Pleasure Kingdoms: Second Attempt

[NyghtRayne]

Logan twitched an ear as he heard the distant thunder, he had been listening to it for awhile now. Nothing had decided to intrude on the camp in the night so he had let the others sleep as he kept vigil through the night.

He felt the first drops of rain as it fell through the trees and hit his coat. It colled the air about the camp quickly and put out what was left of the fire. With dawn drawing near he continued to graze in his half asleep, but alert state.

He heard someone stir and at first was unsure of which companion it may have been, that was until he heard the wing movement and realized Zarl was stirring from sleep. He kept to his grazing knowing Zarl would soon be waking the others, he kept his eyes closed and continued to graze as he listened to Zarl's movement about the campsite.

 

[The GrandMage]

Shizura Relawell

It was late. Or early, depending on your views of such things. In either case, it was far to dark, and not light enough for Shizura to wake up. But there was rain. And rain tended to wake people up. And of course, the first thing shizura saw upon waking was a dark shape, a dark shape with large wings, moving silently towards her friends.

Shizura jumped up, pulling her wooden mace around, and hit it with a loud crack against the monster's head.

Which, belatedly, she realized, was Zarl.

Zarl, of course, had had a few too many hits on the head, and reacted the way most people would.

But grabbing his head and cursing as loud as he could.

Fortunately for Shizura, she couldn't understand the language he was using. Unfortunately, she did understand the basic points.

"Well,...it's your own fault! Sneaking around camp at night! In the rain!"

 

[Sky Jade]

Once everyone was settled down for the night, Evee moved to a small patch of grass away from everyone and settled down. She smoothed her robes out for a moment before she laid down and slept some.

She slept until she felt the first raindrop hit her cheek and then Zarl's cries of back. She jumped up quickly to see what was happening and then giggled when she saw Shizura chewing Zarl out. She grinned as she walked over to the group.

"It's not nice to try and take advantage of sleeping women Zarl."

 

[The GrandMage]

Zarl of the Macrai-Itoche (Flesh)

Zarl made a face. "But I didn't even touch her! I mean, if I had gotten a good fondle in, I could almost excuse this as prudish Fae nature, but come on, I didn't touch her, or you, or anyone. I was just going through camp and WHAM! Right on the back of the head. I mean, that's a weapon. And a dangerous one. This is discrimination is what this is. I think I should get to feel her up now for that."

At Shizura's look, Zarl retreated, putting Eeve between himself and her. "I said I think, it's just an opinion on what's fair. You stay away from me! I've gotten enough lumps out of you for nothing."

Shizura got very angry. "Nothing! Is that what you call what you've been doing!?"

Zarl nodded. "Compared to what monsters usually do to pretty girls, I think the lot of you have gotten off rather easy! I mean, jeez. I haven't raped any of you yet, or tried to disembowl you, or anything. Maybe I few improper advances, but jeez, compared to what my nature is, I think that relatively harmless..."

Zarl reached out and around, and squeezed on of Evee's breasts, unable to stop himself. Just thinking about all the kinds of things he'd been stopping himself from doing had gotten him very excited.

So it was raining, so he'd probably get knocked around again for it. At this point, a part of Zarl that had much influence on his thinking was telling him it was worth it. Very much worth it.

 

[NyghtRayne]

Logan jerked his head up as he heard Shizura's footfalls. He felt Zarl was in for it. He moved quickly but not quick enough before, he saw the mace sgun in a mighty arc that ended against the back of Zarl's head.

He moved toward the two, when he saw Eeve draw near. He listened as Zarl Spoke once more. Then looked to Shizura, "You kno whe is right, he has been fairly well behaved. He has not taken any liberties with anyone of the women of the group."

He looked to Lavastine, "Well none who would not have wanted the attentions he has to offer." His amber gaze settled back upon Shizura, "I know we are all a little edgy, and may overreact a little too quickly. I will say again, Zarl has been pretty well behaved and would have been stopped by someone in maybe a more subtle way than a club upside the haed, before he had the chance to do much to anyone."

