The Eye of Anubis: Book Five

[Kaitou Kage]

Kuzan was off his camel before anyone could blink. He hurried to Pelletier's side, calling orders as he went to professors, guards, and students alike.

"Get his tent pitched or find a place where he can be laid out comfortably. Get lots of blankets, he needs to be cushioned and able to relax."

He turned to Guy, Ishaq, and Harris. "Get a pair of poles and tie a cloth or tarp taut between them so we can move him without causing a lot of damage. I'll need help carrying him."

Then, to Michel and Charles. "Fetch water and some washcloths and bring it to where we're going to lay him down. And get someone to clean up this blood. Gods only know what creatures it will attract."

The priest checked Pelletier's pulse and nodded, reciting a short mantra. He felt a divine hand of a distant god reach down and guide his own. He placed his fingers on his own chest for a moment, and then straightened, suddenly seeming more awake. Then, he placed his hands over Pelletier and closed his eyes, reciting yet another mantra. Faint glimmering magic covered the aged professor, seeping into his body. His complexion improved noticeably and his body looked more stable.

"Hurry up and get me what I need," he called to any slackers, "And find out who's going to be on first watch. I'll heal the exhaustion from your mind and body so you can be on full alert. If anyone's still injured from yesterday --" was it yesterday? today? It all blurred when one hadn't slept "-- come see me at my tent after we get the professor settled and I'll patch you up."

Kuzan glanced toward Lia and frowned. Another one that'd need his attentions before the night was over. As Sam and Jervis came close, the priest caught them by the arms.

"Get Lia someplace where she can't hurt anyone in her madness," he whispered, "Restrain her if you have to, but I can't deal with her issue until I've made sure the professor's taken care of." The priest looked Sam in the eye. "He'll be all right, barring anything unexpected. But we may be stuck here a few days if you don't want to risk him getting deathly sick again on the road."

Lastly, he turned to Dieter. "How do you feel about getting some first aid lessons on the fly?" he asked the young Lamordian, quirking a faint smile "I'm gonna need some help keeping things in order."

[DocBeard]

Oh, hey, orders. Tomas blinks, and walks over to Lia. "Come on." He murmurs, moving to brace her with his shoulder if she'll let him, or otherwise be punched in the face. He isn't picky. "Some time in the cool will do her good, I'm sure..."

"Nice enough place..." Tomas murmurs, looking around a little, trying not to be worried about the fact that, generally, Sebulans and Pharizans build a touch differently from anything he'd think of as a Keep. But hey.

Still. Wait. Tomas grows quiet, letting Lia lean against the edifice of her choice as he squats down, running his right hand along the floor. Proceding to sniff it and, yes, lick the finger, Tomas shakes his head, but does the same thing to the courtyard wall, touch, sniff, lick. "Must be seeing thi-"

it should not be

"Fat lot of help you are!" Tomas snaps to no one, looking around and around him with a steadily increasing edge, "It's bad enough my own head talks back to me, but it could at least not talk in riddles..."

it should. not be.

"Wonderful. I really am crazy. I was hoping it was just being the stress, but nope, turns out the old neighborhood was right, I'm mad. And not even one of the interesting kinds of madness they write papers on, I've just got-"

look. at. them. look. at. ground.

Tomas turns, not seeming to realize that his internal conversation was not, at least on his end, entierly internal. He whipes his face, eyes glazing a little as he tries to subtly look at the other members of the expadition, the floor, the expadition, the wall, the expadition, the ceiling, and with each turn of his head, each snuck look at the room around them, Tomas's face changes from an expression of irritation to one of confusion, and worry, and fear, and horror, now, is etched on the normally cheerful expressions as he realizes the difference between his friends and the building they're in.

"Covered in blood..." Tomas steps back, looking at his hads as if they were suddenly filthy, his feet as if the floor could eat through them at any minute!, "...evil...it's impossible but...just like Sir Uffington told me to look for..." Tomas trips over a spare rock, and lets out a yelp, twisting on the floor as if he had fallen into something corrosive!

He scrambles back up to his feet, whiping wildly at his head in order to get whatever invisible pollutant he believes he's seeing. "Everything. Dried blood, ice that burns and fire that freezes, the walls, the floor, the...evil! The whole room is evil!"

