RP:The Second Wave

At The Dark Fortess

Castellian stood sentinel at the roadside, his well-worn cloak twisting as the wind took it westward. The sun was rising, stretching a golden path along the clear sky, its light reaching steadily out to push the shadow off of Xalious' mountain. He watched them meander forward, one after another, white-on-white eyes brutally intense as they stroked naturally over the Cabal's ranks. Ominous, looming, the matter of the southern building had taken on the grim proportions of its stone-hewn exterior.

Miradin looks around before plopping down on his backside. "So... now wha'?"

Leoxander kept his distance from Castellian for his own reasons, he hadn't seen the drow in some time. By the shadows beneath his eyes, it was clear he had not slept at all the night before, and footprints of his size were vague, but evident as having been there earlier, with others. A hand lifted slowly to push his hood from his head, mask in tact to hide the mystery expression. Reluctantly, his weapon was put aside, hooked to his back and out of the way. Jack was not where in sight, having disappeared from the area earlier.

Castellian lifts his words as Miradin nears, beginning with little concern for any stragglers. Stone-faced, his ebon features betrayed nothing as he considered them with a disconcerned air. The authority in his voice was carried with a finely-veiled edge, tempered only by the archaic dialect. "It seems that in his haste, and Tenebrae's prone state, a pair of those we hold dear have fallen into the precarious depths of that building beyond. I intend on finding them, and freeing them, but I doubt very much that even with Darkness at my call the job can be done without help."

Leoxander touched his gloved hand to his armored chest in a salute to the soldier, Aerindir. Miradin was glanced over calmly, before his duo colored eyes observed Larewen. Silent, attention devoted back to the other leader of the Cabal, though he approached the open gates half way, taking the time to stare in the open mouth of entry welcoming them into the halls of chaos. Leoxander said to Castellian, "How do you expect to do that?" He spoke, finally. Words grated and hoarse as though he's just woke up. "I wouldn't suggest diving in after them. You could be just as lost."

Castellian considered Miradin for a long moment, the expressionless nature of his gaze perhaps unsettling. "I have to confess my concerns lie in what exactly the nature of the place they are trapped -is-. I've never been there, and I certainly don't care to drop other members in with ropes about their hips to find out. I'll hear suggestions."

Larewen cants her head to the side, brow furrowed. As Castellian speaks and Leoxander moves towards the structure, her gaze follows that way.

Castellian said to you, "Indeed, and while Darkness may be an asset to me in such a place... With the history that it holds... I would not dare to use it if I was unsure of what I would be troubled with. A certain amount of.."

Miradin said to Castellian, "Ah can go wi'oo' the rope if ah have tae."

Castellian rode the hesitation out until his thoughts were fixed, slipping from his lips with obvious care. "-temptation- surrounds it. I thought, perhaps, we could attempt to drain the pool first."

Aerindir said to Castellian, "I can go as well."

Leoxander clenched his jaw, deliberating on whether to speak the next words. By the breath taken, and his return of conversation, he decides it crucial. "It never did all this when I was here before. I touched that water. The giant claims it collected her and swallowed her up as though alive... Danielle went after her, I assume."

Castellian said to Miradin, "As I said before, getting lost in those shadows would render thee a liability, not an asset."

Miradin said to Castellian, "Ah'm no' afraid o' neither darkness or water. Hesitation is futile an' so is overthinkin."

Castellian said to you, "The building has a certain sentience, a -kind- of life to it. That is what makes this so difficult."

Miradin continues. "Thinkin a' all actually."

Castellian considers Leoxander for a long moment, appreciating the details he offers, before turning his head to Miradin and answering him with a final, firm, shake of his head.

Leoxander gave the drow a sidelong glance. "I'm aware of it. There's also somethin' inside. Or, I'd swear we felt another ...humanoid presence." At that point, he began to move forward, leaving no tracks, and stirring no leaves. The shadows seemed to croon to him, and as he approached the large doorframe to the fortress, they threatened to swallow him entirely if he continued on.

Larewen remains silent, continuing to listen. Her ignorance of the building was great.

Castellian spoke with a knowing hint edged into his words, the dagger of them aimed for the thief's back. "Haste will not aide her, Captain. I would not be satisfied if in returning my love I forfeited her -friend-.

