[Moderated Thread]Mapping the Ice Caves: Trial 3

[Pegasus]

15th Ashan 717

There were enough bars for them to have 12 each, after Padraig had put some in the "samples for Zach" bag. As soon as Amaris froze, though, Lakia put the warm bar against the frozen hand and wrist. Amaris was in a lot of discomfort and having someone tie two five-foot long bars to their arm didn't help. It made movement much, much more difficult and could not be maintained, they were just too restrictive. Unfortunately, that was not a solution.

But they carried on and got themselves into the cavern with Arwel in it. There, like so often in this place, there were surprises, but more than anything they were from Arwel himself. The group saw it, there was no doubting it as he did it. It seemed that they had an Aukari among them.

As long as he was careful, which he was, Arwel saw that some of the ice on Amaris' arm melted. Before too long the sensation grew painful to Amaris and there was no choice for the mixed breed than to draw back. It was better, but what was becoming obvious was that slow warmth, not heat, was the answer. Still, those with medical knowledge would know one simple truth; the fact that there was any feeling in that hand at all was a very good thing.

So, they made their way into the room that was obviously the nest. The description of it was apt and it did look like the kind of thing a bird would make for their young.

It was in there that the ghost of the child spoke to Padraig and told him what she told him. The others could see Padraig kneeling and speaking to her, but they could not hear her response. When Lakia spoke about her, Carla frowned in displeasure and they all felt the temperature drop. It was a noticeable drop, too. Evidently, she could hear them, even if they couldn't hear her.

Padraig was focused on the child, but they all saw Lakia touch the stone and then disappear. They could all see Padraig talking to the little girl, and then the strangest thing happened. Carla smiled at Padraig, calming down enough to go and do what he asked. She had the sort of look on her face that was a child trying to be brave. They all saw her (the three of them now left) bend down and pick up the stone. As she did that, her body appeared to be entirely solid and she looked at Padraig and spoke. "I don't like it. But the nice one with red hair, he doesn't need to use magic. I can do it." She smiled at Padraig as she nodded at Arwel, "If he doesn't have much practice, it's probably safer. I've seen magic go bad here." With the seriousness that only children have, she looked at Padraig, unaware that the object of her discussion could hear her. "Tell him he should practice. That's the only way to get better."

They all saw her, as solidly as if she was physically in front of them and heard her speak, although Padraig heard it in his mind too. Carrying the stone she took it over to the bag Padraig held out for her. When she touched the stone, she was solid and they could all hear her, although she didn't know such. As she let the stone go, she became incorporeal once again and only Padraig heard her, in his thoughts although the others could still see her ghostly form.

Once they had the four stones in the bag, the now ghostly child led them out. The exit in the nest, opposite where they had come in, led down a long and winding corridor. At one point, the passed a rockfall on their right, but if they should stop and look, it was large and would not be passed easily or safely.

They continued to move and follow the winding corridor. It had just started to open out and Carla had pointed to where they could just see, through the far exit, what looked like a man-made structure of some kind. Her voice in Padraig's mind was growing more urgent, more hopeful and once or twice Arwel caught snippets of it, like her mental communication was somehow bleeding into his head too.

If it was up to Carla, they would be running but that wouldn't be safe, especially considering their wounds. As they stepped forwards, though, the ground in front of them flashed a vivid blue, the colour of the markings on the stones they carried and the colour of the glowing ice they'd found in the early stages of this exploration. The markings on the ground, though was a circle, etched runes and symbols glowing in the snow. A burst of blue white flame shot up from the ground and there, between them and the place Carla said they wanted to go was a large, constructed entirely from ice, tiger.

It had glowing blue eyes and it lowered down on it's haunches and growled. Carla's voice in Padraig's head was terrified as she told him that this was one of the "Masters". They could all see the little girl and of all things, the tiger leapt and pounced at her.

They all heard her scream, too. Even Lakia heard a scream, although for her it was from a distance. Lakia was still recovering her senses somewhat, as the process of teleporting in this way was very unnerving and she felt rather like bits of her were still catching up with each other. She had an overwhelming sense of nausea.

However, when she regained control and she looked around, Lakia realised that she was somewhere familiar. Back in the main camp where they had met Zach. Zach was there still, as were Phillipe and Enid. Of course, they didn't run to her because they were huddled together, unconscious or unaware it seemed, in a corner of the room. Lakia could see the cold slowly starting to creep over them, their eyelashes and hair were frosted.

