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| − | <div></div><br> <br>It is dark. And a little cold. It seems that the slide has dumped poor Cura deep in the heart of the strange, Mayan pyramid. Now what?<br> <br>Cura glances about, a bit dazed a more then a little annoyed. The plastic dragon checks hir comm device for signal, eager to update control on hir current situation.<br> <br>The comm link indicates that it has no connection, the glow from the little screen doing little to illuminate the balckness. Looks like Cura is on her own.<br> <br>Cura chuckles and shakes hir head before muttering, "Of course the damm thing does not work when I need it most." The dragon looks about grinning, "Lets see what we can work with..." at this moment the agents implanted NICE unit begins a flurry of action, processing one of the more... unusual programs avalible. The result is a wriggling appendage extending from hir shoulder blade, extending a few feet in length before the tip suddenly bursts into flames, it's surface taking on the properties of one of the more incendiary mutants that agent has avalible.<br> <br>The strange tentacle works, but not well, as if the nanites are sleepy and sluggish, and the flames seem dimmer than they ought to be. . . probably just the gloomy atmosphere. The stone room that Cura finds herself in is quite large, with the exit of the slide she fell from a good ten feet over her head. Mayan glyphs and pictograms line the walls of the room, showing their strange gods in various attitudes of blessing, cursing, and generally going about their godly business. On the far wall is the only apparent exit, a large, stone gateway open to a dark corridor. The door frame is carved to look like a gaping, monstrous maw of sharp teeth.<br> <br>Cura glances about with a huff, untill hir gaze falls upon the door with a chuckle. "Really? Now that is just kinda cute." The dragon makes hir way past the gateway, and into the next room, hir eyes scanning the walls and floor as shi advances.<br> <br>The door is a bit of a tight fit for Cura's oversized form and the corridor is not much better. The walls here seem to depict some rather unpleasant scenes. Lines of two dimensional people in chains being lead down the hall in the same direction that Cura is headed. There seems to be a distinct downward tilt to the floor.<br> <br>Cura grunts at first as shi attempts to squeeze hir way past the door, before pausing a bit and facepalming. "Right..." Hir body then once more changes, it's dimensions and shape becoming once more that of the form shi had originally entered in. The talakai grins and resumes down the tunnel, hir tenta-torch dimly lighting the way forward. Shi feels a bit uneasy as shi looks over the walls for a moment. "I think I have heard about this... the culture was reall into human sacrifices... heh. We will see about that." shi mutters to hirself.<br> <br>As Cura's form shifts and changes, something very unusual happens. Instead of her excess mass evaporating into the air like normal, it sloughs off in piles of gelatinous goo around her! That is not supposed to happen! With her smaller size, the corridor is much easier to navigate, though it seems that it was still made for people considerably smaller than her.<br> <br>Cura glances down a bit in shock and disgust as what once was part of hir become goop. Hir eyes then widen when shi relizes what this might mean.... "Am I... outside of the bubble? But I could not have fallen that far....." The kai looks down to hir comm unit and enables the distress system. "Ok, ok... I just have to press forward untill I find somewhere with signal.... shit." the kai begins to cautiously advance, and for the first time in years, begins to fear for hir life.<br> <br>Once past the running gelatin of useless nanites, the tunnel is dry and cold and the torchtacle is growing dimmer and dimmer. No nanites, no nanomagic. . . following the flickering, chained figures on the walls brings Cura to a new doorway that opens into what must be a cavernous space, because her light does not penetrate far into the black, and there is little to see besides stone floor, and in that stone some sort of groove. Probably for draining off rain or water or. . . well, water does not usually leave behind a flaking, black residue.<br> <br>Cura glances about at what shi assumes is the chamber used for sacrifical ritual... that or outright tourure... "lovely..." shi mutters as shi glances around for anything that could be used to replace hir dimming light source.<br> <br>There does not seem to be anything nearby that would give light. It looks like the only marker to follow would be the gutter in the floor, horrible though it is. Maybe there will be something along the way. Or she could follow the wall. That might be a safer course.<br> <br>Cura groans aloud as shi fails to secure anything to replace hir dying light. The kai defaults to the generic, follow the left hand wall trick, while seaching for anything that may be usefull.<br> <br>Following the wall certainly works. The floor is mostly smooth and even with an occasional patch of fallen stone. The walls themselves are carved in great whorls and stylized shapes that probably make more sense from further away. Soon, Cura comes to a low wall. It only comes up to her waist, and on second glance, is not much of a partition at all. It seems to be another groove like the one she saw before, only this one is raised off the ground in a little channel. The dimming light of her tentatorch glitters off a dark liquid shimmering within.