RP:A Shark-Bration's Escape
Part of the Sharknado Arc
Part of the The Lost Tombs of Azhim Arc
Location: Dragons Head Inn
Synopsis: The Leader of the Adventurers' Guild have made plans for an unusual celebration. One which seems like an ordinary thing, that is until everyone arrives and the trap created is sprung by Elioyahazers personal butler, Toothpick. What happens, is the Guild is trapped in a room and must follow clues to find their escape. Teamwork wins out, Taly has a panic attack, and Zahrani joins in after they've made their escape for drinks. It seems that this worked out pretty well. The Adventurers' Guild, decides that the tombs of Azhim are to be their next quest!
OOC Note: This event is much different that what you might expect. As such, certain posts will be highlighted with bold text. These posts are the clues or information the group had to work with.
A Shark-Bration's Escape
Upon entering the tavern a few gruff dwarves stand inside with weapons, armor, and scars who admit the fellow guild members only, having been given descriptions of each beforehand. The biggest of the group, who wears a rather ornate and braided beard flicks his thumb to the stairs in the back. “Par’y is happ’nin downstairs.” Without further word he resumes his job of keeping others out. It seems the establishment has been rented for this party and heading down the stairs only further confirms this. Standing testament to such thoughts is the sand riddled floor, stretching from one wall to another, covering the ground in a layer of grit so thick you might as well be at the beach. There’s even a little bucket with a few toy shovels, should one wish to build a castle or bury another guildmate! In one of the corners sits a round table and a grouping of chairs. Bottles of Vodka, Rum, and Brandy sits atop the table in lieu of celebration that is supposed to happen. The room itself is dimly lit by a single lantern which rests beside the alcohol, illuminating a rather boney old codger dressed in a tux who is impatiently tapping his fine shoes against the sand. He gives no words of greetings, no nod of his head, and instead chooses to wait until all have gathered; to some his name is Roger, to others, TP.
Lanara is sitting at the table, admiring the hard work that her future butler-in-law had put into decorating the room to mimic an actual beach setting. Of course, the elf could have done without the gritty sand clinging to her leggings and creeping into her socks, though she wouldn’t offer any complaint. Toothpick had gone all out, just as she and her fiance had requested, and she gives the male a cheeky grin, before directing her attention towards the door. Where -was- Eli?! Pulling her long locks into a high ponytail, she snags a strand on her engagement ring, and bites back a yelp. Should they announce their relationship to the members? Lana’s mulling this over, and deciding against it, as most of them had attended the Yule Ball and heard the rumors that were circulating about the large rock she was sporting on her finger. Plus, it was rather common knowledge that Eli and Lana were almost -always- in each others company and were living together at his manor in Cenril. The members were intelligent enough to piece it all together, and she thinks it best that they remain professional when tending to their duties as leader and deputy. As each person enters the room, they are greeted with a warm smile from the elf, and she beckons for them all to take a seat around the table. “Hi, everyone! I’m so happy you all could make it! WE DID IT! Crimson Cloak is bye-bye, Twister Island is safe again and being rebuilt, and the villagers will be sailing back home in a few weeks once they are all healed and have the necessary supplies. I’m so proud of all of you!” Pride shines in her dark chocolate hues, as everyone begins to idly chat with the others in the room, though a few seem a bit confused with the decorations chosen for this celebration. Talyara, is encouraged to take a seat at her side, where Lana would fill her tapered ears with endless questions regarding Yule and a certain enigma her sister has been seeing. Khitti, is offered the seat to Lana’s right, where the redhead would be asked for a gingerbread cookie recipe. Apparently, the elf’s sweet tooth needed some more of those baked goods from the Paladin’s Guild meeting the prior week.