The place was silent, yet she saw that Zach's mug of coffee, which was on a table in the main camp, was sitting there and it was still warm. Not hot, but warm. In this level of cold, that could not have been there more than a few bits.

If she checked, they were breathing. How long for and what it meant? Who knew?

!

Message from: Pegasus

I will post again on the 13th June or sooner if everyone has posted by then. Amaris has missed one round of posting This thread, and this adventure, is closed to new players. In your next post please let me know: Arwel & Amaris: If you're taking your sample of "warm bars" Keep in mind that, at the end of this post, three of you are in a combat situation. If it is not stopped, the tiger will attack the little girl in the next second or two. What that will do, you do not know.

Samples

Padraig has taken samples of:
12 x warm bars (5 ft long each)
5 x crystal snowflakes

Lakia has taken samples of:
12 x warm bars (5 ft long each)

Arwel has taken samples of:
3 x sound muting black ice

[Arwel Kyric]

Arwel was glad to see that in response to his flames, the ice started to melt. Of course, after a point she had to withdraw, which he took as the sign to stop for now. He could only hope that the fact that she felt the need to pull her hand back meant that she could still feel with it despite the ice.....right? Or maybe she was just freaked out by him. He wasn't sure. He could only hope that Amaris would be alright. "I can do that in short bursts to help melt the ice off if we don't get out soon." he offered softly.

While they were in the room where the spider snake had made its nest, he looked at the jewelry for a long moment. He wondered if any of it belonged to those who had died. He glanced at the ghost girl and said, "Is it okay to take any of this? I know we can't bury the bodies, but if any of this jewelry belonged to any of you, I'd like to take it with us to bury it." If she nodded, he'd move to pick up a few pieces. If he didn't get a response, he'd bow his head again to utter another prayer for those who had died in the caves and move on without touching anything. He wouldn't want to risk anything after so much had happened.

Arwel felt a small smile form when she called him a nice one. As someone who grew up feeling hated for what he was and who he chose to love, it was nice to have someone say something like that. It was such a small thing, but it made warmth bloom in his chest all the same. He hoped more than ever that they could bring peace to the people who had died here, and that their spirits wouldn't stay trapped in the cave.

He grew nervous again as they left the cave, still thinking of the spider snake and wondering if there'd be any other animals to attack them. The thought unnerved him enough to pull out his pistol crossbow and make sure there was a bolt loaded, realizing in that moment he'd left a perfectly good one in the room he'd been caged in. He should have grabbed it when he'd pulled back the thread, but oh well. He couldn't entirely tell what was unnerving him more, his own thoughts or the fact that something else was bleeding into his head with its own sense of urgency. He didn't entirely get what was going on, but he tried not to let whatever was happening to throw him off too much. The last thing he wanted was to be taken off guard.

He looked around and tried to remember to take mental notes as they went along to put in his journal later, the urgency he was catching from something making him too nervous to pull it out and do so now. It was a good thing that he hadn't, as the light glowed blue from the ground and startled him, making him want to take a step back and his foot went, and he almost wanted to run when he saw the terrifying tiger. It was certainly a beast to behold, and while a small part of him wanted to run, when he saw it pounce for the girl, ghost or no, his instincts to protect came into play. He raised his pistol crossbow and fired a shot at its face to get its attention, pulling his sword out with his free hand. If it didn't shatter like the ice wolf, then he wouldn't have much time to reload and seeing as how he was the only one not injured to some degree, he felt an obligation to protect everyone else. But, that didn't mean he was going to be reckless. Thankful for the leather armor he wore that would offer some protection, if it didn't shatter his intent would be to move away and shout to draw its attention to him where he'd battle it. If nothing else, he could distract it while the others did whatever needed with the stones or even attacked it from behind if they felt inclined to help him. He kept the idea of melting the tiger in mind as well if it got too close or pinned him down, but he really didn't want to do that unless he had no other choice.

[Amaris]

Amaris would have likely attempted the same thing in Lakia's place, though the both of them soon found that the bars were not a great solution to the frozen hand the hybrid scholar now sported. They were beginning to think that the Immortals were looking unfavorably at them. They made a note to be more diligent in their prayers when they returned home. If they returned home.

