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Post by Rylux on Mar 11, 2013 22:27:02 GMT -5
The team would find the crates to be rather light, at least as far as wooden crates went. Any object that hit against it would reveal that the crates were empty, serving as something to take up space instead of the intended use of the objects. Once all the crates had been moved aside the team would see there was nothing unusual against the wall except for perhaps the incorrectly placed brick. Looking down however would reveal what the crates had been hiding. Under the crates were a pair of wooden cellar looking doors with metal handles, something that looked plainly out of place against the pavement of the alley. A trap door at the end of the alley would explain how the suspected kishin vanished so quickly, especially if they were aware of the doors. If one looked closely they could see that the wood was a dark red color and the metal was an aged black. On any metal binding there were faded inscriptions that could have been words or symbols but the truth was lost with age. The handles for the door were also black but instead of inscriptions they were very ornately carved snakes. Some features lost with age but the serpentine design was still plainly visible. The metal would feel corroded to the touch but otherwise normal. Lifting up on the handles would produce a creak from the doors but they would comply and lift open. Reaching the limits of their hinges the doors would cease moving and remain in their open position. Looking down into what the doors revealed the team would find two things; a strong musky smell and deep darkness. Looking down there was no sign of a light source and just the gaping maw of darkness below them, though if the team looked at the sides of the rectangular hole they would be able to see an old looking ladder attached to the side. The rungs were wooden and cylindrical instead of the more common and safe rectangles. At least the team could take solace in the fact that the ladder’s supports were metal and built into the wall instead of simple rope. The light from the sun only reached a few feet down and even then it was dim at best. Upon seeing the doors open the cat gave a hiss and scurried away. A descent into the unknown darkness awaited the students with the looming threat of a kishin egg lurking within.
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Post by Nathaniel Zsoldos on Mar 14, 2013 12:56:33 GMT -5
Bingo! Nate couldn't help but grin as the boxes were lifted off - his hunch had been right, although he hadn't expected it to be. There was something that looked like a cellar door, and as the last crate was cleared away, Nate bent down to study it further.
It looked generally normal, but as he gripped one of the handles he noticed something - the handles were carved like snakes. Nathaniel frowned, and made a mental note of it. He couldn't help but wonder why Charles hadn't mentioned such a detail. The trapdoor stood out against the break alley, after all, but perhaps he truly hadn't seen it. The metal didn't glint, and was dark with age. Nathaniel resisted the urge to wipe his hand on his pants, instead gripping the strange handles and pulling.
The trapdoor swung open with a creak. Again, another detail Charles hadn't mentioned. The doors thankfully stood open by themselves, giving Nathaniel a chance to peek inside, wondering where the trapdoor lead. There was no light. It was really a gaping hole into the earth (more likely, the underbelly of Paris), and Nathaniel groaned inwardly. He hadn't thought to bring a flashlight. From now on, he decided, he was packing one with him in every mission he took - assuming they made it out of this one alive. If he had a rock, he would have dropped it to see how far down the ladder went, but there was nothing.
"This really does explain how the Kishin disappeared so suddenly," he mused out loud for Arlie's benefit. "If we follow this, we may be able to discover where he's keeping the woman Charles saw." Nathaniel stood up and stretched. "There's just enough room to go down the ladder so I think we'll be safe as long as we don't fall!"
Nathaniel's cheery tone disguised his nervousness. He didn't really fancy the idea of going down a dark, creepy ladder to go fight a dark, creepy thing, but there was no helping it. He turned to his partner. "I can go first, if you want."
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Arlie Davis
Weapon
Demon Scythe
A dry well teaches us the worth of water.
Posts: 63
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Post by Arlie Davis on Mar 14, 2013 20:01:07 GMT -5
Aha! So there was a trap door under the crates after all! Arlie had to admit, she felt pretty proud of herself for making such an assumption, even if she hadn’t voiced it. The blonde hadn’t said anything just in case she’d turned out to be wrong but she’d been right! Arlie felt like quite the successful detective, even it was a simple and relatively minor mental victory.
The rush of pride from having successfully followed what was ver obviously a clue soon faded, though. The doors reminded her of the cellar her daddy had out behind his taxidermy shop, although these were far more menacing and Arlie also had no clue what was down there. The snakes the twined around and made as handles made her nothing but uneasy. The blonde was not in any way fond of snakes. Having seen her fair share of rattlesnakes and nearly stepping on a few too many, she just really did not care for the scaly creatures. Audibly gulping, Arlie stepped a bit closer to her Meister as he pulled open the cellar doors.
