Board 8 > Labyrinth of Ishiene [CYOA/Forum Game] [ITD8]

(+) Yeah! (+)

[Author's Note: The way the game works is you simply post an action and your character will be introduced to the world. You may name your character. If you do not, I will name them based on your username. That is all that is required to participate.

If you have not played any of my previous games or CYOAs that is not required.
Seriously, I try to make it as easy as possible for anyone to participate.]

Just a few hours ago a wagon arrived at a place that is said to be Cursed.
The ones who came here knew of that reputation.
You could say they were here for exactly that reason.
After all -- they are the ones who opened the lock on the Northern side of the mountain.
They are the ones who traveled over the mountain and came back here, to the South, to find this place.
"All those of Royal Blood killed or exiled," Jefferson remarked. "And the last of them here before the end. The place where Ishiene chose to build her fortress."
If you asked five different people who Ishiene was you might get five different answers.
After all -- that was two thousand years ago. Who could say for sure?
She was a vampire or a lich who had aided in the destruction of the Royal Family.
Rather, maybe, she was a political puppet who was put in place to keep the Humans in check.
Some said that she had been the lover of a Demon.
Others might contend that Ishiene herself was of royal blood and she was the one who had defeated the ones attempting genocide.
Would history remember that sort of person so unkindly?
And why had there been such extreme measures to lock this place away?
Adams put his hand on Jefferson's shoulder. "We won't find any answers just standing around."
"But we were promised that we could find something here. Isn't that enough?"

Jefferson was thinking... it probably depended on what they found.

Jefferson and Adams are two Frantish Knights who were put in charge of this expedition.
It wasn't possible for anyone, even the Frantish scholars, to say how dangerous this place might be.
Mercenaries were hired by Lady Mina to account for the possibility of unknown threats.
You are, of course, among these mercenaries.
Your task will be the explore the Labyrinth and uncover whatever was hidden here.

There is also Mara Raiev. A spy who was captured by the Knights on their trip North.
She was in possession of one of the two Keys and had been found at the location of the second Seal.
"By the way," Mara brings up out of nowhere, "I was wondering if you could remove these shackles now?"
There's a clanking sound as she raises her wrists.
They are still bound together by chains.
Adams gives her sly look. "I still don't know if I can trust you."
Mara nods. "Right. But I think if you leave these on me you're going to regret it later."
Adams did not feel the need to respond to that.

You look around. This is what you see:


The Sealed Door has been destroyed, likely after the two Keys were used.
Looking into the entry hall you see a few doors and an open portal which leads further into the fortress.
It might also be a good idea to explore the outer perimeter some more.

Any person may post an action now.
You can attempt ANY action that you can imagine.
I will resolve them in the order they are received.

This place is very dangerous. Any action you take may have a high rate of death.
If your character dies you may usually introduce a new one right away.
Exception: If the game activity becomes too high I will restrict new waves of character sign ups to certain periods, as I've needed to do in the past.

Good luck, Brave Adventurers.
---

One of the female mercenaries approaches the walls around the Sealed Door and leans close to study what the wall is made of.
---

A small Giant Frantish Labrador pup with a spiky collar and a tag reading "Aron Rex" sniffs around Area B trying to find something out of place
---

Ishiene, the lich woken from her slumber, walks up to the door and knocks three times.
---

Morris, a fit and rugged man, lingers near the wagon and Mara.

"So, what were you doing near that seal, little lady?" he drawls.
---

Morgan, a 22-year old male peasant who was trapped in an elf futanari body by a witch's spell, attempts to distract any guards and discreetly bargain with Mara to see what he would gain by uncuffing her.
---

Larrington Derryerry, a rich sponsor of the expedition, promises to release Mara for her hand in marriage.
---

You had a name once, but you do not remember it. It has been so long. You are a skeleton warrior born from the remains of a prior explorer. The Labyrinth is your home, and now some living are making enough noise to wake the dead. You venture forth to investigate.
---

Sir Stevith Threevith of the Knights of Prosperity stands near the destroyed door and tries to shout commands at everyone.
---

Revilio scoffs at the cowards lingering around the exterior and sallies forth into area C.
---

