Matt's Long Absence
Subject: Matt's long absence
There is light at the end of the tunnel! I promise! Just not right now, I'm afraid. It's been a long tunnel. (My apologies for those of you who got this email twice.)
I just returned last Saturday at midnight from a three day overnight trip with 80 thirteen year olds, and this week has so far consisted of an awards ceremony last night (I was nominated, which rocks, even though I didn't win), and a National Honor Society induction for my students tonight. This is on top of early mornings and late afternoons of extra help preparing for next week's final exam.
Many apologies for holding things up, but it's unavoidable. Any posting I could do right now would be very spotty and without much thought or preparation. Next week I have a final exam to grade for 65 students and an algebra readiness assessment to grade for the same number. Lots of grading, even more outside-of-school-hours help, and then finally the end of the year...
...when I can finally write this damn freelance crap assignment that's been sucking my will to live. :(
BUT, the light comes on the 21st, it seems. That monday and tuesday are half days, and I should be done with most stuff... at least enough to sit down at my computer, catch up on all the emails, and send out turns.
I'm really sorry for the hold up, but June for teachers is like early April for accountants and December for North Pole elves.
I'm not dead, though, and I shall return eventually. I just hope you all don't rise up en masse and burn my house down in the meantime.
~Matt
Plans Leaked?
Subject: Re: Matt's long absence
Who told you about the plans to burn your house?
:eyes Karl:
From: Karl
Subject: Re: Matt's long absence
Hey, I've been playing City of Heroes too much to be getting involved in real-world plans of mayhem.
Time To Get Shorty
Subject: The time has come to get Shorty
Get to writin.'
From: Raja
Subject: Re: The time has come to get Shorty
I thought he wasn't around until the 21st?
From: Scott
Subject: Re: The time has come to get Shorty
I thought he said the 11th?
From: Scott
Subject: Re: The time has come to get Shorty
Gaaah. It IS the 21st.
Wishful thinking on my part. . .
From: Raja
Subject: Re: The time has come to get Shorty
Well, this way Mission lives longer ;-)
More Raving for celia
Subject: For Celia. Please stop bugging me.
OOC: Might want to read some of the older messages to get back into the "feel" of things.
IC: Mission tosses the glowing glove at Cadfael but the other man's eyes do not follow it. It softly strikes Cadfael's chest, hangs there for a moment, and then falls limply to the cavern floor.
Pressure rises against his temples as he fights to hold Mission's gaze, to use it to anchor him in the moment.
He can see the monk's mouth moving, but the words seem out of synch. "Do you know where the tunnel is, Cadfael?" The words finally reach him, long after Mission has finished speaking.
The weight is lifted from his mind and he hears himself answer, "Were you not listening brother? I have already told where the tunnel lies and the fate that awaits all but me if they enter. I will save Promise, my Brother, you need have no fear." He watches himself smile and reach out to embrace the other man, enveloped by light that seems to emanate from the very ground on which they stand.
Outwardly, there is no change on his face, or in his eyes or in his stance. Mission, frustrated by the silence, looks away. He pulls back the anchor. The clarity begins to drift. Mission turns to leave. The clarity is shattered completely. Nothing but the shards of... of something. Not past, nor present nor future. Just... shards.
He sinks to a squat. Other forms walk round him, drifting down the tunnel, away from the end.
"Fools." This time he speaks aloud, though he is not sure of it, not really aware of the words. He is sifting through the shards, trying to force them into an image. Any image. Keeping some and discarding others. The words just spill from his mouth, as if it were a hole in his mind through which the shards may fall.
"Set on a path by a fool and abandoned by fools. If darkness watches appearances and disappearances these holes in the Earth will grow darker before too long. My Mission abandons me but I will see it through."
He trails off, the discarded glove catching his eye. Gently he scoops it up, tracing its fingers along the floor in a large circle. "Sanctuary. The gates to a temple hall always lead to Sanctuary. 300 paces around the hall," he drags the fingers in a straight line from the circle, "1. 2. 3..." he softly intones. "All with your back to Pelor's Seat." He smiles with those words. "Under the eye of two Gods, hidden from both by the shadow of the other." Quietly he traces out a smaller circle before slipping the glove over his hand.
Without a word he stands and looks off in the distance, away from the party. Directly at the hole to the surface if the cavern wall did not block his view.
