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Hidden 4 yrs ago Post by Lumiere
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SEQUENCE 3: The Backwards Castle

Segment 1: Reconstruction


Birdcages, strung up in the dark and filled with swarms of churning winged insects. The chittering beat of their wings sang in a rhythm almost akin to speech. A cacophony of grinding mandibles and chitin against metal, this swarm...knew of a detail. It hissed lamentations of spite, dejection for being used, and a hungering ambiguous want. Where was it!? There was fear, but anger ruled its disjointed form as reality crashed down on the depths of the mass.
It was at Istvargrad. It knew of its fleeting fragility, but still was when others would not. It had a name, probably many, but in its state, it was hardly anything, anymore. Just a collection of thoughts and rampant emotions driven mad from its perceived eternity of imprisonment, it would suffice.

Bricks rose, encasing the cage in a cobblestone box alongside others like it.
Torches burst to life to illuminate the cell block as the click of metal-toed boots echoed from down the hall, drawing near until the figures rounded the corner to face the nearly identical section of the prison that the woman accompanying The Stranger was pulled from. A silence reigned in the halls, the chaotic thrumming of insect hoards falling silent before the two had even drawn near enough to hear it.
The Stranger slowly paced from one cell to the next, peering into the contents before settling on the cage in the wall. As violet accompanied them, they'd see not an amalgam of vermin in a bird cage, but a singular man slumped in a dim stone cell. The New Rule had recomposed their form, and the instant Violet's Kite touched the door, life flowed back to Jericho's form in time to watch the cell slide open.
If he'd hoped to find some form of death, they may be disappointed. No gates to white or scorching inferno, just a silence as still as a grave. However, given the chaotic dream-like blur he'd been roused from...silence might not be such a terrible alternative. For the moment, at least, a still semblance of peace permeated existence, like a relief following waking from a nightmare.

Kite looked back to Violet, their expression hidden, though an implied confidence rose from their gesture; lifting a hand to about shoulder-height and wiggling their pinky-finger.
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Violet follows Kite through the halls. She looks around at the several cells, some with 'bodies', some empty, but all of them, Kite just walks past. The 'people' in the cells are... hard to make out... their figure itself is blurry...almost undetermined as looking directly at them only briefly yields a shape before its lost to the dim light of the cell which envelopes the figure in darkness soon after she perceives it.This fog of darkness is filled with life, unnatural as the impression creeps through her skin to elicit goosebumps of confused fear, unsure of what the shape could be, but knowing somewhere lost in it is a tortured or mangled...something. Something watching...or...maybe its merely paranoia staring back at her from the abyss. Violet breaks from looking into the cell and focuses back on Kite who's moving right along with purpose. How does this guy know his way around? Does he sense the life of a new person or something like that? I should ask him later but now's not the time.

Kite stops at a cell. A mass of insects make the form of a figure in a cell. Perhaps they're an Entomancer? That's a little gross but I'm not one to judge others on their appearance. She watches as Kite touched the door and sees the insects coalesce into the form of man and the figure begins to twitch. OH HELL NO! I BETTER not have looked like that when I got here! It appears to be a rugged man. Looks relatively normal... Violet wasn't sure what she was expecting. She looks down at Kite and sees them holding their pinky up. She gives a soft smile, lifts her arm to about waist level and extends her pinky. She puts her arm down and focus back on the cell as a new person appears to be joining them.
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The figure in the cell, Jericho Cross, started awake when life came back to him, eyes casted warily forwards towards the only movement and sound present, the opening of a cell door. Strange, his memories didn't align to ending up in a cell, and upon closer inspection, none of it aligned properly. These weren't the cells of Istvargrad, which begged the most obvious question to be 'where the hell was he?'. The memories of a spiteful last stand, buying precious seconds for those who yet fled to flee further downwards and away from impending doom, ending with a massive, looming figure casting his men aside like chaff. Not the prisoner taking type, but as he picked himself up with a weary grunt, he more closely analyzed the two standing in the doorway of this cell. The lingering, looming edge of whatever...nebulous inbetween limbo he had been drifting in was still there, and was not something he wanted to consider further right now.

"Well, cheers for the jailbreak, my unlikely saviors. A gypsy and an opera looking plague surgeon, when the hell am I...?" Neither of the individual's he was faced with wore any sort of attire close to what most in Istvargrad did shortly before and during the downfall. The purple reeked of nobility, which was another mark in the concern column, another once on top of the outdated attire. Outdated, unusual, and expensive, though he wouldn't be quite so quick as to simply complain. As his gaze shifted over to the masked one, he checked a pocket and, with a quiet sigh, produced a battered looking pipe, searching his pockets for something else while looking over the masked one. Strange gestures aside, another heavily outdated attire. Early mages wore similar garb, though not to that nicety, often times being little more than repurposed traveling garb for extra anonymity, though the mask ruined any chance of that, and reminded him of the plague years that he had, fortunately, avoided by virtue of being born after them. Stood out like a sore bloody thumb, all things considered.