(OOC: Spot check...got "lucky"! 23. And then, brilliantly, I used the Sight. Also, with my Spirit of Light feat gives people a +2 bonus to recovering from Horror or Madness checks, as well as the +1 bonus against Fear/Horror/Madness checks in Sinkholes of Evil, if that does any good, Lia. Also I didn't want to toad you, so the language is a touch unprecice-lemme know what you want to do and I can switch that bit of the post around easily enough.)

[Rock of the Fraternity]

(OOC: This'll work fine, Doc.)

Lia allows herself to be guided easily enough; she still seems half-asleep when Tomas leans her against a wall, and even slides right down to the floor, snoring gently the whole time.

When Tomas screams, however, her eyes shoot open and she wails with terror: "Surrounded by the enemy!" And she takes off running. Of course, the running turns into wobbling and limping soon enough, but Lia makes a very determined beeline for Charles and throws herself upon him, moaning with misery. Amazingly, she goes so far as to bury her head in his shoulder, whimpering softly.

(Spot check 17. Though it seems moot now. ^^)

[Nathan of the FoS]

"Well now," Charles says, a little embarrassed, as he puts his arm around her shoulders and gives her a slightly awkward one-armed embrace, his blond head and her veiled head close together. "We have friends here, too, of course, m'selle. We're not helpless, not by any means." Looking around as if in search of inspiration, he catches Kuzan's eye and says, "Perhaps M'selle Mourneswaith and I should walk a little bit; I don't think I can help Professor Pelletier, and a little exercise would probably do her good right now. We won't go far--perhaps just a promenade here in front of the keep."

[steveflam]

Ishaq suddenly gets very nervous. One expedition member seems to have gone mad or otherwise had an episode. Then Tomas seems to be having an episode with himself. He looks around to gauge the rst of the expeditions reactions to both of them. He asks rather nervously to Khalil "Did he say the room is evil?" The huge hulk of a man looks ready to act.

[Kaitou Kage]

Kuzan nodded at Charles, still crouched by Pelletier. He'd gently placed the professor on his side and despite the blood dotting the old gentleman's mouth, beard, and clothing, he looked less like he was on death's door.

"Take some water with you," the priest ordered, "And don't stray too far."

If anyone's hurt from last night, send me a PM or tell me in the OOC. Remember, we didn't get to rest overnight, so you don't get to heal up and if you have to rest for spells, you don't get those, either.

[yalenusveler]

Andre looked torn between Doc Pell, and Lia. "Charles...just a moment. Apparently, whatever madness has been dredged up in her by this damnable heat seems to include me as an...Adjutant. But first...I should try something I should havee a while ago." And with that, Andre headed over to Doctor Pellitier, intoning a soft prayer.

OOC:Detect Poison on Doc Pell, and a 12 on the spot. I see the ocean.

[Nathan of the FoS]

"We'll be back in a moment, she's not up to a long walk," Charles replies, as the unlikely couple go back through the portcullis and begin to walk the path outside the keep.

They're gone a little longer than Charles' optimistic prediction--perhaps ten minutes--and when he comes back he is carrying Lia in his arms. "Indeed, she wasn't up for a short walk, either," he says with a grimace. "I should have taken your advice, Professor, and kept her here. She did take some water and salt while we were out, at least. I think what she needs most is sleep." Setting her down in a quiet corner, he takes off his jacket and lays it over her, an oddly tender expression on her face. "Ezra knows, a lady needs her beauty rest. Especially when she's a wizardess."

[yalenusveler]

"Kuzan..I hate to interrupt you with a patient, but I've seen something similar to this..If i could speak to you a moment, I think i can help. But I'd hate to bore everyone with medical terminology." Andre said, trying to be helpful, even if he had started his nervous fidget. It appeared as if the weasel from earlier had found a new victim..except his twitching...was leading directly away from the crowd.

OOC:15 on a "This needs to be private" bluff check. Can't forget synergy.

[The Whistler]

Upon Tomas' outburst, Otto broke off from hovering nervously over Pelletier and was at the student's side almost instantaneously--though, as with some of the gunsmith's movements in desperate circumstances, it was not exactly clear *how* he had traversed the distance so fast, merely that he *must have.* His entire body seemed to be "perked up," if that was possible.