They, however, dealt with the metal bars and continued on after their companions. They couldn't have themselves getting left behind. Amaris noted that another had joined their group, if not a living member. Of all the things to befall this bunch, a wayward spirit could be the least of their concerns. Or at least, that was what Amaris thought the translucent girl was. They didn't say anything on the matter and merely followed where they were lead. The next space held more bars and..Arwel! Their delight at seeing the man was evident in the more than mild reaction to the sight of him. Their newly elevated mood was only dampened by the immobility of their hand, but it was still a relief to know that the red-haired man had not met a miserable end like Jackson had.

"Nothing out of the usual for me, it would seem. I was careless." A rueful smile was on their lips as the man approached, though it did disappear after what they heard what they assumed was a plea not to hate him. "Why would I hate you?" The words were out of their mouth before Arwel placed his hands over their frozen one. After a few trills, they could feel heat emanating from his hands. The Aukari had been a race they had heard of only in passing and told to avoid often as a child. But Arwel seemed alright. He hadn't tried to burn them to crisp thus far. And it seemed as though he'd not wanted to make his race known before. Most of this thought came after they jerked their hand back, pain searing their digits. At least it meant the hand was still usable. They muttered their thanks, suddenly more concerned by their hand than the man before them as the group moved on.

The next room held strange stones, runic shapes etched into them. Lakia was first to advise them not to touch anything without gloves. The hybrid would eagerly comply. They would also see to it to avoid touching things period. And then Lakia disappeared. First it had been Arwel, then Padraig, now her. Were they taking turns now? Amaris did not wish for their own go at this disappearing bit. The thought of it alone was enough to make them stick closer to Arwel. The stones; no touching. They made a mental note as they looked over the strange carvings from a distance.

For the first time, they heard the voice of the little girl as she moved the stones. She was silent once more when she released them and lead the group onward. The next cavern they entered presented an urgency in her faint figure. Like she wanted them to move quickly. Amaris might have been able to, but they did not think that the others were in any shape for hurried movement, especially not Lakia. Still, their stride lengthened and they soon began to anticipate the worst.

As they had speculated before, in the first cavern of cages, the tigers were indeed something they would have to face. They'd hoped endlessly to be wrong, and yet... They remained unarmed and knowledgeable in the ways of defense other than the basics of turning tail and running. But they would not repeat their actions. Instead, they remained frozen, as if they'd touched another of the snowflakes as the white tiger lunged at the ghostly girl and her scream was projected into the room for all to hear. Jackson's own scream echoed somewhere in the resonance, conjured by similar circumstances. If only there were such thing as a mental scrub.

Common | Murnasian | Ancient Language

[Padraig]

Had she still been among the living, it would have struck Padraig that Carla was very bright for her age. Such a waste that such a promising young life had been snuffed out so soon. In her current state, she was still exceptionally bright and it made him wonder, how long had she been dead? How had she gotten here? As a scientist, and simply as a human being, there were dozens of questions he wanted to ask her. But this was not the time.

He realized too with a sudden start that when she picked up the stones she was more solid, and her voice carried in a way it didn't when she wasn't holding them. And she easily moved the stones. "I'll tell him," he promised, and smiled when she said he ought to tell Arwel to practice his magic more. But Padraig had a sense that Arwel had already heard her.

And then it seemed as if they were almost there. They'd seen any number of entrances to any number of tunnels, though the one ahead of them somehow looked different from the rest. It certainly seemed the case, based on Carla's change in demeanor, that it must be the place she'd been talking about. The thing that needed closing? It still didn't answer the question of how they'd all get out of this place. But perhaps once this was done, she might be able to provide some answers of her own.

Or maybe it was that circle on the ground that was the key, and not the actual exit. The thought had just crossed his mind when a tiger made completely of ice emerged from it. And not a small one either. "This is one of the bad things, yes?" he uttered without even realizing it. But she'd mentioned it before and it hadn't strayed far from his mind.

Instead of answering though she screamed, and as the tiger leaped their way, Padraig acted on impulse more than anything and pulled her behind him as he backed away a few strides. It was her, therefore both of them the thing was coming at and there was no time for planning. Instinctively he knew however that an arrow would bounce right off the thing.

A sword might work but the tiger appeared made of something much harder than flesh. It might just shatter though. He'd been wearing his sack over his shoulder and Padraig reached up and back as if he'd been wearing a pole or lance strapped across his back and shoulder. He was, in a sense, and grabbed hold of one of the five foot bars that had come from the cages. Gripping it in both hands he stood his ground and swung it like a bat, aiming for the front legs. They might be most vulnerable to shattering and breaking off while the tiger was still in early stages of pouncing.

