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Thing are not looking good for our heroes, behind them a lantern is slowly bobbing closer, approaching down that single pathway slowly whilst below if Lee's instincts are right lies the cage of the Whisperer herself..... a pathway through the curving fabric of the Catacombs to one of the worst places imaginable. Not an easy choice to make, but certainly a conundrum to give everyone pause... to face the light or rik walking this dark and very ancient path..... but as Lee says... it is certainly going to be a decrepid and decaying path...... but for now... Tune in Next time! For more adventures with or heroes! Same CoI Place! Same CoI channel!

Thing are not looking good for our heroes, behind them a lantern is slowly bobbing closer, approaching down that single pathway slowly whilst below if Lee's instincts are right lies the cage of the Whisperer herself..... a pathway through the curving fabric of the Catacombs to one of the worst places imaginable. Not an easy choice to make, but certainly a conundrum to give everyone pause... to face the light or rik walking this dark and very ancient path..... but as Lee says... it is certainly going to be a decrepid and decaying path...... but for now... Tune in Next time! For more adventures with or heroes! Same CoI Place! Same CoI channel!

+

Down the stairs go! Sheer and steep... each step three feet high, less then half a foot wide and the darkness is all pervading! The stone wall in front of their faces, the curve of the steps are impossibly sheer.... the light from their lantern barely illuminates the path, it barely illuminates their feet and each other as down and down they go! The glow of Silmeria's scythe is dimmed.... the sound of their foot steps is non-existance, the rock, what they can see of it appears to be dark shyst, a sort of sheer slate that is made up of many long coloumn all fuzed together. This is not a good path, nor is it a safe path.... it feels different from the rest of the catacomb but they have come too far to turn back into the darkness now!

+

"....Um...." Silmeria says, tucking her scythe close to her body, "I, um.... I don't want to alarm anyone... further, that is... but.... I.... think we're in a large, large amount of trouble."  Looking back to the rest of the party, then at the walls about them and the steps beneath them.  "...I've never known a path from the Catacombs to be... well... *broken.*"

+

Lee splits his time between climbing down steps and giving Ainsley a hand doing the same, the path feeling more like a ladder than a staircase to him, and that's exactly how he's descending it: like a ladder. He nods, a frown just about ever-present since he realized where the path they ended up on is likely headed, before circumstances locked them to it, "That kinda makes sense, given th'context, I'd think, Silm..."

+

"Perhaps we are no longer in the catacombs.  I dare suggest, we may have stepped onto a path into the void."  Marduke offers his voice quiet, serious.  "I suspect we may be coming..."  Cutting himself off as Lee speaks with a shake of his head, a glance towards Ainsley.  Then to the path ahead with a sigh, "All paths have their crossing points, as my grandfather would always say."

+

The lizard scholar moves with a neutral expression on her face, not offering much to their speech. She glances at Silmeria, the blank gaze offering no real insight into what she thinks. "We were in trouble since you all started helping me," she tells Silmeria, her voice hushed but not particularly urgent. She pauses briefly to glance off into the dark, letting out a sigh. "It's familiar," she says, barely above a whisper, "In a way I don't understand." She keeps going, relying on Lee to help her along. She smiles at him, softly.

+

Azar chuckles loudly in the gloom, doing her best to stay in the little light they have.  "I knew we should have taken that left turn in Albuquerque."  She shrugs at Silmeria, "We'll just have to do the best we can, yes?"  She makes a face at Ainsley, a smile teasing at the corners of her mouth.  "Wot, yer trying ta blames us fer all this? Oi!"  The red-head's Archadian accent laid on thick and heavy as she crosses her arms in front of her chest.

+

The stairs end abruptly! very abruptly and in the dark is is impossible to see the end and so the party wind up staggering off the steps into a dark coal-dust layered corridor. It is dark, dim and gloomy and all but impossible to see anything..... the lantern lights barely reach half a foot.... wherever this path leads it is at an end.... or a beginning...

+

"Master Marduke," Silmeria whispers, voice hushed by the oppressive gloom of their surroundings, "King Tonberry *ensures* that the paths to the realms are clear, if confusing to any but Himself.  For a place to fall into disrepair, He has to *want* it to remain igno--"  As Ainsley speaks of the familiarity of the path, the Esper's eyes widen, an ashen tinge spreading beneath her tanned skin.  "Oh, no..."

+

Lee's caught off-balance for a step when the descent abruptly stops, murmuring to Ainsley, "Level floor, Ains, watch yer step."  He then gives Ainsley a smile of his own, and a quick kiss on the forehead, "Trouble?  Nonsense...  We're all 'ere with full knowin' o'tha risks."  The lantern light so dim as it is, the faint glow of his crimson eyes pinpoints him even when he's not in the small circle of illumination, and those eyes turn towards Azar with a hint of amusement, "Well, most of us are, really..."  The amusement is quickly quashed by the oppressive atmosphere, though, and Lee turns his eyes towards the dark path ahead, then to Silmeria, and one can almost hear his eyebrow arch, "Wot's dun occurred t'ya, Silm?"

