4057/Exploration: Urban Decay (1)

Exploration: Urban Decay (1)
Date of Scene:	27 April 2016
Location:	Lumiere
Synopsis:	Exploration of the area immediately outside the Church of Bleak Mercy, known as the Urban Decay.
Cast of Characters:	Tomoe, Staren, Priscilla, Rebecca Chambers, Sarracenia, 513, Count Kord, 974, 977

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Carna (974) has posed:
    The Grim Bone Gate, the unusual Warp Gate that serves as boundary and travel method for this region of the Multiverse, linking the grisly Cavern of Death to a world known as Lumiere, is the same as in the previous visitation by those who have been here before. For those new, it is essentially a long fall through emptiness after jumping down into a hole in the ground surrounded by mounds of bones. Not something most people would do without cause, though according to all senses and instrumentation and similar, that is definitely a Warp Gate.

    And when the huge stone gates, standing on an endless expanse of frigid marble, open upon Lumiere, they open to one of two destinations with a region known as Lostrata, and further, an area called 'Barrowville'.

    The first potential destination is a sanctuary known as a Church of Bleak Mercy. The second is where run-down buildings, and not-quite-deserted streets wind their way throughout a psuedo-residential district of indeterminate size. There is no sun, no moon, and there are no stars. The only constant illumination is a dimly visible peak far in the distance, beyond everything, a mere wedge of cold light hovering over the steeples and fallen skyscrapers and houses stacked on top of each other as though lifted and placed by giants, and all the rest of this area.

    It is where Carna, a native to Lumiere, has spent most her time. A place she calls the Urban Decay. While repeat visitors might have met her at the Church of Bleak Mercy and agreed to explore the Urban Decay with her, if new arrivals who have not been briefed on the nature of the place they are going to, or did not come at the invitation of another arrive, they are unlikely to realize what they face as they step forth into darkened streets, with winding labyrinths of back alleys and alcoves where treasures or hungry dead things might be lurking.

    The forboding silence is sometimes broken by the sound of bestial cries of rage or fear, distorted to a level that is quite inhuman no matter what the form of things that utter them. Some abandoned buildings passed by, boarded up and locked down, may have the muffled sound of mad laughter echoing from within... Either individually or rather sizable crows.

    And there's no telling how long they've been in there, with no clear measure of time to go by.

    Carna is dressed as is usual for her, in leather armor with a wide hat. She is armed with blade and crossbow, though she might have other weapons as well. Hopefully it was learned last time what happens when one is too noisy around the Unlit. And that simply running through the streets is often inadequate for avoiding hostility.

Count Kord has posed:
    Kord is here and, unlike his last visit to this world, he's here under the understanding that he should work as part of the team. Despite him disliking everything about it due to how quickly the group got mobbed before and how easily he avoided such an attack when he moved solo... He remained standing generally near Carna, with his strange foldable scythe held down at his side like some kind of short axe.

    He looked, and felt, like he belonged here. He had his big cloak on, his armor was oiled so that it didn't reflect light, and overall he looked like an animate shadow with a head of long wild red hair held back by a mask-like helmet.

    He was as silent as a ghost, with his head slightly dipped. He had nothing to say, because he would prefer not to goad the heroes if he desires being a team player for now. He would, at the very least, turn his head to acknowledge people, his deathly pale blue eyes shining in the darkness of his helmet's eye sockets, the only contrasting color on his form to the red and black he loves to wear. Even the scythe/axe(?) is inky and crimson.

Ixqor Nathrach (977) has posed:
And so the sorcerer came upon the well, surrounded and seemingly made of bones and remains. It wasnothing like he'd seen before, in the madness of the warp or otherwise. He was fully armored, wearing his Mark IV Power Armor, and had both his blade and bolter at the read, one in each hand respectively. "What sort of mad man links their world with such a strange gate..." He muttered to himself. He'd kick a few fragments of bone down the hole and listen, though he heard nothing. This must be it then... Sadly. "Now or never then eh?" He spoke aloud again before taking a few steps back and then leaping down, into the warpgate.

     And so he arrived in Lumiere, in front of the lone chapel. It seemed like the only safe haven around, as every other building appeared abandoned and rotting. He began to hear the screeches in the distance, sounding like the condemned being given their punishment in some sort of hellish afterlife. Upon looking up, he saw the blackness. "It's as though the God's have swallowed the stars themselves..." He stood from his kneeling position then, and approached the chapel. He wrapped on the door several times, turning his back on the door afterwards and taking watch. Whatever sort of madness has overtaken the city, it may come for him too. All would be worth it though, if this realm contained even an inkling of information on one of the blades he sought after. He would do anything, anything for the twin blades.

Rebecca Chambers has posed:
To Rebecca, this place feels almost like a metaphor for Raccoon City. That is, before it was totally wiped off of the face of the earth. It was formerly a bustling city, but after Umbrella lost control of their experiments, it turned into a depressing sight full of zombies and monsters. Nevertheless, Rebecca doesn't let things like this get her down at all. She is an elite operative who has been through a lot and will not let bleakness get her down, even if it does remind her of her old hometown.

    Wearing her usual attire for the most part, Rebecca arrives in Lumiere with a jacket on over her outfit, since she seems to be a little on the cool side. In her hand is a custom made Magnum, each clip capable of holding nine rounds. She has extra clips on hand, and her Beretta is available as a backup weapon. Even though she steps slowly and cautiously, Rebecca is not frightened or concerned in the least bit. Instead, she arrives at the designated spot quickly, having been briefed beforehand on where to meet. When she does arrive, she doesn't look around for anyone she recognizes or anything like that, instead proceeding to the chapel as instructed. She doesn't recognize the sorceror knocking on the door, but she hopes he's friendly, because the more she stays out here, the more paranoid she becomes...

Staren has posed:
    Staren arrives in different armor than last time -- it's white and green instead of red, and has a more rounded, smooth shape to its plating. He's still carrying a small armory, but maybe he can learn to be a little more careful about using it.

    Not that he doesn't see a way to comprimise: He's now carrying a repeating crossbow with bolts that have been dipped in holy water. He has no idea if that'll work on these zombies, but it's worth a shot, right?

    "I don't think anyone linked this world that way deliberately," Staren replies to the sorcerer, "But it is an interesting question, why it came out looking like that..."

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe has returned once more to the Grim Bone Gate, the tall form of Tomoe The Iron Lily comes into existance once more. She looks around at the world of Lumiere for a moment. She finds it more than a little bit creepy here but she's going to deal with it. She's had to deal with such thing before and soon Carna is spotted by her she waves out to her for a moment and make for her as others such a Count Kord and Ixqor arrive along side Staren and Rebecca.

"So I said I'd be back and here I am Carna."

Sarracenia has posed:
     Princess Sarracenia heard rumors of exploration, and it sound like a wonderful chance for adventure! But, unlike Kord or Carna, the princess hardly looks like she belongs here. With her extravagant dress, her vibrant eyes, and her strong personality, she stands out like a sore thumb. Which isn't helped at all by the hammer she carries. Easily as tall as the princess herself, with a head twice the size of hers, the hammer looks like it could do some serious damage.

     The princess is looking around a bit nervously thanks to the terrible lighting and all the haunting sounds coming from the town, but she tries to keep her proud poise about her as she meets up with the others. "I knew from the macabre rabbit hole that this place would be unpleasant, but...have we entered some sort of afterlife?" she asks Carna once she is close enough.

Finna (513) has posed:
As before, Finna's chosen to venture into the sunless realm of cold light and bleak existence as a white-furred fox. Yet she's made some changes to that form. Most noticeable? White wings sprouting through the fur. The wings have FEATHERS, but they're sleek and, while white, shimmer vibrantly in the frigid light of Lumiere. Bird wings, but what kind of bird?

    It matters little. She's a Lunar. Form means nothing, changing as Finna whims.

    And right now, Finna's whims have taken her back to this dreary place that she so loathes. If she can gleam its secrets and return them to the Silver Pact, perhaps there'll be something valuable to know in it all. That... and her curiosity often outweighs her fear.

    As before, she's abandoned street level. Finna sticks near the group by HANGING AROUND ON ROOFTOPS, since few undead are coordinated enough to climb.

    But now, on this final approach occasion with Carna... she comes across one of the noisier buildings, one with some holes in the roof. So she does what any curious critter would...

    And sticks her head into the hole for a better look.

Priscilla has posed:
    The effect isn't quite as bad the second time. Not something one grows used to easily, perhaps ever, but the cold emptiness, literally and metaphysically, is less like a hit of ice water to the face coming back. Priscilla arrives at an arbitrary time, as it's difficult to tell whether she's just showed up or has been around for a while already, even without the near pitch blackness hiding sudden disappearances only meters away. She has come much the same as last time, which is much the same as usual: of uncommonly tall but human stature, visibly unarmed, and dressed in the royal whites and silvers that have since replaced thick, snowy furs, with the sole difference from routine being the presence of the titanite crown, adorned with the normally plain black gem, now whorled oddly with grey and white into its center.

    By virtue of it kind of being her job, she's had to tag along with Staren, Tomoe and Finna, the foremost of which she has already insisted off screen to missiles to a minimum this time, after his attempt to greet the Unlit had gone disastrously wrong last time. She'll object to no other presence of course, though perhaps only not audibly, as the presence that often radiates from her is not entirely suppressed at the moment, standing out against the bleak darkness as much as her ghostly white form splits the grey and black. "And to what is it that we expeceth to venture this day? Lady Carna, thou hast had much of thine life to search these streets. Certainly thou hast something else in mind than to simply patrolling its roads and alleys in hopes of stumbling upon something thou couldst hath somehow missed?"

