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Post by Conrí on Mar 20, 2019 21:58:05 GMT -5
Ailill blinked into existence with his companion as promised. They were standing in a large, white room with two simple brown doors. With a wave of his hand, he sent the Heartless he had captured earlier to the specified location and nodded to Ba'alzaemon. He looked at the doors, and then the stairs leading down to the basement. He'd been through there a few times out of boredom, and was only confused about what he was shown there. "It is done. When we get out of here, you will be able to do whatever you want to those creatures."
The cloaked man stepped forward. "We need to get to the top right before they do. We wait up there for them to come to us. I have a question or two for Therin when he's done scaling through his memories. We only target the one with red hair, and, we do not kill him. This is a test for him. And me." Please save me from this, Rand, since that's what you're called now.
He opened the door, took a breath, and saw her in a field of roses again. Ailill smiled. No matter if it were an illusion, this is the one place where he could feel calm and free from the taint. She smiled at him sweetly, with her rosy lips and her brown eyes flashed with mischief. Her hair fell in waves around her shoulders. He beckoned to Ba'alzaemon and spoke softly. "That is Tamara, my wife. That was when we--well, never mind."
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Post by hoodwink on Mar 20, 2019 22:17:08 GMT -5
The shift in his environment caused a familiar wave of nausea to wash over The Vagabond. The hooded man suddenly blinked into being, standing in the middle of a gigantic foyer. Looking around at the looming white walls and white steps that led to the brown doors, the wandering vagrant seemed to jolt in surprise for a moment. "Wait...I've, been here before?" Though his face was covered by the steel blue hood of his opened jacket, his voice carried through the foyer with a faint echo. His tone revealed that the man was unsure, his own memories fragmented and foggy. It sure does look familiar, anyway... There had been someone with him the last time he had entered this place. Who was it again?
"We need to get to the top right before they do. We wait up there for them to come to us." Ailill was beginning to explain their purpose for being here, causing The Vagabond to snap out of his thoughts. His face shrouded by the hood he wore, the dull green eyes beneath looked over at his comrade. "We only target the one with red hair, and, we do not kill him. This is a test for him. And me." The swordsman made it all sound so ominous, though The Vagabond hardly knew who this they was. Nodding to show that he had heard the man, he followed up the white stairs as they neared the door to the Basement.
Looking up at the sterile white ceiling, The Vagabond nearly walked into Ailill as the swordsman opened the door. Is this the same place...? The door opened to reveal a brilliant field of roses that scattered on for miles. The Vagabond blinked a few times, leaning to the side. From beneath his hood he gaped, staring from the stark white wall of the castle, into the open field of roses within the doorway, complete with its own sky. "Wh-what!?" It seemed that this castle was full of odd magic. It explained the aura he felt about the place's presence. Beings of darkness were sensitive to each other, after all.
"That is Tamara, my wife. That was when we- well, never mind." Ailill cut off his train of thought as the two entered the room, er, the field of roses. This is so bizarre! The woman that stood in the field smiled at Ailill, The Vagabond still somewhat shook from the workings of the castle. He wondered how long she had been here, standing in an empty field of roses. Is she real? Removing the hood that covered his features, The Vagabond's disheveled brown hair poked out in a tumbled mess. The dull matte green eyes fell on the woman named 'Tamara', as he nodded and raised a hand for a modest wave.
"Nice, to meet ya. I'm...er...Ba'alzaemon." He used the name Ailill had given him, not wanting to stumble over introductions like he usually did. What was it she called me? Wait, who? For a moment, The Vagabonds brow furrowed as his gaze fell to the field of flowers, a look of confusion on his face. There had been a woman...though he couldn't think of her name or face, one that had called him something he had used instead of a name for a long time. Why can't I think of it...?
He knew it started with the letter 'V'.
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Post by Conrí on Mar 21, 2019 17:47:10 GMT -5
Ailill walked through the field of roses and to his love. He nodded to the Vagabond. He winced when the other man actually used the name he'd been given. The cloaked man waited to see if she would react that at all or if she would just start acting out the memory from before. She held her finger up to her lips.
