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Post by Tikobe on Apr 16, 2021 3:25:56 GMT -4
Bayod analyzes the plant while you wait for the amarzi to gather. Pretty soon, all but two are accounted for, but one of them appears before you, covered in blood. He doesn't seem sad or anything, just soulless, as if he's given up.
"Hey!" Bayod says as he sees the amarzi walk up. "What happened!? You alright!?"
"He's... dead," the amarzi mumbles. It occurs to you that this one walked from the direction as the first thorn spear.
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Post by Bannanachair on Apr 17, 2021 1:19:33 GMT -4
"I'm sorry for your loss," I say to the Amarzi, "I truly am. But now is not the time to break down. We're in the middle of a battle; the time to process the battle is after it's done."
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Post by Tikobe on Apr 17, 2021 1:35:39 GMT -4
The amarzi looks at you, but couldn't find the words he wanted to say, filling you all with silence.
"The Admiral's right," Bayod finally says. "We aren't in the position. If you want to honor his memory, we need to try to get out of here alive and back to Ox and the others. We're almost to the kitchen."
"And will we be safe at the kitchen?"
"Uh, well..."
"And even if we make it, we still have to make the journey back. They'll be ready for us, they'll kill us all."
Bayod's expression fell into a grimace, as he becomes unable to answer the question. You've noted it before, but Bayod really does struggle in leadership.
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Post by Bannanachair on Apr 17, 2021 1:42:42 GMT -4
"Are you going to let them kill us all?" I ask, "Or are you going to fight on, and if you go down, go down swinging? As long as we keep fighting, we have a chance - we're not guaranteed to die until we give up."
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Post by Tikobe on Apr 17, 2021 1:59:05 GMT -4
The amarzi look at you, and their gaze drop. Two of them even sit down on the ground. Not a single one gives any answer other than one statement.
"We were always told to keep our heads down, and now you humans expect us to fight? Damned bastards."
"Admiral," Bayod finally breaks the silence. "They're, unfortunately, right. The Duke Larchont wouldn't teach more than a few slaves how to do any form of fighting, if even a few. These men here never learned how to stand up for themselves. I don't know if we even can convince them to fight for their lives."
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Post by Bannanachair on Apr 17, 2021 2:03:59 GMT -4
"Larchont is a bastard and I'll kill him myself if I ever see him," I say. "Unless any of you would like the honour; I won't take that from you if that's the case. If you want to lay down and die, I won't stop you from doing that either - but if you want to survive, I will fight like hell to try to help you do that."
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Post by Tikobe on Apr 17, 2021 2:17:46 GMT -4
The amarzi look at each other, and then sigh.
All except for one, one of the ones who didn't sit, who walked towards you and Bayod.
"Really?" one of the amarzi who had given up asked.
"I gotta lady waiting for me to get back. Can't leave that much behind, you know?"
The amarzi all look at this one who chose to follow you, and then look down to the ground. It looks like that's all that you were able to convince.
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Post by Bannanachair on Apr 17, 2021 2:27:57 GMT -4
"None of you seriously have anything worth living for - friends, loved ones, dreams, anything?" I ask, then I shrug. "I said I wouldn't stop you if this is what you decided to do, though, and I'm a man of my word. Hopefully you'll be safe here for the time being." Then I turn to Bayod and the Amarzi willing to follow me. "It's time to get going."
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Post by Tikobe on Apr 17, 2021 2:40:53 GMT -4
Bayod interjects.
"We still need to determine what the mechanism behind the thorn spear is. Otherwise, we get another situation like my shoulder."
"Should we advance with eyes to the ground? A plant can't make a spear like that out of nowhere. If it's attacking us from that angle, it should have it in the ground, probably between the floorboards, hanging under the ceiling of the wine cellar below us. There might be a warning sign that can inform us," the amarzi points out.
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Post by Bannanachair on Apr 17, 2021 2:49:59 GMT -4
I nod. "That's a smart idea. We move forward, but we move slowly - being careful where we stand, but also watching our sides and backs in case the wisps have more than just the one trap."
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Post by Tikobe on Apr 17, 2021 3:06:22 GMT -4
They nod and move out, with Bayod in the lead, and the amarzi behind you. Eventually, Bayod stops.
"There it is, Admiral," he says, pointing at a familiar plant growth.
It looked exactly the same as the one that stabbed Bayod, but much smaller and compact, as if concealing itself, but poking just slightly out of it was the tip of a thorn spear, waiting to jut out to stab something.
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Post by Bannanachair on Apr 18, 2021 0:53:04 GMT -4
"Well, now we know what to avoid," I say. "We should keep moving. I'd say to stop and investigate it, but I don't want to set it off by mistake."
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Post by Tikobe on Apr 23, 2021 18:01:00 GMT -4
The amarzi and Bayod look unsure, but they agree to your decision. However, on the way you trigger a thorn trap and get injured by a thorn spear. With Bayod's assistance you were bandaged up, but the pain still linger slightly.
You get to the edge of the light, and hear the screams of the amarzi you left behind. It looks like they still gave up to the very end.
"...Well, one last walk to the door," Bayod mutters, trying to ignore what that could be. "Ready?"
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Post by Bannanachair on Apr 23, 2021 20:05:21 GMT -4
"As ready as I'll ever be," I say, then turn to the Amarzi for his confirmation.
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Post by Tikobe on Apr 23, 2021 20:47:10 GMT -4
Your party of three Braves the darkness, and thankfully encounters no traps.
"Boring. There's just a bunch of smart ones left!"
"Are they as smart as that lady?"
"Maybe they'll find Inwas for us!"