Carna (974) has posed:
    Initially, those who came here as part of a concerted effort met at the Church of Bleak Mercy, where a basic run-down was provided for anyone who hadn't read the reports (except for Sarracenia, but she can be updated as they go along if necessary). When Ixqor and Rebecca arrive there as well, they'd find it to be a dry, barely-brighter-than-the-surrounding-area locale with rows upon rows of headstones lining a path from a two-foot-tall glowing spire with the same icy radiance as that other tower in the distance, up to the chapel itself. Spiked iron fences surround it, and there is heavy imagery of death all throughout.

    Carna does not know Ixqor from anyone else, nor Rebecca, but let's be honest, she barely knows any of these people. Even the ones she's met before. She took the time to inspect them both, and it is likely Ixqor noticed the group of mismatched individuals from various worlds and environments gathered and determined they were unlikely to be hostile natives as a result. Rebecca, of course, would likely know her own allies and companions.

    Once Carna and the others have departed through the gates, they venture towards the houses and dark alleyways of the Urban Decay. Now, Carna pauses momentarily with the others nearby, to look into a shop window, at a china doll sitting on display, at first seemingly untouched amidst all the other decay, until one notices one of its hands is missing. In response to Serracenia's question, the Lantern says, "I am not certain I understand what the term 'afterlife' refers to, but this is a world post-Living, so I suppose it is as accurate as any. You all are the first Living to come here in apparently a very long time." She glances back over her shoulder at the already-distant Church.

    "That is, according to her at least."

    In answer to Priscilla, Carna says, "I explored as a matter of course. Hunger and arming myself. Elevating my own power. It was survival rather than a larger purpose. Many places I avoided due to deeming them too dangerous. Those crowded, in particular, I have been slain in more than once. With these forces assembled, perhaps greater success might be found. Ultimately, the purpose here is to seek out both threats and path ways that might lead to other parts of Barrowville as-yet unexplored. At some point, however, my knowledge of the geography will cease to be useful." She does delve into a satchel and retrieve a thick leather-bound book, to look over the maps she has recorded.

    "If these 'Lords of Silence' are targets, then finding them will likely entail more than just searching here. Lumiere is large, I am told. There must be other ways to go by."

Carna (974) has posed:
    Meanwhile, it appears Finna is exploring on her own a bit, though hopefully not straying too far from the group. When she sticks her head into a hole in one of the roofs, she'll find that the volume of the insane laughter is quite significant, given that it's packed so full of mad creatures that there isn't even room to move or even sit down. From wall to wall, insane Dead. They seem to have something more like a fully-fleshed form than the Unlit. More like Carna, though filthy and dissheveled. They also seem to be quite unaware of any foxes poking their heads in.

    Are these... Lanterns? Like Carna? Is this what happens to them if they lose their 'self', like Carna mentioned worrying about happening to her? They seem to be boarded into the building from the inside, so it's possible they all went in there willingly. Dead men and Dead women, cackling and bellowing and screeching out endless peals of disjointed laughter in a deafening cacophony, potentially forever, without apparent cause. It's almost enough to make those exposed to the sight and sound of it start to lose sanity as well.

Carna (974) has posed:
    Also, Carna nods gratefully to Tomoe. "I am fortunate to have so many interested in aiding me and this world. I am still perplexed as to why. But perhaps I will gain understanding in time."

Ixqor Nathrach (977) has posed:
Ixqor would likely raise his weapons at the people who approached the chapel, though lower his guard as they appeared to be no threat. Upon Carna introducing and explaining herself and the others, he simply nods and begins to follow them, sheething his sword and holding his bolter in an aimed position as they walked through the streets. "So this is your home then miss... Carna?" He spoke through a vox grille which made his voice sound somewhat liek static, though his thick and learned accent would still be audible. "And you say we're out here to scout this damnable land, but what in specific should we be looking for?" Ixqor trained his sights down a nearby alley, believing he saw something, and he most likely did, but it was clearly not after them. "The streets are not safe, why do we not scale the buildings and stick to the rooftops? Do these... cretins have the ability to reach us there?" He continue swlaking, thinking then, what is the population like? What have they come to? "What even is making that noise. Has everyone lose their wits?"

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe says "I was in a very bad place a long time a go. People who had little to gain form helping me came and did so. I like to return the favour to be hinest CArna."

An honest answer out of Tomoe and she looks over to Priscilla for a brief moment listening to what she has to say for the moment. She thinks she gets wht Priscilla is getting at but does not speak on it. Finna gets abt of a look as she spots her for a short moment, and she's very happy Priscilla talked to staren about heavy missile use. She's very happy about that. Ixqore however does get her attention she's a bit wary of him but he's done nothing to well cause troubleyet that she knows and he's asking some very good questions.

Staren has posed:
    "So, um..." Staren's opened his helmet visor so Carna can see his face. If she can sense life, he's alive now, not a robot. "What is there for us to do, to 'aid' this world?"

Rebecca Chambers has posed:
Rebecca keeps her weapon raised as a precaution, but doesn't aim it at anyone specifically for now. "I don't know much about this world, per se, but I am willing to help out in any way I can." She bites her lower lip a little at this, knowing that standard medical techniques may not be useful here. Nevertheless, she's willing to use any other resources she has to help.

Finna (513) has posed:
Finna has to suppress the urge to bark, but at least she's already quite aware of what it SMELLS like in there. She's in fox form. This place's smells are obvious long before she gets close. And it ain't smelling good down there. Like sweat and possibly worse filth. People who never, ever bathe.

    Disgusted and weirded out by the sight she pulls her head right back out of that hole and shakes it rapidly, as if to clear it. Then the fox spreads her wings and... VVVVVVVVVWWWWWWWWWWWWHHHM!!

    Oh hey, they're HUMMINGBIRD wings. She takes off like an arrow zip-zipping between alleys back towards her alleys and lands atop a dilapidated bench.

    "House fulls of FREAKS here! Not Unlit. Flesh like Carna... just crazy Lanterns?" There's a sadness in the creature's gaze that shows an instinctive fear of such madness.

    Most people are a bit wary around the completely mad.

Sarracenia has posed:
     Sarracenia looks over at the china doll in the broken down shop as they walk along, then looks at Carna. "So...you are dead." she says to Carna, sounding a bit skeptical. She keeps her hammer resting on her shoulder, ready to go if needed, but otherwise the princess just walks along with the others. She looks a bit unnerved by all of this. Usually she spends her time in sunshine and forests, not underground zombielands. "I came here because I was tired of sitting in my castle alone all day every day. I am a princess of action, I suppose." she says.

     When she hears Staren, she huffs softly. "The could use some more lighting. I feel as if a monster could be waiting around each corner!" And indeed, she is looking around each corner as they pass. "But, yes, what is the problem you have which needs attention?" she adds after a moment. Then...a winged fox? A -talking- winged fox?! This seems to brighten Sarracenia's time considerably, and she smiles at Finna before moving toward her and offering some pettings. She doesn't just start petting, of course. She might insult the talking fox!

Count Kord has posed:
    Kord stays relatively nearby Carna as she speaks. Priscilla's words make him animatedly tilt his head in uncertainty, a bird-like gesture mimed because of his habit of wearing a bird-like helmet. He shrugs his shoulders to make his cloak more comfortable, his head turning to note Staren's remark to aid the world. The man sighs behind his mask, apparently just disappointed enough to make that noise. He speaks up in gentle correction to Carna's words, "I am here out of selfish curiosity, not to aid you or the other Lanterns. Unlike these benevolent souls." At least the deep-voiced vaguely romanian man is honest about not giving a damn about this place. "'Aiding' this world will just be a way to sate my curiosity about how it decayed this far," he adds, to give the others some indication that he DOES want to help, but he's not a hero.

    Finna's remark about the 'freaks' draws his attention. "If they are not attacking us, they are unimportant. We mustn't disturb mad dead things if they are content in their madness." He makes a wide dismissive gesture with one of his arms.

Priscilla has posed:
    "And is all of Lumiere expected to be this same . . . rambling arrangement? Is it all one city?" Priscilla asks only slightly incredulously. She'd been hoping that the name Barrowville would denote the particular ramshackle, Unlit infested hellhole they'd traipsed through last time would be a discrete and isolated quantity. With how dark it always is, there's no real way to tell how far the cityscape goes, as even a bird's eye view is limited by how far the light will travel. The onerous task of being forced to search street to street in a theoretically infinite cityscape is more intimidating for its likelihood of finding nothing at all, rather than the presence of the dead however, and so Priscilla will humour it for a time, at least, but she already suspects that Carna's patience from the idea stems from her especially loose grasp of time more than anything else.

    "Then if we art to search for anything that pertains to these Lords of Silence, in what function were they known? Wouldst something as simple as a library aid us, or wouldst they hath been the subject of more clandestine meetings?" There's not a lot to go on here, and she sure doesn't look ready to start breaking down every door to rummage through random junk. There's no telling how long it's actually been since anyone lived in one of these places. Carna doesn't know, and Longita didn't know either. Instead her attention turns to Ixqor, clearly the new face here, and of uncertain relevance and allegiance (as well as being the only person present currently taller than her). The make of his weapon in particular is not unfamiliar, but for the moment she keeps it to herself, not letting it reflect in her eternally glacial expression. "Thou art free to do so, if thou dost believeth they may support thine weight, but thou shalt find little of any worth upon anyone's rooftop. Do thine best to ignore whatever it is thou might hear unless it wouldst seemeth to directly threaten thee. The minority of them, if any at all, shalt hath even originally hath been people, regardless of whose wits, or lack of, they hath stolen."

Finna (513) has posed:
The white fox seems to have eyes on Sarracenia during her approach. But they're not wary ones. Just curious. Also just plain boggly ones! Still, almost like a cat she stretches out into the pettings!

    After the distressful sight she just encountered, a bit of comfort's definitely appreciated.

    Once she's clear of the pettings, Finna hops up on Sarracenia's OTHEr shoulder. The one not guarded by GIANT HAMMER. "Princess likes red a lot! Not sure fancy party dress best choice for romping in undead world. Would take armor. Maybe something around here to suit you up in!"

