Darkest Nights

[Elfmaster XK]

Welcome to the Darkest Nights RPG thread. To prospective new players please enter via the discussion thread as opposed to disrupting the flow of the story. To planned players, welcome to the darkness.

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The sun had just gone down and it's pale, dying glow disappeared from the horizon. The sky was dark and the moon had been waning several days now; light was limited. Isis had been walking along the beach quietly when she noticed footprints in the sand leading up to a dark cave on the hill. Just one opening of a great complex of underground caverns and ravines. She went to investigate, but what she found frightened even her...and now they were chasing her...she could hear them behind her. She had to keep running.

She reached the path aside the beach but no one was there, so she headed off into the forest beyond the entrance to the caves. She didn't care what they wanted but she had to get away from them...she could hear them again...see them just behind her...she ran faster...she had to.
***

Isis blinked. Still nothing. She sat up and her eyes adjusted to the blackness that surrounded her, but still she could see little. She frowned, remembering only that she had been on a beach just before. Standing she reached out a hand to try and find the wall, but before she could turn she heard something behind her. Spinning round she drew her dagger...
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[Nariel]

Seri didn't know where she was. She had woken up on the ground of a very dark area. Within a moment, she had flames surrounding her, lighting the place that she now knew was a cave. But it was silent. Very silent, except for the crackling of her flames. She hated this. It was the not knowing. She wanted to be in charge, to know what was going on. And suddenly here she was. It wasn't funny, and she was going to get back at whoever had done this to her. Get back in the worst way.

[Earniel]

Alethea sat on her mantle under an oak tree, not far from her home. It was around noon and she still had a long day ahead of her. She was testing some minor spells and documenting the side effects.

Her hand made a fast move, like the fluttering of a bird's wing and in the air before her appeared a small rotating snow crystal.

Feeling smug, she started scribbling notes in her book. But a whirring sound made her look up and the snow crystal she had conjured started spinning faster and faster. A little wisp of smoke rose from it. Alethea frowned, this had never happened before. She made a gesture with both her hands to freeze the crystal. But instead of stopping, the crystal burst in tiny fiery shards.

Alethea closed her eyes quickly to shield them. Yet when she opened them again she saw nothing, only darkness. Surprised, she jumped up.

"This wasn't supposed to... OW!" She yelped as her head hit rock that hadn't been there before.

"This must be THE oddest side-effect of conjuring a simple snow crystal ever documented." she muttered softly as she rubbed her painful head.

[Estel13]

Trin was walking along the beach, wondering if she wanted to do the job that Man had wanted her for. She had been taking os many bounties lately..."I just need some sleep, that's all." She collapsed down onto the warm sand, and fell asleep.
Two hours later, she woke up abruptly in complete darkness. "Wow, I didn't think it got so dark so fast. Not even any stars." She stood up, and immediately sensed that the air was different. Not just different like day to night air, but more like..."Like a cave, instead of out in the open." she said quietly. Just then, she heard someone to her right yelp in pain, and say "This must be THE oddest side-effect of conjuring a simple snow crystal ever documented." Trin automatically dropped and rolled to her left. When she stood up, she held a knife in each hand. "Who's there?! Speak up, or you're dead!" And I mean it, too. she thought grimly.

[Elfmaster XK]

There was definately someone else here. Isis' eyes had adjusted enough for her to see there were passages leading off in several directions. She heard the echoes of voices and feet whispering around her and fading back into silence. It reminded her of a day long ago when she was lost in the caverns of Halos. As she pondered this memory she saw a flicker of light before her, and just stopped before falling down the side of an underground cliff. The stones clattered on the ground below and as the dust settled she bent over the edge to see the ground only a few feet away.

"There's either been one hell of a party, or something weird is going on round here," she murmered, jumping down onto the level below.

Isis froze hearing the echo of voices again and ascertained their direction. She sheathed her dagger and drew her rune scimitars. Two long swords, one black, one white, each with a magical spell weaved into the runic words. Rounding the corner she was sure she'd find someone, but the darkness continued, and the voices still whirred around the damp air into nothing, but it seemed there was no one there.