The droning creak the greeted her ears didn’t help the suddenly overwhelming feeling of dread that took over Arlie’s chest cavity. She felt her stomach do a somersault and all previous thought grind to a screeching halt. That was a whole lot of dark and one very rickety looking ladder. Blinking, the blonde took it in with wide eyes. There was still a small smile upon her lips but it was very clearly strained given how the rest of her looked. Her shoulders were hunched, her hands clasped tightly together and held before her chest, knees slightly bent as she peered around Nate. That was the other thing, she’d moved almost completely behind them. The blonde had actually half expected something to jump out at them but thankfully no such occurrence seemed to be in their future.
Still, Arlie was visibly shaken by the thought of having to go down that ladder. She took a deep breath and tried to compose herself to no avail. She couldn’t lose her cool now! She had to be strong for herself and her Meister both! It wasn’t as dark, spooky, and possibly dangerous as it looked, right? Besides,she was sure as could be that they would be able to take on whatever was down there easily! If only that confidence would appear on her face, she’d have felt so much better. Nodding at Nate’s words, she realized that they really would have to go down there. Oh boy, did she hope that ladder would hold. Arlie briefly registered wishing she had a flashlight on her.
Hearing his suggestion of venturing down ahead of her, Arlie wanted to say that she should really be the one to go first. She was the Weapon and I was the Weapon’s job to keep their Meister safe. But she was so incredibly unnerved by the idea of venturing down into the dark…she nodded her head slowly, a bit of ashamed of herself,
“That’s awfully sweet o’ you, Nate. I think that may be best.”
There was a slight tremor to that final word she spoke. Hearing it herself, Arlie nearly cringed. Why did she have to sound so nervous, now Nate was going to know she was nervous and might become even more nervous himself! She really wasn’t helping anything, or at least that was how the blonde felt. Already she was making mistakes. Arlie only hoped that it wasn’t as spooky down wherever the cellar ladder led as it seemed to be from up in the alley.
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Post by Rylux on Mar 15, 2013 10:54:03 GMT -5
As the team entered the pit they would be graced with a few precious seconds of light before the darkness consumed them. If they looked up the light from above would be visible but dim and not nearly enough to provide a suitable source of light. Finding the next rung of the ladder would become more of guessing and feeling game for the two. Initially this wouldn’t be too difficult for the team as it was a straight ladder down and all they needed to do was pick up the rhythm of rungs and keep to it. Once the light became nothing more than a distant memory however this changed. The elevation shifted and the ladder was no longer a straight shoot down. It slowly began to angle and the musky air took on a different odor. The smell remained a stagnant mixture of air but now there was a strong hint of mildew as well. Deeper and deeper the team would climb at this angle and along the way the rungs became less inviting. It would start with one of them reaching for the next rung down and being greeted by a moist rung. Water having soaked into the wood giving it a slippery and slimy feel. This trend of slippery rungs continued for the team with the random addition of exceptionally slippery rungs, mushy rungs that their feet and hands sunk into, broken rungs, and the weak wood that broke when they applied their weight to it. All these hazards waiting for them in the darkness as they climbed ever downward. Time seemed to tick slowly but that was more a byproduct of the monotonous motion and having no source of light to judge change off of. In reality it was only a few minutes that the team had to climb through. Without warning the ladder changed again but this time abruptly. Going back to the straight descent most ladders had the team had another minute to climb down before the final change. Nate would be the first to step down and be meted not with a wooden rung but a puddle of water. About half a foot deep he would feel under it solid stone instead of the familiar wood. Perhaps a welcome change but it didn’t change the fact that they were in complete darkness. At least the pit they were in was tall enough for the two to stand up in. In the puddle their feet would have to wait but in there was an answer. On the stone in the water was an elevated circular button. Perhaps by feeling around or perhaps by accident the button would need to be stepped on by one of the two teammates. After that was done they would hear a grating sound like stone being dragged against stone. After a few seconds there would be a click and a door would lift up in front of them. The door rectangular in shape and made of stone like everything else around them. It would lift up to reveal a long and narrow passage way. About five feet in height and just wide enough for them both to file through individually. The walls were made of old bricks and it seemed to stretch on for a decent length. However there was one more thing worth noting, dim orange lights embedded into the walls. The glass was dusty and the lights flickered every so often but it was a light source the team could use. The adjustment was smooth for the two as the light was meant for exactly that purpose, lighting the way without harshly blinding the person going down the path. Every so often along the path would be a shallow puddle but nothing as deep as the previous one. The team could make their way down the passage in a straight line before it turned to the right. A few more turned awaited them before the tight passage came to an end. Before them was a stone door with numerous carvings and inscriptions on it. Symbols of snakes and circles were a prominent theme. Formulas and numbers also showing up frequently. It was a complicated mess of writings that probably meant nothing to the team even if they could point out the random symbol. There was however a button on the door which when pressed would lift it up. On the other end the team would find another corridor but this one larger and allowing for them to stand at full height without issue. The lighting was still dim but they could see with it. On the ground sporadic graffiti could be seen but it was infrequent and small. Clearly in an area that didn’t get much use or was cut off from the general public. Perhaps an abandoned sewer seemed like a good assumption until they saw the walls. Skulls. Skulls stared back at them from their place inside the walls. From all around them the empty slots of eyes stared blankly ahead. The team had wandered into the catacombs under Paris. Bones aside the chamber itself was pretty barren. Both ends extending into darkness. Having a chance to rest would probably be a good thing for the team after the trek they had to take in order to reach where they were if the skulls had not been staring at them. An air of unease being prevalent around them and no clear clues pointing to where they should head next. If the team could take their gaze off of the skeletons around them and look down they would see the only lead available to them. On the dusty stone floor amidst the occasional mark of graffiti was a sizable bloodstain. Not very fresh but clearly not as old as the bones around them it had to be a new addition to the catacombs. It had a few drops leading down one end of the corridor before vanishing. Not a trail but a nudge in one direction was all the two would have to go off of.
