Spooktober Special - RPLOG
Participants
Date
Sunday October 20, 2019=Log=
Woodfield had long since been abandoned by its only saving grace, the presence of RSX once serving as a deterrant for the local feral populace, its absence now permitting much of the local 'wildlife' to run rampant and free to do as they will, well... it didn't much help that a part of those pesky ferals was a legion of undead-looking nanite zombies, did it? Today, four adventurers would be wandering into the heart of the 'undead' infection, appropriately enough a graveyard. Here, in the midst of the mist-covered landscape, where shadowy whispers echoed amidst the blackened, bitter cold terrain, wisps flitting and ghastly visages manifesting out the corners of one's vision, one solitary figure would be awaiting the arrival of those bold enough to step foot into the newly uncovered crypt.
Magnus seemed oddly calm despite his surroundings, his figure garbed in pitch black cloth and his eyes hidden beneath the shade of his cowl. The fox would be holding a lantern, his muzzle tugged into a creepy grin, fur pale from what little is seen, his eyes faintly glowing a dim, pale white beneath his cloak. In his other hand he'd hold a short stave, using it like a walking cane as he wanders the mist-covered terrain. In the darkness, his lantern would be like a beacon, the very thing the adventurers were told to look for to get their briefing. As he walks, the fennec would mutter and whisper things to himself in a tongue not even he could translate, the tome he had taken to carrying with himself dangling off his right hip, attached securely by chains to his waistline. Now, where were the poor souls due a good spooking~
Luna arrives at the scene, this black rabbit woman wearing a full power armor suit with light padding. She doesn't seem to be bringing any weaponry, just a flashlight with a spare hooked to her belt. "You're the one I'm supposed to meet? I expected you to be taller."
Off slightly in the distance, small flickers of blue flame spark and quickly fizzle out like dim will-o-wisps, each very dim candle-like flame showing the face of a feline with a wicked grin on her face. With every new flame though, they appear to be getting closer before finally after about a minute they finally come into lantern light and wave over to the shadowy figure. "Well well, is it finally the witching hour dear? Fear not, Iao is here now."
"Looking awfully seasonal there," Nena comments, largley to Magnus as she winds her way up to the group, the bat nibbling on a... Well, bat shaped cookie. "I'd tug the hood of my coat up, but the ears kind of get in the way," she says with a point, before dusting her hands off. "I haven't been out here in a while... Woodfield was never my normal stomping around, even before, let alone the graveyard. A bit too morose for me."
Rumors of treasures and secrets of the unknown were enough to pique the interest of certain dark-furred kitsune. So what if there would be nasty, rotting corpses or vengeful spirits? Zen was more than eager to investigate the matter for himself, along with whoever else managed to be drawn to the call.
Dressed in a rather unassuming gray-scale flannel top with some worn blue jeans, Zen makes his way to the meeting point. As usual, he would have some kevlar under his shirt to help protect his vitals, but he certainly didn't look like he was ready for a fight. With there being hardly any light from the moon and stars, the glow of Magnu's lantern contrasts even sharper with the surrounding darkness, making it a trivial matter to actually find the one who would shepherd them along their journey.
As he makes his approach, Zen would be able to see a few other figures that were emerging out of the thick mists. One was a dark-furred rabbit that was geared up in some heavy power armor. Although, even with the heavy armor, there was a surprising lack of weaponry. Not that he could talk, having no apparent weapons on himself. The next figure he sees was slightly more recognizable sporting attire that seemed just perfect for the season. The smaller bat that makes there appearance next was one that he didn't immediately recognize, though perhaps that was merely because he wasn't familiar with her form.
Being the last to arrive, Zen walks into the lamplight with quiet footsteps and gives a brief wave of greetings, "Hey there. Good to... uh, see you Magnus? Heh, what are you supposed to be, the spook-threshold check?" His tails flit about curiously behind him before he looks around, "Well, I suppose the rumors did make this sound like a test of composure. Figure any who would be off-put by that would have a harder time later on."
