1[17:25] <Zeal> 5 PREVIOUSLY...
01[17:26] <Zeal> 5 <Ranna> "You look like shit, Adrian."
01[17:27] <Zeal> 5 PRESENTLY...
01[17:27] <Zeal> 5 Dawn of the next day, 0600 hours. Basilique.
01[17:28] <Zeal> 5 The first night passes since the near destruction of New Port, many take respite in the gilded halls and luxurious rooms of the Autocraft’s Basilique. While no new pressing threats have come to light, an emergency message blinks on your cell’s communications net.
01[17:30] <Zeal> 5BETT-E has sent an encrypted text message simply stating: Adrian is in trouble. I need all of you in the meeting room as soon as possible. Please.
01[17:31] <Zeal> 5++19 days since first arrival.
01[17:31] <Zeal> =][=
06[17:31] * Michelle wakes with a startled gasp, eyes flying wide. Her bolter is in her hand before she realizes where she is and what woke her.
06[17:34] * Benedict is still up from the night before, working on his treatise. When the message arrives, he sets down his autoquill and heads to the sitting room they gathered in the night before.
01[17:37] <Zeal> 5The Myceligean dawn has just barely begun to shine through the windows your borrowed accommodations. When you arrive in the meeting room, it seems that servants have put out a breakfast platter on one of the far tables and Adrian's cogitator is sitting at the center of the main table.
01[17:40] <Zeal> 5A stack of a few small boxes sits next to the cogitator and as the rest of you finish filing in from your respective duties the image of BETT-E starts to coalesce over the cogitator's hololithic display.
06[17:40] * Michelle is barefoot, wearing a borrowed tunic. She still has her bolter in one hand and her hair is messy from sleeping.
06[17:41] * Benedict helps himself to some chilled cubes of mushroom flesh. 1"Morning, Michelle."
[17:45] <Michelle> "What did he do now?"
01[17:46] <Zeal> 5The breakfast platter has a wide selection of Purgatory delicacies, boiling down to dishes created from different varieties of fungi and fungi-grown proteins. All seasoned and prepared to be very tasty, however.
01[17:47] <Zeal> 5BETT-E looks weary, not looking much better than anyone else that spent an entire day and night unable to get any worthwhile rest. Upon seeing all of you answering her call she gives a weak smile and states, 1"Thank you all for coming, I... I really need your help."
01[17:51] <Zeal> 5She continues, 1"Last night I was tapping into the primary cogitator to help the xeno systems facilitate repairs. But then Adrian hit the worst of his Stimm withdrawls and I feared that he would have caused significant damage if I didn't..." 5She seems to be searching for the right word, 1"Distract him."
01[17:54] <Zeal> 5She lets that statement sit for a moment but then blurts out, 1"I had jury-rigged a Jokaero neural link they use to repair their machines using his helmet systems and hooked him into a simulation."
01[17:54] <Zeal> "But now the whole system is frozen."
03[17:55] * Retrieving #adlibdarkheresy modes...
01[17:56] <Zeal> "And since I am bound by the rules of the system, I cannot undo it."
01[17:56] <Zeal>  
03[17:56] * Zeal is now known as Zeal-GM
01[18:02] <Zeal-GM> 5The hologram looks between Michelle and Benedict before pinching her brow1"Does Wrax know how to answer electronic messages? Let me see if I can get him on Vox."
01[18:03] <Zeal-GM> 5Wrax's microbead begins to ring with an incoming call.
06[18:03] * Benedict raises his eyebrows.
01[18:03] <Zeal-GM> "I need the majory of D3KQF07CC2's memetic prints to break the system lockdown."
01[18:03] <Zeal-GM> majority*
01[18:04] <Zeal-GM> "But if Wrax is at the Schola we can use one of their training helmets to get it."
01[18:05] <Zeal-GM> 5She gestures at the stack of boxes next to the cogitator, 1"I had these brought in for you two."
06[18:06] * Benedict examines one of the boxes. 1"What kind of simulation?"