Laying a hand on the younger man's shoulder: "Calm down, Tomas; calm down. If you can without pain...catalog to me what you see, and what you feel. Slowly. If it cannot be interpreted by arcane or divine theory, then it must still be known--and exactly."

[NeoTiamat]

Courtyard, The Keep
May 25th, 761, 8:12 PM; Day 69 of the Menetnashte Expedition
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


There was a brief hesitancy as Professor Pelletier collapsed, and then the Expedition exploded into a flurry of motion and movement, the guards scurrying around to fulfill the medic's orders. Samael was the first at Prof. Pelletier's side, swearing softly under his breath in Balok. "He'll be alright? Legions take it... just what we need another death."

The Borcan touched his fingertips to the professor's shoulder, watching with interest as Kuzan worked his magic. "Come on... don't die on us."

As the guards returned with water and blankets and a makeshift stretcher, Samael stood again, speaking quickly to Harris. "We need a room. Some place large and defensible, I don't want us wandering around at night and without sleep."

"Right." Harris nodded. "I'll set Sarari and Jervis on it." The big man moved off to carry out his instructions.

"Good luck Kuzan." Samael's eyes flicked to the prone Prof. Pelletier. "We'll all need it."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tomas scrambles back up to his feet, whiping wildly at his head in order to get whatever invisible pollutant he believes he's seeing. "Everything. Dried blood, ice that burns and fire that freezes, the walls, the floor, the...evil! The whole room is evil!"

Some of the guards shifted nervously at this pronouncement, Michel making a quick sign of Ezra's Shield, Guy reaching his hand down to rest it on Loup's neck. The large Alsatian looked generally unhappy about this place, though it could've been put down to the heat.

"Evil squirrels. Evil water. Evil rooms." Professor Marchand-Renier, however, was less impressed. The black-clad academic observed with only faint sarcasm. "I imagine we'll be running into malevolent clouds and homicidal rabbits soon enough."

"Well, it's been a long few days." The Richemulose academic said with the air of a man granting a concession. "I'm sure we'll all feel better when we're not sleep-deprived any more."

The most interesting reaction, however was Devereux's, who, now that he had gotten over his preliminary reaction, was looking at the keep with profound interest. "It's as elementary an application of Gervaise's Fourth Theorem as I've ever seen. Er... a conflux of negative caloric waves that produces the...er...sudden cold....er....and the...er...electromagnetic waves would cause our...er...hair to stand on end....which is Mercadian's Law. Er... I think so."

Although Professor Marchand-Renier looked like he was in pain from Devereux's commentary, it would have taken a good observed to notice that Devereux was trying not to touch the walls or floor of the courtyard.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I have found a room for us." Sarari said as she returned a quarter hour later. The stretcher for Professor Pelletier was almost assembled, and the leader of the Expedition looked much better, really. "It is not far. I think it is a barrack, though no one has lived there for years."

"Good enough." Samael answered, rising from his vigil by Pelletier. "It's late, and we need sleep. Let's go."

The Barracks, Keep
May 26th, 761, 10:01 AM; Day 70 of the Menetnashte Expedition
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


The night at the barrack passed utterly without incident, though to be fair, you were so tired that even if the Anubite showed up accompanied by a dozen Akiri deities, you might have slept through it. No sooner had you gotten out your cots from the camels into the old barrack and lay down on them, then you were off into deep slumber for the night. Perhaps, considering the setting, nightmares or visionary dreams would have been more appropriate.

You awoke the next morning to the smell of food, and to the slim light flowing through the slit-like windows of the barrack. There really wasn't much to say about the barrack, in truth. A large, block-like room, it was abandoned save for the ruined and rotted wooden cots and foot-chests. You had pulled them away into a rough pile in a corner, and set up the usual tents, with the camels tied together just outside. The barrack had the advantage of having but a single door, and so it was an easily-defensible room, though this night, at least, you had no need to test that.

Michel was sizzling some conserves of bacon and grain as you awoke, and the sweet smell of hot food had a remarkably invigorating effect on you. A rough firepit had been cleared, and a makeshift chimney through a high window had been created, where Michel worked his Dementliuese magic upon the food.

Loup hung around the firepit and pans, and generally seemed to be doing his level best to hypnotize Michel into giving him some of the bacon.

