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Dungeon Crawl Event - The Drifting Castle; Take Two...
Topic Started: Jun 10 2012, 11:21 PM (1,495 Views)
Wizard of Glacia
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Arcadian Cryptohistorian
As Isaac and the maid Katrina left the dining room and walked into the ballroom, the hairs on the back of Isaac's neck stood on end as if death was creeping up behind him, it was hard to say if Katrina felt it too as she seemed on edge all the time, her knives in her hands at all times and her eyes shifting about. Isaac looked about and saw nothing, the ballroom was totally still and silent, something he didn't like. "Lets go back to the foyer and decide where to go from there." Katrina slowly nodded. "Foyer, entrance... may I take your coat sir?" Isaac sighed and walked ahead, "No thank you Katrina, I think I will keep it."

Upon entering the foyer and looking at the multiple doors and stairwells, the feeling of dread got stronger. Katrina's eyes were wide and she whimpered quietly. Isaac pointed at the lower doors. "Katrina, what is beyond the lower doors?" To which she squeaked, "D-dungeons... store rooms... blood... blood and death... wails echo in the halls..." she shuddered.

Isaac could help but feel creeped out by the way the maid talked. "Very well then back up we go." Katrina practically clung to Isaac as they ascended the stairs and entered a door on the top left. Beyond was a short hallway with the paintings of nobles on each side. At the end was a set of double door made from some expensive looking wood, most likely heartwood from Ixa'taka. Katrina whispered from behind Isaac's back. "The game room... I... don't like games..." Isaac knew why now and he carefully opened the door and looked in.

The room was quiet large actually, more of a small hall than a room. The heads of several trophy animals hung on the walls, although some of the plaques were strangely empty. On the far end of the hall was a grand fireplace, dark and cold from disuse. Next to it was set another fine door which was shut. The duo walked into the room and looked about. This room had seemed some action in the past as was evident from the blood splatters and guns that lay about on the floor. Bullet holes could be seen in the walls and a trail of blood when along the floor and under the door at the far end. "This is where some fought him... they failed.." Katrina's voice was but a whisper as she looked about.

Isaac inspected the weapons on the walls and floor. The gun were empty and some of the blades were broken or covered in old blood. A couple billiard tables sat in the room, one was covered in blood and a sward was stuck into it, a grim testament of the fight that had taken place here. "Looks like there isn't much we can take from here... if only there was a simple way off this damn island... Katrina do you know of any?" He looked at the maid who shook her head. "With Death himself wandering this castle... how are we to survive?" Isaac eyed the door at the far end and felt uneasy about opening it, the trail of blood probably led to no place good.
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Gordreg
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Octavia pursed her lips as she examined the sight of the yacht, tutting to herself at all the substandard alterations that had been made, and which had given a craft that had no doubt once been aesthetically pleasing the look of a junkyard-built toy. Crude canon-turret mockups and a childish scrawl of a paintjob further compounded the insult to the ship as she had once been, and Octavia patted she ship tenderly, her finger sliding along a patch of the original paint that had either broken through the horrific recolouring, or had else been unsullied by the deed.

Dispite the horrible condition of the ship, discovering it still felt to Octavia like the uncovering of a carefully wrapped present. Ever since Cambridge's ship had exploded in the castle yard she had wondered just how she was going to get off the castle before it struck the rift; and the yacht provided her the easiest answer she could have ever asked for… assuming that it was still in a flightworthy state despite all those unflattering modifications, of course. For a moment her thoughts drifted, of the yacht restored to pristine mechanical perfection as it carried her away from the castle, hold full of texts for the Valuan library, and the light-thief machine humming gently as it glowed pale from out on the deck…

She snapped herself out of the fantasy, silently scolding herself for wasting time in idle daydream of unimportant cosmetic modifications. She had yet to find a single tome nor any hint of the light-thief machine, and the rift was drawing closer every minuite. As much as she wanted to scour the castle from towers to basements in her search, she knew there were few enough hours left merely to secure her own survival, let alone plunder the castle for treasures of antiquity and literature. And she had yet to learn if the Yacht was even in an acceptible working state…

She thought for a moment, reassessing her priorities, deciding with a whistful pout that rumours of the light-theif machine would have to be abandoned until after an escape had been secured; there would be no use uncovering the machine just to vanish into the Dark Rift along with it. And as for the books… well, the other searchers would no doubt been seeking them out, wouldn’t they? A slight smile crossed her face at that realisation; Octavia easily convincing herself that the provision of an escape-ship would well be worth at least half of anything that their searches might have uncovered.

Walking back toward the entrance, Octavia pressed her face back against the glass, her eyes both real and mechanical casting a glance along the control block, assessing the silent guages and the empty ignition. With the engine dormant, it seemed, there was no way to know how much fuel remained in the engine’s takns, nor the state of the engine itself, or the sensitivity of the controls or the wear upon the stearing column. But until she knew how reliable an escape vehicle the yacht might be, she would have no time to spare for any of her other exploration goals, private or public. But there was no key resting in either igntion or bridge-lock. And without a key to the bridge, she had no way to just walk in and turn the machine on to check how much time she might or might not have.

Or at least, that was the theory.

Octavia smiled as she pulled her heavy, clattering carry-case up toward the doorway, and thumbed the combination-lock open. Her hand darted in to search briskly through the stacks of parts and blueprints, pushing aside a salmon-coloured animal doll, and pulling out a slender device that Octavia slotted into the open socket upon her mechanical arm. She gave a quick flex of her mechanical fingers, hearing the sound of whirring where her smallest would have once bent with the others.