OOC: Ok, so it's a bit melodramatic, but at least this way Celia will leave me alone ;)
Rennik's Opinion, A Little Misunderstanding
Subject: Back in the Saddle, er, email, or something
Rennik sits with Tichenor, quietly listening to the droning of Cadfaels words, wondering why humans needed to make language more complicated than it had to be. A tunnel the dark god doesn't know about? Passage at noon? Mission and he had strayed? It made some sense, but was more frustrating than illuminating.
Sa'id's words made the chaos of Cadfael's become clear. The tunnel had to be passed at noon for us to go unnoticed. Which would mean getting near the tunnel entrance before dawn if we were to pass the guards at the base of the mountain...
Mission and he had strayed. From Cadfael. Sa'id had mentioned this another day, how Cadfael protected them from the dark god. How being near him blinded the dark powers. And they had strayed, Rennik further than Mission even. The hairs stand up on the back of his neck as he realizes he could have died at the hands of the shebitch and her hellhounds without any way to escape.
"We must leave this place, now."
He stands and turns to the group, some of whom have spread back up the tunnel.
"Friend Sa'id knows. He understands. I left the party once, and I was seen and attacked by the dark god. I left the party again tonight."
His breathing is heavier.
"If the dark god could see me the first time, he could see me the second. He attacked the first time, when there was a chance to wound the party by killing me. This time, he means to attack all of us."
"I may not have been noticed, but there's a good chance I was. We need to leave this place. Now. Before he sends his minions looking. Before we are trapped by the shebitch and the zombies and the host of our enemies."
He looks at Cadfael, and then to Sa'id.
"This tunnel. It is an entrance to the mountain, and unguarded? Even if we were noticed on it, it is a better chance than the front entry. It seems our best option."
"But we need to leave here now. We can sneak past the guards and up the side of the mountain before we sleep, as close as we can to this tunnel. That way we don't have to move in daylight and risk discovery."
"We must stay together, and we must not stay here."
From: Raja
Subject: Muddling through...
Sa'id watches Cadfael's exchange with Mission intently, his gaze focused on the priest. He struggles to decipher the man's cryptic half-musings, committing each sentence to memory and mentally parsing every turn of phrase as many times as there are possible interpretations. Some of what Cadfael has to say seems fairly clear to Sa'id -- and surprising. He was saying that he would have to enter the mountain through the secret tunnel ALONE, that if anyone else came with him they would be killed. And that he could save Promise without aid.
At first, Sa'id mentally scoffs at this so-called plan. After all, the last time Cadfael had gone anywhere alone, events rapidly spiralled into a disaster. But, since he is doing his best to be thorough in his examination of Cadfael's words, he carries this idea through to its logical conclusion. A diversion would be needed. If the group attacked the main entrance at high noon, or just before... possibly from two sides...
Fire.
Sa'id smiles inwardly at the thought of the skeletons crumbling to ash, the human guardians screaming in agony as his conjured flame seared their flesh. It seemed so perfect. As many fireballs as could be conjured. Perhaps he would also take command of some of the undead guardians, turning them against the humans one at a time. Even the anticipation of feeling such intense satisfaction... the necromancer shakes his head quickly, hoping his mental smirk was not mirrored on his face. How could he harbour dreams so dark as these? How could he desire the painful death of these men, who had lives of their own, dreams of their own?
Or DID they have dreams of their own? Certainly the group that passed them in the tunnel did not seem soulless as the halflings that ambushed them. Elise was not soulless -- Elise was beautiful and terrible in that destructive beauty.
The colour of her hair. Fire.
Sand, which flame could melt and turn to glass. Fire creating beauty. Fire inspiring beauty, in Elise's case.
As it brushes over sand, Sa'id's mind makes a characteristic leap. Mission would not accept this course of action... unless he could somehow be made to see it as a test, set forth by his precious Path. Sa'id surprises himself with his own cynicism -- or is it pragmatism? He does, after all, want to live out tomorrow.