Esmeralda von Haackenslasher (Esme to her friends) gathers a storm of razor sharp winds around her, and kicks down door number 1 with her mighty muscles.
---

Lionel Gallagher taps the obsidian hilt of his trusty tai chi sword and assumes the pose his wise Master Ni Moy taught him near the tires of Mount Koenig. It's a technique for relaxing, but it might not work too well today. This is young Lionel's first mercurial mission, and, lithe as he is, he'll hope his skills in dexterity and evasion will offset a somewhat weaker physical constitution. For now, however, his attention is firmly affixed on that fourth door, which he attempts to pry open as much from intrigue as from mimicry. After all, everyone else is opening things, right? If everyone opened a bridge, Lionel might open one, too.
---

Tabi, "Queen of the Gutter", exits the wagon.
She was just like the Frantish Knights here.
Tabi has been was trained by a certain Hero, the husband of Lady Mina.
Mina's husband had been a child soldier while Frantz and the Northern Rock were still at war.
For that reason he often took in orphans and those affected by poverty and trained them for a better chance at life.
Therefore, owing her loyalty to Lady Mina and her husband, she decides it is best to be cautious here.
Getting killed by making risky moves wouldn't do justice to the second chance she had been given at life.
Tabi will inspect the walls near the not-so-Sealed-anymore Door.
There are shattered black crystals littered all over the ground.
The broken segments of the Seal seem to be made of the same material.
But the walls are made of some kind of ancient bricks.
Large, dark, and sturdy, it's no wonder they lasted for thousands of years.
Adams will come to join her. "If you're scared of the dark I'll go on ahead."
He leaves Tabi standing outside while he enters the Main Hall.

Aron Rex pees all over the wagon, then returns to his investigation.
Being a small Giant Labrador, he actually looks just like a normal sized dog.
But don't let his looks fool you. He is after all, by lineage, a Giant!
He'll go and sniff at the wall in Area B.
There's a man in a Red Cloak here, kneeling down outside of the wall.
He seems to be holding a grappling hook.
He has not noticed Aron Rex is nearby yet.
Aron remembers reading in the book of his former master...
Yes, Aron is pretty sure that these Red Wizards are evil and extremely dangerous.
Aron sneaks up behind the man and bites him on the neck from behind [3].
The man gasps and then goes limp as his neck snaps.
Aron has found a Grappling Hook!
Aron reaches the end of the wall section and peeks around the corner.
There is a camp fire burning somewhere over there.

Ishiene awakens from her long slumber.
Rubbing sleep from her eyes, she goes to Door 2 and knocks on it a few times.
"Yaaaawwwwwn~....."
Hmm. The last thing she remembered she was supposed to have lunch with Count Ducille.
What times was it now? Why hadn't her Servants woken her up yet?
The door opens. There is a human Knight standing there.
Adams draws his sword. He's shaking with fear. "L... Lich!"
"Shit, someone get in here and help me!"
Ishiene touches his blade. It grows ice cold. The man drops it [3].
Adams falls over and scrambles away from her, trying to create distance.
However, Ishiene really doesn't feel that evil. Honestly she has no memory of what she is doing here.
"Um, sorry, I think there's been a misunderstanding," Ishiene will say to Adams. "Can I help you up?"
Since Ishiene wasn't killed instantly by Adams she has time to explain her situation.
It's true that she does look like some kind of evil Undead, but she doesn't have any hostile intent.
Adams can no longer touch his sword with his hand freezing, so Ishiene keeps it.
Beyond Door 2 you find an Attendant's Room.
Ishiene seems to have fallen asleep in here at some point and not woken up for around 2,000 years.

Morris, Morgan, and Larrington will all approach Mara.
"Um, hello. Can I help you?" She'll ask. She seems very wary of these mercenaries.
"So, what were you doing near that seal, little lady?" Morris asks.
"You want to be uncuffed, huh? Well, what will you give me in return?" Morgan inquires.
"P-P-Please... m-marry me!" Larrington pleads with her.
Mara gives them a weird look.
Then, without saying anything, she walks away. [2,2,2]
---

Seeing that Adams is busy pissing his pants, Mara goes to Jefferson.
"By the way, Sir Knight, I thought I should mention something."
"When I was at the location of the other Seal... I encountered a Red Wizard."
"He nearly froze me half to death. That's why my face was all flushed when you found me."
Jefferson takes in all this information.
He looks over at Tabi, who happened to be nearby and overheard the conversation.
Jefferson finally speaks up. "If we see any Red Wizards we should probably kill them on sight."
"It's too dangerous to risk what they might do if they see us first."