Carna (974) has posed:
    There are a lot of questions, and Carna realizes she has very few answers. She confirms her name to Ixqor, and takes the time to jot down some of the things she has heard said. Dead structures? That actually makes sense to her. Or would, if this was the Underworld she keeps hearing about. Maybe it does even so. Though how Longita explained it, this is not the Underworld, but its apex. But what does that mean? Does that remove it from the functions of an 'Underworld' simply due to its metaphysical geography or whatever it is? She almost forgets to answer questions as she starts walking, but she takes Ixqor's warning seriously.

    She is unable to sense life precisely... Though certain things stir her hunger, a remaining trait from when she was Unlit. Whether figurative or literal, Light draws her attention.

    So as she draws her sword, holding it in her right hand, she keeps her senses peeled for more basic signs of trouble. Just because she can not sense life does not mean the Unlit can not. And if they can sense these Living, then there is no reason why they would not be the ones to approach them instead of the other way around.

    Quietly, as the group makes its way down streets, and past buildings, she answers what she can. "As I mentioned, this is but part of Lumiere. I can not say what other parts look like, as I have never ventured beyond Barrowville. They could be as dazzling as the worlds you come from or the same as this or even darker. What I do know is that there are pathways closed to us, and that in a place like this, tenantless, they would not be closed if there were not something to keep others from." She looks up as Finna returns to them, and says, "In some cases, they may be best left unexplored but any who seek to keep their lives. And yet others might require such action regardless. I do not believe that most of these buildings are of the latter category."

    She answers Ixqor simply, with, "Being Dead does not guarantee sanity. Unlit will hunt and eat you if they can. Lanterns like myself may crumble by many causes. Some are as bad as the Unlit they ascended from. Ahead should be an area I have, in the past, but unable to venture into specifically because of such a group." She turns to look towards Sarracenia, and inclines her head lightly. "I was incredulous of the Living still existing when I first met you outsiders. I am still not certain if you are truly the ones of legend or something else entirely. What little thought I spared for your kind, I used to treat stories of the Living as fictions or inaccuracies. But it seems that at least part of them were true." She then quiets further upon hearing Sarracenia's and Kord's reasons for being here, not because of what they said, but perhaps because of proximity to something else. "I have gone this long looking only after myself. I understand self-servicing behaviors well enough." Even this quest of hers is for her own best-interests. Even so... She appreciates Tomoe, Staren, and Rebecca stating their intent to help however they can. She holds reply for now, however.

Carna (974) has posed:
    As the road they are on now, narrow, with apartments or houses of some kind on either side, each in sequence on a lower plane than the next, Carna goes silent. She lowers herself as much as she can and keeps her back nearly to the wall, and her head tilted upwards. She edges along gradually, a series of open windows in the walls apparently the cause for great caution. She moves as silently as she can, and the tattered drapes like cob webs rhythmically blow outwards at a fixed pace, before settling again. Some of the windows do not demonstrate this behavior, but the ones that do, Carna is very, VERY careful not to allow any aspect of herself to be exposed to.

    There is no sound to this phantom 'breathing'. No warmth or moisture, just the visual indicator and an insidious chill like a wave of ice needles. Whatever is in there, she clearly wishes no part of it. Hopefully others follow her lead, and make it through quietly and safely to the other side, beyond this slanted street, and into a large area like some enormous, empty plaza one might find in a major metropolis, with benches and statues and shrubberies and hot dog stands and with skyscrapers gazing over it all around... But instead of all those features, it is crowded through with buildings that slouch into each other like so many corpses, or dead giants frozen to death while slumbering around a long-expired camp fire.

    There are signs of others present, roughly humanoid figures that wander aimlessly, stand around, or seem to be actively patrolling for signs of sustenance. But this plaza, as sunken as it is and surrounded by other structures, is almost pit-like in appearance. And balconies and platforms overlooking this pit, there are figures equipped more thoroughly than the wandering Unlit, and moving in a more smoothly animated manner, with hand gestures and other body language such as is visible through their armor, that indicates awareness.

    One of them has a rather large bow and seems to be picking off Unlit one at a time, impaling them with arrows over two feet long. More like javelins than arrows. Carna finally finishes answering questions, as she says, "The Lords of Silence held powers which allowed them to watch over and guard Lumiere from the fate it has fallen into, or perhaps even to repair it. They even shirked this duty, and the First Lantern, who went to repair the link between Lumiere and the World of Ashes never returned or completed his task."

Carna (974) has posed:
    The Lantern draws a knife with her free hand and grips her sword tighter in her right. "This band ahead of us are Lanterns like myself. Aware, but obstacles to further exploration. They guard a gate that might lead us closer to answers, rewards, or both. I recommend destroying them."

Staren has posed:
    "Never ventured beyond barrowville? In how long? ...Ah, I guess there's no good way to tell time..."

    "What if the ways are closed to keep something dangerous on the other side in?"

    "Just because we showed up, doesn't mean that there are still living on your own world. Nor does it indicate there are not. I don't trust legends..."

    And now... they see other lanterns. Fighting the unlit. "Um... why do we need to kill them? What's their deal?"

Rebecca Chambers has posed:
Rebecca raises her Magnum, aiming to shoot to kill, but then pauses, realizing that might not be the best option here. "Is shooting them really the best idea?" She asks to Carna. "There has to be another way, right?"

Ixqor Nathrach (977) has posed:
Ixqor turns to the woman in white and hears her words. She sounds rather sophisticated, almost noble, instead of just looking the part like the other woman in a dress. "Perhaps it will prove a useful strategy. I say though, what is someone liek you doing on an expidition like this? You seem to bear no arms, and forgive my possible insult in saying this, but it does not appear that you are versed in the ways of combat." He sounded much more formal when dealing with her compared to the others, as it seemed he respected her likely high status, or at least feigned respecting it. The party then passed more and more buildings in this seemingly endless graveyard of homes, only to come upon an open plaza. "My... They truly are dead aren't they?" He says when regarding the truly unlit shamblers. He spots the group of laterns though, across the plaza. "Allies?" He asks instinctively before nearby conversation says otherwise. "No... Obstacles. I see. Weapons at the ready, fan out and stay quiet, if we stick to close together they'll spot us for sure." Ixqor holstered the bolter on his back and drew his blade then, an ornate serpent like weapon who's tip even resembled that of a serpents open jaw, with a hooked shape to resemble fangs. At the hilt was an ornate carving of the eight fold star, with an eye in the center, which seemed, to the common eye, to stare through anyone looking at it.

     "You." He said gesturing to the half dragon in white. "With me." After that, Ixqor already begins to advance into the plaza, trying to skirt around any unlit that may spot him and stick to cover, be it behind ruin, rubble, benches, anything. Should the unlit be alerted, his blade was at the ready.

Tomoe has posed:
Questions about and Tomoe listens to the radio but does not say anything on it she does pay attention but she seems to be more content to look about for things that might be a danger to the party, yet she's curious just what happened here.

"I'm not certain? I'm just someone who refuses to be a bystander nothing more to be honest."

Well there was that thing with Dawn Breaker but that's a small thing in the scale of the multiverse however and she's content to have that.

"Legends tend to have a few truths to them. Carna. In my experience at the very least."

She tilts her head seeming to get an idea of how Carna has existed so far until she met everyone else here. She gets on alert summoning a shield and pulling the one handed blade off her back as she move forward she's ready for trouble as she keeps an eye on the humanoid things, the walking dead. Well it should be the mindless walking dead. Which is an important thing after all given the Lanterns who still have their minds. She does fall into a guard role making ready to intercept attacks as it seems Stealth is going out the window here. Ixqor has some good insight, even with the powers he serves? Truth is truth no matter who utters it, right?

She doesn't strike first but her job is going to be to intercept attacks coming t her allies.

Sarracenia has posed:
     The motion of those cobwebs is obviously something breathing, and when Sarracenia sees Carna avoiding even being in sight of those windows, she does the same, though she is always careful of her dress. Of course, her oversized hammer and her shoulder pet make it a bit harder to avoid being sighted. But, perhaps foxes and hammers won't draw attention.

     Once past that obstacle, Sarracenia moves to stand with Carna. "Is there no way past them without fighting?" she asks softly, looking up at the bow-wielding Lanturn. That one seems particularly dangerous, and she doesn't relish the idea of being skewered like a kabob. Just in case, she hefts her hammer in both hands. "Not that I do not care for smashing things."

Sarracenia has posed:
     Sarracenia blinks at being told to get some armor. "I have yet to need armor. And it is important that a princess looks good at all times. I suppose if I find any armor that looks as good as a dress, but until then..."

Finna (513) has posed:
"Oh. Not even a little scared of dead horde? Must be VEEEEERY skilled." Well, she's obviously got SOMETHING given the hammer she's lugging around, but the fox hops off her shoulder and slinks around corners ahead of her, scouting with nose and ears before even peeking her head around. The dark and the gloom doesn't bother her much.

    A very good reason for her staying in fox form? Foxes are nocturnal. They have EXCELLENT nightvision.

    "Layers of properly done leather. Thin metal plates. Great ways to sneak armor under fancy clothes! Or get dress of shimmery steelsilk. Tough as nails, shimmers like dew."

    She has no problem talking about this stuff even while sneaking up on people to, uh, 'SURPRISE' violently, it seems...

Priscilla has posed:
    Priscilla hardly has to peer closely at those armoured figures in the distance. Aside from the fact that she can intuitively sense what is different about them in a way that perhaps only Carna would have a baseline to, she has spent many, long years picking the mad and unthinking from the simply violent and remorseless. Human movements, human aim and purpose, are easy to pick out amidst the shamblings of creatures lost within their own little worlds driven only by their incohate instincts. "So it is that thou hast some aim of purpose to this." She finally remarks as Carna spills the details; of how she's been here before, met these same people, and was killed without warning or parley. It seems less likely that she'd by lying after admitting it, as opposed to when she had simply urged the group to dispose of them first. Her attention is still split however. She knows the others will want to know these Lantern's stories, and something else has been bothering her on the way here.

