The Color of Shadestone

Seeing as the three of them are trapped in this endless spiral Lionel motions to Dances and Dusk nods then asks Dances.

"Oh Dan, since we're trapped in here for a bit, tell me about yourself? I'm sure you have a wonderful story to tell. It would likely be a bit more interesting than these dreary walls. Not to say your history is as dreary as these..."

Lionel flicks the back of her head. As she unreels herself she continues.

"...Sorry, I'm kind of bad at talking with people sometimes. To be frank you guys have been the most chatter I've had in er... She starts counting something on her hand. "3 years or so and I didn't really have that many friends before them either so forgive me if I accidentally insult you. I don't mean it really!" Lionel ruffles her hair and says. "Better"

Dusk continues her chat. "Well tell a lie I have had a few conversations with other people other than my brother but most of it is discussing on where I need to deliver to. I'm just a boring transport driver, dreary as these walls I tell you. Safe though, it definitely is safe." She smiles at the prospect of being in a safe place again though doesn't seem all that uneasy about the spirally hallway they have caught themselves in.

Dances stops his descent and glances back towards the top of the stairs with a frown, "We may as well wait here.  It seems this place will not allow us to proceed without the others."  Still visibly on edge, he answers Dusk while continuing to scan their surroundings ,"This Ones story is not so exciting, but it is like the story of my people.  The Biladi are a people in transition.  Caught between the old world and the new.  Some cling to the old traditional ways, but they are slowly becoming irrelevant .  Some have abandoned their ancestors, moved to the cities to try to become... something else.  The Biladi  need to find another path.  A third path.  One that honors our ancestors but that can also survive in the world as it evolves.  Dances at Night seeks his path. " He twitches his ears towards Dawn and Lionel , "What of you?  Forgive This One's curiosity but you seem an unusual pair."

Dusk shrugs at Lionel. "I guess we do seem odd to other people." She sits down with her back against the staircase.

"That is part of the reason I don't have Lionel visit me that often unless I know others won't be around. I do prefer his company to other people though. Now not to say everyone is bad but I have been treated .. er.. poorly shall we say, by a lot of people. Especially those who hunt spellcasters. Have you ever been treated like less than dirt? I have, not fun I tell you." She sighs as she thinks back to her days in captivity, with a collar round her throat as if she was some rabid animal. Dusk shakes her head trying to get the memories to leave.

"I've spent most of my free time in a forest, living there away from people. It was the life, just my brother and I, not a care in the world." Lionel walks besides her then sits down wrapping his tail around her body. She lies down on it as a form of comfort.

"My brother came in my time of need and we've been living together since then." She bites her lip not wanting to say what that time was.

"I'm glad you are quite different to the others, you haven't really been afraid at us or aggressive towards us. Just to let you know though, my magic is unsanctioned so don't be alarmed if one of the others does try to take me away after all this is through. Though I ain't no criminal! I swear!" She says the last bit rather worriedly.

Lionel leans over and rests his hand on her head. "Okay, calm down right. Sorry if I'm saying bits of my past without making all that much sense but.. I'd sanction my magic if I could. Suffice to say I would end up in a dungeon if I made myself known though. I honestly don't want to think of that prospect." Lionel ends up ruffling her hair again. The more you look at the pair the more you see the sibling dynamic. Dusk is somewhat bumbling in her approach to others not knowing what emotion to use or convey but Lionel is coaxing her into talking more often. You have a feeling that Lionel has been waiting for the opportunity to get Dusk to talk to more people but that opportunity hasn't come until now.

Lionel then asks Dances. "So Dances at Night, you say that you need to find a third path. Do you have any idea what that Third path could be?"

Viviana coughs loudly, looking at Dan, Dusk and Lionel. "Next time you decide to go forwards, could you also inform me... Instead of sneaking away." Upstairs she was serving as look out as Dances at Night was looking for whatever he was looking for, but when Viviana turned around and they were gone. "And before we breakdown in sad sobbing stories about our hard lives, did you guys find any already here downstairs?" She did not let on how much she did hear between Dances and the odd Siblings.