---

Revilio, unconcerned with this talk of Red Wizards, boldly strides into the open passage straight ahead.
He steps over Adams, ignoring the Lich as well, and goes off to explore on his own.
After all, this is what he was hired to do. Go and explore, right?
A Burning Brand emerges from the darkness.
Revilio sees it... five fingers. A treasure beyond mortal comprehension.
Fingernails digging into his eyes [1].

The others hear a muted scream which is cut short.
Then a dull and lifeless corpse collapses at the entrance to Area C.
Something seems to be waiting in the darkness.

---

Esmeralda is helping with the initial entry room exploration.
She raises her razor sharp kicking heels high over her head.
Larrington seems to be watching from nearby. ("Panty shot...")
Then, without hesitation, she brings her foot down!
The wooden frame shudders and then explodes.
Bits of wood go flying into the room beyond.
Esemralda sees a Treasure Chest in the room!
She relaxes herself and drops her guard for the time being. Nothing too dangerous in there.
Nothing too- [1]
The Five Fingers of Death leaps out from the darkness.
It lands on Esme's back, claws off her face, and then lunges up onto the roof.
As Esme collapses to the ground you see a dark shape clinging overhead.
Blood seems to be dripping from above. Or is that...?
The floor is melting now beneath where it stands. Acid!

Adams goes to draw his sword, then realizes he lost it already.
"Shit!" Adams will hide behind Ishiene.
Jefferson enters the room and prepares for battle.

Steveth stands there near the doorway, too afraid to actually fight.
He begins shouting at others, trying to tell them to go and attack the monster!
Around this time, Lionel finishes prying open Door 4.
It's a small Dining Hall where Servants had been gathered to eat breakfast.
Long ago. Now they had all crumbled to dust. Some bones remained, though.
A single, complete, skeleton. It stands up and.... no way.
The Skeleton comes to join Lionel!
Skeleton looks past Lionel, into the Entry Hall. He sees that Lady Ishiene is in Danger.
Is it time, then? Time to protect the Lady of the House?

If you perform any actions in the Entry Hall next turn you will be threatened by the Five Fingers of Death.
This includes attempting to Loot the Treasure.
You may choose to attack the Five Fingers of Death directly and assist in the combat.
Characters in the game may have weapons and magic at the discretion of the players.
If you were given a special weapon or item you can use that for a boost.
---

Sorry for the long ass first update. Did not expect 12 posts right up front.
Not that I'm complaining. Thanks to everyone who has joined already!



Tabi, Lvl 1 Orphan
Aron Rex, Lvl 2 Dog [Grappling Hook]
Ishiene, Lvl 2 Lich [Knight Sword]
Morris, Lvl 1 Alpha
Morgan, Lvl 1 Futanari
Larrington, Lvl 1 Dilettante
Steveth, Lvl 1 Foreign Knight
You, Lvl 1 Skeleton
Lionel, Lvl 1 Artist

Deaths:
1. Revilion saw the Five Fingers of Death. Just a glimpse is enough.
2. Esme was ambushed by the Five Fingers of Death. Lowered her guard for only a moment.

Hopefully we can have a great game this time.
---

Morris shakes his head as Mara walks away. "So much for being polite."

He hears a commotion in the entry hall. "Well, I guess it's time to earn my pay."

Morris loosens a whip from his belt and saunters toward the entry hall, ready to join the fray.
---

Carwen, Queen of Cars raises her hand, and some sort of metal horseless carriage appears out of nowhere, roaring towards the five fingers.
---

Lionel Gallagher tries not to seem surprised when a skeleton joins his formerly one-man party. After all, it wouldn't be polite. Master Ni Moy taught Lionel about basic human decency by the fires of Mount Koenig. "I'm gonna call you Bones," he says. No one has ever accused him of being verbally creative. "Me? The name's Lionel. Lionel Gallagher." A look of destiny passes over him. No, literally. This is Lionel's magic, although he doesn't know it -- he has an aura of heroism which may enchant his foes and companions into believing in him, or of perceiving him as threat if they are wicked. Despite his average composure, Lionel is a walking, talking essence of legend.

