Plains of Andhuul

New Writer Posts : 9 Join date : 2011-10-11

(These plains are located north-east of Doherwos forest)

Evan woke up to a pitch black sky, as he was accustomed to. He was, however, not accustomed to was being woken up with a spear at his throat.
"Get up! Quickly Now!" said a slightly high pitched voice. A voice that held just an ounce of fear. With a smug expression on his face, Evan slowly got up with his hands up.
"Well, you're lucky to have stumbled upon me on your little hunt now are you?"
"Silence!" the man said putting more pressure on Evan's throat. "You're my prisoner now and you'll have to be quiet if you want to stay alive!" Evan smiled. The man had to reach fairly high to even reach Evan's throat with the smaller hunting spear. The man was sweating.
"Come now, you'll have to do better than that!" Evan said in a threatening tone as he stopped slouching and started to tower over the man. He quickly spun around and snapped the spear using his bony elbow in a swift downward stroke. As the man staggered back in shock, Evan stunned him with a strike from his elbow to the man's chest. He quickly pulled out his mace and grabbed the mans throat with his free hand. "Did you really think it was going to be that easy? Well?" Evan squeezed a little harder, almost enough to snap his trachea.

Then suddenly, as if he had a change of heart, Evan released his grip. The man lay on the ground, chocking and gasping for the air that kept him alive. "Now I'm sure you have a family to feed... go back to them before they think you've gotten lost..." Evan then proceeded to strike the man in the side of the head with his foot to make sure he wouldn't see where he would go next. When he was sure the man lost consciousness, he proceeded in the opposite direction he had been heading. "No use in going in the same direction I was heading in case he had been following me..." Evan said to himself aloud, which had become a dreadful habit of his. "Besides," he added. "It'd best be time for me to check on the temple... I haven't been there in years...". Evan had been in and out of provinces ever since the bounty on his head was raised to nearly the cost of two houses. Now that the hunt for him was finally on, he knew it was of the utmost importance to make sure the rumors of the treasure he had been guarding hadn't been thoroughly tried out...
He proceeded in the direction of Doherwos Forest, which looked a bit less welcoming than when he had last seen it...

As Evan made his first step into the forest, a dreaded chill ran across his spine. The chill, it seemed, had come from a different realm, desperately telling Evan to turn back. Evan shuddered and continued onward, but now more cautiously with his hand hovering over his mace. As he went further along he noticed, not a noise, but an absence of noise. When he would normally heard the chirping of birds, he heard creaks, groans, and gusts of wind. There was the occasional chirp then and there, but it was almost chocked out by the creaking and groaning of trees. What happened to this place? Evan thought. A thought was rare to cross Evan's mind, but he deemed it unsafe to even utter a whisper.

Walking in this forest again was like exploring a whole new province, Evan wondered if he would even find his way back to the temple. The further he progressed, however, the more Evan noticed improvement in the trees as the nostalgic sounds returned. Finally remembering where he was, he hurried along at a quicker pace. Traveling the path, as he knew it by heart, he finally reached a tree that looked exactly like the one adjacent to it. He found a familiar indentation in the ground underneath a large root and pulled it upwards. He found a hole just large enough to fit any person inhabiting these lands. With a grin, he dropped himself through the hole and fell downwards seemingly to certain doom. Counting to four, Evan began to grab wildly around the black abyss, which had grown more than twice as large. When he grabbed hold of a vine, he quickly released it in order to prevent dislocating his shoulder. Evan continued to grab and release the vines rather than risk scaring himself beyond repair, until his downward momentum had greatly reduced. Eventually negating his downward momentum, Evan proceeded to shuttle down the vine he had just gotten a hold of. As he touched ground, he breathed in the dusty air of his temple or, as he liked to call it, The Grey Temple.