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Post by Nathaniel Zsoldos on Mar 24, 2013 1:02:39 GMT -5
The descent downward was no easy task, even for someone surefooted. The rungs were slippery, and Nathaniel did his best, but he slipped several times, his shoes slick against the damp. The entire area had a dank feel to it. Gritting his teeth and hoping the ladder was shorter than it felt, he continued climbing down, going slowly but carefully. He was hyper-aware of Arlie above him - one slip from her, and they'd both fall. She was more balanced than he, however, and by the time they neared the bottom Nathaniel's worries had ebbed.
Setting his foot into the cold water, he recoiled with a sharp cry. The ladder went straight into cold water - although, as he lowered himself down, Nathaniel could feel how shallow the water level was.
"Be careful," he called up to Arlie, unsure of where she was. There was no light. He had only the echoes of her climbing to tell him her position. "There's water at the bottom. Not deep, though." Holding his hands outward, Nathaniel began sweeping them around widely, scooting forward in the pitch black underground.
His foot bumped up against something, causing him to pitch forward, but he caught himself, staggering slightly, although he didn't fall. Puzzled, he raised his foot up, sliding it forward, and to his surprise the small raised section moved down under his foot. With a horrible grinding sound, like stone being scraped together, something shifted, and orange light flickered on from an opening directly to Nathaniel's left. It wasn't blinding - just dim enough to illuminate the path inside the new door, but not bright enough that it hurt as they adjusted. Nathaniel looked over to makes sure Arlie was nearby, but sloshed ahead, poking at the doorway.
"This is pretty cool, actually," he said, now more curious than frightened. "I wonder where this goes. Come on," he said, stepping through the passage after waiting for Arlie, although the mystery of the passage made him distracted. The corridor was tight, and Nathaniel had to bend down a little because of the shallow ceiling, and it veered to the right and left suddenly as he walked, full of twists and turns and the soft sound of dripping water. The water level was even lower here than it was in the main room they had left, although with their shoes already being wet it didn't matter much comfort-wise. For the millionth time that night, Nathaniel wished he had a flashlight.
Suddenly, the corridor came to an abrupt end. In front of the team was a large door, carved with intricate symbols that made Nathaniel think of the trapdoor handle. The same snakes were here, too, although it was the only thing Nathaniel could recognize. In the dim light, he could really only make out one thing of importance.
"I think we can push this," he said over his shoulder at Arlie, pressing what looked like a button. It lit up beneath his fingers, sliding open smoother than the previous door. Nathaniel raised an eyebrow and continued through, hands in his pockets, but as soon as he stepped inside the room and his eyes had adjusted, he found himself taking a hasty step back.
There were skeletons everywhere.
Nathaniel gave a low whistle. "I knew there were catacombs in Paris, but this is creepier than the pictures, and that's saying a lot," he said, kneeling down to examine one that laid on the damp floor, muddy and old. There was a bright splash of yellow graffiti on the wall above it. His stomach turned slightly. You see pictures of skeletons all the time, but to see one in person was significantly more upsetting.
He made himself turn away and study the rest of the room, taking in the bones and spray paint tags. "No wonder the Kishin ran down here," he said, nudging a stray femur away with the toe of his boot. "It's definitely disturbing enough."