<br> <br>Cura stops and leans in over the new groove, the kai leans over to sniff at the substance within.<br> <br>Ugh! Well, what do you know? It smells like some kind of oil! Not ancient blood at all!<br> <br>Cura grins at hir small victory and attempts to use hir tenta-torch to light the oil, "Seems like I found the light switch." If the oil does then light the kai might announce, "Honey, I'm hooome."<br> <br>The oil ignites with a WHOOSH! and flame runs quickly down the length of the channel and spread to others like it around what turns out to be a HUGE cavern! Sorry to say that there is no ancient treasure to be seen, but that does not mean that there is not plenty to see. The walls of the room, if you can call it a room are carved with monolithic representations of Mayan gods, all in attitudes of attention, their eyes turned to the center of the huge space where a miniature pyramid, this one a mere twenty feet high stands. Spread in the vast spaces around the pyramid are neat, orderly rows of. . . well, corpses. No way to sugar coat that. Thousands of mummified human and mostly human corpses lie arranged around the pyramid. And it seems that the door that Cura arrived through is the only visible exit. Though it is hard to guess at this distance. There might be another door somewhere along one of the walls. Or maybe inside of the pyramid.<br> <br>Cura takes a moment to take in the sights. "Well someone has been skimping on maid service..." Shi then glances to a few of the not so human looking bodies. The kai approches and examines them closely, removing an obscuring outfits or accesories on them if needed. | + | <div></div><br> <br>It is dark. And a little cold. It seems that the slide has dumped poor Cura deep in the heart of the strange, Mayan pyramid. Now what?<br> <br>Cura glances about, a bit dazed a more then a little annoyed. The plastic dragon checks hir comm device for signal, eager to update control on hir current situation.<br> <br>The comm link indicates that it has no connection, the glow from the little screen doing little to illuminate the balckness. Looks like Cura is on her own.<br> <br>Cura chuckles and shakes hir head before muttering, "Of course the damm thing does not work when I need it most." The dragon looks about grinning, "Lets see what we can work with..." at this moment the agents implanted NICE unit begins a flurry of action, processing one of the more... unusual programs avalible. The result is a wriggling appendage extending from hir shoulder blade, extending a few feet in length before the tip suddenly bursts into flames, it's surface taking on the properties of one of the more incendiary mutants that agent has avalible.<br> <br>The strange tentacle works, but not well, as if the nanites are sleepy and sluggish, and the flames seem dimmer than they ought to be. . . probably just the gloomy atmosphere. The stone room that Cura finds herself in is quite large, with the exit of the slide she fell from a good ten feet over her head. Mayan glyphs and pictograms line the walls of the room, showing their strange gods in various attitudes of blessing, cursing, and generally going about their godly business. On the far wall is the only apparent exit, a large, stone gateway open to a dark corridor. The door frame is carved to look like a gaping, monstrous maw of sharp teeth.<br> <br>Cura glances about with a huff, untill hir gaze falls upon the door with a chuckle. "Really? Now that is just kinda cute." The dragon makes hir way past the gateway, and into the next room, hir eyes scanning the walls and floor as shi advances.<br> <br>The door is a bit of a tight fit for Cura's oversized form and the corridor is not much better. The walls here seem to depict some rather unpleasant scenes. Lines of two dimensional people in chains being lead down the hall in the same direction that Cura is headed. There seems to be a distinct downward tilt to the floor.<br> <br>Cura grunts at first as shi attempts to squeeze hir way past the door, before pausing a bit and facepalming. "Right..." Hir body then once more changes, it's dimensions and shape becoming once more that of the form shi had originally entered in. The talakai grins and resumes down the tunnel, hir tenta-torch dimly lighting the way forward. Shi feels a bit uneasy as shi looks over the walls for a moment. "I think I have heard about this... the culture was reall into human sacrifices... heh. We will see about that." shi mutters to hirself.<br> <br>As Cura's form shifts and changes, something very unusual happens. Instead of her excess mass evaporating into the air like normal, it sloughs off in piles of gelatinous goo around her! That is not supposed to happen! With her smaller size, the corridor is much easier to navigate, though it seems that it was still made for people considerably smaller than her.<br> <br>Cura glances down a bit in shock and disgust as what once was part of hir become goop. Hir eyes then widen when shi relizes what this might mean.... "Am I... outside of the bubble? But I could not have fallen that far....." The kai looks down to hir comm unit and enables the distress system. "Ok, ok... I just have to press forward untill I find somewhere with signal.... shit." the kai begins to cautiously advance, and for the first time in years, begins to fear for hir life.