The world ends at Pan's temple - Jygust 31st, MT

[Meridiuz]

Langredoc readied his blade, putting all his rage into the throw. At the same time Aerin was gathering as much energy as she could, focusing it on the warrior's eyes to blind him before he could throw. He could feel the energy inside of his eyes. It started as a tingling sensation, but within a flicker it grew to a burning pain which made it difficult, if not impossible to keep his eyes open. It was a pain unlike any he had ever felt before and it wasn't something he could touch, it came straight from the inside. As his eyes burned with pain, he was still able to throw the blade, but the aim wasn't as good as it initially had been.

The blade touched Aerin's skin on her right upper arm, the sharp edge easily cutting through the young woman's skin. It took a few flickers before her mind registered the pain, especially with her being so focused on the energies. A part of her mind saw the blood coming out of the cut. It wasn't gushing out, but she was definitely bleeding. And then it hit her brain and she suddenly felt it too, losing her concentration on the magic she was performing.

Yelena was unable to speak, unable to move. She had no idea what was going on and things were happening fast. There were so many questions on who did what and even without those questions, what the hell were they doing now? Aerin..doing magic?? Attacking this man? Who was this man anyway? Hadn't she seen him before? Why was he attacking Aerin? It was too much for her mind to handle, which made it susceptible for Rhoddin's booming command. SLEEP, she heard booming through her mind and almost instantly she passed out.

Aerin, having lost the concentration on her magic and her mind being busy with the pain was also hearing the command. She too felt her mind wanting to relax, wanting to fade to black. And that is the last thing what she saw, blackness.

Langredoc's vision was already gone due to the pain in his eyes. He was already seeing blackness. But he too felt his mind's desire to sleep. He had to sleep now. Another flicker and he was out.

Rhoddin saw the effect of his command. It seemed to be amazingly powerful as he saw Eilish close her eyes. She was still holding onto his arm, but he could feel her grip losing it's power. As she sank to the ground, he noticed something else. The strangest thing was happening. He too, suddenly felt the overpowering need to sleep. His eyes closed and he felt his body fall down to the ground. He was able to blink once more with his eyes before the blackness took him and in that one blink, he saw the wicked grin on Eilish's sleeping face.





Sounds of whispering voices....footsteps across the floors. One by one they slowly woke up. As they opened their eyes and had gotten used to the light again, they noticed that they were sitting against the wall of the temple and three priests were looking after them. Aerin noticed that the wound on her arm still hurt, but it had been properly wrapped in bandages. Yelena and Rhoddin also woke up, but they weren't feeling any pain. What they both did notice however was that Paige's body was gone. So was Langredoc and Eilish. It was just the three of them together with the priest. A young blind priest bent over. "Ah, you are awake. How are you all feeling?"

At the same time, Langredoc woke up, but he wasn't in a place with a lot of light. It was dark and moist. His eyes still hurt when he opened them. As he tried to move his hands, he would find that they had been shackled. He was stuck. Stuck against a wall and he was all alone.

[Langredoc]

OOC: The post of Langredoc is here. Thanks for the great posts.

http://www.tazlure.nl/board/viewtopic.php?p=225670#225670

[Aerin Penna Seleratus]

Aerin found herself lying upon a vast stone floor within a circular room, her clothing replaced with crimson robes and thin chains upon her waist, ankles, throat, and wrists tied to the walls and floor which enabled her to pull herself into a seated position but prevented standing. Unseen, but not unheard, a child laughed in the distance. Her eyes turned skyward as she sought out clues as to her location, a faded painting on the ceiling offering silent amusement and nothing more.

It was a painting of a nude Aerin reclining on a cloud while her beloved Cicero reached out for a handful of nuts that tried to pass him from a second cloud while the images of Yelena, Ashari, Motley, and Claire peered out from behind him. She was busy smiling at the image when she heard two quick clicks and a loud metallic slam from before her, her gaze moving a bit sluggishly to train upon the source of the noise.

A good distance away, a new fixture had appeared in the room – it was a metal frame about an arm’s length long on each side, supported by two posts driven into the stone. Within the frame, attached to it by wet multi-colored cord about a finger’s length of space separating each tie-down, was a wide expanse of tanned parchment.

One eyebrow rose out of sheer curiosity flickers before the other rose to join it up there for a better view of the oddity. There was a wet tearing sound and three slits opened in the canvas – two smaller ones on top, one larger at the bottom, all parallel to the ground – and what she could only think of as blood seeped from the fresh openings in tiny rivulets. Aerin’s brows lowered and tried to combine above the bridge of her nose as she studied the strange device.