The fox flashes Luna an unnerving smirk. "No amount of armor will protect you here, girl. Hmph, and I expected you to be more polite, but we'll both have to deal with each other's shortcomings now, won't we?" Once Iao arrives, he'd cast her a curious look, then approach her, passing a few sniffs over the feline, the fennec huffs softly. "You're right at home here, aren't you? The stench of undeserved death wafts around you like a miasma of putrid horror. I wonder just how bloodied your hands really are, maybe you'll meet someone you know among the deceased today." He'd cackle softly, then shake his head lightly. "Not that you'd mind though, right?" Somehow, she'd be able to tell Magnus cast a wink her way.
Once Nena arrives however, he'd swallow dryly and reach out with one hand, muttering something about wanting a cookie, before recomposing himself. "Not even close! I need a jack-o-lantern to complete the look. This is just a regular lantern." The fennec snickers as he raises the gleaming oil-fueled light in his lantern. "Maybe next year." Magnus sticks his tongue out at the bat girl, and turns towards Zen. "Hmph, I figured you might show up here. You have a nose for these sorts of things after all. Your tricks won't save you here, though... lies and deceit work only on those willing to listen. The damned aren't known for being so abiding... trust me, I'm the tamest thing you'll see tonight." he'd wave a hand dismissively and turn to face all of them.
"Ladies and gentlemen, ghouls and ghasts, creeps and cadavers, spooks and spirits, what a fine night it is to test your resolve, today you'll be descending into the bowels of accursed earth, where I think you will find certain rules... well, change. The crypt you are about to enter is plagued by the very same saving grace that we all take for granted so thoroughly, you see." Magnus strikes the ground with his stave, causing a new waypoint to illuminate some ten or so meters behind the party, a grim blue set of flames set in an arc, outlining a doorway it appears. "Some of you might try to fight it..." he'd cast Zen a glance. "But you might find yourself a little... outnumbered, you see." Magnus cackles quietly, then lowers the lantern onto the ground. "Your goal is to reach the bottom of the crypt, and open the tomb contained within. There you will find your reward. Good luck..." The fennec winks, and the lantern fades out for a few seconds, shrouding them in the black abyss of the thick mists. Once it lights back up, Magnus was nowhere to be seen.
Luna gives an exasperated sigh with Magnus's performance, but after Magnus's speech Luna does a few stretches and reaches down to pick up the lantern. "Anyone else need a light?" She says, waving the lantern around for someone to take hold of it. Once someone does, Luna turns to the glowing archway to look at it. "Does anyone know how this works or do we just walk through it?"
Without missing a beat, Iao holds up one of her hands, a deep violet orb of light slowly condensing in her palm and filling the area with a suffusing light. "Well, let's just find out why don't we?" with her newfound lightsource, Iao starts to make her way towards the outlined doorway with a brisk spring in her step.
Nena raises a brow, and adjusts her glasses with a push of a finger. "I'd offer you one," she replies to Magnus, "But uhh. They're special cookies. They're for fixing my... Height issue. I just figured cookies would be a better way to get the dose than something boring like pills. If you don't mind gaining a few feet, though, you can have one," she says with a grin. "But just one. If I run out, I will get short again, like some kind of werewolf, but... Small. Wereshort. Though if it's as you say, maybe being small would help if our goal is simply to reach the bottom." With that, she turns to make her way...
Zen gives Magnus a sly grin as he remarks about his usual tricks not working here. With a dismissive wave of his hand, he responds, "Oh, heh, don't worry about me. My clever tongue and charming demeanor aren't the only things I have going for me." Listing to the rest of the explanation, he nods along, conveying that he understood the objective as well as the warnings that were passed along. He would huff slightly at the remark about their reward being a book of all things. Casting a glance to the tome on Magnus's hip, he was about to mention how a he didn't much find some decrepit old book much of a treasure. However, the light goes out and like a ghost, Magnus was gone. Raising his voice into the darkness he asks, "Have better things to do than go spelunking in a tomb? Heh, well, I'll let'cha know if we find anything interesting down there!"
