Everwake (Tim)

[Tikobe]

Ox shoots a glare at you before walking in, but that's nothing new.

The amarzi walk enter a large room that lies as the entrance of the manor, with you, Bayod and Swan at the rear. You can see that normally there'd be a large, red carpet and plenty of torches to showcase the slightly golden tinge of the floor tile and wall paper. You would have been able to see the maid running up and down the stairs that lied in the center of the room, stairs that led to a balcony through which one would have a perfect view of the entrance floor. Along the wall on the floor and the on the balcony were a multitude of doors, the largest being a massive hall on your left, and another at your right, with another two just like them above the other two halls accessible from the balcony.

However, this was, unfortunately, a house that was visited by a Wyldun who could call upon nature itself.

The stair were totally destroyed, with a large oak tree growing out from it, one so tall that it broke a hole through the roof from which the moonlight shone. The floor and walls were covered in vines and roots, and the torches all appeared to be broken and ruined. The hallways, fared no better, perhaps they were even worse. The moonlight in the entrance didn't reach them, so all that could be seen were two large holes with a darkness like the abyss. It was a terrifying sight.

The door behind you closed, nobody having touched it at all. At first, you nearly panicked, but then you realized that the doors were just slanted slightly outwards and naturally closed on their own like that. Whether it was just poor building design or something caused by Gen Saeyi's destruction, you couldn't tell.

"Alright, we got no torches, but no choice except to venture into a dark hall," Ox announces towards the group of amarzi, ignoring you. "Moth, you go down the north passage, and I'll go down the south. Make sure to regularly send a yell at me so I know that nothing's happened to you. I'll do the same thing myself. We'll just go in far enough to decide that there's no trap and then we'll return and discuss what to do next."

An amarzi woman, clearly Moth, nods at Ox's words and prepares to start moving out.

"No one even checks with us," Bayod grumbles under his breath.

[Bannanachair]

"You go with Ox, I'll go with Moth," I say to Bayod. "The only thing wrong with Ox's orders here are that he's sending people alone in a house no doubt crawling with wisps and worse."

[Tikobe]

"Hmm, we could, but that might make things much worse. You're suggesting that we follow the amarzi who are already on guard against us into a dark space without their permission. They'd be more likely to attack us than accept it," Bayod points out.

"Hey, Moth!" you hear Ox shout, "Got any jokes you wanna tell?"

"I really don't think I can tell a joke right now," you hear Moth's reply.

"Then try something to start a conversation, damn it."

"I'll think of something, I guess."

"Alrighty then," Ox announces, "anyone else got something they wanna talk about."

[Bannanachair]

"Yeah!" I shout. "Bayod's going in after you to join you, Ox, and I'll be going in after Moth! You might need the backup if the wisps have set up any traps for you!"

[Tikobe]

You could hear a growl that would quite obvious be a frustrated Ox.

"Don't you fucking dare! Like hell am I gonna trust a human to watch my back! Besides, we're only going down the hall. No way could something go wrong like that."

"You really won't reconsider Ox? This isn't really the time nor place for drama, you know," Bayod, who was getting annoyed himself, finally yells out at Ox's direction.

"Shut it! I won't allow myself or my brethren to be betrayed by you humans," Ox snaps back. "Look, I've just now reached the end of the hall, now I'm on my way back. Nothing scary about it, right?"

As if to prove his point, his foot steps which were getting farther away were on their way back.

[Bannanachair]

I lower my voice so that Bayod can hear me, but Ox can't. "I'm headed after Moth, you stay here and look after Ox. Ignore his complaints; he's disagreeable, but it's not like he doesn't have good reason to mistrust humans." Then I go after Moth.

[Tikobe]

"Well, let's just hope it goes well," Bayod replies as he walks off toward Ox. The other amarzis stare at you in shock and disbelief, but say nothing.

This might be why you realized that you couldn't hear Moth's footsteps.

"Hey, Moth!" you hear Ox yelling, probably about to start some inane conversation, although he received no reply.

