The Eye of Anubis: Book Eight

[yalenusveler]

"As delightful as discussions on the semantics of humanity are, especially as they relate to my state, I think we're getting ahead of ourselves." Andre interjected, trying to be polite about it, but it was one of those leapings of the coach of thought where it probably ran down someone who didn't get out of the way in time.

"How did this monastery become a thin point between dream and reality, what slumbers here, and what does the Abbott have to do with it? I know he goes about masked, and he speaks in the minds of individuals...and that he's old..but beyond that, nothing. And I distinctly dislike this nothing. Plus...you mentioned a Ronoph? Who or what is that? Another Dreamspawn, another name for the Abbott? Or Perhaps the name of whatever is bound within these walls?"

[Nathan of the FoS]

"Reasonably." The Lorelei favored Charles with a dark-eyed gaze, nodding as though to a particularly bright student. "Though I will never believe that Charles Martel is merely anything."

I suppose that's a sign of admiration, if you like, Charles thinks to himself, as he undergoes a sensation like a drop of ice-cold water running down the center of his back. I do wish it could be taken as a straightforward compliment--Ezra knows what the Oracle's eyes see that we "mere mortals" are unaware of.

He looks with interest at Andre as the erstwhile professor-turned-priest trots out his new line of questioning. He's pressing for more than Charles would ever feel comfortable doing with this particular female, but then, the two of them have a special relationship.

Better him than me, Charles thinks, not for the first time.

[Kaitou Kage]

"I don't understand," Kuzan murmured, "A human canvas? I don't understand what you mean. How does all of this that we're working for relate to me? What is this Dikesha saying and what does it have to do with me? What's the question asked? What does Menetnashte have to do with me?"

[NeoTiamat]

The Library, The Monastery of Stilled Nightmares, Sebua
July 17th, 761, 3:45 PM; Day 122 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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"As delightful as discussions on the semantics of humanity are, especially as they relate to my state, I think we're getting ahead of ourselves." Andre interjected, trying to be polite about it, but it was one of those leapings of the coach of thought where it probably ran down someone who didn't get out of the way in time.

"Patience, Darzegal... Patience..." The Oracle of the Waters said in her soft voice, though there was a warning note in her tone. The Lords of Faerie had their ettiquette and sense of propriety, however strange or whimsical it could be, and to violate it was unhealthy. "All shall be revealed... at its own pace..."

"Now... where was I..." The Lorelei said musingly, as the miniature fountain of water rather obligingly raised the smashed husk of the beetle out of the bowl and into view. The Lorelei spared it a look, then nodded. "Yes, the dangers of power..."

"Places of power may be created in many ways... some are caused by emotion, what scholars call... resonance. Others come from powerful magics, while still others are the demesnes of powerful entities.... Dezbar was such a one. But the greatest are those caused by the land itself, the pain and suffering of humanity inflicted by a careless world." The Lorelei smiled winsomely, her expression utterly unconnected with the horrors she described. "The Jackal's Ruse is such a place. Here, the world itself inflicts misery and death. Such a place... attracts."

"Menetnashte found this place easily... leaving the Twin-God's statue, as in my river." The Lorelei continued. "But in time, all came to ruin. Upon the fields of Dahnitae, Menetnashte's Empire came to the fate of all mortal constructs. It... died. The Golden One fell from power, and the Jackal's servitors scattered to the four winds."

"One such, the Menetnashte's Champion, came to the Jackal's Ruse." The Lorelei waved a casual hand about the room, encompassing all within and without its walls. "He.. or rather it.. was named Ronoph. A beast of immense strength and little intellect, it went to ground, into a... hibernation."

"And as it slept, Ronoph dreamed... and doing so, weakened the wall of worlds..."

"Of course... mortals cannot leave well enough alone..." The Oracle of the Waters favored Lia a pleasant look. "In time, a cult sprang up, worshipping the sleeping beast... the Chained Lord... As such things go, it was crude and brutal, but it had ruthlessness... so was not entirely without merit. Later one of my dreamborn cousins arrived here, the Night Terror, to feast upon the anguished screams of sailors dying beneath the cultist's knives, while his minions fed on cultist's troubled dreams."

"Some century past, Ronoph's dreams reached another entity of power. This self-claimed divinity sent a pair of inquisitors to examine the scene. The... Abbot... was one of them. They dispatched much of the cult... and used tricks of the mind on the rest... save for those few who joined willingly..." The Lorelei's voice was almost approving as she spoke. "Of course... the inquisition went poorly, and the Abbot's comrade... perished. Perhaps accidentally..."