06[18:06] * Wrax answers his microbead, relayed many hundreds of kilometers away by Purgatory's crumbling communications infrastructure. You can hear the sounds of cogitator beeps and working tech-menials in the background, 1++Wrax, speaking.++
01[18:09] <Zeal-GM> 5She looks ready to answer Benedict's question but then handles Wrax's call, 1++Agent Oather I am patching you into the squad Vox line.++ 5The conversation starts playing from the cogitator, 1++I need you to grab a training helmet from the Schola and put it on then plug it into the cogitator running the data analysis. It is urgent.++
01[18:10] <Zeal-GM> 5While on the line she replies to Benedict, 1"Well, you've known Adrian for a long time. What relaxes him?"
[18:10] <Wrax> ++...++
[18:10] <Benedict> ++Hi Wrax.++
01[18:11] <Zeal-GM> 5She shakes her head, 1"Killing things, specifically things that are evil."
06[18:11] * Benedict glances at Michelle. 1"...demo?"
[18:11] <Benedict> "Close enough."
[18:12] <Wrax> ++Hello. I will get my helmet. You will have to say this second thing I am doing again.++
01[18:16] <Zeal-GM> 5She crosses her arms, 1++Thank you Agent Oather. If you need assistance there are sure to be so-called experts around to find the proper connections.++
[18:17] <Wrax> ++Hhf, sure I can manage. But will consult one just in case.++
01[18:19] <Zeal-GM> "If you want to see what he has been doing, take a look. He picked this up on Malfi when he started to really have trouble sleeping." 5A file shows up on your data slates containing a poster for a cogitator game. It has a picture of a foreboding-looking abandoned castle and bears the title Darkest Darguun.
01[18:20] <Zeal-GM> 5Wrax's helmet has the proper connections needed to complete the task, he just needs to find some way to hook it into the cogitator.
06[18:20] * Wrax goes to acquire one of the "training helmets", as he describes to one of the tech-menials doubtlessly familiar with the Academy's available technology. He then restates what BETT-E 6requested of him: to plug it into the cogitator running the data analysis.
03[18:20] * Benedict2 (Bennie@sux-53A8B192.sea.wa.customer.broadstripe.net) has joined #adlibdarkheresy
02[18:22] * Benedict (Bennie@sux-53A8B192.sea.wa.customer.broadstripe.net) Quit (Ping timeout)
03[18:22] * Benedict2 is now known as Benedict
01[18:23] <Zeal-GM> 5The tech menials give a heavy sigh and plug connect the two devices. Not even really concerned with what it was for as they both seemed to be truly bored.
[18:24] <Michelle> "And inside the castle... nurses?"
01[18:25] <Zeal-GM> 5She stares off into the distance and then turns her attention back to Benedict and Michelle, 1"Can you two try on these visors? They need to scan your memetic print."
01[18:25] <Zeal-GM> 5She shakes her head, 1"No, not really."
06[18:25] * Wrax grabs the tech-menial by the collar, lifting him up a third of a meter, 1"Do your duty with more vigor."
06[18:26] * Benedict examines the visor to see if it could inflict any sort of harm.
01[18:26] <Zeal-GM> 5The menial gasps and tries swatting off Wrax, 1"Hey I'm finishing up an eighteen hour shift. This is actually really hard work you know."
02[18:27] * Disconnected
-
[18:51] * Now talking in #adlibdarkheresy
[18:51] * Topic is 'Gametime:4 2000EST Saturdays =][= Chapter 7: 10Sunrise =][= 37500xp =][= Influence:7 59 =][= Game Notes: 7https://tinyurl.com/kbytmsp =][= Mission Notes: 10https://tinyurl.com/oxgzbhk'
[18:51] * Set by VE on Sun Mar 04 13:35:14 2018
[18:53] <Zeal> 5The tech menials nod energetically. They don't want to be cross with someone that could lift one of them by one arm.
[18:54] * iZeal (uid44981@sux-D7365D3E.irccloud.com) Quit (Quit: )
[18:55] <Zeal> 5After looking over the headset, you note that it has no directly intrusive implements on it, but it does have several neurode sensors placed along the temple and back of the head that could be used to scan brain data.
[18:56] <Zeal> 5The menial states, 1"You got it, boss."
[18:56] <Wrax> ++I am ready. What next?++
[18:56] <Benedict> "This looks harmless enough."
[18:56] * Benedict puts the visor on.
[18:57] <Zeal> 5BETT-E nods, 1"The scans are harmless and should not take too lang to complete. But if there's an issue I'm going to have to get creative."
[18:58] * Michelle jacks in.
