Staunton Bluffs Episode I: To the Borderstone

[Le Noir Faineant]

Shana opens the door to the room Lodissio dissapered into.

The warmth of a hearthfire lightens the narrow, but somewhat cosy kitchen she enters.

On a big table, a lot of exotic fruits and vegetables look like ready to be thrown into the big, black cauldron that hangs over the heard.

The next thing Shana perceives is a woman, kneeing, with her back into the door's direction [You can't see her face] before a small altar that is modelled into the sand-coloured stone wall:

Between two burning candles stands a small silver shield, with a rose and a sword on it...

Shana and Tavian, who enters the room right behind her, feel the sounds of the melting girl cease the more they approach to the holy symbol...

[Boccaccio Barbarossa]

Avra has little time to take in the surroundings and the events. When he sees the others move towards the direction Lodissio went in, he follows. Having lost his scimitar he contemplates for an instant taking out the fighting stick he has then decides to adopts a defense stance, unarmed, trying hard to remember the preliminary lessons of his master...

[Lord Cyclohexane]

In the back corner of the room, behind the door, a dark-haired man is kneeling and fixing the cupboard that's sitting there. He tosses his long brown ponytail over his shoulder as he looks up and says to the old lady, "My apologies, ma'am, I'll have this finished and be out of your way in just a moment." He then goes back to fixing the slightly damaged door on the front of the ornate cupboard, ignoring the others who walk into the room, much as a dreamer who doesn't notice any of the odd things happening around him.

As you look at the man, something seems to jump out about him. There's nothing that seems special about the 5'8" human male, so you look closer. Perhaps it's the grubby clothing or the slightly stained work apron, perhaps it's the slight scar under his left eye... And then it jumps out at you. The green eyes and brown hair, the scar... This man is one of the corpses you'd passed on the way into the building, though apparently this one had merely been a fainted form amongst the bodies, easily looked over.

[Le Noir Faineant]

[Just a side note: The girl is melting and noone comes to help her? - The Dark Powers will rejoice... ]

[Aelia Sistithna]

And from the far side of the room, beyond the diagonal double doors, there is the soft sound of scrabbling, as if a small creature seeks to claw its way through. The scrabbling continues, not growing louder, until with a sharp creak the door swings open a short way.

"I guess it was unlocked," whispers a soft voice pitched unnaturally loudly. The voice belongs to a slight creature, Elflike in features, ghostly pale. The figure wears a long tattered high-cut black dress and a rapier in a back harness, which seems even less solid than the rest of her. Her face is drawn and weary, yet somehow childish, and she steps as if barely walking on the ground, despite wearing what look like substantial boots. Her hair, in braids coming loose at the top, is unnaturally dark, seeming to vanish into the unlit space behind her. In her hand is a small tool, not quite a knife or a key but bearing some elements of each, and bits of other metal items seem to appear through the holes in her dress, beneath which is some sort of dull, semi-reflective corset.

She looks about at the other arrivals, and fearfully clutches at her sword, then halts, waiting unsurely.

[Le Noir Faineant]

The cries of the girl suddenly end, and she is left there is the fountain roomm half melted with the stone floor, half like pulling herself on her feet, she freezes...

The colour of the walls in the room Shana and the others awakened, previously a friendly light brown, begins to change into coal...

[Lord Cyclohexane]

The young man working on the cupboard doesn't seem to notice the melting girl. In keeping with dreams, he merely experiences the girl's melting as being a completely normal thing, though he might respond if awakened to the fact that he's dreaming.

[Le Noir Faineant]

*******************************
A very official announcement:

(No April Fool's joke)

Since the activity of some players seems to have ceased within the last weeks, and since noone of them cared to send me word about this, I'll take measures.

Who hasn't posted within the last two weeks AND doesn't post within the next 9 days - means, until April 10th - OR doesn't doesn't inform me of the reasons of his/her absence, will simply be killed off to guarantee a more steady game flow for the others.

I am aware that we all lead busy lives, but, even if one's really stressed, those two minutes to send a PM or email are not too much to be asked.

That said, for those who still want to continue, the game will certainly go on.

It's not that I have suddenly been infiltrated with a mixture of aggression and the turret syndrome, it's just that this got me ennerved for quite a while. So, those who are affected: Last chance!

*rantrantrant*

Yours,

Rafael

********************************

[kintire]

[I was assuming Alain had the girl covered, but oh well!]

Shana looks around at the room and eyes the elflike creature, hands lifting in front of her as if preparing to cast a spell. She glances as well at the other two people here.

"What's going on? Where's Lodissio? did you see..."

She glances around as the room begins to change

"uh oh..."

[Le Noir Faineant]

The kneeing woman in front of Shana shivers, and desintegrates into something that looks like sand...

The song ceases again...

[CapN]

Who hasn't posted within the last two weeks AND doesn't post within the next 9 days - means, until April 10th - OR doesn't doesn't inform me of the reasons of his/her absence, will simply be killed off to guarantee a more steady game flow for the others.

I`m still here.

[Le Noir Faineant]

[Don Fernando]

OCC: [Also Present, I never left.. ]

Jarryd enters the room frantically. ^he stops dead in his tracks, as he sees the small child melted on the floor and another woman desintegrating into sand....

Very worried, Jarryd whispers: "Maybe I just lost my mind and this is all only a consequence of that.. "

[Tavian]

Following close behind Shana, Tavian's eyes fixate on the shimmering shield. Ignoring the darkening of the room and the other strange people present, he continues forward, trying to get as close as possible to the holy symbol. As he moves, he notices that the screams from behind him quiet down.

"The symbol!" Tavian shouts over his shoulder, never moving his eyes off the shield, "Perhaps it holds a clue to this madness!"

As he closes in on the strange altar, he reaches a hand out tentatively, still unsure of his true surroundings.

[BigBadQDaddy]

OOC:Still here, just waiting for Jarryd since Alain is following him.

IC:Alain enters the room behind Jarryd, almost coliding with his abrupt stop.
"What is going on in here?" He says. He sees a pile of sand on the floor and some new arrivals.
"Where is Lodissio?" He asks everyone, looking completley puzzled.