Khitti had been rather unsure of whether or not she wanted to go to a party, even if it was for the AG. She hadn’t even managed to make it to the Yule Ball, despite having wanted to go. The redhead was still healing mentally from her (not-so-fun) time in Venturil and just hadn’t really had the strength for it, amongst getting back to her own guild’s duties, dealing with the holidays at the bakery, and pretending like she’s a good mother/fiancée. But… Khitti did eventually show up, wearing her usual attire of a midnight blue dress (though this one was long-sleeved, as opposed to the sleeveless ones she adored), charcoal grey knitted leggings, her favorite pair of well-worn boots, and thick, black wool coat. Gods, she hated the winter. Ever since she became human again, there were those aches and pains that came with being in her early thirties, and the winter months only exacerbated it. Regardless of this, Khitti would leave her Tikifhlee outside, letting the dire-sized cat do as it pleased while she went into the building. Olive-green eyes scanned the inn’s dining area, looking for those that she’d recognize, eventually fixating on the dwarves. The templar nodded wordlessly as they let her in and she heads downstairs… to find a makeshift beach? A few blinks were given, but regardless, she’d remove her coat, leave it where appropriate, and found her seat next to Lanara. A smile was offered as the witch proclaimed her happiness about the guild defeating Crimson Cloak, and then would nod to her, “I’ll have it written up and sent off to you when I get home.”
Talyara had not be present for the Sharknado excursion due to Lanara’s rules about her initiation into the guild itself. But there were plenty of people she loved and cared about on the trip so the witch had parked herself in Cenril soon after their departure and only left after she had been summoned to heal her brother Scandal upon their return. As she enters the inn and is instructed to go downstairs she heaves a great sigh. What was her sister up to -this- time? With an uneasy feeling the little witch trudges down the steps, her boots echoing loudly until she comes into a room…covered in sand. What the heck? She notices Toothpick near the table, a man whose acquaintance she had made a few weeks ago, and then her sister and Khitti seated at the table. As Lana beckons her to her left, she obliges, trying to coyly answer her sister’s questions without giving too many details. While Lana might be wanting to keep her engagement quiet, Taly doesn’t care and grabs the animal empath’s hand to inspect the rock further, holding it up to her emerald eye. When the congratulations come for a job well done with Twister Island, Talyara blushes shyly, having not really played a part in it. “You guys did amazing. I mentioned to Lana that I would love to get everyone’s personal accounts about what happened so that we can log it in a manuscript. To keep a record of all our adventures."
Elioyahazer is met by the dwarven defenders with a look of boredom and a similar flick of the thumb which indicates the direction he’s supposed to head. Without second thought, the deputy leader takes the small journal within his right hand, tucks it into his pocket and traverses the stairs. “Awe,” the boney old codger finally calls out, ignoring all others, save for Lanara - who receives nothing more than the comment ‘Lioness’ in greeting. “It’s been a troublesome affair decorating this room as you’ve asked sire. But here it is, with a few surprises of course.” The dried old fellow carries no emotion upon his visage and takes a well penned letter and sets it upon the table. “I hear that congratulations are in order for you all,” TP takes a moment to look around the room, but his features begin to grow sinister. “Crimson cloak is dead, so I’m told.” The butler begins to walk through the room to the heavy metal door that keeps this area safe from intruders. “I’m sure that tonight, is one no one will ever forget.” His last words aren’t masked by the smile that threatens to stretch over his features. Before anyone has a chance to react, that previously described door is slammed shut, after Roger leaves; the solid collision with it’s thick frame is a calamity of noise. A noise only further backed by a series of rather loud locks shutting the group in. What’s going on? Was the only entrance to the room locked? Elioyahazer heads towards the door and gives it a try. Despite his best efforts, the door doesn’t budge. Hell, he even tries to call forth fire to burn a hole into the wall, but to no avail. Any magic cast simply fizzes out. It seems they were stuck. “Well I’ll be. That stupid butler.” Elioyahazer’s voice chides the man who is most likely leaving the bar right now. What does that note read? “Now what?” The desert born looks around the room at everyone gathered. They needed to find a way out...
Lanara narrows her eyes at Toothpick as he closes the door behind him, locking it and wandering off with a gleeful smirk. They were all trapped in a room that was designed to mirror Twister Island. Was this –another- step in the adventure?! Lana clears her throat, and exchanges a look with Eli once it’s discovered that their magic is silenced. “Well… We can’t dig our way out with those little shovels!” Scoffing, the witch rolls her eyes, and tries not to laugh as Samuel and Harvey, two of the new recruits, decide to arm wrestle. How was that going to help their cause?! “Guys! Pay attention! Read the note… What should we do?”