<br> <br>Once past the running gelatin of useless nanites, the tunnel is dry and cold and the torchtacle is growing dimmer and dimmer. No nanites, no nanomagic. . . following the flickering, chained figures on the walls brings Cura to a new doorway that opens into what must be a cavernous space, because her light does not penetrate far into the black, and there is little to see besides stone floor, and in that stone some sort of groove. Probably for draining off rain or water or. . . well, water does not usually leave behind a flaking, black residue.<br> <br>Cura glances about at what shi assumes is the chamber used for sacrifical ritual... that or outright tourure... "lovely..." shi mutters as shi glances around for anything that could be used to replace hir dimming light source.<br> <br>There does not seem to be anything nearby that would give light. It looks like the only marker to follow would be the gutter in the floor, horrible though it is. Maybe there will be something along the way. Or she could follow the wall. That might be a safer course.<br> <br>Cura groans aloud as shi fails to secure anything to replace hir dying light. The kai defaults to the generic, follow the left hand wall trick, while seaching for anything that may be usefull.<br> <br>Following the wall certainly works. The floor is mostly smooth and even with an occasional patch of fallen stone. The walls themselves are carved in great whorls and stylized shapes that probably make more sense from further away. Soon, Cura comes to a low wall. It only comes up to her waist, and on second glance, is not much of a partition at all. It seems to be another groove like the one she saw before, only this one is raised off the ground in a little channel. The dimming light of her tentatorch glitters off a dark liquid shimmering within.<br> <br>Cura stops and leans in over the new groove, the kai leans over to sniff at the substance within.<br> <br>Ugh! Well, what do you know? It smells like some kind of oil! Not ancient blood at all!<br> <br>Cura grins at hir small victory and attempts to use hir tenta-torch to light the oil, "Seems like I found the light switch." If the oil does then light the kai might announce, "Honey, I'm hooome."<br> <br>The oil ignites with a WHOOSH! and flame runs quickly down the length of the channel and spread to others like it around what turns out to be a HUGE cavern! Sorry to say that there is no ancient treasure to be seen, but that does not mean that there is not plenty to see. The walls of the room, if you can call it a room are carved with monolithic representations of Mayan gods, all in attitudes of attention, their eyes turned to the center of the huge space where a miniature pyramid, this one a mere twenty feet high stands. Spread in the vast spaces around the pyramid are neat, orderly rows of. . . well, corpses. No way to sugar coat that. Thousands of mummified human and mostly human corpses lie arranged around the pyramid. And it seems that the door that Cura arrived through is the only visible exit. Though it is hard to guess at this distance. There might be another door somewhere along one of the walls. Or maybe inside of the pyramid.<br> <br>Cura takes a moment to take in the sights. "Well someone has been skimping on maid service..." Shi then glances to a few of the not so human looking bodies. The kai approches and examines them closely, removing an obscuring outfits or accesories on them if needed.<br> <br>The nearest strange corpse is not too far. It is old and dry and dessicated, dressed in ceremonial warrior garb, a ratty, rotting jaguar skin wrapped around its shoulders and head, with a flint lined club clutched in its mummified hand. It seems, that in place of a human skull, however, that it has the skull of a jaguar. |
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| + | A strange wind suddenly whips through the underground room and a sound like wooden windchimes. . . or rattling bones fills the air. The empty eye sockets of the corpse Cura is examining suddenly blaze with some kind of white light and a skeletal hand reaches out with frightening speed, grasping her probing wrist in a skeletal grip!<br> <br>Cura bring hir other fist down hard on the reanimated creature's skull, attempting to cave it in with sheer strength alone.<br> <br>The Talakai's soft, maternal arm has little trouble smashing through the reanimated corpse, though it's mummified hand still clings to her wrist, a severed arm dangling beneath it. Unfortunately, it seems that he has brought more than enough friends to make up for his loss. All of the dessicated corpses around the vast room are rising!<br> <br>Cura glances about as shi shakes hir grappled arm a bit to free it of the clingy dead thing, weighing hir options the kai makes a break for the pyramid in the center of the room. <br> <br>Bulky creatures like the Talakai just aren't made for this sort of thing! While Cura is able to weave her way past the sluggishly rising dead as they haul themselves to their feet, she finds her progress halted by no less than ten corpses between her and the pyramid. Not to mention the vertitable horde closing in from all sides!<br> <br>Cura grits hir teeth and attempts to bull rush hir way past the creatures using hir size and strength advantage to hir favor.<br> <br>The mummified warriors are scattered like bowling pins before Cura's furious charge, only managing to give the charging Talakai a few superficial scrapes and scratches with their bony claws. From behind, shi can hear the erie, voiceless clatter of the advancing dead, and the stone pyramid lies silent ahead.