Logan himself had been keeping a watchful eye upon the group as they had slept. He had always been thankful for his equine qualities, and alertness. "Maybe apologies should be given and meant, then the others who are still asleep be woke so we can get out of the weather before it gets any worse."

 

[Sky Jade]

Evee blinked a couple of times as she foundt Zarl squeezing her breast. She sighed and lifted her staff, trying to hit one of his feet. She shifted and moved just out of his reach, shaking her head.

"Maybe if you asked soemtimes, you might not get hurt so much. Did you ever think of that?"

She tilted her head for a moemnt before moving to the cave enternce so she wouldn't get drenched from the rain.

 

[NyghtRayne]

Logan looked to Zarl as he saw him fondling Eeve's breasts, "Zarl you know you are no help in this. Especially doing that."

He watched as Eeve broke free of Zarl's groping hands. He swished his tail and spoke to those still sleeping."Come on Taren, Ritsuko... you need to wake and get out of the rain quickly. We're moving into the caves."

 

[The GrandMage]

Zarl of the Macrai-Itoche (Flesh)

Zarl lifted his foot, and gave it a little shake. Unless his head, his foot had plenty of protection. He glanced at the priestess for a moment, and then grinned broadly, hurrying after her.

Shizura looked about, and then started after them.

Zarl caught up to Eeve. "Ask, huh? Interesting thought. How about this, then: Eeve, can I fondle those lovely tits of yours?"

He grinned broadly, a perfect example of,...well, a horny monster, actually.

 

[Sky Jade]

She stopped for a moment at the enternce to the cave and leaned back against the cool stone. She looked at Zarl when he asked the question and shook her head gently.

"I'm sorry, but that's going to have to be a no. One, it will keep me from concetrating and second, I have plenty of magical energy for the time being. Perhaps another time."

 

[Khadgar]

Dreant Firebane

Dreant let go of the branches and fell towards the ground. The movements of the others woke him. He reached out and grbbed th lowest branch, stopping his fall several meters from the ground, and looked a tthe others. the bat creature seemed to be at his usual game, as did the retaliations of the others.

They seemed to be packing up, ready to move on. Dreant stretched and cracked his back, dropping down onto the ground and moving closer to the group.

 

[The GrandMage]

Zarl of the Macrai-Itoche (Flesh)

Zarl grinned broadly at Eeve for a moment. "Later then," he said simply, and mopved a little further in to check out the cave whilest the others were roused.

He appeared a moment later, frowning. "It splits," he said simply. "A little farther in than you can see from here. Both ways look widely used. I don't like it. Either way you go, it's openning up your rear to attack."

 

[katalynn]

Lavastine had been awake for most the night, something nagging at her thoughts and she couldn't quite place why. Laughed to herself at Zarls' attempt to get a morning feel, only to gain a headache.

"Well, we are going into a cave. Even if was a straight shot, it would leave our backs open to anything."

Stepped up towards the cave, looking inside for a moment. Zarl was right though, both paths did look pretty used. One side more so than the other, but it was a close call no matter how one looked at it.

"So, what way do we want to go? Seems we have a 50/50 chance of going in a circle, or finding our goal at the end."

produced a small flame in her hand for light as she waited for a final descion.

 

[NyghtRayne]

Logan looked to the others..~"I am better to all of you in this form, I can heal and even if I can't fight fully, a good hard kick can stun an opponent. So it would mean taking the larger of the two paths for now."~

He glanced towards the caves, he really didn't like the idea of less maneuverability in this forms in these caves, but he didn't think his healing carried over to his human form.

~"I can change when I have to if the going gets too tight, and I will bring up the rear to block passage of those who try to come up from behind."~

 

[Armphid]

"We're ready."

The small party had not seen Taren and Ritsuko emerge from the woodland. The slender samurai and the brawny half-elf seemed to just suddenly be in their midst.