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Arlie Davis
Weapon
Demon Scythe
A dry well teaches us the worth of water.
Posts: 63
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Post by Arlie Davis on Mar 27, 2013 22:20:27 GMT -5
The darkness swallowed them up almost instantly. Arlie glanced up only briefly, a look of plain worry crossing her face before casting her gaze downwards. Trying to see through the absence of light only strained her eyes, and so the blonde eventually resorted to feeling her way around blindly for the rungs. Her only comfort was that she could still hear Nate moving not far below her. At least he didn’t seem to be hurrying down ahead of her. Arlie didn’t think she could handle being left alone in the dark, not with her heart beating against her ribcage like it was.
At a point she could tell the ladder was doing something…well, odd, but Arlie tried not to think too hard on it. She didn’t want to scare herself and wind up falling and hitting Nate which would likely send both of them crashing down into numerous broken bone injuries once they hit the bottom, wherever it was. Still, she had no issue being vocal with just how disgusting the ladder was getting either. Her fingers hit moisture and she instantly felt a horrible shudder go through her, barely keeping her grip n the ladder and cringing,
“Ugh, gross!”
It took her a few more shrill utterances, usually along the lines of ‘ew!’ and ‘aw yuck, no!’, before finally bucking up and getting used to it. The mush factor that came later, along with a few broken rungs that damn near sent her flying downwards, definitely didn’t help Arlie’s state of mind either. Oh and there was water at the bottom according to her Meister. Great. Water and who knows what else more like. As she hit the bottom finally, Arlie saw that there was indeed water, or rather heard. She strode forward carefully, trying to stay close to her partner and grimacing at the feeling of liquid sloshing over and into her boots. Fantastic.
The sound of grinding stone made her jump a bit. Looking about wildly for the source, Arlie let out a small ‘eep!’ as dim light flickered and then lit their path in a slight glow. Now able to actually see her Meister, Arlie hurried to Nate’s side, staring at the clouded and creaky looking lamps like she expected them to suddenly turn into snakes and bite her. The deeper bit of water seemed to leave them. Arlie paused if only for a moment to take off her boots and turn them out and empty the water from them, quickly tugging them back on and hurrying along of course. The faster their progress the better.
Cool? Arlie supposed if she were reading a book about where they were or watching on television it would be cool, but experiencing it was just plain creepy in her opinion. It was dark and damp and they so far didn’t even know where they were going. Of course the Kishin Egg had to be down here somewhere, it was the perfect hiding pace for such a wicked thing after all, but she still didn’t have to like its choice for a home. Sticking to Nate like glue, Arlie paused perhaps a foot behind him as they reached the door. If that wasn’t ominous looking, she didn’t know what could possibly fit the description. Blinking up at it, the blonde gulped audibly and nodded at Nate’s words. If he wanted to be the one to open it, he was more than welcome. Arlie on the other hand would be standing well back.
She started out following Nate but paused when he took a step back. The blonde didn’t dare peer around him though, and rather looked down at her feet. The light had changed yet again. Her eyes did adjust, and as she heard him walk forwards Arlie did follow Nate this time. As she raised her gaze, though, she paused. Her feet froze to the ground beneath her. It took Arlie a moment to realize what she was looking at before the shrill start of a scream left her. She quickly got it under control, though, clapping her hands over her mouth and closing her eyes. She didn’t handle dead things well and never had. Worse was that she’d fallen behind.
Racing ahead, she didn’t even hear what Nate was saying. She reached her Meister and immediately latched onto his arm, holding on for dear life and letting out a rather pathetic whimper. Her act of confidence earlier had been a total sham and she was very obviously done with that now. Arlie was scared, there was no hiding it. She’d tried and failed, and a bunch of skeletons staring at her had been what it took to show just how frightened she was. Arlie hoped Nate wouldn’t be too mad at her.
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Post by Rylux on Apr 5, 2013 8:32:44 GMT -5
Now that the team had officially entered the catacombs the skeletons staring at them had no plans to stop. All around them the hollow eyes stared at the intruders as if to ask why they had disturbed them from their ages old slumber? No answer was needed and none would be accepted as they continued to judge the two with cold, lifeless glares. At least the random pieces of graffiti provided a momentary break from the constant gaze of death. Even that was few and far between as not many wanted to spend too much time surrounded by the dead.
As the two stood in the chamber another set of eyes was viewing them. Suspicion being the primary reason for the investigation. While Arlie clung onto Nate the observer darted around to get a different view of them. Not sure what to make it decided to take matters into its own hands. Out from behind a stray skull darted a slightly larger than usual rat. Thick brown fur and beady black eyes very visible it ran out and toward the team. Stopping a few feet away it gave a hiss at them before darting away down the hall that had the small splatter of blood.