The cloaked man sighed and watched everything unfold in front of him. More roses bloomed and spread out further in front of him. Ailill turned on his heels and saw the snarling Trollocs and growled. He knew she could handle herself, but, this wasn't how the memory went, was it? He motioned Vagabond forward and ran past his wife. "We have to go! NOW! There are going to more, and, they're going to keep coming, even though this is not how it happened."
Storm clouds started to form over the creatures and massive bolts of lightning slammed into the creatures. He found the stairs going up to the second floor and keep an eye open for his colleague. "Whether or not it's real doesn't matter! We need to go."
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Post by hoodwink on Mar 21, 2019 18:56:23 GMT -5
As The Vagabond looked in wonder at the blooming flowers that spread forth before him and Ailill. For a moment, the researcher was captivated by the beauty of it all. "Grrrrrrr" A rumbling growl caused him to turn, just as Ailill spun. The two were faced by large humanoid beasts The Vagabond had never seen before. Towering in height, the top of their heads hosting large horns, the monsters before them certainly seemed like devils. Suddenly, Ailill was rushing past the woman who remained in the field, shouting out to The Vagabond: "We have to go! NOW! There are going to be more, and they're going to keep coming, even though this is not how it happened!"
How it happened...? Were they inside of a memory? The Vagabond didn't have much time to think about it as suddenly dark storm clouds emerged to form over the creatures, pummeling them with bolts of lightning. Using the moment of opportunity, the man fled from the field, following closely to the cloaked swordsman. Up ahead in the middle of the field of flowers was another brown door. As the two rushed towards it, The Vagabond tried to urge his legs faster as he heard the growling from the monstrous creatures he had never witnessed before. "What the hell are those things?!" The question was shouted with heavy breath as the researcher ran, his steel blue jacket billowing as he rushed.
Being one that avoided most combat whenever possible, The Vagabond was certainly good at escaping. Even without the aid of the darkness that lurked within him, it seemed his body was used to running, and fast too. As the two dashed through the field closer to the door, The Vagabond suddenly remembered something he had forgotten.
Oh! That's it! She called me a 'Vagabond'! He was happy as he ran for his life, pleased at having remembered the sad excuse of a name. It was much less wordy than Ba'alzaemon. Now if only he could remember who called him that. It seemed for every small thing he remembered, he forgot another larger thing.
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Post by Conrí on Mar 21, 2019 19:53:05 GMT -5
Ailill grunted at the Trollocs to stop, but, he doubted it would work. He wondered where he had first encountered the monsters, but couldn't remember. He remembered that Tamara survived this encounter, though, somehow, he had forgotten it. He wondered what happened to her after that. He shook his head and climbed the stairs, thankful that his colleague could keep up. "Thank the Light that you kept up, lad. Not even---whatever his name was--strange...could have kept up with me."
The cloaked man answered the question that had been yelled out. "Those miserable creations are Trollocs. One of the researchers in the place where I was simply wished to see if he could combine man and beast into one entity. Turns out, he could." He spat at the creatures behind them, thankful that they wouldn't be following them any further.
Ailill looked at the next door, started to push it open then stopped. "If you would rather take this one, feel free." Admittedly, the man wanted to see if the taint on his mind had finally gotten the better of him, but, this place also kind of made him feel okay for the first time in a while.
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Post by hoodwink on Mar 21, 2019 21:25:30 GMT -5
As the two reached the stairs, The Vagabond hurtled onto them and bolted up before bending over, holding his hand against a nearby wall to steady himself as he gulped in greedily for air. Panting heavily, the researcher wiped the sweat from his brow as he straightened himself up. "Thank the Light that you kept up, lad. Not even - whatever his name was - strange...could have kept up with me." Ailill's praise was mostly lost on The Vagabond, who was currently focused on attempting to get his breathing patterns back to normal. What did pique his interest was how Ailill seemed to stumble over a name, something The Vagabond had been prone to doing more often than usual since entering this place.
"Those miserable creations are Trollocs. One of the researchers in the place where I was from simply wished to see if he could combine man and beast into one entity. Turns out, he could." The Vagabond screwed up his face at the explanation of the monsters, looking at Ailill as though he had two heads. Shaking his head a bit, the researcher fanned out his jacket to circulate air through his tidal wave graphic tee. "Sounds like a moron...what benefit would anyone having from making something like that?"