"Not like I'm in much position to judge, now then, business. You aren't busting me out of here in the sense of some altruism, you want something. Well, one of you do at least. I'm sure we can strike a deal of sorts, I'm sure my former employer would not complain too terribly much." Finding what he was looking for, it was a crude sort of repeating match kept in his thief kit, something he won in a bet and used to spark off traps and the like. More commonly, he used it to light the tobacco in his pipe, puffing on it idly, shadows concealing his eyes in part thanks to the hood. The flash of flame, however small, revealed a gaunt face under the hood, just enough facial hair to not be able to call merely five o'clock shadow. His figure, now that he was fully stood up, cut a similar picture. Lean, almost predatory in nature, never seen a day of ease, though the cloak and just loose enough fitting clothes concealed much more detail in the given dingy lighting conditions.

Jericho was focused on pragmatism right now, putting the strangeness firmly behind him until he had time to pick it apart properly. Not like he'd be able to do anything with it if the two decided he was to be locked away again and they go and find some other useful body. He was close enough to the door that he wagered he could bolt if needed, though not knowing who he was dealing with definitely made that too risky outside of a last resort. What was also strange was that he had his pipe and other items, what kind of jailor left their charges armed? The same kind that seemed to not have to worry about it, given that lingering, paranoia inducing fog in his mind from after Istvargrad's last memories until now. Something was off about that as well, reeked of the arcane or worse, and it did not sit well in his mind. So, play nice, and look for a way out. Hell, depending on the business, maybe make some coin. Shadows knows he needed it, given the odds of him getting his hand on any of his old stashes were nil, he'd need to start over.
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A gypsy... well I suppose that's appropriate. And 'when' might be as well... She says as she places her crystal ball under her left arm. Violet pondered that which she'd been ignoring this entire time which seems very relevant now. The people Kite said they were rescuing we're not necessarily from her world. They could be from anywhere, and world, or more importantly, any time. Given this man's looks, he appears to be from a time older than my own and given what he says, he's probably a mercenary of some kind. Even if I was going to pay him for his services, I don't even know if we'd share the same currency. Nevertheless, I shouldn't turn him down right away. I should explain the situation he's in... and of course let him know he's working for free.
Anyway I agree, we should get right to the point. It appears we're trapped in here. We're going to need to work together to make it out of here alive. We're part of a team so we'll need to look out for each other. Seems our reward won't be money but perhaps an escape from this place. Violet chose her words carefully since she didn't want to throw Kite under the proverbial bus. I have no idea how this guy would react if he found out Kite was leading us around. Taking a small jump in logic would say that Kite was orchestrating all of this and just going through the motions. Plus, with Kite being unable to talk, it'd make things a bit difficult should he start questioning them. I'm not sure how this man will react to having his brain attacked. Best to try not to make him hostile. We're gonna need all the help we can get to make it out of here. Soon enough it'll be apparent that Kite's leading us but before that I should at least attempt to establish trust between the two of them. Before that though, given how he looks, it seems he's seen a battle or two. Let's test his confidence. Violet grins to herself but maintains a straight face to keep up appearances.
How capable are you in combat? I have this but I've never truly been in a brawl before. Violet pulls out her dagger from behind her. I can use this to some proficiency but I'm far from an expert with this. This one gesturing to Kite has it's own means of fighting and is quite adept at it. I can try to provide support in anyway that I can but know it may not be much. Would you be able to assist us... Violet realizes they don't even know his name yet, they just got straight to business. Apologies. I suppose we skipped introductions. What should I call you kind sir? Violet extends her right hand as a princess would to a hero, outward and palm down.
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"The cell didn't match up what was typical of the noble preferences. Either out of date, or out of place, and given how you two dress? Well, my dear, it's one of the nicer ways to put it." A feint grin flashed across the man's face between puffs on his pipe, taking time to enjoy an old habit, helpful in getting himself up to speed. She was sizing him up, smart woman, and he considered what she said next carefully. So he was trading one cell for a slightly larger one, fine by him, the more room to work, the better the chances to get out for good. No coin, but given their differences, unlikely that any coin she had would be worth a thing to him.

"Well, that's not quite working for free. Working for freedom isn't ideal, but I suppose there isn't much room to be, shall we say, picky. As for teams, well, I'm as good on my own as I am with a group, I can adapt." Jericho considered the situation at hand, best he understood, which was effectively nil. He suspected that he wasn't in Istvargrad anymore, given his memories leading up to the end of his old memories, and being faced with two complete, stand out unknowns. The fact the masked figure had not said a word yet was, well, perhaps concerning would be too strong a word. He didn't move when she produced her own dagger, asking after his own capabilities, and he flashed her another grin, more confident than merely feint.

"Let's say I know my way around a brawl or scrap. Add in a lovely bag of tricks, I'm flexible enough to cover trouble and the once in a black moon war." Tapping the remaining ash out of his pipe, falling into his usual vagueness, and cleaning it, he shifted his cloak to reveal the hilt of his arming sword. His left hand deftly produced an offhand dagger, twirling it briefly before sheathing it again. Left hand favored dagger, right the arming sword, given the position of the sheaths. She could make out a crossbow stock slung over his shoulder, as well as the fletching of the bolts in the quiver resting below the dagger sheath, hinting at being a threat beyond arm's reach. She extended her hand like royalty, not just nobility, and he cocked an eyebrow, hidden in the shadows of his hood, and he casually introduced himself, leaving her hand hanging idly. One, nobility, two, shaking hands was reserved for close friends in Istvargrad, not strangers.

