Call of the Mist Wolf

The darkness spooked her, being unable to see the dangers up ahead. It was also hard to keep track of her friends who were wandering with her in this cave and, although Aaron was capable of using his magic to flash a light, Alpha didn't want to request that of him and exhaust his energy needlessly like that. Alpha reached into her back, pulling out a torch and lighting it. The shadows began to recede as light flickered off the wicker flames of her torch. The breeze brushed by Alpha, sending a chill down her back.

Despite her fear, she loosened her tense shoulders and grip when Terry began to nudge her leg in a comforting gesture. Her terrified face slackened and relaxed, flashing a gentle smile at the dingo. "Don't worry Terry," she tried to reassure the pup whilst walking ahead, not one to interfere with the group's current pace for idle chatter. She was an energetic and talkative girl but, upon seeing the previous victim of these hemomancers and seeing their true capabilities, she was wary and quiet. This was just a game, she reminded herself, but the eerie atmosphere and dark, lingering air still frightened her.

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. She tried her best to remain alert and diligent, carefully walking step-by-step as if she was afraid that some creature may pop out and attack them. Glancing around, she was once again reassured by the familiar faces surrounding her. For the last time, she calmed down and continued forward, resolute and unwavering.

 

She felt very much in her element, for the time being assuming the role of lead scout. the other members of the party could catch glimpses of her from time to time, weaving in and out of the shadows cast at the perimeter of the light cast by the torches and/or light spells provided by the group. She focused completely on the path ahead, knowing that at any instant she would be confronted with danger. She'd joined the group in light of the promise of gold and treasures, and also because most, if not all of her friends had volunteered, and she felt a certain sense of duty to ensure their well being.

she forced all thought from her mind, focusing on her training and searching desperately for shapes and movement in the darkness, and also listening intently for any sounds out of the ordinary, but within the darkened tunnel, even the sound of 9 pair of feet walking at a casual pace echoed and rendered her efforts in vain. Regardless, she had a job to do, and she focused. She and her weapons were ready.

 

​

So this was it? The blood red mountain looked incredible to Elizabeth. There was nothing like that in the prime dimension. Truly this world was closer to the dark gods. These 'Blood Witches' were going to be very interesting to meet in person. The darkness of the cavern they entered was also marvelous. Merkaba could not have made a better place to really get in touch with her dark energy. There was so much around it was almost suffocating... wonderful! She could not help but wonder which of her, ahem, companions, were able to continue on without fearing what was to come. That was how darkness worked, it picked out the fearful and always snuffed them first.

Elizabeth had attempted to gather together as many of these fools as she could before the raid began. It was in her better interest if they succeeded and Merkaba simply learned from the experience. She did need to see who in this world was a threat, who were worthless, and who were worthy of her plans. As if a joke by her gods. The stupid child, Alphabet Chocolate had actually joined this raid. She would not speak to the others about how incompetent this girl was. Merkaba would much rather let her trip over her own shoes and prove it by herself.

The team had a Paladin in their group or at least some fool who thought himself one. Merkaba was happy to let him lead. That is what heroic white knights do right? She herself would not say much on this trip. In fact she was certain that most of these people did not even want her presence. Which worked fine for her actually. She would let others use their items and their energy. Merkaba was here to watch and to teach only if asked. She was not going to help the ungrateful. So she remained in the back some. Letting the rest lead the way. Her thoughts known only to herself.

"This druid has led us into the darkness. Splendid."

Merkaba would as someone in the rear. Keep her ears attuned to what was around her. This was the perfect place to surround and slaughter. Here they were at the mercy of the dark. But for Merkaba, she was at a beach.

 

As the darkness grew heavy and blinding, Aaron raised his left hand up to the level of his face. "Fist lux," he spoke, and a small ball of light formed in his hand at the casting of his most basic spell. He examined the walls as best as he could. Were they naturally formed, carved by some kind of tools, or formed by magic? Any hints he could gather of what they would soon be facing would be useful.

He shifted the bag that sat upon his back. Though he had made a point to supply the party with as much food as he could, he had made certain to divide the food up so that each person was carrying their own share, so that no one could accuse someone else of eating their own portion. Any left over portions that wouldn't have made a full go around went first to anyone who purchased food, then starting with the youngest person and working up.

Aaron's mind went to the victims of the witches, and what the players were doing here. That word bothered him - players. Sure, to those here, this was just a game. They could log out, go back to their lives, never worry about any of this again. But for the NPCs, who seemed so alive... this was their world. Their lives were being ended by these witches, who had probably been created for the sole purpose, by some twisted programmer, of being an 'entertaining event' for the players, to really get the full swing of the game underway. Silently, Aaron cursed those people.