Then with the rest already starting to make their way along, Zen looks to Luna and accepts the lantern. "Yeah, suppose it is pretty dark out. Though I usually have my buddy here light the way." He says as he blows into the air with pale-flames. In a matter of moments, a glowing wisp forms and arcs up above their heads, providing a bit of extra light. "Well, should he find himself extinguished, having a backup light source will be nice." With that said, he nods towards Iao who had already started along the path, starting to follow her into the entrance of the tomb.
The party stands before a grim doorway, seemingly in defiance of physics itself as it is naught but the open door of a church ruin with nothing but rubble on the other side, yet it remains wide open with the light of the lantern they'd been given shining through to reveal a long and narrow corridor of dense stone bricks. Unnatural whispers and ghastly tones resonate through the air all around the unholy gateway. The area feels frigid, as though it were the inside of a cooler set on full blast. Soft whispers echo and reverberate throughout the area. There is a spike on the left of the doorway with a plague that reads "Red Ichor". Beneath it rests a bowl, empty, about a pint's worth in volume. One could easily guess that it needs to be filled, but why?
Luna was just about to cross the threshhold of the gate when she colapses, leaning against the gateway clutching her head. She takes many deep breaths, some of which include swearing. "Yuetu protect me, this is going to be a long night..." She says, looking over to everyone else to check on how they are fairing against this mental threat. "Anyone with nanomagic or something that can replenish their blood faster? I don't have the mass to give a pint of blood without effecting my combat ability."
Iao twists her body from side to side, an audible cracking coming as she attempts to limber up. "Alright, If you guys can wait about 16 minutes I can fill this up completely." she then saunters her way over to the bowl and holds one hand over it, a very small stream of blood starting to come from her fingertips and drip into the bowl. "Those of you with less patience feel free to add your life to the pot now."
Nena wrinkles her nose, ears twitching at something unseen for a few seconds, before giving a little shake of her head. Her hands slide smoothly into her coat pockets, regarding the bowl. She watches Iao for a moment, and leans forward to watch. "... I don't think that's working. There's a knife in there it looks like, maybe you have to do it with that?" She suggests.
Zen's ears flick about as if trying to dial in on some particular sound. However, he soon realizes that the sounds are originating in his own head. With a soft huff and an unamused expression, he glances towards the rest, curious to see if they were hearing those whisper as well. Of course, the cat-witch ahead of him looks to be having no qualms with the incessant rambling of what he presumed to be the dearly departed. Glancing back to Luna and Nena, however, reveals them to be shaken up a great deal more. He extends a hand to Luna before saying, "What, you hear them too? Well, they are certainly eerie, but they are only voices. They can't do any more harm to you than what you are willing to let them." It is hard to say if he truly believes that, but the lip service might do well to help quell some nerves.
Nodding to Iao, Zen steps up beside her and inspects the mechanism. If it wanted a pint of blood, does that mean it was something like a weight sensor? Aside from that, would any only old liquid do? With Nena's remark, about the knife, Zen reaches in to take the knife into his own hand. Flipping it around he inspects its design. "Well, I don't think I'd like to wait out here for 16 minutes... If it gets us on our way, I'll donate some of my own to speed this up." He says, preparing to use the tool to open a would on his hand to drain his own blood. "Heh, unless one of you really needs to go. Hah! Don't worry, I promise not to peek." He adds with a light chuckle.
As the bowl is filled, the whispers quiet down. The wrathful dead are appeased by the willing sacrifice of red ichor it seems. The air grows grimly still and the gateway is now open without any... immediately evident dangers. Curiously, the only light that seems to permiate the darkness within seems to be that of Magnus' lantern. Anything else appears to get drowned out as though fighting to pierce some airborne shroud of blackened mist. Before them the corridor stretches for the better part of fifty meters, wafting with terrible odors of death and decay, each successive step forward bringing them into the chilled abyss of whatever lies again. Half-way in they'd be able to see their own breaths, it was absolutely frigid, and it was only getting worse... Much to Zen's dismay, the wound he had inflicted to his palm to fill the bowl doesn't go away. It keeps dripping sanguine ichor from his hand, the nanites kept from doing their work by means unknown...
