Inochki doesn't respond. The scraping grows louder, and the head slows in its movement, caught on the sides of the tunnel. After some straining, Inochki pulls his head free like an especially stubborn cork from a bottle ('pop' sound and everything) and light spills into the tunnel from the hole that you now see.

With the ground sloping downward, you have accumulated a significant amount of momentum, so you nearly tumble off the edge before you stop yourself, adrenaline shooting through your blood at the sight of the sharp drop below. You stand on some ledge - the tunnel opens into a hole on the side of a massive cavern full of warm golden light. From this height, you can see Inochki's full body. His head is attached to a long, snaking neck, which is attached to a large body covered with expansive wings.

Surrounding him is what looks to be... a forest? Whatever it is, a grove of what looks fuzzy from this distance blankets the ground beneath you, too far away for you to make out if they are trees or shrubs. Inochki's massive size doesn't help you reliably scale things either.

You're pretty sure this is an enclosed space. There are stony walls everywhere you look, and up above you is a stony arching ceiling. Yet, the light you feel is similar to sunlight.

Relief floods the person's face, and they lower their weapon slightly.

"Hero!" They call, half a sob present in their words. "You've finally arrived! We've waited so long for your help we thought the city had ignored our request entirely." Quickly, the rest of the people behind the barrier move aside, and with some scraping, a small gap appears between the spiked walls. "Hurry," someone hisses at you. "Before the monsters get in!"

Link: https://www.sylestia.com/forums/?thread=99346&page=17#168 Author: Aphelion Time Posted: 10/14/2021 at 1:04 PM When you glare, the girl only makes a silly face at you, sticking out her tongue and putting her hands on both sides of her heads, forefinger and middle finger stuck out of her fists, forming little bunny ears. You get the feeling that she's messing with you - no malicious intent. The Matriarch clears her throat. Errant makes a small 'eep' sound and sits rigid straight, hands pressed together in her lap. She looks a little bashful, but lowers her head to the book before her. As you speak, you feel your words flow out from you as if drawn by a mysterious force, so much that you no longer feel that you are speaking out of your own will. They come faster and faster, yanked from you, torn from your throat that begins to ache. The sounds fill the large, cavernous space, and was it just you, or did the braziers burn brighter? The scenes in the tapestries and drapes swim; they were moving, or so you thought. Around you, the clanspeople listen raptly with their eyes pinned on you and bodies barely moving, save for the up and down motion of their shoulders that indicate they're still breathing. When you finish, there is absolute silence for a second. They are waiting for something to happen, you sense, but nothing does. "It is truth," the Matriarch says, breaking the silence. "And the witnesses have spoken before, thus corroborating the story. This is a simple case, so there isn't a need for prolonged discussion - adjudicators?" She looks to her sides, and both Errant and Koshner nod. "Motion to provide traveller Crystal with a temporary, monitored stay of no longer than two weeks?" "Granted," says Errant. "Granted," says Koshner. "It has been settled," the Matriarch concludes, turning back to you and the people. "Crystal, the Avit Hora Clan formally welcomes you as a guest." She nods at Koshner. "If you want to extend your stay, you may request another meeting later," Koshner says. "For the time being, we have to discuss other matters, so you may retire to a guest tent." He drums his fingers on the tables. "Inoje, see that she is settled in." From the crowd steps a boy - it is the boy who had found you first. He looks at you and extends a hand. "Come with me." Discovered new character!

Crystal thanks them before following Inoje, "Wait a minute I recognize you. Sorry if I scared you when I appeared and thanks for your help dealing with the Cavewalker. Is there anything you think I should know?" She hopes Injoe will talk to her. It's been a long day in Crystal's opinion and its only just begun it seems.

(Sorry about the short replies all my creativity is going to a couple of class projects.)

Link: https://www.sylestia.com/forums/?thread=99346&page=17#169 Author: Aphelion Time Posted: 10/14/2021 at 1:41 PM Baje slows in her steps when you offer your help. Her face is almost completely covered by the pile of stuff she hoists in front of her, but you manage to make out the suspicious, hesitant look she gives you over it all. The papers, scrolls, and contraptions don't look very delicate; in fact, they look bulky, and you can't imagine what they would ever be used for. She hmms. "Guess some help won't hurt," she concedes. "C'mere." When you get close, she jostles the pile until a few small things roll off into your arms. You find yourself holding an ancient box of deep red wood clasped tight with gold and etched with filigree, a sword hilt lacking a blade, some weird glass globe item with bands of metal encircling it, and a short metal rod that's much heavier than it looks. Baje still holds the majority of the items, but she doesn't seem to be struggling at all. At a brisk pace, she begins to walk to the city, but soon she takes a sharp turn to walk parallel to the city walls.