It seems that the wisps will monitor you until you've located Enoise.
Captain Bayod looks at you before opening the door to the kitchen. The kitchen is lit warmly by a single candle. It has a fragrant scent. It was most definitely a luxury good, and the unharmed condition of it and the candle holder would suggest that it was brought in and lit after Gen Saeyi's awakening. Enoise was definitely here, and it was no mistake that she left this.
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Post by Bannanachair on Apr 23, 2021 23:45:55 GMT -4
"Alright, we're in the kitchen," I say to the Amarzi. "Do you know where the entrance to the wine cellar is?"
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Post by Tikobe on Apr 24, 2021 3:28:29 GMT -4
"Mm. Follow me," he says, picking up the candle, and opening the door. Down below is a set of stair, illuminated by the candlelight. You all follow down, seeing the damage. It doesn't appear that the wisps did much here, although they could just be avoiding the light. However, the ceiling of the wine cellar appears to have fallen down in one area. You happen to notice a strange symbol etched into a board.
It's a bear... and something not particularly flattering.
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Post by Bannanachair on Apr 24, 2021 15:05:14 GMT -4
"She's nearby," I say. "Or at least she was here at some point."
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Post by Tikobe on Apr 25, 2021 15:09:27 GMT -4
"Then we should probably look around," the amarzi suggests.
After a few minutes, Bayod makes an announcement.
"We could probably move this board here, you know?" he says, pointing to the board of wood with symbols on it.
"Won't it cause the ceiling to collapse?"
"Well, that's what it looks like, but if you look closely enough, there's skid marks behind it, moving towards the rubble. It looks like it was pushed forward by something inside. Was there anything in this mess?"
"It was the entrance, and rather this part of the path wasn't covered in rubble like this, but still..."
"Therinean, would you help me move this?" Bayod asks.
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Post by Bannanachair on Apr 26, 2021 20:24:20 GMT -4
"Sure," I reply. "Mule, watch our backs as we do this."
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Post by Tikobe on Apr 27, 2021 0:11:02 GMT -4
"Yeah sure," Mule says, as he keeps an eye out as you and Bayod move the board backwards. You two eventually get it out of the way and stumble upon an open trap door that leads down into some caverns.
"Did she go down there?" Bayod questions.
"Well, I'd have liked to, but there's not much 'there' to go down to, I'm afraid."
As soon as you heard her voice, you see Enoise's head pop out of the porthole.
"About time you two showed up. Was starting to wonder if I'd bore myself to death before being found by the wisps."
"That's what you get if you run," Bayod retorts.
"Pardon me, but it's only proper to flee from a fight we can't win. Rather, the moment I had noticed that you two failed to follow suit was also the moment that I wondered if your sanities had died in exchange for your bodies surviving," Enoise huffed.
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Post by Bannanachair on Apr 27, 2021 0:56:56 GMT -4
Seeing Enoise completely safe, I suddenly forgot why we were trying to rescue her at all. "We won the fight," I say. "After you ran away." And then it came back to me. "But that's not important - what's important is that we have an airship, and you're the only one who can fly it."
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Post by Tikobe on Apr 27, 2021 1:07:30 GMT -4
"You won the fight and got an airship?" Enoise seems confused.
"Well, it's a little more complicated, but sorry that we haven't the time for story telling," Bayod continues. "The passages have been closed off, right now only your friend Duck knows where the way to the airship port is."
"Ah, Duck survived this whole ordeal, huh? Good, we needed a bit of serendipity. Well, let me crawl out of this hole first," Enoise says as she climbs out. "Well, we may wish to hurry. There are wisps about, I trust you know?"
"Don't remind me, little miss Inwas..."
"Huh?" Enoise gave a confused look to Bayod.
"Hey, are you three done talking?" Mule asks as he pokes his head in. "We need to make it back to Ox as quickly as possible."
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Post by Bannanachair on Apr 27, 2021 1:16:28 GMT -4
"We're on our way," I say, as I head out. "I feel I should give you a warning, Mule - we've survived the wisps and the monsters and the spear-traps, but nothing we've faced can quite prepare you for having to deal with Enoise." Then I turn back and flash a grin at her. "Though, we should still be careful of the spear-traps on our way out."
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Post by Tikobe on Apr 27, 2021 1:37:41 GMT -4
"Well, I'd never... Okay, I totally would be as bad as you say."
"That isn't something a person should be proud of," Bayod points out.
"Regardless, I don't know if we really want to be going out the same way you came in. The wisps would be waiting for that. It takes time to set traps, but they are better than the civilized races in that field. We hold a distinct disadvantage. The best escape route is a way they wouldn't think of."
"Oh, and where do you think we should go? There's only two paths, they'll see us coming either way," Mule points out to Enoise.
"You're limiting your options, I think you may wish to listen closely and learn," Enoise grins. "The passage to the airport isn't the only secret in this mansion. Rather, throughout the past four generations of the Larchont family a lot of secrets have been piled up, and more skeletons than they could hope to hide in their closets. Well, then again I suppose you'll hardly find a noble family that isn't in the situation. Setting that aside, there's a few hidden rooms underneath the Larchont mansion, and some immediately accessible from this wine cellar."
"And just how do you know all of this?" Bayod inquires.
"Duck has been associated with the Larchont family ever since the previous Duke Larchont, and even then his father was a slave of the prior Duke Larchonts. There are many secrets about the Larchonts that he is privy to that not even the current Duke knows of. A good number of these secrets have been sold to me. Point aside, each of these passages are dead ends, but the ceiling is deteriorated. We may be able to break down a hole that connects a passage with another room. Don't you like the sound of relative safety from cutesy little killers?"
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