Taren smiled slightly as he looked at the yawning mouths of the cave. Now this would be a challenge. The perfect way to prove his worth. "The wider passage is a good place to start, for sure."

"But..." He looked about a moment. "Caves aren't always what they look like...my magic is Earth magic." "Let me see if I can feel out the path the tunnels take first...If he's smart, our enemy has put wards to stop me, but we might get lucky."

Taren felt he didn't need to add that given the force arrayed against them, they would need all the luck they could get.

 

[roleplaylifer]

A slender hand brushed the crook of one elbow, the only sign Ritsuko was willing to give Taren of her true apprehension as they approached the caves. Despite her mounting discomfort, even she had no desire to remain in the rain, she had found an easy enough time of getting herself soaked that evening without nature needing to lend a hand. While the campfire had helped somewhat, the light drizzle seemed destined to ruin what progress toward dryness she and Taren had made.

Still, she was thankful, he had made time away from the others for her to fix her kimono...a process that had taken them away from the campsite for entirely too long.

Aware of how her robe still clung to her lithe body, one slim eyebrow raised at the sight of Zarl plaintively, yet playfully teasing Evee, reaching around the startled priestess to boldly cup evidence of her obvious femininity with one hand.

"We're ready."

The samurai nodded her nervous assent as she waited patiently for instruction, giving her comrades any time yet needed to prepare.

Ritsuko found herself nodding as she listened to first Logan's, then Taren's plans. The thought of Logan's large frame blocking a rear assault was sound enough, but there was one flaw.

"It may not be tight enough to prevent a unicorn to pass through, Logan, but should you need to turn around to fight some threat? It would not be good to leave your flanks needlessly exposed to an enemy you couldn't reach. Please keep that in mind as you guard us."

She nodded politely in his direction, a small fleeting smile crossing her face as she turned back to her escort. The small smirk rapidly fading into a worried, almost shamed frown.

"My magic is useless here, all but the weakest of my disciplines."

Gazing across the gathering of adventurers that she now called freinds, she made a point to meet every gaze with her own, a white knuckled hand closing almost nervously around the hilt of her prized katana. Holding her chin up defiantly against the thought of her own temporary weakness, she grasped at the one thought that still provided some comfort.

"As I mentioned earlier, if this is a test of our full strength, it is doomed to fail as I cannot be at full strength in a place such as this. Perhaps that can be used to our advantage at a later meeting....IF there is a later meeting."

 

[The GrandMage]

Zarl of the Macrai-Itoche (Flesh)

Zarl nodded, and looked into the tunnel. "It would be best if you checked out the tunnels, Taren. We don't know what's in there, but I have a bad feeling about this. After all, we're leaving our backside open to attack. Out here there may be monsters, yes, but not in this general area. He would have to coordinate their movement in strange ways, too. Inside the cave, though, if we need to retreat we could find ourselves surrounded."

He frowned. "If we go down to clear one way out, we may tire ourselves needlessly. But if we ignore the other path we could find our only exit blocked. It's not a good idea any way you look at it."

 

[Armphid]

Taren wanted to reach out to Ritsuko, lay a reassuring hand on her shoulder, or squeeze one of her hands in his own...but she had made a point of being so brave. To do so would be to show her weakness...and he would never seek to humiliate her that way.

"Your strength is in the strength of your arm, and the skill with which you wield your blade, Ritsuko." Leaf-green eyes met her gaze, his affection and growing admiration bright in them, his voice expressing his confidence in her. "I would rather have you beside me here than a dozen Earth Adepts." "We will all have to be careful with our magics and techniques...even in a secure grotto too much power could cause a cave-in."

He let his gaze linger on her for several moments more, then turned and made his way to the head of the party. "This will take a moment, my friends." "Keep a look out...anything that is magically aware near us will feel this spell." "And...please try not to move too much."

