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Post by Noa on Jul 27, 2019 9:57:09 GMT -6
The two of them paused there, mainly to collect their bearings--- or for Aster to collect his bearings, anyway.
Mercifully, the area was lit. Aster had been expecting darkness; the stairwell had been dark enough, and long enough that Aster knew that they must have been fully underground, with no hope of anything like windows. This wasn't some sort of half-basement situation. But there were lights, in the way of lamps that accented the walls at regular intervals, which gave off a soft but serviceable glow by which to see.
If the first floor was for show and enjoyment, then the underground floor--- this underground floor, anyway--- was certainly for a more practical purpose. There was a wide but plain hall with doors in a semi-regular arrangement, and pretty much nothing else more to see, right up to where the hall bent around a corner. It may well have continued in this fashion past that point too.
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Post by Noa on Jul 27, 2019 16:56:49 GMT -6
Looking at it, Aster found himself hoping the rooms were small. It was going to take a long time to look through so many.
"Let's go slowly," he said. He wasn't trying to drag out the process, but there was no sense in rushing headlong into the unknown either. All things in moderation--- he didn't want to be caught entirely off guard if they managed to stumble upon the creature they were being sent to kill immediately.
Avander gave wordless assent, and together they came up to the first door. It was open, which saved them the trouble of having to open it themselves, and reveal their presence that way.
Peering inside, Aster could make out a lot of bookshelves, and there was a big table that dominated the center of the room. A huge piece of parchment was laid out on top of it, and some sort of circle was drawn on top.
(Avander: +3)
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Post by Renathan on Jul 27, 2019 17:00:15 GMT -6
The room seemed harmless enough perhaps; though the scent of danger could be easily picked up... The question was; was it coming from here or somewhere beyond?
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Post by Noa on Jul 28, 2019 18:40:54 GMT -6
Aster frowned looking at the circle. The design wasn't anything he recognized either. He was beginning to regret his lack of familiarity with this sort of thing; it might have afforded him at least a little more in the way of understanding what he saw, which might in turn have offered clues about what exactly they were dealing with. The man who had made the request of them hadn't been all that specific, and the void of knowledge didn't inspire confidence in Aster.
Could it have been a summoning circle? Were they dealing with a summoned demon or elemental of some sort? He scrutinized it a moment longer, but to no avail.
Some of the books might have offered further explanations, but to sit here and peruse these felt like a bad use of time. There were too many books, and none that were conveniently laid out as particularly conspicuous among their fellows at a glance.
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Post by Noa on Jul 28, 2019 21:32:08 GMT -6
This room was a bust. That much was clear to him by now. Unless something phased through one of the walls at this point--- which wasn’t outside the realm of possibility, but still seemed rather unlikely--- it was time to move on.
Aster and Avander took their leave of the room, and the two of them proceeded down the hall to the next one, but that proved to be a bust too as far as finding the creature was concerned, though it did offer some food for thought. It was a regular restroom, excepting that the door had been torn down, and through what looked to be more physical means rather than less. Claw marks were gouged into the wood, and the hinges were bent out of shape. What seemed to have dealt the finishing blow was more of a ramming force, however, that had finally snapped the thing clean in two.
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Post by Noa on Jul 28, 2019 21:32:20 GMT -6
So this thing had some strength to it then. Aster’s expression became more grim.
Avander was studying it too, though Aster imagined his thoughts ran along different lines. After a moment, the drake bent his head to take a sniff at the door--- or rather, to flick his tongue at it. Same difference, to a creature of reptilian nature like him.
“Get anything?” Aster said. The drake was no bloodhound, to be sure, but he had an acute sense of smell all the same. And maybe he might be able to glean more about the creature’s identity from all this.
[It’s... ] The drake made a low rumble in his throat. It wasn’t loud enough to be very audible, but nevertheless, Aster signalled for him to keep it down. They didn’t want to tip this thing off about where they were before they were ready for it, and Aster was still hoping that they might get the element of surprise on it somehow.
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Post by Noa on Jul 28, 2019 21:33:32 GMT -6
The drake couldn’t articulate it, so he settled for showing Aster as much as he could through their link instead, that Aster might understand as much about it as Avander had gathered from scenting the broken door.
Thoughts that were little more than sensations made themselves known to him: fur and sweat, but also scales, mixed with the scent of fear and human urine. The latter was a little distasteful, but not a surprise given where they were, and what had likely been happening down here not too long ago. He’d endured worse.
Mixed in with all that, however, was something that Avander couldn’t put a name to. It was a little like ozone, but not quite, and it left a slightly unpleasant sensation on the tongue afterwards.
[I’m not eager to try it again,] Avander said, now that Aster was aware of what he meant when he voiced the sentiment to him.
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Post by Noa on Jul 28, 2019 21:34:15 GMT -6
Aster thought on it. “Probably the magic, or some kind of elemental ability,” he said. Wind or lightning, those all seemed like possibilities. Creatures here were often at least a little magic or elemental anyway, but this had been especially true since the advent of injections.
If that was all there was to it, they didn’t have any more to fear than they would have had if they’d been fighting something at the Pit, aside from the possibility of their being ambushed. But he had a nagging feeling that this wasn’t all there was to it.