 

Walking almost as if she was tiptoeing through the darkness, Nalani kept her gaze straight forward, face unreadable and eyes almost glazed over as she focused on the task at hand. She'd never really been one for anything extremely gory, and even if she did see something overly grotesque, she would just wave it off and move on. However, upon seeing the man that had been saved from the cultists, she felt her stomach churn and anxiety spike, repeating to herself over and over again in her head 'It's just a game, it's just a game'. That had been able to calm herselk somewhat to the extent where she could just keep going.

Fortunately, there was people in the raid she knew and trust. Aaron, her paladin friend, Lucia, whom she hadn't seen for a while but still had friendly encounters with, Jack, whom she had mixed feelings about but was comforted by the fact he was here, and the girl she considered her greatest friend in the game, Alphabet, with actually she was sticking pretty close to, wanting to stick in the light of her torch. It had been a bad idea in the first place not to buy her own, but she had been running out of gold fast in preparations for the raid and had only been able to snatch up a few potions to keep her stable. She regretted not grinding for more, but sometimes that just wasn't possible.

She jumped a little bit as a voice rose up over the silence over than Aaron casting his spell, her gaze turning slightly to look at a lady who went by 'Merkaba'. She did have a pretty dress, but other than that, Nalani was unsure what to think of her other then, 'She's a bit strange'. Pondering over what she said, she turned her gaze back forward, training her eyes on the back of the druid. She wasn't one to jump to conclusions, but part of her told her to keep an eye on that guy. You never knew who is telling the truth and who is lying in games like these- Well, you never knew that in real life, either. Call her gullible, but either way Faye had a hard time differentiating the two.​

 

Lucia couldn't help feel a great deal of unease, not so much from the gloomy atmosphere or the tense situation, but more from how they seemed to violate her senses. The sharp smell of blood, the oppressive darkness, the faint sound of the breeze, all of it was just did too well to paint a picture that the trip was ill advised. Despite those warning signs though, Lucia persevered, there was no attention for those who did not seek it. As things got darker Lucia matched Alphabet in taking out a torch, setting it alight as a precautionary measure. Trying to make sure both the backline and frontline had light sources, one came from Alphabet, the other from Lucia at the moment. She could only hope it kept her safe.

Seeing Aaron's interest in the cave though, Lucia turned her gaze towards the Druid Ornson, her tone concerned and at the same time suspicious of the cave itself. "Almost looks as if... They're trying to turn this mountain into a Magecraft itself." Lucia voiced her suspicions, as if trying to gain insight from someone with more experience on the subject to see if they could recognize anything peculiar. Even posing the question to the druid as well, wondering if he happened to have experience in common magecrafting that might be useful. "I can't say I know what their intentions are, but if it were so, it would explain why they needed so many sacrifices... To curse and manufacture a magecraft at this scale--" Lucia couldn't help shudder a little as her mind went wild with the possibilities.

Lucia took this game to have very adaptable and capable AI though, whether Ornson was friend or foe, with no direct objective in sight, the best she could do was make an effort to draw hints from him. "Sir Ornson, you seem to have been here, seen things at this place far longer then we have. Though you might not know what to expect within, I imagine you must have crossed paths with one of these Hemomancers in the path. Any insight will be helpful, knowing what to expect if one should find us would be valuable information." She tried to gauge the man's willingness to help and advise them.

 

Tagging a short distance behind the aspiring crusader, Jack continued to follow along while sticking to roughly the middle of the pack. Though perhaps more on edge than he’d like to admit, the dark haired mage was unusually calm as far as outer appearances went. His face seemed rather carefree as he walked along cheerily contemplating what sort of stories he’d retell to other adventurers back at the tavern after their return.

From his perspective, nobody was actually going to die. That sole fact alone was already more relaxing than the harsh reality that he’d more likely than not have to face once it was time to resume his moonlighting out at the clinic. Blood, gore, death – it was all simply a fabricated reality of new experiences that he had come to relish in. It probably helped that there were a good number of familiar faces among the lot too. The fact that some reliable folks had tagged along did put him at ease to a marginal degree.

As for now? He’d continue to view his surroundings with awe and wonder. Though the magic itself was bewildering, the physician found himself more preoccupied with the corpse they had found before (with the extracted marrow) and the pulsating rhythm that reverberated throughout the mountain. “You’d think such a project wouldn’t sprout up overnight… and that someone would’ve noticed sooner. That's game logic for you.” He’d quietly murmur this sentiment to those around him while continuing to walk forward.