Rolling his shoulder a bit, The Vagabond followed Ailill up the remainder of the steps, emerging at yet another large white room with white support beams and white steps that led up to another brown door. For a moment, The Vagabond blinked in surprise. As Ailill approached the door, the researcher thought about what had happened so far. "If you would rather take this one, feel free." It seemed the cloaked swordsman was offering for The Vagabond to go first through the door.
"Ailill...how does, this castle work?" His dull green eyes fell on the swordsman, tilting his head a bit as he raised a brow. "We were just in a field...but now we're back in a foyer..." Absently, he slowly walked up the steps towards the door that Ailill stood next to, reaching a hand out to touch it. His pale fingers flinched a bit before resting on the surface. "This place...It looked familiar, and I feel like I've been here before, but I can't remember anything." It wasn't just that memory that had been tampered with, either.
His hand pressed against the door lightly before retracting to his side. Turning to face Ailill, The Vagabond raised a finger while looking up, almost as if he were thinking aloud to himself. "Something's been bothering me about this place. It's not the only thing I've been forgetting. It's happening to you, too, right?" His gaze shifted as he pointed a finger down towards the dark hallway they had emerged from from the stairs. "That place we were in just now...Was it a memory?"
It was time to see if his theory was correct. But even if it was, it didn't explain why he was forgetting things. There must be some sort of system to it. Some way that it works. Everything had a way of working, one just had to look closely and analyze it. The Vagabond's thought trailed off.
He stared at the door ahead of them, waiting for Ailill's response.
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Post by Ziya on Mar 22, 2019 17:27:03 GMT -5
On the ground level of the castle the main doors opened at the touch of Jason's hand. The pure white hall within contrasted sharply with his black and crimson armor as he stepped inside and turned back to the other three. "So here we are, at Castle Oblivion. Remember that whoever opens the door over there will be the one that the floor is based on."
Rand took one look around the empty room before relaxing somewhat. The white was nearly blinding, but long before his eyes adjusted he determined that they were the only people in the room. Instinctively his hand sought out Éirín's, though his voice was clear and steady. "There are thirteen floors, correct? That means we'll each need to take three of them for ourselves, with one left over at the top."
Jason nodded as his eyes turned to his love. "Yeah. The top floor will likely need to be opened by both of you, and we'll alternate for the lower floors. Anyone want to go first?"
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Post by Conrí on Mar 22, 2019 18:39:34 GMT -5
Ailill stared at the other man. "Ba'alzaemon, I am amazed you managed to take in that much while we were running. I wouldn't mind staying friends after this." The man thought of how to best respond to things. "It was a memory of sorts, yes, and each room seems to be bound to a random one in particular. If you aren't comfortable with it, I will take them all on. I've enough memories to last me and not lose myself."
The man, just to prove his point, pushed open the door and entered, beckoning Vagabond to follow. He saw only the darkness for a moment, then realised that he was staring into the Bore. He turned and stared at the woman across from him, making sure to keep Vagabond away from the edge of that problem. He pressed his finger to his lips, not wanting the Vagabond to talk. "Maerin, you really are beautiful. I know Therin ditched you, but, I don't care if you use for my power or not. Why don't we figure out what this is? Together. Only you could have figured this out."
Ailill visibly paled, and grabbed Vagabond's hand before he could fully understand what was going on. That's not how it happened. At all. At least, I don't think it was. Was it?" He jumped away from the Bore, feeling shadows at his back. How are they here? He wove some Fire around him to make himself glow and started to run away from the hole. "Don't ask questions right now. Help me find the exit. The way up. Ignore her. She only likes power." He whispered on the Air to Vagabond.
The cloaked man wondered how in the hell he managed to stay this with it and sane. Another thing, when he seized the Power, he didn't nearly throw up. He stared at the woman who paled in every way to Tamara and smirked. He grabbed her by the waist and started to lean in to kiss her before throwing her toward the Bore. Would it really have been better this way? He thought he saw what looked like stairs and made for them.