Khitti could certainly empathize with Lanara if she did indeed want to keep her engagement on the down-low--Khitti’d been doing the same for quite some time now. The fact that her and Brand still hadn’t gotten married, after being engaged for a year or so now, saddened her a little, but she didn’t let it show. Instead, her attention was captured by this amusingly creepy old man. The door slammed shut and Khitti pushed herself up out of the chair she’d been in briefly. “Well. This could be worse. We could be stuck in the Shadow Plane. Or in my office doing paperwork.” The latter was definitely worse. She reached over and scooped up the letter Roger had left, opened it, and eyed it carefully.
The Note Reads: Dear Adventurers’ Guild, you all seem to think that you’re so clever. Making it through turbulent seas, monsters and blood-mages is surely a difficult task indeed, but really, I wonder if you can survive starvation, and dehydration. Although tonight was meant to be a celebration, instead you’ll find that it’s -I- who celebrate. Oh don’t give me that look. Not when I was nice enough to leave you with enough shovels for everyone to dig their own graves. Now do me a favor, and get to work. -signed Toothpick.
Talyara relinquishes Lana’s hand as Toothpick slams the door shut, the witch jumps at the sound. Immediately she turns a narrowed glare at her sister. “Is this another initiation task?” she hisses.
Elioyahazer twists his gaze to scrutinize Khitti and her idea of hell. "Please, no more paperwork." It's true he'd rather be stuck in this room, without escape. He'd taken care of enough paperwork in the last few weeks to last him a lifetime. If that was what their choice was? He'd use one of those toy shovels and end himself. A quick glance is given to the new recruits who go about arm wrestling in the corner.
Khitti smirked at the note, then read it aloud for the others. It’s then passed off to whomever wanted it next to look over, as Khitti crossed her arms and peered around the room, “So what did you do to piss off your butler?” She shook her head and continued surveying the room, “Well, with regards to dehydration, I wouldn’t dip into that alcohol so quickly--it’ll only make things worse in that department.
Talyara gazes down at the note after it is read aloud and swivels her gaze towards the buckets and toy shovels that were tucked away in the sand. “So we have to dig for something? Maybe a key?” she suggests looking towards the others before shrugging her shoulders and movies to take up one of the tools and set to work herself, wondering if the others would follow.
Lanara can’t help but laugh at her sister’s words, as she –was- possibly the most elaborate prankster in the realm. However, she seems just as surprised by Toothpick’s actions as the others, and so she gives a helpless shrug. Having her appendage returned, she folds her arms over her chest and reads the letter over Khitti’s shoulder, shaking her head. “That dirty old man! I should have known he’d pull something. He had –ONE- job, Eli! He was only supposed to decorate the room, not lock us inside!” Clearly, Lana is irritated, so as she rises from her chair, her hip bumps the table and both of the arm wrestlers lose their concentration. Harvey points an angry finger at Samuel, as though it were his fault that the table shifted. Lana looks at Khitti and nips her lower lip, as though deep in thought, “What haven’t we done to our butler?! Well… I’m pretty sure it wasn’t Eli or myself… At least not –this- time. Little Aspen… He had an accident and TP thought it was his mud mask… He –may- have smeared some feces on his face and suffered an eye infection the past several days…”
After a few minutes of digging with that toy shovel, a rather mundane sea shell comes into Taly's view. If she were to pick it up and investigate further, she would find a single word written upon it which reads: "rhymes". Perhaps there are more?
Harvey and Samuel are throwing fistfuls of sand at each other, the teenagers often getting into bouts of mischief, and naturally, one of them gets hurt. Sam takes a sharp piece of a pink seashell to the corner of his eye, and the two begin to bicker all over again. Harvey realizes that there isn’t any writing on this shell, though he could have sworn there were two others that had words written on them… Frantically they begin to dig, as though this were a competition.
Elioyahazer shifts while he stands there, looking at the group and the sudden commotion. He half wonders why Taly is digging in the sand, but it seems she was on to something and looked rather convinced of her actions. “Well, not to point out the obvious Lana, but he did that job well.” His arms spread out wide, to use the room as evidence, before he shuffles across the sand and grabs a toy shovel for himself. Perhaps he could find something as well?
