justice." She smirks, adding, "No wonder why no elves would travel with you."
She whistles into the air, and an elf steps out from a tree just a couple feet away, completely covered in bark. "Aessenox also told me that he made mention of our tribal mystic. This is Quessolimir. He's a master of alchemy and herbal tinctures, with a pervasive knowledge of humanoid anatomy from studying you lesser species in depth. And I'm Aruman."
She kicks the basilisk's head to test its reality. "While I'm still baffled that you've somehow overcome the creature, no doubt through cheating and guile, a kill is a kill, and you've done this life bloom a small favor. Once you tell me where the behemoth's body might be found, I'll give you the clasp marking you as somehow who may travel through the life bloom unimpeded."
"It is an honor to be in your presence Quessolimir." The name rolls off the goblin's tongue like he'd known the pronunciation his whole life.
"And Aruman, thank you for gracing us with your name." He gives them both another low bow before continuing. "I regret to inform you that the corpse was desecrated and one of our friends was taken in the night. A group of rebel vampires has made this lifebloom their home and has been stealing your immortal kin. They twist them into null abominations and experiment on the ones that have been turned to stone. They make their home in the sacred forest at a ruin that has been revealed by a sinkhole. They turned our friend into one of those abominations and we barely escaped with our lives."
Kayn then indicates Vasha, "It was this one's mate that was taken, so she is in grieving. Please do not be offended by her face, as it is contorted in agony at the loss." He could feel Vasha's glare at his back. Better yet, he could see it through his gnarlid's eyes. He didn't want the elves offended by the way she looked at them. It crosses his mind to present the Basilisk egg to the elves, but not yet. He might still be able to get away with keeping it...
Quessolimir says nothing, though his eyes remain fixated on you. He glances to Ember perched on Vesra's shoulder with a quizzical look, but remains silent.
As Kayn finishes speaking, Aruman is practically fuming. Unleashing a torrent of cursings towards the vampires, she glares at Rezivah before unloading on her verbally. "Your kind places no value in life! Death follows your ilk wherever you step like a pustulent disease. Your obsession with decadent macabre will bring ruin this to world." She spits on the ground, rubbing it into the soil beneath her, and turns back to Kayn. "We will bring the whole wrath of Zendikar on those vile swine. For drinking our blood, we will rain arrows upon them which will blot out the sky. For desecrating this life bloom, we will feed their blood to the bloodbriar vines. For twisting our sacred brothers and sisters, we will flay their skin and rip out their hearts."
"This is the wrath of the Joraga, and they will know of it." She turns to Quessolimir and tells him, "Come Quessolimir. Let us round up our kin. I know of the location of this sinkhole these outsiders speak of." Only glancing back for a brief moment, she tosses a silver brooch fashioned in the shape of a leaf toward Kayn before heading north. Quessolimir is quick to follow in pursuit, and the ground just behind him follows in kind.
OOC: You may advance to level three if you have not already done so.
Rezivah wanted to speak to defend herself. This intolerant piece of filth had no bearing of vampire culture. She wouldn't care to learn about it! Let them destroy the betrayers. Let them go to Malakir. The Bloodchiefs will have them.
Her speaking of blood had reminded Rezivah, however, that she hadn't partaken of her fill today. She quickly thought of just taking these two. Would the party assist in an impromptu skirmish? It wouldn't be so unreasonable, she just insulted me and my kind, and as far as she could tell, they were no allies to them. However, these elves aren't truly alone. They belong to the Joraga tribe, which will hunt down these people and herself for such an act. Bleck.. I'll have to be content with more boar.
As the elves move away, Kayn addresses the group in common.
"They are enraged at the vampires that made this lifebloom their home." He walks over and picks up the brooch, placing it on his tattered clothing, "They plan to kill them."
He then turns to Vesra, "Your mistake is not known to them, and it is best to keep it that way. If you want to talk to the invoker... it is now or never. Once he is out of sight, you will not see him again." He sighs as he adds, "Perhaps you can present the egg to him as a gift for what knowledge he has." It hurts him to say this, but he does anyway. If Vesra really wanted to learn about herself, this was the time to do it.