"Name's Walker, I suspected that introductions would be made when appropriate, and yourself? Also, perhaps you'd care to introduce your friend, or better yet, perhaps they would like to speak up?" The subtle shift in form indicated he was looking and taking in this gypsy princess' friend again, silent for now as he expected and waited for an answer from either of them. The lack of identifying words for the masked one concerned him, to be fair though, a great deal concerned him right now. Beggars couldn't be choosers, however, that didn't mean the beggar needed to go into things blind. They knew more than him, and the sooner that was rectified, the better.
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He's cautious and suspicious. He's not wrong for that. Given what he's just been thrown into, he'd be right to not jump into things like a fool. I was the same way before Kite assaulted my brain with those... whatever. Even so... I'm not sure if this guy would take too kindly to that. He's already on edge so attacking him would only lose us the person we just gained. But even greater than all that... DID I JUST GET REJECTED??? It's not a feeling I'm used to now that I'm here. I'm so used to people fawning over me that I guess it never occurred to me that- UUGH KNOCK IT OFF VIOLET! There's far more pressing matters to attend to. Violet gets a slightly dejected look on her face as she lowers her hand. I can't let him suspect Kite but I also can't tell him too much about him. With how on guard he is... telling him that Kite's a psychic bunny that can think fists into people... he might take that as an insult. Alright, I have to be careful with this.
My friend here doesn't really talk. Not in a way you could or would even want to understand him. To put it lightly, he's a very... loud talker. He has a tendency to speak in riddles and metaphors but I've... almost come to understand him. He's not hostile towards us, I can assure you that. However there are things far worse in here that wish to cause real harm to us. We were attacked earlier and this guy defended me from the assailant. I can promise you that we are not your enemies. We need your help as much as you need ours. There's something we must defeat... a final boss if you will. Alone we would all die, but together... we might... just... prevail...
Violet starts to trail off as she lets out a exasperated sigh. Look... we're not going to get anywhere like this. I get it, you don't trust us, and in my own personal nature, I don't trust you. But we have to. I know first hand that trust opens you up to betrayal but you have to believe that what I'm telling you is true. Deceiving you would do us no good here and would probably hurt us more than help us. We all have our own goals and priorities but we need to put them aside and work together to get out of here. Violet puts her hand up for a normal handshake with a determined look in her eyes. She realizes that the way she behaved was hypocritical for what she was asking. She'd need to take the first step if she wanted to get anywhere. It was necessary. Back where I came from, I ran a faux fortune teller booth under the name Ms. Tierious. Under normal circumstances I'd give that as my name with a smile on my face. But since I'm preaching trust I have to be the one to show it first. And while this may be a bit of a silly way to show it, it means a lot to me. Violet closes her eyes for a second and sighs as she reopens her them, bright green eyes shining. You can call me Violet.
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Apparently simply waiting for Jericho to compose themselves, Kite ignored the initial line of questioning. Whether he had no answer for 'when' the man asked he was, or there was no answer to give, the mask offered no tell. Violet seemed intent on offering introductions, as Kite turned his head back the way they came, cautiously. Truthfully, the joke was in the irony of the question that Kite found silly as the answer was a flat 'yes'. When, indeed, they were, now.
Their attention was drawn back as Violet extended a hand, daintily, to Jericho, and her Kite found themselves crossing their arms. Dejection abroad, he seethed from the willing expression she offered where before it had taken considerable effort to earn such attention from her. "Hhrrmph...muh-mehmeh hrf mah moorrr..." they grumbled, not at all understanding the subtleties of Violet's attempt to manipulate the man through charm, seeing it as some kind of 'human favoritism', instead.

Further confusion in her behavior was added as she produced a dagger and explaining her capacity on her capabilities before paying Kite a compliment.
He would...disagree, though. His performance against the other Kite was shoddy and feeble as, if Violet could remember the details of the engagement correctly...he lost.
The only reason she was still alive was because he cheated and blatantly murdered his kinsman in cold blood fueled by a conspiracy for betrayal. There was nothing 'adept' about the one-sided fight, and Kite bitterly resented her interpretation of events. However, he had no means or will to oppose her praise. The reflection on his actions though, now that he too was forced to play by The New Rule and was forced to carry the burden, made him feel small...all things considered.

They discussed payment, an unexpected detail Kite had not considered when picking Jericho. Trinkets and flecks of local precious metals stamped with the faces of local mortals. For a moment, Kite had forgotten he was dealing with humans and had hoped their service could be unquestioning, given the scope of...oh.
It then occurred to Violet's Kite that he was literally unable to explain the pointlessness of material currency compared to the value of every single second the two wasted showing eachother their knives. Frankly, it was a miracle they were not already beset by the castle's guards in short order, likely since the IS of their surroundings were being rewritten and simply was unable to grapple with the jarring upset to natural order. They had already dealt a terrifying blow to Kazzok who was no doubt reeling from having their IS forced down a fine needle-thin funnel called 'time'.

Kite had difficulty understanding it, himself, as he was no longer able to perceive quite the way he had, before. What he was quickly coming to terms with was a demand that they all be knife-buddies and introduce themselves. They were at a tiny disadvantage, not actually being armed with physical weapons aside from their fists, though Violet's interior, simplified assessment at least gave him somewhere to start. Maybe not with a fist, but something the two could understand.
Lifting a finger as if requesting a moment, they lowered the hand with the palm open.

The knife was keen and honed, waved in design to cut messily.
There was no knife.
Its guard was curved. It was a fork. A trident.
It did not remain hovering after he lowered his hand, as it was not there.
It was heavy. Heavier than any single object. It was not capable of being lifted.
...because it did not exist.
There was no knife.