[18:59] * Wrax dons the helmet, then sits down on the hangar floor, crossing his arms and legs.
[19:00] <Zeal> 5With all the headsets on there is a blue light and a slight tingling as the devices perform neural scans of the throne agents. The whole process takes less than a minute.
[19:00] <Zeal> 
[19:02] <Zeal> 5BETT-E scratches her chin and seems to be staring at something intently, 1"Well... I am sure you were all expecting this, but the memetic scans were not enough."
[19:04] * Wrax nods sagely where he's sitting, 1"Mm, yes. It is as you say. The memetic scans, yes."
[19:05] <Zeal> "Whatever that idiot did, he tied the lockdown to scenario completion." 5She closes her eyes.1"As cliche as this is going to sound. Since you all have higher access than even I do, you are going to need to complete the victory condition that will unlock the system."
[19:05] <Benedict> "I'm surprised he hasn't completed it himself."
[19:06] <Zeal> 5She shakes her head, 1"He does things in such a way that the system cannot even compute it."
[19:07] <Zeal> "If you want to help, this should only take a minute. I can have the program run at an accelerated chronometer speed so..."
[19:07] <Benedict> "That sounds like him. So what's this win condition?"
[19:09] <Zeal> "I can have you join him, uh... Win Condition is complete recon of target location and recovery of artifact"
[19:10] <Zeal> "You will feel a little nauseous when it starts, but I found a couple presets that should fit your tastes. Find somewhere comfortable to sit."
[19:11] * Benedict chews on another cube of mushroom and moves to a couch.
[19:12] <Zeal> 5 The menials start murmuring to each other when Wrax sits on the floor but go back to their business.
[19:12] * Michelle takes a seat beside Benedict.
[19:12] * Benedict offers Michelle a piece of chilled mushroom before whatever is about to happen starts.
[19:16] * Michelle shakes her head.
[19:17] <Benedict> "Fair enough."
[19:17] * Benedict eats it instead.
[19:17] <Zeal> "Are we all ready?"
[19:17] <Wrax> ++Hhh, ready.++
[19:17] <Benedict> "I am."
[19:17] <Michelle> "Yes."
[19:19] <Zeal> 5The hololithic projection nods and the edges of your vision go white before engulfing your entire field of view. After a moment sensation returns as you appear to be in a white room with a mural of the game's poster on one wall.
[19:20] <Zeal> 5The disembodied voice of BETT-E addresses you, 1"Here, let me run your authorization codes and you can meet up with me inside."
[19:20] <Benedict> "It's been a while since I've used a training simulator like this."
[19:20] <Zeal> "The schola uses them when their planet does not support a specific biome to meet the training criteria."
[19:21] <Zeal> "Or they are afraid to kill more recruits," 5She adds matter-of-factly after that statement.
[19:21] <Benedict> "Good training."
[19:22] * Wrax looks around, not used to this disembodied sensory experience.
[19:22] <Zeal> 5 Mannequins roll out from the direction of the poster and park themselves in front of the throne agents, bearing the trappings of the various classes in the game.
[19:23] <Zeal> 5 The Mannequins labeled Knight and Sorceress appear to be missing, seeming to have been picked already.
[19:26] * Benedict inspects the options.
[19:27] * Wrax tries to get his bearings. Is he able to see the others? If so, in what form?
[19:28] <Zeal> 5 The others all appear to be motes of light, lacking any real substance in this state
[19:31] <Zeal> 5 As selections are made, the trappings transfer to the mote of light. The throne agent takes the visage you all know, but is wearing their new equipment.
[19:37] <Zeal> 5Once trappings are selected shelves of generic adventuring equipment roll by.
[19:38] <Zeal> 5BETT-E's voice continues, 1"I'll meet you all at the start when you're ready."
[19:49] <Zeal> 1"Just... don't judge too much on how things are."
[19:51] * Benedict makes his selection, spending a fair time dithering over the generic equipment before he is satisfied. In his garb of a Light Wizard, Benedict wears long flowing white robes embroidered with golden thread. A wide, floppy hat covers his now-blonde hair, hanging low over eyes that glow faintly gold. His only armament is a sling and a dagger, sharing space on his belt with a
[19:51] * Benedict lantern.