Vasha couldn't tell what was said, but she knew the intention. Kayn was talking about her, and she didn't appreciate it. She glared at him while he was talking to the Elves, but once the Elves began to leave, he turned to Vesra and began to talk to her. She wasn't interested in hearing what he said to her, so she angrily walked off, away from the group. She found a tree to sit under, and thought about the talk she'd had with Veythe while they traveled here. Emotions clouded her mind, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to be sad or angry. Closing her eyes, she tried to send her spirit back into the stone, but found herself unable to do so. This is why emotions are bad, she thought.
Vesra nodded to Kayn before running after the elves. "Pardon me, I mean no disrespect, but my friend seems to think you are just like me," she called out to the barkskinned elf in Druidic. "I am just starting my journey and have so many questions."
The bark-covered elf turned around with a surprised look. Listening to Vesra's plea, he looked between her and Ember for a few seconds before responding in Druidic, "Why would Zendikar choose a Kor?"
"You know," Vesra chuckled nervously. "That's probably my first question." She chose not to listen to the underlying racism in his words. The Druid had been wondering ever since she started on this journey why her, and she wanted answers.
The female elf who had spoken to Kayn stopped, visibly annoyed. She shouted something at the other Invoker, and he responded in kind. "Zendikar sees something in you that I do not. Care for the land and the land will care for you. That's all I can say." With that, the two elves took off at a jog again.
"Thank you so much for your help!" Vesra called out after him, trying her best to sound chipper. "You're the first I've ever met, and means a lot to me!" Despite the words, she was visibly deflated. The Kor turned back and walked to the group.
"Shall we see how far we can get before nightfall?" She asked the group at large.
Ato took Vesra at her word, and seconds later as if on cue , unearthly screams and the sounds of claws scraping on stone emanate from the black hole in the room.
Veythe didn't even look. She screamed, drawing the attention of Rezivah and Kayn, "RUN!"
"Run! Get out now!" Ato echoes. At Veythe's side Vasha doesn't move. As the group looks for the entrance they climbed through, they find the hole sealed by copious amounts of rubble. Veythe starts to drag Vasha with gritted teeth. This was terrible, a mess, not good.
"Damn it, Vasha, go!" He grabs an arm and drags her toward the entrance. At the sign of the rocks he added,
Current:
Secrets of the Greenwold - DM | Recruiting Thread | Campaign Thread
Historic:
Dawning - A Homebrew Campaign - DMTomb of Annihilation - DM
Dragon Heist of Waterdeep - DM
Hoard of the Dragon Queen - DM | Recruiting Thread | Campaign Thread
The unearthly wails and screams echoing from the black chasm in the main room gripped at the hearts of the group's members, forcing them to flee the ruins and whatever hope they had of saving or seeing Ellangil again. Ellangil's cries continue to echo from the black chasm below, joined by the unearthly screams of whatever is coming for them: the conjoined cries creating a chilling and haunting chorus of death. Rushing out of the ruinous entrance and into the light, they quickly scanned their surroundings for a way out of this blasphemous sinkhole. Rubble to their left. Stone statues, some whole, some decapitated, and most with a missing arm, to their right. The lip of the sinkhole, with roots dangling down up above them. Unstable ground beneath them. And the ever growing screams of the horrors which lurked in that abyss behind them.
With only one option, forward, they moved ahead, looking for the closest place they could climb up. Vesra quick eyes and knowledge of the terrain kept them on a safe path as they traversed around the edge of the sinkhole, avoiding any pitfalls or gas pockets. Finding a rocky cliff along the south side that seems pretty stable, Vesra's form changed, turning into one of Zendikar's finest reptilian climbers: a lagac. She hissed at Vasha, who could only climb on and hold onto the scaley-skin of her questionable sister... one who had attacked her just minutes ago. Veythe quickly passed out the climbing claws she had purchased back in Affa. Putting them on, the group began their ascent up the cliff.
As they climbed, the screams seemed to burst through some barrier, ringing out across the sinkhole. Looking back, deformed abominations seeped through the ruinous, black entrance. They appeared as nulls: their faces consisted only of a mouth, though some of nulls lacked an appendage or two... What twisted the mind were the tentacles. Each of the nulls, as if some alien aberration had latched itself onto the null, had fleshy tentacles, the colors ranging from pink to purple, protruding out of their back, or making up for a lost appendage. They scampered on limb or tentacle towards the group, who only more desperately climbed higher and higher.