Castellian said to Aerindir, "What of thee, Soldier? Hast thou an idea? A concern?"

Aerindir said to Castellian, "Could perhaps a rift be opened and maintained until someone finds the two who are missing?"

Castellian regarded Aerindir a moment before turning his gaze to the prairie, stoic features twisted with thought. "Indeed, perhaps. It would take a great deal of strength, t'would be difficult to keep, and the one we dropped within' would be risking a great deal."

Miradin looks upon the gates again. The short yet massive dwarf gets to his feet yet again, correcting his kilt. "So, shall we tie a rope tae me belly an le' me have a' i'?"

Leoxander slowed to a stop near the opening of that vile stone mouth. The thief turned, winds further messing tousled hair, which only partially hid the intent and almost amused glance given back toward the dark skinned one. "...Not afraid, are you? It's a long walk to the heart of Chaos, Lord D'Onri." He leaned against the stone as though it's cold, unwelcoming texture were a friend, looking into shadowed halls. "Just a thought, but if risking the wrath of evil would bring answers to the fate of your love, I would think you'd be the first one through these doors..."

Aerindir said to Castellian, "I could go, if it ensured they were both freed."

Miradin said to Aerindir, "Ah can go fer the hell o' i'."

Castellian replies simply to Leo, unphazed, stark visage turning toward the thief. "And so I will, Captain, when a plan that does not border on reckless is decided. Love is the strongest of feelings, but for it to be appreciated and returned it must be tempered with consideration. Tenebrae would not desire any of us be lost in her pursuit, and thus we honor her by being cautious. If thou considers what, in her presence, has been revealed to thee... that answer will be felt in thy heart before long."

Olivius bares a confused expression on his pallid face, vermilion lips part to allow words to flow freely, "What is going on?"

Castellian said to Aerindir, "My concerns, actually, hold to another danger lingering. Our legions are preparing for war, and we've enemies in our midst. I would rather thou remained to oversee the rift, and defend those maintaining it in case of ambush. A critical role, and one thou must take."

Aerindir nods to Castellian, not one to argue with a leader's words, "As you order, so I shall do."

Castellian said to Miradin, "Thou wilt take what light remains with this day and make a chain, hearty and long. Long enough to lead through Kelay and back without tension, and then double it. This chain, dwarf, will be all that keeps our two adventurers from becoming adrift. Use the best of thy knowledge."

Leoxander exhaled a sigh beneath his mask. "There were four of us inside, earlier. Granted, there's definitely something other worldly slithering these halls, but I don't believe it the type of being to fear, physically." Whether Castellian was listening or not, Leo spoke, still relaxed back against the jigsaw fit blocks of stone that created fortress walls and structure. "Just take my advice on one thing, if nothing else..." His tone dropped to something a little deeper, more appropriately eerie. Mismatched eyes drifted back toward the group of them. "No matter what you see... don't touch the water..."

Castellian said to Larewen, "Thou wilt open the rift, Mage, and hold it for as long as necessary. Difficult this will be, but crucial. Do not fail."

Castellian said to Olivius, "Thou wilt stand with Aerindir, and stand true. Blades and bow. Keep Larewen safe while he holds the rift, and Leo and I are inside."

Castellian allows his words to trail off as his legs fold beneath him, knees bent to lower his rugged frame in a feral crouch. "Understood, are we?"

Larewen pries her gaze away from the building, settling it again on Castellian. The sorceress had never opened a rift before, let alone seen one opened. Moistening her pale lips, the Lady nods her head.

Leoxander looked at Blake, and coughed lowly. "Great."

Larewen said to Castellian, "To where exactly do I need to open this rift? I've no knowledge of the insides of that building, let alone whatever else may be in there."

Castellian said to Larewen, "We will -all- go together. Thou wilt see." Castellian said to Miradin, "Dwarf, dost thine role satisfy thee?"

Leoxander pushed up from the solid, chill surface of those aged stones, mask stretched over the bridge of his nose to keep his warm breath from fogging in that curiously color air. Like the crisp atmosphere right before a snow.