Soon the tapping of feet down the hallway faded away and left the team in the silence of the dead. A light flickered and caused the shadows to dance around the two. Regaining its power the light rebalanced itself quickly. Despite the overarching creepiness that was inherent to the catacomb themselves there didn’t seem to be anything plainly out of place aside from the blood on the floor. It trailed off in the direction the rat went before stopping. Someone had clearly seen their mistake and acted quickly to correct it. The silence was broken by a very loud squeak.
From down the hallway came a squeak of anguish. This was followed by what sounded like the grinding of gears and the splatter of blood. Whatever was happening was far enough down the hallway that the sound reached them but the scene itself was out of view. Next came the sound of crunching bones echoing down the hall toward the team. All around the faces of the long dead remained passive as whatever unfolded and left the response to the living. The noise sounded like it came from something small but it was no less gruesome for it. Maybe the kishin would be behind it or another source of danger for the students.
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Post by Nathaniel Zsoldos on Apr 6, 2013 14:35:11 GMT -5
As soon as Arlie screamed, Nathaniel had turned around and was at her side. It was easy enough to see what had scared her and he didn't fault her for grabbing his arm - if anything, he felt guilty for ignoring her. He patted her hand, reassuringly. "It's okay," he said. "These guys have been dead for a while." Realizing how hollow that sounded, he quickly added, "I mean, nothing's gonna hurt us in here."
The sudden appearance of the rat made Nate jump, however, and a strangled cry left him before turning into a relieved laugh. "Just a rat," he said, but the laugh died off as he noticed the hallway that the rat had scampered off through - or more specifically, the floor.
Gently leading Arlie over to the opening of the hall, he then let her go and knelt down to studied the stain. He hadn't seen it before, but now that he was paying attention he could see the beginnings of a trail. It stopped short a few feet away, for a reason Nate didn't know. Was there a secret door nearby? No, that made no sense. Probably the source of the blood was cut off. Nate felt his stomach turn as he stood up, taking Arlie's hand for reassurance.
"We're in the right place," he said. Half of him wasn't pleased about that, but at least they were heading in the right direction.
There was a sudden sharp, gritty sound, like old gears grinding, and a squeak, followed by a distinct crunching sound that made Nate wince. Whatever was going on was down the hall the rat ran down - if it was still alive. Nate was almost certain the crunching sound had been from the rat. What was down the hall? Some sort of nasty machine? Or, maybe worse, the kishin? He took a deep breath and turned to Arlie.
"Something's down there," he said, his voice lowered. "You ready?" He gave her hand a small squeeze. "I'll be here the whole time," he added. It sounded sort of silly - of course he'd be there! - but right now he was worried about his partner. From the looks of it, she was really spooked. With good reason! The whole catacombs were sketchy at best, and the dead leer of the skeletons around them wasn't helping.
For the first time, Nathaniel wondered if the skeletons were previous victims of the Kishin, but he didn't say anything. It was a lot of bodies if that were true, and he didn't want to freak Arlie out more. He needed her clear-headed and (somewhat) calm, at least until the fighting began. He was relying on her. More importantly, she was relying on him, and it was his job to keep her safe.
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Arlie Davis
Weapon
Demon Scythe
A dry well teaches us the worth of water.
Posts: 63
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Post by Arlie Davis on Apr 8, 2013 13:38:23 GMT -5
Being beside her Meister made Arlie feel more secure, but Nate’s added kindness did seem to do wonders to quiet her thundering heart. She only wished she could stop shaking, she must seem so childish. This was a mission, of course there would be something making her uneasy, but it had been the skeletons that had spooked her, not even the Kishin Egg. At least she could fight the latter. The dead things lining the walls around them? No, she could not fight those, nor could she seem to tear her eyes away from them, frighten her though they did.
The rat made them both jump, at least. Arlie didn’t feel quite so bad knowing that the rodent had startled Nate as well. At least it didn’t try to bite their toes off. The blonde wasn’t particularly fond of rats, having grown up running around a farm and hearing many a bad story involving the rascally vermin, but the hiss it gave them did make her lean a bit more on Nate, giving the thing an exceedingly anxious look of ‘please don’t let it come any closer’ before it ran off away from them. Its path did make the blonde notice something, though. A stain on the path. Her curiosity getting the better of her, she followed closely after Nate, crossing her arms as a way of feeling secure. It looked like blood to her. Looks like they were headed in the right direction at least. Nate grasped her hand again and she nodded, an uncharacteristically stern look upon her face although the way her eyes were glued to the path the rat had taken cued in that she was more nervous than serious,
“Looks like.”