"Moth! Moth! Moth damn it!"

Before Bayod could enter the dark hallway Ox comes running out just to see something being thrown at you from the hallway that Moth went down.

[Bannanachair]

I draw my sword. "Who, or what, is down this hallway?" I shout. I'll save the lecture for Ox about why he shouldn't send people into dangerous situations alone for later.

[Tikobe]

As you shout it out, Ox gasps at the item that was thrown at you before rushing towards it. He picks it up to reveal it under the moonlight.

It's Moth's severed head.

As the grim realization dawns on you and the rest of the people with you, you begin to hear the laughter of children from down the dark hallway. It's more than just a few. There's a whole chorus of voices.

"Well," Bayod grunts, "this is awfully unsettling."

There's the scuffle of footsteps, a lot of them, right above your heads and as you look up you see child-like beings staring down at you like you were all pets. They begin to murmur things, many things, often times things that make you feel sick to your stomach. The only relief you feel is the obvious matter of how you'd beat any single one of them in a fight if they felt like picking it, but common sense tells you that they wouldn't be that honorable.

[Bannanachair]

"Surely you can take on a child in a fight, Bayod," I say without conviction - I do, in fact, agree with him, and let out a shout. "Enoise! Are you there?"

[Tikobe]

"Enoise? E...nwas? In...was?" The wisps begin to murmur amongst themselves.

"Was that the lady?"

"The one who came in here?"

"The one who ran and hid?"

"The one who still hides?"

"Will she come out if we call her Inwas?"

"Inwas! We wanna play!"

Bayod looks down and turns to you.

"I had heard about the creations of Gen Saeyi, and I know that we were aware they were here, but won't change the fact that I just hate these things. Looks like we know for sure though that she came here. Sounds like Enoise realized the danger and managed to get to safety. At least her self preservation instincts are still at their peak. Only problem is that unless she gave the wisps the slip, which I doubt, then Enoise is in here, somewhere, and I doubt she's going to let us know where when we're not the only ones searching."

[Bannanachair]

"In case you've forgotten, the danger here is the Tocthani, not the wisps," I say. "I would do your best to ignore the wisps and anything they say and do, unless they're threatening to kill you. Just pretend the little bastards aren't even there."

[Tikobe]

"Tell that to them," Bayod says, nodding over to the amarzi slaves.

Ox was still sitting there, tearing up over Moth's disconnected head. It was as if he didn't notice the enemies surrounding the group, and that was probably the case. After all, the rest of the amarzi were similarly losing it, or too terrified by the enemies. Little Swan looked as if she was ready to break down into tears.

"The hall Moth went into is the one with the most wisp activity, and if they're looking for Enoise that's likely the way she ran. Now that we know there's a trap capable of getting the head I should be fine venturing into there, but you need to resolve this situation with the amarzi before I can go further. Being alone clearly isn't safe, and if we dawdle around any longer then there won't be much time until the wisps find a way to up the ante."

With that, Bayod wanders into the hallway, shield ready, leaving you to find a way to moralize and embolden the men in front of you.

[Bannanachair]

"Everyone, listen up," I say, and then, once I get their attention (but not before), I continue speaking. "I didn't know Moth well, but I doubt she would want you to sit around here, where it's most dangerous. I'm not asking any of you to like me; the Emperor knows my kind has given you good reason to hate me. But if we are going to survive this wretched place, we are going to need to work together. The way I see it, there are two options - run away, abandoning your home and having nowhere to go, or kill the bastard that killed your friend. I know which of the options I would choose. There will be time to mourn once we are safe. If this all seems frightening - it should. Being afraid of danger is what keeps us alert, and that's what keeps us alive. My friend, captain Bayod Eses, just went down the very same hallway where Moth was in when she was killed, and I'm going in after him to make sure he doesn't meet the same fate. I would appreciate the help; I think we would all be safest if we stick together."

Then, I go in after Bayod.