[20:08] * Wrax moves into the Champion mannequin. After a moment, he materializes wearing leather gauntlets, bone-lined boots, beast furs over his shoulders, a necklace of fearsome predator teeth, a bronze sun-faced mask and a chainmail loin cloth. Multiple axes, a long bow and a wide shield are strapped to the sling bag on his back. A pair of enamel-hilt pistols hang from his belt.
[20:09] <Wrax> "Oh ho. Yes." 6He nods, looking over his changed appearance.
[20:09] <Benedict> "That suits you."
[20:11] <Wrax> "I don't fully understand what's happening but I like it."
[20:14] * Benedict smooths down the folds of his robes. 1"Think of it, perhaps, as a shared dream you can influence. You aren't the only one dreaming, so you can't do whatever you want, like fly, or turn into a giant, but this place will react to us. If you shoot a cultist with one of those pistols, they will fall like the real thing."
* Retrieving #adlibdarkheresy modes...
[20:18] <Zeal> 5As the classes were chosen and gear acquired, a lit doorframe shows up on the castle mural. A deep voice echoes across the chamber, 1"Fear and madness lie ahead, steel yourselves against the impending dread, lying in wait in the darkest depths of Darguun."
[20:26] * Benedict2 (Bennie@sux-53A8B192.sea.wa.customer.broadstripe.net) has joined #adlibdarkheresy
[20:27] * Benedict (Bennie@sux-53A8B192.sea.wa.customer.broadstripe.net) Quit (Ping timeout)
[20:27] * Benedict2 is now known as Benedict
[20:29] * Michelle is dressed lightly in animal hides and armor carved out of the bleached bones of a great beast.  Her face, shoulders, and belly are marked with war-paint.  Her hands and forearms are wrapped with heavy leather threaded with black feathers, with monster-tooth spikes over the knuckles.  She carries an axe and sword etched with pictograms of her patron saints. She has a small steel aquila on a...
[20:29] * Michelle ...leather loop around her neck. A carved obsidian and bone rosary is coiled around her left wrist.
[20:30] <Zeal> 5At last the door opened and by trick of perspective or actual intent the gaping maw of the castle doors engulfed the whole room. And with the uncomfortable lurch of missing that last step on stairs, the newly formed band of adventurers appears at the edge of a quiet hamlet as the sun starts to set.
[20:31] * Benedict stumbles a bit on the road.
[20:32] <Zeal> 5In your hands are the leads to all your horses. They are taller and more muscular than the desert coursers you had previous experience with.
[20:33] * Wrax steadies himself, getting used to the sudden change of scenery. He stoops down and grabs a pinch of the dusty road, running it through his fingers. He pats the horse, chuckling to himself.
[20:35] <Zeal> 5To your left a door opens and out walks a woman you can clearly recognize as BETT-E saunters into the dining hall with a masked attendant and makes her way over to your table. She is garbed in highly revealing clothing with an expensive fur scarf. The attendant heads off into a stable as the woman addresses you. 1"So, you are the ones come to fetch my wayward fiance are you not?"
[20:36] <Zeal> 5She rolls her eyes at you, seeming to be following a script.
[20:37] * Wrax steps on one of the stirrups, testing if the suddenly-conjured horse is solid enough. If it is, he pulls himself up and swings onto the saddle. He adjusts his sun-mask, glancing towards the setting sun before turning to face the voice, 1"Your what."
[20:37] * Benedict looks solmenly on.
[20:40] * Michelle seems distracted, turning to watch the sunset. It's been a long time since she's seen sunlight, even fake...
[20:42] <Zeal> 5The attendant comes back with a jet black horse as the table decides to flip itself over and slide away of its own accord. She then replies, 1"We served together for two years in the Last War and the instant I try to arrange something he runs off and starts taking mercenary work. Are you up for the task of recovering him?"
[20:43] <Benedict> "It would be most unfortunate if we weren't."
[20:44] <Zeal> "Then your quest is accepted and I look forward to your return."
[20:44] <Benedict> "For you."
[20:45] <Zeal> 5Her face contorts as she stumbles forward, gasping for air. She balls up her fists and shakes them while glancing upwards.1"Damn this half-rigged piece of grox-shit code."
[20:47] * Wrax clears his throat, then speaks with exaggerated, heroic deepness of voice, 1"Where was this fool headed, last you saw him?" 6He puts some emphasis on fool.