"Anyway, frak this noise. That chick's in trouble. C'mon, Bones, we gotta help!"

Lionel trots in hopes of saving fair noble maiden Ishiene. That's what heroes do, he supposes. He unsheathes his tai chi sword! In a flurry, he sweeps unpredictably toward that which would do her harm...!

Phrasing!
---

Also, am I misremembering or have the victory and death numbers been reversed?
---

3 - success
2 - stalemate
1 - death

I'm also making less checks overall and letting people succeed at normally easy stuff. the reason is because I think it's better if we get somewhat attached to the characters before they start dying, rather than having 1/3 of the people die every turn.
---

A large spider descends from above, hissing at the five fingers for attacking such delicious looking morsels first. Spider-Mana leaps at the fingers!
---

I just remember auto-one technology being a thing is all.
---

A random blonde man bursts on to the scene and does a pose! His purple scarf blows in the wind

"What's going on babes!? Carl Cohn the Coin Conjurer is here t-"

It is at this point that Carl notices that not only is nobody paying attention to his awesome entrance, but some people had already gotten mutilated! Oh, and there was also a freakishly large hand in the hallway for some reason.

"Oh dang..."

Carl suddenly hears a roaring sound! He instinctively jumps and somehow lands on top of a carriage that appeared out of nowhere! He was now effectively surfing on top of a horseless carriage that was on a direct collision course with the deadly hand!

["Well...its a hand...so of course that must mean!-"]

Working in tandem with Carwen's attack, Carl Cohn the Coin Conjurer whips out his MANTIS FLIP COIN and jump flips off the speeding carriage directly at the FIVE FINGERS OF DEATH to give it the sickest high five ever
---

Pirateking2000 posted...

Working in tandem with Carwen's attack

What is Morris, chopped liver?
---

Morgan tells the others that he will stand guard outside just in case anything escapes and silently plots revenge against the two fools who coincidentally approached Mara alongside him, now convinced they ruined his chance at deriving information.
---

Bones...what an uninspired name. Not that Bones had much time to dwell on that, or brains with which to engage in the dwelling thereof. No, this was a time for action, and his action was clear. "What you said!"

Bones follows behind Lionel, ready to offer whatever support a skeleton like him can offer in their defense of Ishiene.
---

Shaduln posted...

Pirateking2000 posted...

Working in tandem with Carwen's attack

What is Morris, chopped liver?

Nah I just meant like working directly with it what with the carriage surfing and all

You could have joined the awesome surfing attack too!
---

Shaduln posted...

Pirateking2000 posted...

Working in tandem with Carwen's attack

What is Morris, chopped liver?

Truly so, when compared to the majesty of Carwen, Queen of Cars. :P

Well, at any rate, I need to sleep. Try not to have too much fun while I'm gone
---

King of Coins and Queen of Cars

Its gonna happen! Y'know if they don't die immediately anyway
---

JeffreyRaze posted...

I just remember auto-one technology being a thing is all.

if you want a lore explanation:
the gate from Heaven to Earth was opened again, reversing the effect of life/death and fate
---

Lounging in the Attendants' Room, Ishiene lazily casts a spell on Bones, granting him essence of ice and devilishly good looks (for a skeleton). For whatever reason, all of Ishiene's spell have the side effect of making the recipient gorgeous. She yawns again and wanders back to the mirror, brushing whatever hair she has left while trying to remember her dream.
---

Aron barks like he was instructed to when he ran into something interesting but then continued his investigation.

He quickly marked the red wizard so he could find him again but then skulks to the fire. Maybe there are more Red Wizards.... Aron was a giant at heart but hr might not be able to kill a whole group of these guys.
---

Bones is now Karl Urban imo
---

Steveth, realizing no one had been listening to him, decides to play it cool. He lets out a hearty laugh, "oh you guys, always the jokers!" It is at this time he notices the large threatening hand in the hall. He begins to pull his sword and help the band of strangers when the words of the Knights of Prosperity ring back to him: "in order to prosper, one must not run in and get one's self killed".

