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]

Yeah, sure. [ standing up and tucking the jar of peanut butter away, she flings a baggie of granola at him and an apple. she spent the whole night eating, which is the only reason she is willing to share food right now. she pulls out a couple more bags of granola for belle and gold. MAYBE SCRUFFY MCGNOME TOO because apparently she is in a sharing mood. she is oprah and everyone gets a humpback whale. plus then her bag is lighter. so everyone take the food from her. ]

[sternshield]

There's a lass. May the Stern smile upon you. [ he takes it very gratefully, gobbling it down with little grace as emma moves towards the spot where the bugbear had emerged from. he hadn't bothered to shut the door after him, so it's hanging wide open, clearly not trapped.

beyond is a rough cavern whose floor is stained as if regularly drenched in blood. luminescent fungus reveals an eastern niche, which holds a matted-hair-and-fur pallet, a wide wooden board on which a variety of crude but deadly weapons is affixed, and a great-coat of patchy black fur hangs on a slender pole. to the edge of the niche are two large nests. ]

[uncurse]

[ this room is sketchy enough that emma is overly cautious and holds back as she searches it for a search check of 4. whee. it's not her fault it's gross as fuck. ]

[unhand]

[Hook grins his thanks at Lila and follows Emma. He's not all that grossed out, apparently, since he's still just chowing down on his breakfast as he searches, but it also means he's not looking as carefully as he might (search 11).]

[untethered]

[ hook's attention would mostly be caught by the weapons on the board: six javelins, a longsword, two spears, and a bastard sword. ]

[undealt]

[Gold crit failed his search check.

THESE ARE DIFFERENT MOTHERFUCKING DICE TOO.]

[unhand]

[Hook examines the weapons for a moment then he looks up at Emma (not at Gold who seems to be having trouble finding his own behind right now).]

One of the other doors, perhaps.

[untethered]

Those trees came from the south, didn't they?

[uncurse]

Worth a try. [ when did the right answer become march TOWARD the danger? emma exits the bugbear's cavern and starts towards the south exit. ]

[untethered]

[ belle hesitates because she meant MAYBE THAT'S NOT THE WAY TO GO but... trees came from there... they're looking for trees... maybe emma's right. she looks over at gold, who is apparently staring off into space with his crit fail search check, and gently touches him on the arm, giving him a small smile and inclining her head in the way emma is wandering.

to the south, a long tunnel continues, lit by that violet fungus still. a ways down, the tunnel is interrupted by some past geologic violence that rent the earth. a strange smell permeates the air (wisdom check of 15+ identifies it as sulfur) and the rift continues off to the right and left about two feet below the tunnel they're walking along, although there's no fungus lining those walls, so it veers off into darkness on either side. the tunnel to the south continues past the rift, though it has shifted about ten feet to the west. ]

[bittersweeter]

Mmm, the scent of brimstone is reassuring. [ full of sarcasm (and apparently smarts; wisdom 17), lila wrinkles her nose as they head down the tunnel before it turns into an outright frown. she pulls out her flashlight, clicking it on to better illuminate their surroundings and look for clues, ooh. (search also 17) sulfur, violently broken earth... ] As is the Pompeii style fissure.

[undealt]

[He is apparently still really tired after all that. He blinks himself out of his weird trance and smiles back at Belle. And I'm so glad he got a NAT 20 to recognize the scent of brimstone. What a good infernal sorcerer he is.]

Fascinating place for an apple orchard. [He casts a light spell to give them a bit more light and looks around himself. (search 20 total)]

[untethered]

[ it's possible to see that the rift extends very far to the left and right now, the floor of it strewn with debris. it's riddled with enigmatic one foot diameter holes. to the south west, the rift seems to open up into a chamber that they can't see into from here. ]

[uncurse]

Ugh. [ the actual worst. emma covers her nose and mouth with her forearm, grimacing as they soldier on through the passage. she peers down into the rift as she heads down the tunnel to the south past it. ] I guess Miracle-Gro doesn't cut it for the evil druid gardener in your life.

[unhand]

Might mean we're getting close, at least. [He keeps his good hand on the pommel of his sword as he follows Emma. It's certainly not a reassuring smell.]

[sternshield]

[ the passage cuts left, and then south again, before jagging left once more and coming to a dead end at a stone door. erky yanks on it, and frowns. ] Stuck or locked.

[uncurse]

Back up to the door East of where we were, or try our luck in the darkness? [ of the rift, that is. it seemed to continue down a ways - could be the druid made it himself. ]

[untethered]

Perhaps the trees came from the grove... in which case, they would have had to come from the rift.

[undealt]

Trees? [What the fuck? When were there trees. He's in the process of pulling the scroll out of his jacket pocket. Remember the scroll from earlier? Yeah, it might come in handy.]

[uncurse]

They attacked last night. [ she says it dismissively, because it's over now, and she's more interested - visibly so - in the scroll. ] Is that gonna help us find out druid?

[undealt]

[...wow he really was coma-ed out. Huh. He shrugs.]

It might. You never know what they might be hiding behind locked doors. [Yeeep. Just gonna use the scroll on this door. Knock, knock, bitch.]

[untethered]

[ in what is probably the single most unfortunate use of a knock scroll ever, the door bursts open revealing an empty room. faded mosiac tiles still cover parts of the wall, but most have fallen and shattered. situated at the center of the chamber stands a slim pedestal of rusted iron shaped like an upright dragon. in the dragon's mouth rests an empty tray. ]

I'd say someone's taken whatever might have been worth taking from here already.

[undealt]

[At last we can retire and give up this life of crime.]

No harm in making sure. [(search 19). In case there are SEKRIT SWITCHES or something.]

[sternshield]

[ nope. not a thing. :| 8| ]

If we need to spend another night, at least we've found a more defensible place to do it.

[unhand]

Darkness it is, then. [He looks over at Lila.] Still have that torch, love?