Kite turned his hand to the side as it rested beside him, and eyes could follow and watch as nothing put a 2-inch wide hole in the cobblestone at their feet, the stone around the deep impact splitting. "Yes..." they softly answered, not even glancing at what they'd done.
They would very much like to 'speak up'.
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"Truth for a truth, would be a fair thing to offer, I reason. The place I'm from, well, shaking hands isn't precisely a safe activity, its only between close, trusted people. So, it's not a matter of offense in this case." Not completely true, the innate noble posturing initially had left him leery, but not a complete lie either. The amount of description and round about discussion on the companion, she was describing him as capable of defending the two of them prior to freeing him from this cell. They can aid each other, but for now, he would have to be cautious and pay attention to what was going on, since there was almost no information outside what he was being told. It would be easy to simply believe it, but he would have to simply go from there and see how much was indeed trustworthy. The dejected look didn't go unnoticed, neither did the strange noises coming from the companion of the gypsy woman, eyes moving between the two warily, drawn back to the strange companion as its hand rose up in a wait gesture. What happened next was, well, beyond disconcerting for someone who didn't deal with the unnatural, supernatural, or mages typical trickery very often.

What Jericho was seeing actively rebelled against his vision, no, not his vision. His actual understanding of the very basic levels of understanding were rebelling against the thing that was happening and manifesting in front of him. Or trying to manifest, as it kept almost flickering, form shifting and snapping from flame patterned, to nothing, to curved guard, then to not a knife at all. His form tensed subtly, right hand resting on the hilt of his arming sword. A bloody mage, of all things? Damned fools did as much damage as good, and that was the closest thing he could readily equate to what he was seeing. His tone was neutral, though tenser than before, as he addressed what he had just seen, and trying to even put words to it was not easy, to put it mildly. Looking down, he saw the wound in the ground, splitting strangely. Like an executioner's sloppy blow, but without the overt damage.

"What in...what. Ok, just, back to the beginning. What kind of reality warping, mage friend did you find? Explains why they can casually wander around this place with no repercussions, since you two just wandered in, but all the same..." Jericho was good at taking things in stride, but this was well and beyond anything he'd even have imagined, even the most reckless of the mage district denizens were a far cry from what he had just been shown. Thankfully the hood and shadows helped conceal the expression, though the confusion and tension was apparent all the same. Mages were, at best, a risky bet to involve, the more potent the abilities, the more risky the backlash would be, and given what he was seeing, being able to pull a warped, strangely forced knife briefly into existence, long enough to damage the floor notably, the backlash would be insane.

"Right then, Violet, your friend have a name? They don't seem eager, or capable, of talking too much. Prefer their demonstrations, rather? We should also move, demonstration like that is bound to attract attention..."
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Right... No offense taken... at all Violet puts on a fake smile and lowers her hand. She somehow still feels a bit upset but can understand, different customs in different worlds. Handshaking was as common as introductions were in her world but in someone else's world... it could be something sacred even. As she was contemplating how to proceed, she notices Kite put up a finger. She readies herself for an onslaught of images and instead sees Kite flexing his powers. I suppose it would need to come up eventually but this seems a bit abrupt... Violet places her palm on her forehead, not upset and Kite brandishing his powers, but more upset that she'd been excluding him entirely... and also slightly disappointed at Kite brandishing his powers.
Riiiight... my friend here calls themselves Kite. They have psycho-kinetic powers that allows them to use their imagination to create tangible objects in the real world. At least to my understanding. I'll be honest, I don't exactly know how that power works but it's the best guess I can come up with. Violet really had no idea how Kite did what he did but in the few cartoons she watched as a child, people with telekinetic abilities always described it as 'their imagination given form'. With that said, she could pick out some clear dislike of 'mages' from Walker. True, magic is dead in Violet's world, it's not unheard of for people to gain abilities that simulated magic. Maybe she was more accepting because she could rationalize his powers in her head.
Walker brings up a good point though. We could be getting followed. That other Kite found us so who's to say others can't. Kite was a lot more frantic before though but there's no sense in waiting for the last second to make our move. Violet puts both hands back on her crystal ball. She surveys the area to see if anyone is close by. You're right. We should get moving as soon as possible. She figured since Kite 'spoke up' for themselves, now is as good a time as any to let Walker know who their guide was. Any ill intent would have to be dealt with quickly, one way or another. Alright Kite is there anyone else here we need to get or should we move on?
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Kite felt content with himself from the display having even mildly flustered Jericho and his otherwise unflappable demeanor. While he was not entirely sure what Violet's plan was, he wanted to at least be transparent with the man not to underestimate him. Onto the more important questions, Kite chirped a soft "Yes" as they turned to the other wall of cell doors. Approaching the middle one, they raised a hand to merely press their hand where the keyhole would otherwise have been. The low groaning from earlier once more rose up, this time causing Kite to flinch and look over his shoulder back where they came from. Thankfully, nothing awaited as the door to the new reforming figure surged into existence in a similar manner to Jericho.