Yanisa wrote:

Viviana coughs loudly, looking at Dan, Dusk and Lionel. "Next time you decide to go forwards, could you also inform me... Instead of sneaking away." Upstairs she was serving as look out as Dances at Night was looking for whatever he was looking for, but when Viviana turned around and they were gone. "And before we breakdown in sad sobbing stories about our hard lives, did you guys find any already here downstairs?" She did not let on how much she did hear between Dances and the odd Siblings.

"No" Dances answers calmly

"As if you even had a hard life..." Dusk mutters under her breath before Lionel flicks the back of her head. Dusk growls at Lionel then pouts while snuggling up to his tail. Lionel is shaking his head all the while.

"No sorry Viviana, we have not found anything as of yet. Since you have come down here though you are now trapped like the rest of us until the others decide to follow us. So you might as well sit down and rest. The worst I am sure is yet to come." Lionel answers Viviana.

He then smiles at Dances. "Well I for one hope you do find that path, sounds like your people really do need it. I'll root for you."

Lionel then cocks his head to the side as he thinks on the advantageous situation. "Viviana, I have to ask. Why are you in the business of killing or capturing magic users. What pleasure do you have in doing such a job?"

Lionel thinks to himself. Let's see how much like the rest this girl is, I have my doubts that she is anything different but I have been surprised before.

I follow down the stairs

Viviana frowns, with a look on her face between deeply insulted and furiously angry. "Business?! Ain't no business. Capturing?! Killing?! Who said I'm doing that?! I am hunting! And pleasure?! Do I look like I am having pleasure at the moment?!" She spits out rambling before changing her tone to a more monotone and fast whispering. A tone that gives the feeling she had said a thousand times before. "I hunt witches, mages and priest because they are a blight on society. Corrupting values, destroying families and if left unchecked they will lead to the ruin of our paradise."

'Or are they?' A sudden thought made Yanisa jump, and look around in suspicion, before realizing it was her own doubts. The sudden scare did seem to calm her down, and instead of being angry, she goes back to her paranoid state. It also made her suddenly fall silent.

Lionel replies calmly, "Hunting? Use whatever word makes you feel comfortable."

So she treats them unlike people.. then I wonder as what? He ponders.

"Have you ever questioned why witches, mages and priests do what they do? Have you ever considered that some aren't acting alone? Or that they are acting at the behest of the 'untarnished' shall we call them?" He folds one set of arms across his chest.

"Look I ain't going to change your opinion so readily but do not think that magic users are the only 'blight' on this paradise. Sure they can wield far greater power individually but ever thought that there is more 'blight' from those untarnished? You do not see those who wield magic upon high thrones starving the commonfolk do you? As only one such example." Lionel says, throughout the exchange he is staying calm. By what he is saying you doubt he wishes to offend Viviana more engage in somewhat friendly discussion.

Part of me feels sorry for this girl, I don't know why though... Lionel thinks to himself.

Dances at Night asks Lionel curiously, "Dusk seems to be human but This One does not know your race.  How can it be that you are brother and sister?  Did you fall afoul of some evil spellcaster?"

Lionel scratches the back of his head and is about to speak then Dusk says. "Breakfast"

Lionel nods at her then says to Dances. "It is something like that. My race changes over the course of my life, I originally looked quite similar to Dusk. Nowadays not so much, I fear that will continue to change as I grow older and more experienced in using the magic that sustains me. I fear that I shan't have a normal life amongst people in this world but as long as I protect my sister I don't really mind. Knowing that at least one person cares is enough I think."

Dusk gets up and streches hearing the others coming down the staircase. "Don't worry dances, you will get lunch and dinner at a later date. Let us see how much trust I can put in you first throughout the dangers that are sure to befall us shortly."