    First, it is only polite to offer it to someone who is speaking to her directly. Her eyes slide from the pathway left behind them and over to Ixqor, mismatched as they have been since last year; one a brilliant gold that catches what little light there is, and the other a luminous, molten orange that seems to give off its own. "Thou art no dog of the Imperium, I can see as much, but perhaps not so far from it as to hath heard the saying that a skilled hawk conceals its claws until the moment of its strike. I am here because it is within mine purview. I claimeth no sway over death itself, but to the whispers of the long forgotten, the cries of the mad and the lost, and the last gasps of a dying world, thou shalt find no better an ear. As thou hast meant none, I shalt taketh no insult, but a crown such as this is not earned through wealth and royal grooming." One finger trails to the austere silvery band encircling her brow, coming just short of tapping the worthless gem as its sole adornment. Though clearly little more valuable than a similarly sized piece of black glass, the deeper into the crushing black the group travels, and the nearer to the sentient dead they stray, the more its previously invisible designs stand out; patterns of eerie grey-white that swirl endlessly inwards to its geometric center, like a bottomless hole as a trick of the light.

    All the esoteric, triple deep layers of symbolism will inevitably be lost on pretty much anyone, but just the oddly unnerving and yet strangely nostalgic feeling that completely pointless little stone gives off should get the point across that Priscilla doesn't dress up like royalty to look nice. Pretty quickly however, ominous foreshadowing gets a little old, and in response to Ixqor oh-so-politely requesting her presence, she gets moving. Not to actually tag along and hide behind his enormous, heavily armoured bulk, but at least partly in the spirit of helping. Startling for the first time, but something others are long used to by now, she abruptly disappears, so flawlessly invisible as to be easily mistaken for teleportation, and clearly armour enough for her. She moves to the same side as the former Astartes, keeping him in her field of vision in case he actually needs her support, but drifts slowly backwards as she does, ghosting back towards the way the group had come, and letting her curiosity get the better of her. Carna had been habitually petrified of those odd 'breathing' houses; not the kind of fear consciously felt of the unknown, but one unconsciously displayed by something one is instinctively aware of how dangerous it is. She has options to assist from long range. She can spare the time to get one good look through a set of those eerily moving drapes, feeling safe that she won't be observed in return.

Carna (974) has posed:
    Carna's answer to Sarracenia is a simple, "You could act as bait to lure them away. You might succeed at escaping if you are quick and memorize the area. Luring them into a mob of Unlit might also serve you well. Otherwise, I would wager fighting is indeed necessary, given their aggression towards complete strangers. That is typical of Lumiere, in my experience." Thankfully, Sarracenia seems not to be a push-over and joins those going to engage in battle.

    Ixqor gets relatively far across the expansive, ruined plaza, without being spotted by the Lanterns. Seemingly unaware Unlit suddenly turns and lunge at him, Tomoe, Sarracenia, Carna, and any others venturing forth, using knife, bent pipe, or tooth and claw. In their partial stats, some of their forms seem somewhat disconnected from what one would expect of those spawned directly of a human soul. Perhaps more evidence that they were originally something else. But that's still conjecture. What is apparent is that some have jaws distended and sharp, as though they had grown out of the skull of a corpse after death, or been twisted into such a shape by some other force. And though Tomoe is there with shield ready to stop them from harming her or Ixqor or any others who took up the charge, their ceaseless hostility and hunger is appalling.

    Sarracenia as well may have success in hammering the thoughtless ones into the ground, so that allies can eliminate them more easily. They fall relatively easier than so-called zombies as well. They seem to have many of the vulnerabilities of a living person, whether it be cutting and impaling, or crushing and decapitation. If they take sufficient damage, they cease to function, slumping to the ground and lying motionless after releasing their death gurgles. Something ghostly even wisps out of them and flows to Carna, following along behind. But their speed and instincts are more beast-like than a mere zombie. Deceptive, given their otherwise languid, corpse-like behavior when not on the attack.

    Carna pursues the others but is not merely leeching Dead Lights from their skills. She is keeping low, and backstabbing Unlit after they rebound off of Tomoe's shield, or if any Unlit survive a hammering, she is there to slice them as they try to get back up. The Chaos Sorcerer's blade is adequate for dispatching them, if he cuts them down, sparing Carna the need to finish the job there. But the motion and noise is likely to draw attention sooner rather than later.

    And even as Finna sneaks up on them, getting past Unlit with only groans of hunger directed her way as they sense SOMETHING but do not turn in time to spot her, one man in heavy armor and a bald one with large spiked mace begin charging them, seemingly uncaring of the Unlit they will have to face to meet them half-way, and unimpressed by their odd assortment of members nor their numbers.

    The one with the bow remains behind and approaches more slowly, taking her time to find an apt target.

Carna (974) has posed:
    As her allies charge ahead, thinking her to be backing them up, Priscilla falls behind to go inspect houses that they made such an effort to avoid before. If she peers through one of the windows that was simulating breathing, though silently, she will find that sensation of icy needles pricking her as long as she stands before it. And within, things that look not much like either Lanterns or Unlit that have been so far. More like shadows severed from their casters. Or something worse. There are allusions to shape and form, and perhaps even substance, but the things that drape about their heads are not hair, the collections of holes in the vicinity of an almost-head are somehow even darker than the shadow surrounding them, which is the only thing that makes them distinguishable in the already-lightless interior of these apartments and homes.

    If Priscilla remains too long in the path of those waves of stinging cold, the strands of not-hair about their almost-heads begin to shift and rise, squirming like serpents or tentacles or something less... Terrestial. They wave in the air, seeking, but not finding. No sound, no scent, no reflection of meager light... Only something crossing that unseen field of warmth-stealing, life-sucking emptiness. Limbs that should have hung at their sides if they were but facsimiles of humans can be seen crawling like shadowy spiders at the ends of living oil up onto the windowsill.

    It is clear that they can not find or detect Priscilla, but whatever that sensation is they emanate, it's an unpleasant one. More unpleasant even than the Unlit. Given their length, if an unwary Lantern passed by these windows anywhere within field of view, they might be snatched up and pulled inside before they even knew what grabbed them.

    But now, the shadow-snakes return to slumber, content to wait until prey presents itself.

Staren has posed:
    Staren's allies go onward, and the battle begins without delay. It seems there will be no diplomacy today.

    But that means the archer unlit isn't the only one with time to hold back and find a target.

    And Staren has a scope, computer-assisted aiming, and a robotic suit that can hold still and steady even when his imperfect hands shake oh so slightly. Still, he doesn't go for a fancy chest shot. He levels his laser sniper rifle at her (the crossbow now hangs loosely from its shoulder strap -- the sniper rifle was in that wonderful magic bag of his), positions the targeting reticle over her center of mass, and fires a three-pulse burst.

Ixqor Nathrach (977) has posed:
"Ah, so you know of my lap dog brothers then? Ah who am I kidding, even those who have been enlightened by the Dark God's are but slaves to hatred. Among us squabbling gene sibblings however, are some who have some sense and wits about them, who do not simply get wrapped up in religious dogma. I would like to believe I am one of them, so there's no need to expect much bluster from me." He notices the uinlit beginning to advance towards him, and readies his blade. The magics of the blade begin to ripple and spark, but something halts and ceases their light. "Not now Jomungandr... We're trying to remain unseen." Ixqor says, seemingly to nothing. He moves to strike at the oncomming undead with a horizontal swing, hoping to end them silently as the hostile lanterns may not have found them out yet. Only then does he hear the hevay footsteps of the armored lantern charging down one of his allies. He already knows they've been spotted then. He curses under his breath then and steels himself for a much more drawn out engagement. Raising his voice then, he attempts to continue his conversation with the bastard child. "I see! If you have the capabilities to speak to this mad lot, or perhaps heal them, I would suggest in doing so now. If such is not possible admist an engagement, do show me what earned you that crown then hmm? I am intruiged!" He truly was, as her dissapearing act may not have fooled the scanning technology of his helmet, but the prospect of her being a user of magics certainly caught his attention, as all magic did.

Sarracenia has posed:
     "The steelsilk sounds promising!" Sarracenia says to Finna before she charges. The princess uses her natural jumping abilities to leap up onto a rooftop, then she leaps again and swings her hammer over her head, flying down at the Unlit below and smashing the ground, sending out a shockwave that might send many more Unlit to the ground.

     Then, she charges forward again before she goes into a pirouette. She holds her hammer out like a counter-weight and soon is spinning like a top. "Get out of the way!" she shouts, to allies and enemies alike as she starts down the street, spinning on one foot with the hammer held out to smash anything that gets in her way. And with a hammer heavier than the princess herself, she is confident that whatever she hits will get out of the way, whether it wants to or not.

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe isn't sure about the Laterns maybe they could talk it out she's not sure but she's pretty sure in her current state they couldn't feed on her, or could they? Tomoe is making ready to intercept attack however. She'll move to intercept attacks but they are ery well making a number on her when they hit this isn't some causal walk through the park. She's trying to keep her self ready as she moves again to intercept and deflect the incoming attacks she's not breathing hard but she's very much on edge here she doesn't know how these thigns will fight after all, right?

She looks to Ixqor gets a look bnut he's doing his job well and he's not yet tried to back stab them or cackle madly even once yet.

Finna (513) has posed:
With Sarracenia and others drawing attention, Finna bolts through the hordes of Unlit faster than any can react to her. She's like white, fuzzy lightning - blink and you'll miss her!

    Which is what she's counting on, sneaking around the guy with heavy armor. Because as she rounds the bend and starts skidding off momentum across the crumbly road her form shifts. Paws become delicate-looking yet callused fingers and Finna slams her still-forming-boots toe-down into the ground. Her backwards progress comes to a sudden halt that kicks up dust, but she just PUSHES OFF forward like a striking viper weaving in low for the guy's back.

    No striking honorably, no witty retorts.