Khitti sent up a few orbs of holy magic, letting them bounce against the ceiling, illuminating the room better. She’d shook her head at Lanara, trying to placate her, “Honestly, it sounds like something Brand’s first mate would do. She’s a bit of a prankster. So I’m sure it’s nothing.” Khitti would eventually head over to Talyara’s side and started digging as well. If this was supposed to mimic a beach, there’s definitely bound to be more than one shell. Right?
Talyara does not like being locked in rooms. It’s too reminiscent of the time she was held captive and tortured by the drow patron who destroyed her village and murdered her mother. So privately, she is trying not to have a full blown panic attack right now as memories of that tumultuous time begin to flood her memory; only Lana might notice the panicked look in her emerald eyes. She digs with more vigor only to come upon a seashell which she takes in her hands. Brushing off the excess sand she notices the word and holds it up for the other to see. “Hey...I found a seashell that says “rhymes” on it."
Lanara kneels in the sand beside Eli, grumbling beneath her breath, “If he did such a –fantastic- job we wouldn’t be trapped in here…” The thought of burying her fiancé in this sand does bring a smirk to her face, though as she sees the fear in Taly’s emerald hues, her expression sobers. “You found a shell with a word?!” It’s a red shell. Perhaps, that was a clue? “Is there another red seashell?” Lana stabs the sand with her shovel, eagerly searching.
After a few minutes everyone’s efforts helps to find all shells that have written words, though the message is certainly scrambled. In all the shells read: “Rhymes, White, Object, An, That, With”. What could these shells be trying to say?
Elioyahazer looks up to everyone in these moments, “So, does anyone have an idea what this is supposed to say?” Entirely ignoring her chiding remarks about Toothpick and them being stuck in this room. He couldn’t have done this better himself.
Lanara glances at Eli as he’s laying all the shells out with the hidden message, that they’d have to decode to reach the next clue. She’s looking at it upside down, and tilting her head every which way to try and get a closer look. Harvey is in her line of sight, though he can’t read, so he’s not doing much in the way of helping.
Elioyahazer hadn't realized that Khitti had brought more light into the room. With a single digit he points to it, "Thanks for that," his gaze moves to Khitti for only moments.
Oh gods. Both of the witches were agitated. Uh. Eli. Help. “Heeeey, you two. No more thinking bad thoughts. At least not until we get out of here. Then we can all possibly plot that guys’ murder.” Is a holy person like Khitti really supposed to say that? No? Oh well. She did it anyway. But, she did it with a grin! To make things better. “Let’s just focus on digging.” Which Khitti does. She even quit bothering with her shovel and started sweeping the sand in directions where no one was sitting. The shells are all finally found and Khitti recited the words out loud again, piecing it together, “Oh! ‘An object that rhymes with white’.” Pause. Processing. Processing. She looked around a bit, her line of sight settling on the lantern on the table, a hand pointing at it,“Ah! Light!”
Khitti was going to have to get Roger to make up more of these puzzle rooms in different places for her. That know-it-all redheaded bookworm was starting to love this.
Talyara turns to Khitti and gives her a small, albeit, strained smile, when she suggest they go out and murder Toothpick when they get out of here, but keeps her mouth shut for the time being, instead keeping her sole focus on digging. Once several worded shells had been found and they are pieced together she nods in agreement with the redhead’s unscrambling. “I agree, light makes sense,” and the witch following her gaze towards the lantern.
Lanara excitedly claps when Khitti answers the rhyme, her gaze lifting to the ceiling, and then trailing over to the table, where a lone lantern rests in the center. “You did it!” Maybe there was a key beneath it, and they could open the door? Pushing herself to her feet, Lana wipes the sand from her legs and follows the group over towards the table. Harvey is –still- trying to read what the shells are spelling out, and it looks as though Sam is taking a nap in the sand. Where had the elf found these two numbskulls?! “What’s the next clue?” She asks, peering over Khitti’s shoulder, anxiously.