Keys were fine things, if you had them. But if not, Octavia had often found, precision-drills, cutting torches, wire-cutters, a directable electrical charge and a modicum of mechanical talant provided quite the acceptible substitute.

Lips pursed in concentration, Octavia Gnack set to work…
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Jet Blackbeard
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E'ban followed the maid up the stairwell until it ended in a small, cramped room with only a narrow window set into the wall as a light source. Opposite it was a closed door and a suspicious-looking lever.

Without a thought the maid reached out to pull it. "Hold it." E'ban's voice gave her pause. She could practically feel the barrel of his pistol being pointed at her. "What do you think you're doing?" He asked her coldly.

"It...er, retracts the stairwell." The maid answered nervously. "I just thought that..."

E'ban waved away her explanation as unimportant. "Do it." He commanded. The maid obeyed him and pulled the lever down. From below came the sound of metal clanking and hissing as the spiral staircase slid back into the ceiling.

"Good. Now no one will follow us." E'ban nodded in satisfaction. He motioned towards the door with the barrel of his pistol. "Okay, let's move on."

Once again the maid silently obeyed him, opening the door and stepping beyond it.

~

Beyond the stairwell was a short hallway, dimly lit by a set of small lights modeled to give them the appearance of candles. E'ban took note that they were all on, a possible indication that someone was either occupying this floor or had been here recently.

The hall ran arrow-straight for about twenty feet before terminating at what appeared to be a dead end. Halfway down its length the hall branched off into another, shorter hallway. This one ended at a heavy wooden door banded with brass fittings. The metal had grown dim with tarnish but this portal was still more elaborate than any of the others E'ban had seen in the castle thus far.

"This is the Baron's private study?" The thief asked. The maid only nodded in confirmation. She was practically clinging to him right now. "Then open it." E'ban commanded, perturbed by her close proximity to him. The maid hesitated, unwilling to get any closer to the Bloody Baron's inner sanctum. A rough shove from E'ban helped her to overcome her fear-induced paralysis though. "Do it!" He barked.

The maid shuffled fearfully up to the door and pressed her ear against its wooden face. She listened for any signs of movement from within before slowly reaching down to try the knob. "Wait." E'ban's hand lashed out to catch her by the wrist and pull her back. The maid closed her eyes in fear of being struck again and wondered what she'd done to upset the thief this time.

After a few seconds it became evident that E'ban wasn't going to harm her. She opened her eyes to find the thief crouching down next to the door. "See this?" He asked, looking up at her and pointing towards the doorknob. She peered closer at it but saw nothing out of the ordinary. The maid could only nod dumbly.

"Look closer." E'ban huffed, as if explaining something simple to a small child. His finger hovered only an inch away from the tip of the knob. "See that little indentation there." He persisted. The maid could see what he was looking at now but still didn't understand.

"Ugh, just watch." E'ban rolled his eyes at her. With careful movements he wrapped his fingers around the outside of the knob and slowly twisted it. The maid gasped in surprise when a thin length of metal extended from the indentation with a quiet "snikt". E'ban took hold of it with the tips of his gloved fingers and snapped it off. Held stood up and held the object up for the maid to inspect.

"Yeah, thought so. I could tell by the way the looked that it was rigged." E'ban explained. "If you try to open the door without unlocking it first you spring the trap." The thief ran a finger down the length of the metal needle and it came away covered with a sheen of green goo. "If you'd turned that knob you'd have been poisoned. This Baron of yours sure has some dirty tricks."

The maid's face paled when she realized how close she'd come to harm just then. "Thank you." She whispered with genuine gratitude.

"I still need you." E'ban returned coolly. He stooped down next to the door once again and withdrew a set of lock picks from his pocket and set to work opening the portal.

~

E'ban smiled in satisfaction as the lock opened with a quiet click. He rose to his feet and opened the door slowly to prevent it from squeaking. He doubted the Baron could have gotten all the way up here from the foyer before they did but it didn't hurt to be careful.

Once the door had opened far enough to allow him to peer through E'ban surveyed the room beyond. The study was small, barely large enough to contain the writing desk and bookshelves that filled it. Behind the desk was a large window that was covered by a heavy purple curtain. There didn't appear to be anything dangerous within. Nothing that was apparent anyway.

E'ban drew his pistol and stepped inside, motioning for the maid to follow him. He scanned the shelves, noting that they held an assortment of statuary and souvenirs. Bottled ships and model suits of armor sat next to porcelain figurines and carved wooden animals. The walls between the shelves were hung with oil paintings, framed photographs of family members and the ever-present heraldry displaying the stylized "F" found elsewhere in the castle.

There were also a few books scattered about the shelves and E'ban's attention was drawn to these. But after a quick search he concluded that the book he'd been sent here to retrieve was not among them. The thief started a more thorough inspection, this time checking to make certain the tome he sought had not been disguised with a fake jacket.

"Want to hear something odd?" The maid spoke up. E'ban paused in his inspection of the shelves to glare at her. She took his look to be one of interest and continued. "Only a couple of us knew about this room. Someone had to clean it after all. And we were sometimes summoned to bring refreshments here."

"Go on." E'ban urged her to continue. He could tell that she was on the verge of divulging some choice bit of information.