Reaching the top of the sinkhole's cliff, they looked back. The nulls stopped just at the edge of shadow beneath the lip, waiting like drones in a beehive for their queen. The distance too far and the shadows too dark, the group could've sworn they saw some figure briefly emerge from the ruinous entrance. As they focused peering into the void, a sickening feeling washed over the group once again for a few moments until the nulls retreated back into that black abyss.
If there was any speculation, it was now made clear: Ellangil was certainly dead, or something far worse...
Ellangil's scream caused Sear to flutter his wings in agitation. The goblin could feel the rising well of doom before Vesra shifted form and assaulted her sister. It all happened so quickly that Kayn felt like he was being swept up in some bard's tale of horror. Not sure what to do about the group's drama, he stared on as they tried to sort the situation out. He marveled at how this small group's resolve were tested so fully with the scream of a companion.
Then he heard it. Sear alerted him to the presence before the scream started. Hordes of nulls screaming in a chorus of death, and worse things. The companions scattered, fleeing the ruins as quickly as they could. Kayn unsummons Sear, and both he and his gnarlid take up the rear of the retreat. These were rogue vampires... how the group didn't think they'd be unnerving was beyond him.
Goblin tribes in the wild did similar atrocities when left to their own devices, but the creatures staring back at him were something different. They were an amalgamation of ancients and null, and if allowed he'd have wanted to study them further. He wondered if Ellangil was among them, twisted in some bizarre fashion like the nulls that scrambled out below.
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The group finally listened. It only took the mangled screams of someone coming from somewhere below them. It was more than likely their companion at the bottom of the hidden pit, but worse still, was that the screams were only an illusion. A trap laid by a cruel, intelligent hunter.
Making way to the opening of the sinkhole, coagulated screams followed them. Unearthly and vile. Rezivah looked back down mid-climb and saw what she hadn't wanted to see. It was them. The monsters the ancients fought: the aberrations.They were no longer scripture, or depictions in preaches. No longer were they mythos. The beings were real and on Zendikar.
At the top of the cliff, she looked back again, fear clogging her throat, terrified to see those things scaling the wall and infecting the world like a pathogen-filled boil ready to burst, but the creatures stayed in the darkness and retreated within. Rezivah clutched her chest, attempting to slow her breathing. She, and these people, were witness to things said to have been gone or purged for millennia. Zendikar and all of its peoples were in danger. Then a sick thought came to Rezivah: These vampires.. were they victims just as their compatriot barbarion, or did they know? Rezivah almost wretched at her next dark speculation. What if Vielara knew?
Veythe breathed a sigh of relief as soon as they were free and clear. She looked to Vasha and Vesra and a part of her ached. She knew grief; she knew bitterness and self-hatred. She knew that desire to push away, to not be hurt--to keep everyone at a distance so that when they inevitably left or betrayed her it wouldn't hurt. Except, Veythe learned, it always hurt. It never stopped hurting because despite the barriers--despite everything--some part of them always wormed a little way in.
Veythe turned her head away. She pulled out her lyre and began to strum a song; the group needed to meet the elves but after this mess Veythe was certain they probably also needed some sort of calming influence, some sort of peace. The music wasn't light and airy, but more a bit somber and sad. The notes were deep and heavy, they struck cords like drums. A song that reminded her of Ellangil.
"When darkness comes," Veythe sang, her words almost drowned by the lyre, "we stand our ground. When darkness comes, we fight on the battleground. Our warring cries, our sorrowful goodbyes, that is the sound of the battleground. When darkness comes, and we fight for that light--we purge the evil, and weep through the blight. Sorrowful goodbyes, tearful reprise, we'll continue the fight, when darkness comes. We'll continue the fight, when darkness comes."
Current:
Secrets of the Greenwold - DM | Recruiting Thread | Campaign Thread
Historic:
Dawning - A Homebrew Campaign - DMTomb of Annihilation - DM
Dragon Heist of Waterdeep - DM
Hoard of the Dragon Queen - DM | Recruiting Thread | Campaign Thread
Kayn tosses the scroll case over to the vampire and says, "We can let Vielara know about your failure together, if you like. We are meeting her in a few days." His voice is drowned out by the sound of Veythe's lyre, but he can tell that Rezivah heard him. "If you wish to make this failure up, maybe help us pop open a hedron vault for her."