<br> <br>Cura looks back for a moment, and issues an angry growl before shi begins hir ascent of the pyramid. The kai's eyes scan for any potential entrances into the structure. <br> <br>Fortunately, the corpses are sluggish. Or, at least they are currently sluggish. No reason to jump to conclusions. Cura can certainly see the abominations climbing the other sides of the pyramid. It looks like the only entrance is up at the top, just like the pyramid outside, and that hir only chance is to get there ahead of the skeleton soldiers and hope that there is some way to escape up there!<br> <br>Cura frowns and picks up the pace desperate to reach the top first, as worse comes to worse, shi could use the height advantage to hir favor.<br> <br>The Talakai manages to stagger into the little anteroom at the top of the pyramid before her persuers arrive, but there is not much time before they will doubtless catch up. In the center of the little room there is a set of spiral stairs, leading up to the roof of the little temple, and down into darkness.<br> <br>Cura glances up and glances down before mubling aloud "Dammit, well... Down the rabbit hole." Shi begins the mad descent into darkness, the whole while searching for anything to illuminate hir path forwards.<br> <br>There seems to be nothing to shed light on the situation. The light from the horrible room above dims and vanishes entirely as Cura staggers down into the dark. The floor levels out quickly beyond the staircase and seems to be made of smooth stone. The wall too feels smooth and cool. From the darkness behind comes the continuing rattle of boney feet on stone. Looks like there is no going back.<br> <br>Cura chuckles to hirself as shi continues forwards, attempting to outpace the boney horde behind hir. "Well, atleast it is not snakes." shi giggles a bit at the little joke and continues on.<br> <br>Pinpoints of light start to fill the tunnel behind Cura and advance quickly. It seems that the warriors have no trouble navigating in the darkness. They are definitely gaining! | ||
| + | |||
| + | As the Talakai flees, a gentle whisper comes to her ears. "Now can you accept a mother's help, unrully child?" comes the whispered question.<br> <br>Cura grits hir teeth once more before shouting out, "Fine, just get your undead pets off my tail."<br> <br>"Mine, child?" comes the voice, a bit stronger now, "Not mine. It was you who did not heed my warning and brought this upon yourself. Now, RUN!" | ||
| + | |||
| + | The corpse corps is gaining! It is either trust the voice and run, or turn and face the horde.<br> <br>Cura looks back with a snarl but continues running forwards, as shi doubts that shi can take all of them at once. The growls in displeasure at the situation but preeses on to what might be hir only chance to make it out alive.<br> <br>It is only a few more steps before Cura finds herself tumbling headlong into a great, black precipice. It is not so deep as it seems like it should be, only a short fall onto something soft and warm and damp.<br> <br>Cura glances about, somewhat dazed. If able the talakai would attempt to get to hir feet as soon as possible.<br> <br>There does not seem to be much of a way to regain footing here. Whatever surface Cura has landed on is smooth and slippery and starts to gently wrap itself around the Talakai until she is bound tightly in a warm, dark coccoon. Somehow it does not seem frightening, though. A sense of safety starts to pervade Cura's thoughts as shi can just make out the sound of a distant drum beat.<br> <br>Cura squirms and wriggles about in an attempt to escape hir fleshy prison, but it is by far a losing effort. The talakai yowls in confusion as hir struggles weaken with every hypnotic beat. Till eventually the kai succumbs to slumber in that fleshy embrace.<br> <br>Everything is dark and warm for an indeterminate length of time. . . Then suddenly there is intense pressure and a moment of pain and cold and light and Cura find herself lying on a bed of jaguar skins in some sort of steamy sauna. The call of jungle birds and croaking frogs filtering in from beyond the stange bower she suddenly finds herself in. | ||
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| + | "Ah," comes a gentle voice, "I wondered when you would wake, my child."<br> <br>Cura glances about in a dazed state, hir mind slowly going through a mental status check. "Surroundings:Unknown, Sounds of Wildlife.... injuries....." The kai is then startled by the sudden inclusion of a unfamiliar voice, hir body instincticvly attempts to put space between hir and the source of the voice, while hir ingrained training sends hir right hand to a gun holster shi had long since stopped carrying.<br> <br>"Be still, child," comes the voice again, "You are safe here." The voice apparently belongs to a wizened old woman, seated on a bench there in the steaming mist. She seems to be completely human, aside from her jaguar like ears, poking through her long black hair. "As you would have been had you simply heeded my warnings before."<br> <br>Cura glances to the woman withh suspicous eyes, but settles hir stance regardless. "Where am I, And wah has happened since I blacked out." the kai glances down, quickly scanning for the preliminary signs of rape, be it dried sexual fluids or fading bruises. <br> <br>"You are safe, in my home," the old woman says, "And you have only been reborn. No harm has come to you. I did promise you safety, did I not?"