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ST Corve bursts into the warehouse where Carmine had just finished confronting her "sister", Ruby. Xar, now freed from the zombies, is looking angry and Oteki, just arrived from town upon hearing the commotion, is confused. Myrrh has gone off to find the Walrusy guide, hoping for more information about the red-furred woman who turned out to be Ruby.
Captain Oteki appears to have been drinking. Sways from side to side, looking all the more confused at the situation due to the aforementioned drinking.
Carmine turns confusedly to Corve and hugs him
stryck "I smell like zombie." he mutters
Carmine looks over Corve's shoulder at Xar "...Are you okay?"
Captain Oteki raises an eyebrow, and then peers at everything around him, and then speaks. "So... what the hell?"
Xar`Rex huffs. "Yes. What happened? I could not see."
Carmine "...It ... it was Ruby. She wanted to speak to me, to warn me about Falling Darkness and Scarlet Blossom..."
Xar`Rex "Who is ruby?"
Carmine "...My sister." She looks uncertain. "I think"
Xar`Rex "You have a sister?"
Captain Oteki smirks. "Can ye introduce me?"
Carmine "Yes. NO!"
Captain Oteki pouts. "An' why not?"
Myrrh returns, looking slightly disappointed. "Well I found him but he doesn't know who she is."
Corve rubs his forehead slowly, one arm wrapped around Carmine's waist. "... what did Ruby say?"
Carmine "She warned me about Falling Darkness and Scarlet Blossom ... they're waiting for us with Sun. And she said I'd join her soon." She sounds nervous of this.
Captain Oteki sways drunkenly. "Well that sounds ominous, aye?" he mutters. "An' here I had to go missin' it. I wonder what th'prerequisites are for a body t'be doin' this "joinin'" thing..."
Myrrh "Oteki...are you DRUNK?"
Captain Oteki looks at Myrrh incredulously for a moment. "What be yer first indication, there, lad?"
Corve glares at the pirate for a moment, and then pushes hair from Carmine's face, frowning. "It's all right. We knew that they'd be there-- and... she's wrong." Unfortunately, there's not much more the Night caste can say.
Myrrh "Very wrong. And I don't think you'd like to join them Oteki. You'd have to dress in skulls and black and put on make up all day.
Carmine gives Myrrh and Oteki an incredulous look over Corve's shoulder.
Captain Oteki grins widely. "Hey, I for one look good in black." he declares. "An' I weren't joking, neither. Just considerin' that this sister o'yours apparently has access t'some information that ye and yours, and meself for that matter, seem t'be lackin', it just might be a good idea t'keep up the appearance that at least one o'the lot of us might be interested in such a thing. Could prove useful, aye?"
Corve raises a brow, turning to look at Myrrh and Oteki. "For a drunkard, he's got a point."
Myrrh "Yes but what if they find him out and...do something to him?"
Captain Oteki smirks. "Then ye geniuses figure out some manner o'fixin' me, aye? An' besides, I've got more'n a little experience in th'field o'fibbin' t'the ladies, I should be fine."
Myrrh looks at the rest of the group, he's not too sure about this one...
Captain Oteki seems to consider the discussion over, and grins. "On an unlrelll... ernrull... in other news, it's been brought to me attention that th'stores o'brandy I been keepin' for a special occasion are, in fact, some sort o'horrific concoction tastin' vaguely o'yeddim piss, so I've gone an'acquired a new stock. There's been some extensive testin' involved, but..." he trails off.
Carmine shakes her head
Corve drops his forehead on Carmine's shoulder and gives a short-lived chuckle, arms wrapping around her.
Carmine holds him tight.
Corve sighs and looks at the rest. "Xar, are you all right? We should get going."
Xar`Rex shrugs his broad shoulders. "Yes." he grunts, still obviously irritated at how easily he was subdued. "Let us leave this place now."
