Re: Mini-Grand 5109 [Round 1: The Great Catacombs]
09-21-2011, 01:30 AM
Originally posted on MSPA by Jacquerel.
"Ow. Ow. Ow."
Vhaegar was not unfamiliar with labyrinths, he had built two of his own in fact, but as the architect of this one hadn't been him it turned out almost none of this knowledge was of any use to him.
The corridors were rather predictably lined with traps and while his levitationary nature meant that he avoided every pressure plate and tripwire without even thinking about it several were of the unavoidable magical nature, setting off as soon as he moved through an enchanted barrier or was spotted by a magical eye set into the wall. He had already been stuck with several arrows, a jet of flame had incinerated much of his cape and he'd had to hastily drop all levitation and clatter to the ground as a pile of bones to avoid an enormous spiked steel ball on a chain that swung down from a recess on a roof. He could stand a couple of wooden shafts for a while but he did not want to deal with the bother of regenerating himself from pulverised dust while trapped in a mysterious maze apparently inhabited by some "dark wizard" (hopefully it'd be the Vhaegar kind of dark wizard rather than the actively maleovalent) especially now that he had lost track of his phylactery.
The bird in question had, of course, zipped through the entire maze without any harmful incident except for when it had managed to set off traps directly in front of its pursuer, slowing him down even further. It didn't take long for the accursed animal to vanish completely into the gloom and leave its former owner completely lost. He was half tempted to just call it off and try and find a way out, but paradoxically his innate cowardice forced him onwards. He'd spent a good long while not dying and he'd be damned if he was going to do it now, what would be the point of heading out if the next iron ball to the head could actually be his last? It was at about that time he came across signs of someone else.
There were faint scrapes and footprints in the ice and (more tellingly) some kind of scavenger beast lay in several pieces across the way, its blood already cooled to a sheet of rust. It was also pocked with beakmarks. First priority was obviously finding the bird, but he'd been told that there were others here and there had been some sort of implication that they were meant to work together. Vhaegar hadn't really been thinking much about the whys of how he had arrived here much yet, getting possession of his immortality was his first priority, but maybe whoever it was would be able to help him. He sped up, the tatters of his robe brushing the tracks away as drifted across.
It wasn't long later that he came upon Talmadge, floating silently up from the darkened passage behind him. A flying skeleton, spiked with crossbow bolts in imposing armour. His voice was unexpectedly loud in the otherwise silent crypt.
"You there! Have you seen any birds?"
It was only then that he took in the scene properly and realised the aforementioned animal was right in front of him, nesting in a mess of unwashed hair. His eyes flashed with annoyance and he flexed his sharp bony fingers.
"Give me that!"
He lunged.
"Ow. Ow. Ow."
Vhaegar was not unfamiliar with labyrinths, he had built two of his own in fact, but as the architect of this one hadn't been him it turned out almost none of this knowledge was of any use to him.
The corridors were rather predictably lined with traps and while his levitationary nature meant that he avoided every pressure plate and tripwire without even thinking about it several were of the unavoidable magical nature, setting off as soon as he moved through an enchanted barrier or was spotted by a magical eye set into the wall. He had already been stuck with several arrows, a jet of flame had incinerated much of his cape and he'd had to hastily drop all levitation and clatter to the ground as a pile of bones to avoid an enormous spiked steel ball on a chain that swung down from a recess on a roof. He could stand a couple of wooden shafts for a while but he did not want to deal with the bother of regenerating himself from pulverised dust while trapped in a mysterious maze apparently inhabited by some "dark wizard" (hopefully it'd be the Vhaegar kind of dark wizard rather than the actively maleovalent) especially now that he had lost track of his phylactery.
The bird in question had, of course, zipped through the entire maze without any harmful incident except for when it had managed to set off traps directly in front of its pursuer, slowing him down even further. It didn't take long for the accursed animal to vanish completely into the gloom and leave its former owner completely lost. He was half tempted to just call it off and try and find a way out, but paradoxically his innate cowardice forced him onwards. He'd spent a good long while not dying and he'd be damned if he was going to do it now, what would be the point of heading out if the next iron ball to the head could actually be his last? It was at about that time he came across signs of someone else.
There were faint scrapes and footprints in the ice and (more tellingly) some kind of scavenger beast lay in several pieces across the way, its blood already cooled to a sheet of rust. It was also pocked with beakmarks. First priority was obviously finding the bird, but he'd been told that there were others here and there had been some sort of implication that they were meant to work together. Vhaegar hadn't really been thinking much about the whys of how he had arrived here much yet, getting possession of his immortality was his first priority, but maybe whoever it was would be able to help him. He sped up, the tatters of his robe brushing the tracks away as drifted across.
It wasn't long later that he came upon Talmadge, floating silently up from the darkened passage behind him. A flying skeleton, spiked with crossbow bolts in imposing armour. His voice was unexpectedly loud in the otherwise silent crypt.
"You there! Have you seen any birds?"
It was only then that he took in the scene properly and realised the aforementioned animal was right in front of him, nesting in a mess of unwashed hair. His eyes flashed with annoyance and he flexed his sharp bony fingers.
"Give me that!"
He lunged.