"Well, we were instructed to bring tea and cake to this room specifically. And yet whenever I was sent to deliver it myself I always found it empty." The maid concluded. "I always found that odd."

E'ban closed the book he was thumbing through with a loud crack, causing the maid to flinch. "Maybe it wasn't empty." He grinned. With the memory of the library downstairs still fresh in his mind he moved over to the desk to search for a hidden switch that would reveal a secret room.

But this search also proved to be fruitless. The desk didn't contain anything of use or value and there didn't seem to be any hidden mechanisms built into it either. "What are you looking for?" The maid asked curiously.

"Search those shelves." E'ban ordered, ignoring her question. Abandoning the desk he joined her in the hunt.

"Okay, what am I looking for then?" The maid persisted.

"Something that isn't what it seems to be." E'ban answered cryptically.

The maid nodded as understanding dawned upon her. Together the two of them examined each and every item that stood upon the shelves. Their hands explored every trinket and doodad the Baron had on display here in his private sanctuary. Finally the maid came across the focus of their search.

"I think this is it." She announced. E'ban broke off his search and came over to see what she had found. It was a snow globe that contained a small model of the Imperial Palace. The maid grasped the transparent bulb and gave it a twist. From behind the bookcase came the sound of a mechanism being activated. Suddenly the bookcase retracted into the wall and then slid aside, revealing a hidden room beyond.

"I knew it." E'ban smirked. He wasted no time in stepping through. The hidden room was even smaller than the study. More shelves lined the walls, some holding books while others contained more trinkets. There was a single high-backed chair facing the far wall standing in the room's center. To one side of it was a Valuan phonograph with a music tube still mounted upon it. On the opposite side of the chair was a coffee table with a decanter of loqua atop it.

And lying next to the decanter was...

"Jackpot!" E'ban crowed in triumph. He stepped forward to eagerly claim the book that was there. But the precious tome fell from his nerveless fingers when he beheld the mummified corpse seated upon the chair.

E'ban stepped back and drew his pistol in alarm. The maid cautiously approached from the other side of the chair to see what had startled him. "Oh, by the Moons!" She gasped when she beheld the dried out husk that had once been someone she knew; someone she knew very well indeed.

"Friend of yours?" E'ban scowled at the corpse, embarrassed by his reaction to it.

The maid's eyes roved across the desiccated remains clad in its dry-rotted finery. She took note of the faded "F" emblazoned upon the robe and shook her head in utter disbelief.

"So, who was he then?" E'ban asked, growing impatient.

The maid turned to look at him through haunted eyes. "This is...or was Baron Jarod Forsythe."
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Daiohma
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The Ice Fang
After finding that one door only took her to another similar room with nothing of much interest Marisa took the second door and soon found herself back in the main hall of the castle where she had started her search along with the other members of the team.
Now however she was alone in the large empty hall, not a single sight of the others was anywhere to be seen.

''Was Marisa here with others?'' The Girl tilted her head as she placed her finger against the side of her face.
Her eyes looking up into the air as she thought back to who it was that had come on the boat with her.

''There was miss lady and big cloaked man.'' She started to turn in a circle while still looking up.
''And Mr.Valuan.'' She grinned at the thought of a Valuan guard of sorts being among the group.

''Marisa to find, book?'' She looked down at her belt where the gold covered book was hanging.
''Where did you get that?'' She asked herself as she took a hold of it and flipped it open.
''We get it from people, dead people....Hahaha.''
Marisa dropped to her knees as she put the book back on her belt while laughing about remembering the people she had come across in the chapel.

''Marisa should find more friends, more people to play with Marisa.'' She held her hand against her head while supporting her body with her metal claws as she leaned forwards.
Just then her eyes shot wide open as the image of the young woman who was hiding under the chapel chairs came to mind.
''She was, more scared...'' The Valuan girl muttered to herself.

''More scared then that of Marisa..'' She stood up, her eyes still wide open in shock that there was someone else going around that the people here where more scared off than herself.
To her eyes and in her mind the room started to spin around her, getting faster and faster as the walls started to bleed.
The blood rushed down onto the floor around her feet before molding itself into what almost resembled a person.
It's single arm reached out and placed it's hand on Marisa's shoulder.

''Find him, find he who could end it.'' A deep voice echoed around inside of Marisa's head as the face of her captain appeared in the blood, slowly melting into a skull then into nothingness as the blood collapsed onto the ground before disappearing.
Marisa's eyes opened as she found herself standing in the main hall.
She turned her head to check the walls but there was no sign of any blood.

''Did Marisa dream again?'' She asked herself.
''It was best one yet, I could see your face.'' She reached out into the empty space in front of her and smiled.

With her mind settling back down she took in the fact that there where still many doors that she had yet to enter, but could not recall who had gone which way at the start.
Just then the sound of running feet caught her attention from behind.
She turned but was only in time to see a door close, a door which she had that moment selected would be the one she would enter.

Slowly Marisa turned the handle and pushed the door open.
''Time for tea and cakes.'' She said in her sweetest voice as she poked her head around the door.

She entered the room as she closed the door behind her.
It was a large room with a long wooded table in the center of it and many chairs all around.
Hanging from each wall where long sheets of cloth with decorated patterns down each side.
In the middle of each long cloth was the same picture of a man, yet in a different pose in each one.