[Earniel]

Alethea heard a slight shuffle and then the sound of metal. She froze, that sounded an aweful lot like a knife being drawn. Then she heard a voice demanding who she was.

Her pride flared up. Speak up, or you're dead? Somebody dared to say that to a witch? A very civil and friendly way get acquainted indeed. She briefly played with the idea of throwing fire at the voice that so calmly threatened to kill her. But she thought better of it, after all she knew not where she was and who it was that had spoken in the darkness.

She recalled a story her grandmother once told her about a witch that attacked a balrog with fire. Suffice to say that hadn't been the best of tactics. Alethea would be more careful: no attacking until she knew more about her possible opponent.

She purposefully let the silence linger a little longer before answering. The caves distorted the sounds, Alethea could tell by the echoes of the voice. So it was hard to tell where the speaker stood, not to mention how far or close she really was. The speaker could be corridors away or right behind the corner. A very tricky situation.

"Most people introduce themselves first when meeting a stranger in the dark. My name would mean little to you as it is. If these caves are your territory, than I apologize for tresspassing. I had no intention to stray into here, however accidentally I did." she finally replied.

[Arat-Falathion]

"Mithril ore I part from the mountain,
bring it back to me haaaaaal,
fine, fine chainmail, sturdy leggings,
shall I forge in me haaaaaal!

Mithril ore I melt in me oven,
make it mightily waaaaaaaarm,
fine, fine axes and heavy hammers,
shall I forge in me haaaaaal!"

So the dwarven miners sang on with their heartfull voices, stemming together in a mighty chorus led by the eager tempo of their spike and hammer. A dwarf, standing out from the rest with a long spike on his helmet and a twinheaded axe on his back, hammered heavily into a mithril ore he just had discovered. He had a feeling some special kind of treasure lay hidden here somewhere; -his nose told him so, his sixth sence of smelling all that was treasure.

"Mithril ore I crrrrrraft on meh, erhm, table,
make it miiightily strooooooong!" He grunted and sang in between his mighty swings of the hammer. "Fine, fine shields and mighty, hungh, weapons,
shall I forge in me haaaaaaal!"

Finally he got a crack into the hard rock enlaid with pure mithril, his eyes went wide and the hammer stroke in with such tremendous speed that the spike itself went hot. He didn't care though, the taste and thought of great treasure bound him in an extacy, and his song rang even faster and more forcefully through the mines. "MITHRIIIIIIL ORE I PAAAA..." He cracked through the stone, and was suddenly engulfed by a strange darkness comming out to swallow him.

*******

"...AAAAAaaart from the mouhf!" His eyes widened when he lost his hammer, hitting nothing but air through his mighty swing, and the forward momentum sent him stumbling to the floor. It took some time for him to struggle back to his feet and let his vision adjust to the deep darkness. He heard the hammer hit a wall in the distance and tumble to the floor.

"Where am I?" the dwarf grumbled, looking through the darkness as best as he could. He grunted unhappily. "All that mithril right afore me nose..." He looked about and drew the axe from his back. "...knew it was to good to be true!"

[Arcala]

“Oh, big brother, I can’t believe it! You’re going to become a mage!”
Sareenya jumped up and down beside her older brother, excitement shining from her face. She tossed back her long mane of red-gold hair behind one shoulder and said, “Tell me, brother mine, what mage-name will you pick?”

Her brother turned to her and replied, “I’m not sure yet, sister mine. The mage who wants to teach me says I’ve a gift for illusion. I could be called Raven, I guess…” He thought again about his favorite bird and decided that yes, it was a good mage-name. His sister didn’t think that it was much good at all, apparently. She giggled and said, “Raven? You’re no Raven. Well, you could be a fuss feathered Raven, I guess-”

“Listen, ‘Rena, just because I like my hair to look good, doesn’t mean I’m ‘fuss feathered’, as you put it.” Her brother was getting annoyed now.

“Don’t you take that tone with me, Phenial Rainshield! Just because you’re to be a mage doesn’t mean you can get all high-and-mighty-”

The young Phenial could tell that his sister was starting to work herself up into an apoplectic rage, changing moods in the blink of an eye. And there was only one way that he knew of to stop her.

