Darkest Nights

[Arcala]

ooc: This is Group One, right?

Raven approached the three people, listening to their conversation but not joining in. Gently he blew out his mage-light and wondered if he really wanted to join these people.

Oh, well...

He stepped forward.

"I will join your search as well. My name is Raven," he said slowly. Looking around, he took note of weapons at the sides of two of the women, and made a mental note to be wary of them. The third woman appeared to be a mage, and unarmed. He wondered suddenly if she was as strong as himself or not....

ooc: I hope this was okay.

[Aewionen]

Alaith smiled, "Well, then if you will not give me your name I will just call you Man. Does that suit you?" Alaith stopped, wondering if he caught the sacracsim in her voice, "I am only joking." she added.

[Earniel]

Alethea turned to look at the man that had showed up so suddenly. As she quickly assessed the possible danger he could pose, familiar little alarmbells went off in her head.

Magic, she thought. He has magic and no little amount either. She decided to be on her guard. Afterall she had ended up in these caves through magic and then suddenly there was this wizard that wanted to join their little group. A little too much coincedence to her taste. He might have something to do with this.

Alethea noticed he was studying her aswell. So he knows how to recognize witches too. Good, she thought, then he knows better than to try anything....ill-advised agianst me.

"Very well, lord wizard." said Alethea to Raven. "It would seem a lot of people have strayed into these strange caves. So I think there will be more people here besides the four of us. At least some of them might have the answers we seek. Let's go look for them. "

"Now, that door that you saw..." Alethea said turning to Isis.

The other woman nodded and stepped back through the hole in the wall. The other three followed suit, everyone still rather wary of eachother.

[Legoles]

Kaliln ran after the others, then sprinted ahead to scout around. She ran back as fast as she could. "Hate to break it to ya but, there are goblins, orcs, and trolls ahead of us. Better get your weapons ready. I killed a few of 'em but there are more where that came from."

[Estel13]

ooc: Hi.

ic: "I think we can handle them. We have more than enough firepower for a few dimwit trolls." Trin smiled at the thought. She drew both swords and started spinning them so that they glinted faintly in the dull mage-light. "Let 'em come. The more the merrier." Trin smiled, and in the dull light, her teeth looked pointed, almost as if they were fangs. Just then, half a dozen orcs came charging around the corner. Trin whirled, and, with a wild war cry, dove into the battle, swords flashing so fast, that they appeared to be extensions of her arms. She hewed off two heads, leaped in the air and did a back flip, landing on her feet behind the remaining four. "Come on, what are you waiting for?! They're only orcs!" Just then, she heard a very loud growl coming from behind her. She launched herself into the air, landing in front of her companions. A huge cave troll lurched out of the shadows, swinging a huge club and bellowing at the top of its lungs. "Oh hell," Trin groaned.

[Earniel]

OOC: Estel13, please go to the discussion thread

[Legoles]

Where's Halberd?

[Elfmaster XK]

Trin looked away from the group and brought her knife sharply down on an Orcs head when it vanished into a puff of smoke, and her knife went striaght through. It clanged on the cold stone floor and she almost lost her balance.

An odd throbbing noise seemed to fill the place momentarily, and then it was gone. Only the breathing of the companions and the shuffle of their feet remained.

Isis glanced around. "Interesting," she muttered. She walked past Trin and through to the other side of the wall. "Well what are you all waiting for? The door is over here." She stepped out towards the door when a voice stopped her.

"Don't you find that just a little odd?" Raven asked, his tone of voice accusing as he glanced at Alethea.

"What?" Isis said.

Alethea picked up the hint. "Well, just that something very unusual just happened right before us, and yet you are not remotely concerned with it? Not concerned about what may be beyond the door that can produce that kind of magic."

Isis turned. "And what exactly are you implying?" she said, taking a step back towards them.

"Nothing," Raven said. "I just find it a little odd."

"I see. So what would you rather do? Should I panic? Should I sit and examine the area for traces of orc blood? Should I wait in the hope they'll return so I can destroy them? Or do I make a mental note of what happened, and carry on as normal until I find a reason to do otherwise? I think so." She turned away again, walking towards the door. "Besides, no one is making you follow me."

As she walked away she heard someone behind her mutter something, but couldn't quite hear what was said.

[Earniel]

Alethea suppressed a little smile. This one is definately not easily brought off-guard, she thought as Isis walked ahead without looking behind who would follow. She apparantly expected Alethea and the others would follow anyhow, which betrayed a lot of confidence.

Alethea debated briefly if she would not follow the woman, simply out of curiosity to see her reaction. But seen the orc-illusion, there would be plenty of other things to keep the witch her attention. Besides, if there were other orcs as well in these caves that did not vanish in puffs of smoke, having company could prove an advantage.

Alethea exchanged a brief glance with Trin and Raven. She shrugged and followed Isis. "Wait up," she called.

[Legoles]

<Man, never seen magic like that before...>

[Aewionen]

ooc: I'll just follow the rest of you.....

ic: Alaith watched as the others began to leave, "I'm coming too!" she said aas she caught up with the rest of them.

[Earniel]

OOC: I'm having the slight feeling I'm speaking only for the walls here. Legoles, Aewionen, did you read the discussion-thread? Please go there.