At first Marisa thought it was some kind of dinning hall but then she spotted the row of books on each wall.
''Did you come here to read?'' She asked, knowing that the person who had run in moments before could not be that far away.

''Why do you run? I just want to play.'' Marisa 's eyes looked around the room yet there did not seem to be anything that someone could hide behind.
The table was so long that it was clear to see what was under it and the books where flush to the wall.

However it did not take long for her to find out just where this person was as one of the long cloths hanging from the walls moved ever so slightly.
She grinned as she started to walk towards it, eyeing the picture of the man in Valuan armor.
She wondered who this man was and why he had his picture all over this room.
This one he was wearing Valuan armor and was holding up a mirror to his face.

For a second the Valuan girl found herself staring at this picture before remembering why she had walked over to it.
With a smirk on her face she took a leap at the cloth and lashed out with her claws.
They slashed at the cloth cutting three clean cuts across it as blood splattered into the air.

Marisa landed and took a few steps back as she watched the cloth sway back and forth before a body fell out from behind.
It was a tall man wearing what Marisa could only guess be a butler's suit.
She kicked him gently, turning him onto his back seeing the slashes across his chest.
His eyes would not move away from staring at Marisa as he struggled to breath.

''You scared of Marisa?'' She looked down at him with a serious face as she waited for his answer.
''For...syth..e..'' He managed to mutter before his eyes closed.

''No no no!'' Marisa dropped to her knees by the side of the dead man.
''You scared of me!'' She raised her metal claws and slammed them down against his head, cracking his skull.
She repeated this several times until his head was nothing more than an unrecognizable mess.

Breathing heavily now she took a moment to clam down.
Her eyes looked over his body, stopping on his hand as she spotted the keys that he was holding onto.

Standing up as wondered why he had so many keys on him, too many to count as they where all on a gold ring.
She picked them up and placed them on her belt, not thinking of using them but just having them for her captain.

''Maybe you should check for a door.'' Her lips started to move,
''You think maybe behind here?'' She took a hold of the cloth and with one tug of her claws she ripped it away from the wall, reveling a wooden door behind it.

She realized that the man had been using the keys to try and open the door, ''To get away from me?'' She muttered.
Marisa smiled at the thought of this man wanting to get away from her but was so sacred that he could not find the right key in time.
''You make us so happy.'' She turned to look down at the headless body.

Feeling good about herself she did not think of using the keys and smashed the wooden door down with her claws.
Behind it was a long corridor with the walls lined with mirrors.

''Lots of you.'' Marisa told herself as she entered the corridor of mirrors.
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Wizard of Glacia
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Arcadian Cryptohistorian
With nothing more to do in the game room the only other option was the door at the far end which had blood trailing up to it. The maid and mage-warden carefully approached it and pulled it open, the odor of decay wafting up from a downward spiraling staircase which lay beyond the door.

"Keep close Katrina... time to investigate the bowels of this castle." Isaac's statement was unneeded as the frightened maid stayed almost glued to him the whole time, her odor offending his nose. If they managed to escape he would buy her a shower personally, moons knew that she deserved it.

As the duo descended it became darker and darker until seeing was near impossible. "Blast this darkness..." Isaac's voice echoed as it felt as if they had just stepped out into a room. Just then the sound of a match striking and the sudden burst of light from a torch made Isaac spin around and point his staff directly at the source of the fright.

Katrina had apparently found a torch on a sconce next to the base of the stairs and had lit it, unknowingly scaring Isaac to death. Isaac's sudden action of hostility created just as much fright in Katrina and she flinched violently and dropped the torch which thudded on the ground but didn't extinguish. "Damn it Katrina don't scare me like that." The mage-warden's tone was a bit unkind and Katrina whispered as she stooped to pick the torch back up. "I-I I'm sorry.."

"Just warn me next time you go to do something." Isaac relaxed and began walking into the new room at the base of the stairs. Illuminated by the torch, the two could see a series of gates and bars on both sides of the room with blood and tufts of hair both inside the caged areas and out. Isaac peered into some of the empty cages. "A prison or jail of some sort?" Katrina's face look bewitched in the flickering torch light as she shook her head. "No... dungeon is further down. This is the kennel. The Baron used to keep huskras for hunting game but after the castle broke away... the dogs turned on each other... and some of us... used them for food..." She looked away as if guilty and spoke no more.

"Oh... I'm sorry to hear that." The thought of eating a huskra sounded gross to Isaac and he decided to not push the matter further. The two continued to walk down to center isle in silence. It seemed as though no one had been in this part of the castle in some time as the air seemed stale and the blood had began turning to dust.

"Wait... do you smell that?" Isaac stopped and lifted a hand, a fairer smelling breeze came wafting from the far end of the kennel.
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Jet Blackbeard
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aka Bear
(OOC - Let's liven things up a bit...)

As Marisa approached the end of the hall of mirrors a quiet click from behind her caused her to whirl around. And what she saw was...

"Another Marisa?" She wondered aloud at the sight of herself standing a short distance away. After a couple of seconds she realized she was looking into one of the mirrors. But this was hanging right in the middle of the corridor and she was certain it hadn't been there a moment before.

Just then the mirror swung backwards, returning to its original position against the wall. And standing just behind it was none other than the man whom everyone in the castle feared more than her.

It was the Bloody Baron.

Marisa smiled with sudden bloodlust and the fingers of her mechanical claw began to twitch in anticipation. She took a few menacing steps in the Baron's direction but paused as he held up his hand, palm first, as if to halt her.

