More like a Tower of Terror?

[mithrarin]

Who: Dust, Lys, Sunset, and Yotsuyu
Where: The Tower of Runes and Rapture
When: After the whole, uh, mess
What: An adventure!

When he'd first noticed the tower, Dust hadn't believed it -- because he'd been by that one spot a few times with absolutely no sign of any such a thing. But then he reminded himself of where he was and how he'd gotten there, and with that, disbelief faded to curiosity.

Some quick poking around and he'd discovered the faded, damaged runes that were probably magic wards failing after who knows how much neglect. A few quick tests told him that he did not want to challenge them on his own, and so back to the library he'd gone to find help. Which he had, both in books where he'd expected it and numbers where he had not.

Four in number, now, they returned to lower the wards. Simple and easy with numbers and a basic dispelling spell. Too easy, Dust worried.

Comments

[pawper]

[Chewing on a milkbone (don't judge, it tastes just like a particularly crunchy and flavorless biscuit) as she examines a few of the damaged runes, Lys tries to ignore the prickle of gooseflesh rising along the nape of her neck. It's just the lingering traces of old magic in the air, she tells herself, the sense of entering once-forbidden ground. To feel nothing at all when a hidden tower of unknown arcane potential was involved would probably be even stranger.

Still. The presence of others keeps her wand out and at the ready, casually poised to cast the protective wards she's been practicing these past few weeks.]

I wonder what used to be here. Some kind of experiment, maybe?

[darkenedmoon]

Perhaps it was the tower of a now-lost wizard? I have always heard that those with a scholarly bent liked their privacy...

[This would explain the runes and the reasons that the tower was hidden originally, perhaps. Yotsuyu gazed over the glimpse of the tower that shifted into her vision, then out of it. It was like looking at something hidden by a Garlean cloaking device--albeit one that was malfunctioning. To try to see it for too long would likely give her a headache. Reaching into her sleeve, she withdrew her fan, so that should anything happen, she would be ready.]

Truthfully, though, this is the first I've heard of it--though I admit I had not been seeking information on hidden towers.

[burningbrighter]

[ Sunset was all about poking her nose where it didn't necessarily belong. She'd come with Monarious curled on her arm as usual, the little mass of eyes and tentacles quivering nervously. ]

Whatever it was, it was probably too dangerous to keep where just anyone could find it. We should probably be prepared for the worst.

[mithrarin]

Every instinct I have tells me this is bad. [Every instinct he has tells him he shouldn't involve the others, too -- but he has no choice. He can't work the magic to take down these wards alone, no matter how great the need. So it'll be on him to protect all three of them... to make sure they don't get hurt because of his inability.]

[His fingers tighten around Ahrah's hilt, the sort of gesture that would betray a human by their white knuckles but offers little clue thanks to his fur.]

The spell to open the wards is simple, if we all do it. One at each cardinal direction.

[pawper]

[She glances at each member of their merry little band in turn — lingering on Dust for a moment or two longer than was strictly necessary — and swiftly chews up the last of her milkbone, swallowing it in one gulp. Then she immediately takes out another and pops that one into her mouth as well, cradling it between her teeth with all the obvious relish of a mobster savoring a fresh cigar.]

Mm, we should definitely be careful! But we're a team, so I bet we'll manage just fine. [A wide, encouraging sort of smile, brightly optimistic. Unwarranted? Probably. Premature? Absolutely.] The spell seems easy enough.

[darkenedmoon]

It is certainly not good, but--yes. As she says. [With a nod of her head at the tall girl, who even towers over her. Yotsuyu snaps out her fan and flutters it briefly, teasing a breeze across her face. She'd given Dust her share of staring, but that was back at the library. This was serious business.]

We need to exercise caution and not move too swiftly, perhaps. I shall take the West, if we care to start dividing up the directions?

[burningbrighter]

I'll take south, then. Ready?

[ Sunset flexes her fingers with a little smile. She's a unicorn. Things like this don't bother her at all. ]

[mithrarin]

North, then. [Dust moves to that position with a nod, mentally rehearsing the pattern he needs to trace with his sword.] And be careful. Who knows what will happen when we drop this...

[pawper]

That just leaves east.....