[Tikobe]

The amarzi look at you with all forms of emotions, none positive. However, some agreed that they needed to keep moving and follow after you. The rest, including Ox, glared at you and stayed still. Swan stayed with Ox, probably out of confusion and fear of what awaited your group in the dark.

It didn't take long to catch up with Bayod, who could only be seen as a large black mass in the dark.

"Admiral," he grunts before giving you the debriefing. "I got the basic layout at least. To your left are the windows, you may open them if you want to bring in some light. That being said, if the wisps pull a stunt like bringing in the tocthani, it'll make it easier for anything outside the manor to find us and attack. To the right are three doors. If I recall right from my last visit here, the front two are for the dinning room, and the back is a study. At the end of the hall, we'll find another hall to our right, though I didn't want to go too far without you.

You hear the voice of an amarzi behind you speaking up. "In the dining room there should be access to the kitchen, with a pantry and wine cellar around. Duck said that the entrance to the hidden airport was in the cellar, so she may have gone there."

"I don't know if that's the best idea," Bayod replies. "The dining room was rather quite large, plenty of space for the wisps to be creative. It gives me a bad feeling."

"There's another entrance to the kitchen, but we'll need to go the next hallway and then make another turn. In short, we'd need to circle the perimeter."

"But the hall would have lots of doors sprinkled along the wall, some may be with nasty surprises," Bayod grumbles to himself. 

Bayod goes quiet as he anxiously considers his options. You may need to be the one to make the call here.

[Bannanachair]

"Either way is going to be dangerous," I say, "But going through the dining room will probably be faster, so that's what we'll be doing." Then, I turn to the Amarzi. "Unless the wisps directly attack you, ignore their taunts. Ignore anything that they say. They can frighten, but we should have no difficulties fighting them. If anyone sees the Tocthani, let the rest of us know immediately."

[Tikobe]

Captain Bayod nods as he opens the door into the dining room, shield at the ready, mace in hand.

The dining hall was a mix of darkness and moonlight as the holes of the partially collapsed ceiling allowed spots of moonlight to pour in, giving you a view of the vine covered flooring. It wasn't like the rest of the manor, the whole floor was gone, with plants the size of which you'd never seen until you saw Gen Saeyi's work. About half of the room was lit up, and there was no clear path to a small door that you could only assume was the kitchen. Things shifted in the darkness, and you could hear little feet trying to be silent as they moved around in secret. In the lit up areas you saw weeds and grass, some shaking as things stirred within, and you could swear you saw some of the vines that covered the floor begin to move.

You were in one of the light up sections. Among the various patches of moon light, there were three lit up areas adjacent to you: The first on your right, which had little darkness between your area and that but it also moved away from the door, forcing a detour. The second in front of you, the most straightforward path to the door. It would probably take you there quicker, but there was a lot of darkness in between. To your left was the final path. It moved towards the door, but not nearly enough to match the second path. However, there is also less darkness, though not as much as a safe space as what was offered by the first area.

[Bannanachair]

I go down the middle pathway.

[Tikobe]

As you advanced towards the front, Bayod understands your intents and motions the amarzi to follow suit. As you step out into the dark, you hear voices of surprise.

"Woah, he really did it!"

"How brave."

"How sad."

"We didn't think anyone was gonna go for it."

"We thought that they would go for the safe way."

"Our best traps are that way!"

"Hey mister, can you go back and pick the safe way?"

"Yeah, we got nothing good where you're going!"

The voice of Bayod interjects in the crowd.

"Well, the wisps aren't fond of your idea, but now we know that we're surrounded. Granted, this may be another trick. You sure about this, Therinean?"

[Bannanachair]

"I said, ignore everything the wisps say; it could very well all be lies and tricks, or trying to trick us into thinking it's a lie and a trick, or trying to trick us that way - perhaps they just want us to overthink it and slow down. They are as likely to have set a trap this way as any other way; this way is the fastest, so it's the way we go."

[Tikobe]

"Mm. Well, here we go."

Bayod and the others follow you as you walk through the darkness and...