[20:47] <Zeal> 5 She straightens herself up, 1"Great, you all made it. Ignore everything before and let's get down to business. Mount up so we can get there as fast as we...." 5 She pauses as she watches the table slide back through the door to where it's suppose dto be.
[20:47] * Benedict gives Wrax a subtle thumbs-up.
[20:48] <Zeal> 5 She shakes her head then turns to nod at Wrax, 1"He went for the main dungeon just down the road. My plan was to lead you there then stay here to hold the door open as they say."
[20:51] <Zeal> "Now you need to-"5 Her face suddenly changes from her serious expression to the smiling face she had before and resuming her aristocratic stance, 1"Shall we be off then? I cannot bear to be parted with him for much longer."
[20:52] * Benedict gets on his horse.
[20:54] * Wrax nods, prompting his horse forward. He looks over the horizon, at distant mountains. 1"Hhh, wonder if could climb those..."
[20:54] <Zeal> 5 The attendant provides a step ladder for BETT-E as she climbs up and sits on her horse, once all the others were mounted she starts the whole procession trotting through town.
[20:56] <Zeal> 5She starts reciting the next part, 1"Can you believe the nerve? Who in their right mind would run off and go fight another war when they just finished one?"
[20:58] <Wrax> "Old Father does not need warriors in right mind. Only a loyal one."
[20:58] <Benedict> "Especially when such a fair maiden waits upon your return."
[21:00] <Zeal> 5The horses ride out of the hamlet as the night darkens. BETT-E leading you further into the dark and twisting woods in the shadow of a mountain.
[21:00] * Michelle coughs. "Maiden. Mm. Right."
[21:03] * Wrax pulls out a torch, preparing to mount it onto a slot in his sun-mask. He glances down at the wrapped tip, then pats his kitbag for a tinderbox. After a few moments, he looks ahead at the road, 1"Damn..."
[21:04] * Michelle lights her lantern and one of Wrax's torches.
[21:05] * Benedict raises a hand and conjures a number of glowing golden orbs that follow the road as they travel.
[21:06] <Wrax> "Thanks!" 6He places the torch into the mask's mounting, the light accentuating the sun motif.
[21:08] <Zeal> 5She continues to recite, seemingly to rattle off an entire backstory. 1"I forgot to introduce myself, I am Elyse Furnau. Heiress of-"5She cuts off as the real BETT-E takes back over. She quickly lights a magical light that shines ghostly blue on her shoulder and turns around to glare at Michelle, 1"I heard that."
[21:08] <Michelle> "Mm."
[21:08] * Michelle fastens the lantern to her pack.
[21:10] <Zeal> 5She wraps herself in her fur-lined cloak and stares back up the mountain, 1"Anyways, how this works is once you cross the threshold you have two days to find the artifact or you have to start the dungeon over. Since I told you we're on accelerated time it won't actually be two days."
[21:11] <Zeal> 5 A stone archway appears in your torch/magic light ahead, marking the entrance to a ruined fortress that looks very familiar to the one on the game's cover.
[21:12] <Benedict> "Be on your guard, my friends."
[21:12] <Zeal> 5 She twitches again1"-ere we are!~"
[21:16] <Wrax> "Hhh, lights ahead, front of the keep. Strange, too cold now for ghostflies."
[21:17] * Wrax pulls slightly on the reins, 1"Wait, what are ghostflies..."
[21:18] * Wrax turns towards BETT-E, or Furnau as it may be, 1"I hear a tanner at work. Do people live in this keep?"
[21:19] <Michelle> "Something rending flesh. Maybe not a tanner..."
[21:20] <Zeal> 5 'Elyse' pulls the reins on her horse, 1"Ah, they said there would be undead here-abouts. Not to worry, I am an expert of the magical arts!~"5 She raises her other hand to conjure and spell and with a loud bang she vanishes, along with a 3rd of the horse who seems to stand there frozen in place.
[21:21] <Zeal> 5The shuffling and stretching starts to grow louder as the lights come to investigate the loud noise.
[21:22] * Benedict bows his head. 1"The Dark arts offer great destructive power, but they are dangerous and wild. Too often they scorch the hand that seeks to wield them."
[21:26] * Wrax whips his head at Furnau's sudden, explosive disappearance, 1"Er..."
[21:27] <Zeal> 5The seperated thirds of the horse begin to fold together and rise up into the sky.