Arlie would have continued speaking, but a shrill squeak startled her, making the blonde instantly shuffle closer to her Meister and hold onto his hand just a bit tighter. Gazing after the suddenly halting blood trail that the rat had wandered past, the grinding of ears didn’t concern her so much as that horrid spattering sound did. Whatever was down there, it wasn’t going to be good. This was only made even more obvious by the crunching of bones. Arlie did her best not to cringe, but she did gulp rather audibly. She didn’t know what was down there, but she suspected she and Nate both would soon find out. They would be ready for it, she told her herself. They would be ready for anything, scared or no.
The noises told Arlie what they would be walking into was a machine of something, but then there was that after thought. What if it was the Kishin Egg? If that were the case, then she needed to get a firm grip on the fear squirming around in her gut like an angry snake. The blonde tried to calm down a bit, taking slow, deep breaths. When she felt Nate squeeze her hand, she looked up at him and gave a confident grin and a nod. That blind Texas bravery was showing through and Arlie wasn’t to make a comeback, although she did still feel a bit queasy,
“I know you will, sugar cube. Let’s go show whatever’s up there what we’re made of!”
Arlie was Nate’s Weapon; it couldn’t do for her to be constantly nervous or unsure of herself. She gently pulled at his hand, daring to venture forward a bit ahead of him while still hanging on. They were a team, and they wouldn’t be able to work properly together if she was cowering behind Nate like a scared little puppy.
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Post by Rylux on Apr 11, 2013 11:20:23 GMT -5
Under the watchful sockets of the dead the two progressed toward the source of the sound. No more patches of blood could be seen and neither could anything else that would serve as a clue. In the dim light it was hard to make out any details around them other than the plentiful faces that followed them. Each step they took caused an echo to be sent out around them, adding to the inconsistent sounds around them. The scurry of a rat or a drip of water being the only other noise they would hear. As they continued the walls would shift back to brick with the occasional skull or bone protruding from them and the main path would come to a turn.
Taking the corner the team would come across the cause of the sounds in one gruesome scene. Blood was pooled on the floor with some having sprayed on the wall. A few patches of fur were the only remains of the rat that had the unfortunate fate of running down the hall. Next to the gore was a silver creature that looked like some sort of robot. In form it was identifiable as some sort of cobra with the trademark hood and all. Aside from that it was a bright solver color with lines spread over its body like scales. The creature was coiled up but only looked to be around three feet long, even with its neck raised while any remains of the rat slid down its throat.
Noticing the approaching team it finished choking down the rodent and turned to look at them. Eyes a pale gray color and fangs an even more vibrant silver with a hint of blue. The creature stared at the students and hissed, revealing the fangs at the ready. Starting to slither the snake uncoiled itself and revealed that it was closer to five feet in length when uncoiled.
On its tail was a rattle that began to shake as if the animal was cornered. The sound however was unsettling. A rattle for sure but the noise was more mechanical in nature and simply gave a feeling of unease about it. However the most dangerous part was how it moved away from the head of the snake in a slow and graceful motion. Maintaining the rattle it spread itself out with the sound still echoing around them. The rest of its body moving as well to give a very serpentine fitting performance.
Staring at the two it began to bob its head and gaze directly at their eyes. A mesmerizing sight complemented by the noise from the rattle. The snake began to lift itself up while doing all this and watching the team all the while. No other sounds could be distinguished from the noise of the tail that didn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon, until the snake decided to lunge at them. The motions had attempted to distract the team and lower their guard before the creature lunged at Nathaniel with its fangs fully prepared to bite any piece of flesh it could sink into. A hiss as the snake lunged being the only noise now while the serpent attempted to bite the meister.
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Post by Nathaniel Zsoldos on Apr 24, 2013 18:21:26 GMT -5
As glad as he was to get out of the skeleton room, Nate had to admit that he didn't relish the thought of going further. What lay in wait was undoubtedly something nasty.
As they rounded the corner, Nathaniel took in what was before him in stages - first, the blood. His eyes were pulled there automatically, and he took a breath in sharply. There were small patches of fur in the small pool.
Following the trail the blood made, Nathaniel looked over and up as he finally noticed the - well, he couldn't say for sure. It looked like an enormous metal snake, a cobra, at least half of Nathaniel's height if he was judging it correctly. It was choking down something - his stomach turning, Nate realized it was the rat they had seen earlier. But the head of the cobra snapped back and it noticed them, beginning to advance forward. Nate took a reflexive step backwards. It was even larger when it uncoiled - it had to be as long as Arlie was tall. It started rattling it's tail, which made Nate pause. Cobras and rattlesnakes were two inherently different things - which snapped him back to the present. They were both deadly if they got to close, and no matter what the snake was made out of, having attributes of both didn't bode well.