New Writer Posts : 9 Join date : 2011-10-11

Evan took a few steps forward from inside the hollowed out tree trunk and into the expansive hall set before him. The hall he approached echoed his every movement. The floor he set foot on was filled with so much dust, that one would find an abandoned shack more welcoming. As he walked, Evan inspected the ground for footprints, something that would easily offset the ancient setting the temple gave off. As he meticulously inspected the floor, he couldn't help but stray his eyes toward the fantastically large pillars on either end of the walls. Each pillar bared designs so carefully woven in, one would wonder why someone had taken the time to build such a fantastic piece of architecture in such a discreet location. Next to each pillar, an oversized torch was fastened. A torch that, under normal conditions, would light the whole bottom floor of a house. The present conditions, however, created a scarce amount of light that would be welcomed by anyone in this massive structure. anyone intruding in the temple would barely be able to make out the archway at the end of this vastly spacious hall. Evan shook his head, bringing him back to reality, and set his wandering mind to the task at hand.

After the spacious gap of time needed to cross such a hall was allotted, Evan turned around and was satisfied to see the only footprints in sight were his own. He proceeded into the pitch-black chamber behind of him. Evan subconsciously opened his eyes wider as he, being accustomed to seeing at night, could barely make out his own hands. Suddenly, a small group of pebbles bounced off the wall behind him and rolled onto the floor. Evan quickly pivoted and drew his mace. Something had landed on the ground behind him.
"Ah!" He said to himself. "I remember you...". There was a sound of hideous crawling as well as a slimy drooling sound coming from the skulking creature. When the sound had gotten what Evan deemed to be close enough, he swung his mace in a swift downward stroke, bashing the creatures head in. He pulled out an unlit torch and, by what seemed to be sorcery, lit it in an instant. What he saw was the rather unappetizing carcass of an overgrown arachnid. "That spider thought he could get me, now did he? Well at least they keep the pests out." he remarked with a grin. This time, he sheathed his mace and wielded his repeating crossbow, putting bolts into the top mechanism which held them. As each bolt piled on top of one another, the distant sounds of crawling, squirming, and drooling ceased. "They know what's coming to them if try their luck with me..." Evan muttered under his breath. He confidently continued forward and stopped his progress an old, rusty door. Even this seemingly neglected portal had meticulously crafted symbols and carvings woven into it. "Now let's see if I remembered the key..."

The door was kicked open and slammed into the wall on the other side with a resounding crash. Evan, with a small grin on his face, proceeded on top of a red, golden-laced carpet to an altar, set alight by exactly three candles. The altar, on closer inspection, was encompassed by a large stone serpent, that coiled around the monument to this unknown deity. The features on this reptilian were so lifelike, Evan nearly jumped back as he had forgotten what lay in this chamber, as he always seemed to do. Evan suddenly felt sweat drop down his forehead as the door he had just recently kicked open silently closed behind him. Then, prodded by a welcoming voice in the back of his head, Evan slowly trotted forward. Suddenly turning pale as a possessed being might do, he took one of the bolts out of his quiver and cut his wrist. Being compelled by a force that wasn't his own, he didn't even wince as he allowed blood to flow from his wrist into the snake's upward facing mouth. After a drop of blood was allowed to flow through the serpent's jaws, the snake's watchful eyes became bloodshot as Evan slumped to the ground, unconscious.

Subject: Re: Plains of Andhuul Wed Jan 25, 2012 12:42 am

"Welcome back, my herald," came the voice in Evan's mind. An eerie red glow shone from the black stone of the altar, engulfing the room in a foreboding haze. "My sanctuary has become quite lonely without company. I must say, you should visit more often. I do so enjoy your presence; it occupies my already dreadfully dull existence. But enough idle chatter. I have a task for you. After faithfully tending my temple, I would like to ask you a favor. Of course, you really do not have much choice in the matter, but I have no doubt that you will be more than willing to aid me. You see, without a body, it is very difficult to travel. Therefore, I need you to journey to the Black Temple in the desert south of here and take two of the white gems on this altar to the Black Temple there. I have instilled in your mind the knowledge of how to find the temple, so do not worry. If you need assistance in your travels, be sure that I will give you what aid I can. Now go, my herald. Make haste, but tell no one of your mission." The echoing voice faded, and the reddish glow faded out into darkness, leaving the High-Walker limp on the cold, stone floor.

