Twenty foot high stone walls surround this courtyard strangled by dead trees and algae-caked fountains. The courtyard is open to the ashen sky above. Beyond the trees, a colossal iron trapdoor 10 feet to a side lies embedded in the ground. Torches surround it, each flickering in the rain.
A maypole erected from polished humanoid spines rises from the center of the grove. Black and violet streamers dangle from the bones. Spectral children skip stones on a pond of brackish water at its base.
The humid air is dense with the odor of rotting vegetation. The piercing screams of wyverns can be heard in the distance beyond the courtyard walls.
A blindfolded medusa with pallid skin crouches in a nearby gazebo. She feasts upon the body of a paralyzed elven warrior, from which she pauses as she hears your approach.
"Ah, the sounds of crusaders. I recognize it anywhere. I am Dusk Blossom. Tell me, adventurers, who you are and why you have come. Do you seek entrance to the Chaos Maze?"
[Gardain]
ReplyDeleteIgnoring the eladrin’s snarky comments, Gardain continues into the grove, stopping short as the surprisingly cordial voice comes lilting from the gazebo.
His stomach turning as he watches the still-moving eyes of the paralyzed elf plead them for assistance. Swallowing his bile he forces his itching hand to stay from his axe, this new creature seeming pleasant enough. “We seek th’ destruction o’ th’ Heresarch an’ th’ freedom o’ our world.” He keeps his eyes averted from the snake-haired woman as she takes another gruesome bite.
He takes a moment to look around the grove, the ruination of what might have once been beautiful breaking his heart.
“Does th’ Chaos Maze lead tae a key o’ th’ Heresarch’s downfall?” He flashes his teeth at the carnivorous woman, as much a snarl as it is a smile. “We canst grant ye’ amnesty should y’assist our cause.” He subtly changes his footing, ready to fight or flee should the tides turn violent.
Tech: Hold at the entrance to the grove, ready to draw should things go south. Diplomacy +5, History +8, do we know anything about the medusa? Perception +5 for anything out of the ordinary that sticks out at first glance, Religion +8, the trident symbol is clearly the sign of the Heresarch, does the medusa have any symbols on her?
Dusk Blossom is quite friendly to your conversation, answering, "Wow, that's quite an accent you have," and you can see her attempt to translate, and understand.
ReplyDelete"The Chaos Maze does have an item you seek, the jade planet, within its inmost den. It's guarded by a finedish half-manticore minotaur. I can grant you passage, but only if you do something for me first."
She leaves her dinner and stands, keeping her eyes behind the blindfold. She's wearing ONLY the blindfold, you realize.
"I used to be the caretaker of a chamber within these walls, the Pleasure Crypts. The Heresiarch has replaced me, however, with his newest fling - a bitch named Sorrow Nimbus. Now I have been reduced to babysitter, having to stand watch over his irascible ghost-children in this dirty hovel."
She comes close to you, almost as if she could see despite the blindfold, "Bring me the head of Sorrow Nimbus, and I will grant access to the Chaos Maze."
The ghostly children continue to dance and play around the maypole, oblivious in their reverie.
OOC: I won't make you shlep back to the Pleasure Crypts to get the head. You can simply have it with you, or do a "be right back!"
OOC: Btw, no symbols on Dusk Blossom that you can see.
ReplyDeleteOOC: Oh and how can we see... woof...
ReplyDeleteShazi steps forward. "The bitch is dead," she says quite proudly, tossing the head at the ground in front of her. "It was our pleasure. No where is this maze you speak of?"
ReplyDeleteKallista edges tentatively around the perimeter of the grove, her voice barely a whisper:
ReplyDelete"Is that...a GAZEBO? I heard the stories as a child, but never encountered one in all my travels..."
She shudders involuntarily with fear and apprehension.
OOC: So what are we looking at here guys, 9 days?
ReplyDeleteTHE CLOCK OF DOOM COUNTS DOWN TO YOUR EXTINCTION.
Dusk Blossom is pleased that you brought her the head of her enemy, and lifts the trapdoor grate as if it were mere planks of wood.
ReplyDeleteIt leads to the Chaos Maze!