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]

What and letting Amara live under this curse is... somehow good?

[uncurse]

[ yeah emma's over the moral high ground right now. they sailed to fucking scotland for this, hiked through a dungeon for days - they have nothing. nothing to show for it. amara is still cursed, and david is still leaving. she surges to her feet and turns to march over to gold, dragging him up by his lapels to his feet. ]

We had a deal. [ it's desperate and urgent and demanding that he fix it, that he find a way. ]

[undealt]

[WOW HEY. Manhandle, much? Gold glowers at her and tries to pull away, which is surprisingly difficult when you have one bad ankle. He catches himself and bares his teeth.]

You're going to blame me for your carelessness?

[Ignoring his whole... thing. That was sure a thing.] Or was I supposed to anticipate what it would cost?

[unhand]

[Hook goes over the tree and examines it (search 16).] Maybe we can take a clipping back to the castle. See if anyone can figure out how it works.

[He's vaguely paying attention to Gold and Emma but she's perfectly capable of doing the whole threatening thing without his help.]

[untethered]

[ belle puts a hand on either of their shoulders as if to say HEY LET'S NOT START A PHYSICAL ALTERCATION HERE, but it's not like she's gonna push them apart with her amazing strength or anything. ] I think we've fought enough on this mission without adding each other to that list.

[sternshield]

Taking any of this tree outta here is the last thing anyone should do. Did you hear him? He was sending seeds out from the apples to try to populate the surface with these monstrosities. Vampire trees, that hunger for the blood of the living, sprouting up throughout the countryside?

We should burn it. That's what.

[uncurse]

My carelessness? The one person who could have helped us break Amara's curse is dead because you couldn't use your magic for anything but scorching goblins. [ she raises a hand to swat belle's hand away, but backs off all the same. ] Maybe instead of worrying about teaching me, you should be figuring out how to use it yourself.

[ fuming, she turns on her heels and approaches where hook and erky are discussing the tree. ] We need a way to track down the ones on the surface, too. Getting rid of what he already did.

[bittersweeter]

There's probably hundreds of them. [ lila doesn't move to entire either argument, just sitting there and using her lighter to torch some of the roots that were trying to ensnare them before snuffing out the flame with her boot. weee. ]

[undealt]

[Gold swipes his cane off the ground, holding onto Belle for support once Emma releases him, but he has nothing to say for himself.]

We'll figure it out. At least this mission will have been worth something.

[sternshield]

We might do well to enlist what rangers and druids we can find, then. Clerics of nature gods, that sort of thing.

[uncurse]

I'll put a call to the castle when we break the surface.

[ she holsters her gun, moving to stand beside hook and look up at the tree. nothing new. just tree and depressions shaped like people and the knowledge that they'd have had to kill two people just to save one. ]

Wynn will have people to dispatch. [ they're done here. she tucks one hand into her jacket pocket and reaches up to brush her thumb against one eyebrow, trying to dispel the last of her tension; if they're going to hike back up, she's going to need to be willing to work with gold and not be bitter that he hadn't been able to deliver. that was what rumplestiltskin did - he delivered on his deals, and let people dig themselves straight down to hell in his debt. but this isn't rumplestiltskin she's dealing with; it's gold. and gold was useless to her. ]

Take whatever he had on him. [ she mutters the orders to hook. it's not to try and hide the information from the others, but rather to make it a private moment and clarify who she's asking to do it. you need a body looted, you ask a pirate. ]

[undealt]

[Gold circles around to the tree so that he's out of the way of everyone else AND TORCHES THAT SUCKER with a burning arc (dmg 23... idek if vampire trees need damage rolls but whatever).

He's mad and SINCE ALL HE'S APPARENTLY GOOD FOR IS LIGHTING THINGS ON FIRE, ALLOW HIM TO DEMONSTRATE HOW GOOD HE IS AT THAT.]

[sternshield]

[ as gold's fire scorches up a large part of the tree, though the trunk remains firmly standing, erky looks askance at emma. ] Castle? You serve the ruler of these lands, then?

[undealt]

[while they continue to converse, in the background Gold scowls at the tree and casts another burning arc on it (24 dmg)

BURN BABY BURN.]

[untethered]

[ AND IT'S A GIANT PILE OF ASHES NOW. as hook would find the following on the druid: the cassock he's wearing, a sling, 10 sling stones, a masterwork sickle by his side, 3 smokesticks, 2 vials of liquid, 3 potions of cure light wounds, his wand of entangle, and a ton of gold pieces. like 323 gold pieces. there are also 4 precious gems in the pouch.

belle picks her way over to gold's side as the tree finishes smoldering and lays a hand very gently on his sleeve. ] ... Thank you.

[bittersweeter]

Yeah, Erky, we work for the Queen. And I'm the princess. [ she sounds entitled enough. (bluff 41) look, eric taught her pretty well about keeping the knights a secret. she's very secretive. sorry erky, it's like a force of habit. ] Though technically, Scotland is petitioning for succession so, whatever.

[unhand]

[Hook's gonna go ahead and drink one of the potions, then hand the other two over to Emma, who has the rest of the potions (6 hp). He also holds up the vials.]

These might be something.

[Also he's pocketing all the treasure obviously.]

[sternshield]

The Princess? [ erky's demeanor shifts, as he tries his best to straighten up and swoop into a bow, taking a knee in the process and lowering his gaze ] My Lady, I had no idea.

[uncurse]

[ WHY ISN'T ANYONE ELSE ALARMED BY THE FIRE. emma jumps back, visibly startled and perceiving that as a threat thank you very much. when gold has another go at it, she glares daggers in his direction. but she forces her attention over to erky when he starts bowing. ]

She's not that ladylike.

[ emma shoots lila a Look and holds up a hand to pacify erky's ridiculously overdramatic honoring. she then moves her hand to take the potions from hook. she shoves one into the bag and takes the other, leaving the bag on the grass for others to take from if they need potions. she opts to drink the one she kept (+10 hp). ]

[unhand]

[Hook doesn't much care for Lila's princess life one way or the other, tbh, but he is ready to get the hell out of here. But he's not stupid. Just because the druid's gone doesn't mean goblins and dire rats and god knows what else aren't still wandering around.]

We should make camp. Not here, though. In some other cave that's less... evil.

[uncurse]

We're not camping. We're leaving.

[ terminator ain't having none of that shit. ]

[bittersweeter]

We're camping. [ she clambers to her feet and turns to face emma with her hands on her hips. ] We can camp in that other cave we found, but if you think I'm trekking my ass all the way back up there through a hoard of goblins we didn't actually kill, you have got another thing coming.

[ i would roll diplomacy, but that was pretty much just sheer stubbornness and no diplomacy at all. ]

[undealt]

[Gold nods at Belle's thanks, but he looks like someone told him his puppy was murdered by ninjas and he's considering vengeance while the tree burns.

Actually, that reminds him of something. He snaps to attention.] Milah.

[DEFINITELY ON TEAM LEAVING. He is farther than a mile away from his familiar right now, so he has no clue if she's even alive. The goblins might have freakin' eaten her or something.]

[unhand]

[ISN'T SHE? Hook steps in towards her, fingers touching her shoulder briefly before he drops his hand.]

Potions can only do so much, love, and just because the Druid's dead doesn't mean his cohorts intend to let us pass through easily. If we rest, we'll stand a better chance of making it out alive.

[And then they can cuddle. :-) diplomacy 28<.strike> 33 he gets a cuddle bonus.]

[untethered]

[ belle looks over at gold, understanding his concern, and frowns ] We do have enough supplies for one more night, but if you think she might be in trouble out there...