This time, however, the vermin dispersed over a woman. Kite simply watched as they came to, their eyes never leaving their face.
/ / /
With a blink, Ruby is back in her body, in the cell, making eye-contact with the darkness within the eye-holes of The Stranger's mask.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Ruby regained consciousness lying on her back on a cold stone floor. At first, she thought she'd gone blind, but after a brief recall of recent events, decided that was unlikely. She felt for any gaps or sharp edges around her and, having confirmed the floor's safety, rolled prone and felt around for a wall. The first thing she found was metal bars. Her heart sank into her stomach. Am I in prison? She crawled to her feet and slid one foot to the side. Nothing there. Good. She brought in her other foot and shuffled along the perimeter like that until she'd measured the dimensions of her cell. It was just big enough for her to lie down in any direction, and, as she soon discovered, entirely empty.

As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Ruby moved to the cell door and looked out into the hall beyond. There was an object just on the other side. She slowly dipped from angle to angle for light and perspective, and after a few moments' reflection, scrambled back with eyes wide open.

"What the frik-frak on a tic-tac?" she whispered.

Ruby held still and watched the thing. When her eyes eventually found its face, a wave of nausea hit her, and she passed out.



Ruby blinked to find herself back inside the cell, making eye contact with the Stranger standing outside her cell. She crawled up to the bars and pulled herself up on them. "Whoa, was that you? How'd you do that? That was awesome!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The Stranger huffed a relieved-sounding sigh as they offered a hand to help them up. They initially remained still, maybe a bit surprised, though the mask would not betray what they, themselves, soon would. "Y-yes! Ehhnf-" beginning to explain before seeming to catch themselves. Lowering their gaze away from the person, they swiftly stepped in, taking one of Ruby's hand and helping her to their feet.

Outside, the rest of the cell doors slid open to the sound of what could be best described as a burlap sack being thrashed around a small room. Thankfully, the auditory oddity would cease just as quickly as it had started. This now, however, left the cell block in a palpable stillness from its absence. No distant drips, jingle of chains or rush of wind whistling through corridor, just hearts and voices in a stone room as if purposely intended to feel oppressively isolating even among others.

"Boo~" a light voice whispered from back in the cell Jericho had been just recently rescued from. Three seconds later, small, snow-white hands reached from between the bars on cells to press around the torches in the room, snuffing it and its contents in darkness.
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"Right you two, do not tell me whether or not I came to like that. I'll sleep better in the long run." Jericho was not squeamish about insects, rats, and the like since it was not uncommon to see all of those in numbers in the dirtier places, still, not an ideal thought given how it looked seeing it from the outside of the cell. Another woman, well dressed, though foreign all the same, and beyond that, though, he couldn't say a word about her. He was about to speak up when the rather concerning sound came out from the remaining cells as they slid open, and then dead silence. His dominant hand came to rest on the hilt of his arming sword, eyes darting from cell to cell, the lack of sound and the oppressive air around them set his gut instinct screaming. They'd been found out, well, the gypsy and plague surgeon's jail break had been found out.

"Right, that's not natural. Trouble's on the wind, or lack..."

"Boo~"

The last thing Jericho spotted was the hands reaching out to snuff torches out, and the others could hear quick rustling before a small flame sparked up again, the man was holding his 'reusable match', giving himself enough light to seize one of the extinguished torches and light it up properly again, not leaving more than a few seconds of darkness at most. With the torch lit, the match went back into his pockets and he drew his arming sword, the familiar weight of a weapon in one hand, and the torch in the other, was reassuring at least. He normally preferred a dagger, but given the situation, a torch could make for a usable bludgeon, especially once they could pass the other ones around. He never heard of any mage tricks that produced unnatural hands, then again, given how out of place the newfound companions were, he really shouldn't keep relying on his old knowledge of how the world worked.
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Violet sees Kite walk over to the new cell, and once again sees the insects coalesce into a person, this time a woman. Violet puts a hand on her hip, at least I'm not the only one now as she chuckles to herself. Violet is about to walk over to assist the new woman but she looks up at Kite and exclaims Whoa, was that you? How'd you do that? That was awesome! Violet assumes he just shared a vision with her. Violet couldn't help but notice that he didn't do so with Walker but showed a vision to this new girl. Does he do this for all the ladies? Am I being tossed aside?? She couldn't help but feel needlessly jealous. UUGH maybe Walker's rejection is still kinda getting to me. I'm just being childish right now... Violet calms herself and tries to get her wits back. As she looks back to Kite, she can tell he's pretty frantic about something... He was like this before when that other 'Kite' was chasing them. Maybe another one is on the way, we should start getting ready to leave. We can't stay here much longer
As Violet thinks this, she hears an abrupt "Boo~" and before she can turn to look at it, all the lights are snuffed out. All of the hallways, cell, everything around is now shrouded in a pitch black darkness. Realizing something hostile is probably around, Violet realizes there's no time to panic. She calms herself and listens intently for anything moving. I could start channeling energy to my ball, it'd make for a good source of light, but I'd be broadcasting my only trump card. If things get too out of hand I'll use it, but only as a last resort. Yelling out would only tell the enemy where she was... but at the same time they can probably see in the dark since they snuffed the lights out. She'll have to be careful so she doesn't make a careless mistake.
Then Violet hears rustling. She turns to face it, one hand on the dagger at the back of her waist, the other under her crystal ball, supporting it and keeping it ready show something require a quick psychic cannonball to the head. She sees Walker lighting a flame and quickly grabbing a torch to light it. Glad he's here... a quick thinker and one to take action. I hope the new woman's fine... Violet looks around the dimly lit area to spot the new person and more importantly Kite. Kite seams familiar about everything that goes on in here. Maybe he knows who this person is. So far they sound playful but I hope that's all they are. A fight right after these new people got in... that's be a bit abrupt but at the same time, I'm sure it'll serve as a reality check just so they can know the situation they're in. I just hope they can survive this... and I hope Kite doesn't do something reckless...
Hidden 4 yrs ago 4 yrs ago Post by Lumiere
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Collecting themselves from having relit a torch, which took to the flame with a natural ease of the well-oiled cloth wrapped in a metal cage at the end of a metal pole, Jericho quickly returned light to the room. An almost unnatural oppressiveness to the darkness forced the light to cut out a few feet from the man from Istvargrad, though only back in the direction of the hall from whence then came.
Waiting for them, peeking in from the dimness of the light was a sickly snow-white beaked face, parted like a mouth where an upper and lower grin of a row of unsettlingly human-like teeth rested in a blackness within the face. Two hollow holes much akin to the spots that made up 'eyes' on Kite's mask focused an instinctual dread into Jericho as it slowly inwardly hissed a breath.



