Island's Heart (Completed)

[Skyhunter]

Bref Heartwood

At the comment that Bref could be tired after the third throw from Alfred made the Silvan laugh a hardy one, a rare thing from the would be captain, that being a legitimate laugh that sounded evil. " After three throws with the sizes of you lot? Hardly. " Heartwood let out a deep sigh to calm himself. He looked up at the wall, darkness pitched all around him, it was the only way forward. Seeing Bell finally awake the Silvan snorted a little, glad to see the little man was okay. Bref began his ascent up, considering he was the heaviest of them all, carrying a cannon, a shield from a dead ignian and his own body weight combined. He still had no problem getting to the top quickly.

Reaching the top, Bref stood up straight to gaze into the abyss around them. " Wonderful. Eternal pitch. " Bref grumbled under his breath looking to the group who reached the top, seeing Keone already toss the rope to the very annoying Remy. " Please do not fuck this up, you chicken. " Bref sighed quietly to himself as he face palmed.

 

[slifer]

Even with his intellectual, analytical brain, Remy still had a heart, and he was tempted to move deeper into the inky darkness of the cave to see what was going on with the person, but he had to be sure that this wasn't a trap. Or that the fabled beasts didn't start speaking Collian or something to attract prey to them. An incredibly scary thought for sure.

"We're coming to help you. I need to light up the area so I can best see how to help you. Just keep whispering. Tell me where you are, so we can find you." Remy replied to the person, his voice smooth, soothing, and as calm as he could make it- doing his best not to alarm whoever or whatever was there. Panic would distract him, and if this was one of the missing Collians, then he definitely wanted to be as focused on saving them as he could possibly be.

Almost like a cat, Remy pounced on the rope with the torch on it the moment he saw it, trapping it with his body before he could slide away. "In the darkness, something just called for help! Give me a second, I need to tie the rope and light this area up with the torch, and then come across as best as you can!" Remy hollered back at the group, doing his best to inform them of what was going on with him, as he could barely see around him. He needed to gain more information, and that meant getting some light in this damned area of the cave, and ensuring the others could cross as well.

First, he untied the torch, leaving it on the ground while still holding onto the rope. Then, he looked for a column or a large rock- something he could tie the rope around, doing his best to tie the rope securely around it with, knotting the rope impossibly tight. It probably wouldn't hold Bref or Keone's weight, but most of the others could probably use it just fine.

He listened again, hoping to hear the creature speak or at least breathe to signify that it was alive, before lighting the torch, surveying the area as best as he could with the small amount of light he had.

 

[Novama]

Time: 5:00 PM
Day: Tuesday
Weather: Sunny and very hot. extended unprotected exposure to the elements will result in character unwellness
Tomb Conditions: Stifling, cooler than outside, dusty air, no breeze
Those Involved: @TheEccentric @The Last Curse @Elvario @Ur Degaton @ItariChan @Grehstone @slifer @Skyhunter @Nero Kunivas
TooLongDidn'tRead: Party continues to struggle to actually move across the ruined corridor's remaining walkways.

Note From The Author: (Last round in this hall. Party will make it through or else. Assume Itari's character died in the original collapse.)
Post Listening:

Inside Tomb

While Remy was able to catch the torch and fasten the rope securely to a portion of wall still connected to the platform he stood on, his lighting situation was still just as bleak as it was before. Meanwhile, the voice he heard continued to faintly beckon for aid from somewhere in the darkness just ahead.

Unfortunately for the rest of the party, time was growing late. The platform on which they all congregated is audibly and noticibly shifting under the weight of the party. They would all need to advance or fall back to the ruin they climbed out of unless they wished the platform to collapse and them with it.

 

[Elvario]

Keone Nagendra
​

Interactions: Bref @Skyhunter | Julius @The Last Curse | Bell @Grehstone | Alfred @Ur Degaton

Keone gave the rope a few tugs after Remy secured it on the other side, tying it to the sturdiest pillar on her side, after confirming it was likely to hold everyone for as long as they'd go in turns. "We should be able to climb along this for as long as we go in turns, but if anyone dares to jump across the platforms or climb along the walls without the rope, feel free to untie it before you leave, so we can pull it in on the other side and re-use it."