“Think you can track it with this?” Aster said. Their search would go a lot faster if Avander could take them in a more direct fashion to the thing they were looking for.
The drake tasted the air around them experimentally, his tongue flicking in and out a few times in different directions. [This way,] Avander concluded, and led them further down the hall.
(Avander: +4)
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Post by Noa on Jul 28, 2019 21:34:32 GMT -6
Aster followed. As he passed the different rooms, he glanced inside a couple of them, but there wasn’t enough light within any of them for him to make out very much. Only the hall itself was lit.
Avander stopped as they reached the corner, and dropped into a lowered stance. Aster took that as his cue to be on guard for any nasty surprises. [Are we close?] he asked, switching to telepathic communication lest any noise betray them to the creature.
[More or less,] Avander replied. [The smell is all around now. I don’t know exactly where it is right now.]
Aster peered around the corner, and he began to see what Avander meant. There was no sign of anything moving, but there were plenty of signs that something was here. The floor was covered with a translucent substance that attached itself to the stone, creeping up the walls not unlike massive swathes of silk or spider web.
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Post by Noa on Jul 28, 2019 21:35:11 GMT -6
At the sight of it, Aster felt apprehension creeping down his spine. Avander had said fur and scales; he hadn’t mentioned anything about insects or spiders in his assessment earlier.
Just what in the blasted hells was this thing?
Another thought, this one more pressing, surfaced in his mind. [We can’t fight it on its own turf like this. I don’t know what it is or what kind of home field advantage this stuff will give it, but I don’t want to find out,] Aster said.
[What you’re saying makes sense, but why don’t I like where this is going?] Avander replied. The drake had angled his head back to stare at him with one reproachful golden eye.
[Afraid I’m going to use myself as bait?] Aster said. A slight smile tugged at one corner of his mouth. [Well, let’s try something smaller first... ]
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Post by Noa on Jul 28, 2019 21:36:11 GMT -6
This was his cue for both of them to get ready. In response to that, Avander pressed himself against the wall, body tensed and ready to spring into action. Aster gave him the slightest of nods to further prepare him, then took out a single coin out from his pocket. It still didn't feel quite right to him, even after all these years, to be throwing good money away, but there weren’t any conveniently placed pebbles within reach. This was going to have to do.
He threw it around the corner, and the two of them listened to the soft ping as the coin hit stone. Even that sound seemed muffled, likely the result of the strange webbing that covered the area.
The two of them waited with bated breath. One… Two… Three… Aster was counting down the seconds, straining for any sign of movement, all his senses on high alert.
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Post by Noa on Jul 28, 2019 21:46:57 GMT -6
Five seconds crept by. Six. Seven, eight... Aster forced himself to be patient, forced himself to count up to three whole minutes before finally giving up.
There was nothing. Nothing there. Or at least nothing was reacting to the noise.
[Either it's not there or it's calling our trick,] Aster said. He didn't know which prospect was better or worse. It did feel something like a letdown, given how much he had worked himself up, tensing in preparation to begin a dangerous confrontation with an unknown monster... But he reminded himself that he couldn't let down his guard even now.
Besides, some spiders were masters of ambush, and he knew that some reptiles could sense heat. Maybe this was just a sign that they needed to be more... convincing.
Aster took a step forward, but a tail lashed out and barred his way. [Where do you think you're going?] Avander asked. Aster could tell that he was repressing a sharp hiss of displeasure, and that the drake knew very well what he'd had in mind.
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Post by Renathan on Jul 29, 2019 9:24:09 GMT -6
Beyond the area; lurking, lurking. Perhaps it was watching for heat? Perhaps it was feeling the vibrations? What was it waiting for?
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Post by Noa on Jul 29, 2019 21:15:12 GMT -6
[Look,] Aster said. [If you go, it might not come out. You’re a lot bigger and more threatening than I am, so maybe it'll think you're too much trouble. Besides, you can provide better support if things go south. Me, I look like prey---]
[That’s because you are prey! Do you have a death wish or something?] Avander was tense with barely suppressed agitation, and Aster could feel his vehemence through their mental link. But he didn’t yield, and after another long uncomfortable moment, his will won out. Avander conceded, though he was deeply unhappy about it.
[Run if either of us senses something,] the drake warned. Aster nodded; he could promise Avander that much, at least. Of course, there was always the question of whether he was going to be able to run away when the time came. He didn’t doubt his reaction time, but that webbing…
[Avander: +5]
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Post by Noa on Jul 29, 2019 21:15:33 GMT -6
He didn’t know what the substance was, or whether it would impede his movement too much for him to be able to make a clean getaway.
He didn’t voice any of that to Avander though. Instead, he walked carefully, deliberately, into the edge of the webbing.
Nothing happened at first. Aster felt even more on edge than before, but he forced himself to take another step, and then a third. The webbing was slightly sticky underfoot, which confirmed some of his suspicions, but the pull didn’t seem too bad as of yet. He looked around as he walked further on, keeping his eyes peeled for any sign of movement. The hall was still lit, but that light was dimmer and more irregular now, semi-obscured by translucent webs.
After walking a couple of meters into the webbing, Aster began to wonder if the creature really wasn’t there after all.
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