He grabbed her and tickled her until they both fell on the ground, laughing all the while…

Raven awoke from his dream rather slowly. The first thing he noticed was the darkness. The second thing he noticed was the sounds of two people arguing nearby. So he got up, casted a mage-light to see where he was, and then walked out of the cave to find out where the arguing people were.

ooc: I hope that wasn't too strange.

[Gulio, Strength of Many]

Sarkas groaned and rubbed his forehaed. "Filthy evil minion of darkness," He said, recalling the elf he had quarelled with before being enveloped in a strange white light. He sat up slowly, examining his surroundings. He seemed to be in some sort of a cave.
"I knew it was too good to be true," a voice said somewhere near Sarkas.
"Who are you!?" Sarkas demanded.

[Legoles]

Ki walked through the forest near her home. She sang a soft song her friend taught her. "Hmm? Ahh....." she cried out as something hit her on the head.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She woke up in a musty cave in a well lit area. "Hmm?"

[Aewionen]

Darkness. Cold. Everywhere seemed to be engulfed in shadow. Alaith looked around only to see nothing. Nothing at all though everywhere there seemed to be everything. Shouts of anger and cries for mercy sounded through the dark halls though not a sound was made.

Alaith awoke with a start. She was sweating and breathing hard. Looking around her she saw that of which was in her dream. Darkness and shadows lingered everywhere. "Who are you!?" A sudden shout made Alaith jump to her feet. She looked around desperatly for light. Though everything seemed to be silent, she heard a loud ringing in her ears. "Where am I....?" she said quietly to the shadows.

[Elfmaster XK]

Still searching for the place the loudening echo voices were eminating from, Isis had come to a large room. It was still dark, but there was a torch sheding an eerie orange light over everything in the room. The voices were now so close she could almost make out the words....but only almost.

"This is ridiculous!," she muttered to herself as she placed her weapons on the floor and examined the wall blocking her path to the sounds of other people. Running her hands over the stone, she notices how unusually cold it was. Even for stone, and she withdrew her hand quickly. Dust fell from the stones and she thought she heard a stone hitting the floor on the other side. She pushed against the stones again and they moved slightly, a stream of tiny pebbles clattering to her feet.

"Hmm. I wonder..." she began, smiling slightly as she picked up her swords. She closed her eyes, crossing the swords before her and took three deep breaths before leaping into the air. She hovered for an extended moment and then slammed herself down against the stones, slashing her crossed swords against the rocks, which crumbled and shattered. Rock and dust splintered and flew off in all directions and the sudden movement in the air made the torch flicker, and through the hole Isis saw shadows of figures in the room beyond.

She began to delicately make her way across the debris and into the dusty fog she'd created. Until it settled she could see nothing, so she did what she assumed to be the next best thing.

"Hello? Is there someone here?" she said, still squinting to see through the dust. "Hello?"

[Arat-Falathion]

"Who are you?!"

The demanding voice made the dwarf jump around, and then, as it echoed of the wall behind him, he jumped back again. "Ahhh! Yer trickster! Where are ye stupid goblin?"

He swung his axe back and forth, more to calm himself then to appose any threat.

"Goblin?" The voice snickered, making out the dwarven form some steps to his left. "Hardly any goblinoid. So this is where I am... in some dwarven cavecomplex?"

"Yer wishin! If this is a cavecomplex of dwarven make, then I'm a bearded gnome! Who are you? What is your intentions here?"

[Halbarad]

"ah the feel of the hunt" thought Brannawen.
He had been hunting the deer for a couple hours now.
He could have killed a long time ago but he enjoyed the hunt to much to stop. Little did he know that he was being watched.
"Come on, just a little closer," he thought.
He crouched in the bushes waiting to spring out on the deer which was galloping closer and closer.
Suddenly a vile smell passed through the air which Brannawen knew.
"No"

There was only darkness.

Brannawen awoke in what appeared to be a cave.
He heard voices. One of which was obviously a dwarf.
He walked quietly toward them. He heard the other voice and
felt cold go down his spine.