He still wasn't sure of her skills, but he could tell it hinged on mana. While it took years of study before he was able to feel and manipulate mana, she seemed a natural. He was curious how she would fit in to the group in the coming days. As a constant reminder of the whole group's failure, or as a constant reminder of their servitude to someone greater. Vielara's intentions were still a mystery to him. Did she send her property in to that den of evil for her to join them, or did she truly think this young vampire could destroy them on her own?
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Once at the top, Vasha stared down into the pit, desperation welling up in her. It was her fault this had happened. If only she'd gone to check on Ellangil. If only she'd said something to him, not allowed him to walk away from her without a word. There were so many things she wanted to say, needed to say to him, and she'd never get that chance now. She'd ****ed up, and now she had to live with her mistake.
She slowly looked at her twin, standing next to her, the betrayal flooding back to her. Sadness was overcome by anger. Vasha shoved Vesra away. She balled her fist, pulling back for a punch, only to stop inches from Vesra's face. "Never touch me again," she growled. What Vesra had done hurt to her very core. She never in her life imagined a time where her twin could ever harm her. They'd always looked out for one another, protecting each other. But now, things had changed. Regardless of Vesra's intentions, she'd broken that bond.
Vasha walked into the forest, leaving Vesra behind. The pain, the sadness, the anger; it was all too much to bear. Vasha needed to be away from it all, needed to bottle it all up again.
A dwarf with a canoe on his back? What could go wrong?
As soon as they were safe on the cliff edge, Vesra's lizard form melted away to reveal a small, shaking girl. That was all the druid was, at her core. No matter how powerful Kayn thought she would become, she would never stop being a scared, little girl who needed her sister.
The druid stood stoically as Vasha moved to strike her, unflinching. She deserved it. She deserved a million punches for what she had done. But by the suns, if it meant keeping her sister safe, she would do it again.
Her heart broke when Vasha walked away, and the tears finally came. Ember went to wipe a tear away from her face, but left a small trail of blisters across her cheek instead. Thank you for trying to help, she thought to him. But right now I just need to feel sad. Ember flared up a little, clearly unhappy with that response, but he knew better than to try and throw firebolts at Vasha. Yes, we can go burn some things later. I promise.
"Let's give the elves that ******* basilisk head and get the **** out of here," she said, wiping away her tears and putting on a look of grim determination.
PBP: DM of Titans of Tomorrow
PBP: Lera Zahuv in Whispers of Dissent
PBP: Evaine Brae in Innistrad: Dark Ascension
PBP: Cor'avin in Tomb of Annihilation
Grasping the case, Rezivah didn't feel the relief she had thought she would before once the letter would be given back. Her hand felt cold and empty, as did she. This melancholy spurned into anger once the goblin spoke, however. Her eyes furrowed.
"Failure?" She stared at him. "This was not just some failure. What happened down there was ******* madness! This changes the fate of all of Zendikar! So screw your little hedron-vault. Something has to be done about this!"
Music was playing now. The human was playing on a lute. She must be a bard of some kind. The notes were resonant and somber. Warm and drenched in sadness. Befitting. The fiery Kor waltzed off into the thicket, just as she did into the darkness. Her twin, now full-bodied Kor, stared in the same direction. Her frame shook as if ridden with tears. Something must've happened between the two.
Had she sent me purposely to follow the betrayers' hideout, to find this tomb, to stumble across this motley crew, to discover the abominations? Was this all part of some winding plan? I have to trust her. She hasn't betrayed me once in the many years I've known her. There must be some purpose to all that's just transpired. It isn't a coincidence. I must speak to her about this. She owes me an explanation.
"I would like to accompany you until we see Vielara. Going alone hasn't been the most luxurious thus far. If you'll have me, why don't we follow your friend? I'm sure no one wants to lose another today." She spoke as to have the remainder of the party hear her over the lute. Seeing how the other Kor behaved thus far, if they didn't follow her now, who knows what could happen to her?
"Not our vault," Kayn replied to Rezivah, "Vielara's vault. We don't plan to fail our task for her. So if you're coming, you're expected to help."