Éirín nodded with what Jason was saying. He was a pleasant sight against all the white. Her hand brushed against Rand's, which she noticed was also reaching for hers. She corrected the armored man slightly "We need to touch that last door, all four of us as one. I know that means a lot of memories will blend together, but, it is the only way to get to the truth."
The wolf girl looked at Conrí apologetically. "Guess I can go first." She hated the idea of playing this kind of lottery, but, what choice did they have? She stepped up to the door and pushed it open. She nearly couldn't bring herself to go in, but, she squeezed Rand's hand and pulled him in, trusting the others would follow.
"Fool girl!"
The strap stung against her backside, and the priestess felt like ice had just been dumped over her. She didn't scream or grunt. This wasn't the first time this had happened. She thought back to all the times she blamed this situation on Conrí and nearly started crying. She looked around for Rand, but couldn't see him. This isn't real...like the dreams, fight it. Change it. "Mistress, I am deeply sorry." She winced, in fear of being punished further, but, she was allowed to stand up.
"Off to your studies."
Éirín bowed properly. Had she done that earlier, so many times before, would she have been better or less how she was now? She exited the tiny study and out into the hall. There, she found Rand and the others waiting. "I never said I was behaved during my studies." This caused the goddess to blush, and the feeling of heat increased when her gaze landed on the red haired man.
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Post by hoodwink on Mar 23, 2019 1:30:50 GMT -5
As Ailill confirmed his suspicions, The Vagabond nodded, tapping a finger to his chin in thought. He was grateful for the praise the swordsman put on him, but at the same time the cloaked man hadn't seem to grasp the full reason he was asking the question. Just how much am I going to forget...? Looking down at his hands for a moment, The Vagabond seemed to try and find the answer in his palms as his gaze stuck on the lines that creased across his skin. "If you aren't comfortable with it, I will take them all on." Ailill's bold statement caused the researcher to snap back to reality, reaching out towards the man.
"Wait, I don't mind-" Before he could even finish his statement, Ailill had pushed open the large door and entered, urging The Vagabond to follow. Truthfully what worried him wasn't confronting old memories or nervousness of seeing his past or any deep meanings like that. What really worried The Vagabond was that he knew his memories were foggy and broken at best, but he didn't know what kind of affect this would have on how this 'Castle' operated. If only I could remember...I swear I've been here before! Everything seemed too familiar for him to have not been.
Deciding he would have time to think later, The Vagabond followed Ailill through the door. He was greeted by pitch black. For a moment, panic coursed through his body as a memory flashed before his eyes; of a place made of nothing but darkness, where no living soul breathed other than Heartless. No...this is his memory, not yours. That was when he felt Ailill's tug to follow him by the edge of what was seemingly a vast nothingness. As the swordsman began to speak, The Vagabond noticed the woman in the room, across the gaping Bore that greeted them. "Don't ask questions right now. Help me find the exit. The way up. Ignore her." Ailill's warning hit just in time as The Vagabond averted his gaze from the woman.
Following Ailill's lead, the researcher's dull green eyes fell upon a stairway in the distance. Before he could mention it, the cloaked man grabbed the woman in the room, throwing her into the vast nothingness that had nearly clenched their lives as well. How cold. The Vagabond wondered what the woman's relationship to Ailill was, especially to be hurled towards such an enemy. Not being one to want to dig into people's pasts, The Vagabond pointed at where he saw the staircase.
"This way!" He shouted towards Ailill, running in the opposite direction of the large monstrosity behind them. Pushing his legs to their quickest, the researcher dashed with the swordsman towards the exit. "If this is how all of your memories are gonna be, we're going through mine next!" It seemed so far all of Ailill's memories had them running for their lives from some terrifying monster The Vagabond had never seen before.
It was a bit much, added on with the affects of the castle.
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Post by Ziya on Mar 24, 2019 12:20:38 GMT -5
Jason quickly followed Éirín and Rand through the door, only to find himself in a study with the goddess nowhere to be found. A brief flash of worry was all he could get before he heard her voice from the other room. His instinct was to charge in, but Rand held him back with an outstretched arm and a shake of his head. Soon enough she walked through the door with a quip, and he relaxed a little.