Captain Oteki nods sagely, half-marching half-stumbling toward a convenient exit. "So it be decided. If anyone here is t'be claimin' interest in joinin' th'dark side or whatever, it ain't gonna be ye folk. An' not just because ye have families an' friends who're too important t'be riskin' yer souls, neither, but because I'm interested in seein' whether I can get with Carmine's sister."
Myrrh "Let's hope she isn't as good with sharp impliments as Carmine then...:"
ST It takes no more then three hours to gather their gear, get Oteki into his and everyone else into theirs and start following the Walrusy-looking guide, Jurek. He leads them from the city, leaving Oteki's crew of three to watch the ship as the rest venture into the Glaciers to find where the Lost Soul has delivered Sun to. And to find the two waiting Deathknights.
Captain Oteki sobers up remarkably quickly, surprisingly enough, though the only real change seems to be in the steadiness of his step.
ST Jurek tells the Solars and Xar that it is two days to walk to the great Glacier in which the Frozen City rests. The reason they could not fly the Omen to the city and land there is simple: for those two days they must travel in small passages inside the glaciers themselves. Jurek tells them the tunnels were carved by Ice Worms, giant beasts as wide around as a Troll is tall.
ST The Ice Worms nest in the Frozen City and venture forth, carving these tunnels as they pass through the ice.
Captain Oteki gets the sniffles, and sneezes a lot.
ST Myrrh is far worse off then Oteki, apparently not having gotten enough fur layered on his body to protect himself from the cold, he quickly finds himself shivering violently and turning a variety of interesting colors like grey, white, blue and hues in between. Xar eventually has to carry the frost-bitten Solar on his back, bundled in the Dragon-King's furs as well as his own.
ST Xar, being a magical lizard, is not bothered by the cold.
Carmine seems unaffected by the cold, despite her usual brief dress. She donated the furs they bought for her to Myrrh.
ST Myrrh is now well and truly wrapped up, though only his eyes are visible. He looks somewhat like a cigar made of fur as he bumps along on Xar's back. Worse yet, he's caught a cold and can't seem to stop sneezing.
Myrrh wishes for the nice cool winters and warm summers of Brume, rather than this icey hell and he briefly ponders how Sun could survive this trek.
Captain Oteki sneezes, and sniffles. "Y'know, if there were more available ladies about, this'd be a perfect opportunity for a joke about the sharin' o'body heat."
Carmine keeps on checking on Myrrh as they walk.
Myrrh "Somehow I don't think Carmine would be warm enough. You could try Xar though, he could CHOOOOOO hug you?"
Myrrh groans.
Corve does okay in the cold. Not warm, but not freezing his butt off like Myrrh.
Captain Oteki "Ye be keepin' yer mouth shut, lad. Yer lettin' the heat out, an' ye got precious little o'that t'start with, it seems."
Carmine "Oteki is actually right, you should keep quiet." She checks his temperature again.
Corve snorts. "Myrrh? Keep quite? I think he'd rather freeze to death." He smiles at his friend though; it's not malign at all.
ST The group makes camp for the night in a fissure in the side of one of the Worm tunnels. Jurek refuses to let anyone start a fire, saying that heat draws the Ice Worms and it would be better not to have to face one of those fearsome creatures unless they have no other choice. He does allow Xar to warm up their food with some small fire-magic, but no blazing cookfires.
Captain Oteki coughs once or twice. "Y'know, I think I be gettin' used to this. It's almost charmin'. Anyone want to make a bloody snowman?" he remarks sarcastically.
Myrrh "Yeah well Sun had better appreciate this! We can guilt trip her for life after all of this is over. Get her to marry some nice patrician's son."
Corve narrows his eyes on Myrrh; a gesture that clearly states: 'over my dead body'.
Myrrh goes into another sneezing fit.
Corve smirks.
Carmine checks Myrrh over now they've stopped, filling his body with sunlit magic.
Captain Oteki chows down on some weird oatmeal-looking stuff, some jerky, and a (sadly frozen solid) piece of fruit. "So, do ye lot have any idea what it is that we'll be doin' once we get where we're goin?" sneeze
Myrrh "Ugh. Thank you Carmine I'm feeling much better." He manages nasaly, he gets off of Xar's back and goes to eat something.