+

Marduke offers quietly, "Or it could be so dangerous that nobody can come maintain it."  The words from Ainsley hold no surprise from him, seeming to have already suspected as much.  "Remember who picked this path my friend.  Also for what we seek, both may rest hand in hand."  Sighing softly as he continues along slowly, having trouble in the darkness of the place.  The summoner is clearly bothered by this prospect, but it is to late to turn back.  He glances back to Lee and says slowly, "We may be walking into the prison of the one possessing Ainsley."

+

"Pestering. Possession might be a strong word," Ainsley corrects Marduke, in a half-hearted tone. She makes sure there's no steep dropoff that she can't see before she gets comfortable with standing, and grabs for Lee's hand so that if they do run into surprises, she knows he's there. "Let's not linger." She tugs at Lee's hand, beginning to walk down the corridor with the rest. She glances over to Azar distractedly, but doesn't say anything. "You're all making assumptions. It might not be what you think it is," she says, her voice being gentle, almost trying to be soothing, though her scholarly attitude doesn't help with that.

+

"Heh, tough crowd.  That or I shouldn't quit my day job to be a standup philosopher."  She looks from Silmeria's shocked reaction to Marduke's somber one, and she then casts an eye at Ainsley.  She rubs her chin and looks to Lee.  "You're lucky I came along, I don't think your cheerful disposition is enough to hold this lot together.  Chin up folks, if it is that bad, look at it as an opportunity to remove said pest, yes?"

+

It is dark, it is quiet.... it is strange, their voices seem to fall falt, the air seems to struggle to carry them and after less then thirty yards they come to a massive wall of tumbled, shattered blocks. They fill the passage, completley filling it and sitting on a rock, his hair gleaming in the darkness, his beautiful outfit perfectly pressed and arranged just so. Savourn lifts his head and gives the party his winning smile, "It is such a shame isn't it, that this pathway was blocked. Do you know who did it originally? It was Carbuncle, of all the spirits everywhere... Carbuncle, sweet, adorable carbuncle. He brought the whole thing down for over a mile... using the most deadly thing in existance for only he possessed the memory of where it was." The Knight of Restoration stands up, one hand resting lightly on his sword hilt, his beautiful blue eyes taking in each of Ainsley's companions. "I just thought you should know that my Lady, I've worked out what you are doing, where you are going but Lord Diabolos does not know every secret.... We who are seperate, the lady's servants disconnected from the wheel of life and death... we have our own secrets."

+

And horrified realization turns, for the span of a heartbeat, into towering fury, when Silmeria is accused of making assmptions.  But before anything can be said, the anger is smoothed away... just in time for Savourn to make his entrance.  The butt of her scythe thumps, noiselessly or otherwise, onto the cracked and broken floor.  "Not disconnected," she notes, her voice that of quiet, steely displeasure.  "Simply delayed, as your Viera friend could attest, were she not at my Lord's throne this very moment.  You, Savourn... you and yours will do well to turn your backs and return to your lives.  Unless you think the Betrayer, the poisoned blade of the Damned Thirteen *truly* intends to make good her honeyed promise?"

+

Savourn smiles at Silmeria and shakes his head, "My companion is if you where not blind to what was truly going on. Is not with your usurping lord. When we die we return to she who holds us in trust..." he grins at her, "She'll be back as will be my other companion. For the conduit is open and the Conduit is here... welcome My lady." he bows to Ainsley, this truly beautiful man giving her such a welcoming smile... how can a face that magnificent be so truly lost.

+

Lee chuckles a bit at Azar's critique, shrugging his shoulders, one hand in Ainsley's as the group proceeds.  And then Savourn and the collapsed section of the path melt into view, and instantly, Lee is between Ainsley and the servant of Shemhazzai, as it to both shield her and hide her from Savourn's view, his crimson eyes narrowed, and a deep, rumbling growl emanating from him, loud enough to echo off the passage's walls and reverberate slightly through the floor.  He says no words, but the shift in his demeanor seems to sum up his feelings for Savourn quite nicely as he concludes his reply to Silmeria with a greeting towards the scholar.

+

Marduke continues to walk along, "Assumptions perhaps, but Silmeria knows these best.  I trust her word more then anything else, and if she is concerned so am..." cutting off as the knight of restoration comes into view.  His eyes watch the man, no emotion showing on his face.  Every motion, every movement taken in and studied.  He makes no aggressive actions, but his stance, and the readiness of his free hand suggest he is ready to act if needed.