Through the bond Rand knew full well what had just happened, which made his fiancee's reaction more amusing for him. Elayne's tales of her time as a Novice came to mind as well, though he knew better than to mention that at the moment. Instead he looked out of a nearby window at the fields surrounding them. "I'm not surprised, min vovokara. Jason," he turned to the man, who had dismissed his armor for the moment, "how do we advance if the floors are recreations of worlds?"
Jason squeezed Conrí's hand lightly before answering. "The only two ways are to find the exit door or to finish the memory in its entirety, at which point the door will move to wherever we are. The door itself will look exactly like the one we entered through, but it could be anywhere in the world so it's usually better to let the memory play out. I've never heard of someone being inserted into the memory like what just happened to you though, Éirín. Try to remember that none of this is real, else we'll be in real trouble later on."
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Post by Conrí on Mar 24, 2019 14:25:13 GMT -5
Ailill sighed as he neared the staircase. He nodded when Vagabond spoke. "Very well. You can take the next floor. I want to wait for a few moments in the foyer, though, in order to prepare." Something about the memory he'd just gone through was bothering him, and he needed to clear his head.
The cloaked man shuddered and forced himself to think about Tamara. He wondered where Rand was in this place. He started climbing the stairs slowly. He glanced back at the Bore and thought he saw a hand reaching out to him. He shook his head and came to the foyer and stopped.
Éirín was glad that Rand chose to just play off her beating. She didn't feel like disclosing that this particular beating had been her third, and she'd only eaten breakfast an hour before. She wondered if Rand would be able to tell that much. She noticed that Conrí was smirking at her, so she stuck her tongue out at him.
The wolf girl nodded when Jason explained how the castle seemed to be working. She nodded and whispered, "This isn't my first Dream, Pretty Boy." She giggled at this, then walked down the hall, as though she was going off to her studies. She ducked into a room, and actually got complimented for bowing. She let the others come in, holding her fingers up to her lips and winked. She made sure to make them invisible, as she looked for a way to create an exit.
The priestess sighed at the end of the lesson. She was supposed to hurry off to the next one, but, she was bored and risked getting caught up in the memories. "Let's go, I had a penchant for reading the forbidden books, besides, there's probably an exit around there, too." Rather than wait, she just shifted the environment around them up to the room. "I see a door, but, before we see what that is, let's look for information in here if we can."
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Post by hoodwink on Mar 24, 2019 15:57:09 GMT -5
The two emerged into the large white foyer of the third floor. The Vagabond was catching his breath, as they had done a lot of running lately. As they reached the foyer, Ailill rested and recuperated. It seemed that how this castle worked was each floor was a different memory of whoever opened the door. The Vagabond wondered allowed to the cloaked swordsman, wrapping his head around it all. "So...When we go into these memories of ours, what triggers the stairways appearance?" Did the memory have to pan out? So far, it had seemed like all the two had done on each floor is escape near death. Was that enough? What if the memory didn't have anything threatening inside of it?
Looking around the foyer, The Vagabond walked closer to the steps that led up to the next brown door. Turning to Ailill, he raised an eyebrow, his dull green eyes vacant and blank. "Or do we simply follow the memory's lead? Letting it pan out?" He wasn't entirely sure exactly what triggered the exit to appear in the last two memories. In the first one, it had simply appeared with the Trolloc's entrance. In the last one, it had been outside of the Bore. What exactly were these memories functions?
What a bizarre place... It reminded him of another castle he had been to, though he couldn't recall what it looked like or the name of it. How long ago was that? Shrugging the thought off, the researcher waited on the stairs for his comrade to prepare himself, taking a seat on the pristine white steps. He leaned back a bit, staring up at the vacant ceiling with a relaxed sigh. I wonder what else I've forgotten? It was an absent-minded thought, The Vagabond was prone to those in moments of rest. Looking over at his comrade, he began to prepare himself mentally for what might lie ahead.
He wasn't sure what would happen once he entered the door behind him.
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Post by Ziya on Mar 25, 2019 20:05:49 GMT -5
By the time they were suddenly sent to what appeared to be a library, Jason had no idea what to think anymore. Every rule he thought he knew about this place was being turned on its head, and a bit of his sanity in the process. He had blushed a little at Éirín's comment, but other than that he made sure to follow the others with a slightly lost look on his face.