[Lakia Amaranthine]

Lakia blinked in surprise as she found herself back at the main camp. "Well, that's good to know." she muttered as she walked up to where Zach was sitting. When she saw what was happening to him, however, she stopped dead in her tracks. Why was the ice here now? There hadn't been any problem when they were here before, so what had changed? Either way, she needed to see if she could save them. Preferably without touching them, if she could.

Then she noticed that Zach's coffee was still warm. She looked at that for a short moment, then picked it up and threw the contents at Zach. Then she went looking for more. If he had a cup of coffee, it had to come from somewhere, after all. If she found more, she start spreading it around, using it to warm up as many people as she could. If they failed to react, however, she'd take out one of the heated bars and start pushing people over with them.

If she got a reaction, she hand Zach five of the metal bars. "Get your people out of here. It's not safe here anymore." she said, before she headed back to where the group had entered the ice caves. "I'm going back for the others." she said, if anyone asked her what she was doing. Pulling out a dark stone, she used her shadow form to penetrate the wall, then headed into the caves.

She didn't head for the benches, however. She figured she knew a faster way back to where the others were, assuming they hadn't turned around. She headed, instead, for the room where they had taken the shadow tunnel to the altar. When she saw that ahead of her, however, she slowed to a stop. "Oh no. It was us, wasn't it? We turned this place on." she said, a horror in her voice before she turned up the tunnel they hadn't taken on the first day, figuring it would lead back to where her companions were.

If she saw the tiger, she'd pull her bow and begin firing the moment she saw it.

[Pegasus]

15th Ashan 717

Arwel spoke to Carla, asking her about the glittering jewelry and the young girl seemed to be rather shy, half-hiding behind Padraig as Arwel spoke. She looked at him, though, when she answered although only Padraig heard her at that point. "Why would you bury things? They're just things. Bury our bodies, find out our names." Looking at Arwel her eyes looked such a lot older than her form did, but she spoke and the voice Padraig heard was that of a little girl. Turning her gaze from Arwel and back to Padraig, she added. "I got took from my parents. They must be worried bout me, though I've been here a long time. Will you tell them? My mother sells fish in the market in Almund."

She turned back to the jewelry and so on that sat there and she wrinkled her nose. "They're coated in death you shouldn't touch them. They need to be cleaned."

They had made their way, Lakia had disappeared and between them, the four stones with glowing runes on them had been put in a Domain Bag. Carla grew more and more determined and yet anxious and then, there in front of them was the tiger.

Arwel had two ideas and he used them both; he had to because, as he shot the crossbow the bolt simply bounced off the creature. Unfortunately, it seemed, this was different than the wolf. So, whilst the bolt hit where Arwel aimed it, it bounced off and the creature seemed to more or less ignore it.

So, Arwel drew his sword, Amaris froze to the spot, and the tiger attacked the girl. This meant that, as Padraig pulled Carla behind him, the tiger attacked the group's scientist. Carla's scream was heard by them all and might well be joined by Padraig's as he felt the tiger's teeth sing in to his upper thigh. It had been aiming for Carla with the intention of ripping her face off. His thigh was more or less at the same height. In the time it took Padraig to pull her back and then reach behind him, it was on him.

The warm bar in his hand was mirrored by the warmth of blood on his leg. Where the tiger bit, though? That was freezing.

Arwel shouted, trying to get the things attention, but the tiger seemed intent. However, Padraig had the idea of hitting it with the metal bar. Once it had bitten him, he had continued to step backwards and then swiped at the tiger as it started its second pounce.

The warm bars sliced through it, embedding deep into it. Padraig wasn't skilled with blunt weapons and so his strike was not as precise as he'd have liked, digging into the thing's side. The tiger growled and swiped an enormous claw at Padraig, who was currently the only one hurting it.

He was hurting it, there was no doubt. But equally, as it's heavy claws cut into his leg, just above the bite and tore gashes in his skin, there was no doubt that it was hurting him more.

Desperate times. Meanwhile Lakia decided that the thing to do was to throw warm coffee on Zach. It was a good idea, and she saw it start to melt the ice where it touched, but it was nowhere near enough. If she searched the camp, she could quite easily find the coffee pot, the warm water they stored in Orange Sand, that kind of thing. Certainly enough to "defrost" one person.

Assuming she did that, Zach's eyes fluttered open but he nodded his head at Lakia's words. Once the ice moved off him, his breathing returned back to normal, it was like the ice itself had slowed down his respiration, maybe? Anyway, no time to consider that and so Lakia made her way back into the caves.