It moved its head back and forth, a hypnotic dance that Nathaniel had seen before, but only in movies. He watched it carefully, feeling himself relax. Maybe it was only a guardian, and not at all dangerous -
The metal cobra struck out suddenly, lunging at Nate. He started and quickly moved to the side, falling hard on his back and scrabbling away towards the wall of the catacombs. "Arlie-!" He squeaked, somehow getting to his feet and slamming his body against the wall. He had lost track of his weapon in the commotion, and he was fully focused on the creature in front of him. "Arlie, now would be a really good time to go scythe," he shouted, seeing her and making a dash towards her.
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Arlie Davis
Weapon
Demon Scythe
A dry well teaches us the worth of water.
Posts: 63
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Post by Arlie Davis on Apr 26, 2013 14:16:31 GMT -5
While confident enough now to venture forward first, Arlie quickly fell back to walk alongside Nate. She was certainly feeling a bit better but that sense of caution remained, not wanting to fall behind again and drag them down or venture to far forward on her own and wind up getting herself in a whole mess of trouble. The echoing of the steps they took towards the unknown seemed to reverberate not just all around them but through her chest as well. The blonde bit the inside of her cheek and kept her gaze and gait steady. She wouldn’t lose her cool again.
As they rounded the corner, Arlie’s eyes were immediately locked on the blood and paused a moment in her steps before pushing herself forward. It was only blood, and chances were she’d be seeing a lot more of it. It wouldn’t do to be scared. The trace bits of fur she could see mottled in amongst the red at least confirmed the rat’s fate. The blonde would have felt sorry for the poor critter had it not been, well, a rat. Arlie hung back a bit as Nate progressed forward, her eyes not leaving the carnage spattered about the floor and part of the wall, or at least not until she noticed something moving.
Blue eyes landed on what looked like a snake. No, that was most definitely a snake, one of those nasty cobra things from the looks of it. It didn’t seem right, though it wasn’t the usual color as far as Arlie could tell. This serpent was silver, robotic looking, false. Watching it choke down the remains of the rat, they at least knew what had happened to the rodent. Seeing it devour the creature didn’t particularly disturb Arlie. It was the natural order of things after all, and she’d seen proper rattlers do it around her grandparents’ farm enough to times it wasn’t disturbing to her. What was disturbing, though was the snake’s present. The blonde wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed by far, but she was pretty sure that cobras weren’t native to the French sewer systems.
Wait, that was a rattle on its tail! Just what kind of cobra had a rattle on its tail? Arlie was thoroughly confused, but they didn’t have time to worry about what species the robo-snake happened to belong to. The way it hissed at them, she doubted it would let them pass peacefully. Well, that was unfortunate. The sound of the rattle was…wrong. Arlie couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but it made her stomach churn and the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. It started to move and she managed to take one step back before she suddenly couldn’t take her eyes off it. The serpent’s movements were hypnotizing, and the rattle rang in her ears to drown out any other sound. Oh this wouldn’t do at all! As it lunged for Nate, Arlie finally managed to blink and shook her head, clapping her hands to the side of her face. That was enough of that,
“Nate, look out!”
As her Meister fell back and then clambered for the catacomb walls, she hurried forward to help him. Reaching towards him with both hands, Arlie grabbed a hold of his and gave him the most reassuring grin she could manage before a brief glow of cyan engulfed her. The Demon Scythe would be ready and in Nate’s grasp. Back floating in the familiar darkness, Arie blinked a bit to adjust her eyes before peering out from her blade,
“Let’s show ‘im who’s runnin’ this rodeo!”
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Post by Rylux on May 9, 2013 16:05:01 GMT -5
The lunge had been avoided and the snake had no other choice but to follow through with the attack and land hard against the ground. It landed with a loud thunk noise that reverberated around the team. A harsh scraping sound grew in intensity and pitch as the snake dragged its tail against the hard stone floor. Working itself out the snake turned around to face the team that had intruded upon the snake’s domain. Glaring at the two the metallic creature opened its mouth and gave the two a menacing hiss, it was not pleased at having missed the strike.