Nothing. It seems the wisps had not tricked you here, although they were clearly unhappy about you calling their bluff.

The straightforward path had taken you along for a considerable distance, and you would need to make only two more stops in your journey to reach the kitchen door. There were three adjacent lit up areas besides the one you came from. One of them could be immediately discounted, for it only led back to the "safe way," which was clearly not as safe as the wisps described. The other two seemed to be near equal in terms of distance between themselves and you, as well as in the distance between them and the kitchen door. However, one of the lit up areas was covered in shifting grass, and the other was clear, but you hear a low growl in that direction.

[Bannanachair]

The growl could have been from the Tocthani, and I'm not in a mood to fight against a Tocthani again. That said, the shifting grass could be concealing literally anything, and was a greater unknown. So, I say to Bayod, "Be careful. If we go down that hallway, we will fall into a trap - I just don't know which kind. We've fought against a Tocthani before, and we can do it again, and I would rather face a known danger than an unknown danger."

Then I go down the hallway from which I heard a growl.

[Tikobe]

(Hell of a dining hall for it to have hallways. )

Bayod nods and follows in after you, shield ready.

You make your journey to the next well lit area, and out of the darkness the growling gets louder. As you turn to face it's direction just right of you, a wolf's paw struck out from the darkness. Followed by another one. Followed by...

Vines.

"Just what the actual hell is that!?" Bayod curses as the creature crawls out. It's front half was that of a wolf, similar to the ones you avoided an encounter with outside the mansion. But at it's waist vines had dug into it's flesh and melded together a large, bulbous plant to it's body. You had heard of the reproduction methods of the wisps, of the large plants that when it consumes the flesh of the Folk, the term used to describe humans, amarzi and anything of the like, would use it as the nutrients through which a wisp is created. However, what is less known is when a group of wisps become desperate, desperate enough to feed an animal to the plant. As the legends often told of Gen Saeyi's feuds with the Wyldun Thas Naero, animals, who were under his control, were not used to make wisps. So when a plant consumes a beast, it uses the beast as a host, a weapon to fight. Even then, such stories you only heard at the campfire. This is the first time you had ever seen such a monstrosity in reality.

The plant-wolf is rooted to the ground, a thick stem reaching out from the ground. However, just as the amarzi had noticed this and began to walk away, a second one appeared from the left, pouncing and killing one of the amarzi.

There is an avenue of escape, an inconspicuously clear space with a strange, large mushroom. It's also the last well lit area to swing by before you make it to the kitchen door, however doing so without killing the plant-wolfs would mean exposing your backs to the enemy. In addition, there is another grassy area with no apparent movement, but it would require felling the beast at your right, or finding some way to distract it, in order to safely use.

[Bannanachair]

Letting loose a battle-cry, I try and Overpower the nearest of the large plant-wolves.

[Tikobe]

([OVERPOWER])

(Attack Roll! (Poor!) + Command Bonus)

The wolf at your right, the closest one to you, snarls at you, not expecting you to shove the pummel of your sword into it's face, throwing it off balance and leaving it exposed to a powerful attack from you. The beast is gravely wounded, but still standing.

The left wolf lunges to kill another amarzi, but it's maw is soon met with Bayod's shield, who stepped in at the right moment. Bayod readies his mace for the retaliatory strike.

(Attack Roll! (Good!))

Bayod's mace makes a satisfying crunch to the wolf's left shoulder bone, forcing it to release Bayod's shield and step back.

Each of the wolves growl at their respective opponents, and lunge back in retaliation.

(Attack Roll! (Poor!))

The right wolf, with the size of it's wound, struggles to move properly, and only gets in a small scratch on you.

(Attack Roll! (Excellent!))

Bayod prepares himself to receive the left wolf's attack, but the wolf circles around Bayod, trapping the guard captain's leg with it's vine. It uses this to it's advantage, leaving Bayod unable to run as the wolf pins Bayod down into the ground, with only Bayod's shield keeping the two of them apart.