Viviana looks at Lionel, uneasy to his appearance, but perhaps also curious to his words. "Those who sit on thrones are also fools." Another line blurted out without any emotion behind it. Then she frowns. "And you sort of prove that... Starvation was not something we had and we neither had mages nor kings." Viviana does seem to ponder Lionel's words.

"Fairmill; Also known as The Paradise." Saying that name did make Viviana shiver, not a named she hoped to hear again.

Draos takes a seat on the stairs

Fairmill? Nah never heard of that place before... then again how much would I actually know from inside a cell for most of my life. Dusk sighes waiting for the staircase to give them passage down.

With all the begrudging players of this surreal stage finally assembled on the singular path that had been forced upon them by powers unknown and incomprehensible to them, the unbroken and Möbius-esque stairwell finally reverted to a more natural state. The sound of wind and the light of the unnatural sky was once more of the backs of the disoriented party, but the light coming from below had changed as well. Where once it was green it had now become a more soothing shade of yellow, beckoning them downwards once again.

Even if one of them had decided to turn back around, leaving behind all this insanity and choosing not to be a pawn for some malicious force, the subtle sound of stone on stone could be heard drifting down from above. With each breath passed by one of the company, a single layer of stone bricks and mortar apparated from seemingly nowhere. Even if they ran at a break neck pace to the top of the flight, they would find the exit completely sealed off just as they reached it. And if they listen closely to the surface of the stones, they might have heard the echo of feminine laughter.

The journey to the stair's bottom would be an uneventful one for those who chose to take it, the threshold opening into a modestly sized room that would be more than large enough for a gathering of individuals twice the size of the current number. While the stairs had been cold and wet, the stonework here was dry and slightly warm. Torches were affixed to the walls at regular intervals, being far enough off the ground for an average sized man to easily switch them out. But the most interesting feature of this room, aside from the fact it lacked any exits save the entrance they had come from, was a strange ovular sculpture that laid on its side near the far wall before them. Its surface was smooth, almost as if it had formed naturally, and was a light brown in color. On the surface that faced the group was a carved oval indent that sunk several inches into the mass of the sculpture, with a second oval carved inside of the first and then a simple circle carved inside of that.

With the arrival of the last of their number into the room, a lattice of yellow light would explode across the floor from where their final footstep had been fallen. Racing across the floor in rectangular geometric patterns, it would terminate beneath the oval before quickly creeping across its surface. With a shudder the sculpture would rise from the ground, propelled by no obvious force, slowly turning to face the errant crew. Where the lattice touched on the outer surface, brown stone became something as white as snow and smooth as glass. The inner ovals would become black as obsidian and like worked steel, with the circle being the final destination of the strange energy, causing it to glow like a great golden eye.

Not a moment was given for reflection or comprehension as the voice of a woman, sweet like fresh honey but as cold as a winter's night, filled the ears of all those before the object. But it had no mouth, so it only took a small time for those affected to realize they voice was not traveling through the air, but was instead forced directly into their minds, giving them the memories of having heard it. "Oh. It's you. It's been a long, long time. I've been really busy waiting for more adventurers like yourself; preparing everything for your tests. Oh how I know that you strong, brave mortals like your tests. And I'm so Glad to provide them for you; for you to struggle against them and show how clever you are. Oh...you look confused. And here I thought you people were supposed to be intelligent; my mistake." The impression of an annoyed sigh crossed the minds of all in the room. "Welcome to the Wandering Dungeon of Natio adventurers. Contained inside are thirty trials of the mind, body and soul that you must overcome to escape and return to your normal, boring, un-exemplary lives. Failure at these trials means your certain doom, your lives ripped from you and your souls forever made a part of the dungeon itself." The voice pauses as if in contemplation. "How I do enjoy that part, watching you scream and convulse. Even if you do make such lackluster company before your essence is fully processed. Oh. I'm sorry. Where was I?" The sculpture floats slowly in the air, moving up towards the ceiling and towards the left hand side of the room from the stairs. "But if you should succeed, a prize beyond all others waits for you at the end. A great secret to this world will be made known to you, an opportunity now placed in your grubby, fat, and meaty little paws that no other undeserving mortal could ever dream of finding." The voice pauses again, the yellow eye in the sculpture regarding the party. "Oh. I'm sorry. Am I letting my personal opinions color my explanation? Not like you'll live long enough for an apology to matter." The sculpture once more moves, this time to the opposite side of the room. "I am Geinam, your guide and proctor to the tests that lie before you. Four times may you call my name once you are facing your challenges and four times will I come to give you the answer that you seek. Because everyone needs to be coddled now and again......and again." The sculpture returned to the center of the room. "You may now each ask one question of me before entering the dungeon proper. Do take your time though; I know that you'll need every precious second to even think."