Castellian abruptly turns, the first hint of impatience stretched across his hardened visage as his strides move southward to the looming fortress gates. Standing over six and a half feet in height, his frame would easily fill most archways, and yet beneath this he is a dwarf. He breasts the threshold, entering the grand entry hall of the looming headquarters.

Castellian speaks smoothly over a squared shoulder. "Come, we've a plan, we will stay to it and see it through."

Leoxander uprights slowly, the tug of a smirk hidden behind the shadow woven fabric that fits to the shape of his jaw like a second skin. Allowing Castellian to pass, the rogue even goes so far as to remain in a respectable posture and stance, until he can fall into step where the thief always preferred to be. Behind the leader, not under the intent eye of surveillance.

Castellian leads the consortment down the twisting corridors, their awkward angles and unnatural length failing (it seems) to intimidate or unsettle him. With what appears to be a practiced ease, the Drow Lord stalks on, his boots all but silent on the polished marble floor, the cadence audible over the sound of those he leads deeper into the labyrinth.

Leoxander might as well have been the drow's shadow by the way he crept after, mirroring Castellian's footwork almost exact. Without a sound to the stride that seemed almost casual, he kept his head low, and his hands conveniently near the belt where twin blades were sheathed at either hip. Keeping close to the towering walls, he remembered the confusing bends and twists of that maze, but Leo was content to follow the drow into the cursed halls, that day.

Larewen crosses her arms over her stomach as she follows Castellian and the theif into the building. Goosebumps were in fact rising on her pale flesh, for never before had she been in such a place as this. The Lady is careful not to lag too far behind, more than a little frightened at the though of being lost within the labyrinth of such an apartment. When the corridor opens into the large room, something akin to awe flickers briefly through the sorceress' amber optics. It is not long however before her eye is drawn towards that pool settled in the centre of the room. Just its appearance was foreboding to her.

Castellian turns easily along a jagged corner, and immediately draws to a sharp and sudden halt. His arms outstretch to the sides, as if to catch those in his wake from stumbling forward, for the hall that lays before is quite (and utterly) new. With arched ceilings and crimson tapestries stretched along the walls the look of it is disparate from all the former. Flanking it, stretching taller than any of them, are giant statues of solid ebon stone. At first the detail is startling and impressive, lines so fine drawn to their forms that one would have to doubt if that even the finest artisan could manage them. Then, however, as one looks closer, the disproportioned creatures are revealed. Caricatures of grotesque nature, hideous monstrosities of what they had been, the statues represent a wolf, a bear, a rat, and a vulture in a surreal and nightmarish light. Each are oversized, tremendously so. The wolf's head is more broad than any seen, with horribly uneven eyes and a mouth of crocodilian proportions. The vulture's beak is longer than a spear, and hooked, with gnarled talons and twisted wings. The rat's teeth are pincers of insectoid nature, shined and alien. The bear, the largest of them all, looms like a giant at the end of the hall, with paws easily the breath of a doorframe and talons over two-feet long. It's face is dominated by a lone eye, the other has been depicted as plucked out, and hangs from its cheek.

Larewen doesn't even come close to the outstretched arms meant to keep them from walking too far. Why not? Because of those statues. She seems content with remaining at a distance, studying them in silence. Oh how dwarfed she felt by these massive ebon structures. A gasp is stifled by the pursing of her full lips into a thin line.

Castellian speaks a tense aside to Leoxander, the words enunciated clearly before the Drow returns to clenching his jaw tightly. "I've yet to see these. They were not here last evening."

Leoxander slowed to a stop to observe from a low vantage point behind the tall drow, though Leo was only slightly shorter. He'd been through those halls, and he was very silent passing them now, though the rogue being quiet wasn't an uncommon thing. The only sound that did come from his dark silhouette was the bones of his shoulders popping, his head tilted simultaneously with a shift of that appendage, crackling the upper joint in the socket. His chest expanded with a breath. Oh, he was getting used to that feeling, now. Every time he was doused in the unusual darkness of Eldritch's halls, Leo's eyes tended to take on a predatory glare. But his human vision couldn't penetrate much of that gloom. He focused on the back of Castellian, leather creaking with a hand curling into a fist, clenching and relaxing.

Leoxander looked at Castellian. Leoxander said nothing.