Carmine looks away from Myrrh now he seems to be better. "Oteki, are you okay?"
Xar`Rex "I would like to see an Ice Worm."
Captain Oteki sniffles, and wipes his nose on the sleeve of his coat. "Better'n I could be, lass. Though me extremities do seem t'be displeased with th'current temperature."
Jurek chews on some jerky. "I think not, comrade. Fearsome beasts, more then three miles long with fangs as big as yourself. You would not enjoy meeting a bull, for they have nasty tempers. The she-worms are larger yet, but docile. Still, being crushed is being crushed, ill-meant or no."
Xar`Rex "I have been eaten before, it was not so bad."
Corve snickers a little, shaking his head at Xar. especially since he's been eaten before, though in a different manner. Quite a nightmare.
Captain Oteki opens his mouth, looking like he's going to make a particularly lewd comment, but then seems to think better of it and goes back to his oatmeal.
Jurek "These things chew food very well, comrade. Best to avoid them."
Captain Oteki cleans out his bowl, and shoves it back into his satchel. "Probably fer th'best, then. I ain't findin' meself too partial to th'concept o'being chewed. Though I did once know a lass from th'far west, green-skinned an' sharp o'tooth..." he trails off, thankfully.
Carmine sighs and curls up next to corve
ST After a short sleep for everyone, the march resumes. Myrrh is up and about, Oteki is still cold and everyone else is fine. The second day of travel is much like the first: slippery footing, huge masses of ice, occasional piles of Ice Worm poo, more masses of ice. Light does, to a degree, filter down into the ice tunnels but only as a faint, diffuse glow that offers about as much illumination as a half-lit candle.
Captain Oteki coughs a few times. "I be growin' t'dislike ice."
Corve shrugs. "It's just like water, Oteki. Only hard."
Myrrh "It's actualy a very interesting process Oteki, you see..."
ST Finally, the tunnel reaches an end, looking out over a vast cavern in the ice. At the bottom of the cavern is a great city of black stone and black metal, covered in a deep coat of ice, snow and frost. The city is laid out inside a vast circle of spire-capped and spike-topped wall of dark stone with black gates. The center of the city is dominated by a pyramid that must be over a mile high, built in over 500 layers, each with at least 100
Xar`Rex leaves holes in the ice as he walks, claws gripping the ice easily to maintain his footing. "It is not as nice as the desert."
Jurek "This is the Frozen City, comrades. I will be going now."
Myrrh "...and then the crystals fall down from the clouds after solidifying in the sky, being pulled down by gaia of course..."
Captain Oteki plants his hands on his hips, and looks around. "Nice place, ye think?"
Carmine "It's cold." She evidently doesn't approve overmuch.
Myrrh "Very pretty!"
Corve wraps his arms around Carmine's, chin on her shoulder. "Now what?"
Myrrh "If you like black that is."
Myrrh "Now I say we make with large showings of flashy heroics?"
Carmine nods to Myrrh
Jurek turns and lumbers away from the Circle, leaving them to the Frozen City.
Corve nods and takes a step back from Carmine, unsheathing Judging Thunder and cocking it, the barrel coming to rest on his shoulder. "All righty then."
Captain Oteki blows his nose into a handkerchief, and then slips his left hand into the imposing orichalcum-and-steel grip of Mjolnir's Grasp, his other hand moving to check the revolver strapped to his hip. "After we be done here, drinks're on me, aye?"
ST Though Carmine is unaware, everyone feels an unwelcome sensation descend upon them as they stand there, watching the city. Myrrh and Xar are the only ones to recognize it's nature: they are at the edge of a Shadowland. Myrrh alone realizes that night has fallen and when they step forward, they will walk into the Underworld. Their Essence will be cut off from the flows of Creation.
ST Only the cold, alien Essence of the Underworld will be in this place.
Myrrh "Hm. If we take another step we'll be in the Underworld."