He gives Vesra a side-glance. Their focus is lost. They both worked together to get to the hole, so they needed to work together to get us back to the elves. He didn't want to get lost in this mad forest. He moves his mount closer to Vesra and says, "Remember when she killed the human without telling you? That's how she feels now... you acted without telling her. Go, talk. You can't live apart. We will follow from behind." He gives her a reassuring nod, "She knows you did the right thing. You may have saved us all, you know."
He wasn't sure of what the outcome would be, but they needed each other more when they were hurt than when they were... normal. The twins seemed to perform best as a pair. Broken apart they were like ants without a colony, wondering around aimlessly in the dark.
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"You don't understand," Vesra murmured to Kayn. "I hit her, I hurt her. With what our father- I don't think she'll ever forgive me. I don't care, though. She's safe, and so are all of you. That's what matters."
She sniffed a little, but no more tears would come. Vesra lead the group through the woods, eventually taking them to the Tortured Grove. It took far longer than the first time, but she was distraught and kept making stupid mistakes.
PBP: DM of Titans of Tomorrow
PBP: Lera Zahuv in Whispers of Dissent
PBP: Evaine Brae in Innistrad: Dark Ascension
PBP: Cor'avin in Tomb of Annihilation
The trek is long for the group as they move through the life bloom's thick underbrush. It's as if the very forest is fighting against them, impeding their journey. But after a few hours of cutting into the afternoon, the group finds the grove. The tortured, flayed bodies of those the elves captured are now completely engulfed in dark green vines, their veins now white instead of the blood-crimson color they were the last time the group came to this location. The basilisk's head is strapped to the gnarlid, too large for any sack to contain it, displayed casually to the outside environment.
"You're late." a concealed elf says in her sing-song voice as it soars through the breeze in Elvish. Plopping down from a branch above the group, a female elf stands before the group, one not recognizable. Her dark skin seems to blend in with the bark of the trees, and her bare feet are hardly noticed. Standing up at full height, almost matching Ellangil in height, she glares down at the group, her piercing hazel eyes having an almost hungry look to them.
"We are, sacred protector." Kayn responds in elvish. He hops off the gnarlid he's riding and produces the massive head of a basilisk. As heavy as it is, he carries it forward and drops it in front of the corpse offerings. "We have fulfilled our end of the bargain," he adds. "The basilisk that plagues your lifebloom is dead and we have brought its head." He gives a deep bow with the offering, sure to show the proper respects.
He adds no more than that, as no more was asked of him. Questions can come later, it seems. Right now, it's down to business.
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She scowls at the group, looking at each of them individually. "... Aessenox told me you were a rag-tag group of inbred misfits, but the sight just doesn't do it justice." She smirks, adding, "No wonder why no elves would travel with you."
She whistles into the air, and an elf steps out from a tree just a couple feet away, completely covered in bark. "Aessenox also told me that he made mention of our tribal mystic. This is Quessolimir. He's a master of alchemy and herbal tinctures, with a pervasive knowledge of humanoid anatomy from studying you lesser species in depth. And I'm Aruman."
She kicks the basilisk's head to test its reality. "While I'm still baffled that you've somehow overcome the creature, no doubt through cheating and guile, a kill is a kill, and you've done this life bloom a small favor. Once you tell me where the behemoth's body might be found, I'll give you the clasp marking you as somehow who may travel through the life bloom unimpeded."
"It is an honor to be in your presence Quessolimir." The name rolls off the goblin's tongue like he'd known the pronunciation his whole life.
"And Aruman, thank you for gracing us with your name." He gives them both another low bow before continuing. "I regret to inform you that the corpse was desecrated and one of our friends was taken in the night. A group of rebel vampires has made this lifebloom their home and has been stealing your immortal kin. They twist them into null abominations and experiment on the ones that have been turned to stone. They make their home in the sacred forest at a ruin that has been revealed by a sinkhole. They turned our friend into one of those abominations and we barely escaped with our lives."
Kayn then indicates Vasha, "It was this one's mate that was taken, so she is in grieving. Please do not be offended by her face, as it is contorted in agony at the loss." He could feel Vasha's glare at his back. Better yet, he could see it through his gnarlid's eyes. He didn't want the elves offended by the way she looked at them. It crosses his mind to present the Basilisk egg to the elves, but not yet. He might still be able to get away with keeping it...
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Quessolimir says nothing, though his eyes remain fixated on you. He glances to Ember perched on Vesra's shoulder with a quizzical look, but remains silent.