Unfortunately for the serpent it was smart enough to know that another attempt to trick them with its bobbing movements wouldn’t work. Seeing as how the girl had transformed into a scythe only reassured it that one more chance was all it had. Still it needed to try one last attempt to kill them or else being cut with a scythe was the absolutely least of its worries. Bobbing its head to the sides it kept a locked gaze on the two as if trying to see where an opening would present itself. That scythe made it unlikely that an attack would work but it would have to happen.
Giving up the snake hurried toward the team with fangs bared, slinking back only to lunge straight toward Nate’s right shoulder. Even in the dim light one could see the slight sheen of red that coated the fangs as they waited to be stopped or sink into the flesh of the meister. All around the catacombs were quiet with nothing but the sounds from the snake and the team filling the halls. Any other living things in the area were staying clear of the conflict but that didn’t mean they were all doing so out of fear. Dim red eyes stared at the transpiring events from deeper down the hall, darkness keeping it out of sight except for the pinpricks of red.
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Post by Nathaniel Zsoldos on May 12, 2013 13:39:35 GMT -5
Who's running this rodeo? I really, really hope it's us, the punk meister thought as Arlie transformed.
Nate barely got the scythe up in time, holding it around the main handle instead of the two that protruded, positioned diagonally and defensively across his chest. He didn't have time to think about proper hand placement, but he figured it didn't really matter how he held it so long as he used it effectively. The snake hit the ground hard, making a horrible sound as it thrashed and freed itself. Nate winced and tightened his grip on his scythe, noticing the sheen that coated the snake fangs. Whatever it was, he really didn't want it anywhere near him. The snake's glare was frightening, and Nate saw it draw its head back for another strike. This time, however, Nate was ready. The snake hadn't tried another hypnotizing snakey dance, which meant the tall meister was hyper alert. He raised the scythe reflexively, bracing himself for another attack. "Come and get me," he muttered, hoping that if he faked enough bravery he'd stop being so incredibly frightened.
As the snake lunged toward Nathaniel's shoulder, he jumped to the side quickly and twisted to face the long body of the snake, his long legs widening into a stable stance as he brought the scythe down with enough momentum and force to lodge the blade deeply within the snake's neck, severing it clean through if his strike hit accurately.
It was too late to worry if the scythe wouldn't cut through, although the thought did pass through Nate's mind. He was occupied, but he could feel eyes on the back of his neck, but didn't give it much thought. If the snake rebounded from the hit and wasn't killed like he was hoping, he'd have to contend with an even more pissed-off reptile.
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Arlie Davis
Weapon
Demon Scythe
A dry well teaches us the worth of water.
Posts: 63
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Post by Arlie Davis on May 16, 2013 13:09:15 GMT -5
Oh thank goodness he caught her. Arlie had every faith in her Meister, but she couldn’t help but feel that Nate managing to reach her had been a very near miss. Troubling thoughts aside, the blonde’s eyes were glued to the snake. Nate performed expertly under pressure of being bitten in her opinion. He sent the serpent down to the ground as soon as he had the Demon Scythe in his hands, although the resulting noise made her cringe. Within the dark expanse she currently resided in, she wrapped her arms around her upper body. That scaly, metallic varmint was just ten kinds of creepy.
Whatever that red was on the snake’s fangs, Arlie really didn’t like the looks of it. At best it was just for show, and at worst it was some sort of horrendous venom that would slowly eat away at one’s flesh until there was nothing left. Regardless, she really, really, really didn’t want to get bit by it and the same went for Nate. They couldn’t know what would happen if either of them got bit. Wait, would it even be able to bite her now that she was a scythe? Arlie didn’t know but also didn’t care to find out. The serpent did appear to be made of metal after all. It was certainly shiny enough and made the most sickening of mechanical noises. Nothing about it appeared natural and that made her wholly uneasy.
The snake made its second strike, but Nate was more than ready for it. The blonde had even heard him taunt it a bit. Well, at least one of them felt like they had the situation under control. Technically it could be far worse, it could be a much bigger snake or the space around them could have inhibited movement, but Arlie still worried. Even so, watching Nate move easily out of the way of the serpent’s fangs, she couldn’t help but grin a bit. No snake was going to get the jump on them this time, that was for certain. With her Meister clear out of the path of getting bitten, Arlie watched and prayed that the blade of her Weapon form was sharp enough to cut the darned thing’s head clean off.
Something felt off to her, though. It was only natural, they were in a labyrinth of catacombs after all, but the feeling she got was different. Arlie felt like they were being watched, the same feeling she’d had back with the walls of skeletons. They hadn’t been staring at them, not really, but that’s what it had felt like to her. The blonde focused on the task at hand and tried to shake off any feelings of eyes on them. It was just the catacombs, it was just the scenery. That’s what she told herself.
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