The halfling's words snap Sa'id back to reality. He listens to Rennik. Another connection is made in his mind -- Rennik has just clued in, unconsciously or otherwise, to something Cadfael seems to be trying to convey... the idea that they should move tonight, move to the mountain, and camp there. Sa'id nods mentally to himself. Farron's magical hut could shelter them just as well on the mountain as here in the tunnels, and it would save them having to climb openly under the morning's sun. Finally, he speaks:
"I think both Cadfael and Rennik are right. We can climb the mountain tonight, with the night to shield us from human eyes and Cadfael to shield us from the chained god. Farron can conjure his shelter there to keep us safe as we rest. As to what happens tomorrow... if what Cadfael says is true, and everyone save him will not be shielded from the dark god's sight once we enter the mountain... I... well, perhaps he is right that he should go alone. We can turn the god's eyes toward us by attacking the main entrance. Even I by myself could wreak substantial havoc there, provided I hid myself carefully in the jungle, and kept moving after each spell."
He turns to face Mission, forstalling the monk's reply with a raised hand. "I will not presume to instruct you, or to stop you if you feel you must go with the priest. But I think he may be right. If we have trusted him to come this far, perhaps we should trust him just a little further. The road we travel has been winding, and never easy. No," Sa'id chuckles, "the gods never make things easy. But it follows from that that sometimes the correct choice is the harder to accept."
From: Matt
Subject: Re: Muddling through...
I don't think Cadfael said any of that stuff about our certain doom aloud, actually.
Rereading, I think the only things he actually spoke were "Fools." and "Set on a path by a fool and abandoned by fools. If darkness watches appearances and disappearances these holes in the Earth will grow darker before too long. My Mission abandons me but I will see it through."
Am I wrong, there?
Clearing It Up
Subject: Re: Muddling through...
Oops. Looks like I wrote that massive message for nothing. Thanks a LOT, Dan. :-P
From: Dan
Subject: Re: Muddling through...
Oh, yeah. Right. Ummm... oops? I guess I should have been more clear with in head and out loud words. The "exchange" with Mission didn't happen, the Fools bit was spoken aloud, as was the bit about the sanctuary while Cadfael was dithering with the glove.
Of course, you could pretend that Sa'id, using his very large brain, has picked up on Cadfael's unspoken meaning :p (especially considering he has voiced it, just not in the last E-mail :)
From: Ty
Subject: Re: Back in the Saddle, er, email, or something
Welcome back, Matt!
I will wait for everyone to check in before I write the next turn.
*goes off to write his turn for Matt's game*
From: Karl
Subject: Re: Back in the Saddle, er, email, or something
checking in
From: Raja
Subject: Re: Muddling through...
Ah so. Well, I'll defer to Ty on which portions of my message actually happen and which do not.
From: Mike
Subject: Re: Muddling through...
Actually, I think that Sa'id may have been able to get that from some stuff that Cadfael said before. On 5/13 I see:
"He gives himself a secret smile and goes on, 'There is a hole in Kor Garesh's side. A hole leading straight to his heart. What is so small a hole to this mountain God? He does not feel it; steps have not brought it to his attention. But a single footfall will give him knowledge.' Cadfael's gaze flickers up and his focus has suddenly shifted to intently look into Mission's eyes."
I could see a smarty like Sa'id getting the "certain doom" stuff from there.
From: Mike
Subject: Re: Muddling through...
Ack, wrong quotation!
Here we go:
"His smile dies and he looks at Mission with sad accusation, 'I have been cloaked in a shadow he cannot pierce, an ink that clung to those that walked with me, we have dined on it with every meal. But every step toward this end has pushed the gloom nearer, growing more pure at my center and lifting with every pace away from me. When Pelor is at his highest I may cross, when the shadows cast are barely more than skin deep. When in his temple those uncovered and seen will be struck down by the gathering darkness. A Darkness that may already know we are here, Brother. You and the half man have strayed.'"
The Group Is Resolved, Raja Out For A While
Subject: Re: For Celia. Please stop bugging me.
Holes in the earth. Riddles in the dark. Darkness watching. . . Mission catches his breath. Sand take him. "Rennick is right. We need to get out of this tunnel now. Rennick and I both left Cadfael to go sneaking around. . . if Cadfael is keeping us hidden from Kor Goresh's sight. . ."
He spreads his palms wide.
300 steps. . . did that mean that 300 steps from the entrance to the temple, around the mountain, there was a hole that led to the sanctuary? And Cadfael maintained that only he could walk in through that hidden way and remain unseen.