"Oh! Wah, howdy~" they pleasantly greeted, turning their head to fully grin at Jericho and the crew. "Mah, this is certainly awkward, I imaging you can sympathize," they sighed, accompanied by a small forced-sounding chuckle that not the less came off offsettingly pleasant. "Ah have just been dyin' t'mee'cha, and well, I get so bashful...lucky me, I still got mah personality~" they once again chirped in a playful 'southern gentleman' accent.
"Now'n, ya'll got me up in a tizzy just wonderin' whacha doin', makin' so much...noise" The head floating from a muscular neck that disappeared far into the dimmest of shadows. "See, we're here, gonna do our best, but it'd be rude of us to just start~" A second, almost Identical voice coyly cooed from the shadows of one of the otherwise untouched cells as a second face flickered into visibility.



"Keepa, we'd prefer ya know me as. Just here ta do what I can for such...enticing...individuals~" The second head snickered as the first held their grin. "C'mon, now, all ya'll got names. Y'humans love tha'kinda thang~"

Kite appeared visibly unnerved, backing up against the wall at the back of the block. The light of the flames from the torch refracted on an object beginning to manifest in his hand. "Nahw, what's that one's problem? Wuzza mattah, Stardust, gotcha own tongue~? Kss-hss-hss-hssss~" they snickered before the weight of the first head's attention turned to Jericho. "So, whadda they caaaalll ya, baby?" it asked as the second head coiled from the cell, propped up on another long muscular neck as it rose above the group to seemingly 'look them over'.
"Now ya'll don't feel so unincluded, we havn' fugotten all yas~" the second head cooed over the rest of the group while the first addressed Jericho.
Hidden 4 yrs ago Post by Eisenhorn
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If Jericho wasn't as focused on keeping it together as he was, the fact that his gut instinct had gone from screaming to being curled up in a metaphorical corner, gibbering in response to the....thing that had just come into view would have probably left him in a rather sorry state as well. The innate dread he felt boring into him kept his face rather deadpan, more frozen in shock than simply being unflappable, but given the light conditions, it would likely be difficult to tell. Then the thing started talking, sounding unsettlingly human, and the chuckle didn't help. What in the ever spiteful gods did that plague surgeon drag the collective of them into? The second voice caused his eyes to dart to the source, another one chattering about how it'd be rude to just start. Given the name offered, Keepa, this was probably what passed for a jailor. Which meant this was probably going to get ugly, but he kept a level tone as he responded to the thing as it asked after his name, or what they call him, the addition of baby sent a shiver down his spine, and not in a good manner. Still, he kept his tone level, confident even, an scoundrel like him had to keep a confident, even face in the face of the most impossible odds, or what good was he?

"Call me Walker, it's a pleasure Keepa. Apologies about the noise, seems it travels rather uniquely in this lovely place you have here, and since we're just passing through we can certainly be on our way and not causing anymore noise if you'd be so kind? Save us all the trouble of being in each others way." The reaction, and movement of Kite out of the corner of his eye, was an indicator this was most certainly going to get ugly fast. However, the longer he kept talking, the more precious seconds he could give the other three a chance to brace, subtly hopefully, before this got ugly, as well as gather precious bits of information, as he was sorely out of his element right now. Two heads so far, he didn't have the slightest clue how well well made steel would work on this thing, but he'd be a fool if he planned to simply get back in his cell. Especially given the fact the sounds had come from the cells before this thing had appeared. Four of them, three cells of freed prisoners, since he had to assume the gypsy was also freed, just the first one. The grip remained on the hilt of his arming sword, borderline white knuckle, and he had made sure his position put his back to his newfound allies, temporary and transient as it may be after this. Hope the new girl was the swim type when it came to sink or swim. All he was looking for was an opening, either to strike, or to leg it. Discretion was the better part of valor, after all, and he hadn't survived and thrived fighting fairly or openly, so he had to keep his options open, and if that meant talking, so be it.