Elioyahazer finds himself laughing suddenly beneath the turmoil of the room and Khitti’s sudden proclamation of light. What in the worlds was going on here? The two new recruits had even joined in on the fun. He marches on over to the lantern and picks it up without even bothering to look on the table beneath it. “So, we’ve named Light, now what?” Good thinking Khitti, now if someone could so obviously point out the carving upon the table, that lamp hid so well, that reads: ‘What you see isn’t ideal, and there’s a spot in this room, that isn’t real’.
Khitti had made her way over to the lantern and lifted it up. Just what the heck was she going to find there? Khitti wasn’t so sure it was going to be the key, like Lanara hoped. Nothing was ever that easy, unfortunately. “Uhh…” She read the carving, then took another look around the room, before side-eyeing Eli, “Please do not. I deal with that enough at home--whether it’s from myself or Brand. I’d rather not die in a fire in a locked room. I’ve died by fire. It wasn’t fun.” With a nod at her own words, she smirked at the two new guys, “Oi! You two! You -could- make yourself useful, you know. Go look around to find something fake in this room!”
Khitti secretly hoped that the alcohol was real and decided not to check it, just so she's not immediately disappointed.
Lanara makes a face at the engraving, clearly not understanding what could possibly be ‘fake’ in the room. As a joke, she eyes her sisters cleavage, stifling a giggle. “Don’t look at me that way! I’m only teasing!” Sticking her tongue out at Taly, she skips around the room, kicking up sand, before she nearly trips over Sam, who decides to stand up suddenly. “Hm… I don’t see any fake plants. What else could be fake?”
Well first, the walls are real enough, but perhaps something else isn’t? Maybe one of the fifteen books lining some shelves? The four paintings spread out over the walls? Perhaps and area of the floor leads to a trap door? Whatever it is, it’s surely to be a goose chase. It doesn't take long until the new recruits tear down a painting upon the wall to reveal a mechanical device. Behind the painting are five dials in total and each individual dial carries numbers up to twenty. It would seem that its a safe of types, with an unknown combination. How can we open this? Further inspection reveals words, written in very fine print: "People say organization is key, but I find that Liquor is it for me." In all there are four bottles of Vodka, six bottles of whiskey, nine bottles of rum and a single bottle of brandy. Great, now where do we start?
Talyara follows the group to the table but she’s fallen suspiciously quiet. Were the walls getting closer together? The younger witch hugs her arms over her chest and attempts to force herself to focus on the task at hand. Eli’s suggestion that the start a fire is met with a wide eyed state and a quick shake of her head. “Lana did that to our room when we were kids. It did not end well."
The gears were clearly turning in Khitti’s head--she was in full-on Sherlock mode now. Crimson brows furrowed somewhat as she eyed where the painting had been and the dials were now unveiled. “♪Ninety-nine bottles of whiskey on the wall...♪” is all she managed for the moment before finally continuing, “Why is there not the same number of bottles for each kind of alcohol? Only a madman would do that…” Separate numbers. Separate dials. “The number of bottles… each one for a dial… but there’s 5 dials? And only 4 kinds of alcohol.”
Lanara watches as the paintings are torn down to reveal the five dials, and she taps her chin. “Four types of liquor… But –five- dials? So… How do we get the fifth?” She warily eyes the bottles, clearly not wanting to drink –all- of them.
Khitti blinked, then the proverbial light bulb went off in her head, "Four! The last number is four! Four, six, nine, one, four!"
Elioyahazer chimes in once more, "Perhaps the last dial is a totaled sum?" If that were the case, then which number goes to which dial?
Talyara looks around the room warily. The walls and ceiling were definitely closing in her. Her heart hammers in her chest and her breathing hitches in her throat. What was happening now? Paintings and bottles? Dials? Where did they come from?
Lanara thinks back to the last clue, and she bobs her head up and down. “Alphabetically! Right?! So… Brandy, Rum, Vodka, then… Whiskey… And… Sandman? You think we add the totals?” Blinking, Lana looks to Khitti, “Four?”
Talyara seems to be sort of catching up to what's happening here as she nods to Khitti and then Lanara. "Four types of alcohol."
Elioyahazer wonders if the group will figure this part out, and an amused smile almost graces his visage as they ponder over which numbers to place where. Who would move to it and attempt? "So have you all decided on what numbers go where? If so, try punching them in."