Rand, on the other hand, had never been to Castle Oblivion before, and as such simply assumed that it followed similar rules to Tel'aran'rhiod, much like several ter'angreal he knew of. When their environment shifted, he took it in stride and immediately headed toward the nearest shelf. He couldn't help but be a touch cheeky however. "Of course you did. What information should we be looking for?"
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Post by Conrí on Mar 25, 2019 21:05:10 GMT -5
Ailill was grateful for the rest, and thought a moment on what Vagabond had said. He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. "Part of it is believing this is a chance to change while understanding what you are seeing is a construct, like a dream." He chuckled and nodded, surprised at how sharp his colleague was. "It is advised that you let the memories pan out, lest you want to be running like we have been up the rest of this place."
The cloaked man leaned against a wall, his black attire contrasting with the white. "Whenever you want to go, we can. There is little reason for us to play with them just yet, unless you want them to know we've a lead." Ailill wondered why he was feeling a sinking sensation in his chest. Almost like something was calling out to him.
Éirín blushed when she noticed her brother shaking his head and laughing at Rand's quip. Why he'd been in such a quiet mood was bothering her. Sighing, she wove a bit of Air and gave a pinching sensation to her beloved farm boy. She scanned the titles, and tapped a book thoughtfully.
The wolf girl hung her head. "Well, someone had to figure out how to prove she was in fact his sister...for reasons, but, for now, it looks like there's nothing really here on how this place works. I wanted to make sure I wasn't breaking the rules too badly, my fiance."
An all too familiar laugh made the priestess's ears flatten a bit. She turned and quickly shelved the book she was holding, and held her hand out to stop the three men from jumping to her defense. She knew this was different, and she could stop it, but should she? She shook her head and let the woman holding the strap lash it out at her face. It struck hard enough that it drew blood, and knocked the goddess back.
Éirín wiped the blood away simply and just stared at the mistress, who grinned at her. "That madra caorach hit me harder, honestly. An heiress learns to just move on with such things."
"Honestly, if it wasn't the summer, and we weren't sending you back, you'd be thrown out for this many infractions. Or, flogged until your arse never healed. In any case, I've told you enough times that Tir Tairngirian royalty you are not."
The wolf girl smiled coolly. She kept her head high. "That is your opinion.
"Go, pack. I'll be sure to flog you every step of the way."
The priestess sighed, but beckoned that the others follow behind the woman, who took too much pleasure in the echoes down the halls. Not an heiress, and What will your father think? echoed after each smack.
Still, the goddess didn't change her fate and gave Rand in particular a glare. "It has to be this way, for the exit is where we are headed. This part did happen, which is why I couldn't sit that week." She sent this on the thinnest wisp of Air to the men's ears.
When everyone reached the room that was Éirín's, she nearly hit her knees, but exhaled when she saw the stair case she sought. "I'm fine. Pain is easy to ignore. Let's go upward now. Before we get caught in this too much."
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Post by hoodwink on Mar 26, 2019 13:51:47 GMT -5
It seemed that they did need the memories to pan out, in order for the exit to emerge easily, anyway. Otherwise it seemed they would be forced to combat the memory, fleeing to the exit for their lives. The Vagabond grimaced a bit, wondering how his fractured memories would work in such a place. As Ailill mentioned being ready to leave, the researcher caught something peculiar in his sentence: "There is little reason for us to play with them just yet, unless you want them to know we've a lead." The researcher took a moment to think as he sat on the steps, staring across the room at his partner. Oh! That's right! The Vagabond had seemed to forgotten what they had even been doing here.
"That's right...'them', the people that are in here, right? We're...only looking for the one with...red hair?" His voice was unsure, the memory hazy in his mind even though it didn't seem like too long ago the two had emerged in the castle. My memories...this place... The Vagabond held his head in his hands for a moment, hunched over on the stairs. "Sorry...it seem's I've forgotten some things rather quickly." Looking back up at Ailill, the man smiled sheepishly as he stood on the stairs.