Luna sighs yet again as she digresses bringing these useless flashlights along. But at least the lantern Magnus gave will work... and work better now that Luna has an idea. "You! Sorry I forgot to ask your name." She points to Zen with the lantern. "Can you hand the lantern back for a second?" Once Luna gets ahold of the lantern she uses some small tools from her pouches to poke a few holes in the bottom frame of the lantern, organized so the oil doesn't escape but the flame gets more air. "There we go." She adds, handing the lantern back. "And by the way my name's Luna, in case this name problem comes up again."
Iao takes a look down the tunnel with a frown on her face, noting all the scratches on the walls, she even attempts to mimic them with her rather tiny claws before she gives a disappointed grunt. "Looks like we might not be the first ones to come here. Id brandish your weapons if I were you." she then promptly reaches to her side and pulls out one of her pistols before she slowly walks down the tunnel
Upon being faced with the chill, Nena tugs on the hood of her fur lined coat, stuffing her large ears under it. "I'm Nena. Good to meet you," she replies, as she withdraws another cookie to swiftly nibble down before her hands return to her pockets. "This is a pretty unpleasant stench, huh. I'm glad I'm not a dog or something, it'd be even worse I'm sure. I wonder what we'll find..."
After slicing himself open, Zen holds his palm over the container and flexes his hand to pump more blood from the wound. The cut was so clean, having required little to no resistance to breach the skin. He turns to the rest while holding out the knife. "Well, anyone else want to willingly maim themselves for the sake of adventure?" He asks, wearing a sly smile. Though, it was only after the container filled half-way that he noticed the icy chill that seemed to form alongside the cut he made. The discordant, anguish-filled screaming in his head seemed to quiet down, but it wasn't as though he was paying them much mind anyway. As the container fills the rest of the way, he begins to notice that the wound on his hand was... as if it was frozen in time. The nanites wouldn't be doing their job, and his blood wouldn't be naturally coagulating to lessen the blood flow. He grimaces slightly at the revelation but does his best to play it off like there was nothing wrong. Raising more worries before they even entered would only add to any stressors along the way.
With the air growing colder, Zen notices that his wisp doesn't seem to be doing anything. With an implosion of pale flames, the wisp is dismissed. "Odd, I don't think I've ever experienced this odd type of darkness before. Interesting how this lantern is still able to produce light." He says with a curious tone. With Luna asking for the lantern back, he obliges. "Well, I'm glad we at least have some form of light. Probably best to stay within its radius unless you'd want to risk being devoured by a grue." He says with a hearty laugh to accompany it, certainly trying to lighten the tense atmosphere. As Luna fiddles with the lantern, the kitsune takes out a roll of bandages from his pack and starts to dress his wound the best he can. It wasn't like he was really well versed in medical treatment, but something to apply pressure on the cut would certainly help, right? Accepting the latern back, Zen starts to follow behind Iao into the tunnel. His nose buckles a bit at the stench, his own acute sense of smell only making it harder to concentrate. "Ah, yes... I suppose I should introduce myself. I'm Zen, a hunter and a scout. Good to meet you Luna, heh, of course, I figure meeting at a bar would have been preferable." He nods to Nena and smiles, "Ah, that name rings a bell... Though, I think you were a bear or something last we met... It has been quite some time." Focusing back on Iao he says, "Heh, well, if any boogie men try to jump us in the dark, I'll be reassured to know at least one of us is packing some firepower." With that, he continues to move along, remaining the second from the front behind Iao. He looks around at the walls that Iao had motioned to earlier, trying to see if there is something he can spot that might have been missed.