Lanara glances at the sand covered teenagers that are approaching Talyara, giving them a weary glare. What were they up to, now?! Somehow, Harvey, though he had little common sense and was short a few genes since birth, he had picked up on the younger sister’s discomfort of being in the room. “Closet Phobia, huh?” As the witch turns to look, both teens would pick Taly into their arms and hurl her into a pile of sand, where they would then prepare to cover her body. “I think they’re confusing a weighted blanket with sand… Whatever. It will keep her mind off of what’s happening!” Focusing on the dials again, Lana nods, “We can try all different combinations. But… In what order?”
Khitti nodded at Lanara, “Alphabetically sounds good. If that doesn’t work, then numerically. And yes! Four. Four types of alcohol.” She did the brave thing and actually went to go and put the numbers in, first alphabetically (one, nine, four, six, four). And if that didn’t work? And if she didn’t somehow die horrifically? She’d do it numerically (one, four, four, six, nine). Look at her, protecting her peoples like a good mama bear.
[post 1 of 2] Once the combination has been solved, the safe creaks open to reveal a single switch. When that switch is pushed, a wall slides out of place. In the newly created space is a hallway that leads to a very well lit room and another set of stairs. Within the room is -more- alcohol, a band of bards who merrily play their music and sing songs to the group. Of course, there’s another. The boney old codger who locked you all in there. “Don’t be mad, your leaders put me up to this. Supposed to build camaraderie and teamwork. Besides, the best part was saved for last.” Toothpick points to a treasure chest at the other end of the room, “Congratulations on your victory, the spoils of war.” The butler raises an eyebrow, and heads up the other flight of stairs. “I’ll see you at home Elioyahazer.”
[post 2 of 2] Elioyahazer steps into the newly discovered room with a laugh. He looks over to Lanara momentarily and then settles his gaze back on everyone else. “We’re sorry for the charade, but we thought something that involved a little mystery and adventure better suited our guild.” When his laughter dies down, Elioyahazer is quick to pull up another bottle of whiskey for himself. “Who wants shots?” A plethora of glasses already lays out before the group on a rather large oak table. When those who wish to drink have answered, he pours for them all, sets the bottle down and raises his shot glass. “To the Adventurers Guild.” If anyone else wishes to add to the toast he waits and then swallows it all down. Eventually, Eli pulls that small journal out and begins to read its contents. Perhaps a new plot was being cooked up?
Lanara is relieved that the members were able to solve their way out of the escape room, as there were a few palm-sweating moments where she had her doubts. She joins in on Eli’s laughter, unable to hide the glimmer of mischief in her expression, as she was notorious for pranking others! “It was fun, everyone, right?! We wanted to add a little twist to this celebration.” The giggles die down as she lifts her shot glass and exchanges a look with Eli, before she joins in on the toast, “To lifelong friendship and exploring the unknown!” They all clink their glasses, and in a fluid motion, the glass is raised, her head tips back, and the shot is swallowed with appreciation. Lana watches as a few make their way over to the chest and accept their tokens of gratitude, and she readies another shot, before lowering herself onto a chair and crossing her legs. Everyone is busy drinking and conversing and her desert born is studying?! Poking his knee with the tip of her ankle boot, she quirks a brow, and motions to the book, “What are you reading, Sandman? A riveting romance novel? A mystery that this Guild can one day hope to solve? Some poetry, perhaps, that you can woo me with at bedtime?” She smiles, waiting for him to finish reading the page and give her an answer.
Lanara peers over her shoulder, wondering where the hell her sister could be, when she sees Harvey and Samuel hauling the little witch over their shoulders. She’s kicking, screaming, and red faced, but she looks to be having a grand time with the youngsters. “Taly! Come and have a drink!
Khitti yelled up the stairs to Roger, “If you mysteriously get murdered, I’m not helping you!” She was joking, of course. Mostly. Probably. She eyed the whiskey when it was offered. She stared at it quite a bit, in fact. It seemed like forever that she did (to her anyway), but ultimately, she declined it. There’s a brief moment of feeling out of place after the toasts were made and Lanara went off to tease Eli, “Hey! Don’t make fun of him just because he’s reading. If he doesn’t, then I take full offense for him”, she said with an added smirk. But, she didn’t chide Lanara much more than that, for she was mildly curious too. While awaiting an answer from one to the other, her mind wandered somewhat back to all those puzzles, and filed some of those ideas elsewhere in the back of her mind for the future, probably.