He puts his sword back and continues shouting instruction.
---

Jeff Zero posted...

Bones is now Karl Urban imo

Agreed
---

Jeff Zero posted...

Bones is now Karl Urban imo

Why did I have a feeling you were going that direction with the name <3
---

Another side effect of Ishiene's spell is that Bones was renamed to Karl Urban
---

it is written
---

Morris prepares his trusty Monster Killing Whip and enters the Entry Hall.
Standing beside Jefferson, the two prepare to attack together.
"You were among the specialists hired by Lady Mina, weren't you?" Jefferson will ask.
"I suppose I can trust you to watch my back, then."
Morris doesn't say much. He always felt like talking in the middle of battle was a good way to get yourself killed.
The Five Fingers of Death sees the two approaching and leaps off the ceiling!
It crashes into the ground and begins kicking and biting wildly.
Now that you can get a good look at it, it seems more like a lanky and fur-covered creature.
Saliva that burns like acid sprays around. It scatters all over everything as the Fingers shakes its head like a mad dog.
Morris and Jefferson manage to keep the foe busy for the time being [2].
Between his whip and Jefferson's sword they have an easy time keeping the monster at range and fighting it safely.
Jefferson looks over his shoulder.
"Mara, since you're still cuffed why don't you-.... Mara?"
Well, without needing to be told, it seemed like she went somewhere to hide.

Carwen climbs off of the wagon and looks ahead.
There seems to be a battle going on inside.
Hm hm. Yes! This is the kind of thing she was hoping to see!
Using her Mineralmancy, she summons a carriage made of pure iron and drives it forward toward the enemy!
To her surprise, a well dressed chap jumps onto her carriage.
"Allow me the honor of fighting at your side!" Carl will implore.
Suddenly, the two realize that they are about to run over Morris!
Oh! That wouldn't be good, Carwen supposed.
She swerved her metal carriage so abruptly that it nearly tipped over [2].
"Hold on tight!" Carl instructed her, as if she needed instructions on how to drive her own carriage.
Right on cue, that Dunce got snatched by the monster as it jumped out of the way [1].
The Five Fingers picked up Carl and slammed him hard against the ground.
He was alive, but badly injured, with a broken rib and a broken arm.
The monster rolled off of him and prepared to continue fighting.

Lionel draws his tai chi sword, flimsy as it might be, and tries to gather a party of allies to aide him!
You has been renamed to Bones. Bones joined forces with Lionel!
Lady Ishiene...
"Um, listen, I'm not really into protecting others, so..."
Ishiene wandered off, leaving Adams to fend for himself.
She goes in the other room and sits down in front of the Attendant's Mirror.
It is the mirror of a commoner, but it would do for now.
Her skin is a pale blue. Her hair is more purple and green than black.
Not at all like she remembered.
Having a fanciful dream of beauty, she hears Adams crying for help.
"Oh, fine. Whatever." She'll peek out into the hall and notice two people coming to protect her.
"Hey, you two, why don't you protect him instead?!"
Ishiene will cast a buff on Bones. Bones has become more handsome.
Actually, no, wait... she accidentally made him more ugly [1].
"Well, whatever. Magic is finnicky. Just deal with the problem and you'll be rewarded later!"

Lionel and Bones will charge the Five Fingers of Death before it can recover from the car wreck.
They dash around the tipped over metal carriage and ambush the foe.
Lionel begins doing sick tai chi flips. "Hey Bones, check this out! Ha! Ha haha!"
Lionel does a cartwheel right into the enemies outstretched claws and gets grabbed [1].
Bones runs over and tries to pry him loose, but doesn't do a great job at it [2].
They both grapple helplessly with the enemy for now.
---

Spider-Mana, the Spider, drops on the Five Fingers of Death from above.
While it was busy fighting the others, Spider-Mana managed to land on its back and bite it [3]!
The Five Fingers of Death is now injured. It drops Lionel and begins to roll around on the ground in pain.

