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ST Corve's eyes open as he starts to respond and he finds himself slung across Myrrh's shoulders, looking down on a walking lump of moss.
Corve blinks. "Oi. That was blunt."
Myrrh "Carmine did you hear something?"
ST Myrrh is somewhat startled to have Corve wake up from his trance. And even more startled when Snuffles hisses at the formerly-slumbering Night Caste and extends a cautious pseudopod towards him.
Corve snorts. "Put me down before I kick you in the nuts, Myrrh," he says, raising a hand and rubbing his eyes slightly.
Myrrh "Corve? Oh!" Gently helps Corve down to the ground. "See anything interesting?"
Carmine "...Corve?!" Carmine turns, the slumbering form of Xar held above her
ST The surroundings Corve finds himself in are a bit strange, to say the least. Leaving alone the creature that looks like an oblong mass of moss, mold and grass that's trotting along behind Myrrh and extending pseudopods the grey-white stone of the catacombs he was last in has been replaced by a vast space dominated by overgrown trees, veils of vine and hanging moss and the ruins of an ancient city.
Myrrh glances at Carmine. "See? I told you he'd be awake soon..."
Corve shakes his head and regains his balance, rolling his shoulders back a little. "Oh yeah. Most definitely. What is -that?-" He points at the fungus thing, and then turns to Carmine. "Hey, love."
Corve "Also... where are we?"
Myrrh "What's what...Oh! That's Snuffles. He's been very helpful."
Myrrh "We're in the gardens and parks on our way to the central control area for the city."
Myrrh "It's a city by the way. An entire underground city!"
Carmine quickly puts Xar down and runs to Corve, hugging him.
Corve blinks a little. "Oh. Wow. That's... interesting," he says, wrapping his arms around Carmine as she comes to him, kissing her softly. "Sorry I spaced out- got sucked into a memory."
Carmine kisses him back, then lets him speak "...Sucked into a memory?"
Corve nods. "Yeah. I think the statue I grabbed of my past incarnation is magic. I got sucked into... well, not the past, per se, but a reasonably realistic faccimilie. I was... tall. And bald. And -vain.-"
Corve "Anyway, I had a chat with myself... learned some useful things. I don't predict much trouble finding Daskim anymore..."
Carmine ""Oh?"
Corve "Yeah, Sixth Hour Fading- that was his name- told me just how to find it. We just need a reasonably well scaled map," he says. "What's been going on, and why is Xar asleep?"
Myrrh "Oh not much. The city died in the contagion...there are alot of ghosts about."
Corve "
Corve "Xar's asleep because there are a lot of ghosts?"
Myrrh "Xar was put to sleep by a flower i've never seen before...I think it feeds off blood. Rather facinating prey mechanic..."
Corve "Oh. Well... how do we wake his scaley ass up?"
Carmine "I don't know ... I can't do anything for it...like I couldn't wake you up..."
Corve snorts. "You take a short mystical nap and everyone starts mimicking you," he mutters, running a hand through his hair. "Alright, so what's the next step? You said something about a control room, Myrrh?"
Myrrh "Well since the balls presumably have controls somewhere I assumed we could set them to passive mode. of course they might also have what they were afraid of in the main keep."
Myrrh "This place is amazing...if we could put the ghosts to rest..."
Corve rolls his eyes. "Let's think of possible uses for an underground city after we've saved the world, shall we?" He winks and then looks at Snuffles, then Myrrh, and then Carmine... and finally Xar. "So, control room, then... let's go."
ST The lump of fungus sniffs at Corve's feet and "looks" up at him with the front half of its body, cooing.
Carmine nods, much happier now Corve is awake at least, and hefts Xar again
Corve blinks at how easily Carmine lifts their Dragon King friend. "Oh yeah, you'd definitely be impressed, Sixth."
Myrrh happy he doesn't have to lift Corve all over the place he leads the others through the dense foliage to the forboding city of the lost age!
ST Corve could swear he hears a laugh from somewhere deep inside his mind. But that could easily just be his imagination. Sixth can't be watching everything he does...can he?
Corve concentrates a little and thinks: 'Told you!' smirking a little. If Sixth -can- see, Corve's going to have to find a way to make him stop. At least during certain... times.
ST The overgrown forest gives way to shattered streets disrupted by the occasional giant tree root that heaves itself above their heads in a massive wooden archway or presents itself as an obstacle to be climbed over. Snuffles has no problems but the three humans have to take care negotiating such treacherous terrain.
ST Occasionally Snuffles makes detours to bring back strange-looking plants and plant products to Myrrh like round fruit of a violent pink or clustered berries in an eye-hurting yellow that smell like banana. A handful of nuts and some leafy greens that are more blue then green. Despite the detours, Snuffles doesn't keep the Circle waiting and he is quite competent at leading them to their destination.
ST Without further mishap like the one that sent Xar into a pollen-induced coma the three Solars arrive at the massive steps of gold-veined white marble that lead into the Hall of the City.