Marisa was curious as to what he was doing but it became evident when a ball of electricity began to form in the air before his hand. It crackled loudly as tendrils of lightning reached out from its nucleus to lick at the metallic frames of the mirrors.

Only a few seconds had past but Marisa realized that she was already too late to make her move. She could only stare wide-eyed as the Baron unleashed a devastating Electrulen spell in the cramped confines of the hallway. The burst of lightning raced down its length, shattering every mirror as it passed, until it finally struck Marisa.

Marisa managed to raise her mechanical arm at the last moment and it caught the brunt of the blast. But the force of it was enough to slam her through the doorway at the end of the hall and send her skidding across the floor beyond.

As she lay twitching and stunned upon the ground the Baron stalked silently into the room and glared down at her from behind his mask. His hand strayed towards the grip of his sword but instead seized his pocket watch. He glanced down at its face and then shook his head, waggling his finger at Marisa.

And then he was gone.

(OOC - Marisa may continue exploring the castle or chase after the Baron. There's no clue as to which way he went but the door he entered through has been revealed. It was hidden behind one of the mirrors.)

~

Isaac and Katrina froze in their tracks at the sound of a low, guttural growl coming from inside one of the cages. They two of them watched in dismay as one of the huskras who had once occupied this kennel stepped into view.

Like most everyone else who had been encountered in this moons-forsaken castle it was clear that this creature had seen better days. The huskras fur was matted by a foul-smelling mixture of offal and blood. Its ribs were visible beneath its skin, evidence that it was probably starving about now. But it was the hound's bloodshot eyes and broken yellow teeth that were the most troubling.

Katrina cringed behind Isaac while the Mage Warden tensed in anticipation of the attack that was sure to come. And indeed it was quick in coming. With a single blood-curdling bark the huskra lunged forward, its jaws wide open and seeking to bite.

(OOC - Just a small roadblock in your path. Deal with the threat however you wish and then proceed.)
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Gordreg
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The smell of smoke and molten solder wafted up from the control console of the yacht as Octavia ran the soldering iron, the warm metal flowing across the copper-wire prong and the second of the underside contacts to bind them both together as a silvery, quick-cooling mass. Moving the soldering iron away from the console and turning the heat off with a quick press of a button, Octavia straightened her back as she stood from her working stoop, and glanced down at the new switch she had installed as a simple but workable fix to the problem of the ignition device. Stepping over the discarded former locking mechanism as she took a backward step, she absent-mindedly wiped the oily stains from her hand against her cleaning rag as she wandered back over to the ship’s main door. A second discarded locking device lay on the floor just inside of it, though to the problem of the door Octavia’s solution had been mechanical rather then electrical – a thin bolting mechanism had been screwed into the side of both door and hull, and now kept the door between the boat and the under-castle harbour firmly closed.

Picking up the discarded outer lock, she gave a wistful sigh as she turned it over in her hand, admiring the fine craftsmanship that had embellished an otherwise utilitarian mechanism into something that had been close to resembling a delicate work of art. That art had since been ruined – tar and dripping paint had run across the surface in some madman’s mockery of a restoration, before in a final indignity she herself had cut the lock open to grant herself access to the inner workings and open the door. When she got back to civilisation, Octavia decided, she would take the time to modify and restore the locks, both of them; as much as she would take the time to free the ship of the unsightly wreckage that had been glued to the once-proud hull. But for the moment, simply getting the ship flying reliably had been goal enough.

She gave a cough at that, and stepped back over to the freshly soldered switch upon the console. Compared to the brass-wrought and varnished-wood finishes native to the rest of the controls her fresh installed on-off switch seemed a simple thing indeed, but it had been all the replacement she had needed to engineer. Otherwise, her cautionary examination of the ship’s internal systems had found all the essential flight mechanisms in a prime working condition, right down to possessing a tank full of premium fuel-moonstone.

And that meant she was now in a position to test her find in the skies themselves.

Securing both of the old locks away inside her carry-bag, Octavia then secured the bag itself by tying it against an ornamentative pipe, and stepped back to the controls. Anticipation bubbling eagerly in her thoughts, Octavia placed her real and false fingers together, knotting them as she pressed her hands forward, feeling her fingers bend slightly back before she released them and placed the right against the ship’s wheel. With the smallest digit on her left hand, she gave the switch she had installed a flick.

The Yacht’s engine responded to the circumnavigated ignition by kicking into life with a throaty purr, and Octavia’s eyes lit up with delight at the rich sound of the well-maintained machinery working with apparent flawless ease. Lifting her hand from the wheel for a moment she gave a celebratory clap, then replaced it as she began to inch the yacht away from the under-castle dock. The dark rift seemd awfully close as she lifted into the sky and began a slow circle of the castle, peering in through a number of the outermost windows as she guided the ship around toward the courtyard that had once held Cambridge – and had then become his tomb.
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Jet Blackbeard
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aka Bear
"If this is the baron, who is the guy we just saw?" E'ban asked in confusion as he holstered his pistol again. But the maid could only shake her head slowly. It was a gesture of her own disbelief. "And...for that matter, who are you? What's your name girl?" The thief asked, only now just realizing he'd never learned it before.

The maid brightened a bit at his sudden and unexpected interest in her. "My name is Samantha sir." The maid replied with a polite curtsy that might have been charming had it not been for her disheveled appearance. "And what shall I call you sir?"