[Muttered thoughtfully as she mirrors what everyone else has done and takes up the appropriate position. Funny; she's never traveled in that direction before, not once during the entirety of her wandering years. O the random things your mind conjured up when you stood poised to do something incredibly awesome, dangerous, or both.]

Okay, let's do this!

[darkenedmoon]

[Taking up her position in the west, Yotsuyu is--firmly aware of the irony for herself. Where the sun sets, where that act allows the darkness to grow. She uses Modification, however--no strange incantations for her, just the sweet precision of mathematical equation, invoked to protect and minimize any danger that bringing down the wards might engender. Snapped shut, her fan inscribes geometric symbols in the air, before she bows her head, letting the others know that she, at least, is finished, and her spell hangs, ready to join with...whatever comes next.]

I stand ready. Whoever shall go next, please do.

[burningbrighter]

I'm on it.

[ Sunset's murmurings are faintly musical---she's no Valhudor student, but she admires their work. Her glyph is neat, meticulous, and soon enough, done.]

All right.

[mithrarin]

[They speak and scribe their spells, and with the magic on each side doing its work, the tower appears in solid form between them all. In the same moment, a new spell activates; the tower seems to glow with radiant light that warms the very soul. Rapture shines down on them.]

[The feeling is utterly strange and foreign to Dust, a fierce warmth that brings him to his knees. What -- is going on?]

[burningbrighter]

[ Sunset finds the feeling slightly unnerving but not quite as strange. She walks over to Dust and crouches nearby, careful not to startle. ]

...You okay? It doesn't look too bad, does it?

[darkenedmoon]

[Yotsuyu does feel that strange power, but instead of being subsumed by it, it seems to anger her somewhat. She's always had...problems with being forced into a thing by anyone, and this is no different. She rejects this benevolent golden light with a scowl and a snap of her fan.]

Who do you think I am? [That's a hiss, directed not at her companions, but the Tower itself.] I who was Tsukuyomi? I will not bow to you--whatever you are!

[mithrarin]

[The others... are fighting, or resisting, or withstanding. Dust doesn't know which. Doesn't care. His fingers tighten on the ground, digging furrows into the earth, before he punches a fist into the churned-up dirt and uses that to push himself upwards.]

Whatever this is.. I won't let it stop me.

[burningbrighter]

It hasn't pushed us away, so that's good, right? We can go on.

[ Sunset rises and steels herself, slowly---it's a lot to fight off at once. ]

All right. Together now.

[ Yeah she is going to slowly step closer and see what's next. ]

[darkenedmoon]

[Yotsuyu hastily followed Sunset's lead, fan out but closed and pointed at the tower, eyes narrowed. She'll let her anger follow where the other girl leads--and yes, see what's next. All it can do is give her pain if it's folly--an old friend of hers.]

I shall not bow!

[mithrarin]

[Their defiance seems to do the trick. Unable to break them, the magic slowly fades, loosening its awesome force against their minds. In the same moment, the doors to the tower slowly swing open.]

[Dust needs a moment to catch his breath, though, trembling slightly from the aftereffects.]

I think... we did it.

[burningbrighter]

I sure hope so.

[ But Sunset likes to think she's an optimistic person. She shakes out her limbs, dusts off, and nods. ]

All right. Ready for the next challenge?

[ She calls a small light spell to herself, peering uncertainly at the doors. ]

[darkenedmoon]

As if we've a choice. [Not that Yotsuyu is truly angry at those she's with, but she is no fan of what the tower has thrown at them so far. She flutters her fan slightly, but keeps it close to hand. Sunset has provided the light, so she goes to test the doors, though not without some trepidation of her own.

She approaches slowly, giving them a thorough visual inspection, focus at the ready--though she has her dagger at her belt, and Gosetsu wrapped around her waist. As prepared as she can be, she is.]

I plan to give them a push. Unless either of you see a reason I should not?

[mithrarin]

Let me. I'm very good at dodging. [Just in case. Of the three of them, he judges himself to be the best in a fight when it comes to swords. They can support with spells at the very lest, since he's not so good at using them in combat.]

[So saying, Dust leans in to push the doors open, teeth gritted against the potential that lies behind. But no attack comes, no disastrous spell; instead, a long hall, shimmering with runes, stretches off to a winding staircase. Several doors stand on the bottom side, and more show on each level up above.]

...Well.