Aesop immediately vocalizes his query, the intention of this journey at the forefront of his mind: "What of the people of Shadestone? You have already lured us to this pit, you no longer need to contain them in their stasis"

Johnnycat93 wrote:

Aesop immediately vocalizes his query, the intention of this journey at the forefront of his mind: "What of the people of Shadestone? You have already lured us to this pit, you no longer need to contain them in their stasis"

"You mortals are so deficient; how can you ever function with only seven senses at most? This space is separate from your flimsy, three dimensional world. As soon as you entered into the dungeon, I disconnected it. It's so hard to get rid of the smell if left for too long. And what a waste of a question, but what can be expected from someone who doesn't value their own existence. Oh well, at least no one can call you heartless. If you ever meet people to talk to again."

"Perhaps you could tell me the value of Pi to the last digit?  Feel free to do so in as insulting a way as possible.  I like Pi."

Dances at Night doesn't trust this woman/statue?  There isn't much point in asking questions when you can't believe the answers so he will stand mute and save the question for later.

Catrina squinted her eyes and refrained from drawling her pistol at this unearthly statue that entrapped them into this new found world that is out to kill them. She lowered her hat and tilted the brim down and looked back up with a smirk. Lana was right beside her as they began to approach the statue from both sides. "Interesting, Obviously there are more to these tests that we can not fathom to comprehend until we complete them......However." She took a deep breath and got up right beside the statue. Granted she was terrified but not showing so was just foolishness by her part. Its her pride and her resolve that will keep her going forward. That's her true strength. "I see these tests will also put some sort of divide at the end of this madness. For those who created this Natio world, will we be seeing them some point to ask the the ultimate questions that will only be formed at the end of this trip?"

Here ember eyes looked deeply at the statue while lana her partner was remaining calm. Lana could sense we are not in danger as of for now until they take their first step to their future. Catrina smirked trying to enjoy the new adventure but it was proving rather difficult for her. Baladi are a proud race yet they can be intimidated just as easily.

Lionel and Dusk shrug at each other unsure of what to make of the situation. Nor figuring out a question between them that they might ask. They still some confused at the point of this whole thing.

Powerful being that wants to play with us? Dusk thinks This thing must be borrrreeeeeddd of its own existence if it finds this fun!

The piercing yellow eye of the construct turned to regard Catrina for a few brief seconds before responding, an air of bordeom almost readable in the tone of its voice. "Are you attempting to be clever? You shouldn't hurt yourself in the effort, seeing as you're not too good at it. What is the saying? Ah yes; "Don't quit your day job"." The tone shifted once more, this time giving an impression of sinister joy. "But at least I can see you are someone who takes their testing seriously. Oh, I know you'll enjoy the tests I've come up with for you all." The gaze shifted slowly from Catrina, centering more on the group. "And it will help with the boredom as I wait here alone for the next group of applicants. Replaying your deaths over and over that is."

Viviana, still with two swords drawn and ready to strike, remembers part of her training.'Spellcasters often talk in riddles, if they want an answer, give them something unexpected.' She decided it was stupid advice, she wanted clear answers and not play some kind of spooky ladies stupid game. "So miss Geinam... What kind of types of test can we encounter?" She figured she wouldn't get an answer, this... voideladyghosthingy didn't seem bend on answering questions.