"Still, the Abbot rules here now... a predator with a choice territory and more congenial surroundings than those of Ronoph's foolish cultists. With an adoring human flock and the old cult's enforcers... the Abbot is lord of the waking world here... directing his prayers to control the slumbering beast."

"Now it wakens... while Night Terror gazes in sublime delight." The Lorelei said fondly. "It will take some months yet, but by year's end, Ronoph will awaken. It will begin a rampage of destruction... scouring the desert to glass as it goes... until it is stopped within Pharazia's borders..."

"You shall be long gone... by the time the day arrives which the Abbot awaits..." The Lorelei let her eyes rest on Tomas for a moment, giving a little quirk of the lips that may have been a smile, and may not have been. "But I can understand that you may wish to disbelieve an... oracle."

"So proof is close at hand... there is a secret passageway nearby, which shall prove my words. Merely follow it to the end..."

"I don't understand," Kuzan murmured, "A human canvas? I don't understand what you mean. How does all of this that we're working for relate to me? What is this Dikesha saying and what does it have to do with me? What's the question asked? What does Menetnashte have to do with me?"

"Questions... questions..." The Lorelei said with a soft laugh. "I fear I must disappoint you... I am wise enough not to involve myself..."

"Still, answers will come, never fear." The Lorelei traced a cold finger along Kuzan's palm. "Oh... and take care with this hand... it would be a shame for the wards to be destroyed... and the Hungering Shadow to come."

And with those words, the Lorelei laughed, a small, feminine laugh like the tinkling of silver bells. The Faerie Lord shimmered briefly in the fire-light, a water-nymph crafted of darkling mist and pale fog, cold and damp. Then the haze dissipated, leaving the only traces of the Lorelei's presence the dampness on your skin and the chill working its way up your spine.

[DocBeard]

"So what she's saying is..." Tomas drawls, perhaps to help him ignore the shiver of terror running down his spine and the sudden, primal urge to be Somewhere Else. "...we're doomed, and so's Sebula. So, what, Cavendish won even though we drove him off?"

"Well, that was nice of her." Tomas indulges in his inner optimist. "Though, admittedly, she's predicted our horrible deaths before, and turned out to be misinformed. Perhaps this is only the most probable outcome, ja?" Always the cheerleader.

[Kaitou Kage]

"Dammit!" Kuzan kicked the recently vacated chair and swore loudly in Rajian. The chair tumbled onto its side and the priest stood with his fists clenched and hanging loosely at his sides.

Stonewalled at every turn. Why can't I get answers? Why does all of this suddenly matter when it never did before?

The priest stared dumbly at the symbol on his hand. Wards. Not just a marking, but a ward, a seal. Keeping the Hungering Shadow contained.

What in all the hells did you do to me?

[Rock of the Fraternity]

"Well, isn't this lovely," Lia sighs. "We are in the fortress of a sacrificial blood cult, whose members may not remember right now that they are one, because they are being manipulated by a powerful psychic. And oh yes, said psychic is our friendly host, who is waiting for another demon to wake up. And I have to somehow stop said demon from dreaming. This day just gets better and better."

[lostboy]

And I have to somehow stop said demon from dreaming. This day just gets better and better."

"Indeed perhaps you should have taken up her offer of contract re-negotiation afterall." Khalil fires a small grin at Lia as he says this, knowing full well she isnt about to do that.

Springing to his feet he sheathes the knife he was sharpening and stretches, the nonchalance of his action belying the grim tone of his voice. "If death is coming, then so be it. I have no wish to visit the sacred land but I do not fear death, it is the natural order of things."

"Still getting there first and being able to pull, how you say a fast one over death and this demon thing would be most satisfying no?"

He looks around at everyone "So where is this passage?"

[The Whistler]

Otto stands up, nodding contemplatively. Well! Most specific prayer session I've ever seen. I mean, you have the higher entity right there and visible by independent observers; you have a few clearly supernatural effects to prove her legitimacy; you have a laundry list of useful predictions that aren't cloaked in mystic bull-honkey, but are in fact experimentally falsifiable-- ...Well! Someone should write a paper about this!

...

...There's a sleeping demon buried just under our feet, this building is filled with possibly brainwashed ex-cultists, and my department head was recently stabbed to death. ...Oh.

The gunsmith kept pretty quiet during the discussion about the secret door, but he might have muttered "At least we have our health" under his breath.

