Prompt 1/19 Castus and Mirasinera

[DM CiCi]

This is the prompt for Castus and Mirasinera. The mechanics of this are as with the other thread. Castus won the coin toss, so the event will fit him first and then slowly morph.


General Prompt from the last thread: After the first flight of stairs down, the party finds themselves in a dimly lit foyer. Torches sit in brackets in the four corners of the room. Merrik, Daesi, and Castus each grab one of these torches leaving the fourth in it’s bracket. As you look around you all are filled with the eerie sense that you are in a long abandoned crypt. Shelves are carved one above the other into the rock of the walls, and various human bones lie upon them and judging from the state of the remains- they have been there for a very long time.

Daesi is visibly shaken at the sight and when confronted he confesses that “this area reeks of dark magic.” Still, the elf presses on.

Another set of steep stone steps leads further down. The stairs are just wide enough to permit the party to travel two-by-two. Daesi and Terrwyn take the lead, followed by Nia and Merrik, lastly Castus guides Mirasinera onward.

The stairs almost seem to stretch on forever, and you soon notice that the footsteps of those before or after you suddenly are no more. You are now alone with your partner. Reaching the bottom of the stairs- you find yourself in a mist filled room. Shapes are beginning to form in the mist- swirling into focus

Narrow Prompt: Stepping forward off the staircase Castus can see the mist roll away to reveal four statues at the end of a long hall, lit with soft candle light. Each statue is a female figure with gentle features set into a separate alcove with in the polished marble wall. The ceiling above you is vaulted, supported by a series of ornately carved pillars, and you can hear your footsteps echo with in the chamber.

As the two of you approach the statues you notice with your divine training that each one is 'glowing' with a different elemental aura.

[sue]

Castus frowned and raised his torch to each of the statues in turn, examining them carefully. Some manner of temple? he wondered, If the fool merchant was right in what he believes he saw, then it grieves me to think that such a place would have been desecrated by one as foul and misguided as a necromancer...

He raised a hand towards one of the statues, admiring it, then thought better of it and pulled his hand back, a faint look of embarassment on his face.

"Can you hear the others?" he asked, knowing his companion's senses were far better than his own. "As interesting as this is - I believe we've stumbled into some manner of temple with an elemental leaning, by the way - we should prioritize finding them again."

[Kitsu]

((...The cat is blind, remember?)) DM Edit: Yes I do... that was more for Castus's benefit....

Mirasinera stopped suddenly in her tracks when all of a sudden her companions footfalls disappeared. 'Now that's not right. They were right in front of me. I should still at least hear the elf and the human,' she thought. Her thoughts were tainted with a feeling of unease, like something was just not right. She was still mulling this over when she and Castus reached the bottom of the stairs. As she feels the mist clear, she begins to smell a sense of magic, which grows as she reaches the statues.

"These statues, what are they," she wonders out loud as she realizes what they are.

When Castus asks if she can hear the others she shakes her head, but listens again in hopes that perhaps she might hear something to let them know their companions are okay.

[sue]

"They're women," Castus answered. "Four of them. They look almost benevolent, and they're giving off a bit of elemental energy. I'm fairly certain they represent the mother goddesses, given the arrangement and iconography."

The paladin bowed his head and incanted a few words of respect, then, with that finished, cast the torch around, and examined the room. "Someone must have been here recently. I shudder to think that it might have been that vile creature Merrik spoke of."

[DM CiCi]

Castus: As you look about you you find off to the side, in an otherwise dimly lit corner of the hall, a long hallway lit by flickering torches. Moving towards it you notice that this corridor too is lined with statues appearing to be the likenesses of the Elven gods you are most familiar with. On one side there are two stone figures seated upon a couch. From their regalia and acompanying symbols you can tell right away that these two represent the prince of the elven court Lunniea and his consort Solarius. On the opisate wall are four more statues. The first three are all female and grouped together, one blindfolded and bearing a sword, the other holds up a set of scales, and the last is depicted as placing a feather onto the scales. You know these three as Lunniea's daughters The Triad of the Endless Cycle. The last statue is placed off to their side, and is of a smiling male youth bearing a sword and shield. You know this depiction all too well as he is the god you fight for- Corllinn Thalon.

[sue]

The paladin paused, studying the corridor in silence for several moments.

"There are more - as many of the gods as you can imagine," he explained for Mira, handing off the torch and making his way towards the hall. "Excuse me a moment; please hold this."

He walked before the statues, making small, proper words of deference to each until he reached the statue of his god. Once there, he drew his blade and fell to a knee, resting his forehead on the pommel and intoning elven prayers of respect, and for aid in their quest, and - more pressingly - for might and wisdom in locating the lost members of their party.

[DM CiCi]

As you open your eyes after your prayer, you notice a small parcel wrapped up in rough cloth at the feet of the statue, and as you pick it up a feeling of urgency fills you. You stand up and go to make your exit. As you leave, you glance back noticing a single lily placed upon the base of the statue of Lunniea and Solarius. The flower is fresh, and seems to have been conjured by means of magic and piety. There is only one such a person in your party you can think who would do such an act for their god.

[sue]

He stared at the lily in curiousity a few moments longer, then returned quickly to Mira, unwrapping the parcel as he went.

"The gods bless our quest," he announced, choosing to interpret these signs in that manner. "We should reunite with the others in as timely a manner as we can contrive to, though, to be honest with you, m'lady, I am at a loss as to how we may."

He glanced around the first chamber. "I propose we backtrack a bit, perhaps we can at least find the place we parted ways with them. In any case, I do not believe that the necromancer the merchant claimed to see is in this place."

The paladin headed back in the direction they'd come from, investigating the parcel as he went but unwilling to slow, let alone stop for a moment. He was on the divine scent, so to speak.