Oppressive darkness, and given the things opening extinguishing of the light, it probably would target the torch again given the chance. Meant he'd have to be careful with it, pass it off and grab another if the opening was made. Normally, he'd use an offhand torch as a weapon as well, but given how vital it was as their only source of light, not an option. Perhaps if they could get another one, maybe during whatever 'Stardust', as the thing had referred to their guide as, was hopefully planning. That knife trick hinted at other things, what would stop him from producing a crossbow or the like? And given the complete unknowns of what the red clad lass, and the gypsy if he was being earnest, could do, he had to assume they would be dead weight until proven otherwise. Still, his focus was on the head talking, meeting the things gaze, as unnerving as it was, while his peripheral watched for any other signs of trouble. Calling his nerves on edge would be an understatement, as he could feel the adrenaline hammering through his system, triggered by fight or flight. Given they had nowhere to run that was apparent? He was ready to fight, like a cornered rat, ironically enough, which could be dejavu inducing if he wasn't so on edge.
Hidden 4 yrs ago 4 yrs ago Post by OI3L1V1OUS
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1x Laugh Laugh
Hidden 4 yrs ago 4 yrs ago Post by Thinslayer
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Ruby Redford

What little light there was vanished. Ruby rummaged through her bag for one of her torches and lit one just as the man in the group lit his. But as they lifted up their lights to see down the hallway, all illumination stopped beyond a certain point as if at a brick wall of darkness.

From that darkness emerged a grin.

"Oh, wah howdy!" it drawled.

Ruby did not much feel like greeting it back.

"Mah, this is certain-lay awkward," it continued. "Ah imagine you can sympathize. I have just been dyin' t'meetcha, and- well, I get so bashful. Lucky me, I still got my personality."

Still no one spoke. Ruby, for her part, noted that this thing was trying to sound conciliatory, in the way powerful beings do when trying to balance their pride with desire. She waited for the thing to tip its hand - which it did shortly thereafter.

"Now then, y'all got me got me up in a tizzy just wondering whatcha doin', making so much noise. See, we're here, gunna do our best, but it'd be rude of us to just start!"

Start what? Being creepy? Congratulations, you win the grand prize.

It got even creepier when the second head showed up.

"Jiminy Crickets..." Ruby muttered.

"Keepa, we'd prefer ya know me as. Just here to do what I can for such...enticing...individuals. C'mon, now, all y'all got names. You humans love that kinda thang." Keepa took one look at Kite and added, "Now, what's that one's problem? Wuzza mattah, Stardust? Cat gotcha tongue?" They snickered and turned to ask the man, "So, whadda they caaaalll ya, baby?"

One head looked over the rest of the group and said, "Now y'all don't feel so unincluded! We haven't forgotten all ya's."

The man, to his credit, stood his ground and answered boldly. "Call me Walker. It's a pleasure, Keepa. Apologies about the noise. Seems it travels rather uniquely in this lovely place you have here, and since we're just passing through, we can certainly be on our way and not causing anymore noise, if you'd be so kind? Save us all the trouble of being in each other's way."

Ruby mustered up the most sincere smile she could manage. Hey, perhaps they were nice and just didn't know how to look the part. But just in case they were like fey or something: "Hiya! I'm Sierra Sinclaire. It's a real pleasure to make your acquaintance. Walker and I were just about to check out the mess hall. Wanna come with? I brought some homemade snacks." She lifted a package of pemmican and grinned.
Hidden 4 yrs ago 4 yrs ago Post by Lumiere
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"Walkuh~!" Keepa chirped in amusement after Jericho finished introducing himself. "Well, Texas Ranguh, while you may think flattery will get you anywhere..." they snickered, coiling lower until resting on the floor like a snake lifting itself up almost 9ft off the ground, nearly touching the ceiling. The second head slank across the ceiling from where it emerged from the middle cell, picking up where the first one left off with, "...keep it up; ah may just help ya...pass through~" before joining the first one in the chuckle.

Kite's object was quickly resembling a shortsword by how the addition of more light from Ruby drawing their own torch illuminated more of the room. The cell that the second head emerged from didn't seem so much dark, more cavernous, as if the floor simply fell away past the threshold of the barred gate. Hundreds of small pale hands clung to the bars, seemingly to hold itself up in the abyss. At the same time, long, spider-like appendages arched bonelessly from the first head's massive neck, bracing against the other corner as well as gripping the one they emerged around...effectively blocking escape.

"Nawh...hold on," the first head abruptly ceased snickering to say, the second also falling silent as the first looked over Jericho to watch Ruby make their introductions. "Did...did you just-?" they started, their grin curling at the edges, pulling the expression into a sinister full-faced smirk. "You just saw...me...aaaand your first thought is-" Keepa started, lifting their head and wiggling as they flailed their arms by their head in a mocking manner, raising their tone to poorly mimic Ruby, "-'Oh haaay! Les trah feedin' it! Mehbeh it'll be ahr fraaaand~" before erupting into a low droning 'Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhh' much akin to a guttural belch combined with a tortured moan, their expression even making their eye-holes slightly squint from how wide their mouth opened as they grinned...likely what actually 'laughing' was, for it. "Wha happens next, baby~?" they condescendingly inquired, their mirth blatantly being found in the girl's efforts to...bribe...him?
"Oh! Oh saaay you planned to put a dumb little hat ohn me! Maybe then givin' me a st-huupid nickname...ahn then you...you trah ta riaahd me around, a little~?" Keepa could barely contain their laughter, the other head noisily chattering their teeth between baleful roars and grotesque undulations, bashing its head against the ceiling repeatedly in its maddeningly hysterical fits.