    Just a knife between the plates, delivered nearly-silently from a reverse-grip stab! "Do speak first if we meet again!~" She singsongs to her foe tauntingly! Her faux tribal accent fades in favor of proper grammar!

Priscilla has posed:
    Priscilla would say that everyone had leapt into combat faster than she had anticipated, but secretly she hadn't been keeping that much attention to the span of time in the first place. She's all the way to the windowsill before she can hear the sounds of running, stabbing, snarling and crunching, and by then there's no sense in turning back before she has that quick peek. That 'quick peek' however, wouldn't be enough to fully grasp what there is to see; what there is to feel. The kind of unthinking confidence it takes to stand in front of that open window without reaction, like staring right down the barrel of a pointed gun or into the mouth of a wild predator, is that kind that comes from complete surety rather than bravery; the same detached perspective of a television viewer as a weapon is fired at the camera for dramatic effect, feeling so distant and privately removed from the danger on screen. Even completely invisible as she is however, as she has been so very many times before at the point of a sword or in the path of a cannon without care, Priscilla can't help but feel her skin crawl and her pulse pick up at what she perceives inside that cold, abandoned blackness; the ever unnerving sensation of familiarity made strange radiating like phyiscal cold from the scene of a domestic home made into the inside of an anglerfish's mouth.

    There is only so long that is useful to stop and stare, and asides, only so long that she can will herself to stay face to face with the probing, undulating forms within the darkness, before feeling that she has adequately reaffirmed her faith in herself and that it would then be best to back away. Even if she has some varying levels of faith in the others' capabilities, she would be discarding a significant chunk of her dignity not to at least aid them. She finally turns from the windowsill once she feels she can put her back to it, practically gliding back down the pathway towards the unfolding battle. A stray Unlit unfortunate enough to be in the way is swiftly smashed near to pieces by nothing in particular, and a second decides to spontaneously turn into decorative liquid art all over the pathway, but when she arrives to the scene of the fight itself, she doesn't go for the usual kind of instant stealth kill.

    Instead, she deliberately unveils herself front and center, appearing dramatically in the middle of the fray, to look directly in the path of one of the heavily armoured, charging Lanterns, and then seize him in the flash of light that flickers from her eye with a dim, mind-scraping screech from outside of physical hearing. The intent is to be as showy about her power as possible rather than deadly, aiming to lift and crucify the Lantern against thin air where he will be highly visible to the others. "There is no means to heal those who embrace their death. It is those that deny it, and feign escape, that art perhaps the more mad, in in better need of it." she says out loud, not particularly directed back at Ixqor. "Thou art Lanterns, yes? Thou knowest well that no blow we may deal thee here wilst end in thine termination, but surely thou art equally aware that there art things far worse than simple blades and arrows to be found; things far more permanent. The threads I trade to those who raise arms without question art far from empty. Turn them towards the starving dead or lay them down. There is something I wouldst asketh of thee."

Carna (974) has posed:
    The archer starts to draw that ridiculously large bow of hers when she sees that Ixqor is occupied with the Unlit, wanting to give one less opponent for her allies to face. But she is sent staggering back and falling to one knee as a hole is burned almost clear through her torso. An injury that would clearly be fatal to a living human. But though she is in poor condition it looks like, she ducks behind some of the debris piled up on the platform she and the others stood upon as they watched her sniping Unlit as recreation. She doesn't dare show herself again so soon, instead opting to try to drink from a flask not unlike Carna's and heal herself.

    The same Unlit who respond to the sounds of combat and Sarracenia's yelling for people to 'get down' become some of the first victims to her spinning atack. Persistent, yet ultimately mindless. Acting on instinct one step removed from beast, driven on by the hunger inside of them like even a sub-sapient would not be, to leap directly into a lethal attack as long as it means claiming a mouthful of flesh, a swallow of stolen life and Light. Anything to escape being hollow.

    And yet none are so empty as the ones that Priscilla faced.

    When the clash between Lanterns and Elites comes, the armored Lantern raises a great shield in an attempt to brace himself and simply 'tank' Sarracenia's attack, while his mace-wielding friend circles around, keeping the others within field of view, but trying to find an opportunity to crush someone's spine while Tomoe continues fending off Unlit. The tank ultimate fails to rebuff the spin, and though he escapes unharmed with a very human noise of exertion and shock that reminds that these are not corpses but thinking foes, he is sent staggering backwards. Where Finna stabs him in the back, causing cold blood to spray as he freezes up and then falls forwards onto hands and knees, severely injured.

    Of course, as they should know from seeing Carna get injured, even such wounds as these are not inherently fatal, and blood might as well be cosmetic for all the importance it seems to have to them. But he is definitely not in the condition he should be in if he plans to tank two, three, four... How many of these interlopers are there anyway!?

    He does not bother to answer Finna verbally, even if his cold features say he is aware she spoke, recognizes her as sapient, and intends to keep fighting anyway. He fat-rolls away, his heavy armor making him land roughly before he returns to his feet.

    And directly onto a second back stab as Carna rams her sword through the gap that Finna made in the armor, actually punching out through his breast plate. If things down here are made of spiritual energy or something, then perhaps a sword can pierce plate armor the way it might not if it were steel. Who knows? It ceases to be relevant as Carna plants her foot on the man's back and kicks him off of her sword. He falls and begins to dissolve in fog or mist that dissipates in moments, a ghostly stream of what must be Dead Lights flowing directly to Carna. "That was for my second death," she intones without hint of rage of satisfaction. In truth, he was simply in her way, but she is learning from those around her. And if a one-liner is how the Multiversals finish their backstabs, so be it.

Carna (974) has posed:
    Priscilla's attack draws the attention of the mace man, the warrior immediately turning his attention on her rather than his original target, Sarracenia. But he can not even start retreating upon recognizing how unmatched he is in the face of the loss of a companion, before he is being lifted into the air and restrained! He isn't familiar with magic like this and says as much, finally breaking silence that he and the others have held through the whole engagement except for what noises of pain or effort they have raised.

    "What kind of Murmur is this!?" He then dismisses the subject himself, shaking his head. "You entered our hunting grounds..." He squints at the other Elites, eyeing Carna dubiously, as though just being in the same vicinity as her throws the motives of the others into question. "You should have known what to expect. All's fair is battle."

    The archer is still over there somewhere, but hasn't shown herself again. More and more Unlit are coming from all across the plaza, some moving slowly and steadily, others loping like beasts. This is unhealthy territory for an interrogation.

    Carna allows Priscilla to handle the questioning, instead watching the backs of her allies. The flashier ones, that smell like food... They could very well serve as bait, as Carna suggested to the princess earlier. The issue is that they might be TOO tempting.

Staren has posed:
    Staren burns a hole through her and the archer stumbles back to heal. This, this is why he always carries an armory around and often feels it isn't enough.

    "All's fair in battle, it's true, but we are merely passing. This fight did not have to occur. If, truly, you must live by this creed... now /you/ know what to expect when you cross us. If you won't talk, then stay out of our way in the future."

    His sensors warn him about the horde in the rear, though. He turns, fires the rifle one-handed at an unlit, slings it over his shoulder and then decides to test out the crossbow for future reference.

    While the repeating crossbow fires with more force than one that could be used /without/ robotic armor, it is probably not enough to destroy any zombie by physical force alone. Instead, Staren's counting on the fact that the bolt tips were dipped in holy water. Hopefully that will do something!

    If not, the holy water also contains nanites programmed to eat away at and deconstruct dead flesh, but this is a slow process and not one that can end them within a combat-useful time period.

Ixqor Nathrach (977) has posed:
As several would fall to his initial swing, more began to center on him, as he most likely appeared to be the largest target, save for prescilla. Holding his blade in two hands, the arcane energies in it would spring to life as it would be nearly consumed in black and green light, forming a living, almost breathing entity from the end of the blade. It appeared large and serpentine, taking on some sort fo ghostly visage of what a snake would be if it were so large. "Now, feast, Jomungandr!" He would point his blade forward then as the daemon serpent would lunge with his movement and snatch an unlit between it's fangs and crush it before casting it aside, violently.

     Admist this rather long winded attack, one of the unlit would get close, and he'd be forced to shoulder check the wretch, hoping to knock it down or away. Admist this combat he'd look off to see the titanite crowned princess holding the ma aloft with just her gaze. "So this is your power then? Substantial..." He muttered to himself again. "But why do you hodl back? End him." He whispered again, to himself, confused with the tendency of outsiders to try and spare enemies who would never reason with them.

Sarracenia has posed:
     Many an Unlit go flying thanks to Sarracenia! She is soon grinning smugly, despite numerous bites at her lifeforce and tears in her dress thanks to those that got past the hammer only to be thrown off and into the spinning weight. Then, with a resounding CLANG! she clashes with the armored Lantern. And looks even more smug when he is thrown by her attack.

     But, the clash was enough to force her to stop spinning, and the princess is left panting heavily from effort and injuries. At least they made it to the other end of the street! Now, for that bow wielding Lantern.

     Or...that horde of not-zombies behind them. "We might want to make haste through here, unless we want to be overrun. I suggest...explosives!" Princess Sarracenia says, a slightly maniacal grin on her face. She reaches into her small handbag while she walks toward the platform with the archer girl hiding atop it. Then, she pulls something out. It's a Bullet Bill! The princess giggles, then spins before throwing it toward the platform. It takes to the sky and with a shark-toothed grin heads toward that platform at high running speed. Then, the princess reaches in again and pulls out...a bob-omb! The cute little black bomb with the big black eyes! Which, she promptly throws with all her might at the platform.

     The princess does this several times, each time coming up with a different explosive device, and each one is thrown at the platform, or arced at it in an effort to get the Lantern there. A torpedo, a cluster of dynamite, another bob-omb, a more simple bomb, and even a small canon itself that starts firing as soon as it hits the ground. "Let us see how you like to be hunted!! Hahahahaha!"

     She's only a little crazy, really!