Minor Character Posts : 18 Join date : 2011-11-23

After a day or two of travel, the three harbingers of sorrow arrived at the north of Doherwos forest. Something was wrong about this place; it was too still. No wind rustled through the leaves, and no birds warbled in the trees. It was as if the entire area was lifeless. But no, that couldn't be; it was impossible. Wasn't it?

"Something dark happened here," Rapha exhaled. His scars were tingling, and it was not a pleasant sensation. The last time that had happened, his great grandpa was paying him a visit. Something sinister was going on here, and he could feel it all the way in his gate. "We shouldn't stay here long."

Zanna was a bit overwhelmed by the scope of the forest, "How are we supposed to find 'an inconspicuous root?' That's like looking for a needle--in a stack of other needles!" That damned shadowbender. Why did they have to get hired by him in the first place?

"This forest lacks life," Tatsuya replied, "But the highwalker lives. The woods are dense, but water flows quickly."

The sorcereress shot the foreigner a look. That man always spoke in riddles and proverbs, and it irked her. Still, she understood what he meant...this time, "I guess it's worth a shot. Of course, I'll need some blood..." She smiled expectantly at Rapha.

With an overdramatic sigh, the scarred man drew a slender dagger and, without wincing, made a slight incision along his wrist. As the blood began the flow, the Red Lady began an incantation, and soon the scarlet fluid was floating through the air, seeking out any sort of blood that was not their own. Now all they had to do was to follow.

~~~~

The blood ran true; the path ended by a root in the ground. Acting on what Jahandir had told him, Rapha pulled at the wood and, sure enough, it lifted to reveal a hole into the darkness. The scarred man rooted around for a small stone and, upon finding one, dropped it into the black. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9-- A plinking sound echoed skyward. That was one deep hole.

Zanna produced a coil of rope from one of her satchels, but it certainly wouldn't reach all the way down. Still, it was better than nothing. While she tied the rope to a nearby root, a thought began to scratch at her mind, "Y'know, we could be walking right into a trap..."

Rapha smirked, "We can only hope," He grabbed hold of the rope and began shimmying his way down, and was soon followed by his companions. After an eternity in the darkness, they reached the end of the rope. Another stone was dropped, but this one hit the ground almost immediately. Safe falling distance.

Landing on the ground not unlike some stray cat, Rapha quickly rolled to the side and began inspecting the place. It was dark, with shadows thrown everywhere by sparsely lit torches. There was an odd scuttling in the distance, and the bodies of dead spiders littered the floor. On closer inspection, bolts littered the carcasses.

"The corpses are fresh," Zanna stated matter-of-factly, "Whoever did it is probably still here," As if on cue, they three drew their weapons. Better safe than sorry, especially with a giant arachnid infestation. Never one for subtlety, Rapha shouted into the shadows,

"Come out and play, highwalker! Show us your teeth!"

New Writer Posts : 9 Join date : 2011-10-11

*Sorry for "procrastinating" on this : (*
Evan jolted awake and sprung onto his feet. "I've finally got something to do now." Evan said loudly. A little too loudly for his liking, for the next thing he heard was a challenge of sorts.
"Come out and play, highwalker!" the voice boomed. "Show us your teeth!"
I've really got to stop talking to myself Evan thought. He drew out his crossbow in a swift motion and dropped ten bolts into place.Shouldn't pose too much of a challenge Evan insinuated. Probably just a thief who followed me down here, waited for me to kill anything, but couldn't follow me into this room. A few bolts near the vitals should do the trick. He couldn't have been more wrong
When Evan swung the door open, he was not greeted by a petty thief, but a trio of probably the strangest people he had ever seen. They looked unreal, maybe even from a dream, but the looks on their faces clearly meant business. He couldn't get too caught up in appearances now, however. Wasting no time, Evan shot three bolts into the nearly pitch dark room, aiming above the intestines of each respective figure. Then, as if in a perfectly rehearsed motion, he dropped his bow and as it fell to the ground with a clatter, drew up his mace. After all, what good would a ranged weapon be in a close quarters battle?