 

They were an unusual assortment of people, a group that seemed to have members that had little to do with each other, but one among them in particular stood out to the bard. Dempsey, she had history with that silver-haired girl, not a pleasant one for sure but she could bury her bitter feelings if she put her mind to it. Not a hard task, so long as she minimized her interaction with the other girl.

When she crossed the threshold, she felt strange. That was the best way she could describe it. The cavern for better or worse seemed alive, it's pulse bounding alongside her. It was an irrational feeling, but one all too real that she couldn't shake it.

As their guide led them deeper and deeper into the darkness, so did the light from whence they entered shrank until even that seemed to vanish entirely and all that was left to illuminate the way was the druid's torch. A light that was insufficient for their needs. She looked to the others, certain that she saw someone with another torch during the days they spent walking up to this locale.

Hopefully there was going to be enough light. She'd underestimated the need to bring one. She'd never really expected that they would need to enter a cave of all places. The chilly air bothered her, almost as much as the darkness did in here.

 

Things continued uneventfully for several moments until she thought she heard something.

"д... ӭ... ґ... Ԁ..."

She turned back, but it didn't seem like anyone had said anything, and if they had, it clearly wasn't directed at her. She shrugged, figuring someone among their numbers was using some sort of spell. Nothing appeared, and nobody exploded. she shrugged it off and let them do whatever it is they were doing in peace.

Dempsey continued to creep along, partially concealed by shadows, but reluctant to get too far ahead. she listened to the muted voices behind her and turned for a moment when the Druid beckoned them to examine the red crystalline formations that dotted the walls. This was worth taking note of for future reference, but she wasn't here to study geology. Satisfied that the more magically inclined among them would work out what the crystals were, and what their appearance implied, she returned to her self-appointed job of watching the path ahead for danger.

She was not watching when the druid was struck by lightning, and only realized what was happening when she turned to learn the source of the lights and commotion behind her were coming from. She was thinking fast now. The druid was likely a lost cause, and she was much more interested in the rotating statue in the center of the chamber. If the statue were some kind of automated defense mechanism, there's little reason to believe that she wouldn't have been the one to be electrocuted, so the only logical answer is that the druid was targeted intentionally. She retreated to where most of her companions were gathered and had a look at the unfortunate man for herself.

 

​

Listening to the others around her. Elizabeth took note of how things. The Paladin was not afraid with his little sphere of light. Foolishly believing his god could protect him here. That light could be doused in a instant. The being called a Felis in this world was in the lead. Scouting for what in this place? If the threats here were monsters, a scout in the front will be meaningless. They would approach from both sides, if not from the floors themselves in a place so full of dark and blood magic. Blood magic was like controlling water... it can go through cracks, slide along surfaces like a snake.

Speaking of the other user. Lucia. Not much to say about this one. She at least seemed less stupid, as was obvious when one uses darkness. Although the usefulness of a bow inside a enclosed space with darkness blurring the vision would make Merkaba see her as less than efficient for this task. The other's were not interesting to her at all. Once things grew... unhinged, more would become apparent. Merkaba would hear Lucia question the druid about how much he knew about the witches and this place. About time someone did. The trust here was sickening. Although from his answers and what came next.... he was pretty harmless, for now. Lightening and a statue? Fool walked right into a trap. Classy.

Merkaba stopped moving and watched how the statue rotated, then remembered the red crystal pattern the druid showed them a few moments before. If Elizabeth was correct in her first assumption, this was a mere inconvenience at the worst. She remembered the pattern somewhat, especially the beginning. If she compared it to the room... Why not test her theory with these fools? Save herself a shock. Her second would be the words from the darkness. "a-e-i-d,” this was... a chant? Elizabeth began to think if she could recognize it from her dark arts research. Was it the same language as the catacombs engravings? She was not sure honestly. But the chant did change things a bit.

"This is either a trap or someone has created a magic field. Who would like to find out first by venturing into the hall of lightning?"

Merkaba would not endanger herself of course. Rather she wanted to watch others movements and see if the pattern was a way to avoid the trap, or if they simply were at the mercy of magic in this field, which would be more annoying to deal with, but far from impossible.