Elioyahazer takes a moment to quirk a brow at his mischievous mistress. “A riveting romance?” As if he’d be caught reading something like that. Mutated eyes lift from the page to gaze at Lanara in response to that heeled poke. “Something along those lines.” If exploration -could- be considered romance, than this fell right into that. His gaze moves to Khitti for moments, and then to Lanara. “Well, its a small journal I’ve had since I was a kid. Reliving memory lane, if you will. But in particular, I was fascinated by a lost tomb. I actually thought it fitting to bring it up, here today. Was just looking for the right time.” He offers the book to the others, opened to a specific page. On that page is the story of a man named Azhim who was once a noble prince - turned dark, and dumped himself, and his riches into a tomb that was soon forgotten. “I wanted to see if we might start researching this. Perhaps it could even be our next adventure.”
Zahrani quietly and quickly makes her way to the area where she had been invited for a celebration of the new guild she had joined. Alas, her duties within another guild, and some work for her colony, had caused the panther to run late. As she enters the tavern and passes down the stairs, she could pick up a scent associated with people who were under stress, so she begins picking up her pace before finding herself in front of a small private party. Nothing but familiar faces. A sheepish smile forms on her face before she says to Lanara and Eli, "Sorry I'm late." The panther wears her more humanoid form, the woman's dark-brown skin contrasting sharply with cyan eyes. She wears a more masculine presenting garb for the evening, for the sake of travel and practicality. Patterns of blue and silver play across her long-sleeved shirt, and she wears a pair of tastefully rugged blue pants and some winter boots.
Khitti nodded to Lanara, offering the witch a smile, “Of course. Things should be calmed down enough now that we can do that.” And then she overheard Eli, “Well, mostly, I guess.” The redhead eyed the book carefully, “All fairy tales have an ounce of truth to them--the idea’s got to come from somewhere, after all.” That was certainly the subject she was well-versed in. “There’s various libraries all over Lithrydel; maybe they’ll have something.” Her attention shifted to Talyara briefly, a frown finding her features, “I can try to help, if you’d like. You look a bit out of sorts…”
Zahrani sees Taly dropped rather harshly on the floor, picking up the look of distress on the elf's face and instinctively kneeling down to help her. "I'm here, Taly." Her attention is focused on helping the elf come out of whatever she was dealing with. She had prior experience doing so, but she prays to Cyris that it isn't as bad as last time.
Lanara coils an arm around Taly’s waist, bringing her into the group, while offering a hint of comfort. She knew that her sister was likely reliving memories from their past, though both had walked an equally horrifying path, it was the younger sister that had dealt with claustrophobia. Lana and Eli hadn’t counted on this sparking anything negative, and she’s a little sorry for the pain they caused her, but she knows Taly will recover in a few moments. They are all glancing over the details in Eli’s book, as Zahrani descends the stairs, and Lana lifts her head to give a wave. “Rani! Welcome! Pull up a chair and have a drink with us!” Lana’s attention returns to the book, as her finger trails over a page, “Azhim… Eli, love, you said that this is a book from your youth… So… Is this tomb believed to be in Gualon?” She knows her desert born hails from that region, and her eyes lock with his mottled gaze for answers. Without hesitation, her lips curve into a smile, “I think –this- should be our next adventure!” She didn’t even know all of the details, but she trusted her fiancé –and- deputy’s instincts.
Elioyahazer turns his head to face Zahrani with a smile. “Don’t worry about it, we just finished escaping from Rogers room of sand and puzzles.” He waves his hand magically to reinforce the fact that they were all stuck within the room for a little while, chasing down one clue and then off to another. “Glad you could join us.” He offers Zahrani some whiskey as well, but when Z runs to Talyara’s side Eli nods. “Well,” his gaze moves to Khitti, “There were lots of rumors and evidence to suggest his existence, but I figured, why not try to find this tomb?” With that, he tucks the book back into his pocket, and takes another shot. “And yes, it’s believed to be somewhere in the nameless deserts.” When Lanara announces that it’s the next adventure, he smiles. This could be a rather fun adventure, chasing down a rumor of the desert.