The Path ahead was dark to him. How deep was he really willing to place his faith in Cadfael? Not deep enough to trust Promise to the priest. Not that.
"Out through the zombies," Mission says. "As quietly as we can."
OOC: So, we're out of food, surrounded by evil, and our best hope of victory is an insane cleric who may or may not be possessed by the same evil we're fighting against.
LOVE THIS GAME!
From: Scott
Subject: Re: Muddling through...
OOC: Grr. Figured this needed to be responded to. Twinky's done a good job with this post.
Mission bristles at Sa'id's words. Bandying about Promise's life and his own redemption like they were. . . the ingredients to some spell. Like some difficult lesson to learn. He feels the smoke of shadow in his heart, bitter, quick--
Sand take him. It was one thing to contemplate trusting the priest in his own heart, but to have it forced on him like this. . .
"The Path is not straight, nor is it soft." Mission echoes the mage's words hollowly. He looks at Cadfael, then Sa'id. "When we met Anileth last, Cadfael fled. You've somehow reached the conclusion that Anileth will be disabled during her childbirth-- although the reasoning is lost on me, since by reason she shouldn't be alive at all, so how can we know what she is capable of? Rennick nearly chopped her foot off, and it healed over before he blinked. Who can say that she will not heal as quickly from giving birth to Promise? And remember, she didn't need to even lift a finger to send the lot of you scurrying for the woods."
Mission unclenches his fists. His tatoos are glowing grimly in the darkness, like veins lighted from within. Like the blood within him is fire. Blood and stone. "You presume too much, _mage_."
Then he sinks back from Sa'id. "I will let Cadfael go down the tunnel alone. I have the priest's oath. He will return with my son." He nods at Cadfael. "You remember, Cadfael? You will return with my boy so that you can kill me."
"Now. Let's get out of these tunnels so that you can have that chance."
From: Karl
Subject: Re: Muddling through...
Not all of us went scurrying, Farron thinks to himself. But never mind. He is done expecting even a modicum of respect from the single-minded monk with his contempt for everyone, most probably even himself. Or even the others around whom this whole terrible enterprise seems to revolve.
He suddenly feels exhausted. The lack of food, the soreness telling him he is not fully healed, and the need to rest all seem to come crashing down on him. How did he get in with this lot? He'd almost believe the gods were trying to teach him something, but that would imply he would live past tomorrow. And in the darkness of the tunnel that seemed a hope he could find no rational reason to entertain.
Done with his study, he lays a hand on Sa'id's shoulder in the dark and says quietly, "I'm ready. We can camp wherever we decide."
From: Ty
Subject: Re: Muddling through...
Can I get a short recap of the plan? I will write up the next turn today if I can get it.
From: Dan
Subject: Re: Muddling through...
I think we're planning on sneaking through the crowd of zombies and up to the surface. At which point we're going to try and find whatever Cadfael was talking about. When we get there, if it's as safe as he seems to be convinced it is Farron will cast his spell and we'll hide in the hut. We may also be invisible for the journey, depending on what Raja does.
From: Scott
Subject: Re: Muddling through...
That sounds right. I'm looking for the hidden code in Dan's message, something along the lines of, "My character's led them all into your trap, O Lizardly Master of Eternity! Feast on their souls at your liegelike leisure!"
:)
From: Raja
Subject: Re: Muddling through...
I believe that the plan is to sneak up the mountain -- Cadfael claims to know where to go -- and camp using Farron's Tiny Hut spell to keep us safe. Then in the morning, Cadfael goes down the secret tunnel at noon and we create a diversion at the main entrance.
That last bit may be subject to change if stuff happens through the night, I suppose, but the camping bit is the plan to this point from what I understand.
From: Mike
Subject: Re: Muddling through...
That's how I understood it. What about the invisibility?
I guess I didn't mention that Garyth is cool with this plan, but he is.
From: Raja
Subject: Re: Muddling through...
No can do, not until tomorrow. I only had one instance of the spell memorized.
From: Karl
Subject: Re: Muddling through...
Do you have an open slot you could use to memorize it? (Not that we necessarily want to take another 15 min for you to do that.)
From: Raja
Subject: Re: Muddling through...
No, I always fill my slots each day. I memorize as much as I possibly can.