<br> <br>Cura glances back to the woman and scowls, "Thise terms still give much leeway for malicious deeds to be done, And I tend to be cautious of those that have undead deathtraps in their basement." Shi then glances about before huffing and stating, "So what is the catch? And don't pretend that there is none." Shi grins a bit, something dark and feral lurking behind hir eyes. "I know your kind, there allways is one."<br> <br>"Catch?" the old woman says, frowning, "You presume much, little mortal. I have no need to trick you to get what I want. Do not forget that you are in the presence of a Goddess." She waves a wrinkled hand dismissively. "If you are so averse to my company," she says, "You are more than welcome to take your leave." She points to an open doorway.<br> <br>Cura whinces a bit at the woman's response and responds with a chuckle. "Goddess of a forgotten pantheon on a dead people." Shi then sits down with a grin and states, "Unfortunatly for us both I am duty bound to learn what is going on here." shi then attempts a genuine smile, which no doubt convices no one and states. "The only reason you are here is if you need something from us, is that right? Well... how about we discuss this?"<br> <br>The woman frowns and a chill wind blows through the room. "We were gods long before any mortals took it upon themselves to worship us child. Do not forget that," she says, "I want nothing that is not freely given. I am come only to bless those who love what I love. Perhaps you will bear one of my children back into the world with you? Is that what you want me to ask?"<br> <br>Cura tenses at the overall shift in the rooms atmosphere, but otherwise does not outwardly react to the goddesses threat, "If that was all you wanted then why go with all of the mind effecting fog, and the unmarked temple, and all of the damm obtuse language?! I can tell you for a fact that people this day and age react much more in your favor if you just straight up tell them the bargain." Shi laughs aloud a bit hysterically before continuing. "I was half expecting it to be some, brainwash people into being your servants forever kind of schtick with the way you where presenting it."<br> <br>"Dear child," the goddess says, "Do you think you can stand in the presence of a goddess and be uneffected? The mists are merely indicative of my occupancy of my temple! It is none of my doing that the people of this era are so thick and weak willed. I have been nothing if not straight-forward. If you are not interested in doing me this kindness, then leave."<br> <br>Cura chuckles and gets to hir feet before turning to the exit, after a few steps shi stops and turns back, "I entered here with others... where are they?"<br> <br>"Long gone," the old woman says, "Some with my blessing, and others with my chastisement, but they left long ago. I am only glad that none of the others were as foolhardy as to stray from the path after a warning."<br> <br>Cura frowns and resumes hir attempted exit, intent on escaping the temple and linking back up with control to debrief.<br> <br>The old woman retakes her seat, watching Cura go, a little smile on his face. | ||
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| + | Cura no sooner steps beyond the portal than she finds herself standing at the base of the pyramid in the late afternoon sun of the East Forest. Quite the ride.<br> <br>Cura glances back at the temple before turning hir attention to hir comm unit, the device coming to frantic life as it reconnects to the network. The kai switches the device off of distress mode, and fills in a worried dispatch officer on hir status. As shi looks back at the temple a few thoughts run through hir head... "SUCKs, climbing rope, flashlights, flares, firearms...." The kai sighs before begining the long treck back. Hir job not nearly over.[[Category:RPLogs]] | ||
Latest revision as of 23:19, 29 February 2016
Participants
Date
29/2/2016
Log
It is dark. And a little cold. It seems that the slide has dumped poor Cura deep in the heart of the strange, Mayan pyramid. Now what?
Cura glances about, a bit dazed a more then a little annoyed. The plastic dragon checks hir comm device for signal, eager to update control on hir current situation.
The comm link indicates that it has no connection, the glow from the little screen doing little to illuminate the balckness. Looks like Cura is on her own.
Cura chuckles and shakes hir head before muttering, "Of course the damm thing does not work when I need it most." The dragon looks about grinning, "Lets see what we can work with..." at this moment the agents implanted NICE unit begins a flurry of action, processing one of the more... unusual programs avalible. The result is a wriggling appendage extending from hir shoulder blade, extending a few feet in length before the tip suddenly bursts into flames, it's surface taking on the properties of one of the more incendiary mutants that agent has avalible.
The strange tentacle works, but not well, as if the nanites are sleepy and sluggish, and the flames seem dimmer than they ought to be. . . probably just the gloomy atmosphere. The stone room that Cura finds herself in is quite large, with the exit of the slide she fell from a good ten feet over her head. Mayan glyphs and pictograms line the walls of the room, showing their strange gods in various attitudes of blessing, cursing, and generally going about their godly business. On the far wall is the only apparent exit, a large, stone gateway open to a dark corridor. The door frame is carved to look like a gaping, monstrous maw of sharp teeth.