Three quarters of the way there, and the team would be subject to near-arctic temperatures, arid winds picking up and blasting them with a sheer cold that rivaled any man-made freezer to have ever existed. To make matters worse, with the howling fury came bellowing screams, banshee-like screeching that pierced their bodies like bullets, testing their nerve once more. Weakened by the cold, this trial proves harsher than the last, and those poorly adapted to the frigid temperatures take it the worst. The group does soldier through, they have the will and the strength to do so... at the final few feet before the tunnel ends, they would all be sharply and suddenly blasted by ice crystal so fine and tiny that it felt like sand against their skin. Regardless, the group's resolve carries them through, and the terrible cold ends once they all cross the threshold of the tunnel. Out of the lot, Zen and Iao seem to have taken it the worst. The group would find themselves in what appears to be a large burial chamber, coffins visible on every wall in every direction, laid on platforms etched into the stone itself. The stench of decay is overpowering here, but as a small consolation, they would no longer be dealing with the terrible chill from earlier.
Luna is resolved from her initial ordeal with the spirits of this place, and with her environmental suit she no longer has any problems reaching the end of the corridor. After that last artic blast though she needed to chip off the collected ice from her power armor, so she spends that time standing back and removing pieces of ice...and then helping anyone who also has problems. In between helping she looks around the room, and notices the erie coffins. "I'd suggest we find awy to lock down those in case there are undead about." She says, pointing to the coffins.
Iao had attempted to shake herself free from the ice crystals a bit earlier but only wound up jiggling around a bit, so, with a pout on her face she swoons all dramatically, falling to the floor while putting one arm over her forehead. "Oh dear this simply won't do, just give me a few moments and I'll be right with you." and thus she lays there while the area around her begins to slowly warm to more acceptable levels
Nena spreads her armwings and give a vigorous flap and a shake, ridding herself and her coat of the bothersome ice. "I thought the west coast of America was supposed to be warm or something," she murmurs to herself, as she looks over the collection of coffins. "Not that I mind I guess. I like the chill, though I'm glad I brought my coat, regardless. And yeah, we should probably do something about these huh? Any ideas? I don't have any rope on me at the moment."
Zen's poor attempts to staunch the bleeding soon make themselves apparent as he rubs his arms, causing the bandage around his hand to come loose and fall off. He huffs softly and kicks the bandage off to the side of the tunnel, continuing to walk onward into the frigid passage. The soft patter of blood on the stone floor leaves a small trail behind him as he does his best to weather the cold and disturbing wailing sounds carried with the gusts. To him, the temperatures seemed to coalesce on the small cut on his hand, diving right into it and freezing his blood. The chill travels up his arm and starts to gnaw at his resolve. It was as if the shrieking winds were almost overeager to have at his vital essence. Further on, his pace would slow and his footsteps would become heavier. Gritting his teeth and shaking his head in some show of defiance, he pushes through, but not unscathed.
Finally making it through the threshold, the sound of the lantern clattering against the ground would draw attention to the ice-covered kitsune doubled over on his hands and knees, panting and shuddering in equal measure. Well, at least the temperature inside was more bearable than that hallway. Just what was that ungodly chill they had to suffer though? The mere idea of having to trek back through it was enough to send further shivers down his spine.
Shaking his head along with the rest of his body, Zen does his best to shake off the ice that was clinging to his form. More stubborn clumps would require him to break them apart with a firm patting, eventually allowing him to be freed from the unpleasant sticky chill. Glancing around to the state of everyone else, he sighs a breath of relief that they weren't in the same state. Although, he does feel a bit embarrassed to be the one double over despite his earlier cocky attitude. With a glance to the coffins, he softly adds, "Lockdown all... what 20 some of them? Maybe we should just... tread lightly... let them sleep in peace." Taking just a moment to stand himself up, he winces a bit at the aching feeling from before. "Right... well, if they do wake up... guess you'll just have to put them back in bed." He adds, clutching the lantern and starting to walk up to one of the coffins with the softest steps he could manage. He was interested in seeing if there was anything of note regarding them. Perhaps the name of the deceased? Was this a family tomb...?
As the party settles in and warmth seeps back into their bodies, they need only look back and notice that the hole in the wall they'd gone through was... GONE, it was GONE! There was no way back now. It was a solid stone surface, silent and dense. What sort of trickery is this?! It seems they had no options but to press forward. As they linger, so does their presence ever-so gradually start to draw... attention. Soft scraping of bone against wood becomes audible as the disturbance of the living within the halls of the dead was starting to slowly awaken the dead. They had to move, and Zen had the right idea. They needed to do so quietly, lest they end up having to fight an army of decaying corpses.