[Nathan of the FoS]

"I believe there was mention made of a secret path near here?" Charles says, cracking his knuckles and stretching--altogether resembling a rather debonair cat about to launch itself into the path of marauding curiosity. Nodding to Andre, he continues, "As long as we're in the vicinity, perhaps we should look for it and make good on your patroness' generously offered information."

[yalenusveler]

"Of course." Andre said with the sort of smile one could only get after a full demonstration of the merits of a physical god over those of a transcendent god. "We know whatever Ronoph is, that it's not particularly bright, so considering we all tend to be on the swift side, out thinking it shouldn't be outside our realm of possibility." Andre gathered up his things, and then looked to the group "Now, who found the secret passage before, and would they be so kind as to lead the way?"

[NeoTiamat]

Secret Passageway, The Monastery of Stilled Nightmares, Sebua
July 17th, 761, 4:02 PM; Day 122 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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Khalil looked around at everyone "So where is this passage?"

The secret passage in question did not take very long to find, in no small part thanks to the fact that Tomas had been there before. It was a narrow, length of wall at the end of what would otherwise have been a dead-end corridor, and took little more than a push in the right place to open it.

As far as secret passageways went, this one was fairly standard in style, at least in the opinion of those of you who read the kinds of books that used lots of secret passageways. Still, unlike those literary passageways, this one was almost pleasant. It all looked very well cared for, as a matter of fact...

Beneath... Somewhere?... The Monastery of Stilled Nightmares, Sebua
July 17th, 761, 5:13 PM; Day 122 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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You weren't sure quite how long you spent travelling down the labyrinthine twists and turns of the secret passageway, but it was long enough to get a bit tired of the cramped, claustrophobic corridors. That said, it would be fair to say that the passages were less disturbing to contemplate than what you found at the end.

The passageway opened up into a large, courtyard-like interior, an irregularly shaped area just inside the wall, at a guess. Off to the side were some weapon racks, laden with dozens of the bladed chains you had seen Tharivas use earlier. Opposite it was a statue, a hulking thing covered by a cloth or tarp, but from what you could see from the outline, it wasn't human, more... insectoid.

At the far end of the courtyard was a row of cells built into the wall, small prisons surrounded by good wooden walls and fronted by stout doors with tiny, barred windows, all heavily locked. As you appeared out of the passageway, you heard movement inside them, and scant moments later an excited babbling from the prisons as they realized that no, you were not the monks.

The prisoners spoke a multitude of tongue, Darkonian, Vaasi, Grabenese, other tongues less identifiable. Flashs of pale, bearded faces appeared in the cells, a dozen prisoners at least, maybe more. One voice cut through the babble, shrieking in high-pitched Darkonian.

"You've got to save us! He'll kill us! Shut up Petey, this is our chance." This last was an aside to another prisoner. "He's in the side-room, he's got the key. Please, he's killing us one at a time!"

You looked in the vague direction of the prisoner's anguished gesture. A side-room had been partitioned from the rest of the courtyard by a curtain of flowing black material. On a table before it, you saw the Abbot's bronze, oddly-shaped mask.

With all the commotion, it would not take your host long to investigate.

[Nathan of the FoS]

In circumstances like these it never hurts to do one's best to retain the element of surprise. Accordingly, Charles whispers, "Ablepsosin," and promptly disappears.

One never knows if it will do any good with these magical johnnies, but every little bit counts.

Stealing forward, he snatches the mask from the table where it lies, his rapier in his free hand, and waits for the emergence of the Abbot.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

"E visu abscindo," Lia whispers, and also vanishes from sight, holding position for the moment. "He will attack your minds," she says in a quiet voice. "Steel yourselves, as best you may." If there is time, she starts to cast another spell.

(OOC: Casting Greater Invisibility and getting ready to cast Haste if possible.)

[lostboy]

"Well this is an unpleasant little situation. Do you think this is quite what your patroness had in mind?" Khalil says throwing a sidelong glance at Andre.

Seeing or not seeing the others dissapear Khalil is sorely tempted to reach into his own pack for that final vial nestling in a safe pocket. But something inside him snaps, a rush of cold anger at being thrust into yet another potentially fatal situation, those fools, their ravings will damn us all!

So thinking he moves towards the cells, past the covered statue "You wish to die quicker then? Still your foolish tongues!" He hisses as he glares into the cells, scanning the occupants.

[OOC: intimidate 30 also a spot 34 to see who and what is in there and anything worth noting]