Cura glances about with a huff, untill hir gaze falls upon the door with a chuckle. "Really? Now that is just kinda cute." The dragon makes hir way past the gateway, and into the next room, hir eyes scanning the walls and floor as shi advances.
The door is a bit of a tight fit for Cura's oversized form and the corridor is not much better. The walls here seem to depict some rather unpleasant scenes. Lines of two dimensional people in chains being lead down the hall in the same direction that Cura is headed. There seems to be a distinct downward tilt to the floor.
Cura grunts at first as shi attempts to squeeze hir way past the door, before pausing a bit and facepalming. "Right..." Hir body then once more changes, it's dimensions and shape becoming once more that of the form shi had originally entered in. The talakai grins and resumes down the tunnel, hir tenta-torch dimly lighting the way forward. Shi feels a bit uneasy as shi looks over the walls for a moment. "I think I have heard about this... the culture was reall into human sacrifices... heh. We will see about that." shi mutters to hirself.
As Cura's form shifts and changes, something very unusual happens. Instead of her excess mass evaporating into the air like normal, it sloughs off in piles of gelatinous goo around her! That is not supposed to happen! With her smaller size, the corridor is much easier to navigate, though it seems that it was still made for people considerably smaller than her.
Cura glances down a bit in shock and disgust as what once was part of hir become goop. Hir eyes then widen when shi relizes what this might mean.... "Am I... outside of the bubble? But I could not have fallen that far....." The kai looks down to hir comm unit and enables the distress system. "Ok, ok... I just have to press forward untill I find somewhere with signal.... shit." the kai begins to cautiously advance, and for the first time in years, begins to fear for hir life.
Once past the running gelatin of useless nanites, the tunnel is dry and cold and the torchtacle is growing dimmer and dimmer. No nanites, no nanomagic. . . following the flickering, chained figures on the walls brings Cura to a new doorway that opens into what must be a cavernous space, because her light does not penetrate far into the black, and there is little to see besides stone floor, and in that stone some sort of groove. Probably for draining off rain or water or. . . well, water does not usually leave behind a flaking, black residue.
Cura glances about at what shi assumes is the chamber used for sacrifical ritual... that or outright tourure... "lovely..." shi mutters as shi glances around for anything that could be used to replace hir dimming light source.
There does not seem to be anything nearby that would give light. It looks like the only marker to follow would be the gutter in the floor, horrible though it is. Maybe there will be something along the way. Or she could follow the wall. That might be a safer course.
Cura groans aloud as shi fails to secure anything to replace hir dying light. The kai defaults to the generic, follow the left hand wall trick, while seaching for anything that may be usefull.
Following the wall certainly works. The floor is mostly smooth and even with an occasional patch of fallen stone. The walls themselves are carved in great whorls and stylized shapes that probably make more sense from further away. Soon, Cura comes to a low wall. It only comes up to her waist, and on second glance, is not much of a partition at all. It seems to be another groove like the one she saw before, only this one is raised off the ground in a little channel. The dimming light of her tentatorch glitters off a dark liquid shimmering within.
Cura stops and leans in over the new groove, the kai leans over to sniff at the substance within.
Ugh! Well, what do you know? It smells like some kind of oil! Not ancient blood at all!
Cura grins at hir small victory and attempts to use hir tenta-torch to light the oil, "Seems like I found the light switch." If the oil does then light the kai might announce, "Honey, I'm hooome."
The oil ignites with a WHOOSH! and flame runs quickly down the length of the channel and spread to others like it around what turns out to be a HUGE cavern! Sorry to say that there is no ancient treasure to be seen, but that does not mean that there is not plenty to see. The walls of the room, if you can call it a room are carved with monolithic representations of Mayan gods, all in attitudes of attention, their eyes turned to the center of the huge space where a miniature pyramid, this one a mere twenty feet high stands. Spread in the vast spaces around the pyramid are neat, orderly rows of. . . well, corpses. No way to sugar coat that. Thousands of mummified human and mostly human corpses lie arranged around the pyramid. And it seems that the door that Cura arrived through is the only visible exit. Though it is hard to guess at this distance. There might be another door somewhere along one of the walls. Or maybe inside of the pyramid.
Cura takes a moment to take in the sights. "Well someone has been skimping on maid service..." Shi then glances to a few of the not so human looking bodies. The kai approches and examines them closely, removing an obscuring outfits or accesories on them if needed.