"Master." E'ban replied in all seriousness. "Or sir if you prefer." The idea of asking a masked thief his true identity struck him as incredibly foolish but he reminded himself that Samantha probably wasn't very intelligent and decided not to berate her for asking. The maid wisely chose not to pursue the matter further and simply nodded her understanding.

With the one-sided introductions out of the way E'ban turned his attention to the dreaded baron's remains. Just from looking at them it was easy to deduce the cause of death. His face was sunken in but the look of shock was evident upon them. The baron's eyes and mouth were all wide open in perpetual dismay. There were no wounds apparent on the body but the empty glass lying on the floor beneath the corpse's slack fingers told the story of his demise.

"He was poisoned." E'ban announced, flicking his chin in the direction of the decanter of loqua sitting on the table next to the baron's chair. The thief picked it up and took a whiff of its contents. He could tell that it contained a particularly expensive brand of Relik Loqua but there was no trace of whatever toxin had done the baron in. Not that he'd been expecting it to smell like battery acid or anything.

Samantha regarded the baron's corpse with a mixture of pity and exultation. But his death did raise a very serious question; who had killed Jarod Forsythe? It had quite likely been whoever it was who was masquerading about the castle in his finery now but whose face was behind the mask?

"Do you have any clue who could have done this?" E'ban gave voice to the question she'd just been mulling over. "You said only a couple of you knew about this room right?"

Samantha thought about it for a moment. "Well, there was me and another maid named Gloria who worked in the kitchen. There was Joseph, the butler, but he was among the first who were killed. We were the only three that I know of."

"Whoever that was downstairs didn't look like a woman." E'ban reckoned. "And you were with me and the butler is already dead. Great, we're back to square one."

Samantha nodded and sighed. "So what do you want to do next?" She asked dejectedly.

"I'm getting out of here." E'ban answered without hesitation. "I've got what I came for so the baron isn't my problem anymore."

Samantha looked as if a heavy weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Escape? Was such a thing even possible? "Will you...can I come with you...master?" She asked hopefully.

E'ban ignored her question as he stooped to pick up the book. He ran his fingers across its jet-black spine, wiping away a thin layer of dust that had accumulated on it. "Wait...what the?" The thief muttered as he read the title. "Heraldry of Valuan Nobility? This isn't the right book damn it!"

Samantha shrank back from his anger as E'ban lifted the book in preparation of dashing it against the wall. But something stayed his hand. Even though he'd crumpled up the list of books the librarian had given him he was fairly certain that this was one of the titles that had been written upon it. "Hmm, if it's valuable maybe I can get a little something for it."

Tucking the book into his pouch E'ban motioned towards the door. "The search continues." He sighed. Samantha frowned as she proceeded him out of the hidden room.

"Where to now?" The maid asked.

"I'm not sure." E'ban shrugged. "We'll have to search room by room. But I'm not leaving without that book."

~

A few moments later the pair stood before the dead end at the opposite end of the hallway they'd arrived through. "Let me guess. Another hidden door?" E'ban muttered. He was getting fed up with all of the hokey gimmicks present in this moons-forsaken castle.

"Yes. It lets out in one of the service corridors." Samantha answered. She deftly triggered the latch and the wall swung open. The maid glanced fearfully out into the hallway, peering left and right, before she stepped out and motioned for the thief to follow.

As E'ban came through he saw that the door was hidden behind a false wall. Its latch was a pressure panel disguised as one of the bricks in the wall. Once again the maid was earning her keep. He'd never have found the hidden study without her aid.

"This hallway lets out near the guest wing." Samantha explained. "We can also get to the servant's quarters, bathrooms and a small kitchen from here."

E'ban pondered their choices for a moment. "The baron probably wouldn't have lent the book out to anyone so it's not likely to be in this area." He thought aloud. "But maybe we can find a clue to his identity in the servant's rooms."

"This way then." Samantha agreed, pointing the way. Together the two made their way down the corridor until they reached a door that let out into another hallway; this one lined with many doors.

"Alright, let's get to work then." E'ban ordered. "You take that side of the hall and I'll search this one. Bring back anything that looks valuable or important."

Samantha had begun to move away but froze in her tracks. "You...mean we're splitting up?" She gasped at the idea.

"Yes. And I don't need to tell you what will happen if you even think of escaping." E'ban answered coldly. But in truth he wasn't at all worried about that. He could tell from the fear he saw in Samantha's eyes that she wasn't comfortable at even crossing the hall without him.

"Well...alright." Samantha whimpered. "I'll call if I need...if I find anything."

"You do that." E'ban answered. He turned away to hide the smirk on his face. "Now hop to it. We don't have time to dilly-dally."

(OOC - This entry marks the beginning of the 10th round of posts. Upon its completion everyone will receive a Moonberry for their participation.)
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Daiohma
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The Ice Fang
Marisa found her body twitching from the attack of the Baron as she laid on her back.
She had a grin across her face as she started to giggle to herself, feeling the pain of the electric attack as it left her body.

Her metal arm lifted up as if by itself, the claws cast a shadow over Marisa's face as they slowly pointed towards her head.
''Is it not playtime?'' She asked them, recalling that the Baron had stopped to look at his pocket watch.

