RE: The Daunting Affray! (Round 1: Temple in the Sky!)
06-03-2014, 03:41 AM
Christine wandered through the gardens aimlessly, soaking up the quiet sounds and gentle atmosphere. This place was so very elegant in every way possible, and she wanted to enjoy it before getting too into this new gift of her's. The tear shaped, crystalline object she had received from the Angel in a different section of the garden. She stopped to admire a trellis of gold and pink flowers, giving off the gentlest of fragrences. Christine gently reached forward, cupping the flower with both hands and smelling.
"Ah... c'est pacifique in this garden. I could so easily rest in this bed of aromas..." She muttered to herself, releasing the flower from her grasp. A bubbling sound caught her ears, and Christine turned to find an ornately carved fountain burbling with crystal clear water. A figure sat on the rim, dipping one of his hands into the water in the basin. He seemed to be doing something with it, although she wasn't sure what. Something seemed a bit familiar about him.
"Monsieur! Monseiur!" She scampered closer, slowing to a stop when she noticed who it was. One of the contestants from earlier. She had to remind herself that she, too, was a contestant. "Ah... um... bonjour?"
Reginald glanced up from the water, as a voice called to him. A woman, tall and thin, looking at him. He regarded her impassively, crossing his arms.
"...Yeah. Bonjour." They stared at each other silently, the woman seeming just a bit anxious at the lack of words. He didn't really feel the need to say anything, but decided to anyway. She didn't seem... hostile. As soon as he opened his mouth, however, a sound caught his ears. A crackling and popping sound. Like the air was burning. He stood up and the woman, who apparently couldn't hear the sound, looked at him in confusion.
"Qu'est-ce qui se passe?" She asked him as he walked towards her. Reginald ignored her, spying something in the air. Smoke. He narrowed his eyes as he realized it was approaching them. He stepped between the woman and the approaching presence.
"Stay behind me." Reginald backed them both up until he was close to the fountain. The woman gasped as the source of the smoke broke through the trees. Two figures with pristine white cloaks, glowing faces, and flaming swords. He heard the woman whisper a quiet 'Mon dieu' in horror. Reginald extended a hand behind him, pulling forward a stream of water. Quick as lighting, he flung it forward, slicing at one of the figures with it. The water slaps against its cloak, soaking it, and flaming sword. The fire goes out with a hiss, steam floating into the air. The two figures turn to look at the sword. They glance at each other, and then the one with the still ignited sword places its against the extinguished one. It sparks back to life, prompting the two to turn to Reginald and the woman.
"Demons detected. Must preserve the sanctity of the temple. Initiate cleansing." Reginald swore under his breath and drew up another spear of water. He glanced at the woman behind him.
"Now would be an excellent time to run."
Clark grumbled, marching through the dank tunnels. He had, reluctantly, nabbed a robe from that boy earlier. He also found a walking stick, solid wood, at the base of the stairs that had taken him down here. He had strapped his cane to his back with some sort of sheathe or something that was near the stick. After entering that from house earlier, he found a cellar door that had taken him down into some sort of tunnel system.
"What a bullshit dream this is..." He muttered angrily to himself, staring ahead at the inky blackness in front of him. He had been walking down this corridor for who knows how long, finding nothing but hallways for the entirety of his 'adventure' down here. He had been regretting ever even considering coming down here for what must have been the hundredth time when suddenly the tunnel he was in opened up into some huge, domed structure.
"Holy hell..." He glanced around the room. It was some ornate church, with a huge altar on a raised 'platform' Everything was carved from rock, even the pews. The only non-wooden things were the torches on the walls, which were all out. However, there was one glowing spot on the far side, which caught his attention.
"The heck's that?" Clark narrowed his eyes, approaching the glow. It looked like... a crack? A huge crack in the ground. "Huh..." Clark stared at it for a few moments before he remembered where he saw this thing before. Then it hit him, both literally and metaphorically.
Scout flared up as yet another meat thing approached it. Why are there so many meat things here? It spews magma, causing the meat thing to yell out and jump back. It scrambles over the weird stone formations on the ground, yelling obscenities. It moved to pursue the meat thing when it detected something. Vibrations through the ground. Heavy footed and yet methodical and orderly. The meat thing yelled out something else and scrambled back towards Scout.
There. Coming into the room. Two figures with some sort of burning, metal stick. The meat thing ignored Scout, flopping past it and landing partially on the altar. This seemed to agitate the two new things.
"Desecration of ancient relics detected. Commence purification." They brandished their burning sticks, making the meat sack behind Scout cry out. Scout slithered closer, curious. What were these things?
"Father, there must be something we can do against the Archons." Luis asked.
"I... I don't know of the way, if there is one." Father Curiosity glanced around anxiously, like the Archons were going to pop out of the ground and blow him up. Which they might do, for all Luis knows.
"Where are we headed, Father?" Luis looked around, on the alert.
"The Prayer Sanctum..." Leonardo muttered. "I need something from there. Or uh... here" He motioned at the building they had approached not moments ago.
Luis looked over the sanctum. It was a large, extravagant building, with lots of fancy carvings and linings. He and Father Curiosity slowly pushed the door open. The pews were mostly partially full, but only a few people turned to look at them as they entered. Leonardo led Luis to a 'back area' that resembled an office building floor, cubicles and all. Luis glanced around the office, eyes landing on something standing out in the otherwise empty office. A girl, sitting and looking bored out of her mind while a monk wrapped a bandage around her head, covering one of her eyes. He could hear her insisting that she didn't need medical attention. Luis chuckled and glanced away.
"So Father, I think-" He was cut off by a sudden bout of muted screaming. He whirled around towards the sound, coming from where he and Leonardo had entered a few minutes ago. The girl jumped to her feet, ripping off the bandage, much to the chagrin of the monk who was helping her. Suddenly, a sword that also seemed to be on fire burst partially though the wood of the door. Luis took a surprised step back as the door suddenly exploded, revealing five cloaked figures with shining faces and flaming swords. He heard the monk gasp in surprise and Leonardo choke out a few words.
"Th-th-the A-A-Archons!"
"Impurities detected. Begin demon cleansing. The lead Archon pointed his sword at Luis, then the girl. It then pointed at Father Curiosity and the monk. "Secondary mission: eradicate demon sympathizers. Father Curiosity squeaked in horror. Before he knew what was going on, one of the Archons had flung their sword at the girl. She jumped to the side just before it hit her, causing it to sling forward and impale the monk. He let out a quiet 'peep' before igniting and turning to ash within seconds. The girl gasped. Luis drew his plasma pistol.
"There's no hope against the Archons..." Leonardo whispered to himself.