Taren knelt down upon the stone floor, pulling his long leather gauntlets off. He pressed his hands palm down on the ground, the coolness of the stone seeping into them immediately. He lifted them then, tiny rocks and dust clinging to his hands. He closed his eyes, gently drawing a finger over each eyelid. Then a different pair of fingers along his ears, before he cupped his hands beneath his nose and took a deep breath. "Mother of all, in the dawn of The People you sheltered us, and now we descend into your body once more." "Grant your humble child the forgotten knowledge of the way, that the womb that birthed him not lead him unto death."

Taren opened his eyes, and golden light illuminated the antechamber. His eyes appeared gone, in their place two fountains of light streaming out into the dark air. The half-elven warrior's mind reached out, and in that moment he became aware of the cave that traveled far beneath the mountain.

The light went out, and Taren closed his eyes. He opened them a moment later, now returned to normal. "This passage has been enlarged and reinforced...it joins the main tunnels our foes use." He looked over his shoulder, in the direction of the narrower passage. "That path is harder and for smaller creatures, our size and smaller, and it winds many ways through the rock." "However, it joins the larger passage further on." He shook his head then, "That is all I can see...there are wards against this kind of scrying, and I am no magician to break them."

Taren stood then smiling, "But we know something of the way ahead, and that surely is a good thing." He left Overture and Finale in thier sheathes, instead pulling a pair of gleaming katars from the pouch at his waist. Gripping them firmly he nodded, much better for confined spaces. "Let us not wait any longer." "The less time in this place, the better."

 

[The GrandMage]

Zarl, Shizura, and you'll go along with this for plot reasons...

Yrismir glanced down the smaller tunnel, and then the larger one. He closed his eyes, and took a deep breath at each of them. He crouched down, studying the markings on the cave floor again, and looked up at the others. "I won't go down a path and let them block all exits by coming out the others. I would like very much to know that if it comes down to us needing to flee with our lives that the way is open."

Shizura looked down both tunnels, and glanced at the party members gather around. "Then why don't we just split up?"

 

[NyghtRayne]

Logan looked to Shizura with a look in his amber eyes that just about said ~Because that would not be a good idea when we are so out numbered.~

He knew though that he had not much choice, it would all depend on what the others decided.

 

[Khadgar]

Dreant Firebane

Dreant followed them to the cave, lookin around and listening to their conversations about whether to go in or not.

the elf touched the floor, spoke of tunnels leading into other tunnels. Dreant cocked his head to a side. if this is a small unused tunnel, then there are more. we cannot be blocked in. or can we? maybe it's been abandoned, maybe there's nothing but bones, maybe something eats down there. some beastly creature living for the death of others....

Dreant shivered a little, letting his fur ripple down his back. he leapt up and clung to an outcropping of rock, leaning over and looking down the dark hole in the earth. the breath hissed out of his teeth as he watched the others talking.

suddenly his mind clouded with anger. creatures, killing, there was only one thing they could be. rodents. leaping off the rock he drove into the black depth of the cave, stumbling back in a smear of brown fur as fear overtook his mind, then plunging back into the darkness, the scraping of claws on stone comming back to the party....

 

[Armphid]

Taren cursed as Dreant scrambled off into the cave, "Looks like we don't have a choice now." Splitting up was not the wisest idea when facing an unknown force in their stronghold...but it was a plan they were now committed to. "I will go down the larger passage."

He looked back at Ritsuko, "Would you accompany me Ritsuko?" "I am not used to such places, and it would be a comfort to have you at my side."

 

[The GrandMage]

Zarl and Shizua and please tr to split into even groups

Shizura, being Shizura, wasn't really waiting around. She had already scrambled down the larger passage, trying to catch Dreant.

Zarl looked after her, lookmed at Tarne, and gripped his sword hard in his hand. He moved to the smaller passage, and turned back to the others. "I'll go this way, then."

 

[NyghtRayne]

Logan, looked to the others, “To make things even I will shift and go with Zarl, Shizura, and Lavastine.” He was sure splitting up was not a great idea, but it seemed that everyone else was set on it.