Morgan peeks inside, seeing that everyone is getting their asses kicked or killed. Or worse.
"Yeah, uh, I'm gonna just, um, stand watch out here. If anyone needs me I'll be... yeah."
Morgan goes outside and leans against the wall, relaxing.
Well, the sounds of fighting inside make it a bit harder to relax.
Was that a fucking Wilhelm Scream?!
Mara will sneak outside, escaping from Jefferson and Adams.
She goes to join Morgan.
"Um, sorry if I was rude earlier. That was a lot of attention to take in at once," Mara will say.
Even with her hands shackled she is able to move her hands enough to brush her hair aside.
You see pointy ears. "I'm an elf too, you know."
"I'm not an Elf," Morgan says, sounding annoyed. "I was trapped in this body by dark magic."
Mara looks at him but doesn't say much else.
Morgan sighs. "So how about it? Do you want to be uncuffed or not? What will you give me?"
Mara laughs. "I don't have anything. The Knights took it when they captured me."
"Even my Diamond Edge."
Morgan considers whether it's worth letting her go anyway.

Note: Players may now examine text that appears written in Italics.
Only the FIRST player to Examine a piece of text will get credit for it.
Additionally, if you Examine a Text, you cannot perform any other actions.

Aron Rex barks a few times and then realizes no one is paying attention to him.
Well, his master did die of the flu about six months ago.
Since then he's always been alone.
This would just have to be another solo adventure.
Aron goes to where the Red Wizards are camping and sits down by the fire.
There's two of them here. They seem to be talking to each other.
"Hey look, a Dog! I wonder what it's doing here?"
"Aron Rex. What an odd name."
"Anyway, let's get back to what we were discussing... it seems our theory was right."
"Yes. We haven't heard back from Daron, but someone else must have activated the Seal."
"So the Frantish Knights or the Ravens will be here soon."
"And they probably killed Daron, too."
"Well, that guy was still an apprentice anyway."
"Speaking of apprentices, I'm going to go check on Markul. He should have been back by now."
The second Wizard leaves. Aron is now alone with the first Wizard.
The Wizard pets him and then goes over to his camp site. He begins organizing his things.
Aron comes up behind him and bites him on the neck, then breaks it [3].
Two down. One to go. Master would be proud of him.
Aron finds the Book of Circles in the belongings of the Red Wizard.

Steveth looks at the chaos going on inside.
"Hey! Everyone! Keep fighting! Give it all you've got!"
The people fighting the Five Fingers of Death are starting to feel more energetic.
... You think.... maybe?

Tabi, Lvl 1 Orphan
Aron Rex, Lvl 4 Dog [Grappling Hook, Book of Circles]
Ishiene, Lvl 2 Lich [Knight Sword]
Morris, Lvl 2 Alpha
Morgan, Lvl 2 Futanari
Larrington, Lvl 1 Dilettante
Steveth, Lvl 1 Foreign Knight
Bones, Lvl 2 Skeleton [Ugly]
Lionel, Lvl 1 Artist
Carwen, Lvl 2 Mineralmancer
Carl, Lvl 2 Dunce [Injury]
Spider-Mana, Lvl 3 Spider

Deaths:
1. Revilio saw the Five Fingers of Death. Just a glimpse is enough.
2. Esme was ambushed by the Five Fingers of Death. Lowered her guard for only a moment.
---

Lionel fumbles around in pain. "Fraksake! That hurt. Oh well. Hey, Bones, you look kinda uglier now. Here's a mirror so you can see!" Meanwhile, he examines that sweet Diamond Edge!
---

Morris grins fiercely, noticing the beast's injuries. He quickly dashes backwards to survey the situation, then continues the assault on the creature from the best angle he can get on it.
---

Aron has found one thing to be true in his time as a runty Giant Frantish Labrador and that is that people underestimate the runt.

See his master liked to read to him. So when he saw that book he instinctively knew it would hold the secret to defeating the Red Wizard menace. He resisted thr urge to pee on the one he had just downed and USED THE BOOK and then went to find the last wizard. Aron was a good boy.
---

Ishiene, having finished her grooming, throws her brush at the Five Fingers of Death.
---

"Ahhhoohooo...mrmmph..."

Carl rolls over and tries picking himself up

"That....coulda gone better.."

The monster who was totally not a giant hand upon closer inspection, continued thrashing about while Carl continued to get his bearings

At this point he had to wonder

Why were they all here again?