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe does as she should she puts herself between the unlit and her allies. She will keep up the pressure on them and trying to keep them on her she'll be battered pretty bafly for it but she will keep going onward as she engages.

"Come on if they don't want to talk! They don't want to talk!"

She chants brifely, gold runes flying about her body and the her blade /catches fire/ which she then attempts to employ on things she's fighting.

Priscilla has posed:
    And look at that, Priscilla's gotten them to talk. As adamant as Carna had been that they'd be best not reasoned with, and as silent as they'd stayed throughout being shot and stabbed, there are certain displays even the weariest and most jaded of warriors are disposed to respond to. "Indeed, I knew very well what to expect. Thou shalt hear no admonishment from I, for thine conduct itself, as I wouldst expecteth to hear no complaint from thee in the reverse. All that is important is that thou realize thou hast no means of defeating mineself, or defending thineself, and that all which sullen silence or suicidal behaviour shalt bringeth thee is a jaunt to one of those many open windows of invitation thou dare not tread near."

    Having the Unlit gather round is an implicit threat in of itself. Priscilla is pretty sure that no Lantern would precisely enjoy being eaten alive while unable to run or fight. At the same time however, they are counter-productive to what little she hopes to accomplish. With the deftness of a stage magician, a miniature human skull is gripped between her fingers, the macabre little totem oozing with the scent of freshly departed life even though its spiritual content is trace at best. With a flick of the wrist, she tosses it wide behind her, letting it crack against the pavement and let off little wisps of spiritual energy into the midnight dark, and thus hopefully buy a little extra time. "It is in our best interests to leave here, to a safeguarded and civilized location. Inevitably, the closest of these shalt where thou and thine companions art based in. Give to us its name and direction, and briefly explain to us why it is that thou alloweth none to venture beyond it, and saveth thineself another blank page in thine journal, if indeed thou art truly capable of surviving what lies within those abandoned homes." Her tone, originally even, cool and dispassionate, immediately goes 0-60 into 'I know what you know' territory at that mention, and her stare is dead serious. "If thou art capable of following us under thine own power, I may ask more from thee at a later time, but as for now, I desire to maketh progress, and thou desire to retain thine continued existence. It is as simple as that."

Finna (513) has posed:
With Carna actually showing some WIT, Finna finds herself smiling at her. She comically feigns a vague salute-like motion before side-flipping off at a nearby Unlit that's on approach and kicking its head STRAIGHT OFF with a lightning fast snap-kick. Then she hurls her knife into another that she isn't even LOOKING at, catching it square between the eyes. With a yank the knife's drawn back on silvery webbing and snatched out of the air. Then she reaches around to her tail... and pulls out a hand-axe that gets used the same way. TOSSED, buried into a forehead, and yanked back!

    She flips around, hand-springing off the ground and doing a backward somersault that never ends... because although she's in human form those wings remained tucked to her back. NOW they thrum again like fairy wings, just loud enough for the hum to be noticed by those nearby. She flits about like a terror from the skies, kicking Unlit's heads in with DIVEKICKS and occasionally swooping across the streets with swift flashes of that knife to chop off heads and arms. "Kyiiiiarghhhhh... down with you assholes!"

Carna (974) has posed:
    In this vast, dark, hollow world, like a cavern without ceiling or one too high to reach, shouting voices and flashing lasers are like thunder and lightning. Though the plaza is not packed to capacity with Unlit, it is very large open space with few places to hide, and dozens of enemies at least. The Elites (and even the enemy Lanterns) have put a significant dent in their numbers. But it is likely that, whether more Unlit or even other Lanterns, they will have company eventually if they don't wrap up here and move forward.

    As Staren starts putting crossbow bolts into the Unlit, they don't seem to be fazed by the holy aspect so much as the sheer physical damage. These are weak Unlit, few even carrying so much as an improvised weapon. They are withered and emaciated, not like the more well-fed ones who were able to chase the Elites down on their first visit to Lumiere, and seems considerably stronger, faster, and tougher. Dead Lights must really make a difference in strength after all. And these ones, wandering aimlessly along the same grounds for years or decades, can't be that strong, making whatever Dead Lights they possess easy harvesting for Lanterns like this crew. That is perhaps reason enough to claim this area as theirs. Farming Unlit for Dead Lights is not something that can be done by just anyone, after all.

    The nanites would find no real flesh to speak of in the fallen Unlit. Whatever they're made of, though it ACTS like flesh, it is something not. Like the rest of them, just a hollow shell. And whatever they are... Somehow... They aren't unholy even though they are unnatural to this world.

    Sarracenia starts bombing the platform with the archer on it, even as the Lantern rises to try to snipe Staren through the head with a two-foot-long arrow that might as well be some kind of HARPOON, and is interrupted before she can get the shot off by being consumed in flames... Screaming out in her death throes, and then dispersing, her shell destroyed but not her spirit. The mace man, if he was human, might have become enraged by the loss of companions. Perhaps made some determined declaration in spite of his fear that he would never given in if he was brave and/or foolish. Instead, he evaluates his options, realizes he has nothing to gain her by refusing, and Dead Lights to lose by not.

    His expression is stern but ultimately more frustrated than angered, even if a glint of interest and curiosity reveals itself when he witnesses that skull thrown that seems to draw the Unlit near it towards it, abruptly cutting the flow of the things towards the Elites. All the remaining ones are fixated on the Alluring Skull. That is quite the valuable tool. Ixqor, with piles of Unlit all around him, and Tomoe's flaming sword sending the last few in their immediate vicinity to their soulless fates, and Finna cutting off any other stragglers even as they rush towards the lure, may be the first to notice.

Carna (974) has posed:
    The mace man shows the first signs of fear at some point during Priscilla's threats against him. Even if she meant them, however, and even if he would have taken them seriously, it is not the threats that ultimately gets him to speak. A stinging chill sweeps over everyone. The things that Priscilla saw in the houses. Drawn by Light and life and noise and whatever else these things go by, they have actually crawled out of the houses they lurk in, even if still connected to the dwellings or flowing back into them via a trail of shadow that is more than simply weak or absent light. They are no more distinct out in the open than they were in the dark, but perhaps more horrifying for the knowledge that they are not confined to such and can chase down their prey if it proves to be appetizing enough.

    Anyone who has ever seen how a spider runs, with its legs continually reaching out ahead of itself, practically pulling itself forwards, might get a similar impression from these... Things. Whatever their bodies truly are, they have long, jointless shadowy appendages ending in spindly hands. And these hands keep spawning new hands and limbs from random points along the lengths of their liquid darkness, which then reach out and pull them forward, spider-walking their way completely silently across the plaza. Quiet as death right up until it finally claims you.

    Their only presence is that painful emptiness that at this distance is only a prickling sensation, but gets sharper the closer they get. The center mass of those shadowy snake-like appendages, like crown of animated intestines or foul worms about their heads, split open horizontally, the shadowed almost-heads not changing form, but the odd numbers of bottomless holes in their unseeable faces stretching wide as though in expectance of sustenance.

    One of them reaches the Unlit clustered around the Alluring Skull. One of its hands touches the corpse's back and the dead thing spasms as though run through. Right before all its psuedo-flesh is sucked off, black threads of Oblivion spreading across what remains, and then even that folding in on itself and vanishing into the darkness.

    The Unlit that remain fixated on the skull face the same fate, but those who were only approaching and had not yet arrived... In all of their mindless, sub-bestial awareness... Actually turn and try to escape.

Carna (974) has posed:
    The shadow thing turns towards the greater source of Light that is the Elites and Lanterns. It's trypophobic abyss-face opens again in expectation of sustenance as it begins spider-walking towards them.

    The maceman speaks hurriedly, recognizing the explicit and implicit horror of whatever the HELL that is without needing to be encouraged further. Throwing him through a window into a room with one of those might have garnered a similar response, though perhaps not quite so intense as viscerally witnessing the things coming for him. "We came from Escher! It's a tower overlooking Guillotine Square! You don't want to go that way, but I've got the key to the gates! Release me and I'll unlock them for you!"

    Carna is no more pleased with them, and is already backing up without even realizing she's doing it. She wants NO part of them. But even so, she says, "Turn over the key, and we will spare you!" even as she prepares to run from that awfulness.

    "Let me go and I'll give you the key!" the Lantern pleads.

    "The key first!" Carna hisses.

    This is REALLY not the time for either of them to be negotiating! The madness of Lanterns indeed.

Ixqor Nathrach (977) has posed:
The unlit begin to Ignore Ixqor, moving towards the thrown skull. He takes this oppurtunity to tighten up with the rest of the formation, moving towards Carna. "They're pre-occupied. We need to leave, now, more will be coming!" He holds his blade firmly, his back to Carna as he turns to look upon the rest of his allies. "Settle your scores and rally to us, the longer we take the more likely we are to..." Then he spots them. "What... Foul abomination is this?" More continue to come, and they begin to encircle the unlit and mutilate them in some horrid fashion. "I'll repeat myself then. I believe we're leaving. NOW!" He commands them back, holding out his hand as warp energies began to fill it, towards the wretched spider like abominations. He would unleash a flurry of doombolts at the beasts, pyschic blasts of pure warp energy, teh stuff of souls and emotion made into power, and wielded as a weapon. The blue and black bolts were several in number, and would spiral out into teh sky, zigzagging awkwardly as they were thrown in a strange arc. Then like birds of prey they woudl dive down and assail the targeted area, crashing into the ground with explosive force, though eahc doombolt was weak alone, but in number, they could inflict great damage should enough hit. Just using such powers though began to drain Ixqor of his fighting strength, as chucnks of jhis life force went into releasing such a deadly hail.

Finna (513) has posed:
From her aerial perspective, Finna has a GREAT view of those... THINGS coming out to play and hunt. And her attention swivels IMMEDIATELY to them. She's seen strange things of the Wyld and Fae, strange things of the Underworld... and this more resembles the latter? .... Yet... more innately than even that. If these things are of a deathly nature, it's the deeper, ultimate abyss that lies in the heart of Stygia she's only heard rumors about. An absolute void that devours everything and gives back only madness.