[Aewionen]

ooc: ah...I see. okay, sorry(Just ignore that post) So group 2 is fighting the goblins and stuff right?

ic: Alaith drew her sword and looked up ahead. A faint glimmer of light that was probably from a torch could be seen.

[Elfmaster XK]

Isis drew level with the door and stopped, running a hand over the markings. It seemed the door was stone mainly, but silver edged it, and in the centre was a massive golden circle. There was a strange emblem on it that nagged at the back of her mind, but she couldn't place it. Alethea stepped up beside her.

"Looks pretty solid," she said as she gave it a push. Isis nodded in agreement as she ran her fingers over the edges.

"Ow!" she snatched her hand back as the metal cut into her fingers.

"Perhaps One shouldn't be so hasty," Raven said, also joining them to look at the door. "It may be trapped."

Isis glanced at him, wondering for the first time what his occupation was. Often, those who were obsessed with traps and tripwires led interesting, and dangerous lives. Raven looked young still, but he certainly looked wisened by experience. She backed away from the door as Trin approached it.

"Perhaps some leverage?" she said as she rammed her dagger between the two doors. As she tried to lever it nothing happened and she turned back to face the Isis. "Nope..."she began, but before she could finish a huge waved of smoke pushed her forwards towards Isis and Alethea. Isis pushed Alethea and herself out of the way just in time, before Trin came flying forwards, hitting the floor with a thud.

"This is very strange," Isis mused as the smoke began to settle, and she noticed a bluish-grey glow, just visible from the tiniest of gaps under the door. "Alethea? You are a mage, yes? Any idea on the kind of magic we're seeing here?"

[Earniel]

"Witch, if you please," said Alethea, mainly out of habit. "There's a difference."

She knelt down to have a better look at the faint light.

"It's no natural light, so it can only be magical. But it seems to be caused by something behind the door and is thus not necesarily connected to the door itself. It looks much like the kind of magic light that is used for illumination only but it's hard to be sure with so little to go on."

She ran her fingers over the edge of the door, carefully not to cut herself.

"The door itself seems to have some protective spell on it against being opened with violence as it demonstrated on Trin," she said as she stood up and studied the complete door for a few seconds.

"I wish I knew what that symbol meant but its importance somehow eludes me. Yet I think the door might be opened with a mild opening spell. In any case, it will be intresting to see the effects of such spells on the door. " she said with a faint smile, remembering her studies of side-effects.

She turned to look at Raven. "Or would your mage-talents suggest a different approach, Raven?"

[Arcala]

Raven fumed a little to himself. That girl Alethea was starting to get on his nerves, and the assassin, too. Imagine not checking a door for traps before you attempted to push it open! But he kept his anger carefully veiled under an impassive face.

“Well,” he replied, “let me see…” He probed the door carefully with his magic, using the finesse he had acquired over the years. But he found nothing out of the ordinary other than the protection spell, and that unnerved him. It wasn’t often he’d come up against a door that didn’t have some sort of trap.

“Go ahead,” he said to Alethea, who nodded. “I’ll be shielding us, in case.”

[Legoles]

Guys, I must withdraw from this htread. Sorry

[Elfmaster XK]

OOC: That's okay Legoles.

IC:

Isis watched Raven very carefully as he performed his tests on the door. She tried not to openly watch him, knowing it would make him suspicious, but she couldn't shake the feeling she'd met him before. The way he moved, the way he spoke, even the way he looked...it all called out to a memory burying itself at the back of her mind. For some reason, her mind did not want her to remember. As he turned back to Alethea, speaking quietly to her Isis looked away. Trin was now walking around the cave, looking at the walls and tapping gently on the rock. She knew she was checking for hollow walls whilst the sorcerers examined the door.

Glancing back Isis saw Alethea approach the door and raise her hands, but as soon as she did the door started to open. Isis stepped back, drawing both swords quietly as she did, waiting.

Then it stopped. The door had opened just enough for the four of them to see a bright blue-white light shining a short distance from them. Leaning forwards, Isis thought she could make out a figure, but she was unsure.

"Did you do that?" she asked Alethea. Alethea shook her head and looked to Raven, who was also looking puzzled. Trin joined them again and they looked again through the door at the light.

[OOC: IMPORTANT! - Willow is going to introduce her character soon. The next post is not necessarily reserved for her if anyone else wants to add their part, but she can post if she wants. And will need to do so soon. So, yes. Enter now whenever you're ready Willow.]

[Willow Oran]

OOC: Finally.

"I did it."

They turned towards the light and as they watched the it consolidated into a indistinct humanoid form. The thing looked as though it might possibly be female and it was regarding them with what could have been curiosity. Finally it straightened up and spoke again.

"Are you the ones they sent?"

[Elfmaster XK]

Crossing her swords at her feet in front of her Isis stepped forward slightly, her head inclined to the left as she surveyed the strange being in front of her. She glanced at Alethea slightly before speaking, seeing the Witch also weary of the person before them.

"Sent? By whom? We are all unsure how we came to be here," she said calmly, watching every slight movement the woman made, though she did not move forward, she simply looked interested.