+

The lizard scholar had immediately been protected by Lee, when Savourn came into view. Ainsley's brow scrunches as she listens to the prettyboy's words, a frown growing on her face. She glares at the man silently, keeping her own face stony, for the most part. "Are you implying that you have what we need?" she asks, with significant incredulity. "Either way, I would prefer if you hugged one of King Tonberry's servants for me, and see what happens when a soul blacker than the Abyss gets skewered by a being of justice."

+

Azar says, "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!", laughs Azar at the top of her lungs.  "I told you he'd fall for this trap!  All we have to do is distract him for a minute while Carbuncle up there closes this place off.  Getting Toni to run around with that lantern, and pretending to run from it must have really fooled him."  A mad grin creases her face crookedly.  "Hey prettyboy", Azar says, running a hand over her armored breasts, "Even with these I'm twice the man you are.""

+

He gives Azar a look, "You really do now how to pick them my lady, I mean come on seriously?" he shakes his head then looks at Lee, "Thi is not the place for you and I to battle for the ladies hand. It will be mine as was meant to be but... well... the Torque of Entropy lies under all of this," he gestures at the rumble, "If you remove it... well I will see you very soon. If not... well... My lady will succumb to the whispers sooner or later." he bows his head, "Lady Silmeria, charming but not as charming as your actress self on the stage and Master Marduke far from home as always... still wondering what the Rainbow Drop does I am sure. Still I am sure you lovely people will work it out someday.... good luck." and then he's gone, the corridor dimming down as his brightness departs...

+

"....I think," Silmeria murmurs slowly, as though testing a newly-appeared bridge to see if it'll hold her weight.  "...I think... yes... That I *hate* that man."  She pauses, then turns to face Azar, genuine worry of her face.  "...Red... are you all right?  I mean, this is *very* irregular for just about anyone, but... That was a bit... ...worrying."

+

Lee doesn't answer Savourn's comment, but the fact that Lee hasn't already lunged for the bishounen adversary's throat indicates he might have some awareness of the truth to at least that much of what Savourn says.  He keeps his attention focused fully on Savourn, though, until the made vanishes, rolling his shoulders and trying to calm himself some, glancing back at Ainsley and giving her hand a squeeze.  Nodding, he agrees with Silmeria, "If y'think about it, Silmeria, "hate" really isn't strong enough a word, though it's a start, eh?  Bloody tossah..."  Following Silmeria's gaze to Azar, he remains silent, watching for a second and withholding his own commentary on her worrisome behavior before turning to look at the blockage ahead again, "So, Marduke...  Got any friends o'tha spiritual persuasion wot could 'elp us shift this rubble t'get wot we needs?"

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Marduke starts walking foward to the rubble eyes still looking over it thoughtfully.  "Hate, makes one lose focus and act rashly.  He goads us and wants us to hate him."  His voice soft, thoughtful.  "Far from home, true words."  A touch of a smile, "Yet my path is one I walk with pride.  He should know this."  Shaking his head and getting back on focus, "I believe he is telling the truth, the torque is under all this.  He does not appear to think we can get it."  A glance to Lee, "Maybe, the Mist Dragon if there are enough cracks can go through.  Yet two miles is well beyond my duration and range."  tapping his chin as he leans into his staff again.

+

When Savourn disappears, Ainsley spits on the ground, throws up her hands and rattles out a loud Giruvegan curse. Her opinion of the man does not venture far from the others. She rubs at her cheek, and walks up to where he was, at the rubble, and then starts poking around, looking for clues as to how they're supposed to advance with this mission if the path is blocked off to them. "I am of the belief," she tells the others, "That he is not worth anything but hate. But I'm not going to let his smug 'I have already won' attitude get to me." She looks over her shoulder, her brow scrunching, regarding Azar. "You can't bluff out these people." She returns to her task shortly.

+

Azar chuckles and sighs, letting out a long breath.  The red-head looks over at Silmeria with an eyebrow raised, "For someone who's in a deep dark hole, far from home, with no light source of her own left to her, wearing cured cow-hides for protecting and bearing essentially a beaten, sharpened metal stick for a weapon... I'd say I'm doing pretty good actually.  Never felt more alive."  She gestures at the spot where the Knight was, and peers over at Ainsley, "Sure, can't bluff them.  The posturing of you lot had the same minimal effect, didn't it?  You all did what he wanted you to do, didn't you?  Least I tried something original."  Azar looks around her and slowly sits down, cross-legged.  "So, since we're between a rock and a hard place, would someone fill me in on exactly what in hell's going on, please?  This is outside of my original expectations, and YOU lot seem to know a lot more about what's going on than I do.  So spare me the worried looks and smarmy replies, eh?"

+

The blocked tunnel lurks, taunting the party, can they find some mean to shift all that fallen shale and coal and reach their coal. Can they defy the Knights of Restoration and will they finally fill Azar in on what trouble the poor girl has walked into!

AChapter 20 - Revision history

Silvante at 19:07, 15 July 2013