    The Lunar shivers in her own skin, but the instincts of her soul demand more than fear. She is one of the mighty Lunar Exalted, a guardian of life. Keeping things that should not be from running rampant is one of her duties!

    But that can go only so far right now. She's none too sure those weird things couldn't simply SPROUT WINGS AND FLY if they wanted to. So her only act for now... while they're momentarily busy devouring Unlit... is to stuff her melee weapons away, take a position about a hundred feet up... and yank her bow and a few arrows from Elsewhere.Shooting actually means interrupting her own flight and plummeting a moment so that her wings won't get in the way, but she looses a few arrows at the BLACK THINGS and watches to see just WHAT that will do to them. The arrows draw bright silvery-blue trails through the air, wreathed in resideual Lunar Essence from her predatory aim - THAT, at least, is true.

    Debatable if these things have any vitals to be concerned with though...

    With those arrows loose, she now starts FLYING BACKWARDS and slowly descending to stick with the group, but she's GOING to see what effect those have on them!

Sarracenia has posed:
     Sarracenia laughs haughtily as the archer Lantern is decimated by her bombs, and seems quite pleased with herself. Up until she feels a tingle on the back of her neck, then turns as it increases. Her eyes widen at the sight of the Unlit being...torn apart at their most basic level and absorbed. "What in the world are those?!" she exclaims, then blinks as she realizes Carna and maceman are arguing. With those things coming toward them! "Just bring him with us! I am sure he does not want to be absorbed! Let him unlock the gate, then we can go through and he can keep his key so he might taste better when those things arrive!" she says.

     Despite that, the princess reaches into her purse and pulls out...a fire flower! A cute little flower with big black eyes and sparkling with magical energy. She gives it a squeeze, and her red dress suddenly shifts colors in a puff of smoke to white and fire red. "Maybe I can discourage them! You guys better hurry up! I am not going to be devoured by some void monsters because you guys cannot find a solution!" she says as she starts firing fireballs at the creatures, figuring they are the most likely things to harm undead creatures. They bounce along the street until they hit something, at which time they explode in a small but intense burst of flame.

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe sends the unlit down using her blades to cut them and otherweise set them on fire she looks none the worse for ware. she's still wary she's done things like this before she wnats to make sure there's nothing worse than assuming your safe in a place like this. She will keep making use of her weapons however when someone speaks she pauses and does not strike at them down but now comes th standoff she moves to get ready to fhte badness she'll be the last to run if it comes to it. She sees the black things and starts to chant again unleashing torrents of fire at them.

"WE don't have much time!"

Staren has posed:
    Staren will need to make some tweaks to the crossbow design. Especially if he can recover some of those nanomachines and retrieve their data -- this is similar and different to what happened with the Filth-animated draugr. When they fail to burst into flame, though, after a couple of shots he starts cycling between his beam cannons and the crossbow.

    He missed the archer while he was focused on the horde. Being saved by Sarracenia? Ugh, ugh, dying might /almost/ have been better, but he can swallow some pride.

    And then...

    ...Spider things. "Are those normal?!" he shouts to Carna. Fortunately, he was looking behind them, or he might never have heard them creeping up on them.

    And people are... arguing? "LET HIM GO, WE'LL KILL HIM IF HE TRIES ANYTHING!"

    The 'we' meaning someone else, because right now he's firing beam cannons and plasma-fireball missiles at the shadowy THING and hoping they'll damage it! And manifesting his wings to fly backwards towards the group. Magic and technology, so hax, the only way Staren can keep up with other elites in this crazy Multiverse...

Priscilla has posed:
    "Escher." Priscilla repeats to herself, half-murmuring as if she expects to find some kind of meaning in the name of an Earth artist she's never even heard of, never mind of dubious relation to anything here. "Regardless of what thou thinkest is within our interests, that is the direction we shalt pass through regardless." What she feels on the back of her neck is unmistakable, but she's already had her time to stare into that abyss and feel it stare back, and so while everyone else is expressing their first-glimpse reactions in shades of confusion and horror, she decides to keep level and not so much as look, standing out all the more as the figure in control of the situation, regardless of how much she might actually be.

    She then drops the mace man unceremoniously to the ground. The sound of all that armour clanking around couldn't possibly be any worse than what is already, literally, exploding all around them. "Then be on thine feet. If thou shouldst fall behind, I shalt hesitate not to strip such keys from thine corpse before it is consumed." The way she presents his back to him is actually a great opportunity for him to scramble, interposing herself before anything decides to lunge for him. Priscilla has all of three of those Alluring Skulls left, and so she staggers them out, tossing each one far in a different direction to draw away as much attention as possible, before starting to back up, waving her allies past her to indicate that she plans to rear guard. It seems like an odd choice, but if sufficiently threatened . . .

Carna (974) has posed:
    Ixqor's attacks rain down upon the creatures, shattering the concrete beneath the warped, self-perpetuating shadows, chaos turning ashen and lifeless stone into a smoking crater. The thunderous sound of the explosions, along with all the other noises people have been making, are drawing lots of unwelcome attention, but the Unlit filtering in from side streets and gathering around the plaza seem reluctant to come any closer. The ones inside the expansive area either fixate on the Alluring Skulls, clearing a path and preventing pursuit, or simply continue trying to flee what they intuitively sense is the very thing they crawled up to Lumiere to escape from.

    But the creatures comes crawling out of the smoke, seeming undamaged, but at least being stalled in their advance. Their interest seems more to be in any Unlit it crosses paths with than the things glowing skulls the corpses gather around, sucking the skin off of them with their hands, and then everything else too, before resuming coming towards the gathered Elites. However, that keeps at least one of them held up feasting upon the scraps of insane Dead things.

    As the Maceman is dropped, he doesn't waste time with words in response to Priscilla, and doesn't hesitate to roll to his feet and start running ahead of them. Carna is unhappy that the other Lantern wasn't forced to give up the key first, and stays close behind him as she and the others run across the rest of the plaza, towards the stairs that lead up to street level. She does not trust him at all.

    Finna's arrow, possessing the power of Luna, slams into one of the creatures, seemingly pinning it to the ground for a moment. But the not-body that has been vague until now, unclear as to if it's humanoid or not, distorts around it, flowing into a blob of liquid darkness, that is distinctly not humanoid. Is it super effective!?

    In a way. Because its hands seem to be focused on grasping the arrow and sucking all the light out of it, all the energy it has, everything about it. As with all these horrors have done so far, they move and act in total silence, the ground and air freezing around them, what little color exists here bleeding out of the environment and out of the beings who get too close to them. They simply take and take and gives back nothing.

    It is seemingly more and more likely that they are some sort of 'Void monsters'. Or maybe... Abyssal, if this world continues to demonstrate same-yet-different traits. There is still one of these things remaining, it continues to pursue, even as Priscilla seemingly stands ready to face it down.

Carna (974) has posed:
        Just as Sarracenia's fire flower spews forth flames that are sucked into the irregular void-holes that make up the third monster's 'face', the Maceman, Carna, and anyone else with them who made their attack and then ran for it, come around a corner to what look like very out of place castle gates of some kind, with a portcullis and everything. The Maceman rushes up to a heavy lock and starts scrambling to release it with a key he produces. Carna hisses at him, "Hurry, fool! We are all lost, and you as well, if we are still on this side of the gate when that thing arrives!"

    Almost-hands sweep through the air that blooms with light as Tomoe adds to the conflagration begun by Sarracenia, consuming fire by touch and returning it to darkness. It isn't even stopping to eat now, egged on by the Light that keeps being thrown before it. Nothing less than the genuine article will satisfy it now.

    Though perhaps its appetite can not truly be satisfied as long as it remains so completely empty of everything. Not instincts, not soul, mot even mindless aggression like the Unlit. Just a walking embodiment of a void that can never be filled, doing what it does. Staren's missiles explode around it pouring plasma onto something that has no defined surface to reflect the light with even if it were willing to reflect instead of eat. Fireballs continue to add to what will be a blaze that draws monsters long after the Elites are gone.

    And still it comes.

Carna (974) has posed:
    Then, right as Carna looks back to see how close the monster is, unable to resist the urge to KNOW, which is worse than not knowing, the Maceman unlocks the gate slips through and slams it closed behind him, already latching it once more. "Have fun with that beasty! I'd sooner take the madness than oblivion--!" He starts to taunt, but a knife find its way plunged up into his throat and used as a lever to drag him back up against the bars so Carna can stab him with the knife in her other hand over and over and over, until he gurgles, and falls to his knees, dissolving into a stream of ghostly mist.

    And the Maceman drops the key in the process. On the opposite side of the gate.

    Carna immediately drops down and starts trying to reach it through the bars, as the void-horror closes in on Priscilla. Unless Priscilla has chosen to join the others by now, at least.

    This is really cutting it down to the wire. And the key seems to be just on the edge of Carna's fingertips...

Staren has posed:
    Staren's waved on, and he runs for it. When Carna says they're doomed if they fight that thing, he quips, "I wouldn't be so sure, but I'd prefer not to find out anyways." He gives a disgusted sigh when the maceman DROPS THE KEY. He shoulders any weapon he had out and draws his matter manipulator, trying to pull the key into his inventory. If that works, he'll just deply it into Carna's hand!

Finna (513) has posed:
"...." Finna's still flying and... after seeing what happened, quite grateful she's WAY UP IN THE SKY. Or at least... a good hundred feet up. Her wings can't keep up FOREVER but for now, she turns around with eyes full of FEAR and zips down towards the gate. Of course her sharp ears hear the altercation between Carna and the Maceman, which gets a disgusted sigh out of her.

    "Morons. All morons!" However...

    She's seen what these things DO now.

    What they're attracted to.

    Now if only it wasn't a key component of her soul that will shine too brightly if she uses much more power.

