scotland ♔ yet how the wind revives us here

[untethered]

♬ Presentiment - Manami Kiyota

WHO || Belle, Gold, Emma, Hook, Lila [closed]
WHAT || Several Knights take a secret journey to try to help Amara...
WHERE || Oakhurst, Scotland
WHEN || January 15th, 2014 [forward dated]
HOW || Actionspam

It's probably a very good thing that Gold sweet-talked them a car in the nearby tiny Scottish village of Oakhurst, because it is freezing cold out and snow blankets almost everything around. Walking the seven miles up the Old Road to the ruins would be a bitch and a half.

Instead, they comfortably drove past rocky downs, near stands of old-growth oak covered in snow, and past two farms that looked abandoned. No other travelers were visible on the lonely road, which finally curves, passing east of a narrow ravine. Belle signals for them to pull over here, where, at the road's closest approach to the cleft, several broken pillars jut from the earth where the ravine widens and opens into something akin to more of a deep, but narrow, cavern. Two of the pillars stand straight, but most of them lean against the sloped earth. Others are broken and several have apparently fallen into the darkness-shrouded depths. A few similar pillars are visible on the opposite side of the ravine.

Comments

[bittersweeter]

[ ooh, pretty. lila is just going to... grab those gems like a little magpie. ] Hey Hook, found some treasure for you.

[uncurse]

Think we're out of luck on that one. [ nobody here is divine, ok, and if being the product of true love counts, nobody told emma so it's really not occurring to her. well, that's a lie. with her wis check of 18, it's occurring to her, and she's choosing to belligerently ignore it in favor of entering another cell (b - search 11). ]

[unhand]

Did you, now? [Hook perks up, turning away from his hovering over Emma to go over to Lila. Look, he likes shiny things. Maybe he'll make one of them into a new earring or a ring or sth.] Those are some fairly well-off rats.

[untethered]

[ another nest in here, this one with 9 more silver pieces, 1 gold piece, and 3 gems. ]

We could still try to open it... or there's another door up on the left here.

[uncurse]

What kind of energies? [ she doesn't move from the cell she's crouched in as she calls to belle for clarification. some precious metals and stones aren't exactly helping them any, so it's bothering her in the back of her mind that she should try. ] Like a spell or something?

[untethered]

[ belle nods ] Cleric magic, is I think what it's referring to. They can channel raw positive energy.

[unhand]

[Meanwhile, Hook does a quick scan of the rest of the big room to see if there's anything else that's valuable helpful to the mission (search 7).]

[uncurse]

If any of us had that, we wouldn't be handing potions around. [ but she exits the cell and approaches belle anyway. on her way she'll toss the swag she got from her rat nest to hook since he's just ... casually looking around and hoping to find something shiny. loser. she sizes up the door once she's back in the main room. ] What do you think? [ the offer is open to both belle and gold, since hook and lila are seemingly ... distracted. ]

[unhand]

[SHE GAVE HIM TREASURE SHE MUST LIKE HIM. He stashes it with Lila's and follows her to the door.]

Pouring a potion on it wouldn't do any good, would it?

[Besides wasting a perfectly good potion.]

[untethered]

We could try to disable the lock, but... it might not open without the spell anyway. Or... has anyone tried that other door? Just around the corner there? Before the cells.

[undealt]

[Gold and his stupid spellcraft nerdery is here to save the day... or ruin it. While everyone else is talking about treasure, he's examining the door.] This one is a dead end- almost literally, I should think. [He prods it with his cane.] It responds to the sort of spells clerics use on the undead. Try to force your way through it without it, and... Well, you'd be dealing with something a bit worse than rats, I think.

[(spellcraft 26) ALAS HIS SPOT CHECK TO NOTICE BELLE SHIVERING SUCKED royally. He didn't even try, Belle. :c He feels the chill she must have felt, though, so at least he knows why...]

[unhand]

[Whatever, Hook's gonna go look at the other door then. After a cursory glance around for traps (spot 8 he didn't even try) he... tries the handle.]

[untethered]

[ belle sort of subconsciously puts a hand on gold's arm when he informs them of the danger, drawing him away from the strange chill surrounding the door with its skeletal dragon relief. meanwhile, hook opens the door into another desolate chamber, with a door on the far side. ]

[uncurse]

Let's not try. [ emma agrees, turning to spot hook opening the other door. ] Anything that way?

[unhand]

Another door. Could be as promising as anything. [He looks around slightly more carefully this time (spot 12).] Unless Meepo has any advice to give.

[undealt]

[SHE'S TOOOOUCHING MEEEEEEEE.

No, it's literally Belle-Leading-Rumple-Away-From-The-Jolly-Roger.gif, because he hesitates at the door before he allows himself to be pulled away. It's cold and ~mysterious~ but he's intrigued, okay.

Also, Belle is touching him. Herp derp.]

[untethered]

[ meepo pokes his head in, frowning. ] "Close to putrid goblins! Meepo not sent this way. Meepo stayed in chamber to guard Calcryx. Know goblins must be close!"

[uncurse]

[ meepo what does that even mean. are you pro-running across goblins or not. emma stares at him for a minute, then moves into the room after hook. ] Might as well. [ she casts a look over her shoulder at gold. ] Unless you've got some kind of guiding spell to help us.

[undealt]

Sadly, no. [he can light shit on fire, okay. that's what he's here for.]

[untethered]

[ belle draws away from gold to go investigate hook's door by the light of emma's flashlight (search 17) ] This one doesn't seem trapped either.

[bittersweeter]

[ lila is only quiet because the longer they spend down here the more antsy she is getting. so she is just going to continue being silently useless while the adults make all the decisions. whoops. ]

[uncurse]

Good enough for me. [ lack of traps is p much the best they can hope for, so she'll just go ahead and pull or push the door open, taking a moment to linger in the doorway to get a look inside (spot 20 total). ]

[untethered]

[ apparently the 'trap' here was too simple for belle to expect - there's a bell rigged up on the inside of the door and the moment emma opens it, it clangs raucously over her head.

the ten foot wide hall she faces is liberally strewn with sharp caltrops. the northern door at the opposite end is missing - but the room beyond is partially blocked by a roughly mottled three foot high wall, complete with crenelations.

two goblin heads - the first they've seen alive - pop up over said wall, their beady little eyes rolling as they make some kind of raucous cries of their own to match the peals of the bells, lofting javelins up and tossing them over the wall at emma wildly. the javelins clank uselessly against the walls on either side of the doorway (atk 4 and 9) as meepo jumps back and forth from one foot to another fretfully. ]

"Told you! Putrid goblins! Meepo knew they must be close!"

[untethered]

[ in a stellar display of strength, belle tries to pull emma back inside the room around the corner, but she rolled a 2 and she has a -1 so she more just lightly touches emma on the shoulder i guess. belle that is not even useful. you didn't even try. ] Emma! [ she'll at least also pull out her gun (unsure) ]

[bittersweeter]

Shut up, Meepo. [ lila moves closer and all but heaves emma back (strength 17) with her deceptively strong torture hands because emma is more important than shooting goblins ok. ]