Captain Oteki makes an "yyyygh" noise. "Did anyone else get a case o'the rampant creepies right there?"
Carmine "...What?"
Xar`Rex "Is that not where we wish to be? Sun is there."
Corve "..." He nods at Oteki. "Shadowland." It's Myrrh's comment that solidifed the suspicion. "It's where we're going-- but we have to be prepared; once we go through, we start to starve." Essence- and otherwise.
Myrrh "Carmine, if you enter a shadowland at night you enter the underworld. If we go there we can't regain our essence until we return to creation. We're alive, it's a different world there."
Corve looks at Carmine, then Myrrh. "We know, Myrrh. We've done it before. Everyone ready?"
Captain Oteki shrugs. "I don't seem t'be gettin' any readier."
Myrrh "Just letting them know. It's not a pleasant feeling. Although we might get to meet some famous ghosts..."
Corve rolls his eyes. "Let's just go." He grips his weapon tightly in his armored fist, and then takes Carmine's hand, starting to walk.
ST There is a clear path down into the city from the ledge where they were standing. On the way down they notice huge...things moving in the streets and on the outskirts of the cavern, beyond the walls. These must be the Ice Worms that Jurek warned them about. They do seem to be quite incredibly vast.
Carmine steps through into the shadowland. She stops a moment after stepping through. "...This ... doesn't feel right."
Captain Oteki starts to whistle merrily, but that doesn't last very long. Even his indestructible good cheer is dampened by the transition. Though he does manage to keep half a smile on his face.
Corve wraps his arm around Carmine's shoulders and kisses her cheek. "It's fine. We're fine. We get Sun, we wait for sunup, and we leave."
Myrrh steps through, actualy looking forward to the experiences. It's been awhile and while it may make him queasy, there's bound to be a few dead scholars around."
Carmine "... No, not like that. It doesn't feel like it did before ... it doesn't feel bad." This bothers her.
Myrrh "Hm...interesting." Scribbles a quick note"
ST It's easy to reach the walls of the dark city, but then there is a small problem: the walls of the dark city. At least thirty feet high, possibly many feet thick and made of huge blocks of black stone. The closest gate, which they go to check on, is made of black iron and looks very, very sturdy despite being thousands of years old.
Carmine jumps to the top of the wall.
Captain Oteki does the same, though with a short running start he just barely makes it.
Carmine catches Oteki as he looks like he might slip.
Captain Oteki looks down. "Thankee, there, lass."
Xar`Rex flies Myrrh up and deposits him nicely on the top of the wall, and looks down to see if Corve wants help up as well
Corve nods to Xar. He's not sure if he can make it, and would rather not risk it.
Xar`Rex flies down, grabbing Corve carefully by the shoulders, and circles back to the top of the wall once more, dropping him off, and then landing next to the others.
Corve seems distracted, eyes only half open and mouth moving sometimes, as if he's speaking to himself.
Carmine smiles at Oteki, then turns to Corve "...Corve?"
Corve snaps his head around. "Hrm? Yes?"
Carmine "...Why are you talking to yourself?"
Corve blinks at her. "I'm not... I'm..." He points at his temple, tapping softly. "Well, I guess I am. The jails are at the center of the city."
Xar`Rex "Have you been here before?"
Corve shrugs. "He remembers when it was built."
Carmine "Sixth?"
Myrrh "Odd that our enemy would fortify one of our old creations.."
Corve "Yeah.j"
Xar`Rex "Do you remember how to turn off the defenses?"
Corve "It was built by the servants of the Ice-demon Krfsk. I don't think we had anything to do with its construction."
Captain Oteki "I wonder how you spell that."
Corve "Apparently, Xar, it doesn't have anything, beyond the inhabitants and all the ice."
Corve glances at Oteki. "I'm not going to ask."
Myrrh "You need to know high realm with a Malphean dialect. It's sort of an odd caligraphy to get right in creation."
Myrrh "I think it has something to do with the sun being the wrong color."
Carmine eyes Myrrh oddly
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