He was carefull while holding the items, they may not look like mutch for him but Oris could see that they mattered to Baje, even if he didnt realy understood why. The items seemed rather rendom and he was a bit curious about what they could be used for. His eyes lingered a bit longer on the sword part, it felt familliar to him somhow, tho he was only faced with a frustrating blank when trying to figure out why. Not wanting to stay stuck thinking about it for too long tho, he assumed that he had probably tryed to train with some in the past tho he coudnt tell how successfull he had been during that time.

He followed Baje closely as to not lose the small woman as they got closer to the city, the last thing he neaded was to found himself stranded in there. Still, while doing so he coudn't stop himself from observing the area, it may have been disturbed by the industries but he could still find some ominous beauty in the ensemble despite it's flaws.

Link: https://www.sylestia.com/forums/?thread=99346&page=16#157 Author: Aphelion Time Posted: 10/7/2021 at 12:27 PM You run shaking hands over a warm body, almost grimacing at how... alive, yet dead, the person was. With all the adrenaline rushing through your veins and numbing the sensations coming through your fingertips, you struggle to find a pulse. You have succeeded the skill check While you can't see through the smoke enough to pinpoint whether the chest is rising and falling, your fumbling hands find a neck and eventually grasp the dip on the side of the windpipe. It thrums with life, pumping blood in a powerful beat against your touch. The person, however, is not moving. Your inspection further reveals two objects lodged in the body - bracing your bloodied hands against them, you find that they are arrow shafts. They are stuck too deep for you to pull out, so you can't try to treat or bind the wounds. Otherwise, you find a mess of flesh, blood, and torn clothing. You don't know if there are any other wounds. Smoke chokes your lungs, and you cough. Immediately, an arrow whizzes by you, scraping a cut along your arm. A shout goes up where the attackers are. Their voice is drowned out by sizzling flames and crashing debris, but you think you make out an order to search for survivors.

The wave of relief she feels as the pulse beats beneath her fingertips is quickly broken by a stinging pain in her arm. For the first time since waking up she feels truly terrified, not curious or nervous but just terrified and suddenly very aware that the smoke in her lungs and the wound on her arm could kill her.

Grasping the body under the armpits, she heaves backwards, not really thinking but running on a flight instinct and trying to escape the square. If the body becomes too heavy shell drop it and run, but her main goal is to get to an alleyway and maybe find somewhere to hide.

Link: https://www.sylestia.com/forums/?thread=99346&page=18#172 Author: Aphelion Time Posted: 10/14/2021 at 2:02 PM Relief floods the person's face, and they lower their weapon slightly. "Hero!" They call, half a sob present in their words. "You've finally arrived! We've waited so long for your help we thought the city had ignored our request entirely." Quickly, the rest of the people behind the barrier move aside, and with some scraping, a small gap appears between the spiked walls. "Hurry," someone hisses at you. "Before the monsters get in!"

He shrugs and walks in. "So uh, whats happening?: he asks. Fpr now hes gonna asume the city- wherever that is- kncoked him out or something. Maybe a monster whatever those look like did it. That would make sense.

Link: https://www.sylestia.com/forums/?thread=99346&page=17#170 Author: Aphelion Time Posted: 10/14/2021 at 1:52 PM You start off, keeping your mind to the thought. Your entire body is on high alert, every muscle tense, every movement trying to be as precise as possible as you take steps and try to shift your weight forward in a way that wouldn't cause your shoes to squeak or tap against the ground. The stick you had picked up earlier in the forest is clunky in your hands, burdensome. It bumps against the ground sometimes if you're not paying attention, giving you endless anxiety. "Advesse de Marteillon!" The guards address Chantille, one of them turning to her while the other continues to stare down the hallway. Both bow deeply, which is a weird look on the one that isn't even facing her. Getting closer, you notice that like Chantille, they both have glittering wings behind their backs. "How has your day been?" Chantille chirps, subtly shifting herself to the side a bit so that the one guard facing her has his back to you. "Excellent, Mein Advette," the two of them say in unison. This continues for a while, with Chantille initiating, asking a question or bringing up a new topic, and the guards responding curtly, as short as possible. You are almost at the entryway of the hallway. However, since the two guards stand at both sides of this, you will have to pass through them. The air between them also shimmers slightly, as if a thin film covers the entrance.

Falcon tries to keep the unweildly thing out of the way, but otherwise he's making good progress. He tries to let that thought calm his nerves. The guards are extremely vigilant though, that he can see. Now they have both directions covered.

Either none of the expressions he's used to exist here, or Chantille was bluffing him, because she's clearly a natural at the whole deception game. He needs to watch himself around her.

More arbitrary magic. Great. But really, he's becoming more and more impressed with this advanced civilisation. It just doesn't help him to sneak into it. This intangible gateway could do anything from blocking intruders to alerting the guards that something had passed through it.

Can he slip around it, or under it? Otherwise, he's forced to prod it with the stick to test what happens. He's pretty sure the guards can't see the repurposed branch since he hasn't been caught yet. To be doubly careful he's going to make sure he can quietly step back if touching it riles up the guards.