As if her question was being answered her claw hand shook slowly from side to side.
Slowly Marisa sat herself up and looked around the room that she found herself in.
It was a dome shaped room with dark grey stone walls all around her. No windows in sight and the only obvious way in or out was the hall of mirrors that she was once in.

''That was the man, yes?'' Marisa stood up as she nodded her head to her own question.
''Is he my master's destiny?'' She said as she bit her bottom lip with her sharp teeth, licking up the blood that came from the bite.
She started to make her way towards the doorway that would lead her back to the mirrors, yet as she moved across the room she was stopped in her tracks.
Looking behind her she saw that he arm was stretched out backwards as if to pull her away from the door.
''Marisa find something?'' She asked her own arm as she lowered it and turned to face what she herself was pointing towards.

Across from the door was something carved into the wall, something that one could miss if they did not take time to check the stone wall.
However in her subconscious she had seen it but now only realized that something was different.

Slowly walking over she could make out a cross carved into the wall.
''I think you have seen this before.'' As told herself as she tilted her head to one side.
''Yes we have.'' She reached down to her belt and un hooked the gold book that she had come across.

Marisa took a quick glance back at the doorway,
''He long gone when Marisa fall down.'' She narrowed her eyes as she looked at the door.
''She find him for master.'' She turned her attention back to the stone cross,
''First Marisa find why book important.''

On the gold cover was a cross that matched.
She remembered that she got the book from the chapel, but only because she had so much fun there.

The cross on the wall looked a little lose, and around the side where a few lines, almost as if the book was to be pushed against it.
However Marisa had a much more fun idea in mind and slammed her claws against the stone wall.
Cracks from the impact shot out and upwards around the stone as she followed up with another attack against the stone.

The cross crumbled away and behind it was a small compartment.
''Marisa do good?'' She reached in and took out her prize.
Two gold pages with writing all over them, writing that she did not have the time or means to read.
She tilted her head at them, wondering why they where there and decided to slide them into the gold book before attaching it back to her belt.

''Maybe Marisa get prize for book?'' She asked her hand as she held it in front of her face.
She slowly turned it around and stared at the Yellow Moon Stone that powered her hand and arm.
''He attacked us?'' She whispered as she recalled the Baron.

''Marisa find him! She take him to master!'' She yelled as her head sharply turned to lock onto the doorway.
Rushing over she slashed at the door, shattering the wood as she entered the hall.

She was once again in the long corridor of mirrors, her eyes looking left to right as she knew one was a secret door.
''Marisa not sure..'' She stood up and rested her hand against her side.
''She ask for help.''

Marisa turned to the first mirror on her right and looked herself in the eyes.
''You know which was we should go?'' She asked her own refection.
''No! Marisa asking question, you listen!'' She yelled at the Marisa who was asking her the very same question.

In her anger she lashed out and shattered the mirror.
''I should not anger me!'' She told her shattered reflection as she looked down at the broken shards of mirror.

''How know which is door?'' She turned to look down the corridor as she asked the question.
As she looked she saw that the Marisa's in the closest mirrors had all turned their back on her.

''We find our way!'' She yelled as she smashed two more mirrors, only to find the stone wall behind them.

Just as she was about to shatter the next one she stopped as her ears picked up a new sound in the corridor.
It sounded like someone was crying, a girls voice was crying.
Marisa lowered her arm and walked to almost the center of the corridor where the sound was loudest.

To her right in the mirror was a little girl, her face covered by her hands as she cried.
Marisa crouched down to the girl's height and put her hand out towards her.
''Marisa can help, she can end it.'' Marisa's claws slowly twitched as she spoke to the reflection of the little girl.

As she raised her claws the girl slowly uncovered her face, a face that was completely covered in cuts to the point that she could not be recognized.
However Marisa recognized who she was and without hesitation slashed at her with her claws.
The mirror shattered with a few shards cutting Marisa's bare arm.

She stood up and looked at the new entrance.
''Baron is this way, let's go.'' She entered the door.

What she found behind the door was a thin star way that spiraled upwards into the darkness.
Only the light from Marisa's Moon Stone in her hand let her see each step that she had to take.
Walking around and a round she kept her claws out to one side and scraped them all the way up against the wall.

As she reached the top there was only one door and so she made quick work of shattering it's simple wooded frame.
She almost burst into the new room as the door came down, her arm at the ready but she was disappointed to see no one was around.
It seemed that the door she had smashed was a picture of the Baron from the other side of the room.

''Can Marisa swim?'' She asked as she looked around the room.
It was a rectangular room with pure while walls that where most likely made from marble and in the center was a rectangular pool of water.
''She doesn't know....'' Her answer came slow as she looked at the water.

Other than the pool there where four doors to the room, two on each side.
She looked at all four but had no clue to which the Baron would of taken.
Nothing else of interest to Marisa was in the room and knowing that only one of the four doors would lead her to the Baron she took a moment to think about her next move.
''Where Marisa go now?'' She sat down at the side of the pool and took her boots off.
She dipped her feet into the warm water and giggled herself at the feeling of the water on her feet.

It wasn't often she got the chance to enjoy the little thing's in life such as a poll and she almost broke a true smile.
However this did not happen as she spotted a person walking around the bottom of the pool, a tiny person who could walk under water.
Her mind started to question its self as she stood up from the pool and put her boots back on.

Just then she realized that he was not walking at the bottom of the pool or was her tiny.
The base of the pool seemed to be made from glass and she was looking down into a lower room.