@Alphabet Chocolate @Dempsey Fabijain @Aaron Marone @Nalani Rosa @Lucia Mierz @Jack Anders @Amalia Leblanc

 

Alpha shivered and she heard Terry whimper beside her as well. With her free hand, she scratched the top of the dog's head to calm him down until his shoulders weren't hunched and his claws didn't curl. The pup relaxed in her touch, leaning towards her as they continued onward, haunting with strange whispers of unknown origins and meaning. "M-Maybe this is all just a misunderstanding?" she offered weakly upon hearing Oreson's explanation on the possible motives of the coven. She knew it was a dim, unlikely hope but it was one she'd grasp onto until they'd meet the topic of such concern.

After their guide had shown them the red, translucent crystal walls, she had grown fascinated by the pretty rocks and spent her time lighting the area to see the gems, slowly forgetting about the danger they were in. Suddenly Terry let out a loud, startled bark, jumping back and accidentally scratching Alpha. The unexpected injury left Alpha sitting on her bottom on the ground, eyes wide and hands grasping for a weapon as the spear materialized in front of her. "Are you alright boy?" she asked as the pup growled at the sight before them. She looked to see the druid wracked with spasms and with electricity cracking through her veins. Fear lighted in her eyes yet, after a few seconds of the spectacular and terrifying show, she jumped to her feet and quickly positioned herself in front of Nalani with Terry in tow.

Merkaba, Aaron, Lucia, Dempsey, and the rest were really strong from what she remembered during their adventures together. She wasn't sure about Amalia or Jack but she figured they'd make it through; Nalani, however, would need her help the most. She opened her ears and carefully observed the spectacle with her weapon raised high, ready to strike at enemies. Her egg jingled a bit in her pouch at the quick movement but eventually settled. She shared a look with Terry, the same thoughts running through their mind. They'd protect the team and Nalani from whatever just happened to the druid.

 

Aaron winced at the voice in his head. It felt evil, almost definitely because it was. How was one to fight and evil that could seep it's way into your head and your mind, to whisper and taunt you before you could even see it's face? The answer was simple. The wise words spoken by a wizard from an old book carried his answer. "Hope can be found in even the darkest of places, if one only remembers to turn on the light." Aaron was the light. The darkness would not consume him.

When Alphabet got too close to the strange crystal, Aaron put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. "It's not good to draw to close to things of evil, ABC. They are a cancer that tempts you, and if you let them in even once, they will spread until they have taken over you completely. That's the nature of evil. No one wakes up and decides to be a villian, they become infected."

When the guide suddenly lit up with lightning, Aaron drew his sword and shield immediately. Noticing that only Merkaba seems interested in taking charge so far, and not trusting her one bit, Aaron decided that it fell to him. "Jack! Make sure our guide is okay, potions or healing spell, your choice! Dempsey, back to the group, if we stay separated we'll get picked off one by one! Magic users, figure out what the hell is up with that statue, and if destroying it would make things worse or better! Everyone else, be on guard! Threats rarely come one at a time, it would be foolish to believe we are alone right now!"

 

Though a bit perplexed at the strange sounds that nobody had yet to properly discern, Jack simply shrugged it off for now while archiving the pronunciation into the back of his mind. He’d shortly thereafter revert back to normal, not letting the phenomena bother him too much.

Eventually coming across the red crystals scattered along the wall, he’d call out to the group to satiate his curiosity. “Any of you guys a metal worker by chance? Maybe we can mine some of this red stuff? Who knows? Maybe we’ll get lucky and it’s a rare crafting mat or something snazzy.” A finger pointed at the vein as he looked for someone to take him up on the idea. Shrugging once, he’d proceed to move on. It didn’t seem like anyone in their group had the correct skill.

It was only after the druid had been shocked that Jack’s attention had snapped towards the front rather than continuing to meander about. Given the nature of the rotating statue and the lightning that manifested in the general direction it faced, it was clear that they had finally come across their first obstacle. “Think there’s an exit on the other side?” He’d ask curiously while taking a moment to inspect the druid from a distance. Should the shock wear off, he’d beckon for the man to come to him for aid.

Once that matter was tended to, rather than heavily debating too heavily on a course of action, Jack would instead reach into his pocket and squat down to look Terry in the eyes. He’d attempt to get the creature’s attention while waving a fish stick just out of its reach. “Who’s a good boy? You’re a good boy, right? Right? You want a treat? Yah! I bet you sure do! Now go fetch!” Without warning, he’d chuck the fish stick cross the large chamber and towards the opposite side of the room. Were the dog to chase after it, he’d watch curiously to see whether or not the statue would react to anything (the fish stick or the dog should it dive in) as well as note the rotational speed. Should it show signs of reacting to both, he’d watch even more carefully to discern the interaction properly. Provided his experiment was successful, perhaps they’d all ought to simply make a run for it.