Turning to gaze at the door on the raised platform, The Vagabond wondered just who the people they were looking for were. Did he already mention that? Other than the single 'target with red hair', The Vagabond didn't recall much else. Still staring at the door, he asked the question without looking at Ailill, seemingly lost in thought. "Who is it that resides in this castle?" Walking closer to the large door, The Vagabond rested a hand on the frame of it, tracing the wood and metal with his pale fingers silently.
It was an odd sensation, remembering certain things while forgetting others.
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Post by Ziya on Mar 26, 2019 23:52:14 GMT -5
It was all that Jason could do not to stop the blatant abuse to Éirín as they walked. He was very, very glad that Jen had stayed in the ship, else the entire floor would be burning down, and possibly the entire castle with it.
Rand kept his face and hands still the entire time, though he wanted nothing more than to flog the woman up and down the halls until she begged him to stop. The thought gave him pause, even as he rubbed the spot his fiancee had pinched him. Was he truly that protective of her? He hadn't been of the others, though none of them had even close to the level of abuse she had.
As they entered the room finally he rushed over to her as her knees tried to buckle, cursing the fact that he couldn't Heal her without forcing them to go back to the ship for food. Suddenly a green light raced past his shoulder, hitting her and instantly mending every hurt on her body. He turned to the source, only to see the tail end of the threads of magic on Jason's fingers. "Pain may be easy to ignore, but you shouldn't have to."
His tone was serious, but his other hand never left Conrí's as he approached and then walked through the door.
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Post by Conrí on Mar 27, 2019 16:41:33 GMT -5
Ailill looked at the Vagabond and smirked. "They are a group that should know where my wife is. The one with red hair owes me a debt."
The cloaked man shook his head at the other's question. "It is okay that your memory is hazy. I don't know who resides here normally. This place just seems to be." He watched Ba'alzaemon caress the door handle seemingly mystified. "We should be moving on soon. Do you want to go through, or do you want me to?"
Éirín felt every bit of Rand's anger and willingness to protect her flow through the bond. This was the only reason why she had tears in her eyes. "Let her think what she wants," she whispered softly to Rand, though her eyes betrayed her true feelings.
When they all came to her room, the wolf girl finally started to cry into Rand's chest. "I'm sorry that you felt like that. Don't--"
Before she could protest, the priestess felt a soothing sensation rush over her, and found herself looking at Jason. She nodded, took Rand's hand and started to follow her brother up the stairs.
Conrí looked back at his sister, stunned into silence and anger by what he just witnessed. "I'm sorry, sister," he managed to whisper before falling back into a contemplative silence.
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Post by hoodwink on Mar 27, 2019 18:29:14 GMT -5
The door handle against his hand seemed heavy and daunting. "We should be moving on soon. Do you want to go through, or do you want me to?" A chill ran through the Vagabond's spine as he thought of going through more of the swordsman's horrid memories. Waving a hand, he peered over his shoulder at his comrade with a sheepish grin. "Ah, no, I got this one! Thanks, though." They had already had to run for their lives for the past two floors, he hoped his own memories provided to be more...peaceful. Determined to press onward, the researcher pushed his way through the large brown door.
A blinding light encased him as he went through the doorway.
Having thrown up his arms to shield himself from the light, the Vagabond squinted as his dull matte eyes adjusted to the scenery around him. He was standing in a shaded Lagoon, dappled with sunlight and chirping birds. The man shouted in excitement as he saw the large pink guardians lazily floating in the pools. The hippo's ears fluttered from the sound as the eyes moved to gaze at the intruder. With a broad grin on his face, the Vagabond rushed over to the beast, leaning against it with his arms spread wide as though to try and hug the massive jungle local.
"Long time no see!" For a moment, he was caught up in the memory, forgetting that the creature before him was not actually the real friend he had made while on the world he stood in. The Lagoon was surrounded by lush tall trees, some thicker with vines that led up to the treetops. There were three large pools in the Lagoon, all with tall tropical trees protruding from them and hippos lazily napping. It was just as he remembered.
Wait...that's right! Having finally regained his focus, the Vagabond pushed off from the large beast, patting its rough hide fondly as he waved with his other hand. "Good to see ya, but I gotta go!" If what he had talked about with Ailill was true, the memory had to pan out in order for them to find the exit. When I first arrived on this world, I had come to the Lagoon... What had he done next? A loud crash echoed throughout the Jungle, causing the researcher's head to jolt up as his eyes darted to the direction of the noise.