[21:28] <Zeal> 5As the light begins to shine on the shuffling bodies you see ancient and withered men with decaying beards armored with rusted armor and brandishing rusted swords.
[21:29] <Zeal> 5 There are seven of them in total, two of which hang back and start drawing creaky bows.
[21:30] * Michelle is dismounting hurriedly from her horse and watching the folding, floating horse with absolute horror when the dead arrive.
[21:34] <Zeal> 5Michelle's deadly expertise with her weapons cuts down two of the undead quickly before they had a chance to retaliate.
[21:39] <Zeal> 5These creatures would be a challenge for the untrained and initiated, but seasoned combatants such as yourselves seem to have no problem with them.
[21:42] * Michelle dispatches these thugs in brutal fashion, that all may hear of her arrival.
[21:43] * Wrax unsheathes his axe, pulling back the reins so his horse stomps fearsomely on the ground. Rider and mount surges into a crushing charge towards the wight archers twenty meters away. On impact, he reduces one into a flying ensemble of withered limbs.
[21:44] <Zeal> 5 Wrax plows into the unprepared undead, leaving a number of them sprawled on the ground and slowly working their way up to their feat as the archer is cleaved in half at the torso.
[21:45] * Benedict wraps the invisible winds of magic around himself.
[21:49] <Zeal> 5Benedict's spell backfires on him, to a much less severe effect as what attacked 'Elyse' He feels a slight headache but otherwise is not hurt too badly.
[21:49] * Benedict grumbles to himself, but trusts no one saw.
[21:49] <Zeal> 5With that, the undead begin to swarm the remainder.
[21:52] <Zeal> 5The odd thing about all of this is that these otherworldly horrors do not seem to faze you mentally. They attack with ferocity none the less.
[21:56] * Wrax intercepts one of the wight's attacks with a sweep of his axe.
[21:58] * Michelle evades one attack and counter-cuts another with her sword.
[21:58] <Zeal> 5 Michelle's blade bites into the wight but doesn't down it. Its mouth gapes in a silent scream.
[22:02] * Michelle pushes through, punching the sword to the hilt through its open mouth. She turns on the other and cuts it down with blows of her axe.
[22:02] <Zeal> 5 two more wights are cut down. Their numbers are not going to hold for much longer.
[22:04] <Zeal> 5 Only an archer and the wight harrowing Wrax's horse remain.
[22:08] * Wrax swings his axe across the wight's arms, disarming it before planting the blade into its head. 1"Ha!"
[22:08] <Zeal> 5 The wight collapses in a pile of flesh and bones.
[22:11] * Benedict lifts the brim of his hat and turns his gaze on the archer, firing a beam of golden light from his eyes.
[22:12] <Zeal> 5You could have sworn you saw plague zombies die the same way to a lasgun blast but the last wight simply evaporated, turning into dust before your very eyes.
[22:14] <Zeal> 5 With that explosive finish, the foes are defeated. Horses are a little startled and that bisected horse finally falls down to earth. It lands with a thump, as if it were a sack of fungal potatoes before it falls through the ground.
[22:17] <Benedict> "Hrmph."
[22:17] <Michelle> "Easy prey. But Adrian must have thought so too."
[22:17] <Michelle> "Overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer."
[22:18] * Wrax has his horse canter around the battlefield for a few moments. Once it's clear the battle is over, he sheathes his axe. 1"What...happened to that horse?"
[22:18] <Wrax> "Oh and our guide, as well."
[22:18] <Benedict> "She was a sorceress, a wielder of magic, like myself."
[22:19] <Benedict> "But while she was born into her power, I was studying the light."
[22:19] <Benedict> "Whatever magic she attempted to throw against our foes must have misfired."
[22:20] <Michelle> "We touch Adrian's mind. Of course there are broken things. Benedict is already crazy. Maybe the machines in his brain."
[22:20] <Michelle> "Us too, soon, maybe."
[22:20] <Michelle> "...I expected more nurses, though."
[22:21] * Michelle pries her sword out of the wight's skull.
[22:22] * Benedict lifts the brim of his hat to reveal his glowing golden eyes and grins at Michelle. 1"Michelle, lighten up, won't you? Get it? Lighten? Embracing a new role may not come as naturally to you as it does to me, but this diversion will only last us a short time, and it will do us no harm."
