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

[untethered]

[ right goblin bends down out of sight again, but they can hear more goblin chittering back there ]

[undealt]

[Gold steps closer to the door.] They'll only warn the rest if we let them escape.

[MIGHT WANNA DUCK AGAIN. Gold casts burning arc into the room, which hits the exposed goblin for 28dmg and the other goblin for 11dmg.]

[untethered]

[ gold's flame boils the visible goblin alive, reducing him to a pile of ashes, and there's a horrific scream behind the wall that... doesn't bode well for the other one either.

/init

welp. ]

[unhand]

[Oh my god, Gold, what are you even doing.]

Was that necessary? One of them might've known where the apples are.

[untethered]

[ meepo, however, is overjoyed ]

"Yes! Burn all the goblins!! Toasty nasty goblins!"

[undealt]

I'm certain you would have been feeling less than conversational had one of them skewered Ms. Swan. [NUFF SAID] There will be others you can interrogate, I assure you.

[uncurse]

[ emma makes an overdramatic, clumsy kind of charming-dodge as the javelins come her way, and she gets distracted by the touch of belle's hand and then SUDDENLY FIRE. so she's kind of taking a minute here. nothing like cs taunting to yank her out of it. ]

Seriously? [ she gives a disapproving look to both hook and gold, entering the room properly now. ] How about you both stow the bickering until the trip home? [ optimism!! they will make it out of this dungeon!! as she enters the room, she takes a look around (spot 15??? search 17?? not rly sure which it is so i rolled both ur welcome). ]

[untethered]

[ well her spot check definitely reminds her before she sets foot down that THE ENTIRE HALL IS LITTERED IN CALTROPS. but if they pick their way through slowly they should be able to make it to that three foot tall wall that the goblins were hiding behind. it looks like the hall continues behind them. ]

At least we know that we're in goblin territory now. We should try to move quietly so we don't alert them.

[bittersweeter]

Maybe one of them is still alive. [ she s l o w l y follows emma to the surprise of no one, but she actually agrees with hook. especially since, as noted, they have no idea where they are going. ] They don't need to be very alive to lead us to the apples.

[uncurse]

Yeah, I wouldn't count on it. [ emma's keeping her eyes riveted to the ground to step around the spiky traps lain for intruders. she makes her way over to the wall, the slowness of her pace making it easy to keep quiet now that belle's recommended it (move silently nat 20). she peers at the goblin corpses. ] They're pretty much charbroiled. [ and 8 for trying to climb over the wall. ]

[untethered]

[ despite being the one who brought it up... belle doesn't know the ways of any ninjas, so she's not very good at this sneaking around thing (move silently 13). even meepo does slightly better (with a 14), although he protests as they climb over the wall: ]

"Apples later! You looking for dragon now!"

[undealt]

[gold leans against the wall for support and uses the head of his cane to sweep away some of the caltrops.] As loathe as I am to admit it, he makes a fair point. Why would the goblins abduct a dragon unless they had a use for it? To act as a guard for their most precious treasure, perhaps?

[bittersweeter]

No shit, you think? [ bet y'all were missing that teenage sarcasm, but lila is thoroughly uncomfortable and getting more agitated by the minute and that was the whole point she made to take meepo along in the first place so she is just w/e gold, way to roast toast and julienne fry our would be guides, you dick. her creepy cat-like ways keep her like a ghost with her move silently 28. ] I just highly doubt that if the dragon happens to be guarding something else the Kobolds are actually going to help us find the apples if we find and deliver their dragon first. Better to hedge our bets than throw it all in for people you keep warning us not to trust.

[unhand]

We'll just look for both at the same time. It's no issue.

[Hook picks his way around the caltrops to catch up with Emma. Before he can get very far, though, he accidentally clangs his hook against the bell (move silently crit fail). He grits his teeth and keeps walking. It's not like the first two were all that hard to deal with...]

[untethered]

[ as they climb over the wall, they see that the pile of ashes that was one of the goblins, and charred, bloody remains of the other lie on a layer of filth on the floor. The stains on the walls, shabby hides, and much-used fire pit attest to the years of use this room has seen at the hands of creatures not overly concerned with hygiene. there's a door out of here on the southwestern wall. belle offers a hand to help gold get over the barricade, while meepo pokes at the goblin ashes with his spear, chuckling. ]

[uncurse]

Ugh. [ emma grimaces at the smell, stepping straight on past the firepit to get to the door. she runs her fingers along the seams of it to try and check for any traps attached (search 16). it's evident in her expression that she's trying to keep from breathing through her nose (or at all) until they're out of here because wow. but she has to breathe to announce her findings; ] We're clear. [ she almost got impaled with javelins last time she opened a door though it's someone else's turn tbh so she'll move away a little. ]

[unhand]

[Hook steps up and opens the door, holding his hook up in case he needs to stab something on the other side.]

[untethered]

[ inside is... a hallway. it's short and opens up about eight feet forward to the right into a larger room, and for now they can't see around the little wall. but anyone with a listen check higher than 5 can hear the sounds of metal clacking against the southern wall, of creatures conversing in the same raucous goblin tongue, and of what might even be goblin laughter?

belle pulls up her gun this time behind hook. just in case. ]

[undealt]

[Gold hears the goblins (listen 12) and... does whatever someone shorter can do that approximates leaning over another person's shoulder.] Well, Captain, since you were so determined to interrogate the beasts...

[aka now you're the tank.]

[unhand]

[Wow he was all for that plan up until Gold suggested it.

He glares at Gold and draws his sword because... yeah, this seems like a solid plan.]

Keep quiet.

[Others can follow if they want, but he is creeping towards the wall. Or at least... moving towards the wall (move silently 7).]

[uncurse]

[ emma sneaks behind him romantically, gun held tightly in front of her (move silently 15). ]

[untethered]

[ wow hook, you move like an ox. there's the sound of alarm from inside the room, and most of the goblin noises retreat further north. one javelin comes flying towards hook as he reaches the edge of the wall (atk 19, so thank god for cover, as it just hits the wall) ]

[undealt]

Be quiet. [Gold lilts in what I imagine is a nearly perfect (but sarcastic and incredulous) imitation of Hook's accent, because Rumple's random accent shit DID NOT DIE WITH GOLD'S MEMORIES.]

[unhand]

[Wow no one asked you. Hook considers seriously how bad an idea it would be to punch his own teammate, then settles for an annoyed look.]

They're rather cowardly, aren't they?

[bittersweeter]

[ are they serious. jfc. SHE IS THE CHILD ON THIS MISSION. get your shit together, boys. if looks could kill, well, they'd sure know lila is just done. next time tuck in your junk, lefty. ]

Keep going, the farther they get away the greater advantage they'll have.