With that out of the way, she figured she'd take one for the team and start climbing first, slithering around the rope like only a snake-half could. Once making it over to Remy, she'd soon hear the call for help as well. She figured she'd light up an extra torch and use it to see if she could see the source of the call below them, but if she couldn't, she'd drop the lit torch somewhere a bit besides it (as to not land it atop whomever was calling) to see how far down they were form the platform. In case it wasn't all that far, she could use her own tail to let them climb up, but if they were far enough down, they'd need to use another rope.

 

[Ur Degaton]

Alfred sighed before stepping on the rope like a gymnast, balancing himself with surprising ease. Years of training his agility and balance on rocking boats and through violent sea storms has made the current endeavor quite easy for the scientist adventurer. Slowly but surely, he walked across the tight rope with his arms spread on either side of his person, to help with maintaining equilibrium. The torch in his hand lit up the abyss as he moved, and he was half tempted to drop the tool just to see how deep the gaping hole really went. After a few tense moments of creaking ropes and crumbling platforms, he made his way to the other side.

 

[Novama]

@slifer @Elvario @Ur Degaton

Keone and Alfred arrived on the platform surrounded by dark drop off. They shared the platform with Remy. Alfred nearly fell to an unknown fate, but his recklessness was not punished this time.

Now with sufficient light present deeper in the treacherous tunnel, those on the far platform could make out a platform about 30ft away and slightly higher than their current platform. The platform was sided by walls and presumably led to a tunnel or room of the tomb yet untouched by the collapse the rest of the hall succumbed to. The growing weaker plea for help seemed to be eminating from that platform. A few large blocks were precariously collapsed on the platform as well.

 

[Ur Degaton]

@Elvario
@slifer

"Anyone care to go first?" Alfred asked to his compatriots, not feeling confident about their current situation. An elevated platform would be more difficult to get to, considering he didn't know the true integrity of the rope. But he didn't have a choice, and hopefully the others would get to them before everything collapsed like a wet sandcastle.

 

[Nero Kunivas]

- Aquila Vitalis, the Elegant Tempest -

Mentions - Alfred - @Ur Degaton

Having followed his compatriots closely since the incident with the scorpions and an air cannon, Aquila was not too shaken by the continued weakening of the walls around them and the ground beneath them and would press onward, nimbly moving across the rope between platforms and over a seemingly endless abyss that could only lead to one's death should they fall.

Now they were faced with an elevated platform that likely lead to the shaky voice of someone pleading for their help, with Alfred seeking someone to take the first leap forward.

"Little higher up than the others, huh?" Aquila commented about said platform, then adjusted his right-hand glove in a confident manner and took a step forward. "I'll take the leap forward, as it were. I'll make it up there or die trying. And if I do die, well, haha, I won't dwell on it, but at least it won't be any of you." Aquila spoke with a smirk and reassuring tone, then made ready, not knowing if Alfred had a rope handy, or was hoping Aquila or someone else would simply try to make a leap of faith, hence his prior choice of wording.

 

[Skyhunter]

Bref Heartwood

The Silvan stared out into the abyss before him, he was pretty damn heavy, probably over 600 pounds with about 300 more pounds on on with the cannon he carried and the shield strapped to his back. He sighed deeply as one of his hands rubbed his face out of frustration, how was he going to balance himself across this rope with 900 pounds on it? " Gods above i should just throw the lot of you across the darkness... " Bref muttered to himself thinking these could be his last moments alive. Not that he cared much about dying, he'd rather not die in a dark place like this, dying in a battle was more his style.

Bref took a deep breath, thinking to himself to stop being a wuss and just do it. There was no point in being afraid. In took a step onto the rope and made sure to balance himself with all his equipment, moving his way across the rope slowly, there was a couple times he almost fell but he kept his balance. The wannabe captain looked pissed about almost falling as he finally made his way across the 50 foot, getting to tbe other side, he let out a heavy and shaked breath before he took a deep one to calm his nerves. The Silvan looked to his comrades as they were now on the next problem, seeing they weren't sure how to go about this. " I could toss the lot of you across if you want, your weight shouldn't be nothing I can't handle. " Bref suggested.