Choosing not to take the route she knew, Lakia relied on her own sense of direction and went into the room they'd been in on the first day. In there, she moved to the exit on the right and made her way down it. Where she came face to face with a rockfall. Not a small one, either, this was a large and serious rockfall which blocked her way. Some of the rocks in there seemed to be glittering, like light refracting off coal, but these ones had different colours. Red, green, blue, yellow and purple the stones glittered in that rockfall which seemed impassable.

The sound of struggle came to her, muffled though it was, from the other side.

!	Message from: Pegasus
	I will post again on the 17th June or sooner if everyone has posted by then. This thread, and this adventure, is closed to new players. In your next post please keep in mind that you are in combat so focus on the next move / few seconds. Padraig - ow, that hurts. Pad can keep going, but those are two nasty wounds and you're losing blood quickly.

[Arwel Kyric]

Arwel blamed himself for Padraig's injury. Because he wasn't able to get its attention, the tiger had gone for him and now he was hurt. At least this fueled him more to fight and he saw how easily the bar injured the tiger. Not wanting to waste any time, as there was none to waste, he went over to Amaris and said, "Sorry, I need to borrow this. If the tiger lets go of Padraig, I need you to pull him to safety." he looked her in the eyes, knowing she was scared. "He's going to need your help, alright?" Not waiting on the answer, he moved to free one of the bars from her splint and moved to attack the tiger again. He was mad at himself for not protecting the others, but mostly mad at the tiger for even attacking them. As if the others hadn't been through enough.

What he was going to do next was dangerous, but if it was that intent on the girl then it might not see him as he stowed his sword and held the bar firmly in his hands, raising it back above his head executioner style and bringing it down full force onto the tigers neck. If it didn't kill it, then it would hopefully get off of Padraig and come to him where he'd be able to better fight and protect the others like he'd been trying to do. It might not be easy with the bar since it was not something that he was used to fighting with, a different weight and length, but he probably stood the best chance at defeating it in terms of combat. But really, he just didn't want anyone else hurt.

[Amaris]

Amaris remained stuck in place until Arwel moved into action. Again. They could not allow the man and Padraig, now wounded and protecting the spirit, to deal with this alone. They could not have a repeat of Jackson, not so soon. While the Aukari had taken one of the warm bars, the hybrid was left with the other one. They nodded, perhaps too late, at Arwel’s statement.

A determination filled them that did not fit the shaking of their frame. Using the other warm bar, they followed Arwel’s lead and attacked the tiger’s hind legs. The swing could have been better, but there was little time to worry about that.

Common | Murnasian | Ancient Language

[Padraig]

"She doesn't want them to be buried, she says," Padraig told Arwel before the tiger appeared and things had gone sideways. "They're covered in death and shouldn't be touched. She'd rather their bodies be buried and their names be recorded. Their loved ones informed of their fates." As for Carla? He could only imagine her parent's heartbreak. "I will," he promised when she asked if he'd find her mother.

That was for later though and without a thought he'd pulled Carla behind him. Which made him the next most convenient target for the already leaping tiger. As the teeth sank into his thigh, Padraig howled in pain. Ordinarily pain like that would have dropped him to the ground but adrenaline was pumping through his veins and he'd already entered a fight or flight state. He chose fight and swung the bar anyway, with limited success.

The bar did as intended, just not where he'd intended it to, and the unfortunate result was that the tiger had another go at him. This time the shock of it dropped him to on knee but as he dropped he reached behind his shoulder for another bar, bringing it over and down in an arc. One end of the bar ended up braced against the floor of the cave by his foot and the hope was that the tiger's own momentum would be its undoing as it lunged at him, hopefully plunging the other end of the bar straight and deep into it's chest.

[Lakia Amaranthine]

Lakia swore as she found herself confronted by a rockfall, then paused as she noticed something. The rocks were all different colors, like the crystals from way back in the rainbow room. She had been able to move through most of those, and the purple ones hadn't been there at all. She had put her darkstone away after passing through the wall, but now she took it back out, reverting herself to shadow form again.

The crystals, if she was remembering the pattern correctly, had been completely solid when yellow, illusions when purple, and passable when blue, green, or red. Looking closely at the rock wall, she started trying to slide through it, choosing the paths that had the least amount of yellow rocks for her to worry about. If she could get through this, she was confident she would be close to where the others were.