knightsoflegend | bermuda triangle ♔ hopelessly weighed down by your eyes of steel

[ hook guides the ship onto land expertly and it comes to a halt on the sandy shoreline. the ramp is lowered and zatara follows his daughter down it, as she walks slowly towards the doors, compass in hand.

he sounds sad, and a bit tired as he surveys the doors, and shakes his head. ] We should never have come here. This place is not meant for mortals to tread.

Story of my life.

[that's more of a mutter as he comes off behind him, legs a little shaky as they adjust from sea to land again. Galahad's sword is strapped to his back, and while his fingers itch to reach for it, he leaves it where it is for now.

He speaks up, this time more clearly:]

Too bad we're already here.

[ zatanna examines the mysterious symbols carved on the door, then runs one hand over them and says: ] Etalsnart.

[ the symbols begin to glow gold, and then seem to meld into english as she steps away quickly. these words are revealed: "sealed with blood lie the doors to the city of magi. only blood will open them, when the jewel without glows brighter than the jewel within. for upon no mortal must the magi cast their eyes again, and any mortal who dares to seek them out, seeks out only their own demise."

zatanna stares, looking determined and a little miffed by the message. ] Father. [ there's a warning note in her voice ] Who are the Magi?

[ he looks away slightly, sighing ] The Homo Magi. The first race of sorcerers, who once ruled over the continent of Atlantis when they originally came to this world.

Your mother - Sindella - is one of them.

Meaning all that creepy talk of blood probably relates to ... [ she looks to zatanna grimly. (wis 21). she's, as far as they know, the only candidate with magi blood - whatever that means. but emma's highly uncomfortable with all of this. ] This isn't right. Blood magic, that's gotta be dark, right? [ she looks to gold for some back-up. as if he ... gives a flying fuck about how dark it is. ]

[Yeah, he really doesn't.]

You're toying with forces beyond the limits of nature when you perform magic. Generally, anything useful gets very dark, indeed.

[So says the Infernal Bloodline dude over here.] Still highly straightforward. Blood brought us here, so blood's the price that need be paid.

I suppose the only question is: is it worth it?

[Cause Hook's certainly not invested enough to spill his own blood. Not that he's one of those magi people anyway.]

[ zatanna's expression seems to steel itself as she steps closer to the doors again. ] It's worth anything. [ zatara looks a little uncomfortable with his daughter's statement, but doesn't protest as she pulls up her sleeve and holds her forearm up. ] Deelb. [ a small cut appears abruptly on her skin, opening just enough for a few drops of blood to seep out. she reaches out and wipes it on the stones in front of them - and the entire door begins to glow with a pulsing red.

zatara slides forward, placing a hand on her shoulder to draw her back as a low rumbling sound issues from within the doors. there's the sound of mechanical unlocking, and then slowly, slowly, the doors split open.

what lies before them looks like something out of a surrealist painting. there's a broad street that cuts through a glorious city, all blues and green, with sharp architecture that rises up in wave-like curves to a point. Some of the buildings gleam, darkly iridescent, a thousand hues at once. but not a soul walks the streets of the metropolis. it looks, for all intents and purposes, like some kind of ghost town.

zatanna pulls away from her father, taking a few dazed steps inside. she whispers mournfully: ] Mother...

[David watches carefully as he follows her inside, his fingers itching for his sword again. His spidey sense is in overdrive (wisdom: nat. 20). Something is very, very wrong and he's also getting the sense that maybe they aren't as alone as they think.]

Zatanna, wait.

[his hand reaches out for her arm to pull her back.]

Something's wrong.

[beyond the obvious, anyway. And he's definitely reaching for his sword, drawing it out of his sheath.]

Edited 2013-06-01 23:57 (UTC)

[ she cuts him a scathing look ] Of course there is. My mother's in there and she needs help.

No, something more than that.

[he takes a few steps closer and drops his voice.]

Someone is watching us.

[Gold takes this opportunity to start a detect magic spell, focusing on the area around them. (con 12)]

[ the response is overwhelming: they are literally surrounded by magical auras, as if the city were entirely built out of various spells woven together. powerful spells, at that. risa reaches up a hand to the little sun symbol hanging around her neck and twists it nervously in her fingers ] There's nothing... evil here, unless it's well masked.

They've got enough power for a barrier like that and to be spying on us, I'd say masking it well ranks easier than that.

[ says the woman who knows next to zero much about magic. ]

They very well may be the most powerful magic users to walk this earth. I would put nothing past them. But there is no way to avoid their gaze, at this juncture. If we insist on trespassing, we simply don't have the magic to counteract them.

Then I suppose we should just mind our manners and hope for the best. For now. [He turns to Zantana.] Which way, dear?

It's this way. [ with no further hesitation, zatanna follows the compass straight down the main thoroughfare, and zatara moves to follow close behind, removing his gloves to stuff in his pocket as he warily watches to either side. she makes a beeline towards what looks like a raised dais in the city center. ]

[Hook hesitates for a moment. Just a moment, but he still can't deny that he does not fancy the idea of going into a place so clearly crawling with magic. But he also doesn't let that stop him for long. He follows the two magicians in, looking wary.]

[David is right there with him, moving forward with his sword still in hand. This was such a bad fucking idea, but that may just be his magic bias showing.]

[ yeah emma's trying not to be too worried about that because luckily she has OTHER THINGS to counteract them. she pulls the gun from her belt and secures both hands on it, finger off the trigger as they enter, moving cautiously and glancing around (spot 26). ]

[Charming joins the armed and dangerous crew with his longsword out and gripped firmly in his hand. He stays near Emma by instinct but is too distracted by the overwhelming urge to keep her safe to really notice anything... anywhere (spot 3)]

[ it's emma who notices something off, even as zatanna reaches the steps and climbs up them. the more she stares at the buildings to either side of them, it more it seems difficult to pinpoint what she's looking at - sort of like trying to look at a star that shows up more clearly in ones peripheral vision. ]

[Gold stays with Zatanna and Zatara, preferring to stay close to the other two magicians, though when Zantanna makes that beeline, he continues at a door leisurely pace, which permits him to get a better look around and catch what Emma sees... Or doesn't see. (spot 22)

He falls back a pace to match his steps with Emma's, lowering his voice.] Did you notice that as well?

What do you think? Is now a good time to say "I've got a bad feeling about this"?

[ emma's eyes stay up on the buildings as she answers gold through a tight jaw. something weird is going on here, and she can't say if it's just a high concentration of magic or something similar in the area, or if they're already being screwed with. ]

[Charming turns to the both of them, but directs his question to Emma.]

Notice what? [Emma please fill in your clueless father.]

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