 

[The Last Curse]

Mentions: @Skyhunter ​

Julius watched as the treasure hunters crossed to the next platform, patiently awaiting his turn. The shifting and groaning of the ground didn't seem to faze him; Julius knew he had plenty of time to cross. After everyone had passed through, Julius approached the rope and laid down on top of it, hooking one of his legs around the rope behind him. Then, using his back leg to push him forwards, Julius slowly slid across, eventually reaching the next platform.

Finally reuniting with the rest of the treasure hunters, Julius took a moment to study the platform ahead of him. With a curious sigh, he brought a hand to his face, making a gesture akin to scratching his chin. He thought about crossing with a similar technique, but it would take him much longer to get across due to the platform's altitude — that, paired with the constant threat of the platform collapsing, just made the situation even sourer.

Soon his thoughts were interrupted by a familiar yet slightly disgruntled voice behind him. Turning around, he saw it to be none other than Bref. Julius was just about to let loose a snarky comment, but Silvian's offer made him ponder again. Though the next platform was much higher than the last, Julius caught sight of what seemed to be walls on the side of it. Though there was no real way to know if the next platform was the last, it was still possible that it led to another room.

Finally, Julius walked up to Bref, "Oi, Bref. I think I'll take ya up on that offer." Julius said while pointing a finger up towards the next platform, "If you can throw me up there, we'll have less people to climb the rope AND fewer people weighin' down the platform." He slightly turned around to study the top of the platform once more before returning his attention to Bref, "But you've gotta be careful, mate; We dunno what's up there. Worst case scenario, you send me flyin' straight into a wall or worse, into the gob of one them monsters." Julius warned, his arms crossed tightly on his chest.

 

[slifer]

Once everyone gathered with him, Remy took a torch from whomever in the group had an extra, lighting it for himself.
"I heard someone up ahead, and they're in trouble! Their voice was faint. I'll check ahead. If it's a trap, I'll scream really loudly. Either way, follow behind me. I'll check ahead to see if there's any traps. There might be a missing Collian over there. I can't carry any of you over, otherwise I would. Good luck to the rest of you." He pointed to the darkness quickly before flapping his wings, gliding into the darkness with a torch in hand.

He took the plunge, gliding away, heading towards the voice. He was as careful as he could be, using the lamp to check as best as possible for traps, heading towards the voice- forging the path ahead now that the others were following behind. They could take the torch he had thrown towards him with them if they needed to see. Bref and Julius mocked him for being a Collian, and karma bit them in the ass, making the cave as difficult for them as could be, while he got to glide away.

 

[Ur Degaton]

Alfred looked at his fellow adventurers and then down at the platform they were standing on. He didn't like the creaking sound emanating from it.

"I suggest we hurry this along, there's almost a thousand pounds between all of us, weighing down this old and fragile platform. I don't mean to cause alarm, but considering how we have all congregated onto here, we have dramatically increased the odds of the platform breaking apart and plummeting us into a dark and cold grave."

 

[Novama]

Time: 5:30 PM
Day: Tuesday
Weather: Sunny and very hot. extended unprotected exposure to the elements will result in character unwellness
Tomb Conditions: Stifling, cooler than outside, dusty air, no breeze
Those Involved: @TheEccentric @The Last Curse @Elvario @Ur Degaton @slifer @Skyhunter @Nero Kunivas
TooLongDidn'tRead: Party narrowly escapes the collapsing remnants. Find trapped collian and are confronted by additional unknowns.

Note From The Author: (new scene finally. here's to what remains)
Post Listening:

Inside Tomb

With Remy leading the way, the party makes a hasty effort of securing rope bridges for those who couldn't fly. Losing a few of the party to an unknown, abyssal fate, the group of treasure seekers had no choice but to press on down the sole hallway that remained. Like the hallways previously, this one was particularly wide and tall. The couple of lit torches the party held between themselves offered sufficient lighting. Carefully moving down the much more aired out corridor, they spied more downed slabs of stone. It was from this cluster of debris that the help was coming from. The stack of crumbled ceiling and wall was perfectly angled so as to create a pocket in the center that remained untouched. It was in such a pocket a dirty and blood collian peered out from the stones.

"...help..."

The collian said weakly as the party's light drew near. The stones were heavy and the collian was obviously weak. The blood on and around the bird man was concerning too. But what happened here? The smarter characters would question whether this was a situation to exercise caution in, while the rest may be more willing to rush in and help for one reason or another. Either the collian was placed here, or he was unlucky enough to be in a place that avoided all falling debris but entrapped himself. The little captive's stone cage was in a corner of the hall. The hall itself turned left suddenly and proceeding down into darkness. An ominous wind moved through the tunnel.