The nearest strange corpse is not too far. It is old and dry and dessicated, dressed in ceremonial warrior garb, a ratty, rotting jaguar skin wrapped around its shoulders and head, with a flint lined club clutched in its mummified hand. It seems, that in place of a human skull, however, that it has the skull of a jaguar.
A strange wind suddenly whips through the underground room and a sound like wooden windchimes. . . or rattling bones fills the air. The empty eye sockets of the corpse Cura is examining suddenly blaze with some kind of white light and a skeletal hand reaches out with frightening speed, grasping her probing wrist in a skeletal grip!
Cura bring hir other fist down hard on the reanimated creature's skull, attempting to cave it in with sheer strength alone.
The Talakai's soft, maternal arm has little trouble smashing through the reanimated corpse, though it's mummified hand still clings to her wrist, a severed arm dangling beneath it. Unfortunately, it seems that he has brought more than enough friends to make up for his loss. All of the dessicated corpses around the vast room are rising!
Cura glances about as shi shakes hir grappled arm a bit to free it of the clingy dead thing, weighing hir options the kai makes a break for the pyramid in the center of the room.
Bulky creatures like the Talakai just aren't made for this sort of thing! While Cura is able to weave her way past the sluggishly rising dead as they haul themselves to their feet, she finds her progress halted by no less than ten corpses between her and the pyramid. Not to mention the vertitable horde closing in from all sides!
Cura grits hir teeth and attempts to bull rush hir way past the creatures using hir size and strength advantage to hir favor.
The mummified warriors are scattered like bowling pins before Cura's furious charge, only managing to give the charging Talakai a few superficial scrapes and scratches with their bony claws. From behind, shi can hear the erie, voiceless clatter of the advancing dead, and the stone pyramid lies silent ahead.
Cura looks back for a moment, and issues an angry growl before shi begins hir ascent of the pyramid. The kai's eyes scan for any potential entrances into the structure.
Fortunately, the corpses are sluggish. Or, at least they are currently sluggish. No reason to jump to conclusions. Cura can certainly see the abominations climbing the other sides of the pyramid. It looks like the only entrance is up at the top, just like the pyramid outside, and that hir only chance is to get there ahead of the skeleton soldiers and hope that there is some way to escape up there!
Cura frowns and picks up the pace desperate to reach the top first, as worse comes to worse, shi could use the height advantage to hir favor.
The Talakai manages to stagger into the little anteroom at the top of the pyramid before her persuers arrive, but there is not much time before they will doubtless catch up. In the center of the little room there is a set of spiral stairs, leading up to the roof of the little temple, and down into darkness.
Cura glances up and glances down before mubling aloud "Dammit, well... Down the rabbit hole." Shi begins the mad descent into darkness, the whole while searching for anything to illuminate hir path forwards.
There seems to be nothing to shed light on the situation. The light from the horrible room above dims and vanishes entirely as Cura staggers down into the dark. The floor levels out quickly beyond the staircase and seems to be made of smooth stone. The wall too feels smooth and cool. From the darkness behind comes the continuing rattle of boney feet on stone. Looks like there is no going back.
Cura chuckles to hirself as shi continues forwards, attempting to outpace the boney horde behind hir. "Well, atleast it is not snakes." shi giggles a bit at the little joke and continues on.
Pinpoints of light start to fill the tunnel behind Cura and advance quickly. It seems that the warriors have no trouble navigating in the darkness. They are definitely gaining!
As the Talakai flees, a gentle whisper comes to her ears. "Now can you accept a mother's help, unrully child?" comes the whispered question.
Cura grits hir teeth once more before shouting out, "Fine, just get your undead pets off my tail."
"Mine, child?" comes the voice, a bit stronger now, "Not mine. It was you who did not heed my warning and brought this upon yourself. Now, RUN!"
The corpse corps is gaining! It is either trust the voice and run, or turn and face the horde.
Cura looks back with a snarl but continues running forwards, as shi doubts that shi can take all of them at once. The growls in displeasure at the situation but preeses on to what might be hir only chance to make it out alive.
It is only a few more steps before Cura finds herself tumbling headlong into a great, black precipice. It is not so deep as it seems like it should be, only a short fall onto something soft and warm and damp.
Cura glances about, somewhat dazed. If able the talakai would attempt to get to hir feet as soon as possible.
There does not seem to be much of a way to regain footing here. Whatever surface Cura has landed on is smooth and slippery and starts to gently wrap itself around the Talakai until she is bound tightly in a warm, dark coccoon. Somehow it does not seem frightening, though. A sense of safety starts to pervade Cura's thoughts as shi can just make out the sound of a distant drum beat.