"Yer wishin! If this is a cavecomplex of dwarven make, then I'm a bearded gnome! Who are you? What is your intentions here?" he heard the dwarf said.

He came out of the shadows.
"I am Brannawen of the Forest. Who are you?"

[Gulio, Strength of Many]

"I am Sarkas Sadda," Sarkas said, "So if this isn't a Dwarven cave, what are you doing in here?"

[Legoles]

"Eti!"[ow in japanese] *looks around confusedly* "Where am I?" she got up and looked around. Her instincts took over and she scouted out the area she was in. It looked to be a long tunnel, brightly lit. She went on ahead and heard voices. "Hmm?" <I'll go investigate.> She drew out a small knife, and ran up the corridor. Sheran and got to a dead end in about 10 min. Why can I hear voices, even though there is a wall here.... hmm..."*Kicks door hard, and it crumbles to dust. "Ohh...." She walked out into a larger room with a man and a dwarf in it.
She heard"A bearded gnome." "I'm Kailin, a scou..." Her scentance was intterupted by some man named Brannawin had interuppted her. <Hmmph! He could've been more polite!>

[Arat-Falathion]

OOC: haha, you do not make this easy for me... 3 coming in at me at the same time! Be jentle with the dwarf, he can die of too hard tention!!

BIC:

Turgin tugged at his weapon, his knockles going white at his tightening grip. Then suddenly two voices spoke at once, "I am oiuabhdsfiby. asdifasd asdiufg babbfvyvnow basdfby."

"Who?" the dwarf said, taking a carefull step backward and looking about him hastily. He couldn't define if the voices had come from the same being or not.

Then a man suddenly was before his face. Turgin reacted with a surprisingly quick swipe of his axe, nearly taking the mans head of, but the man managed to duck. Turgin used his momentum to gain distance to the man and to regain his breathing. "Ye ough to stay away if yer not wishin to become one head shorter boy!"

"Are you insane?!" came the yelling reply.

"He is a dwarf..." the answer came from right beside the startelled man, who suddenly found himself facing a darkelf.

None of them took any notice of the human lurking in the shadows, the human scout, Kalin.

[Earniel]

OOC: You think you're having a rough time, Arat? What about me?

IC:
Before the other one could reply a stone fell from the wall behind Alethea and hit her foot lightly. The witch nearly jumped in surprise.

Oh splendid, she thought darkly, if it isn't already bad enough to be in a dark place with somebody threatening to kill you, the cave has to choose this moment to fall apart.

But she quickly realised it was just a small section of the wall that was moving and not the entire cave. She heard the vague clatter of pebbles as if it on the other side of the wall.

Straining her ears, she tried to hear more but she heard nothing anymore. That silence can't be good, she realised. She quickly stepped sideways, away from the shaky wall and just in time to avoid the wave of debris and dust that marked the new arrival's entrance.

Somebody crawled over the remnants of the wall. "Hello? Is there someone here? Hello?" a new voice said.

This is getting better all the time, Alethea said to herself as she tried - in vain- to wipe the dust of her dress. The first one I meet threatens to kill me before we're even introduced. The second one tries to kill me as an introduction. If there's going to be a third one like that, he or she will be very sorry.

Still, this newcomer hadn't even mentioned killing anyone. So she didn't seem to be too dangerous.

"There is someone here." Alethea said. "As soon as I find out where here is."

[Nariel]

Seri got closer to the wall and realized that it wasn't a cave after all, but some sort of man-made (or dwarf-made) tunnel. The walls were cut of large stones and mortared together. As she moved along, she began to hear voices. She realized at this point that if anyone else saw her, all they would see was a floating ball of flames. Maybe this wasn't a bad thing.

[Halbarad]

He blended back into the shadows as awaited an answer from the dwarf.
As he waited he started thinking.
"Where am I?" "Who are these people?" and "Why am I here?"
As he thought he leaned against the wall only to find out that it was made of soft, mushy substance and he thought he could go through it.
"Um... everyone else I can feel a soft spot in this wall and I think I can pass through it. I'm going to check it out" Before a respnse was made he jumped through the wall.

Something moved in the dark.