Re: The Phenomenal Fracas! (GBS2G6): [Round Two: Witch's Haunt]
10-27-2010, 01:15 AM
Originally posted on MSPA by Anomaly.
Syvex eventually came upon the main staircase of the manor, albeit guided slightly by a series of crashes and muffled yelling from the floor below. Slightly intrigued, though wary, Syvex clambered over the railing and made his way down the wall (he found stairs to be a waste of time). The foyer of the manor was brilliantly lit by the enormous picture windows on either side of the door, reflecting off of the marble columns that lined the entryway. Syvex reeled from the brightness, inadvertently stumbling into the pirate as he dashed from another doorway.
"You be out for my blood again, serpent?" The pirate swiftly stepped back and drew his pistol, as little good as the bullets would likely do.
Syvex lurched back to an upright stance, and held up a hand as nonthreateningly as possible. "No, stop. I don't want to fight you again."
The pirate's eyes widened subtly for a split second. Before he'd be after me at the drop of a hat, and now the bloody thing's askin' for peace? Best be careful with this one. "Why the change o' heart?"
Syvex's grin returned to his face, albeit weakly. "Several reasons. You were willing to defend the city against a near-invincible foe, despite the odds. I assume that it was for the innocent civilians; after all, if you'd managed to kill him we'd have been taken away anyway. I guess the place wasn't even real, but... Maybe you're not as bad as you look. Truth be told, I only attacked you at first because of the Presti... digi... whatever his name was called you a 'pirate'..."
Syvex shuddered at the thought of the attack; those "pirates" armed with flamethrowers... He shook himself out of his daze and continued. "Pirate must mean something different wherever you come from. But the most important thing is, we share a common enemy. Tamerlane. The 'sandman'. And let's face it, he'll just be harder to take down if we're fighting each other. At the very least, a nonaggression pact will do. What do you say?"
The pirate considered Syvex's offer. Sure, the serpent could double-cross him at any time, but then again, he had also tried to stop Tamerlane back in the city. Besides, even if he did, he wouldn't stand much of a chance in this light. "...Aye, serp... Syvex. I'll accept your offer."
Syvex's smile widened further. "Now we can focus on killing Sandman instead of pointless squabbling. Just try not to die before he does, okay?" Without waiting for a response, Syvex set off down another hallway, detecting darkness from beneath but being in no condition to break directly through the floor. Syvex soon came to an unassuming door at the end of the hall, having nothing to distinguish it for most from every other door except for its location. Further credence was given to its importance to the serpent by the strengthening of darkness behind the door. Unhesitatingly, he threw it open, revealing an old but nonetheless spotless staircase leading down into darkness.
Syvex could immediately see an identical door at the bottom of the stairs, shrouded in darkness. Stairs again. Fantastic. Syvex sighed, then slid uncomfortably down the stairs (his only other option being the walls, which were lined with unlit lamps). As he approached the bottom, a vague sense of uneasiness began to wash over him. For a moment, he was almost afraid to open the door, though he could not tell why. After taking a moment to gather his thoughts, he reached for the doorknob, finding it to be stuck. Now determined to make his way into the darkness despite the unsettling feeling, Syvex gripped it with another hand. And another. Despite his best efforts, the door would not yield. The serpent became frustrated rather quickly, and reared back on the stairs several steps up before leaping for the door and smashing it to the ground.
Immediately, Syvex's vision was intruded on by light, especially strange since he had clearly seen darkness behind that door. Coming to his senses, Syvex noticed directly in front of him the startled visage of Muriegro, a young girl following directly behind. The latter replied "Hey, watch out! You could've gotten... hurt!" The slight pause before the last word seemed especially peculiar to Syvex, more so than the girl's simple presence, as well as the description the Prestidigitator had given: She’s a charming little girl. It was a terrible shame… she went swimming in the lake and never came back. Never even broke the surface again, not after that day, and never would she breath air again. Coming to his senses, Syvex immediately noticed that he was, in fact, outdoors. The picture windows were to either side of him, and the foyer back through the doorway.
"Er, sorry about the mess. I was just... leaving?" Confused, Syvex fled down the path which lead to the door. This wasn't right. How had he ended up in front of the manor when he broke through the basement door? Where did that little girl come from? Why was she following the cultist, of all people? Questions raced through his mind, accompanied by no reasonable answers. He could barely focus on the slew of conundrums the manor posed while he was directly in the sun's scorching rays.
As Syvex approached the lake (though he didn't specifically know it was even there), the same sense of uneasiness that had washed over him on the stairs returned, albeit more weakly. Before long, he stumbled over a ledge he had failed to see, falling into the placid waters of the lake. Fortunately, Syvex knew how to swim, though it escaped him how exactly he knew. After a moment, it hit him: it was dark underwater. He inhaled deeply, filling his quartet of lungs with a large volume of air, then dove under the surface. The fish which inhabited the waters skirted away from him; fight-or-flight had selected the obvious choice.
As Syvex sunk deeper, however, he noticed that something was deeply wrong. There was something down here, but it certainly wasn't the remains of the girl. Approaching the lakebed, the feeling only amplified. Syvex began to hear faintly, as if in the corner of his mind:
yes come join us it beckons come no go back return leave join us
Syvex was getting nervous. There was nothing here, and yet, these conflicting voices. It was almost as if there were a multitude speaking with one voice in the serpent's head, and his descent served only to amplify it.
leave this place join us become one return forget
That's enough. It's not worth it. Syvex turned and began to swim for the surface, as the voices subsided. He soon surfaced and pulled himself back to the shore, letting out a gasp of air. Yet, the bottom of lake... in some strange way, it beckoned to him. Something had to be down there.