Cura squirms and wriggles about in an attempt to escape hir fleshy prison, but it is by far a losing effort. The talakai yowls in confusion as hir struggles weaken with every hypnotic beat. Till eventually the kai succumbs to slumber in that fleshy embrace.
Everything is dark and warm for an indeterminate length of time. . . Then suddenly there is intense pressure and a moment of pain and cold and light and Cura find herself lying on a bed of jaguar skins in some sort of steamy sauna. The call of jungle birds and croaking frogs filtering in from beyond the stange bower she suddenly finds herself in.
"Ah," comes a gentle voice, "I wondered when you would wake, my child."
Cura glances about in a dazed state, hir mind slowly going through a mental status check. "Surroundings:Unknown, Sounds of Wildlife.... injuries....." The kai is then startled by the sudden inclusion of a unfamiliar voice, hir body instincticvly attempts to put space between hir and the source of the voice, while hir ingrained training sends hir right hand to a gun holster shi had long since stopped carrying.
"Be still, child," comes the voice again, "You are safe here." The voice apparently belongs to a wizened old woman, seated on a bench there in the steaming mist. She seems to be completely human, aside from her jaguar like ears, poking through her long black hair. "As you would have been had you simply heeded my warnings before."
Cura glances to the woman withh suspicous eyes, but settles hir stance regardless. "Where am I, And wah has happened since I blacked out." the kai glances down, quickly scanning for the preliminary signs of rape, be it dried sexual fluids or fading bruises.
"You are safe, in my home," the old woman says, "And you have only been reborn. No harm has come to you. I did promise you safety, did I not?"
Cura glances back to the woman and scowls, "Thise terms still give much leeway for malicious deeds to be done, And I tend to be cautious of those that have undead deathtraps in their basement." Shi then glances about before huffing and stating, "So what is the catch? And don't pretend that there is none." Shi grins a bit, something dark and feral lurking behind hir eyes. "I know your kind, there allways is one."
"Catch?" the old woman says, frowning, "You presume much, little mortal. I have no need to trick you to get what I want. Do not forget that you are in the presence of a Goddess." She waves a wrinkled hand dismissively. "If you are so averse to my company," she says, "You are more than welcome to take your leave." She points to an open doorway.
Cura whinces a bit at the woman's response and responds with a chuckle. "Goddess of a forgotten pantheon on a dead people." Shi then sits down with a grin and states, "Unfortunatly for us both I am duty bound to learn what is going on here." shi then attempts a genuine smile, which no doubt convices no one and states. "The only reason you are here is if you need something from us, is that right? Well... how about we discuss this?"
The woman frowns and a chill wind blows through the room. "We were gods long before any mortals took it upon themselves to worship us child. Do not forget that," she says, "I want nothing that is not freely given. I am come only to bless those who love what I love. Perhaps you will bear one of my children back into the world with you? Is that what you want me to ask?"
Cura tenses at the overall shift in the rooms atmosphere, but otherwise does not outwardly react to the goddesses threat, "If that was all you wanted then why go with all of the mind effecting fog, and the unmarked temple, and all of the damm obtuse language?! I can tell you for a fact that people this day and age react much more in your favor if you just straight up tell them the bargain." Shi laughs aloud a bit hysterically before continuing. "I was half expecting it to be some, brainwash people into being your servants forever kind of schtick with the way you where presenting it."
"Dear child," the goddess says, "Do you think you can stand in the presence of a goddess and be uneffected? The mists are merely indicative of my occupancy of my temple! It is none of my doing that the people of this era are so thick and weak willed. I have been nothing if not straight-forward. If you are not interested in doing me this kindness, then leave."
Cura chuckles and gets to hir feet before turning to the exit, after a few steps shi stops and turns back, "I entered here with others... where are they?"
"Long gone," the old woman says, "Some with my blessing, and others with my chastisement, but they left long ago. I am only glad that none of the others were as foolhardy as to stray from the path after a warning."
Cura frowns and resumes hir attempted exit, intent on escaping the temple and linking back up with control to debrief.
The old woman retakes her seat, watching Cura go, a little smile on his face.
Cura no sooner steps beyond the portal than she finds herself standing at the base of the pyramid in the late afternoon sun of the East Forest. Quite the ride.
Cura glances back at the temple before turning hir attention to hir comm unit, the device coming to frantic life as it reconnects to the network. The kai switches the device off of distress mode, and fills in a worried dispatch officer on hir status. As shi looks back at the temple a few thoughts run through hir head... "SUCKs, climbing rope, flashlights, flares, firearms...." The kai sighs before begining the long treck back. Hir job not nearly over.