Talyara blinks in surprise as she sees several pairs of concerned eyes looking back at her—Khitti, Lanara, and Zahrani. The little witch rakes a hand over her face, giving her head a quick shake as she stands with her sister’s help, her legs feeling a bit shaky. “I-I’m fine,” she tells them with a tentative smile. “Sorry about that,” she mumbles as a blush colors her cheek. She hadn’t meant to freak out like that especially in front of her guild mates!
Zahrani offers Taly a warm hug. "You had me a little worried there. What happened while I was out?" The feline is unsure of what could have caused this strange juxtaposition of lingering stress-smell in the air and the current festivities that she just walked in on. Was there a fight? She grabs a glass of drink, offering a second one to the green-eyed witch before turning to Eli and Lana, "Sounds like an interesting place for some archaeology. Do you know who rests in that tomb?" The feline wants to learn more about this place before she decides to join them.
Khitti thought back on the two times she’d been to the nameless desert. The first time was when the Warrior’s Guild was battling an army of bugs. The second time, she’d gone there to stop Lionel from heading to the Shadow Plane to face off with Kahran. She’d been too late and he’d gone off without her, only to return wounded and poisoned, that of which didn’t heal for quite some time. “I’m not particularly fond of that desert. No good seems to come of it. At least, when I’m involved.” Crimson brows furrowed with concern as a slight frown creased her unpainted lips, “Unopened tomb aside, we’re going to have to be careful, if we do this.”
Zahrani hadn't been listening to the conversation between Khitti and Eli, as she had initially been focused on Taly.
Elioyahazer responds to Zahrani with another smile. "There could be all kinds of things in that tomb. From what the stories suggest, Azhim became a necromancer." There could be a plethora of nasty creatures hiding in the dark of that tomb, which only acts as further evidence to Khitti's voiced concerns. "I agree that we should be careful. We won't just be diving into it." Truth be told, Eli was raised in that desert, and he's not fond of the sand either.
Lanara watches as Eli tucks the book into his pocket and exchanges a look with Khitti, to see her take on things. As Harvey and Samuel are seeing who can down more liquor before passing out, and Zahrani tends to Talyara’s post-traumatic stress induced shock, the witch can’t help but give a relaxed grin. The villain, the sharks, the storms, and the elementals at sea… All were defeated with ease, because of this team and their willingness to work together. Twister Island had been reclaimed, the villagers were saved, and the region would be rebuilt with the blood, sweat, and tears, that had torn it apart not so long ago. So much had happened in the past two weeks, friendships had forged, unions amongst guilds were in the works, and Elioyahazer fulfilled the role of deputy and even suggested their next big adventure! Lana fills her shot glass again and lifts it heavenward, as though thanking her Goddess for having made these friends that shared the same interests. “We did it, we really did!”
Talyara hugs Zahrani in return and after taking a sip of the liquor she feels a bit more invigorated, as if the drop of alcohol brought her back to her senses. “I’ll tell you later,” she mumbles to the feline before turning to Lanara and her soon to be brother-in-law. “Wait, wait, wait. Catch me up. You’re going into a tomb?!” Talyara’s episode had obviously prevented her from comprehending much of the conversation since escaping the locked room.
Khitti || The thought of finding a possibly still alive necromancer in that tomb gave Khitti a chill, one that was visible enough for her to attempt to hide it. Despite having been one to wield those same powers, Khitti had never been on their side of things--the side that most necromancers took: that of an evil alignment. The rest of them continued to speak on the subject and Khitti grew silent, leaning back in her chair, her attention no longer fixing on one thing, as one’s does when a person is dwelling on something.
Zahrani turns to face Eli, listening intently to the man's words about a necromancer's tomb in the nameless desert. "A year or so ago, I was in a necromancer's tomb in the desert. It's a rite of passage, part of a ritual of Cyris. I learned how to change my form through it." She pauses for a moment, looks at the others, then back to the desert man with a wry grin, "I'm not sure it's the same one, though, so don't get your hopes up."