Syvex eventually came upon the main staircase of the manor, albeit guided slightly by a series of crashes and muffled yelling from the floor below. Slightly intrigued, though wary, Syvex clambered over the railing and made his way down the wall (he found stairs to be a waste of time). The foyer of the manor was brilliantly lit by the enormous picture windows on either side of the door, reflecting off of the marble columns that lined the entryway. Syvex reeled from the brightness, inadvertently stumbling into the pirate as he dashed from another doorway.
"You be out for my blood again, serpent?" The pirate swiftly stepped back and drew his pistol, as little good as the bullets would likely do.
Syvex lurched back to an upright stance, and held up a hand as nonthreateningly as possible. "No, stop. I don't want to fight you again."
The pirate's eyes widened subtly for a split second. Before he'd be after me at the drop of a hat, and now the bloody thing's askin' for peace? Best be careful with this one. "Why the change o' heart?"
Syvex's grin returned to his face, albeit weakly. "Several reasons. You were willing to defend the city against a near-invincible foe, despite the odds. I assume that it was for the innocent civilians; after all, if you'd managed to kill him we'd have been taken away anyway. I guess the place wasn't even real, but... Maybe you're not as bad as you look. Truth be told, I only attacked you at first because of the Presti... digi... whatever his name was called you a 'pirate'..."
Syvex shuddered at the thought of the attack; those "pirates" armed with flamethrowers... He shook himself out of his daze and continued. "Pirate must mean something different wherever you come from. But the most important thing is, we share a common enemy. Tamerlane. The 'sandman'. And let's face it, he'll just be harder to take down if we're fighting each other. At the very least, a nonaggression pact will do. What do you say?"
The pirate considered Syvex's offer. Sure, the serpent could double-cross him at any time, but then again, he had also tried to stop Tamerlane back in the city. Besides, even if he did, he wouldn't stand much of a chance in this light. "...Aye, serp... Syvex. I'll accept your offer."
Syvex's smile widened further. "Now we can focus on killing Sandman instead of pointless squabbling. Just try not to die before he does, okay?" Without waiting for a response, Syvex set off down another hallway, detecting darkness from beneath but being in no condition to break directly through the floor. Syvex soon came to an unassuming door at the end of the hall, having nothing to distinguish it for most from every other door except for its location. Further credence was given to its importance to the serpent by the strengthening of darkness behind the door. Unhesitatingly, he threw it open, revealing an old but nonetheless spotless staircase leading down into darkness.
Syvex could immediately see an identical door at the bottom of the stairs, shrouded in darkness. Stairs again. Fantastic. Syvex sighed, then slid uncomfortably down the stairs (his only other option being the walls, which were lined with unlit lamps). As he approached the bottom, a vague sense of uneasiness began to wash over him. For a moment, he was almost afraid to open the door, though he could not tell why. After taking a moment to gather his thoughts, he reached for the doorknob, finding it to be stuck. Now determined to make his way into the darkness despite the unsettling feeling, Syvex gripped it with another hand. And another. Despite his best efforts, the door would not yield. The serpent became frustrated rather quickly, and reared back on the stairs several steps up before leaping for the door and smashing it to the ground.
Immediately, Syvex's vision was intruded on by light, especially strange since he had clearly seen darkness behind that door. Coming to his senses, Syvex noticed directly in front of him the startled visage of Muriegro, a young girl following directly behind. The latter replied "Hey, watch out! You could've gotten... hurt!" The slight pause before the last word seemed especially peculiar to Syvex, more so than the girl's simple presence, as well as the description the Prestidigitator had given: She’s a charming little girl. It was a terrible shame… she went swimming in the lake and never came back. Never even broke the surface again, not after that day, and never would she breath air again. Coming to his senses, Syvex immediately noticed that he was, in fact, outdoors. The picture windows were to either side of him, and the foyer back through the doorway.
"Er, sorry about the mess. I was just... leaving?" Confused, Syvex fled down the path which lead to the door. This wasn't right. How had he ended up in front of the manor when he broke through the basement door? Where did that little girl come from? Why was she following the cultist, of all people? Questions raced through his mind, accompanied by no reasonable answers. He could barely focus on the slew of conundrums the manor posed while he was directly in the sun's scorching rays.
As Syvex approached the lake (though he didn't specifically know it was even there), the same sense of uneasiness that had washed over him on the stairs returned, albeit more weakly. Before long, he stumbled over a ledge he had failed to see, falling into the placid waters of the lake. Fortunately, Syvex knew how to swim, though it escaped him how exactly he knew. After a moment, it hit him: it was dark underwater. He inhaled deeply, filling his quartet of lungs with a large volume of air, then dove under the surface. The fish which inhabited the waters skirted away from him; fight-or-flight had selected the obvious choice.
As Syvex sunk deeper, however, he noticed that something was deeply wrong. There was something down here, but it certainly wasn't the remains of the girl. Approaching the lakebed, the feeling only amplified. Syvex began to hear faintly, as if in the corner of his mind:
yes come join us it beckons come no go back return leave join us
Syvex was getting nervous. There was nothing here, and yet, these conflicting voices. It was almost as if there were a multitude speaking with one voice in the serpent's head, and his descent served only to amplify it.
leave this place join us become one return forget
That's enough. It's not worth it. Syvex turned and began to swim for the surface, as the voices subsided. He soon surfaced and pulled himself back to the shore, letting out a gasp of air. Yet, the bottom of lake... in some strange way, it beckoned to him. Something had to be down there.