Elsewhere, Kuzan sat within Professor Pelletier's tent, now a sickroom, while Dieter and Samael hovered nearby, though the Borcan periodically went off to check on the others. Edmund stood by the sole entrance, while nearby Professor Marchand-Renier and Remy were speaking as the graduate student prepared a pack of gear.

"....Notice the inscriptions upon the chests?" Marchand-Renier was in his 'lecturing' voice, and Remy bent to the nearest one to gaze at it.

"Looks a little like... old Pharazian?" Remy volunteered.

"Correct. From the looks of it, this building hasn't been occupied for at least a century and a half." Professor Marchand-Renier opened a book from his pack and examined it. At this point, the professor noticed that you had awoken. "Ah, good morning. I plan to see if I can find a library or some such. Pharazians are famed for collecting literature, and a library would be quite a prize."

Samael came up to the group at this point, strolling around in his usual black doublet, though now it was a little dusty. "Morning all. Is Miss Mournswaithe feeling better? I think it might be a good idea to do a little bit of exploring for our new abode, since we're stuck here till Prof. Pelletier recovers. It seems deserted, but better safe than sorry. Besides, maybe we can find something useful."

[OOC: Alrighty folks, here's the deal. This is going to be a very free-form Book, in that you have a large keep to explore and a bunch of NPCs to interact with. So essentially, you can go explore, or you can go to an NPC (IM me if one you want to talk to hasn't been mentioned), or you can do both (such as following Prof. MR and Remy to find a library).

I also advise splitting up, but ideally into groups of two PCs, with however many NPCs you want (zero to several, at your desire).

Now, shoo, enjoy yourselves, and try not to get killed by the Black Pudding!

[Kaitou Kage]

As if on cue, Kuzan emerged from Pelletier's tent. The priest looked a wreck. Thoroughly disheveled, with large dark circles under his eyes, he obviously hadn't slept much, if at all, last night. He was dusty, with bits of sand all over his skin and clothes, and he was starting to smell from both stress and not having bathed in some time.

He stifled a yawn and moved up to address the group.

"We're going to have to stay here a few days until I can nurse the professor back to health," the priest explained, "Barring any unexpected happenings, he'll be all right. He just needs rest and time for me to heal him."

He stifled another yawn. "Better make yourselves comfortable in the meantime," he murmured, heading toward Michel for breakfast. Or was it dinner? He couldn't tell anymore.

[The Whistler]

"Barring any unexpected happenings, he'll be all right. He just needs rest and time for me to heal him."

Otto exhaled audibly over his plate of food; though he hadn't been particularly forthcoming about his nervousness, he was relieved. Though he didn't know the professor very well on a personal level, he had taken a few lectures with the man, and on some level it was difficult to imagine the person who'd introduced him to the basics of arcane theory passing on under such circumstances.

"...Good. I am sure that he is appreciating your care..."

He rose, dusting himself off and leaving the empty plate by the firepit, and gesturing indicatively at Tomas.

"If you are wishing for such a thing, shall we explore the surroundings in this keep--perhaps with some regard for the supernatural? Given what you have observed in this place, I am quite interested in your perspective, for the practical if not for the academic reasons..."

A small, wry grin. [Lamordian] "Plus, it'd be nice not to have to talk like a badly edited textbook for a change. Fine with me if you want to take anyone else along, though."

[Rock of the Fraternity]

It takes Lia a little longer to wake up than the others. The first sign of her having woken up is, unfortunately, a long string of swearwords. Once that has wound down ... "Why," the Mordentishwoman grumbles, "do I feel as if I've been dragged over ten miles of bad road?"

Staggering visibly, Lia makes her way over to the breakfast area, where she looks down on the food sizzling in the pan.
"Ugh," she mutters. "Pardon me. Andre? Might I bother you for the use of your support for a moment? I need to be outside and ... I just need to be outside. I want some fresh air before it starts to boil. I'll be back for breakfast later, probably."

[DocBeard]

Since the...outburst, Tomas has kept fairly quiet, keeping to himself. If Tomas were the sulking type, you might say he's doing that; it's certainly the first time he's skipped breakfast, and he looks like he's missed whatever sleep he managed to get last night.

He nods, listlessly, at Otto, waiting for the larger man to lead the way.