Listen…do not speak… came a disembodied voice, the long lower slit moving in unison with the sound as the two upper slits pinched and folded in origami parody of eyeless eyelids opening to survey the red-headed captive. Do not throw away what you have worked for – do not lose what you have gained. Aerin nodded almost obstinately – she had no intentions of doing so. It was passion and pain which drove you – nothing more. Speak not of suspicions, let cards fall where they may… Again, she nodded, growing frustrated. Who was this voice? What was this place? There was a rustling of leaves as small vines erupted from the baseboards around the room and quickly covered the walls and ceiling with flowers and leaves.

Remember that I love you even when others do not… Love me in return by doing what I ask. Aerin nodded once more, a confused look upon her face as she had never ‘heard’ any of what was said as a request. The child laughed again, the twittering overcome by hushed whispers in the distance as more vines covered the floor around her, threatening to swallow everything - including her. The sounds of laughter, whispers, and leaves made a pressure on her head for some reason and the scene before her blurred slightly as the strange face was consumed by vines.

And Aerin… the voice and crude face continued. Open your eyes.

“But my eyes are open…” Aerin mumbled, her eyes squinting against the rapidly dissolving scene as she struggled against the chains which bound her, trying to stand. “Open…eyes open…” she affirmed, the odd scene gone and a new blurry image taking form in her sight – that of the Temple and a young man whose sight, it seemed was worse than hers. The last of the vines faded from her sight and clarity slowly took hold, memories of the strange dreamlet fading rapidly and replaced with the recent harsh memories of the climactic battle with Langredoc and the others.

Where…? Her eyes scanned the scene slowly, taking note of that crafty bitch, Yelena and her thick-as-theives companion Rhoddin. The blond priestess, Paige, and the swordsman were gone.

“Motherfu…” she started to grunt as she tried to move, the effects of Rhoddin’s fading spell very much like the chains in the dream, keeping her tethered, for the most part, to the floor. Her bicep screamed in pain from the motion, the shallow cut still fresh and tender beneath the bandages. Her heart rate rose, the feeling of being trapped returning with each flicker which passed without movement. She needed to get out. She needed to get away. She needed to think. She needed to find the swordsman and deliver him to Ashari.

"Ah, you are awake. How are you all feeling?"

“You know how horse droppings squish and bubble around your feet when stepped in and then bake in a swarm of flies in the midday sun until storm clouds roll in and turn the whole pile into a wet slushy goop that seeps into the cobblestones and renews its stench?” she asked rhetorically, in a barely-audible mumble. “I could only aspire to feel that good right now…” she finished, taking a fresh look around, glaring at the other two in the process.

“Where are the others?” she asked the blind priest matter-of-factly. “Where is Paige and the man who killed her?”

[Yelena Kintessia]

Footsteps. She could hear footsteps. Tap tap tap tap. They kept going. Slowly Yelena began to feel that it was her that was running. She was running with her eyes closed and she didn't know where, she just ran. After a while, she opened her eyes. It was a hall or a tunnel made of stone. The walls and the floor felt very cold. The candles only stayed lit when she was near. Every time she advanced up the hall the candle behind her blew away into darkness and the candle nearest lit up. So she started to run again, slowly gaining some speed. Yelena did not know where she was, but for some strange reason she had to run. Tap tap tap tap.

But after a long while she began to wonder why she was running, but she didn't even get the chance. The flicker the thought came into her, all of the light dissipated and disappeared. Her next step sent her into a freefall. She tried screaming for help but no noise came from her mouth...

“Ah!” Yelena rubbed her eyes for a bit after coming to. “W-Where am I?” When her eyes saw Aerin and Rhoddin she immediately remembered what had happened. Paige was murdered... and Aerin is a mage and she was going to attack that other man and... She took deep breaths to calm down. At least now she could speak.

"Ah, you are awake. How are you all feeling?"

“Where is Paige and the man who killed her?”

“I'm fine, now...” answered Yelena, but the moment she heard Aerin speak of Paige she had to ask. “Was he really the killer Aerin? For some reason I-I thought it was you... Even though I don't believe it...”

[Rhoddin]

The last thing Rhoddin remembered was a wicked grin on the face of the blond woman who had been holding his arm, even as he lapsed into unconsciousness, the young bard was turning over the events that where unfolding around him, and then, zip, he was asleep.

As the sounds of approaching feet became more distinct and whispering voices more clear, the young bard found conscious thought returning to him. Rather than open his eyes immediately, he chose to remain in his comatose pose, and used his other senses to explore his current surroundings. And so he heard the low conversations around him, Rhoddin began to put some things together.

It appeared the dead females name had been Paige, and the magic wielder was Aerin, Well two names down I guess, only a couple to go.

As the young bard opened his eyes, he took in the three priests and the two woman, the crimson haired Aerin and the golden haired adhiel who had arrived at the temple just before it all went pear shaped, but no dead Paige, no swordsman and that tricky blond witch had gone as well.

What the devil was going on.

Content to gain his bearing, and information, the young bard said nothing at present, waiting to see what unfolded from here.