Some business about "something" being in the tomb?

Carl tries to think back super hard about what this "something" could be. Mentally "examining" it one might say!
---

Bones takes the mirror "Damnit Lionel, I'm a fighter, not a person-who-looks-at-mirrors!" and threatens the Five Fingers of Death with its own reflection.
---

Morgan remembers a ritual that can be performed between those with elven blood. An incantation accompanied by the spilling of a small amount of blood from both elves will bind the two to be unable to lie to each other for three questions. Considering what Mara has just revealed, Morgan proposes the ritual to her to ensure he won't betrayed, knowing that he is also making himself vulnerable for a chance at power.
---

S finally wakes up and takes off Mara's cuffs with the keys he "found" on the wagon
---

Remulel chases after his lost charge and runs into the Five Fingers. Seeing Revilio's corpse there, he attacks it in an attempt to retrieve the fool.
---

Lionel takes a moment to catch his breath.
Fighting while his nerves are so high is likely to result in him getting killed.
He examines Jefferson, who is still fighting the monster.
Two swords? Why does he have two swords?
Oh, no. That wasn't it.
Examining the holster clipped to the back of his belt it's actually a short sword.
And, specifically, this is more the size of a short blade used by a woman.
This is the sword they took from Mara Raiev when they captured her.
'Diamond Edge' she called it.
Lionel remembers hearing a story that he heard, a rumor, a few years ago.
They said that along the Northern Coast there was a woman who dove into the ocean.
She brought something with her called Raw Carbon.
The Ravens had retrieved it from a capsule, a remnant of ancient civilization.
That capsule had been dug up from somewhere at the base of the mountain.
In any event apparently she had taken the Raw Carbon to the bottom of the ocean and fed to the Deep God.
And, at that time, the Deep God spat back out a blade made of raw diamond.
When asked about, Mara said that the story was true.
She claimed that she took that blade back to the surface with her and fashioned it to a hilt.
The material is so tough, so unbreakable, that it still has the raw shape from when the Deep God spit it out.
As a result, it has a rough appearance. But it's unparalleled in cutting power.
Lionel walks up behind Jefferson and draws the Diamond Edge from the scabbard.
You get the impression that taking anything from this guy would be pretty easy.

Morris will continue to battle the enemy, while being assisted by Jefferson.
Jefferson remarks: "Let's flank him with a two-sided assault. I'll show you how a Knight does it!"
Morris finds himself wishing his ally was less chatty.
But, still, it was better than fighting alone.
In fact, Morris is keenly aware of something... from watching the battle.
Yes, it seems like 'Teaming Up With An Ally' is a lot safer than attacking alone!
With the creature being injured it's easy work for Morris and Jefferson to push it back [2].
Eventually they get it out of the entry chamber and back toward the darkness that it came out of.

Outside, Aron Rex will read the Book of Circles.
He is glad that his master taught him how to read despite being a Dog.
While reading the book he will be joined by the returning Red Wizard.
"My comrades... all dead. It was you, wasn't it?!"
The Red Wizard raises a glowing hand. "I'll purge you, you beast."
"I should never had underestimated a Dog!"
The sky turns from blue to red as magic begins to weave through the fabric of reality.
Yes, this is Red Magic. The magic of time, memory, space, and emotion.
It is the most powerful and most dangerous magic of all.
That's because there is no possible way to resist it.
Aron wags his tail gently, placing his paw on the Book of Circles.
A glowing line forms in the earth around him.
Rather than attempting to 'resist' the magic, he 'redirects' it.
Instead of being assaulted by harsh, heavy, painful memories that would break him...
Aron Rex is filled with a nostalgic sense of content.
Yes, he's remembering the good times again.
Meanwhile, a second Circle was formed at the feet of the magus before him.
That guy, unfortunately, would be feeling the effects of the Counterspell right about now.
He falls to his knees and begins to remember. Remember it all.
He remembers his brother dying in war. Seeing his mother's tears at the funeral.
The widow was not so calm and composed. It was a painful memory.
The Wizard remembered his father leaving when he was very young.
He remembered the traumatic experience of being robbed at the point of a sword.
His chest began to pound fiercely.
---