    For now, she lands atop the gateframe and her wings melt away, sucked into her body as if spaghetti. With them OUT of the way she draws more arrows and draws them all back at once. Normally this manuever would be insanely difficult, but she has no trouble doing so!

    "This'll keep you suckers busy!"

    FWIP!

    The arrows are let fly!

    And... this time... they don't just fly at what she'd hoped were hearts.

    They're not even aimed at the creatures themselves.

    In fact, AGAINST ALL REASON, the arrows fly in THREE DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS. They spang off the ground and the walls of buildings and debris, ricocheting at IMPOSSIBLE angles, never mind any logic that would allow an arrow to somehow cleanly ricochet at full velocity in another direction entirely to BEGIN with, but...

    The advancing THINGS need to now put up with a cat's cradle of silver light drawn in the air around and through them. It'll last perhaps five seconds at most, assuming they don't manage to snatch the arrows out of the air or can harden enough to absorb them instead of get shot THROUGH by them...

    Finna, now glowing with a faint aura of blue-silver light and streaks of shadow, backflips off the gate!

    "Screw whatever's over there. GET THAT GATE BETWEEN US AND THOSE THINGS."

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe adds her own fire to the attac with that of her own 'magic' but she's not sure id it's enough and uit's not the thing keeps coming and she has to wonder if it might devour her somehow even through her avatar? She doesn't know and does not want to find this out either but she'll keep fighting and the mace guy gets what's coming to him and they got the key. He asked for it an Tomoe isn't going to feel any pitty for maceman as she leaps into the iar starts chanting and rains down not fire but bolts of light at the things still coming for them trying to keep them at bay.

Priscilla has posed:
    For all its familiar elements, and for all the depressing little ways this all reminds Priscilla of something else, the things that chase not only her companions, but even the empty, living dead, drive home just exactly how far removed this all is. Though bits and pieces here and there remind her of the Darksign, the Dark is not simply an absence of Fire. Neither one existed before the other. The Dark has a frightening, but extant kind of strange, perverse will of its own, mirror to the Fire that each the other seeks. These creatures, dark and horrible as they may be, are not black out of shadow, but the black of of utter emptiness, seemingly devoid of any greater purpose or design as they are devoid of substance. They are. They consume.

    So when all that fire and light and thunder and Essence comes crashing down as the Lanterns and others wisely get out of the way, Priscilla is left clear across from one 'creature' that will not be satisfied with the fragments and projections of what it seeks scattered all around. It wants what she has, hard won from the bloody and toilsome rebirth of Lordran. Not yet content to simply flee from such an enemy, perhaps simply to make the statement to herself, the crossbreed, or rather, Archlord, lags behind just a moment longer, no longer watching the holes in the world for any kind of insight, but simply as an enemy.

    By no particular motion, the Lifehunt Scythe appears in her hand, its fell silver and alien etchings standing out more than ever against the overpowering backdrop of life, death, and emptiness. If these creatures are empty, they will consume whatever is thrown at them. If these creatures are void, they fear no further emptiness. To her, there is no sense in trying to overpower the void with destructive energy, and there is nothing to siphon away and consume. Where her newer, more overtly powerful options might fail her, Priscilla instead defaults to her tried and true; the power that so terrified the gods to begin with, now stronger than it has ever been with the Lordsouls that swell her core essence.

    Her back foot slides gently in a quarter circle across the cobblestones, matching the rotation of her shoulder as she brings the weapon back, twirling ones between her hands with a dull ringing sound before snapping unwaveringly into place, hanging like a guillotine over a head that doesn't exist. Her breath leaves her entirely, and does not return, leaving her body as a motionless, ivory statue. She remains that way until the shadowy hands crawl to within a dangerously close range, easily within leaping distance, and when she swings, the fabric of life and death shudders in the blade's singing wake.

    It seems she doesn't need to hit the cobblestones. The act of carving up the surface the shadows stand on is merely symbolic. A primordial kind of death, -- far removed from the complex dichotomies of light and dark, and the specific meaning of what it is to be one of the living or the dead -- dimly recognized only in vague and indistinct concept by base, existential fear, appears to be her weapon of choice, and potentially the only one she has. So long ago, she might not have dared, but to her, she feels the Lifehunt calling in the distance. By the sin of taking form; of emulating hands and faces and shape and movement, the void wishes to be alive, and so it must be killed.

    The deed done, Priscilla disappears once more, having her answer either way.

Sarracenia has posed:
     Sarracenia grows a bit pale as she watches the void monsters sucking up the energy from -everything-. Ground, buildings, fireballs, unlit...everything is getting drained. "How the heck do you stop something like that?!" the princess exclaims. When the others begin fleeing, Sarracenia turns to follow. Finna's arrow gets drained, nothing seems to work!

     Then, Priscilla goes on the offensive. Sarracenia watches a wide-eyed as Priscilla does...something. It looks very destructive, at least if the roadway is any indication, but will it do anything? While she waits to find out, Sarracenia reaches into her purse again and rummages around before pulling out...wait...where is it? The princess suddenly looks a bit frantic. She doesn't want to be drained by a void thing! Finally, she finds it! Sarracenia pulls out a large ice blue mushroom, then gives it a squeeze. Her red dress is replaced by a blue one of the same colors as the mushroom, and she starts throwing...ice balls? Perhaps she is hoping she can slow them down by freezing them. Cold is basically draining energy, right? "Hurry up with that gate!" she exclaims, and as if to help she places a foot on Carna's rump and pushes. Helping to get her closer to the key, of course.

Carna (974) has posed:
    Carna doesn't get the opportunity to retaliate against Sarracenia for being shoved/booted, though she turns to cast a baleful glare at the princess. Staren grabs the key with his 'matter manipulator' while the Lantern is distracted, and tosses it to Carna, who manages to catch it thankfully (because it would be really bad if it got dropped and lost in the darkness at this stage). With it, she unlocks the gate once more and lifts the portcullis with all the strength she has. Which is considerably beyond a normal human of her size and frame, but not superhuman by any means. "STOP AGITATING THE BLASTED THING AND HELP ME LIFT!" she yells as Tomoe blasts it, and Finna surrounds it in a barrier, and Sarracenia makes the ground harder to travel across faster than a crawl, as they all three continue to bombard and pelt and trap the thing even as it relentlessly advances. Their efforts are actually useful, but being in danger of being consumed does not put the Lantern in a fabulous mood.

    As Priscilla's scythe drags through the space that only looks filled due to the contrast of darkness, shredding through gaping holes into an endless emptiness, whatever facsimile of life it might have been attempting vanishes. Finally, sound emerges. Though not so much from the thing, as the surrounding, freezing air, as flames and ice alike get sucked inwards as air rushes to fill a vacuum.

    It seems the creature was... Slain? Banished? Dispersed? Whatever was done to it, while it was trapped thanks to the cage of light created for it while Priscilla struck, the other two have finished their respective meals and have begun to advance as well. And lifeless as they may be, they are approaching Priscilla from different sides, hunting her, and forming their many almost-limbs into multi-branched lengths of frigid darkness, not unlike the branches of a tree. Though a tree that would better belong below the earth the ground, where none need ever lay eyes upon such deathless terrors, than growing out of it.

    When Priscilla vanishes, however, they slow their movements. Snake-crowns sensing, reaching, hunting, tasting for signs of Light, of divinity, of something more palatable than withered husks.

    They do not find Priscilla again. But they find the ones gathered by the gate. And they alter their course appropriately, spider-walking their way speedily and silently onwards once more.

Carna (974) has posed:
    When everyone has gotten under the gate and Carna has allowed it to slam down behind them and locked it in turn, she has to roll backwards repeatedly to get out of the range as the remaining two horrors come ghosting up behind her, reaching the portcullis within seconds of its being locked, and press up against the bars, reaches their long, spindly arms through, stretching, stretching, unwilling to let their prey go.

    But they must, for soon enough, all those gathered are likely to get the hell out of there, running down the tunnel ahead of them, and towards a sign of glowing red light. Any light is better than that bottomless nothingness.

    And then they enter into an area where the smell of rot and smoke overpower the stench of ashes and dust, and they might reconsider.

    High above them, stretching up towards the colorless, unmeasurably high roof of this place, there is a tower. The path up to it is lined with bodies impaled and crucified and hung. A tower with blood running down its outer walls for as far as the eye can see.

    And something of monstrous size writhes atop the spire's peak. Something thar roars out in pain and fury that echoes for several long minutes.

    A plume of flame billows forth moments later.

Carna (974) has posed:
New Area Discovered:

EEEEE SSSSSSS CCCCC HH HH EEEEE RRRRRRR
EE SSS S CC HH HH EE RR RR
EE SSS CC HH HH EE RR RR
EEEE SSSS CC HHHHHH EEEE RRRRRRR
EE SSSS CC HH HH EE RR RR
EE S SSSS CC HH HH EE RR RR
EEEEE SSSSSSS CCCCC HH HH EEEEE RR RRR

Spire of Glory Lost

Sarracenia has posed:
     Princess Sarracenia doesn't notice the baleful glare. She is too busy freaking out! "Hurry up! Hurry hurry hurry!" she is shouting, the pitch of her voice rising with each 'hurry'. When the gate finally opens, she scampers through quickly and gets a pretty good distance away before she finally stops. Only to leap back again when the shadowy hands start reaching through the bars, and she throws some ice blasts at the gate, trying to seal it off completely. "Get out of here! You lost already!"

Staren has posed:
    Staren helps lift the gate -- his armor's strength is probably on par with Carna's own. And then at last they're through. Staren's armor has been running on internal air to avoid the smell for awhile now, so he doesn't notice that... But bodies on display and a tower of blood are hard to miss! "Woah..." He can only stare for a moment, and then watch the monstrous... thing for awhile to make sure it isn't going to come down and attack.

    He rubs the back of his helmet. "Geeze... This... this world is something, alright. It's not like this outside, I promise..."