Luna tried her best not to awaken the sleeping undead, and although she was the noisiest of the group she managed to get past the room without problems. Once the group gets to the stairway on the other side Luna whispers "Nothing to fight so far, that's good. Everyone doing ok?" She then sees Zen having trouble and tries to help him get patched up, evn though she has no experience.
After her bout of being overly dramatic, Iao got back to her feet as a much warmer cat and did her best to walk out as quietly as possible. Once she's in the stairway though, she has a thought, as for if it's a good thought, it's debatable. She decides to assume a more undead form and change herself into something more fitting of her newfound status alongside letting some blood form around the edges of her mouth. Soon enough, sure winds up looking quite a bit more like a vampire.
The bat is pretty quiet, in a fairly casual way. It's a natural part of how she moves, the way she walks, every action instinctively made to minimize noise. And when she reaches the end of the path, she smoothly pivots around the corner and out of sight. "Did anyone else catch the cracks in the stone?" She asks once they have moved a safe distance away. "I wonder what those came from. They didn't seem like they were from age."
Blowing off some of the dust gathered atop the coffin he was inspecting, Zen reads the name of the grave and tilts his head. It wasn't a name he was all that familiar with, so he decides to pay it no mind. With the sounds of scratching against the wood coffins, Zen looks back to the group and then back to the way they had come in from, only to see a flat stone surface. The realization that they had suddenly found themselves trapped in a tomb made itself clear on his face as he quickly nods towards the end of the hallway. If the exit wasn't here, they'd be better off leaving and exploring elsewhere.
With quick footsteps that hardly make a sound, Zen carries their light source to the end of the room and to the start of the spiraling staircase leading even deeper. His eyes also flicker with a slight azure hue as he attempts to use his nanomagic to further dampen the sound of the group, intent on keeping the dead sleeping as they should Well, good thing there were stairs here! If his knowledge of zombie movies was anything to go by, stairs are a zombie's greatest weakness aside from a bullet to the brain.
Zen turns his head to Nena when she asks about spotting the cracks and answers, "No, I didn't take note of that. The only thing I saw was a casket with the name Imogen Parker'. Parker is a pretty common last name though." He looks towards the stairway and says, "Right, well, even if they are sleeping now, I think it would be good to press onwards. I mean... I don't know why the entrance we came in on was gone... but... unless one of you wants to go back into that room and feel up the wall, I think we should go deeper." At that, he starts to make his way down, watching his footing and taking it nice and easy.
A soft snicker reverberates through the dark descending stairwell. "So you made it this far?" a voice is heard, it was Magnus' voice, and it was coming from the depths of the stairwell... disappearing doorways, walking corpses, blackened mist that selectively lets light permiate it. What was going on here?! "One last trial awaits you... my favorite too. I hope you're fast on your feet." As the group descends, the surrounding walls of the corridor behind them start closing into each other another, *THUD* one after the other *THUD* crashing together with enough force to turn any body into paste. *THUD* The only way to go on was downwards now, and they'd have to do so quickly! *THUD* "Watch your step." Magnus' voice warns...
Luna makes her run down the stairs to avoid the closing walls, and with everyone's help with the traps she manages to make it all the way unscathed. She looks around at everyone, unable to help them with anything medical related but picks up anyone who may have fallen over. She then looks around at the grand room they wound up in: a luxurious single person burial chamber comprised of carved marble walls and lined with all sorts of artistic decorations, etched figureens and statuettes. The marble casket in the center catches her attention the most, but she decides to stay clear for now until everyone else gets their berings.
Iao on the other hand spreads her arms and shouts, "Someone kick me!" before promptly turning herself into a ball and waiting to be launched down but whenever that happens, she winds up flying down the stairs setting off a fair number of the stairs with a select few managing to actually graze her. When she reaches the bottom of the stairs and enters the area, she turns back into a normal person again and wheezes and coughs before crumpling to the ground and grasping at get injured arm and wheezily saying, "Nailed it..."