 

[Elvario]

Keone Nagendra
​

Interactions: Alfred @Ur Degaton | Aquila @Nero Kunivas | Bref @Skyhunter | Julius @The Last Curse | Remy @slifer

It felt like ages, but they finally managed to climb and slither their way across the chasm. With some more solid ground beneath her, Keone's confidence rose again. The 'trapped' Collian was instantly suspicious. To make sure her companions would notice it as well, she'd call it out in a somewhat hushed voice, as to not alert anything potentially lying in wait. "That's a little too neatly stacked to be natural. I'll try going in. Someone keep a close eye on that corridor to the left, and watch my back please."

With a loaded gun in one hand and a torch in the other, as well as a blade dangling loosely in its sheet to be drawn the moment the gun had been fired, Keone would proceed slowly. She was checking the sealing for anything (foe or trap) dangling off of the roofs to drop down on anyone that'd head towards to the Collian, checking the floor for anything (foe or trap) that might lie in wait in the ground and being pretty weary of the ominous hallway to the left.

If she were to make it through without being attacked, she'd set aside the torch and see if she could move the rocks to get the Colian out of there and give him some first aid, whilst asking him the question most relevant to their immediate wellbeing; "Did they put you here on purpose?"

 

[Ur Degaton]

@Elvario

Alfred drew his sword as he kept his eyes on the suspicious corridor leading left. He slowly followed behind Keone, but kept a healthy good distance away to avoid any unknown dangers should something be amiss.

"I don't like this, not one bit, but the collian could have been apart of the previous excavation crew, though that wouldn't make much sense as the creature would've long since perished had they been trapped down here. Do not touch it or the rubble, it could be some kind of illusionary magic or other eldritch machinations. Ruins like these are notorious for being haunted or generally supernatural."

He looked back to the others to make sure everyone was still grouped together. He felt a chill creep up his spine but he couldn't put his finger on the cause of it.

 

[Skyhunter]

Bref Heartwood

The Silvan looked to his robotic and metallic ally, Julius, when he requested to be thrown to the next platform. The Silvan stared at Julius for a moment when he went on about how Bred needed to be careful or he could throw Julius into the mouth of some monster. Without a second thought Bref easily picked up the robot with one hand " Don't you worry, Julius. If I throw you into the belly of a beast, we can just rebuild you or find another suit for you. You'll be fine. " Bref chuckled a little evilly as he held Julius with two hands on the same side and arched his body back getting into a throwing position, having hold of Julius by his chest and leg, he was gonna to throw Julius up to land on his feet or face.

Bref threw the bot like a dart into the air with only about half his strength, he wasn't try to throw Julius through the walls of this tomb. Julius would land on the next platform on his feet as Bref chuckled a little looking at his hand, to the Silvan that was quite fun. He should throw people more often. Bref looked back to the rope and began his journey to the next platform. When he was able to make it, Bref took a deep breath when he reached solid ground. He found a new fear, dark chasms.

The four armed strongman pulled out his pistols and pulled the hammers down, ready for anything. Bref walked after both Alfred and Keone, staying quiet as they made their way to what looked like a bird stuck under a rock. Bref's lips uncontrollably began to wiggle as he was trying to not laugh. He looked away and took a deep breath, still holding his pistols in two hands.

 

[The Last Curse]

​

Fortunately, Julius did make it across relatively unharmed. However, he didn't land as gracefully as he wanted to, clumsily stumbling forward as his feet landed onto the next platform. Almost instinctively, he took a brief moment to check himself of any new bumps or dents but found nothing, much to his relief. Finishing his self-examination, Julius strolled over to the rest of the treasure hunters before suddenly stopping at the sight of the trapped Collian.

Seeing the poor birdman trapped under the rubble made Julius wince a bit. If he or the crew hadn't gotten lucky back during the tunnel's collapse, they could've ended up in the same unfortunate position the Collian was in now. In that situation, he wouldn't have been spared a normal death like his comrades. Instead, he'd be bound right where he was trapped until his chassis withered away - and even then, he'd still be a spirit wandering the tombs for eternity. The thought made him shudder; no one should experience such a cruel fate.