Castellian took a stride forward then, and another, once again composed as he traverses the hall's carpeted floor. The pile beneath his feet was soft, yielding, ornately woven. Standing sentinel, the statues stared hungrily down at the quartet as they passed along, finally breaching the furthest end of the darkened corridor and stepping into the overwhelming vastness of the main hall. The giant hearth, the pool, all unchanged and impressive before them.

Castellian said, "Right then, Leo and I will set the chains. Aerindir, thou must keep us undisturbed. I feel trouble in this place, it is most aware of what we are about to attempt."

Blake said, "What are you about too attempt?"

Leoxander tore his attention forcefully off the leader of the Cabal, his jaw so tense beneath the black fabric that it ached. A snip of metal sounded as twin blades were produced harmlessly into view, their jagged edges gleaming silver in the only light it could catch, and in those dark halls there wasn't much. "We need fire... Light." This was the murmur grunted as he ducked his tall frame lower and crept a wide circle toward the water, prepared for... well, anything. Murderous knives concealed against armored and tattooed wrist, the rogue was barely seen moving up toward the glassy, reflective surface, a dark midnight color showing so little below, unless they neared dangerously closer. Leo kept a few meters of distance hovering between he, and the large basin of cursed, stagnant element. He halted still a moment, listening, poised in a stance that kept him ready and able to move - and quickly.

Castellian said to Larewen, "And thee? Well, do what thou must do to part these dark waters and allow us passage into the realm beyond."

Larewen uncrosses her arms at Leoxander's declaration of need for light. Her intent now to provide this, her lips part for quiet utterings of something in rhythmic. Her palms lift upward, her concentration now on this task. A small ember flickers to life in her hands, slowly growing in size until it has become approximately the size of a warrior's shield. Thus finishing this ball of fire, her words shift tone to something lighter. Magick begins to pull the orb away from her, suspending it in the air. "Where do you want it?" inquires the Lady, indicating the position of the fireball.

Castellian considered briefly the vastness of the room, uncertain for a moment -where- to fasten the chain that would keep him from being lost in whatever lay beyond the pool's mercurial surface. He chose the giant rings fashioned into the great hearth, their forms meant for the variety of iron pokers. His deft hands worked the tight links together, beginning to fashion a gnarled knot.

Leoxander looked to Larewen briefly, understanding the ability and.. grateful for it. He wasn't the type to give final orders on land, but the rogue's attention turned to the intricately placed fireplace mantles, set around the large hall in almost precisely measured distances apart.

Leoxander also took a few seconds to recognize the shield above marble. Another drift of mismatched eyes toward Castellian, and he boldly roamed several feet nearer. He was alright... so long as he didn't -touch- the water. One step taken, and he loomed over the pool as close as he dared, which wasn't all that close to be considered stupid. He knew what he would see beneath the surface, and it made his eyes wince in the same way it had before. The vision was a private one, however. They would all see what they desired and wanted. The lords of chaos were clever...

Larewen catches the meaning behind the rogue's glance towards the fireplaces decorating the perimeters of the room and gives a single sharp nod. The ball rises and, with a single command of her magick, breaks into the required amount of smaller orbs of fire. With the utterance of a few more words, each of them are sent on a path towards the different fire places, all but one fast in its traversing. That solitary ember moves to hover over Castellian as he ties the knot. Once he is finished, it too does its job and settles within the fireplace. All are now lit.

Castellian appeared to have no interest in the waters, the visions, or that which lay beyond just yet. The Drow was all business, utterly disciplined in his fashioning of the chain about his rugged hips. There was something in his movements though, perhaps the most trained eye (and one familiar with him) would pick up on the way his features tensed. Finished, he turned to regard the edge of the pool as well, unable to see within its waters just yet. This simple glance was enough to bring his left hand to his right, thumb stroking over the alabaster sigils scorched into his otherwise flawless flesh.

Leoxander on the other hand, was indulging in wishful visions of greed, but not for long. After letting Castellian do all the manual work to make their security certain, he sheathed his weapons with a twist and snap of hilts against leather casing. There was no immediate threat, and it appeared he would need his sure grip. "We doin' this together?" One major concern between two very different people, and Leo was determined to bring their clanmates back. Though his trust of the drow was tentative, he was willing to risk it for ...them both.