What was that?! Someone else had been on this world, too! He couldn't think of their face or name at the moment, but he remembered he had met a dear friend on this world. It had been an important stepping stone to his research, too. Waiting to make sure the cloaked swordsman had followed him, the Vagabond pointed in the direction where the trees began to thin out, instead tall bamboo jolting up at the sides of a small path.
"We'll want to go this way." The Vagabond headed in the direction, trying to recall the rest of the memory. Through the path the two emerged within a Bamboo clearing, to which the loud crashing from earlier only grew louder. A strong presence was felt from the bamboo thickets as the Vagabond jumped to the side, the large arms of darkness protruding from his back as a muscular jaguar crashed through the clearing. "Run! I forgot about this guy!" The fanged beast was a menace indeed, with powerful claws and a thick jaw that could bite through foes. Aided by the large arms created from borrowed darkness, the researcher fled the Bamboo thicket, trusting in Ailill to keep up.
Emerging into a clearing littered with a large mountain of luggage and and odd assortment of items, there sat a modest tent near a large flagpole. Using the massive arms at his back to push himself against the ground, the Vagabond leapt onto the mountain of luggage, waving for Ailill with his normal hands and pointing to the tent. "In here! It's safe!" The crashing jaguar continued its rampage through the Bamboo thicket after the two, its powerful legs carrying it swiftly through the jungle, trampling anything in its path. Leaping from the mountain of suitcases, the Vagabond rolled safetly onto the jungle floor next to the tent entrance, ducking inside as the large arms of darkness evaporated once more, not leaving a trace of their existence.
Catching his breath, the Vagabond collapsed on the floor of the tent, which was littered with more suitcases and a projector in the middle of it. Leaning back on his hands, the researcher sat on the floor in a heave as he looked for his partner.
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Post by Ziya on Mar 27, 2019 20:46:22 GMT -5
As they emerged into the next white hallway, Jason looked Conrí over after his brief apology, concern finally winning out over his other emotions. His love's aura was muddled, preventing his inexperienced eye from picking out what was going on, but he refused to let that stop him. Pulling him aside to one of the pillars, he squeezed his hand lightly before voicing his worry. "What's wrong, lilulf? Please, you're worrying me."
Rand looked at the two men with interest, though they were too far away to understand. Instinctively he filed away the fading threads of whatever magic Jason had used, hugging Éirín tightly to his chest as he did. "That was harsh, even in comparison to the White Tower back on my world. Are you alright?"
Both men resolved not to let that happen again, even if it meant deviating from the proper path of whatever memory they ended up in next.
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Post by Conrí on Mar 27, 2019 21:46:17 GMT -5
Aillil watched the jungle form around him and chuckled a little. Part of him remembered the home he shared with Tamara. As Vagabond seemed to become more animated about the location, he found himself intrigued. He followed the other man along, thankful that there seemed to be no running involved this time. He kept his wits about him, only to hear a loud crash.
The cloaked man scowled as he set off at a run, easily keeping up with his colleague. He contemplated stopping the creature, but, Ba'alzaemon cut off his thoughts and forced him to duck into a tent. He breathed out quietly. "Are we to just run up all the floors, then?" He laughed, something he felt he couldn't do in his memories, before turning his attention back to the task at hand. "Focus solely on what happens next and remember there's an exit this time."
Conrí grit his teeth and growled. His love's concern for him finally forced the rest of the mood out of him. "That bitch! She...actually just...and then...da wasn't in the greatest mood that summer. I was a fool!" He looked at the door in front of him, and thought about running into it blindly, but stopped and turned to look at his sister.
Her face was still buried in Rand's chest, and the wolf boy could hear her soft sobs. He saw her nod when Rand asked if she was okay, but, he doubted it. He tsked his tongue and folded his arms over his chest. "Who's going next, then?"
"It wasn't the pain, Rand, or the memory. It was...feeling you through the bond. As for who should go next, should we draw straws?"
The would be king nearly wretched when he saw how easily she smiled, despite what she had just gone through. How long have you been doing this?
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