Corve watches the fungus thing closely as it moves, thoroughly impressed. "Finally got yourself an intelligent companion," he says to Myrrh. "It's an improvement on your wife, in my opinion."
Myrrh "While I hope someday Snuffles learns to manage a household I don't think he'll be bringing me money next..." He smirks and examines the offered goodies.
Carmine looks at the building from under Xar
Myrrh "Wow...they certainly knew how to build them back then!" Examines the massive structure.
Corve snrks a little. "Yeah. I wonder if Blossom built this, too."
Carmine "Blossom?"
Corve "The woman who built Brume..."
Carmine "Ohh."
Corve "And those crazy white spheres. My past self didn't think much of them either."
ST The Hall of the City is a large, square building of the same sparkling gold-veined white marble as the steps the Circle is standing on. Ten columns of what Myrrh is sure is pure gold hardened by magic guard the entrance to the building, a set of equally pure-gold double doors twice Corve's height.
Carmine rolls her eyes at the mention of the spheres. They could at least make guardians that were interesting to fight. She starts to ascend the steps
Corve follows Carmine, nodding to Myrrh to join them. "Let's see if the control room has any information on how to wake Xar up while we're trying to shut down the madballs."
ST To Carmine's disappointment, nothing emerges from the building to fight her.
Myrrh "Amazing...maybe it's for the best no one knows about this place. Can you imagine what some brute would do just ransacking the place without knowing what he was doing?"
Corve "Remember the guy in Luxury that tore down the foundations of the Plutarch's office because they were made of white jade?" he asks Myrrh, snorting.
Myrrh "Yes...such a waste. Here's hoping the fact that this is at the bottom of the sea will keep people away from it..."
Myrrh eats one of the berries Snuffles brought him.
Corve "Doubt it. I think I saw some gills on that guy when I arrested him."
ST The berries taste exactly like a banana. If bananas tasted like sugary cream.
Myrrh "mmmm! You should try one of these.." Offers one to Corve.
Corve takes one and shrugs, popping it in his mouth and tasting it. "Huh... tastes like a sugary banana with cream..."
Carmine turns to look at Corve "...Someone with gills? And what's that you're eating?"
Myrrh "Oh just some berries Snuffles brought."
Myrrh offers one to Carmine. "There's a few nuts...some greens...he's just an excellent forager!"
ST The massive golden doors remain closed, baring the Solars further access to the building. Really barring them any access since the outside seems to be nothing but plainly dressed stone of immaculate quality. Snuffles has worked his way onto Myrrh's shoulder, where he sits, making it appear as if Myrrh is starting to molder.
Carmine makes facial gestures to indicate she would eat one, but her arms are a little occupied.
Corve "Yeah, I think he had gills. He just laughed everytime I dunked his head in the water to make him talk. He'd stashed a lot of treasure stolen from the national treasury. Sneaky bastard, that one."
Corve grabs one of the fruits and holds it to Carmine's mouth.
Carmine smiles, and eats it from corve's hand, chewing them smiling. "Weird, but ... tasty."
Corve nods a little, shrugging as he continues to ascend the steps.
ST At the top of the steps Corve and the others are confronted by the closed golden doors.
Corve "So, should we knock?"
Myrrh "I think everyone inside is long dead..." Approaches the door, thinking it'll open automaticly.
Corve "Like that ever stopped them from talking to us."
Corve "I mean, a dead guy hit on Carmine, we were annoyed by a greedy Plutarch, and I just had a conversation with the memory of my dead past life." With all that said, knocking doesn't really seem to silly, does it?
ST As Myrrh approaches the massive golden doors they hesitate, shudder and slowly, slowly groan open. Within is a big, dark space. Clearly windows weren't a priority for whoever built this building.
Corve immediately flartes his Caste mark, bathing their immediate vicinity in hues of gold-tinted silver and shaded purple.
Corve flares**
Carmine once more peers around from under Xar's bulk
ST A wave slams into the three Solars as the doors open and the air inside the Hall of the City floods out. The sweet, powerful smell is almost a physical sensation as it enters their noses and assaults them with its enrapturing scent. It smells like bread baking, vanilla, roses in bloom and pure bliss. Carmine and Myrrh recognize the smell as that produced by the black flower that ensnared Xar.
Corve "Oooh, nice."
ST In the light of Corve's anima banner they can make out the shape of a massive rose bush that has taken over the interior of the Hall of the City, growing out of the many skeletal bodies that litter the floor of the grand hall. The main stem of the plant is nestled against the far wall, its huge blooms easily a pace across. They are hard to see in the darkness, their midnight petals blending into the shadows.
ST But the smell is unmistakable, and on Myrrh's shoulder, Snuffles is vibrating with hate.
Corve looks at his friends and grimaces. "Okay, this is sinister. And why is he snarling?"
Myrrh "That's the plant that knocked out Xar!"
Corve "Oh," he says, and then calmly unholsters his rifle, aiming at it.