[22:22] <Zeal> 5A deep disembodied voice booms overhead, 1"A grim welcome to a darker hold. Perhaps within they will find more permanent accommodations."
[22:24] <Michelle> "Or a beach."
[22:24] <Michelle> "Adrian likes beaches."
[22:25] * Michelle leads her horse into the Hold.
[22:26] <Zeal> 5The voice stops as the battlefield quiets down entirely. The fortress glares menacingly from the mountainside as the fallen doors on rotted hinges give it a sinister maw. The horses seem to not care that you are leading them into a dark and foreboading atmosphere.
[22:26] * Benedict sighs and follows.
[22:29] * Wrax gallops up to the two. He throws out his booming voice, features obscured by his radiant sun-mask, 1"He's right! We have stepped into myth, so we must become myth!"
[22:30] <Zeal> 5Within the entrance hall it becomes immediately obvious what sort of foul misfortunes came about the place. Your lights shine on the skeletal remains of tortured souls that lay suspended in wrought-iron cages. Torture devices litter the walls. Some still with their last customer firmly attached."
[22:31] <Zeal> 5 At the center of the room rests a rotted round table with an ornate hourglass, the sand resting at the bottom of its vessel.
[22:32] * Benedict (Bennie@sux-53A8B192.sea.wa.customer.broadstripe.net) Quit (Ping timeout)
[22:32] * Benedict (Bennie@sux-53A8B192.sea.wa.customer.broadstripe.net) has joined #adlibdarkheresy
[22:35] <Wrax> "A time keep. What did that guide say..."
[22:35] <Michelle> "Not real, and neither are we. Not myth, then. Actors on a stage."
[22:35] <Zeal> 5Beyond the table lies a large door with glowing rune-carvings over it. The door looks to be in pretty pristine shape for the state of the rest of the place.
[22:35] <Michelle> "A play. Or... mm."
[22:37] <Benedict> "She claimed that we had but two days to complete our task, lest we must begin the quest again."
[22:38] * Benedict investigates the hourglass.
[22:39] <Zeal> 5 The hourglass looks to be in pristine condition, probably a magical artifact if the setting's rules are to be applied.
[22:40] * Benedict checks if the hourglass can be moved, without actually turning it all the way over.
[22:40] <Wrax> "Hhh, sun rises, sun sets. Wrax fights, Wrax wins. Turn the glass, light shaman! Two days to save this fool is plenty!"
[22:40] * Michelle hums a few notes and approaches the table, trailing her fingers along its surface. Singing quietly at first: "The glass, this half, it shows the time remaining."
[22:41] <Zeal> 5The hourglass is not weighed down in any way and can be moved around the table without impediment.
[22:41] * Michelle catches Benedict's hand and guides it to the top of the hourglass, then pulls away, spinning herself.
[22:41] <Michelle> "The sand, the fall, the draining seconds tick away; our friend, our goal, stays trapped if we delay."
[22:43] <Benedict> "Don't worry, Adrian, we're on our way."
[22:43] * Michelle maintains a minor key and soft notes, but there's a smile behind her eyes as she steps lightly to the pristine door, drawing her weapons.
[22:43] * Benedict flips the hourglass.
[22:44] * Ranna (Flapjack@sux-A4255924.lightspeed.clmasc.sbcglobal.net) has joined #adlibdarkheresy
[22:46] <Zeal> 5All at once the doors you walked through rehinge themselves and slam shut. A flash of light and you catch a glimpse of the tortured souls that left this room in pain screaming for their lives.
[22:46] <Zeal> 5Ranna suddenly pops in next to you as a scrawl, 1++Player has joined the game.++5Plays across the top of your field of view.
[22:48] <Ranna> "What the fuck is this. What the fuck is going on."
[22:50] * Michelle drapes her sword arm over Ranna's shoulder. "Adrian's mad concept of bliss. Now I'm making it a song."
[22:50] * Michelle singing.
[22:51] * Ranna physically looked about the same as she did in the real world. She was wearing a long leather coat under a set of plate armor. She had a bandolier and belt loaded down with ammunition, weapons, and stakes as part of her kit. Her normal scarf was now a bright red one wrapped around her neck and a wide brimmed hat with a shiny buckle sat on her head "What"
[22:52] <Michelle> "All you see and hear around you - the stones, the walls, the screams."