"Aaahh, you adventurers ahr just puh-rescious! Tell-tell yuh what, consider me curious, now...y'know? Sure, ah'll bite. Whatcha got there, Sapphire~?" The first head inquired between hissing chuckles, the second one slithering closer to being over Ruby. "Izzit meat? Oh ah hope ya got meat foh me~" the second head inquired, a growl to their tone as drool dripped from their clenched teeth as they sized up the woman.
Hidden 4 yrs ago 4 yrs ago Post by OI3L1V1OUS
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Once Keepa made his appearance, Violet felt uneasy. While it was trying to be charming, something just felt off. If it wanted to feel friendly, why snuff out the light? Why try to scare them? Nothing about this was adding up. She wanted to call him out on this, maybe he just doesn't realize how he's coming off. Violet's met all different kinds of people today, who's to say this one isn't an ally. However, Violet knows Kite didn't let this one out. In fact she had no idea where it came from. She looks to Kite to see his reaction. Fear. Complete and total fear. She'd never seen Kite look like this. Even when he fought the other Kite, he stepped forward with resolve... but now...

Call me Walker, it's a pleasure Keepa. Apologies about the noise, seems it travels rather...

As she's listening, Walker's words start to trail off to Violet. If Kite's afraid of this thing then what does that mean for us. I couldn't place the feeling before but now I get it. Just looking at this thing... I get the same feeling as fighting a Nightmare from my world. That same lingering dread from just being around them, this 'Keepa' is oozing it. This feeling just won't go away. The more she looks at it, the heavier that dread felt.
Violet starts to see the events unfold. But one stands out more than anything. She can't shake the vision of Kite getting himself hurt again. What's scarier is that she feels 'hurt' may be the least of her worries. The memory of Kite's previous death keeps playing back in her mind even though she wasn't aware of how severe it really was. Kite almost got themselves killed before, barely hanging on by a thread and they were confident about that fight. Now, Kite's completely given into fear. This thing can really kill us. This thing wants to kill us. This thing is going to... no. Not again. I'm not going to let myself do nothing again. I promised Kite I wouldn't let anything hurt him. I have to do something. ANYTHING! Violet activates her ball and charges it up with all her power. The ball bursts into an ethereal yellow flame. Violet knows that color... the ball changes that color when her primary emotion is fear. Even if she's scared, it's not going to stop her from doing what needs to be done.

Izzit meat? Oh ah hope ya got meat foh me

WALKER! DUCK! The ball streaking past Walker and slamming that thing square in the middle of it's head. I'M NOT LETTING YOU HURT ANYONE YOU MONSTER Realizing she was shouting out of fear, she tries to regain what composure she can. Talking now to Walker: That thing is evil incarnate. Don't be drawn in by its words. I had to make the first move before it did. Sierra! You could have been in a lot of trouble! It's clear we can't makes friends with it... As she says this, she looks over to the scared Kite before setting her eyes back on the monster in front of her, so there's only one other route to take... Violet stills herself for whatever comes next.
Hidden 4 yrs ago Post by Eisenhorn
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Walker was about to act under his own volition, since the others weren't picking up on the clue to act while he was distracting the damned thing, when the scream for him to duck caused him to do just, dropping to a knee and moving to act under his own volition. Given the situation, the time for talk was past, all things considered. At least one of them took the chance, even if the spiel about evil and chastising the other about befriending it. From his ducked position, he snapped upright with his lightened crossbow swung up, poisoned bolt being hurled from it the moment he had tracked the head that hadn't been aimed for by that damned crystal ball, slinging it again and drawing his arming sword with a practiced flourish, ready to strike out at the earliest opportunity at whichever head or appendage came closer.

"Remind me to talk to you three about element of sodding surprise after this!" Walker was clearly accustomed to a crew that knew when he was stalling for an opportunistic first strike, screaming on about evil incarnate was, while perhaps not inaccurate, not terribly conducive in that regard. Holding a steady fencing stance, Walker was watching the abomination, his footing shifting subtly to indicate a combination of long years of both training, and even more experience, the torch being held offhand, high enough to provide full light but clearly considered a secondary weapon if the situation demanded. It wasn't a dagger or formal weapon, but a flaming bludgeon to the head could do wonders. Given the things devouring of light, however, it might be wiser to not slam one of their light sources into it. Needs must, though, and while he'd have to ponder that strange reference to a 'Texas Ranger', that was later. For now, it was fighting time.
Hidden 4 yrs ago 4 yrs ago Post by Thinslayer
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As Keepa loomed over her, drool leaking from between its teeth, Violet shouted, "Walter! Duck!" and a brilliant ball of flames slammed into the head. Ruby stumbled back and shielded her eyes. She risked a glance at Violet. Whoa, did that attack come from her? A flush of awe surged through her. Walker took everything in stride, his practiced strikes and efficient dodges betraying a level of skill well beyond par.

Ruby watched with her mouth hung open, bewitched. "Golly G. Whillikers...the kite sure knows how to pick 'em," she murmured.

Walker was a little less than impressed, though. "Remind me to talk to you three about element of sodding surprise after this!" he shrieked between attacks.

Ruby dove away to the wall and joked back, "I'd be surprised if you didn't!" Besides, she had a few surprises of her own. She armed her pistol and stuffed a flare shot down the barrel. If Keepa's dark body and the dungeon's light-snuffing habit were anything to go on:

"Eat this, Dingus Flamingus!"

She pulled the trigger.
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