As Kayn finishes speaking, Aruman is practically fuming. Unleashing a torrent of cursings towards the vampires, she glares at Rezivah before unloading on her verbally. "Your kind places no value in life! Death follows your ilk wherever you step like a pustulent disease. Your obsession with decadent macabre will bring ruin this to world." She spits on the ground, rubbing it into the soil beneath her, and turns back to Kayn. "We will bring the whole wrath of Zendikar on those vile swine. For drinking our blood, we will rain arrows upon them which will blot out the sky. For desecrating this life bloom, we will feed their blood to the bloodbriar vines. For twisting our sacred brothers and sisters, we will flay their skin and rip out their hearts."
"This is the wrath of the Joraga, and they will know of it." She turns to Quessolimir and tells him, "Come Quessolimir. Let us round up our kin. I know of the location of this sinkhole these outsiders speak of." Only glancing back for a brief moment, she tosses a silver brooch fashioned in the shape of a leaf toward Kayn before heading north. Quessolimir is quick to follow in pursuit, and the ground just behind him follows in kind.
OOC: You may advance to level three if you have not already done so.
Rezivah wanted to speak to defend herself. This intolerant piece of filth had no bearing of vampire culture. She wouldn't care to learn about it! Let them destroy the betrayers. Let them go to Malakir. The Bloodchiefs will have them.
Her speaking of blood had reminded Rezivah, however, that she hadn't partaken of her fill today. She quickly thought of just taking these two. Would the party assist in an impromptu skirmish? It wouldn't be so unreasonable, she just insulted me and my kind, and as far as she could tell, they were no allies to them. However, these elves aren't truly alone. They belong to the Joraga tribe, which will hunt down these people and herself for such an act. Bleck.. I'll have to be content with more boar.
As the elves move away, Kayn addresses the group in common.
"They are enraged at the vampires that made this lifebloom their home." He walks over and picks up the brooch, placing it on his tattered clothing, "They plan to kill them."
He then turns to Vesra, "Your mistake is not known to them, and it is best to keep it that way. If you want to talk to the invoker... it is now or never. Once he is out of sight, you will not see him again." He sighs as he adds, "Perhaps you can present the egg to him as a gift for what knowledge he has." It hurts him to say this, but he does anyway. If Vesra really wanted to learn about herself, this was the time to do it.
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Vasha couldn't tell what was said, but she knew the intention. Kayn was talking about her, and she didn't appreciate it. She glared at him while he was talking to the Elves, but once the Elves began to leave, he turned to Vesra and began to talk to her. She wasn't interested in hearing what he said to her, so she angrily walked off, away from the group. She found a tree to sit under, and thought about the talk she'd had with Veythe while they traveled here. Emotions clouded her mind, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to be sad or angry. Closing her eyes, she tried to send her spirit back into the stone, but found herself unable to do so. This is why emotions are bad, she thought.
A dwarf with a canoe on his back? What could go wrong?
Vesra nodded to Kayn before running after the elves. "Pardon me, I mean no disrespect, but my friend seems to think you are just like me," she called out to the barkskinned elf in Druidic. "I am just starting my journey and have so many questions."
The bark-covered elf turned around with a surprised look. Listening to Vesra's plea, he looked between her and Ember for a few seconds before responding in Druidic, "Why would Zendikar choose a Kor?"
"You know," Vesra chuckled nervously. "That's probably my first question." She chose not to listen to the underlying racism in his words. The Druid had been wondering ever since she started on this journey why her, and she wanted answers.
The female elf who had spoken to Kayn stopped, visibly annoyed. She shouted something at the other Invoker, and he responded in kind. "Zendikar sees something in you that I do not. Care for the land and the land will care for you. That's all I can say." With that, the two elves took off at a jog again.
"Thank you so much for your help!" Vesra called out after him, trying her best to sound chipper. "You're the first I've ever met, and means a lot to me!" Despite the words, she was visibly deflated. The Kor turned back and walked to the group.
"Shall we see how far we can get before nightfall?" She asked the group at large.
PBP: DM of Titans of Tomorrow
PBP: Lera Zahuv in Whispers of Dissent
PBP: Evaine Brae in Innistrad: Dark Ascension
PBP: Cor'avin in Tomb of Annihilation