Castellian replied only with a stoic dip of his chin, affirming his intentions. His attention turning sidelong, he considered Larewen, beckoning her to begin with a slight lift of his long-fingered hand. "Go on, child. Open it for us."

Castellian turned back to consider the twisting pool's waters, and would not see what the building had begun to set in motion. From the hall they arrived from the statues would begin to twist, ever-so-slowly taking to movement, awakening as if from an age-old slumber.

Aerindir stands beside one of the large pillars, his form hidden from view while giving him an unrivaled view of the area. Listening to the conversation, his bow is then loaded with arrows, awaiting any possible danger to Larewen.

Larewen said to Castellian, "Is there any idea of what I need to concentrate it on?"

Castellian said to Larewen, "I would concentrate on opening it so we can enter, and keeping it open despite what it may attempt to do to close itself."

Larewen settles her gaze upon the foreboding pool, finally taking a few steps further into the room. She still keeps her distance, however. As the order is given and her inquiry made answered, an immense amount of concentration is given on her part towards opening the pool so that entrance would be allowed. She'd never done this before, and thus it takes her a little time to seek the needed knowledge. Once such information is retrieved, her lips part for allowance of the words of another spell. The Lady's mind focuses intently on whatever might be on the other side of this pool, for surely there was something. Many moments are spent focusing on this before the desired rift opens. A portal of ebon appears, showing only the darkness of whatever may be within this. The rift is not overly large, for the caster has no experience whatsoever in this. No more does she look towards the other, her entire mind focused now on keeping this open.

Castellian turned his head sharply, as would most of them, at the sound that emerged from the hall. There, with large wings fluttering and great, fleshy feathers displaced from the movement to flutter to the floor, the grotesque vulture loomed. It's beady eyes trained almost instantly on Larewen, and it abruptly parted its great beak to release a hideous screech. Taking it flight, it lumbered through the air awkwardly, drawing toward her. Castellian didn't wait, but stepped forward, his feet moving him to the pool until he lingered at the edge.

Aerindir reacts instantly, the arrows which had been previously aimed at Larewen now flying. Toward both its neck and skull the pair fly, their aim true as the beast is felled. Even as it lets out a deaths cry, the vampire is already loading his bow once more, alert for future danger.

Larewen distantly hears the screech of the great bird, her skin paling a little more than normal. However, she forces herself to remain focused, knowing full well now the risk of allowing it to close. Normally she would have emitted some sort of frightened sound, for the sorceress was not as experianced as some, but she does not allow fright to take over her. In fact, aside from the paling of her flesh, she seems indifferent to the presence of the creature.

Leoxander turned a glance over his shoulder when he thought he heard whispers, a hiss of sound producing angry thoughts in the back of his mind. It was death the mage opened a gate to. The drow could betray him so easily - Leo wasn't oblivious of the look he'd received. Irritation simmered inside him, causing his heart to pound in his ears. The flap of wings was barely distinguished from that when his eyes lifted to see the vulture creature swooping in, and he cursed, loud and mad about it as he grabbed his cross-bow from his shoulder. Even as he hopped onto the ledge, uncertain how long the gate would remain open, he reached back for a short arrow, loading it into the mechanism with a harsh jerk that clicked and locked gears. Right arm was aimed, his position close to Castellian's, but he didn't want to just.. leave the mage to her fate.

Castellian twisted then with sudden swiftness, his coiled muscles unleashing the extent of his great strength. He shoved, and hard, at Leoxander's back, looking to thrust the young thief into the rift beneath them, and the swirling darkness beyond. In his wake, Castellian would leap as well, following the Captain's plummet.

Leoxander had managed to fire only that single arrow, and it was off, rebounding off a stone pillar from the shove that threw him into where the water should have been, but had been parted to open the portal to another void. A short, deep cry of surprise was cut short immediately, and his frame curled into a ball that prepared for a brutal impact. Somewhere.

Castellian fell down in Leo's wake as above them chaos stretched out, the rat and wolf charging toward Aerindir in tandem. They were remarkably fast, even with their disjointed gait. Darkness swallowed him and sound seemed to fade, even Leo's cry drowned out. He could see nothing, hear nothing, save the rattling of the chains as they fell.