Carmine carefully sets Xar down.
ST A woman steps forward, her hands raised in a gesture of peace. All three Solars are completely certain she was not in the room a moment before. Her brown skin, black eyes and shining, oil-on-black-water hair combine with an impossibly lean, shapely form to make her possibly the most attractive thing Myrrh and Corve have ever seen. The only thing more attractive would be the smell of the rose bushes behind her.
Dark`Woman "Please, put away your weapons. There is no need for violence here."
Carmine scowls at the beautiful woman before her, though she says nothing, yet.
Corve "As soon as you tell us how to wake up our friend... who was knocked out by a plant much like that one," he says, nodding to the bush. "Also... you wouldn't happen to be named Blossom, would you?" There's a chance...
Dark`Woman "Why, no, my name is Audry. And I am afraid I have no idea how to help your friend...I've never seen anything like him at all. But don't worry, I'm sure he will be fine. The plant was only protecting itself. It never wants to hurt anyone."
Corve "Uh huh..." he says, raising a brow. "So... Audry... what are you doing here?"
Dark`Woman "I live here."
Myrrh "But...it was trying to drink his blood! Although I have to say it DOES smell nice."
Dark`Woman "Don't be silly, the plants don't drink blood. They only drink water and sunlight."
Corve "Well, my friend doesn't lie. Much. And he wouldn't lie about this- so either -you're- lying... or it was a plant that looked a lot like this one."
Carmine "I /saw/ it with it's vines in his skin." Carmine says intensely
Corve "And she -definitely- doesn't lie." His finger slips inside the trigger, holding his weapon steadfast.
Myrrh "I don't know...maybe we should hear her out...she is pret- I mean, she is living here..."
Corve "If we listened to everyone that lived where we go we'd be dead a long time ago, Myrrh."
Dark`Woman takes a few steps closer, her hands still raised. "There is some sort of misunderstanding. The plants and I mean you no harm."
Corve "I've heard it before, lady. Keep your distance."
Corve feeds his senses Essence.
Dark`Woman "Please, there is nothing to fear here. Your weapons are not necessary."
Corve snorts. "Carmine, Myrrh, draw," he says, smiling at the woman. "Nice try."
Dark`Woman looks helplessly at Myrrh and Carmine. "Please, I do not know what he is talking about! I mean no harm, don't let him hurt me!"
Corve snorts. "Honey, you have no idea who you're lying to," he says, raising a brow and smirking. "Better than you have tried. Everyone fails. Don't take it personally."
Dark`Woman Though Myrrh finds it difficult to resist the allure of the dark-haired beauty, Carmine isn't even phased.
Carmine smiles at the woman, Eminence appearing in her hand.
Myrrh "But she's...I mean...Snuffles, what do you think?"
Corve snorts. "Snuffles hates her. He was snarling and hissing ealier," he says, turning slightly to look sideways at the fungus thing. "Come on Snuffles, let's kick this veggie bitch's ass, what do you say?!"
ST Snuffles extends a writhing mass of thorny pseudopods and lashes the air with them, hissing and rattling! The dark-haired woman back-steps to get closer to the huge black-flowered plant
Myrrh "I don't think Snuffles likes you..."
Corve smirks. "'Nuff said," he murmurs, and looks at at the woman, turning his aim a bit to the side... and shooting the plant. "Xar's down. No quarter."
Carmine blazes with the faint light of dawn as she runs at the woman, twin crimson ribbons trailing behind her, the glow building with each step she takes spining as she passes the woman, Eminence making three deep scores in the plant woman as she pirouettes.
ST The plant attempts to defend itself, though it does a poor job of it. Corve's bullet strikes and severs a large branch, crushing several of the vast blossoms and destroying a few of the smaller offshoot plants. Screaming in rage the Dark Woman whips her hands around and reveals formerly hidden thorn-covered vines emerging from her arms. With a snap of her wrists she drives away Eminence with the flower-whips.
ST As Carmine's attacks slice through the vine-whips and gash the woman a number of plants around the room vanish in puffs of flame, consumed by the fury of Eminence. The woman looks unharmed, but enraged. "You are destroying my children!"
Corve "Bite me, vinebitch!"
Myrrh unholsters his rifle and aims at the woman. "Your children ate all of the people!"
ST "Gladly!" The woman stalks forward, swishing her vines into a spiral that wraps around Corve, their thorns digging deep into his flesh.
Corve leaps backwards, dancing away from the slashing vine-whips as he spins about, bending and letting the attacks either slip about him or pass ephemerally through him.
Carmine gives the woman a look that very clearly says "Only I'm allowed to do that!" as she plunges Eminence backwards into the woman, before wrenching it out with a savage gesture, holding the sunlit blade in two hands as she draws it across the woman again and again.
ST In defense of the plant-woman the mighty roots of the flower heave themselves up from the floor and throw themselves in the path of Carmine's onslaught of violence and jealousy!
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