"Ah shit," Nena grumbles, tucking her tail as she books it down the stairs. Her failing pace brought on by the slight and on-going shrinking she seems to be undergoind as she runs. Of all the times... Of course, once she makes it to the end, she's quick to remedy the situation with another vanquished cookie. "At some of the most inconvenient times, I swear. Though that's the price I pay, I suppose... Good thinking with the traps."
"That was Magnus' voice, right?" Zen comments before the sound of stone walls clashing against each other make themselves heard. With a snarled huff he adds, "What the hell is he doing down there? What sort of game is he playing at?" Well, they would just need to get down there and ask him! Starting to run along, he spots a ball bouncing down the path past him. To his surprise, the entire path is laced with traps! He does his best to follow along while using the lamp to judge the safest way, calling out behind him to be careful of the more dangerous ones. All and all, it isn't easy, but he manages to spill into the next chamber with all of his other tomb raiders. Sometime during his flight down the stairs, the bandage that Luna had reapplied to his hand had fallen off, just like his own attempt at stopping the bleeding.
Turning around at the last collapsed wall, he inspects it for its... authenticity. Certainly, those traps seemed real enough, along with the wounds they were able to inflict on Iao. Turning around to face the rest of the room, the only place they were able to proceed, the kitsune's fur bristles with agitation. Clenching his fist again to leave his still-leaking wound dripping blood onto the ground, he shouts, "Where are you at, Magnus?! I know I heard your voice down here!" He looks around at the room, now more wary than ever that there might be additional traps. He also looks to his companions and nods to Iao, "Yeah, quite a styling way to make it down. If not for you triggering all those traps, the rest of us might have been slowed down. Thanks for taking the hit." He glances to Nena and says, "Not like all of us could have afforded being delayed." Cautiously walking further into the room he approaches the tomb, senses on high alert for any sign of the one who lured them in here.
There is a giggle, and then a quiet answer. "The better question is, where are you right now?" As those words are spoken, reality bends and shifts around the group and mere moments later, they'd all awaken lying down on the ground, on a patch of grass near the cemetary, situated near a campfire without a single scratch on them and with the same gear they had arrived there with. There'd be a small box near each and every one of them, with a note attached that reads "Thank you for joining me on my spooky adventure! You made it to the end! So here's your prize! Enjoy! I'll try to cook up something else for next year." Within each box was a platinum chip worth a million in freecred, and a small parcel of cookies, the fennec's favorite treat. Seems he'd taken them for quite the ride~
Luna blinks once or twice, and then gives that familiar exasperated sigh. "I'm going to give that fennec a weggie the next time I see him." She then gets up and looks oever to everyone, making sure that none of the results of that nightmare are left over such as Zen's wound. She then checks the box Magnus left for her and empties it of it's contents for her to use later. "That's it, I'm out of here. Nice meeting you all, but I'm leaving."
Iao promptly looks around before hoping to her feet and quickly gathering up the stuff right next to her before she hops onto all fours and starts to scamper off almost like a wild animal and into the night she returns
"... Ah. A trick," Nena remarks, rubbing the back of her neck. I let my guard down, then." With a roll of her shoulders, she leaps to her feet and pats off her sleeves. "Exciting, though. Yeah... Take care," she says to the others, as she tucks the box away in her coat. "I'd best not linger too long out here."
Zen blinks as he is suddenly greeted with the sight of a campfire and the night sky. Was that all a... shared dream? When did he manage to get pulled into it? He looks to his hand and clenches his fist a few times, feeling nothing from the cut he inflicted earlier. "Well, I'll be. I didn't know Magnus was capable of such a feat." He says, his earlier heated expression dissolving into something more friendly. "Ah, well... It 'is' October. Heh, and It looks like we got some 'treasure' after all." He muses before standing up and giving everyone a nod and a wave. "Well, good meeting you all again too. Take care!" He says before starting on his own way back home.