She looked over the side of the pool, her face almost in the water.
Down below there was a man walking around a room holing a long weapon of sorts.
With him where two women who where seated at one end of the room.

Marisa looked around in a hurry, her head going back and forth.
She spotted a stone bust, probably of the Baron. Quickly she picked it up and tossed it into the pool.
As heavy as the bust was it only cracked the glass which turned out to be thicker than Marisa had guessed, however it had cracked.
Marisa dived into the pool with her claw out front and hit the cracked area with full force, shattering the base of the pool.

Marisa along with the bust of the Baron and the pool water came down into the lower room.
The stone bust fell the quickest and crushed one of the women where she sat.
The other woman was quick to get out of the chair and ran over to the man who was holding a long iron poll with a small hook on the end.
Most likely for closing tall windows.

Marisa landed using her claw hand to take the impact, the water went all over the room before thinning out across the floor.
Slowly she stood up with her head still looking down.

''Who are you!'' The man asked as he pointed the poll at Marisa.
The woman behind him held onto his back as it using him as a shield.

The Valuan girl raised her head and looked at the two.
The man looked like a butler while the woman was in a maid uniform.

''Are you the Baron?'' Marisa raised her hand and pointed at the man.
He was shacking a little as he could not take his eyes off Marisa's metal arm.
''N..No...'' He managed to finaly answer.

''Are you the Baron?'' Marisa repeated her question but this time her finger moved ever so slightly towards the woman.
''Me? No!'' She said as she hid behind the butler.

Marisa smriked with glee as she dashed towards the two of them.
The butler swung his poll up in order to bring it down on Marisa but her claw arm made easy work of it and snapped the iron poll like it was made from wood.
She followed up by delivering her boot to his stomach, knocking him over onto his back.
The maid was still behind him and so ended up under him as he went over.

With both at her feet Marisa swung her claws down and impaled the two, killing them instantly.
She pulled her claws out from their bodies and turned her attention to the other maid.

Marisa walked over to her side and removed the stone bust of the Baron from her shattered head.
''Are you the Baron?'' She asked as she waited for a reply.

''Are you the Baron?'' She asked again but with anger in her voice as the almost headless woman just sat there.
''Your no fun for Marisa.'' The Valuan girl snapped as she kicked at the chair, causing the dead woman to fall over.

Marisa now took a moment to see just where she was.
Behind the chairs that had been set up at one side of the room was a single door while on the other side of the room where two doors.
However the two doors had both been blocked up, wooden panels where nailed across them both and almost all the furniture in the room had been pushed up against them.

She could not help but notice that the room was decorated in a way that made it almost seem like something she once dreamed of living in, a place in upper Valua.
It all looked very expensive to her and that was when she thought about what the room was for.
There where a few book cases but it wasn't a library.
There where alot of chairs and small tables that when with each one.

Marisa then looked up at the shattered glass above them that was once the bottom of the pool in the room above.
''Naughty Baron.'' She giggled to herself as she made her way to the only unblocked door.
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Wizard of Glacia
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Arcadian Cryptohistorian
The sudden appearance of the Huskra caught the Mage-Warden and maid off-guard. All Isaac could do to fend off the beast was raise up his staff which the huskra bit onto like a vice. Katrina yelped in fear and scurried away as Isaac tried to keep the dog at bay, the close-quarters making it impossible to cast spells. "I thought you said all the huskras were dead?! Katrina? Katrina?! Damnit!" Katrina has vanished, leaving Isaac to wrestle with the dog alone.

He could easily drop the staff and try a spell but that would allow the starved animal a free shot on his body which was only partially covered with armor. "Grah!" He kicked at the dog with a boot but it only yelped and growled angrily. Just then there was a slight thud and the huskra froze before letting go and dropping on the ground motionless. Sticking out of the back of it's head was a knife.

"By the Moons..." Isaac looked up to see Katrina still frozen in her post-throwing stance, half-paralyzed by fear. "Good aim Katrina, you just saved me a lot of trouble." Isaac smiled and walked up to put a hand on the maid's shoulder in thanks. She relaxed and shuddered with a slight blush. "Y-you're welcome..." Being thanked was obviously something she was unused to. She then scurried over to retrieve her knife from the huskra's corpse and wiped off the blood.

"Let's keep going." The two reached the back of the kennel which opened to a storeroom and another staircase which spiraled upward. Katrina mumbled softly, "This held the huskra food and that leads up to the servant's quarters." She pointed at it with a shaking finger.

Isaac regarded the stairwell and sighed. "Well we have nowhere else to go." The two set foot on the stairwell and walked upward, the air getting fresher with every step. Upon reaching the top they entered a hallway with doors that was well lit by windows, a couple of which were open. "The quarters are through these doors, and the far one heads back to the foyer..." Isaac was about to choose a door to pick when the sound of an engine caught his ear. "What is that?" He quickly approached a window and looked out, to his disbelief an oddly painted yacht was hovering outside the castle near where Cambridge's boat had blown up.

"Thank the Yellow Moon! Katrina there is a boat c'mon!" Isaac grabbed Katrina's hand and ran towards the foyer, the dumb-struck maid bouncing behind him. They made it to the foyer and out into the courtyard. Isaac waved at the boat, not knowing that Octavia was behind the wheel. "HEEEY! DOWN HERE!"

Katrina just stared at the boat not ever sure what to think now. Was salvation at hand?
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