And tonight, that will be fire, fire, fire. :-D
From: Matt
Subject: Re: Muddling through...
Rennik is cool with the plan to move up the mountain.
From: Raja
Subject: Re: Muddling through...
Apologies to those (including myself) who will get this twice.
I will be incommunicado for the next two or three days while I drive 1,800 kilometres back home to Nova Scotia with my family.
Sorry for the inconvenience. Matt or perhaps Erik could handle Elotai; as for Sa'id, Ty, Dan, or Karl can cover for me provided we don't get to the point where I need to submit a spell list.
Talk to you guys in a few days.
Raja
Sorry, Guys...
Subject: Re: Muddling through...
I'm sorry guys, but I am out of town at a client until Friday. I hope to get a turn in then. Sorry for the delay.
The Mountain
Subject: the Mountain
The plan is set, and the party begins moving cautiously back through the tunnels to the exit Mission found. Cautiously in this case meaning following a mad priest through zombie infested sewers on a mission to enter the temple of a dark god, but doing it as quietly as possible.
The group is able to move past the zombies in the side tunnel without attack. But as Cadfael moves through them, all their dead eyes follow him. One even reaches up and grips his sleeve in a gesture that looks almost childlike and plaintive. Cadfael gently removes the rotting hand from his arm and says in a quiet voice, "Not yet, my child. Not yet."
After everyone has moved one at a time past the zombie group, the glowing glove is taken out and the party is able to make rapid progress to the second exit. Rennik pops out of the hole first, to scout, and quickly returns to report that nothing has changed near the temple entrance.
Everyone exits, and then stands staring up at the star filled night sky for a moment. Farron says, "Has it really only been two days?" Garyth gulps in huge breaths, as if he can't replace the sewer air with outside air fast enough. Even dour Rennik looks almost pleased with the idea of being outside those dank caves for a while. He says quietly under his breath, "If we are to die here, let us die with grass beneath our feet, and Mielikki's spirit close by to welcome us home. Not in some black cave." It almost sounds like a prayer.
As the group moves through the ruins to the steep mountain side, they catch glimpses of the host outside the temple entrance. The numbers of men, halflings, and undead are daunting. The halflings look like more members of the hated Murrkat tribe. Many of them are naked but for belts holding their weapons. All wear many tattoos on their chests and arms. The tend to sit together in small clumps near fires, and the humans avoid them. Most of the humans are not much better. They look like street ruffians and thugs. In fact, Mission spots one man that he thinks was a member of Elise's little group when they met her outside the cabin.
Rennik takes a moment to point out the small group of humans that had worried him. A tall man in a chain shirt, and a horribly disfigured woman in grungy brown robes sit near the same fire. The man is armed with a long sword and long bow, and there is something about him that is a bit intimidating. The other humans and halflings in the camp seem to avoid walking near him. The way that he sits absolutely motionless makes Rennik think of the elven hunters he traveled and trained with, and he wonders if perhaps the man has a touch of the elven blood himself.
Sa'id takes one look a the woman and says, "Witch." He makes a warding sign with his fingers in her direction.
The party reaches a steep cliff side without incident, never coming closer than a few hundred feet of the small army outside the temple entrance. Rennik and Mission are preparing to begin climbing when Cadfael moves to the cliff, touches its face, and opens a small door right into the stone. He disappears inside without a backward glance, and Garyth is only barely able to catch the door before it can swing shut.
[please check in]
From: Dan
Subject: Re: the Mountain
Cadfael continues with what he was doing.
*checks in*
From: Scott
Subject: Re: the Mountain
"I thought he wasn't able to go down this hole until midday," Mission says. In the darkness, his face looks craggy and worn.
Mission pauses a moment. If the priest were able to go into the mountain now-- couldn't they all? What was Cadfael playing at?
"Cadfael!" Mission whispers into the tunnel. "Where are you going? You said you couldn't cross this tunnel until midday!"
Sa'id's Reaction
Subject: Re: the Mountain
He lied. The damned priest lied.
The thought of burning Cadfael alive flashes briefly through Sa'id's mind before he can suppress it. He clamps down on his thoughts, forcing the darker ones aside, and takes a quick breath to help calm himself. He peers into the gloom, careful not to cross the threshold of the tunnel, trying to see what is inside.
OOC:
What time is it? Do we know?