Julius began to approach the downed Collian, but he noticed something was wrong. As his gaze shifted between his crewmates and the Collian, he could see traces of suspicion dart their faces; they knew something was up. Julius immediately stopped and turned his head over to the corridor beside him, the dark passageway instilling a foreboding feeling. His hands reached slowly over to his weapons, one on his blade and the other on his firearm. He wasn't too sure what was about to happen - nor what was down the corridor, but whatever would transpire, he'd be ready.

 

[Nero Kunivas]

- Aquila Vitalis, the Elegant Tempest -

Mentions: Alfred - @Ur Degaton

After having narrowly made it across the abyss, Aquila followed the party closely until they came across a Collian; bloodied, trapped and alone...and all too conveniently placed. Everything just looked too neat, too set-up and survivors of the previous expedition were likely to all be dead or worse off than this particular specimen anyway, so what was all this about?

Drawing one of his Solar Blades, Aquila would brace himself for anything looking to surprise them. After the narrow escape from a potentially spiky, or just generally painful death, the Imperial was feeling buzzed and made no effort to hide it, though he kept a stern face as he looked around the perimeter.

Alfred in particular looked like he had seen a ghost, so Aquila quietly piped up: "Don't worry, comrades. I've got your backs." He said so in general toward the party, though he paid a glance to the former with a nod.

 

[Novama]

Time: 5:40 PM
Day: Tuesday
Weather: Sunny and very hot. extended unprotected exposure to the elements will result in character unwellness
Tomb Conditions: Stifling, cooler than outside, dusty air, no breeze
Those Involved: @TheEccentric @The Last Curse @Elvario @Ur Degaton @slifer @Skyhunter @Nero Kunivas
TooLongDidn'tRead: Party gathers near what appears to be a trapped Collian that is severely wounded. Their path forward appears ominous.

Note From The Author: (will try to get more frequent posts up since it is now a conversation)
Post Listening:

Inside Tomb

As the party moved forward with torch and solar, the corner corridor became much more illuminated. Directly interacting with the stones entrapping the Collian, it was apparent the stones were not illusions. However, that was the unfortunate part. The stones were precariously balanced against each other. They were too heavy to single handedly move all of them at once. Move one and the others threatened to crush the Collian. While the party debated how best to free the Collian from its unlucky situation, he replied weakly...

"...help...please...they...they're..close.."

The collian didn't look well. His small stature made it so he could survive getting trapped in such a small space, however, what blood had leaked from his wounds was comparably dangerous. Those more medically minded would know the birdman needed immediate treatment. Hasty removal, however, could result in a dangerous accident from falling stones.

Meanwhile,

Those keeping watch down the dark hall noted the similarly large and spacious walk way. In the light, some more glyphs and pictures were present but not clear at that angle and range.

 

[Elvario]

Keone Nagendra
​

Interactions: Bref @Skyhunter | Alfred @Ur Degaton | Julius @The Last Curse | Aquila @Nero Kunivas

Keone couldn't help herself from feeling sorry for the bird as two things became apparent. This bird was placed here as bait and he couldn't be grabbed out of there easily. The quickest help Keone could offer was to pass some bandages through the gaps in the rocks and throw the Collian some herbs that'd help against blood-loss. "Try and see if you can bandage up the worst of your wounds while we're figuring out how to get you out of here and chew on these herbs."

As she was trying to go over the rocks like puzzle pieces, she figured she'd need some extra hands. "Bref, could you give me an extra hand or four?" She'd put her torch and pistol a way for a bit, but kept them within arm's reach, as they were pretty much racing against whether or not they'd get the Collian out before the monsters would come up to check their trap. Bref's strength and amount of appendages made him the best suited for the job of carefully picking up the rocks. If there was an opening, she'd risk getting her tail bruised by pushing it through the gaps to provide additional support and prevent the Collian from getting crushed by them once Bref got to work on removing the rocks.

Still, the dark corridor really worried her, she she turned to Aquila, Julius and Alfred. "I don't think this man will make it without us treating him as soon as possible, but whatever put him here is likely to come check up on if anyone took the bait soon enough, so we'll need to buy some time to get him out and treat him further."